Tangeh
Well-Known Member
Double Status (AmourShipping / PG) *updates Thursdays!*
Quick Summary: When Ash and Serena are hit by a double dose of hypnosis, they fall into a deep sleep plagued by vivid dreams and terrifying nightmares. When the key to awakening turns out to be their emotions, it's up to them to recognize their deeper feelings lest they be trapped in their own minds forever.
Chapter 1:
Serena stared up toward the top of Bonnie’s tent, but the purple canvas that composed the ceiling was only faintly visible. The rain was falling as steadily as it had been all night, and the wind shook the tent walls enough to prevent Serena from drifting off again. It had gotten only slightly lighter outside since Serena had woken up, but she wasn’t sure if the lack of morning sun was due to the dark clouds that were surely present or if it was still too early for it to have properly risen.
She shifted her gaze over to Bonnie, and was unsurprised to see that the younger girl was still peacefully asleep. Once Bonnie was coaxed into bed, she was thankfully very good at staying there until a reasonable hour. Serena, on the other hand…
Her focus went back to the ceiling. It wouldn’t be too long until morning, though the prospect of travelling in such dreary weather was daunting. They had already had their first taste of the Route 14 swamps the day prior, and Serena was not looking forward to tackling them again. She had already made the decision to wear the same boots, lest another pair become as caked with mud as the first.
“Come on, Pikachu.” Ash’s voice drifted through the thin walls in a quieter-than-usual tone. Intrigued, Serena flipped herself over. She couldn’t remember the last time Ash was awake before she was. It was an occasion usually reserved for gym battles, but they were way too far off from Laverre City to even consider making it there today.
“Pika!”
“Shh! We don’t want to wake the others, okay buddy?”
“Pika…” Pikachu repeated in a much softer voice.
The footsteps gradually became quieter. Serena sat up and, after stealing a glance at the still-sleeping Bonnie, grabbed her pink rain jacket and threw it on over her pajamas. She smiled and ran over scenarios in her head as she pulled on her boots.
“Oh, hi Ash! Funny that you’re up so early, too!”
“Hi Serena! I’m so glad you came… it’s sort of nice out here without Clemont and Bonnie, you know? Just the two of us?”
“I know exactly what you mean! In fact, I…”
Serena rolled her eyes and blushed. Her mind made things seem so easy sometimes. Serena was genuinely curious as to what Ash was up to, and she knew that sleep would be impossible until she found out.
She grabbed Fennekin’s pokeball for protection just in case, and unzipped the tent slowly as not to disturb the youngest member of their group. Bonnie was a sound sleeper, and Serena was able to escape without any trouble.
The rain, though not heavy, was still annoying enough for Serena to wince and bow her head. It only served to fuel more questions on what Ash was doing up at this hour.
After a couple of minutes of walking, Serena heard her answer:
“A haunter and a poliwhirl? Alright!” Ash’s voice echoed loud and clear through the rain. “It’s just you, Pikachu! I left the others back at the tent, sorry.”
“Pika!”
Serena hastily followed the voices, and ducked through some of the heavy foliage to find Ash and Pikachu facing off against both a large-eyed floating ghost-type and a blue water-type with a large spiral on its belly.
“Poli!”
The poliwhirl shot out a jet of water toward Pikachu, who braced himself for the impact –
“Pikachu! Jump and use iron tail!”
“Pikachu!” The electric-type jumped out of the way just in time, but as his tail started to glow to prepare the ordered attack, Serena noticed that the haunter had disappeared from its spot beside Poliwhirl and was materializing behind Pikachu. It held up its floating hands and began to produce a shadow ball.
Serena ran forward and tossed Fennekin’s pokeball into the air. “Fennekin! Use ember on that haunter!”
“Feeeeeeenn!” The orange fox burst out of her ball and launched a ball of fire toward Haunter just before Pikachu landed the iron tail on Poliwhirl.
Pikachu and Fennekin landed safely next to each other as their opponents were launched across the field. “Pika!” Pikachu smiled widely at Fennekin, then turned and waved at Serena with both of his tiny arms. “Pika pikachu!”
“Serena!” Ash exclaimed, and looked at the girl in surprise. “I dunno where you came from, but thanks!” He grinned. “I didn’t even see that haunter there. It’s hard to focus when it’s two against one, you know?”
Serena smiled back. “No problem… I heard you leaving, and I was worried because of the rain.” She blushed, thankful that the light was still dim, and turned back to the battlefield. “Um, so what are you doing out here in the rain?”
“The rain lures out water types,” Ash explained, keeping his focus on Pikachu. “See the poliwhirl? That’s why I brought Pikachu out here. I didn’t want to risk the weather changing later in the day, so…”
Serena quirked a brow and looked up at the sky. “It looks like it’ll be rainy for a while.” She winced as a raindrop splashed into her eye, and grasped the top of her jacket closer to her face. “A-are you sure you don’t want to head ba – ”
“Pikachu, dive to the left!”
Serena hastily looked around in time to see the poliwhirl fire a bubblebeam toward Fennekin, who cried out as she was thrown backward.
“Fennekin!” Serena called, her hand flying to her mouth in horror. “I’m sorry! Can you get up?”
“F-Fen! Fennekin!” The fire-type stood and shook out her fur, then gave Serena a brief nod.
“Pikachu, use thunderbolt on the poliwhirl!”
“Pikaaa-chuuu!” A stream of bright yellow energy soared across the battlefield and struck Poliwhirl straight-on. As the attack faded away, the tadpole pokemon briefly shook itself off, then glanced to where the haunter appeared on its left. Fennekin in turn bounded over to Pikachu. Haunter glanced over at its partner and nodded. Both wild pokemon held up their hands, and a plethora of multicoloured rings began soaring toward the opposite end of the battlefield.
“W-what’s that?!” Serena exclaimed.
“Hypnosis!” Ash yelled. “Pikachu, quick, dive left!”
“Fennekin, dive right!”
As both pokemon leapt out of the way of harm, the multicoloured rings from the haunter began to combine with the rings from the poliwhirl. The attack began to glow brightly with power, and it soared right between its two original targets and sped onward to the two trainers.
Serena panicked and looked to Ash only to find his expression to be one of terror. “Serena!” She could see him diving toward her, but his image quickly faded into the white light of the attack –
Serena’s eyes shot open, but she groaned and immediately shut them as the light from the sun assaulted her senses. She could feel the warmth on her face, and startled herself by realizing it wasn’t raining. She slowly tried opening her eyes again.
“Where… where am I?” Serena muttered and stood up. In front of her stretched a long grassy field. The grass was perfectly green, and the bright blue sky was punctuated with only a few fluffy clouds and the abnormally large sun, which Serena again shied away from.
“Ash?” She circled around, but all she could see for miles was bright-green grass. “Ash, where are you? Fennekin?”
Unnerved by the lack of response, she bit her lip and stood in place. “Hello? Helllloooo?” Frightened tears started to well in her eyes. “Please, can anybody hear me?!”
“PIKA-CHUUUUUUU!”
The haunter and poliwhirl finally scattered as Pikachu sent a wall of energy rocketing toward them. The little pokemon panted, then turned to Fennekin, who was still staring in shock at Ash and Serena. Their two trainers had both collapsed to the damp ground and lay eerily still.
“Chuuu…” Pikachu worriedly sighed and jumped over to Ash. He had fallen onto his stomach with one arm outstretched toward Serena, who was lying on her back just a few inches too far for him to reach. Pikachu prodded his head to make sure he was still getting oxygen, then fired off a few sparks from his cheeks. The weak charge surged through Ash. Prior experience told the pokemon that this should be more than enough to wake his trainer, however Ash remained as still as ever.
Pikachu’s cheeks sparked again for attempt two, but a paw on his shoulder stopped him.
“Fen! Fennekin, Fen!” Fennekin pointed in the direction back to camp. “Fen!”
Pikachu hesitated, then flattened his ears and stared at Ash. “Pikapi…”
“Fennekin!”
Pikachu glanced at Serena’s pokemon, then nodded and started to run as quickly as he could back to camp. The sky seemed to be getting darker instead of lighter, and it was all Pikachu could do to ignore the howling wind and focus on getting help.
Serena had started walking, though she didn’t feel like she was moving anywhere. The bright green grass and glaring sun were unchanging, and she was still the only one in sight…
She sighed and kept going. “Maybe Ash or Fennekin will come looking for me…”
“Pika! Pikachu!”
Serena whirled around and beamed in relief as the yellow mouse pokemon bounded over to her and tipped his head, a small smile formed on his mouth. “Pikachu!” She exclaimed, sinking down to the ground to rub his head. “Where’s Ash?” She looked up, but couldn’t see him anywhere. “…Are you all by yourself? Where are we?”
“Pika?” Pikachu smiled blankly and blinked a few times, then stood and started to walk forward.
Serena stood and hesitated. “Pikachu? Where are you going…?”
Pikachu turned and gave Serena the same smile and blank stare. She was getting the impression that he was looking through her rather than at her, and it sent a shiver through her spine. “P-Pikachu?”
Pikachu stood there for a few moments longer, blinked, then kept walking. Seeing no other viable options, Serena started to follow.
“Pikachu! S-slow down!” Clemont panted as Pikachu paused for a few seconds, then turned and started to run again.
“Clemont, come on!” Bonnie cried, nearly caught up with Pikachu herself. Dedenne was clinging onto the head of the tyrantum pajamas that she was still wearing, and her little companion ducked his head to shield himself from the rain. “Something’s wrong, I just know it! Something’s happened to Serena and Ash! Why else wouldn’t they be there when we woke up?”
“I… I don’t know, Bonnie…” Clemont knew that something must be horribly wrong, but didn’t want to frighten his little sister. Ash getting up early for training happened on occasion, but Serena being willingly out in such awful weather was uncharacteristic to say the least. Pikachu waking him up via thunderbolt and then calling out frantically until he got up and followed, though?
Clemont could only assume the worst, so when they finally reached where Serena and Ash lay lifeless on the ground, his heart plummeted in terror. Fennekin had taken shelter under Serena’s fallen hat, and trembled as she sadly peered out at them with flat ears and soaking wet fur. “B-Bonnie, stay right there and don’t move.”
“But - ”
“I said stay there, okay?!” He grit his teeth and walked to Pikachu, who was sitting beside Ash with a worried frown.
“Pikapi…”
Clemont took a hold of Ash’s wrist, which was conveniently extended, and felt a rush of relief as Ash’s pulse pushed back steadily against his fingers. He quickly did the same with Serena, with similar results.
“Clemont?” Bonnie asked. Her eyes were huge and teary, and her mouth was screwed up in an obvious attempt to keep from crying. “A-are… are they…”
“No, no, Bonnie… Bonnie, they’re okay.” Clemont quickly got up and hugged the little girl, who clung to him and snivelled into his shoulder. “I’m sorry I yelled before. I was scared, too.”
“But if they’re okay, why are they on the ground like that?”
Clemont looked back to find Pikachu and Fennekin also staring at him for answers. “I… don’t know.” He walked back over to Ash, and gently probed around his head. “There doesn’t seem to be anything physically wrong with them, besides being soaking wet and unconscious… for both of them to be unresponsive like this, there has to be a similar reason.”
“Pika!” Pikachu waved his little arms until he caught Clemont’s attention, then widened his eyes and formed them into two angry triangular shapes with tiny pupils. He widened his mouth for added effect, his tiny teeth providing makeshift fangs. He held up his arms. “Piiiikaaaa,” he droned in a low, eerie tone.
“That’s so cool, Pikachu! How did you do that?” Bonnie exclaimed, smiling despite the situation. “He looks just like a haunter, Clemont!”
“Pika! Pika!” Pikachu dropped his impression and pointed excitedly at Bonnie. “Pikachu!”
Clemont adjusted his glasses. “You’re saying a haunter had something to do with this? …I’m not quite sure how it could make two trainers lose consciousness like that. What would be its motivation be, anyways?”
Fennekin stuck out her head from underneath Serena’s hat. “Fen! Fen! F-F-Fe – " She broke off with a sneeze that caused a weak flame to briefly shoot out of her mouth. She whimpered and sheepishly retreated back into the hat.
Bonnie crouched down next to the little fox. “Aww, you poor thing…” She shifted her gaze toward Serena, who was completely oblivious to the raindrops bouncing off of her face.
“We need to get them out of the rain as soon as possible,” Clemont said, then crouched down next to Bonnie and gingerly started to prop Serena into a sitting position. She was absolutely limp in his arms. “They’ll get sick before too long.”
“I’ll take Fennekin!” Bonnie scooped up Serena’s pokemon with a wide smile. Fennekin shivered and huddled close to Bonnie’s chest. “You can take Serena and Ash back, Clemont. Hey Dedenne, are you still doing okay up there?”
“Den, de-den!” The little rodent happily chirped from atop Bonnie’s hood.
“Uh…” Clemont looked between Ash and Serena, unsure on how to go about carrying even one of them back. Dragging them across the muddy swamp hardly seemed like an appropriate thing to do, but he wasn’t sure if he had a choice. He made a mental note to prepare a more suitable invention than the aipom arm in case a similar situation ever arose in the future. “I’ll take Serena first, I guess. Pikachu, stay here with Ash.”
Pikachu nodded and quietly turned to stare at his trainer. “Pikapi…” His ears drooped.
Clemont pulled off his glasses – which were becoming too difficult to see out of with all of the water on them – and tried to dry them on his sleeve without much success. He put them back on, blinked a few times, then squinted down at the girl in front of him. He tapped a button on the side of his backpack, and the aipom arm sprung to life. Clemont cautiously guided it toward Serena, latched it onto the back of her jacket, and grunted as he heaved her backward. Her head lolled to the left, and he hastily shifted his arms to support it.
“Clemont!”
Clemont sighed and looked at his little sister, who was standing with her arms crossed and little face scowling in disapproval. He paused, awkwardly hunched next to Serena’s unconscious body. “…Y-yes, Bonnie?”
“That is not how you carry a girl! You can’t just drag her all the way back to the tents!”
“…and I suppose you have a better solution?”
Bonnie set Fennekin down next to Pikachu, then walked over with her hands on her hips. “Of course I do!” She wormed her way in between Clemont and Serena, swatted the aipom arm away, and took over supporting the older girl’s back. “Just carry her like you carry me!”
Clemont raised an eyebrow and retracted the aipom arm. “Er, this is how I usually carry you - ”
“No, no, no!” Bonnie sighed dramatically. “I just got through telling you not to drag her! Go stand in front of her. I’ll help you.”
Clemont followed directions, but eyed Bonnie skeptically. “I really don’t see what - ”
“Now crouch down!”
Clemont complied, and jumped in surprise as Serena’s arms were thrown over his shoulders. “Uh - ”
“She can’t hold on like me, so you’ll have to hold her wrists so she doesn’t fall.”
“Bonnie, I haven’t piggybacked you in years.”
“Ash is heavier you know. Better get used to it.”
Clemont sighed and made sure that Serena was securely on his back before standing. He had to bend slightly so that she wouldn’t slide off, and he could already feel his arms getting tired from holding her weight. As he took the first few steps, however, he knew it was going to be easier than the alternative of dragging her the entire way.
Bonnie picked up Fennekin and Serena’s hat, and ran ahead. “I’ll come back to stay with Ash after I drop Fennekin off!”
“Change out of your pajamas first!” Clemont yelled after her. “And keep Dedenne with you at all times!”
“I will!” Bonnie’s voice was already fading into the distance. The storm only seemed to be getting worse, and she was soon hidden by the darkness. Clemont groaned, bowed his head against the rain, and continued at a much slower pace.
A/N: Please feel absolutely free to leave comments / criticism / questions / corrections- I'd love to hear all of them.
My chapters tend to be between 2500 - 3000 words, so that's what you can expect. I'm also trying to stick to canon as best I can, so don't expect any sort of over-the-top confession or what have you. It'll be shippy in a controlled manner. xD
This is also published on ff.net under the username "Neonz" (this is me!).
- Double Status -
Rated PG for mild violence and potentially frightening scenes.
AmourShipping
Rated PG for mild violence and potentially frightening scenes.
AmourShipping
Quick Summary: When Ash and Serena are hit by a double dose of hypnosis, they fall into a deep sleep plagued by vivid dreams and terrifying nightmares. When the key to awakening turns out to be their emotions, it's up to them to recognize their deeper feelings lest they be trapped in their own minds forever.
...
Chapter 1:
Serena stared up toward the top of Bonnie’s tent, but the purple canvas that composed the ceiling was only faintly visible. The rain was falling as steadily as it had been all night, and the wind shook the tent walls enough to prevent Serena from drifting off again. It had gotten only slightly lighter outside since Serena had woken up, but she wasn’t sure if the lack of morning sun was due to the dark clouds that were surely present or if it was still too early for it to have properly risen.
She shifted her gaze over to Bonnie, and was unsurprised to see that the younger girl was still peacefully asleep. Once Bonnie was coaxed into bed, she was thankfully very good at staying there until a reasonable hour. Serena, on the other hand…
Her focus went back to the ceiling. It wouldn’t be too long until morning, though the prospect of travelling in such dreary weather was daunting. They had already had their first taste of the Route 14 swamps the day prior, and Serena was not looking forward to tackling them again. She had already made the decision to wear the same boots, lest another pair become as caked with mud as the first.
“Come on, Pikachu.” Ash’s voice drifted through the thin walls in a quieter-than-usual tone. Intrigued, Serena flipped herself over. She couldn’t remember the last time Ash was awake before she was. It was an occasion usually reserved for gym battles, but they were way too far off from Laverre City to even consider making it there today.
“Pika!”
“Shh! We don’t want to wake the others, okay buddy?”
“Pika…” Pikachu repeated in a much softer voice.
The footsteps gradually became quieter. Serena sat up and, after stealing a glance at the still-sleeping Bonnie, grabbed her pink rain jacket and threw it on over her pajamas. She smiled and ran over scenarios in her head as she pulled on her boots.
“Oh, hi Ash! Funny that you’re up so early, too!”
“Hi Serena! I’m so glad you came… it’s sort of nice out here without Clemont and Bonnie, you know? Just the two of us?”
“I know exactly what you mean! In fact, I…”
Serena rolled her eyes and blushed. Her mind made things seem so easy sometimes. Serena was genuinely curious as to what Ash was up to, and she knew that sleep would be impossible until she found out.
She grabbed Fennekin’s pokeball for protection just in case, and unzipped the tent slowly as not to disturb the youngest member of their group. Bonnie was a sound sleeper, and Serena was able to escape without any trouble.
The rain, though not heavy, was still annoying enough for Serena to wince and bow her head. It only served to fuel more questions on what Ash was doing up at this hour.
After a couple of minutes of walking, Serena heard her answer:
“A haunter and a poliwhirl? Alright!” Ash’s voice echoed loud and clear through the rain. “It’s just you, Pikachu! I left the others back at the tent, sorry.”
“Pika!”
Serena hastily followed the voices, and ducked through some of the heavy foliage to find Ash and Pikachu facing off against both a large-eyed floating ghost-type and a blue water-type with a large spiral on its belly.
“Poli!”
The poliwhirl shot out a jet of water toward Pikachu, who braced himself for the impact –
“Pikachu! Jump and use iron tail!”
“Pikachu!” The electric-type jumped out of the way just in time, but as his tail started to glow to prepare the ordered attack, Serena noticed that the haunter had disappeared from its spot beside Poliwhirl and was materializing behind Pikachu. It held up its floating hands and began to produce a shadow ball.
Serena ran forward and tossed Fennekin’s pokeball into the air. “Fennekin! Use ember on that haunter!”
“Feeeeeeenn!” The orange fox burst out of her ball and launched a ball of fire toward Haunter just before Pikachu landed the iron tail on Poliwhirl.
Pikachu and Fennekin landed safely next to each other as their opponents were launched across the field. “Pika!” Pikachu smiled widely at Fennekin, then turned and waved at Serena with both of his tiny arms. “Pika pikachu!”
“Serena!” Ash exclaimed, and looked at the girl in surprise. “I dunno where you came from, but thanks!” He grinned. “I didn’t even see that haunter there. It’s hard to focus when it’s two against one, you know?”
Serena smiled back. “No problem… I heard you leaving, and I was worried because of the rain.” She blushed, thankful that the light was still dim, and turned back to the battlefield. “Um, so what are you doing out here in the rain?”
“The rain lures out water types,” Ash explained, keeping his focus on Pikachu. “See the poliwhirl? That’s why I brought Pikachu out here. I didn’t want to risk the weather changing later in the day, so…”
Serena quirked a brow and looked up at the sky. “It looks like it’ll be rainy for a while.” She winced as a raindrop splashed into her eye, and grasped the top of her jacket closer to her face. “A-are you sure you don’t want to head ba – ”
“Pikachu, dive to the left!”
Serena hastily looked around in time to see the poliwhirl fire a bubblebeam toward Fennekin, who cried out as she was thrown backward.
“Fennekin!” Serena called, her hand flying to her mouth in horror. “I’m sorry! Can you get up?”
“F-Fen! Fennekin!” The fire-type stood and shook out her fur, then gave Serena a brief nod.
“Pikachu, use thunderbolt on the poliwhirl!”
“Pikaaa-chuuu!” A stream of bright yellow energy soared across the battlefield and struck Poliwhirl straight-on. As the attack faded away, the tadpole pokemon briefly shook itself off, then glanced to where the haunter appeared on its left. Fennekin in turn bounded over to Pikachu. Haunter glanced over at its partner and nodded. Both wild pokemon held up their hands, and a plethora of multicoloured rings began soaring toward the opposite end of the battlefield.
“W-what’s that?!” Serena exclaimed.
“Hypnosis!” Ash yelled. “Pikachu, quick, dive left!”
“Fennekin, dive right!”
As both pokemon leapt out of the way of harm, the multicoloured rings from the haunter began to combine with the rings from the poliwhirl. The attack began to glow brightly with power, and it soared right between its two original targets and sped onward to the two trainers.
Serena panicked and looked to Ash only to find his expression to be one of terror. “Serena!” She could see him diving toward her, but his image quickly faded into the white light of the attack –
…
Serena’s eyes shot open, but she groaned and immediately shut them as the light from the sun assaulted her senses. She could feel the warmth on her face, and startled herself by realizing it wasn’t raining. She slowly tried opening her eyes again.
“Where… where am I?” Serena muttered and stood up. In front of her stretched a long grassy field. The grass was perfectly green, and the bright blue sky was punctuated with only a few fluffy clouds and the abnormally large sun, which Serena again shied away from.
“Ash?” She circled around, but all she could see for miles was bright-green grass. “Ash, where are you? Fennekin?”
Unnerved by the lack of response, she bit her lip and stood in place. “Hello? Helllloooo?” Frightened tears started to well in her eyes. “Please, can anybody hear me?!”
…
“PIKA-CHUUUUUUU!”
The haunter and poliwhirl finally scattered as Pikachu sent a wall of energy rocketing toward them. The little pokemon panted, then turned to Fennekin, who was still staring in shock at Ash and Serena. Their two trainers had both collapsed to the damp ground and lay eerily still.
“Chuuu…” Pikachu worriedly sighed and jumped over to Ash. He had fallen onto his stomach with one arm outstretched toward Serena, who was lying on her back just a few inches too far for him to reach. Pikachu prodded his head to make sure he was still getting oxygen, then fired off a few sparks from his cheeks. The weak charge surged through Ash. Prior experience told the pokemon that this should be more than enough to wake his trainer, however Ash remained as still as ever.
Pikachu’s cheeks sparked again for attempt two, but a paw on his shoulder stopped him.
“Fen! Fennekin, Fen!” Fennekin pointed in the direction back to camp. “Fen!”
Pikachu hesitated, then flattened his ears and stared at Ash. “Pikapi…”
“Fennekin!”
Pikachu glanced at Serena’s pokemon, then nodded and started to run as quickly as he could back to camp. The sky seemed to be getting darker instead of lighter, and it was all Pikachu could do to ignore the howling wind and focus on getting help.
…
Serena had started walking, though she didn’t feel like she was moving anywhere. The bright green grass and glaring sun were unchanging, and she was still the only one in sight…
She sighed and kept going. “Maybe Ash or Fennekin will come looking for me…”
“Pika! Pikachu!”
Serena whirled around and beamed in relief as the yellow mouse pokemon bounded over to her and tipped his head, a small smile formed on his mouth. “Pikachu!” She exclaimed, sinking down to the ground to rub his head. “Where’s Ash?” She looked up, but couldn’t see him anywhere. “…Are you all by yourself? Where are we?”
“Pika?” Pikachu smiled blankly and blinked a few times, then stood and started to walk forward.
Serena stood and hesitated. “Pikachu? Where are you going…?”
Pikachu turned and gave Serena the same smile and blank stare. She was getting the impression that he was looking through her rather than at her, and it sent a shiver through her spine. “P-Pikachu?”
Pikachu stood there for a few moments longer, blinked, then kept walking. Seeing no other viable options, Serena started to follow.
…
“Pikachu! S-slow down!” Clemont panted as Pikachu paused for a few seconds, then turned and started to run again.
“Clemont, come on!” Bonnie cried, nearly caught up with Pikachu herself. Dedenne was clinging onto the head of the tyrantum pajamas that she was still wearing, and her little companion ducked his head to shield himself from the rain. “Something’s wrong, I just know it! Something’s happened to Serena and Ash! Why else wouldn’t they be there when we woke up?”
“I… I don’t know, Bonnie…” Clemont knew that something must be horribly wrong, but didn’t want to frighten his little sister. Ash getting up early for training happened on occasion, but Serena being willingly out in such awful weather was uncharacteristic to say the least. Pikachu waking him up via thunderbolt and then calling out frantically until he got up and followed, though?
Clemont could only assume the worst, so when they finally reached where Serena and Ash lay lifeless on the ground, his heart plummeted in terror. Fennekin had taken shelter under Serena’s fallen hat, and trembled as she sadly peered out at them with flat ears and soaking wet fur. “B-Bonnie, stay right there and don’t move.”
“But - ”
“I said stay there, okay?!” He grit his teeth and walked to Pikachu, who was sitting beside Ash with a worried frown.
“Pikapi…”
Clemont took a hold of Ash’s wrist, which was conveniently extended, and felt a rush of relief as Ash’s pulse pushed back steadily against his fingers. He quickly did the same with Serena, with similar results.
“Clemont?” Bonnie asked. Her eyes were huge and teary, and her mouth was screwed up in an obvious attempt to keep from crying. “A-are… are they…”
“No, no, Bonnie… Bonnie, they’re okay.” Clemont quickly got up and hugged the little girl, who clung to him and snivelled into his shoulder. “I’m sorry I yelled before. I was scared, too.”
“But if they’re okay, why are they on the ground like that?”
Clemont looked back to find Pikachu and Fennekin also staring at him for answers. “I… don’t know.” He walked back over to Ash, and gently probed around his head. “There doesn’t seem to be anything physically wrong with them, besides being soaking wet and unconscious… for both of them to be unresponsive like this, there has to be a similar reason.”
“Pika!” Pikachu waved his little arms until he caught Clemont’s attention, then widened his eyes and formed them into two angry triangular shapes with tiny pupils. He widened his mouth for added effect, his tiny teeth providing makeshift fangs. He held up his arms. “Piiiikaaaa,” he droned in a low, eerie tone.
“That’s so cool, Pikachu! How did you do that?” Bonnie exclaimed, smiling despite the situation. “He looks just like a haunter, Clemont!”
“Pika! Pika!” Pikachu dropped his impression and pointed excitedly at Bonnie. “Pikachu!”
Clemont adjusted his glasses. “You’re saying a haunter had something to do with this? …I’m not quite sure how it could make two trainers lose consciousness like that. What would be its motivation be, anyways?”
Fennekin stuck out her head from underneath Serena’s hat. “Fen! Fen! F-F-Fe – " She broke off with a sneeze that caused a weak flame to briefly shoot out of her mouth. She whimpered and sheepishly retreated back into the hat.
Bonnie crouched down next to the little fox. “Aww, you poor thing…” She shifted her gaze toward Serena, who was completely oblivious to the raindrops bouncing off of her face.
“We need to get them out of the rain as soon as possible,” Clemont said, then crouched down next to Bonnie and gingerly started to prop Serena into a sitting position. She was absolutely limp in his arms. “They’ll get sick before too long.”
“I’ll take Fennekin!” Bonnie scooped up Serena’s pokemon with a wide smile. Fennekin shivered and huddled close to Bonnie’s chest. “You can take Serena and Ash back, Clemont. Hey Dedenne, are you still doing okay up there?”
“Den, de-den!” The little rodent happily chirped from atop Bonnie’s hood.
“Uh…” Clemont looked between Ash and Serena, unsure on how to go about carrying even one of them back. Dragging them across the muddy swamp hardly seemed like an appropriate thing to do, but he wasn’t sure if he had a choice. He made a mental note to prepare a more suitable invention than the aipom arm in case a similar situation ever arose in the future. “I’ll take Serena first, I guess. Pikachu, stay here with Ash.”
Pikachu nodded and quietly turned to stare at his trainer. “Pikapi…” His ears drooped.
Clemont pulled off his glasses – which were becoming too difficult to see out of with all of the water on them – and tried to dry them on his sleeve without much success. He put them back on, blinked a few times, then squinted down at the girl in front of him. He tapped a button on the side of his backpack, and the aipom arm sprung to life. Clemont cautiously guided it toward Serena, latched it onto the back of her jacket, and grunted as he heaved her backward. Her head lolled to the left, and he hastily shifted his arms to support it.
“Clemont!”
Clemont sighed and looked at his little sister, who was standing with her arms crossed and little face scowling in disapproval. He paused, awkwardly hunched next to Serena’s unconscious body. “…Y-yes, Bonnie?”
“That is not how you carry a girl! You can’t just drag her all the way back to the tents!”
“…and I suppose you have a better solution?”
Bonnie set Fennekin down next to Pikachu, then walked over with her hands on her hips. “Of course I do!” She wormed her way in between Clemont and Serena, swatted the aipom arm away, and took over supporting the older girl’s back. “Just carry her like you carry me!”
Clemont raised an eyebrow and retracted the aipom arm. “Er, this is how I usually carry you - ”
“No, no, no!” Bonnie sighed dramatically. “I just got through telling you not to drag her! Go stand in front of her. I’ll help you.”
Clemont followed directions, but eyed Bonnie skeptically. “I really don’t see what - ”
“Now crouch down!”
Clemont complied, and jumped in surprise as Serena’s arms were thrown over his shoulders. “Uh - ”
“She can’t hold on like me, so you’ll have to hold her wrists so she doesn’t fall.”
“Bonnie, I haven’t piggybacked you in years.”
“Ash is heavier you know. Better get used to it.”
Clemont sighed and made sure that Serena was securely on his back before standing. He had to bend slightly so that she wouldn’t slide off, and he could already feel his arms getting tired from holding her weight. As he took the first few steps, however, he knew it was going to be easier than the alternative of dragging her the entire way.
Bonnie picked up Fennekin and Serena’s hat, and ran ahead. “I’ll come back to stay with Ash after I drop Fennekin off!”
“Change out of your pajamas first!” Clemont yelled after her. “And keep Dedenne with you at all times!”
“I will!” Bonnie’s voice was already fading into the distance. The storm only seemed to be getting worse, and she was soon hidden by the darkness. Clemont groaned, bowed his head against the rain, and continued at a much slower pace.
...
Difficulty in Communications - To dream that you have difficulties communicating represents low self-esteem and feelings of inadequacy.
Grassland - To see or dream that you are on a grassland symbolizes openness and concealment at the same time. You need to learn to balance when to reveal information about yourself and when to hold back.
Sun - To dream that the sun has a creepy, harsh glare represents a significant disruption or serious problem in your life. The sun is considered a life-giver and thus, any abnormalities and peculiarities to the sun's appearance represents some sort of pain or chaos occurring in your waking life.
Grassland - To see or dream that you are on a grassland symbolizes openness and concealment at the same time. You need to learn to balance when to reveal information about yourself and when to hold back.
Sun - To dream that the sun has a creepy, harsh glare represents a significant disruption or serious problem in your life. The sun is considered a life-giver and thus, any abnormalities and peculiarities to the sun's appearance represents some sort of pain or chaos occurring in your waking life.
A/N: Please feel absolutely free to leave comments / criticism / questions / corrections- I'd love to hear all of them.
My chapters tend to be between 2500 - 3000 words, so that's what you can expect. I'm also trying to stick to canon as best I can, so don't expect any sort of over-the-top confession or what have you. It'll be shippy in a controlled manner. xDThis is also published on ff.net under the username "Neonz" (this is me!).
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