Distance over Time

by johnny3gud

Serena was always content to wait, but when she receives an opportunity for a new start, she finds that life isn't so patient. Separated from Ash, she isn't sure what's more daunting - losing him, or making things right again. Either way, one thing is certain - she will find out exactly what absence does to the heart. Part three of The Camera Eye series.

16. Falling into Infinity

Chapter Sixteen – Falling into Infinity

Bewildered, Serena gazed up at Monsieur Pierre.

"Please, mademoiselle, I understand that this must be terribly confusing, but I must urge you that time is of the essence."

Cautious, Serena reached up and took hold of Monsieur Pierre's hand. With a delicate yet firm grip, Pierre pulled her up to her feet. Serena watched as he did the same for Aria.

"Are you injured, my queen?"

Aria dusted off her knees. Her enigmatic smile returned. It was the first time Serena had seen it in weeks.

"No," said Aria. "I'm unharmed, somehow."

"Good," said Pierre. "We will have more time to discuss everything later. For now, we must act quickly. We have no time to waste. I shall gather the others and explain the situation."

When Pierre turned, he stopped. Serena stood in his path. As confused as ever, she stared at him. With her lips parted, she hesitated a moment before she spoke.

"I... want to thank you, but I'm not sure if I should," she said.

"Please do not, mademoiselle. We do not have the time, nor am I worthy of your gratitude."

Serena did not understand. She blinked and shook her head a few times. Pierre had already stepped past her.

"Why are you in such a hurry? What's wrong?"

"We have not yet secured the Kalos Queen's safety," said Pierre, stopping to look back over his shoulder. "We must evacuate, posthaste."

"Evacuate?"

"Emergency personnel will undoubtedly swarm the premises in a matter of minutes, mademoiselle. We must not be here when they arrive."

Monsieur Pierre turned and resumed his brisk walk in the direction of Ash and the others. Uncertain what to think, Serena looked around. Aria stood a short distance away. With her hands in her back pockets, she watched the flames rise from the massive hole left behind by the blast. Delphox sat on the ground, her head bowed and her eyes closed, clearly exhausted. Serena walked over to her.

"Thank you. You can rest now. We're safe."

Delphox opened her eyes and looked up. Serena wasn't sure why, but as she returned Delphox to her Poké Ball, the way Delphox's eyes lingered on her made her heart miss a beat.

As Serena returned Delphox's ball to her bag, she saw Diantha standing in the distance. Much like Aria, Diantha gazed at the growing fire inside the mansion. Looking troubled, she held one hand against her cheek, and she cradled the elbow of that arm in her other hand. Serena saw her shoulders rise as she inhaled deeply, then sink again as she slowly let it all out.

All was quiet. The dim afternoon light was beginning to change shades to orange and red as the sun approached the horizon. Snowflakes fell steadily now. Serena wasn't certain, but she thought she saw the glint of tears in the corners of Diantha's eyes.

"Everyone, if I may have your attention, please!"

Monsieur Pierre called from the center of the courtyard. On the opposite side, Serena saw everyone else standing there with him. With the exception of Pikachu, everyone's Pokémon had been returned to their Poké Balls. Pikachu was not in his usual place on Ash's shoulder. Ash did not look capable of supporting him. He could not even support himself. Looking like he had just been in a fight himself, he was supported on both sides by Clemont and Korrina, one arm over each of their shoulders.

Serena looked back, and she saw both Aria and Diantha walking toward Monsieur Pierre and the others. She joined them.

With everyone gathered, Monsieur Pierre spoke again.

"I beg everyone's pardon that we have not had an opportunity to communicate openly about this situation until now. The queen and I only had a brief chance to discuss these matters in private this morning. As I understand it, you all have procured a private aircraft in which the queen can travel to a safe location. Is this correct?"

"Yes, that's correct," said Lillie. "The jet belongs to the foundation run by my family. The destination is a private island in the middle of the ocean, near Alola."

"And this location is safe?" said Pierre.

"It's a protected sanctuary," said Lillie. "No one can enter or leave without prior authorization from the foundation."

"Have you received the required authorization for the queen to enter?"

"My brother is aware of Aria's situation. He is the acting president. He has given her permission to stay there."

"And what about the rest of you?"

"The rest of us?"

Lillie's question was echoed by the skeptical looks on everyone else's faces.

"Mademoiselle, you and your friends will not be safe here in Kalos in the aftermath of what has taken place here today. Madame Palermo's reach and influence are vast. You will be wanted by the law and reviled by the general public until the truth is understood. All of you must leave the region until then."

"We can't just leave here!" said Bonnie. "This is our home!"

"I understand your reticence, mademoiselle, but it is the only way to guarantee your safety."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes and pouted at Monsieur Pierre.

"Are you a good guy now, or what?" she said.

"That is a question that is too complicated for me to answer in the limited time we have, but insofar as you are concerned, the answer is yes, mademoiselle."

Bonnie crossed her arms. She did not look convinced.

"So, we've all gotta get on the plane?" said Ash.

"Yes, that is correct," said Pierre.

"We do indeed need to hurry, then," said Clemont. "We have been fortunate so far that the cold front arrived later than expected, but as you can see, it is here now."

Clemont held out his hand. In the few seconds of silence that followed, several snowflakes landed and melted in his palm.

"I confess that I know little about either aviation or meteorology," said Pierre, "but from what little I understand, I strongly suspect that we do not have much time before all flights at the airport are grounded until the storm passes."

"Yes, agreed," said Clemont. He wiped his hand on his coveralls. "At this rate, I would guess we have about an hour until conditions deteriorate to the point that takeoff becomes too dangerous and air traffic control shuts down the airport."

Monsieur Pierre nodded grimly.

"It is as I feared, then," he said. "We will need to get all of you to the airport as soon as possible."

He turned his head back toward the mansion, then grimaced.

"Unfortunately, the best method we had for transporting everyone is no longer an option."

Pierre's eyes landed on the limousine in which Diantha and the security guards had arrived. Or rather, the remains of it. A massive chunk of marble from the mansion had fallen on it. It had been crushed like a tin can. Shattered glass littered the ground around it, the grisly remains of all the windows being blown out by the impact.

"There should still be two more vehicles available in the garage," said Pierre. "Neither of them is large enough to carry all of us, though. We will require two drivers, and therein lies another problem."

Pierre's eyes shifted to the scene in front of the mansion's front steps. The dozen security guards and their defeated Pokémon all lay there strewn about in the aftermath of the battle, unconscious.

"Regrettably, all of our other drivers are indisposed," said Pierre.

"Hey!" said Korrina. "How were we supposed to know what you were gonna do? You tried to stop us!"

"I admit, by all appearances you were right to assume me to be your adversary," said Pierre. "I do wish, however, that my pleas to refrain from violence had been heeded."

Korrina made an awkward face. She raised a hand to the back of her head.

"Did you really think we wouldn't fight back when we were surrounded by a bunch of thugs?" she said.

Monsieur Pierre gave Korrina a flat, disappointed glance.

"No, mademoiselle, I did not. Was it really necessary that you knock out all of them, though? Was defeating their Pokémon not enough?"

Korrina made a forced, toothy smile and let out a nervous laugh.

"I just... wanted to be sure they couldn't stop us," she said.

"Regardless of the motivation, we are now in the predicament of needing two vehicles but having only one person capable of driving," said Pierre.

Serena looked over her shoulder. She found that she was not the only one who had turned their attention to Diantha. Diantha noticed all of the eyes on her and gave everyone a bashful look.

"Sorry to disappoint you all, but I've never driven a car in my life," she said. She waved her hands, visibly embarrassed. "I've been chauffeured everywhere since I was a little girl. That's how celebrity life works."

With pursed lips, Aria nodded.

"It's the same for me," she said. "I may be old enough, but I've never had the chance to learn."

"And none of you have any driving experience, I presume?" Pierre asked, glancing at everyone else.

While everyone else shook their heads, Korrina slowly raised her hand. As she did, another toothy, awkward grin crept onto her face.

"I have a learner's permit, actually," she said.

Monsieur Pierre clenched his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Merde..." he muttered.

---

A few minutes later, Serena found herself on the most awkward car ride of her life. She and Lillie sat in the back seat, while Aria sat in the passenger seat opposite Monsieur Pierre, who drove. Serena stared out the window as they sped through the empty streets, the roads slowly but surely beginning to accumulate snow. There was nothing more for her to do. She was merely along for the ride.

In the seat in front of her, Aria remained similarly quiet. She had been reduced to nothing more than cargo. All the while, Lillie spoke over the video phone built into the console, making arrangements with Gladion. The Aether Foundation's private jet was at the airport. The pilot and the crew had all departed to stay the night at a hotel. They would all have to be summoned back immediately. They were not going to be happy about it, and it was going to take some time.

Time, as Lillie and Monsieur Pierre both emphasized, that they could not afford to waste.

Serena looked back over her shoulder. She had lost sight of the other car. Considering who was behind the wheel, Serena could only imagine how wild their ride was. Despite their speed, she wondered if Korrina had somehow already beaten them to the airport.

Serena's focus returned as Lillie's phone call ended. As Monsieur Pierre rounded a turn, the tires skidding momentarily on the icy road, Serena saw the airport looming in the distance. Sunset approached.

Lillie sighed.

"I'm not sure we're going to be able to take off in time," she said. "There's so much that needs to be done..."

As she trailed off, the sound of the windshield wipers punctuated the silence. The blades pushed the snowflakes aside, forming a clear arc on the windshield, surrounded by white.

"It's really getting worse out here, isn't it?" said Lillie. "I'm... I'm worried."

"I understand your concern, mademoiselle," said Pierre. "I am afraid that at this point, there is only so much we can do."

"Yes, I understand that, too," said Lillie. "Shouldn't we have a backup plan, though? What do we do if the plane can't take off in time? What if the police show up to stop us?"

"Although I typically detest conducting my business in such a manner, I confess that I am unfortunately operating without a proper plan at this point," said Pierre. "While my gambit essentially worked, it did not exactly go according to plan."

"Your gambit?" said Lillie. "What do you mean?"

"Madame Palermo believed that Master Ash would not be able to defeat Madame Diantha. I believed the opposite."

"You were right about that, weren't you?" said Lillie.

"Not entirely," said Pierre. "I expected Madame Diantha's defeat to lead swiftly and directly to Madame Palermo's downfall. Much to our chagrin, there has been nothing swift nor direct about it."

Lillie looked at Serena.

"She was caught in the explosion, wasn't she?" Lillie asked.

Serena nodded.

"Delphox got me and Aria out of there just in time," she said. "Florges tried to block the blast, but she was too late. I saw Palermo... fall inside."

Lillie's jaw tightened. She swallowed, then looked down at her lap. In a hushed tone, she spoke again.

"She's... dead, isn't she?"

Serena's heart lurched at the word. She knew right away that she had felt it for a while, the creeping sense of dread as though it were waiting right around a dark corner, the inevitable consequence of the perpetual escalation of this affair. Despite all of the close calls she had experienced in her travels, death had never truly seemed possible. For the first time, it felt real. Palermo was never going to stop until someone was dead.

It was obvious, and it should have been obvious all along. As Serena realized it, her heart accelerated, and her palms dampened with sweat.

"I am afraid it is far more likely that she is alive and well, mademoiselle."

Lillie abruptly looked up again.

"Are you serious?" said Lillie. "Do you really think she survived that?"

"As long as Madame Palermo has Florges with her, I have no reason to doubt her safety."

"But... the explosion!" said Lillie. "And the fire..."

"Impossible as it may seem, I have learned never to underestimate Madame Palermo, mademoiselle. Perhaps she did meet her demise today, but if I know her at all, I have no reason to believe that she will go so quietly."

"That was quiet?" said Lillie.

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

"I hope we don't get to find out what she would consider to be loud, then."

"I share your hope, mademoiselle."

The snow grew heavier and heavier as they approached the airport. By the time they reached the terminal loop, their progress had slowed to a crawl. Serena gazed woefully at the glass façade of the immense building as they crept past. She remembered her previous visits to this place. One of them she remembered all too well. The other she barely remembered at all.

She broke free from her reverie when Pierre made an unexpected turn. Serena double-checked the sign on the nearby gate.

AUTHORIZED ACCESS ONLY

Both Serena and Lillie opened their mouths to say something at the same time. As if expecting it, Monsieur Pierre answered the question before it could be asked.

"Yes, we are authorized," he said. "Or, to be more precise, I am."

They approached a fence. It was topped with barbed wire. A bright yellow sign affixed to it warned that it was electrified. A gatehouse stood before it. They slowed as they rolled up to the gate. As they stopped, a guard emerged from the tiny building. Monsieur Pierre rolled down his window. He produced some kind of badge from his coat pocket and handed it to the guard.

"Good evening," said Pierre.

"Ay, Pierre!" said the guard. He took the badge from Pierre. "Going on holiday, huh?"

"Indeed, monsieur," said Pierre.

The guard flipped the badge over in his hands once, taking only a cursory glance at it. Seemingly satisfied, he handed it back to Monsieur Pierre.

"Somewhere warmer, I hope," said the guard.

"Hoenn is supposed to be lovely this time of year, from what I have heard," said Pierre.

"Ah, making me jealous!" said the guard. He stepped back from the window. "Have a good trip!"

"Thank you," said Pierre. He pressed a button, and his window rolled up. The guard stepped back inside the guardhouse. A moment later, the gate ahead of them swung open.

They passed through. The gate shut behind them. Serena looked back and saw the guard take a sip of coffee before picking up a newspaper, not a care in the world.

"As you can see, airport security is rather lax when one has the appropriate connections," said Pierre.

Serena wasn't certain whether to be relieved or alarmed. Her mind quickly shifted away from that thought as they proceeded down several private roads. Acutely aware of being somewhere she was not supposed to be, Serena's stomach tied itself in knots as they passed hangar after hangar, the numbers slowly increasing. At last, they turned.

They pulled up in front of yet another massive building made of sheet metal, completely nondescript and identical to all the others save for the number on the sign over the giant sliding doors.

Hangar 18

Monsieur Pierre stopped the car. Lillie was quick to open her door and step outside.

"Gladion said the jet was parked here," she said. "He told me the passcode. Hopefully it will work. Just a minute, please!"

Lillie hurried to the side door of the hangar, keeping her head down as she ran through the snow. While everyone else waited for her, Serena watched as snowflakes landed on the windshield and melted from the heat inside the car, trailing down the glass as nothing but water droplets.

After entering several numbers on the keypad next to the door, Lillie pressed one final button. She turned the handle. The door opened. She waved back to everyone in the car. All at once, Monsieur Pierre shut off the engine and the remaining three car doors opened. Everyone hurried to join Lillie at the door.

It was dark inside the hanger. Lillie took a few cautious steps.

"I can't see anything in here," she said. "There must be a light switch somewhere."

Serena reached for her bag and pulled out Delphox's ball. A moment later, the flame from Delphox's wand illuminated the area. Aria wandered toward an electrical panel on the wall near the door. She flipped a switch. There was a loud, echoing click, followed by a buzz. Then, the lights above flickered to life.

In the dim fluorescent glare, Serena at last saw their target, the entire reason why they had come to this place. A jet towered before them in the middle of the hangar, solid white save for a gold symbol on the tail rudder.

"This is it, I presume?" said Pierre. His hands folded behind his back, he took a few meandering steps toward it, then stopped, his footsteps echoing all around.

"Yes," said Lillie. She gave an affirmative nod.

"Very good," said Pierre. "Now we wait for the others."

In the quiet of the minutes that followed, Lillie busied herself with looking over the jet. Serena was sure it was nerves driving Lillie. She knew Lillie had many levels of hidden depths, but she had serious doubts that Lillie knew anything about aircraft. For one, she figured that Lillie's escape from the Aether Paradise would have come much sooner if she had known how to fly a plane.

Beside her, Serena noticed Delphox's evident exhaustion. An idea came to her, and she called out Ribombee. Ribombee used Pollen Puff on Delphox. In a matter of moments, Delphox's fatigue vanished.

Once Serena returned Ribombee to her ball, she noticed Aria and Monsieur Pierre engaged in a conversation some distance away. Unsure if she was supposed to hear any of it, she wandered toward them.

"Truly, my queen, my sincerest apologies," said Pierre. "My conduct has been disgraceful. I should have taken action much sooner. I have failed in my mission to protect you."

"Pierre, you saved us," said Aria. "I should be thanking you."

"I was cowardly, my queen. I have disgraced you. I did not have the courage to oppose Madame Palermo without assistance, nor the strength. I allowed my duties to coexist at cross purposes with each other for far too long. Had I been a man of greater integrity, perhaps I could have liberated you from her long ago."

"It's not your fault," said Aria. "We... needed help. I was too stubborn to accept it."

"You are a proud queen," said Pierre. "You have every reason to be. You refused to let her win. You were the first. For that above all else, you have reason to be proud."

"Pierre..."

"There is no shame in needing help, my queen. Everyone, from royals to the common man, needs help at some point. It is a fact of life."

"I wish I hadn't needed it."

"My queen, it brings me such joy to see that despite what Madame Palermo inflicted upon you, you were still able to form bonds with others such that they chose to help you in your hour of need, despite the danger."

Aria went tight-lipped for a moment and gazed at her feet.

"I wish I shared your view," she said.

"I do not expect that you would see this the same way I do, my queen."

"I feel like Palermo has beaten me, utterly and completely."

"I assure you she has not."

"I can't do anything to help myself anymore. I'm completely at the mercy of others. This is all out of my hands now."

"How fortunate, then, that you have made such capable friends."

"Pierre... Palermo won. I failed."

"If I may, my queen, please allow me to say that I hold a different opinion."

"Are you actually asking permission?"

"It would be most improper for me not to do so, my queen."

Aria shifted awkwardly.

"You don't need to be so formal," she said. "Palermo isn't here. You can speak freely. You know I never asked you to address me that way."

"I beg your pardon, mademoiselle," said Pierre. "As I am certain you understand, habits acquired over the course of many years can be challenging to break. Dare I say it, they are perhaps the most stubborn things of all."

"Just say what you want to say," said Aria. "It's okay, whatever it is."

Pierre straightened himself as if searching for the courage to speak.

"Well, mademoiselle, what I wish to say is this. I do not believe you to be a failure in any respect, certainly not in regard to your resistance to Madame Palermo's oppression. Despite your perception of the situation, what I know to be true is that you have succeeded where no one else ever has. You, and you alone, had the courage to resist. Your indomitable spirit has triumphed, mademoiselle. I have never been more honored to call you my queen."

Aria tightened her lips again. She swallowed. Serena was unsure at first if she saw tears forming in Aria's eyes, but she was certain of it once she heard Aria sniffle.

"Oh, dear," said Pierre. He reached into his coat pocket and handed Aria a handkerchief. "My sincere apologies, mademoiselle. I am terribly sorry for upsetting you."

Aria took the handkerchief and dabbed her eyes with it. She sniffled again. She looked up at Pierre and shook her head.

"Don't apologize, please," said Aria. "You didn't upset me."

"Still, that was terribly improper of me," said Pierre. "I am most embarrassed of my conduct."

"No, it was not, and you have no reason to be embarrassed," said Aria. She dabbed her eyes with the handkerchief again. "Now, please, come here."

Monsieur Pierre appeared deeply confused. He was already standing at arm's length from Aria.

"Closer, mademoiselle?" he said.

"Yes."

"I am afraid I don't understand, mademoiselle. This seems rather improper, don't you think?"

"Not at all," said Aria.

"I… am most concerned about this, mademoiselle."

"Pierre, I am giving you a hug," said Aria. "Please, if you feel that you can, return my embrace."

"Is… that an order, mademoiselle?"

"If that's what it will take to get you to share a hug with me, then yes, it is."

"Very well, mademoiselle."

Still clutching Monsieur Pierre's handkerchief in one hand, Aria closed the distance between the two of them and wrapped her arms around him. The shorter one for once, she placed her forehead against his shoulder. Tentatively, Monsieur Pierre placed his hands on Aria's back.

"Thank you, Pierre," said Aria. "Thank you for everything."

"It has been my pleasure, my queen."

Aria lingered for a while. As she did, Serena watched, transfixed, her eyes stuck on one particular detail. Pierre's handkerchief stuck out between Aria's fingers, the white fabric contrasting sharply against his black coat.

For a moment, Serena felt her mind, body, and entire being leave the present. For a moment, she was far in the past, reliving an embrace from long ago. It was an embrace that was mostly accidental, but involved a handkerchief and a surprising savior just the same.

Before Serena was ready to go, the moment ended. Her vision returned, and she saw Aria and Monsieur Pierre part. Aria gazed up at him, a bittersweet smile on her face.

"I have one more order to ask of you, if you are willing," said Aria.

"Of course, my queen."

Aria's eyes drifted toward the airplane, and toward the gigantic hangar doors which had yet to open. Near the center of the hangar, Lillie struggled to push a set of rolling stairs toward the plane. Aria wet her lips, then held Pierre's gaze for a moment.

"When I'm… gone," she began, "I need you to do something for me."

"Anything you wish."

"I need you to be my voice in my absence," said Aria. "I need you to tell the world about what happened."

"A daunting task, my queen, but I shall do my best."

"And I need you to tell everyone that… that I am not going to be their queen anymore."

Pierre appeared horrified.

"Mademoiselle! Certainly you do not mean to-"

"I do mean to, Pierre," said Aria. "I do."

"I… I cannot in good faith do such a thing!"

"It is my final request to you, Pierre. Please tell Kalos that I am their queen no longer. That is my last order. Effective immediately, I hereby abdicate my title of Kalos Queen."

Speechless, Serena gazed at Aria in astonishment equal to Monsieur Pierre's. Across the hangar, she saw Lillie stop pushing the staircase for a moment and look at them all.

"Mademoiselle Aria, I- I cannot possibly-!"

"That was an order, Pierre," said Aria. "Please, I implore you, carry it out on my behalf."

"What am I to say?" said Pierre.

"Tell the truth," said Aria. "Tell the world what I cannot."

"With all due respect, mademoiselle, I believe the world will be much more receptive to this message were it to be delivered by you."

"I can't deliver it," said Aria. "I won't be here. It's the same reason why I cannot remain Kalos Queen any longer. A queen cannot reign from afar."

Tight-lipped and pensive, Monsieur Pierre lowered his eyes in thought for a moment.

"I don't know how long it will take for everything here in Kalos to calm down, but this is one storm I can't weather," said Aria. "I have endured enough on my own. I am certain you understand."

"Yes, mademoiselle, I do," said Pierre. Damp-eyed himself, he looked back up at Aria. "Kalos will miss you."

Aria sighed. She turned her head and looked at Lillie, who continued to struggle with the mobile stairs. She turned to Monsieur Pierre again.

"Now, I have a request for you," said Aria. "Not an order! I don't give those anymore. I am no longer a queen."

Pierre dabbed his own eyes with the handkerchief and hastily shoved it back into his coat pocket.

"Yes, of course, mademoiselle," he said. "What is your request?"

"If you would be so kind, could you please help Lillie with those stairs?"

Aria pointed to Lillie over her shoulder. Pierre nodded.

"Certainly, my queen," he said. Briskly, he began to walk away, but he stopped when Aria spoke.

"I'm not royalty anymore," said Aria. "You don't have to call me your queen anymore."

Monsieur Pierre looked aside for a moment, then met Aria's eyes with a bittersweet smile of his own.

"Mademoiselle, you will always be my queen."

---

A few minutes later, Serena stood in the cockpit of the jet, behind the pilot's seat. Lillie sat in the pilot's seat, speaking with Gladion over the videophone.

"You're running out of time," said Gladion. "If I'm reading these maps correctly, Lumiose City is going to be in a total whiteout in less than an hour."

"I'm sure that's correct," said Lillie, nodding grimly. "The snow was getting heavier on our way here."

Looking rather annoyed, Gladion tapped his fingers on his forehead.

At least, Serena supposed he was annoyed. Annoyance seemed to be Gladion's default expression.

"If you all don't get off the ground soon, you won't be going anywhere for at least a day," said Gladion.

"Master Gladion, we cannot afford such a delay," said Monsieur Pierre. He stood in the entrance to the cockpit, with Aria lingering behind him. "The pilot and crew are on their way, yes?"

"If they aren't, they're going to pay for it when they get back here," said Gladion. "I made it very clear to them that this is a serious situation. If this lady you're running from is really as bad as you say, she may give our mother a run for her money."

Serena saw Aria look away from the screen, her reflection visible in the cockpit window. Lillie nodded.

"She is certainly every bit as devious, if not more so," said Lillie. "We… may have put her out of commission earlier. We're not certain, though."

"Out of commission?" said Gladion.

Lillie bit her lip. Her eyes downcast, she nodded. Gladion shook his head.

"Where are the others?" he said. "I thought you said Ash was going to be here."

"They were in another car," said Lillie.

"I know that. You told me earlier!" said Gladion. "Why aren't they with you all yet? You've been at the hangar for a while now, haven't you? Where are they?"

"We don't know!" said Lillie. "How could we?"

Gladion shook his head again.

"Master Gladion, we were in the unfortunate circumstance of needing to resort to an inexperienced driver in these inclement weather conditions," said Pierre. "Madame Diantha undoubtedly will be able to get them through the security checkpoint through which we passed, but them making it to that checkpoint is another matter entirely. I understand your frustration with the matter, but it is not clear that there is anything we can do. If you happen to know, is there anything we can do in the meantime to expedite the departure process when the remaining passengers and the crew arrives?"

Gladion frowned in concentration. He examined several other screens around him at his desk.

"The plane needs to be refueled, but I'm not sure if you can do that without your pilot," he said. "Right now, you've only got enough fuel to last a couple of hours in the air. Not nearly enough to make it all the way here."

"Pardon my questioning, but would that be enough to leave Kalos?" said Pierre. "With time of the essence, our highest priority is to get Madame Aria out of Kalos as quickly as possible. Would it be possible to land this plane somewhere outside of Kalos to stop for refueling?"

"It could be," said Gladion. "It's a pain, though. I would have to contact the airport where you all land and explain the situation. I'd rather not. They might not take kindly to it."

"Gladion, please," said Lillie. "We need to leave as soon as we can."

Gladion grimaced, focusing on another screen.

"It's not ideal," said Gladion. "If you have to land somewhere else, that's another opportunity for someone to stop you. It's safest if you are able to make the flight without stopping."

"It would be safer than waiting here if Madame Aria could take off as soon as everyone arrives," said Pierre. "I do not believe that we can risk waiting around any longer, for a multitude of reasons."

Gladion clutched his forehead.

"Fine," he said. "I'll see what I can do. No promises though, alright?"

"Yes, thank you," said Lillie.

"I'm going to be on mute for a bit while I make some calls," said Gladion. "Don't hang up, alright?"

"Okay," said Lillie.

Gladion reached toward the screen. There was a click, and the sound from his end cut out. He turned toward another screen.

Lillie stood up and faced everyone else.

"There must be more we can do to prepare," she said.

"I confess that this is not my area of expertise, mademoiselle," said Pierre.

Serena noticed Aria's reflection in the cockpit window again. Her arms folded, Aria turned away, gazing at the floor. Serena stared for a second, but then her eyes lost focus and slipped beyond the reflection. They landed on the gigantic doors on the far side of the hangar.

"Don't we need to open those doors?" Serena said, pointing ahead. "The plane can't get out of here without opening them, right?"

"Oh, good idea!" said Lillie. "Those doors take a few minutes to open, from what I've heard. Better to get them open now."

"Indeed, an excellent idea," said Pierre. "I shall tend to it."

"Do you need help?" said Lillie. "I would offer to go, but I think I need to stay here in case Gladion gets back to us with any news."

"I'll go," said Aria.

"Mademoiselle, for your safety, I believe it is best if you remain on board this plane, should anything go afoul."

Aria frowned at Pierre. She looked aside, then drew in a sharp breath through her nose.

"You're right," she said. Without another word, she stepped out of the cockpit and slumped into the very first passenger seat available.

Serena was wary of speaking up.

"I'll help, then," she said.

"Very well," said Pierre. "Let us hurry."

Serena followed Monsieur Pierre out of the cockpit. They passed by Aria, who sat gazing out a window, expressionless. Delphox waited by the door, keeping watch. They turned past her, then rapidly descended the stairs to the hangar floor.

Monsieur Pierre stopped and looked around.

"Do you see the switch anywhere?" said Serena. She narrowed her eyes and focused on the panel with the light switch. It did not look like anything else was there.

"I believe there are two switches," said Pierre.

"Two?" said Serena.

"One for each side of the door," said Pierre. He pointed with both hands in opposite directions along the far wall. "Look."

Serena looked. On the far wall, she saw two electrical panels that flanked the door. There was a lever on each one.

"I suspect they must both be opened at the same time, as a security measure," said Pierre. "Do you have a preference?"

It took Serena a moment to realize what Monsieur Pierre was asking her. She shook her head.

"Oh, no," she said.

"I shall take the left one, then."

The two parted ways, and Serena ran across the hangar to the right side. Her footfalls echoed through the hangar, with Monsieur Pierre's doing the same from afar. When she stopped and the echoes ceased, she looked over to the left side of the hangar. Monsieur Pierre had his hand on the lever. Serena took hold of the lever on her own panel.

"By my count!" called Pierre. "In three, two, one!"

Serena threw the switch. Monsieur Pierre did the same. For a second, nothing happened. Then, something rumbled, and a pair of motors rattled to life. The doors creaked, then parted. Slowly, they began to roll out of the way.

Serena looked and saw Monsieur Pierre walking toward the opening in the doors. He stopped in the middle, then tucked his hands behind his back. Curious, she approached him. As she did, she first saw a handful of snowflakes whirl about in the opening between the doors. Then, a cold gust hit her. She steadied herself as she stopped beside him.

Outside, the snow was steady. It showed no signs of stopping. What little unobscured sky had been visible earlier was now completely covered by low, gray, featureless clouds. It was darker. Sunset was mere minutes away. On the horizon, a semicircle of orange, pink, and violet indicated where the sun would have otherwise been visible.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" said Pierre.

Serena had a feeling that Pierre was not talking about only the sunset.

"Yes, it is," she said.

"I must admit, this has been a rather unexpected turn of events," said Pierre. "When I first encountered you, I never would have imagined that an amateur showcase performer would eventually become the one to save the Kalos Queen from her horrible fate."

Serena gave Monsieur Pierre a sideways glance.

"I didn't save her," she said. "I didn't even help that much. Honestly, I think I made everything worse."

"Mademoiselle, I mean no offense, but you are delusional," said Pierre.

"For once, I wish I was," said Serena.

"Preposterous," said Pierre. "You were the first person to ever see past Mademoiselle Aria's title. Not even I could do that, for far too long. You were the first to truly care about her. You have made all the difference in the world. For that, I thank you."

"Don't thank me," said Serena. "I've hurt Aria a lot more than I've helped her."

"Alas, you are so terribly mistaken," said Pierre.

"She and I can't even talk anymore!" said Serena.

"Not now, perhaps," said Pierre. "That will change one day. You two will both see the truth."

"What truth?"

"That you are a hero," said Pierre. "It does not matter how complex and tangled your personal affairs become. Nothing can change that truth."

"I'm not a hero," said Serena.

"Au contraire, mademoiselle," said Pierre. "You saved the Kalos Queen."

For a while, everything went quiet. The hum of the door motors and the whisper of the wind were the only sounds. Serena stood there with Monsieur Pierre, watching the snow fall. A thought came to her.

"Whether or not you think I'm a hero, you've got one thing wrong," said Serena.

"And what might that be?"

"I didn't do any of this for the Kalos Queen. I did it for Aria."

Monsieur Pierre nodded once. The corner of his mouth turned upward as he seemed to weigh Serena's words.

He appeared on the verge of saying something when the relative peace of the moment came to an abrupt end. In rapid succession came the wailing of sirens, the screeching of tires, and a loud crash. The hangar shook. Serena gasped.

"What was that?!" said Serena. She looked all around, searching every direction in rapid succession. She saw nothing.

Monsieur Pierre held one arm out in front of Serena, barring her from moving forward. He took a step backward, forcing her along with him. He jammed his other hand into his coat pocket.

"I believe that was our time running out," he said.

"You mean-?"

"Run! Go, now! To the plane!"

"But-!"

"I will hold them off! You must flee! Now!"

"But no one else is here!"

"Your plans have been changed!" said Pierre. He pushed Serena backward with one hand, separated from her. With his other hand, he withdrew a Poké Ball from his coat pocket.

Serena stared at him for a moment longer. He shot her one last glance before he stepped forward, a terrible, imperious look in his eye. He released Klefki from the ball.

Serena turned and ran. Sprinting for the stairs, she saw Aria leaning out the cabin door as she approached.

"What was that?" said Aria. "What's going on?"

Serena mounted the stairs. She climbed as fast as she could.

"It's the police!" she said.

"Where did Pierre go?"

"To hold them off!" said Serena. She waited until she reached the top of the stairs to continue. "We've got to get out of here!"

Agape, horrified, Aria looked from Serena to the cockpit and then back again.

"We're not ready!" said Aria. "The others aren't here! We don't even have a pilot!"

"We have to do something! There's no time!" said Serena. She pushed past Aria and ran to the cockpit. Lillie was looking back at her when she entered.

"Did I hear you say the police were here?" said Lillie.

"Yes!" said Serena. "Monsieur Pierre went to stop them. We have to get out of here, now!"

"I think so!" said Serena. "Monsieur Pierre went to stop her. We have to go now!"

Lillie froze. Serena knew that Lillie was about to express exactly the same opposition that Aria had. But then, before Lillie spoke, she hurried to spin around in her seat and jammed her finger down on a button on the control panel.

"Gladion! Gladion, come in! Are you there? We need to get out of here right now!"

For a few seconds, there was no reply. No one appeared on the screen.

"Gladion! This is an emergency!"

Gladion ran back into view. He reached for a button. The sound from his side clicked back on.

"What's going on?" he said.

"The police are here to stop us!" said Lillie. "We don't have a pilot! What do we do? We have to get out of here!"

Gladion held a hand against his forehead and swore under his breath. In the few seconds of tense silence that followed, Serena's heart jumped. She felt something.

Aria entered the cockpit. As she did, Serena looked back and saw Delphox behind her. Her eyes narrow, Delphox stared out the door.

She pulled her wand from her tail. It flared to life.

Serena already knew. She did not need to see what happened next.

Aria gasped. Serena turned her head, and she saw Palermo stroll into view, aided by a cane. Snow swirling around her, she stood before the open hangar doors, opposite Monsieur Pierre. There was a large bandage over one of her eyes, and one of her arms was in a sling. Beside her, Florges levitated, her silhouette rippling with indigo light.

Monsieur Pierre raised a hand. He called a move. Klefki began to vibrate. Serena expected to hear the familiar jingling sound. It never came.

Instead, Klefki abruptly snapped into a rigid, upright position, wreathed in indigo light. Then, as if pulled by a magnet from below, its arms bent straight down. Released from their hold, the keys Klefki carried fell, then shot toward the ground. Some scattered, ricocheting off the ground and the walls. Others became embedded in the concrete.

Then, there was a horrible, high-pitched, desperate squeal. Serena cringed. Lillie covered her eyes. Aria started to say something unintelligible and covered her mouth. As if caught in the grip of an unseen pair of hands, Klefki crumpled, crushed and compacted like an aluminum can.

Then, left as nothing but a tangled ball of wire, Klefki was thrown violently aside, leaving a deep dent in the metal wall before falling to the ground.

For a moment, everything was very still.

Then, Monsieur Pierre glowed with indigo light, and he left the ground.

Pulled by the collar, he flew toward Palermo and then stopped. He looked down at her, a horrified, paralyzed expression on his face. Palermo glared at him. Her one visible eye cold, she said only a few words.

Then, Monsieur Pierre was tossed aside like a ragdoll, rolling to a stop on the pavement of the tarmac outside. He did not move.

"Lillie?" said Gladion. "Lillie, can you hear me? What's going on?"

Lillie uncovered her eyes. She was visibly shaken. She looked at the screen.

"Lillie, what happened?" said Gladion.

"It's Palermo," said Aria. She grimaced. "She may have just… killed Monsieur Pierre and his Klefki."

"She what?!" said Gladion.

No one responded. Lillie placed her hands over her mouth. Her eyes wide open, she stared out the window.

Palermo turned to face the plane.

"Lillie, listen to me!" said Gladion.

Lillie did not move. Palermo hobbled another step forward.

"Lillie!"

Gladion's shout shook Lillie from her trance. She looked at the screen again.

"Lillie, you have to follow my instructions exactly, and you have to do it right now. Do you understand?"

Lillie stared at him. Very slightly, she nodded.

Gladion's eyes shifted.

"You! Red hair!"

Aria looked at Gladion.

"Aria, right?" he said.

"Yes."

"Get in the copilot seat. Buckle up. Both of you."

"Me?" Aria said, pointing at herself.

"Yes, you!" said Gladion. "There's no time! You two are taking this plane out on autopilot!"

"What?!" said Aria.

"What, do you want to die?" said Gladion.

"No!" said Aria. "That's why I said that! Are you insane? We can't fly this!"

"No, you can't," said Gladion. "But it can. Get in your seat."

Aria didn't move.

"Now!"

Gladion shifted his glance to Serena.

"You, close the door!"

"But the others aren't here yet!" said Serena.

"It's too late!"

"But-"

"Do you want to die, too? Go! Do it!"

Serena hesitated to respond. Seeing no other option, she ran for the door. Delphox stood in it, still as a statue.

"Delphox, we have to close this door!" said Serena.

Delphox did not move. If anything, Serena felt as though Delphox had somehow rooted herself more firmly in place.

"We have to go! We have to close the door! The plane is going to take off!"

Delphox still did not move. Instead, her fur rose and seemed to stand on end. Serena felt the energy radiating from her.

Seeing no other choice, Serena reached for her bag. She pulled out Delphox's Poké Ball.

"Delphox, re-"

Before she could say it, before she could even press the button, the ball ripped itself out of her hand and shoved itself back into her bag.

"Wha-?! Delphox, what are you doing?"

Delphox glowed. Then, Serena saw.

In the distance, Palermo limped her way toward the plane. Beside her, hovering in the air, Florges glared at Delphox. Serena was certain Delphox was returning the gesture.

"We don't have time for you two to have a rivalry!" said Serena. "Did you see what she did to Klefki and Monsieur Pierre? She's not here to battle! She's here to do that to all of us!"

Delphox did not move. Serena nearly toppled over. Out of nowhere, the plane roared to life. It began to move.

Serena grabbed onto a seat and righted herself. Stunned, she watched as the plane rolled slowly forward, the stairs outside slipping away.

She came up to the door and stuck her head outside. Palermo had stopped. Florges was levitating at the same height at which Delphox stood, eye to eye across the hangar. Slowly, the stairs slipped further and further out of reach.

Then, there was a metallic crash. The wing hit the stairs. A moment later, carried by the plane's incredible momentum, they toppled over onto the hangar floor.

All the while, Palermo stood still, simply watching. Serena stood there in the open door as they passed her. For a moment, their eyes met. Serena had never seen anyone look so utterly empty.

They passed the hangar door. Snowflakes streaked past.

"Delphox, we have to shut the door, now!"

At last, Delphox moved, but she did not move in the direction Serena wanted.

Delphox hopped out onto the wing of the plane.

"What are you doing?! Get back here!"

Serena looked out the door again. She saw Delphox aglow on the wing. Likewise, Florges flew through the air behind them, keeping pace.

The plane began to accelerate. Serena held onto the door frame for support. She could barely stand. The jet engines roared. Her heart seized. Were they really taking off directly from here? Was it even possible?

The airfoil on the wings moved into position. It left no doubt in her mind.

"Delphox!"

Delphox did not respond. Her fur whipping in the wind, the flame on her wand reduced to nothing more than a flicker of sparks and smoke, she stood fast on the wing, facing Florges. All the while, Florges kept pace with them, level with the tail of the plane.

The hangar, and Palermo inside it, receded in the distance. Outside the hangar, Serena saw an assortment of people and vehicles, emergency lights flashing everywhere. One car had crashed into the hangar. The others surrounded it.

Her heart skipped one beat, then another.

She recognized the crashed car.

Unable to look outside any longer, the wind threatening to tear her out of the plane, Serena pulled her head inside. Instinctively, she wanted to get down on the floor. Halfway down, she froze when a voice shouted over the intercom. It was Gladion.

"Shut the door!"

The wind forced Serena down onto her hands and knees. Too much for her eyes, she clenched them shut as she crawled along the wall toward the opening.

"There's too much drag! We can't take off with it open!"

Her teeth gritted, the wind whistled through them and tickled the back of her throat as she tried to stand, pulling herself upright along the open door frame. She tried to open her eyes. She was only able to open them a sliver before the lash of the wind became too great. With nothing but a slit of vision, she stuck her hand outside and reached for the handle on the door.

Immediately, it felt like the wind would drag her away. Clenching her fingers tight on the wall, she stretched herself. Slowly, she reached toward the handle, her fingertips tracing the cold metal of the door's exterior.

Then, there was a bump.

In an instant, it was all over. Perhaps they ran over something. Perhaps it was nothing more than a pothole on the tarmac, an acceptable defect in a place never intended to be used as a runway. All Serena knew was that for an instant, the door handle was within her reach, so tantalizingly close. The very next instant, she was no longer in the plane.

It happened too fast for her to understand, or even to scream. Her stable equilibrium disturbed, the wind took her. The next instant, there was no more solid ground, no more solid anything as the door sailed past, out of her reach. The next instant after that, she was face-to-face with the swirling jet engine, pulled toward it by the incredible suction. Serena expected that the next instant, if there was one, would be the one in which she was violently ripped apart, the abrupt, ignominious conclusion of her life.

But that moment did not come. Instead, she stopped in front of the jet engine, long enough to hear it roar. Petrified, utterly unable to move on her own, something else moved her.

Pulled up in midair above the screaming engine, Serena saw Delphox aglow, lifting her through the air, directing her movement with her wand in the same way a conductor might lead an orchestra. For several seconds, Serena did not feel her heart beat. She wondered if she was actually dead, and perhaps this was where she landed afterward, some bizarre offshoot of the afterlife where everything picked up where she left off.

But that was not where she was. She realized as Delphox hopped off the plane wing and slowed them, gently lowering themselves to the ground, that she was very much alive.

They landed. Delphox released the psychic hold on her. Stationary, Serena collapsed to the ground and gasped for air, her heart racing to make up for lost time. She rolled over onto her back and raised her head. Tilting badly toward one side, the plane rose from the ground.

Her heart pounded even harder. The door was still open.

The front wheel left the ground, then the rear wheels. The plane was not moving in a straight line. It veered sharply toward the side of the open door, held back by the drag of the wind. Yet, somehow, it rose steadily into the air.

Serena sat upright. The plane veered more and more toward that side. The wings tilted more and more, becoming ever closer to being perpendicular to the ground. The plane turned sharply, circling back in the direction of the hangar. As it went overhead, Serena's heart seized yet again.

The plane was sideways. There was no way for Lillie and Aria to shut the door. They wouldn't be able to get to it. Gravity was against them.

But then, once more, Serena's heart seemed to stop cold.

So did the plane.

Defying not only physics, but everything Serena thought she understood about the world, the plane stood still in the air overhead. The engines continued to roar, but they did nothing but blow hot air. They did not move the plane so much as an inch.

Instead, the plane began to glow, wrapped in indigo light.

Serena staggered to her feet and spun around. She saw Florges shining brighter than ever before, hovering high in the air, exerting incredible force upon the plane.

And behind her, Serena saw Palermo slowly limping her way out onto the tarmac.

She looked up at the plane again. It was not stationary anymore. Florges was pulling it toward the ground.

Serena looked at Delphox. Her eyes were already aglow. Her wand was raised.

"Delphox! You've got to break them free!"

Delphox's eyes brightened. Poised, she raised her wand high above her head, then gracefully lowered it in a sweeping motion, complete with a swish of air. At the bottom of the arc, she abruptly went rigid, then rose into the air. In perfect concentration, she pulled.

The plane moved, inching forward through the air. But then, as soon as that tiny bit of progress was made, Florges pulled even harder. Delphox growled. She pulled harder in turn.

Wind kicked up all around Serena, sending snowflakes swirling in all directions. The spark of an idea flared inside her mind. She recalled some wise words she had heard not even an hour earlier.

"You can't beat Florges with raw power!" said Serena. "It's no use! You need to use her strength against her!"

Delphox continued to growl. Her pull on the plane only intensified.

"Listen to me, please!" said Serena. "You can't win if you try to beat Florges like this!"

The plane shuddered. Metal creaked.

"You're going to rip the plane apart!" said Serena. "You're going to get Lillie and Aria killed! Stop it!"

Delphox continued to pull, but more gently. The plane inched closer and closer toward Florges, closer and closer toward the ground.

"Focus!" said Serena. "Close the door!"

Delphox growled again. The wind surrounding them intensified even further, radiating out from Delphox like a full gale. Shielding her eyes from the wind with one arm, Serena squinted and watched.

High above, the door which she had failed to close began to shut all on its own.

"Yes, that's it!" said Serena. "Keep it up! You're almost there!"

Several tense seconds passed. Then, Delphox stopped growling. The wind calmed. The door did not move. It was closed.

"Yes! Now, let Florges have exactly what she wants! Fling it at her!"

As quickly as the wind had died down, it flared to life again, even more intensely than before. Delphox's entire body shimmered with indigo light. Serena's head seared with pain to look at it. She shielded her eyes from both the wind and the light. Delphox shone like the sun, and for just a moment, Serena could have sworn she felt the ground shake.

The plane began to move, first slowly, then rapidly. In a matter of seconds, it accelerated to a frightening speed, leveling out as it made a steep dive toward the tarmac. Sensing what had happened, the light surrounding Florges dimmed. Merely floating in midair, she watched as the plane passed her overhead.

Serena prepared to run. The plane was surely going to crash, right before her eyes. It was moving too fast. There was no way to avoid it. She would be caught in the blast, having cheated death one minute only to be claimed by it the next. She staggered as she began to run, then tripped. She threw herself to the ground.

The plane roared. Hot air washed over her as it passed directly overhead, the shadow of its massive underbelly obscuring everything else. She closed her eyes and covered her head. It was mere feet from the ground. It was all over.

But the end never came.

Instead, when Serena opened her eyes a few seconds later, she saw the plane steadily rising into the sky like nothing had ever happened.

She sat up. She saw Delphox still in a trance, concentrating on the plane as it slipped further and further away. Beyond Delphox, she saw Florges' eyes begin to glow again.

She knew what was about to happen. Florges was going to pull the plane back again.

"Delphox, Fire Blast!"

Before Florges could react, Delphox's head snapped in her direction. Delphox snarled, and along with it came a massive blast of flame. Once again, Serena shielded her eyes. She saw Florges do the same just before the flames devoured her.

A moment later, the flames faded. Slightly charred, Florges continued to float in the air. Slowly, steadily, she lowered herself to the ground. Delphox, still glowing, did the same.

Delphox landed, and Serena ran over to her. The instant Serena placed a hand on her, the light surrounding her vanished. She doubled over, gasping for breath, exhausted.

Some distance away, Florges landed. Motionless otherwise, she leered into the distant sky. The plane was almost out of sight, a mere dot on the horizon.

"Delphox, are you okay?" said Serena. "Are you hurt?"

Delphox did not respond aside from more heavy, labored breaths.

"You did it!" said Serena. "They escaped! That was incredible!"

Delphox made a sound that was almost like a laugh. Serena wasn't sure how she knew, but she had a feeling the Delphox was every bit as amazed that it had actually worked.

Serena placed a hand on Delphox's back. She ran a hand through her fur. She was about to say something when her train of thought was completely derailed.

"Well, well."

Serena flinched in fright and looked up. Palermo stood beside Florges, a short distance away.

"How very gallant of you," said Palermo. "I'm certain you'll receive a hero's welcome when you join the rest of your friends in jail."

Serena looked past Palermo, over her shoulder. She squinted. In the distance, she could just barely make out the shapes of several figures. She saw Diantha being led away in handcuffs while Pikachu ran around frantically, desperately to explain. Meanwhile, right beside Pikachu, she was certain she saw Ash struggling as two police officers pinned him to the ground.

"Yes, the police are apprehending them as we speak," said Palermo. "Between your assault of me, your incredible destruction of property, trespassing, and reckless endangerment, I suspect that not one of you will spend another day of your lives outside of bars."

Serena's mouth opened, but nothing came out. A chill crept down her spine. Palermo's words were cold, almost lifeless, completely devoid of her usual sardonic, dramatic flair.

"Typically, I would take this opportunity to give you the choice to turn yourself over without a fight," said Palermo. "I truly do despise having blood on my hands. Unfortunately for you, though, I've already crossed that particular threshold today. Given the circumstances, I fail to see the harm in spilling a little more."

Taken aback, Serena inched away.

"What?" said Palermo. "Is this not what you expected to happen? Were you naïve enough to believe you would escape without facing the consequences? Did you believe you would simply break Aria free from my grasp and that I would let go? Have you learned anything at all? I do not let go so easily."

Serena did not respond. She stared at Palermo, breathless.

"Yes, you secured Aria's freedom," said Palermo. "Congratulations. The price is your own freedom. Were you prepared to pay it?"

Serena bit down on her lip and tightened her fists.

"I think not," said Palermo. "Of course, the grand irony in all of this is that you've achieved the same result that you would have if you had been willing to cooperate with me in the first place."

"You mean-"

"Had you agreed to become my protégé, I would have released Aria from my control. After all, she has less than a year remaining of her reign before she is no longer eligible to be the Kalos Queen. At the conclusion of the next master class showcase, she will no longer be useful to me. You, on the other hand, have a few more years of eligibility. You could have prevented this entire fiasco had you been more willing to listen to reason."

"I know you're a liar! I was never going to sign my life away to you!"

"And you never should have meddled in my affairs. But alas, you are a very foolish girl. That's all you are. You are nothing but a silly little girl."

"I would have been a fool to listen to you!"

"And you did. You believed me without hesitation when I gave you a false email address, and when I anonymously wired you money. You were all too willing to believe I had the best intentions in mind, despite Aria's warning. Such a pity she wasted her cleverness on you."

"If you think I'm so dumb, why do you even want me?"

"Because you are exceptionally impressionable. Rarely in my life have I had the opportunity to encounter anyone so easy to manipulate. Your revolting correspondence with Aria made it perfectly clear that your personal life was a powder keg waiting to explode. All I had to do was prevent a few letters from reaching you and plant a few words in the ears the appropriate authorities, and then sit back and watch the fireworks. I knew Aria would come running back to me eventually. It was only a matter of time."

Though the empty look in her eye did not change, Palermo's mouth contorted into a smile.

"Such a pity that all of your combined efforts have gone to waste."

"It wasn't a waste! Aria escaped! She saved me from you!"

"I think our present circumstances are the only evidence necessary to disprove that statement. You are very much in danger, my dear. Let me be perfectly clear about that."

Serena froze. A cold spike of panic shot through her heart.

"Aria is not here to save you now," said Palermo. "Quite frankly, it's astonishing that she ever tried. I have never met anyone so utterly resistant to reality and common sense as you. A lesser person would have surely given up after your repeated refusals to listen to her or understand anything. But lucky for you, she found you cute, so she kept trying. And in turn, you repaid her trust in you by providing me not only with all the information I needed to uncover her plot against me, but also with enough dirt on you to ensure that you would never be able to pose a serious threat to me. You brought this on yourself."

Serena grimaced. She stared at the pavement for a moment.

"Well, you're right about one thing," she said.

"I'm right about far more than just one thing," said Palermo. "But do tell, what have you decided to see my way after all?"

Serena glanced up at Palermo.

"I really did do this to myself," said Serena. "I can't argue with that. I've known that was true for a long time."

"How uncharacteristically perceptive of you," said Palermo. "Did you figure that out on your own?"

Serena stood.

"Yes, actually."

"Remarkable," said Palermo. "You managed to actually learn something substantive about yourself. What a marvelous achievement. For such an ordinary girl, anyway."

Beside Serena, Delphox continued to labor to breathe while hunched over on all fours.

"Don't care to argue that point, either, do you?" said Palermo. "I suppose it is obvious even to someone as profoundly resistant to new ideas as you. There is nothing special about you. You have been propped up on a pedestal by your far more interesting friends. Case in point."

Palermo snapped her fingers, using the hand on the arm in the sling. Florges' eyes flashed indigo. Serena's blood ran cold.

Delphox's heavy breathing stopped. Instead, she went completely silent and still, arrested by indigo light. Pulled by unseen strings, like a puppet with an invisible master, she rose unnaturally to her feet and then stood straight up, unable to resist.

"What a remarkable specimen. All the more remarkable that you raised her, somehow. If I didn't know any better, I would suspect her to have been raised by one of your friends. It certainly could not have been you who awakened her latent psychic powers. If anything, she probably awakened them in spite of your efforts."

Serena reached for her bag.

"Don't you dare touch her!"

"What kind of uncultured cretin do you think I am?" said Palermo. "Power respects power. Your Delphox is one of only a few Pokémon I've ever encountered who is capable of matching Florges' psychic abilities. Such a pity she's so new to it, though. Fantastic power, but no endurance. It comes with time."

Palermo meandered a few steps forward. She appraised Delphox.

"The few who are aware of what Florges can do often wonder how in the world she could have become so strong despite my apparent lack of interest in battling. A dim opinion, but I understand their confusion. Indeed, I am not interested in battling. A battle implies equality of some sort, the idea that both combatants have a chance of winning. I have no interest in battles. My interest is power. As fate would have it, I had the good fortune of meeting a Flabébé as a child who possessed that same single-minded desire. We have spent a lifetime together in a quiet, devoted, mutual search of power. One technical machine and several decades of experience later, you see precisely what that kind of power can do."

"Put her down! Now!"

"I told you, I may be a scoundrel, but I am not without some sense of honor," said Palermo. "Yes, I could very easily have Florges snap Delphox's neck, and yours. I am not going to, though. I have enough respect for your mutual, inexplicable, misguided determination not to do something so cowardly. I respect little else about either of you, but that much, I have come to appreciate."

"Let her go!"

"Oh, fine, you impatient child! Florges, release her."

Florges released her psychic hold on Delphox. Delphox collapsed to the ground.

"There," said Palermo. "Are you satisfied? This is why you never could have succeeded on the stage. You have no flair for the dramatic."

"You don't know me at all," said Serena.

"I know you well enough," said Palermo. "Therein lies the problem. You see, I make a point to avoid battles with those who can beat me. Those with power to rival my own, I make allies of. But you're not willing to settle for such a result. I know you well enough to know that."

"I would never become your ally!"

"Exactly," said Palermo. "Such is my dilemma. I have to do something about you. If I simply let you go, you will never give up trying to stop me."

Serena glared at Palermo. Palermo gave her an expectant glance.

"Am I wrong?" said Palermo.

"No!" said Serena. "Of course I wouldn't give up on this! I can't let you get away with what you've done!"

"Everyone has their price, my dear."

"I don't want your money!"

"I am well aware of that."

"I don't want power, either!"

"Again, I am aware."

"I'm not going to make a deal with you! I don't want anything you have!"

"You will never be safe," said Palermo.

"Huh?"

"If you refuse to give this up, you leave me with no choice but to also refuse," said Palermo. "Like you, my dear, I understand what it means to never give up. I will hunt you forever. I will undermine your every action. You, your friends, your family… you will never be safe."

Her brow creased, Serena felt a terrible sinking feeling in her stomach. There was only one way this could end. It was becoming more certain by the moment. She pulled a Poké Ball from her bag. Eyes facing the ground, she shook her head.

"I will never forgive you," she said. "I will never forgive you for what you've done. Ever. No matter what."

Serena glanced at Palermo.

"You're making a very foolish choice," said Palermo.

"I don't have any other choice."

Serena tossed the ball. Ribombee came out of it. She flitted around, hovering over Delphox, gravely concerned. Without being directed, she prepared a Pollen Puff and fired it at Delphox. A few moments later, Delphox stirred.

Palermo eyed Ribombee levelly.

"So, you have a healer, I see," said Palermo.

Serena ignored Palermo's comment.

"Ribombee, give Delphox another Pollen Puff."

Ribombee happily complied. She formed another one between her hands. She gently fired it at Delphox.

And then she violently crashed to the ground. She landed with a crunch, then did not move.

Both Serena and Delphox shot cutting glares at Palermo. Florges' eyes were aglow.

"We cannot have that," said Palermo.

Delphox roared. Unprompted, she shot a vicious blast of flame at Florges. Florges held up one palm and deflected it, as though with a shield.

Serena knelt over Ribombee. She felt for a pulse, for breath, for any sign of life. If Ribombee's heart still beat, she could not feel it over the thundering of her own, nor could she feel Ribombee's breath in the howling wind.

Disgusted, horrified, and panicked, she looked up at Palermo.

"She wasn't even on guard!"

"There is always a greater power, my dear," said Palermo. "So long as I draw breath, I shall do everything in my power to ensure that power is me."

Shaking, Serena rose to her feet.

"Not if we have anything to say about it."

"My foolish child, I have been building my empire for decades, since before your existence was even a thought. I am not some common despot, intoxicated by my own power. I win my battles before they are ever fought. I have ascended beyond justice, beyond truth. There is nothing anyone can do to destroy my position within our society, not even me. I have assured that I can do anything without consequence. The truth doesn't matter. To the people of Kalos, the truth is whatever I will it to be. Aria may hold the title, but I am the true Kalos Queen."

Serena glared at Palermo, her brow creased and her jaw clenched.

"You will never be my queen."

"Have at me, then."

"Delphox, Fire Blast!"

Serena felt heat radiate from Delphox even before she saw the flames. Delphox stepped in front of Serena, fire leaking through her exposed teeth. Her eyes vicious, Delphox charged the blast. With a fierce shout, she unleashed it.

Palermo did not issue a command. Florges merely watched, then moved on her own. Her eyes glowed, and she raised her hands. As casually as breathing, she stood completely still as the Fire Blast streamed toward her. Then, at the very last moment, she swept her hands to one side. Veering from its intended path, the blast was swept away.

The flames vanished into thin air, unfortunate snowflakes turning to wisps of steam. Delphox readied her wand.

"Mystical Fire!"

Delphox swept her wand in a circle, drawing a circle of flame. With her wand pointed directly at Florges, she fired.

Again, Florges did not move. She merely stood there until the last second, the circle contracting as it approached its target. Then, she simply raised one hand, and the circle of flame halted in midair.

Delphox grit her teeth and growled. Intensely focused, she shook as she tried to force the attack through. It did not budge.

Opposite her, Florges appeared amused by the object she had captured. She admired it for a moment, then raised her other hand. The ring of flame rose into the air. It began to expand.

"Don't try to force it!" said Serena. "You're wasting your energy! Florges is trying to use it against you!"

Delphox shook for one more second, then stopped. She lowered her wand. Nothing changed. Florges was in complete control of the attack.

"Brute force alone is not going to be sufficient," said Palermo. "I thought Diantha's lecture to your idiot friend during their battle made that clear. Who do you think taught her that in the first place? I suppose I should not be surprised that you failed to learn anything, though. It would be typical of you, after all."

"I've learned more than enough about you already!" said Serena.

"Is that so?" said Palermo. "Why, then, do you insist upon pursuing something so futile?"

"I never give up!" said Serena. "Least of all when it comes to stopping you!"

"How noble," said Palermo. "Florges, return the favor to Delphox, would you?"

The ring of flame now wreathed in indigo light, Florges faced her palm toward Delphox and fired. Aided by Florges' psychic push, the attack rocketed across the tarmac. Delphox had barely any time to react.

Yet somehow, she did. Once again wreathed in indigo light, Delphox left the ground. Floating a few inches above the pavement, everything around her seemed to freeze. Halted mere inches from impact, only a tiny hole remained in the center of the Mystical Fire, like the eye of a hurricane. The flames quivered in midair as Delphox tried to push them back. Slowly, they began to move.

"I'll grant you this much," said Palermo. "Your determination makes for excellent entertainment. You two may be a pair of walking anticlimaxes, but you know how to keep things interesting."

"This isn't a game!" said Serena.

Palermo's stony expression soured.

"I do not play games, child."

The light in Florges' eyes shone brighter. Like her opponent, she also began to levitate. Once again, the Mystical Fire changed directions. The light surrounding the ring of flame intensified. It moved toward Delphox.

Serena's head throbbed again as Delphox pulsed with brighter light. Channeling her power, waves of indigo light rippled down her wand, all directed at the ring of flame. In the vibrant light, images seemed to distort, the very shape of the air warped by the raw energy. Again, Serena was convinced she felt the ground tremble beneath her feet.

The ring of flame moved again, this time toward Florges. Delphox roared as she pushed. Serena felt an indescribable force wash over her in waves, something monstrously powerful yet almost not there at all.

Serena held her breath. The ring moved further and further, faster and faster. For an instant, everything seemed to stop, a moment suspended in time. Awestruck, Serena knew in that moment that Delphox was at the absolute peak of her power. Never before had she seen such an awesome display of raw power from her. She was giving everything she had.

And it was working.

Time seemed to resume out of nowhere. Serena became aware of it from the unnatural gust whipping around her, both hot and cold at the same time. She squinted, unable to bear the intense light. Once again, her head throbbed, pain shooting up into her forehead from behind her eyes. Her heart pounded. It would all be over soon.

And it was.

For a moment, everything became eerily and impossibly quiet. The ring of flame hovered mere inches from Florges. Delphox gave it one final push.

Then, the silence shattered like glass as Florges let out an unearthly, earsplitting screech. She shone like the sun, light itself seeming to warp around her. She quivered, a tremendous force radiating from her in every direction. The Mystical Fire halted. Florges raised both hands. She pushed it back.

Serena did not watch. Instead, she threw herself to the ground, covered her head, and closed her eyes. There was a brilliant flash, a piercing sound like the lash of a whip, and a fierce wave of heat. It was followed by cold air, darkness, and silence.

The wind whispered. Serena opened her eyes. She saw the pavement beneath her face. She uncovered her head and sat upright.

Florges slowly descended to the ground. Delphox was down on one knee, shaking. She clutched her wand with both hands like a walking staff, supporting her weight with it.

"Delphox!"

Delphox moved as if attempting to stand. She did not succeed. She rose only a few inches, then sank to her knees

"Are you okay?!"

Serena wasn't sure why she asked the question. She knew the answer before she asked. Delphox's lack of a response was an answer in and of itself.

"A valiant effort," said Palermo. "Truly, I commend you. What a marvelous power your Delphox possesses. She is most unlike Aria's Delphox. Hers was far easier to suppress."

"What are you talking about?"

"Psychic ability is mental, obviously," said Palermo. "When I took Aria under my wing, I was well aware of the psychic abilities her unassuming little Fennekin may have one day grown to possess as a Delphox. So, I set about years of mental sabotage to prevent those abilities from manifesting. It's all in the head, you see. I made it a point to take up permanent residence there, in both of their heads."

Serena stared at Palermo, unable to speak.

"As you have seen, Aria's Delphox is a gifted pyromancer, but has no control of her innate psychic abilities," said Palermo. "That is my doing. With Florges' assistance, I made certain that she would never be able to harness them. They are forever occluded from her vision, and thus she poses no threat to me. Your Delphox, on the other hand, is not nearly as susceptible to the same tactics. Florges actually has to put effort into this. Quite a rare gift your Delphox has. Such a shame to see it go to waste."

"It's not a gift!" said Serena. "You have no idea how hard Delphox had to work to be able to do this!"

"A pity, really," said Palermo. "Given enough time to hone those abilities, perhaps she would actually be able to win this battle. Tragically, that opportunity will soon be lost forever."

"Forever?"

"Moonblast."

Serena did not even have time to gasp. She saw Florges raise both hands to the sky, and she immediately reached into her bag.

"Sylveon, Protect!"

She threw the ball. It landed in front of Delphox and burst open. Sylveon appeared. Wasting no time, she braced herself and conjured a shield of energy. A mere moment later, a massive ball of shimmering, silvery light collided with her.

Serena shielded her eyes from the flash. When she opened them, the familiar afterglow was scattered all over the surrounding pavement like an explosion of paint. Sylveon stood firm, shaken from the blow but still on her feet. Behind her, Delphox remained on her knees, unable to rise.

"Sylveon, Moonblast!"

Sylveon raised two of her feelers and charged the blast between them. With a cry, she fired at Florges. Both Florges and Palermo remained expressionless.

"Energy Ball."

Lazily, Florges raised one finger. A tiny sphere of green energy formed on it, then expanded. She fired. Like a fragile green bubble, it seemed to float on the wind toward Sylveon's Moonblast.

The two attacks collided. With a snap, the Energy Ball popped. Sylveon's Moonblast ruptured like a water balloon. The energy scattered, then vanished. Serena already had her hand on another Poké Ball. She threw it.

"Pancham, Stone Edge!"

Pancham burst free and materialized in midair. As he descended to the ground, he was already preparing his attack, fists aglow. He landed, then plunged them through the pavement. The ground rumbled. A moment later, several jagged shafts of rock erupted from the tarmac beneath Florges.

Florges calmly rose into the air, unscathed. Pancham was already on the attack again. He charged at Florges.

"Grass Knot."

The pavement under Pancham's feet cracked. A snarl of weeds slithered up through the cracks. They ensnared one of his feet. He tripped and slammed to the ground. Relatively unfazed, he immediately sprung back up and began attempting to free himself. The vines refused to let go.

While Florges focused on Pancham, Serena called another attack.

"Sylveon, Moonblast! Again!"

Once more, Sylveon charged the blast between her feelers and fired.

Florges did not react. For a fleeting moment, Serena thought she had succeeded at landing a hit. But then, at the last second, Florges turned her head toward the oncoming blast. Her eyes shone.

With a casual motion of her hand, she diverted the Moonblast. It turned sharply, missing its target and ejecting in a very different direction.

It shot toward Pancham.

"Pancham, dodge!"

Pancham could not dodge. The roots would not let go. Instead, he barely had any time to duck or even brace himself before Sylveon's redirected blast struck him at full force.

Light flashed. An afterglow lingered. Pancham lay on the ground. He did not move.

Sylveon made a movement in Pancham's direction, but then stopped herself. Delphox still knelt behind her, unable to stand. Sylveon whimpered, a horrified look on her face.

Serena noticed Florges preparing another attack without a command.

"Sylveon, Protect!"

Sylveon snapped to attention just in time. Florges fired another Moonblast. Although Sylveon prepared the shield in time, the blast struck her on the side instead of head-on. The force of it bowled her over. Quickly, she sprung back to her feet. She rushed to jump in front of Delphox again.

Serena fought back against the panic steadily taking hold in her brain. There had to be something she could do, some way to deceive Palermo.

"Double Team!" Serena called.

Sylveon prepared to move, but before she could begin creating afterimages, she froze completely.

"Enough of this charade," said Palermo.

Indigo light flared around Sylveon. Florges raised a hand. Quickly, much more forcefully than Serena had ever seen before, Florges pulled Sylveon high into the air.

"Sylveon! Protect! Fight it!"

"Foolish."

With a flick of the wrist, Florges sent Sylveon crashing down from the sky. Defenseless, Sylveon impacted the ground with a dense, solid thump. When Florges released the psychic hold on her, Sylveon was limp, completely motionless.

"Sylveon!"

Sylveon did not respond.

Delphox grit her teeth. She glared at Florges. Once more, she struggled to stand. Pushing against the ground with her wand, she attempted to rise to her feet.

Her knees left the ground. She stopped. For a moment, they wobbled. She fell again.

"Delphox!"

The panic took hold at last. Serena's heart ached with every rapid beat, adrenaline pulsing through her veins. Heat rose all over her body, her neck and her face suddenly warm, yet her stomach cold as stone. Fear gripped her.

She could not win the battle. She had lost.

She had lost everything.

Florges raised her hands to the sky one last time. Shimmering, silvery energy condensed between them. Thin, long shadows danced across the tarmac.

"And now, the coup de grâce," said Palermo.

Serena's eyes went bloodshot.

"Please don't do this! Stop!"

"It is too late, my dear. Time to face the music."

"Don't! Please!"

"Fire."

Florges brought the fully-formed blast down from over her head and held it in front of her body. Delphox turned her head ever so slightly, enough that Serena saw Delphox's eyes turn to her one last time. The look in Delphox's eyes pierced her heart, a look that both defied words but somehow also said one. It said one word, very clearly, deep inside Serena's mind.

Sorry.

Delphox faced Florges again. She shut her eyes, then bowed her head.

"Delphox!"

Florges fired.

Serena went mentally numb. Utterly unable to process the events of the next several seconds, they didn't seem real. Nothing did. The Moonblast screamed across the pavement. Defeated, Delphox made no attempt to dodge, nor to defend herself. She knelt there, her head hung low, and let the blast claim her.

There was a flash. A cracking sound. A rush of wind. An afterglow. Smoke. And then silence. Terrible, terrible silence.

Delphox had refused to move. She still knelt there like a statue, the wind scattering the smoke rising from her singed fur.

Snow fell. The wind howled. Serena felt very, very cold.

Delphox slumped forward. She collapsed on the ground.

"No!"

Serena ran over to Delphox's side. She fell to her knees. She took hold of Delphox by the shoulder and rolled her onto her side. She tried to examine her, to search for signs of life. It was impossible for her to determine anything through the haze of adrenaline clouding her brain and the tears clouding her vision.

Paralyzed, Serena did nothing but kneel there. It was over. It was all over. All hope was gone. She had failed once again. This time, no one was coming to save her.

She jumped in fright when she heard Palermo's voice from much closer than she expected.

"It would seem we have but one matter left to resolve, wouldn't it?"

Serena looked up and saw Palermo standing over her. Florges hovered behind Palermo's shoulder. There was not a shred of emotion in the eyes of either of them.

Serena had never felt so cold.

Desperate, she stared up at both of them with her mouth hanging open, but she was unable to make a sound. A terrible, crushing certainty took hold in the pit of her stomach. It felt like it was going to crush her brain. Pain flared in her temples. She let out a strained cry.

"Pitiful," said Palermo. "Despite everything, you still cannot accept the truth."

Serena sank all the way to the ground. She gripped onto Delphox's arm, burying her face in her fur. Tears ran down her cheeks. The pain in her head grew stronger. She struggled to breathe.

"Please-"

"Your time is up. This is the end of your story. A fitting end for such an ordinary girl."

"Please don't-"

"You couldn't win. You never could."

Serena shook. The pain in her head was unlike anything she had ever felt. She was certain her skull would crack.

"Don't kill me!"

"You don't have it."

The pain reached its peak. Serena screamed. Her mind fractured. There was a flash of light, followed by total silence. Her senses vanished. Everything, all of reality, slipped away.