Hi everyone!!  SK here.

You all have a right to be mad at me because of the way I ended off the last chapter.  Here's the question you've all been wanting an answer for... is Serena dead?

Well, you'll have to read the chapter to find out.

Also, early update!!  If you're wondering why, well, it's because I'm going to be very busy this weekend.  I wanted you all to have an update- especially with the book now sitting at 3K reads!!  Thank you all so much, you are all amazingly supportive!! 

I hope you enjoy!! :D

Ash

Right as Serena's eyes begin to go blank I charge towards Alain, pushing Serena out of his cruel grip.  I take a quick glance at her diminished form laying on the earth; she... she really looks dead.  I gulp.  Sylveon comes up and enters her Necklace again, which I'm hoping will give her some strength.  Or is she just going to join Serena in the afterlife...?

All I know is that the love of my life is dead, and the man who killed her...

Well, he's standing right in front of me. 

Oh, the things I'm going to do to him... endless possibilities...

I continue towards Alain and punch him hard on the cheek.  This causes him to fall backwards, and I can see the spot already bruising.  Nice.  From the ground he looks back up at me, but I already have a ball of magic energy ready, a ball of energy that will no doubt kill him.

I can't believe Alain was ever my friend.  He killed Serena.

He killed Serena.

He needs to pay.

Before I can strike, however, it seems the fairy has a few words.  "Ash, you don't know what you're doing," he says slowly.

"Oh really?" I sneer.  "I suppose you know exactly what you were doing when you killed Serena."

"I'm much stronger than you are right now," he says in monotone, almost as if he is threatening me.  Oh please.  What a load of crap.

"Does it look like I-" in an instant a huge blast of black aura forces me backwards, the fairies behind me fleeing to get out of my way.  There's a stinging sensation in my head when I finally open my eyes, and when I look up I see Alain carrying Serena's body.

"Nothing personal," he says, then teleports away.

I'm about to go follow them when I feel a warm hand on my shoulder.  When I look, I see that it's Clemont.  "Ash," he says sorrowfully, "I know what you must be going through right now.  I hold Serena very dear to me too... but believe me when I say that following them is not the right course of action."

"What are you saying!?" I object.  "Just because you're scared to fight doesn't mean I am!  I'll go by myself, fight off those fairies, kill that scum of a Leader, and bring Serena back myself!"

"Don't be stupid," Bonnie retorts, coming up beside her brother.  "Do you really think you can do all of that by yourself?  What if you get killed?  Is that really what Serena would want for you?  What if she's still alive?"

"What if she's still alive?"

Bonnie's words light a spark in me, and I calm down a little.  I turn to Clemont.  "I'm sorry," I say.  "You're right.  We need a plan."

"Good," he smiles.  Brock comes up behind him and nods in agreement with the new fairy.  "Because we've got a plan for you."

Serena

No... I can't be dead.  I'm not going to keep floating in this abyss forever.  I'm not dead, I'm not dead, I'M NOT DEAD!

I wake up, but I don't open my eyes.  I'm smart.  I know what's going on.  Drago must have brought me here, believing I am dead.  I have to act like a dead body.  I attempt to make my breaths shallower to achieve that look, and I guess keeping my eyes closed also helps too.  My arm still hurts like hell, but I'm hoping that someone is here to heal me.  Hopefully.  I have no idea where I am, but I'm assuming I'm in the Dark Fairy Colony.  My throat still hurts a little, but other than that and my arm I feel fine.

Interestingly, I pick up on some voices beside me.  I decide to listen in.

"Things are going smoothly," Drago's voice says; I can recognize it's him from a mile away.  "Good work, Alain; you are dismissed.  Serena is dead and I don't count on the Legendaries to send another Light Leader so quickly- besides, they won't have any time to train regardless.  Despair will surely set among all the Light Fairies, snuffing out their spark once and for all.  And now... that just leaves you.  What am I going to do with you?"

He must mean Heliux, I think to myself.  I guess it's because he's immortal, right?  No matter what, there will always be one Light Fairy and one Dark Fairy.  Perfect balance.  My heart swells.  No matter what, Heliux will always be there to keep the Light alive.

"Drago, forgive my language, but you must be the most stupid of moronic imbeciles to believe that the Light Fairies will give up so quickly.  Yes, they hold Her Lightness high in their hearts, but they all still have their own wills and spirits.  No matter how long it takes, they will fight."

Yes, Heliux!  Although please try not to make me smile with your adorable insults.

"Yes, but they have limited time on their hands.  Meanwhile, I have maintained control of every single Dark Leader for the past hundred millenniums... or is it a thousand?  I-"

"Ash will destroy you," comes Layra's searing voice.  "He is one of the strongest fairies that I've ever met."

"You dare interrupt me, Minister!?  Perhaps I should just eliminate both of you, and not have your pathetic souls creeping around during my Dark era."

"I should be the one to eliminate you, just like I was on route to do all those years ago," says Heliux in a low voice.  What is he talking about?  "Besides, there is currently not any spell or hex you could potentially use to eliminate us-"

"Don't play so dumb now, Heliux- or should I call you committer of treason?"

"You almost murdered Layra that night Drago, do not play dumb with me."

"She would not have died; she's immortal.  But yes, I did injure her, and following that you almost murdered me," he smirks.  Excuse me, what?  "Besides, there is one book that Lita and Zagan wrote together- their first spell book.  I have deciphered enough of the language to understand that there is a spell contained inside that undoes immortality.  Once I decipher the rest of the spell you two will both be gone from this planet, this universe, this life.  And of course, there are no new Necklaces to pass on, meaning no more Ministers!  Oh, what a glorious day this will be once all of my problems are solved."

"Regular immortality, yes," Heliux points out.  "But a spell that the Qu-"  I hear something that sounds like a whip cracking, and the Light Minister goes silent.

"Serena."

That voice.  It's coming from my head.  I can't make out who it is, but I think I have an idea.

Layra?

"Oh, thank Zagan you're alive.  You should've seen Heliux's face when Alain dropped you in here- he really lost his cool, and you know him, he never looses his cool.  Anyway I take it you've been listening.  You planning to wake up any time soon?"

And let Drago catch me alive?  No way!  I'll wait until he leaves.

"I should've known you were a smart one.  Well, good luck being dead.  I'll talk to you once that tyrant is gone."

"I'll be making my leave now," Drago says, ignoring whatever statement Heliux was planning to make.  "If I am unable to translate the text then you two shall do it for me... and if you refuse, well... let's just say someone will get hurt."

I hear his footsteps echo away from us, and I slowly blink open my eyes.  The room is dark, lit up only by the light pulsing from our wings.  Heliux's gaze flits towards me as he spots me moving, and he instantly lets out a sigh of relief.

"Your Lightness," he says, and I can barely see his smile because of the darkness.  "I'm very glad that you are alright.  Although I do admit that you gave us both quite a scare."  He quickly notices my arm and aims a healing spell toward it, restoring it to how it should be.  I give him a grateful nod, although I'm still in slight shock at this whole hostage situation.

I get up and walk towards the two Ministers, settling down beside them.  "I just... can't believe Alain would try and do that to me.  I can't imagine what the others are going through back home..."

"I've sensed conflicting emotions in Alain's heart for many months now," Layra whispers.  "Half happy, half enraging.  Except, they overlap so much that I don't know which emotions are masking which.  Where does his true heart lie...?"

"I still can't believe that he thinks he can get rid of our immortality; he truly is an idiot.  A spell performed during the Queen's second test lasts forever, broken only by the circumstances she declares," he mumbles to himself.

"Um, what?" I ask him, not following.

"We need a plan," Heliux says quickly, ignoring my statement.  "Ash is back home, yes?"

"That's where he was when I left," I offer, going along with this new conversation even though I really want to hear more about this mysterious Queen.  "What are you thinking?"

"I'm going to teach you a new spell," Heliux answers instead.  "Be prepared, because it is tricky to learn.  Layra will help you as well."

What?

Ash

"Okay, so we need to sneak into the Dark Fairy Colony.  What we need to do is take out the Dark Fairies, and rescue the Ministers and Serena at the same time.  Some of us also need to work on fixing the balance before the scale breaks entirely."

I let my words resonate around the room as everyone nods.  Clemont pipes up from beside me.  "We should work on assigning roles, and recharging our strength wouldn't be a bad idea as well."

Clemont looks so sure of himself, so confident.  It's a look that's grown distant from him; it's nice to see him like this again.  He'll make a great Advisor one day.  The role fits him well.  Although, he'll probably end up as Serena's, because he is a Light Fairy.  At the same time, I really don't want to think about Brock passing away...

"I can work on the third task," Lillie announces quietly from where she sits.  "I feel very weak, but there's this burning feeling inside me that I can't ignore.  My Element is in danger; the Sun is the last star left.  I have to protect it, with everything that I have left to give."

I nod.  "Sounds good, Lillie!" I say enthusiastically to the quiet girl.  I look around, and a few other people are beginning to offer their opinions.  Bonnie of course wants to battle, while Clemont tells me he wants to be one of the rescuers.  It seems everyone wants to battle... Misty, May, Iris, Dawn, Mallow... the list goes on and on.  But I do spot some people who want to fill the other positions.  As for me, I... well, I can't choose.  I'm needed everywhere.

I take a breath.  You're not a Leader yet, but this is what the job will have you doing.  You should've expected this.  Still, though... how does Serena manage?

"Does anyone see that, or is that just me?" Clemont asks suddenly.  I turn in the direction he's pointing and it looks like there's a glowing crack in the air.  It expands, bigger and bigger, until I see three faces peer into the room.

"Hi everyone," Serena says cheerfully.  "Ready to come restore the balance?"

That's it!!  I hope you enjoyed.  I'm sure that you're all glad to see Serena alive, right?  I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I killed her. (Edit late 2020: umm...)

Anyways that's going to be it from me today.  See you all in the next update, everyone!! :)