A/N: WHAT'S UP, GUY?! Fred Andrew Oakster here, bringing you the latest of Serene Phoenix Reborn. I apologize for taking so long getting the chapter up and I hope you will enjoy it. I have graduated now and I got no job so hopefully, I will be able to write more now, as long as my girlfriend don't claim sole rights to me. Speaking of which, there is a poll in my Profile page where you can vote for your favourite idea of a possible secondary project that I might start over summer! Make sure to go check it out!
Question of the day is simply what would YOU want to see me writing over the summer? You can just say you want me to write within a specific franchise, you can say you want me to write one of the options in my poll or you can come up with YOUR OWN IDEA and hope I like it!
Disclaimer: Yup, it's here. Do I really need to say anything?
Chapter Six: Best Friends Reunited
Axel yawned loudly and stretched out on the sofa in Professor Sycamore's lab. This sure had been a tiring day, helping out at the lab since they were pretty low on people and there were a lot of stuff that needed doing. He definetely didn't envy Ash, who had been sent to Vaniville Town to deliver the Starter Pokemon to that newbie trainer. Though he had to admit, that guy seemed to be enthusiastic about almost anything so he probably felt that he had still gotten the better end of the deal.
Anyway, it still felt pretty good to be able to relax. Since he was practically a danger to himself and everyone within a 5 miles radius when it came to scientific labs and stuff like that, he had been put in charge of taking care of the Pokemon that lived at the lab. While he was definetely better at that than at science and computer, he wasn't quite used to caring for so many Pokemon at the same time. There were Zigzagoons to be feeded, Scraggys to be kept from headbutting each other, Helioptiles that he had to be kept away from the water so the Magikarps in the pond wouldn't get shocked if the Reptiles got scared and the list went on and on and on.
Needless to say, it had been a very tiring experience so Axel felt pretty relieved now that he could lay down and relax a little. He had made sure to check in on Garchomp at least once every 2 hours as well, just to make sure that his partner was recovering from yesterday's drama. He wanted to use Garchomp in his Gym Battle against Clemont, so naturally he wanted to keep a close eye on his recovery, but he was also a little worried about how his partner felt after what had most likely been a pretty traumatic experience.
Garchomp however seemed to be fine and just very exhausted. He was mainly lying around somewhere and sleeping, though he tried to lift his head whenever Axel was in the vicinity, as if he wanted to show that he would be ready for the fight tomorrow. However, as much as he appreciated that his partner was trying to prove himself ready, Axel didn't want to take any risks with his Pokemon's health so he might just ask Clemont to postpone their battle one more day so Garchomp would be at full strenght and completely recovered. However, for now he just wanted to lay down and...
"Hey Axel?! Where are you at?"
Hearing his name being called, Axel groaned in despair. Could he never catch a break? What did he do to enrage Arceus to the level that he deserved this punishment of constant work? Maybe if it had been Sycamore calling he could've slipped away, but now it was Sophie... there was just no getting away from Sophie. She could be downright scary if he tried to slip away from work. He had learned that the hard way earlier today when he had tried to catch a nap while babysitting some infant Scatterbugs...
"Whatup?" Axel asked lazily and sat up just as Professor Sycamore's Assistant entered the room.
"You got a phone call, Axel." Sophie said and gestured with her hand over her shoulder, pointing with her finger in the direction she came from.
This had Axel frowning in confusion. Who would be calling him? And now of all times? Actually, scratch that. Who even knew that he was living at Professor Sycamore's Laboratory at the moment? He had expected to be sent back to clean out the pond or something when he heard Sophie calling his name, so he had already been half way out of his seat in the sofa.
"Really? From who?" he asked as he rose in his full height.
Sophie sighed and shook her head in slight exasperation.
"Why don't you just go and look for yourself?" she sighed. "I got stuff to do."
And with that, she left the room. Axel blinked in confusion and just stood in place for a moment. Was it something he had said? He hadn't been that much of a jerk, had he? Then again, Sophie had never made any sense to him. She was way too serious 24/7, if you asked Axel. How she even put up with it would forever be a riddle without an answer for him.
Shrugging and just deciding to let it pass, Axel made his way into the living room that had the phone. And froze in the doorway. The screen phone was clearly visible from where he was standing and that screen was currently showing one very familiar face, complete with the same ice blue eyes that Axel himelf had, framed by a long mane of blonde hair.
Seeing the face of his older cousin on the screen, Axel could almost swear he heard the gears turn inside his head. Without wasting any time, he went up to the screen to greet his cousin, the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia.
"Hey there C. Isn't this a surprise call?" he said, trying to sound nonchalant.
Cynthia however, did not seem amused by her cousin's attempts to make this a simple conversation. Axel could easily tell from the way she raised her eyebrow at him that she had something to say and if he knew his cousin, it had to be something important. After a few seconds of silence, Cynthia spoke up.
"It's good to see you too, Axel." she said.
Something was up. Cynthia was normally a very relaxed and cheerful person. Not easy-going, but she definetely wasn't usually this tense. Even through the phone screen, Axel could practically see and feel the tension radiating from her body. They had known each other practically since the day Axel was born and even though they had been a few years apart in age, they had always been very close, since there weren't many other kids living in Celestic Town and neither of them had any siblings. They could read each other like two open books and right now, Axel could tell that there was something troubling his cousin.
"What's with the tension, C? Something up?" he asked, studying Cynthia for any kind of reaction.
For a moment, neither of them said or did anything. After a few seconds though, Cynthia broke the silence.
"I heard about the incident with Garchomp." she stated simply.
Axel sighed inwardly. Of course she would've heard about it. There just wasn't any way something like that could slip by his cousin unnoticed. Garchomp had practically wrecked half the city. Something of that magnitude would at least be mentioned in newscasts all around the world.
"Really?" Axel said and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Nothing against Cynthia or anything, but it was pretty easy to tell from the way she was acting that this was going to be a long conversation.
"Yeah. I only heard about it briefly though. It was just mentioned in passing over the Sinnoh News, but I figured that you were involved somehow when they mentioned a Garchomp in Lumiose City." she said, causing Axel to sweatdrop. Really? Was that supposed to be a joke?
For a moment, Cynthia eyed him as if she expected him to say something, but when he didn't even move a muscle to make keep the conversation rolling, she rolled her eyes and opened her mouth again.
"Would you care to tell me exactly what happened? All I know is that for some reason, Garchomp went berserk and rampaged throughout the city!" she said, narrowing her eye slightly to let Axel know that she wasn't in the mood for any games.
Knowing that it wasn't a good idea to try and downplay the incident when Cynthia was in this mood. He idly wondered what had her so worked up at the moment. Sure, the Garchomp Incident wasn't something to take lightly or laugh at, but for something to get Cynthia this tense... there had to be something else going on. Something bigger than a simple incident with a berserk Pokemon.
"Well, to be completely honest I don't know the details, but Sycamore told me that some thugs showed up and used this strange device on Garchomp that caused him to go out of control. Sophie's been taking a look at the remains of the device to try and figure out how it worked, but she needs some more time." Axel briefly summed it up.
Hearing this, Cynthia seemed to sink into herself somehow and sighed. For a moment, the power and calmness that she usually radiated was nowhere to be found and Axel could almost glimt the little girl she used to be somewhere in her eyes. Seeing her like this was really starting to worry him. It wasn't like her at all.
"Hey C? Seriously, what's up? This isn't like you at all." he asked with a hint of worry in his voice. He might be lazy and grumpy about having to do mundane work, but he knew when to be serious about something. And this was definetely one of those times, if the way Cynthia acted was any indication.
Cynthia seemed to hesitate for a moment, before taking a deep breath and regaining her composure.
"Listen Axel, we need to talk face to face. Stay in Lumiose City for a little while and I'll be right there in a few days time. It's very important." she said with new conviction in her voice, as if that one breath had somehow filled her with new energy that had been lost just moments ago.
"Ooooo-kay... sure, I'll wait here." Axel said, not quite sure what he was supposed to make of this. "Does this have something to do with the incident with Garchomp?"
Once more, Cynthia seemed to be hesistant to answer his question. If he wasn't already slightly freaked out by his cousin's behavior, this would definetely have caused him to question whether this really was his cousin or some kind of impostor. Maybe a Zorua who had somehow learned how to speak with Cynthia's voice?
"Not really. But... they're slightly connected. You'll understand once we speak."
-X-Y-Z-
The tension in the entrance hall was so thick you could practically touch it. Grace didn't know if she should try to step away and let Serena and Ash have their own reunion or if she should try and give her daughter a push in the back, since the honey-blonde girl had pretty much frozen in place. Even though Serena had never spoken of it in front of her, Grace knew all too well that her daughter had missed Ash terribly. Brock seemed to be clueless as to what was going on, but he could tell by Ash's expression that this was not a good time to break the moment.
Ash didn't know what to think. He had to be dreaming. Serena was... well she had been gone but he wasn't in Pallet anymore. He had never thought that he might run into her on his journey, because he had always only ever thought about the time they had spent together in Pallet so when she left their hometown, it had felt like she had left the world. Well, he had wanted to believe they would meet again someday but he had never really thought it would actually happen. But now here she was, standing in front of him.
It was an odd feeling, seeing her again. His heartbeats felt really weird and his chest felt all ticklish inside. Why was he so nervous? It was just Serena, right? It was his friend! His old friend from childhood! Why would that make his this unnerved?
Opposite to him, Serena had come out into the hall, but she was still holding her hand over her chest, staring at her childhood friend. Why was she feeling so giddy inside? She had known that he was in Kalos! She had even known exactly where he was (well, at least she had thought she had known) so why was she so shocked to see him?
She swallowed hard and began to walk towards him. The hall that she usually took in a few swift steps suddenly felt extremely long and tiring to walk. On her way there, she felt a lot of different emotions bubbling in her chest. The feeling of loneliness that had consumed her for the first year after moving, the sorrow she had felt the day she had jumped into the car and watched as her best friend disappeared behind her as the car moved out of Pallet Town, never to return. But at the same time as those and a lot of other negative emotions ran through her, she also felt the happiness she had felt when she had seen him on the television yesterday.
While Ash and Serena had been staring at each other, Brock had called Pikachu inside and closed the door, to avoid letting out all the warmth from within the house. The electric rodent was now staring up at his best friend, not used to seeing him in this kind of trance-like state. According to what the Rhyhorn had told him, Ash had known it and its owners since before he left Pallet Town. Though it probably didn't matter, Pikachu had to admit that it had picked his curiosity to hear that Serena, who he guessed was the younger of the two women, had been Ash's best friend before she moved away. He had never met one of Ash's childhood friends before. Well, except Gary but those two had been out to practically kill each other since the day Pikachu had first met Ash so he didn't count.
Meanwhile, Serena had made her way up to them and stopped in front of Ash. Behind her, Grace caught Brock's eye and motioned for him to follow her into the house. It would be better for all of them if Ash and Serena could have their little reunion to themselves. Brock got her message and bent down to pick up Pikachu, before following her into the living room. Left behind were two very nervous childhood friends.
After a few moments of just staring into each other's eyes, Serena lifter her arms, as if to hug him. Ash saw the gesture and slowly began to lift his own arms to hug her back... only to be hit above his head by one of Serena's fists. Yelping in surprise from the unnexpected actions, Ash stumbled back and his hands flew to his forehead, where a bump was slowly beginning to form. That hurt!
"Ash! Ketchum!" Serena yelled, her voice cracking slightly. "You reckless little PRAT! What were you THINKING jumping off Prism Tower like that! Do you KNOW how THAT made ME feel?! HUUH?!"
Saying Ash was confused would be an understatement. If he had ever imagined their reunion, it sure hadn't been like this. He felt himself shrink under his childhood friend's angry glare and stumbled back towards the door. Then, his mind registered what she ahd actually said. Prism Tower! Had she seen him jump off Prism Tower? Then... well, then he could probably understand where this was coming from.
"I... I didn't know you were watching." he lamely attempted to defend himself and his actions.
"Oh, and THAT makes it so much more acceptable, does it?" Serena growled with a sarcastic voice. "I thought I was going to break down when I saw you just jump off the tower like some kind of mad man! Then that weird light came and saved you and everything just... GAAAAH! I don't know if I feel happy or..."
She didn't continue and put her hands over her face. This was not what she had wanted to say to him during their reunion! Yes, she was angry at him for jumping of Prism Tower like that, but she hadn't wanted to jump at him about it as soon as they met. She felt happy to see him again, but when she opened her mouth all that came out were complaints and she could barely tell what it was she was feeling. All her emotions were so mixed up inside of her that the best way to describe it would be a jumbled mess of contradicting feelings that made her feel like she was about to explode.
Seeing his friend's confusion and distress, Ash felt torn at what to do. Serena had resorted to hugging her arms tightly around herself and was shaking slightly, from what Ash couldn't quite tell, but it was obviously not anything good. Ash slowly removed his hands from the bump and stood up straight. He was pretty sure that Serena wouldn't hit him again, at least not in the state she was in right now.
Hesistantly, he took a chance and stepped forward once again, not quite sure what he was supposed to do. He was happy to see Serena again after all these years, but her behavior confused him greatly so he had no idea how he should act. He eyed the honey blonde girl carefully. She was still shaking and seeing her in this much distress made Ash feel terrible. Was that whimpering he heard?
Not able to stand seeing his old friend like this, Ash decided on a course of action. For the second time, he reached out with his arms and slowly but steadily put them around Serena in an attempt to hug her. She didn't react to him this time, so he took one last step and pulled her into what he hoped would be a comforting hug. He vaguely remembered that she used to like being hugged when she was distressed back when they were kids.
"I'm sorry I made you worry." he said, trying to sound comforting. He felt Serena stiffen in his embrace for a moment, probably because she hadn't expected it, but after a moment he felt her relax and lean into him.
Serena took a shallow breath when she felt Ash's arms close around her, but after a second her jumbled up mind somehow managed to register what it was Ash was doing and she felt herself relax into his embrace. How she had longed to feel his comforting embrace! For 7 years, every time she had felt sad, scared or angry, she had only just curled up in her room, hoping no one would disturb her and terribly missing being comforted by her best friend. Slowly, she felt her messed up emotions come somewhat back under control as the jumbled mess in her chest and head worked itself out and was replaced by a strange sense of calmness.
"I've missed you so much." she whipsered as she hugged him back.
Mumbling something about that he had missed her too, Ash let go of her and gave her a smile. It was strange. Back when they were children, he had hugged her from time to time because he knew she liked being hugged, but he hadn't really thought much of it. Now however, he found that he was actually reluctant to let go of her. He had felt so content just holding her and feeling her heartbeat against his chest. Well, perhaps what being apart for 7 years did to you.
Serena found herself lost in Ash's eyes as she looked up into his face. Seeing him on the television had been one thing but to actually stand here with him, holding him and looking him in the eye... it felt completely different. That determined and caring face that she remembered from 7 years ago and just barely had been able to scratch through the tv-screen was now staring back at her, more caring and determined than ever before. And she had been right, he had grown more muscular than he used to be. Back in the day, he had always been kind of skinny. Not overly so, but he had been far from as well trained as some other kids, like Gary. But leaning into him, she could feel that he had become a lot more well trained than he used to be. Thinking about her Ash as a strong, young man caused something in Serena to stir. She felt her cheeks flushing in pink and her heart beat faster.
As Ash looked into Serena's clear, dark-blue eyes, he felt his cheeks heating up. What was this feeling? He swallowed nervously as he tried to come to terms with this strange occurance. It felt like something was spreading inside his chest. He felt all warm and sweaty and somehow he felt both nervous and calm. Was it because of Serena? But why would he feel so giddy inside because of her? Speaking of Serena, he couldn't ever remember her body feeling so soft against his...
Unfortunately for the two of them (or perhaps fortunately?), they had both been so engrossed in their own thoughts, feelings and each other that they had failed to hear the front door open behind Ash and close a second later.
"Oh, I thought you said you didn't want to get a boyfriend, Serena?"
Both of the two teenagers that had been staring at each other jumped when Shauna announced her prescence. Ash spun around to see a girl around the age as himself and Serena standing in the doorway. She was a little bit shorter than him and her long, brown hair was tied up in two long pigtails, that were both flowing down her sides. He quickly let go of Serena as if she had burnt him, but immediately felt a sting of displeasure from letting go. His confusion over his own emotions at this point kept his mind from completely registering what it was the newcomer had actually said, though the word "boyfriend" seemed to echo throughout his head.
Meanwhile, Serena was blushing furiously behind Ash's back as she mentally berated herself for forgetting that Shauna was coming over. They had decided over the phone in the afternoon that they would have one last sleepover before they set off on their journeys. While Shauna's mother hadn't yet given her final descision, they felt pretty confident she would give her acceptance. And this way, Shauna could be present when Serena picked her pokemon. But of all the times to show up...
"I don't recognize you though. Hmm..." Shauna said as she tilted her head to the side as she studied Ash. The confused and embarrased boy just stared at her in shock, wondering who she was and what she was doing. His brain didn't quite seem to work the right way at the moment.
Serena had to bite her lip to keep herself from screaming at Shauna for showing up at the worst possible time and for ruining the moment. And not only that, she had just managed to embarrass Serena completely in front of Ash! To just show up randomly and call a guy she didn't even know to be her best friend's boyfriend... didn't Shauna feel any shame at all?! Feeling her cheeks heat up with a furious red color as her face flushed with embarrassment, Serena went over to her friend, with the intention to clear up some things!
"Why don't you wait in the living room with the others, Ash? I will be right there. Me and Shauna will just go to the kitchen and get us something to drink." Serena said with a voice shaking from her struggle to keep herself from shouting her displeassure at Shauna's unexpected interruption.
And with that, she grabbed Shauna by one of her pigtails and dragged her off towards the kitchen. The other girl yelped and began to struggle against Serena's grip but found that it just made it worse. Ash was staring wide eyed as Serena dragged off the struggling brunette.
"Oww! Ouch! That hurts! Serena... oow! Let go!" Shauna protested as she was dragged through the doorway to the kitchen.
As the door to the kitchen slammed shut behind the two girls, Ash was left in the hallway feeling confused about the strange turn of events that had just played out. What had happened in the last few minutes felt like it was all just imagination. Or perhaps it really was imagination? No, holding Serena had felt real... very real. But really... What in the name of Arceus had just happened?!
-X-Y-Z-
While Ash recovered from his confusion, Serena was dragging Shauna by the pigtail into the kitchen and made sure to close the door. Then, she rounded on her friend who had just managed to embarrass her beyond description in front of her childhood friend that she hadn't seen in 7 years and had thought she might never see again until just a few days ago. Glaring at the brunette, she let go of her pigtail. Shauna immediately spun around and glared at her.
"What was that for?!" she demanded angrily.
Serena gritted her teeth in frustration. Did she really have trouble figuring out what she had done wrong? Shouldn't it be obvious, even to someone as absentminded as Shauna was?
"Well, what do you think?" she hissed. "You just embarrassed me in front of my best friend that I haven't seen for 7 years!"
Shauna had just opened her mouth to retort, but then she froze when her mind registered what Serena had just said. Best friend? Haven't seen for 7 years? Hadn't it been 7 years since Serena had moved to Kalos? Could that mean... that the boy out there had been...?
"That was Ack?!" she asked, eyes wide with surprise and excitement.
Serena took a moment to stare at her friend before she understood what Shauna had been trying to say, causing her to sigh and put her right hand over her face while shaking it in embarrassment of her friend's mistake.
"His name is Ash, not Ack." she sighed.
Normally, Shauna would've been annoyed at being corrected, even if said correction was true, but for whatever reason she didn't care this time. Instead, she ignored it and stared at Serena with excitement clearly present in her eyes.
"Whatever! But you're saying that it was really him? The boyfriend you left in Kanto?!" Shauna asked, estatic. Serena had told her so much about her old friend, but Shauna had never thought she would get to meet him.
Hearing Shauna once again call Ash her boyfriend, Serena felt her cheeks flush. However, it also reminded her that Shauna had actually called Ash Serena's boyfriend straight to his face. What would Ash be thinking about that? Would he think Serena had claimed that he was her boyfriend? How embarrassing wouldn't that be?!
"Now I want to make one thing clear with you Shauna. And you better listen because I will only say this once! ASH! IS! NOT! MY! BOYFRIEND!" Serena growled at Shauna.
The other girl got slightly taken aback by the hostility in Serena's voice. She had never heard her talk to anyone like that, not even to her mother when said mom kept pushing her in Rhyhorn Racing Training, and that was saying something. But was Serena seriously thinking she would believe there wasn't anything between them? Shauna had seen the way the two had held each other. And the way they had looked at each other and seemed to be lost in another world. They hadn't even noticed her when she arrived, opened the door and closed it after she entered. Was that supposed to be just a normal friendship?
"Jeez Serena, calm down!" she said. Then, she got a mischievous glint in her eyes. "If you don't want him, then I will just go get him myself. I mean, he did look kind of handsome..."
It took Serena's mind about three seconds to process what Shauna was implying with what she had just said. Then, as soon as she realized exactly what it was that Shauna was implying, her eyes widened in shock and a strange cold feeling ran through her chest. She couldn't make out exactly what it was she was feeling because like so much else she had felt within the last few minutes, it was all a jumbled up mess, but she could tell that whatever it was, it didn't take too kindly to Shauna's suggestion.
"NO!" she exclaimed before she could stop herself. Once more, it took her mind one moment too many to process what had just happened but when it did, her had shot up to cover her mouth and her eyes widened in shock at her own exclaimation.
However, there was no stopping Shauna now. The almost evil grin that graced her friend's face made Serena want to sink through the floor and hide, knowing full well that Shauna had gotten just the reaction she had wanted.
"Oh? And why would that be a problem if you don't want him for yourself?" Shauna waved her eyebrows suggestively.
Serena had to bite her lower lip to keep from screaming out her frustration. Things just didn't want to play out the way she wanted them to this evening, all because she couldn't keep her own impulses and temper in check. That in turn made it all the more frustrating, because Serena was usually very collected and in control of her emotions, but tonight they just seemed to run wild and mess her up. She desperately tried to come up with a good reason for Shauna to stay away from Ash without admitting to what her friend was suggesting. Sadly, she came up empty.
-X-Y-Z-
It took several minutes before Ash even moved from his spot. The events of the last 10 minutes had him locked in place, too confused and shocked to even budge. A thousand questions ran through his head and no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't piece them together. Who had that girl been? From the looks of it, she was a friend of Serena's, but that only led him to wonder about what said girl had said. Boyfriend? Did Serena have a boyfriend? He hadn't really payed much attention to what she had been saying because he had been pretty busy hugging his childhood friend, but he was positive that his ears had caught the word "boyfriend". But what was it really she had said? For some reason, the thought of Serena having a boyfriend made him feel kind of restless and something about it just didn't sit too well with him...
Stop.
It wouldn't do to get worked up over something like that. His emotions were pretty messed up as they were, even without the addition of being an overprotective childhood friend. Because that was all it was, right? He hadn't even heard exactly what the strange girl had said, there was no reason for him to get worked up here. He should focus on what Serena had said instead. She was going to get something to drink, right? And he should wait in the living room? Yeah, that sounded better than just standing around here in the hallway.
However, on his way towards the living room (even though it was only a few steps) the gears in Ash's mind was starting to turn in another direction. Brock had been certain that this was the correct house for their delivery... so that would have to mean that Serena was the Rookie Trainer they were supposed to deliver the Starter Pokemon to! He knew for a fact that Serena didn't have any siblings when they were younger and even if she had gotten one since then, that one couldn't be any older than 7 years old at most and the lowest allowed age for any region to hand out official Starter Pokemon was 10, which only left Serena as the possible Rookie Trainer.
When he entered the living room, he found Brock sitting in an armchair with Pikachu in his lap and Grace sitting in the sofa. It looked like they had been talking when he entered, because Grace was leant forward with her elbows resting on her knees. When Ash came in and sat down, they both looked up. As soon as Pikachu saw him, he jumped out of Brock's lap and ran up to his trainer, quickly climbing up Ash's leg and claiming his usualy spot on his shoulder. Ash however, was still deep in thought and had his gaze fixed on Grace, who in turn had her eyes locked on Ash.
"Where's Serena?" Grace asked with a raised eyebrow.
Brock studied Ash from over in his seat with interest. How come he had known Ash for 5 years and yet he had never heard anything about this Serena girl? Seeing the way they had looked at each other, it was obvious they had something special, so why hadn't Ash mentioned her?
"She said she and her weird friend would go get something to drink." Ash said as he kept his gaze locked at his former neighbour.
'Weird friend? Oh, he must mean Shauna...' Grace thought, sweatdropping at the way Ash described the brunette. But to be honest, that was probably the best way of describing Shauna. She was however becoming a little unnerved by Ash's constant staring. Had Serena already mentioned that their relation had been pretty rusty ever since the move? Ash had always been very protective of Grace's daughter and he wasn't one to stay quiet if there was something he really didn't like.
Seeing that Grace was starting to feel anxious under his gaze, Ash immediately looked away. He hadn't meant to unnerve her. There was just that one question that he really wanted an answer to and he knew Grace could provide it. However, he decided to hold off asking. He could ask Serena herself later, she would probably appreciate that more than him asking her mother. With that thought in mind, he instead reached up and scratched Pikachu behind the ear.
As Pikachu cooed contently and settled down on his trainer's shoulder, Ash felt himself relax after an entire afternoon of walking. He was used to walking but they had kept an abnormaly high tempo so that they would arrive before dusk and not have to spend a night in Santalune.
"How come you never mentioned Serena during the years we travelled together? From what Grace is telling me, you two used to be inseparable?" Brock finally asked.
Ash just shrugged.
"Well, you never asked." Ash answered before he turned back towards Grace. There was something else he wanted to get confirmed about Serena, something that bothered him slightly. Would she be angry if he allowed Grace to tell him that? Probably not, it was such a simple thing. She probably wouldn't mind. "I take it that the "new trainer" we are supposed to deliver the starter Pokemon to is Serena?"
Grace gave a nod of confirmation.
"Yeah. She decided two days ago she finally wanted to go on her journey."
Having had his suspiscion confirmed, Ash frowned slightly and leaned back in his seat. Something about it just didn't feel right here. He was pretty sure that the rules were the same in Kalos as they were in Kanto. He knew for a fact that some regions required the Starting Trainer to be older in order to either participate in Official Leagues and Contests and stuff, which was probably the reason for why Paul had decided to travel Kanto, Johto and Hoenn before coming back to travel his own region, and the reason why Dawn had waited to set out on her journey until she became 14, since she couldn't enter contests in Sinnoh before that age.
As if she had read her mind, Grace answered the unspoken question.
"She was really down when she turned 10 so she said she didn't want to go on a journey. I think, after all those endless plans you two made during all the afternoons you just sat around and talked, that she didn't see the point in it because it would not be the way she wanted it to be."
Hearing this caused Ash to feel a little bad. Had those plans really been that important to Serena? Yes, of course they had been important, but to actually turn down a journey just because he wouldn't come with her? It made Ash feel sad thinking that he had ruined Serena's journey just because he hadn't been there with her.
Just then, Serena entered the living room, carrying a tray with glasses and a jug of juice. Behind her, the brown-haired girl was following. As soon as she had entered, Serena caught Ash's eye, but quickly looked away as she began blushing. In her mind, a picture of the scene in the entrance hall appeared, with Ash holding her in his arms and her resting her head against his shoulder.
While Serena put unnescesarily much focus on dividng the juice between the 5 glasses on the tray, Shauna introduced herself to Ash and Brock and said hi to Grace. When she had determined that the drinks were equally divided, Serena began handing out the glasses, first to Shauna, then to Brock, then her mother and lastly, she gave one to Ash. When she did, she gathered her courage and looked up again. Ash was smiling at her and thanked her for the drink. Taking a deep breath, she said that it was nothing, as she took the last glass in her hand and sat down at the edge of the second armchair, which had become occupied by Shauna.
"Hey Serena? Why have you waited so long to start your journey?" Ash asked as soon as she had sat down.
Taken slightly aback by the question, Serena had to take a moment to think. What should she tell him? That she had felt too lonely without him to have the will to do anything? No, that didn't sound good, even if it was partly true. It made her out to be weak. She didn't want Ash to think she was weak.
"Well, I just hadn't settled in here yet and I felt I wanted to do that before I took off somewhere else." she answered. It wasn't a complete lie, it just left out the reason why she had felt so down and didn't regard this as her home yet.
However, it seemed that whatever pokemon devil was out there had sent Shauna to her house that evening to ruin it for her by forcefully telling the whole truth, because as soon as she said it, the brunette sat up straighter and looked at Serena with a surprised look.
"I thought you told me it was because you missed Ash too much?" she said, blinking in confusion at the contradicting statements.
Right then and there, Serena felt like she just wanted to sink through the earth and disapear. What had she done to deserve this?
"Shauna!" she exclaimed and emptied her glass of juice in the other girl's hair as means of retaliation.
Shauna squeked in surprise and immediately jumped out of the armchair. Serena also rose from her seat, glaring angrily at Shauna, who glared back at her with just as much intensity. In the sofa, Grace had to stiffle her laugh at the two girls' antics. Ash just blinked in surprise, but then just shook his head. So it really was true what Grace had said. He looked on as Serena scolded Shauna for letting her mouth slip, but he barely heard their little argument.
All he could think about, was how different their world would be if Serena hadn't moved away. Perhaps then, they would never have split up. They would have done all their travels together. Serena wouldn't have waited 5 years to start her journey. Perhpaps, with Serena's support, he would have been more driven to actually use his head in his battles, rather than his instincts. She had always been the more calculating of them, she would have kept him in line. To be honest, she probably was the only person except his mom who had actually ever been able to keep him in line.
So maybe then, he would have made it further in the Indigo League, perhaps he would have even managed to win the Silver Conference or the Hoenn Conference. And if they hadn't been separated, Serena wouldn't have fallen into depression. All this, all that he knew today, had been created by one tiny event in his past that could have made all this difference.
"I'm really sorry about that!" Serena's voice cut through Ash's thoughts, causing him to look up. It would seem that Shauna had left the room, probably to wash the juice out of her hair. Brock had taken to cleaning out the armchair. Grace was just looking at her daughter without saying anything. Serena was standing in the middle of the room, bowing constantly while she was apologizing for her behavior. "I'm so sorry you had to see that."
"But it's true, isn't it? What she said?" Ash asked quietly, though he already knew the answer.
This caused Serena to kind of shrink into herself. She looked down at her feet in shame.
"Yes... it's true." she whispered. Now that it was out in the blue, she might as well admit all of it. "After we moved here, I... I just broke down. I was weak. I just missed you so much and I couldn't see anything I did positively, because I just kept thinking that it wasn't worth anything if you wasn't here to see me doing it or see it along with me. I kept running out into the forest, desperately hoping that one day, it would all just go back to the way it used to be back when we would always meet out in the forest back in Pallet Town. So when Professor Sycamore offered me the chance to go on a journey..."
She swallowed harshly. By now, her voice was trembling and tears were running down her cheeks as she let out the emotions that had built up after she and Ash had been separated. "I said no, because it all felt so pointless. My journey was supposed to be with you. We had it all planned out and then it all fell apart when I moved. I just couldn't stand the thought of walking down an unknown road in an unknown region all alone, without having you there with me, like we had planned. I just..."
She stopped and just shook her head. She was shaking all over, not able to keep going. Thinking back to those days was just too painful. She had really felt like everything was pointless. All she had wanted was to see her best friend, but the world had kept denying her that little desire. The times when she had thought she saw Ash out of the corner of her eye and had turned around with a hopeful smile on her face, only to be met with disappointment were too many to count. And every one of those times, a little part of her heart, her hope of ever seeing Ash again, had died.
Over in the sofa, Grace had covered her mouth with one of her hands. Tears were streaming down her face as she listened to her daughter re-telling her late childhood from her own point of view. She had known that Serena had taken their move from Kanto really hard, but to hear it being told by Serena herself, with how she had felt back then, it all felt so much worse. And in the end, it all came down to the fact that Grace had decided that they were better off moving away from the only home Serena knew, just so she could compete in a better Rhyhorn Racing League. It pained her heart to listen to all that her daughter had went through, simply because of her own selfishness. And when all of this had played out, she hadn't even done anything to help her daughter. She had been too caught up in her own carieer to even notice or stop to think twice. What had she done?
Brock had stopped cleaning the armchair as he listened to Serena's story. He wasn't crying, but he felt his chest constrict as his heart went out to the poor girl. He had felt hopeless when his parents both disappeared so he could relate a little to what she was describing. That feeling that everything was pointless... yeah, he knew that all too well.
Ash felt his eyes grow wet as he listened to all that Serena had went through, just because he had not been there for her. They had been best friends. She had been the one person outside of his family that he had felt he completely trusted at the time and then he hadn't been able to be there for her when she needed him the most. He swallowed hard as he stood up and made his way over to the sobbing Serena. She had hiden her face in her hands and kept shaking it, as if trying to clear her mind of the sad thoughts, but couldn't quite manage it.
When he reached her, Ash opened his arms and pulled Serena into another hug. This time, she didn't stiffen (or hit him) like she had in the entrance hall. She just leaned into his chest and cried her heart out, cried out all of the sadness and sorrow that she had built up over the endless nights she had locked herself in her room and longed for her best friend's comforting embrace. As he felt the honey-blonde girl place her soft cheek against his shoulder, Ash felt his own eyes tear up as the tears that had threatened to spill over for the last few minutes finally won out and began their descent down his cheeks.
Pikachu watched his trainer and best friend from the sofa with confusion. He had never seen Ash like this. It was like he was a completely different person. Human behavior had always confused him, but this definetely took the cake in his eyes. How could Ash change this much, just because of this Serena girl? The yellow rodent shook his head. There was no idea even trying to understand. Humans were weird, end of story.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, Serena." Ash murmured into her ear.
Serena shifted slightly so she could speak, while she just tried to take in the feeling of being held by him again. She needed this. After 7 years of being denied the comfort of her best friend's embrace, she really needed this. No matter what Shauna said, she needed this from Ash because he was her best friend, not because she may or may not have a crush on him.
"It's not your fault. You were living on the other side of the globe." she whispered back.
Ash didn't know how he was supposed to answer that, so he just settled for rubbing Serena's back, the way he remembered she used to love when they were children. Even back then, Serena had always felt a little left out with her mother being so busy from her Rhyhorn Racing and when she had felt too lonely, she had always come to Ash for comfort. Feeling Ash rub her back like that again sent shivers down Serena's spine.
Seeing how well Ash still could comfort Serena, even after 7 years of separation, Grace felt like she had failed as a mother. It was a mother's duty to take care of their children, and she hadn't managed that very well. But at the same time, she felt good, knowing that Serena had found someone who could comfort her, someone who had covered up for her own mistakes... until they had moved. And that had also been her fault. Was there anything she had done right in Serena's raising?
Well, there probably was but right now, it felt like she had made all the worst mistakes possible. She hadn't payed attention to Serena and when she had actually asked for Serena's opinion on something, such as them moving to Kalos, she hadn't even listened to what her daughter had said, always thinking she knew best because she had been the grown-up.
While Grace was thinking over all of the mistakes she had made in Serena's upbringing, Ash was trying to come up with something he could say to put Serena at ease. Looking down at his childhood friend, he took a deep breath and felt an arouma of flowers that reminded him of Floaroma Town, the small town in Sinnoh that was famous for its endless fields of flowers. The scent seemed to be coming from Serena's hair. But regardless of where it came from, it calmed his thoughts and enabled him to think clearly. Suddenly knowing what to do, he pulled away and looked down at her with a smile plastered over his slightly tearstained face. Serena raised her head to look at him, wondering why he had broken the hug.
"But Serena, breaking down like that doesn't mean that you're weak. It just shows that you cared about our friendship." he said as he reached up and tried to dry the tears on her cheeks.
Serena looked at him, no longer crying but still feeling a little bit depressed. But at least she seemed to have calmed down a bit. Seeing that he had her attention, Ash kept talking in the hopes of getting her to leave the past behind.
"I'll admit that I am not the best at this emotional stuff, but I think it's about time you leave this behind." he said. When she looked like she wanted to say something, Ash hurried to continue. "It won't do to dwell on the past. So just let it all out right here and now so we can both move on, ok?"
Understanding what Ash wanted her to do, Serena drew a shivering breath. Was she ready for this? Would she be able to talk about all what she had wanted to share with him over the years they had lost? No... she couldn't. It was too much.
"Don't worry, I'll stay here and listen all night long if that's what you need." Ash said, as if he had read her thoughts.
Seeing that her daughter was drifting towards accepting Ash's offer, Grace dried her tears from her face and stood up. Brock looked up at her and she nodded towards the door. Giving a nodd back, Brock stood up and followed her out of the room, leavin the two best childhood friends alone. Pikachu looked first at the two that had left the room, then back at his trainer, then towards the door. He was just about to follow Brock out when the Pokemon Doctor stuck his head back in through the door and shook his head.
Pikachu could stay. If Serena loved pokemon even half as much as Ash did, then the prescence of one would help keep her calm. And even if that wasn't the case, it would give Ash mental support while listening to Serena's story. Even for someone as positive as Ash, it would be hard to listen to their best friend telling stories about their own depression.
As soon as they had exited the room, Grace swallowed and turned toward her daughter's childhood friend's friend.
"Do you think I did the right choice, leaving them alone like that?"
"What makes you ask that?" Brock wondered. Why would she ask that of someone she had just met?
Grace just shook her head and sighed.
"Listening to Serena's point of view on those events... I realize that I haven't really given her the attention she deserves. She is a wonderful girl, but all I could think of back then was my own carieer as a Rhyhorn Racer. Looking back... I can only see what I did wrong." Grace whispered as she hung her head.
Not knowing what he was supposed to do in this situation, Brock settled for putting a hand comfortingly at Grace's shoulder. He was used to caring for children, but he had no idea how to comfort an adult. Grace however seemed to take his silence as a confirmation that he thought she had done the right thing by leaving Serena to Ash.
"Why didn't Serena ever tell me?" came a voice from behind them.
Both spun around to find Shauna standing there, looking like she had cried. Obviously, she had been by the door the whole time her friend had let our her feelings and listened.
"If she had, how would you have reacted?" Grace asked, having a pretty good idea of why Serena hadn't talked to Shauna about this.
Shauna had opened her mouth to answer, when she realized that she probably would have made fun it, had Serena tried to talk to her about it. She closed her mouth and looked down at her own feet. Grace smiled at her daughter's friend and walked over to put a hand on her shoulder.
"Come on. Let's go and settle you two into the guest rooms. We got a long night in front of us." she said.
The other two nodded, both eager to find something to do to keep their minds of their friends. With Grace leading the way, they made their way up onto the second floor, while Ash was helping his childhood friend to come to terms with her past. It would be far into the early morning before the two of them had fallen asleep. Serena told him everything she could remember from all the times she had curled up in her bed, crying and wishing to Arceus she would get to see him again, all the times she had run out into the woods, hoping to find him there, waiting in front of the trees the same way he used to and how much it had hurt to always be met with nothing but loneliness.
She told him about all the times she had thought she would give anything to be held in his comforting embrace, her frustration with her mother for trying to get her to become a Rhyhorn Racer and all the afternoons she had spent, sitting in her room, talking to a her own reflection in the mirror because she missed the times she had someone she could talk to about anything.
Ash listened intently to her story, offering comfort when she needed it and holding her in his embrace when she felt she needed it. In turn, Ash told her about his own childhood and how he had grown up after she had moved away. In a strange way, she felt comforted from hearing that things hadn't changed in Pallet, so that if she ever returned she would still recognize her hometown. He told her that Gary had kept being a stuck-up brat, that his mother had kept reminding him to change his underwear and that he had kept going back to their special spot by the river in the forest at times to remember her.
He told her about his journey and meeting Pikachu, how the electric rodent had refused to listen to him at first and how he had gained his trust. Serena had almost hit him again when she had heard that he had stepped in front of a flock of ravaging Spearows to protect Pikachu, but instead opted to give Pikachu an appreciative pat on the head when she heard that the rodent had come to his rescue.
They kept exchanging stories about their separate childhoods well into the night. Over time, Serena felt the pain in her chest leave her as Ash listened and comforted her. It actually felt refreshing to talk about it and to cry her heart out from the pain she had locked away. When she had come to the day just a few days ago, when she decided to go on her journey when her mother had offered it, she felt more at peace than she had felt in many years, probably not since before she left Pallet Town. Seeing that Serena had gotten what she needed out of her system, Ash began bringing up some specifically happy memories they had shared before her move. As Serena sat there, leaning into her best friend's shoulder, she found that she felt oddly complete.
Ash had grown up, like she had thought, but she found that she liked the way he had grown. While he was still that sweet person she had known all those years ago, he had also matured and gained a more tender and caring side, probably through his many endeavors during his journey, and from caring for his Pokemon and friends during said journeys. As the moon fell and daylight was slowly but steadily starting to etch its way back outside of their house, the two teens had fallen asleep on the sofa, Serena's head on Ash's shoulder. Finally, after 7 years of separation, Ash Ketchum and Serena Gabena were reunited.
A/N: So FINALLY I got it done! I am so terribly sorry about the time it took for me to get this up and posted. There was some serious editing I needed to do for this chapter, as well as get everything to fit and change the way I wanted it to! Also, I didn't have as much time as I had hoped to work on it.
Anyways, thanks for checking out the chapter and if you haven't already, go check out my profile and vote in the POLL for what my new project should be. Serene Dreams is a thing, but that is a story I update when I feel like it and not something I try to just get up, like SPR. I imagine I'll be able to keep up with 3 main projects at the most, so if you really got something you want me to write, feel free to PM it to me or vote in the poll!
That being said, thanks for reading my chapter! This is FAO, signing out!