Just wanted to give a quick thank-you to all of you who are following/favoriting this story...it really means a lot, and it motivates me to write. If you like this story, clicking that "Follow" button to show your support would be greatly appreciated. Anyways, enjoy the chapter and thanks for reading! :)

Chapter 10: A Glimpse of the Future

~ Route 15, Kalos ~

"Shadow Ball!"

Diantha's Gardevoir was quick, but not quick enough to avoid Gengar's nasty Shadow Ball attack. It sent Gardevoir flying backward, slamming it into a tree.

Morty looked down, as if feeling remorseful for what he had just done. "I'm sorry it had to be this way, Champion of Kalos...but I cannot let my vision go to wa-"

"Salamence, use Dragon Pulse!"

Seemingly out of nowhere, a powerful beam struck Morty's Mega Gengar square in the face, knocking it backwards a few meters. It immediately regained its footing and smiled mischievously, as if it were playing a game.

"What the f-" Morty began, but was interrupted again by the Lorekeeper and her Pokemon.

"Now, Fire Fang!" Zinnia commanded, a stern, disapproving expression on her face. She was not going to let anyone bully another for no good reason.

Diantha stared in awe at the girl with the Salamence, taking note of her strange clothing. She did not look like she was from Kalos, and although Diantha had never seen her before, she had a feeling that she was special somehow, in some way. She glanced at the blue spiral-like thing on the girl's leg and noticed a familiar sparkle. Is that...a Keystone? she wondered.

"Don't get yourself involved, kid...I'm being nice and giving you a chance to leave now," Morty said. It was true that he didn't really want to hurt anybody. But if they stood in the way of his vision, then he felt that any action he took was justified.

"I think I should be the one offering you a chance to leave," Zinnia arrogantly replied. She didn't know who this man was, or what he was doing here, but she had a gut feeling that she could kick his ass.

Morty simply nodded. "I see. I suppose kids have gotten far less intelligent over the years...think they can stand up alone against pe-"

"She's not alone," Diantha said, stepping up beside Zinnia. Her Gardevoir had gotten up and looked like she was healthy enough to fight. Diantha held her hand up towards her chest, almost touching the necklace containing her Keystone.

Zinnia stepped up with her right leg forward, brimming with confidence.

Simultaneously, the two trainers Mega-Evolved their Pokemon.

– –

~ Terminus Cave ~

Pikachu woke up lying on the ground, feeling the pain from a bruise on his back. All he remembered before ending up here were the screams and shouts of Ash and Serena. He slowly managed to sit up and looked around to get a feel for where he was. At first glance, this cave seemed no different than any other that he and Ash had already traveled through. But for some reason, Pikachu could sense that there was something...more here. Something strange and powerful.

"Pika pi?" he called out.

But Ash wasn't there to answer.

– –

"Come on, guys! You gotta keep up!" Calem shouted as he and the rest of Team Dedenne were running from Team Magma and Primal Groudon. After Ash and Serena had fallen in, Groudon sealed up the chasm and continued moving, stopping at nothing in its path. Team Dedenne had been forced to run...forced to leave their friends behind.

As he flew alongside the team, Charizard repeatedly turned around and released powerful Flamethrower attacks in the general direction of Groudon and Team Magma.

Although he was struggling tremendously, Clemont kept looking back, fighting back the tears welling up in his eyes. I was too focused on myself that I forgot about them...maybe I could've helped them...this is all my fault...

Drew mentally kicked himself as he ran beside Paul and Calem. He supposed that he could consider himself and Ash as friends, more or less. But what worried him the most was how May was going to react when she found out that they had lost him, since he knew that she and Ash were extremely close. He also figured that everyone else was going to freak out and possibly blame him and the rest of the team for losing them.

Max was feeling exhausted, having not really done any physical activity lately, but Groudon's deafening roar behind him was enough motivation to keep him going. Not to mention that Bonnie was sort of outrunning him, which was probably making him look like a loser, so he kept up the pace despite the fact that his legs felt like jello.

Bonnie cried as she ran, not even trying to hold back her tears. She prayed to Arceus that Ash and Serena had ended up safe, regardless of where they were. She couldn't bear to even think about the alternative. She started paying less attention to where she was going and tripped over a rock on the ground, stumbling as she struggled to maintain her balance.

Max saw Bonnie about to fall when he grabbed hold of her arm and helped her to regain her footing as the two young trainers continued to run, with Max still holding Bonnie steady.

Bonnie wiped the tears from her eyes and said, "Thank you...again." It was hard to tell with all the commotion, but Max thought he saw a slight smile on her face.

"I think we need to find a place to stop...this is just going to tire us out!" Cilan shouted, managing to keep a somewhat collected voice.

Paul cursed. "He's right. This is useless...we either to need to turn and fight, or find a place to rest. And I'm pretty damn sure that you all would rather go with the latter."

Barely keeping up, Clemont adjusted his glasses as he ran. "Couriway town is just south of here, and there's lots of water there! If any place is safe from Groudon, it would be there!"

Drew nodded. "Lead the way, then. Everyone, follow Clemont!" he shouted as the group let Clemont take the lead.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "They'll catch us if we have to stay behind my brother!"

The sun was almost beginning to set as Team Dedenne desperately sought refuge in Couriway.

– –

Ow.

Serena held her head in pain as she slowly opened her eyes, managing to sit up as she felt another sharp pain in her left ankle. The first thing she saw was Ash, who immediately turned when he saw her wake up.

"Serena! Thank Arceus..." he said as he knelt down in front of her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you hurting anywhere? Greninja caught us just before we hit the ground, but there were huge rocks flying everywhere the whole time."

Serena nodded, standing up slowly. "Yeah...I think I hurt my ankle somehow...ah, I can barely walk right now..." she said, sitting back down.

Ash's face looked grim as he rummaged through his bag for something useful. Serena's heart almost skipped a beat when he pulled out his old handkerchief, the same one he had used to help her all those years ago back at Professor Oak's summer camp.

"Here, let me wipe the dirt off you." He scooted closer and delicately brushed away the dirt on her cheek with the handkerchief. Wow...she's beautiful even after falling off a cliff, he thought.

Serena closed her eyes and for a moment forgot the pain she was in, focusing only on Ash's touch. Then she smiled, opened her eyes, and touched his wrist with her hand. "I can do this myself, Ash," she said, but Ash gently pushed her hand away with his other hand.

"Don't worry about it, Serena. I think I got this," he said with a slight smile as he finished wiping all the dirt off of her face.

The Kalos Queen suddenly realized something. "Oh my god...where's Pikachu?" she asked, looking around for the familiar yellow Pokemon that always stood by Ash. He was nowhere in sight.

Ash sighed and leaned back against the wall of the cave. "He's not the only missing," he said, nodding towards Serena's waist.

Serena felt around her skirt and realized that two of her three Pokeballs were missing. She quickly opened up the one she had, and out came Sylveon, still exhausted from the battle. "Oh no...poor Braixen and Pancham..." she said, stroking Sylveon affectionately to comfort it.

Ash looked down at the ground. "Some of mine are missing, too...but they couldn't be far. I'll be some of them opened and are on the move right now. We just gotta heal up your ankle before we can go look for them."

Serena felt a pang of guilt. She knew how important Pikachu was to Ash, and to think that she was preventing them from finding each other made her feel terrible.

"Oh, Ash...go look for them! Don't worry about me, I'll be fine..." she said, knowing full well that she probably wouldn't be fine in the state she was in.

Ash shook his head. "No. I'm staying with you...we can find Pikachu and the others together once I take care of you," he said, releasing Greninja from its Pokeball. "Sorry, Greninja...I'm gonna need you again. Soak this for me, will ya?" he asked, tossing the handkerchief to the Ninja Pokemon, who immediately used Hydro Pump, sending the tiny piece of cloth flying through the air.

Ash rolled his eyes. "Wanna go get that for me?" he said, chuckling a little.

Greninja scratched the back of its head and quickly sprinted after the handkerchief, which was currently still airborne. That was no surprise, since Greninja had one hell of a Hydro Pump.

As Greninja chased the handkerchief, Ash turned back to Serena. "By the way, uh, you were great out there," he said, rubbing underneath his nose.

Serena was a little surprised to hear that. Sure, it wasn't like she was a terrible Pokemon battler, but she didn't consider herself particularly strong. Hearing Ash tell her that she did well elated her, reminding her of all those times he complimented her on her performances and appearance, the latter of which always making her blush.

She blushed and said, "Oh, um...thanks, Ash...but I wouldn't have lasted out there without you, you know. You protected us without even trying to."

Ash blushed a little as he replied, "Actually, I kinda was try-"

"Ninja!"

Ash quickly turned to see Greninja running back with not only the handkerchief, but something small and green as well.

"Whatcha got there, buddy?" Ash asked as he turned most of his attention to Serena, wrapping the wet cloth around her ankle.

Greninja set down a small, blob-like...thing. Ash didn't know how else to describe it. He supposed it was a creature of some sort, but its amorphous body was unlike any other Pokemon he had ever seen before.

He took out his Pokedex, which said, "No data. There are still Pokemon yet to be identified."

Ash frowned. "Well that's a throwback...not the answer I was looking for," he said, referring to his first day as a Pokemon trainer when he had seen a giant, red bird Pokemon, who he had later found out was Ho-Oh, the Legendary Rainbow Pokemon.

"Maybe its not a Pokemon at all," Serena suggested, though she and Ash both knew that it probably wasn't the case.

"Hmm. This is really weird. I wonder if there are any more in this cave..." Ash said as he looked around.

– –

Holding his own Pokeball in its hand, Sceptile wandered the dark corridors of Terminus Cave, searching for any signs of Ash. He had just spent ten minutes searching for its twig, which he had lost in the fall. Fortunately, Sceptile found it and the twig was now back where it belonged.

He continued walking alone, searching for his trainer. He turned a corner and happened upon a strange blob-like Pokemon, or at least he assumed it was a Pokemon. It had one eye on its head...or was it two? Sceptile couldn't quite tell, but he noticed the small, red hexagon on its stomach. The creature seemed to be trying to go somewhere, though it looked like it was having a hard time considering it didn't even have legs and was forced to squirm its way across the cavern floor.

Out of sheer curiosity, Sceptile decided to follow the creature to see where it was headed. He found it somewhat interesting that the creature did not even acknowledge his presence.

After a while, Sceptile grew tired of having to walk at the creature's extremely slow pace and decided to carry it, walking in the general direction the creature was headed. He figured that maybe it could lead him to an exit of some sort.

He heard footsteps in the distance. Something was coming from around the bend. Instantly, he put down the creature and backed up against the wall, listening tentatively. They were light, almost silent footsteps, so Sceptile supposed it was probably relatively small. He made sure to keep the creature he had been carrying in sight, though that wasn't very difficult considering how slowly it moved.

A shadow crept its way up on the wall across from Sceptile, gradually increasing in size as the footsteps became louder. Whatever it was, Sceptile was prepared for anything.

– –

Serena could sense that she was waking up, but felt so exhausted that she kept her eyes closed and her head remained on the soft surface she had been sleeping on. She could feel that her body was upright and appreciated the warmth of her pillow, or at least what felt kind of like a pillow.

Wait...what am I...?

She slowly opened her eyes and saw her legs resting beside Ash's. She turned her head slightly and her heart almost skipped a beat when she realized Ash's head was right in front of hers. She had been sleeping on his shoulder.

Ash was awake, and immediately turned to face her when he noticed her wake up. The feeling of de ja vu was heartwarming to Serena as she lifted her head up from his shoulder, trying not to blush.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry, Ash, I didn't mean-"

Ash shook his head. "It, uh, it wasn't you, exactly...you fell asleep on the ground over there and I figured you'd be, uh, more comfortable here," he said as he rubbed underneath his nose.

Serena smiled, words unable to explain what she was feeling right now. Despite how weird things had been between the two former traveling companions, Ash was doing everything he could for her, making her safety a top priority. It reminded her of the old days.

"Thank you, Ash," she said, looking away. She thanked the stars that the cave was somewhat dark, because her cheeks were crimson red at that point.

"Don't worry about it. That's what friends are for, right?" he said, a half-hearted smile playing across his face as he looked down at the ground. For some reason, Serena could sense that something was wrong just by looking at him.

She shifted her feet slightly and asked, "Um...is everything alright? You look kinda down..."

Surprised, Ash tried to force a smile. "Yeah! Everything's just fine. I'm not down at all," he quickly replied.

Serena nodded skeptically and said, "Okay..."

Ash could tell that this conversation was going stale and things were about to get awkward unless he spoke up. "So, uh, how did you and Calem meet?" he asked out of the blue. Immediately after he said it, he wanted to face-palm himself. Why the fuck would I ask that?

Serena looked somewhat taken aback, but she seemed to be more dejected than surprised. After a few moments of silence, she answered, "Well, one day Professor Sycamore decided to come watch a live Showcase. After the performance, he congratulated me on the win and introduced me to Calem, who's his assistant or something."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "or something"? Shouldn't she know exactly...?

Serena cleared her throat and continued. "Then the professor invited me and Shauna to go eat lunch with him and Calem, and one thing led to another and Calem ended up asking me out. Not much of a story to it, to be honest," she said, seeming rather nonchalant about the topic.

"Is he good to you?" Ash blurted out. He couldn't help it; he wanted to know if Serena was being treated as well as she deserved.

Serena noticed how interested Ash seemed to be, but said nothing of it and simply shrugged. "Most of the time, yeah. I guess pretty much all the time actually, except for when he was being an asshole back at Prism Tower," she said. Thinking of Prism Tower reminded her of her conversation with Misty, Ash's first traveling companion.

"So then what the hell is he doing in your life? Instead of Ash?"

Why am I thinking about that? Serena wondered.

Ash nodded. "Well that's good," he said, trying to make it seem like he didn't care. Of course, he cared more than anything in the world at that moment, but he didn't want to reveal that he still harbored feelings for Serena when she was still with her boyfriend.

"So, how about you? Do you have a girlfriend?" Serena asked. She already knew the answer – or at least she was pretty sure she did, since Misty never mentioned anything otherwise – but she still wanted to see his reaction.

Ash shook his head. "Nah. I, uh...I just never looked for one. And the girls aren't exactly fawning over me, anyway," he said, chuckling lightheartedly as he once again looked down at the ground.

Serena was almost angry when he said that. "What do you mean? You probably just don't notice it, but girls are always complimenting you. They always talk about how great you are at battling, or how caring of a person you are, or how good-look-"

She stopped in her tracks, wondering if it would give him the wrong idea if she finished her sentence. Then again, what was the right idea?

He glanced up at her with a puzzled look on his face. "Uh, you were saying?" he asked.

Serena fumbled in her mind for the right words to say, trying not to look at him face-to-face. She failed. She couldn't help but notice his shaggy black hair, a mess as always, but still looking so perfect underneath his red-and-white cap. They made direct eye contact, his expression saying, "What?" and hers saying nothing in return because she still couldn't decide what the right thing to say was. All she could do was stare...and she probably looked pretty stupid. It was only then did she realize the truth.

I...I'm still totally into him... she thought to herself, feeling stupid for having denied it so many times before. Dating Calem was just her kidding herself, a distraction from what really mattered, her true desire. The boy she had been head-over-heels for...well, she was still head-over-heels for.

"Ash, I-"

"Hold up," Ash said, raising his hand up to imply he wanted her to be quiet.

"But Ash, this is-"

"Shhh. Just listen."

Serena wanted to scream 'God damn it Ash, I love you!' but decided that they would have another chance to talk, and hopefully in a more romantic setting than an underground cave. Although she did think that just being alone with him, trapped together after a brave stand against evil, was pretty romantic in itself.

After a few suspenseful seconds, Ash asked, "Did you hear that?" pointing over into the distance. Serena raised an eyebrow and leaned in that direction, listening carefully. It took a few moments, but sure enough she began to hear a strange noise. It sounded...slimy, and bubbly...if such words could be used to describe a sound.

"What...is that?" she asked, suddenly feeling a little concerned. What exactly is down here? We haven't seen anyone or anything else except for that weird blob thing...

She glanced at the spot where they had put the strange creature Greninja had picked up, but it wasn't there. She slowly stood up and looked all around. It was nowhere in sight. She was about to ask Ash if he knew where it was when she saw them.

There were dozens of them. No...probably hundreds, she guessed. Around the bend of a cave wall came a horde of those creatures, each one identical to the one Greninja had found. They were moving quite slowly, but nonetheless seemed to be at least going somewhere, and with a purpose.

Ash turned to Serena and gently took her hand. It was a bold move; but neither trainer cared, they both loved it. He said, "C'mon, let's follow them. I don't know what these things are, but they've gotta be going somewhere."

Serena nodded. "Good idea," she said.

Ash then turned to follow the massive group of blobs. His hand was about to leave Serena's when she said, "Ash..."

He turned to face her, a little confused. "Yeah?" he asked, his kind brown eyes making her feel warm and safe, despite the actual surrounding environment.

"Can you...keep holding my hand? I'm a little scared," she said, blushing slightly as she played with her hair.

Ash smiled and nodded, sort of shocked that she would ask that sort of thing. "Uh, yeah...sure. No problem," he said, rubbing underneath his nose. He motioned for her to follow him and the two trainers, hand in hand, slowly followed the green blobs, making their way into unknown territory.

– – – –

Thank you all for being so patient with my relatively slow update speed. Soccer season is almost over, and when that ends I promise I will be dedicating much more time to my writing. Anyways, leave a review with your thoughts and opinions, and thanks again for reading.