Lost in their Past

Chapter 16:- No Choice

"Dethany?" Serena repeated. "Did she cut you?"

"Did she cut me?" Charlus quipped. "Do I breathe? Hell yeah, I remember one time when we were in Basil, and she nearly stabbed me in the eye when I said that she looked a little fat in her black condo. God, I still have that scar."

"No way," Serena laughed. "She was scary?"

"Dead scary," Charlus said cheerfully. "One time at the academy, Grace challenged James into lethal combat, and she even managed to win. But I think James let her because he could never hurt a girl."

"He sounds quite a gentleman," Serena said.

"He was," Charlus replied.

Hearing the word 'was', Serena made her assumptions. "Did you knew my father too?" She asked him.

Charlus glanced into her piercing ice-blue eyes, the coldness present in them was harsh. Like they'd already seen to enough cruelty and sadness, but they weren't supposed to be like that. Charlus remembered the first time he'd met Bethany, she too had piercing blue eyes, much like Grace's. Perhaps that was one of the reasons he fell in love with her, she reminded him of what he couldn't have. Her eyes reflected nothing but love and care, unlike Serena which showed years of torment and pain.

"I'm sorry about him," Charlus said. "I know how it fee-"

Serena rolled her eyes, "Don't bother." She scoffed, "I mean sure he was my father but he wasn't present half of my life. I'm sad that he's gone but, I'm even sad that I don't feel anything."

Serena's breath became ragged as if almost she was choking back tears. Charlus wanted to comfort her, but he didn't know how and he knew that it wasn't his place to, to her, he was just a stranger she met a little while ago. "To be honest," Charlus started not knowing where he was going. "I wasn't overly fond of your father."

After hearing him, Serena stopped in her tracts. Sure she could criticize him as long as she wanted but seeing others do so, her blood began to boil. After seeing that Serena had stopped, Charlus did so too. "What's wrong?" He asked the blonde as she glared at him.

"Too far, Stranger." She said, "too far."

"Right," Charlus agreed as he subconsciously facepalmed himself.

The yellow stones had cleared and they were heading towards the forest. Charlus knew that he had to act quickly because he if didn't, Ailsa would spring out and drag Serena forcefully.

"I wasn't kidding about earlier," Charlus said. "About having no choice."

Serena groaned as she stopped in her tracts. "No offense Charlus, but I've got enough problems in my life that require my attention. I can't waste my time on something which results in pain and death, you expect me to join something which killed my father?"

Charlus didn't know what to say, he couldn't just say yes. Because that would be inhuman and super uncool. He thought for a moment before saying, "James was named the Kanto champion at the age of ten and I was named the Johto champion." He said, finally getting somewhere. "All we ever wanted was fame and an unbeatable reputation."

"I really don't ca-"

"You should," He said. "We had a whole new career in front of us but we too left it for the academy. I know it's really hard to digest, but you have to. And you really have no choice just because we got sidetracked and didn't finish what we were meant to, this is high time, not a time to be selfish."

Serena sighed, Charlus couldn't have been more wrong. Serena didn't wanna join not because she was selfish but because she was scared. The white room with the red spots and the irrational fear of being helpless, she didn't wanna do anything to risk her nightmare become true. She couldn't do that to herself and the other person she was trying to protect.

"I can't!" Serena shrieked, driven on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry I just can't! Can't they make an exception?"

Charlus sympathized with the young blonde. The strength of the Xovier was already shortened by seventy percent when it was first started. As far as he knew, The forces were assembled only at the time of crisis and that was done five times. This was their fifth call. "There was only one exception ever made," Charlus began, "and that exception was my father."

"Professor Oak?" Serena managed to say in between her tears.

Charlus agreed, "Yes but it wasn't what you're imagining. He had to serve for a while year before he was released from his duties due to an incident."

Serena wipes her eyes, "If I break my hands, will I be relieved?"

Charlus chuckled, "No, the technologies available to the chamber will heal it within a minute."

Serena scoffed, "I can't, bad things will happen." She muttered.

"I know," he said. "But they will happen even if you don't join. I'm not saying that it won't be difficult, it will be but at least you'll not be alone, you'll have friends who'll have your back. Don't lose hope, Serena, good comes out of bad, it did for me."

Serena sighed, "I don't want to."

"Neither did we, but we don't have a choice. Now come on, let's move before your mother decides to actually stab me with her knives."