"C'mon Serena, there's no line!"

Ash had disappeared down beneath the bridge that crossed over the empty outdoor queue, his head ducking down for just a moment to look back up, making sure that Serena was following. Out of the corner of his eye he watched as Pikachu darted down to the right, running ahead like he hadn't stopped. As soon as he saw the first inklings of Serena's brown cowgirl boots stepping down where he could see them, seeing the swaying ends of her pink vest moving down, he then picked back up to follow, turning right and heading down between the stucco wall and a chain-link line divider.

Serena didn't follow. Instead, she took the small digital camera that had been clutched in her hand for the whole run from Adventureland over to New Orleans Square, giving herself a chance to stop and get the perfect picture of the scene in front of her.

The bridge that crossed over the overpass bowed in the middle, the wrought-iron facade overgrown with vines and green leaves, light flickering faintly in small iron lamps. Sunlight made the studded letters of the sign mounted to the very center of the facade glimmer—Pirates of the Caribbean.

"Serena, come on!"

Serena's camera made a digital snapping noise, a small light blinking beside the viewfinder. Pulling back, Serena got a quick glimpse in the viewfinder of the picture she had taken—inadvertently bringing a smile to her face.

As she walked down the sloping brick path into the empty queue of the attraction, passing metal posts with chain-link hung up beside them, her eyes wandered over the stucco on the walls, all the ornate decorations that were supposedly period colonial Kalosian, she reached the fountain at the base of the wall. A sign had been posted by the side of the fountain, made to look like a pirate's scroll, giving the rules of the attraction. Serena's eyes narrowed on one specific part of it:

'Pirates of the Caribbean' is a Dark Ride Attraction. Pokemon are allowed to be passengers aboard the boat vehicles.

The line had caught Serena totally by surprise. She hadn't thought about Pokemon at all—aside from the brief memory of Pikachu sneaking out of Ash's bag to ride Star Tours—but the opportunity certainly crossed her mind now. As she stared at the sign with bright, blank, thoughtful eyes, she let the backpack on her slip down over her shoulders and slip into the grip of her hand, allowing her to bring it around in front of her and root through it. Through the pouch she had dedicated to her Pokeballs, she found exactly the one she had been looking for—one with a certain weight and feel to it that she knew instinctively.

Kneeling down to the ground beside the fountain, Serena took the Pokeball and set the bag beside the fountain to prop. She then pointed the white release of the Pokeball and pressed the trigger.

An electric rush of sound came from the front of the Pokeball as a red laser shot out and zapped into the image of a four-legged, all red creature, until moments later the intense build-up of light dissipated and left only the cat-sized figure of Sylveon. Bright, milky-blue eyes blinked and looked up to Serena with a gentle, cooing smile, an invisible breeze brushing and making the ribbons all around her waver silently.

Before Sylveon could turn her head and wonder where she was—as she had began to—Serena rested a hand on the side of Sylveon's face and turned her to face her, looking down at her closely.

"Ready for an adventure?" Serena beamed.

"Serena… Are you yawning?" asked Ash.

Serena gave Ash an unusual look. "Yeah…" she said, trailing off as she stated the obvious. "Why?"

The boat had completed its wide 180 degree tour around the large, outdoor patio of the Blue Bayou, and it crossed in front of a large wooden cabin set on the water. The twangy sound of a banjo lightly playing 'Camptown Races' was nearby, barely masking out the overwhelming sound of crickets. On the porch of the cabin, an older gentleman rocked back and forth slowly in his rocking chair, dressed in overalls and a straw hat, a tufty white beard clinging to his face as he held a pipe between his lips. The path ahead of the waterway became immensely dark, unseeable through the rest of the ride.

"It's just… Surprising. For right now, anyway. This is a pretty exciting ride."

"I know, but… there are parts that just put me to sleep… and—" Serena had to cut herself off, reaching to cover her own mouth as she felt another yawn coming on—one that made her ears pop, her eyes squeezed shut as her head felt unusually heavy. "—and we did get up at the earliest possible hour this morning… I'm starting to think my mom's probably smarter by sleeping in…"

The boat slowed to a stop, the water sloshing up underneath it and forcing everyone to rock back with it. The front of it knocked against a set of arms stopping it, arms that had been put at the mouth of… something, neither of them could see. They had slipped into a dark chamber, out of the seemingly serene scene of the swamp they had just passed through. The boat creaked as it sat in limbo, and at the front of it all four of Ash and Serena's Pokemon let out a cacophonous wail as they knocked around in their seats. Just a few feet in front of them, the immense sound of rushing water seemed to fill an endless black void in front of them.

A light came suddenly above them, lighting on the face of a brick facade and what lay upon it. It was a life-like human skull, set against a tattered red flag that had been hung on it, over the archway that opened up into a dark, pitch-black tunnel where the rushing water was. A black pirate's hat had been set on the head of the skull, a set of cavernous, empty eyes looking out at nothing in particular. A set of rusty, old swords crossed beneath it, gleaming—it was the Jolly Rodger.

"Ye come seeking adventure and salty ol' pirates, eh?" the Jolly Rodger growled, its bony jaw moving a set of mangled teeth. "Sure, you've come to the proper place. But keep a weather eye open, mates, and hold on tight—with both hands, if you please. There be squalls ahead, and Davy Jones waiting for them what don't obey."

The arms keeping the front of the boat from going any further suddenly released, and the boat drifted forward. The sound of rushing water became louder and louder as the boat traveled further into the void, the bobbing sensation of water disappearing.

"And mark well me words, mateys: 'Dead men tell no tales!'"

The boat tipped, the nose of the boat reaching and bobbing over the edge when there wasn't any water beneath it. The boat then slid and gained momentum at a breakneck pace, dropping like a rock down the slick water way. The rushing sound had become drowned out by the rushing sound of the boat running down through the water at the speed of gravity. For a long stretch, the boat fell like it was falling forever, even past the point where it felt like it should have stopped.

In total darkness, Serena sank back in her seat like leaning might stop the momentum. She felt herself sliding, her hand grasping for her hat as to not let it hurtle away in the rush of cool air, her arm reaching out in front of her for the metal railing along the top of the bench in front of her. Her eyes were wide with terror as she couldn't see anything, her jaw locked into a terrified grimace. Though she could hear the sounds of her Pokemon and Ash's Pikachu all wailing in terror, a silent creeping terror sank into her stomach—the point where she felt the bottom was never came, and they kept dropping.

"A-Aaaahh—!" Serena wailed, her voice pitching to a shriek as the last vestiges of hope seemed to escape her. The boat was going too fast, plummeting down at a speed that would surely mean crashing. By her side, she could hear Ash's own shouts of terror—though his were filled with excitement.

Then it came—the boat slowed suddenly, reaching the loudest point of rushing water at the bottom, where the boat crested into it and slowed itself on the dark, sloshing surface. A thick splash of water erupted from the front of the boat as it slowed, spraying out where none of them could see and could only feel. Serena's stomach found the place it was supposed to be sitting in her chest as she got her breath, sitting herself up and relaxing herself. The hand she had on the railing in front of her gripped even tighter as she pulled herself up, then pulled away—instinctively drying the sweat she had worked up on her palms on the surface of her dress.

The sound of voices filled the dark, imperceivable cavern they were in—singing, merry voices. It was a band of men—pirates—singing 'yo-ho, yo-ho, a pirate's life for me' at the tops of their lungs, coming from nowhere and echoing out of the dark chasm. As Serena looked out, her eyes adjusting in the darkness to the interior of the cave, the boat kept a steady pace and came fast around a corner, slowly revealing slices of ethereal blue light on dark crags of cave walls.

The feeling of Ash's hand on hers made Serena jump. She then looked over, seeing Ash's excited grin in the dim light of the cavern.

"That didn't scare you, did it?" Ash asked, laughing.

Looking down, Serena found Ash's hand and where it laid over the top of her own. Her fingers laced through his, finding the palm underneath against the sandpaper-y surface of the bench. Flipping it, she took his hand into her own, holding it tightly.

"Of course it did," said Serena. She could think of a million reasons why and go into each of them with detail. As she took a breath and stilled her excited heart—from the drop, not from the warmth of Ash's hand—she turned her gaze on Ash and gained a smirk, seeming to turn the heat on him, looking more pouty than anything. "In fact, I think you were looking forward to it."

"Just making sure you were awake—can't have you yawning on the second ride!" Ash laughed. "Hope you like another drop!"

Though Serena turned her head, she knew exactly what Ash meant before she could see it—the sound of rushing water was back, just as loud as it had when they were at the very edge of the first drop. When she looked down, she saw the darkly lit waterfall stretching down into more caverns. Her hand tensed where it held Ash's, and though she grabbed for the edge of the bench in front of her once again she found her hand instantly gravitating towards Ash's arm to hold it tight. Only a moment of embarrassment and fear passed through her, leaving immediately as soon as Ash's hand grabbed her arm back, intertwining them.

The boat, moving at less of the leisurely pace that it had through the swamp up above and at a much quicker gait, pushed itself over the edge with ease. At the front of the boat, Pancham was clutched in Braixen's arms as they together looked over the front of their boat, feeling themselves tip down again and slide down the slope into the cave. Sitting beside Sylveon, Pikachu reached over and covered her eyes with an arm, his other arm clutching her side as they raced down.

The boat crested the water as it had moments earlier, bobbing back up and wandering around the turn into a more brightly lit cavern. It had picked up even more speed from the drop, pushing itself down the waterway until it brushed against the raised metal rails that guided the boat, sending up a wave of water to the rocks ahead of it. Turning, the boat moved around to a scene unfolding.

When Serena opened her eyes, they weren't dropping. Instead, she had a prime, pressed view of Ash's navy-blue jacket, zipped closely to his torso. Her head was buried against his chest, an arm wrapped around him as the other held hands with him, pressed together in the core of them. Serena pulled away gently, then looking up to Ash and feeling the first inklings of a blush coming to her cheek as she realized she was going to have to face Ash. As she pulled herself up, her arm slipping from around where it held Ash's backside to allow herself to get up, she felt her jilted hat and where it had pressed against Ash's face, making her reach up and straighten it as she pulled herself up. When she looked at Ash, she saw that he held no judgment in his eyes—it wasn't the laughing, thrill-seeking Ash she had seen moments earlier, but instead someone who cared and showed it.

"Serena…"

"S-Sorry! I… I told you didn't like falling!" Serena squeaked, getting up.

Serena's arms pulled away to fit neatly back in their tucked position in-between her legs—or at least, they tried to. Serena felt Ash's grip on her hand, soft and reassuring. Though she looked back in total confusion, she then felt an arm slide around her backside and bring her in close.

"Geez Serena, you really are cold all the time," said Ash.

Serena blinked. "W-What…?"

"Yeah! That's why you grabbed for me, right? You were cold! Eheh…" Ash chuckled. For a moment, it seemed like nervousness from him. "I mean, I knew you were cold a lot, but that was Kalos. It's pretty hot over here in the Antas region—it was hot out there before we got here, and it's not even as hot as it'll be today!"

Ash's arm slid back and left Serena's side—making her feel for a moment like the jig was up. Instead, Ash then reached for the front of his jacket, unzipping it and opening up to reveal the black t-shirt that was underneath it. The jacket fell off of his arms and into his lap, giving him the chance to hoist it by the corners and sprawl it out. Before Serena could put together in her head what was happening, Ash had scooted himself close to her and pressed his side to hers, then laying the open flaps of the jacket to rest over their collective bodies. A hand on Serena's shoulder helped ease her closer into the jacket, her body overlapping with Ash's, giving her the chance to lean against him—a motion that came more naturally than something she actively decided herself, her eyes wide at the prospect of what was happening coming to her before—and as—she realized it was happening.

"Hopefully this will warm you up," said Ash. "I mean, unless you're not that cold. I hope it doesn't make you too uncomfortable or anything."

At that point, Serena had a decision to make. Her natural inclination was to tell the truth that she wasn't really all that cold, but she had stopped herself just short of that. Maybe, just maybe, it was time to fib.

"Yeah..." Serena said, quietly. She raised her eyes, seeing where Ash's head was just above her, her body nestled in his, seeing that he was looking back down at her. "I… I think this will warm me up… You're very comfortable, Ash…"

As Serena's head just beneath Ash's, finding its place in the nook between Ash's head and his collar, she felt a wave of comfort washing over her. Ash had removed her hat, the brim of which had been prodding uncomfortably at his cheekbones until he had set it down by his feet in the bottom of the boat, her soft locks of golden hair pressed against his sun-baked skin. Beneath the sprawled-out, comfortably laid jacket, Serena's hand found Ash's again and held it over her stomach, keeping it close to the warmest part of the body.

They had passed the first scene of the skeleton in the abandoned cove, the boat curving around another craggy passage and drifting down the waterway at a slow, rocking pace. The boisterous 'yo-ho, yo-ho' had disappeared, instead replaced by the swaying notes of the same theme on strings that played through the caverns. Flashes of light echoed on walls as ominous hints of things to come soon. The inner spaces of the cavern were becoming more and more cramped as they traveled deeper in, jagged columns of stone and other stalactite structures coming increasingly close as they dripped with water off their salty surface. The harrowing phrase, 'dead men tell no tales', seemed to come from the dark unseeable portions of the cavern and resonated all around them in the salty air, looping in a trancing pattern.

As they passed into another, cramped room of the cavern, the flashing lights they had seen moments earlier came from a scene at the end of the dark passage. The mirage of a rainstorm played on the wall, streaks of rain beset by flashes of lightning to show the full deluge hammering down. The wreckage of a ship was raised on the banks of the muddy beach it had been abandoned in, seemingly trapped perpetually in the storm that had wrecked it and swamped by all of the goods that had once been on the ship. A lone skeleton stood behind the wheel on the raised deck of the ship, his arms seemingly turning the wheel as the wind swayed it.

Against the stormy background, a set of four silhouettes watched in awe at the display, all with their own unique sets of mammalian ears. Their heads craned, the boat rocking gently as Pikachu and Pancham all scrambled to the front 'deck' of their little boat and looked on at the next scene of the treasure room. As the lustrous light of gold and other riches poured in from the next cavern, lighting the path ahead and shedding light on the ancient, papery remains of old pirate skeletons, their enlightened faces came into focus. Sylveon was the only one not looking on at the scene, instead looking back at Serena with a knowing silent expression.

Serena couldn't help but smile back at Sylveon. Though she was enthralled by all that was happening outside the boat, she was deeply, deeply distracted. The warmth beneath the blanket of the jacket was intense, and it had spread to all of her extremities. Her legs had tucked up onto the bench—at the cost of bringing her closer to Ash's body—and her hand were closer, clutching the lone arm that Ash had lended her, while his other arm held her side.

Serena stifled a yawn, but she didn't feel the need to resist too much. The clutches of sleep had returned, and Ash's warmth was all too intoxicating. The idea of falling asleep in his arms was tantalizing to say the least. As another, looped recording of 'dead men tell no tales' played, Serena let her eyes shut, waiting for the next repeat of the ghostly words to come and wake her up.

Instead, Serena fell asleep.

"You're scared of pirates…" said Ash, his smile becoming cheeky.

Serena giggled, hardly believing that Ash was ready to make jokes after that—but, somehow, remembering that was part of his charm. As her brief giggling fit subsided, she realized that Ash wasn't laughing, and when she looked up into his eyes she saw that Ash still looked genuine and that his smile was really teasing, she looked indignant.

"W-What…? Are you serious…?" asked Serena, her eyes wide in the dim light of the flickering 'fire' that surrounded them.

"Serena, it's okay… If you didn't want to ride pirates you could have said something… and it's totally okay if you are! Being scared of creepy robot pirates is fine!"

"I'm… I-I'm not scared of pirates! I'm serious!" Serena protested, her voice raising in defiance.

"Jeez Serena, you don't have to be tough around me…"

Ash had looked away, laughing softly at Serena's seemingly ridiculous behavior—or at least to spot another splash in the water from a 'gunshot' from a pirate. As he did, he felt Serena's hand relinquish where it had gripped his hand and let it fall flat and rest on the rail in front of him. His gaze followed where Serena's hand went—or at least tried to keep up, until he felt the slender, soft touch of Serena's hand sliding around on his chest through the front of his dark shirt, rubbing gently over the small boyish features. When he looked up, he saw something he had never seen on Serena's face before—a look of seduction.

Serena had watched with gentle eyes, realizing what the problem was—words weren't getting through his thick skull. As she rubbed softly, her hands found his shoulders and rubbed the gentle expanse of sunburned skin between his neck and his shoulder, right where the collar of the black shirt on him had sagged.

"Do you want to know the real reason…? The real reason I… stretched… the truth a little bit?" asked Serena, her fingertips dancing up the side of his neck, brushing away stray hairs that had fallen down and got between Serena's wandering hands and Ash's body.

Ash's eyes were wandering every which way but where Serena was right in front of him, instead looking to where her hand danced around his shoulder, then turning to look over and watch as another hand slid up the front of his chest and went around to his neck. Both of her arms were sliding behind his neck to wrap him up and envelop him in the warmth of her skinny embrace—and as finally looked in front of himself proved, bringing them closer. When Serena's forehead was pressed to Ash's, her arms wrapped behind his neck as far back as they could stretch, they both locked eyes.

"S-Sure…?" asked Ash, truly and knowingly unsure for the first time of what had gotten into Serena—something that made Serena's smile far more wicked and dangerous.

Serena pulled herself close and pressed their lips together, pulling Ash back with her. Ash never resisted, instead putting arms out to brace himself from falling before they naturally found their way around her body. The back of the bench thudded as Ash came into it, his kissing suddenly becoming more aggressive—something that Serena didn't pull back from and became more aggressive with as well.

The boat shimmied back and forth gently as the track beneath the boat pulled it up, the underside of it dragging audibly as it traveled up the dry ramp. The dark stone walls of the ride and the pirate domain within slowly became brighter and brighter as they came closer up to the queue, re-entering the real world. In moments, light from the outside world was coming through in bright rays, the windows showing the outside world appearing just above the tops of many people's heads in a line that had piled up outside of the interior queue.

The lifting boat jostled Ash and Serena gently. As Ash held himself to the guardrail in front of himself, he kept an arm around Serena, who had snuggled into his chest. Just before the boat gently tipped down and landed smoothly on the waterway, Ash felt Serena adjusting and coming to nudge him—Ash guessing what she was up to until he felt a soft pair of lips kissing the underside of his chin, gently brushing it as she patted his chest. In moments, Serena was up and sitting beside him, watching the scenery pass them as the first few guests came into view and they left the ride.

They glided down around the curved waterway smoothly, circling a small dirt island of palm trees, treasure, and the Barker Chatot. The bright, daylight area they passed through soon became dark again as they entered the loading dock. Ahead of them, boats had loaded normally, loaded to full capacity as they drifted through the swamp and headed towards the first drop at a leisurely pace. The Blue Bayou was completely full, accommodating a lunch-time crowd. Though Ash let his eyes wander through all of this, he eventually looked back to see Serena looking back at him, her cheeks as flushed as the hat she wore, unable to separate from the moment down in the burning room.

The boat rolled to a halt on the dock, roughly stopping itself on the dry wheels beneath it until it perfectly aligned with the row of gates on either side.

A cast member dressed in pirate gear stepped to the edge from the operating post, looking down at the two of them. "Al-right, thank you for your patience, hope you enjoyed, sorry for the delay—exit on your right!"

Though Serena looked up to the cast member—seeing the crowds of people waiting in the line that ended just at the edge of the dock—she then looked back down at Ash, smiling with a gentle giddiness. She reached for the sides of the benches around her, ready to hoist herself up, but she hesitated each time she really readied herself to get out of the boat. Even if they were in front of so many people, Serena seemed ready for another kiss—almost as enthralled with just the prospect of being able to kiss him than the act of kissing him itself.

At the edge of the dock, the portly cast member leaned himself against the side of the console that controlled the 'launch' mechanisms of the dock, less than amused by the display of quiet affection in the boat. He only had to glance at the line that had stacked up behind the front of the boat launch, leading out the door, as well as the line of empty boats that had stacked up behind Ash and Serena's boat, to reaffirm his decision.

"Al-right, please exit the boat now. Thank you for riding Pirates of the—yep. Please, gather your things and—"

"Yeah! Come on you weirdos, are you going just to hang around in that boat all day?"

Serena's head whipped around instantly, like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on it, looking over through the wooden gates to see where the all too familiar voice had come from. She raised herself just enough to look over the surface of the dock platform to see, her eyes wide with terror to see Bonnie standing just ahead of her.

Bonnie was standing up against one of the wooden fence rails, leaning against it, clutching her Dedenne in her arms. In the shade of a tall, artificial palm tree that rose from the planter behind the fence, Bonnie's appearance was obscured, but it was obvious that something was different about her. Her hair had been done especially nicely, smoothed and primmed to princess-level perfection, her cheeks glistening with a bright red makeup blush that sparkled in the dim light. A red bow crossed her hair above the braided stripe, perfectly placed. Behind her head, a white collar raised above a pair of puffy blue shoulders, and beneath the blue material that came over her tummy was a yellow dress down to her ankles—Serena even spotting a pair of dressy flats on her feet for a change. She was dressed like Snow White, Dedenne, clutched in her arms, was dressed like one of the peasant mice from Cinderella with an old shirt and a pointed hat.

All of the Pokemon that had been on them with the boat were beside Bonnie—Serena's Braixen, her Pancham and Sylveon, as well as Ash's Pikachu. Standing just a few feet down from Bonnie, Clemont was there too, using the light from the Blue Bayou just over his shoulder to catch on the map in front of him as he squinted at it. Crossing the dark straps over his shoulder of his backpack and on several different lanyards that hung down from his neck, Clemont was bristling with silvery Disney pins of various eras, many of them rare and highly collectible.

It was as though Serena's worst nightmare had come true. Her blushing face was a dozen shades darker than it had been earlier, looking a dark unhealthy red against her white eyes, steam practically wafting off of her forehead.

"Al-right, I'm going to ask you one last time—"

"What on earth are you waiting for? We need to go get on some more rides before things get crazy out there!" Bonnie protested, hopping up and down on the stone path very, very impatiently.

Serena quickly hopped up like nothing had happened, reaching up to grab the wooden guardrails of the gates and steady herself, standing on the bench she had sat on moments earlier. The boat hardly bobbed as she pushed herself off and levied herself up onto the stone dock, of the other side, quickly hopping through and across into the clearing of the path, just in front of Bonnie and Clemont. Even if they hadn't said anything or looked suspicious, Serena was on edge, worried that they might see through her and realize that something much more intimate had happened down in the passageways of the ride.

"Serena, were you all scared being trapped down there?" asked Bonnie, her eyes narrowing and becoming teasing, a slight snicker coming out. "I hope Ash protected you from all those pirates…"