Hey, guys!
It's Sentai Red with another chapter! Chapter 5 is in its halfway mark! Sadly, I couldn't have worked on it due to working my new job on Black Friday!
Oh man, was it busy!
However, I was able to have gotten this one day prior! Anyway, last time, Ash was quite the guy... he pushed away Serena. Now, let's see how this unfolds!
It has been a week since the fight, and Serena's departure.
Right now, Serena is sipping a cup of coffee, as she sits in a small diner in the outskirts of Verdanturf Town. She drove on Ash's bike to Mauville City, in hopes of finding Arachdos, the second Arach Man, to no avail. She's heard rumors of a Wasp Monster running amok in Verdanturf City and figured that'll be the best place to check out.
She's been on the go for a while now, constantly pushing herself to the limit.
Her training has caused her to become a lot fitter, though that's not to say she was ever unfit or anything. She's starting to admire the lean muscle building in her person. In such short time, she was able to see the difference between her old self and her current self - it's a leap forward.
"Hey, there's Serena Paschall," one of the patrons whispers to his friend, but loud enough for Serena to overheard. She bites back the urge to groan. As much as she loves being a Top Coordinator and Performer, the fame behind it is quite annoying.
It's amazing that she wasn't able to be noticed in Slateport, but that city is more preoccupied with its seafaring and marine business versus the entertainment industry. Now, sure, there's a contest hall there, but that doesn't drive much revenue in comparison to the beaches and various marine excursions.
Here, in a small town, she's going to be seen a lot easier.
"No way, a Top Coordinator here in our small town? What are the odds…"
"She's so beautiful…"
"I wonder if she's single."
She shakes her head, not comfortable to stay in the diner. One of the waitresses offers a sympathetic glance, before telling the other patrons to not be disrespectful and not to make a scene. They just ignored the poor waitress, thus giving Serena to idea to leave. She walks over to the waitress, the same one that served her and defended her, and hands a wad of cash.
"Keep the change as a tip," Serena states, with no room for the waitress to object.
Serena begins to walk away, only for the owner of the diner to rub his hands, a creepy grin on his face, "Please, do come again… Oh! Please, let your compatriots know of our lovely diner!"
She rolls her eyes, walking away, not giving him a second thought, much to his chagrin. His face drops and he mutters to himself, "Well, she's rude…"
With a heavy sigh, Serena gets on the bike and begins to drive off. As she rides off, she notices some bikers driving behind her. She proceeds to snake around them, but they keep following her. She wasn't stupid, they're after her. But for what reason? She notices a bike not so conspicuously hidden along a tree and revs up the bike more.
She accelerates and they proceed to give chase.
The guy hidden behind a tree pops out with another person on the opposite side of the road, as they pull on a chain. She grins, oh this will be fun.
She calls out Braixen, "Use Psychic!" Braixen appears on the passenger seat, ready to protect her trainer.
Braixen then uses Psychic to lift themselves up on the ground, over the chain. The guys just stare as they got bested by something simple, but they forgot to release the chain, causing their cohorts to drive through the chain, pulling them away.
They all crash to the ground, making Serena skid to stop and stare, "Now," she gets off her bike, "I have a few questions for you guys." She walks to them, calling out Pancham, who is ready to square up and fight the bikers.
"Pan-cham!" It shadow boxes, ready to pummel the weirdos.
"Brai!"
Serena smiles at them, but glares at the bikers who are trying to get up, "I want to know why you've been following me."
One of the bikers slowly gets up, but Pancham uses Stone Edge to prevent him from getting close to Serena, "Cham…" it growls, threateningly. The biker yelps, shaking at the attack narrowly missing his face.
"I ask again," she coldly says, "why were you following me?"
The one that initiated the chase, a big, bald man, gets up. He doesn't seem as scuffed as his cohorts, but he's certainly not all that well, scrapes all over him. He spreads his arms out and begins to flex, he begins to crouch. Serena frowns.
He starts to charge at her, but Braixen gets in front and uses Psychic to hold the guy in place and lifts him up in the air.
"Pancham, use Stone Edge on him," Serena snaps her finger, a glare never leaving her face. Pancham uses Stone Edge and the stones form under the biker, causing it to fly up to his stomach, making him breathless.
"You… you… bit…" he groans out in pain but stops himself as something flows within him… a type of power that begins to surge through him. He forces himself off the Stone Edge, collapsing onto the floor, blood seeping from his mouth.
He then curls up into a ball, groaning.
He begins to shiver as smoke slowly covers him, and Serena looks at him in shock. She then looks around as the bikers all begin to have smoke form around them, Braixen and Pancham warily looking at them as well. This isn't good.
The big, bald biker roars as his skin begins to fall apart, much to Serena's disgust. He slowly forms into a hideous monster, as his eyes turn into compound eyes, a giant stinger forming from his back. The leather vest morphs around his chest, exposing the small orb that gives him power. Giant wings form behind and suddenly, from the top of his hands, stingers pop out from there! He then roars a monstrous roar.
KUWEEEEE
The other bikers turn into smaller versions of the monster. Instead of being afraid, her heart begins to pump with adrenaline, her fists clenching. She then releases Nincada, Sylveon, and Shaymin. They all appear just as excited to fight.
Shaymin transforms into its Skye Form, snarling at the beasts.
"Well… I guess, before I kick your sorry butts, what is your name? Waspy?" She teases.
The wasp man ignores her as he begins to fly in the air, and charges at her, flying with his fists directly pointed at her.
KUWEEEEE
Epic 4: Stinger the Wasp Man! Serena's Resolve!
"From the tests done, Mr. Keter, any signs of internal damage seem to have gone away. Frankly, from my many years of being in the field, this is quite the miracle. I don't know how, but you're quite the lucky man, my good sir." Dr. Lambert praises Ash's recovery.
Despite him being there for a week, it surely didn't feel like it. The time went by so slowly that he thought he was going stir crazy. Ash always hated hospitals for this very reason.
At last, he's going to be discharged from the hospital.
Though… what the hell kind of name is Alphonse Keter? Apparently, Serena thought it would make sense to give him a fake name, and to her credit, it was! He just didn't like the name, it sounded too pompous for him, made him sound posh.
That was the furthest thing he could ever be!
"Well, thank you, doctor," he casually says, "I guess I can leave now?" He just wants to leave.
With a nod, Dr. Lambert officially gives him the approval to leave, making him all the more excited to do so. When he walks down, he wasn't expecting anyone to meet or greet him when he walks out, and he wasn't surprised when he was proven right.
Sighing, Ash puts his hands in his pockets, and begins to walk away from the hospital. He wasn't in the mood at all. It just hurts, you know? It hurts knowing you're the reason why the person you love left you, because you yourself are the one that pushed them away. Ash has many regrets, but this is probably something he'll have to carry for the rest of his life.
That being said… it was necessary.
He walks along the busy streets of Slateport City aimlessly.
People pass him, people with lives, people with priorities… What does he have? He's just a ghost to them; he's officially dead to the world as Ash Ketchum. No one will even know he's alive and if they do, it wouldn't matter. The person accusing him of being alive would be considered a lunatic or in denial.
Even if he looks the same as he did 8 months ago, the fact he's been out of the public light made him a nobody again. In all honesty, this is probably a good thing. He doesn't want to be recognized, but he'll know it'll be harder to stay hidden if his friends ever pop up in Hoenn.
It's bad enough he's in Slateport, where May and Max could possibly visit at any moment in time and find him out.
Honk hooooonk
He blinks, staring at a car who honks at him maniacally, "Why are you out in the middle of oncoming traffic, asshole!" the driver cusses him out, making him realize he was in the middle of the road… indicator to pass the sidewalk was red, making him grumble at his spatial awareness.
He apologizes and swiftly gets to the other side of the road, ignoring the fact the driver flips him off, before speeding away.
Eventually, he was able to get to the hotel he was staying at and sighs, not wanting to walk in. 'I wonder if she's even there…'
When he gets to his hotel room and enters, he notices it's practically empty. He bites back the urge to release another sigh, but the disappointment still seeps through by his downtrodden expression. He knows that he had to do it and that it's necessary, but it still hurts, nonetheless.
Upon a closer inspection of the room, he began to realize everything was just gone… no bags of clothes, no worn clothes, no signs of any keys – wait.
He scrambles around the room as he tries to find his keys! Where are they?! He begins to panic, scrummaging through the trash bags, going through the cabinets, opening the damn refrigerator, and checking the bathroom. He was positive he had his keys on the drawer!
As he gets back to the drawer, he notices a note and his heart stops.
'No, don't tell me…' he immediately assumes the worst and begins to read the note.
Dear Ash,
This may not come as a surprise but… what you've said hurt me. It hurt me a lot.
And yet, I forgive you.
I forgive you, but I won't forget it.
However, I'm not going to give up. I'm not going to give up on you – I'm not giving up on US! If you're reading this note now, then that means you've actually came back to the room and saw that I took your keys. I'm sorry, but I need to leave, as you said, but for a different reason than what you've told me. I'm not leaving because you forced me away; I'm not leaving because you're afraid I'll get hurt. I'm leaving because I want to make you smile again, to make you have faith again.
I write to you in hopes that when you read this, I'll be long gone. I'm on a quest now to help you. I know you're afraid. I know you're anxious. I know you think you know what you're doing, but you're wrong… and I'm going to show you that. So please, don't look for me. I'll find you.
You've been such an inspiration to me, for all these years, and now I need to pay it back and then some. I want to show you that while I have a lot to learn, I will be the one you can depend on.
With lots of love,
Serena
His eyes well up as he reads the note laid out in front of him, his anger gets the best of him as he grabs his head and crouches down, groaning a guttural growl. He bites back the urge to yell, to scream to the heavens, wanting to curse them for what they've done to him.
He wants to rage!
He wants to hurt everyone and everything!
Serena… that stubborn woman of his! Oh, he loves her, but dear lord does he wish he never showed his face to her! The pain of losing her, the pain of what can happen to her, it's all rushing in his head! He begins to bash his head against the wall harshly, not caring if it starts to dent the walls.
He throws himself around, a tantrum waiting to burst out, as he feels like a failure! He failed to protect her! He failed to make her stronger! He ran away from the enemy, the one that can kill him; he ran away from a fight! If he was stronger, then he wouldn't have to worry for her! But now – NOW she's going to the lion's den!
And it's all his fault!
His Driver spins, pulsing a dark red, as it too feels his anger, feeding off it. It pulses brightly, absorbing all the hatred, the anger, the sadness, it absorbs all of Ash's emotions. It then begins to pulse a light blue aura that soothes Ash, the tenseness within him slowly dissipating… and all that's left is sorrow.
He collapses on to the ground, tears flowing down, as he pants, almost unable to breathe. He tries to get up, but just collapses again, his body telling him to lay down… to just let it all out…
"The next time we meet, I'll kill you."
He wishes he can no longer hear it.
He wishes he wasn't who he was.
He just wants to be normal.
He just wants his friends… he just wants his family… he wants Pikachu… his Pokémon… most importantly, he wants Serena back…
And he screwed it all up.
"Why…" he croaks out, a dull look in his eyes, regretting it all. "Why can't I just be… normal?" He exhales a shudder-y breath, turning over onto his back as he looks up at the ceiling. He closes his eyes. For a brief moment, he imagines himself a teenager once again.
And as he lays about, becoming a miserable husk… Serena… Serena is fighting for her life.
She dodges a stab from one of the grunts attacking her, grabbing the stabbing arm, and vaults the grunt on to his back. She then punches him in the temple, effectively knocking the grunt out. She sighs, but doesn't have a moments reprieve as she yelps, narrowly dodging another lunge on to her.
Braixen uses Psychic to fling the assailant away from Serena, towards the Wasp Man itself, but he just swats the grunt away with one of his bulging arms. Nincada uses String Shot around the knocked out grunt and Shaymin latches on to the String Shot, carrying one of the grunts around and flies high in the air before flicking a grunt away to another.
Sylveon uses Swift on the Wasp Man, but yet again, he blocks the attack. However, he does stumble back from the stinging sensation.
Pancham uses Dark Pulse at the Wasp Man, but he uses his arms to block the attacks. His arms turn red, as he begins to slump his arms… but his anger quickly forces him to pay attention to the last Pokémon that attacked him. He roars, ready to attack again.
He charges towards Pancham, grabbing the small panda Pokémon. He begins choking the poor panda, but Serena comes to his rescue and rams Ash's bike to the Wasp Man, knocking him down. She grabs Pancham, who struggles to breathe, and she pats his back, "Oh, I'm sorry Pancham…" she apologizes sadly, but he doesn't give up.
He gets up and growls, "Chammm…"
Serena looks at the guy and frowns, "This thing is a tank, I swear…" No matter what she and her Pokémon throw at him, he just keeps blocking everything or flying around. Luckily, he can't seem to fly forever or get off the ground that much as his weight literally drags him down. It's as if he wasn't meant to be the rightful owner of the Wasp powers…
Wait…
She has an idea.
"Braixen, use Psychic on Waspy!"
"Braaaii," Braixen uses her wand and points it at the Wasp Man, "Xen!"
The Psychic attack stops the Wasp Man in his place, but he begins to struggle against the force holding him down, "Keep it together, Braixen" She encourages her Pokémon, who then uses two paws to hold her wand, beads of sweat dripping from her face.
"Okay, Sylveon, Shaymin, knock him down to his knees! Both of you! Use Take Down!"
"Shay! | Veon!" The two cry out, both charging at him, both head butting the back of his legs so hard, it causes him to stumble and collapse on to his knees. A whimper escapes the Wasp Man's lips.
Keee…
'He's beginning to tire! I need to make finish this!' she thinks, her mind racing, her heart beating faster and faster.
"Pancham! Use Stone Edge! Surround him with as many pillars as you can! Braixen! Keep it steady!"
Pancham then slams his fists into the ground, forcing pillars of stone to erupt from the ground underneath the Wasp, surrounding him tightly. Pancham forces them to move and slams them all to him, causing him to gasp. He can't move anything now! Even against the Psychic attack, Stone Edge literally trapped it!
"Nincada! Wrap his head with String Shot!"
"Bzzzt!" Nincada uses String Shot to suffocate the man who begins to flail his head around in desperation.
In a desperate move, Serena charge towards him and begins pulling the orb from his chest. She grunts, putting one of her legs on the stone pillars, forcing every muscle in her body to help push it off the Wasp! "Come on!"
"Braii…" Braixen begins to weaken, her Psychic attack loosely holding together. The Wasp tries to move, trying to tense his muscles. Pancham and the others know what Serena is trying to do and keep forcing them to weaken the Wasp before he can grab hold of her.
"Cham!" Pancham bites the arm of the man.
"Sylv… eon!" Sylveon bites the other, using her ribbon like feelers to keep hold of the other arm.
Shaymin uses Vine Whip to hold him away.
"Come… on… you… stupid… orb!" Serena yells.
Images of Ash pop up in her mind, imagining the torment he went through, the sadness that's causing him to push her away… the fear of losing her. She sees it! She can feel him calling out for help! Serena must do something! With a mighty roar, Serena finally pulls the orb out!
KUWEEEEAAAHHHH
Blood spurts from the man's chest, the big oaf that once was a wasp monster becoming a human once more… the pain causing him to scream in agonizing pain. Serena cringes at it all, but she doesn't feel sorry for him.
String Shot, Psychic, and Stone Edge all disappear, and what's left of the man… is just a husk.
He collapses on to the ground motionless.
Serena and her Pokémon also fall to the ground, but they all sigh in relief… it's over. With a shaky exhale, she looks at the orb, partially covered in blood. Her hands stained with another person's blood. She ignores that and she just stares in wonder, in awe of the very orb she holds in her hands.
The grunts that were with the man wake up, running away in fear of the fact a mere human was able to defeat their master… She smirks, "Yeah, you better run…"
She groans in pain as she attempts to stand up, the energy she had that was used to fight now long gone. All that's left is just pure exhaustion. She limps to the motorbike that lies on the ground and pushes it up slowly, her arms almost giving way.
"I… I really need a shower," she sits on the bike, unable to move… not wanting to move.
She looks over to her exhausted and bruised up Pokémon, all staring at her with concern, but she just smiles and gives them a thumbs up, "We did it, guys." She winks, making them all cheer, then wince as they too feel their aching bodies give way.
She recalls all her Pokémon back and forces herself to drive off.
The next day would come and news spread about a man dead in the middle of the road, his bike, and several other motorcycles all flat on the floor. The news media began running the story, but none can find a lead nor find what happened to the guy's body.
While still 'there', the body was clearly deteriorating – the body was gray, the skin was flakey, and the inside of his body was becoming hollow. The worst part is that since it took place near Verdanturf Town, many began wondering if there were those monsters now coming through and attacking innocent people.
Verdanturf Town began requesting help from trainers nearby to help protect the city in case of an Evolver attack.
Ash began to make his move to the town, in hopes of finding Serena.
While he couldn't drive there, because Serena took the keys, he was able to feel the bikes presence. It's not alive, by any stretch of the imagination, but the bike was connected to him because it was the bike built for him. It was built for him to ride around, to fight, and to escape.
He left the hotel about a couple of hours ago, early in the morning. It came to a shock to him that the hotel staff explained the hotel stay was already paid for, even the extended stay. How did she know he was going to stay there longer?
He began making his trek.
He needed to find Serena…
Maybe… maybe he was wrong?
The news hit him hard about the corpse, knowing full well that was an Evolver… and no one had the guts to fight one off… except him and maybe Serena. If it really was Serena, then… perhaps she's right. Maybe, just maybe, he can believe in himself again… believe in someone other than himself…
He knew he had to do something.
Ash is quite the conflicted character!
He's also very unstable, which will come into play some time later in the story.
And Serena... man, she's gonna be the MVP of this story, just watch.