Another day passed without Serena. After the funeral, everyone understood what Ash was saying, but they all went their separate ways to think about what had happened. 

The sun was just rising above the hills and Ash was still in a deep sleep, dreaming about something that seemed too real. 

The Dream...

Ash was on the floor, looking up at the sky. The sky was a deep black, rain dropping from the clouds that surrounded most of it, thunder booming in the distance. Ash's vision was blurry and his ears were ringing, but he made out a voice that made his heart skip a beat.

"Ash?! Ash?!" Serena repeated over and over again.

Ash felt his body shake, assuming Serena was shaking him. He waited until his vision returned and sat up quickly, ears clearing up. All he could hear was Serena, the pouring rain and roaring thunder.

"I'm okay" Ash decided to reply. He looked down at his own hands, wondering if what he was witnessing was real life. 

"Oh thank god. He was trying to get you to make a crazy decision with my life or all of your Pokemon. I got Sylveon in at the last minute and bought us some time" Serena explained, speaking at quite a rapid pace. 

Ash's head began to hurt. He could feel his brain beating like his heart, the information causing him to be completely paralysed.

But...I thought...Serena...

The events in the real world played in Ash's head and it all became too much. He dropped straight back onto the floor, slowly passing out.

"Ash! What's wrong? Ash!!!" Serena shouted, her voice slowly fading away.

Present Day...

Ash came back to reality. He was now back at his own house, in his own bed. As if on cue, there was a knock at the door. Ash raced down in his pyjamas to see who it was, feeling a little curious. He got to the door unlocked it, before gripping the handle and swinging it open.

"Good morning" Parker, who was standing on the threshold smiled at Ash.

Ash tried to smile back and nodded slightly. "Yeah, morning"

"You don't need to try so hard to smile if you're still grieving. Give it time" Parker put his hand on Ash's shoulder and he smiled a little harder. "I just came because I wanted to ask you something"

"What is it?" Ash asked, the smile fading from his face. He wasn't feeling up to smiling and Parker's words made him feel more comfortable. Ash leant against the wall, waiting for Parker to speak.

"This may sound crazy, but did you have a weird dream?" Parker asked so casually it was a big shock to Ash, who nodded instantly.

"Yes. I saw Serena, she was alive. It felt so real. But...I had to live through the shock of remembering her death, even though she was there. It was like my mind was trapped in a completely different body" Ash tried to explain it as best as he could and Parked nodded, understanding what Ash said fully. 

"Exactly. I am going to head to the Sinnoh region, where Gary went. He might be able to give us some clues and maybe he has had this crazy dream too" Parker looked around, seemingly eager to set off.

"Why don't we just try and gather everyone again?" Ash wondered, but then he remembered what some of them had said after the funeral.

After the Funeral...

"I know how tough this must be on you Ash" Miette was wiping tears away and sobbing out loud, face pressed against Ash's shoulder as she spoke. "But I can't cope either. I don't care if Team Shadow win, I need to go home"

"I fully understand...They will pay a price even if I do it myself" Ash clenched his fists and looked up, seeing all of his other friends gathered round. Only Gary, Parker and Cilan were separate from the group. Clemont stepped forward to speak for them, some of them crying some sucking up the emotion and hiding it.

"We can't carry on either Ash. It is too dangerous. What has happened is too much to handle. I don't want to keep going on, but this is the first time I have ever seen someone's life be thrown away in a Pokemon battle. It makes me sick that I don't want to carry on because it is so unjustified. But, when it is someone like Serena, I can't do it. WE can't do it. Sorry"

Ash half bowed his head in sad disappointment. He had expected some support, but it seemed like people had changed their minds. It was for their own sakes, to handle Serena's death in their way. Ash respected that, so he smiled.

"I understand. I won't judge anyone. We all have our own way of handling things. To be honest, I can't carry on but someone has to, right?" 

With that, Ash turned around and he headed off home, not allowing another word to escape the group's lips. He didn't want to hear anything else regarding the funeral. 

It was playing too much with the pain in his heart.

Present Day...

"It won't work and you know this" Parker turned around and then sighed deeply. "I will contact Cilan and that is that. If you want to meet us, you know where Gary lives so make a decision"

Parker didn't need to say anymore. Ash watched him walk away in silence until he was nothing but a silhouette and then he shut the door.

"Everything okay?" Ash's Mom asked in a hushed voice, stepping into the hallway.

"Everything is fine, I just have a few things to think about now, so I am going to be in my room for a bit," Ash told his Mom, who smiled weakly. 

She was feeling stress levels rise after Serena's death. After all, she had taken care of Serena for just over a year and felt some responsibility for allowing both her and Ash to go out on this 'adventure' and end up in trouble again. 

"Okay, but make sure you come down for dinner later," she said, before turning around and heading into the kitchen.

Ash headed into his room and collapsed into a sitting position, putting his head into his hands. Then, he started to collect his thoughts, talking to himself in the process. 

"The dream...it's too real. Maybe it means something. I need to find out if everyone else is having this weird dream and we need to decode the meaning. Serena...I need to see her again" Ash was mumbling and Pikachu woke up from this.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked out loud in a daze, slowly stretching up from his sleep.

"Oh, good morning Pikachu. I just have a lot on my mind, that's all" Ash explained, turning around to his buddy.

"Pika Pi..." Pikachu sighed, the sympathy clear in his voice. Ash collapsed onto his bed and Pikachu jumped onto his body.

"Thanks buddy. Hopefully things will be much brighter than this soon. Hopefully" Ash sighed and continued to stare at the ceiling. He reached out as high as he could at his light, before closing his hand like he was catching it. "Hopefully..." 

Ash didn't realise the time as he stayed in his bed throughout the day. Hour after hour passed by and suddenly Ash was falling back to sleep.

The dream continued.

The Dream...

"Ash, I thought I lost you again!" Serena helped up Ash from the ground after his second pass out. 

He still couldn't comprehend what was going on but he decided he had to try and play along and not act suspicious, to find out more about his dream. 

"What's going on? Where is Team Shadow's boss?" Ash wondered, looking around. He was in the same place, right next to the large crater in the ground, but all was quiet. There was nothing in sight. 

"In truth, I have no idea. I used Sylveon and caught him off guard after powering out of the mind control business. After that, Sylveon came back and he retreated. I returned all of your Pokemon for you and Pikachu is lying just behind you. He fainted in the battle so he needs to get to a Centre, fast" Serena explained the situation and what was going on and it was a lot for Ash to digest. 

Ash turned around and saw Pikachu, before turning back to Serena. He stepped even closer to her and then threw his arms around her body, squeezing her so tight that she might've burst. 

"I am so glad you're okay," he said, trying as hard as possible to not cry in the situation. 

"I wouldn't be okay without your help, Ash. You made me fight through the pain. I remember what you said just last night. That I should 'Fight on with all of my strength and lead with my strongest foot, because that's the only way I could move forward' and those words saved me" Serena kissed Ash on the cheek. "Thank you, Ash"

Ash held on tight to Serena so she couldn't see his face. He was filled with shock and in a confused state. 

I never said any of that at all?! What is going on? I need to find out more. Ash thought before more shocks came his way.

The boat with his friends came rocking up and they could see Ash and Serena. 

One by one, person by person, shocked expressions began to build up. They all looked around for the rest of the destruction, for Serena falling into the crater, anything that seemed real to them. 

But nothing was real to them all and each person began to feel pain in their heads. All Ash could do was watch on as the boat bobbed up and down towards the shore, all of his friends sharing his expression and pain.

He didn't need everyone to meet with him anymore. He could tell they were all sharing the dream with him, but at different times, only when they slept. 

Ash still wasn't sure what was going on or how it was happening to them all, but he knew he had to get to the Sinnoh region and find Gary. 

With this at the forefront of his mind, Ash allowed his thoughts to trickle to the back of his mind, where part of him wanted the dream to be real. Ash took his mind back to the current situation of the Pokemon Masters. Even now, they were still in trouble, but the idea of permanent sleep made Ash think he could be with Serena again. 

He shook that thought away since it wasn't how he wanted to do things. Instead, Ash had a few more things to do before the dreaming escapade was sorted out. 

Ash got up and prepared himself for another week of action and hell. 

All he had to keep him going was the hope that it would all be worth it.

---------------------

I really owe you guys more than one chapter today, since it has been so long.

If you couldn't tell, I am doing a chapter on each character. This is going to make the book a little longer than I previously planned, but it should make a little more sense as to what I said in the announcement (I will re-publish it alongside this chapter for those that missed it)

Can you guess what the dream is prompting? Maybe?

:o

If you have actually bothered to scroll down here, type 1 in the comments if you want a second chapter tonight.