Hello there! Welcome to my second story, "Just For One Day"!
This is an Organised Crime AU that resembles the 1920s and 1930s but still retains the same technology and of course the existence of Pokemon. So think of something like Fallout (but without the post-apocalyptic elements) and Bioshock.
The way these characters speak are reminiscent of the 20s and 30s, okay?
If you are reading my first story "All The Lonely People" then I'm going to tell you now, Lysandre is not going to be as nice.
Hope you will enjoy this one and if you haven't, please consider reading my other story "All The Lonely People".
The characters here are much older than in the game except for Lysandre and Sycamore who I think are right around their early to mid-30s so yeah just a heads up.
Warning: This story contains swearing and smut but that's why it's rated M.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.
Serena buttoned her navy blue coat up and fixed her long dark hair. She slipped a green beret on her head, pulled her brown leather gloves on her hands, then finally wrapped a long dark green scarf around her neck. She tied the laces of her boots tightly before adjusting her stockings. She straightened her yellow dress under her coat and examined herself in the mirror. She saw the dark circles under her eyes that she tried to cover with make-up, her messy waist-long hair and the large glasses that framed her face and partially covered her big brown eyes.
Serena always hated how she looked childish. She was a woman in her mid-twenties now and yet she looked as if she were half her age. People would tell her that she was lucky and she laughed a fake sort of laughter with them. She hated when people became condescending towards her whenever she drank at the bar or stayed up late at night. It didn't help that she was short too. She stood at a whopping five-feet tall (and a half if she felt like it). No-one paid her respect, not the little kids nor the adults she was working with. All except for one.
She took a deep breath. "Well, I guess this is as good as it's going to get," She said. She pushed the door of her office open then knocked on the office directly beside her.
The door opened to reveal a disheveled looking Professor Sycamore, his hair all over the place and his lab coat on the floor behind him. He leaned on the doorway with his arms crossed. "Serena." He greeted.
"Is everything okay in there, professor?" She asked peeking into the office a little. She saw papers strewn all over the tables and pieces of chalk scattered around the office. The chalkboard at the back of the room had been erased and written on over and over.
He nodded with a grin. "Yes, of course. I was just trying to figure out a solution to this formula I'm working on and I am literally tearing my hairs out."
Serena allowed a smile on her face. "Oh, it's one of those days, huh?"
"Right," He said. "So are you leaving now?"
"Yes, are you sure you can handle locking the place up?" She asked.
He nodded again. "I can handle it, don't worry. You go on ahead. I'll join all of you shortly."
Serena's brows furrowed. "Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you?"
"Serena," He said sternly. "This is your party and I don't want you to miss it. Go. I'll take care of things here."
She sighed in defeat. "All right, fine, I'm going. Thanks, professor."
"Just Augustine remember?" He corrected. "We have known each other for years and you still call me that."
"Only when were alone though!" She retorted.
He chuckled. "We're alone now, aren't we?"
Serena narrowed her eyes. "We are."
Sycamore grinned. "Now that that's settled. You better head out now or those idiots might eat all of the cake before you get there."
"Really, Augustine," She said. She pulled on his arm as a way of telling him to bend down and tip toed to place a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you."
His grin widened. He felt his face heat up. "No, thank you."
She patted his arm and made for the front door. She heard Sycamore shout something after her that she could only make out as, "Congratulations!" She smiled to herself thanking her stars that she had someone like him in her life.
Serena weaved through the crowded restaurant with ease. It was only at times like this that she felt the supposed advantage of being short.
"Heyo! Over here, kid!" She heard a familiar voice call. She looked around the restaurant and finally found her colleagues sitting all together at a large table except for Calem who was waving at her. She made her way towards them sighing.
"I thought I told you not to call me that, Calem," She said as she arrived at the table. She took off her scarf and coat and hung them at the back of her chair at the end of the table. "Besides, I'm older than you."
"I forget sometimes okay? I'm only human," He replied defensively as he took a seat.
Serena scanned the table. She saw the half-eaten cake in the middle that only spelt out "Congra-" before cutting off.
"Well, I see you didn't waste your time digging into my cake," She remarked sardonically.
The rest of the group which consisted of Shauna, Trevor and Tierno laughed nervously then mumbled tiny little apologies.
Calem shrugged. "I told them not to, Serena. I really did."
Serena rolled her eyes. "And yet the crumbs of cake on your immaculately white suit tell me otherwise." She flicked each crumb off his suit to assert her point even more.
"Nothing ever gets by you," Calem said pouting.
"Hey, hey, come on, guys," Shauna began. "We're here to celebrate an accomplishment, not argue over cake." She turned to Serena. "Although we're all guilty of eating it and feel very sorry."
Tierno nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah and we saved you some! It's really good!"
"It's not that you guys ate the cake," Serena explained. "It's that you didn't even wait for me. Not to mention the fact that I bought it myself and had Trevor bring it over here."
"We are really, really, sorry about that. Really," said Trevor.
"It won't happen again," Calem continued.
She took a seat and finally relaxed. "All right, fine."
Calem smiled. "So, where's the professor? Is he coming?"
"Yes, he's just locking up the Research Lab," She answered.
"Did you get here safe?" Shauna asked. "It's too dangerous to go alone nowadays what with all the recent gang activities."
Serena nodded. "I got here just fine. I have to admit these things are really shaking up everyone but the streets of Lumiose City were quiet tonight."
"That damn Team Flare!" Tierno exclaimed. "Why can't they just make honest money like the rest of us?"
"We worked hard for that money and people like them just take it away," Tierno added. "They take away months and months of work."
Calem scoffed. "And the fact that they kill people and start shootouts is terrible on it's own."
"They drag innocent people into them too," Shauna added.
"But I thought they only targeted people that crossed them," Serena remarked.
Calem scoffed. "And does that make it all better then?"
"I. . . suppose not," Serena conceded.
The group continued on their heated conversation. Serena only listened having nothing else to contribute. The activities of Team Flare did not interest her in all honesty and did not affect her. The only time she would ever care about that was if and only if their activities affected her directly.
She felt a hand squeeze her shoulder gently. She turned around and smiled. "Professor!" She exclaimed.
Sycamore smiled back at her and greeted everyone at the table. He changed out of his purple shirt and into a dark blue suit that matched the colour of his now combed hair. His yellow tie was crooked although he didn't seem to notice prompting Serena to stand up and fix it for him.
She pulled him down by his shoulders. "Why do I have to fix your ties and bow ties for you all the time?" She asked as she straightened the tie.
He gave her an apologetic smile. "I'll learn it eventually then you won't have to do it for me."
Once Serena was finished, he took a seat to the right of her immediately noticing the half-eaten cake.
Calem caught his gaze. "I know, I know the cake is eaten. We already discussed that."
The professor shook his head and chuckled. "All right, I wasn't going to say anything in the first place."
"Now that everyone's here," Shauna interjected. "Let's order some food. I am starving."
For the first time that night the whole group was in agreement.
"That was an amazing dinner," Calem said pushing the door of the restaurant open.
The group was hit by a strong chilly gust of wind as they followed him out. Serena almost fell back but was caught by Sycamore who was right behind her.
"I got you," He reassured. He helped her steady herself.
"Thank you," She said adjusting the champagne bottle in her arm.
Shauna, Tierno and Trevor watched the small exchange with small hidden smiles. There was a speculation going around the Research Lab if the two were in some sort of secret relationship having known each other for a long time and always being seen together. Nobody had the guts to ask them except for the same group of friends they always hung about with which consisted of Calem, Shauna, Tierno and Trevor.
Both parties denied it but not at the same degrees. Sycamore denied it but there was always an unsure tone in his voice. When Serena denied it she denied it. She refused the notion altogether.
The rumours had gotten so big once that Serena called Sycamore into her office and when he left he had a sort of sad and understanding look on his face. Nobody bothered them about it after that.
"Come on, you two!" Calem called from a little ways away. "It's dark out and I don't want to be out on the streets at this time."
"We're coming just go on ahead," Sycamore replied. He turned to Serena. "Are you all right?"
Serena nodded. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
The pair caught up with the rest of the group. They made their way towards Centrico Plaza where the Prism Tower was located. The tower was lit up from the bottom to the very top. A few tourists crowded around the base taking pictures of the brightly lit tower. It was a like a beacon to the citizens of Kalos. Everyone knew what and where it was.
Serena's group stopped by ritualistically. It was where they said their farewells for the day. Each of them heading to a different avenue or boulevard. Calem and Shauna usually went into Bleu Plaza where they lived in the same apartment building, Trevor and Tierno into Jaune Plaza and Sycamore and Serena into Magenta Plaza.
"Well, good night to all of you and see you all tomorrow," Calem said. "Let's go, Shauna." The said girl waved at the rest of the group then turned to leave with Calem.
Trevor and Tierno patted Serena's and Sycamore's backs. They both gave Serena their last praises of congratulations before leaving as well.
"Ready to go home?" Sycamore asked as soon as the two other men had gone.
Serena nodded.
They made their way towards Magenta Plaza in comfortable silence. They didn't live in the same apartment building like Shauna and Calem. Their buildings were directly beside each other. Both of them could see into each other's apartments if the curtains were pushed aside and sometimes that would be their way of communication. Almost every night they would pull their windows up and talk to one another until one of them falls asleep by accident. The only time they didn't talk personally was when the winter came. Serena wondered if he would be up for another round of champagne even in the chilly weather since the restaurant had given the bottle they didn't finish to her.
"Are you ever thinking of settling down sometime soon, Serena?" Sycamore inquired interrupting her train of thought. "We certainly aren't getting any younger."
Serena's brows furrowed. "Where did this suddenly come from, Augustine?"
He shook his head. "I don't know. It's just, we're getting older. I'm in my thirties now-"
"Early thirties," Serena corrected.
"Yes, all right, early thirties and I feel like I've poured my whole life into my work that I haven't really given much time to think about my future," He continued. "I mean, haven't you thought about it before?"
Serena sighed. "I. . . have. Of course I have but it's not high up in my priority list," She explained. "I want to accomplish more before I settle down. I want to contribute more to society. Arceus, I don't even know if I want kids of my own."
"Now that's jumping way, way ahead," Sycamore remarked.
Serena punched his arm playfully. "You started it!"
"But I understand exactly what you mean."
The pair finally arrived at Magenta Plaza. They gave each other hugs before parting ways into their own buildings. Serena took the elevator to the top floor then made her way to her apartment. She loved the feeling of finally arriving home after a long day. She systematically shed each layer of her clothes off starting with her boots then ending with the beret on her head. She kept everything neat and organised. Everything in her closet was arranged according to colour.
Now in her underwear, she grabbed her neatly folded pyjamas from her bed and fresh set of underwear, tied her hair up in a tight bun then went into the bathroom where she took a long hot shower.
It was when she was drying up that she remembered what she had planned to ask Sycamore. "Oh I forgot to ask him!" She blurted out.
She quickly threw her clothes on and ran to her window. She saw that there was light flashing in the professor's room that indicated that he might have been watching television. She took one of the large pebbles she saved on her windowsill and hurled it onto his windowpane. It made an incredibly loud noise upon impact. Serena flinched at the noise. She saw the professor stand up quickly.
He glanced at his window to find Serena waving at him with an apologetic look on her face. He felt his heart calm down. "Thought it was a gunshot," He said to himself. He went to his window and pushed it up. He braced himself for the cold. "Need anything?" He asked her as he put on a sweater. He didn't need to speak loud being that their apartment buildings were only a few feet away.
She held up the bottle of champagne. "Do you maybe want to finish the rest of this? I can't do it alone."
He smiled. "Sure, you got an ice bucket?"
Serena lowered the bottle. "Uh. . . no but I can buy one and some ice too."
Sycamore shook his head. "No, no. You don't need to. Just leave it out here, it'll cool eventually."
"There's nowhere to put it though. It'll just fall to the ground," Serena replied.
"Well, we can't put it in the freezer or it'll just explode and that will be a mess I'd hate to clean up," He said.
Serena put the bottle on the floor by her feet. "I'll just run out and buy some. I won't be too long. Don't worry."
Before he could even protest, Serena pulled her window down, grabbed her wallet from her bag, put her hair down, slip on her boots and wore her coat. She made sure she had the keys and locked her door. Once she made it out she looked up to see Sycamore with his head in his hands muttering to himself. She watched him pull his window down and retreat back into his room.
"Sorry, Augustine," She said quietly.
The sky had darkened over the course of an hour. She turned left and into an alleyway that housed the infamous Lysandre Cafe that many of the elite members of society seemed to visit almost every night and only by invitations. Serena passed by there all the time when she went to work in the morning being that less people passed there because of their fear of Team Flare. Serena however felt weirdly comfortable going through the alley. She didn't encounter one life threatening situation in all her years of using that route. Plus, the lesser the people the better she thought.
As usual, there were two people stationed at the entrance wearing bright red suits and donning eccentric hairstyles scanning what Serena thought was the legitimacy of the invitations handed to them. She passed a long line of people dressed in fancy suits and elegant dresses waiting for their turn.
Everyone in Kalos knew who Lysandre was but nobody knew what he looked like. All they knew was that he was the boss of Team Flare, the source of most of the region's gang activity and oddly enough, the inventor of the Holo Caster. Very few get to see him, according to various sources. Although according to some, he resembled a Pyroar with a great mane. Serena always had a good laugh at the notion of someone with hair as ridiculous as that. She turned right to Estival Avenue picturing a half-man, half-Pyroar hybrid being the only substitute to the shadowy figure of Lysandre in her mind.
She was only a few metres away from the store when she saw two people backing an old man onto a car. She looked around to check if anyone else was witnessing this when she realised that the streets were nearly empty. As she neared the trio she saw that the people cornering the old man seemed young, maybe even younger than she was. They looked to be in their teens.
"I don't have money on me right now!" The old man shouted almost pleadingly.
The two teens hushed the old man. "Shut up!" The girl said in a hushed tone. "We know you're lying to us, pops."
"Where is it?" The other one asked, a boy. "Come on, hand it over."
Serena frowned at the teenagers. She hated seeing elders being treated like that. She approached them with crossed arms. "What the hell do you think you two are doing?"
The teenagers scoffed at her.
"Beat it, lady," said the girl.
The boy nodded. "Yeah, if you know what's good for you."
She ignored the last remark. "Why are you bothering that nice old man? Didn't your parents teach you anything about manners?"
"Look, Miss Goody Two-Shoes," The girl began. "Our beef ain't with you. So just leave or you will seriously get hurt."
Serena felt her blood boil. She wanted to tell the girl off and so she decided that she would. "Listen here you little shit," She said as she took a step forward.
Before she could say even more, the old man shoved aside the two teenagers and ran to the driver's side of the car. He opened the door, climbed in, started the ignition and drove away.
The boy gave Serena a scowl. "Now, you've really done it," He said cryptically.
Serena opened her mouth to speak when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around only to be enveloped in a bright light.
The first thing Serena noticed when she woke up was that she was sitting on something incredibly soft. She felt the fabric and recognised it as a plush velvet. . . seat cover. She willed her eyes to adjust to the darkness of what she now knew was a car. The car was large and had a feeling of an old timey carriage.
Her nose felt strange. It had a tingling sensation and almost a burning feel to it.
"How long was I out?" She asked herself. She gazed out of the dark windows to see that the car was parked in an alleyway that she could not recognise in the darkness.
"About half an hour."
Serena jumped at the voice. She did not expect someone else in the car with her. She turned to the sound of the voice to see that it came from a man seated at the seats in front of hers. He sat at the other end cross-legged and away from her where light pierced through the windows. His black suit acted as a camouflage in the darkness, the red lining of the seams providing a contrast. He held a long golden cane on one hand and rested his other hand on his lap. Various rings decorated his fingers consisting of various gemstones but one in particular stood out to Serena. The stone embedded in the band had a Mega Stone symbol. She looked up to see who the man was but his face was covered in darkness.
"Who are you?" She asked.
The man didn't answer right away. Serena didn't know how but she could feel his eyes travelling up and down, observing her. She stared back at where she thought his eyes were not wanting to lose.
He smirked as he leaned out of the shadows. Dim light shone on his face. The bright red of his hair and beard was like a mane of fire that surrounded his head. His icy blue eyes pierced through Serena like a stake. Chills were running down her spine.
"I am Lysandre, head of Team Flare," He replied in a cool deep voice. "And I own you now."
Serena's eyes widened. "Own me?" She asked. "What the hell does that mean?"
"It means you work for me," Lysandre said simply. "I will have you recall your little stunt with my two new recruits earlier."
The old man and the two teenagers entered Serena's thoughts.
"He owes me money," He explained. "To be more specific, he owes me ten million which he had in his car. And now because of your divine intervention, I have no money and no body to bury. So, being the good man that I am, I have decided to give you a second chance and let you work off your debt." He lifted the end of his cane and brought it down to the floor of his car making a loud thud.
"Debt?" She echoed. "What debt? I don't owe you anything!"
"Since I couldn't get the money from that old man. His debt automatically transfers to you," He said, pointing the end of his cane at her. "Now, you work for me." He brought the end of his cane down to the floor of the car once more.
Serena couldn't believe her ears. Her head was spinning and her palms were sweating. All she did was defend the old man and now she's a member of Team Flare. All in one hour.
"Of course you can always choose the other option," Lysandre offered.
Her ears perked up. "What's the other option?"
"I have you killed," He said. He allowed her a few seconds to think although he knew exactly what she was going to say.
"A-All right, I'll work for you," She said finally.
"Good, you will report to me tomorrow before the crack of dawn. We will be very busy indeed." He lifted his cane and brought it down to the floor one last time.
Serena swallowed hard. Her fate was sealed. She felt as if he was a predator and she was the prey. Now she understood what those sources meant when they compared him to a Pyroar and at that moment it didn't seem funny to her anymore.
And there we go, Chapter 1 done!
Please tell me what you think.
The next update for this will be after I update my other story, All The Lonely People. So it'll be alternating. ATLP first then Just For One Day.
I'll see you all in Chapter 2!