A Night Out: Sycamore (Anime) x Reader: Part 4

The Professor stared at you in shock.
“What do you mean the place is going to crumble? What just happened?”
You didn’t answer him immediately, but instead tried to make your way down the hall, forcing him to come along beside you. The ceiling was starting to deteriorate as chunks of dust and debris began falling through, and you could tell it would collapse any second now.
“That giant rock must’ve found a power source, and now its going to grow, destroying this surrounding building,” you finally answered, as you stopped before a particularly large crack in the ceiling.
Before Professor Sycamore could ask any more questions, you turned to your Garchomp and shouted a command.
“Garchomp, use Dragon Rage on that crack in the ceiling!”

The Garchomp roared obediantly, and released a blast right above, clearing a hole straight through the roof. Bits of debris fell onto the ground around you.
“We need to get out of here!” you said, your voice forced into a higher volume on account of the loud sounds of the building falling apart.
Professor Sycamore still looked a little confused, and very concerned.
“What about the children? And Steven?” he asked, looking over his shoulder wildly to where Mairin, Serena, and Steven had left earlier, only to witness a large boulder crash into the path. He flinched slightly, and covered you with his body as dust from the boulder’s collision whipped down the hallway.
“There’s no time.” you said, feeling incredibly worn-out at that moment, “Steven has his Metagross…they’ll be fine.” ‘I hope…’ you thought grimly.

Professor Sycamore contemplated your words for a moment before finally nodding in agreement. Taking a look at your appearance, it was clear you were in no shape for a rescue mission right now anyway. He would just have to hope the others would be okay.
Your Garchomp bent over, and the two of you climbed on carefully. Once you were safely holding on, you patted the Pokemon’s back and instructed it.
“Garchomp, take us out of here!”
The dragon roared, and lifted the three of you into the air in a powerful push. You hung on tightly as the air whipped all around you, but only just managed to keep your grip because of Professor Sycamore placing his hands over yours for extra security. You could feel him tense under the strain of keeping both you and himself secured on the Pokemon, and were slightly surprised at how strong the Professor was.
Garchomp flew high enough to make it well over the crumbling building before beginning his decent. As you looked below, your eyes widened at what was left of the structure.
Most of it was completely destroyed, if not severely damaged, and right in the middle of the laboratory was a ginormous, glowing, red rock. Coming out of it were massive, black vines that twisted in every direction, threatening to attack anything and anyone who got near it.

You landed shortly after on a patch of grass, and Professor Sycamore helped lay you down gently.
The two of you scanned the wreckage silently.
‘Please be okay…’ you thought desperately, not seeing any signs of your friends.
The giant rock seemed to stop growing finally, and suddenly began moving, its rocky base dragging along the ground. It was moving incredibly fast for its size in the opposite direction of you and the Professor.
“Where is that thing going?” the Professor asked incredulously.
You shook your head gently.
“I have no idea. Lysandre never told me his full plans for this rock…”


Professor Sycamore looked like he was going to say something else, when suddenly, a glowing object in the distance caught both of your eyes.
You squinted, not wanting to get your hopes up too quickly, when you broke into a smile at recognizing the Steel-type Pokemon, with three inhabitants on its back.
“It’s them!” you said, feeling yourself begin to calm down slightly. “They’re alright!”
Professor Sycamore had a similar expression on his face, and waved wildly to the trio as they approached where the two of you were perched. You could now begin to make out the faces of Mairin, Serena, and Steven, all apparently in good condition.

The three trainers landed shortly, and disembarked the Metagross.
“f/n!” Serena yelled, and ran toward where you sat on the ground. She knelt beside you, staring at you with wide eyes for a moment before pulling you in for a gentle hug.
“I’m so glad you’re alright,” she said softly, and you hugged her back. Serena was like a little sister to you, and the two of you had crossed paths often on her journey with Ash through the Kalos League.
“You too, Serena,” you said warmly, and she released you from her grip, a big smile on her face.

“We need a plan of action.”
The two of you turned to Steven, who was dusting off his dress shirt and pants. He stood up tall.
“We can take one of the aircrafts located in the back of the lab. They weren’t damaged by that giant rock thing.”
The conversation now turned serious once more, as everyone realized the worst battle was yet to come. Professor Sycamore glanced at you, and you nodded shortly.
“Alright,” the Kalosian man agreed. “Let’s go.”

***

“How are you feeling?”
Professor Sycamore stared at you concern as the two of you sat in the aircraft. The two of you were alone for a moment, as the others were on the upper level analyzing the giant rock.
You finished taking a swallow of water from the supplies you had found in the carrier before smiling faintly.
“Much better,” you said, and you meant it. Your head no longer had a splitting migraine and strength was returning to all your muscles.
The Professor seemed unconvinced however, noticing the paleness in your complexion and the general thinness of your body. You noticed this look, and rested a reassuring hand on his, locking eyes with a sympathetic gaze.
“Augustine, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”

This didn’t seem to be the right response, however, because the Kalosian man turned his head away quickly, now staring at the ground, eyebrows furrowed.
“Augustine…?” you said quietly, unsure of what you said wrong.
He remained silent for a moment, trying to regain his composure it seemed. When he spoke, he still didn’t not lift his gaze.
“I’ve done nothing but worry about you the entire time you were gone,” he said softly, causing your breath to halt in your throat. How could you been so thoughtless? Of course, you had missed the Professor and his lab more than anything while you were under Team Flare’s control, but at least you knew he was safe and alright. How had he felt that entire month you were gone, not knowing where you were and if you were even alive?
“Augustine,” you said softly again, giving his hand a small squeeze, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t think–”
“Shhh.” The Professor shook his head, and you were surprised as he now took your hand in his, caressing it gently. He smiled faintly, then lifted his pale blue eyes to meet your e/c ones.
“Now I know never to take you for granted, mon amour.”

Your eyes grew wide as he slowly raised your hand to his lips and planted a chaste kiss on the the back of it. You could feel your cheeks heat up, and you were sure a bright band of pink was now spreading across your face.
‘Mon amour?’ your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Did he mean that literally, or was it just one of his French expressions he used? Had he called you that before?
The Professor now lowered your hand, but continued holding it in his own. He was silent for a while, and you waited on baited breath as he ran his thumb tenderly over your hand.
So much had happened since that day about a month ago, when he asked you to dinner. You could remember well just how ecstatic you were over his invitation. Did he still feel the same way about you?
“f/n.”
Your thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his voice, barely over a whisper. You stared at him intently as he continued staring at your hand.
“There’s something I need to tell you…”

“Professor, come quick!”
The Kalosian man’s words were abruptly cut off by the sound of Serena’s voice from the upper level. He frowned, and sat still for a second before shaking his hand and getting to his feet, helping you stand as well.
The two of you left the supply room and moved toward the stairs. Professor Sycamore went first, and offered his hand to help you up, but you shook your head.
“I’m fine, Augustine.”
He looked doubtful, but you shot him a look that told him to let you go, which he reluctantly did.
You made your way up, slower than usual, but without much trouble. Your mind, however, was in worse shape as you tried in frustration to think of what the Professor was going to say to you.

Unfortunately, you didn’t have time to worry, because Serena came rushing to meet you at the top of the stairs, a look of great distress on her face.
“What is it, Serena?” Professor Sycamore asked.
The girl’s lip trembled slightly and the two of you looked at her with rapt attention.
“The giant rock is looking for a stronger energy source…that’s where it’s going. It’s moving toward the sundial in Anistar City,” she said quietly, her voice barely audible.
“And what if it reaches there?” you said, already worried about the answer.
“If it collides with the sundial…” Sererna took a deep breath, “Then the entire world will be destroyed!"