Pokémon XYZ: Life, Death, Order, and Chaos (book 2 of the HBoD series)

Chapter 53: Wings of Death

"So you arrived." Lysandre turned fully to face me, staring down at me. Behind him and through the glass, I could see the thick cables pulse with orange light. "Why do you persist so? Can't you see what this world has accomplished? Overpopulation, strife, pollution. I mean to end all that and yet someone like you stands in my way."

"Those are noble wishes," I admitted. "But how you choose to go about achieving all of that is wrong. As someone who has seen the dark side of this world for too long, I know where you're coming from. That's why I can't allow what you're doing," I gritted my teeth, barely withholding my rage. "Do you even know how many innocents you will end up killing!?"

Lysandre's shoulders shook slightly and a couple tears rolled down his cheeks. "I do, Zeno. I know there are good people out there. I know of all the wonderful creatures known as Pokemon that have nothing to do with this," He dried his face with one hand. "I regret that only the ones in Team Flare shall survive, but it must be done."

He reached into his suit and withdrew a pokeball. "And that is why I will stop you myself. I will do what I must to ensure that Team Flare succeeds and the Ultimate Weapon fires."

I closed my eyes, gripping both fists. "As much as I would love to fight you here, I can't do that."

I swung my arm, launching Corvisquire towards him. His wings glowed as he slammed one into Lysandre's chest, knocked him to the ground. Greninja and I rushed forwards, spotting a door to our left. Not willing to take any chances, I shot out my hand as we ran. "Water Shuriken and Drill Peck!"

The door exploded inwards and I rushed down the white stairwell, nearly falling while doing so. Greninja caught me and we kept going. Along the way, we passed several doors. One of them made me stop as I stared through the small window into what looked like a hospital room. Laying on a bed was a Chespin, radiating green light while hooked up to a machine. Two people sat with their backs to me, the taller of the two placing a hand on the shorter one's back. My mind registered the blue scarf, but I shook my head and continued down the stairs. Whoever that was and why I recognized it could come after I destroyed the Ultimate Weapon.

I skidded to a halt, a large square door in our way. It was colored a deep red, the Flare symbol painted front-and-center. An electronic keypad sat on it on the left and I gritted my teeth. Of all the times not to have Robert. I slammed one fist on the door, knowing it would have been made to withstand a large blast, which would mean a lot of heat. So melting it wasn't an option. 

My eyes widened as I got an idea. I turned to my Pokemon. "Keep Team Flare at bay if they try to come and stop us. I only need a couple minutes at most."

I dug out my Holo Caster and prayed that it would work this far underground. It only showed a fuzzy blue screen for a second before the person I was trying to reach picked up. 

"Hello?" Clemont asked, confused. "Oh, Zeno. How are-"

"No time Clemont," I cut him off and pointed the device at the lock. "Can you hack this from where you're at?"

"Um," he rubbed the back of his head. "Maybe?"

"I'll take that," I said hurriedly. "Can you please try. And hurry. There's not a whole lot of time."

There were voices in the background and I recognized Ash, Serena, and Bonnie's. Then Ash's became the loudest. "You're in Geosenge Town!?"

"Yeah," I nodded, but they couldn't see me as I was still pointing the camera at the lock. "I can shut down this whole crisis, I just need to get through this door."

"Hold on," Clemont said, sounding nervous as the sound of quick typing could be heard. "This is a bit difficult. Actually being there might be a lot faster, but I don't know how long this could take."