Chapter 6: Escape from Lumiose City
Serena tried to steady her hands while packing a bag with clothes and other essentials. She tried to take her mind off Ash and her father, who'd yet to return from their campaign.
"Fen." Fennkin said while stroking her soft head against Serena's hand. Feeling the fire fox's warm fur offered the Princess a little comfort, but not much.
"Serena, what do you think? Should I bring the Laverre or Santalune style dress?" Shauna asked while holding both up.
"Eh? Oh, uhhh well-" Serena muttered, not truly paying attention.
"You should bring the Santalune city one! You could get a new one in Laverre city when we visit!" Bonnie shouted.
"Ahhh! Wonderful idea, Bonnie!" Shauna resumed packing when she noticed Serena hadn't even gotten half her things prepared.
"Serena now's not the time for slacking! Ash and Red could be back any day now, and then we'll be on our way!" Shauna muttered impatiently.
"Oui." Shauna and Bonnie both heard the unmistakable fear in Serena's voice and saw the same in her expression.
"Serena, you can't seriously be afraid something might happen to them?"
"Shauna, they went to war!" Serena countered, her fear for Ash and Alexandre exacerbating her anger.
"Serena, you're father is the greatest field commander in generations! Kalos has never lost a conflict since he became King. There's no way this Galar King stands a chance against him and our army! As for Ash and Red, they'll be right beside your father, and that's probably the safest place."
Serena slowly nodded. Everything she said was true, but Serena always feared for her loved ones when they went off to war.
"My brother probably won't go anywhere near the actual fighting. He'll lose out on a chance for glory, again." Bonnie sighed.
"Bonnie, he doesn't have to fight to achieve glory." Shauna giggled while patting the little girl's head.
"But Ash, Red, and Lucas will! They'll all probably take a dozen Galar knights prisoner and ransom them for a fortune while my brother tries to build another of his inventions."
Serena finally joined Shauna in the giggling. She'd hoped to talk to her mother about such anxious thoughts, but Queen Grace left for Santalune City with Countess Viola two days earlier and hadn't returned.
"Serena, just relax! Don't think about what might happen to Ash and the King! Focus on our journey! All those performances!" Shauna said while placing a hand on the Princess's shoulders.
Serena slowly nodded and resumed packing, placing another dress in her back beside a large sack filled with livres.
"So, where are we going to visit first?" Bonnie asked while stroking Dedenne.
"Well-" Serena started.
"Ahhhh!"
"They're coming!"
"Secure the gates!"
"Eh?" Serena, Shauna, and Bonnie heard a series of panicked screams from outside. Walking over to the window, they saw the few remaining guards scrambling about as if on fire while groomsman and other servants did the same.
"What's happening?" Shauna asked.
Serena's heart raced, and she listened closer before realizing that the screams came from the city itself. Smoke began to rise in the distance, with mixed sounds of terror echoing closer and closer.
"Serena." Bonnie stuttered while clutching the young woman's arm.
"They're here!" The citadel gates burst open despite the guards' best attempts, and all three girls shrieked in terror when they saw dozens of Galar soldiers in facepaint and excentric colors surge in beside their pokemon and what looked like Kalos men-at-arms from Lysandre's dutchy.
"Ahhh!?" What's going on!?" Shauna's earlier confidence shattered like broken glass, turning paler than snow.
"I don't know, but we need to get out of here, now!" Serena seized her bag and kept Bonnie close as the three ran out of her chambers, Fennekin and Delcatty close behind.
The panic soon spread to the citadel interior as servants, courtiers, and their pokemon scrambled to escape the Galar and traitorous Kalos soldiers from Lysandre's domain, who began ransacking the royal household.
These marauders seized anything of value and anyone they could get their hands on, servant, noble, and pokemon alike, mad lust and hedonism in their eyes as they did so. Bonnie clenched her eyes shut as she heard the familiar voices of a few chamber maids getting dragged off by Galar and Lysandre soldiers.
Most of the citadel and city's men-at-arms and household knights went off with Alexandre. What few remained were mostly Lysandre's men who, for some reason, joined the invaders in their sack.
Serena and Shauna spotted what few loyal guards and knights remained put up fanatical resistance alongside their pokemon. In one hallway, they spotted two Kalos soldiers and their heliolisks holding off six Lysandre soldiers while a single royal knight and his furfrou charged the same Galar soldiers who'd taken the chambermaids and killed them all, freeing the young women and enabling them to escape before more Galar soldiers swarmed him.
"Find it!" A piercing voice carried across the hallway.
Serena recognized the voice and slowly turned to see none other than Lady Bryony slowly walking down the hallway with four of Lysandre's knights and Liepard beside her.
Lady Bryony was one of Lysandre's nobles and appeared to direct both the Galar and Lysandre soldiers.
"Traitor!" Shauna growled. However, as Serena looked back, she realized that none of Lysandre's soldiers or knights actually kept anything they took as the Galar marauders did.
Instead, they ripped open drawers, pulled off tapestries, and searched vases as if trying to find something in particular.
"Look, it's the Princess!" Serena, Bonnie, and Shauna went as cold as ice when they heard someone call them out. Two squads of Galar soldiers blocked their way ahead and behind, a Lysandre soldier at the head of each.
"Think of how much she'll be worth!" A Galar soldier laughed.
"Who'll pay for her now? I say we keep her for ourselves!" Another said in a very dark tone. However, Serena became more fixated on the first part.
"Eh?"
"The Princess will go to Duke Lysandre!"
"Who cares? Just get her!"
"Fennekin heat wave!"
"Fen!" Fennekin tried to blast the incoming soldiers/pokemon, but the invading pokemon countered the move and knocked Fennekin back. Serena almost froze as she saw the soldiers come within feet of her.
"Papa!" Bonnie wailed as she and Shauna embraced each other.
"Revenir!" A flash of white light and two fiery fists overtook the girls' vision, and Serena soon saw a familiar Klefki in front of her. Moments later, Pierre, adorned in his suit of armor, rushed out and took on the first squad of marauders alone.
"Revenir!" Shauna and Bonnie similarly saw another knight with a Blaziken assaulting the second squad. Within minutes, the two knights had defeated them all and turned to the girls.
"Are you ok?"
"Papa!" Bonnie's eyes lit up as she ran to the second knight, recognizing his voice before leaping into his arms.
"Pierre, what's happening!?" Serena muttered.
"Your majesty, there's no time. We need to get you all out of here, now!"
"But-" Shauna started.
"You heard him, now!" Meyer roared. Obeying their command, the girls followed Pierre and Meyer through one of the citadel's secret passages explicitly built for such occurrences.
However, upon reaching the streets of Lumiose, the true terror began. Serena and Shauna felt their breath vanish when they saw the sacking up close.
Men, women, and children alike fled in terror as Galar soldiers guided by Lysandre's men broke into homes, shops, and inns, seizing everything of value and burning that which they couldn't take.
Just like the citadel, people and pokemon worth money were similarly captured as if no different from trinkets. Remnants of the loyal city guard did everything in their power to hold off the invaders and buy time for the inhabitants to escape, but it was a losing battle.
"Bonnie, keep your eyes closed!" Meyer growled as he carried his terrified daughter.
As they ducked and weaved to avoid detection, they passed the Cathedral, where fleeing inhabitants raced inside for safety. Sycamore stood outside with several caretakers and knights.
"Sanctuary! Sanctuary!" The bishop cried as his men came out of the Cathedral carrying anything of value and placed it before the grand building as more innocents raced inside.
"Sanctuary! Take the treasures of the Cathedral, but leave our people be! Sanctuary!" Sycamore cried fearlessly, despite the mob of Galar and Lysandre soldiers racing towards them.
Even Pierre couldn't bear to watch as the marauders ignored Sycamore's pleas and swarmed his defenders. Seeing her home, and more importantly, the people/pokemon she loved suffering like this, broke Serena's heart, but it couldn't compare her for what came next.
"Votre roi est mort!" One of the Galar soldiers laughed in terrible Kalos.
"Eh?" Serena froze, turning pale and frigid.
"Serena, we need to keep moving!" Pierre shouted.
"Fenn!" Fennekin pleaded as she tried to nudge Serena on, but she didn't move.
"Your King is dead! Your King is dead! Your King is dead!" The Galar soldiers jeered in delight.
"Quoi." Shauna stuttered.
Pierre and Meyer grit their teeth.
"It's not true, Pierre, tell me it's not true!" Tears filled Serena's eyes, and the royal knight raised his visors to reveal a heartbroken expression.
"...News reached us from the north. Duke Lysandre betrayed our army... King Alexandre is dead." The knight sobbed.
Serena went numb to the world around her, forgetting where she was and what went on around them. It was as if someone had reached in and ripped out her beating heart.
"Fenn!" Fennkin wailed, wrapping herself around Serena's legs.
"Serena, please, you cannot be captured! I'm sword to defend your family and-"
"It's the princess!" One of Lysandre's knights cried. Pierre and Meyer turned to see four Galar knights and one of Lysandre's racing towards them. Meyer broke Serena out of her trance by shoving Bonnie into her arms.
"Eh?"
"Papa!"
"Run!" Meyer commanded before he and Pierre charged the approaching knights with their pokemon.
"Papa!" Bonnie wailed, tears streaming from her eyes.
"Come on!" Shauna seized Serena by the arm and almost dragged her down the streets.
"Papa!" Bonnie wailed as she desperately tried to get free of Serena's arms but to no avail. The Princess stopped thinking about anything else but escape and safety. It was about more than just herself now, but Bonnie too.
Both young women ignored their ever-increasing fatigue and sore legs as they evaded groups of marauding Galar soldiers/knights, getting closer and closer to one of the city gates.
However, upon arriving, they saw a squad of Galar soldiers and pokemon standing guard to prevent anyone from escaping.
"Merde, now what!?" Serena muttered.
Shauna trembled and turned to her Delcatty, who nodded.
"Serena, there's only Galar soldiers there."
"Oui, what does that matter?"
"...They probably don't know what you look like."
Serena and Bonnie were still confused before they saw Shauna reach into Serena's back and take out her tiara. The Princess and little girl froze again when Shauna slowly placed it on her head.
"Shauna, no!"
"Hey!" Shauna sprinted out with Delcatty and made sure the Galar soldiers saw them.
"What the!?"
"She's wearing a tiara. It must be the Princess!"
"After her!"
"Shauna!" Bonnie wailed, choking on her tears as she watched the noblewoman dissapear.
If she'd been alone, Serena wouldn't have had the strength to go on, but with Bonnie in her arms, she forced herself to race with Fennekin past the gate and into the countryside.
Finally, they stopped to catch their breath on the very hilltop where she and Ash rested in what seemed like a lifetime ago. Looking back over Lumiose city and hearing the horrible sounds of its people, the full impact finally overcame the three.
Bonnie cried as she never had before, clutching Serena so tightly it nearly hurt her arms. Serena didn't even notice her dress soaked by Bonnie and her own tears.
Both almost lost the ability to breathe while Fennekin did her best to calm them, but to no avail, for she too broke down into tears. It was as if the whole world had ended, and there was nothing they could do about it.
"What have we here?" Serena and Bonnie almost didn't hear the voices and approaching footsteps, so distraught from the loss of their loved ones.
Six Galar soldiers and three knights emerged with just as many pokemon and surrounded them.
"What do you think?" One asked.
"She's dressed too rich to be a peasant. Must be a noblewoman."
"Wait, one of Duke Lysandre's soldiers told me to be on the lookout for the Kalos princess! He said she had long honey blonde hair and a Fennekin!"
"Fen!" Fennekin tried to take a defensive stance, but there were too many.
"Think of how the King will reward us for delivering him his new bride!" One of the knights snickered.
"He might even make us earls here once he oasts the local nobility!"
Serena didn't even look at the Galar soldiers. She and Bonnie embraced each other with their eyes shut tightly.
"Pika chu!"
"Eh?" Serena, Bonnie, and Fennekin all opened their eyes together and saw bursts of electricity crash into several of the attacking pokemon. Moments later, the ground shook as three Charizards, and Pikachu surrounded the two girls and began fighting back the Galar pokemon. Before long, a Noibat, Lucario, and Sceptile joined in with three knights.
Ash, Red, and Alain furiously battled the Galar soldiers/knights, showing no mercy. Another Galar soldier tried to race for Serena when something burst out of the ground in front of him.
"Bunnel!" Bunnelby cried.
"Get back!" Clemont raced from the woods with Chespin and Luxray beside him.
"Hmp, or what!?" The Galar soldier laughed.
Clemont smiled while adjusting his glasses.
"Or you'll taste my inventions." Clemont whipped a sheet off his cannon.
"Eh?" The Galar soldier sweatdropped, not even understanding where the cannon came from.
"Luxray!"
"Lux!" Luxray lit the fuse, and Clemont kicked the cannon forward, rolling into the confused Galar soldier. Before he could even conceive what this meant, the cannon exploded and sent the soldier flying through the air before disappearing into a sparkle of light.
"Hmp, never mess with an inventor."
Alain finished off the last Galar knight and panted alongside Ash and Red before all three removed their helmets.
"Serena." Ash muttered tears in his eyes. Serena didn't speak and merely let Bonnie go and raced into her husband's arms.
"Clemont!" Bonnie sobbed as she too leaped into her brother's embrace. The next few minutes dragged on as they simply waited, allowing the girls to mourn.
After finally calming down a little, Serena and Ash exchanged information. Red and Ash almost broke down again upon hearing of Pierre's fate.
"... Pierre too." Red muttered, tears filling his eyes.
"Papa, Shauna." Clemont choked.
Alain took a deep breath and came over, placing a hand on Ash and Serena's shoulders.
"... I'm sorry. But there will be time to mourn later."
As much as Ash and Red wanted to scold Alain, they knew he was right. Serena slowly nodded and got up with Ash's help.
"Where will we go?" Bonnie muttered.
"Duke Rian gave us specific orders. Serena and Calem cannot fall into the Galar's hands. I need to get back to Daniel and Calem so we can try to build another army. It won't be easy, but it's our only chance."
"So we're going to Calem?" Serena said, finally starting to catch her breath. Knowing that Ash, Red, and Calem still lived gave her some comfort. However, Alain shook his head.
"No, you and Calem can't be in the same place. If the Galar captured both of you, the Kingdom is doomed."
"Oui. While Calem, Alain, and Daniel raise another army, the five of us are going to keep moving around Kalo." Red said. Serena still trembled before Ash took her by the hands and stared deeply into her eyes.
She saw the same mourning for Alexandre in him but also a fiery dedication.
"I swore to Alexandre I'd keep you safe." Serena let out a few more tears but pulled Ash in for a long kiss. When she finally withdrew, the Princess's expression mirrored Ash's, and she nodded.
"Oui!" Serena looked down at the Galar soldier who'd identified her as the Princess and felt her long hair.
"...Lysandre's told the Galar what I look like." She took a deep breath and reached into her bag, taking out a pair of scissors. Ash, Red, Alain, Clemont, Bonnie, and the Pokemon went still when they saw Serena masterfully cut her hair.
Pieces flew away into the wind, and Serena placed the scissors down, revealing her new hairstyle, only coming just past her head and nearly to the shoulders.
"Fenn." Fennkin muttered while sweatdropping.
"Good idea." Alain said while Red nodded.
"Awww, I liked your long hair." Bonnie moaned.
"Bonnie! That's beside the point!" Ash scolded her. Deep down, Ash couldn't deny that he also liked Serena's long hair, but that hardly mattered now.
"Alright, I'm heading back to Daniel and Calem. Stay safe, and whatever happens, do not let Serena get captured." Alain clasped hands with Ash and then Red before he climbed onto his Charizard's back and flew off.
The party stared back at Lumiose city one more time. Red placed his hand on Clemont and Bonnie's shoulders.
"We'll get Meyer back, Shauna too." Tears in their eyes, the siblings nodded before all five turned west with their pokemon. Ash and Serena held hands while Pikachu guided Fennekin.
"It looks like we'll get to go on a journey after all." Serena muttered, barely mustering a smile. Ash's face slowly cracked into a slight grin too.
"Oui, the adventure of a lifetime."
Author's note
A sad but honest reality of pre-modern warfare, cities were typically sacked if taken by storm
Serena and Bonnie managed to escape, but their loved ones' fates remain in the air
The adventure truly begins now as Ash, Red, Serena, Bonnie, and Clemont travel Kalos. Also yes, Serena now has her short hair. I prefer her long hair but this felt like a plausible in universe way to introduce it.
I'm still accepting OC's, however, I should be a bit more specific. I am willing to include OC's but I can't diver the story's progression for them.
As such, I'd prefer if the OC's fit in the context of the story, that being they're either Galar soldiers/knights or Kalos soldiers/knights. However, if you think you're OC can fit into the story regardless feel free to submit them.
So until next time,
Please review, comment, suggest, or ask(VIA PM)