I'm incredibly sorry for not posting sooner. I almost decided not to continue with this but I figured what the heck. And MysticVigil persuaded me to post! BTW, arigato everyone for the reviews! *hands out Hershey's Kisses* Read on! ^_^
Disclamier: Don't own a thing except the plot and Serena.
Dedication: To all who reviewed chapter 1!
A Few Helpful Pushes
Chapter 2: Stories"So," Ash said as they ate dinner. "Anyone care to tell me what the story is?" He stabbed his fork into the fish.
"Not really but I suppose we should tell you seeing as how you're too clueless to have figured out some of it by now," Misty said earning a giggle from Serena.
Ash glared at her.
"Well, before I start, excellent dinner Brock." Brock beamed. "And now, the story."
Ash leaned in, eager to find out what was up with the two girls. Brock too leaned in, more interested in this new girl rather than her story.
"Misty and I grew up together. We were like sisters because I lived right beside the gym. And her sisters were like my older sisters too."
"But they treated you much nicer than they did me," Misty interrupted with a scowl.
Serena laughed. "Yes but they still love you more than me because you really are their little sister. But anyhow, Misty and I would play together almost everyday. My parents liked the fact that I had made a wonderful friend. We'd always battle together, Misty with water pokemon but me, I always favored fire even though Cerulean is a water town. Not that I don't like water pokemon, they're one of my favorites but fire first. Well," she looked at Ash.
"Now you can guess why I was able to beat you so easily with my fire against your water. Ponyta was my first pokemon and Staryu, Misty's. We'd train out pokemon and soon, Ponyta was strong enough to beat Staryu and when he did, he evolved. From then on, whenever I got a new fire pokemon and Misty got a new water pokemon, we'd train them and battle them so I'd be able to beat water pokemon. Misty's pokemon were already strong enough to beat any fire pokemon so she didn't need to worry. So basically, fire-type pokemon were the only ones I specialized in. Until one night."
"What happened?" Ash asked.
"When I was about eight, I woke up in the middle of the night one day feeling extremely thirsty but too tired to go down. I imagined taking a glass from our cupboard downstairs and then filling it with cool water from the sink. All this I imagined and I so longed for that glass of water. Little did I know that what I was imagining was truly happening. Soon, I heard my door open and I didn't know that I had unconsciously done it with my mind. I sat up and ended up looking straight into my mirror. What I saw scared me so bad because I saw my reflection but my eyes were glowing red and when I turned to the door, there, floating in the air, was the cool glass of water I had filled and brought to me with my mind. All of it being too much, I screamed and with the concentration being lost, the glass fell, shattering on the floor and my eyes returned to normal.
My parents heard me yell and rushed into my room. At first, they tried to tell me I was having a nightmare when I told them what happened but I kept insisting that it wasn't. Eventually, they made me so mad at not believing me, I somehow imagined that the broken glass still on my floor would put itself back together and fill with water again just so I could show them that what I had wanted to happen had happened. And sure enough this did happen but this was not what had convinced my parents. They saw my glowing eyes as I thought and concentrated. It's what happens to anyone using psychic powers and then, Mom broke down crying.
I was stunned and my concentration broke. I thought that they had seen the floating glass that was making its way to me and that Mom got scared. I apologized to her and said I didn't mean to scare her and then I started crying. I was scared because my eyes glowing had terrified me and the fact that what I had thought to happen did so.
They comforted me and then, there in my room, slowly, my dad told me that they weren't really my parents. This shocked me so much that I couldn't even cry. Surely they were joking. What did they mean? I mean, you imagine how you'd feel, being a little eight-year old and your parents telling you that they're not your real parents.
But after those words, they truth slowly came out. I was stunned. It must have been hard for them to reveal the truth to me. I didn't even understand half of it but I could tell what they were really saying. They weren't my parents."
Now, Serena paused to take a sip of water and eat a little. But Ash still curious to know more, asked, "Then who was or is?"
"Let her take a break Ash! You have no consideration for other people," Misty scoffed.
"I do so! Watch." Ash retorted. "Serena, are you cold? Here take my shirt." He slipped off his outer shirt leaving on his black tee and handed it to the girl.
Serena smiled knowingly. "No I'm fine Ash but thanks." Slyly, she glanced quickly at her best friend. Misty was red in the face, just as she had expected.
"That doesn't count Ash!" she said.
"Does so! I was considerate because I saw that Serena shivered a little and so I offered her my shirt so she'd be warmer. That's being considerate so there!"
To this, Misty appeared to be thinking of a reply. While she thought, Brock whispered to Serena, "You'd better hurry up and continue the story. Those two can go at it forever if they're not stopped. I should know."
Nodding, she cleared her throat. "I'm ready to continue." Ash stuck his tongue out at Misty in a childish way and she just gave him a "hmpf" and turned back to her friend, settling back against a tree stump.
"Go ahead."
"Where was I? Oh yeah. Well it turned out that my parents couldn't lie to me after they saw and I saw my eyes glowing. They knew what it meant. I didn't. Not at first anyway. They told me that my parents were alive but they didn't tell me who they were. They said that I wasn't to know exactly who my parents were until I was ten because that was the age I would start my pokemon journey. But they did tell me that I was still their daughter forever in their hearts if not in blood. This satisfied me. They also told me that I had inherited the psychic powers from my parents and that I was really from Saffron City. They explained to me that now that I knew about these powers, that if I wanted to be a good pokemon trainer, I should try catching psychic pokemon and training them. With my powers, it'd be easier. So that's what I did.
Over the next two years, I developed my powers as well as my trainer skills with Misty's help the whole way. She and her sisters were the only other people who I told the truth to. Finally, the day of my tenth birthday, I started my pokemon journey. Started my more rigorous training. And I found out who my parents are. I'll get to that later though. You see, Misty being a few months older than me had already turned ten. She and I wanted to travel together. Of course, she wanted to achieve being the greatest water trainer."
"I still do," Misty said. "But unfortunately, I haven't had much time in my own training because I've been cheering on this idiot."
"Hey!" Ash protested. "No one-"
"Ahem," Brock cleared his throat. "I believe that Serena still hasn't finished her story."
"Sorry," Ash and Misty said simultaneously.
Serena laughed. "That's okay. Anyways, she wanted to be the greatest water trainer and I wanted to be the greatest fire and psychic trainer and compete in the Pokemon League or maybe have my own gym one day. But her sisters refused to let her go all of a sudden. They knew our plans but they refused. But Misty didn't want her sisters to get in my way so she told me to go and reluctantly, I did. I left Cerulean, my home, my parents, and my best friend to start my journey. And since that day, I hadn't heard from or seen Misty until today."
"Didn't you go back to Cerulean over the years? I mean, it's been four years!" Brock exclaimed.
"Sure," Serena took another sip of water. "But every time I did, I just found out that she had either been there or was somewhere too far to come and I never knew where she was. Every time I asked her sisters about it, they'd just laugh and say that she was traveling with her boyfriend."
"Boyfriend!?" Misty and Ash exclaimed, both blushing slightly.
"Wait till I get my hands on them!" Misty grumbled but Serena wasn't fooled. Even after four years, she still knew her best friend.
"Her boyfriend! Ha," Ash muttered. Brock suppressed a laugh that was threatening to come out.
Trying not to giggle, Serena continued. "Anyways, while continuing my training and traveling, I've also been looking for you Misty. I can't believe I missed four years of your life! Four years we were supposed to spend together," she said sadly.
"I know what you mean. You're now a beautiful trainer. Totally independent. And I'm sure you've caught a bunch of pokemon. We are going to have a long talk on what's happened to both of us over the past few years," Misty said while at the same time smacking Ash's hand, which was creeping over to take her soda. "Get your own."
"I see you haven't changed though," Serena commented.
"There's no more! Come on Mist! Let me have just one sip!" Ash pleaded, forgetting the 'boyfriend' comment.
Misty didn't even glance in Ash's general direction but continued talking to Serena as if he wasn't there. "You know, I don't think you ever told me who your parents really were. Before you left I mean."
"Please?" Ash still asked.
"Fine. One sip," Misty handed him her soda and he chugged it down. "Hey! One sip I said! I didn't say you could drown yourself! Give it back Ash!"
Brock began to laugh and Serena joined in. Yup, Misty's still the same, she thought. Here she was, first asking about her parents and then getting into a small fight with Ash over the soda. She watched as Misty finally grabbed the can, bonked Ash over the head for being such a pig, and turned her attention back to her friend.
"I'm so sorry Serena."
"That's okay. Anyhow, I think the reason I didn't tell you who my real parents are because we both were so upset that your sisters decided not to let you go."
"So," Misty implored. "Who are they?"
Serena looked down and then back up. "Well, you know Sabrina the gym leader of Saffron City, right?"
"Sabrina? Oh yes we know her," Brock answered for Misty. "But what does she have to do with this?"
"Well you see," Serena looked around all the three teens and two pokemon seated around her. "She's my sister. Her parents are my real parents."
Misty gasped, Ash's eyes widened, and Brock just stared.
Finally, Ash broke the silence. "No wonder when I saw you using your powers that I thought you looked so much like Sabrina! Of course! You're her younger sister that's why. But, why did..." he trailed off.
"Why did my parents give me up for adoption right?" Serena said. Instead of waiting for an answer, she said, "When I was born, Sabrina was six. By then, you've heard from my real dad that she had developed her powers and was quite strong for a six-year old. Well, at first, my parents thought that it would be good for Sabrina to have a little sister to take care of. They thought that maybe she would stop with her obsession with her powers. But they were wrong. In fact, when Sabrina, saw me and found out that I was her sister, she was overcome with jealousy and tried to hurt me. My parents luckily were able to over power her and then gave me to their good friends in Cerulean who are my adopted parents. They made them promise not to tell me anything till I was of age and that they would try to control Sabrina so that one day I could go back.
Well, I finally met my real family and by that time, Sabrina was normal. It was after you three had passed by. They told me all that had happened. At first, I was a little scared and nervous about going there so I battled first. Psychic against psychic and I won. Sabrina said that I was as strong as her and that there could be only one person who could be as strong as her when it came to psychic powers. She said that it would have to be her own blood sister and looked my straight in the face. I broke down and that's when she gave me the first hug. The first hug from my older sister and I finally met my parents. I understood that what they did was for my own safety even though I was somewhat angry. After that, I've had two families. One in Cerulean without a sister and one in Saffron with a sister."
She finished her story and sat back quietly, watching Misty's reaction. Her best friend.
"I can't believe....I mean. You and Sabrina? Sisters? And...I never guessed but when I saw Sabrina, I did see the resemblance but I never even suspected," Misty said.
"Well, now that I've told you my whole life's story, why don't tell me about your travels, how you left Cerulean City, and how you three met up?" Serena suggested.
"Fair enough. But let's get into our sleeping bags first and then talk. It's getting dark." Misty began to take all the trash and put it into a plastic bag. Brock put away all the cooking equipment, which he had already cleaned up. Ash tucked in Pikachu who had already begun to fall asleep. Soon, all four teens were settled into their sleeping bags in a line, Serena, Misty, Ash, Pikachu, and Brock. Togepi was already asleep, on Misty's pillow. The fire was out all Serena was ready to now hear someone else's story.
"Now then," Misty began. "I left home two weeks after you did. My sister's were driving me crazy and they made me so mad so I just left. I just traveled around by myself for a while and then, one day, I met him." She jerked a thumb to Ash.
"How? At a dance? Bump into each other? Or maybe Ash just thought you were cute and decided to talk to you," Serena teased, taking the chance of Misty and Ash exploding.
"Are you kidding? At a dance?" Misty screeched.
"Me think she's cute?" Ash exclaimed which earned him a hit on the head from Misty. "Ouch. You are too violent."
"I know. Anyway, none of your theories are correct. In fact, I happened to fish him out of the lake," Misty said lying down, fluffing up the pillow under her.
Serena turned towards Misty. "Excuse me?"
Now Ash began talking. "See, that was the first day of my Pokemon journey. I got Pikachu and he wouldn't exactly cooperate so I had to try and catch some pokemon without his help. So I kinda threw a stone at a Spearow and he got angry, called the other Spearows and they began chasing us. I jumped into the lake with Pikachu to get away because they were attacking him. Then I saw the fishing line, tugged it, and Misty pulled me out. But Pikachu was hurt so I had to borrow Misty's uh..." he realized what he was about to say and then stopped.
"Borrowed her what?" Serena asked.
"My bike," Misty growled facing him. Quickly, Ash turned and began pretending to snore. Brock laughed.
"He still hasn't paid me back," Misty explained to Serena.
"Yeah and it's been almost four whole years!" Brock said. "It makes you wonder doesn't it?"
"Hmm..." Serena said looking intently at her friend who had suddenly began to turn pink. It was hard to tell but the faint light of the moon helped her to make out the slight tinge of pink. "Is that why you're following him around?"
Now it was Misty's turn to face away from Serena and pretend to be asleep.
"Hey!" Serena protested. "You're supposed to tell me the rest of your story. So is Ash!"
Both Ash and Misty replied with a snore.
"No fair!" Serena complained. "Who am I supposed to talk to now?"
"You could pull your sleeping bag over here next to me and we'll chat," Brock said suddenly in his pretty-girl voice. Even after Serena had told him expressively that she was not interested.
Sighing, she figured it was now her turn. She tuned over and closed her eyes.
"Serena?" Brock whispered into the dark silence. "What d'you say?"
He got a snore in return.
"Girls. What have they got against me?" Brock muttered to himself and turned to go to sleep himself.
***Author's Note***
Once again, please review! And like I said before, more romance WILL come! I like to build up to the main event and things to come. The purpose of this chapter was for you all to get to know Serena a bit better as a character so she would seem more real. Hope I succeeded in doing!
*Maura*
Summary of Chapter 3:
Ash and Misty wake up in an…interesting position and both Brock and Serena spot it. Serena finally tells Misty the reason she has been searching for her.
