Twenty Seven | Rise Against It All

                                    

                                          
I found myself standing in a crowded office filled with monitors at every corner. Aside from Lysandre, there stood another man typing away at something from his desktop. The red uniform gave away his affiliation with Team Flare, and the goggles didn't make him stand out much. He was old, plump in physique, and was going through male pattern baldness. If I had to guess, he had to bleach the crap out of the hair to get it that red, which would explain how he was missing the hair at the top of his head.
                          
"The PokéBalls we received and the Pokémon we've gathered are where they need to be," the man informed Lysandre after adding one last click at his keyboard. "Add it all up and it means all preparations are complete."
                          
"Excellent." The red-haired man nodded in approval. "The only thing left to do is put the plan into motion. I'm counting on you, Xerosic."
                          
"One push of a button and we can activate the Ultimate Weapon from this room." Lysandre turned around and approached the door, but paused when he stood right next to me. "I believe being the savior means you have the potential to change the future. Whether we activate the Ultimate Weapon or leave it safely underground will rest upon if you actually have this potential or not."
                          
"I'll do whatever I have to do to stop you," I growled. "Or did my Holo Caster information not tell you anything about that?"
                          
Lysandre simply chuckled in amusement. "Right, I should've known better."
                          
"Oh, ho ho!" Xerosic's obnoxious laughter filled the air before clearing his throat and plastering on a fake friendly smile. "You're the one I've heard so much about. I've been waiting for you."
                          
Yeah, that's not creepy at all...
                          
"What do you want?" I sneered with distaste.
                          
"I need to do a little research on you," he explained as he walked around his desk and faced me. I also noticed the reasonable gap and the PokéBall in his hand. "Come, let us begin!"
                          
"Whatever." I shrugged before sending out Heliolisk to get the job done.
                          
This was obviously a way to stall me so Lysandre and his goons could finish up whatever business they had to get done. In order to speed things up, I ordered my Pokémon to show no mercy during this battle. The match ended in a matter of minutes with his Crobat fainting by a powerful Thunderbolt attack.
                          
What took me by surprise was the fact that Xerosic wasn't even bothered by the sudden loss; in fact, he seemed quite happy that he lost and even went as far as to compliment my Pokémon's performance during the battle. I felt uneasy as I returned Heliolisk because this all seemed a little too easy. Xerosic put away his PokéBall and clapped his hands together in delight.
                          
"I will tell you something interesting," he announced. "It happened three thousand years ago. The Ultimate Weapon was used to put an end to the war in an instant. If we use that incredible power, we can finally free Kalos of the foolish humans that plague it."
                          
"You all sound like a bunch of arrogant idiots," I bluntly stated as I narrowed my eyes at the Team Flare scientist. "It's exhausting to keep reminding you all of the obvious fact."
                          
Xerosic motioned for me to come with him, ignoring my blatant insult. He led me to his desk and motioned toward two buttons that glowed their respective color. The one on the left was blue and the one on the right was red. Both were hooked up to a machine placed in between two medium-sized monitors.