Chapter Two – The Root of All Evil
Serena struggled to sleep that night. She spent the rest of the evening in a numb daze, secluded in the guest bedroom. When Clemont came by with a bowl of soup and a cup of tea, she thanked him, closed the door, and set both of them on the floor. She never touched them again.
She failed to find a comfortable position on the cot. As scratchy and lumpy as it was, she wondered if she should have been more grateful for it. She wondered if she was technically homeless now. She doubted she was welcome in her own home anymore. Her mother's outburst played over and over again in her mind. She wanted to unsee it, to unhear it, to erase it from her memory. The more she tried not to think about it, the harder it was to forget.
She thought of calling Ash, but the details of his flight home were lost in her memory among a whirlwind of words and emotions that made them impossible to recall. She could not remember how long his flight was, nor how much time had passed since he departed, nor even the time difference between Lumiose City and Pallet Town. For all she knew, Ash was still in the air. If he wasn't, he was surely sound asleep in his bed at home, recovering from jet lag.
What could Ash do, anyway? He had no way of fixing this. There was no way he could conjure the money they needed out of thin air. She couldn't afford to go to him, and he couldn't afford to come back to her. He could attempt to comfort her, but comfort wasn't what Serena wanted. There would be plenty of time for comfort when she saw him again. Right now, she wanted a solution.
When morning came, Serena got out of bed as soon as the sun was up. There was no point in waiting for the rest of the world. Her search began now.
It was an odd experience, going into a café with the rest of the morning crowd, waiting in line with them, and then asking for a job application once she got to the front of the line instead of ordering food.
Serena's stomach growled while she sat at the most isolated table she could find and tried to fill out the form in relative peace. She regretted not eating anything the previous night, nor this morning. The smell of the fresh pastries made her mouth water, yet she had no way of purchasing one.
She felt eyes crawling all over her as she wrote, as if everyone else in the café knew from one look at her that she was broke and desperate. She listed Clemont's address as her own. The pay would be miserable, and so would the hours, but at least it was better than nothing. Months of work to save up enough money to see Ash was better than never seeing him again.
She repeated that to herself as she went from shop to shop all morning, inquiring about work in each and every establishment. Most places turned her away. She stressed her interest in starting right away, but it did not seem to help. By noon, she lost count of the number of businesses she visited.
What began as a mild pain in her head turned into a throbbing headache. It was another hot summer day in Lumiose City, and she had neither water nor any way to acquire it. She decided to return to Clemont's house, hoping to get a cool drink and lay down for a while there, then continue her job hunt.
Her lack of a bag began to wear on her. She held several loose papers in her hand, with no other place to put them. She had needed to borrow a pen everywhere she went. She did not have her Pokémon with her. She felt vulnerable without them. The longer she walked, the more she worried that she might not make it back to Clemont's on her own. She felt faint. She longed for her Pokémon, if only for their moral support. She doubted they would be able to carry her very far, if at all, but at least their presence would have been something.
When she made it to the front stoop and trudged up the steps, she found a note tucked in the door.
Serena,
Bonnie and I are at the gym. We noticed you left in a hurry this morning. Hope everything is alright. If you need us, you should be able to find us at the gym all day.
-Clemont
Serena knew what the outcome of what she was about to try was certain to be, but she tried it anyway. She gripped the doorknob and tried to turn it.
It wouldn't budge. She was locked out.
She turned around, sighed, and leaned her back against the door. After a few seconds, she allowed her back to slide down the door and come to a rest on the doorstep, with her knees drawn up to her chest. She rested her head against her kneecaps.
The sun was sweltering, and the stoop provided no shade. For a moment, she thought about trying to break in, but she thought better of it when it occurred to her that she had no idea what kind of crazy security system Clemont may have put in place. Being blown up sounded much worse than heat exhaustion. She saw no choice but to pick herself back up and carry on.
Prism Tower loomed in the distance. She never was a good judge of distances, but she thought that she could make it, as long as she had some shade. To her good fortune, after walking a few blocks, she came upon a long avenue flanked by trees. It seemed like a straight shot to the tower from there. Relieved, she turned down the avenue and made her way toward the heart of the city.
The farther she walked, the more upscale the area became, and the more conspicuous she felt. As in Monego City, she was underdressed compared to everyone she saw. As the minutes and the blocks passed, what started as a residential area became an arts district, and then the arts district became a luxurious shopping district. Designer clothes with exorbitant price tags decorated the window displays.
She stopped at a busy corner with several other pedestrians, waiting for traffic to pass. While she waited, she looked around at the surrounding shops. At first, it all looked like more of the same, but then, something caught her eye.
Down the adjacent street, there stood an old brick building that was dwarfed on both sides by glass-front shops. A signpost stood in front of it. A faded, wooden sign hung from the post.
Serena squinted. She was barely able to see the shape of a pair of ballet shoes on the sign.
The traffic light turned. The crowd of people around her all passed her by, but Serena stood there on the corner, shielding her eyes from the sun with one hand. She continued to squint at the sign as her feet began to carry her toward it. There were words on it. She could read them, but she did not believe what she saw. She drew closer and closer, believing her eyes had been deceived. They had not.
Arietta School of Dance
Serena's heart skipped a beat. Her eyes slid out of focus while she stood beneath the sign, gaping at it. A powerful wave of déjà vu washed over her. All at once, she felt both uncomfortably warm and alarmingly cold. A shiver crept down her spine.
She was confident that she had never seen nor heard of this place before, yet somehow it was hauntingly familiar. She tried to refocus her eyes and read the sign again, double and triple checking it to ensure she was not mistaken. Each time, the sign remained the same. The name did not change. It wasn't a perfect match, but the resemblance was uncanny. The longer she stared, the more convinced of it she became.
This was Aria's old dance school. She was certain of it.
The more she thought about it, the more Serena told herself that she was paranoid, that she was imagining things. She figured the heat was getting to her. Aria had never told her the name of her dance school. The name bore a vague resemblance, that was all. The place looked abandoned. There was no evidence that Aria had ever been here.
And yet, there was something odd about the place that Serena could not explain. She wandered toward the front steps. The paint on the front door was chipped. The handrails on the steps were rusted. It felt as though she were the first person to darken this particular doorstep in years.
She climbed. At the top of the steps, she peered through one of the windows. It was dark inside. There was nothing to be seen, nothing at all. For a moment, she considered knocking on the door. But then, she heard the engine of a vehicle slowing down behind her.
Serena turned around and gasped. A limousine came to a stop at the curb, right in front of the building.
A rear window rolled down.
"Serena? Is that you?"
When Serena realized who was addressing her, she froze. The pieces of the mental puzzle she had been assembling shattered like glass. Palermo squinted at her from inside the limousine.
From Serena's position on the front steps of the building, Palermo somehow became both closer and farther away in her vision. Like a tunnel connected the two of them, everything else seemed to disappear.
Serena's heartbeat accelerated. She felt cold and stiff all over. Her stomach twisted itself in a knot.
Palermo placed a pair of sunglasses over her eyes and leaned her head out the open window. Though the dark lenses covered them, the corners of her eyes seemed to narrow. She raised a hand to her forehead and covered the gap between the sunglasses and her face, shielding her eyes even further from the sun.
"Serena?" Palermo said again. "That is you, isn't it?"
Serena had no idea how to respond. Her mind was paralyzed. So much had happened. How much did Palermo know? She wanted to run. Instead, she forced a nervous smile onto her face and raised a hand.
"It's me," she said, waving to Palermo.
She tried to take a step down the stairs toward the limousine. Her legs were so shaky that she needed to grip the rusty railing for support. She had no idea why her legs carried her forward. She felt like she was throwing herself into the jaws of the beast.
"My goodness, I barely recognized you!" said Palermo. "It looks like you're out in your bedclothes!"
It appeared as though Palermo thought she had made an amusing remark, based on the way she laughed quietly to herself. Serena found nothing funny about it. She looked down at herself and the loose white dress which hung from her shoulders. Palermo was technically right. These were her bedclothes. They were the only clothes she had.
Even with Palermo's eyes hidden behind sunglasses, Serena felt like Palermo could see right through her. She felt like she might as well have had nothing covering her at all.
Serena stepped down from the stoop and approached the limousine. She folded her hands in front of herself. A laugh escaped her lips out of sheer awkwardness.
"I kind of am, actually," said Serena.
Palermo's eyebrows raised, creeping above the rims of her sunglasses.
"Really, now?" she said, laughing again as if chatting with an old friend. "Happens to the best of us, I suppose. Bad hair day?"
Serena was having much more than a bad hair day.
"Well, yes, actually," Serena said, pulling a loose strand of her hair behind one ear.
Palermo pulled her head back inside the window and lifted the sunglasses from her eyes. Serena suppressed the will to shiver as Palermo eyed her up and down.
"Goodness, child, are you well? You look like you're absolutely withering in this heat!" said Palermo. "Here, just a moment."
Palermo leaned forward, and her head disappeared from view for a few seconds. Though it was muffled by the idling of the engine, Serena heard a noise that sounded like the rattle of ice in a cooler.
Then, Palermo reappeared, holding a dripping bottle of water. Serena's mouth opened in surprise. Palermo held the bottle out the window, offering it to her.
"Here, drink up!" said Palermo. "We can't have you fainting out here on the street!"
Caution be damned, Serena took the bottle from Palermo. It was ice cold. Eager, she twisted off the cap and held the bottle to her lips.
For a moment, she wondered if it was poisoned.
She needed it too much to care. She gulped down a mouthful of the frigid water. It was so cold that it almost hurt, yet it felt like heaven. She felt it slip down her throat and into her empty stomach. It reminded her how hungry she was.
She took another long drink. When she lowered the bottle, she let out a sound of contentment. She wiped her mouth with the back of her arm and looked at Palermo.
"Thank you!" said Serena, wiping her palm across her forehead, realizing her face was damp with sweat. "Thank you so much. I really needed that."
She was out of breath as she spoke. She took the time to breathe before she drank again.
Palermo eyed her with clear concern.
"You're quite welcome," she said, "but I must say, you have me rather worried. Did something happen to you? What caused you to end up like this?"
Serena busied herself with taking another long drink. The bottle was almost empty now. She needed to buy time to think.
Did Palermo know? Did she have any idea what happened?
A hint of a smirk crept onto the corner of Palermo's mouth.
"Don't tell me that dashing young man of yours left you already," she said.
With the bottle still held to her mouth, Serena froze.
Palermo's smirk turned into a coy smile.
"I've seen the papers, dear," she said. "Quite a photo of the two of you, I must say. Truly, a brilliant publicity stunt for someone your age. I'm impressed. That's exactly what I like to see in a potential protégé."
Serena lowered the bottle. Only one word escaped her lips.
"Oh?" she said, nerves constricting her voice.
"I take it you haven't forgotten about my offer, have you?" said Palermo.
Serena bit down on her lips. She tried to dodge Palermo's piercing eyes. It was no use.
"I wanted to talk to you about that, actually," said Serena.
"Did you?" said Palermo. "Well, what splendid timing, then! Say now, dearie, were you on your way somewhere? Perhaps we can discuss it along the way."
It took Serena a few seconds to realize what Palermo meant.
"You mean in there?"
Serena pointed at the limousine. Palermo nodded.
"Of course, my dear!" said Palermo. "What kind of host would I be if I didn't offer you a ride in this dreadful heat? Where are you heading?"
Serena looked around a couple of times as if she had the feeling of being watched. This felt both dangerous and too good to be true.
"Prism Tower," she said.
"Ah, wonderful," said Palermo. "That will be no trouble at all. I was going to be heading right past there."
Palermo leaned forward again. She appeared to speak into something.
"Prepare the doors, please. We have a guest."
A moment later, an impeccably-dressed man stepped out from the driver's seat of the limousine. He greeted Serena with a curt bow.
"Right this way, madame, if you please," he said.
He chauffeured Serena around to the other side of the car, where he then opened the door for her. Serena felt rather foolish as she placed one foot inside and peered into the darkness.
"Thank you," she said as she slipped inside.
"My pleasure, madame."
The door shut behind her, and Serena found herself sitting in the back seat next to Palermo. As her eyes adjusted, Palermo pressed a button, and her window rolled up. She pressed another button, then spoke into an intercom.
"Prism Tower, please."
The driver's voice came over the intercom.
"Yes, madame."
It was cool inside. Serena had never seen anything like it except on TV. The inside of the limousine was cavernous. A long bench seat stretched all the way to the driver's cabin. The opposite side was occupied by a bar, with wine glasses and champagne flutes hanging from a rack on the ceiling.
It was silent as Serena looked around. The limousine began to move, and again Serena heard Palermo digging through ice. She looked and saw Palermo reaching into a cooler built into the bar. From it, Palermo retrieved another ice-cold bottle of water.
"Have another, dear," she said, making a pointed glance at the almost empty bottle in Serena's hand and then offering the new bottle to her.
Serena drained what was left of the first bottle and then opened the second one. She took a small sip from it.
"Did the heat catch you by surprise?" said Palermo.
Serena nodded. Trying her best to hide her cautiousness, she spoke.
"Yes," she said. "I really can't thank you enough for this. I'm not sure how much longer I would have lasted out there."
"Of course," said Palermo. "Do be careful, though. I would hate to see you cut your career short after such a promising start."
Serena glanced out the window. They were tinted from one direction. From the outside, it was impossible to see the inside, but from the inside, it was like looking at the outside through sunglasses. As her eyes lingered on all the unaware people on the street, she felt Palermo's eyes linger on her. She was stiff all over, like she could not allow herself to relax in her seat no matter how delightfully cool the upholstery felt against her skin.
"I take it you just arrived in Lumiose?" said Palermo. "You were evidently in Monego a couple of days ago. It was much cooler there, I assume."
Serena hesitated to answer, but she forced herself not to hesitate for too long. She neither wanted to incriminate herself through her words nor her lack of them.
"I got here yesterday morning," she said. "Ash flew home to Kanto yesterday afternoon. I'm staying here with my friends Clemont and Bonnie."
Palermo nodded as Serena spoke. Serena tried to speak as informally as possible, as if there were nothing unusual about this, as though she and Palermo were old friends catching up.
Serena took it a step further and laughed casually as she spoke again.
"I accidentally locked myself out of their house this morning, actually," she said. "That's why I'm out here. I was on my way to meet them at Prism Tower."
"It looked like you found something that caught your eye on the way," said Palermo.
"Hmm?"
"Arietta School of Dance?" Palermo said, giving Serena a knowing glance.
It occurred to Serena that she had already forgotten what she was doing less than five minutes ago.
"Oh! Well-"
"There's no need to explain to me," said Palermo. "I understand."
Serena had no idea how Palermo could understand, because she herself did not.
"You do?" said Serena.
"Certainly," said Palermo. "There's a particular appeal in following the footsteps of the greats who came before you, is there not? It's only natural you would want to see where Aria got her start."
Serena refused to allow her face to betray anything, but her heart went as cold as ice.
Did Palermo know?
Palermo looked wistfully out the window.
"The place has been closed for years, but still, it has a certain humble charm to it, don't you think?"
Serena had no time to respond before Palermo continued.
"I can certainly see the appeal it would have to you," said Palermo. "Those in the business who I've discussed your performance with all agree that you possess such a simple, honest charm. I think it's what they call that girl next door aesthetic. The people who like your performance style feel like they can really connect with you. To be able to combine that with such elegance and grace is a rare gift, I assure you. All the more reason I would love to work with you."
Serena opened her mouth to respond. After a few seconds, she managed to form words.
"Thank you. I-"
She wanted to cringe at the idea of her personality being made into some kind of marketing strategy. Her performance style wasn't a façade. Her victory kiss with Ash, no matter how public it was, was not a publicity stunt.
"I don't know what to say," said Serena.
Who had Palermo talked to? Was it Aria? Of course Aria would have thought she was the charming girl next door. The thought of Aria speaking about her to Palermo in such terms, after all she had learned, made her shiver.
"Careful not to overdo it on the ice water," said Palermo. "If you're cold, the controls for the air are on the panel next to you."
Serena noticed for the first time that all the same buttons that were on Palermo's side were on hers, too. There were too many for her to even attempt to comprehend what she saw. She made no attempt to adjust anything. The cool air felt nice, anyway.
It became increasingly obvious to her that she had no business being here. She was in a stretch limo with one of the wealthiest people in the world. She had nothing to her name but a fistful of applications for menial jobs and a loose sundress that was almost certainly both stained with sweat and smelled like it. She had stumbled into a world that was everything she didn't have, and she had no way of attaining it.
"Would you care for a tea biscuit?" said Palermo. "It may calm your nerves."
Palermo's comment had the opposite effect of calming Serena's nerves. Her heart palpitated. Was it that obvious how nervous she was? What did Palermo know?
Palermo reached into a tin on a shelf in the bar and pulled out a small, buttery-looking confection. She handed it to Serena. Serena took it with a nod of thanks, and she bit a corner off of it. She turned her head and tried to hide her embarrassment as crumbs rolled down the front of her dress.
Palermo smiled at her with an expression that approximated empathy. It made Serena feel even less at ease.
"You're far from the first person to be nervous when discussing a potential apprenticeship with me," said Palermo. "I understand entirely. There's no need to be nervous. I know you are more than capable of handling yourself in the spotlight."
Perhaps Palermo had no idea. Perhaps she did think this was all business. Maybe Aria had kept everything a secret from her.
Regardless, Serena had already made up her mind. She spoke again despite her voice doing its best to hide from her.
"I'm not so sure that the spotlight is what I want," said Serena.
Palermo gave her a measured glance.
"I suspected as much. Usually, I get a call back in a matter of a few days, although I understand there were some extenuating circumstances in your case, saving the city and whatnot."
Palermo accented her statement by gesturing toward the outdoors, the streets of Lumiose City all around them.
"I must express my disappointment, though," she continued. "Whether or not you understand it, you possess extraordinary talent and potential. It would be a tragedy to see your ability go to waste. If you were willing to do it, I have no doubt that your wildest dreams would come true, and then some. You would be a star, I assure you."
Serena weighed Palermo's words. It was more and more obvious that Palermo knew nothing about her. Palermo's words sounded rehearsed, as if this were far from the first time she said the exact same thing to an unsuspecting upstart performer.
In some sense, Aria's crazy plan had succeeded. Serena knew better than to be seduced.
"Fame really isn't what I want," said Serena. "I don't think that kind of life is for me."
Palermo nodded. She turned her eyes aside.
"To be quite honest with you, the money does a remarkable job of compensating for that," she said.
Serena's eyebrows raised. Palermo laughed.
"I'm sure you've noticed these tinted windows, haven't you?" said Palermo. "Why do you think I have them? Why, I can't go anywhere without being bothered by someone, but that hardly matters at all if no one can see you! No matter what anyone tries to tell you, money can solve many problems, my dear."
Serena gripped the seat and tried to keep herself from shivering again. She shoved the entire remaining biscuit in her mouth and busied herself with chewing it. She couldn't dispel the idea that it tasted like money.
No matter how much she hated it, she knew there was a grain of truth in Palermo's words. Money could indeed solve some problems. It was the solution to several of her current problems.
She chased the biscuit with another sip of water. Palermo appeared to be waiting for her. Serena met eyes with her for a moment, then looked away.
It didn't matter how much she wanted to see Ash. There was no way she would agree to sell her soul to Palermo.
Serena shook her head.
"I'm sorry, but no," she said.
Palermo's disappointment was obvious in her restrained, bittersweet smile.
"Well, I think you're making a mistake," she said, "but if that is what you wish, then I suppose it can't be helped. It's a pity, though. I have no doubt I would have enjoyed working with you."
Serena said nothing. Everything went quiet for a while. While she stared at her lap, Palermo stared out the window. They waited at a stoplight.
Serena felt filthy even thinking it, but there was something alluring about the idea of agreeing to work with Palermo for some sort of advance money and then using that money to leave immediately, never to return. She knew it would never work. It was far too risky. Palermo would see right through it. The thought lingered in her head nonetheless.
"It's a pity that money can't make these stoplights change faster," Palermo said, giving Serena a sly glance. "Alas, it can't solve every problem."
It went quiet again. Serena had a distinct feeling that Palermo was much less interested in talking now that she knew she would get nothing from her. A waste of her time. That was all she was.
It came as a surprise when Palermo spoke again.
"Just between you and me, I really was hoping you would agree to work with me," said Palermo. "Foolish as it may seem, I had hopes of you becoming my final protégé. As much as I love the showcase world, retirement is becoming more and more appealing all the time."
The limousine began to move again.
"If you want to retire, why do you want to work with me?" said Serena.
"Oh, as a passion project, mostly," said Palermo. "I do this because I love it. As wonderful as our time together has been, Aria has reached the point where she no longer has much need for me. It would be delightful to be able to work more closely with someone one last time."
Serena kept her lips sealed. She knew exactly how much Aria did not need Palermo, and how much Palermo needed Aria.
"Aria has been scarce in recent weeks, truthfully," said Palermo. "The Master Class seemed to take quite a bit out of her. I'm concerned it may have been her last title defense. I'm not certain she wishes to hold the crown any longer. All the more reason for now to be your time in the limelight, actually."
Serena resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Palermo was still trying to sell her on the idea.
"You didn't happen to see Aria at that battle in Monego, did you?" said Palermo. "She told me she was going to be there, but she seems to have dropped off the face of the earth since then."
Serena did not hesitate. She told the truth.
"No, I didn't see her there," she said. "Sorry."
"Ah, that's quite alright," said Palermo. "Wishful thinking, that's all."
Serena's mind raced. She was emboldened. Palermo didn't know what happened after all. There was no way she did. Aria hadn't told her. Aria must not have told anyone. She was hiding from Palermo, and Serena knew why. There was no telling what Palermo would take from Aria if the truth was discovered.
Serena thought for a moment, and her face turned a vague shade of red. A terrible thought crept into her head.
What could she get from Aria?
She shook her head as if to shake the thought out, but it didn't work. The only thing it accomplished was causing Palermo to take notice.
"Is something the matter?" said Palermo.
"I-"
Serena paused. She couldn't believe what she was preparing to say.
"I was wondering if you knew a way I could talk to Aria," she said. "I know you said you haven't heard from her recently, but I would like to talk to her, too."
Palermo stared at her. Serena regretted saying anything, and she doubled down by speaking again.
"I mean, if that's not too much trouble!" said Serena. "I know it's not my place to bother her like that! I'm sure she's very busy, but I was just hoping, well, that I could..."
Serena trailed off. Her face was very red. She felt like a fool. A pitiful fool.
Palermo looked amused.
"Still sizing up the competition, are you?" said Palermo. "Looking to learn some of her secrets on your own?"
"Well, I-"
Serena stopped when Palermo reached into her handbag.
"You're full of surprises," said Palermo. "Unconventional, I must admit, but I like your style."
Serena couldn't believe that Palermo thought this was about showcases. Palermo grinned as she pulled a pen and a business card out of her bag. She set the card atop her knee and wrote.
"I make no promises that she'll respond to you. She won't even respond to me right now, after all."
Palermo handed the card to Serena. An email address was written on the back of it.
"She hasn't answered her phone in days," said Palermo. "I think you'll likely have better luck through an alternate channel."
Serena stared at the card. Her eyes went wide. It was Aria's email address.
"And since it seems you have a little more of that competitive spirit than you let on, you can find me on the other side, if you're still interested."
Palermo winked at Serena. Serena flipped the card over. It was another copy of the exact same business card Palermo had given her after the Master Class.
Serena stared at Palermo. She could not believe her luck.
"Thank you," she said.
"You're welcome," said Palermo. "Don't go sharing that address, now. And don't take too long on your decision, either."
Serena found herself speechless. The limousine rolled to a stop. She looked out the window and saw that they were at the base of Prism Tower. Before she could say anything at all, the driver opened the door for her.
"Take care," said Palermo.
Serena exited the limousine and stepped back. A few seconds later, it pulled away, disappearing into the mess of traffic down the street.
The afternoon passed at the Lumiose City Gym without any mention of Serena's encounter with Palermo. When Serena arrived, she found Clembot battling a trainer in the arena, with Bonnie watching from the stands. Clemont was in his workshop, neck-deep in wires and parts, with a welding mask covering his face. He insisted that he was not leaving until his Korrinabot prototype was functional, no matter how long it took.
When Serena abandoned the idea of talking some reason into him and returned to the arena, she found Clembot facing another challenger. This time, the challenger was a young woman. Every time Clembot and his team made a good move, Bonnie taunted the challenger by saying how much better at battling Clemont's girlfriend was than she was.
That got Clemont out of his workshop in short order.
Despite the legendary talking-to that Bonnie received, the only thing Serena could think about was the business card Palermo gave her. She had a way to contact Aria, but what in the world was she supposed to say? The thought of what she was preparing to do make her feel itchy. It felt wrong.
She kept quiet about it. Hours later, after dinner, under the excuse that she was taking her Pokémon to the Pokémon Center for a quick checkup, she left the house and walked the several blocks to the nearest Pokémon Center. True to her word, she handed over her Pokémon to Nurse Joy. While she waited, she headed over to the public computers and began composing an email.
Or rather, trying to compose an email. She started it three times and deleted everything. Her Pokémon were ready long before she was done. She picked them up from the front desk and had them all sit with her as she tried to organize her thoughts.
Pancham was little help, and he sat on top of the monitor looking like he was too cool to be there. Sylveon did her best to soothe Serena's nerves, rubbing her back with her feelers and cuddling up with her. Braixen was the most help. Her sly streak conveniently absent, she listened to every word as Serena tried to talk her way through the process.
After an hour of belaboring the point, she found the right words. Or, at least, words that were good enough, she hoped.
Aria,
I'm sure you're wondering how I got this address. The answer is that I got it from Palermo. I ran into her in Lumiose City this afternoon. I promise you that I told her nothing about what happened in Monego City. I don't think she knows anything about it.
Your plan to protect me from her worked. She tried to convince me to work with her, but I refused. She even tried to tempt me with money, but I still told her no. It sounded like she's looking for you. She said she hasn't heard from you in a few days. I understand why.
Her offer of money was hard to refuse. I'm in a really tough situation. I lost everything when I fell into the harbor in Monego City. The salt water ruined everything. My mom is very angry with me. She doesn't have the money to replace any of it. I lost all my clothes, my shoes, my tablet, even my Pokédex.
Right now, all I have are my Pokémon and some borrowed clothes. I may not even have a real home anymore. I had a huge fight with my mom when I talked to her. I spent all day today applying for jobs around Lumiose City, but when I ran into Palermo, I got the idea of asking you for help.
You said in the note you left for me that the train tickets home were only the beginning of paying me back for what you did. I hate that I have to do this, and it feels wrong, but I think you are the only person who can help me. Can you please help me pay for replacing my belongings? Like you said in your note, I never would have been in this situation if not for you. It would help make things right if you were to help me.
I hope that you're doing okay, wherever you are.
-Serena
She clicked the Send button. She felt sick to her stomach. She was no better than Aria, no better than Palermo. She was a liar and a deceiver, too.
It was not meant to be blackmail. It was meant to be sincere, and yet that was what made it blackmail. It was emotional blackmail, meant to tug at Aria's heartstrings and trick her into providing the resources Serena needed to reunite with her romantic rival. It was adding insult to injury. It was pure, cold deceit.
She deceived Palermo to get Aria's contact information, and she was attempting to deceive Aria to get money from her. None of what she wrote was a lie, but it was not the whole truth. It was a lie by omission, and it was deliberate. After everything that had happened between them, how was she supposed to ask Aria for money so she could go be with Ash? That would have been even more insulting, even more heartless. That's how she justified it to herself, anyway.
Serena hated it. She absolutely hated it, and she hated herself as she walked back to Clemont and Bonnie's house and threw herself onto her cot, locking the door behind her.
The next morning, Serena forced herself to get out of bed as soon as the sun was up, once again. She had to continue her job hunt. As much as she wanted to hope that Aria would answer her prayers, she refused to allow herself to get her hopes up. It was too much of a long shot. Having hope would mean getting hurt, and she knew it.
Determined not to repeat her mistakes from yesterday, she went down to the kitchen and drank a full glass of water before doing anything else. Feeling like an intruder, she filled the kettle with water and set it on the stove to boil, then looked through the refrigerator and cabinets for anything she could have as a quick breakfast. She felt like she was literally raiding their pantry.
She settled on a banana that was a few days past ripe, one she was sure would not be missed. She peeled it over the trash can and forced herself to eat it. She hated what she was doing. It didn't matter that she had an open invitation to stay there. She was imposing. She was a burden. It was wrong of her to take anything else after she had been given so much for nothing in return, and yet, she was still begging.
When the kettle boiled and whistled, she turned off the burner and stared at it for a while. It took several minutes for her to work up the courage to take a tea bag and pour herself a cup of tea. She couldn't stop taking, couldn't stop begging, couldn't stop asking for more, and couldn't offer anyone anything. She was a failure.
She shook her head. She couldn't think like that, and she knew it. She had promised herself she wouldn't think like that. Those worries were supposed to be long gone, crumbled away to ashes in a bonfire on a beach in a distant city, what felt like a lifetime ago. Somehow, it was only four days. How were all those worries still with her? Why had they come back to haunt her so soon? She was stronger than this.
She knew what she needed to do. She needed to talk to Ash. She needed to hear him again, to see his face, to tell him everything that had happened and to hear him say that everything was going to be alright, no matter what. It would give her the strength to get through the day. She needed it. She couldn't give up now. She had to keep fighting. She had to find a way to get to him.
After lingering over her cup of tea for longer than she liked, she poured it out in the sink and headed out the front door. She made her way to the Pokémon Center, ducking and weaving between the masses of people on the street, invisible to all of them as they mindlessly headed to their jobs. She knew she would join them in their daily procession, sooner or later. Given her circumstances, she wasn't sure which she preferred.
When she entered the Pokémon Center, a surprise greeted her. As she walked past the reception desk and toward the public computers, a voice interrupted her.
"Excuse me!"
Serena turned and stopped. Nurse Joy waved to her from behind the desk.
"You're Serena, aren't you?" said Nurse Joy.
Serena blinked, mouth open. A rush of memory came to her. This was the very same Pokémon Center where she received Aria's forged invitation to the Grand Monego Hotel.
"Yes, I am."
"I thought I remembered you," said Nurse Joy. "You have another letter waiting for you."
"I do?"
"Right here," said Nurse Joy. She reached across the counter and handed Serena an envelope. "It was left for you overnight."
Serena took the envelope. It felt familiar, made of a heavy sort of paper, the kind that gave it a feeling of importance.
The neat cursive handwriting she expected on the front was missing. In its place was a sticker with her name on it, typed in plain, bland font.
"Do you know who left this for me?" Serena asked.
"I'm afraid not. It was left here before my shift started. You'll have to open it to find out!"
Serena thanked Nurse Joy and slipped away to the privacy of the computer kiosks. She picked the most remote one she could find, all the way in the far corner of the room. She sat down and examined the envelope in her hands.
It felt so familiar, but there was something unusual about it. She suspected it was from Aria, but why did she go to the trouble of concealing her handwriting? Was it an extra precaution? Was it paranoia from all their exchanges in Monego City?
Serena took a deep breath, then slid her finger under the flap and opened the envelope.
There was a single piece of paper inside. At first, it resisted all of her attempts to read it. It was covered in formal-looking stamps and seals. Watermarks filled the background, obscuring the text. Ink shone in all the colors of the rainbow. It was incomprehensible until she located the title line.
Bank of Kalos - Money Order
Serena's heart thundered. There was no way. It was impossible. It had not yet been twelve hours since she contacted Aria.
Her hands shaking and suddenly very cold, she woke up the computer in front of her and logged into her email account. She messed up the username and password several times from nerves.
There was no reply in her inbox. She checked her outbox, curious if the message had ever been sent at all. Not only was it there in her outbox, but there was an unexpected addition to it, at the very bottom.
Received: Yesterday, 8:07 PM
Serena had to remind herself to breathe. She opened another tab in the browser and steadied her fingers long enough to log into her bank account.
Her eyes went wide. She held a hand over her gaping mouth.
There were more zeroes in her account balance than she had ever seen in any number. The hand she had on the keyboard joined her other, covering her mouth and stifling a gasp.
She was a millionaire.
The next several minutes went missing in Serena's memory. She remembered sitting in a stall in the women's restroom, half-laughing and half-hyperventilating as she stared at the miraculous document in her hands. She was certain she scared at least one other person out of the restroom. She didn't care.
She read the money order over and over, trying to comprehend how it could be real. There was no doubt of its authenticity. There was no way it could be forged. It was covered, front and back, in anti-counterfeit measures. When she held it up to the light, the hidden security strip inside it became visible. There was a raised seal of the Bank of Kalos stamped on the bottom, next to the time and date. It was sent last night, from an anonymous account. It was surreal. It was the kind of thing she heard about on the news, the sort of tactic used by slimy politicians to conceal their bribes. Somehow, she was the one on the receiving end of it.
She pinched herself twice. She wasn't dreaming. It was real.
When she left the Pokémon Center, Serena halfway expected to be accosted by the police as soon as she walked out the door. With no bag, she clutched her three Poké Balls against her chest with one arm while she held the money order with both hands, determined to protect it.
It was meaningless. The paper had no use now. The money was already in her account. Regardless, it felt like her lifeline. She had to keep it safe, from both hands and eyes. She had to keep it secret. No one could know. Nobody could ever know. If the truth were uncovered, it would be the end of her. She knew it.
Paranoia gripped Serena's mind. She darted from alley to alley, looking all around for any sign of being followed or watched. Every girl of similar height to Aria was surely Aria in disguise. Every corner hid someone waiting to accost her. Every car with darkened windows hid someone watching her.
She needed to hide. She needed to disappear. How perfect, then, that the document she held bestowed upon her the tool she needed to do precisely that. It was beyond perfect. Too perfect. It was a trap. It had to be. It was so clever, so devious. Give her what she needed, then rip it right from her hands. Tear her down, tear her apart.
The truth would ruin everything. A forged invitation. Trespassing on the private property of two celebrities. A love triangle with the most famous person in Kalos, the mastermind behind everything. A bitter, sordid struggle for a young man's heart with a girl who worked for a celebrity chef, a girl who had almost unraveled the entire plot, a girl who threatened to inform the press.
Serena felt Miette leering at her from all directions. When she looked, there was no one to be found. She was alone in the crowd, lost among the endless, nameless, faceless river of people flowing through the streets of Lumiose City.
She could not bear it any longer. She ducked inside the first open door she found. The chatter of the crowd hushed behind her as she crossed the threshold.
For a split second, her heart stopped. Miette welcomed her to the store. Aria flipped through a selection of clothes hanging from a rack. Her mother waited outside the fitting room. Palermo and Diantha stood behind the front counter.
When Serena blinked, they all vanished, replaced by strangers. She ignored the odd look the girl at the front door gave her as she stood there, vacant, spiraling back down to reality. She examined the paper in hands again. It was still real. Nothing else was. She recognized no one in the store. No one was following her. No one was paying any attention to her, aside from the bewildered greeter.
Wordless, Serena wandered deeper into the store. It was an upscale boutique. It was fancy. Too fancy. It would be too obvious that she had come by the money through ill means. Everything for sale was far too ostentatious. It would have been like wearing a neon sign displaying her misdeeds for all to see.
She left. Back on the street, while her mind raced, two things occurred to her. One, she was very hungry, and two, she had no idea if trying to use the money in her account would even work.
So, she entered a bakery. She ordered the cheapest pastry they sold. She held her breath while she entered her payment information and waited for the charge to be approved.
It went through.
Blank, walking without thinking or seeing, Serena took her pastry over to an empty table and sat down. She took a tentative first bite, then an enthusiastic second bite, then devoured the whole thing. It was delicious. She stared at the door for minutes on end, not even blinking. No one was coming for her. Not the police, not Aria, not anyone. This was all real, all too good to be true, yet it was as true as she was alive and sitting there.
Her stomach growled. She was still hungry. She removed her eyes from the door and looked into the case of baked goods by the front counter. An odd realization occurred to her. The price tags were irrelevant now. She could have purchased the entire case if she wanted.
What she did purchase was another pastry and a cup of tea. When she finished them and stepped back outside, the world had never seemed brighter. The muggy air felt like paradise. The haze of another sweltering summer day looked like the bluest sky in the world. The strangers looked like strangers again.
Her heart soared. There was so much to do.
The first order of business was acquiring a bag. Determined to keep her newfound wealth to herself, Serena found a thrift shop. After a considerable amount of mixing and matching, she assembled an outfit that was both cute and fit her, more or less. The mint-green skirt was the right size, but the floral-print shirt she paired with it was cavernous enough on her that she secured it with a knot in the front. Since it was so loose, she supplemented it with a skin-tight white tank top underneath. She replaced Korrina's now well-worn flats with a pair of running shoes with an odd pattern in red and black, and a shoulder bag that matched.
It was a strange outfit, very different from anything she had ever worn before. Serena smiled as she examined herself in the fitting room mirror. She liked that it was so different. It was a new beginning, after all.
She paid for everything and wore her new outfit out of the store. Back on the street, she called Braixen, Pancham, and Sylveon out of their balls and breathlessly tried to explain everything that had happened in between visits to more stores. She had so many things to replace. She picked up a new tablet, all sorts of supplies for her Pokémon, and even an extra Poké Ball, just in case.
Her Pokédex, however, was not replaceable. Not in a timely manner, anyway. Only Professor Sycamore could replace it, and that would take weeks. Even with all the time in the world, Serena did not have that kind of time.
She had places to be, and people to see. She was leaving on the next flight to Kanto, no matter what.
Serena returned to Clemont and Bonnie's house one last time to collect her remaining belongings. The house was empty, but this time, there was a spare key waiting for her beneath the welcome mat. Serena tried to compose a note to them, but it was impossible to explain everything. So much had happened, so fast. There was no way she could say everything she wanted to say.
In the end, even though she wasn't satisfied with it, she left her note sitting on the kitchen counter, with the pen placed on top of it as a paperweight.
Clemont and Bonnie,
I don't know how to explain it, but I got really lucky today and found a way to get to Kanto after all. I can't thank you two enough for everything you have done for me. We've been through so much together. You're my best friends, and you always will be.
I don't know when I will see you again, but I know I will, one day. Until then, I wish both of you nothing but the best!
Love,
-Serena
P.S. - Send my best to Korrina and your dad, too!
She closed the door behind her, locking it on the way out. She hailed a taxi to the airport and never looked back.