Chapter Four - Light Up the Night

Serena's heart fluttered. It couldn't be Ash. It was impossible, and yet, there he was, in the flesh. He had come to save her. Same hat, same face, same messy hair as always.

Just as Serena's heart prepared to soar, she felt it sputter. There was something wrong. She blinked several times. It was difficult to see through the tears and the darkness. Ash's shoulders slumped. His eyes betrayed his lack of confidence.

It was Ash - the one from this world, anyway.

"Ash?" she said.

"Yep, it's me," he said.

Serena's heart sank. Ash's voice was the same, but his tone made all the difference in the world.

Ash glanced down at the bench. Half of it was still occupied by Serena's legs.

"Um..." he said.

Serena hurried to sit upright.

"Oh, yes, you can sit down," she said.

"Thank you," said Ash. He sat down as far away from her as he could.

Serena took notice of Ash's evasiveness, but made no mention of it. There was something so odd about being in his presence. The familiar features of his face were all the same as the Ash she knew - the same attractive lines and contours, the same dark, handsome eyes - but the way he carried himself was all wrong.

"I'm surprised to see you here," she said, wiping her eyes. "I didn't think anyone was going to come looking for me."

"We all went looking for you, actually," said Ash. "Well, not all of us. I left Pikachu at the Pokemon Center because I thought he would cause too much trouble. But we split up to try to find you. I just got lucky and found you first."

Serena gave Ash a sideways glance. He was so different, but so familiar. Even with all his confidence missing, he was still so affable. Serena couldn't help but smile at the way he spoke.

"Lucky, huh?" she said. Ash looked away.

"The others should get here eventually," said Ash. "We were all supposed to go to different places and then meet up again at the Pokemon Center. When I don't come back, they'll know I'm here."

"Well, at least misery loves company," said Serena. "I don't know what I was thinking, running off like that. I guess I wasn't thinking. You all are the only people I know in this world."

"I understand," said Ash. "Running away like that, I mean. I do it a lot."

"It's so weird to see someone with your face say that," said Serena.

"Your Ash isn't like that at all, I bet," said Ash.

"No," said Serena.

"It's so weird to be having this kind of conversation with someone with your face," said Ash.

"Yeah, I totally understand that feeling right now," said Serena.

"The Serena from this world would never sit here with me and just... talk."

"What would she do?"

"I dunno. She probably wouldn't be here with me in the first place."

"She's not very nice to you, is she?"

"I think she tries to be, but it doesn't always come out that way. It may not look like it, but I think she has a lot of faith in me. She feels like she knows I can be better than I am, stronger than I am. And I think it frustrates her when I fail to be those things."

"That's a lot of pressure she puts on you, then."

"She means well. I think she does, anyway. She's not very good at showing emotion."

Serena thought for a moment, then smirked.

"You know, you may not believe it, but I don't think I'm very good at showing emotion, either," she said.

"You're already miles ahead of her just by being here and talking," said Ash.

"It doesn't matter if I'm miles ahead of her if I never go anywhere," said Serena.

"It matters a lot," said Ash. "With someone like her, you never even get a chance to understand how she feels. With you, even if you think you aren't good at it, you're at least willing to try talking. You'd love to say what your real feelings are, if only you knew how."

Serena stared at Ash.

"I've got to keep reminding myself that you're not the Ash I know," she said, shaking her head. She rubbed her temples, eyes shut. "The Ash from my world would never be so insightful. This is so weird."

"I'm really not that smart," said Ash. "It's easy for me to guess stuff like that, because you're just like me."

"I am, aren't I?" said Serena. "It's kind of hard to wrap my mind around it, you know? All the opposites in this world do weird things to the brain."

"I guess so," said Ash. "This world is normal for me, but I see what you mean."

Serena made a bunch of strange gestures with her hands as she tried to lay out her thoughts.

"Ash and I are opposites, in a lot of ways," she said. "We're alike in a lot of ways, too, but I think it's easier to see the ways we're different. And you and your Serena, you two are also very different. You and me, though, because we're opposites of opposites, we end up on the same side."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," said Ash.

Serena watched Ash's expressions for a few moments. He looked so unsure of himself, but there were traces of a smile on his face.

"You have feelings for your Serena, don't you?" said Serena.

Ash flinched. His eyes moved down to his feet, then away from Serena.

"Yes," Ash said. "Of course you would know that. I don't know why I'm so surprised."

"So, you know?" said Serena.

"That you have feelings for your Ash?" Ash said.

Serena took a deep breath.

"Yes," she said. "Yes I do, and I've had those feelings for a long time."

"Did your Ash rescue you when you were lost in the woods at summer camp?" said Ash.

"Yes!" said Serena. "Did your Serena rescue you?"

"Yes she did," said Ash. "When I met her again and showed her that I still had her handkerchief after all this time, she thought I was really weird."

Serena frowned.

"Ash didn't think it was weird at all when I returned his handkerchief. In fact, I'm not sure he thought anything about it."

"Well, Serena said it was weird, but I know I've seen her looking at it a few times since I gave it back to her. I'm sure she doesn't know I've seen her doing that, though."

Ash craned his neck up to the sky.

"It gives me... hope," he said.

Serena thought for a moment.

"Sometimes, Ash says things about how close he feels to me," she said. "And those moments give me hope, too."

Ash nodded. His eyes stayed fixed on the sky.

"He always gives me hope," said Serena. "And I see him in my dreams all the time, and when I wake up, he's right there, but I can't have him. It's so frustrating."

"And I bet you feel like there's nothing you can do about it," said Ash.

"Exactly," said Serena. "How am I supposed to get through to someone who's completely oblivious?"

"I dunno," said Ash. "How am I supposed to get through to... well, you've met her."

Serena felt a throb of pity in her chest. As powerless as she felt in her situation, she couldn't bear to think of how hopeless Ash's cause seemed.

"I'm so sorry," said Serena.

"Sorry?" said Ash. "For what? You didn't do anything."

"Sorry for the situation you're stuck in. Sorry for how she is."

"Don't be sorry," said Ash. "You haven't seen her good side. You haven't seen her help me try to get stronger. You haven't seen her save us all."

"Can I still be sorry for how unapproachable she is?" said Serena. "My Ash may be dense, but at least he's always open to listening."

"So? Serena understands what my feelings are, I just think she's afraid of opening herself up to them."

"But, she-"

Serena started to speak, but stopped and shook her head.

"No, I'm not going to do this," she said. "I'm not going to argue with you about which one of us in in the worse situation. We're in the same position. It's pointless."

"I think you're in the worse situation," said Ash. "You're stuck in a world that's the opposite of your own."

A pang of grief hit Serena right in the stomach and a chill went down her spine. She sighed and closed her eyes as she leaned against the back of the bench.

"Why did you have to remind me?" she groaned.

Ash spent some time adjusting his hat.

"Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to. I was just... being honest."

"Our conversation was such a nice break from dealing with this insanity," said Serena.

"We can go back to it, if you like," said Ash. "You don't have to think about, your, um, situation, unless you want to. At least until everyone else gets here."

"That would be great," said Serena.

"I was really enjoying being, well, honest with you," said Ash. "I don't always get to do that with my friends."

"I was enjoying that, too," said Serena. "It's so different to hear myself say out loud that I, you know, have feelings for Ash."

Ash let out a deep breath.

"It's so frustrating to hear you say things like that, because you look so much and sound so much like Serena, but you aren't her. But you also are? I dunno."

"I'm like the opposite of her in a bunch of ways, but really similar in a bunch of others," said Serena. "Just like you and my Ash. It's like I'm defined by her, but also not. I don't know, either."

Serena took a long look at Ash. Even after everything he had said, he still looked just the same as the Ash she remembered. It was maddening.

"And, if I do somehow get back to my world," she said, "it's going to be so painful to remember talking to you here and how open you were when I talk to my Ash and he's nothing like this."

"It's kind of painful for me right now, knowing that Serena is going to get here eventually and she and I could never talk like this," said Ash. "So I know how you feel."

Serena winced.

"I'm sorry," she said. "It's easy for me to forget that this world is normal for you."

"It's okay," said Ash. "You were being honest about your feelings, and I'm being honest about mine."

"Right," said Serena. "Honesty. I've got to focus more on that. I'm kind of out of practice."

"Me too, kinda," said Ash. "Not because I have to lie to people, but I just don't really have anyone to talk to about this stuff. I feel pretty alone, sometimes."

Serena frowned and looked down at her feet. She never felt alone, just unable to speak her mind.

"You're not alone right now," she said. "You have me. And I would be alone without you."

"I bet you wish you could be anywhere else, but I'm glad you're here right now," said Ash. "I like this. What we're doing."

Serena looked at Ash. He was staring up at the sky again. She bit down on her lip.

She thought of all the times she had wanted to hold Ash, or to be held by him. To be close to him. To tell him how she felt. To kiss him. She remembered the same feeling of dread in her stomach that stopped her every time. She could feel it now. It paralyzed her.

Then she remembered the exhilarating feeling of flirting with danger, and she spoke.

"If I were doing this with the Ash from my world right now," said Serena, "I would want to kiss him."

Ash took a deep breath.

"If you were the Serena from my world, I would want to kiss her, too," he said.

Serena felt a compulsion to grab his hand and pull him in, but she knew she couldn't do it. She clenched her fists and pounded them against her legs.

"This is so frustrating!" she said. "I can't stand it. You look and sound just like him, and you're saying everything I ever wish he would say. It isn't fair!"

"We've both said this before, but I know exactly how you feel," said Ash.

"You're not the Ash I know, but I'm still so attracted to you!" said Serena. "But you're not, you know, my Ash!"

Serena groaned. She felt like pulling her hair. She noticed Ash's eyes lingering on her, and when she turned to look at him, their eyes met. She could see redness in his face.

"I wish I could just, I don't know, hold your hand. Anything!" said Serena.

"I wish we could do that, too," said Ash. "But I don't know if that's a good idea."

"I don't know, either," said Serena. "I'm overwhelmed and kind of afraid, but I know there's only one way to find out if it's a good idea or not, and I think I'm going to jump out of my skin if we don't at least try."

She saw Ash swallow hard. There was fear in his eyes.

"Do you want to try?" she asked him.

She saw tears beginning to form in his eyes. He gritted his teeth to try to stop them. He made a loud sniffling sound.

"Yes I do," he said, speaking in a voice that was no more than a shaky whisper. "I would like that a lot."

Serena looked at his hand, closed tight, resting on the seat of the bench. She saw Ash follow her eyes to it. She was struck by a baffling feeling of not knowing what to do. In the abstract, the act of holding a hand seemed so simple, but in the moment, it seemed to her as if there were dozens of complicated steps required to achieve it.

"It's like we know each other, but somehow not at all," said Serena. "I feel both like I've known you for years and like I've never met you before."

Ash said nothing. His eyes kept shifting from Serena's eyes to her hand.

"I guess we really are going to do this," said Serena. "Okay, um..."

Her hand shaking and clammy, she reached out and placed it on top of Ash's hand. Upon her touch, Ash's hand opened up and tried to meet hers. For a few seconds, they struggled to understand how their fingers were meant to fit together.

Serena stared at their joined hands. She blinked several times. She wasn't sure what to think of it.

"How is that for you?" she said. "Does that feel okay?"

Ash looked like he was considering his words.

"It... isn't what I was expecting," he said. "It feels kinda weird."

"Yeah, it does," said Serena.

"Do you want to stop?" said Ash.

"Stop... holding hands?" said Serena.

"Yeah."

"Do you?"

"I dunno, I just wanted to see if you did," said Ash. "You agreed that it felt kinda weird."

"Maybe we just need to try it for a little longer?" said Serena.

"Maybe," said Ash.

Serena saw him frown and look away.

"This just isn't what I was expecting at all," said Ash. "I dunno what I thought was going to happen, but this wasn't it."

"I know what you mean," said Serena. "I feel the same way, too. I guess I was expecting it to feel magical or something? It really just feels, well, awkward."

"Is this what it's supposed to feel like?" said Ash. "I wouldn't know. I've never done this before."

"Me neither, of course," said Serena. "That's why I thought maybe we were doing something wrong, or maybe we needed more time to get used to it."

She looked at the gap between them on the bench. Ash was still as far away as he could be on the other side.

"Maybe we need to be closer to each other," said Serena.

"That's probably it," said Ash. "I know we both said we kinda feel like we've known each other for years, but we did only meet today."

"Well, yes," said Serena. "That's true, but what I meant was that I thought we should get closer on this bench. You're really far away."

"Oh!" said Ash. "Yeah, I wanted to give you your space, so when I sat down I made sure I left you enough room."

"That's very considerate of you," said Serena, "but if we're holding hands, aren't we kind of already in each other's personal space?"

"Yeah, I guess so," said Ash.

"Would you like to come closer?" said Serena.

"I think I would," said Ash. "Would you?"

"Yes!" said Serena. "I'm the one who's suggesting it!"

"Okay, sorry!" said Ash. He moved a few inches in her direction. "How's that?"

Serena looked at the gap between them and decided it was still too large. She moved much closer to him, until only an inch or two separated them. She placed their joined hands on top of her leg.

"Much better," she said. "Is this alright with you?"

"Yeah, but it still doesn't feel quite right," said Ash.

"We can stop, if you'd like," said Serena. "I understand, really."

"It's not that I'm uncomfortable with it," said Ash. "I think it's that even though you're so similar to Serena in so many ways, you're not really her, you know?"

"And you're not really Ash," said Serena. "I know. I feel it, too."

She looked at their hands, then frowned.

"Well, it was worth a try, I guess," she said.

"It was," said Ash. He met eyes with her again. "I'm glad we tried it."

He paused for a moment, then looked away.

"You're really pretty," he said.

Serena felt a smile forming on her face that she couldn't resist. She giggled.

"You really think so?" she said.

"Yes," Ash said, nodding. "You really are."

"Are you serious right now?" said Serena, struggling to hold back a laugh. "Thirty seconds ago you weren't sure if you wanted to hold hands, and now we're right next to each other and you're calling me pretty."

"I can't help it!" said Ash. "It's true!"

Serena looked away, a demure smile on her face. She felt quite pleased with herself, in a way she never had before.

"Do you want to kiss me?" she said.

"I, um, I-"

"You don't have to say yes!" said Serena. "I know I'm being really forward with all this. I just feel really safe with you and I feel attracted to you in ways that are tough to understand, and I'm trying to be completely open and take my chances with trying something new. I'm really nervous, too! I feel like my heart is beating out of control right now."

She took Ash's hand and removed it from hers, instead wrapping it around her wrist.

"Feel my pulse," she said. "Feel for yourself. I feel just as nervous as you do. But both of us got into our frustrating situations because we never take action, and right now we have a chance to take some real actions and figure some things out for ourselves. I understand if you don't want to go any further with this, I really do, and I promise I won't make you do anything you aren't comfortable with doing. But we also got ourselves into our situations because we're never willing to step outside of our comfort zones. I think that maybe learning to take some risks that make us uncomfortable would benefit both of us."

Ash was silent, his eyes focused on his hand wrapped around Serena's wrist.

"What do you think?" said Serena.

Ash let go of her wrist.

"I think," he said, "that if you somehow make it back to your world, then you're right. It would be great to learn to take some new steps. But if we kiss, and you don't go back, then what? I don't have feelings for you. I have feelings for the Serena from this world. You would end up getting left out if you were stuck here. And right now, that looks a lot more likely than you going home."

"I haven't given up hope," said Serena. "Not yet. Ash wouldn't give up, and I'm not going to, either. For him, I'm not giving up. I may not be with him right now, but he is still with me."

Serena took Ash's hand again.

"And you shouldn't give up hope, either," she said. "Not because of me, but because of your Serena. She wouldn't give up, and I know she would never want you to give up on anything!"

Ash let out a long, unsteady breath.

"We've got to have courage," said Serena. "It's what my Ash would want for me, and it's what your Serena would want for you."

Serena turned toward Ash and took his hand in both of hers. She wrapped one hand around his wrist and felt for his pulse. It was just as fast as hers.

"We've got to learn to face our fears," said Serena. "If we don't, none of our dreams will ever come true."

Ash gazed at Serena for several breathless moments.

"Then kiss me," he said.

Serena leaned in and closed her eyes. Just like when she tried to hold his hand, there seemed to be so many more steps involved than she had ever expected. Just as she was beginning to worry if she had puckered her lips enough, she felt them touch his.

The feeling was awkward. It was stiff and bland.

When Serena pulled away and opened her eyes, she looked off into the distance, unfocused. That was not at all how she had expected her first kiss to feel. She felt foolish for expecting it to be anything other than what it was - the feeling of her lips touching someone else's, and nothing more.

"That was..." she said.

"Not great," said Ash.

"No. No it wasn't."

"That wasn't what I expected at all."

"Me neither."

"It felt like... lips."

"Yeah."

"Just like how holding hands just felt like... hands."

"And sweat."

Ash pulled his hands away from Serena's grip.

"And gloves, I guess," he said, holding up his hands and displaying his fingerless gloves.

"I can't believe I thought there would be electricity or something," said Serena.

"Maybe there would have been, if it had been your Ash you kissed," said Ash.

Serena moved a few more inches away from Ash.

"I hope so," she said. "And I mean no offense, but I know now that I definitely don't have feelings for you."

"Oh, I understand," said Ash. "I don't have feelings for you, either. I have them for my Serena."

"It's kind of a shame," said Serena. "If we did have feelings for each other, it would be really convenient that we can talk to each other so openly."

"Yeah, no kidding," said Ash. "It would make everything so much easier."

"What we just did may be the hardest thing I've ever done," said Serena.

"I know it was the scariest thing I've ever done," said Ash.

"I'm glad we did that, though," said Serena.

Ash thought about it for a moment.

"Me too," he said.

"It feels good to do something that felt like it was impossible," said Serena. "I never thought I would be brave enough to kiss anyone, let alone Ash! Well, someone who's sort of Ash, anyway."

A smug smile formed on Ash's face.

"I'm feeling pretty good about myself right now," he said. "That did feel good, even though the kiss wasn't great."

"It's like I said," said Serena. "We both need to do things like that more often. Take some risks!"

"But not too many," said Ash, clenching his shaking hands. "I think I've taken enough risks for one day."

Serena watched Ash take a deep breath and slide his hands into his pockets. It occurred to her how worked up she was feeling, and she took a moment to lean her back into the bench and let the tension out of her muscles. She sighed.

"I think I've taken more than enough risks for one day," she said. "But if I'm going to get home, I may have to take a few more."

"I'm so glad I'm not the one stranded in another world," said Ash. "I hate it when I get called a crybaby, but I know that if I was in your position I would be a mess right now."

"To be honest, I'm not sure how I'm keeping it together," said Serena. "I'm terrified."

Serena felt a sickening pulse of dread in her chest as an awful thought occurred to her.

"It's not just that I might not be able to get home," she said. "I don't even have a home in this world. My mom in this world already has a daughter, and it's not me. If she doesn't believe me, or she doesn't want me, I won't have anywhere to go."

"Serena's mom is really laid-back and pretty much lets Serena do whatever she wants," said Ash. "She might let you stay with her. I dunno. That's... really scary."

Serena felt the tears pooling up in her eyes. She grabbed fistfuls of her skirt.

"Yeah," she said, her voice straining. "It is scary."

She whimpered, and then her whimper turned into a sob.

"I have nothing! I'm homeless in this world!"

The noise she made was ugly, one that frightened even herself. She knew it was the hardest she had ever cried. Her anguished sobs came in uncontrollable bursts, so powerful that her head felt as though it would split.

The only anchor holding her to the world was Ash's hand, which moved gently up and down her back. Serena had no idea how much time passed, only that it felt like forever when she opened her eyes again.

She looked at Ash. His hand stopped moving. She was sure she looked horrible, but Ash didn't even blink.

"I'll be your friend," he said.

Serena collapsed onto his shoulder and buried her head. For a moment, she felt guilty for doing it, but her guilt went away when Ash continued to rub her back.

"Thank you," she said.

"You can come with us," said Ash. "You don't have to be alone. You'll have me. You'll have all of us."

"But... what if the others don't like me?"

"I don't think you need to worry about that," said Ash. "You can see it for yourself."

"What do you mean?"

"Look."

Serena looked up from Ash's shoulder. She jumped in surprise. Bonnie, Clemont, and Mirror Serena were all standing there before her. She could feel her face flushing with embarrassment. She knew they had all seen what just happened.

"Hi, uh, again," she said.

"Alas, we meet again!" said Bonnie.

"And not a moment too soon," said Clemont. "We would have been here much sooner, if only these two could have caught up to me!"

Mirror Serena stood with her face tight and her arms folded. Serena looked toward her, and their eyes met. She could feel the disgust on Mirror Serena's face, but there was something deeper hidden by it. Something proud.

"We were worried when you ran off," Mirror Serena said, "but it looks like you were in capable hands all along."

Mirror Serena smirked, and her eyes lingered on the spot where Ash's hand remained on Serena's back. Serena saw Ash's eyes widen, and she felt an abrupt absence as he jammed his hand into his pocket.

"My brother aggrandizes himself," said Bonnie. "The true cause of our delay in reaching you was not our running speed, but rather Clemont's ceaseless tinkering with his magical devices."

"I still ran here faster than all of you, though!" said Clemont. "But enough about that. Hopefully, our arrival will have been worth the wait, because I believe I have devised a method of sending you back to the dimension from which you came!"

Serena's face went blank.

"Are you serious?" she said.

"I most certainly am," said Clemont. "Behold! I have enchanted this magic staff so that when it is pointed at the mirror which you used to enter this world, it will reopen the portal to your home world and allow you to return to it!"

Clemont removed a wooden staff from the roll of his backpack. It looked like the kind of thing that would be carried by a wizard in a fantasy film. Serena's head flooded with questions.

"How?" she said.

"Ah," said Clemont. "I'm glad you asked, because magic works in mysterious ways-"

"No," said Serena. "How are we going to get to the mirror? Are we going to break into the library?"

"Goodness, no!" said Clemont. "There is a much simpler solution at hand."

"Or perhaps, at pocket," said Bonnie.

"What do you mean?" said Serena.

"Tell us," said Clemont. "Did you or did you not show us earlier a fragment of the mirror which you had kept with you?"

Serena gasped and reached into her pocket. There it was, not even the size of a playing card.

"This?" she said, holding it up. "I'm going to be able to go home through this?"

"Good! You kept it," said Clemont. "And yes, indeed you shall be able to return to your world through it."

Serena was suspicious. She eyed the shard with doubt.

"But how am I going to fit through it?" she said. "Won't I need a mirror big enough for me to step through? That's how I got here in the first place. I fell through the big mirror!"

"If my understanding of interdimensional magic is correct, the size of the mirror shouldn't matter at all," said Clemont. "Our mundane concepts of dimension have very little meaning in the blind eternities between the dimensions themselves."

"O...kay," said Serena, feeling even more doubt. "So, what do we need to do?"

"All you need to do is place the shard on the ground," said Clemont. "I will handle the rest."

Serena rose from the bench. She looked into the mirror shard. She saw that she looked as skeptical as she felt.

"Here you go," she said, placing the shard on the ground. "Now what?"

"Everyone should stand back," said Clemont. "Magic of this nature can be a risky undertaking. I have no way of knowing how much energy may be released when we make the connection to your home dimension."

Ash rose from the bench and backed away several steps. He seemed to be moving from experience. Serena followed him.

"Is this, uh, safe?" said Serena.

"I don't think so," said Ash. "When Clemont says something is dangerous, he means it."

"Fret not!" said Bonnie. "My brother's magic rarely results in serious injury."

"Serious injury?" said Serena.

Clemont held the staff high above his head.

"Spirits of the blind eternities, hear my call! I beckon thee forth and channel thy power so our wayward friend may return to her own dimension! I bid thee permit her passage through your unfathomable realm!"

Clemont lowered the staff and pointed it at the shard.

"Portallus dimensivus, facio!"

Nothing happened.

For a moment, Clemont appeared confused, but then a look of understanding crossed his face.

"Ah, of course," he said. "That was wrong incantation. A simple fix!"

He held the staff high above his head again, then lowered it to the shard with a dramatic, sweeping motion.

"Portallus dimensivus, permittio nobis transmittius!"

Nothing happened.

Serena felt her heart sinking and filling with shame. She couldn't believe how foolish she had been allowing this to get her hopes up.

Clemont scratched his chin.

"Oh my, this is complicated magic," he said. "Some of these spells require a rather particular motion in order to invoke the incantation. Stay clear, everyone!"

Clemont held the staff above his head again, this time with gusto.

"Spirits of the blind eternities, hear my call!"

He lifted the staff even higher, balancing it upright in the palms of his hands.

"I beckon thee forth and channel thy power!"

He let the staff fall through his open hands and secured it again just before it hit the ground. He held it out at arm's length.

"So our wayward friend may return!"

He shifted his stance and grip, holding the staff like a sword, ready to strike.

"To her own dimension!"

He stepped forward and swung the staff, sweeping around in a full circle.

"I bid thee permit her passage!"

He shifted his stance again, then swung the staff in a full circle in the opposite direction.

"Through your unfathomable realm!"

He lifted the staff above his head once again, this time as if he were to plunge a sword into the ground.

"Portallus dimensivus, permittio nobis transmittius!"

Clemont drove the staff downward into the ground. Upon impact, the staff bent, snapped, and splintered apart.

"Oh no!" he said, scrambling to back away. He lunged and threw himself onto the ground, as if expecting the remains of the staff to explode at any second. Everyone else backed away as well, shielding their eyes.

After several seconds of silence, Clemont stood up again.

"That's odd," he said. "That should have worked."

Serena covered her face with her hands. All of the inventions she had ever seen the Clemont from her world create, even the ketchup bottle shaker, had worked better than what she had just watched this world's Clemont attempt. The spell had done absolutely nothing. Even an explosion would have been more satisfying.

Serena felt the tiny flame of hope in her heart flicker.

"Now what?" said Mirror Serena. "Is that it? Is there more?"

"I'm afraid not," said Clemont. "That was the only method I knew for returning her to her home world. I'm sorry to say it, but I think she may be stuck here now."

"No!" said Serena. The hands covering her face turned to fists.

Clemont tried to look Serena in the eye, but after only a moment he shifted his gaze to the ground instead.

"I'm truly sorry," he said. "I've failed you. With the sun down, and the spell failed, I don't know what more can be done."

"No!" Serena said again. Her fists dropped to her sides. "I'm not giving up! There has to be something we can do!"

Nobody else appeared to agree with her. Ash stepped forward, removing his hat.

"I'm really sorry," he said. "I know it's awful, but you can stay with us, right guys? It won't be so bad."

"You can certainly travel with us," said Bonnie. "We would be delighted to have you!"

"Indeed," said Clemont. "And maybe, if you stick with us, we can work together to find another way to get you home."

"I know we may not see eye to eye all the time," said Mirror Serena, "but I'd say that probably the only thing that could make this party better than having one Serena is having two."

Serena seethed. She clenched her fists so hard they shook.

"No!" she said again.

Mirror Serena raised an eyebrow at her.

"No?" she said.

"How can you all give up so easily?" said Serena. "I might never go home again, and you all just shrug it off? There has to be more we can do!"

Serena stalked over to the site of the broken staff and the mirror shard.

"Maybe we can repair it," she said. "Maybe there was something wrong with it the first time!"

"Repairing a magical staff is no simple matter," said Clemont.

"Well, I'm going to do it!" said Serena. She knelt on the ground and began picking up the fragments.

"It's not just a matter of putting the pieces back together," said Clemont. "It's a delicate process that involves a great deal of advanced magic, and even then it may not work."

"So?" said Serena. "Some chance is better than no chance at all!"

She reached for Braixen's Pokeball and released her.

"Braixen, help me! I need your light!"

Braixen lit her wand and held it aloft. Serena began grabbing anything on the ground that looked like a splinter, becoming more frantic by the second. She turned toward the others.

"Well?" she said, her voice shaking. "Help me!"

The others exchanged doubtful glances, but one by one, they joined Serena on the ground in her search.

"What about this big piece, Clemont?" Serena said, holding up a large fragment which had once constituted the bottom half of the staff. "What's the deal with this gray thing poking out of it? Is it supposed to be sticking out like that?"

Clemont shook his head.

"That's supposed to be an enchanted lodestone, for guiding your way between the dimensions," he said. "But no, it probably shouldn't be sticking out of the bottom like that. Let me check my spellbook."

Serena examined the broken half of the staff, turning it over in her hands. When she turned it upside down, to her surprise, she felt something move inside the staff, and then slide out of it, into her lap.

"Something fell out of it!" she said. She held it up, a long, gray cylinder.

"Oh, the lodestone," said Clemont. "That's okay. If this staff can't be salvaged, we might be able to use the lodestone to make a new one."

Serena looked at the remains of the staff. The center of it was hollow. The lodestone had slid right out of it.

She took a closer look at the lodestone. Aside from being heavy, it didn't feel much like a stone. It was smooth, and it felt metallic. As she turned it over in her hands, she saw that one end had a button on it, and the other end appeared to be capped with a glass lens.

She pressed the button. A digital display on the side of the cylinder lit up.

"Clemont!" she said. "This isn't a stone at all!"

"It isn't?" said Clemont. "Well that's probably the problem, then! We'll have to try the spell again with a properly-made staff! I knew I shouldn't have gone with the cheap one."

Braixen loomed over Serena's shoulder, illuminating the metal cylinder with the light from her wand. A number appeared on the display - 1000.

Serena pressed the button on the end of it again. Nothing seemed to happen. She looked again at the digital display. In the light from Braixen's wand, she could read a label next to it - wavelength.

Serena felt her jaw go slack. She looked over to Clemont, flipping through the pages of his spellbook.

"Clemont, this is a laser!" she said.

"A laser?" said Mirror Serena. "Are you serious?"

Serena closed her eyes, and saw herself opening the optics textbook Ash had left on the floor in the science section of the library. There were so many tables and figures inside the front cover.

Wavelength.

She fumbled with the laser in her hands. There was a panel on the side of it. She slid her fingernails under it and pried it open. There was a tiny number pad.

Visible light has a wavelength of 400 to 700 nanometers.

Serena's breath shook. She typed 600 into the number pad, then pressed the button again.

A golden beam of light shot out of the glass end of the laser.

"Whoa!" said Ash. "It is a laser!"

"Why would there have been a laser in there?" said Mirror Serena.

"Perhaps it was to make the user feel that much more magical when a beam of light came out of the staff?" said Bonnie.

Clemont looked aghast.

"Unbelievable!" he said. "It's no wonder the spell didn't work! The staff was a fake! It was meant for pretending to do magic!"

Serena said nothing. Her heart pounding, she scrambled to her feet and stood above where the mirror shard lay on the ground.

Then, hoping against all hope, she fired the laser into the mirror.