XashXdawnX - Here's the new chapter for New Beginnings. Hope you all enjoy!
PokemonFreak90 - It's time for Ash to face Serena and endure what she has planned for him.
Ash stood there, staring at Serena, who was dressed in her Team Rocket uniform. He still couldn't get over the fact that she was there...involved with all of this. But why?
"Serena, Ash wants to know what your role in all of this is." Cyrus said, breaking the silence.
"I'll gladly explain it to you, Ash." Serena replied. "Let's just say that we found some common ground. They needed my help with part of their plans, and in return, they promised to keep me safe here in their base when they conquer the world, and give me what I want more than anything: you."
As she spoke the last word, Ash noticed that her eyes turned red. He also sensed the strange energy coming from her again. He looked down and saw a strange bracelet that was wrapped tightly around her wrist. It was made of dark red gems attached tightly together, with barely any space to see the chain that connected them.
That's odd... Ash thought as her eyes went back to their normal blue color.
"That bracelet," Cyrus stated, seeing that Ash was looking at it, "Is made of the same gems that I once used to control the Sinnoh Lake Guardians: the red chain. I just altered them a bit to work on humans. The gems' power can control someone, but it does so by playing on the deepest, darkest desires of the person's mind. By using what they truly want as a motive, I can make them obey my commands. Serena's deepest desire...was to be with you.
"She is, of course, the first person to try my new red chain and was an obvious choice, since I knew how deeply her feelings ran for you. How do I know this? Well, at the Twinleaf Festival, the spy that you battled also saw how she acted towards you when you two were together, so I told Lysandre to have one of our spies investigate her home in Kalos to learn more. That's where we found information from her journals about her history with you, from when you two were young, to your journey together.
"What she had written in her journal about how she felt about you...it was all so sickeningly sweet, but it allowed us to learn of her deep feelings for you. It made her the perfect candidate to wear the bracelet. Plus, we knew that on top of the pain of losing your family, it would hurt you even more to learn that one of your close friends is now an enemy. That was why we had Serena write those mysterious notes to you."
Ash faced Cyrus. "How did you manage to get more gems? I thought that they had all been destroyed years ago."
Cyrus laughed. "You didn't think that I wouldn't analyze them first to discover how to create more gems on my own in the future?"
Ash stared at Cyrus in shock.
To say that I'm hurt by this is an understatement. Finding out that one of my closest friends is behind this...it hurts. Team Rocket...it's all their fault! Ash thought as his fists clenched in anger. But there's one thing that doesn't add up...she wouldn't do this. She wouldn't willingly help Team Rocket.
"Even if Serena did want to be with me, she'd never stoop so low as to help criminals like you and Team Rocket! She'd never accept that bracelet!"
Cyrus smirked and looked at Ash. He loved seeing the Pokemon Master, the most powerful trainer in the world, distraught at the fact that one of his closest friends was behind all of this and that his family was captured.
"I secretly contacted her while she was on her Pokemon showcase tour across Sinnoh. I was pretending to be an agent of the International Police and didn't give my identity away. I asked her if she was aware of the disappearances happening around the world. She said yes and I mislead her by telling her that I was going to keep her safe and "give her what she really wants" if she cooperated with my orders. I knew that there was a chance that she may become suspicious, but I knew that her desire to stay safe with you would outweigh that feeling. Her demeanor began to change at the thought of being with the man that she loves."
When I saw Serena at the Twinleaf Festival, she was flirting playfully. That was what I was used to getting from her. Then I saw her again, a few months later at Salvia's Christmas ball. I didn't notice it before, but now I realize that there was a difference. I see it now...I now realize that there was a longing and desire in her eyes while we spent time together at the palace. How was I so blind to not realize that her playfulness was gone at the ball? She kept trying to inch closer to me as we danced and her smile wasn't one that was friendly, it was loving. I was so foolish to not notice. Cyrus must have contacted her between those two events, which was why her persona had changed. Dawn was right to be wary of her when she voiced her concerns about Serena.
Cyrus continued, "Once her tour was done and she returned home to Kalos, I sent her the bracelet as a gift, with a note attached saying it was from you. I knew that she wouldn't be able to resist a gift like that. As soon as she put it on, she would do whatever I wanted, with her desire to have you influencing her actions."
She wouldn't turn to an evil group for help! Even if she wanted to be with me, I know that she would never agree to help them or any evil group. That's why Cyrus lied to her about that bracelet.
Ash was furious at what Cyrus had told him.
He knew that using one of my closest friends against me would bother me greatly. It would cause me to question why and wonder what had gone wrong to cause my friend to turn against me, maybe even to question my morals and become distracted from their evil plans. NO! I have to stay focused, no matter what. They have my family...
"Your plans will end tonight!" Ash cried, knowing that the Elite Four knew where he was and would find him eventually.
"Even after I found out that Cyrus was the actual one who gave me the bracelet, I still continued to help by sending those letters to you, Ash. Why, you may ask? It's because Team Rocket would keep me safe from danger here in the base when they conquer the world. And with your family as hostages, you will surrender so that I can have you all to myself!" Serena said, as she looked at Ash lovingly.
This isn't Serena talking, she would never say things like this. She's under the control of the bracelet...I have to remember that.
"So there you have it. Now you know everything. I have work to do, so I'll be leaving you here with Serena. I'm sure that she has some fun planned for the two of you, now that you'll be alone together. Oh, and don't even think about resisting her or trying to escape. The lives of your wife and children hang in the balance if you don't cooperate, remember?" Cyrus said, leaving the room and locking the door.
I have a good idea of what she's planning to do... Maybe I can trick her somehow?
Serena walked over to Ash and lead him to the bed. The two sat down on the bed, Ash's tied-up hands laying helplessly in his lap. He stared at the door, wishing that he knew of a way to get out of this, find his family, and escape with them safely.
Serena looked at him lovingly and spoke in a sweet voice, "Throughout the years since we first met, I never stopped thinking about you. Ever since we first met as kids on that fateful day in Pallet Town, you have been the only man on my mind. And when I found you when you first came to Kalos and we began traveling together, I knew that it was destiny.
"I've never felt this way about anyone else. You make me feel things inside that I've never felt before. Even when you married Misty, I never stopped thinking about you. I never gave up hope that we would be together someday. I've known you longer and loved you longer than any other woman."
She then put her hands on Ash's cheeks and began to gently caress his face. Ash opened his mouth to attempt to talk her out of this, but she put a finger to his lips.
"Shh. You don't need to say anything, Ash. I know that you feel the same way about me as I feel about you. I can see it in your eyes. Deep down, a part of you is in love with me and wants to be with me. You can deny it all you want, but you know that I'm right. You can't lie to yourself, Ash."
Once she finished speaking, she leaned forward, gently pulling Ash's face towards her. Soon, the two were kissing.
Why does she think that I have feelings for her when all I've ever done is just being friendly to her? But my friendliness, to her, has been seen as flirting.
Ash, lost in his thoughts, was brought back as he felt Serena's hand sliding down his chest to his waist and up under his shirt, feeling his chest. He could tell where this was going.
This is wrong. I have a family: a wife that I love and two children that I love. I would never abandon them or betray them by even thinking of being with another woman! They've been through so much pain and it's my job to not cause them any pain...it's my job to protect them! They're my strength, just like Dawn said that the kids and myself were her strength when she had been poisoned! Ash thought.
As thoughts of his family filled his mind, his emotions began to grow. He felt something rising up from deep inside him, a strange power that he had felt coming from Serena's bracelet.
Aura exists in all people and Pokemon. I have the highest concentration of Aura that any human has ever possessed. Cyrus told me this... So this has to be my Aura being awakened by my thoughts and emotions for my family.
Feeling the power, with a strength that he didn't even know he had, Ash was able to pull his arms apart, the rope snapping. He then pulled Serena's hands off of him and forcefully pushed her away, causing her to fall on her back on the bed. Giving her no time to react, Ash grabbed her wrist that had the bracelet and put his hands on it.
Serena sat up quickly, her face contorted in anger.
"No! That's mine!" she desperately screamed, trying to pry his hands off. "Stop it! STOP! LET GO!"
Ash kept his grip tight as his Aura disintegrated the red gems to dust and the bracelet fell away. Serena stopped screaming as she lost consciousness in Ash's arms. The sudden shock of losing the power from the bracelet had been too much for her to take. Ash laid her down on the bed and headed to the door.
He unlocked the door and as he opened it, alarms began to go off.
"Intruders have been spotted in the base. Intruder alert!"
Looks like the Elite Four and the police have finally caught up and are attacking. I need to get out of here!
Ash began running through the maze of corridors, not knowing where he was going, he only hoped to run into a familiar face. As he ran, he heard shouting and sounds of battles going on elsewhere. He frowned, knowing that he couldn't do anything to help the police or stop the grunts, he didn't have his Pokemon with him.
He turned a corner and nearly collided into Cynthia.
"Cynthia!" he cried.
"Ash! Thank goodness you're okay. Quickly, follow me!"
She lead him past the battles that were occurring and past the crowds of people to an exit.
Once outside, Ash saw Officer Jenny, her officers, agents of the International Police, police cars, large armored vans, and helicopters in the air with lights shining down over the building.
"Thank you, Cynthia. Where's my family?" he asked.
"The other Elite Four members are inside looking for them right now." she replied.
Ash turned back to the building, listening to the sounds of the battles still going on.
Please let Dawn, Alex, and Julia be okay. They could get caught in the crossfire of the Pokemons' attacks...or even worse! If Team Rocket finds out that I'm gone and gets to them before the Elite Four do, they'll kill them, no questions asked. I'm sure that they wouldn't hesitate to kill them. They'd make me pay for escaping. Even though help has arrived, it may be all for nothing! No...I have to believe and have hope. They'll be safe...they have to be! I can't lose them.
Ash learns the truth behind Serena's involvement in Team Rocket's plans, and with the help of his newly-awakened Aura, he is able to break the hold that they have over Serena and escape before she can do anything to him.
Help has arrived as the police and the Elite Four assault Team Rocket's Sinnoh base, hoping to put an end to their evil plans for good! But the risk of death for Ash's family is still very real! Even though help has arrived, it still may be too late to save them!
Stay tuned to find out what will happen to them. Plus, there will be one final, shocking twist that you won't expect!
Please R&R