The Champion and The Professor

Chapter Nine

Calem sat on the bench next to Serena and Lysandre, lost for words as he asked in a hushed tone, "What do we do now? If he did take everyone, why did he? What does he want with everyone?"

Another heavy silence fell around them as they all began to contemplate their next, and final move. Serena broke the silence as she stood up from the bench quickly, pulling out the newest addition to her team; the one she had transferred from her PC box earlier. She held the ball to her face, staring at it while she thought about her friend's faces. A flash of Augustine's happy face flashed in her mind as she fought back tears while saying, "We're going to go find out!"

As Serena began to walk back towards the gateway into Lumiose City, Lysandre standing from the bench to follow Serena diligently so, she passed by Calem who stayed rooted to his seat for a minute longer. "Are you coming or what?" she asked over her shoulder to him.

He quickly shook his head before jumping up from his seat exclaiming, "Serena! I LOVE YOU!". A heavy silence fell around the group, Lysandre watching the two teenagers with baited breath while Serena stood rooted to the spot, bowing her head low; refusing to look back to Calem as she balled her hands into fists at her sides. When she didn't say a word back to him, he continued, "I've been in love with you ever since we met outside your house. I thought that I was the luckiest guy in the world to have such a beautiful next door neighbor. That is until we met the Professor. Watching the way you were around him, listening to you talk about him when you'd call me out of the blue, I knew you were in love with him instantly. And that I had competition for your heart."

At that moment Serena's fists balled together tightly before she launched herself at Calem, tackling him to the ground as she grabbed hold of his throat with her left hand. Her right fist connected with the ground next to his head as she used her legs to pin him down completely. "Don't you DARE get excited you worm!" she exclaimed as she felt his groin begin to harden inside his pants. His groin became flaccid at her words as he tried to gasp for air; feeling her left hand tighten on his windpipe in the process.

"R…Ri…Rina…I…c…can't…bre…breathe!" he managed to say as she continued to hold onto his throat; tears building up in her eyes all the while.

"I hate men like you! You use your girlfriends as toys just to cheat on them later with their best friends! You're just like my dad! He used my mother for eight years before he finally grew a pair and left her! And now here you are, wanting to do the same thing to Shauna! She loves you, you jerk!" she said as she raised her right fist up into the air ready to bring it down on his face.

Calem winced at her raised fist while Lysandre had enough of it as he walked over to the two of them. He came up behind Serena, kneeling down behind her as he caught her fist in his right hand just before it connected with Calem's face. "Stop this Serena! This is not who you are!" he said, pulling her fist back, pinning it to the small of her back with his left hand as he reached down to the hand she had used to wrap around Calem's throat in an effort to peel it away so the boy could breathe. She refused to let go, Lysandre managed to slip his fingers between her hand and Calem's throat as he said, "He doesn't deserve to die for such an idiotic reason!" While she fought back Lysandre's strong grip on her hand, he dipped his face to her ear and asked, "What do you think Augustine would say if he were here right now seeing you hurt your friend?"

At the mention of the Professor's name, Serena let go of Calem's throat, staring off ahead of herself before she looked over mournfully at Lysandre; tears falling freely finally. "Who are you to tell me what reason there is to die for?! You nearly destroyed the planet just for your own selfish, petty reasons!" she said, crying angrily at him as Calem attempted to take in a breath.

Lysandre grabbed Serena's shoulders roughly as he pulled her up onto her feet, holding her back against him as he said, "Yes you're right, but I attempted my plan without resorting to raw, irrational emotion. Now settle down and get a hold of yourself!" She struggled against his firm grip on her shoulders, flailing around pathetically as Lysandre looked to Calem, silently telling him to get up while he still could. Calem took Lysandre's silent urgings, standing up from his captor as she finally stopped flailing while her sobbing continued. Lysandre wrapped his arms around her comfortingly as he said, "We need his help to save Augustine and the others. Lets not forget that, oui?"

"I know that! But still, I want to know," she said first to Lysandre before turning her attention over to Calem pointedly. "I want to know, do you…do you even love Shauna?" she asked, attempting to finally calm herself down as she edged her arms away from Lysandre's grip to wipe away her tears.

"I didn't at first as I've been in love with you all this time," he said, trying to choose his next words carefully for fear of her irrational anger returning. "But lately I've been trying to fight back my feelings for you as I've been slowly falling in love with her. I felt that I needed to tell you my feelings before that part of me lost you to the Professor," he said as he suddenly felt his jealousy returning to him; his hands balling up into fists at his sides. "But thinking about you and the Professor together makes me feel so jealous. Every time you guys are together, I feel as though I need to step in and tell you that you are making a terrible mistake with him. For goodness sake he's an accomplished Pokemon Professor AND he's much older than you!"

Serena felt her anger return to her as she flashed Lysandre a look of 'stop me again, and you'll be next' as he rolled his eyes while sighing dejectedly as if saying 'I won't stop you, but I'm not covering up a murder for you either'. As she neared Calem, keeping her right hand flat and ready to slap him, he said, "But then I see you smiling happily with him and I think 'Why? Why do I feel this way? Am I still in love with her? She is beautiful, and it's kind of unfair that the Professor is going to take her innocence away from her, but still is this love? No, I can't be in love with Serena. I have Shauna now. And we're happy together. If I am still in love with Serena, and still feel this jealous, then I have to tell her how I feel. No matter what!'".

She stopped dead in her tracks, balling her flat hand up at her side as she asked, "But why would you tell me that you love me when you're more in love with Shauna?"

"Ahh sounds like you're not in love with Serena because of true love, but more so as an overly protective brother?" Lysandre said, putting a finger up to his chin thoughtfully as the two teens quickly turned their attention to him.

"What do you mean by that?" Calem asked perplexedly, his mouth hanging open as he stared at Lysandre in pure and utter confusion.

"Well you said that you thought she's beautiful, and she is there's no doubt about that," Lysandre said, walking over to the pair while looking Serena over suggestively. She threw him a quick glare before he turned back to Calem, continuing his explanation, "But by thinking AND feeling as though you need to intervene in her relationship with someone so respected and is ten years her senior, those aren't thoughts or feelings of 'True Love'. Those are thoughts and feelings of PROTECTION my dear boy! You want to PROTECT Serena from other men because you truly feel as though she is the sister you never had while growing up! Does this make sense to either of you?"

Serena continued to look at Lysandre with confusion etching itself on her face as Calem said, "I think I do. I mean, I don't have sour feelings when you're with him innocently, joking and laughing with him doesn't bother me. But when I see you two kissing or snuggling together…those sour feelings…they come back and all I feel like doing is either tell you to knock it off. Or knock him out flat on his pretty boy face!" He looked at Serena, his fists easing back to flat hands as he continued, "But I can't. I want to, but I just can't."

"And that is 'Protective Jealousy' not 'Love Jealousy'. If you had 'Love Jealousy' you would have not just told Serena how you felt, but you would have out rightly kissed her by now," Lysandre said, winking to Calem as both teens looked to each other first before looking back to the older man standing before them as a thoughtful look crossed between their faces.

Serena turned to Calem, happiness returning to her as she brushed her left hand against her tear soaked face as she held out her right hand to him. "Thank you then for loving me like a sister. I've always wanted to have a big brother looking out for me. But of course I didn't get to experience that growing up," she said, bowing her head sadly for just a moment before looking back up at him, a smile plastered itself on her face once more. "I'm glad that I met you after all Calem. I'm sorry for grouping you in with my dad. He truly is the worst man on the planet for what he did to my mom, so I'm sorry for that," she said, as he took her hand in his for the first time.

'Huh…I always thought that if I were to touch her in anyway, accidental or on purpose, that my heart would race and my hands would get all clammy. But none of that is happening right now. Maybe what Lysandre said is true. I only love Serena as if she's my long lost sister, not my girlfriend,' he thought as they broke their handshake while smiling happily to each other.

"Now that we're all friends again, lets go save Augustine and the others from Xerosic, oui?" Lysandre said as he headed off ahead of the teens toward the gateway.

"Yeah, yeah we're coming," Serena said in an annoyed tone to him before grabbing Calem's hand in hers once again while pulling him along. "Let's go get Shauna back," she said resolutely as he acknowledged her resolution with a quick nod while walking in pace with her; the two of them catching up with Lysandre back inside Lumiose City.

"Wait! Do we even know where he's hiding? And do we even have a plan?" Calem asked as a sudden realization hit him as they walked down North Boulevard heading towards Autumnal Avenue.

"Your friends haven't ever been down in my old Laboratory have they?" Lysandre asked in a whisper to Serena as he looked to her thoughtfully.

"No, never. Not even when we were trying to stop you. Out of my group of friends, I've been the only one to go in there," she said, as she stopped walking just outside of Autumnal Avenue to turn her attention to Calem. "Lysandre and I know exactly where Xerosic is hiding," she said matter-of-factly as Calem stared at her with a confused look on his face.

"And where is that?" he asked trying to think of where exactly in Lumiose City there could be an old Team Flare hideout.

"Just below my old Café, 'Lysandre Café'," Lysandre said as a thought occurred to him suddenly; making him turn his attention to Serena. "Did the city ever shut down my old Café?"

"No, Augustine and I wanted to keep it open. We just sealed the door to the lab, especially after the last time I was in there facing off against Xerosic," she said as he looked to her with a mixture of surprise and happiness playing on his face. Serena noticed the smile forming on his face as she continued, "I only agreed to keep it open because I wanted Augustine to be happy. It…it wasn't for you." She blushed awkwardly to him as he smiled to her suggestively.

"Oh ok, so then if they're down there then what do we do when we get there?" Calem asked, trying to bring the two people standing before him, stuck in a moment to themselves, back to reality.

"When we get in there, I want you to find Augustine and the others and quietly free them from what ever it is that Xerosic has them trapped in. Lysandre and I will keep Xerosic busy so you can get everyone out of the lab safely," Serena said, snapping herself mentally back to where she stood, returning her attention to Calem.

"So we go into this Café, then what? You just said that you and the Professor sealed the door off," Calem said thoughtfully.

"Well they've most likely disabled the seal on the door, so we have that to our advantage," Serena said, while also thinking of what to do next. "OH! Does your Meowstic know 'Teleport'?" she asked suddenly as a thought hit her.

"Yeah! Ok I get it!" Calem said, as he reached inside his bag and pulled out his Meowstic's Pokeball; throwing it up into the air. "COME ON OUT MEOWSTIC!" he called out as the Pokeball soared into the air, opening up at the highest point it could go to as he Meowstic burst out happily. "MEOW!" it said happily as it landed on it's tip toes on the ground before them. "Meowstic, I need you to teleport us to the inside of 'Lysandre Café'. Think you can handle that?" Calem asked happily while also commandingly to his Pokemon. "Meow!" it said as it's eyes began to glow blue while they all prepared themselves for the move to work.

"Wait! Does your Pokemon even know where my Café is?" Lysandre asked, but as he anticipated a response from Calem, Meowstic let out a loud cry as the move activated itself; casting a bright blue glow around the group suddenly before quickly disappearing.

"MEEEOW!" exclaimed the Meowstic as it and the group of humans rematerialized right in the middle of Lysandre's Café right above a grouping of tables and chairs. The group of people and the one Pokemon hovered over the tables and chairs for a moment before crashing down on top of them loudly.

"OW! DAMN IT!" Serena exclaimed as she rubbed her butt with her right hand while her left hand rubbed the top of her head.

"That wasn't the landing I was hoping for!" Calem exclaimed as he too rubbed away the same pains from his body.

"Will you two shut up! We're in enemy territory and you're yelling like you're at a rave!" Lysandre exclaimed just as loudly as the two teens sitting in front of him.

"Oh and you're the one to talk about shutting up! You're just as loud as us! Plus if anyone can hear us yelling at each other, they probably heard our landing too!" Serena exclaimed angrily to the red haired man as they all heard a male voice off in the distance yelling out to the darkness.

"HEY! WHO'S THERE?!" said the voice as he neared the scene before him; coming from the direction of the secret lab door.

Calem jumped to his feet, standing next to his Pokemon as the keeper of the mysterious male voice appeared before them all; the sliding display case moving aside to reveal the open door. "HEY! YOU THERE! HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE?!" the man dressed in a black, form fitted body suit exclaimed suddenly. "I NEED BACK UP UP HERE!" he yelled out to the open door way as two more men in form fitted body suits joined him.

"QUICKLY CALEM! GET MEOWSTIC TO USE HYPNOSIS ON THEM BEFORE THEY PUT ON THEIR VISORS!" Serena exclaimed as she knew exactly the suit they were wearing; it was the same one Xerosic had put on Emma when he used her to steal other people's Pokemon.

"YOU HEARD HER MEOWSTIC! HYPNOSIS NOW!" Calem exclaimed to his Pokemon as the three men in the suits stood watching the Pokemon in confusion before slowly falling to the ground as the spell of Hypnosis took over their minds; lulling them to sleep.

Serena breathed out a sigh of relief as the three sleeping men began to snore very loudly in unison. Lysandre stood up from his seat, rubbing his head one last time before walking over to the group of sleeping men, kneeling down over their forms while taking in their faces. "If I remember correctly, this one was dating Bryony. While these two were stalking her. I never thought they'd be working together as this first one had tried to kill the other two," he said, as he began to fish around in their pockets looking for something.

"What are you looking for exactly?" Calem asked as he held out his right hand to Serena to help her up onto her feet. She took his hand firmly as she stood up and faced Lysandre as a thought dawned on her. "You're looking to see if they have a pass card for the elevator aren't you?" she asked as he looked back to her for a moment, flashing a quick smile before he found what he was looking for.

He stood from the passed out men on the floor as he held up thin black card with a single red stripe running along the length of it. "This is our ticket to finding Augustine and your friends," he said, smiling proudly to the teens before the three of them set off down into the laboratory.

Meanwhile, down in the second basement floor, in the room that once held the Pokemon Trainer AZ captive, now holds the Professor, Diantha and Serena's friends. Their wrists and feet are shackled together by means of an electrical device, which they discovered that if they move even the slightest, an electrical current is released into their bodies to subdue them. Their Pokemon were taken from them and placed in a holding tank nearby. Everyone but Shauna sat with their arms held above their heads looking down at the ground sadly. The male members of the group had been beaten badly while the women were untouched.

Tierno seemed to bear the brunt of it all as he had tried to protect Trevor when they were originally captured; leaving him with a broken arm and a few broken ribs. Trevor merely sustained minor bruising while the Professor suffered a mild concussion due to the first blow to the head. He also sported a black eye from waking up not too long after the first knock out; he tried to fight his way out but was knocked back down for a while. He woke up to the sound of Shauna's laboured crying and moaning for Serena to save them.

"S…Ser…Serena…" he managed to say as he woke up for a second time that day after being knocked out so much he thought for a moment that he had nearly been put into a coma.

"Ahhh so you're finally awake Professor!" came a maniacal voice from inside the dark room.

The Professor vaguely recognized the voice as the same one he heard back inside the penthouse suite before he suffered his first concussion. "Who's there?! What do you want with all of us?!" he exclaimed out into the darkness, squinting around to find the source of where the voice was coming from. His eyes became slightly blinded for only a moment as a set of high powered lights flashed on, illuminating the room to show the group of captured people and a large square machine sitting in the middle of the room.

On the top of the square machine stood a large man with a small amount of strange red hair. He wore a pair of red goggles over his eyes, while sporting a red and white suit; which seemed to have shrunk over the years. He stood facing the Professor, flanked by four slim figured women all wearing form fitted body suits while also wearing large helmets on their heads; the visors completely covering their faces. "Ahh yes I'm sorry I'm terrible with introducing myself. My name is Xerosic!" he said, bowing a bit but not too much as he didn't want to endure the self-consciousness of the shrinking outfit as it was barely containing him any more. He stood up straight, gesturing to the women around him as he continued, "And these were once my fellow scientists back when we were all apart of the glorious Team Flare. That is, until your harlot of a girlfriend stopped our great leader from achieving his goals!"

"Xerosic? Wait! Didn't Serena stop you from stealing Pokemon from innocent people a year and a half ago?!" exclaimed Tierno as he winced at the pain in his arm from quickly trying to stand up.

"Yes, the very same! But now I've escaped prison to create MY own Ultimate Weapon against both humans and Pokemon!" he exclaimed as he pulled out a small square remote control and pressed a button upon it.

Just then the roof above them opened up, revealing a series of heavy electrical wires and mechanisms lowering themselves down around Xerosic. Dropping the remote to the ground, Xerosic held his arms out to the mechanisms as they clamped onto him. "MWAHAHAHAHAHA!" he exclaimed, laughing maniacally as a large white helmet lowered down onto his head. "WITH THIS SUIT I CAN CONTROL EVERY PERSON AND POKEMON! GONE ARE THE DAYS OF FREE WILL! I WILL USE THIS SUIT TO ENSLAVE EVERYONE ALIVE! MAKE THEM WORSHIP ME! AND WHEN I GET BORED, I WILL DO THE ONE THING THE LATE LYSANDRE COULDN'T DO! I WILL KILL ANYONE WHO DEFIES ME! AND THE BEST PART OF ALL THIS?! I DON'T NEED THE LEGENDARY POKEMON YVELTAL TO GIVE ME IT'S POWER! THIS IS ALL MY OWN POWER!" he exclaimed as a sudden loud clapping sound echoed through out the room.

"Well that's a VERY evil plan! Very well thought out and very much a menacing one if I do say so myself!" Lysandre said as he continued to clap sarcastically while walking into the room.

"Lysandre?! Is that you?! No! That can't be! How are you alive?!" Xerosic exclaimed, looking incredulously at him as everyone else looked to Lysandre in shock.

"I'll answer your question in a minute Xerosic. But first you must answer my question. Why did you abduct these fine Kalosian citizens?" Lysandre asked, as he stopped his sarcastic clapping and placed his hands in his pockets; raising an inquisitive eyebrow to Xerosic while waiting for his response.

"I captured them to use their life energies to fuel my suit! Just look at their shackles!" Xerosic exclaimed, gesturing to the Professor and the others' constraints as Lysandre noticed how there were thick electric cables holding them all together. "If they move, they get shocked! And when they get shocked, THEIR LIFE ENERGY IS MINE!" Xerosic exclaimed before laughing maniacally. "It's the same process you used against the Legendary Pokemon Yveltal! But this time, I'M USING IT ON HER PRECIOUS HUMANS INSTEAD!" he said in between laughs as Lysandre looked to him confusedly.

"'Her'? Who are you talking about?" he asked as Xerosic cut his laughing short while stomping his left foot on the ground angrily.

"NO MORE QUESTIONS FROM YOU! YOU HAVE TO ANSWER MY QUESTION NOW!" he yelled out angrily; almost as though he were a child once more. "HOW ARE YOU ALIVE?! YOU WERE DEAD BACK IN GEOSENGE TOWN! I MOURNED YOU! SO WHY?! WHY ARE YOU HERE NOW?!" he exclaimed, still holding his childish sounding voice in his throat.

"I was saved," Lysandre replied simply without showing any emotion suddenly.

"BWAHAHAHA! YOU WERE SAVED?! BY WHO?!" Xerosic exclaimed, laughing crazily for a moment but stopped short as he heard the sound of small foot steps joining them.

"I did!" Serena said as she walked into the room, standing firmly next to Lysandre as the Professor and her friends stared at her in shock and awe.

"YOU?! WHY WOULD YOU SAVE HIM?! HE WANTED TO KILL YOU TWO YEARS AGO!" Xerosic exclaimed incredulously.

"I've been hearing that a lot today," she said, shaking her head dismissively. "I saved him…out of pity!"

"Hey! What do you mean by that?!" Lysandre yelled out at her indignantly. But when he noticed the unchanged expression on her face he silently watched her as she continued her speech.

"I saved Lysandre out of pity, but not because I felt the need to save him. I saved him because I wanted to!" she said, her eyes focused squarely on Xerosic and no one else. "On the day I saved him, a man in your captivity told me that he felt terrible for not being able to talk his best friend out of making the worse choice of his life. I felt bad for him, so much so that all I wanted to do that day was to go back to Geosenge Town and reflect on that man's feelings as well as my own. Every encounter I had with Lysandre, I couldn't shake the feeling of empathy for the man. I believed exactly what Augustine believed in him. That he was truly a good person, he just made the wrong choices during the course of his life. While I thought on that, that's when I saw Lysandre attempting to crawl out of his self-made 'grave'. I pitied him…and didn't think twice about what I had to do next," she said as she took a quick glance over to the Professor, smiling softly to him as he continued to watch her give her speech in awe.

"I saved Lysandre for you Augustine. He's your best friend, and when you lost him, you felt the worse you had ever been, didn't you?" she asked him, empathy lacing around her face before taking root in her eyes as she looked to her lover.

"Yes…I did…" he managed to say sadly as he finally looked down at the ground before returning his gaze up to her. 'She did that for me? Then why didn't she say anything to me? All this time Lysandre has been alive and it was because of her? I don't know if I should be angry with her for keeping this from me. Or if I should be happy for her doing such a wonderful gesture for me." he thought, cursing the cuffs around his wrists as he wanted to scratch at the back of his head suddenly.

'He missed me? Did I miss him too? I guess I should have gone to see him when it was an appropriate time to,' Lysandre thought as he looked from his friend back to his friend's new lover. He smiled a thoughtful look to her as he thought, 'She's a really good girl. She's smart, sweet, funny, strong…Augustine knows how to pick them. I'm glad he's finally found someone like her.' He flashed a quick thoughtful look over to Diantha just as she looked away from him suddenly; her face as red as a Haban Berry. 'Was she just checking me out? Huh…hmm I missed you too Diantha, ma belle Reine,' he thought as he smiled warmly to her before finally returning his attention to the task at hand.

"AWWW HOW TOUCHING! SO WHAT NOW SERENA?! OH GREAT SAVIOR OF KALOS! CHAMPION OF THE POKEMON LEAGUE!" Xerosic exclaimed, bringing everyone back to the present predicament.

"I'm not the Champion any more," Serena said, still holding her emotions at an unfazed level, while returning eye contact with Xerosic.

"OH?! THEN WHO IS?!" Xerosic asked, excitement in his voice after hearing that Serena had been knocked down from her 'perfect' pedestal.

"I AM!" exclaimed Calem loudly as he and his Meowstic found a large heavy electrical cable leading from the console Xerosic stood on, up to the first set of shackles binding Tierno. "MEOWSTIC! USE PSYCHIC ON THIS CABLE!" he exclaimed as Meowstic listened to its trainer and in a quick flurry of blue light managed to pull the cable out from the console.

"DAMN IT BOY! WHAT HAPPENED TO STICKING WITH THE PLAN?!" Lysandre exclaimed angrily to the youth.

"I AM FOLLOWING THE PLAN OLD MAN! I'M FREEING THE PRISONERS THE ONLY WAY I CAN WITHOUT GETTING ELECTROCUTED!" Calem exclaimed as he and his Meowstic jumped back from the live wire of electricity; narrowly dodging it all the while.

"DAMN IT! ALIANA! CELOSIA! BRYONY! MABLE! GET THEM!" Xerosic exclaimed as a white hot rage took over his childish demeanour. The four former Team Flare scientists, dressed in their new form fitted black suits, launched themselves at Calem and Lysandre with lightning speed; while also releasing their Pokemon to help them fight. "MIGHTYENA! MANECTRIC! LIEPARD! HOUNDOOM! ELIMINATE THEM!" the four women exclaimed as each other their Pokemon flew out of their Poke Balls and landed on their feet on the cold floor.

Each of the Pokemon launched themselves at the two men as Lysandre reached inside his pants pocket and threw out his Poke Ball. "Let's go Flareon! Use Fire Spin to keep them away from the boy and I!" he said, as his Flareon burst out of its Poke Ball. It cried out "FLARE!" as a whirlwind of flames flew out from its body, encircling the area around Calem as Calem threw a scathing glare at Lysandre.

"I'M NOT A 'BOY'! I'M A MAN DAMN IT!" Calem exclaimed angrily.

"AND I'M NOT AN 'OLD MAN'!" Lysandre exclaimed back just as angrily as Calem.

"WILL YOU TWO FOCUS ON THE TASK AT HAND!" Serena exclaimed to the two men as she prepared herself for her fight against Xerosic.

"I see its down to you and I Serena! I just wonder if you brought your trump card, the Legendary Pokemon that is," he said as he hopped off his machine while also pressing a button on the side of his helmet to flip on the visor.

"I'm not THAT stupid to bring Yveltal to this place! No, instead you'll get the pleasure of meeting the one Pokemon that had the Terminus Cave closed off until recently. It was a hard catch, but here it is! COME ON OUT ZYGARDE!" she exclaimed, pulling out the new Poke Ball she had transferred earlier from inside her purse; throwing it up in the air all the while. "ZYYYYGARRRDEEE!" exclaimed her Pokemon as it landed on the ground behind her; letting its tail wrap around her to rest on the ground at her feet.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?!" Xerosic exclaimed, pointing to Zygarde panicking and fearful of the huge Dragon-type Pokemon.

Trevor shakily pulled out his Pokedex to check the specs on the strange new Pokemon before him. "Zygarde, the Order Pokemon. It's hypothesized that it's monitoring those who destroy the ecosystem from deep in the cave where it lives," said the Pokedex recording as everyone, including the four former Team Flare scientists, watched Serena and Zygarde in awe.

"Like I said, it was the reason why the Terminus Cave was closed off until just a few months ago. I did however try to catch him after I became the Kalos League Champion, but lost terribly. After that I decided to let him continue to roam free until I couldn't handle the fact that I lost to him. So I went back to the cave, fought hard against him and finally managed to catch him. Now him and I have a strong bond so powerful that we'll use right now to finish you off ONCE AND FOR ALL!" Serena said, as she brought her right fist up to her chest in righteous fury and resolve.

"BWAHAHAHA! AND HOW ARE YOU GOING TO DO THAT?! MY SUIT IS UNSTOPPABLE!" Xerosic exclaimed as he raised his right arm up, revealing it to be a hand cannon, while his left hand clamped onto it, pressing a button to shoot off a powerful beam of light.

"SERENA! LOOK OUT!" exclaimed the Professor, a tear falling from his face while Diantha and Shauna held him back; tears falling from their faces as they watched their friend in fear.

A silence fell in the cavernous room after the beam of light hit it's target square on; causing a dust cloud to engulf the area suddenly. "Sere…na…mon…amour…ma…cherie…you…can't…be dead…YOU CAN'T BE DEAD DAMN IT!" the Professor exclaimed fearfully as more tears escaped their prisons as he felt the sudden need to cry uncontrollably. The two girls let him go as they too felt the need to cry, causing him to sit on his knees on the cold floor. He held his arms close to his body as thoughts of holding her in that way flooded his mind, forcing him to cry even louder than anyone else in the room. "Serena! Mon amour! Please don't be dead!" he pleaded desperately to the cavernous room before continuing to rant incoherently. "I wanted to make you mine! I wanted to marry you! Have children with you! I wanted to create a wonderful family with you while also living the rest of my life with you! Waking up with you next to me every morning…your beautiful face always smiling in that beautiful, cheerful way…you're my last chance at a happy and full life! THAT'S WHY YOU CAN'T BE DEAD! You…just can't be…".

"I'm not dead Augustine," came Serena's voice causing him to choke back his tears and look back to the spot where she was just a moment ago. As the dust cloud settled, everyone noticed a giant black and green tail hung in the air right in front of Serena's face to shield her from the blow. His eyes widened as he felt a sudden rush of happiness fill his heart as he noticed her quick side glance to him before refocusing on Xerosic determinedly.

"NO! THAT CAN'T BE! YOU SHOULD BE DEAD! DAMN YOUR FREAKSHOW OF A POKEMON!" Xerosic exclaimed angrily, staring at her fearfully as Zygarde letting it's tail rest back on the ground at her feet.

"Now it's my turn. Zygarde lets finish this pathetic excuse for a person with one last attack," she said, keeping her eyes on Xerosic while also talking directly to her Pokemon.

"I'M NOT PATHETIC! I AM A GOD!" he exclaimed angrily as he pressed another button on his cannon; preparing for another attack.

"You captured my friends, my ONLY family and my lover, and while you are standing their wearing such a pathetic device, you believe makes you a God, you choose to continue with this madness. If you had given in at all, I would spare you completely. But oh well, to each their own I guess," she said resolutely as she held her hand out in front of her, pointing squarely at Xerosic. "ZYGARDE! USE GIGA IMPACT! BLOW HIS SUIT TO PIECES NOW!" she exclaimed commandingly as the Pokemon charged it's attack quickly before firing it off to it's target.

"NO! NO! NO! NO! NOOOOOOOOOO!" he exclaimed as the powerful attack flew at him, hitting him squarely in the chest while blowing his suit to pieces; the aftershock of the attack destroying the console behind him.

As the ceiling and walls began to buckle around everyone, chunks of the ceiling falling down in the process, Serena returned Zygarde to it's Poke Ball. She quickly placed the Poke Ball back inside her purse, as she grabbed another one and threw it into the air. "MEWTWO! USE TELEPORT ON EVERYONE IN THE ROOM! TAKE US BACK TO MAGENTA PLAZA NOW!" she exclaimed as the new Pokemon in the room obliged its master as everyone's vision blurred suddenly before they regained their composure back outside the 'Lysandre Café' in Magenta Square. As a fire began to burn around the inside of the café, she remembered the three sleeping men trapped inside the burning building. "MEWTWO! THERE ARE STILL PEOPLE INSIDE THE CAFÉ! QUICKLY TELEPORT THEM OUT HERE NOW!" she exclaimed as the Pokemon listened to it's master one last time that night, using all of his psychic power to teleport the three men out into the cool night air.

"MY MACHINE! MY HOPES AND DREAMS DESTROYED AND ITS ALL YOUR FAULT YOU BITCH!" Xerosic exclaimed as he turned from the burning building and launched himself at Serena.

Serena stood her ground, prepared to fight off the nearly, fully, naked man as a loud voice echoed around the scene in the plaza. "THAT'S ENOUGH OUT OF YOU XEROSIC!" said the voice as a new group of people rushed onto the scene. "MIMI! USE PSYCHIC ON XEROSIC! FORCE HIS HANDS BEHIND HIS BACK!" said the female voice as her Pokemon's eyes glowed a faint blue colour suddenly.

Xerosic felt his body seize up, his arms involuntarily pulling backward while he attempted to fight back against the power of Mimi's psychic attack. "NO! DAMN IT! I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK TO PRISON! YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME BACK THERE!" he exclaimed as he continued to fight the powerful psychic move but felt his body failing him as his hands firmly grasped each other at the small of his back. He then felt a pair of cold, steel cuffs clamp down on his wrists as he cried out, "NOOOOOOOO!"

"You should have thought of that before you chose to return to your life of crime! Now you'll go back to prison like a good boy!" said Looker as he tightened the cuffs around Xerosic's wrists before heaving him up onto his feet. "Emma! Cuff up his followers too!" he said commandingly while shoving Xerosic inside the back of parked International Police van.

As Emma followed Looker's orders, the four former Team Flare scientists tore off their helmets as they regained their consciousness'. One by one they offered up their hands to the girl before them while also looking sadly at the ground. "Even though we did those things because he was controlling us, we know when to stop fighting the inevitable," said Celosia, while the other women nodded their heads thoughtfully.

"Oh…ok then…you have the right to remain silent from this point on!" Emma said as she clamped cuffs on each of the women in turn before shoving them off to join Xerosic and the three men, whom were still sleeping thanks to Calem's Meowstic's powerful hypnosis attack, in the van.

"Damien! Why?! Why?! WHY?!" came the cries of Serena's mother as she recognized one of the men to be her current boyfriend. Serena looked shockingly at her mother then back to the men in the van while her mother sank down to the ground sadly. Serena walked over to her mother's side, bent down to place a comforting hand on her shoulder when her mother launched herself at her daughter suddenly; nearly knocking Serena to the ground. "Serena! He left me! Another man left me and its all my fault!" she sobbed out, pressing herself against her daughter's chest.

"It's not your fault mom. It wasn't EVER your fault. Dad chose that woman over you due to his own greedy nature. That man over there, chose to manipulate you because he's a worthless coward. The men who hurt you are nothing more than worthless pieces of scum. And you shouldn't beat yourself up for them," Serena said holding her mother close to her body while staring at the van as Emma and Looker locked it up firmly before patting the back of it to send it off on its way. Her mother peeled herself from Serena's chest to look up at her daughter, tears soaking her face as she asked, "Then what should I do? Should I keep on getting burned by men for the rest of my life? Or should I just give up now while I still have the chance?" she asked sadly.

"NON! Don't give up on love! I don't even want to HEAR you suggest that ever again mom! Everyone deserves happiness! Everyone deserves second chances! Well everyone does, except for those who burned you over the years. They deserve what ever punishment they receive," Serena said, chastising her mother for a moment before playfully punching her shoulder.

"Ow! What was that for?!" her mother cried out childishly, practically pouting at her daughter as Serena burst out laughing.

Everyone around them watched thoughtfully before Looker eyed Lysandre; thinking hard about where he's seen him before. Serena stopped laughing at her mother, standing up from the ground while helping her mother up, as she noticed Looker's hardboiled stare at Lysandre. "I know what you're thinking Looker," she said, bringing everyone's attention to her while also bringing them to look at the detective suddenly. Before Looker could say anything back to Serena, she said, "I want you to give him full amnesty from all forms of law enforcement for the rest of his life."

"Ahh so he is who I thought he is. And why should I do what you say? He is a criminal who must pay for his crimes against human society! Same said crimes you thwarted two years ago!" Looker said, crossing his arms across his chest as he eyed her suspiciously.

She walked over to stand between both men, keeping her back to Lysandre while throwing both arms out in a protective way. "You will do as I say as he is my friend! If you convict him of his past misdeeds, then you will have no other choice to convict me too!" she said as everyone watched her challenge the detective. Lysandre stared at the girl before him shockingly before smiling warmly at her while thinking, 'She's willing to protect me from anything, including the law itself. No wonder why Augustine chose to love her.'

"And why should I convict you? Were you aiding this man all this time?" Looker asked, a mixture of anger and admiration in his voice.

"Yes I have been! And I will always help him! He may have been my enemy when everyone else told me to hate him. But I know for a fact that he is no longer a threat to anyone! And if you need any more proof of that, I can call up the townsperson he was living with all this time!" she exclaimed as Looker held up his hands defensively. "I think I'll take your word for it this time. I'll leave everything up to you and Emma still," he said as he quickly shook her hand and walked off toward where his old set up was while Emma and Mimi followed after him; waving back to Serena as they went.

"Merci Serena. I am indebted to you again aren't I?" Lysandre asked as she turned to smile at him warmly. "Augustine! You have one hell of a girlfriend, you old dog!" he said over Serena's shoulder towards the battle battered Professor.

Serena tore herself away from Lysandre as she looked over to her lover, smiling happily while running over to his side. "Augustine! I'm so glad you're ok!" she said, flinging her arms behind his neck, hugging him tightly causing him to wince in pain. "They hurt you! Where are you hurt?" she asked urgently as she looked him over worriedly.

'Here it is. Time to decide whether or not I should be happy for her for saving my best friend. Or if I should be angry with her for not tell me all this time that my best friend was still alive. What should I do?' he thought as he looked into her eyes while making up his mind. "I'll be fine. Nothing a good night's sleep can't fix!" he said, as he tried to plaster a weak smile to his face. She looked at him searchingly, praying silently that he wasn't mad with her about Lysandre. But when his face stayed unchanged, still smiling weakly to her, her heart fell as she knew instantly how he felt about her.

"Oh ok. Well I guess you don't need my help then," she said, pushing aside any logical thought out of her mind about how to handle herself as she let her hurt feelings show. As she turned to walk away from him she felt his hand clamp down on her right arm, stopping her in her tracks.

"Serena, I'm not upset with you. I'm glad that you saved us," he said as she pulled her arm away from him as she brought that same hand up to her chest; bowing her head low to avoid his gaze.

"You're welcome, Professor. I'm just glad you're not badly hurt like Tierno is," she said, gesturing to her large friend while keeping her gaze away from his.

At the mention of his title coming out of her mouth, he felt his heart sink lower than it did when he thought she was dead. 'Why didn't she say my name like she usually does? Did I make the right choice just now? Ugh! What do I do now?!' he thought as he attempted to recompose himself before anyone noticed their micro fight.

"We're going to take him to the Pokemon Center nearby. They take people too right?" Shauna asked as everyone looked around thoughtfully.

"Yeah they should. Especially with wounds like those," the Professor said, without taking his eyes off of Serena. "The rest of you guys should get some rest after that. It's been a long day," he said, as he decided to look away from his lover for a moment to look at everyone else. Serena looked over to him at that moment thinking, 'He's mad at me for keeping Lysandre a secret all this time. I knew this would happen whether I told him or not. What do I do now?'. She began to walk away from him, turning her back to him and the others as she headed out towards North Boulevard to return to the hotel.

"Tierno!" she said over her shoulder before she set a foot back on the boulevard before her. "I hope you get better, ok?" she said as she turned around to face everyone, while tears fell from her eyes before she could stop them.

"Y…yeah…I'll try…catch…you…later?" he asked, smiling weakly as she plastered a smile to her face while she said, "Yeah, for sure! I'll see you tomorrow morning!"

As she turned her back to her friends once more, she heard Lysandre say to the Professor, "You're mad at her aren't you? Damn it Augustine! Go to her and apologize! What happened to what you said when you thought she had died back there?!"

When the Professor said nothing back to his friend, who was quieted down by Diantha's hand, the Professor took a few steps forward before calling out to his lover. "Come to my lab tomorrow Serena! I want to look over your Pokedex and talk with you privately, ok?" he said as she stopped walking for a brief moment to hear him out. "Yeah sure thing Professor! See you then!" she said without looking back to him, waving a hand out to him from over her shoulder before continuing on toward the hotel; desperately wanting to just sleep the night away.