Chapter 10: Exertion

Panting, and choking on the blades of the crisp air. It was like the oxygen had been sucked out of his lungs. He felt light-headed, the weight of his body had become heavy. He had overdone it. He thought he could leap out of bed and sprint for as long as he liked. As the sun settled into its position in the fresh, cloudless sky, he dipped his head. It seemed he had still awoken with a sense of rashness still residing in him. It almost amused him, even after such an ordeal; some things never change.

He lowered his body down gradually, and sat on the edge of the pier with his knees up to his chest. He held himself together tight, but felt a surge of cramp bite into his muscles. His calves were swelling from the strain, and so he slowly dipped his bare legs and feet over the fishing pier. tapping onto the edge of the lake's water, seeing if it would allow him in. The water was an icy cold, with the occasional brown leaf drifting along the current being blown by the wind. Despite the recent war with mother nature, the water still remained a pale blue. It remained pure, and so Ash dipped his legs into it, feeling healed as his muscular pain was numbed. The cold ran up through his body, pushing past each upstanding hair. For a moment, the freeze allowed his mind to reset to blank. He relaxed, leaning back with his arms stretched behind his back. At last he felt the calmness.

Usually Ash could tolerate the cold, not to say he was fond of it though. Given the choice he would love to be able to dash back into the summer, where he could reside in the baking hot Kalos heat. The calming coldness soothed his body, letting the pains in his muscles fade.

He grew to like the feeling of the cold, but once again it was a feeling that didn't last. The chill of the ice that had calmed him was being thawed. The memories were coming back. His mind began to flare up, the image of Serena returned. He felt the heat then prickle around his body, surging from the frantic jostling of nerves in his stomach. His mind was still on Serena.

Everything around him felt too quiet, the tranquillity disturbed him. He knew he wanted to hear her voice again, even now he was awake; for some reason he still missed it. He felt his body encapsulated by these confusing new feelings towards Serena; he really did not know what to do with himself. He thought he could shake it off and return to normal, but this was a feeling that felt too pure to be strange. More confusingly, it also felt far too exciting to ever be normal. He dipped his hands in the lake and splashed the fresh water over his face, running his fingers through his thick and messy raven hair. The droplets of water trickled through thicker layers of grease which had accumulated after going days without washing. He felt immobile, rooted to the spot, and to this situation.

This time he laid down on the planks of wood, straightening his back, gently kicking his legs in the water, watching the ripples oscillate across the surface of the lake. They were small, light ripples; nothing that would disrupt the lake's peace and quiet. It was then he began to compare it to his own previous situation, when he was a mere ripple in the midst of the vast dark sea. He remembered what it was like to be small, and remembered what it was like to be alone. Maybe that was why he felt so comfortable around Serena. The company she gave him, the feeling of being with someone. He released a long sigh. He was tired, but the sun had only just risen. He was baffled; how could he sleep for so long but wake up so tired? The sun stared directly down at him, peeping through his eyelids. Ash shut his eyes for a moment, but the sun only illuminated his skin, where a glow of red swam around his amber pupils. It was a strong rose red, a passionate, energetic colour. It was pleasantly familiar; it was a colour he always saw on Serena. Within him he felt a slight smile try to emerge. Whether it was her first outfit or her second, she always had a trim of red somewhere on her. Another realisation chimed. He slapped his face with his hands across his cheeks; there she was again. Just one thought of a colour, and she appeared. He stretched his arms out across the width of the pier; he really didn't know what to do in these lazy early hours.

Ash lay there stumped, gradually sinking himself into the tranquillities of the environment around him. He was usually one to dominate the path he trod through, yet this time he allowed himself to be at one with the lake, and the autumnal scene that held a fixed gaze at him. He soothed his mind into calming the thoughts, not wanting to risk another temperature from those intrusive thoughts and feelings that waited in the wings to pounce. He kept repeating the notion to himself: just this time, just once, he was letting himself rest. Some things do eventually change.

Yet despite his heartbeat finally coming to a rest, and the feeling that he was returning back to normal increasing, it was out of his control that his situation would soon then take another spiralling turn. Immediately and abruptly by the lake, the peace was broken, trampled over even. Something was near. His senses woke up, adrenaline was injected through his body, energy now surging through his veins. He heard loud, galloping footsteps get closer from behind him. A brief tap, a mere vibration was quickly becoming ever the more intrusive. He heard the sound of danger near its chorus. Footsteps; they stomped over each plank of wood, with the sound of eager, rapid breathing motoring along with them. They were definitely getting closer. Ash sat up, and turned around. His initial eyesight had been fried by the stare of the sun, his gaze hampered by blurry vision. Something red was coming. No, something brown. Something huge coming over the horizon, but it had tiny little arms. He saw teeth, long, and sharp, like they were hungry jaws that had sighted him. He frantically rubbed his eyes, trying to focus on whatever was coming towards him. The sight of it made his pupils dilate. He had seen it before, only a couple of times on his travels.

What was it doing in the wild?
Weren't they rare?
Weren't they... extinct?!

Ash's jaw dropped the moment he realised he was surrounded on the pier.

There was no where to go.

Charging towards him was a... Tyrantrum?!

It powered its way straight at his path, Ash had no idea on how to react, only pulling his body up off the floor, as the towering monster targeted its prey. His legs were numb, he thought he could move freely again, but as his waist shifted its weight, he slipped, and crashed straight into the lake. His mind going into shock as he fell into the grips of the cold. As he sunk into the freezing, silent water, he expected to rise back up to meet its hungry, blood thirsty eyes. He felt his body buoyed back upwards, he faced up at the Tyrantrum that was eclipsing the sun and towering over him. He tried to focus, and dared to look into its eyes. He was thrown back in the deep end quite literally, another date with death had seemingly been ordered. Weirdly, the dragon and rock type's pupils didn't seem to move at all. It was then, instead of an almighty roar, he heard the bright sound of innocent giggling. He hastily rubbed his eyes with the end of a knuckle, getting out the rest of the sleep, the water, and a bit of a soggy leaf that had stuck to him. At last his eyes could focus, but standing above him, laughing on the edge of the pier was not a huge Tyrantrum. It didn't have deathly hungry eyes; no, they looked like a novelty plastic. It definitely wasn't a Tyrantrum, but that did not mean that standing above him wasn't trouble. It was the familiar grin of a bubbly and youthful girl. She had glittering blue eyes, slightly lighter than Serena's, and they were bursting to the brim with energy. She had tiny rosy cheeks, and a toothy smile that was unmistakably joyfully jubilant.

It was the intrigue of someone he saw as a little sister; it was none of than Bonnie, wearing her favourite Tyrantrum onesie.

"Did I scare you?" She beamed at him while in hysterics.
Ash felt a rush of happiness glow inside at the sound of her innocent young voice. Despite his rather embarrassing shriek as he hit the lake, he attempted to remain cool.
"Don't surprise me like that next time!" He hit back while staggering back up onto the pier, his clothes now gushing with water. In the distance arrived more footsteps, it was the familiar exhausted figure of her brother. He carefully watched his steps as he ran in his long night clothes that dragged along the floor. Ash never knew quite what to call it; he always thought it was a dress if anything. His little night hat came flying off in the wind as he pushed his glasses back on top of his nose. It was the yellow spark of Clemont, rushing himself to join the scene, and to control the excitement of his younger sister.

"Don't shock him like that Bonnie, he has just awoken from a concussion!" Safety first; he called with concern from afar until he finally reached the end of the platform, where he took a moment to catch his breath, before looking back up at Ash. The raven-haired trainer was soaking wet, and had the messy attire of someone who had been living on a remote island for many helpless years. Still though, after all he had been through, that same powerful aura radiated from him. They looked at each other, and began grinning.

It had been a while.

Their smiles could not hide it; the two were more than glad to see each other. Clemont never quite knew how emotional he could get, until he felt his eyes watering at the sight of one of his closest friends standing right in front of him once again.

He had the chance to again release words that he never knew he took for granted.

"Good morning Ash; did you sleep well?"

Clemont cheerfully uttered under his faltering throat. He never thought he'd ever get the chance to ask such a simple question again. The two laughed, with Bonnie grinning down below. Ash began to scratch the back of his head while chuckling.

"It was a pretty crazy sleep; I guess I overslept a little didn't I." He dressed up his previous traumas in light-hearted humorous words. In the moment he was just happy to be reunited with his lemon-haired friends.
Bonnie quickly grew bored of being sensitively reserved. Ash was back! She had waited for what felt like an eternity, but seeing him standing there in front her again; she knew it was more than worth the wait.
"Ash! I can't believe you finally woke up!" Bonnie abruptly exclaimed before reaching out and hugging on tightly around his waist. Ash flinched out surprise as through pure elation she hung on snug, trying to rub her head into the fabric of his clothes before realising she was getting her Tyrantrum onesie wet against his soggy shirt. "We all really missed you." She whispered as she drenched her face against his shirt, caring very little at anything that stopped her revelling in the moment. She squeezed tight as Clemont resisted his rosy smile emerge onto his expression. They loved him like a brother, had Serena been present too then the reunited family feeling would blossom at its prime once more, but awaking Serena would wait for now, the of two them remained considerate towards her much needed rest.

Proudly viewing Ash's slightly embarrassed reaction to the monster hug it was receiving from the little girl in the Tyrantrum onesie, Clemont placed a gentle hand over his shoulder; holding onto his glasses, he conveyed the relief in his eyes.
"It's great to have you back, Ash." He calmly expressed. Once again Ash realised the concern he had caused. He felt the relief in each heavy breath from Clemont and Bonnie, and in their physical embraces of exasperation. He realised how close they were as friends, an family-esque bond. They cared for each other, worried for each other, and always stayed close. The Lumiose twins too didn't give up on him. Putting his situation into perspective, he felt truly grateful. Each passing second had more value than ever before, to be able to talk with his friends in a healthy, and happy body was a privilege he never realised he took for granted.
"So what are you doing out here? I thought you would still be lying in bed resting." Clemont asked curiously.
Ash again began to lightly scratch in timidness.
"It's kinda a long story; I guess after all that time locked indoors I needed some fresh air." He replied, knowing he could not yet tell a story which he didn't know the resolution to. The image of Serena knocked in his mind; he held a hand by the door, but kept it closed for the time being.
"How did you guys find me anyway? I remember... we got separated, right?" Ash wanted to know more of what had happened during his sleep while trying to divert the subject away from his little morning expedition.
Clemont adjusted his glasses, catching the light on one lens. He prepared himself for a long explanation, while Bonnie swayed side to side, holding Ash's hand.
"Bonnie and I were trying to track you on a special invention I had made precisely for such a situation."

Conveniently, he was equipped with the very machine just in case he would need it a second time. He saw Ash's eyes light up in front of him. The look of all of those shiny new buttons, with a monitor displaying information on a level that was mesmerising for Ash.

"Woah; the power of science told you that I had been knocked unconscious?! That's awesome!" He beamed in amazement.

"Well, not quite like that, but we noticed your thermal reading drastically divert down a steep gradient. From then on your heat reading began to drop, and we knew something bad must have occurred." A sobering explanation, met with a blank expression from Ash.

"So basically we tracked where you fell." He swiftly added. Bonnie grinned up at the perplexed raven haired trainer; some things really do never change.

"If you don't mind me asking, how exactly did you fall?" Clemont asked with a hint of trepidation. Ash paused for a moment, and looked down into the floor. Bonnie kept a hold of his hand.

"I... I was running through the storm, Serena was with me. The cliff seemed to get more narrow, but we kept going. It was then I got suddenly hit by the wind, it had gotten really strong. The next thing I know, I was falling."

"So that explains why Serena got there so quickly..." Clemont rubbed his chin, thinking about how the situation could have panned out.

"I just remember the feeling of constantly falling." Ash continued, rekindling the thoughts of the darkness he spent days trapped in.

"Weren't you scared?" Bonnie tugged on his arm, seemingly excited at his tale.

Ash looked down and smiled.

"I wasn't at the time, but then that feeling of just always falling... It was really dark. I guess I was... Ah, I can't say. I just heard a lot of voices, not knowing who was who. I heard the cries of Pokemon in the background though. I guess it was tough not being able to be there for them." Ash spoke in reflection, before he was reminded by the guilt of causing the entire ordeal.

"Actually that really was tough. I couldn't be there for you guys... I made you all worry." He clenched a fist in his other hand. "I guess after all this, I still feel bad."

Clemont placed his hand back over Ash's shoulder.

"But Ash, we're all friends, right? We help each other, and we're always there for each other. That's what you taught us!" Clemont reassured Ash, who looked still slightly apprehensive.

"Of course we were worried about you, Ash! It's natural, right? I mean, we're like a family!" Bonnie beamed back at him, letting him feel her energy.

Ash's mouth stammered slightly at their gracious sympathy, feeling his grateful emotions bleed; he knew he was lucky to have Bonnie and Clemont by his side.

"Thanks a lot, guys. I guess that means that those voices... They weren't a dream, they really were real." Ash began to smile again, knowing that all of his feelings were genuine in some way, even that one which he didn't quite know how to express to the Lumiose siblings.

"Voices?" Bonnie asked in anticipation.

"What did they say?" Clemont followed up.

Ash's shoulders dropped, he seemed to relax; fondly remembering the moments in which he knew he wasn't alone.

"Well at first there was a crowd of them, I couldn't understand any of 'em. Maybe that was when you all first found me. Then after that, there was one voice that kept with me the whole time I was asleep. It must have known somehow that I was in there."

Bonnie's face lit up again. She turned back to Clemont a fired off a huge beaming grin. She knew she was right all along.

"I bet you can guess who that was!" Bonnie began jumping up and down, frantically encouraging Ash to think.

He took a step back; he already knew what to say.
His mind screamed 'Serena'.
His stomach bellowed 'Serena'.
His heart called 'Serena'. He felt her the whole time, but didn't want to potentially get it wrong in front of his close friends, not if their voices were there the whole time too. He opened his mouth to speak, but didn't really know what to say.

Bonnie began laughing again.

"Oh Ash, you're so dense!" She teased. But Ash didn't want to seem stupid in this situation. He knew full well just who his mind was set on.

"So it really was Serena..." His voice became gentle.

"She waited for you the whole time. She kept by your bedside every night, believing that you'd wake up soon! Serena never gave up, she always believed in you! Even when she felt herself on the verge of breaking down and crying, she would keep Pikachu and all of your Pokemon close and believing with her." Bonnie began to explain everything.

"She was adamant that she would never leave your bedside. She seemed to really care; she didn't like being doubted." Clemont added, remembering her outburst following his encounter with Finn.

"Don't you understand? Serena really cares about you. More than in a 'friend'-like way! She really did show us just how much he means to her; she never wants to leave your side! Right, brother?" Bonnie continued, trying to force the issue while encouraging Clemont to back her up.

"It's easy enough to see just from all those nights next to you. She really cares about you, Ash." Clemont followed up once more. Ash felt like he had just finished a test, and in his mind ticked all of his answer boxes correct as they were literally read out to him. Everything they were saying was staggeringly similar to the questions he had asked himself since he woke up. He realised that he could no longer go on doubting himself any more; yet he felt he still needed more answers, as it seemed the whole of Serena's seemingly identical feelings were running parallel with his. He thought longer and harder about Serena, every word she said to him, every whisper, every tear.

"Is that why I could hear her crying?" He asked with angst cropping up.

"Yeah... She said she felt bad because of feeling uneasy up on the cliff. She felt she was at fault for letting you slip away." Clemont revealed.

Ash was shocked that Serena too felt bad. He was learning by the minute each mutual worry, fear, and emotion that they shared. It was baffling him, but the more he heard the more he wanted to see her again.

"No..! It was all my fault. I wanted to do anything just to help her stop crying; it was awful. No matter how many times I tried to reach for her or wake up again, each time I would fall short. I was just always falling." Ash cried out in frustration, revisiting the awful memories of hearing her tears fall next to him.

"So that's what those movements were!" Bonnie cried out, having a real eureka moment.

All the pieces were coming together, Clemont stood there rubbing his chin further, gaining a greater understanding of the situation by the moment.

"I tried to reach her; but I fell short so many times."

Ash began to dwell in thought.

"So how did you wake up?" but Clemont reached in and launched the big question.

Ash put a hand on his chin, and this time began to think long and hard.

"For the whole time I felt like I was falling, but I tried to grab onto Serena whenever I could hear she was there. Last night she began to tell me words with meanings I had never heard of before. I was so confused, but I wanted to go back. I had some awful dreams, because they felt so real. I felt like I was awake, and back with everybody. I guess when I woke up... I reached again, and she finally caught me. It was just this morning I needed to check I wasn't in another dream- that I had truly woken up this time!" Ash had tried to explain everything, but was only on the tip of the iceberg. The truth was, he couldn't even begin to comprehend the feelings churning around in his stomach as his mind stayed glued towards Serena.

Clemont kept adjusting his glasses, trying to process all of the information piece by piece. It was an outlandish tale, one that science had little to aid him. Bonnie meanwhile was nodding her head in understanding, the more he spoke the more she recognised the situation, the more she knew exactly how Ash was beginning to feel. For Ash it was a much deeper line of thought. For the first time he was coming to terms with the feeling of what it was like to lose, and to be lost. He saw the value in each precious moment, and discovered just what the people and Pokemon around him truly meant to him. He discovered aloneness, and the feeling of elation that came with being by someone's side. Bonnie had significantly less life experience to understand these deeper meanings, and definitely had no clue first-hand as to what those experiences felt like; but she knew it would lead him onto the same track to where it led Serena. She knew Ash had thoughts and feelings that he was only just coming to realise.

The thought of romance at long last blossoming excited her. After all, she had been trying to set up Clemont for literally forever, and each time he would stubbornly assure her that he was fine searching on his own. She always gave Serena time though, she knew she had stronger feelings that needed time to develop. It just so happened that this event, centimetres from tragedy that it was, would serve as the catalyst in helping her feelings become mutual. She knew Ash had it in him, somewhere in his subconsciousness, she knew there was a spark of affection. She always gave Ash and Serena time, and today was no exception; in fact today was more important than most.

"So you were able to wake up, because you wanted to return to help Serena, right?" Bonnie acted like she was in deep thought, conjuring up theories that would entertain even her brother's brain. Her little game of pretend seemed to go well with Ash, who was too busy caught in his own thoughts.

"I guess you could say that." He seemed to latch on to Bonnie's well thought out question.

"Is she still asleep? I didn't want to wake her, not after all she's been through." Ash was revealing just how much he was thinking about her, as Bonnie heard her cue to at last bring closure to Serena's woes. She was still up in the fishing shack house, worrying that he was still trapped in his sleep.

"Don't worry! Wait there; I'll wake her up for you." Bonnie's excitement levels doubled, at last the group would be fully reunited. She couldn't hide the grin swiftly changing to a smirk even if she tried, she had been waiting for this moment for a while.

"Wait- are you sure? She must still be exhausted." Ash questioned, Bonnie blushed at how considerate he was being.

"It'll be fine; this'll brighten her up again!"

"Uh thanks; because I-I'd like to talk to her." Ash let slip with a lapse of hesitation. Bonnie's smirk widened, where she then sped off, there would have not been anything able to stop her anyway, stomping away at the wooden platform in her Tyrantrum onesie, on the hunt for Serena.

"Then wait there!" She yelled from the distance as she already made up ground in her quest back to the fishing shack house.

"Wait up Bonnie!" Clemont called as his sister left his sight. He seemed to catch the drift, and chased after her dust. Ash was once again left alone, but was spurred on in anticipation that Serena would soon return to him, where the anxieties could finally meet their end. His heart-rate began to speed up once again. Serena was coming. The thought made his stomach dance in a mixture of delight and excitement. He still didn't know why he was anticipating seeing her so much; he just could not wait.

Upstairs in the fishing shack house, Serena had already awoken. She stretched out her legs and realised the bed was spacious; too spacious. Her heart sunk for a moment. Pikachu remained there fast asleep, but her dormant raven-haired crush was nowhere to be seen. She felt a cold sweat strike, as she shrieked out from the covers. She didn't want to be comfortable, she didn't want rest, not when she had no idea where Ash could have gone off to. Maybe he had woken up and ran away in a panic of deliriousness, maybe he was out there somewhere, confused, scared, possibly in danger. He heart was struck with a freeze, confirmation of the worst news from Clemont or Bonnie would be the dagger that shattered her for the final time. It would be true heartbreak.

Her wits no longer had the will within them, the group's ordeal was becoming all so bitterly painful by the moment. She slapped her face and ran her hands down her cheeks as another jarring thought stabbed right through her stomach.

Maybe that was it.

Maybe Ash's battle had ended.

Maybe Clemont and Bonnie had taken care of him so that she wouldn't have to go through the pain any further.

She looked around the room, it was depressed by a silence that unsettled her, making her fear the worst. His jacket still there hanging, this time it seemed dry, with the puddle of water leaking through the floorboards. She couldn't move, she felt trapped. She didn't know what turn was next for her in this ride of anxieties. She brought her knees up to her chest, and hung onto them tightly. Swaying back and forth on the bed, she instructed herself to stay calm.

"He's okay. It's fine. There's nothing to be afraid of." She whispered to herself to slowdown her racing heart. Little did she know that a few metres outside, Ash's heart too was racing. Yet she had no incentive to move; she couldn't stand the thought of making any action, not if it was only to then realise that Ash really was lost from them. She kept herself curled up tight, but then heard thundering footsteps hammer up the solid wooden floor on the staircase, and then through the corridor. A figure had ran into the room, Serena glanced up. It was indeed Bonnie, she had a face that was lit up with a mixture of shock and excitement. Serena couldn't decide what it meant, she didn't have the energy to.

"... Where is he?" She asked in dread.
"Is he okay..?" Her eyes began to water at the stress of it all once more. She did not know if she wanted to hear the answer.

Bonnie stopped in her tracks, and grinned.

"Why don't you go and see for yourself!" She teasingly suggested, pointing outside to the window overlooking the lake.
That familiar grin was a sight she forgot how elated she felt seeing.

Time suddenly shut down, and sat still. Serena's pupils dilated, her heart thundering against her chest. It banged against her skin, wanting to escape, wanting to run the race for her. She threw away the covers, and rushed out of the room, still in her pyjamas. Bonnie took a place by the window to spectate, while Clemont felt a sudden gush of wind slap him in the face as Serena dashed past him going down the staircase. Still bare foot, with her legs fully exposed to the elements, she felt the wind crash against her body heat as she whipped open the large front door in her pursuit towards the lake.

Her skin cringed at the cold influx, the soggy terrain being scrunched by the pound of her feet as she sprinted with her last bursts of energy she had left after everything she had been through.

Her heart was pounding, she felt the aura of her amber-eyed love lying close.
He was there. She could feel him.

She ran around the corner, and saw the open lake in front of her.

Standing there, pacing around at the edge of the pier was the boy she prayed so deeply to see again.
Standing there was the boy she could never give up on.
Standing there was the boy she had fallen in love with.

Ash turned around, and was seized by the tearing gaze of two beautiful cerulean blue eyes. Just like he imagined, her honey-blonde hair was swaying in the wind; in front of him she appeared. In that moment they felt their hearts grasp for each other.

They stood there in shock as amber met blue.
A surge of energy blessed them both.
She saw him, standing at the edge of the pier surrounded by the lake.

This time she would show him what she truly meant.
This time she would not let him slip away.
This time there would be no escaping her arms.

Author's Note: Hello everyone, hope you're all well! Would just like to say at this point a huge thank you after the overwhelming support and feedback I've received. It has been a real pleasure to be able to talk with you all as I update this story, and I am so pleased that people are enjoying it. There's still a fair way to go, so I hope you all stick around and anticipate the next chapters!
The winter is always a very difficult time of year mood-wise, it has been difficult managing work, so uploading these chapters is a huge highlight in my weekly routine, and promising still, an interesting idea for a future story popped into my head the other day. I still also have a few other ideas suggested to me that potentially I would be interested in entertaining!
Every favourite, follow and review is greatly appreciated; thank you everyone and I hope you enjoy the future chapters!