Landing in front of Prism Tower once more, I only had to wait a few minutes before my friends came running out.
"Kai! We did it!" Ash shouted as they approached.
"It seems you did," I replied with a smile.
"Clemont was awesome! You should've seen the way he Battled with Bunnelby! It was so cool!"
"Ah, Ash, it wasn't that amazing, was it?" Clemont stuttered, sounding embarrassed.
"No, Ash is right; you did really well, Clemont!" Serena said.
"Mhm, you were amazing, Big Brother!" Bonnie exclaimed.
"Haha, guys!" Clemont said, rubbing his head awkwardly.
"Well, I'm just glad everything turned out well. How about we tuck in for the night?" I suggested.
"Sure, we can stay here; we have a few spare rooms in the Gym." Clemont agreed.
"Yippy! A sleepover!" Bonnie cheered, running back towards the tower.
"But we've always slept around each other before… So why is this situation any different?" Clemont asked.
"Because this is our home, dummy!" Bonnie replied.
"Home, huh? I guess it is…."
With that, we entered Prism Tower, heading to the top of the building and got settled in.
The spare rooms were nice and spacious, allowing multiple beds to be placed in one space. That being said, we all decided to slumber in the same room. However, while everyone else slept, I couldn't find it in myself to doze off.
Thinking about my actions tonight, I couldn't prevent myself from tossing and turning. It'd been a while since I'd lost control of my emotions like that… But even then, this was the first time it had resulted in something that could've ended tragically.
"Haaa… I really need to learn to control my emotions better. If I haven't prepared and cut them off, they easily get out of control…." I muttered to myself.
Realising that I wouldn't be able to sleep, I quietly got out of bed and sneaked out of the room.
Because of how dark it was, my attention was naturally drawn to the bright city lights shining through a pair of glass doors.
Making my way over, I pushed them open and stepped onto the balcony surrounding Prism Tower's top. I then walked over to lean against the railings, looking out and admiring the brightly lit city below. The cold breeze from being so high up was soothing, allowing me to calm my erratic thoughts.
Click~
Hearing the door behind me open, I focused my senses on the aura of the approaching person.
Realising who it was, I kept staring at the view, waiting until they arrived at my side.
"Can't sleep?" I asked.
"I should be asking you the same thing," Serena said as she leaned against the railing, standing next to me.
Silence reigned between us for a few seconds before I confessed,
"I've just got a few things on my mind, is all."
Hearing my words, Serena remained silent as well for a few seconds before asking,
"Something you can talk about?"
"....No…. Sorry…."
"I see…."
Serena turned her eyes away from the view before us and looked up at me.
After a moment of silence, she finally said,
"You really don't remember me… do you, Kai…"
"Pardon?" I asked, turning to look at her.
I saw a flash of disappointment and sadness in her eyes before she continued,
"Haaa… You see, we've met before, Kai. It was when I was around six years old, a year or so after I'd met Ash."
My eyes widened slightly in confusion. With my prior knowledge, had I met Serena in the past, I'm sure I would've remembered her.
"I think you might be confusing me for someone else…."
However, she shook her head, saying,
"No, we've definitely met before. I could never mistake you for someone else."
"How can you be so sure?" I asked, sounding quite sceptical.
She looked up at me before sighing. She then looked back at the city and began her story.
"You see, I had once visited the Sinnoh Region with my Mum for her Rhyhorn racing.
I'm not really sure how, but I think I had walked onto the Rhyhorn track and tried to follow my Mum and the other racers. However, I'd somehow managed to get lost in the forest along the way." Serena continued, looking out at the view with a reminiscent look on her face.
"After walking for who knows how long, I stumbled upon a clearing. It was a field full of these beautiful yellow flowers. So I guess, because of how much I love flowers, I decided to run through them, rolling around and enjoying the sweet scents.
As I was enjoying myself there, a Pokémon suddenly showed up. It was a little Ralts. It had probably been wading through the flowers before it stumbled upon me. At first, I was a little scared. Then, however, Ralts smiled at me and began playing with me." Serena smiled at the memories.
"We played together for almost 30 minutes before we heard a call. The voice was calling out, 'Aurora! Aurora, where are you?!'."
"Ralts suddenly ran off, leaving me alone for a few minutes. I was kind of sad, thinking I'd been abandoned… But it came back, this time with a young boy and two Riolu in tow." She said as she looked at me and smiled.
I was in shock. I stared at Serena as faint memories began to surface in my mind.
"After introducing myself to the Boy who'd showed up, he introduced himself as Kai and his two partners, Luca and Luci, along with Ralts, whom he'd named Aurora.
From there, everything was a blur. But I remember running around in a sea of yellow, enjoying different games and laughter.
The next vivid memory was of the boy and I laying on our backs, our feet in different directions, our heads next to each other, surrounded by flowers, pointing out the different shapes the clouds above were making." She said, smiling brightly. Then, however, she suddenly blushed, recalling a certain thing she'd promised me that day regarding marriage.
Shaking her head to rid herself of the embarrassing memory, the smile on Serena's face changed from a bright, happy smile to one of sadness as she returned her eyes to the city below.
"But the most impactful memory from that time… was when a giant Snorlax suddenly appeared before us. It seemed really angry that someone had invaded its spot.
So it attacked us….
The boy stood in front of me the entire time, telling his Pokémon to Battle Snorlax… But they weren't strong enough. Even when they were all working together, they were slowly defeated one after the other… By the end, both Luca and Luci were unconscious, and Aurora was badly hurt.
I could see the sadness in the boy's eyes. He seemed like he was in a lot of pain watching his Pokémon get hurt…."
"I wanted to comfort him, but I was so scared at that time… I didn't know what to do. I just remember tears streaming down my face from how scared I was. But the boy suddenly turned around, bent down slightly and wiped my tears away. He had the most gentle smile as he said, 'Everything is going to be okay.' and 'I'll protect you.'
He then hugged me tightly.
I remember feeling so safe in his arms."
"But suddenly, he let go. I looked up to see what was wrong, but what I saw scared me. The gentle smile on the boy's face was gone. Now his eyes were cold. They looked terrifying.
Turning around, the boy suddenly charged straight at Snorlax. I cried out to him, thinking he was going to get hurt.
But then it happened.
He jumped up at Snorlax before punching forward with his fist. The next thing I knew, this loud banging sound made me shut my eyes.
What followed were more loud banging sounds and the occasional roar from Snorlax. But after a while, the sounds died down. Everything finally went quiet.
When I opened my eyes after a while, all I saw was the boy standing tall while Snorlax was running away."
"I was so shocked. I thought I was dreaming. But then the boy turned around and smiled at me, saying, 'See, I told you everything would be okay.'
I'd never felt so relieved before. He was shining like the sun in my eyes, and I couldn't help but look at him in awe…."
"However, he suddenly closed his eyes as blood burst from his mouth and nose, and then he fell."
"Shocked, I ran over to him, trying my hardest to wake him up. But nothing worked. So I started crying, screaming for help for who knows how long before people in suits finally arrived.
A couple of them took the sleeping boy and his Pokémon and disappeared. The ones who remained brought me back to Jubilife City where my Mum was waiting for me all worried."
"After that, I never saw him again. Remembering all the blood, I had convinced myself he'd died trying to protect me… I remember I couldn't stop crying for days and my mum was getting really worried. Whenever I told her the story when she asked what was wrong, she'd always brush it off as my mind making things up to deal with the traumatic event…. After a while, even I believed that to be the truth…
At least, until I saw the news about a Garchomp rampaging in Lumiose City, that was when I finally saw the boy again. I recognised him immediately. He was on T.V, performing amazing feats, dodging all of Garchomp's attacks."
Serena then looked up at me with a happy smile.
"It was at that moment that I'd finally found you again. And to think, you were also with another Childhood friend of mine."
"So I rushed to Lumiose City, meeting Ash and the rest at Professor Sycamore's Lab, only to find out that you were unconscious, just like that time with Snorlax. I was distraught, but eventually, you woke up! We were finally going to meet again after so long… But… you didn't remember me…" She said with a sad smile.
"But, finally, I got the chance to tell you my story. I finally get the chance to tell you, 'Thank you for everything. You're my Hero.'" She finished, looking up at me with affection and gratitude.
I was in shock. As Serena progressed in her story, memories began surfacing one after the other in my mind. Each event she narrated played vividly in my memories; I could see everything she recalled. I remembered meeting a little girl, playing with her in a field of flowers, and enjoying the feeling of pretending she was my little sister….
"So… when Aurora came out to hang out with you…." I started.
"It's because, unlike her Trainer, she remembered me," Serena said with a teasing smile.
"I remember…" I mumbled.
"Huh?"
"After hearing your story… I remember everything." I said more clearly this time.
"Then-" Serena started before she was suddenly cut off.
I rushed forward and hugged her.
Serena went wide-eyed, wondering what was happening.
"Even though they told me you were okay, I never actually knew. I wasn't allowed to see you after I'd recovered, so I thought they'd been lying to me. But seeing you here and now, telling me this story, I'm just so glad that you're okay." I said as I hugged her tighter.
The shock in Serena's eyes faded as a bright blush appeared on her face. However, instead of pulling away, she closed her eyes and hugged me back, somehow feeling just as safe in my arms now as she did back then.
…
..
.
The next day….
"What?! Your robot kicked you out of your own Gym?!?"
It was around noon, and we were all currently at Meyer's Mechanical Shop.
Clemont and Bonnie were standing in front of their father, with Clembot, Clemont's Gym Leader Robot, standing next to them.
Ash, Serena, and I were standing behind them, watching it all play out.
"Daddy! Wait until you hear the end of the story!" Bonnie exclaimed, trying to calm Meyer down.
"That's how it was before, but everything's alright now!" Clemont continued.
Clembot was performing bow after bow in apology towards Meyer.
"It's okay to leave it to Clembot to be the Gym Leader."
"Hmmm…. Well, I sure hope that you're right. So, does that mean you'll be coming by the house more often now?" Meyer said with an expectant smile.
"Visit…? Umm… well… you see…." Clemont stuttered.
"Is there some sort of problem?" Meyer asked, leaning forward to get to eye level with Clemont.
"Kind of… because…."
"Just tell him, Clemont! Now!" Bonnie shouted, looking annoyed at her brother.
"Haaa… alright... Here's the thing. I'm… going on a Journey!"
"Huh?" Meyer blurted out in surprise.
"Since I first met Kai and Ash, I've been gaining more and more courage the longer I travel around with them."
"Courage, huh?" Meyer mumbled, briefly looking up to stare into my eyes. However, Clemont redrew his attention by continuing,
"That's right. I've always been afraid to find the courage to try out new things. But now? I'm feeling completely different. Of course, I've only been feeling this way for a short time, but I get it! I've experienced so much, so quickly! I've even seen a totally unorthodox way of Battling, something I'd never imagined before! So far, I've had fun, I've been sad, I've been happy and scared, and that may not sound like such a big deal, but I've really started getting in touch with myself, and I feel that that's really, really, important to me."
"Even if it's only until they reach the Kalos League, it's imperative that I travel with them there!" Clemont shouted.
"Daddy, I really wanna go with Kai, Ash, Serena, and Clemont too!" Bonnie supported.
Meyer closed his eyes and crossed his arms after hearing what his kids had to say.
Deep inside, despite my actions the previous night proving I had no bad intentions, he still had misgivings towards my Family. Entrusting the two most precious things in his life to me was probably weighing heavily on him. But seeing the pleading eyes of his kids tore away at him too.
He'd found himself caught between a rock and a hard place.
"I'll watch over Bonnie, I promise!" Serena called out, trying to help convince Meyer.
"We both promise!" Ash supported.
Silence followed for a few seconds before I sighed.
Seeing that Meyer was still struggling and knowing that I was responsible for his current predicament, I slowly reached into my bag pocket, fumbling around a little before retrieving what appeared to be a gold coin. On one side was the coat of arms of my family; on the other were characters that meant 'to vow', 'to pledge', or 'to swear'.
Breaking the silence, I called out,
"Meyer."
Hearing my words, Meyer opened his eyes to stare at me; however, his reflexes kicked in to catch the approaching object that I'd flicked towards his face.
Looking down into his hand to see what I'd thrown his way, his eyes shot wide open in shock.
He immediately recognised the coin and the weight it held.
It was usually something that was only used during important meetings between my family and a previous enemy or something that required my family to stake their honour on.
For me to use the coin in such a situation meant I was staking my entire family's honour on the safety of his children. Should I fail to protect them, the consequences of my failure could result in, at best, my expulsion from the family and, at worst, my death.
Looking back up at me, he asked,
"Are you serious?"
The others around us looked between Meyer and I in confusion.
"I would not resort to this if I wasn't."
Meyer sighed, staring into my unwavering eyes, unable to find any falsehoods and feeling the everpresent weight in his hand that belied its true magnitude.
He then flicked to coin back at me, which I caught.
I frowned deeply. The act of returning the coin after my gesture was considered an affront as if Meyer were looking down upon my resolve and remaining distrusting despite the obvious consequences that the coin held.
However, it appears I was mistaken as he finally replied,
"Fine… I'll allow it." He said.
"Really?!" My friends all cried out.
"Yes, you've all managed to convince me." He said, although his eyes briefly darted in my direction as he supplied a subtle nod.
Understanding his message, I couldn't help but smile slightly. Meyer had seen my resolve and, as a gesture of respect, returned my coin and chose to believe in me without such conditions.
Meyer kneeled and pulled Clemont and Bonnie into a hug with a sigh.
"I'm so proud and happy for you both. What a joy to have such great kids. I know I've told you this before, but the most important thing in the world is to have real friends. So as long as you have great friends like those three, I'm not worried about a thing. So alright, you can go."
"Thanks so much, Dad!" Clemont cried out.
"I love you, Daddy!" Bonnie seconded.
"Hmm, I love you too."
"Now, Ash, Serena, Kai, promise me you'll keep an eye on these two and make sure they stay out of trouble, okay?"
"Yes, Sir!" We replied in gusto.
"Alright, so for now, it's time to celebrate Clemont and Bonnie's new Journey!"
"Yeah!" Everyone, Pokémon included, cheered out.
…
..
.