Chapter 3: Reliance
"The future is now, thanks to science!" Clemont proudly announced. Although amongst the drowning sounds of the storm, no one further than Bonnie could hear his revelation.
As the elements attacked, Clemont stood proud as he unveiled his latest creation. Bonnie's eyes lit up. Maybe one of his inventions would actually prove useful for once.
"... What is it?" Bonnie kept a hint of scepticism, as Clemont pulled out a small rectangular device, reminiscent of some sort of handheld controller. It was bolted with stainless steel, and overall a pretty rugged looking bit of equipment; seemingly capable of braving through the storm. On the sides were round red buttons, while two analogue sticks stood either side of a monitor which appeared to be some sort of tracking device.
Bonnie felt slightly disappointed; in such an aggressive storm, surely such a puny little device wouldn't be up to scratch?
"Isn't that a video game controller?" She puffed out her cheeks and sighed, but another flash of lightning caught the reflection on her older brother's glasses, as his accomplished grin shone just as bright as the lightning stalking them.
"Oh it is so much more than that!" He reassured with eerie enthusiasm. Clemont's inner batteries seemed to charge to the brim when it came to handling his latest technological inventions. A brimming enthusiasm that often resulted in him overloading the circuits, thus becoming responsible for a spontaneous explosion that shocked masses of wildlife in some rural Kalos route.
You couldn't exactly blame Bonnie for having her doubts.
"So what does it do then?" She asked with her arms folded.
"With this monitor here, thanks to the special thermo-radar settings, I will be able to track heat signals and their movements within a three mile radius!" He began to explain, shaking with excitement at his new technological feat, and ever so slightly at the intensifying cold that the harsh wind was throwing at them.
Bonnie remained unshaken.
"And that means..?"
"Basically..." He sighed. Where was Ash's enthusiasm when he needed it? And why didn't his younger sister follow in his passion for science? Nevertheless, he began to explain.
"We will be able to track where Ash and Serena are from their body heat. Look at this screen." He crouched down to show her the readings on his device. The rain trickled down the monitor, but she could quite clearly see them. Two dots within the radius. Two dots that were lost out on the cliffs on Route 16, but together.
"Wow, they're so close!" She exclaimed as her eyes shot open.
"Well, it is zoomed out..." He scratched the back of his head; she wasn't quite appreciating the concept sufficiently.
"No but look! That's Ash and Serena, those two tiny dots!" She cheered once again, where Dedenne then popped its head out to watch. Clemont began to repeatedly tap a button to zoom in, and get a trace of their exact whereabouts.
Interestingly, no matter how far he zoomed in, the dots of Ash and Serena, where ever they may be, would not separate.
He held a tighter grip on his glasses, frantically wiping the drenching rain off.
"They do seem to be quite close." He confirmed Bonnie's hypothesis. Her eyes lit up; Clemont was perplexed by her ability to then pull a toothy grin in such weather. It was miserable outside. Yet it was fascinatingly difficult to dampen Bonnie's spirit.
"How comes they're different colours?" She pushed her face in front of the entire screen to get a good look.
Clemont tightened his focus for a moment.
"Well the surrounding blue area here is the cold parts on the radar, this is where the storm is spreading..." He began to explain as he traced his finger around the monitor.
"But I can't figure out why they would be such different colours. Even though they're within touching distance according to the radar, they shouldn't have such contrasting heat signals."
On the map showed an orange dot, powering ahead at pace, while close to it, almost tugging alongside its every movement, was a bright red dot. It showed much higher heat readings than its adjacent partner; and it stayed close. It held onto the orange dot through each reading on the radar.
"I wonder if they're okay..." Clemont muttered under his breath, trying to cover his doubts from those ears that had the strength of a satellite on his younger sister.
It turns out Clemont had built a machine far more accurate than he could have possibly imagined.
She walked close, making sure he didn't leave her sight amongst the thick labyrinth of fog. Her nose was red from the ache of each sneeze, and sniffling as she caught a cold from the breeze.
She was being worn down by the angers of the sky, while the horror of the heights she was facing sent shivers across her body. In the dark void of a fog-filled cliff, she felt herself genuinely coming into whispers with fear itself. The doubts in her mind wanted their time to speak. They wanted to taunt, and scare. Voices urged her to look down, look down at the fall that one wrong step could lead to. The path was narrowing, the rocks planted in the ground were rising amongst the sea of mud. She was fighting her demons. From childhood she had been plagued by the niggling fear of heights; it was a fear she was embarrassed of. No one else would over-react and linger light-legged near high spots with a long way down; just her. It was a trait she wanted to forget, but it was biting back. The thought of it dwelled. She looked down; it was a long way, a very long way down from where they were walking. Yet they continued, not giving in to any voices. Trudging through the storm were the two dots on Clemont's map. Trudging through the thick, and relentless mud were Ash and Serena.
She tensed up to herself, frustration caving in. Was she burning up? Was it the fear? She felt her temperature soar. She was beginning to sizzle under those soggy clothes that heat began to prickle underneath her skin. It was irritating, it was infuriating. She felt so wretched, soaked to the brim while burning inside. Yet the whole time her eyes had been focussed straight ahead. She had her eyes locked onto the back of Ash no matter where he went. She followed in his path, keeping close. Not letting him go. She felt a wave of nerves inside. It wasn't envy, it was a deep, and profound admiration. Whether she could accept it or not, she was drawn to where ever he went. Whether she wanted to stop following or not, she was drawn to each and every moment of the raven-haired trainer, who continued marching through the conditions with his yellow partner sitting tight on his shoulder. She felt herself flush a deeper crimson. She may have felt a cold beckoning, but she was ill from the start. She laughed to herself as more dirty rain rushed down her cheeks. She was ill with affection for Ash Ketchum.
She thought to herself; cliché or not, it was her reality. It was why she was braving such conditions in the first place. She felt a particular comfort from travelling by his side. Whatever it was he gave off, it had rekindled her. It had rekindled her to discovering herself. To discovering her goal, to striving for a dream. She pulled her hat down to cover her ever widening smile. Warm thoughts were comforting her to take her mind off the heights, and away from the storm. "Find your happy place" people often tell each other when they're stressed. Ironically in the midst of the howling storm, she was already there. She was with Ash. She was happy.
Yet the weather's remorse refused to leave them alone.
A white wave of livid light flashed.
A grave groan of gritty thunder growled.
She was jolted.
Residing in her thoughts the sudden shock of the thunder knocked her back into the harsh reality. Her heart skipped a beat and her body drenched itself with a burst of adrenaline. She was back on the cliff, back on the challenging narrow road, and she was shocked. Knocked off balance by her jolted perception, her ankle turned, and her stability stumbled. She felt herself collapse to her left, and a shriek escape her mouth. She called out, while her head flung around. Suddenly her perception of reality itself paused.
Suddenly she felt her head thrown overboard, and from her eyes stared into the long way down from the cliff, and into the pits of death itself.
She shrieked again.
Louder and louder.
Her eyes had reverted to playing that image of the cliff's edge over and over. As she screamed and screamed. Shrieking and crying for help.
The image of the cliff's edge froze in her senses.
She kept screaming.
She didn't want to see the cliff's edge any longer.
She didn't want to see the drop.
Her heart raced away from her conscience.
"Serena, I've got you."
But everything dyed black.
"Serena...
…Serena!"
The white returned. The thunder awoke her ears.
"Serena, can you hear me..?"
The thunder did not stay, but a soft, unwavering whisper of a voice did.
She was shaking, or being shaken.
The world which had given out on her was seemingly returning. The blackness had lifted.
"W-where am I... Where is everyone..?" Her voice echoed back and forth to herself. Was anyone there?
A weight pressed harder against her shoulders, an omnipresent threshold that snapped her back into life.
"You're not alone, I've got you!"
The voice whispered again.
He whispered again.
Ash whispered again.
He pulled her away from the cliff's edge where she so nearly slipped, and dragged her back to a safe sitting position by a tree stump. Her eyes had no focus, those cerulean blue eyes were a rough sea being blown in no particular direction. He kept both hands on her shoulders, trying to gently shake her back into an awake state.
"W-what happened..?" The words managed to crawl from her mouth, gentle, faint, but audible.
"You must have blacked out there." Ash's words swirled around her heat. Still everything was in a daze, only the splash of each rain drop felt real.
"I... fainted?"
"You almost slipped off the cliff... Is it the heights?" Ash began to question, a touch of angst crept into his voice, as Serena still seemed subdued in the surroundings. She opened her eyes, slowly gaining focus on the broken world around her. The tanned raven-haired trainer in the electric blue jacket towered over her. He was there, still gripping her tightly by the shoulders.
She conjured up a gentle nod. It was the heights. Alongside her cold, the cold itself, and just about every rotten thing around her on Route 16.
"Serena, can you keep going?" He tentatively asked.
She tried to get up; she wanted to show him that she was strong, and would not be phased by her fears any longer.
"You bet! Never give up until the en-" Her heart jumped once more, and adrenaline surged through her. She couldn't find her feet, and she couldn't control herself. The storm was getting to her. It was the cold, freezing her senses. Then it was the rain, absolutely drenching her clothes. He kept one hand on her shoulder while resting a hand behind her head to stop her hair from being ruined in the mud. He found himself instinctively caring for her, worrying for her. For someone he had travelled with for so long, it was a natural feeling, except this time, it felt slightly different. As he held a dazed Serena, he felt overcome by a sense of delicacy towards her. She was impeccably frail, and gentle in such an aggressive storm. He was worried, and even though he carried relentless confidence and belief in her, this time she seemed in trouble.
"I'm worried about you." The words dropped out of his mouth almost unintentionally.
Her eyes widened, a tenderness was emerging between the two, one that she hadn't felt for a long time. Yet she didn't want to be seen as weak.
"Ash..."
"Your body is in shock." He seemed to be able to read the situation fluently. It was a rare moment of wisdom from Ash, but in this situation, anything he said was gospel, as she lied there almost hopelessly in his arms.
It wasn't an empowering feeling. She wanted him to know that she was strong.
"I can do it..!" She tried to assure him that she was fine, but her body did not agree.
"Let me help you along for a while, and then when you're better you can walk again, okay?" He organised the situation against her will. Ash was going into great strides to help her. Helplessly, she had to accept.
He held out a hand.
"Ash... are you sure?" The white flash arrived again, lighting the sight of Ash boldly standing there; offering a safe and secure hand to her.
"It'll be fine." He reassured once more, extending his reach.
The thunder yelled.
The shock of another blast of noise sent shivers crawling up her body once more. She tossed and turned in the freeze. Ash saw her struggle.
"You've gotta stay warm." His voice challenged the thunder. He unzipped his jacket in a hurried frenzy, and wrapped it around Serena. He pulled and pushed her arms through the sleeves, and zipped it up extra tight. She felt the warmth return, only this time, it was the warmth of Ash. His body heat was embracing her, she felt a spark begin to flicker; her body was waking up.
Pikachu jumped down from Ash's shoulder as he held his hand out once again. Sitting upright with his jacket sitting tightly wrapped around her, she took it. In her hour of need, he was there once more. She took his hand, where he then turned around, and loaded Serena onto his back. She wondered if her weight was uncomfortable, but he was strong, and made no complaints. He held onto the back of her calves to secure her, as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He started moving. In the action of him giving her a piggyback she was supposed to regain energy and wake up, yet she felt herself sinking into his warm body heat. She felt her arms hugging his neck, and enjoying their escape from the harsh roads. It was a bittersweet ordeal. Her weakened, shocked body had to be rescued, but it was her ticket away from the fearful heights of the cliff.
The two continued walking, this time together. The two dots had become one.
Serena felt a tinge of guilt creep up, the thought of burdening Ash like this surely wasn't going down well with him deep inside. She wanted to apologise, to let Ash know that this all wasn't on purpose. Whatever he was thinking, she wanted him to understand. Yet she had been trying such an endeavour for a long time now, and never once did she ever think to ask what Ash felt from his own thoughts. As she lied there, slumped over his back, there were not many better times to ask. It had become a rare occurrence for just the two of them to be together like this.
"Ash..." Her voice called again, like an infant at the top of the stairs.
"What's up..?" He replied straight away.
She chuckled to herself to ease the tension.
"Sorry that it's ended up like this." She kept her head pressed against his neck, almost as if she was imminently about to drift off to sleep.
If he had a hand free to scratch his cheek, he would have used it.
"But heights are your fear, right?" He replied positively to her.
She was initially taken back.
"It's... a stupid fear." She tried her hand at humility, yet Ash wasn't going to let her beat herself up over anything.
"Nah, everyone has fears. It's natural." He replied calmly. Those years of experience travelling didn't often show, but at this very moment, they were shining brighter than ever. Serena then had a thought which had never met her mind before.
"... What is your fear, Ash?"
He paused in his tracks for a moment, and began to think.
"Wow, I haven't thought about that before..." He seemed surprised.
"You mean you don't have any fears?" Her head rose in amazement, yet it wasn't such an astonishing motion; it was hard to place Ash and 'fear' in the same sentence.
"I guess... I think I do. But come to think of it..." He continued to think.
"Surely there's something that you're afraid of?"
Surely there was something, or maybe it was something he was yet to discover.
He sighed. "Maybe I don't know it yet..." He seemed to have stumped himself. On his travels he had done all sorts of outrageous things, only now in the context did they seem so extraordinary.
"Maybe, having fears can be a good thing." Ash began to speak in a noticeably more thoughtful tone. Serena kept her head raised in interest.
"What do you mean..?" She wanted to hear more.
"Well... Now that you mention it, I've done some crazy stuff in the past." His voice jumped with a reflective chuckle.
"Like..?" She braced herself in case it was something she didn't want to hear.
"It's a long story..." He digressed, with a slight grin emerging on his face at the thought of such a memory.
"Tell me, Ash." But she wanted to know.
"Well... I sorta tried to punch Mewtwo once."
At that moment Serena was pretty certain she had never heard anyone say that in a sentence before. Plus she had doubts whether a suitable reply actually even existed. Although as outrageous as it sounded, she didn't put it past Ash, for it was reckless behaviour that had sometimes come to be associated with him.
"And so maybe... Fear is kinda good, it stops you from doing stupid stuff." He tried to think long and hard about what he was saying. Their conversation had become deep, and meaningful. Ash felt his nerves tingle slightly in a way that was new to him. It certainly wasn't a situation he was used to.
"So... my fear of heights isn't bad?"
"No, it's fine. Besides, the thing is, I know you're strong." He confidently concluded.
Serena felt her cheeks warm at his compliment. She felt healed by their conversation, she felt cared for, as he continued walking with her resting on his back.
"... Thanks, Ash." She gently murmured to him as she rested her head onto the back of his neck. She felt re-energised. Her body had returned to its normal function, yet she didn't want to get off just yet. She wanted to saviour the moment she could get close to him like this.
Ash meanwhile had lost himself in deep thought. "Fear"? It never really occurred to him. There was nothing that terrified him. He tried to think nothing of it; was there really anything that he was afraid of?
The cliff continued to climb, and the thunder continued to roar. More worryingly, the wind continued to strengthen. A sharp gust blew Ash and Serena off balance, as she swung around his neck, she gripped on tight, where he struggled to keep her on his back.
"Ash! It's okay, I can walk now!" She cried, the wind had forced her to retire her position on Ash's back. She got back onto both feet, and tried to stabilise as she felt herself sink into the mud once more. Her boots had sunk far enough into the mud for her to get a grip while the wind tried to blow the pair off balance. For Ash however, his trainers had accumulated so much mud that he stood above Serena on the surface of the soft soil. The ground was a mess. The wind blew mud and stones from all sides, with wet and sorrowful leaves being forcefully buried into the surface. The storm wouldn't subside. The wind wouldn't wait.
It kept on blowing.
Ash struggled to walk and shielded his face with his bare arms. Serena still had his jacket, yet he felt no cold. He felt no fear. He continued on, knowing the path wouldn't last forever.
"We're nearing them!" Clemont cried from down below on ground level to Bonnie.
"All right, let's keep going!" She beamed back at her big brother as the Lumiose twins gained pace. They were nearing their struggling companions.
Yet danger too was near. The cliff became slightly narrower with each step, with Serena keeping her eyes fixed on Ash's trainers to stop her from potentially fainting near the cliff's edge again. She knew that one more incident like that could be too late for Ash to save her again, she had to keep focussed.
Another gust of wind howled across at them.
"Woah!" Ash wailed as suddenly he was pushed onto one foot. A trainer disappeared from sight briefly, until to Serena's heart-clenching relief it returned to her eye-line.
But the wind did not give up there.
Another blast of stone cold wind surged, this time hitting the raven-haired trainer straight on.
He was pushed out of balance, completely swept off his feet.
The narrowing cliff had narrowed too much.
"Ash!" A scream.
In an instant Ash slipped, and vanished from her sight. She looked over, and lashed out a hand.
It was too little, too late.
The shocked flare of amber caught sight of her, as their eyes locked, and time stopped.
Everything around them froze.
The rain stopped falling.
The thunder stopped shouting.
Everything fell silent. Not a sound amongst her infinite scream.
Those amber eyes slipped away from her, and vanished into the dark void of the ground's fog.
Over the cliff's edge, she saw him fall.