ELEVEN
"It's impressive, Miss Carlyle, that you've made it this far."
Serena stood in Augustine's office, across the desk from a man who was wearing a charcoal three-piece suit. This man's dark hair was slicked back, accentuating his prominent cheekbones and strong jawline. In the chair in front of this man sat Augustine, hands cuffed in front of him, and flanked by two people in black uniforms that had a large red "R" emblazoned across the front of them.
"I'm flattered that you're impressed, Mister …." Serena said as if she was casually conversing with a friend and not the leader of a criminal organization that had once made a name for itself in Kanto and Johto. She saw the TV reports and the news headlines growing up, but she had never really encountered Team Rocket until they had come here to Kalos.
"Alphonse. Call me Alphonse."
"Alphonse? What happened to Giovanni?"
"He, uh, retired," said Alphonse skittishly. "But that's ancient history." He glanced down at Augustine and then over to the shelf along the wall that held the Professor's Mega Stone collection. From there he walked down the shelf, running the tips of his fingertips along the top of each stone. "It's adorable, how you think you can stop me," Alphonse added with a menacing smirk.
"Please. You're not the first group of criminals I've dealt with … but you're definitely the better dressed of the two," said Serena.
Alphonse chuckled in response. "Serena … how can you condone this man's selfishness?" He gestured to Augustine, who responded with a look of frustration and puzzlement.
"Just how am I being selfish?" asked Augustine, raising an eyebrow.
"These Mega Stones – and Mega Evolution – allow a Pokemon such power, and yet these stones all sit here in a laboratory, in a collection, to be admired and studied but never used. They belong to Pokemon Trainers the world over, and Team Rocket will be sure to deliver," said Alphonse, his tone even yet bursting with passion.
"Yes, to the highest bidder," mumbled Augustine indignantly.
"And Professor Sycamore, I would like you to help us in this endeavor," continued Alphonse as he glared at Augustine.
"I would rather drink Arbok venom every day for the rest of my life."
Serena watched as the two men stared daggers at one another: Alphonse determined to scare Augustine into submission, and Augustine adamant in defending his life's work and integrity. She looked to Alphonse's belt: three Pokeballs there. She could take him, perhaps remind him that Mega Evolution was the ultimate manifestation of the bond between a Pokemon and their Trainer and not some commodity to be bought and sold ….
"Oh, I forgot to mention," she interjected. "Augustine there is my boyfriend, and if you think I'm going to let you kidnap or bully or coerce him, then you're sorely mistaken." She pulled Greninja's Pokeball off her belt. Augustine's expression shifted into one of confidence, and he gave her an affirming nod.
"You really think that you can change my mind just by winning a Pokemon battle?" Alphonse asked with a derisive snort.
"Who knows?" replied Serena. A battle may not change his mind, she thought, but it should at least keep him busy until the police arrived.
"Fine." Alphonse plucked a Pokeball off his belt and sent out a Golem. Serena's Greninja emerged from his ball, and the two Pokemon looked at each other intensely.
"Use Water Shuriken!" Serena commanded. Greninja launched the projectiles at his opponent; two of them missed, and the third one landed a hit. Golem took some damaged, but was still standing.
"Golem, use Stone Edge," said Alphonse coolly. Golem stomped on the floor, sending sharp spires of rock jutting upwards under Greninja's feet. Greninja leaped up and out of the way just in time, bouncing off a wall as he went.
"Greninja, Hydro Pump!" The Water-type blasted the torrent of water and landed a direct hit, fainting Golem. Alphonse let out a low growl, and sent out an Electabuzz next.
"Thunderbolt!" commanded Alphonse. Electabuzz released its attack, hitting Greninja square in the middle. Greninja stumbled, letting out a groan of pain, and wisps of smoke rose from the resulting electrical burn on his shoulder.
Greninja prepared himself to use Night Slash; however, Electabuzz was faster and used Protect to raise a force field around itself, so Night Slash struck and destroyed the force field instead of hitting Electabuzz. Serena cursed under her breath.
With another Thunderbolt, Electabuzz fainted Greninja, and Serena sent out Lucario next. Two Aura Spheres and one missed Thunderbolt later, Electabuzz fainted.
Alphonse looked at his last Pokeball thoughtfully, then over to the shelf of Mega Stones. He walked over to the shelf, picked up a Mega Stone, and approached Augustine. "You wouldn't mind if I borrowed this, would you?" he said as he picked a Mega Ring up off the desk and slid it onto his finger. When his back was turned, Augustine gave Alphonse a contempt-filled glare.
Serena withdrew Lucario and sent out Charizard, just as Alphonse sent out his final Pokemon: Pinsir. Alphonse handed the Mega Stone – Pinsirite – to Pinsir, and then pressed his finger to the stone set into the Mega Ring. The pink light was slow to build, but it soon enveloped Pinsir, formed into a sphere and then exploded to reveal Mega Pinsir.
Mega Pinsir had to be one of the most terrifying things Serena had ever seen; she couldn't decide if the massive wings, the sharp teeth, or menacing-looking eyes were the scariest thing about it. She noticed Augustine looking at Mega Pinsir with a mix of awe, scientific curiosity, and fear.
"I want to experience it for myself," said Alphonse, his voice filled with exhilaration as he looked on at Mega Pinsir with pride.
With a smirk, Serena touched the stone inside her own Mega Ring, and the pink light instantly formed around Charizard. When Mega Charizard emerged, Alphonse's eyes widened in fear as he realized the advantage did not belong to him.
Both Trainers yelled out commands at the same time: Alphonse commanded Pinsir to use Guillotine, while Serena called for Fire Blast. Fire Blast proved more successful as the burst of flames enveloped Pinsir and fainted the Bug-type in one super-effective hit.
"NO! You – you didn't even give me a chance!" raged Alphonse as he recalled the fainted Pinsir. "And I'm still not going anywhere! You can't change my mind! I'm going to keep this Mega Stone, and Team Rocket will sell the rest for profit!"
From outside the laboratory, Serena heard police sirens growing louder and louder. The sirens were soon followed by someone speaking through a megaphone.
"This is the Lumiose City Police. We have the building and skies surrounded. Come out with your hands up and all Pokemon visible."
"Maybe they can change your mind," Serena retorted confidently, inclining her head upward towards the ceiling. Panic flashed across Alphonse's face; he looked up at the ceiling, then stared out the window to see the police vehicles in the street and officers on the sidewalk surrounding the lab.
Alphonse's eyes darted around the room frantically, and the grunts watched him in anticipation. Serena's eyes met Augustine's, and the two held one another's gaze for a moment. She could sense how tense he was, and she felt it too. In her opinion there was no telling what Team Rocket was going to try next.
A Holo Caster beeped, and Alphonse answered his.
"Hey boss, what are we gonna do? They've got us surrounded and the only way out leads to the slammer!" the holographic image of a grunt said anxiously.
"I'm aware … hmm …." More police sirens blared outside. Alphonse waited for them to quiet down before speaking again. "If the blueprints of this laboratory are accurate, then I believe we can utilize the 'Twitchy Raticate' escape plan. Spread the word and have everyone move out now." Alphonse hung up, then turned to his grunts. "Bag the stones and Smokescreen the room. It's time we made our exit."
"But boss, what about him?" asked the female grunt, pointing to Augustine. The male grunt picked up a duffel bag off the floor and made his way to the shelf, tossing Mega Stones into the bag.
"There's no time!" snapped Alphonse.
With a shrug, the female grunt sent out her Koffing and commanded it to use Smokescreen. Koffing released large volumes of thick black smoke into the air, completely obscuring Serena's vision and making it difficult for her to breathe. She heard Augustine coughing intensely nearby, and she soon dropped to her knees to have her own fit of coughs. Something kicked her side as she was bent over, and she heard something fall to the floor with a thud, followed by the sound of the male grunt cursing under his breath. It was amazing that the Rockets would be able to navigate their way through the smoke, she thought as the smoke stung her eyes and she closed them.
After a few moments, she heard a hoarse voice call out to her. "Serena?"
She slowly opened her eyes, seeing that most of the smoke had cleared and only a thin haze remained. Augustine gazed at her from where he sat at his desk, and he appeared both relieved and worried. Serena looked around; the Rockets were gone, but to her surprise the black duffel bag lay on the floor mere inches from her position.
Serena reached out, grabbed the bag, and pulled it to herself. She opened it and looked inside to see all of the Mega Stones inside. Team Rocket must have had low standards when it came to recruiting grunts, she thought.
"Thank goodness you were kidnapped by a bunch of complete idiots," she chortled, standing up and walking over to the desk. She placed the bag on top of the desk and walked over to Augustine, and then she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
"Thank goodness you came to save me," said Augustine.
Serena smiled and held him tighter. She felt Augustine's knuckles graze against her stomach as he tried to initiate some physical contact while handcuffed, and she wondered if Alphonse had made off with the key to the cuffs.
She pushed herself away slightly, but then leaned back in to kiss him on the lips. When the kiss ended, Serena glanced over to the bag of Mega Stones on the table. "You think they'll come back once they notice they've lost the stones?" she asked before looking out the window at the scene down on the street.
The Lumiose City Police had the lab surrounded, with officers and their Pokemon on the sidewalk and cars on the street, red and blue lights flashing. Right there on the sidewalk, a hole opened in the ground; a Raticate was the first to emerge, followed by the head of a Team Rocket grunt. That grunt saw the police force and dropped back into the hole so quickly Serena could have sworn that the grunt instantly disappeared into thin air. A Diggersby leaped into the hole, and a matter of seconds later several members of Team Rocket came flying out of the hole onto the sidewalk.
"Yeah, they're a bunch of idiots," Serena commented with a smirk as one officer shoved a handcuffed Alphonse into the back of a police car. Augustine stood up and joined her at the window, and she leaned her head against his arm.
"Nobody messes with my boyfriend and gets away with it," she added, reaching over to hold one of his hands. Her fingers grazed over the cool metal handcuff around his wrist.
"One of many reasons why I love you," said Augustine as he craned his neck to kiss the top of her head. "Now, chèrie, can we go meet with the police? I would love to have these handcuffs removed."
