A/N: I've gotta be just about the best updater there is on here. :P Seriously, though, my apologies for the really long wait. I was busy, once again. Fortunately, I finally got myself enough time to work on this chapter, which is no doubt shorter than all the others. Guess that's what a busy life does to me. :(
Anyway, enough chitchat! Time to restart from where we left off! ENJOY!
"S-Serena?" asked Ash, surprised from the accidental hug the two of them were now sharing.
Serena blinked nervously, extremely relieved that the darkness shrouded her entire being, preventing her friend and crush from seeing the heavy shade of red that was rapidly flooding her face. Stuttering inaudibly, she broke away from him, dusting herself as if it were nothing to be concerned about.
"Come on, Ash!" she whispered. "We can't just stand here! We've gotta move! Adam might spot us any second now!"
The two Trainers immediately resumed their run, albeit a little slower due to the knee injury Ash sustained. To their immense relief, both were no longer able to hear Adam's voice, nor those of Floyd, Lloyd, and Nick. Running towards the bright hue of crimson straight ahead, their suspicions were confirmed as an ablaze structure came into their view; it was the Pokémon Center, its logo barely comprehensible as it was engulfed in red-hot flames. The atmosphere was filled with a burning smell, and pierced by loud crackling noises. Ash growled angrily and clenched his fists as both Trainers watched a section of it collapse.
"Those evil, good-for-nothing people!" he snarled. "Hopefully everyone got out okay..."
"SERENA!" a familiar voice called out. "ASH!"
Serena and Ash looked across their shoulders and saw Bonnie running up to them, Dedenne perched on her head as always.
"Serena, Ash!" the young girl exclaimed as she ran up to Serena and hugged her legs tightly as tears streamed down her face. "You guys are okay!"
"Dede!" added Dedenne.
"Hey, Bonnie," replied Ash. "Glad to see you're okay." His eyes widened as he remembered something. "Wait, what about Clemont and the Pokémon?"
Bonnie broke away from Serena and replied, "Everyone's okay! We all managed to get out of the Center just in time! We're all over there." She pointed off at a hill, where the older Trainers spotted a large crowd of people, including several firefighters and their Water-type Pokémon. "Come on!"
Serena and Ash followed Bonnie up the hill and away from the Pokémon Center. There, Ash immediately spotted a bed that held Clemont, who was fully awake. At his side was Pikachu, whose ears abruptly twitched; the Mouse Pokémon immediately spotted Ash and smiled happily.
"Pikapi!" he exclaimed as he hopped into Ash's arms.
"Pikachu!" cried Ash.
"Ash!" Clemont said, his eyes widening in relief. "Serena! You guys made it! Thank Arceus for that!"
"Hey, Clemont," replied Serena. "Glad to see you're up and all right."
"Yeah." The inventor then glanced at the burning Pokémon Center as firefighters continued battling the raging blaze. "Wonder what started that fire-"
"Adam," Serena said quickly, almost on instinct. "It was Adam and his gang, Clemont. They did this."
Clemont glared back at Serena, the shock evident in his eyes. "It was their doing?" Serena nodded. "My Arceus. Why would they want to do something horrible like this, burn down a Pokémon Center while there are people and Pokémon inside? And in the middle of the night, when they'd be sleeping or recovering, and utterly defenseless?!" He shook his head in disgust. "I can't believe it..." Then, he looked up at Serena and Ash. "But I guess they're gone now, right?"
Ash nodded, but Serena didn't respond. She knew that this was definitely far from over, especially since Adam was now holding a deep hatred against her that would not last until the day came when one of them would die. With that concluded, Serena hoped it wouldn't be her who would have to die.
Then, she heard Clemont speak again. "Hey, Serena?"
She looked down at the bedridden inventor. "Yeah, Clemont?"
Her eyes widened when she saw him stretch out his hand, which was clutching a single Poké Ball.
"I found this in your bag. I'm assuming this is Fennekin's."
Serena looked down, realizing that she forgot about Fennekin, who was still held tightly and protectively in her arms. Looking back at Clemont and smiling, she replied, "Thanks." and took the Poké Ball from him. Looking back down at Fennekin and its happy, shimmering red eyes, she smiled and aimed the Poké Ball.
"Fennekin, return," she commanded. As soon as the Fox Pokémon disappeared into the device, she looked at it and added, "You have a good rest."
Then, the Trainer felt something tug at her skirt. Looking down at her side, she saw Bonnie smiling up at her happily.
"Serena, I'm glad you're okay," she said.
Serena smiled back. "Thanks, Bonnie. ...Same with you."
Then, she looked from shoulder to shoulder. At her right side, Ash smiled proudly at her, no doubt as a thanks for saving him minutes earlier. At her left, Clemont was also smiling, relieved that she and Ash had managed to get themselves out of this predicament. Then, she looked down at her Poké Ball, knowing for sure Fennekin was also smiling, proud to know that they worked together to solve a mutual problem, as any Trainer and their Pokémon should do.
All of her friends were smiling at her. And, without a single hint of reluctance, she smiled back at all of them.
"Serena, if you feel that your debt to me..."
She suddenly pursed her lips. Ash was quick to notice this.
"Serena?" he asked. "What's wrong?"
Serena looked at Ash. The bright hue coming from the Center blaze bathed the entire scene. With the wind blowing, it resembled some sort of dramatic sunset.
"...is getting in the way of whatever dream you want to pursue with Fennekin..."
"Ash..." she said.
"I think I've made my decision."
He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Decision?"
"...then you are free to leave us if you wish."
"About my debt to you getting in the way of my own dream, of Fennekin's dream. About if I should leave the group or not."
"You're LEAVING?!" Bonnie exclaimed, her eyes widening.
"WHY?!" cried Clemont, equally surprised.
"Don't ever..."
However, Ash smiled in understanding. "Oh, yeah. That decision. So, looks like you've already made it. What do you say, Serena? Still think you should stay and repay your debt to me? Or is this where we say goodbye to you?" His smile widened. "Just know that it's okay, Serena, whatever you say."
"NO, IT'S NOT OKAY!" exclaimed Bonnie as she hugged Serena's leg. "SERENA, YOU CAN'T LEAVE US! YOU JUST CAN'T!"
"Oh, it's okay, Bonnie," replied Serena as a new smile crept onto her face. "I'm not leaving anyone."
"...ever let anything stand in the way of your dreams..."
"So I take it that you're staying?" asked Ash in clarification.
Serena faced him. "Yeah. But not because I still feel like I owe you. You see, as I spent the last several weeks traveling with you, Clemont, and Bonnie, I came to a realization. It's true, Ash, that I initially wanted to travel with you so I can thank you, and nothing else. But with each passing adventure you thrust me in, I've come to see life as you see it: a grand adventure, with new things to discover, including yourself. But right now, I feel that if I travel with you-" She looked at Clemont and Bonnie. "-without all of you, then I won't have as much support and encouragement in the form of friends. Friends like you.
"Without all of you, I wouldn't be me in this Pokémon journey. So that's why, for the time being, I'm staying. So I can discover myself by being with you all."
"...including me."
Everyone smiled happily in response, especially Ash.
"I guess you made the right decision, Serena," he replied.
The crimson hue began to fade; the firefighters had won the battle as the Pokémon Center blaze finally started dying.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE WE LOST THEM!"
Roaring out with unthinkable fury, Adam punched the nearest tree trunk with all of the strength he can muster, actually causing some leaves to disconnect from their branches and flutter to the ground. Seconds later, he howled in agony and withdrew his fist, clutching it as it swelled. Lloyd snickered in sadistic pleasure.
"Can't believe...that stupid little girl...escaped..." snarled Adam between heavy pants.
"Adam, you have to calm down," Floyd protested. "We'll get back at that Serena again, but we have bigger problems to worry about-"
Adam glared at him, his eyes alive with fiery rage. "Bigger problems to worry about? Bigger problems to WORRY about?! There is no, I repeat, NO problem that can be possibly BIGGER than losing that Arceus-damn girl and her dim-witted fox! I WILL NOT rest until I find her and KILL her, slowly and painfully! I shall teach her the true meaning of suffering, and I'll make sure that she BEGS to be killed! I'm gonna show her, I'm gonna show her, I'M GONNA SHOW HER! ARGH!"
The green-haired man stomped his foot to the ground and began kicking at the dirt viciously, sending up small clouds of dust. Floyd stepped back in caution.
"I'LL GET MY REVENGE, I SWEAR TO ARCEUS!" Adam roared. "I SHALL, AND IT WILL BE DELICIOUS!"
Taking advantage of his comrades' distractions, Floyd glanced towards the direction of the red hue that was the Pokémon Center blaze, which seemed to be, to his relief, growing dimmer and dimmer as it was being extinguished. He knew from the bottom of his heart that Serena and her friend managed to make it back and found help. As much as he was still loyal towards Adam, Floyd knew that he just couldn't let anything bad happen to her. Not after what happened to Jake.
Floyd's eyes softened as soon as he remembered the look of betrayal on Jake's eyes during that fateful day...
"Serena really reminds me of Jake," he thought solemnly. "I guess...that's why I'm being so protective of her. Could this be a way to rectify my past mistake? Could it be possible that Arceus is actually pitiful of me and therefore is sending me a miracle of sorts? Or is it just some random coincidence?... I don't know what to think..."
"Think we should get back to that Pokémon Center we set on fire?" asked Nick suddenly. "Those two kids might've backtracked there."
"If they did," snarled Adam, "then there'll be no doubt be all those firefighters around! We cannot afford to have any witnesses who'd just interfere!" He looked away, a nasty glare on his face. "Whether or not we know where that stupid girl is, we can't be able to reach her. We can only wait for the perfect moment, and that perfect moment is now far out of our reach for Arceus knows how freaking long! I should've just finished her when I had the chance-"
"Why are you so focused on Serena, Adam?" Floyd asked.
Adam glared at his comrade. "...What?!"
Floyd immediately knew that he was in for a whole lot of hurt. "I-I mean," he stuttered defensively, "isn't this just a waste of time? What about our heists? We should probably shift our focus back on those before we get ourselves into further trouble than what we're already facing-"
"SCREW OUR HEISTS!" Spit flew out of Adam's mouth as he screamed his latest outburst. "UNTIL WE FIND SERENA AND GIVE HER ALL THE SUFFERING THAT SHE NEEDS AND DESERVES, WE WILL NOT ENGAGE IN ANY HEISTS, ANY PAYDAYS, WHATSOEVER! I DON'T CARE IF WE HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THE END OF THE EARTH TILL WE FINALLY IMPOSE OUR REVENGE ON THAT ACCURSED SERENA, HER WORTHLESS FENNEKIN, AND ALL HER ARCEUS-DAMN ANNOYING FRIENDS!"
"Our revenge?" Floyd thought bitterly. "Or is it just yours?"
"Aw, man," Nick groaned. "I always liked heisting stuff-"
Immediately, Adam punched Nick hard in the face, sending him down to the ground. As the stocky man cried out in pain, Adam kicked him in the stomach.
"WELL, THAT'S JUST TOO FREAKING BAD!" he roared in response.
"Hey, Adam, come on!" exclaimed Floyd, stepping between Adam and the fallen Nick. "Chill! Nick was just saying what he wanted to say!"
"Chill, my ass! For as long as I'm the ringleader of this group, everyone does as I say! And I say that we find that lil' Serena and give her what she deserves!"
Floyd crossed his arms. "Well, it doesn't work that way when you're treating us like shit."
Adam's eyelid twitched, and Floyd knew that he said the wrong thing. However, he merely stood his ground as Adam raised his fist, but before he could throw a punch, the red hue of the blaze completely faded, shrouding the quartet in the darkness of the night. Floyd heard Adam growl angrily.
"Arceus-damn it, I can barely see anything... Okay, we're moving out, gang. We wait till daylight breaks, then we make our move."
"But won't the girl and her friends be gone at this point?" Nick asked reluctantly.
There was a deathly silence. Then, Adam replied, "Arceus-damn it. Arceus-damn it! I gotta rethink my entire plan now!" More silence followed for a brief moment as Floyd helped Nick up. Finally, the green-haired man continued, "I guess the girl's out of our hair, but only for so long. Heh heh heh... We'll get you, lil' Serena. You better start counting your last days, 'cause we'll find you, and once we do, we'll make you and everyone you love dearly PAY. Alright, we're moving out!"
The quartet started advancing deeper into the forest, away from the Pokémon Center.
"Adam's gone nuts, hasn't he?" Nick whispered to Floyd.
"Tell me about it," replied Floyd as a small smile crept onto his face. "Guess that girl damaged more than just half of his face..."
As he continued following the others through the thick forest, Floyd couldn't help but feel rather proud of himself. Even if it was only for a brief moment, he had finally stood up to Adam personally, with both of them having legitimate eye contact...and it was a good feeling... He had never stood up to Adam before in his life, and he wondered why he hadn't done so earlier. The smile on his face widened as he delved into his thoughts.
"I guess this experience was actually good for me..." he thought. "I probably wouldn't dare to stand up against Adam again, so soon, but when we find Serena, I shall do everything that I can possibly can to defend her from Adam." A soft and inaudible chuckle escaped his lips, going unnoticed. "When I see her again, I'll thank her for what she's done to help me." Then, his eyes narrowed. "And...I'll ask her if she knows anything about Jake... There has to be a reason she reminds me of him...
"It can't be just some random coincidence..."
A/N: How's this for a conclusion to this newest predicament? Sorry if it seems rushed, guys, but considering we've only got two more chapters left, I didn't feel there had to be more that needed to be done, considering that any further stuff would just pad up the chapter. Besides, I've got bigger things planned for the final two chapters, which are parts of a two-part epilogue that'll lead into something rather surprising (can't tell you what, though)!
Oh, and don't worry: the AmourShipping hint will NOT go to waste. It'll be dealt with later.
I'd like to thank those who reviewed:
ZigzagooNaver: Well, consider your suspense finally over. :D
vanilla869: I believe I already told you otherwise (hopefully you remembered).
Guest reviewer: Oh, you'll learn who it is. As for that scene...nope. I wouldn't find that funny at all.
Fireminer: Good to hear, I guess. Where's what you liked about the chapter?
Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: Thanks! That scene has been planned from day one. Good to see my effort hasn't gone to waste. :)
JaeD53: Unfortunately, it looks like he gets away with the others. For now.
K9wolf369: You'll learn who the mysterious figure is. And yes, only two chapters away now till the fateful end.
NGA96: This is what happened afterward.
super mario 675: Good to see you sensed it and decided to look at this as a result. :D
BlueLightningXD: Well, of course Ash has to intervene a lot. He's Ash, for crying out loud. :P As for foreshadowing...you'll find out! ;)
MarioLuigi25: Glad to hear this from you! If only this scene actually happened in the anime. Then again, the anime's at least midway into the first season, so...
MoonBlazer: Well, Adam kidnapping Bonnie and Clemont is out of the question now, considering there's only two chapters left (both of which are meant to give a proper wrap-up to the story), and definitely not enough time for more action, so sorry, it's not gonna happen.
Davin134: Well, Fennekin isn't confirmed to have any Abilities in the anime so far, so I can't say for sure right now.
JB39276 (guest reviewer): Glad to hear this from you! I hope it was a very good read! :D
Ejennings167: Well, here's the continuation. Hopefully you're satisfied! :D
Well, hope you enjoyed this very late chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!