I typed up a rough draft of the rest of the story, so I'll be able to post the last few chapters much faster. I didn't want to make you guys wait so long between posts.

By the way, "chocolate con churros" is actually a dish from Spain. But I'll pretend like they have it in a French café (I've never been to France, so who knows!). I've never seen it in America, sadly. Though I could probably recreate it. Churros dipped in thick hot chocolate!

Polaris-Ponyta, Shanjin-Greninja, Yarak-Talonflame, Nelly–Auroros, Anakri-Dragelge, Lenaren-Noivern

Lily-Mewtwo, Shira-Reshiram, Phantom-Darkrai

Chapter 23: Red Café

"Something happened, didn't it?"

I groaned and collapsed on a bench outside of Professor Sycamore's lab. My level of exhaustion was a clear giveaway that the trip to Ferrum was much harder than expected. I didn't want to hid the story from them, but I really didn't want to explain everything right now. "We found the thing Lily as looking for. We destroyed it, but it was a lot harder than we expected. I'll fill you in on the details later. I still need to process it." Ben and Hari looked less than satisfied with that answer, but it would have to do for today. "How are things in Kalos?" I asked, wanting to talk about something different.

"Great!" Hari said. "Ben's been helping me organize the Pokémon consultations."

"That's awesome, Hari! I bet Ben is really good at planning everything."

"He is!"

"I think Professor Sycamore is grateful I took over," Ben said. "He always seems so busy."

"No kidding. How many more classes do you have scheduled?"

"Just for the next two days," Ben said. "We didn't want to commit to more than that, since we knew you'd be back soon."

I nodded. "I have an idea. We'll take some time off to go challenge Wulfric's gym. And then when we get back, you can do a few more consultations, and I'll do one more lecture. Professor Sycamore said that he got requests for... an encore. Oh, and N heard about the first lecture! He called me to talk about it. And I just got an email from Jed!"

"Even Jed heard about it?" Ben asked.

I nodded. "Even though it was an email, it was formatted on a fancy rich people template." Jed was a great guy, but something in me always wanted to make fun of super rich people. I had a decent amount of money from my battles, but that was nothing compared to Jed. I guess the reason I tend to make fun of rich people is because there are so many people that work much harder, but earn much less.

"Does he want to see one of your classes?" Hari asked.

"I want to invite him, considering he sponsors Avalon. He's always so busy that I'll have to find out what location would work best for him. Hari, since we'll be in Lumiose a couple more days, do you want me to help with your Pokémon consultations?"

"Sure!"

"I still haven't gotten to see you in action. Let me know how much you want me to help though. I don't want to take over your job."

…

Usually during a league challenge, I didn't spend too long in any one city. But Lumiose was right in the heart of Kalos, and our route looped back here over and over. Plus we kept staying longer than expected. We were getting pretty familiar with this big beautiful city: what markets had the best fruit, good cafés where Ben could use his computer or what restaurants tolerated our Pokémon to be out of the Pokéballs. But there was one café in particular that we'd avoided, mostly because the inside was glaringly red and uninviting. It was down the street from our favorite café, but we'd kind of forgotten about its existence. At least until that afternoon. We were finishing our chocolate con churros when someone burst out of the front door of the red café. She sprinted down the road, away from us. A moment later, three more people appeared and charged after her. This would have been suspicious at the best of times, but all three of us stared in shock. The person running away was Fleur. Three more people from Team Flare were chasing her. As we watched, Fleur tried to turn down a side road. but a taxi pulled out and nearly hit her. She dodged to the side and stumbled. One of the Team Flare people threw out a Pokéball, and a female Pyroar appeared. She galloped in front of Fleur, cutting off her escape. The other two Team Flare members sent out a Doublade and a Barbaracle. Fleur sent out three of her Pokémon to face them, but they already looked exhausted. Even Fleur looked worn down. Her clothes were torn and she was gasping for breath.

I stood there stupidly, wondering what was happening. Luckily, most of my Pokémon were out of their Pokéballs, and they processed the situation faster than I did. Yarak, Shanjin, Lenaren, and Polaris charged toward Team Flare. Ben, Hari and I ran after them. But by the time we arrived, my Pokémon had already taken down Pyroar, Doublade, and Barbaracle. The three people turned and fled back into the café.

Fleur breathed a sigh of relief. "You really are amazing. Thanks!"

"Do you want to tell us why we're helping you?" Ben demanded. I was glad he talked first, because I didn't know what to say.

Fleur glanced toward the café. "I'd love to. But we better get out of here before everyone else comes out."

I didn't really want to follow her advice, but I knew she was right. Ben released his Tauros, and he and Hari jumped on. Fleur and I returned our Pokémon, except for Polaris. I reluctantly let Fleur climb up behind me. At least Polaris didn't seem nervous about her, so hopefully that meant that she wouldn't be dangerous. We took off, galloping around corners and down the side streets, much to the astonishment of the locals. Fleur didn't know how to ride, which was unsurprising since she'd grown up on the streets. She clung to me desperately, trying not to fall off. We came to a stop at a little courtyard near Professor Sycamore's lab. Fleur slipped to the ground, and the rest of us dismounted.

"Thanks," Fleur said again, still a bit breathless. "Did you get my messages?"

"What messages?" Ben asked.

"I had my Vivillon drop off those tips. Telling you where Team Flare was about to hit."

We gaped at her. "That was you?" I exclaimed.

"Yes. I infiltrated Team Flare. I kind of hoped you would realize that, but I understand. You guys didn't really know me, and I attacked you at the power plant. I had to show Flare that I was trustworthy. Sorry about that, by the way. Team Flare offered me a job, because I was good at battling. I realized pretty quick that I was the odd one out. Everyone else was rich. Luckily most of them assumed I was rich too. When I realized that Team Flare was up to no good, I tried to disrupt their plans from the inside."

Ben, Hari and I watched, astonished and amazed. I think we all felt a little guilty about giving up on her so fast.

"Anyway," Fleur continued, "That café is their Lumiose City base. I realized that they were up to something far bigger than I first thought. They caught me snooping and I had to fight my way out."

"Did you find what you were looking for?" I asked.

Fleur sighed. She'd been remarkably upbeat during that whole explanation. But now her expression turned grave. "More than I wanted. If I hadn't spent so much time around these people, I would have thought that this was some ridiculous joke. But they're completely serious. I- I mean I feel crazy saying it. But they pretty much want to wipe out everyone else on the planet. They want to rebuild the world for themselves."

"That... is insane," Ben said. Hari and I couldn't even find words. My mind went straight to Team Rocket. Giovanni would love to rule the world. But even that was better than what Team Flare wanted. To destroy everyone so they could have the Earth to themselves...

Finally I blurted, "How?"

"You guys aren't from Kalos, so you may not know. Have you heard of the disaster that hit the country 3,000 years ago?"

I nodded. When I collapsed at Geosenge, we looked into the history of that area. There hadn't been much information, but it did say that something had happened a long time ago.

"Well, they want to recreate that disaster. By using Yveltal and Xerneas, they can activate a weapon that destroyed Kalos. Except this time they plan to destroy everything."

"Is that even possible?" Ben asked.

Fleur bit her lip. "Well, I wouldn't have thought so. But they have a good team, and a lot of money. It seems like everything is going according to their plan. They even found Yveltal and Xerneas. The two of them are dormant, and were easy to bring in."

This was too much. I wanted to call Lily and Mewtwo to help, but they were barely conscious after the encounter with the shadow stone. I didn't want to bring them into it unless I had to. Maybe Shira and Phantom would be enough. "We have to get the police."

Fleur shook her head. "I have a better idea. A friend of mine got a job helping an Interpol officer. We can go to him!"

"Right," I said. "Show us the way."

We galloped through Lumiose, following Fleur's direction. Our destination was a big building that looked mostly empty. The front doors were unlocked, so we went inside. The lobby was dark, except for a light in a side office. We exchanged glances, and made toward it.

There was one guy sitting at a desk, typing on a computer. He blinked at us as we peered through the door. "Can I help you?"

"Are you the guy Emma works for?" Fleur asked.

"I'm sorry. I think you may have the wrong building."

"Ah," Fleur muttered "Sorry."

The others turned to leave, but I hesitated. Something about this seemed phony. If this guy was undercover, then he may want to get rid of us. He wouldn't know that we were on an important mission. I strode forward and held out my champion ID. "I'm Cara. I'm the Kanto champion who fought Team Plasma last year. I'm investigating Team Flare. Are you the Interpol officer? We have something important to tell you."

The man took my ID and examined it. When he handed it back, he looked serious. "What do you know?"

I gestured to Fleur. She told him everything. When she was done, the man stood. "Thank you. This is exactly what I've been waiting for. I'll organize a raid on the café right now."

"You should hurry," Fleur said. "They know I escaped."

"Can I help?" I asked.

He considered for a moment. "Yes, that would be great. Thank you. Give me a minute while I make some calls. My name's Looker, by the way."

We gave our quick introductions, and then Looker shooed us to the empty lobby so he could make the necessary phone calls.

"Looker?" I repeated to my friends. "I guess that makes sense. If he looks for bad guys."

"Looker also means 'handsome,'" Fleur pointed out.

"Oh, yeah. Huh."

"Probably a code name," Ben said.

'Looker' seemed like a strange code name. I don't really pay that much attention to what people look like. That's why Fleur accused me of dressing like a hobo a few months back. But anyway, my concept of human "beauty" isn't quite normal. Looker wasn't bad looking, but he also didn't seem particularly handsome to me.

After a few minutes, Looker came out and gestured for us to follow him. We got in a car and zoomed to the red café. As he drove, Looker explained, "this is the Lysandre Café. It belongs to a very powerful man. He must be in on it somehow."

"That's him," Fleur said. "He's the one who hired me. The boss of Team Flare."

Looker's expression grew more grim. When we pulled up at the café, several police cars were already there. Looker beckoned for Fleur and I to follow him, and we joined the officers. Fleur came because she knew the layout of the base. I'd raided some buildings myself, but never as part of an official team. Both of us were tense. I let out Shanjin so we'd be ready for action. The police charged into the building, with Fleur and I near the back with Looker. Fleur pointed out the secret entrance and the team flooded inside.

It was empty. Everyone had left.