*Doors open*

Hey guys and girls! AlphaAura is back! *Doors start closing* H-Hey! Wait, wait!

*Doors slam shut*

...

Crud. Anyways...I'm back with another chapter! I'd like to thank those who have read this story; it means a lot!

Originally, I had this story written with several chapters but after looking back at them, I felt like they could be improved so I started to rewrite them. This has and will take some time.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon! Nope!

Chapter 2: Unexpected Incidents and Danger

The afternoon was quite peaceful. The warm sun shone all across the Kalos region and every human and pokemon enjoyed being outside in this fine weather. Well...save for a few who were on their way to Cyllage city.

"Clemont!" Bonnie whined. "Can we take a break?" She was sweating and her legs hurt after walking for several hours.

"It would be nice to take a break," Clemont agreed. His condition was worse than Bonnie's because he was much less athletic. "Hey Ash! Serena! Can we stop for a bit?"

Ash and Serena stopped. Ash noticed that a break would do him and his friends more good than walking nonstop. He also noticed that Serena was quite exhausted.

"Okay, let's take a break!" Ash said. Pikachu jumped off of his shoulder and roamed the grass. Fortunately for them, they stopped near an open meadow. A lone tree stood within the meadow, casting a large, cool shade. The group rested in the shade and released their pokemon so that they could enjoy themselves. As they went to play and relax, Clemont started to build another invention, Serena and Bonnie looked at the flowers and scenery, and Ash sat down with his back on the tree. He pulled his cap down so that it covered his eyes and went to sleep.

[Dream]

Running. Exhaustion. Fear. Something was chasing him in the darkness. He didn't dare look behind him. He just kept on running. The darkness was endless and absolute. There was no way out.

Suddenly, Ash felt himself falling. "AHHH!" he screamed as wind whipped around him. He tried to grab something but nothing was there.

Then he hit solid ground. Ash tumbled and rolled. Indescribable pain followed immediately after impact. Every bone in his body felt broken and he could hardly breathe. His vision went blurry though he couldn't see anything but darkness. He groaned from the extreme pain.

...

After some of the pain subsided, he attempted to stand which immediately resulted in searing pain at his legs. He realized that the fall must have fractured his legs upon impact.

Then he heard something. The sound came closer. Ash's eyes widened when he recognized it; it was from what was chasing him earlier! He mustered every ounce of strength he had left and attempted to stand...only to fail with pain as a result.

"N-No..." he barely whispered. "D-Don't give up t-til it's o-ver..."

Fool. What a waste of energy. Pathetic, a dark voice said in the darkness.

"W-Who..?" Ash tried to ask.

I am not your concern. You should be concerned about your future, the voice said with malice. Then it laughed, which sent shivers down Ash's spine. The laugh was a nightmare of its own. You shall be mine to control! the voice boomed.

Ash looked to his right and saw a beam of red heading directly towards him. He could only watch in horror as the beam closed the distance between them. Before the beam made contact...

Ash woke up and gasped. He felt restrained. Strangely, his vision was tinged with blue. Something was behind him and because of his recent nightmare, he was scared out of his wits and irrationally thought whatever was behind him was a threat to him. He turned to punch whatever was behind.

His fist glowed blue before-

*CRACK!* The tree shook and a few flying type pokemon flew away in the distance. A 10-foot shockwave emitted from where Ash was standing, causing the flowers and grass within range to viciously sway back and forth.

Ash's vision returned to normal. He looked at what he had just punched. His eyes widened in shock.

His fist was buried almost a foot into the trunk of the tree he just punched. Strangely, he didn't feel any pain at all.

"What...just happened?" Ash wondered aloud.

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu shouted in the distance. He had heard the loud noice and ran towards Ash.

"Ash! What was that noise?!" Clemont yelled in the distance. He, too, was running towards Ash.

"What's going on?!" Serena shouted right after Clemont. She and Bonnie were also running. All their pokemon were coming as well.

Ash was still stunned at what he just did. So stunned that when everybody came to him, he didn't even take his fist out of the poor tree he had just nearly decimated.

Everybody's eyes widened and their jaws dropped. The poor tree didn't deserve to be punched like that. They knew Ash was physically strong after his years of traveling but they didn't know he was this strong!

Ash snapped out of his trance and slowly pulled his fist out. It was unharmed and had absolutely no scratches. A punch like that should have at least fractured some bones!

"Um...hi guys," Ash said, still shocked. There was a small silence.

"We hear a loud cracking noise, run all the way here, see your fist a foot into that tree, and all you say is 'hi guys'?!" Clemont exclaimed. "I mean, just when did you get THAT strong?!"

Ash became defensive. "I'm not that strong!" he exclaimed. "I just woke up from another nightmare and the next thing I know I have my fist inside this tree!"

Serena frowned. Another nightmare? "Nightmare?" she asked softly so that she doesn't upset him.

Ash visibly paled. "Yeah...I-I don't want to talk about it."

"I don't want to know anyways," Bonnie said. "Nightmares are scary and bad."

"Don't worry Ash," Clemont said. "We won't force you to explain."

"Thanks," Ash sighed. Just what was that dream about? he thought. "Alright, let's get moving."

"Are you sure? Don't you need to rest a little?" Serena asked, concerned. Ash nodded. After packing up and returning their pokemon to their pokeballs excluding Pikachu and Dedenne, the group was once again on the road.

In the meadow, several wild pokemon stared at the hole in the lone tree.

It was getting dark. The sun was setting, casting a crimson glare across the sky. A few clouds could be seen floating away. The group was now setting camp because the nearest pokemon center was a day's walk away.

Ash was in deep thought about what happened. Punching that tree and not feeling any pain confused him to no end. He also remembered his vision being a bit blue. What does that mean? he thought. He couldn't think of any explanations.

Except one. Aura.

He remembered that he could use Aura when he traveled to the Tree of Beginning. He also remembered that Lucario had told him that his Aura signature was identical to the legendary Aura Guardian Sir Aaron.

But how is that so? Sir Aaron's time was a long time before I was born, he thought. He was oblivious to Bonnie's attempts to snap him out of his trance.

"Not again," Bonnie groaned. Then she smiled mischievously. "Dedenne? Can you use Nuzzle on Ash for me?" Dedenne happily complied. He went up to Ash's shoulder and started to rub his cheeks with Ash's face.

"Dene!" Ash was suddenly engulfed in orange electricity as Dedenne nuzzled him.

"AHH! WHY DO I KEEP GETTING ELECTROCUTED?!" Ash shouted as he was being shocked for dear life. Dedenne stopped and Ash looked thoroughly cooked.

"I'll ask Dedenne to do it again if you space out again!" Bonnie threatened. Ash sweatdropped.

Serena looked over to Ash. She was starting to get worried despite the humorous situation he was currently in. Ash still hasn't been acting himself at all since his first nightmare. What happened to the caring, determined, reckless, and happy boy that I used to know and like? Her thoughts wandered to Ash's nightmares. Why is he having nightmares all of a sudden?

"Hey guys!" Clemont shouted. "Let's have some dinner! Though Ash, you look like you're the main course! What happened?" Everybody else except Bonnie sweatdropped.

They all ate dinner but everyone, even the pokemon, noticed that Ash wasn't eating like he should be. He seemed...distant.

Something was wrong.

Night came rather quickly. The moon shined brightly in the dark sky and cool winds blew through trees and grass. There was a low campfire in the middle of two tents, one blue and the other pink. They were actually inventions of Clemont's and they actually did not explode. Light snoring could be heard in both tents. Everyone was sound asleep.

Well, almost everyone...

Ash could not sleep a wink. His nightmares were on his mind at all times, preventing him from sleeping. Also, he was afraid that he would dream another nightmare if he slept again. He twisted and turned, then sat up, careful not to wake Pikachu or Clemont. If he couldn't sleep, then a walk wouldn't hurt. Ash exited the tent and into the cool night. He walked away from camp but could still see the warm glow of the campfire.

He thought about his nightmares once again. What do they mean? he thought. Then he thought about the incident with the tree. What happened back then? Did I really use Aura? He kept thinking in silence.

*CRACK*

Ash jumped in alarm. His heart beat faster. He looked around, trying to see what made the noise. After looking for about two minutes, he didn't find anything.

"Must have been the wind or some wild pokemon," he said to himself. He decided to go back to camp. As soon as he started walking, he noticed a shadow in the corner of his left eye. He turned to it and saw it quickly approaching. He froze in fear and instinctively reached his belt for Froakie and Fletchling's pokeballs but immediately realized that he had left them back at camp. The shadow got closer and closer...and then disappeared.

Ash was panting and sweating. He was scared beyond belief. "My n-nightmares and my lack of s-sleep must be making me see t-things," he reasoned, still in fear. He turned back towards camp...

...And saw the shadow right in front of him. He couldn't see it at all from the darkness. Suddenly, pain coursed through his body. His vision started to blur and he started to feel dizzy. He couldn't move!

"What the-" was all he could say before more intense pain caused him to black out into unconsciousness.

The last thing he felt was being dragged away from camp.

And that's that! Now the plot is moving along and things are gonna get a little darker from here on out.

Hope you liked this chapter! Reviews are optional but is appreciated! Thanks!

AlphaAura signing out!