Charizard ran the empty Lumiose streets in his slow, heavy pace that echoed through tall buildings. I looked around – An apocalyptical air lurked the city like thick fog in winter mornings. If I didn't watch myself, I'd let in a dreadful feeling of being the only person alive in the world; and though I knew that apprehension was senseless since the weapon had not yet been fired, I could still wonder on whether I was the only one roaming that city. Wherever people were hiding, they were hiding well… not a sign of life ventured out to prove me I wasn't caught in sick dreaming.
I thought Calem and the rest must know where the ancient weapon was being held, and regretted not having collected the information when I had the chance. My hands moved automatically to the space usually occupied by my bag… but to no use, I reminded myself with disappointment: I didn't have the chance to bring it with me as I escaped with Charizard. Even his pokeball got left behind, along with the rest of my Pokémon and any means of fast communication I could use to contact my friends.
…How would I even be able to protect Charizard if I had to, without a pokeball to retrieve him into? …I was sort of glad I left my Pokémon behind – at least they had a shot at surviving, if…
Charizard huffed, his pace progressively slowing down as he got tired. He flapped his wings in a single vigorous and broad movement, swiftly pulling his feet from the ground. Smoothly, then, he hovered with me on his back, keeping a small distance from the asphalt with my indecision weighing him down. I got hooked back to the reality of how hard he was trying – of how hard all of them were right now, probably. When this far from Calem's dumb determination, it was easy to let Sycamore's logical pessimism sink into me… but I wouldn't allow it! I wouldn't need to protect Charizard, because we would destroy the weapon!
We reached Lumiose's desert gate number 5 through roaming alone. Charizard stopped, awaiting new instructions. I jumped from his back, deciding he had carried me long enough, and gazed through the gate's opening, wondering which way I should go. It was while we waited that Charizard's body tensed.
"What is it?!" I inquired, noticing he stared directly into the gate.
He grimaced and bent forward, expecting someone. I looked ahead and narrowed my eyes: a shadow approached through the invading light of the bright, open flower fields beyond Lumiose.
Before I had time to worry about a battle with only Charizard by my side, the shadow revealed itself too short for any of the Team Flare members… It was also too familiar, too close to my own… Charizard's expression lightened up, recognizing a friend. I ran forward.
"Calem!" I sighed in relief, stopping right before him.
He looked at me funny again – the distance was there, as if it had never been forgiven: too careful, too undecided upon my trustworthiness… Of course he was: I had disappeared again!
"Thought I might find you here…" he put his hands inside his pocket, uncomfortably hoping for a good-enough explanation to sooth his passive anger. I smiled with a curious mix of relief and joy because this time I had one.
"Those Team Flare assholes got me good, but we've escaped and it's okay now…" I petted Charizard's neck, acknowledging his role.
"You… what?!" Calem gasped, widening his eyes. I giggled.
"What went on in that factory?"
"We got to the president without too much trouble… but I was worried about you!" he lowered his eyes, hiding some distant trace of sorrow: possibly the memory of how many times I had led them down before.
"Well, I'm right here now…" I reminded with a faint smile.
Somehow, I felt his reassurance grow like a dim, warm light. It was comforting for me to see that his heart could be so easily won back. That we could all go back to just being friends when that was over.
"So…" He sighed, suddenly pulled back by the gravity of the situation.
My eyes grew darker, too:
"What's the plan?!" I inquired.
"We couldn't get much from the few grunts we cornered at the Pokeball factory… except for something about the ancient weapon being built some thousands of years ago…"
"Sounds like something too big to be easily hidden?!" I speculated.
"We don't know." Calem shrugged "Shauna is betting it's something located in Shalour city. A weapon that powerful probably needs a tall tower to give it reach? So she has gone there…"
"If we're taking tall, why aren't we on Prism Tower right now?!"
Calem's eyes wandered to the said tower, examining its peek against the dull sky with a sweaty forehead.
"I don't know, Anne… I don't see any strange movements here, and I don't think anything like a weapon would escape Clemont's curious eye. I also don't think the tower's been around for that long…"
"What else have we got?!" I rushed him, feeling the heaviness of Lumiose's sky as it descended into dusk.
"I'm guessing Geoseng Town: it has some of the oldest things around in Kalos – maybe those ancient stones have something to do with this weapon?!"
"I'm with you…" I quickly reasoned "And what about the rest?"
"Our guesses end there! Trevor and Tierno split up just to increase our chances: One has gone to Anistar and the other to the beach."
"Let's hope one of those is the right location, I don't think we have enough time to look for it!"
"Me neither. I'd say we do the same as them and split, but…" He looked at me with his broken eyes again.
"I'm afraid we can't afford that…" I turned to my pokemon, half-apologizing for my incapability "It's just him and me."
"Right... Well, in that case, stick with me, neighbor! Let's go to Geoseng Town together…" And he seized my hand without waiting for my answer, running ahead through the gate and dragging me with him.
Though I was hardly that girl still – the one to be pulled about for pride's sake by Calem; the one to follow his lead and depend upon his bravery to consort with my own… It felt good: His warm small fingers softly pressed against my wrist. Locked inside Sycamore's cold kingdom, I had missed warmth the most!
"Got 'em…" Calem announced, looking down through his Altaria's thick wings.
I narrowed my eyes – the air was cold and heavy, and a bright sunset helped with blurring my view. "Charizard…" I hinted, and he flew lower, allowing me to spot a small reunion of carmine suits happening just west of Geoseng Town, near a large boulder.
"Is that Team Flare?"
"Definitely…" Calem clarified, Altaria immediately taking a dive in their direction.
We jumped to the ground and the two Pokémon landed by our sides – three Team Flare grunts occupied themselves facing the boulder, barely noticing our arrival.
"Hey!" Calem called, angrily closing his fist, and they turned around to greet us.
Somehow, the grunts only looked half-surprised, as if they had been told to expect us. A startled gaze was followed by a smart grin, and they started their usual strangely-motivated speeches.
"Well, aren't those the kids from the Power plant?" They talked to each other.
"Apparently they are! Maybe they came to join Team Flare this time? I don't think there is any space in our bunker, kids… unless you're willing to beg the boss…" they laughed.
"We are here to stop you!" Calem bravely announced.
"I think you said the same thing last time…" one of them let out, and the trio enjoyed the laugh without stress. Or hurry…
"Huh!" Calem smiled "Don't you know that pissing me off only makes me more determined to kick your pitiful asses?!" he boasted.
"Well, this time you won't be defeating the magnificent Team Flare, kid! Do you wanna know why?!"
As they subtly moved to the sides, surrounding us, I noticed an elevator door framed by the boulder. Calem's voice asking 'why' could be heard in the back of my mind, as I examined the situation. Team Flare was always cheesy and taunting… but this time they were particularly more so.
"Calem, they're just buying time!" I stepped forward, Charizard following my lead and getting between me and a grunt. "This is their hideout, and it's probably where they're keeping the ultimate weapon!"
My urgency effectively passed on to Calem, he threw out his Absol to help in the fight. The Team Flare grunts shrugged to each other, then sent out their Pokémon. Absol, Altaria and Charizard took them out with ease, though the battle was clearly meant to hold us back much more than defeat us.
"Not so fast, kid!" Two grunts stepped in Calem's way when he was reaching for the door. I ran ahead and pushed the elevator switch.
"She's going in!" A third one screamed, jumping to grab me. He held me by the arm and I struggled away, escaping in time to jump into the elevator's doors which had barely begun to open.
In my struggle, I hit my head on something large and hard, bouncing back and falling to the ground. Initially I thought I must have miscalculated and jumped against the doors before they'd left the way… but it couldn't be: Lifting my eyes, I saw Lysandre's imposing figure standing, statue-like, inside the elevator, gazing me from above with a hard, paralyzing glare!
I quickly picked myself up and jumped back in a silly unconscious fear that he would stomp me. The fearsome man walked out, much taller and much stronger than I remembered him to be, and I tried to control the thumping of my heart as, behind him, a troupe of admins followed out.
I didn't have to look back to know Calem's fight with the grunts had stopped – that everyone had their eyes on Lysandre, all equally intimidated.
And lucky me! His eyes wouldn't move away…
"So you managed to escape, and yet you come here!" he let out, stopping before me. The small Flare army spread behind him, composing a wall.
"We have come to stop this madness of a weapon!" I blurted with as much rage as I could muster through my trembling voice.
His red eyebrows tensed, as did my muscles, expecting a furious speech with almost painful anticipation.
"I see…" he merely sighed, little surprised, and little giving away in emotion. His voice sounded composed and professional-like… nothing like the beast I was used to seeing when he was next to Sycamore.
Another sigh followed and he observed us quietly. It was funny how neither Calem nor I said anything – how the urgency died in those first seconds beholding him. Was it all fear? …No, I suppose we both tried to understand – to see the intent of destroying the world behind what we only knew as a successful entrepreneur. I had to say, however I thought of Lysandre as a brute of a man, there I saw no sign of this savagery.
"I thought you, of all people, should be able to understand my quest, and the motives behind it" he calmly pronounced.
I got caught by mixed feelings of flattery and confusion – what on earth could make Lysandre esteem me enough to care about my understanding, and why would he think I would understand it?!
"Why would I? Why me?" I asked.
"Because I have seen you…" He replied, lifting his large, leather-covered hand "I have seen how much you stress about, how much you struggle with yourself and others, in search of that one distant goal…"
"Goal…?" I repeated, confused.
"Perfection!" Lysandre elucidated.
"What the hell…" Calem snorted, just as lost as I was.
"I don't think I ever sought any perfection…" I carefully corrected. His seriousness prevented too much agitation on my part.
"But you have! Without even believing its existence, you have!" His voice trembled like a lion's roar, and his eyes shone with vigorous passion. I focused on his words, trying to follow "I read every report on Sycamore's pupils, and none was so dismayed as yours! Such bright youth, and yet… nothing seems good enough! You are never good enough! Self-doubt, dissatisfaction, restlessness... You are looking for something that currently can never be found!"
Calem looked at me – I felt his eyes growing heavy, searching for a reaction in my face that confirmed Lysandre. I couldn't show him one that didn't.
"However hard you work on improving yourself, the world around you shall never shift to meet it – all your expectations are in vain. Satisfaction will never come, for they are not ready - And the higher you achieve, the more you shall perceive it."
Lysandre clenched his fist, tensing up the muscles under the tight glove. His eyes were pierced firmly into mine, transmitting that strange form of what he might call sympathy. I could feel it, too - The emotions he suggested were mine, my inner string echoing the trembling screech of his… But I had never given them such meaning, and never could have.
A sort of mad despair hid deep behind his cobalt eyes – that despair secretly begged for a kindred… It felt so cold and so lonely without the little shard of hope he had somehow found in thinking I would understand him, that it almost made me wish I did.
"Even if that is true…" I started "Even if I did feel that way… What does any of this have to do with destroying the world?! Do you think that's what you seek?!"
"Destroy it?" He grimaced, almost foreign to the idea "No… not at all! I intend to cleanse it – History is more than marked by such little sacrifices… Such little tragedies that come to bring humankind to a higher level: to purge the disease and elate the virtue! The world is being consumed by greed, hate, selfishness! Where do you think it all will end, if no one steps in to do something about it?"
"That's why we're here!" Calem passionately replied "To go against them! Fight them back! And that's all it takes!"
Lysandre was not troubled by the angry reply – on the contrary, a faint trail of a smiled curled up his lips, and his eyes went distant for a second. Perhaps he, too, felt what I thought to have felt in Calem's voice: that he pleaded to the villain's soul.
"Nobility is but a rare flower in a stone garden, children…" He sighed in a sad, conformed way "Regardless of how hard I try to nourish and protect it, it requires the freshness of the valley to thrive, the river's gushing current to drink from – when fed with polluted water, it will either grow as dirty, or wither away. I have grown tired of watching them wither…" And with that scarred conclusion, he was recomposed into the professional, serious and distant Lysandre, and his eyes turned back to me "Unlike my friend would have me do, I won't force you, Miss Anne…. But I do wish you would understand…" he emphasized, taking a broad step towards me. He had spoken enough for me to no longer flinch at his proximity: the threat he represented grown strangely mild, strangely tragic… "Join me with Team Flare and you'll know a world deserving of your efforts. You'll known respect, appreciation, all of which you could ever ask for."
I looked at Calem, consulting his eyes. And what did I look for in them? The same feeling I felt. The same strangled pity - that Lysandre would turn out to be a sad, lonely man no one could reach by now, instantly turning the battle to come into a much tougher one on us.
"Though I have done little in the form of proving its worth, you have my word on that! Now…" Lysandre resumed "Do I have your hand?"
And he stretched his arm, offering me his palm. I merely observed the gesture, short of adequate words to deny him so mad a dream, and yet such an ardent one.
"It is a no then?!" he sighed, his voice giving away a very composed, very rational disappointment. "Well, it can't be helped!" and he turned around, walking back and stopping amidst his employees, ready to face us.
Calem immediately chose a pokeball.
"I will proceed to stopping you two, for I won't allow any interference…" He spoke like it was nearly an apology. "Pyroar – deal with them."
"We won't take it easy on you either!" Calem declared, stepping in front of me and sending out his Pokémon.
Absol and Pyroar faced each other, locking angry gazes as they waited for their instructions.
"Pardon the interruption, but it's just business, really…" The bald admin laughed, assuming his position by Lysandre's side "we're kind of in the middle of something!" He sent out Swalot.
"And we're in a rush…" The red-haired lady by his side walked forward, and a Houndoom joined the battle.
"Altaria, go!" Calem didn't hesitate.
"This is just coward..." I tensed my fists.
We were used to taking on the massive battles with Team Flare… But Lysandre's Pokémon were in the same level as ours – facing him alone would prove challenging enough, let alone with those two supporting him. "Charizard, go get…" I commanded… But, looking back to see him, I spotted those eyes again – the angry submission he seemed forced to perform. "Dammit…" I felt a drop of cold sweat roll down my forehead "I can't help you, Calem!"
"I've got this!" Calem assured me, retrieving his attention to the battle in front of him and inquiring nothing on Charizard's situation.
…But no matter what he said, as I predicted, their Pokémon were too strong for Calem to take out on his own, and one by one his party grew exhausted.
The admins laughed as they saw him grow nervous – as they saw him run out of moves to use, most of them proving little effective against their seemingly never-ending party. Lysandre said nothing and showed nothing but the graveness in his face – not a muscle twitched with pride or otherwise as Pyroar missed no hit, and caused serious damage with each one of them.
"Careful!" I screamed, covering my eyes with my hands as Meowstic, the last Pokémon standing, obliviously got in the way of Pyroar's Take Down as he attempted to dodge a Mightyena's attack. I heard the soft thud of the furry body being launched up, then falling back down. Calem ran to him.
"This is the end of the line for you" Lysandre roared in his thunder-like voice "If you'll excuse me, I'll have to take on other measures to guarantee the safe execution of my plan…" And he assumed large steps in Calem's direction.
Calem was distracted attending to his Pokémon – he was surprised into a shock when Lysandre grabbed him by the jacket and pulled him up.
"H-Hey!"
"Let him go!" I jumped at him, grabbing the arm that held Calem and trying to pull him free.
"Excuse-me" he repeated, grabbing me with as much ease as he had done Calem, and now effectively holding us both in a considerable distance from each other and from his body, in a way that our kicks and punches could hardly reach him.
"Take these children into custody" He ordered, pulling us to the Admins.
Charizard stomped and roared behind us, protesting… but one glance from Lysandre put his rage in check, and we were again dragged towards the strange pair.
I faced their evil smiles, scowling at them and swearing, mentally trying to come up with a plan. The woman stretcher her hand, presumptuously waiting to grab me… I kicked the floor, tightened my legs, tried to resist… but neither mine, nor Calem's efforts to stop Lysandre seemed to give him the least trouble. The skinny, pale fingers adorned with red nail polish approached, and how ardently I despised them now! Closing my eyes, I fought harder, wishing to escape…
I opened them again when a gushing hot air blew across my face – a fire blaze flew furiously through the space between us, the woman immediately retracting her hand having suffered a burn caused by the hot air alone – the attack itself had dodged us by very little.
"What the hell?" she swore, jumping back.
I turned my neck, looking over Lysandre's great hand on my shoulder – Delphox pointed his wand, the fire swirling around the tip of it. From behind him, Shauna jumped out.
"Why are you just standing there?! Stop them!" The woman ordered angrily, and her Mightyena and Swalot ran ahead.
Lysandre turned around, still pulling us with him – Trevor and Tierno were also there: Raichu and Crawdaunt by their sides.
"Guys!" Calem smiled.
"Their Pokémon are weak!" I warned "Go for the admins!"
Lysandre swirled us around, disoriented, trying to both dodge attacks and keep track of the battle as a confusion of Pokémon surrounded us. Calem didn't miss his cue – using the man's distraction, he held Lysandre's arm in both his hands and kicked the side of his knee. The gigantic man groaned faintly, and Calem pulled himself free, automatically running back. I tried to do the same, but Lysandre's grip tightened, pulling me closer to his torso as he stretched his arm trying to reach Calem.
"We'll hold them here, go inside and take care of that weapon!" Trevor astutely yelled from a distance.
Calem hesitated, moving confusedly from one side to the other, trying to position himself in the fight – searching for ways to help the guys, or a place where to hit Lysandre hard enough to set me free of his hand.
"Go!" I yelled, and it still wouldn't have sufficed, if it weren't for an Admin realizing his attempt and aiming an attack at him.
Giving us one last glance, Calem ran to the elevator, and fortunately managed to close the door behind him in time to escape Team Flare.
I smiled, much more relieved now. Lysandre turned back to the fight, his body shaking with tension.
Team Flare's defeated Pokémon piled up, and Trevor, Tierno and Shauna loudly celebrated their ongoing victory – the mood was still chaotic, the voices were many, and most of them hard to make out. Lysandre moved me around – he turned here and there, potentially forgetting there was a living person under his grasp; tried to issue an order no one understood, waited for a break in the noise, then screamed at his subordinates, only to have his thunder voice blended with the Pokémon's cries. No one could hear him, however louder his voice grew moved by a growing rage… Until it snapped!
"That's enough!" He roared at the top of his lungs, bringing silence to everyone around. As soon as he attested he had his crew's attention, he launched me at them, pushing me with enough strength to steal my balance so I couldn't run off, and the two admins held me by the arms, one at each side, forcing me down on my knees.
Without pronouncing a word on his intention, Lysandre paced in my friends' direction. He picked up a pokeball from his blazer, sent it forward, and out went an intimidating Gyarados.
Hope ended as quickly as it came, then: The guys' party was easily wiped out.
"I won't repeat my notice!" Lysandre threatened.
"Well, we won't back off!" Tierno challenged, shaking a chubby fist.
"We'll stand by our friends, no matter what!" Shauna pursued in her cheesy cuteness.
"We have to help Calem!" Trevor struggled with himself.
I moved my eyes to Charizard, who obediently watched from my side. I eyed him long enough for him to look at me – wounded pride burned in his pupils, like they did with Sycamore…
"Well, buddy…" I started, facing him intently. The flame burned brighter "You can hold that big guy, can't you?!"
His nostrils widened in a quick huff, his wings also silently moving, preparing. I smiled confidently.
"Let's go!" Trevor broke off, running courageously ahead like one devoid of reason. Shauna and Tierno, for lack of a better plan, followed.
Lysandre turned quickly and merely pointed – the serpent-like body of his Gyarados swiftly slid by, giving chase to them.
"Go, Charizard!" I ordered, and his heavy steps echoed loudly as they hit the floor.
The gang stopped before the elevator door and braced themselves as Gyarados thrashed in their direction, meeting my stubborn Charizard on the way and almost pushing him against them.
Charizard sunk his claws on the ground, taking in the impact, and with his arms he held Gyarados back by the fangs.
Shauna's worried eyes turned to me.
"He won't hold it for long – go!" I yelled.
"Alright, let's deactivate that thing!" Tierno stirred and, just like Calem had done, the trio disappeared inside the elevator. The door quickly closed after them.
It was all I could do – and as far as Charizard could go. My heart throbbed with the thrill of adrenaline one last time, then beat calmly, relieved. Everyone had succeeded in invading Team Flare's hideout and I was the only one left outside, doing what I did best: getting captured. This time it didn't matter though - this time I smiled as the admin nervously called Lysandre, whose emotions were unreadable by now, but probably oscillated from rage and madness. I wasn't afraid of what any of them could do to me, as long as that weapon was being dealt with.
Gyarados stretched his mouth open as far as he could, while Charizard still struggled with holding his fangs. I thought he could swallow my Pokémon in one mouthful if he managed to break free…
Lysandre walked up to where I was being held. He examined me from his superior height with a cold blue glance framed by tensed crimson eyebrows.
"How very noble…" he declared, little impressed "That even under your current circumstances you should still have a hindering card up your bound sleeve"
Though he paid me a confusing compliment, I felt a poignant pain of shame and wounded pride by kneeling before him as I did – with my arms firmly seized and held open, as if he was some sort of king at whose mercy I lay, defeated.
"Formidable, indeed!" he observed, seemingly pointing out something that poured from my eyes "Sycamore was right in recommending me beware of your small tricks, I was right in recommending him be aware of your potential! The first time I saw you, I knew this was to be expected, however undeveloped that same flame was back then!"
He seized my coat and removed me from their hold, pulling me against his torso, where he passed his arm around my waist and lift my body, neutralizing any escape attempt I might invest on.
"Gyarados, you fool!" He mildly shook his head from one side to the other as he passed our Pokémon on his way to the elevator "Your targets have fled already. I don't remember ordering you to hold such a pointless confrontation!" and, lifting his Pokeball, Gyarados got called back – Charizard tumbled to the ground, too stubbornly engaged in holding his adversary to let go.
"Bring her Pokémon, too!" Lysandre ordered his crew as he carried me into the elevator.
