The mirror refused to lie to Serena. Generally, she preferred to keep her attire immaculate, only allowing for the occasional discrepancy to slip through, if she was feeling lazy. Even with that mindset, no matter how much she smoothed, ruffled, flattened, and tucked in, she couldn't prevent herself from looking like she had fought a grimer and lost. Of course in the excitement of Sawyer's disappearance and her desire to get out of her soaked clothes she had forgotten to wash them before going to sleep. Of course the mud that had found its way onto her once pretty outfit had hardened overnight, making it nigh impossible to completely remove without time Serena didn't have. She couldn't exactly just change the hem of her skirt either, the way she had when her outfit was torn right before her pokémon performance. It didn't help that she was still fighting sleep and worry about her pokémon, betrayed by her countenance. She couldn't decide if her eyes were full of pain, worry, determination, or a combination of the three. Fortunately, Shauna had lent her a hairbrush, so she was at least able to tame her short hair. There was no getting around it: until she found her spare clothes, she was stuck with her current dismal appearance. She reached out and placed a hand on the mirror, over the reflection of the blue ribbon affixed to her outfit.
"How do I look, Ash?" she mumbled into her reflection. A small smile formed on her face at the absurdity of such a question. Of course she looked terrible. The reflection smiled back at her.
Ash probably would lie for my sake... he'll probably say I look great. He won't tell me the truth. I need to know the truth about him, and about his previous companions. I need to know that he wouldn't do what Eusine said he did.
Serena took her new mission, withdrew her hand, and made for the door. She flung the door open, ready to hunt the entire house for Ash so she could extort the information she needed from him. As it happened, Ash was waiting for her, leaning against the wall on the opposite hallway next to Sylveon. When he heard the door open, he turned his attention to it, eyes lit up and a friendly smile on his face. When he saw Serena, his face contorted in worry. "Serena?" he said, as if he didn't recognize her.
Suddenly getting Ash's opinion of her current appearance seemed like a bad idea. Serena mentally braced herself. "You forgot to get those washed, didn't you?" he asked tentatively.
A small nod from Serena was her prompt for Ash to comment on the situation. When he didn't, Serena pushed him in the right direction. "Just be honest, Ash. How bad is it?" Silently she begged for him to call her a disheveled mess.
Ash paused for the longest possible time. "It'll be fine, Serena. It's not that bad, and we'll have your other clothes back soon anyways."
The answer was not the one that Serena had wanted to hear, and she stood up straighter. "Thanks," she responded unemotionally. The performer beckoned to Sylveon and started off towards the stairs and the dining room before Ash could try to walk with her. She was too frustrated to care that she had just blown him off, and ignored the hurt and confused look on his face. He lied. I know I look terrible. He won't be honest if he thinks it'll hurt my feelings. Any care for what others would think about her look melted away in the moment. All she could focus on was her desire to find both the criminal who stole her pokémon and the truth behind whatever Ash was hiding from her and everyone. At the foot of the stairs stood Trevor, who stopped fiddling with his camera when he saw the group of three approaching. "Hey. We just saw Kathi Lee and the other two bodyguards off. Clemont called nurse Joy and she informed him that Gardevoir fully awake, Diantha is starting to get better, and the doctor arrived, so Kathi Lee insisted that she and the bodyguards be there to help Diantha recover. We promised to meet with her later in the day. Now that you're ready, we can see what Clemont's machine found. You're ready, right?"
"Yes. Let's see what Clemont found," she said, returning to her normal voice. She appreciated that Trevor made no comment on her attire or the fact that Ash was trailing behind her. The group made their way to the dining hall and was greeted by the sight of everyone huddled around where Clemont's machine had been, though the machine itself was obscured from view. Team rocket and Sawyer had rejoined the group, albeit a slight distance separated from everyone else, leaving Calem as the only real outlier, standing off to the side, arms crossed as if he was angry. The trainer had changed clothes once more, donning a black and grey t-shirt with white paint spatters decorating it, grey camouflage pants, black boots, a black knit cap, and wide frame sunglasses completing a look that clashed horribly with his green bag. In a way, the random patterns on his attire were reminiscent of Serena's own clothes, although Calem had dressed as such by choice. Other than Shauna shooting Calem a glance every few seconds, the only other person doing anything of note in the room was Eusine, who was jumping form one foot to the other like a schoolchild that had just been told they would be going to recess early. When Ash entered the room behind Serena, he smirked. "You're acting just like a little kid, Eusine. What's up?" The look on his face implied that he had just dropped some hilarious inside joke that only he understood.
Eusine glanced up in irritation. "We're looking at the results of the scientist's project. Join us if you intend to be useful."
The statement cause everyone to take notice of the new arrivals. Again, nobody commented on Serena as she made her way to join their small circle. She briefly wondered if she looked as bad as she thought she did, but pushed the thought aside as Clemont welcomed them. He was sporting a confused smile. "Good, everyone's here. Most of you know this already, but for the sake of those who don't I'll explain again. Last night, the machine picked up two signals for Bonnie's location. I do not understand how this is possible, as the machine was programmed to pick up on only one signal and stop." The remark led to Eusine grinning even more widely, which Serena and several others found creepy. "Needless to say, one likely leads to Bonnie, and the other leads to something with Bonnie's energy signature. My first thought was of Squishy, but Squishy is with me, so it's more likely to be a trap if the criminal somehow knew how we would be tracking Bonnie." A hush fell over the room, nobody happy about Clemont's casual accusation, but nobody willing to do anything about it at the same time.
Clemont shifted his eyes from person to person, but he never settled on anyone, choosing to go on instead. "Put simply, I will need all of you to practice extreme caution as you investigate these areas. My machine can pinpoint these locations for you on a printed map, so it's best we print two and split up again." While he spoke, he pressed a few buttons on the remote attached to the machine.
Clemont's invention began to spit out two crude maps of the area. Calem had approached the group while they stared at the machine and its flashing lights. When Clemont noticed him, he raised an eyebrow. "Any word from Sanity?" he asked.
With a sigh, Calem shook his head. "Nothing. Sanity says it doesn't know the area well enough to follow those kind of instructions. It's best at teleporting to places that it has been to before. Searching like last night isn't used as often." As he finished his thought, Sanity appeared right next to him, head hung low in shame at its failure.
While Calem reassured Sanity of its incredible abilities, Clemont drew the group's attention again. "Alright then. Calem and I discussed things and decided that Calem, Serena, Sawyer, Clemont, Eusine, Jessie and James will pursue this target-" He pointed to the dot on the map that was farther away from the manor. "- and by default Shauna, Tierno, Trevor, and Ash will take on the other one. Don't even bother arguing about it, we don't have time. The groups are uneven as a result of one target being father away. It will be easier for those going after the closer target to get help if necessary. The rest of us need to be prepared to deal with whatever happens ourselves. There's no telling how long these maps will stay accurate for before Bonnie is moved. Let's go." He pressed a button on the machine, and it immediately shut itself off, all signs of life within the metal completely dying.
Among others, Ash, Tierno, and Eusine seemed to want to raise an argument, but nobody voiced an argument to the plan. Calem took the lead in his group, while Ash and Tierno had the map yanked from their yearning eyes before they could even consider taking it by Shauna, who took point position in the group of four. The paths that the two groups had to follow actually were the same for the first part of the journey that Clemont warned could take nearly an hour if his math was correct. Serena spent this time in their trek through the woods discussing rescue plans with Clemont, trying to ignore the annoying people in her group. Ash attempted several times to join their conversation, but Serena consistently found something for him to do that would prevent him from joining their conversation. Around the third time, Clemont confronted her about it, slowing his pace and causing them to lag behind the others. "Serena, there's not much more I can say about our plan, particularly since we don't know what to expect. Why are you brushing Ash off?" His voice lowered. "Did... something happen?"
Serena didn't respond for a moment. Whether something happened or not was actually not certain in her mind. All she knew was that Ash had lied to her. She informed Clemont of this. "Uh-huh. To be honest, I hadn't noticed, particularly with Bonnie on my mind," he admitted. "That being said, you and I both know that we're all hurting over friends right now. If Ash told a white lie to try to keep you from feeling worse, then you should be thanking him for caring about your feelings." He pushed his glasses up his face sagely.
"But what Eusine said-" she protested before Clemont shook his head, stopping her.
"I wasn't there when he revealed your card, and even now I only vaguely understand its implications. What I do comprehend is that he cannot be trusted. As I told you before, Serena, it's critical that you, Ash and I stick as close together as possible right now. I'm nearly certain now that there's two signals that someone fiddled with my machine and we have a mole in the group, possibly even the original criminal." He shot several glances in front of him to ensure that nobody could hear them. "I despise saying this, Serena, really, but they took Bonnie. Only someone who knows where we are and has a reason to want to attack us would do that, and it's not the red outfit people."
There was little to say in the face of Clemont's emotionless delivery. She could see the signs of a man being stoic in the face of adversity behind Clemont's glasses, but she also noticed the fear and confusion of an older sibling losing their younger relative. "I... suppose you're right, but this is different. If it's true, then it changes everything about Ash. How can we trust him if he that's how he treats his companions?" she felt her voice beginning to rise in fear and fought to quell her noise.
Clemont sighed. "The key word is if. Even if this is true, it doesn't change the fact that Ash will be completely devoted to our group right now, when we need to stick together. This is a conversation for after we are a group of four again. I promise you that, Serena, as your friend."
It was annoying having so many friends that always sounded like they were right sometimes. She was trying to deal with a situation that would never even be a problem if she didn't solve the puzzle right in front of her face. "Alright, Clemont. Bonnie and our pokémon first."
Clemont smiled genuinely at Serena. "Thank you, Serena. I'm going to catch up to Calem. I believe we have nearly reached the intersection at which our two groups separate, and I want to ensure we go the right way."
With a bit of over exaggerated preparation, Clemont made his way to the point position in the group. Ash happened to choose that moment to resurface from some point in the woods that Serena had arbitrarily told him to scout. Even though he was dense, Serena could tell that he wanted to say something to her badly and was knew she wasn't seemingly willing to talk to him. A gush of uncontrollable guilt coursed through her, and she took the initiative to walk up to Ash and stand next to him, slightly startling the boy. His normal demeanor of boisterous confidence was replaced with reclusive shyness. Serena decided to take the initiative. "Ash, I need to apologize. I've been acting up a bit this morning. I'm sorry about that," she apologized.
Ash tilted his head. "I thought you were mad at me for something I did. Did I do something?" he asked tentatively.
Serena immediately shook her head, but didn't actually say anything for a moment. A dangerous thought had crossed her mind. "You didn't do anything, Ash. I've just been thinking about what you said, about what happens next after we finish things here and find our friends."
A serious look appeared on Ash's face. "You don't need to worry about that, Serena. We're going to find a way to work all that out soon," he reassured her.
"But... but what if we can't?" she found herself blurting out, grateful for their anonymity in the back of the group. "What if things just don't work out and we can't travel together anymore?" she fretted.
Ash, dropping his tentativeness for reassurance, placed a hand on Serena's shoulder. His hands were warm. "If a way doesn't exist yet, we'll make one. I promise you."
"I... don't know if I can believe that." The words stung to say out loud.
Ash didn't falter. "How can I make you believe me then?" he asked patiently.
The group in front of them had practically disappeared into the woods. "I don't know. I don't know and it's tearing me up inside, Ash. I don't know if my friends and pokémon are safe, and I don't know what the future holds for us. I don't even know if you-" She caught herself. At even this junction she found herself unable to utter the word that had tantalized her conscious ever since her first interaction with Ash. A single tear found itself rolling down her cheek.
Ash stared into Serena's eyes. There was something she had never seen before in them. "Serena, I don't know a lot of things. I'm worried about the safety of my pokémon and my friends. One thing I do know is that I will not rest until everything we care about is safe and sound. I've had this mentality since I started my journey. It led me through my biggest successes, my largest mistakes, and the toughest decisions that even now I look back on and think about sometimes. It's like this, Serena. No matter what I think about the future, no matter how impossible the success or failure in front of me is, I know that it's just another potential result based on the amount of determination I put into the present."
It was strange. Ash's maturity tended to vary on a wide spectrum based on the current situation, but now he was acting completely differently. It wasn't like Ash was young like Bonnie or a greenhorn trainer, but he didn't have all of the extra years of experience brought on by the end of the teen years like Calem. In his eyes reflected the experiences of people who had lived far longer than he had. Sadness mingled and danced with elation around a table of hardened experiences that had imprinted themselves upon the mind of the man in front of her. It was a new side of Ash that, for all of its wisdom and confidence, felt like his least confident persona. Serena wiped the tear from her face. "What if you don't know what future you want, then?" she asked.
Ash shrugged. "I really don't know, Serena. I've made decisions like that and, like I said, I don't know to this day if I did the right thing. All I know is that I have to keep going to make one of the happy futures for myself." He removed his hand from Serena and gave her a smaller version of his trademark smile, the new look in his eyes fading as quickly as it arrived. "We're going to lose everyone, by the way," he pointed out.
Serena turned a bit absentmindedly towards the forest that the group had disappeared into. "Yeah, we should go. Ash, thank you for the advice. I... just thank you. It means a lot." The less rational part of Serena's brain was still screaming at her to make a move, but she held out. Bonnie and her pokémon had to come first. "When we find something you'll be the first to know about it," she promised.
Ash smiled and gave her a thumbs up. "Great! I'll send Noivern or Talonflame over if we run into anything important. We'll meet up again once one of us has found Bonnie."
Serena nodded her agreement and the two made their way into the woods where their friends had disappeared. A short distance of walking allowed them to reunite with everyone as they waited on the people lagging in the back. Serena ignored all the annoyed comments she received, apologizing only to Clemont as the paths of the two groups finally diverged. I have to find my pokémon soon. I don't know how much longer I can go before I accidentally spill something to Ash... Serena found herself walking through the woods with Sawyer, unsuccessfully trying to get the boy to open up as they made their way to the destination while team rocket flanked them.
Calem and Clemont took the point position, looking with interest at the map as they struggled to keep themselves on the right path. James spoke up when they all paused to reaffirm that said path they followed was correct. "Humor me, Calem. How did you manage to select these teams we find ourselves in?" he asked.
A head poked up and out from the map. Calem glanced around, like he had no idea who had said anything, until he rested his glasses on James. "Random draw," he blurted out, clearly distracted with other things.
James actually pouted a bit. Serena initially suspected he was just bored, but his pensive expression seemed to tell a different story, like he didn't trust Calem's decision-making. The pair of Clemont and Calem suddenly began walking again at a slightly more brisk pace. Sawyer, of all people, was staring daggers at James, who pretended not to notice. He quickened his pace to match Clemont's. Serena threw a questioning glance at James as she found herself walking in between Jessie and James. "Twerps. All the same," stated James, like that explained everything.
She folded her arms. "How are we all the same?" she asked indignantly.
Jessie shrugged. "It goes back to when the original twerp was starting out. It's different from twerp to twerp, but they're all insufferably moral. You can never get them to do anything wrong."
Serena had stopped listening when Jessie mentioned that everything could be traced back to Ash's origin. Of course she knew that team rocket had been pestering Ash since he started his journey, but it only then occurred to her that the two would be the only authority she could ask on his companions, notwithstanding Ash himself. This is a terrible idea. But James said he and Jessie were rooting for me. But... it's team rocket, even if they know more about Ash's companions than everyone sans Ash himself. But the only way I can potentially learn anything about Ash's companions without having to spill my real secret to him is through them... I'm going to regret this.
"Jessie, James. I have a question for you." The sudden shift in the tone of her voice caused both people to raise an eyebrow, one with mild interest at being asked a question, the other with malign intention.
"Oh, do tell, twerp. This should be good," cajoled Jessie.
Serena ignored the sarcasm. "You know Ash well. Do you know his older companions, the ones before Clemont, Bonnie and I very well?" she asked without a wavering voice. There was no room to show uncertainty in front of Jessie.
Both members of team rocket's faces contorted in confusion, not expecting that sort of question. Jessie eventually laughed, an evil cackle that caused Clemont to actually look up and stare daggers at Jessie until she stopped. Reassured by Clemont's promise of getting involved should things get out of hand, she pressed on, in a lower voice. "I'm serious. It's important."
Jessie had barely calmed down enough to speak, but she still spoke for the two of them. "That's what makes it funny, twerp. Are you stressing that much about losing your twerp boyfriend? What about your precious pokémon?" she taunted.
"Ignore her," interrupted James immediately, but Serena was already nodding to him. She had run the same argument over in her mind far too many times that same day. "Of course I'm worried for them. That's why we're out here, putting one foot after the other until we find them. Before we reach that point, however, I decided that I'd ask you about Ash's former companions. Eusine told me some things that I-"
Jessie's eyes narrowed to tiny slits, while James folded his arms angrily. "Eusine told you something, did he? That won't do. Our knowledge is yours to use," Jessie promised with more eagerness to help than Serena had ever expected to hear out of the woman.
Still unsure why Jessie and James had suddenly developed such an aversion to several members of the group, Serena resolved to press on. "Well, since you're aware already, I'll be frank. Have any of the girls he's travelled with been... well, interested in him?" Just putting the question out there was enough to cause her to stare at the ground for several seconds. When she looked up, James was mulling over something in his mind, while Jessie was clearly attempting to do the same in between suppressed giggles. At least one of them is taking this seriously.
James locked eyes with Jessie, and a silent message passed between them. "Alright," spoke James. "If you really feel you must know, then Misty is the only girl we ever noticed as having a crush on the twerp. May had Drew, Dawn, well, was a really good best friend, but she and Ash were too similar. Iris was a little kid. Of course that would just leave you, twerp," he explained.
Jessie shook her head empathetically. "Oh, you're being modest, James! That dumb, ugly water-type failure was head over heels for the twerp! They even seemed meant to be at some points..." she trailed off in reminiscence.
The flamboyance in Jessie's tone prevented Serena from immediately freaking out and trying to strangle Jessie. "Then why did she leave? Misty, that is."
Jessie sighed longingly. "Oh, twerpette, it was a heartbreak for the ages! She finally worked up the nerve to confess her feelings for him, only for the wretched man to reject her love in the most heartless way you could possibly imagine! I swear I'd never seen a child more crushed than she was in my entire lifetime!" She swooned, falling into Wobbuffet's arms. Serena stared at her curiously for a moment. Just yesterday, this woman had intimidated her. She tore her gaze away to face James. "We don't know," he answered bluntly. "Just because we make it our business to know everything about our enemy doesn't mean we know everything about our enemy."
Serena had to hold back a stinging remark regarding team rocket's penchant for failures of the sort. "Well, that's alright. I appreciate it James, really." She surprised herself by meaning what she said to him. Even though her real question of why Misty had left still hung ominously unanswered, some information was certainly better than no information.
The blue-haired man shrugged. "Never let it be said that we're heartless, like some other people here."
A gloved hand suddenly smacked him on the back of the head as Jessie moved around the two to be standing behind James. "Speak for yourself, James. If messing with them gets us pokémon and gives me an interesting love story to witness, then there's no reason not to get involved!"
James rubbed the back of his head, but did nothing in retaliation. "I've told you a million times that messing with love never ends with anything but a blast-off for us, Jessie." There was irritation on his face, but his tone suggested that he knew he was talking to a deaf person.
"You'll have to keep trying, James, because I still can't hear you. In any case, here's what you have to do, twerpette: go rescue Pikachu and give it to the twerp. He'll be so overjoyed that he'll fall in love and confess his love to you right there in front of everybody!" She spread her arms out wide, drawing a curious glance from Sawyer, and prompting both James and Serena to shush the woman.
Jessie lowered her voice, but refused to stop talking. "Well, if you're not going to woman up and make the first move, twerpette, then this is your best alternative. I'd recommend you take it, before somebody does it for you."
"And you wonder why nearly all of our plans fail..." muttered James. "Jessie, lay off her," he requested in his normal voice.
A part of Serena wondered if Jessie was actually right and if she saved Pikachu, then she would finally win Ash's affection. "I'm going to decide what to tell him when the time is proper, after our friends have been found. I'm not trying to create a love triangle or anything, I just wanted to know if what Eusine said was true."
"Love triangle? Oh no, twerpette, we won't be dealing with that until we get to part two. You've got much bigger problems to deal with right now," reassured Jessie.
Serena tilted her head in confusion and turned to James for clarification. "She's basically saying to stop worrying about Misty when you have to get Ash to notice you in that way first," clarified the man.
There was no way Serena could possibly do that, not when the girl's decision to leave still lacked a proper motive. "I guess I can try that," she finally said.
Jessie grinned broadly. "Great! Oh, and don't think I've forgotten about our promise, twerpette. Time is running out for you, if you haven't noticed." Some of the dominating malice in her voice began to return, and the familiar chill of Jessie's threat coursed through Serena.
"I... haven't forgotten." As to if I'm going to do something about it... that's a completely different problem.
It appeared as if Jessie was willing to hatch some other half-baked idea for Serena to go about confessing to Ash, but Clemont at this point noticed the uncertainty that had developed on Serena's face, and he gave Calem control over their route before making his way back to join the three. "Jessie, Sawyer wanted to speak with you and James for a moment," he directed.
James raised an eyebrow and Jessie froze right as she was about to speak, but neither made any sort of complaint and rejoined Sawyer wordlessly. A concerned gaze from Clemont again found itself upon Serena. "You alright? I wasn't sure what they wanted, but it was team rocket, so I estimated that it wasn't positive." He tilted his head upwards a bit, in a sort of pride for his actions.
"I'm perfectly fine, Clemont, but thank you for your concern. I approached them, to be honest. I wanted to know something about Ash's former travel companions." Serena kept her tone even, trying to give Clemont the implication that she worried he would get. She failed.
"I don't think it's a good idea that they have any involvement with that, Serena. We have enough problems already without team rocket making one of them more complicated." An edge of frustration tingled in his voice, but Serena ignored it.
"They know anyways, so it wouldn't hurt to get some info now, especially when they're thinking more about Meowth than trying to steal our pokémon," she pointed out.
Clemont frowned. "That is true, but the same could be said for you and your pokémon. Are you sure this doesn't need to be dealt with sooner, Serena? I don't want it to impede our search."
"Neither do I," said Serena, shaking her head empathetically. "It won't, I promise. How close are we to our Bonnie location?"
Clemont continued to stare at her for a moment longer before turning away. Serena knew he had someone of his own to look out for that stopped him from delving deeper into the issue himself. "We aren't that far away. Maybe another few minutes of walking."
Having the destination be so impending caused Serena to begin to fret a bit. Clemont had mentioned something about them potentially walking into the trap. She found herself unconsciously walking closer Calem and Sawyer, the strongest trainers in the group. Calem continued to follow the map carefully, Sawyer threw her a glance, and Eusine was as ornery as ever. Clemont found himself walking in the front of the group briskly, ignoring his own advice about the potential danger in favor of seeing his sister again. Squishy and Dedenne popped out of his pockets, as if they sensed something that the machine had found from much farther away. Calem stopped moving. "Alright, we should be almost right on top of... wherever it is we're supposed to be. Bonnie location one? Yeah, that works. Bonnie location one is right here!" he declared proudly.
It would be a bit of an understatement to say Serena was underwhelmed. they were still standing in the middle of seemingly endless forest, with nothing but a map to claim otherwise. "I guess we should look around?" she suggested hesitantly.
Clemont looked at her and nodded. The cue inspired everyone to disperse, Sawyer and the team rocket duo immediately getting as far away from Calem as they could. Sylveon was instructed by Serena to help search the area, and she set about looking around trees and in bushes as hard as she could, working in tandem with everyone to find some sort of evidence of Bonnie's presence or passing through the area. Clemont grew visibly more fervent and erratic in his searching, muttering about the accuracy of his machine among other things more obscene. Calem, instead of releasing Sanity as she expected, was staring directly at a tree, at least if he wasn't sleeping standing up. The shades made it impossible to tell. Sawyer, Eusine and the others fell out of sight as she continued to search. Every group of leaves she brushed away and every branch she forced to bend for her ended in another disappointment. The silent tension of the forest, broken by the occasional bird pokémon cry or the snapping of a branch by someone in the group, started to wear on Serena. The rising feeling of fear that Clemont's machine was wrong, that Bonnie actually was gone, refused to submit to her attempts to block the thought out. Sylveon noticed her tensing up. It reached a feeler out tentatively, but Serena shook her head. "We'll cover more ground if we stay separate, Sylveon."
The pokémon hung its head and continued searching. Serena felt a bit guilty for her attitude, but she could apologize after Bonnie was safe. Panic continued to fester and bubble within her. There's nothing here. It's just forest. If Clemont was wrong, and Bonnie is gone, then it will be my fault. I was the only one that could have stopped her from being taken, and I failed. I'll have failed everyone... Hoping against hope that the other location contained something more useful, she was very ready to approach Clemont and request that they find out if Ash and his group had found anything, when Sylveon lifted its head and stared off into the distance. "What's wrong, Sylveon?" Serena asked.
Sylveon suddenly took off, running into the woods without a sound. "Sylveon, wait for me! What is it!?" she called after her pokémon. Whatever had inspired Sylveon to run off, it would have to be important in order to cajole the fairy type to leave Serena's side. The path her pokémon had chosen was completely choked with dense foliage, and Serena found multiple branches scratching and pricking her as she pumped her legs furiously after the renegade pokémon. Finally, she managed to catch up to her only current pokémon as she burst into a small clearing, more specifically a flower field. Sylveon had run into the middle of the clearing, scattering the flowers around it as it made its way to the center of the clearing. Serena followed it cautiously. The Sylveon was jumping up and down in some form of one of the dances that Serena had taught the fairy type, although the backdrop of flowers reminded Serena of how she originally found Sylveon, when it was still an eevee that danced where nobody could see it in the flower fields. "What's gotten into you?" the performer asked her pokémon, although the question was more for herself.
When Sylveon paused and looked at its trainer, it had an elated smile on its face, and it was quivering in nervous delight. Serena placed her hands on her hips and let out a breath. "You had me thinking you found Bonnie, Sylveon. You just smelled these flowers, didn't you?"
Sylveon nodded happily. "Syl!" it chirped, holding out a feeler invitingly.
Serena stared at it for a moment. "You... want me to join you, don't you?" she guessed.
Sylveon nodded and hopped up and down a few more times. Whatever had gotten into the pokémon, it clearly wasn't willing to take no for an answer. Everything in Serena's head told her to reject the offer and get back to searching, but when Serena glanced down at her hand, she saw that it was trembling. She looked back at Sylveon's feeler. The pokémon could sense its trainer's feelings and emotions with those feelers. Every stab of pain and regret that ran through her must have been felt by Sylveon with all the terrible pain that she had experienced the past two days. Sylveon surely was missing its friends as well, and now it was feeling the pain for its trainer as well. The shock of her realization was also detected by Sylveon, and it recoiled a feeler a bit in confused sadness. Immediately Serena felt another wave of guilt rush through her for her thoughts, each one another weapon that Sylveon had accepted and embraced without complaint or question. Now, it wanted to dance for her sake, and Serena was about to reject it again. Determination suddenly welled up within her. Whenever Sylveon was nervous for a performance, Serena had always had it dance around a bit in the waiting room to loosen it up and calm its nerves. There's a lot of problems I can't fix right now, and a lot of people counting on me that I don't know how to help. I can't even help myself sometimes. This is a pokémon I can help. I can help Sylveon right now. Serena's hand stopped shaking, and she held it out to meet Sylveon's feeler. "Let's run through our warm up dance, alright, Sylveon?" she suggested.
Sylveon perked up immediately. "Sylveon!" it spoke in elation before taking her hand.
The warm up dance was the first dance Serena had taught Sylveon back when it was an eevee, and it was something she made up in the spur of the moment to try and get Sylveon used to dancing with something other than itself, namely Serena. It involved little more than the two twirling around and moving in between each other in some basic performance patterns, but the dance had been a hit for Sylveon, so she had written it down and kept it as a sort of warm up for when the two were going to practice more complicated dances that involved moves. Muscle memory overtook her and she found herself moving in perfect sync with Sylveon, the two putting on a display for all the flowers in the field. Serena caught her pokémon's eye as they passed each other. Both trainer and pokémon had joy in their eyes. Serena remembered in the moment why she loved performing, and how it created a sort of bond between the performer and her pokémon, one of complete faith and trust in the other's ability to put on the best display possible for the audience. Everything else fell away, and Serena was alone with Sylveon and the flowers, relying on the gentle paw steps of Sylveon to guide the timing and placement of her own feet as the two continued through some sort of perpetual rhythm that only they could hear and bound them together with invisible string. When the dance ended, Serena bent over to catch her breath. She wasn't certain, but she suspected that she and Sylveon had gone on longer than they usually did. Sylveon walked into Serena's line of sight, a bright smile on its face. Serena realized that she was smiling too, wider than she had for the past several days. Finally, she had done something completely right. "I understand, Sylveon. Thank you for finding this place. I should have known better than to think that my emotions affected only me." The rush of the movement still lingered in her tired, still dirty body, and she sat down among the amber flowers. Sylveon was completely forgiving of Serena, and wrapped a feeler around her arm.
I can't stop performing. It's not just my dream, it's the dream of my pokémon, too, and it's what makes us a family. I can't leave Ash, either. He put me on the path I walk today, and... without him, I know I wouldn't be helping both of us reach our full potential. Surprisingly, Serena found herself less fretful about the dilemma than she had been for the past several days. The card in her pocket was so weightless that she had to check to reassure herself that it was there. Sylveon continued to smile at her. It seemed to be trying to say that no matter what happened, it would always be willing to dance with her. The devotion touched her deeply, and the knowledge that she was completely unwilling to give up a life of performing or a life with Ash she didn't even know if she could have refused to put a damper on it. For a moment, she forced herself to be nothing but happy, enjoying time with her pokémon. The reprise came to a close as she reminded herself that she had other people and pokémon to find. As she rose, a voice rang out to her.
"If I'm being honest, that was actually quite mesmerizing."
Serena snapped towards the sound of Eusine's voice. She should have known better than to think that nobody would have followed her. "What are you doing?" she asked, with an edge to her voice that caused even Eusine to show a bit of hesitation. He was intruding on something private between Sylveon and her, and she wasn't going to take any more intrusions from him.
"I was following you in case you found something, and/or so I could bring you back if you happened to run too far. Nobody else saw you go, and it would reflect badly on me if someone in my group disappeared," he explained.
Serena folded her arms. His logic was sound, but Serena knew better than to trust the charlatan with any sort of credibility. "Fine. Let's go back then. We have to find Bonnie," she stated coldly.
Eusine didn't budge. "If it bothered you that I saw you, I apologize. I felt it rude to interrupt your moment, and I couldn't tear my eyes away. You should know that I respect your craft, in spite of you and your friends. Performing is a noble and difficult pursuit, much like contests, although both fail to garner the respect I feel they deserve. Maybe once I catch Suicune I'll get around to doing something about that..." he trailed off.
Serena decided to just let the intrusion go. The man didn't appear ready or willing to hold it over her head, and the benefits of dancing with her pokémon far outweighed the problem of one person seeing it happen. She said nothing to Eusine, instead beckoning to both him and Sylveon to follow her as she made her way back through the dense foliage towards Clemont and the others. When the three arrived, everyone except Calem was standing around Clemont, who was scrutinizing the map. "This doesn't make sense. We definitely travelled to the correct location. There's no mistaking it. Whatever caused the machine to detect the presence of Bonnie, it's here." Dedenne and Squishy chimed in in agreement.
Jessie laughed. "Well, it's that, or another machine failed, inventor twerp," she mocked.
Clemont's free hand made a fist. "If we don't find Bonnie, we definitely won't find Meowth. I wouldn't be scoffing at your only chance to find your partner." There was a defensive fire burning brightly in his eyes.
Serena approached the others. "Are you absolutely sure that there's nothing here, Clemont?"
The frown on Clemont's face deepened. "Unfortunately, yes. That is, unless somebody found something. Did you find something?" he asked, clearly trying to prevent hope from bleeding into his voice.
Serena hated to do it, but she shook her head. Clemont sighed, and looked at the map again. "I suppose it's possible that this location is just a dud, a glitch in the system. Maybe Ash and his group has the real location, and there really is nothing here."
"No," spoke Calem, finally joining reality again.
Everyone turned to him. "He speaks," announced Eusine sarcastically. "Enlighten us, oh great silent one."
Calem ignored him. "Consider this. These trees, they're old, but not that old. The vast majority of the trees in the area are larger than these trees. That tells me that the soil here doesn't run nearly as deep."
Confusion spread across Serena's face, but Clemont understood the implication. "You're saying what we're looking for could be underground. Do you think it's a good idea to dig down?"
"If you have a pokémon that can, sure," answered Calem. "Just be careful. If I'm right, which I believe I am, the ground won't be very stable."
Clemont took the warning to heart and stepped closer to a tree. He released his bunnelby. "Bunnelby, dig straight down and bring back anything strange you find," he instructed.
Bunnelby nodded and used dig straight into the earth. Serena found herself leaning against a tree. Doing so caused her to notice just how low the branches of the trees in this specific area were. She had just assumed that the foliage was thick in this area, but it would make much more sense for the trees to just be smaller and therefore more likely to have lower branches if they didn't have as much growing room. She stared at Calem, who was watching the hole expectantly. He wasn't spacing out, he was perfectly reading the environment in a way that nobody else she knew would have picked up on, not even Clemont. Shauna really knows how to pick them... She'd probably get a laugh out of this. After a moment or two, a blue sphere suddenly emerged from the hole, covered in dirt. Everyone close to the hole jumped back a few steps, and everyone else immediately had a poké ball in their hands. Clemont, being the closest, was the first to relax. "Is that... a stuffed azurill doll?" he asked incredulously.
Bunnelby popped its head out of the ground and smiled proudly at the results of its work. Nobody moved towards the doll for a moment. Eusine then sprinted forward and scooped it up, holding the doll tightly, as if it were a lost child. When he removed his face from being buried in the doll, there was a tear in his eye. Serena's mouth could not have dropped open any further. Everyone else reacted similarly. "Eusine... what are you doing?" asked Sawyer finally.
Eusine didn't dare to remove his gaze from the doll. "Do you know how many years it has been since I have seen this doll? I've almost lost count."
"Hold on," interrupted Clemont. "Did you know this toy was buried here?"
Eusine looked up sharply. "As if I would leave something as important as this behind intentionally. It's been in my secret base for who knows how long. I've always wanted to return, but... well, I couldn't." The doll was cradled in one of his arms, a stark contrast to Eusine's otherwise formal demeanor.
"What's a secret base? Why couldn't you go back?" asked Serena.
Eusine rolled his eyes. "They don't have many of them in Kalos, so I suppose it's somewhat excusable. A secret base is a place for trainers to store their belongings and decorate as they please. You need a pokémon that knows secret power to get in. I don't have one. Not anymore." For the first time, Eusine spoke lifelessly, without his annoying flamboyance.
Calem frowned. "Can you take us to the entrance? I get the feeling something else has been poking around your old base if it's the source of the signal."
Eusine scowled. "There's no way. I am the only one who knows about that entrance. It existed solely as my base of operations while I hunted Suicune in this area. There's no way someone else could have been there."
Clemont frowned. "You know that means anything that we find related to Bonnie in there is directly traceable back to you, right?"
"Of course," answered Eusine. "I already told you I can't get in."
"Why didn't you just get another pokémon that knows secret power?" asked James.
Eusine turned away. "I'm not replacing Hypno. You want to know all my damn secrets, then follow me. I'll show you the greatest unpassable wall you've ever seen in your insufferable life." He stormed off into the woods, not waiting for anyone to follow him.
Calem grinned. "I'd always wondered if he cared about anything besides Suicune. Come on, before he scampers off too far."
The trainer led the way for everyone to follow the charlatan. Serena was still a bit foggy on how secret bases worked, but it sounded like Eusine had abandoned his after not having a pokémon that can open it. She wanted to ask him questions and even caught herself feeling curious about Eusine's life, but a reminder of his past actions snapped her back to reality. On the other hand, he did seem actually interested in my dance with Sylveon earlier. Barely a minute of walking, not including brief pauses where Eusine had to stop to ascertain his location, led to another small clearing in the forest. It was there that Eusine stood, mouth agape, at the massive hole created in a sort of rock structure jutting out of the ground, revealing a hole leading invitingly down. "No..." spoke Eusine in disbelief. Everyone else gathered around him to gawk at what could only be described as a pile of poorly put together rubble surrounding a hole in the ground.
Peering a bit closer, Serena realized that the hole actually had steps leading down it. The hole itself was big enough for someone to enter it and not hit their head on the ground, but it still surprised Serena that what was apparently such a natural structure had such a sophisticated entrance. The rocks, large and small, that surrounded the entrance did nothing to obstruct the entrance, although they did appear to have once formed such a barrier, as some of the stones had been tossed off to the side. "It would appear that someone else has been here. Not surprising, judging by the apparent size of the original structure," commented Clemont. "I would wager that this leads directly to the area we were just standing over."
Eusine shot up. "Whoever did this is going to pay!" he shouted at nothing before sprinting into the entrance.
Serena threw caution to the wind and ran after him, Sylveon at her side. Eusine could, of course, be lying about the intrusion on his base, but the way he reacted implied to her that he was just as shocked as she was. She was further surprised by the consistent lighting in the tunnel that the cave led into. Fluorescent lights flickered on as Eusine passed them, illuminating the rather short tunnel that led to what Serena assumed was the main bulk of the secret base. She glanced back and realized that she and Eusine had either run far ahead of the others or they hadn't immediately followed her. The possibility of a trap rang again in her mind, but she pressed forward. When she entered the main cave room, she gasped at how many toys stared back at her. Small plush versions of multiple pokémon lined the entire wall of one side of the cave. A small hole above an empty space on the way indicated where Bunnelby had been. A bed and a bookcase made up the furniture on the other side of the room. directly in front of her, lining the north wall, was a desk with a laptop and a green flag. Eusine sat on his knees in the center of the room. When he heard Serena approach he turned. "You... this is her bag, isn't it?" he asked, holding up Bonnie's bag.
Serena's eyes widened and she nodded, starting forward. Eusine handed it to her without complaint. "Everything is exactly how he left it. Somebody broke in here, left the bag, and then left without so much as taking a book. How did they even get in the door?" he asked aloud.
The memory of Serena's sylveon being taken out in one blow by the body guard's scizor surfaced in her head. She opened up Bonnie's bag and searched it, but it was empty. She wasn't actually sure what Bonnie stored in that thing besides her pokémon. "Eusine... how long have you had this place?" she asked.
"It isn't mine," snapped Eusine, before he seemed to catch himself. "It was supposed to be mine. Before that it belonged to my father. He had hunted for Suicune long before I ever did. When I was old enough, he used to take me up here, since he knew about the Suicune Festival as well, and I would play with him and his Hypno in his spare time between searching." He smiled at the thought.
Serena tilted her head. "So what happened?" she asked.
Eusine turned away. "Life happened. I lost him and Hypno before he could officially give the place to me. After that, I never wanted to come back here, so I let my ability to enter this place die with them." Tears had begun to form upon his face again. "I have to find the criminal who attacked you. This isn't about Suicune anymore. He or she is spitting on the honor of my father and trying to incriminate me. He made it personal." he spoke with the most enraged calm Serena had ever seen, swiveling around to face Serena.
"I... I'm sorry-"
"Don't be," interrupted Eusine. "I deserve your anger. I earned that. Do not dishonor me with pity. We are not friends because of this, performer. I will find whoever did this, but I will still catch Suicune. Both outcomes are guaranteed."
The fire in his eyes almost reminded Serena of Ash. She still felt bad for the man, but at the same time, she couldn't help but wonder why someone would go to the trouble of placing the bag in such an inconvenient hiding spot if they were going to make it obvious that Eusine didn't do it. Everyone else finally joined Serena and Eusine in the room, prompting Eusine to rise and move briskly over to Serena. "We're even now. One secret for a secret dance," he whispered in her ear before pacing over to the laptop and trying to activate it, with little success. Serena passed Bonnie's bag to Clemont, who immediately snatched it with the same fervor that Eusine had snatched the azurill doll. "So the bag did throw the tracker off..." he muttered.
Team rocket immediately started to mess with the bed, prompting Eusine to yell at them, while Calem scanned the room. "We should investigate a bit. Maybe whoever left Bonnie's bag here left something else."
Serena and Calem made their way to the bookcase while Clemont walked over to the desk to help Eusine with the laptop. Team rocket continued to mess with the bed, having a gay old time with themselves. Pulling out books from the shelves, Serena recognized a few of the books that were identical to the ones in the manor regarding mythical pokémon, although more books focused more specifically on Suicune and Suicune mythology. She put back the seventh book and was about to give up and leave Calem to browse the books himself when a particularly thin book caught her eye. She withdrew it to reveal what appeared to be a pamphlet describing Cinder Town and the Suicune Festival. Upon opening the informal booklet, something slipped out and onto the dirt ground. She returned the pamphlet and picked it up. Instantly she recognized the image of herself, Ash, and the others as they stood in front of the monument in Geosenge town. The only difference was that Bonnie's face had been crossed out. her heart caught in her throat. She flipped the picture over.
Last Chance
The words were written in bold red letters. She gasped, prompting everyone to turn to her. "What?" asked Clemont frantically.
Serena held up the picture for everyone to see before she turned it around to show the words written on it, unable to form words to describe it. A few gasps were let out. Clemont was enraged. "We need to get to the other site. Now. This is a distraction. I don't know why anyone would go to the effort for such a distraction, but-" As he spoke, the entire cavern rumbled, and the automatic lights shut off. Serena screamed and Calem placed a hand on her shoulder. "Get down," he commanded. Several other people were yelling over Calem shouting for everyone to get down or take cover. Serena had no idea what was happening.
After a very long moment, the rumbling ceased. In the silence, an orange light finally shone, illuminating the room again. Gourgeist had been released by Jessie. "You twerps alive?" she called out.
"Keep your voice down!" hissed Calem. "We don't know what could cause this entire place to destabilize."
"I'm alright," called out Serena as loud as she was willing to.
James, Clemont, and Eusine voiced their safety in turn. There was a pause. "Sawyer?" Clemont finally asked the room.
"Oh, he stayed outside. Something about PTSD with enclosed spaces," spoke James.
The implication of the statement sank in for everyone. Then a mad sprint for the entrance began, with Jessie and her pokémon forced to lead so nobody ran directly into a wall. Jessie had to stop everyone from doing just that as they rounded a bend to see their way out blocked by a pile of fallen rocks. "Well, that would be our problem," spoke Calem with a bit of humor.
"Hey! Are you guys alright back there? Answer me!" came a faint voice from behind the rubble.
A sigh of relief escaped Serena's mouth as she recognized Sawyer's voice. At least he hadn't used the chance to run off.
"Did you do this, you awful person!?" yelled Eusine from somewhere in the back of the line.
Serena pictured Sawyer balking. "Seriously? of course not! What can I do to get you all out?" came the small reply.
Calem stepped to the front of the group, next to Jessie. "Listen to me very carefully, Sawyer. I want you to run back to the police station. The investigation isn't currently happening, so they can't arrest you. Tell them what happened here and try to get them to investigate on the grounds that civilans were endangered. If the second point leads to the culprit, we're going to need the police. We can get out of here ourselves. Can you do that?" he asked as loudly as he could while still sounding calm.
There was a pause from the other side. "Yeah, I can do that. Are you sure you can get everyone out?"
"Yes," answered Calem. "One more thing. Clemont, let me borrow Bunnelby for a second," he requested.
Clemont acquiesced without complaint. "Thanks. I'm sending something over for you with Bunnelby, Sawyer."
"Why are you telling him to leave?!" burst out James, causing Jessie and Gourgeist to turn away from the rubble and Calem. "We need all the help we can get right now!"
Calem ignored them and placed what Serena could barely make out as a book in Bunnelby's paws. "Take this to the other side of the rubble," he instructed.
Bunnelby did so and returned rather quickly, implying that the barrier separating wasn't actually all that large. There was another pause on the other side. "Why?" came the barely audible response to the book.
"Get out of here before I get out of here and tell you," responded Calem, almost jokingly.
The other side fell silent. Serena realized she was the only one still paying attention to James, the others having shifted their attention to James' argument. "What was that?" Serena asked.
Calem turned to her. He had moved his sunglasses off of his face, and his eyes reflected Gourgeist's light in the darkness. "Honestly?" he asked. "I gave him his life back."
Serena tilted her head but realized that Calem couldn't see her movement. She wanted to ask him what in the world he was talking about, but James finally pulled her attention away as well. "Can any of you explain to me how we're going to get out of here? I'm open to anything, really." His tone was cynical and sarcastic.
Calem stood up. Alright, give me a moment and I'll fix this. I need all of you to take a few steps back. Jessie, keep that light on me."
Everyone did as instructed. It always baffled Serena how people like Calem and Ash managed to control such large groups of people with charisma alone. No, that wasn't quite right. Calem had a sort of aura of quiet authority to him, similar to AZ. In any case, he withdrew another poké ball and threw it on the ground in front of him. Out from the bright light burst forth a large garchomp, taking up nearly the entirety of the underground hallway it stood in. "Sand, we need a way around or through the rubble, whatever is safer. Can you manage that?"
Sand nodded quickly and buried underground, causing the whole hallway to rumble. "And don't get us buried!" he called after his pokémon.
Jessie frowned. "Can we trust that thing not to get us killed?" she asked suspiciously.
Calem grinned, barely visible in the light. "You may not believe me, but this happens more often to me than not when I go spelunking. Sand has dug me out of more than a few tight spots, it just needs some time to detect and create a safe path," he reassured.
Clemont raised an eyebrow. "You go digging? What are you looking for?" he inquired.
Calem shrugged. "Adventure, mostly. You asked about the max revive from a few days ago, there's your answer. When I find a cave, I can't help but leave my mark on it," he admitted.
Clemont nodded, satisfied. Serena realized they might be stuck in the dark hallway for a while. She took Sylveon's feeler for comfort. Team rocket began to discuss something quietly. "As soon as we get out, we're going after the others," declared Clemont. "The machine worked, which means Bonnie has to be at their location."
"I agree. We have little time to waste, especially if Sunshine and the others are in danger," spoke Calem.
Eusine glowered at the wall in front of him, eyes alight with determination. "I don't know who they are, but they will pay for what they've done to my father's base. I agree with this plan."
Serena realized that this was the first time all of them had a legitimate reason to be pursuing the criminal that wasn't part of some other more important plan or friendship. The secret base had done more than force them to stand closer together physically. Jessie and James finished their pow wow and stepped forward. "If that's how you all feel, then I believe it's time we played our trump card," announced Jessie.
"That blazekin won't stand a chance against our machine," agreed James.
Serena was tempted to laugh, but she didn't want to mess up her one chance for team rocket to use one of their crazy robots to help her instead of harm her. There were a few more words exchanged about how everyone planned to make their way to Ash's group, but it was clear that everyone was now very ready to get out of the cave. Fortunately, Sand eventually resurfaced, waving its arms proudly. "Chomp!" it announced.
Calem took the lead, returning his pokémon. "Thank you, Sand. Alright, everyone, stay close to me. Sand likes to make its tunnels a bit erratically sometimes."
Calem wasn't kidding. The 'safe' path Sand had found twisted in insane ways and was rarely completely straight for more than a few meters. at the least, the passage had been crudely cut to allow for a person to easily walk through. Per Calem's instruction, they didn't touch the walls or ceiling, although Serena could see the vicious results of Sand's attack on them, chunks of dirt and gravel from the new walls strewn all about the ground. Several minutes of walking later, the group of five saw daylight again. Team rocket immediately forced their way to the front and ran out, yelling something about preparation. Eusine exited next and cast a forlorn glance at the new hole that had sprouted next to the original. Calem came out and stood next to him in respectful silence. Serena and Clemont exchanged a glance. There was no more guesswork to do and they knew exactly where to go. It was time for the one who had tortured them for the past several days to face justice. "Ready?" asked Clemont.
"Ready," responded Serena.
The two took a few steps towards their intended destination before Talonflame suddenly swooped in from the north, circling around them frantically. The urgency only meant one thing to Serena: Ash needed help.