TWENTY

For the first time since December, Augustine now had a break from Teleurac. The Governor had ventured out with Aliana and her team to survey Kalos for ideal places to erect "defensive outposts," as they were called, and so far they had been gone for a whole week. In the meantime, an Admin named Dominic stayed at the penthouse with Augustine and accompanied him on errands. Augustine may not have had any time alone, but at least Dominic didn't read his diary.

Mable scrutinized, inspected his methods, and accepted his purposefully botched statistical analyses as proof that Bernard's Mega-Evolved Medicham would not be a worthy investment when it came to generating more energy for their use. Bernard was then released from Team Flare custody and allowed to keep his Pokemon (returning the Medichamite to Augustine), but was still required to check in with the police every week to assure them that he was behaving. In the meantime, several Trainers who thought they could take Flare Admins in battle lost and had their Pokemon taken from them. Augustine had not missed watching the experiments and procedures performed on Pokemon, but now that there were new operational energy extractors, his days were once more filled with pained cries of Pokemon having their brains and bodies fried . . . all in the name of progress and defending Kalos.

Dominic escorted Augustine to the underground facility, making sure he found the room where energy extraction procedures were conducted. The first thing he noticed when he got in was the boxy energy extractor and its attachments. A series of wires and tubes connected the machine with an apparatus resembling a satellite dish. In the dish's basin, turned at an angle from the machine, was a metal rod that was also connected to the edges of the dish with six thin gauge metal wires. Standing just two feet from both the machine and the dish, like it was the point of a triangle, was a five foot tall barred cage.

The cage was new. Apparently cold surgical tables would no longer cut it.

"Professor Sycamore!" Mable greeted him as she entered the room. She held a Pokeball in her hand. "I hope you haven't forgotten how the routine goes here," she added, nodding to the computer set up behind the machine.

"Ah, yes. Pardon me," said Augustine as he crossed over to the computer. He booted it up and opened the program used to collect data. How could he forget the routine? Pokemon were hooked to the machine, their brains were given electrical stimulation that forced them to attack the metal rod in the dish for an extended period of time, and were often shocked into a comatose state now that the scientists had found out how much stimulation they could take and still live to face the procedure another day.

"I received your report, by the way," said Mable idly as she turned some knobs on the machine to calibrate it. "Good work as usual. You know, for someone who hates his job and the people he works with, you do quite well here. Are you sure you don't secretly like or agree with us?" she teased.

"Non, I'm afraid you all still repulse me," replied Augustine.

Mable sighed. "At least you look good in red."

Augustine glanced down at his coat, then back up at the computer monitor.

"Ready yet?" Mable asked him.

"Yes," he answered. He didn't look up as Mable let out whichever Pokemon was in the Pokeball she brought with her, but he heard the Pokemon bleat angrily. As Mable dictated information to him, he typed it down in the appropriate box in the computer program, but stopped on occasion to adjust his goggles. They felt so bulky and in-the-way to him, he didn't know how any of the Team Flare scientists could get any work done while wearing them.

"Today's date is February sixteenth . . . subject is a female Ampharos . . . height is 1.39 meters, appears very healthy . . . expected to yield approximately six hundred kilojoules per five minutes of electrical stimulation at 1000 volts . . . no prior procedures . . . received from a Pokemon Trainer on December the twenty-fourth of last year . . . ."

He craned his neck around, seeing that Mable had forced the Ampharos into the cage, shutting and locking the door with one hand while she held the machine's two electrodes in her other hand. Ampharos continued to bleat furiously at Mable, then cried in pain as Mable jabbed the electrodes into particular spots in her brain. When Mable moved out of the way and returned to the machine, Augustine saw that Ampharos was wearing a pendant around her neck, and he instantly recognized it as Ampharosite. He felt like a Sawk had kicked him hard in the chest.

"Don't worry, Ampharos. The shocks you're about to receive will override the effects of your inhibitory neurotransmitter patch," sneered Mable. "Then you can shoot Thunderbolt for me all you want!"

"I don't think we can use this Ampharos." Augustine blurted out, his voice shaky.

"Why not?" Mable asked, slowly approaching him.

"The Governor wanted her to be saved for later, to be used only when a certain condition is met. That condition hasn't been met yet, so we can't use her," blabbered Augustine, wondering if Mable realized that this was Serena's Ampharos in front of her and was designated for use only when Mega Evolved. Ampharos kept bleating and crying out, throwing her body against the cage in hopes of forcing it open. Blood was trickling down the side of her head, originating from the places where the electrodes were inserted.

"One procedure won't spoil it, Professor," snapped Mable. "And since you decided our model Mega Evolved Medicham wasn't good enough for this, I've had to look elsewhere."

"Don't you dare use Ampharos, or any of her other Pokemon." Augustine tried to sound menacing, but a small shake in his voice betrayed him. He didn't really have a way to save Ampharos from this, or to get Mable to listen to him.

Mable rested a gloved hand on her hip and pointed the index finger of her other hand at his chest. "I don't take orders from you. You take orders from me," she said shortly, pointing from him back to herself. "And I don't give a Pichu's ass about your juvenile desire to protect your fugitive girlfriend's precious Pokemon. We have a quota of ten thousand megajoules to generate today, and it's all got to come from somewhere." She turned away from him, towards the energy extractor. Before she could reach out for a knob on the side of the machine, Augustine ran forward and jumped between her and the knob.

He had promised Serena that no harm would come to her Pokemon. Nothing in the universe would force him to abandon that promise. If he could do that for her, then perhaps she would forgive him for doing Team Flare's bidding for so long.

"Mable, I'm asking you. Please don't do this."

"I don't see any alternatives around here, do you?"

He froze. There were alternatives to Ampharos . . . four of them, with him right now.

Augustine reached a shaking hand into the inside of his coat, where his Pokeballs were affixed. He found the one that was the third one down, plucked it off its hook, and held it out to Mable.

"My Charizard," he said despondently.

Mable took the Pokeball from his hand, glanced back at Ampharos, and then the corner of her mouth twitched up into a smirk. "Good enough, I suppose."

Dominic was called to respond to a small anti-Flare protest brewing in Bleu Plaza, so Augustine was locked in and alone at the penthouse that evening, and he skipped dinner in favor of nursing Charizard back to health. He had been escorted straight from the facility back to the penthouse, so going to Cosette at his lab or a Pokemon Center was out of the question. The only Pokemon medicine in the penthouse was a Super Potion; he used it, and it did very little to close up the actual holes in Charizard's skull that were created by the insertion of those electrodes. Augustine sat on the floor of the living room, with Charizard's head lying on his lap, and he did the best he could to clean and bandage his Pokemon's forehead while constantly repeating apologies. Charizard moaned in pain from time to time, and he kept his eyes shut.

"Tu es mon soleil, mon joli soleil," Augustine sang softly, letting tears drip freely from his eyes. "Tu me rends hereux quand je suis triste," His voice began to wobble slightly. Charizard moaned again, and Augustine flashed back to earlier in the day when he watched his Pokemon undergo the procedure. Those roars and cries would haunt him forever, which was perhaps the most fitting punishment for what he had done.

"Tu ne sauras jamais combien je t'aime, ange,"

He regretted handing Charizard over to Mable the moment the Pokeball made it into her hand. It didn't make sense, it wasn't logical – he chose to honor a promise he made to Serena, who he might never even see again, over the well-being of a Pokemon that trusted him and looked up to him for safety and comfort. Charizard wasn't even given the option to consent or object to the procedure. He didn't understand what had happened to him. All Charizard knew was that for two hours, his bodily autonomy was stolen from him as he was forced to cast Flamethrower after Flamethrower at that dish receptor. If only there was a way to extract energy from humans like this – Augustine would volunteer to partake in it without a second thought now.

"Tu es mon étoile du ciel."

Augustine saw that Charizard was asleep now, and he returned the Pokemon to his Pokeball. He stood up slowly and walked to the window, clutching Charizard's Pokeball to his chest. In the distance, he saw the silhouette of Prism Tower, the thin bulb-shaped cannon on top of it, and the patrolling Pokemon that flew in circles around it. He thought of what Trevor said when the cannon was first attached: "I guess he's building his own ultimate weapon."

Was there a way out? That was a question he had frequently asked himself ever since he realized that the Department of Environmental Sustainability was just a cover for Team Flare's operations. He had allowed his responsibility to his lab's employees and Pokemon to suck him into this mess, and now he knew that he was in too deep to simply hand in a resignation and walk away. Teleurac would never allow that. There were times when he considered opening the window in front of him and flying away on Charizard, to go find Serena and join her on the run, but odds were that he wouldn't make it past the sky patrollers and their Flying-types. Flying away was definitely not an option now, with Charizard injured and possibly facing permanent brain damage.

Or perhaps he needed to stay put and find another way to sabotage their work. To stay put, and make it easier for Serena to reach him if she ever made it back to Lumiose. She could be in the city right now and he wouldn't know it. Or she could have frozen to death, alone in the wilderness, and her remains scavenged upon by some wild Pokemon – no! The thought of it triggered the release of more tears. He would see her again, look upon her face and see her smile, kiss her lips, take her into his arms and never ever let go –

The door behind him opened. He swiftly wiped his face dry and turned to see Teleurac standing in the doorway. The Governor had circles under his eyes and a suitcase under his arm.

"Good evening, Augustine," he said tiredly, stepping inside and closing the door behind himself. He took a few seconds to examine Augustine's face, noting how the Professor's eyes were red. "Where is Dominic?"

"He was called out to Bleu Plaza," said Augustine. "There wasn't time for him to arrange another, erm, supervisor." He didn't think "supervisor" was quite the correct term, but it was the first word that came to mind.

"I'll have a word with him . . . you are not to be left alone," sighed Teleurac. He was silent for a few seconds.

"Mable told me what happened today in the lab – walk with me," Teleurac gestured to the hall, and Augustine followed him there to the master bedroom, quickly ducking into his own room to place Charizard's Pokeball on the nightstand.

"In my opinion, you committed no insubordination. True, it is unfortunate that you allow your personal feelings to get in the way sometimes, but I had told her that Ampharos and her companions were to be saved for later."

The master bedroom, where Teleurac slept, was neatly organized and decorated in warm neutral tones, with the exception of the crimson duvet on the bed. Teleurac set his suitcase down on the floor next to the foot of his bed before sitting down closer to the headboard. His eyes found the framed picture on the nightstand, and his gaze lingered there for a moment. Augustine saw the hope and longing in Teleurac's expression.

"I suppose it's universal, that we act rashly and will do anything for those most dear to us," mused Teleurac, still looking at the picture on the nightstand. Augustine stepped closer and craned his head to see what was depicted in that picture: a young girl, appearing to be around seven years old, with light brown hair and a Vulpix sitting in her lap. She was smiling at the camera, displaying that she was missing one of her front teeth. He recognized this girl; another picture of her was hanging in Teleurac's office in City Hall, next to that print of "The King, the Pokemon, and the Key."

"Her name was Roselie," said Teleurac softly, his eyes wet and glistening. "She loved Pokemon more than life itself, and she was going to be a Trainer . . . . You remember several years back, when air pollution was a problem in Kalos, and so many children got sick? She had pneumonia . . . and she was only eight . . . ." he paused for a moment, holding his fist up to his mouth and squeezing his eyes shut. "Nobody wants to change anything until enough children die to catch people's attention."

His eyes, sorrowful and pensive, flickered upwards to meet Augustine's. "I tell myself that I need to make the world a place I would be comfortable having Roselie live in. But if she were still here, and she knew what I have done and the sacrifices that were made, it would break her heart."

Frustrated with his inability to fall asleep, Augustine rolled over in his bed and stretched out an arm to feel around for the nightstand. He found his Holo Caster, and checked the time display: almost two thirty in the morning. Two and a half hours after retiring for the evening, and he was still wide awake, unable to shake from his mind the sight of Charizard going into muscular spasms as a result of the electrical stimulation, or the echoes of his Pokemon's anguished roars. If this was the universe's way of punishing him for making Charizard suffer like this, it would have to try harder. One sleepless night was not penance enough, in the Professor's opinion. Nothing would be.

He grabbed the Holo Caster and opened the Kalos news website. The main story was about the protest in Bleu Plaza that Dominic left him to cover. Only a minor demonstration had taken place by the looks of it – a group of students from the university asking to reopen communication to the other regions – and it was met with the kind of brute force only a Houndoom squad could deliver. Everyone involved was arrested, some with horrendous bites and burns that would require extensive treatment but never truly heal, in the case of the burns.

Augustine then heard Teleurac's voice coming from the master bedroom, but it was unintelligible. He slowly got out of bed, quietly opened the door, and tiptoed down the dark hallway until he was outside the door. He saw the faint bluish glow of the Holo Caster from underneath the door.

"If you can spare the people, send scouts out into the surrounding area!" he heard Teleurac say.

His heart raced. Had they found Serena?

The person on the other end of the Holo Caster call then said something indiscernible to Augustine, and Teleurac followed with "Then send out those two! Tell them not to get too far away from our side of the border, and tell them not to attack anyone. Not even if they recognize the ones who attacked the base . . . good. Send the footage to Malva. I will speak to you again soon."

A few seconds later, the door opened, and Augustine didn't have enough time to scramble back into his bedroom.

"How much did you hear?" Teleurac asked as he threw on his coat.

"Not much," said Augustine.

"Ah . . . well, the Kalosian Guard's largest outpost near our border with Unova was just attacked. I'm heading down to the facility, and I'll be locking you in for the night. I'll have someone retrieve you in the morning."

Teleurac dashed out of the penthouse, leaving Augustine locked in as he said he would. Augustine went into the living room, grabbing his Holo Caster on the way, and slumped into the couch. His gaze lingered out the window, on the moonlit silhouette of Prism Tower, until he finally dozed off into a light sleep.

The next thing he knew, his Holo Caster was beeping. He quickly sat up, saw that it was now almost seven in the morning, and answered it. The holographic image of a very grim and tired-looking Teleurac appeared on the display.

"Good morning, Kalos. It is with a heavy heart that I bring you this news. Last night, the Kalosian Guard was attacked by Unovian militia members near the border between our two regions. And although we succeeded in driving away those who attacked us, it came with the cost of three lives. Three brave souls, who gave everything to keep us safe and secure. We have video surveillance footage of the attack, which will be available on the internet for those who wish to see it – exercise caution, for it is graphic and disturbing.

"President Oria of Unova does not deny ordering this attack. When I spoke to her, she told me that it would be the first of many! She wants to wrest control of Kalos from my hands, and reform it to be the way she wants it to be. Good citizens, I believe we have made too much progress in the past six months to just throw it all away. I know I have asked you to sacrifice many things in the name of a better future, but I promise you that the payoff will be worth it . . . and Madame Oria wants to endanger our better future."

Augustine rolled his eyes, following with a yawn.

"I refuse to let her do that. As Governor of Kalos, it is my duty to protect this region, its people, and its Pokemon from any who may threaten them. And I will do whatever it takes to accomplish it." Teleurac's hologram shrank away.

Augustine yawned, then scratched his eyes. He pushed himself up off the couch and shuffled into the kitchen. As he made his coffee, he replayed Teleurac's address in his head. It seemed strange to him, how men like Teleurac could exist. Last night, the man had candidly spoken of his daughter for the first and perhaps the last time, and Augustine thought he saw genuine displays of emotion. He reminded himself to find the video of the attack later, to see how much Teleurac had lied in that address – or how carefully selected and edited the video was, at least.

When his eyes drifted up towards the window into the living room again, he stopped to look at Prism Tower. The cannon bolted to the top of it was rotating, going from pointing straight up to pointing east, at only a small angle from the vertical. Cup of coffee in hand, Augustine apprehensively approached the window, waiting to see if something else would happen. Surely Teleurac wouldn't retaliate this soon, he thought anxiously. He didn't have all the facts of the matter – perhaps he would need to consult with the others –

A red energy beam light erupted from the cannon, shooting into the sky at a diagonal and flying eastward. The beam traveled farther than Augustine could see, or perhaps farther than anyone in Kalos could see. Prism Tower shook as the cannon fired, and the ground wobbled as well. Thirty seconds after the initial burst, the cannon was still, and the remnants of that beam flew off, cutting a line across the pale orange sunrise.