~North of Laverre City~
Ash and Serena, still unconscious on his back, stood in front of a huge factory with his new 'friend' Aaron and the now late Professor Oak slung over the man's shoulder. Ash was just glad he had brought some of his pokemon with him on his walk. He knew he told Pikachu he wanted alone time and he did, but he never went anywhere without at least three pokemon on hand, and thanks to Serena he had Charizard with him too.
"The Pokeball Factory?" Ash inquired. "THIS is your base of operations? How?"
"The owner of the place happened to go to my old school. We worked out a deal, He lets me use his factory for my base of operations and I let him join our ranks. He's been very quintessential to helping with our plans." Aaron explained.
"Hiding out in a factory in secret? Doesn't really shout 'We're here to help.', does it?" Ash shot him a glare. "Remember what I said? If I don't like what I see-"
"I admit it does seem shady." The older man cut him off. "We aren't your typical do gooders. In fact, as far as the government's concerned we are 'terrorists'." He said quoting with his fingers. "But then again, neither are you and your friends."
"What?"
"Always running ahead. Taking care of things yourselves, no Jennies, no Joys, just you and your friends. And look at that, you've saved a total of six regions. I think you would agree sometimes going rogue is necessary." He said with a knowing smile. "It's not like Officer Jenny and her trust Growlithe were going to come to the rescue everyone and defeat Lysandre."
"I guess." Ash replied.
"Now shall we?" He said. He proceeded to walk to the keypad to the right of the door and covered his hand as he punched in the four-digit pass. Loudly and slowly the doors opened.
"I don't remember this place having a lock like that." Ash said.
"It helps to have friends who are mechanics. Your training begins now. Lesson 1: Always make sure to have friends in high places." He said leading him inside.
"Hey! You're teaching me to tame my bond phenomenon, not life lessons." Ash shot back. "I don't need any tips on life."
"Still hesitant on trusting me I see. Very well. We shall focus only on you and your Greninja from now on." He said complacently. "But first we need to get these two to the infirmary. My friends will take care of things from there. Can't train while you're playing hero." He said pointing to Serena. Once inside they were met with a new face.
"Sir. You're back!" A man said running up to him. "Aipom and I just checked on the-" He stopped when he noticed Ash. "Oh, it's you Chosen." He said. "My name is Kane and I look forward to working with you. If you'd like-"
"Hold up." Ash said stopping him mid-sentence. "I'm not working with anybody but this guy." He said pointing to Aaron. "And don't call me Chosen, or The Chosen, or Chosen One, it's Ash. I'm sick of people assuming I'm put on this world to help them."
"You'll have to forgive Kane, he's a bit of a keener, but he has some work to do elsewhere doesn't he?" The man said glaring at the young adult.
"Uh, yes sir. I'll go check with the scientists on their progress." He said saluting. "Come on Aipom."
"Pom." The little guy said sadly. The two left with haste and were soon out of sight.
"I see you've told your employees about me." He glared.
"Of course, I told them!" He responded happily. "They of course wanted to know why we were studying something as obscure as a bond phenomenon when none of us could achieve such a feat. And people do not remain loyal if they are kept out of the loop, you know. If he rubbed you the wrong way, I must apologize. We must get going, though."
He led Ash down multiple corridors and past countless doors. It looked like they had cleared out most of the equipment that would be used to make pokeballs save for all the conveyor belts which instead of carrying supplies for pokeballs, was transporting some indescribable junk into separate rooms.
'Wish Clemont were here. He could probably tell me what all this stuff is.' He said looking around. "I thought you said you were using the factory, not remodeling it." Ash asked. "Does this place even make pokeballs anymore."
"It does. Just not as many. Here we are. The infirmary." He said stopping in front of a door. To both sides of the door were giant rectangular windows showing the inside of the room, which was filled with hospital like beds and several people dressed in white coats. Aaron shoved the door open and gestured for Ash to go in.
"My friends, this is Ash. His friend Serena has been hit with a nasty hypnosis and we need to make sure that powerful attack didn't give her any nasty side effects. You can lay her down on that bed, Ash." He said pointing to the closest bed to the left.
"Isn't she that up and coming performer?" One of the scientists asked.
"Yep." Ash replled setting her on the bed gently. "Which is why you're going to take extra care with her. If she has any lingering effects I want them gone before you do anything with the old man."
"And this is Professor Oak. We need to try that new revival serum on him." The boss ordered setting the late professor on the closest bed to the right.
"Um, sir? The serum has a few ever-existing kinks and we still haven't tested it. Surely-" The first scientist started.
"You need a test subject, you got one. He doesn't have enough time for you to muck around with your project any longer. Will it turn him into a zombie?"
"No, that's scientifically impossible." The second scientist noted.
"Then screw the kinks, give him the serum! I'll give you two extra hours to perfect the formula, then no matter what problems you have with it give him the serum. The longer we wait the less chance it has of working." He ordered. "And you," He said pointing to the one remaining scientist. "Do as the boy says. Test this poor girl for any effects from the hypnosis. Fever, loss of memory, anything. Ash and I have training to do." He said turning to leave. As he stepped out, however, Ash grabbed his wrist.
"Where are you going?" Ash asked.
"I am taking you to the indoor battlefield." The man replied.
Ash shook his head. "I'm not leaving Serena here with three men I don't know and an amoral, conniving, asshole professor we intend on reviving. That'd be stupid." He said clearly annoyed with the situation.
Aaron was about to respond when he heard something go off in his ear. He brought his finger up to his ear and tapped the hidden headphone lodged within. "Yes." He said. He looked back at Ash. "Excuse me for a second." He said slipping out of the room. "This better be good Kane."
'Yes sir. Professor Kuru just told me to notify you that the 'insurance' you ordered has arrived.'
"Good." The man replied happily. He looked over his shoulder to make sure Ash was still preoccupied with the wellbeing of Serena. "Have my guards take the man to the lower levels." He ordered in a whisper. "Once there lock down the entire level, code white. Only I am to go down there. Send a memo to all current employees instructing them not to interact with the Chosen unless absolutely necessary. Anyone who breaks those rules will not only be fired but will have a nice stasis tube built especially for them. Understood?"
'Yes sir. I will get to typing it up right away.' He said hanging up. The boss slipped back into the room and faced Ash once again. "Sorry, malfunction in the labs. Had to walk them through the manual resets." He said smiling. "Now I understand you're worried for your friend here, but I assure you theses three are more than capable-"
Ash didn't even care to hear the rest. He reached deep into his pockets and pulled out two shiny spheres. "Charizard! Noivern!" He called hitting the little button on the front of the balls. When the light faded he was faced with his two loyal dragon pokemon. "I feel like I seem to ask this of you guys a lot lately, but I need you to watch over Serena while I'm training."
Both dragons began screeching with inquiry.
"I know you guys are confused." He said trying to calm them down. "But the man's told me he's going to help me with Ash-Greninja. I don't exactly trust him, but didn't really have another choice. Just make sure Tweedle-dee, Tweedle-dumb, and Tweedle-idiot don't pull anything in my absence, I'm sure Serena will be up before Oak gets revived so once she's up, just stay by her side. Got it?" The two nodded in response. "Great I'm leaving your pokeballs on the bed with Serena."
"If this is the only way, I suppose it's not that big of a deal." The boss said. "We must get to training though. We have much work to do."
"Don't get your knickers in a twist, I'm comin'" Ash groaned. He began to follow the older man before coming to a stop once more and switching his gaze back to his dragon. "Oh, and Charizard." The fire dragon's head turned toward Ash quickly. "Don't do anything to Oak. We're in deep enough as is." Ash ordered turning back to his elder. Charizard let out a huff of smoke through its nostrils and gave a long growl.
"No, you won't." Ash called not even looking behind him as he walked off.
~Sycamore's Corral~
The corral was currently occupied by a diverse set of people from all across the globe. Of course, at the front door of the canal was Clemont and Anabel overlooking everyone they had brought together. Bonnie was running around somewhere as well.
Kidd Summers. A tall, jumpsuit clad, wild haired, free Agent of Hoenn and world record holder of the most world records. A woman of many talents as one would guess. Sports, Academics, life-threatening missions, she does it all. Standing with her were her loyal Weavile.
Alain. Champion of Kalos, Champion of Charizards and local heartthrob. Also, one of the only people to go head to head with Ash Greninja and win. Recently back from his stone hunting with his best friend. Speaking of which...
Mairin. Alain's best friend. Armed only with her Chespie, it's clear to everyone she's not much of a brawler. But she was there, and that's what mattered.
Trip. The Unova rival himself. Once a sworn enemy of Ash, he softened up on the boy during the Unova League a couple years ago but had never seen or heard from Ash since. He had always figured that Ash had been too busy traveling to talk to him.
Molly Hale. Not the little girl Ash once knew. Molly now stood at a reasonable height for an eleven-year-old in the exact same blue and white dress and white stockings as the one she wore in her imagination battle with Misty. After the death of her father Spencer she set out on her own pokemon journey, before being contacted by some blonde boy she'd never seen before telling her to come to Kalos to save Ash Ketchum.
Miette. Serena's original love rival. Though more of an antagonizer than a true rival, Miette was more or less the same girl she was the last time Serena saw her, which admittedly wasn't long ago. The second Clemont told her Serena and Ash had gone missing she dropped the phone and came running.
Tory Lund. The Pokephobiac turned traveler. In no small part due to Ash's signature meddling. In no way was he a powerhouse but for the boy who not only helped him face his fears but brought him closer to his two best friends in the world, he'd do anything.
Team Rocket. The infamous trio of frenemies, Jessie, James, and Meowth. They had been Ash's personal stalkers for most of his journeying life in an attempt to take away his Pikachu. Though they had help stop crazed maniacs on a world conquest before, if not just to ensure they get to be the world's conquerors. Not exactly what you would call heroes but beggars can't be choosers.
Ritchie. The Ash clone. Blessed with the incredible ability to catch the same pokemon species as Ash without even knowing it, Ritchie is a very, very, old friend of Ash's who was currently reminiscing with the crippled Pikachu along with his very own Pikachu, Sparky.
Bianca. The Latias Whisperer. All the way from Alto Mare came the only girl to know of the sanctuary made for the local Latias and Latios. She, like many others, hadn't heard from Ash in quite some time but didn't need much convincing to come and help. Unfortunately, when she went to try and recruit Latias to their cause, she was nowhere to be seen. It was like she knew Bianca was coming and was avoiding her.
Clembot. Clemont's Gym Leader robot double. Built specifically for use at the Lumiose Tower, Clemont had to add a few new features and adjustments to the droid before bringing it over. If all goes as planned it'll be like Clemont is in two places at once.
Max. The traitor? He was there on what was dubbed by Clemont as 'Day 1' and only really came in reluctance. He had pretty much given up hope of reconciling with Ash, but when Jirachi asks for your help, it's hard to say no. And...
Abel. The new kid on the block and keeper of the Wishmaker. Abel was fully aware that he and Ash weren't friends and recognized that there was a chance they might never be but Jirachi liked Ash and Abel didn't want some guy with eternal youth ruling Kalos, so he figured he might as well help.
Everyone had no idea what to do so at the moment they were just acquainting themselves with each other. To be honest Clemont hadn't worked out the whole plan yet either.
"So this is it?" Anabel asked turning her head to Clemont. "Not much to work with huh?"
"No." Clemont replied. "But it's the best we got. If this guy does have Ash and Serena, and considering we still haven't heard anything from either of them, I think he does, we can't waste any more time."
"What about Dawn and Paul?"
Clemont shook his head. "Bonnie and I tried to get ahold of them again, but they still wouldn't pick up." Clemont sighed. "At this point we may have to entertain the possibility that the mad man has them too." He said sadly.
"And Brock?" She prodded again. Clemont just shook his head again in response.
"Excuse me," A voice said snapping them out of their conversation. They turned to see little Molly glaring at them. "Are you going to tell us what the plan is yet? And where is everyone else? Brock? Misty? Mrs. Ketchum?"
Clemont gently leaned towards Anabel. "You didn't tell her?" Clemont asked.
"She said she was like a mother to her." Anabel whispered back. "What in Arceus' name was I supposed to tell her? You should tell her!"
"I'm not doin' it!" He shot back.
"Excuse me, it's very rude to have a separate conversation in front of a guest." Molly said tapping her foot impatiently.
"Sorry kid." Clemont said. "Attention Everyone!" He called, his voice echoing back towards the other guests. Everyone turned their attention to Clemont and Anabel. Pikachu began making his way back to the front of the room. Pikachu reached the right foot of Anabel and came to a stop, turning himself back around to face everyone.
"As I mentioned before, Ash has gone missing." Clemont announced. "You're here because under Ash's bed he kept a list of names of extra contacts in case of an emergency and your names are all on it." Truthfully Jessie, James, and Meowth weren't on it, but they needed all the help they could get. "I'm sure you're all aware of the kidnappings taking place across the main six regions and recently smaller regions such as Almia and Oblivia?"
"Uh yeah." Jessie replied snobbishly. "Kinda hard to miss a worldwide kidnapping phenomenon. There isn't a single person on this planet who hasn't been notified of this."
"Nice to see you've kept your attitude over the year, Jessie." Clemont deadpanned. "The brains behind it all recently contacted us to tell us he was going after Ash." He held out his hand in expectation and Anabel handed him his portable tablet. After a few buttons and sequences, he pointed the screen towards the guests. On the screen was the boss man himself, Aaron. "This is the man responsible for everything."
"Doesn't look dangerous." Tory noted.
"I agree." Trip said. "I've taken down guys ten times his size without my pokemon. You sure you're not wasting my time by having me here?"
"Positive." Clemont shot back. "What I'm about to show you is unedited footage from our face-time with him shortly after Ash left for his 'walk'." Clemont reversed the screen back towards himself and pushed a few more buttons. "This is what he plans on doing with the innocent men and women he's captured."
Everyone watched in horror as Clemont showed them the footage of Greta being drained of her youth.
"What is he doing?!" Molly cried cringing and covering her eyes.
"You weren't kidding." Alain said in disbelief. "This guy is immortal."
"Not exactly." Clemont said. With the clip ending he handed the tablet back to Anabel. "He steals youth from others and gives it to himself."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! So, this guy can, like, make me all wrinkly and whatnot?!" Jessie exclaimed feeling her face as if she were searching for wrinkles, "No one told us there would be real danger!" Jessie exclaimed in panic.
"We've gotta get outta dodge fast!" Meowth yelled.
"Your part of an opposing evil team." Bonnie said popping up next to them. "They'll just come after you next. You might as well help us."
"Stealing youth, huh? A nice trick." Kidd said tapping her chin. "But those hostages he has are also his weakness, aren't they!?" She deduced.
"Exactly." Anabel cut in. "While he can steal youth of his captives, we figure without them to use as an infinite power source, he's completely powerless." Anabel finished. "From what he told us I can only assume he seeks to corrupt Ash and have him join them."
"Another smart move." Max added tapping his chin. "Not a single organization has succeeded in defeating Ash. But as far as I know none of them ever thought of having him join them."
"But I won't let that happen." Anabel said with fire in her eyes. "We're going to get Ash back before he does anything he's going to regret. Even if I have to drag him out by the ear." She said slamming her fist into her palm.
"You mean WE won't let that happen." Clemont corrected "Right, Pikachu?" He looked down at the little rodent.
"Pika." He pumped his fist in the air.
"But if the fool takes the bait," Trip started. "Not only will the bad guys not have to deal with him, but he'll be pitted against us as well. If anyone could take all of us on and win, it'd be Ash."
"You don't really think Ash would join the dark side, do you? And what do you mean, fool!? Aren't you supposed to be his friend?" Tory glared.
"I wouldn't say friend. I was never one for those, I'd say we're closer to respected colleagues. And due to my vision not being blinded by friendship, I can say that the guy has never been the brightest or hardest to fool. All Team Rocket needed to do was put on glasses and Ash didn't know who they were!"
"That's true. Costumes for all three of us that cost a total of 15 pokedollars, and he was duped." James concurred happily.
"You can fool the brain but you can fool the spirit." Bianca cut in. "And it was Ash's spirit that always helped him persevere in the end."
"You may not be able to fool it," Alain started. "but you can certainly crush a spirit."
Ritchie scoffed. Were they all talking about the same Ash? "As if anyone could break his spirit."
"Oak seemed to do a pretty good job." Kidd muttered under her breath. No one seemed to take notice of it, and Kidd didn't think it wise to say it twice.
"You're all missing the point." Clemont said trying to regain control. "The real reason we need to get Ash back isn't because this man can have Ash join him or that this guy could make us face him, it's because it's Ash!"
"Each of you has been touched by Ash at some point in your life in some way. Whether it be inspiration, friendship, competition...love. We all share some form of affection for Ash and after all he's done for us, I say it's time we pay him back!" Anabel cheered pumping her own fist in the air. "Are you gonna help, or are Clemont, Bonnie, Pikachu, and I gonna have to go in alone?"
"But we don't even know where he is!" Molly cut in. "How can we save Ash when we don't know where the hideout for this guy is located."
"Actually, we do know where they are." Clemont said reaching into his front jumpsuit pocket. He pulled out a folded piece of printer paper. "On this piece of paper is a screenshot from the video call I showed you earlier. After he hung up I extracted the recording from the memory of the system and analyzed it for clues." He unfolded it quickly and showed to everyone. The picture was of Aaron in the front of the shot and a huge red circle to the left of him, drawing attention to a bust of a pillar with a masterball on top of it. "This bust that I circled," He said pointing to the monument. "is indicative of the pokeball factory in Laverre City. These busts are specially made just for these factories."
"Ha! Looks like someone didn't cross their I's and dot their T's" Abel exclaimed. "They gave away their location!"
"I don't think so." Clemont said rubbing his chin. "This guy's smart. Too smart to overlook something as big as this."
"What are you saying?" Abel tilted his head.
"This wasn't a mistake." Clemont said referring to the photo. "It's an invitation. He wanted us to see the bust. He wants us to come to him."
"Which means," Trip interrupted. "He's got a trap waiting for us."
"More than one probably." Anabel added. "But the point still stands. I'm leaving. Who's with me?"
"I suppose." Jessie sighed.
"We do owe him." James said.
"Meowth that's right!" Everyone else began giving their different forms of consent.
"What's the plan?" Ritchie said determinedly.
"I need three strong volunteers." Anabel explained.
"Me." Ritchie said immediately raising his hand high.
"I'm obviously the strongest here." Trip said raising his hand weakly.
"And me too." Kidd said joining them.
"Good." Anabel nodded. "Everyone but me, Kidd, Ritchie, Trip, Clemont, and Bonnie. will be the diversion. As we said there will probably be a trap. It's up to all of you to hold off any guards and keep the attention on yourselves."
"Hog all the attention?!" Jessie and James asked excitedly.
"You folks couldn't have picked better candidates!" Meowth said rubbing his front paws together.
"Good, and while you are holding off the guards and being generally a nuisance, Trip, Kidd, Ritchie, and I will sneak into the factory and find Serena and Ash. If we run into any resistance, it'll be up to the three volunteers to deal with it. Once inside I'll hand Ash a bag containing all of his pokemon he left back here at the corral." She explained pointing to a duffle bag to her left. The same duffle bag Gary gave Ash on Day 1. "Ash'll take his pokemon, beat the bad guy, I'll smack Serena for not bringing him back like she said she would, we'll get the hell out. Meanwhile Clemont and Bonnie will find where the abductees are being held and release them. Originally, I had Dawn and Paul set to do that part but they're not here so whatever." She said slightly annoyed.
"At least one of us has to be part of the diversion." Clemont said. "If you or I aren't there he'll see right through it."
"But you're the most tech-savvy person here!" Anabel argued. "And as if I'd let anyone else take charge in the search for Ash!"
"That's where I come in!" A voice said from behind them. They both turned to see Professor Sycamore standing at the doorway to the corral with a clipboard under his arm. "I will take Clemont's place!"
"Professor!" Bonnie yelled. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely. I studied the footage and I have a pretty good idea on how the tubes are operating. They seem to be drawing energy from an alternate source from within the factory. Meaning they don't have any innate power. Cut the external power source and the stasis tubes become just normal tubes!"
"But if they're generating the power necessary for an aura transaction, that should only really work in theory, shouldn't it be giving off major signals no matter where it is? How has no one picked up on this?" Clemont asked.
"I've seen this before." Kidd interrupted. "They must be using Trick Room. It's basically an interdimensional room. No sensor invented could detect a power source from within a Trick Room. It's a nasty setback for many investigators worldwide to the point where they're beginning to consider outlawing the move altogether. It does have one weakness, though." She said.
"What's that?" Bonnie asked.
"While it is undetectable for machines, it's not hard to spot for living beings. As long as you're paying attention you should be able to tell which room is the Trick Room. There'll be pink squares flashing all over the walls, if you see that, you've found the spot."
"Excellent." Clemont said. "Change in plans. Anabel, grab the duffle bag and take Kidd and Ritchie and find Ash and Serena! Professor, find the power source and destroy it. Take Trip and Tory as some backup. Mairin, Alain, Miette, Molly, Abel, Max, Bianca, Team Rocket, Clembot, and Bonnie,"
"We're gonna raise hell!" Bonnie yelled jumping in the air. She turned to see her brother glaring at her. She shrugged. "It always sounded cool when Ash says it." She smiled innocently.
"Sometimes I curse the fact that you're twice as aware of things as every other seven-year-old." Clemont sighed.
~Laverre Pokeball Factory Indoor Battlefield~
Ash, Greninja, and Aaron stood in the middle of the indoor battlefield. Ash was currently synced with Greninja, the water veil surrounding both of them, and Aaron was circling around them observing.
"Good. Now, I want to try an exercise. I want you to take a nice trip down memory lane." He instructed. "Think back to the day your anger stems from. The day your friends betrayed you."
Ash face turned into a cringe. Around them the water veil burst into a significantly larger radius.
"Easy, Ash." He said smoothly. "If you can't control yourself standing in one place, you'll never be able to while in the heat of battle." He soothed. "Focus on those memories, but don't become completely fixated. Let it fuel you, but don't let it control you. It's all about control." He finished. The veil of water began to die down a little. "Time for level two. Think about poor, poor, Pikachu."
Ash's eyes shot open and the veil began to grow larger again.
"Poor Pikachu. Never to battle again because he saved you from what were supposed to be your friends. Think about it, if you had left five seconds earlier or had flown one foot to the left, Pikachu would still be in top form."
The anger became clearly visible on Ash's face. 'Control.' He thought to himself. 'Control.'
"And now here you are, one year later, helping the very man who put a bullet in poor Pikachu's spine back to life. Does he really deserve it?" He inquired evilly. "And are you really honoring the sacrifice poor Pikachu made if you help this man? What does that say of your friendship?"
"That's it! Water Shuriken him!" Ash ordered pointing at the man. Fueled by the same rage Greninja reached for the Shuriken on its back.
"Easy." Aaron ordered holding up his hands in surrender. "You both need to calm down! It's happening again!" He ordered.
Ash began breathing heavily in rage. "Don't tell me what to do." He said dangerously.
"You need to listen. Do as I say. Deep breaths. You and Pikachu are the best of friends, I can see that, but I needed to enrage you." He soothed. "Don't let the anger win."
Ash began to do as instructed and took several deep breaths as both the water around him and his anger died down. "Sorry. This is harder than I thought it would be."
"Indeed. Though this is necessary if we are to get you under control. It seems you were doing fine until I brought up Pikachu." He noted. "That's enough for now, any more and the stress could become too much but I think I found your biggest weak point."
"I guess so." Ash replied returning Greninja. "You know, I never really thanked you for this. I know I acted a little cold earlier and I'm sorry. If this works, I'll definitely owe you one." Ash said smiling at the man.
"If you insist." He smiled back at him. "But I'm sure I won't ask too much of you. And don't worry, as long as we make good progress, we'll be done by tomorrow and we'll get you home ASAP."
"Thanks." Then realization dawned on Ash and he became slightly panicked. "Do you have a phone I could use? I never let anyone know why I never came home! I should call the Professor and let him know I'm okay."
"Of course." Aaron replied tossing him a phone. "But I must request you do not tell them anything of my organization's innerworkings that I have shown you. Can't have anyone infiltrating us."
"They wouldn't do that, but if it makes you feel better...I guess I can do that." Ash replied typing on the phone. "Darn no reception."
"Calls do not work here, but you may text them if you wish." He informed the boy. Ash began typing on the phone again.
"Done." He declared throwing the phone back to Aaron, "Let me know if they text back."
"Of course, my boy." He said with a smirk, pocketing the phone. "What do you say we go check on your friend? No doubt she's awake by now." Ash nodded.
~The infirmary~
Charizard lay at the foot of the bed curled in a ball taking a nap with Noivern taking his turn on watchout. The three scientists were currently injecting Oak with the revised version of the revival serum.
"Now we play the waiting game." The first scientist said.
Serena's eyes slowly opened an she slowly came into consciousness. She used her lower arms to support herself as she hoisted herself up on the bed. "Where am I?"
Charizard's head lifted up above the bed and his eyes met Serena's.
"Charizard?" She looked to her left. "Noivern?" Noivern shot forward and began rubbing up against Serena. She took his head into her hands. "Hey there, big guy. It's good to see you too!" She laughed pushing him off of her. "Where are we?" She looked to see three men in lab coats staring at her. "And who are you guys?" Then she noticed Oak on the bed across from her and the memories came flooding back. "Where's Ash?! Is he okay?!" She asked turning to Charizard. "Oak didn't hurt him, did he?!"
"On the contrary. Quite the opposite, actually." The shortest scientist answered. "It seems that the boy killed the good Professor here."
She turned her attention back to Oak and his unmoving body. "I need to find Ash."
"Do we tell The Boss she's up?" The shortest scientist asked one of the others. "He might not want her to leave."
"The boss? Who's your boss?" She asked tilting her head.
The shortest scientist shrugged. "Not many people know his name, he just told us to call him 'The Boss'." He answered. One of the other scientists elbowed him.
"Shut up, Orvis!"
"Oh no." Serena said remembering the video call. "Charizard, Noivern, we gotta find Ash, fast."
"Hold on." The scientist who was apparently named Orvis said. "We have to clear your departure with our boss first."
"Charizard." She said turning to the dragon. Charizard nodded and fired a flamethrower at Orvis, lighting his coat tail on fire.
"Ah!" He grabbed a beaker of liquids and doused his lab coat.
"Now," She said crossing her arms. "Which way'd my friend go?" She asked glaring at them.
Orvis started sweating. "Um...we don't know?" He said nervously.
Serena turned back to Charizard. "Again." She ordered. Charizard fired another flamethrower at Orvis lighting his coat on fire again while the other two dove out of the way.
"Stop that!" He ordered throwing another beaker of liquids on his coat. "I only have so many test tubes!"
"Then answer honestly." She said unamused...okay she was slightly amused at watching the lackeys of this mad man panic, but she didn't have time to focus on that.
"The indoor battlefield." Orvis said shivering in fear. "One level up."
"Thank you." She said changing her face from an angry one to a face with a sweet smile. "But before I go..." She said rushing over to Oak's bed. She looked down at the supposedly dead man and scowled. The three scientists watched in amazement as what was supposed to be a contender for next Kalos Queen spit in the good professor's face. She let out a sigh of relief "That's better." She declared. She returned her two 'guardians' and ran out the door.
"You just let a prissy, 15-year-old girl tell you what to do." One of the other scientists said in amusement from the floor.
"Shut up. What are you, five?"