Hey all! Sorry for the long wait. The beginning of the school year is always a busy time for me, but it's even tougher now because I'm a senior and have added college applications and visits to the mix. Hopefully the next update wont take as long, but I really can't make any promises. Sorry :(.

Quick things I should say: In this story, Ash and friends never met Riley. And May never met Dawn. I don't like changing the canon much, but... yeah.

Q&A:

Infernape15

But sir aaron, riley are all here! And more importantly, sir aaron's alive?!
Also, why does Ash seem so much of a dumbass and clueless?

Answer: Sir Aaron's dead, and so are all the other Guardians in the Corridors of the Aura

PolarDawn

What was with May being all emotionless there at one point?

Answer: I'm purposely keeping what's going on with May a mystery. Everything about her will come to light in the next chapter.

Bulbreon

Q: Does Delia know anything about this?

Answer: The extent of Delia's knowledge about Aura will be revealed in a couple chapters.

WalleFails

Q:why have you decided to let us choose the shipping?

Answer: Well... I wanted to try something new. That's really all it comes down to :P. And I'm nearly equal between Amour and Advance, so I know I'll be able to write an ending no matter which girl wins.

Guest

How do you vote for the poll?

Answer: You have to have an account. Once you have one, you go on my profile and click the link at the top. You can only vote from a desktop computer, not a mobile phone or anything.

hryepuru

what does visorshipping mean... like who and who are in it?

Answer: Visorshipping is Nate and Rosa.

Alright, before the chapter, let me address one thing that I've been hearing a lot. "Why make a poll when Serena's gonna win?". All I have to say is that the votes will do the talking guys. Yes, Amourshipping is the most popular right now, but I'm mainly an Advanceshipping author, so plenty of Advanceshippers that follow me and my stories are reading this too. Don't count May out!

Alright, enjoy Chapter 3!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokemon.


III


"I cannot believe we are having such a conversation at a time like this."

"Well, believe it or not, we're having it, Sir Tobias. Cereal is, in fact, a breakfast soup."

"I don't even know what cereal is, that wasn't around during my time on Earth. Care to fill me in, Sir Riley?"

"Watch, once I explain it to Sir Aaron, he'll agree with me. Okay, it's like these small crunchy bits usually made from either corn, rice, or oats. They float in a bowl of milk, and you eat them with a spoon."

"Oh, well then, I suppose it does sound like a soup. Though, I've never heard of a soup that uses milk as the base liquid..."

"It's not a freakin' soup, doesn't a soup gotta be hot?"

"Not necessarily, Sir Branford. Gazpacho is a perfect example of a cold soup."

"Gaz-what?"

"Ah yes, Gazpacho. It's a Spanish soup, I believe. Quite deliciou-"

"This conversation needs to end right this instant. I bring us the Chosen Guardian, and you all decide that discussing whether a common man's breakfast dish can be considered a soup is more important than-"

"Than what? Staring at him until he wakes up? Yes, that is definitely the most productive thing we could be doing right now. Listen, if you don't wanna take part in this debate, then go have a staring contest with your Darkrai or something."

"Oh damn, I believe shots have just been fired. Sir Riley vs. Sir Tobias, let the dissing begin!"

Ash's eyes slowly opened, a pounding headache being the first thing he experienced upon his awakening. His sight was blurry at first, but as he fully came to, his vision cleared up, allowing him to silently observe his surroundings. He seemed to be on a royal blue and black tiled floor, the colors alternating in a checkerboard-like fashion. The floor was the base for what seemed like a long hall, one that branched off into many other corridors and paths. The walls and ceiling resembled those of a Gothic church; stone and archaic. Windows adorned the walls, but there was nothing but pitch black void to be seen from them.

"It is shenanigans like yours that make me wonder how a man like you ever mastered Aura in the first place."

"Shenanigans like mine? Oh please, compared to Sir Branford over there, I'm a saint."

"I'm right here y'know... *cough* dick *cough*..."

Despite the aching in his head begging him not to, Ash raised his head a little, allowing him to see the owners of the voices that most likely woke him. There were 5 figures, all of them in blue hoods and cloaks. All 5 had their hoods on, concealing their faces. Two of them seemed to be right in front of each other, neither looking very happy with the other. Two others stood nearby, watching the first two argue, and finally, the 5th one was quite far away, his back leaning against the wall.

"What's going... on?" muttered the dizzy teen, thinking aloud.

At the sound of Ash's voice, all 5 hooded Guardians turned to Ash, completely startled. At the sight of hooded figures wearing blue cloaks staring him down, memories of previous events began to pour into Ash's mind; Professor Oak's ranch, Gary, May, Serena, everything.

"Wh-where am I?!" he asked, struggling to sit up. "Where are May, Serena, and Gary?! Where's Tobias?! I'll beat his ass for hurting my friends! I'll-"

"Calm down, young one." answered one of the Guardians, taking a step closer to Ash. He removed his hood, revealing a face that Ash had seen before. "You are in the Corridors of the Aura, a safe-haven for Aura Guardians that is located in a dimension separate from the Earth's. Your friends are all alive, though, due to a certain someone's actions *glares at Sir Tobias*... I doubt that they're well."

"Sir Aaron...?" asked Ash, awed. "But... I thought you were dead...?"

"He is," answered one of the other Guardians, removing his hood. Shiny grayish-blue hair cascaded from the hood, the man's ever-calm stare causing a fire to burn in Ash's soul. "and so are you."

"Tobias!" growled Ash, attempting to stand up.

But before he could even get to his feet, two things stopped him. His headache, which increased in intensity the more he moved, and a blue cage that had suddenly materialized around him. After recovering from the pulse of cranial pain, Ash examined the prison that had just appeared around him. It looked similar to what Sir Tobias had used to bind his friends, meaning it was made of Aura.

"Thank you, Sir Riley." thanked Sir Tobias, turning to one of the other hooded Guardians.

Through the hood, Ash could already see two glowing blue eyes. When this Sir Riley character removed his hood, however, Ash was given a full look at the man. He looked considerably younger than Sir Aaron and Sir Tobias, and he looked almost exactly like Sir Aaron, save for a few differences such as shape of head and nose length. His eyes were still glowing, though he didn't seem like he was concentrating at all.

"H-how is he...?" murmured Ash, unable to comprehend how this Sir Riley guy was controlling the cage. His hands were still concealed by his cloak, and his face looked 100% relaxed. There was no way he could have been making the prison. When Sir Tobias had made the simple restraints for his friends, Ash had noticed that the restraints required a hand gesture. Why did the same rules not apply for this man? "He's not..."

"It's what I do." answered Sir Riley with a smirk.

"Sir Riley is a member of the Gen Clan, giving him the natural ability to control and shape his Aura far easier than the rest of us." explained Sir Aaron.

"Gen... Clan...?" asked Ash, tilting his head.

"Oh, I thought that you'd have already known about the 5 Clans..." admitted Sir Aaron, sounding a little disappointed.

"5... clans...?" asked Ash, eyes narrowing.

"My oh my, you don't know anything about about the history of Aura, do you?" sighed Sir Aaron.

"Any... thing...?"

"Sweet Arceus above," chuckled another hooded Guardian, shaking his head. He then removed his hood, revealing short brown hair, a goatee, and face that looked like that of a 40 year-old man's. "we're dealing with a real wiz kid here, huh?"

"Sir Branford, leave him be. In the world he lives in, Aura Guardians are no more than the subjects of urban legends and folk lore. In a world where our numbers are so small that people question if we ever even existed, it shouldn't be a surprise that he knows nothing of Aura." said Sir Aaron, gripping his staff. He then turned to Ash, who was blankly staring at him from behind the bars of Sir Riley's cage. "Since you seem to have no knowledge of the history of the Aura Guardians, allow me to give you an abridged explanation."

Ash sighed and rolled his eyes. "With all due respect, Sir Aaron, I don't want an explanation, I want to go back to my frien-"

"Lonnnnnng ago," began Sir Aaron, blatantly ignoring Ash. "in a time before modern technology and large nations, the world was in a state of turmoil. Violence ruled the land. But one day, having seen enough of said violence, Arceus bestowed amazing powers to the purest men, women, and pokemon in the land, creating the first Aura Guardians. The Aura Guardians worked hard to bring peace, and after years of work, they almost did. But right when things were just about perfect, a young man named Brecht was born. Brecht was a powerful child, having been the son of two powerful Aura Guardians. But he was also incredibly narcissistic and cruel, which led him down the path to darkness. He gathered a dark army, declared war on the Aura Guardians, and almost won. On the final day of the war, Arceus intervened and saved the last 5 Aura Guardians in the world, ending the war. He sealed Brecht and his army away for 10,000 years, and told the Guardians that the seal would one day weaken and Brecht would escape. But when he did, a Chosen Guardian would rise and defeat him. That was about 9,995 years ago. We believe- no, we know you are the Chosen Guardian, so now you're here. We're going to train you for the next 5 years so you can save the world! Isn't that exciting?"

"...No." answered Ash, giving Sir Aaron nothing but a blank stare. "Wait, what? I'm sorry, I didn't really understand half the things you said, but what I did understand is that you want me to stay here for 5 years. That's a definite no."

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice in the matter." replied Sir Aaron. "Come now, doesn't it sound... ah, what do you children call it nowadays? Ah yes, radical. Doesn't it sound totally gnarly-radical off-the-wall far-outta sight? Saving the world and such?"

"Nobody talks like that anymore." droned Ash. "And I'd like to think I have a choice when it comes to whether I want to live a normal life or become some crazy Chosen Guardian that's supposed to kill some evil warlock guy. Sorry, but I think you guys may have kidnapped the wrong person. I'm just a Pokemon Trainer who tries to be the best like no one ever wa-"

"Ashton Ketchum." interrupted Sir Tobias, taking a step forward. "I know that you remember me. Yes, I brought you here, but we've known each other before that. You remember, the Lily of the Valley Conference."

"How could I forget?" grumbled Ash, glaring at Sir Tobias.

"There was a reason behind my appearance in that tournament. No, it was not to crush the dreams of teenagers, though I admit that was quite enjoyable. The true reason I was there was to examine you. We first gained true interest in you during the incident in the Tree of Beginning. Sir Aaron sensed your manipulation of both his and your own Aura, and he insisted that there was both great potential in you, and the chance that you could be 'The One'. From then on, we watched you. After spending many months analyzing your personality and moral code, I decided it was time to shift into the next phase and pay you a visit myself. You were nearing the end of your Sinnoh journey at the time. The sole purpose of my presence at the Lily of the Valley Conference was to thoroughly read your Aura. What I saw in you that day was a perfect match to what the Chosen Guardian should be. A brave, pure-hearted young man or woman with great power resting deep inside. I sensed the powers of more than one clan in you, which-"

"You guys keep talking about these 'clans'..." groaned Ash, rubbing his temples. "Can you please explain what they are so I can somewhat understand what you're saying? Jeez..."

"We got a real sass-machine here..." grumbled Sir Branford. "Alright, listen up. The 5 Great Aura Guardian Clans are the descendants of the 5 Aura Guardians that survived the war. The members of these clans all carry the gene to control Aura, along with a few specific traits associated with each clan. You're lucky, because all us Guardians here are each members of different clans, so you'll be getting the full course menu of teachers. As Sir Aaron said before, Sir Riley is of the Gen Clan, who are known for their exceptional skill in shaping and controlling their Aura. Sir Aaron's from the Arlon Clan, which is often referred to as the Powerhouse Clan due to the ridiculous amounts of Aura they can put out."

"Okay... Arlon and Gen..." repeated Ash, slowly nodding his head. "What about the other three?"

"Sir Branford, which is the guy who was just talking, is from the Maple Clan." continued Sir Riley, who still had Ash in an Aura cage. "Their ability is a little different from the first two. Their Aura is known to have a strong connection to their emotions, meaning the more intense they feel, the stronger they get. Certain emotions tend to have different effects on the Aura. For example, anger or rage usually increases the destructive power, while sadness actually weakens it."

Ash's eyes widened, recognizing that last name. "Maple? Maple is-"

"Yup, one of your gal pals is part of my clan, meaning she might have the ability to use Aura." said Sir Branford. "And according to Sir Tobias, since she was able to sense his presence, she definitely has the active gene in her. If I were you, I'd hop on that right after your trainin', just sayin'. But anyway, back to the clans. The fourth clan is the Hylus Clan, and one of their last remaining descendants is that guy over there."

Sir Branford pointed to the only Guardian yet to remove his hood, the one who was on the other side of the room, leaning against the wall. Strapped to his back was a shield, as well as a sword. When Sir Branford pointed to him, he removed his hood, revealing bright blonde hair, and piercing blue eyes. His facial expression was neutral, and he said nothing.

"That's Sir Hylus." said Sir Branford. "Now, the Hylus Clan is by far the weirdest of the 5 Clans. There has never been a female Guardian in the Hylus Clan at all, because there has not been a single girl born from the Hylus Clan in all of history. They're always male for some reason. Even weirder, they all have the same blonde hair, and the same blue eyes. The sword they use is a hand-me-down, passed down from generation to generation. None of them speak either, and they're all simply called 'Sir Hylus'. Due to these odd customs, it's often joked that the Hylus Clan isn't a clan at all, just the same guy bein' reincarnated over and over again. Their unique ability is that they all seem to be born with the natural battle instinct to wield almost any weapon known to man. Arrows, bombs, hammers, axes, swords... they could probably take down a Rayquaza with a toothpick if they had to."

"Hm, sounds kinda familiar, almost like a video game... Wait..." said Ash, eyes narrowing. "So if there's 5 Clans, then that must mean the last one is the Ketchum Clan, right? Because when Tobias abducted me, he was saying something about me being from both the Ketchum and Arlon Clans..."

"Yes." answered Sir Tobias. "That is why your Aura was similar to Sir Aaron's in the Tree of Beginning. Half of your blood is of the same clan as his."

"Yeah cool whatever." said Ash, waving his hand dismissively as he continued talking. "But if each of you represent one of the clans, then that means-"

"Yes, Sir Tobias is a Ketchum." said Sir Aaron.

Eyes so wide that they could have fallen out of their sockets, Ash looked at Sir Tobias, who's face had not changed from its perpetual state of calm.

"What?" asked Tobias, raising an eyebrow.

"Please... don't tell me you're my dad." said Ash monotonously.

"I'm not." answered Sir Tobias. "I'm your grandfather's uncle. I am sorry to inform you, but your father died a long time ago. He was just a normal man, having never awakened his Aura."

"Oh..." said Ash, only slightly affected at the revelation of his father's death. He'd never met his father, his mom having told him that the man had left on a pokemon journey years ago. But even though he never forged an actual father-son bond with his dad, he was still sad to hear that he was dead. "I see..."

Ash didn't see it, but all the other Guardians in the room's faces had seemed to darken a little at the mention of his father. Only Sir Tobias had been able to keep a straight face. After Sir Tobias's explanation, everyone's faces relaxed a bit, realizing that Sir Tobias didn't plan on sticking to that topic.

Once he got over the news, Ash looked back up at the Guardians.

"Okay, so what's the Ketchum Clan's special thing?"

"It's an ability you've demonstrated countless times through the beginning of your travels, Ashton." answered Sir Tobias. "Members of the Ketchum Clan have the innate ability to form bonds with pokemon much easier than any other clan. This is why the bonds between you and all your pokemon are so strong, because you've subconsciously been establishing pseudo empathy links with them. It's also why you've been able to survive all your encounters with legendary pokemon. They do their best to save you due to these subconscious empathy links. They can sense that you're not like most other humans."

"Is that how you caught a Darkrai and a Latios?" asked Ash.

"Indeed. But do understand, forming a full link with a legendary pokemon is worlds apart from forging one with a regular pokemon in regards to difficulty. So much that I cannot form any other links while linked with Darkrai and Latios."

"What are the benefits of forming a link?" asked Ash, seeming very interested in the concept.

"Well for starters, you share a closer bond with them, a bond that most people don't have with their pokemon. A complete link with a pokemon will not only connect your minds, but allow you and your pokemon to coordinate attacks and battle without speaking. Your minds would be in perfect sync."

"Woah... that sounds like it'd come in handy... Can I learn to establish those?" asked Ash childishly. "It'd definitely come in handy during battles... especially against the Elite 4..."

"Look kiddo, I don't know how many times we need to say it, but you're not leavin' here any time soon." snapped Sir Branford. "Beatin' the Elite 4 won't save the world. Stayin' with us will."

"Listen guys," started Ash, looking at each Guardian before continuing. "I guess I understand why you brought me here and all, but really, I don't think you have the right guy. There's definitely someone out there who is MUCH more qualified than I am. Look at me, I can barely even talk to women, let alone save the world. Also, I can't just leave my life behind and train for 5 years. There's people that are going to be wondering what happened to me, and I can't just leave them like that. I'm only 17. Still a kid. There's no way I'm this 'Chosen Guardian' guy. You all seem powerful, why can't you guys just deal with this Mister Bread guy when he escapes from his seal?"

"First of all, his name is Master Brecht, not Mister Bread." replied Sir Riley. "And as much as we'd like to go and kill him ourselves, we simply can't. Sir Aaron's short explanation didn't really give you a full scope in regards to his power. He is, without a doubt, the strongest wielder of Aura to ever live. The guy is literally a monster. Our plan is to have you train with us for 5 years, and by the end of those 5 years, you'll be stronger than all of us combined. Given the fact that you have the massive Aura reserves of an Arlon and the pokemon skills of a Ketchum, you will definitely be able to give Master Brecht a run for his money if you reach your maximum potential. And if you're not the Chosen Guardian, that would mean the only other options are either Max Maple or May Maple, as they are the only other potential Guardians somewhat old enough to begin training. All the other Guardians in the world of the living are either too old or not old enough. I doubt you'd want the Maple siblings here instead of you, hm?"

"But..."

"Think of it this way;" said Sir Aaron. "if you choose to go back and don't train with us, then yes, you will be reunited with your friends. But in 5 years when Master Brecht is free, you'll all die quite gruesome deaths because there will be no one to stop him from taking over the world and killing all those who have the potential to stand in his way. If you stay here, then we can give you the strength to stop that. Even if you don't believe you're the Chosen Guardian, - which you most likely will believe by the end of your training - you'll have the strength to defend your loved ones. So in short, if you don't want to watch everyone perish, you'll stay here and train to protect them. I know.. you want to go back to those two girls... but going back will only seal their fate. You want to protect them, don't you?"

"Yes... I want to protect everyone." answered Ash quietly, beginning to understand. "I guess... I guess I'll stay. But only so I can protect my friends. If this Master Brecht guy is as dangerous as you say, then I want to be as strong as possible so I can protect everyone. I'll train."

"I am glad you see things our way." said Sir Tobias, reaching into the hidden confines of his cloak. "Do not worry, you will have company during your training."

"Company?" asked Ash,

"Yes." said Sir Tobias, pulling an unconscious Pikachu out of his cloak.

Ash grinned. "Pikachu!"

"He grabbed me right as I transported us here. Seeing as he's the pokemon you're closest with, I suppose it would only make sense for him to stay here and train with you. He'll be one of your partners when your training is done."

Sir Tobias placed Pikachu on the floor, right by the bottom of Ash's prison. And with that, all 5 Guardians in the room began to walk away, leaving Ash in the cage. Incredibly confused, Ash looked at them as if they were insane.

"Hey! Where are you guys going?!"

"Your training begins now." called Sir Aaron, exiting the room with the rest of the Guardians. "Your first task is to escape that cage. May the Aura be with you!"

"You can't be serious!" shouted Ash.

Unfortunately, they were 100% serious. The Aura Guardians left, leaving Ash trapped in Sir Riley's cage. Already annoyed, Ash let out a heavy sigh, examining his surroundings. Besides himself and his unconscious Pikachu, nothing else was in the room. With an irritated growl, Ash wrapped his hands around two bars of the cage, pulling them with all his might. They didn't budge at all, the constructs seeming to be as strong as steel despite their delicate appearance. After a couple minutes of unfruitful attempts, Ash let out a frustrated roar and threw his hands up into the air, giving up.

"This is ridiculous..." he sighed. "How am I supposed to get out of this thing? I've never used Aura without Sir Aaron's gloves... I told them they had the wrong guy... I could have all the power in the world... but it means nothing if I don't have the ability to tap into it..."

Ash's eyes shifted to the yellow mouse just outside of the cage, which seemed to be waking up.

"Pika..." grumbled Pikachu as he slowly sat up, his back turned to Ash. "Where- kachu..."

Ash frowned. He had just heard the oddest thing. For a split second, it seemed like Pikachu's voice echoed in his mind, except Ash could understand the words perfectly. But as quickly as the voice appeared, it disappeared, returning to normal pika-speak.

"Pikachu?" asked Ash, gaining the rodent's attention.

"Pi?" asked Pikachu, quickly turning around. The mouse's face stretched into a large grin when he saw that his Trainer was alive and well. "Pikapi okay! What ka relief, man, pikachu pi, pika you chu dead!"

"You what?" asked Ash, eyes narrowing. "You thought I was dead?"

"Pikachu pi Tobias guy choked you out! Of course I thought you were dea-..." Pikachu paused, leaning forward a bit. "Wait, you pikachu pi I was saying?"

"Uh, yeah." answered Ash. "It's getting easier to understand you the more you talk, actually..."

"But... how? Pika where are we?"

"We're in some place in another dimension... We've been brought here to train and learn how to use Aura, because apparently I'm some kind of Chosen One destined to save the world. Go figure, right? Anyway, I think the reason I can understand you is because of this ability that the Aura Guardians here told me I have... Somehow, I think I'm establishing a full mental link with you right now... it's the only explanation I can think of for whats happening right now."

"YOU? YOU'RE supposed to save the world?!" asked Pikachu, finding humor in Ash's words. "HAH, bruh, you can't even see that May is totally the better choice than Serena. How's a blind man like you gonna save the planet? Also, if you haven't noticed, you're in a cage. Can't really save the world from a cage."

"I'm just gonna ignore what you said about May and Serena and address the cage instead." droned Ash. "After I agreed to train, the Aura Guardians told me my first task is to break out of this cage, which they put me in right after I woke up. But how can I? I can't use Aura without putting on Sir Aaron's gloves... They want me to save the world and everything, too... Pikachu, I really don't think I'm cut out for this. The only reason I agreed to train was so I could protect May, Serena, and everyone else in the future... But can I even do that? This cage is indestructible..."

"Well, you have to have SOME kind of skill with Aura without the gloves... if you didn't, then this mental link thing wouldn't be working right now. So try harder. Also, I was just joking earlier. Honestly, hearing that you're a Chosen One isn't really that big of a surprise if you consider all the crazy shit we've been throug-"

"Pikachu... I didn't know you use swears..."

"What the fuck do you think I yell whenever I get hit in battles? Anyway, we've been through a lot. All those adventures with legendary pokemon... no ordinary guy could've gotten through those. You're probably more experienced in world-saving than anyone else on the planet. And Ash, in case you didn't know, protecting May and Serena is basically synonymous with saving the world, because the only way to ensure their safety when the time comes would be to defeat what's threatening them. Either way, you're gonna end up fighting the bad guy. The Aura Guardians probably knew that, which is why they were fine with you training only to protect the girls. If they think you're the guy for the job, the best thing to do is believe them. Clearly you have the qualifications... Now, give it another try. Just think of everyone you're trying to protect... May, Serena, Gary, Delia, Professor Oak, May... Use that determination to bust out of that thing."

"You said May's name twice."

"Team May all the way, bruh."

Ash rolled his eyes, placing his hands on the bars of the cage. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and began to concentrate, taking his thoughts to exactly where Pikachu told him to. There was a great evil rising, he thought. When this evil came, no one would be safe. Deep within him was the power to fight that evil. All he had to do was concentrate and bring it out. If he failed, his friends' lives would be at risk. If he failed, the world would be at risk. If he failed, May and Serena would be at risk. With all of that on the line, he knew he couldn't fail. He had never backed down from a challenge before, and he planned on keeping that record.

"I was useless when Tobias came... May, Gary, and Serena were hurt, and I couldn't do anything to protect them... I never want to feel that useless ever again... never..."

Ash began to pull at the bars again, and suddenly, a tingling sensation began to rush through his hands. His eyes opened wide, a gasp escaping his lips. Wisps of Aura were radiating from his hands, and the bars of the cage were slowly beginning to bend.

"There we go! Yeah, man!" said Pikachu, nodding. He looked up at Ash, noticing something different about his Trainer. It was the eyes. They weren't the usual brown that Pikachu was used to. "Damn, you even got the glowing blue eyes!"

"I... can't... fail..." grunted Ash, slowly pulling the bars of the cage apart enough to create an opening to escape. It wasn't easy; he could barely maintain the small amount of Aura in his hands. "Pikachu... we can't fail... Are you ready? We're not... going... back... for a long time... I think... the Guardians said... 5 years..."

"Bruh, I'm with you til the end. I'm ready to stay here as long as it takes. Are you?"

"Not at all..." growled Ash, concentrating even more. With a small burst of blue light, The bars of the cage snapped to his grip, creating a space for him to exit from. As soon as he created the gap, Ash exhaled. After giving himself a few seconds to recover from the strain of using his own Aura for the first time, Ash slid out and stood to his feet. "... but I don't think it matters. I have to stay here, regardless of how I feel... I just hope everyone will be alright without me."

"They'll be okay... it's not like you're gone forever, right? We'll return when the training's done."

"Yeah..."

And so, Ash and Pikachu's training in the ways of the Aura began. As they trained, they kept in mind those who they were fighting for, the thought of returning to their friends and loved ones spurring them on whenever their limits were being pushed. Many times during their training did they imagine how their return to Earth would be like, envisioning themselves reuniting with the same faces that they had left.

But those were nothing but dreams.

There was no way for them to see what their friends were like while they were gone, giving them no indication of the changes that had occurred after their disappearance. The friends they looked forward to meeting were not the same friends they had been taken away from, not in the slightest...

...


...

"Serena... Serena, wake up."

Serena's eyes slowly opened, the Sun's bright light prompting her to immediately close them again.

"Serena, get up." said the voice, the tone a lot firmer this time. "You're going to be late for work if you don't."

"5 minutes, Mom." grumbled Serena monotonously.

"You said that 5 minutes ago." said Grace. "Get. up."

"Alright..." groaned Serena, slowly sitting up. She opened her eyes, making sure to turn away from her window as she did. She scowled at her mother, who simply stared back, unfazed by her daughter's glare. "I'm up. Happy?"

"Yes." said Grace, exiting the room.

With Grace gone, Serena laid back down. She didn't go back to sleep though; she simply stared at the ceiling, exhaling as she did so. She didn't want to go to work. She didn't want to do anything. What was the point of working? It wasn't like she made that much money. Minimum wage, big whoop. And being an assistant librarian at the public library wasn't exactly the type of job she looked forward to going to.

But who was she kidding? No profession in the world seemed appealing to her. Nothing had since Ash's death a little over a year ago. She wasn't mourning anymore, but she wasn't back to normal either. On that fateful day, her whole life had changed. She went through so many different phases of despair in the last 13 months. The days after Ash's mysterious murder contained nothing but crying. After a couple days, she went back to Kalos, where the crying continued. A few months later, when she had regained some degree of stability, she returned to the Pokemon Performing scene. It did not go well, not at all. She had lost her will to perform, which led to lackluster performances that didn't come close to winning her a single princess key. Having realized her drive was as good as gone, Serena gave up her dream of being Kalos Queen, deciding to go back home to her mother.

She was 18 then, a legal adult. Because of this, her mother sat her down and gave her talk a few days after she returned home. Grace explained to Serena that she was no longer a child, and that she couldn't just stay in the house doing nothing anymore. After their talk, Serena reluctantly agreed to look for a job. She applied to many places, and many asked her for interviews, only to turn her down for unknown reasons after said interview. But eventually, one of the places she applied to accepted her, and that was the Vaniville Town Public Library. She had had the job for nearly 3 months now, and she hated it more and more each day. What she hated the most was the abundance of couples that seemed to frequently visit the library. She had nothing against the people themselves, but their presence only reminded her of Ash, and what she could have been with him if he hadn't been... killed.

"Ash..." she sighed, lethargically sliding out of her bed.

She had not cried over his death in many months, but she'd be lying if she said it wasn't haunting her to that very day. Perhaps what bothered her the most was the nature of his death; sudden and gruesome. And to add insult to injury, the killer had taken Ash's body with him, eliminating any chance of Serena gaining a sense of closure. The nature of that day affected Serena's personality for the rest of her days. She barely smiled anymore, and the joy in her eyes had all but vanished. She had gone from a happy, innocent young girl with dreams and a future to a pessimistic, irritable, anti-social recluse with no aspirations or goals. At first, her mother had tried to get the old Serena back, but she soon learned it was useless. The old Serena seemed to disappear with Ash on that day 13 months ago.

Serena looked at the clock. It was 9:07. She was going to be late for work in 8 minutes.

"Well, no point in rushing now." she said, grabbing her towel and toothbrush. "If I'm gonna be late, might as well be late and clean."

...

30 minutes later...

...

Serena entered the library. Just one whiff of the building's annoying lavender-scented air freshener made her sick. Ignoring the glances from her co-workers, Serena walked to the main desk, taking a seat in one of the empty chairs behind it. All her co-workers watched her out of the corners of their eyes, all of them far too afraid to say anything to her. Serena was usually brooding and unfriendly, but this time, she seemed even more threatening than usual.

Noticing their eyes on her, Serena glared at them.

"What do you guys want?" she asked, eyes narrow.

At first none of them answered, having gained a sudden interest in their cellphones and/or shoes. But then, one of them stepped forward. He was a guy, tall and lanky. He had black hair, and gray eyes, and pale skin that was pink at his cheeks. Serena liked him the least out of her co-workers, because somehow, he had a crush on her. It was probably the second thing she hated the most about her job. She didn't hate the fact that he liked her, she hated how he acted about it. It was awfully similar to the way she did when she first started traveling with Ash, which wasn't something she liked thinking about.

After a few nervous chuckles, Calem finally answered Serena's question.

"Well, um, you're a little late, Serena." observed Calem nervously.

"Yes, I am."

Uhh... well, uh, the boss didn't notice yet... so you're not in trouble or anything. You're in charge of re-shelfing the returned books today, so you should probably start now... If the boss sees that none of the books are back on the shelves yet he'll know you came in late and-"

"Where are the books?" asked Serena, growing tired of Calem's voice.

Calem pointed to the stack of books piled into a nearby basket.

"Thanks." said Serena, walking to towards the books.

She picked up half the stack, placed it on a small table-cart, and then did the same with the second half. She then grabbed the cart's handle and pulled it, leading it into the labyrinth of bookshelves that was the library. The first book was called Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Last Olympian. She'd seen that book be rented out a couple times, so she already knew to put it in the children's fiction section. The next was a copy of Fifty Shades of Grey; definitely not children's fiction. She placed it in the adult fiction section. She continued to return all the books, knowing where they belonged solely by their titles. But halfway down the pile, she picked up a book she was unfamiliar with. It was blue, and on the cover, written in black Times New Roman font, was a title that caused her eyes to narrow slightly.

Aura Guardians: A Complete History.

"I've never... seen this book before." muttered Serena, sliding her hand over the cover.

Serena had by no means memorized the selection of books in the library, but due to her being assigned to re-shelf books often, her mind had a general archive of the books people usually rented. Not only had this book not been rented in the 3 months she had worked in the library, she had never even seen this book or even skimmed past it when putting another book away.

"Well, it's a big library... It's not like I know every book there is to know..." she thought, opening the book. "Since I don't know what it's about, I have to look on the inside cover to see what genre it is..."

Serena's body went stiff as she laid her eyes upon the first page of the book. While the inside cover contained the information she was looking for, the page opposite of the cover contained a detailed illustration. It was the illustration that shook Serena to the core. It was of a figure in a tattered cloak and hood, holding a staff in one hand, and what looked like fire in another. Just one look at the figure's hood was enough to give Serena a terrible flashback to the man that had taken Ash. She still remembered how that man, Tobias, had looked that day; his attire was not too different from the image Serena was looking at.

"This..."

Before turning the page, Serena looked to her left and right, making sure she was alone. She turned the page, revealing multiple paragraphs of black text. The words weren't too small, and the book itself was relatively small, only about 200 pages; easily readable. Serena placed the book on a different shelf of the cart, separating it from the rest that needed to be put back. In what was definitely record time, Serena placed all the other books back on their proper shelves, and when she was done, she pulled the cart deep into the library, as far as she could go.

"There's no way I'm putting this book back without reading some of it..." she thought, taking a seat on the cart. It wasn't really meant for being sat on, but luckily she was light enough not to break it. She opened the book, faltering once again at the sight of the illustration on the first page. She took a deep breath before turning the page. But alas, she hesitated. If she, someone who barely did her job well enough as is, was caught reading a book instead of working, she'd probably get fired. She shrugged off the worry and turned the page. "It's not like I enjoy working here anyway... Besides, this is too important to me. Maybe this book will give me some answers about what happened to you... Ash..."

And with that, she began to read. The first few pages were terribly boring, the unnamed author of the book choosing to spend them going on and on about a rotten world that was in desperate need of saviors. And then finally, something of substance came up; Aura Guardians. This is where Serena stopped skimming and began to read each and every word, looking for an explanation on what exactly they were.

"Protectors of Peace and Guardians of Arceus... They were bestowed with the power to control the essence of life itself..." she whispered, unintentionally reading aloud. Realizing that talking would lead to someone finding her, Serena closed her mouth. "Hm, that must've been what Tobias was using against us... but... how could Tobias be an Aura Guardian? It says here that they're protectors of peace with pure, righteous hearts... doesn't really sound like Tobias..."

Serena read on, and soon she learned of the great war between the Aura Guardians and Dark Guardians, the one which left only 5 Aura Guardians alive. Once again, she found herself pausing to think. The clans that had survived were the Arlon, Gen, Hylus-

"Maple and Ketchum?" thought Serena, mouth slowly opening. "That's Ash's last name... and Ketchum isn't a common last name either... That would mean that Ash was an Aura Guardian... or at least the descendant of one. But that just confuses me even more. If Ash were to have the power to control Aura, why would another Aura Guardian kill him? And Maple... that was that May girl's last name. Yeah, it's a fairly common last name, but the way she acted before Tobias appeared that day makes me think she's part of all this too..."

As she continued to read through the pages of the book, Serena began to piece together a theory on what could have happened that day 13 months ago. Of course, since it was just a theory, she had no idea whether it was true or not. But, if the things written in the book were actually true, her theory sounded very realistic. She had read about the sealing away of Master Brecht. The book claimed his seal was watched over by the souls of fallen Aura Guardians. These souls lived in the Corridors of the Aura, a massive temple which Arceus transported to another dimension. The seal was to be kept for 10,000 years... and according to the book, the war took place several thousand years ago. When the seal broke loose, a Chosen Guardian would rise and defeat Master Brecht once and for all...

"If Tobias truly was an Aura Guardian... then the reason he killed Ash would be to... take him to the Corridors of the Aura? No, that wouldn't make sense... Tobias is alive, right? Or... is he a dead Guardian? If he was a dead one, how would he have been able to set foot on Earth? But if he was alive, then there would not have been a need for him to kill Ash. he could've just taken Ash somewhere else to train him. Ugh, this is confusing... Wait... screw Tobias, if Ash was so important to him, could it be that Ash is the one that's supposed to defeat Master Brecht? It would make sense... that would make a lot of sense. Ash would definitely be Chosen One material. He'd been on loads of adventures, saved many people, he was brave, handsome, supportive, kind... all that good stuff. So, if the things in this book are true, then that would mean..."

Serena closed the book and stared straight ahead.

"Ash is still alive... somewhere." she said aloud.

The more her mind made sense of it, the more Serena felt a sudden build-up in her soul. It all made sense. When Tobias had taken Ash's body, she even remembered the Aura Guardian claiming that she'd be thankful for his actions one day. The only reason she'd be thankful were if Ash were to return one day and do something great. To the 18 year-old, it was undeniable; Ash Ketchum wasn't gone. He was somewhere, she mused. Perhaps not on Earth, but somewhere.

Serena looked down at the closed book, but stopped when she realized that there were drops of clear liquid on the cover. They were her own tears. She then proceeded to hug the book, far too happy to care about whether it was a weird action or not.

"He's alive, somewhere." she murmured, wiping the tears off her face. "I can't believe it... I never would have found out if it wasn't for this book... I wonder who rented it..."

"SERENA YVONNE TO THE FRONT DESK."

Serena frowned, the sound of her boss's voice on the P.A. system reaching her ears loud and clear. He didn't sound happy, though he never really seemed to like her in the first place. It was a mutual understanding between the two of them that Serena was only hired out of the library's desperation for workers. But even though he never sounded happy when talking to or about her, Serena could tell that he was in an especially bad mood.

"Here we go..." she grumbled, standing up.

She began to walk towards the front desk, but quickly stopped to turn back and take Aura Guardians: A Complete History with her. She didn't feel like parting with the book just yet. There was no way her quick reading of it could have told her all she needed to know.

"Maybe if I read the entire thing I'll learn even more about what's going on..." thought Serena, book in hand. A rare smile appeared on her face as she made her way to the front desk, her mind already conjuring up multiple scenarios about the idea of reuniting with Ash, the only boy she had ever fallen in love with. Unfortunately, her smile quickly faded when her eyes met the hard glare of her boss. Before the man could even speak, Serena put her hand up. "I'm fired, aren't I?"

The manager, Mr. Stevens, was not surprised by Serena's correct guess.

"Yes, you are." he said roughly. "You thought I couldn't see you slacking off? Well I saw it, because news flash, the library has a camera system. You've been pushing my patience ever since you got this job, Serena. Enough is enough. Do us all a favor and never come back, alright?"

"Yeah cool whatever." said Serena, walking past Mr. Stevens to Calem, who was nervously watching the unfolding scene from behind the front desk. Serena ignored Calem's worried look and placed the book in her hands on the desk, confusing the black-haired teen. "You're in charge of renting out the books today, right?"

"Y-yeah..." answered Calem, blushing from the intensity of Serena's stare. For once, there was no scorn or hostility in her eyes. Only an unusual, and frankly, unsettling sense of neutrality. "Wh-why do you ask?"

"What are you doing, Serena? I want you out of my library now, not later!" growled Mr. Stevens. "Ugh, this is the problem with you! You never listen when people talk to you!"

Serena ignored Mr. Stevens and continued looking at Calem.

"I'd like to rent this book out." she said simply, pulling a library card out of her pocket.

She slid it across the desk, the piece of plastic coming to a perfect halt in front of Calem. Calem picked up the card and looked at Serena and then back down at the book. He then looked at Mr. Stevens, who was shaking his head, silently telling the teen not to rent the book out. But since Serena was now a customer and not an employee, Calem went through with giving Serena the book. It was the library's policy to serve all customers as long as they hadn't done anything bad. Serena had done bad things as an employee, but her record as a customer was spotless.

"Thank you." said Serena, picking up the book.

"You're welcome..." said Calem sheepishly, doing his best to avoid the death-glare he was receiving from Mr. Stevens.

Before walking out of the library, Serena removed her name tag and handed it to Mr. Stevens, truly finalizing the fact that she was fired.

"Just so you all know, I was totally going to quit anyway. Mr. Jacobs just beat me to it." she announced.

"Mr. Stevens! It's Mr. Stevens!" growled Mr. Stevens, watching as the honey-blonde 18 year-old strutted away.

Unemployed but feeling the best she had in a long time, Serena proudly walked through the double doors of the building, blue book in hands. Her house was a decently long walk away, giving her plenty of time to read the book as she made her way home. She immediately opened it and began reading, choosing to start over from the beginning and actually read the entire thing instead of skimming through parts. In the few seconds she had started reading, she had become so absorbed in reading the words that may or may not have been connected to Ash that she didn't even notice the unusual figure she had just walked past.

Sitting on a bench not too far from the library was a hooded man. Had Serena actually noticed the man, she would have easily been able to tell that he was not the Average Joe enjoying a nice day on a bench. His clothes were practically screaming the words "I'm probably dangerous". He wore a black, double-breasted silver-buttoned trench coat that extended all the way down to his knees. The buttons on said coat were buttoned securely from the waist up, but were unbuttoned from the waist down in order to allow easier movement. Connected to the man's trench coat was a black hood, and around the man's waist, separating the buttoned half of the coat from the unbuttoned half, was a simple silver sash that functioned as a belt of sorts. Under the man's coat was a pair of baggy black pants that were tucked into a pair of black knee-high combat boots. His hands were covered by white leather gloves, making them stand out greatly from his black outfit. But what really stood out the most was his head. Even though most of his face was concealed by the shadow of his hood, the man still wore a mask which hid the rest. The mask was simple, just a smooth brick-red colored surface with two slits for his eyes... his eyes that were currently watching Serena walk down the street.

Once Serena was out of sight, the man nodded to himself before vanishing completely, leaving behind a bench with absolutely no one on it.


Having decided to wait a little bit before heading home, Serena decided to go to the local park to continue her reading. After reading the entire book, Serena was sure, without any shadow of a doubt, that Ash Ketchum was still alive. But that's not all that she came to realize. She was able to put together that no matter where Ash was training, his body still had to be on Earth, even if he was training in the Corridors of the Aura. According to the book, the only way to get to the Corridors was as a soul, which meant that Ash's body was still somewhere on Earth. She assumed it would be alive as well, since killing Ash would have trapped his soul in the Corridors, which would stop him from being able to come back and save the world.

After realizing all of this, she had desperately searched the book for any clues as to where Ash's body could be. But she hadn't found the slightest hint whatsoever, and after nearly 2 hours of searching, she finally decided to close the book and head home. It was great, she mused. Ash wasn't dead. He was out there. The first person she was going to tell was definitely her mother. She figured her mom would be ecstatic. Her mother always cared for her feelings almost as much as she did her own, the exception being the period in which she desperately tried to push Rhyhorn Racing on Serena.

"Once I explain to her that he isn't dead, then she'll definitely let me go find him once I figure out exactly where he is. I didn't find anything in the book, but I'm sure there's other books out there that could give me some hints. I don't know how long Ash will be training. I can't wait for him to come back, can I? When he returns - if that's even in my lifetime - he'll be focused on saving the world. If I find him... then we can be together. There's no way my mom is gonna turn me down... It's not like I don't know how to take care of myself. I've traveled before. It won't be much different than going on a journey through a region."

As Serena thought these thoughts, her house became visible in the distance. She picked up the pace a bit, eager to tell her mom what she had spent all day doing. Of course, that also meant that she had to tell her mother about her new spot on the unemployment line, but that wasn't that big of a deal, right?

Once she reached her front porch, Serena pulled out her house keys, opening the door. She stepped inside, her ears immediately hearing the sound of Grace talking. Serena looked at a nearby clock; 1:13 pm. Her shifts at the library always ended at 3:00, so usually, she wasn't home around this time. She considered the possibility that her mother had someone over, but dismissed this conclusion when she realized that the only voice heard was her mother's and only her mother's. This meant that Grace was either on the phone or talking to herself.

As she headed towards the kitchen, the source of the sound, Serena remained silent. She didn't like the idea of eavesdropping on her own mother, but there was something about the seriousness in Grace's voice that made the honey-blonde quite curious as to what was going on. In order to get to the kitchen, Serena had to go through the living room. Once in the living room, Serena stopped walking, decided she was close enough to the kitchen to hear her mother's words clearly.

"But Delia, it's been over a year now..."

Serena froze. Delia, if she remembered correctly, was the name of Ash's mom. Perhaps there was a chance that it could have been a different Delia, but Serena had never heard her mother mention having a friend named Delia. Even more interested than she was before, Serena continued to listen in.

"You can't tell me this is normal... I'm her mother, you know I'm the last person in the world who'd want to say this... You're Ash's mom. He came from you, you raised him, and watched him grow as a young man, and even you have more or less returned to normal life. Serena's still nothing like the way she was before... that's not normal."

Serena frowned.

"Of course I know she loved him. But so did you and all his other friends. Tell me, are any of his other friends still struggling? Have any of his other friends given up on life altogether like Serena has? I doubt-... What?... Oh, that's... that's terrible. Is she okay? No one knows where she is? Oh my Arceus... that's awful. I hope someone finds her. Her family must be so worried... Okay, after hearing that, I realize that Serena could be much worse. But that doesn't mean I should just ignore what's going on with her. I don't think what's happened to her is normal. I'm going to book an appointment for a psychiatrist... I don't think that's extreme. I just want my real daughter back... the girl living with me right now isn't Serena..."

Having decided she'd heard enough, Serena chose to stop listening. What she heard definitely came as a shock, yet at the same time she wasn't too surprised. She had already known that her mother was worried about her, but had no idea that Grace was planning on getting her psychoanalyzed. All of a sudden, telling her about Ash didn't seem like a good idea.

"What, does she think I'm crazy or something? That I was obsessed with Ash?" thought Serena, grumpily turning towards the staircase. "I can't believe her... that's just ridiculous. Everyone deals with the death of a loved one differently; some people mourn longer than others, and some people change. There's nothing wrong with me now, and there never has been. I can't believe she wants me to see a psychiatrist! Now, if I tell her anything about Ash, it'll just make her even more certain that I've got some screws loose, no matter how solid the evidence I show her is... I guess I'll have to look into things without Mom knowing. Great."

Serena silently walked up the stairs, deciding to keep her presence in the house hidden from Grace. Once in her room, she was sure to carefully close her door, locking it immediately after. She took a seat on her bed and pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. Since the only computer in her house was downstairs, her phone was her only connection to the internet at the moment. Once the multi-colored word "Google" appeared on her screen, her fingers began to tap across the screen rapidly, causing letters to appear in the search box. She didn't know what exactly to search yet, so she kept things broad.

"Aura Guardians..."

...

1 week later...

...

"... and that's when I was like, 'That's not a Registeel, that's my refrigerator!'"

"AHAHAHHAHAHHA!" laughed Grace, hunching over in her recliner chair. Her favorite comedian, Dick Sniffenshitz, was doing live stand-up, and she was loving it. After her fit of laughter, she turned to the only other person present in the living room. "Isn't this guy just great, Serena?"

Serena was not amused. In fact, she wasn't paying attention at all. She had been staring off into space for a while now, completely ignoring both her mother and Mr. Sniffenshitz. But it seemed like her mother speaking directly to her caused the teen to snap out of her trance. She turned her head towards Grace, faking a yawn as she did.

"Goodnight, Mom."

"Goodnight?" asked Grace, eyebrow raised. "It's only 7:20. You can't possibly be tired already...?"

"I am." lied Serena, standing up. "I'm going to bed... Goodnight."

"Okay... Goodnight." said Grace, deciding it to just drop it.

In her opinion, she was lucky enough to get Serena to sit with her in the living room at all. Her behavior in the past week was definitely different; she seemed less hostile to everything, and she had begun to smile a little more. The only problem was that her smile would vanish whenever Grace walked into the room. Of course, Grace had no idea why, nor did she have any idea why Serena seemed to be reading more and more books and encyclopedias lately. It all seemed so confusing to Grace, each day just adding a new puzzle to the enigma that was her own daughter.

"I'll see you tomorrow." finished Grace, seeming to have lost the energy she had been so full of just a few seconds ago.

"...Yeah." answered Serena, walking up the stairs.

...

Later that night...

...

A small alarm clock rang 3:00am. A pair of blue eyes immediately opened. The owner of these eyes quickly sat up, slowly looking around the room. The moon's lighting was perfect; she could see. She silently slid out of bed, grabbed a nearby backpack, and opened her closet. In the corner of the closet was a set of items that she had grouped together throughout the past week. She proceeded to neatly (and quietly) stuff them in her bag.

"This is it. I've done all the research I can."

The cold breeze of the night swished the leaves of Vaniville Town around and about, setting a mood that definitely matched the event that was transpiring. The breeze flowed into an open window, gently swaying the long hair of perhaps the only person in the whole town that was awake at such an odd hour of the night. She had spent all her time in the past week gathering all the knowledge she could, and in just 7 days, she had become more or less an expert on all things having to do with Aura and those who defend it... All things except the location of a certain raven-haired trainer. But despite her lack of info, she had a plan of action, so she wasn't too worried.

"Reading articles and old stories can only take me so far..."

She had kept her loss of her job a secret from her mother. Instead, she had left the house everyday at her work hours and returned when her shifts usually ended. Instead of going to the library, she'd sit in the park, continuing her research. She had yet to hear from her mother in regards to the secret visit to the psychiatrist, but that didn't matter anymore. She began to take off her pajamas, swapping them for a set of clothes more suited for the upcoming journey.

"If I truly want to find you, Ash..."

She was still very torn on whether this was a good idea or not, part of her telling her to stop, while another part pushed her onward. She opened her backpack, taking one last look at what she had packed: 3 tubes of toothpaste, a toothbrush, rope, a change of clothes, tissues, knives, and Aura Guardians: A Complete History. She had purposely chosen not to pack electronics such as her Pokedex and cell phone, as she could easily end up being tracked and eventually found if she carried those items with her. The only electronics she needed were three half-red, half-white spheres. She grabbed the items and placed them in her bag. Braixen, Pancham, and Eevee were the only ones to accompany her on this mission.

"Then I have to make some efforts of my own..."

Taking one last look at her room, Serena nodded. She was ready now, and there was no turning back. She wasn't sure how long she'd be gone, but she figured it wouldn't be too long, maybe 6-12 months. Then again, she didn't care how long it took. Long ago, Ash had taught her to never give up til it's over. For the longest time, she had thought it was over. But now that she knew otherwise, she wasn't about to continue to act like it was still over. If her mother found out about what she was about to do, then she'd definitely have reason to think her daughter wasn't mentally sound. Anyone would think that, and that was because no one knew how important this mission was to the 18-year old.

She slung her backpack over her shoulder and walked towards her open window. The cool breeze of the night brushed against her face, giving her the final bit of resolve she needed.

"I'll find you, Ash." she whispered, climbing out the window. "I swear, I will."


"Commander _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _... where are you?"

"Oh, uh, don't worry about it. Personal errand. I'm fine."

"Well, sorry to interrupt, but we have some developing news that we think you'd want to know, Commander."

"Lay it on me."

Sitting on the roof of one of the many houses in Vaniville Town was the same masked man that Serena had walked past on the day she lost her job. He seemed relatively relaxed as his subordinate spoke to him on the phone, updating him on recent developments. As his subordinate spoke to him, his eyes followed a lone female figure walking through the town, her honey-blonde hair swaying in the breeze. He slowly nodded his head, seeming to be content with this sight.

"Did you hear what I said, Commander?"

"I'm sorry, what Dr. Feinberg?" asked the mysterious man. "I wasn't paying attention."

"I said that we've just received readings on the usage of Aura, sir. The readings suggest that this is the user's first time using it... I do not believe actions need to be made just yet, but I suggest we keep an eye on the user so we can eliminate them if they begin to gain more power."

"Where are the readings from?"

"Petalburg, Hoenn, sir."


That's that. Well, it's pretty obvious the next chapter's gonna focus on May, since this one was on Serena. I'm hoping I'll be able to introduce Nate and Rosa in the next chapter, if not, the one after. They're coming though.

Who is this masked "Commander"?

Will Serena find Ash, or will she succumb to the harsh law of the wild?

Just how strong will Ash become?!

Find out on the next wonderfultastic installment of Pokemon: The Fellowship of the Aura!

Adios,

~DarkSlash9