"Where did they go?" Serena slammed her hands on the breakfast table.
Alain's jaw was open and his cereal spoon was hanging mind way in the air when Serena dropped in, his eyes widened in surprise at her sudden outburst.
"Where is who?"
"Don't you dare deny," her nostrils were flaring in anger, "you attended that meeting with Ash and Charlus, where did they go?"
"What meeting?" He tried to act aloof, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Don't play dumb," she cursed, "it's been days! Why aren't they here yet?"
Alain shrugged, "Maybe the mission is too long."
"Ash said it was of a few hours!"
The ebony-haired frowned at the blonde, "Why would Ash tell you that?"
Serena groaned in frustration as she walked out of there. Ash wasn't supposed to tell her about his 'secret mission' but he did anyway. It was a bummer when she went to confront every official on the Center.
How do you know? They would always ask.
Of course, Serena didn't know what was going on, she just had a feeling. A dark, ominous sense of foreboding that something horrible was happening to someone... to Ash.
She'd decided to go to Alain when she ran out of options. He was her last choice and he failed her spectacularly.
She went straight to her room to draw up a plan or anything remotely similar to one. But as soon as she settled down on the bed, the door to her room opened in a jiffy.
On the other end stood Gary Oak.
"Can't you knock?" She sighed.
"I can but..." he quickly locked the door, "there was no time."
"Time for what?" She shifted to make space for him.
Gary sat down next to her, his breath was elevated. "I know that you'll think I'm insane but—"
"There is something wrong," Serena completed, "with Ash."
Gary looked at her in amazement, "And my father but he's a second thought... you're correct but... how'd you know?"
"He told me about his mission, said it was only for a few hours. It's been days!"
The brunet frowned, "Why would he tell you and not me?"
Serena played out every scenario in her head but at the end of every single one, Gary Oak found out about their relationship. Ash would certainly kill her if she was the one who told his best friend but there was no sense in hiding it anymore.
"Because we're... friends?"
"I'm his best friend!"
The blonde rolled her eyes, "Do you want to go into the details?"
Gary gulped, he did want to get to the depths but right then it wasn't important.
"What was the mission?" He asked.
"Rescuing Spencer Hale."
"Spencer's been kidnapped!?"
She shushed him, "Yell louder, I don't think anyone heard you!"
Gary paid her sarcasm no heed. He'd gone to ask Joanne about updates on Ash and his father when he'd overheard her talking to his grandmother in the conference room.
'What about the tooth?' Joanne had said, her voice was alarmed with worry.
'Spencer isn't one of ours, he doesn't have it.'
'I'm not talking about him,' Joanne said.
A sigh had escaped Ailsa's lips. 'Charlus took his out when he left and refused to have it reinstalled. And Ash... he doesn't have one.'
'Why?'
Ailsa didn't speak for a long time. 'I promised his father, Joanne. I'm not going to break it.'
'But what if they reveal our location?'
'He's my son, he'll die before letting it happen. And as for Ash, he doesn't know the specifics. And even if he did, I'm sure he'd rather kill himself before ratting us out.'
'So you're just going to leave him?' Joanne was on the verge of tears, something about her worry told Gary that 'him' wasn't Ash.
'I didn't say that,'
'Then what are you saying?!'
Gary had been leaning on his sore leg the entire time, just when Ailsa was about to open her mouth, he'd slipped and a loud creak had echoed in the air.
'Someone is at the door,' Ailsa said and Gary bolted away as swiftly as he could.
The next stop had been Serena's room.
By the time he finished reciting his tale, he found Serena on the verge of tears.
"Gary what if—" she broke into muffled cries
"Would you quit it!" He raised his voice, there was a limit of 'he's dead' liners he could take from Serena, and she'd already crossed it in the Basil city. "Ash isn't dead! He can't be dead! No matter how much you want him to!"
Serena frowned, her face was red and watery. "You think I want Ash dead?"
"Why else would you be saying 'he's dead... oh Arceus! He's dead!' All the time?!"
His mimicking of her voice did not please Serena, however the circumstances. "I don't sound like that..." she said between her sniffles.
"That's what you took for it?!"
She broke down once again. Gary groaned in frustration, he was bitchy and mean whenever he was tense and nervous. The situation they were in should've been a good excuse but a little voice at the back of his head told him that maybe being negative was her way of coping up with the loss.
It's clever, he thought, expect the worse so you wouldn't be disappointed.
Gary tried to do so but he couldn't. He didn't want to imagine a world without Ash in it. He had been a better trainer and human being than him ever since they were little kids. Ash had insurmountable kindness, he put his Pokemon and other people's need before his every damn time.
He didn't deserve whatever was happening to him, not after all the good and selfless deeds he'd done.
"I'm sorry Serena but stop crying!" He grabbed a handful of his hair, "I can't think!"
She stopped crying... eventually.
"Thanks," he said sarcastically, "I think they're planning to get him back. We should volunteer to help."
Serena frowned, her face was still red. "I'd they were planning to bring him back, they would've brought him back!"
Gary grunted his teeth. Serena was right, Ailsa's tone didn't suggest a rescue mission and then mention of a certain tooth sent shivers down his spine.
Something inside him knew what it was, he was afraid to say it out loud.
"We have to do something, alone." He sighed, "did Ash say where they were going?"
Serena shook her head, "We'd have to find out ourselves."
"But how?"
She went into deep thought. "The control center... it tracks our every move. If Ash and Charlus send a distress signal before they were captured..."
"Maybe we could trace it..." his hopes were getting high, "but... how do we get in it? Joanne's inside 24/7"
"You can distract her...?"
Gary scoffed, "She doesn't like me which is a wonder because everyone else cherishes me!"
The corner of her mouth turned into a snarl. "I don't."
"Of course you do," he said, "but let's save that topic for a rainy day. For now..."
The two of them went into deeper thought.
Come on, come on, he ransacked his brain, you're the love of my life, Brainy Brian, give me something!
Brainy Brian was the name he had given to his brain when he was five years old and has discovered that he was a genius like a grandfather and not a dud like his father. Of course Brian the brainy brain had helped him on numerous occasions but something told him it wasn't going to be of any use today.
That something was Serena.
"Dawn," she said, "Joanne will listen to Dawn."