"Monsieur Lysandre, correct?"
Lysandre almost had to do a double take. On a list of things that just were not done, waltzing into his secret(or so he'd thought) lair in order to verify his identity had a very high placement.
"How on earth did you get in here?!" Lysandre demanded, furrowing his brow. The stranger didn't look strong enough to have overpowered his guards(some of the few Flare members still loyal to him), and with that cane Lysandre doubted he'd have been agile enough to sneak past them.
"I think a better question would be why did I come here, personally," the stranger drawled, amused, his voice smooth and ever so deep. It soothed Lysandre somewhat, calming his flared temper, and that fact in itself intimidated him.
"You broke into my house. You don't get to pick which questions I ask you," Lysandre retorted, waiting for a response to his initial question. The fact that the man seemed quite content to stand in the middle of his living room - posture relaxed as if he was assured his actions had put him in no immediate danger - was more than a little discomfiting.
"I suppose that's fair. For your information, however, I did not break in; I merely had a talk with the charming gentlemen outside, and they permitted me entrance," the stranger explained, smiling in an almost friendly manner. "You might want to invest in new guardsmen if you don't want any mildly articulate stranger being allowed in here."
"…I see," Lysandre said, noting that his anger had all but evaporated in the face of this green-haired man's bewildering charm. "I'm sorry, but who are you?"
"My name is Ghetsis Harmonia. Currently, I'm nothing but a misanthrope. Previously, however, I held a high position in an organisation devoted to the liberation of pokémon. Does that satisfy you?" Ghetsis asked,still smiling, his tone daring Lysandre to say 'no'.
"It will do for now," Lysandre responded, not quite certain how much he believed Ghetsis'(what sort of a name was that?) words. He sighed, deciding it was about time he conceded and asked Ghetsis the question he so wanted to answer. "Why are you here?"
"I simply have a proposal for you," Ghetsis said, smirking. Lysandre wasn't certain whether he was reading mischief or malice from this man's admittedly captivating red eye(on days like these, Lysandre wished he didn't adore the colour so), but supposed it didn't matter, as both would have him equally entertained.
"Do you, now? Why don't you tell me all about it? Please, have a seat," Lysandre responded more icily than he'd intended, settling into the nearest red(of course) sofa, his eyes firmly trained on the harmless intruder. Ghetsis' smirk widened, but he made no move to join him, impressing Lysandre – it wasn't often he met a man with an apparent immunity to hostility.
"There's no need to extend any insincere hospitality to me, Monsieur; I don't intend to take up too much more of your valuable time," Ghetsis chuckled, shaking his head. He cleared his throat and began rather mechanically, "I am here today on behalf of a rather small gathering of unfairly maligned individuals. I – no, all of us in this group – have reason to believe you'd be interested in our cause, as a fellow crusader for change, as it were…"
"So you're all criminals, as well," Lysandre interrupted, unimpressed thus far by Ghetsis' attempts to dress up something so obviously sinister, though if the other man was surprised by Lysandre's reaction he hid it masterfully.
"You could say that," Ghetsis responded, smiling somewhat sheepishly. Cute. It seemed the less openly hostile Lysandre was with this man, the less annoying he became to interact with in response – an oddly effective method of placating him.
"What is this cause you wish to rope me into, then?" Lysandre prompted. As…interesting as Ghetsis was to speak to, he didn't have all day.
"The same cause it has always been, for all of us involved," Ghetsis said, shocking Lysandre as his ever-present smile took on an oddly sincere quality, "the creation of a perfect – or rather, beautiful – world."
Lysandre furrowed his brow, at once made curious and irritated by Ghetsis' words, "oh, really? And how do you plan to create this world, when all of your individual attempts have so evidently failed? What will be so different about this attempt?"
"Teamwork. A simple answer, no? But think of the implications…we can't all have failed due to the same flaws, no?" Ghetsis explained, and Lysandre could feel that treacherous part of himself that still wanted to improve this wretched excuse for a society becoming quickly convinced, much to his annoyance. Lysandre wasn't sure he could handle another failed attempt at helping people…
"You don't have to give an immediate response to my – or rather, our – invitation, as I've left some contact details with the pleasant fellows guarding your door. Do think it over, however…" Ghetsis reassured, an oddly predatory look in his visible (red why did it have to be red—)eye. He must have noticed how convincing this little talk had been, then…
It wasn't until Ghetsis had closed the door behind him(he walked with an abnormal amount of grace for a man who leant so heavily on his cane when standing) that Lysandre registered the man's failure to bid him farewell. He snorted derisively – he supposed Ghetsis figured they'd be seeing each other again soon enough to make it unnecessary, a sign of either bull-headed arrogance or manipulative capabilities that far exceeded Lysandre's.
The most annoying part was that either way, Ghetsis' assumption wouldn't be wrong.