A/N: DAT SLOW UPDATE...
Sorry, peeps, for the long wait. You have absolutely NO IDEA how busy I was for the past month... NO IDEA...
Anyway, here's a new chapter to all of you guys, as a reward for patiently waiting. ENJOY!
Edit: Because of the flow the story is taking right now, the story is now going to end at Chapter 13, no more. Disregard what I said about 11 chapters.
Bonnie stood outside the blazing ruins of the Pokémon Center, holding a clenched fist to her chest in apprehension and concern. She was among the many who were evacuated from the Center, but as she stood there, many Pokémon recuperating from sustained injuries, including Dedenne, were still trapped inside that ablaze structure...and also Serena and Ash. She tightened her grip as she watched several Water-type Pokémon assist firefighters in putting out the blaze.
"B-Bonnie?" a voice asked feebly. The young girl gasped and looked at her side; Clemont was sitting up on the wheeled bed he was taken out on, which stood next to her; he was squinting as he looked around for his glasses. "Bonnie, what's going? What happened?"
"Oh, Clemont!" Bonnie squealed in relief, hugging her older brother tightly. "You're awake! I'm SO glad!"
"Bonnie..." Clemont croaked suddenly. "Too tight... Let go, please..."
"Oh, sorry!" Bonnie released Clemont and then handed him his glasses, which were held in her other hand the entire time.
The inventor nodded in thanks to his sister and put them on. Then, he glanced at the source of the bright-red lighting and gasped at the horrifying sight.
"Whoa, that Pokémon Center is on fire!" he exclaimed in shock.
"Ash, Serena, and our Pokémon are all still in there!" cried Bonnie.
"WHAT?!"
Clemont immediately tried to get out of his bed, but suddenly, he cried out sharply and held a hand to his chest, which was still throbbing in pain from the hard blow that he received from Adam's Aggron. Bonnie quickly helped him back into the bed as he groaned softly.
"You need to stay in bed, Clemont!" she exclaimed. "Nurse Joy said you were hurt pretty badly by that Aggron!"
"But...we can't just sit here and leave Ash, Serena, and the others alone like that..." moaned Clemont.
"Don't worry, Clemont! Knowing Ash and Serena, they can take perfectly good care of themselves! They'll be fine; I just know it!"
A cackle in the distance...
Serena jerked her eyelids open upon hearing it. The first thing that greeted her eyesight was the starry nighttime sky, the stars twinkling at her majestically. At the right, there seemed to be a rather odd hue of crimson that was staining the otherwise dark and beautiful sky. Moaning, her head reeling with dizziness, the Trainer sat up, and at that moment, she instantly began to smell the familiar burning of wood. However, as she looked around, she saw no traces of fire.
She also realized that she was in the middle of a forest again. To her right, something seemed to be ablaze miles away...
Her eyes widened as her memory caught up to her. The Pokémon Center was on fire...Fennekin ran off...Ash followed it...
A crop of green hair with golden streaks was the last thing she saw...
"I see you're awake, little Serena," a familiar voice sneered.
Serena gasped and looked to her left. Standing there was a man whose face was shrouded in the dim shadow of the tree he was standing under, but she did not need to know who that stranger was. Her eyes narrowed angrily as the Trainer realized the reality of the situation; she stood up and clenched her fists.
"You started that fire at the Pokémon Center, didn't you?!" she shouted. "Just like you set that forest fire and endangered the lives of many Pokémon!"
Adam snickered maliciously. "Oh, you catch on very easily, Serena," he snarled jeeringly in response. "Yes, that was me and my Aggron."
Serena's eyes widened in confusion. "Your Aggron? Isn't it a Steel-type Pokémon?"
"Steel-type Pokémon can learn Fire-type attacks as well, and my Aggron is capable of learning Incinerate. And since Aggron is the only Pokémon at my disposal, after what you and your Fennekin had done to my Delphox, I guess I should use it to the best of its ability. Wish I could say the same for you and Fennekin..."
Serena gritted her teeth; she knew that Adam was mocking her and her inability to learn more attacks from Fennekin. However, she kept her cool.
"We beat you despite that disadvantage, Adam," she replied. "I guess this is why you took me. To get your revenge on me?"
"Oh yes, that's exactly what I hoped to do by accomplishing this."
At that moment, Adam slowly stepped out of the tree's shadow. Serena's eyes widened in shock as soon as she saw his face: the half of it that was burned by Fennekin's Ember was now covered by some sort of a surgical fabric, with an eye-hole that exposed Adam's bloodshot right eye, its yellow pupil now extremely, eerily pale. There were also two large threads sewn in an X-shaped pattern over the area where the right side of his mouth should be, in order to keep a fabric tear in place, but it made it as if Adam was now always grinning on the right side of his face, due to the curve the thread took.
"Now do you see what you have done to me, Serena?" he asked, his voice disturbingly calm, although Serena knew he was anything but. "You've hurt me, and you've hurt me pretty badly. Now..." Adam suddenly chuckled sadistically. "Now...I am gonna hurt you pretty badly! HAHAHA! Bring 'em out!"
Serena instinctively looked behind her and watched as Floyd, Lloyd, and Nick appeared from the shadows of the forest. Floyd was dragging a limp, unconscious body, while Nick was carrying a smaller, immobile body as well. She gasped as soon as she recognized both forms.
"ASH!" she screamed. "FENNEKIN!"
"That little fox seemed to sense we were here," Adam explained, "but we took good care of it. The foolish boy followed soon after when he saw us knock it out. He tried to be a hero." He scoffed. "Both of them were. What stupid fools they were. But..." He looked at Serena. "They're victims of your foolishness, Serena."
He snapped his fingers, and Serena watched as Aggron stalked out of the shadows as well, the metallic parts of its body gleaming from the crimson hue.
"Since we have these two along with you," he continued, "I thought I would make my revenge as sadistic as possible." He chuckled. "I shall allow you, Serena, to choose only one of them to live. The one you pick is spared from a painful death at the hands of my Aggron, who's been lusting for blood for a while now. So, who shall it be, little Serena? The boy you wished to confess your feelings to for so long, or the fox you wished to understand more? It is your choice to make.
"Either way, someone will die. And you're gonna have to watch and relish in your foolishness." Adam's smile widened as he heard Serena gasp. "Your pick."
"M-M-My pick?!" the Trainer exclaimed. She glared at Adam hatefully. "You...You sick, sick man!"
"Want me to choose for you, little Serena?" He looked at Aggron, and it nodded at its Trainer. "We really don't have much time for lollygagging-"
Her eyes widening in alarm, Serena cried, "No, no, no! I'll do it, I'll do it!" She looked at Ash and Fennekin, the fear rapidly escalating within her. "Oh, no..."
"Come on, little Serena..." Adam whispered mockingly, as if they were playing a simple game. His teeth were bared as he grinned sadistically, widely.
Serena began to tremble in fear, the horror of the situation completely overwhelming her. She had to be quick in making her decision, otherwise Adam will make the choice for her and kill one of them...or maybe even the both of them... This was no doubt what Adam had planned all along...
For her to suffer, after all she had done to humiliate him, despite whatever choice she made...
A realization suddenly hit her. If Adam wanted her to suffer, then...she was already giving it to him... She needed to stop being afraid...
Glaring at him again, this time more courageously, she spat savagely, "Never."
He sneered malevolently. "Then I believe I'll have Aggron do the honors for us."
"I won't let you do that either, Adam. I beat you once before, despite the odds that were against me. I can surely beat you once again."
"Heh, yeah." Adam leaned towards Serena; she could smell the putrid after-stench of burned flesh from the wounded half of his face. "I'd love to see you try..."
She promptly spat him in the face, causing his head to fly backward, his arms blurred as they flew to his face.
"AGH! YOU STUPID BI-"
Serena kicked Adam in the shin before he could complete his sentence before bursting into a mad dash towards Fennekin, who was closer. Nick immediately let out a high-pitched scream of panic, but before the Trainer could reach him, Aggron, reacting on the latest attack to its Trainer, opened its mouth, which formed a gray sphere that then fired a silver beam. The beam traveled over Nick's head and hit the ground separating him and Serena, causing a large explosion.
Letting out a scream as she felt an unknown force abruptly propel her backward, Serena then felt the ground greet her unceremoniously. At that moment, she heard a groan of pain emanate from Ash. Looking up, the first thing she saw was a billowing cloud of smoke. Then, she could distinguish Ash's body lying on the ground as well, likely having been released by Floyd during the explosion caused by Aggron's Flash Cannon.
However...she couldn't see her Fennekin...
"Why that Arceus-damn girl..." she heard Adam snarl. There were rustling sounds nearby, and they were growing closer as he spoke. "If THAT is how she wants to play this game...well, game on. Where the hell is she?... Come on out, little Serena! Heh heh heh... I'm gonna get you..."
Serena got up on her feet, and as she did so, she saw Adam stumbling aimlessly towards her, apparently not having any idea on which direction he was going. His right eye was fully closed, while his left was half-open. Her spit was still splattered all over his face, and it was staining the surgical fabric that was covering the wounded half of his face. Quietly, she tiptoed away from Adam as he continued to ramble madly, and she stepped through the smoke, approaching Ash.
To her relief, Serena saw that Ash was regaining consciousness, for his eyes were fluttering open.
"Wh-What?..." he moaned. "W-What's going on?..."
"Ash!" Serena whispered. "We have to get out of here now..."
"W-Why?"
"It's Adam and his gang. They're the ones who set the Pokémon Center on fire-"
"WHAT?!" Ash screamed in horror, to Serena's distress.
"Well, well, well, what do we have over here?..." a voice asked; it was shortly accompanied by a high-pitched giggle that chilled both Trainers to the bone. They stepped backward as Lloyd appeared through the smoke, his eyes glinting with malice. He giggled again, undoubtedly savoring the moment.
"You get away from us!" Ash cried angrily. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
No response. Ash looked at his shoulder, and upon seeing that it was empty, his eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh, Pikachu isn't here..."
Serena sweat-dropped, while Lloyd burst out into maniacal laughter.
"Such lovely HILARITY!" he shrieked. "So LOVELY! HAHAHAHAHA! Now I am gonna SO enjoy killing you..."
"W-Without a Pokémon?" asked Ash nervously, noticing the lack of Pokémon at his opponents' disposals.
Lloyd giggled again and pulled out something. "Sometimes, I occasionally do things without the use of my Pokémon." He pressed a button, and a blade abruptly flipped out of the object he was holding; it glinted in the moonlight as he grinned. "Makes things much more fun for myself..."
"FEN!" a voice snarled, and an Ember appeared out of nowhere, hitting Lloyd squarely in the back and setting his clothes on fire.
"AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!" the man screeched as he began running around frantically. "I'M ON FIRE, I'M ON FIRE! SOMEONE HELP ME!"
Serena watched as Fennekin ran through the smoke, smiling. She gasped in relief.
"FENNEKIN!" she cried happily.
"FEN!" Fennekin barked back.
"AGGRON, USE FLASH CANNON!" Adam's voice called.
Serena and Ash spotted Aggron's silhouette advance towards Fennekin before firing another Flash Cannon. The attack hit the Fox Pokémon and sent it flying.
"FENNEKIN!" Serena screamed.
"I have had ENOUGH of this crap..." snarled Adam as he stepped through the smoke. Serena and Ash gritted their teeth as they spotted him. "I am NOW gonna kill you, all three of you, one by one, and mark my words! Your deaths shall be slow...and painful..." Adam looked insane now; both of his eyes were wide open and bloodshot; flecks of spit flew from his mouth. "AND THE LAST THING YOU ARE ALL GONNA HEAR IS MY LAUGHTER OF TRIUMPH!"
"Not if I can help it!" Ash roared courageously as he ran towards Adam with the intention of attacking him, despite the severe disadvantage he was in.
Yawning in mock-boredom, Adam then thrust his right arm into Ash's abdomen with all of the power he could muster. The young Trainer grunted in pain, feeling his body suddenly vacate itself of all of oxygen that was inside. He reeled over, becoming overwhelmed by the massive pain.
Adam immediately seized this chance to raise his elbow, aiming it directly over Ash's head.
"FENNEKIN!" Serena screamed instinctively.
Fennekin nodded and, using the last of its strength, hopped between Ash and Adam, firing another Ember that struck the latter's raised arm, setting it ablaze.
"YARGH!" screeched Adam. "NOT AGAIN! ARCEUS-DAMN IT, NO!"
The villain began waving his arm around frantically, trying to put out the spreading fire. As it grew stronger, the screams became even more painful.
However, Serena no longer had any regrets for that. Instead, she ran up to Ash, who was still bent over.
"Ash, are you okay?!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah...I'm fine..." groaned Ash. He then chuckled. "Man, that was reckless, wasn't it?"
"Darn right it was, Ash!" Serena immediately grabbed Ash's arm; to her surprise, no heat rose up to her cheeks. "Come on, we've gotta go!"
"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!" Adam reappeared, the fire on his arm gone, but it appeared to be injured. "AGGRON!"
Another Flash Cannon appeared, again striking Fennekin and sending it flying in the air.
"FENNEKIN!"
"NOW AGGRON, USE- OOF!"
Someone had struck Adam from behind with some sort of object, knocking him out, before quickly retreating back into the smoke. Aggron was unable to see its Trainer's assailant. Serena was able to take advantage of this distraction by running up to Fennekin, picking it up, and then running back to Ash.
"Quick, let's get outta here, Ash!" she exclaimed. Ash nodded in response, and both Trainers sped into the forest, their feet carrying them as fast as they could.
Just mere seconds after Serena and Ash disappeared into the confines of the forest, Adam's assailant slowly emerged from the thick smoke to watch them go, a large branch held in his hand tightly. One end of it was smeared with spatters of the dark crimson of Adam's blood.
Floyd let out a heavy sigh of relief before dropping the branch absentmindedly and running back into the smoke to attend to his comrades.
"Do you think they'll be able to catch up to us?" Ash asked as he continued running alongside Serena.
"I don't know, Ash, let's just keep running!" replied Serena. She then looked down at Fennekin, who was badly wounded but conscious. The bright-red eyes of the Fox Pokémon stared back up at her, and a small smile of relief appeared on its face; Serena smiled back in response. She was relieved Fennekin was okay.
Ash spoke up again. "Is that the Pokémon Center up ahead?"
Serena looked back up and saw the faint crimson hue, still miles ahead. The smell of burning wood was growing stronger.
"Yes, should be," she replied. "What else in this forest is gonna be on fire besides the Pokémon Center?"
"Can't believe those guys are really THAT willing to endanger the lives of Pokémon, just to fulfill what sick desires they have- AAARRRGGGHHH!"
"A-Ash?"
Serena stopped running and looked behind her, but she could not see much of anything. The entanglement of branches above them were blocking out most of the moonlight, rendering her eyesight almost useless, to the point where she could only see Ash's fallen outline, sitting against a tree.
"Ash, what happened?" she asked.
"S-Serena...I...Oh, I think I hurt my leg!" Ash exclaimed, his voice strained in agony.
Her eyes widened, and she gently set Fennekin down on the ground before attending to Ash.
"Where'd you hurt your leg, Ash? I can't see-"
"I think...it's my, uh...over here..."
She felt Ash grab her hand and guide it over to the spot where his wound was located. She noticed that it was near his patella, since Ash winced the moment it touched the wound. Thinking quickly, Serena remembered the handkerchief and searched around her person, but then remembered that she returned it to Ash.
"Ash, that handkerchief I gave back to you a while back-" she began.
"What about it?" asked Ash.
"Do you still have it?"
"Yeah, yeah I do. ...What, you're gonna use it as a bandage?"
"What other choice do I have? I've got nothing else on me."
"Okay, okay, I'll get it out..."
Serena could see Ash moving around, and heard some shuffling noises. Then, a minute later, she felt something being put into her hand.
"Here, Serena," he said.
Serena nodded and quickly tied the handkerchief around Ash's knee, hearing him moan slightly in pain.
"Ow, ow! Serena, careful!"
"Sorry! I really can't see much of anything; I'm trying my best. Besides, Adam and the others could be searching for us right now; we have to be quick-"
"COME ON OUT, LITTLE SERENA!" a voice bellowed, shattering the otherwise tranquil, undisturbed silence.
Upon hearing that familiar enraged voice pierce the air, Serena and Ash crouched further down towards the ground, immediately becoming deathly silent. They could be able to hear distant, multiple rustling noises, as well as a deep thumping sound. Beads of sweat broke out on Serena's forehead.
"WHERE THE HELL ARE YA, SERENA?!" Adam continued. "I WANT A WORD WITH YA! FIRST YOU RUIN MY FACE, AND THEN YOU RUIN MY ARCEUS-DAMN ARM! I AM GONNA GIVE YA A LITTLE LESSON IN MANNERS, SERENA! JUST SHOW YOURSELF, AND I'LL MAKE SURE THAT THIS LESSON WILL BE AS MERCILESS AS POSSIBLE!"
"Seriously, Adam," Floyd said, his voice barely audible due to the distance, "I think we should-"
"YOU THINK WE SHOULD WHAT, FLOYD?! HUH?! HIGHTAIL IT?! NO! HELL NO, FLOYD! NOT UNTIL I FIND THAT ARCEUS-DAMN LITTLE GIRL AND GIVE HER A WELL-DESERVED, ARCEUS-DAMN COMEUPPANCE! SHE HURT ME TOO MANY ARCEUS-DAMN TIMES, AND SHE IS GONNA GET IT!"
"Sounds like Adam's mad..." Ash whispered, chuckling softly. "Impressive, Serena."
"Thanks, I guess..." replied Serena.
"Hey, did you hear that?" Floyd's voice asked. Serena and Ash became silent again.
"Hear what?" Nick asked.
However, the Trainers heard Adam charge forward in another direction. "LITTLE SERENA!" he called furiously. "COME OUT HERE RIGHT NOW, YA LITTLE-"
"I think it came from over there!" Floyd shouted.
Serena and Ash heard the four rush off further into the forest...away from their direction. Both let out long sighs of relief.
"That was a close one..." whispered Ash.
Serena merely nodded before slowly standing up. When she didn't hear any reactions from Adam or his cronies, she glanced at Ash's outline.
"They're gone," she said. She then stretched out her hand towards him. "Come on, let's go."
She knew that Ash was staring at her hand for a few moments, obviously contemplating something. Then, she felt his hand grab hers, and then, she lifted him up from the ground. However, Serena pulled a little too hard, and she felt Ash accidentally collide into her; she instinctively put her hand around to his back.
For a brief moment, Serena found herself back in the forest near the Pokémon Summer Camp, during the time Ash was rescuing her...
"It...It's happening all over again..." she thought.
A/N: Aaannnddd...CLIFFHANGER! And what a cliffhanger it is: the entire forest rescue scene is replayed, but Ash and Serena have swapped roles! :D
I apologize for the lateness of the chapter, and if it seemed a bit off (for a lack of better term) in quality for you guys. I'm quite busy in both my personal life and my career here (I'm currently working on new stories), and as a result, it makes it surprisingly difficult for me to concentrate on my current stories. But hopefully this update compensated for the month-long wait you guys had to suffer. According to the word count, this is the shortest chapter this story has to offer yet.
I'd like to thank those who reviewed:
vanilla869: It's not a member of Team Flare.
ActionStar00: I'm glad you're really liking this story! And as for the other Pokémon, they were all rescued.
BlueLightningXD: It's not Xerosic. And the callback to the Battle Frontier...I'll just say it's gonna serve as a little foreshadowing... ;) ;) ;)
Glaceon1362: It's pretty obvious now; there's no denying my little twist anymore.
K9wolf369: It's neither Xerosic or Xerneas.
JZuCuadra: Can't tell you who the caller was. Spoilers! And as for the X-shaped eyes...nope, not her dad.
Guest reviewer: Glad to hear you say that. :)
dragon122012: Here's the next chapter for ya! :D
Fireminer: What kind of "dramatic propose" were you thinking of?
Guest reviewer #2: Yeah...no. Too unrealistic, considering how rooted to the XY saga this story is.
Leader of the Bronies: Glad to see this is your first Pokémon fic you've ever read! Hopefully this has introduced you to the AmourShipping community here. :)
Rewile: ...Those guys are DEFINITELY not Team Rocket. What on earth are you talking about?
colonelstars1911: Sorry if you had to deal with your anxiety for over a month. Hopefully this pleases! :D
Kell08 (guest reviewer): Here's the update! Sorry if it's not soon; I tried my best.
RaccooNaver314: All mysteries that will be explained in later chapters (except for the third one, of course :P).
Guest reviewer #3: You'll find out who called the police. As for the identity of the "monster", it's not a Trevenant.
Hyena321 (guest reviewer): Yep, Adam's pretty much bent on killing off Serena. :P
Jaguar31 (guest reviewer): Yeah, that really puzzled me. I actually created that scenario intentionally to show how reliant Serena is on people she does not fully know and understand. Sometimes, people really need to look deeper into a story's content if they are to understand what the heck is going on.
Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: Hey, you reviewed each and every chapter of this story to date! Thank you, kind reviewer! More reviews for me, more pleasure for you from describing what you liked about this certain chapter and the story as a whole. Win-win! :D
Well, hope you enjoyed this late, shorter-than-usual chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!