I'm so happy about the positive response this story has gotten so far! I hope you all continue to enjoy this story! I've decided on a Thursday update schedule, so new chapters should be posted on Thursdays (United States relative, as I'm a 'murican).
I once again want to thank my friends for helping me with this story! Let's get started with Chapter 2!
Chapter 2 Marshmallows and Memories! The Story of the Falling Bridge!
"Are you sure you're alright?" Serena asked, practically hovering around him.
"I am, I am," Ash said, waving her worries off. He raised his arm, where the handkerchief was holding his wound covered. "You handled it really well back there, Serena. I expected nothing less from you."
Serena averted her eyes from the praise, but the blood soaking through the handkerchief had dyed a spot of it red where it was once only blue. "If you say so," she said, frowning. "Thanks."
They walked in silence for a few moments, the sound of the wild Pokémon in the trees being the only background for their thoughts.
"Ash…" Serena said raising her hand for a moment before letting it drop, "I'm sorry. I'm just a worrywart. I just saw you bleeding and I got scared…"
Ash shrugged. "It's no big deal," he said gruffly. Looking over at the girl, his expression softened and he let out a sigh. "I mean, I'm alright, Serena. As long as I've got my Pokémon and my friends with me, there's nothing we can't accomplish. A little cut won't stop me."
"Pika, Pikachu!"
Ash gave his partner a petting. "See? Even Pikachu knows I'm alright. Trust me Serena, if I needed anything, I'll let you know."
Serena giggled. "Alright, I'll trust you Ash."
The two of them laughed together for a moment before a growl came from the trainer's stomach. Ash wrapped both his arms around his belly, looking embarrassed. "I guess I could go for a bite to eat."
Serena took her backpack off as they continued walking and looked inside it. "Well, the only thing I have ready to eat are the Poké Puffs I've made for the group."
Ash and Pikachu's eyes both lit up. "F'real? Awesome, get 'em out!"
"Pikachu!"
Serena smiled as she took the Poké Puff case out of her bag. "I don't really get why you eat them, Ash," she said with a shrug. "I mean, they're meant for Pokémon."
Ash grabbed the case out of her hands and popped it open. "Serena, they're the best! Your Poké Puffs are always delicious!" He took one out and handed it to Pikachu, and then took one out for himself. "Let's eat!"
Serena could only smile at them as Ash ate the first Poké Puff he pulled out in three bites before going in for another one. "You really think so?"
"I know so!" Ash said between bites, his mouth filled with the sweetness of the confection. "I could eat these for a week straight and not get tired of them!"
"Pikachu!" he chimed in.
Serena was beaming. "I'm glad you like them so much, Ash."
Ash grinned back. "Good friends, good food, and the road! Nothing beats it!"
Serena felt herself getting lost in his brown eyes yet again. No matter how often bad things would rear their head, Ash Ketchum was an undefeatable ball of positivity, never letting anything dampen his mood for more than a moment before pressing on. It was this never give up attitude that drew her to him, that inspired her to reunite with him after years of separation. Ash had inspired her to take her life into her own hands and pursue her own dreams rather than living for the dreams and desires of other people, which had set Serena on the path of the Pokémon Performer. Truthfully, part of Serena's dream was also that she would someday be able to tell Ash about how he truly makes her feel inside her heart. How he always made her want to go further, how he always inspired her to never give up on herself, how his laughter could brighten even her cloudiest day…
Serena looked up. It was a remarkably cloudy day, with clouds growing darker and darker. Frowning, she opened her guide and tapped the weather app. Her blue eyes widened as the weather map appeared on her screen. "Ash, I think we've got a storm coming through soon."
He looked up, holding the brim of his hat. "You're right," he said, his own expression clouding over. "We should probably try to find some shelter soon."
Serena looked around, but between the cliff face and the trees in the valley, there didn't look like there was anything suitable for a shelter. "Maybe we can find a cave along the cliff to hide in?" she suggested.
Pikachu's ears twitched and he looked around. A bolt of lightning ripped through sky, and the thunder rolled over them, echoing in the valley.
Serena screamed in surprise, jumping as the sky began to open up and let loose the torrents of rain that it was holding. Ash looked to his honey-blonde friend. "Serena, are you alright?"
She nodded, swallowing her fear. "I-I'm fine! It's just a bit startling, that's all."
"We need to get someplace dry fast," Ash said. The rain began washing away all of their heat, and Ash felt it particularly painfully on his arm where he was cut. He clenched his teeth as the rain once again reminded him of the pain. Serena nodded at Ash's words, and the two of them began running through the quickly developing puddles.
Another bolt of lightning split the sky. Again, the thunder roared over them.
"Ash! Over there!"
Serena pointed to what, at first glance appeared only to be an indention in the wall, but as he got closer, Ash saw that it was, in fact, a small alcove, a hollow in the rock. "That's perfect!" he cried.
The two of them ran into the hollow and out of the rain. Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder and shook himself dry, a motion the trainer mimicked himself after taking off his hat, splattering some of the water on Serena. Frowning, Serena gently squeezed her hair to wring it out even a little. "I'm totally soaked," she complained. "It even went through my hat."
Ash sat down, his back against the wall. "It came down really heavy," he said, looking into the rain. "Man, I guess we're not making it to the Pokémon Center after all…"
Serena frowned as she sat down. "I hope Clemont and Bonnie are okay. We were lucky we found this spot to hide out from the rain. Getting caught in the rain like this must be awful."
Ash gave her a confident smile. "I'm sure they're alright. Clemont's a reliable guy and Bonnie's there to keep them moving. Those two have nothing to worry about together."
"But what about us?" Serena continued to worry, tapping on her guide. "From the looks of this, we're going to be stuck in the rain like this all night."
Ash's stomach growled again at this inopportune moment. Scratching his nose nervously, he chuckled. "Well, it wouldn't be the first time our dinner was slim pickings, would it, Pikachu?"
Pikachu narrowed his gaze at Ash. "Pikachu pika…" he said, as if to say 'Speak for yourself'.
"That's just it, Ash," the performer continued to explain. "Clemont has all the food. All I have are ingredients for making a few desserts."
Ash's very relaxed, hands-off attitude disappeared like so much missing food. "Wait, you're telling me we really don't have anything to eat?" he asked, hopping forward. "I know Pikachu and I ate all the Poké Puffs earlier but I didn't think that was all our food!"
Serena began digging through her bag. "I might have something but it's still probably just a snack…" she said. Her blue eyes were overcome with worry as she began taking things out. Flower nectar, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, sweet honey all got taken out of her bag and gently placed down next to her.
Ash very briefly considered eating the cocoa powder raw.
At last, Serena pulled out a bag of large marshmallows and Ash's eyes lit up again. "All right! Marshmallows!"
She looked at him, puzzled. "Marshmallows? What can we do with these? I mean, I guess we can eat them…"
"What're you talkin' about, Serena?" he asked. "We're gonna roast some marshmallows!"
"Pikachu!"
The honey-blonde girl gave him a pitiful frown. "Are you sure we can? I mean, I've never roasted marshmallows…"
Ash felt his jaw drop. "Serena, you've never roasted marshmallows on a fire before?"
She shook her head. "I've seen people do it on TV before but I've never roasted any myself."
Ash gave her a confident grin. "Well, that ends today. We need some sticks, and we can use Braixen's fire, but we're absolutely going to roast some marshmallows tonight."
Serena looked back out into the pouring rain. "We need sticks? Are you sure we can even get any in this weather?"
Ash looked out too, and then tossed off his hat. "I'll get a little wet, but it'll be okay," he said. He unzipped his jacket and slipped it off his shoulders. "I'll just leave this stuff here all of my clothes won't be totally wet afterwards."
He tossed his jacket to Serena, who caught it, blinking. "Ash, you really don't need to go through all this trouble," she said, a faint blush creeping on her cheeks.
Ash was already taking a Poké Ball off his belt. "Greninja, I choose you!" Opening the ball brought out Ash's Ninja Pokémon. He stood there, eyes closed but listening at the ready. "Greninja, can you help me go find some sticks really quick?" Greninja's eyes opened up, and he gave a quick, affirmative "Gre" as his only vocalized response. Ash pumped his fist. "Great! Let's get going!"
As Ash and Greninja rushed out of the cave, Serena felt herself raising her hand, trying to stop him, but he had bolted out into the rain without so much as one glance backwards. "Ash…" she whispered to herself, half annoyed, half wistful.
"Pikapi," the Electric-Type, who was left on the cave's floor, said as well.
Serena felt herself blush a little, sighing over Ash with Pikachu sitting there. She locked eyes with Ash's partner for only a moment before dismissing the idea. 'No, there's no way Pikachu knows…' she told herself. Instead, she smiled and beckoned him closer. "Would you like to sit here, Pikachu?" she said, motioning to her lap. Pikachu nodded and hopped into the girl's arms, settling on her legs.
Pikachu was still a little damp to the touch, but Serena stroked his fur, anyway, letting her thoughts wander. She still had Ash's jacket over her arms, and it made her feel warm, especially in her heart. Ash could be impulsive and a little childish at times, but his intentions were always ones of kindness and compassion. It was yet another characteristic of his that she found to be amazing. As she continued to pet Pikachu, she thought of Ash and his unyielding spirit. Being separated from the others was not how she had planned this night from going, but with Ash at her side, Serena felt like everything was going to be fine. They would all have a laugh once this was over.
Ash and Greninja returned after a short wait, both of them carrying bundles of sticks under their arms. While Greninja's expression was the same sort of quiet, listening expression he normally carried, Ash was grinning wide, though trembling from being soaking wet. "We're back!" he said, his smile lighting up the small cave.
Serena got up to welcome him back, but the boy from Pallet followed up his words with a sneeze, causing Serena's feelings to go from happy to see him back to worried that he made himself sick. "Ash, you really shouldn't have been out there that long," she chastised, holding Pikachu in her arms as Ash's jacket fell from her to the ground. "You better not have caught a cold. You remember what happened last time!"
Pikachu leapt from Serena back to his buddy's shoulder, where he nuzzled the boy's cold face. "I'm alright, Serena, and look! We can even roast the marshmallows now!"
"Pikapika!"
The performer's pursed her lips into a pout. "Ash, just… be more careful, okay?"
He scratched the back of his head shyly. "S-Sorry…"
Following Ash's instructions, Serena let out Braixen, who lit most of the sticks on fire, though the wetness of the wood caused them to crackle and steam as they burned the water out of them, resulting in a small fire. Serena looked at the tiny pyre and then looked back at Ash, who was affixing a marshmallow to the end of his stick, with Pikachu doing the same. "You almost ready, buddy?"
"Pika!"
Serena smiled and took a stick for herself, poking a marshmallow on the end of the stick. "I guess I'm ready, too," she said, mustering some enthusiasm.
Ash and Pikachu huddled around the small fire, smiling. The roast was, of course, the second most fun part of eating roasted marshmallows, with the most fun being eating them. The boy and his Pokémon raised their sticks to the fire, drawing a shocked gasp out of Serena. "Ash, what're you doing?"
Ash looked at her, confused. "I'm roasting my marshmallow," he responded.
"Kachu."
"You're gonna burn it, right?" she said, pointing at the stick. "You're getting the marshmallow way too close to the fire!"
Ash chuckled. "Serena, you're supposed to burn them," he said sagely.
She got closer, blinking. "Are you sure? I'd think burning them makes them taste gross."
Ash nodded. "I'm positive. They're way better when burnt."
"Pikachu!"
"It's like today, you know?" He said, lowering his marshmallow into the flames. His marshmallow combusted quickly, the surface of it charring and turning black and crusty. "We were having a pretty ordinary day, but then Team Rocket came by and burned everything up. But below the surface of that, there's still sweetness in our lives. Team Rocket just made the day more interesting, and we got something interesting out of it." He scratched his nose nervously. "I dunno if that made any sense. But it's like, good things can come out of bad things, you know?"
Serena listened to his reasoning with a smile on her face. Leave it to Ash to try to work some sort of life lesson into eating. She lowered her own marshmallow into the flames and watched it catch fire. She was very familiar with the color of the flames, having performed alongside Braixen through all of her Pokémon Showcase challenges. The burning brought to mind the experience she had in the Master Class, when she tasted defeat at the hands of Aria, who was now starting her second reign as Kalos Queen. But there was a sweet side, as well. Palermo, the former Kalos Queen and a famous talent scout, had offered her a place at her side, to allow Serena to learn more about being a great Performer. An offer that Palermo placed on hold until Serena was ready for it.
"Just, uh," Ash interrupted her thoughts, "Make sure to blow on it a bit 'cause it's still hot."
She stifled a giggle. The blackened marshmallow didn't look very appetizing on the end of her stick. She looked over at Ash and Pikachu who were now chewing on their own gooey, sticky marshmallows happily. "Well, here goes," she whispered to herself.
She placed the marshmallow in her mouth and pulled the stick out. The first thing she tasted was the char on the surface. It was bitter and cracked against her tongue, turning to ash quickly. But then, the taste was replaced with a sweet, creaminess, that still had bits and pieces of the burnt outside along with it. It was a complex, sophisticated taste… one that Ash had taught her, composed of bitterness with a core of sweetness. Serena thought that it was sort of like Ash himself.
She smiled at him. "That was actually really yummy, Ash!" She said.
"See?" He grinned. "Better when burnt!"
The two of them laughed, and continued roasting marshmallows together.
When their bag had run out, and the fire had petered down, Ash and Serena sat next to each other, with Greninja and Braixen at their sides, and Pikachu in Ash's lap. There was a brief moment of quiet between them, the unstated weariness causing them both to grow sleepy. Ash had his jacket back on now as they both rested against the wall of the cave.
"Serena, can I ask you something?" Ash asked, his voice low and quiet.
The performer almost jumped. Ash's voice sounded really serious and low. "Y-Yes, Ash?"
"Why are you so afraid of rope bridges?" he asked.
Serena let out a sigh of relief that he wasn't broaching the subject she thought he was. "It's… not something I really talk about often," she said. "It's probably because of that really scary thing that happened to me back at Summer Camp."
"You mean the one back in Pallet Town?" Ash asked.
She nodded. "It's… a little embarrassing."
Ash could sense her discomfort with the topic. "Y-You don't gotta," he said, backing off the topic.
Serena shook her head. "It's okay… I don't mind telling you…" She closed her eyes and began travelling back in time to that day. A day that would end up changing her life forever. "I'm not from Pallet Town, or even Kanto, so I didn't know any of the other kids at Camp. That meant I was a pretty easy target for bullying…"
Ash leaned back, his eyes focusing on her a little bit more. "You had to deal with bullies, huh?"
She nodded. "I.. guess I wasn't my bright cheery self back then. You see, that summer… a few months before, that's when my father passed away."
Ash felt his heart sink into his stomach. "Oh man… Serena, I'm sorry that…"
She shook her head. "It's really okay Ash," she shot him a sad smile. "It was a long time ago. But Mom sent me away to camp to try and help get my mind off of it. Anyway, I guess I wasn't very cheerful, and that just made me an even bigger target for bullies…"
A young girl with honey-blonde hair framing her face and going down her back followed behind a group of other girls. "A-Are you sure we should be going out this far into the forest?" she asked, trying to hold back tears.
One of the girls tossed her hair. "Puh-lease," she scoffed. "Any kid from Pallet is brave enough to go into these woods."
"I guess the Kalosian Princess is just a scaredy-Meowth," another said.
Serena sniffled. She was scared and she didn't want to be out here with them… but she also didn't know where else she could go. Her mother had abandoned her out here in the middle of nowhere in a camp filled with complete strangers, and her daddy was…
She didn't know what to do, so she let the other children push her along, deeper and deeper into the forest. "I-I'm not scared…" she said, her voice quivering.
The lead girl turned to her and smirked. "You're gonna prove it, Serena," she said. "We're headed to a place where we all test our bravery. If you can pass, you'll be one of us."
The offer of belonging to the group was one that raised Serena's spirits a little. "I-I'll be brave," she said, her voice quivering. "Th-Then maybe we can go play somewhere else…?"
They didn't say anything in response.
The girls continued to walk in silence, the trees growing thicker and thicker, the light growing dimmer and dimmer as they proceeded. Serena swallowed, the silence unnerving. She held her straw hat down on her head and tried to think of what her Mother had told her on the way to camp. But all she could think of was how much she missed Rhyhorn and Fletchling and Daddy. She sniffled, holding her tears in.
The group of girls eventually came to a wooden rope bridge, spanning over a small river that ran through the forest. Serena gasped as the girls pushed her to the front of the group, and she found herself at the front, standing right before the rickety bridge.
"Go on, Scaredyrena," the lead girl taunted her. "Or are you gonna give up like Kalos always does?"
The rest of the girls laughed, both at the joke and at the lost, young girl. "Scaredyrena, Scaredyrena," they chanted.
Serena balled up her small fists. "I-I'm not scared!" she protested, her small voice getting drown out by the chanting. "I-I'll cross it! Then we can be fr-friends, right?"
The lead girl pushed her, causing Serena to stumble a few steps backwards onto the bridge. It creaked and swayed under even her small weight. She gasped and stood still.
"C'mon, Scaredyrena! Go across!"
Serena nodded to them and, holding onto the ropes, began walking her slow way across. The bridge was sturdier than she had thought, and she began walking her way across.
"I-I'm almost there! I'm almost there!" she cheered herself on.
She heard a series of gasps come from behind her.
Serena turned around and saw the girl who had lead her out into the woods holding a knife from the camp kitchen. She was sawing her way through the ropes supporting the bridge. "W-What?! What're you doing?!" Serena gasped.
The bridge began to shudder and shake as the rope holding it up was cut through. The bridge began to lean to the side. Serena turned and ran across, screaming in terror as the bridge shaking and beginning to fall behind her.
Just as her feet landed on solid ground, the bridge behind her fell down into the valley below. Serena held down onto her hat and hot tears streamed down her face. The children across the divide laughed at her. "Aww, is Scardyrena okay? Is she afraid of a little fall?"
Serena's lip quivered as she stood there, crying quietly, looking across the way at the mass of children laughing at her.
"Listen if you get back, maybe we'll let you hang out with us,' the girl shouted. "Good luck, Scardyrena." With those words, the group of girls began heading back towards the campsite.
Serena stood there, watching them disappear down the path until they were all gone. Slowly the realization that they weren't coming back for her dawned, and she sniffled, heading into the forest.
The trees all seemed to spiral and move around her, looming overhead, blotting out the sky with their massive trunks and broad leaves. She felt like she had been lost for days, though it was only an hour.
She hated everything about this camp. She hated being away from her room. She hated how she couldn't make any friends. She hated Kanto and Pallet Town.
She hated being lost and lonely.
"Hello?" she called out into the trees. "Where is everybody? Where did you all go?"
The only answer was a sudden rustling of a bush next to her. Surprised, Serena gasped and tripped, falling to the ground on her knee, eliciting a yelp in pain. The rustling grew louder and louder as Serena laid there, whimpering loudly.
A Poliwag leapt from the bushes and landed next to her with a "Poli!" before hopping off further into the forest.
Serena watched the Pokémon run away and felt the tears sliding down her cheeks again. "I knew I didn't want to come to camp… I knew it…"
Serena just wanted to go home. She wanted to see her Mom and Dad and Rhyhorn and Fletchling and forget about this entire stupid place. "M-Mommy!" she shouted into the forest, hoping against all logic that her mother would somehow hear her.
The bushes began to shake again, and though Serena was overcome with fear, she found her leg unresponsive to her will to run away. She closed her eyes and sobbed, paralyzed with fear and despair.
"…Poliwag?" asked the voice of the boy who slowly emerged from the foliage.
Serena cleared her throat. "And that's the story of how I became afraid of rope bridges, I guess," she said, shrugging. "We both know what happened after that."
Ash scratched his nose. "Of course! That's the first time we met."
Pikachu, who had curled up in Ash's lap while Serena told the story, let out a yawn, causing his trainer to stroke his back.
Serena closed her eyes and relaxed before a question popped into her head. "Hey Ash? What were you doing in the forest when you found me?"
Ash's hand stopped abruptly on Pikachu, causing the mouse to sit up in confusion.
"There wasn't any reason," he said, chuckling nervously. "It's just what I normally did back then."
Serena watched his face as she spoke, noting a certain tenseness that wasn't there before. "It's just what you normally did?"
Ash yawned and stretched arms out. "Man, I'm tired… I think we should get some sleep. We're gonna have to find Clemont and Bonnie tomorrow," he said, smiling sheepishly. He pulled the front of his hat over his eyes. "G'night, Serena."
The performer found herself frowning. Ash so quickly changed the subject and decided that he was tired… was he just being impulsive as always, or did he really not want to talk about what happened in the forest that day?
These thoughts accompanied Serena as she curled up between Ash and Braixen and nodded off to sleep.
To Be Continued...
"Alright everyone! Let's go together! Towards our next adventure!"
"Big Bro! Ash and Serena are still missing!"
"Have no fear, little sister! I'm sure my invention will find them! Clemontic Gear, on!"
"Uh, you guys need help?"
"Huh? Who are you?"
"Call me Calem."
"Next time, Pokémon XY&Z: The ABC's of Love! Enter Calem, the Fashionable Rival!"
"Everyone, go catch'em all!"
