Work Text:
"Pokémon Trainers. I come to you by the Holo Caster to make an important announcement. Listen well. Team Flare will revive the ultimate weapon, eliminate everyone who isn't in our group, and return the world to a beautiful, natural state. Unproductive fools are consuming our future... If nothing changes, the world will become ugly and conflicts will raze the land from end to end. I repeat. We will use the ultimate weapon and wipe the slate clean. I'm sorry, those of you who are not members of Team Flare, but this is adieu to you all.”
Corbeau had lost count on how many times he had played this message on his Holo Caster. He had lost count of how many days ago (or weeks) since this message was played to everyone in Kalos. He had lost count… on how many times did he let himself zone out as he replayed this message over and over and over…
He played the message again…
“Pokémon Trainers. I come to you by the Holo Caster to make an important announcement. Listen well. Team Flare will revive the ultimate weapon, eliminate everyone who isn't in our group, and return the world to a beautiful, natural state.”
Philippe let himself into the newly constructed boss’s office without saying a word, on the other hand he carried a small stack of papers for his new boss to look at. He heard that message from the Holo Caster again… he lost count on how many times he had heard this message from his new boss’s Holo Caster as well…
“Unproductive fools are consuming our future... If nothing changes, the world will become ugly and conflicts will raze the land from end to end.”
The new second in command to the boss would like to comment about that, but at the same time… he didn't really know what to say. What would he say?
“I repeat. We will use the ultimate weapon and wipe the slate clean.”
“Hey boss!” Their newly hired grunt had come in from behind Philippe, he seemed quite pleased with himself as he showed a folder for the boss to look at, “I got ya the files you—-”
And without even a second, the enraged Corbeau had flung his Holo Caster from across the office and it hit the doorframe just next to the surprised grunt.
Philippe shook his head, he had warned the grunts beforehand that their new boss has been in a bad mood since Lysandre fired the Ultimate Weapon a few weeks ago. It wasn't wise to come in like this. It wasn't like any other time he was angry at anything.
This was something else entirely.
"I'm sorry, those of you who are not members of Team Flare.”
But this is adieu----"
Adie—
Ad—
Adieu—
The force at which Corbeau flung his Holo Caster at had caused the device to become dented on one side and made the recording stutter.
Philippe silently sighed as he opened his hand to the grunt, gestured to him to give him the folder instead.
The terrified grunt then meekly said a “sorry” and handed the folder to Philippe. He then bowed and scurried away from the office.
The dented Holo Caster then shut itself off.
And with a groan, Corbeau stood up from his chair and walked to his new couches and sofa set up and sat on the long couch. He pulled out the glasses from his face as he massaged the bridge of his nose. He felt a migraine was coming…
“Philippe?” He finally acknowledged his second in command in his office, “Is that more work again?”
He sounded more exhausted than Philippe thought.
“Yeah boss…” Philippe responded loud enough for his boss to hear.
“Just… leave it at the desk…” Corbeau groaned in pain again with his new migraine. “I'm not really feeling good enough to deal with anything right now… and this damned message is driving me insane!”
Philippe picked up the dented Holo Caster and sighed as he placed the papers on his boss’s ever growing pile of papers.
“I'll…” He paused for a second at first but decided to continue anyway. “I'll get us some coffee sir…”
“Yeah… sure…” Corbeau gave a wave of his hand to let Philippe go.
As he left the office, The new Rust Syndicate boss began rubbing his temples as the migraine settled in. He hated this. He hated it more than he should.
Or was it that he wanted to hate it more than he should…
He doesn't even know anymore. Corbeau wished he could have just understood why this all happened in the first place. And how could he? How could the man he had idolized to the point of shaping his own ideals after his do….
Do all of this?!
THIS!!
Philippe came into the office with a tray with two cups of coffee. Both made specifically to their tastes…
He placed his boss’s coffee on the table in front of the sofas and took his own cup while putting the tray down. He then sat next to Corbeau on the couch. The young boss barely reacted to the weight.
“Tell me Philippe…” Corbeau began as he fiddled with his glasses. “Where do you think this whole thing began?”
Philippe knew immediately that he was referring to that incident.
“l'm not sure sir…” He could only answer in lament. “Everyone in Kalos was just as surprised as you were after all…”
“Were they?” Corbeau thought out loud as he picked up his coffee cup and took a sip.
The smell of the coffee brought him back to the days where he would frequent Lysandre cafe when he was just starting out with his own business ventures, before he was the leader of the Rust Syndicate, before he had a lot of ambitions, before… everything else that had just happened.
He remembered when he would stop by at the cafe when he was there by himself to catch up on things. To discuss issues but also to bring up any other topic Lysandre wanted to talk about.. He would still thank him for supporting him in his life and his business ventures. For helping him become who he is now.
He remembered the smiling face of the man he looked up to as he poured the milk onto his own coffee.
That smile…
He wondered…
“Was he being genuine at those days I wonder…” Corbeau thought to himself, out loud for Philippe to hear, “Whenever I visited him in his cafe… so we could talk about anything… Anything he wanted…"
"But by then… Has he already thought about it?”
Philippe didn't answer, he just took a sip of his coffee.
“Was he already that far gone, before I noticed?” Corbeau didn't expect an answer… he took another sip of his coffee and kept remembering… “That he had planned this all along behind everyone's backs?”
Philippe truly didn't know how to answer that question.
“How far long ago was it?” Corbeau contemplated, “Since he decided that the world wasn't worth saving anymore?”
“I…” Philippe did try to think of an answer but words still failed him, “I don't really know sir…”
“No one knew…” Corbeau sighed again as he counted on his fingers… “Not you, not me, not the rest of the syndicate, not his friends, not those kids that beat him…”
“I don't even think Team Flare knew!!!” Corbeau raised his voice as he slammed the coffee cup on the table. “Let alone the rest of Kalos!”
Philippe remembered some of the news he'd seen. There's too many to recall, but most were about the captured Team Flare members yelling at the authorities that they didn't know anything let alone about activating the Ultimate Weapon. Of course most of the general public thought they were just lying.
Why wouldn't they?
Corbeau on the other hand groaned more from the migraine as he kept digging further back into his memories. He cursed to himself silently. He wished he was more observant. He wished he could have noticed something. Anything!
Until he went further back…
“You have quite the spirit don't you, boy?” Lysandre patted the glaring Corbeau's head. He was just a little boy back then, all alone in a big city called Lumiose and clutched his only friend back then, a Venipede that decided to follow him all around.
“What’d ya mean by that?!” Corbeau almost spat at this rich looking guy. In his experience, rich people were just annoying snobs that looked at him as if he was an insect pokemon like his only friend. I ain't afraid of ya, if that's what yer sayin’”
“Hahaha! No, I definitely didn't mean that…” Lysandre gave out a genuine laugh as far as Corbeau could tell, which felt weird to him, “I apologize for my… members’ behavior towards you. You're only a child after all. So where are your parents anyway?”
“I ain't got any. The only one I have left is Venipede.” He muttered as he clutched Venipede closer to him. The pokemon, despite having tiny feet, still tried to hug him back.
“Oh my! I am deeply sorry to hear that.” Young Corbeau didn't understand this. Why was this rich guy so… sympathetic? That wasn't something he ever expected a reaction from.
“Then come in, come in!” Lysandre gently pushed him into the very red looking place that he can't even read the name of. Or really let alone see it properly. “The storm is only getting worse and I can't have you getting a cold.”
Corbeau was even more confused. But for once… for once he felt warmth that isn't from any fires or fire type pokemon…
“Chef! Give us your best croissants and some hot chocolate for this boy as well!” He heard this rich red haired guy say to someone. He's been wondering what the ever loving hell he was doing. He heard the word croissants… he thought of that flaky bread thing that's shaped like a C.
“Yes sir Mr. Lysandre sir!” He heard the chef say happily. But now he heard the rich guy’s name
“Ly– Lysa.. what?” He tried to say. It sounded weird.
“It's Lysandre…” Lysandre corrected him as he patted him on the head. “Don't worry, you'll get to say that properly soon…”
Corbeau shook his head. He thought to himself that he didn't need to overthink about that now. There's no need to. It's already done.
To him and to everyone else in this world. Lysandre nearly ended it all. All because the world didn't align to his ideals of beauty… and that included him. That included the Rust Syndicate. That included everyone else he decided to leave behind…
“Philippe…” Corbeau began as he lazily waved his hand to get his second in command’s attention, “You should get home for today. And let everyone else in the Syndicate go home too. Take the rest of the day off. We all need it.”
“Boss…” Philippe said in concern. He knew his boss had the tendency to let things get to him like this.
“Because starting tomorrow…” Corbeau puts the glasses back on his face, “We will start cutting the Syndicate from any relations to Lysandre and his companies to the point where people wouldn't even think we had a connection to them in the first place.”
Even to this day, Philippe is still at awe at how Corbeau handled himself. The young boss was in a bad mood and had a migraine to boot and yet he still thought of the Syndicate’s future…
“If I may, boss…” Philippe began as Corbeau turned to face him. “I don't have as much of a connection as you have to Mr. Lysandre. But he still assisted the Syndicate even before we met. So I was naturally distraught by the news…”
“Boss!! BOSS!!! Are you here??!!! Did you see Mr. Lysandre’s message?!” Philippe burst through the doors of Corbeau's temporary office. He rushed in there as quickly as he could as he saw Lysandre's message in his Holo Caster. He felt his blood run cold when he first heard it and then his thoughts shifted to his new boss, Corbeau. He couldn't even imagine what he would think about this…
And in the office he saw him but he heard no response from him.
Corbeau sat on his newly purchased office chair, Holo Caster opened in his hand as the message had already finished playing and it just left the holographic image of Lysandre just standing.
But the new Rust Syndicate Boss just stared at the image.
“Boss?” Philippe started to walk closer to him.
His face was filled with shock. Eyes wide as he stared at the Holo Caster. Or was he staring at all?
“Did you hear me boss?” Philippe asked him again. There was no response, and yet Corbeau is still there… still sitting down… no response came from him.
“Sir??” Philippe asked again with a little higher voice, as he hoped to get him to turn to face him. No response. The boss just continued to stare…
He noticed that he really wasn't staring at the image.
“Can you hear me boss?” Philippe asked again as he laid his hand on his shoulder.
No response.
He then looked to see that his boss’s eyes were still there. It just looked like there's no life in them, it looked empty…
Philippe started to panic.
“BOSS??!!” He started to grasp his shoulders and shook him. The Holo Caster fell from his hand with a thunk on the floor. “Are you okay?! Can you hear me?!”
No response again.
“Boss! Sir!! Corbeau!!!” Philippe tried again. He was left with no choice.
“CORBEAU!!!”
A slap across his cheek. Philippe had to do it. Any punishments be damned, he was too worried about Corbeau right now to just stand by and do nothing.
A gasp and a blink then the new Boss of the Rust Syndicate finally started to move.
The second in command let out a huge relieved sigh. “Thank Arceus you're okay sir…”
“What was I??” Corbeau managed to say. He looked up to the man holding him. “Philippe? What happened?”
“You were…” Philippe tried to formulate his words. “I wanted to talk to you about Lysandre’s message but when I got here, you were unresponsive. Forgive me for the rash action, but I had to slap you awake sir.”
That's where Corbeau felt the sting on his cheek. He knew of Philippe’s strength, and this slap was still him holding back. But it was still enough to shake him awake from his stupor.
“Philippe…”
“I know boss… Mr. Lysandre is…"
“But I would be lying if I said that we couldn't be here now if it wasn't for his help…” Philippe lamented that memory. He had never seen Corbeau like that at all. The man that had bested him in business to be reduced to such a state…
“You're right, Philippe…” Corbeau said as if all of the stress, pain, and anger has washed all away from his face. “But we are still the Rust Syndicate. That time in our past is over.”
Philippe couldn't believe it. But that's probably why Corbeau is now the boss.
“And don't you worry…” He continued, “I'll make sure to work myself, you, and every single person in this Syndicate. To. The. Damn. Bone.”
He emphasized the last four words. He meant every bit of it.
It was amazing to Philippe how he could regain his composure back so quickly. And yet it makes that stupor episode much more terrifying.
“It is our job to clean up the messes no one wants to do after all…” Corbeau emphasized as well. “It's all to make this world a more beautiful one. But not the way Lysandre wants it. Rather what the world wants it to be…”
“Of course sir…” Philippe was heavily relieved.
“Remember Philippe, and make sure every single grunt remembers as well.” Corbeau stood up from the couch and walked towards his second in command, “Lysandre didn't make the Rust Syndicate. We did. Every single one of us, from me, the boss, down to that new grunt I scared off.”
Philippe let out a soft chuckle as he thought of the poor grunt that scurried away like a baby Venipede.
“Make sure to give him a bonus for witnessing that, by the way…” Corbeau reminded Philippe. “He didn't deserve to see that from me.”
“I'll be sure to do that, sir.” Philippe nodded.
“And one last thing…” Corbeau's eyes softened, something that is rarely witnessed by anyone. “Head home, Philippe. Get some rest. I…”
“I need some time alone… if you don't mind…”
Philippe understood and just smiled sadly at him. He couldn't sway his boss, especially at this time...
“Of course boss… See you tomorrow.” Philippe patted his new boss at the back as encouragement. He then placed the dented Holo Caster on the table next to Corbeau’s already cold coffee, and made his way out of his office. And let the boss be on his own for now.
Corbeau then let out a sigh once he knew he was by himself. He then looked at the Holo Caster he threw out of anger and grumbled, “That idiot…”
He fell back on the couch and let himself sprawl over. He took his glasses off his face and just laid it on the table without even bothering to fold it close.
Despite his poor eyesight, he still managed to reach for the broken Holo Caster.
He gave it a good tap and turned it back on.
"Pokémon Trainers. I come to you by the Holo Caster to make an important announcement. Listen well."
He was always impressed by how durable this tech was. He knew Lysandre was always insistent on making his devices last a long time…
"Team Flare will revive the ultimate weapon, eliminate everyone who isn't in our group, and return the world to a beautiful, natural state. Unproductive fools are consuming our future... If nothing changes, the world will become ugly and conflicts will raze the land from end to end."
He knew Lysandre was right. He, of all people, have always been exposed to that kind of ugliness… as Lysandre puts it. He grew up witnessing it after all.
Yes… Corbeau knew it was ugly.
"I repeat. We will use the ultimate weapon and wipe the slate clean. I'm sorry, those of you who are not members of Team Flare."
“Yeah… I'm not Team Flare after all. And we will never be…”
“But this is adieu to you all.”
“And adieu to you too…” Corbeau covered his eyes with his hand as he tried to hold back something he'd been holding back for so long.
“Adieu…” Corbeau bit his lip as the tears started to fall from his eyes.
“Adieu to you too.. you foolish old man…”