Hey again, everyone. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've been busy with the usual stuff - school/work. I also had my first real block while writing this one, so I skipped ahead and started working on Chapters 12 and 13 at the same time, so...I guess we'll see how they all play out. Hopefully I was able to keep things straight between them all, haha.

Serena's condition didn't improve upon being brought to the hospital. After being examined by the doctors in the emergency room, they were told that treating Pokemon poison in humans was usually a relatively simple process. However, the wrinkle in their particular situation was that they couldn't seem to find the antivenom for Serena's particular strain, and when Ash and Molayne were asked what Pokemon had poisoned her, they were unable to come up with a suitable answer for the medical team.

Thus, after the initial tests and resulting consultation had been concluded, she was relocated to a short-term room of her own, with the doctor simply saying that they would have to continue their generic treatment for her and hope that her body was eventually able to fight the poison off itself.

The two of them were allowed into her room for a short time, but before long Molayne had decided to go back to the others and report on what had happened. Ash, on the other hand, opted to stay at the hospital with Serena, telling Molayne that he and the others should find their own lodgings for the night and that they would meet back up in the morning.

It wasn't long after the Steel-type Trainer left, however, that one of the nurses came in and told Ash that while he was free to stay at the hospital as long as he wished, he would have to leave the room for the night. He had no choice but to agree, which led to him relocating to an unoccupied lounge off of one of the nearby hallways, adorned with a small bench against each of the two opposite walls, as well as a couple of vending machines standing just past them.

"Oh, man..." Ash sighed airily, attempting to loosen the knot that had taken root in his stomach recently. He slipped off his backpack and set it down on the floor next to the bench. "She's just gotta be okay. She's gotta be..."

It took a few minutes of him stewing there with his troubled thoughts before he even realized that Pikachu wasn't with him, which only served to increase the unease he was experiencing. He then remembered racing away from the Recycling Plant in his eagerness to get Serena some medical treatment, and figured that he must have left his partner behind with their other companions without even being aware of it.

This revelation surprised him; he couldn't recall ever forgetting his time-worn partner like that in the past. Rather, he didn't think anything could happen to him that would make him forget about the little Mouse Pokemon, even if only for a moment. Pikachu's presence was always at the forefront of his mind, no matter what kind of stressful situation presented itself to him.

At least, that was how it used to be.

Right on the heels of this revelation about Pikachu came another, this one revealing that Serena had actually trumped Pikachu in his mind back then. He didn't particularly feel guilty for it, as he knew that his bond with Pikachu could never be severed, but was rather surprised instead. He had always claimed that Pikachu and his mother were the two most important things in the world to him, next to his dream of becoming a Pokemon Master. And he was fully aware of the things he'd already told his girlfriend in the past about how important she was to him - but this was the first time that he'd really experienced his subconscious mind making a choice like that. It almost scared him to learn that all of his proclamations toward her weren't just empty platitudes, and that she really had become that important to him.

After some time passed, mostly consisting of him being lost in thought like this, he yawned despite himself, and felt his eyelids growing heavy. After a moment, he submitted, slumping down in his seat and bowing his head slightly as he allowed himself to drift off into the simple embrace of slumber.

"Do you think she'll be okay?"

Brock glanced over in the direction of the hospital resolutely before giving his answer. "I hope so, Lillie. I can't imagine what Ash must be feeling right now. The only times I've ever seen him like that were whenever his Pokemon were in danger."

"Cccinoooo..." Minccino chirped sadly. The small Chinchilla Pokemon had still insisted on following them around after the battle with Rhodo, though none of them had been able to figure out why as of yet.

"Piiikaaa..." Pikachu moaned as well, clearly distraught at the situation in general.

Molayne looked down in shame as the coastal breeze whipped through the avenue. "I'm sorry, all of you. If I hadn't brought you to the edge of town with me..."

"Um...I'm sorry, Molayne, but I don't think that's true." Lillie remarked, turning to address him with her emerald-green eyes glimmering warmly. "We all heard what he said. He was interested in Ash just as much as he was in you, maybe even more. We would 've had to fight him anyway."

Brock nodded in agreement. "She's right. Though, I am worried about what you told us before - you said that someone at your observatory told you to come down to the city, right?"

The Steel-type Trainer thought for a moment, putting a hand to his chin. "Yeah...now that you mention it, you're right. But...he couldn't be working with the Ultra Recon Squad, could he...?"

"That's the first thing you should investigate, if you ask me."

"Yeah. I'll go back up there tomorrow, and do just that." Molayne affirmed, nodding assuredly to him.

Once they arrived at the Pokemon Center, they all had their Pokemon that had participated in the battle with Rhodo treated, as well as Pikachu and Minccino. After they had all been treated, Pikachu bounded back up onto Brock's shoulder, content with using him as a surrogate until they had reunited with Ash. Minccino rejoined their group as well, taking up residence around Lillie's feet while leering passively at Molayne's Z-Ring, as well as the Key Stone dangling in plain sight around Brock's neck.

"Hey, that reminds me..." Brock started, noticing the Chinchilla Pokemon's wary glances. "If you really are going back up the mountain later, you might want to do something about your Z-Crystal there."

Molayne met his gaze in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you heard what that guy was saying about Z-Energy and all of that earlier, right? And Professor Kukui had already guessed that the attacks by the Legendary Pokemon had something to do with that. It seems like what happened earlier just confirms what we were already thinking." Brock crossed his arms and frowned down at the bracelet adorning Molayne's wrist. "If you're on your own, wearing that around only puts you in danger."

Molayne looked down at his Z-Ring hesitantly, pondering Brock's words for a moment before undoing the clasp on the bottom and removing it from his wrist. "If that's the case...then here."

"Molayne - ?!" Lillie began in disbelief, but the Steel-type Trainer was quick to shut her down.

"I know - it's probably a crazy idea." Molayne admitted with a nervous smile. "But I can't just abandon the observatory, especially not with Sophocles gone. It's not like I need my Z-Ring to do my work, anyway - you can hold onto it for me until all of this is over with."

Lillie stared down at the bracelet he was holding out before her. After contemplating his words for a few moments, she reluctantly reached out and took it from him. It was lighter than she expected, and the silver Steelium Z held inside of it was glimmering brilliantly.

"Make sure you keep it safe for me, all right?" Molayne half-joked, attempting to ease the tension in the air. Lillie nodded back at him and Brock smiled, content that their situation had been resolved for the moment. Just as they were about to head to their room, Brock knelt down to address Minccino, who had still been listening to their exchange silently from Lillie's feet, though it was now eyeing the Z-Ring in her hands with a touch of apprehension.

"Thanks a lot for your help today, Minccino." Brock expressed cheerfully. "I'm not sure what we would've done if you hadn't shown up when you did."

Molayne and Lillie both nodded at his words, and even Pikachu chimed in encouragingly, causing Minccino to cheeks to heat up at the attention it was suddenly receiving.

"Ccinnoooo..."

Brock stroked the fur on its head in gratitude before rising back to his feet. "We've gotta get going now. We'll see you around, okay?"

They all waved goodbye and made their way further into the Pokemon Center, leaving Minccino standing there alone yet again, with a lingering feeling of sadness that they hadn't taken it with them.

The following morning, Molayne stayed true to his word, and departed for the observatory. Brock and Lillie bade him farewell before making their way back to the hospital. After reuniting with Ash, they found that had still been no apparent change in Serena's condition, despite the doctors telling them that they had tried a variety of neurotoxins in an attempt to combat the poison's effects. For the moment, they had left her to rest, hoping that her body would be able to fight off the foreign bodies while they struggled to find something that would help her.

And so, with the three of them at somewhat of a loss as for what they should do next, they ended up staying in Serena's room with her for the time being, and before long, Brock had decided to recap the information they knew so far, in an attempt to gain more insight into what exactly was going on with the Island Guardians.

"So...here's what we know." Brock began as he eyed Ash and Lillie, who were both seated across from him over Serena's bed. She was still out from her encounter the previous evening, though her breathing was steady. "The Ultra Recon Squad seems to be controlling the four Island Guardians somehow, and they're using them to look for and abduct the Trial Captains and kahunas of the Island Challenge - in other words, the strongest Trainers in Alola, who also all happen to use Z-Crystals."

Ash and Lillie nodded gently in his direction to prod him to continue.

"They're also interested in Trainers that have Pokemon that can Mega Evolve, based on what happened when I used Mega Steelix against the one we fought yesterday." Brock continued, remembering how Rhodo had noticeably perked up when he had revealed his Key Stone. "And on top of that, they pointed out Ash as a target, as well..."

"...You know, there's a theory that Mega Stones use a similar kind of energy as Z-Crystals." Lillie interjected. "I read about it in a book once. They say that it's actually the same type of energy being released, just in a different way."

Brock stroked an invisible beard along his jawline as he considered what she had said. "Hmm...if that's true, that would explain why they're interested in both. There aren't many Trainers with Key Stones here in Alola, are there?" When Lillie shook her head, he continued. "That fits with why they've only been targeting the Captains and kahunas, if there aren't any notable users of Mega Evolution here in the first place."

"But...what about me?" Ash piped up. "Why would they want me? I don't have any Pokemon that can Mega E-"

He stopped short all of a sudden, remembering the strange phenomenon that he and his companions had nicknamed 'Ash-Greninja' from the last leg of his journey through Kalos. They had always wondered if it was a form of Mega Evolution at the time, but were never able to discover a real answer before Greninja went off on its own. Even if that were the case, however, Greninja was no longer traveling with him, so it shouldn't have been a factor either way.

"Ash? What is it?" Brock prompted. "Did you remember something?"

"Piiika?" Pikachu chimed in, happily resting in Ash's lap now that it had been reunited with him.

"...No, I'm fine." Ash confirmed a moment later. "None of the Pokemon that are with me right now can Mega Evolve, and I don't even have a Key Stone. So what do they want with me, anyway?"

"Well...try and think back to your journey through Kalos." Brock asked, being fully aware of the myriad of stories concerning Mega Evolution from that region. "Did anything happen to you that might cause you to become...uh...'permeated with light'?"

Brock frowned and furrowed his brow as he tried to remember Rhodo's words from the day before. As he did, he recalled another piece of information he was curious about, but decided to hold off on asking Lillie about it for the moment.

"Well...oh!"

The memory came to him with all the subtlety of a Dynamic Punch. He was surprised and a bit ashamed that it had taken him so long to remember, given what else had happened that day, but he couldn't do much about that now.

"There was one time, when we were fighting against this really awful group of crooks. They had taken Serena as a hostage, and...I'm not really sure what happened, but I remember getting really upset, and then this power just started flowing into me from this giant crystal that was nearby. It gave me...I dunno, super strength or something. Bonnie told me later that she thought I looked like 'Mega Ash'."

Ash chuckled at that last bit, but Brock was looking at him in shock, apparently dumbfounded by what he'd just heard. "P-power...flowed into you from a crystal? Ash, do you know what that sounds like?"

The younger Trainer merely stared back at him and shook his head. "Ash...that's exactly what happens during Mega Evolution."

"It's the same for Z-Moves." Lillie explained. "You strike a pose, which helps the energy flow between the Trainer and their Pokemon. It sounds like the idea is the same."

Ash blinked, looking back and forth between the two of them as he processed what they were telling him. "Are you saying that I really Mega Evolved back then?"

Brock shook his head slowly, not entirely sure of what he was about to say. "No...I don't think so. But you definitely harnessed the energy inside that crystal somehow. Call it Z-Energy, or Mega Evolution energy - it sounds like it's all the same, and if you were able to use it, that might explain why the Ultra Recon Squad is so interested in you. Which brings me to my next question..."

The former Kantonian Gym Leader looked over at Lillie. "That guy Rhodo said something about giving all this 'light' back to something called 'Necrozma'. Do you know what he was talking about?"

Lillie eyes hardened, and she looked away. "...Yes. It's a Pokemon, I think, from Ultra Space - but it isn't an Ultra Beast. Sun fought against it the first time we met the Ultra Recon Squad. We thought he had defeated it for good, but..."

"Why do they need to restore all of the 'light' to it?" Ash asked. "They said their world was dying..."

"I...I don't really know as much about all of that as Sun does. I'm sorry." She was silent for a moment before another possibility came into her mind. "Actually, my mother probably knows. She's done a lot of research on Ultra Space. She's too busy with the Aether Foundation to help with all of this, but now that Necrozma and the Ultra Recon Squad are involved, maybe..."

She trailed off, causing Ash and Brock to share a glance at each other in mild confusion. They left her to her own thoughts for a moment before Brock spoke up again. "Uh...do you think we should go see your mother, Lillie?"

Lillie looked back at them, and she found herself wishing more than ever that Sun, Hau, and Gladion were back. "Yes...maybe we should. But we can't just leave Acerola and Nanu alone - especially not now."

Brock crossed his arms in deliberation. He certainly wasn't comfortable leaving the two prime targets of Rhodo's efforts unprotected, but by the same token, even all of them together had only just been able to ward off the combined attacks of one of the Tapus and an Ultra Beast - and they were currently down two Trainers from the size of their party the previous day. Going to the Aether Foundation seemed like the logical course of action, but even so, he couldn't knowingly make the decision to potentially abandon more people to get abducted like Mallow had.

Before any of them could come to a decision, however, the door to the room swung open, and an unfamiliar voice caused the trio to look back toward the source of it.

"Yo yo, your man Guzma's in the house!"

Ash and Brock were left at a loss at the apparent stranger barging into their room, but Lillie appeared to be noticeably less shocked. "Guzma?! What are you doing here?"

"Hey there, how's it hangin'?" Guzma greeted, the white-haired man as rowdy and unrefined as ever as he gestured grandly at Lillie. "Been a while since I've seen you hangin' around."

"Y-yeah...I guess it has."

Guzma glanced around at the other occupants of the room and smirked respectably at them. "Looks like you found some new pals to hang around with. Can't say I blame you - at least these guys are stickin' around for now."

Ash and Brock shared an uncomfortable look at each other before turning to regard Lillie in confusion. "Hey...do you know this guy?"

The blonde nodded a bit awkwardly at Ash's question, as though she were embarrassed by the fact. "Y-yes...Ash, Brock, this is Guzma. He's...a friend of my mother's, and an old acquaintance of mine and Sun's."

"Still talkin' about that deadbeat Champion, huh?" Guzma spat haughtily. "I used to like that kid, you know, before he went and left us all high and dry like that. If it weren't for all this stuff goin' down the last few weeks, we'd probably have replaced him by now."

Lillie sighed heavily, swallowing down the retorts she wanted to say and instead opting for a more diplomatic approach. "...What do you want, Guzma? How did you even find us here?"

"Oh, the prez sent me out here after you all. She heard from the cookie himself that you had joined up with some kids from overseas to try and figure out what's what with the Island Guardians. And after that big ol' discharge of Ultra Wormhole energy we detected yesterday, she just wanted to make sure you were still in one piece."

Lillie frowned at the nickname he'd recently given Professor Kukui. "But how did you find us here? In the hospital?"

"Aw, come on, you know I'm smarter than I look, right? And you kids don't exactly know how to cover your tracks." The white-haired man looked down at Serena, still breathing peacefully on the hospital bed, and frowned. "So she took a hit from an Ultra Beast, huh? The attacks from those things are no joke. Not surprised they couldn't find a cure for it."

"Do you know about them?!" Ash demanded at once. "Where could we find something that would cure it?!"

Guzma scratched his head thoughtfully. "Dunno...I guess you'd have to go get some Ultra Beast DNA or something. I don't think you'd find anything like it in our world, that's for sure."

"That's what we're gonna do, then!" Ash declared at once as he shot up out of his seat, causing Pikachu to go tumbling onto the floor.

"Pii-ka?!" The Mouse Pokemon cried in annoyance as it landed on the ground belly-first before climbing back to all fours.

"Hang on, Ash, what are you talking about?" Brock headed him off at once, jumping to his feet as well.

"We already know how to get them to show up. We just have to use a Z-Crystal or a Mega Stone, and then beat them in a battle when they come after us!"

Brock opened his mouth to attempt to explain to Ash all of the problems with a plan like that, but Guzma beat him to the punch. "Wow. You've got some real stones, kid! Trust me, I wanna go bust those things up as much as anyone - so believe me when I say you really don't wanna do that."

"What're you talking about?!" Ash demanded angrily. "You just said that fighting another Ultra Beast is the only way to find a cure for Serena!"

"Yeah, that's right." Guzma answered, raising a finger in the air pointedly as he spoke. "But I don't think you really wanna go another round with those things right now, do ya?"

Ash gritted his teeth in frustration. "It doesn't matter! The longer we wait, the longer that poison stays in Serena's body! We've gotta do something now!"

"Look, chill out for a minute, all right? All you gotta do is go and get that little runt Acerola and old man Nanu. Between all of us together, we oughta be able to put a dent in just about anything that Recon Squad can throw at us."

Ash was silent for a moment as he contemplated Guzma's words. It was true that they hadn't been all that successful in their battles against the Ultra Recon Squad so far. And they needed to protect Acerola and Nanu anyway. But at the same time, he couldn't find it in himself to leave Serena behind - not when she was in such a critical condition.

"...Yeah, I guess you're right." Ash admitted finally. "We came here to find Acerola and Nanu in the first place, after all. But...I'm not going with you guys."

Lillie and Brock stared at him in shock as he sat back down on the seat nearest Serena's face.

"Ash, you can't just stay here all by yourself." Brock argued. "You heard what Rhodo said yesterday - they might just decide to come after you next! You'd only be putting Serena in more danger."

Ash gritted his teeth in frustration. He knew that what Brock was saying was true, and yet he couldn't bring himself to simply leave Serena all alone, especially considering her current condition. He was just about to bite back another harsh rebuttal at Brock when he felt the gentle touch of Lillie's hand on his shoulder.

"I'll stay behind."

The Kantonian Trainer's mouth dropped open and he swung around to gape at her in surprise. "Lillie, what are you saying? Don't you wanna go with them to find Acerola?"

"I do...but we've all seen how weak my Pokemon are compared to all of yours. It won't really make much of a difference whether I'm there or not." She admitted softly. "I can't even use a Z-Crystal...but if I stay here, I can watch over Serena for you. That way, you can go to the Aether House with the others and keep Acerola and Nanu safe."

"Lillie..."

"Are you sure about this?" Brock asked cautiously. "If something does happen here in the city while we're gone, you'll be here all alone, at least until Serena gets better."

Lillie shook her head. "Like I said, I've never used a Z-Crystal before. From what we've seen, they shouldn't come after me here." She then looked Ash right in the eyes, and a determined look flared to life within them. "Don't worry, Ash. I know how important she is to you. I'll make sure that Serena gets better soon!"

Despite her words, Ash looked down at Serena with some measure of difficulty. He knew that what his friends were telling him was the truth. More prominent than any of the ancillary reasons was the fact that he was now just as much of a target as the Trial Captains were, meaning that he would be putting Serena in danger merely by being near her at this point. And he couldn't bring himself to do that, no matter how great his desire to stay by her side was.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he exhaled deeply before reaching up and removing his hat, letting his dark, unkempt hair run free, and placed the accessory on the desk next to Serena's hospital bed, right next to the Kalosian Performer's own hat.

"Don't worry, Serena." Ash remarked softly, his voice steely and self-assured. "I'll be back before you know it. So just...make sure you feel better by then, okay?"

Her chest rose and fell gradually with her breathing, her face betraying no indication that she had heard him. Yet Ash, undeterred as ever, took another step toward her and knelt down so that he was now whispering in her ear, and breathed the words, "I love you." and laid a quick and tender peck on her cheek before drawing back up and turning to face his older companions.

"All right, Brock...Guzma. Let's get going!"

Shorter and less eventful than the last few, for sure. Like I said, this one stumped me for a bit when I was trying to figure out exactly how to write everything out, probably due to how much of a wind-down it is from the last couple.

Now, however, the gang is split up, on top of the whole issue with Serena's injury. I hope you're all interested to see what's coming up in these next few chapters, because I'm really excited to write it!

I'll see you guys next time!