Perish Song || A Pokémon Fanfiction

Chapter 10

"Serena, are you sure you want to do this?" Serena was surprised. Satoshi's tone was one that he tended to use only use with Pokémon; one of genuine concern.

"I have to, guys," Serena said, her voice raspy. "You'll need me. I just know it."

Dawn looked flabbergasted. "You were unconscious literally four hours ago. You can't be thinking about coming."

In reply, Serena stood up and smoothed her brown dress. No one had any idea how it got on Serena, but she'd woken up wearing it. Ash had the idea it was similar to the dress of Meloetta and because Serena sang one of her songs, she had changed into it. No one had a better idea, so they dropped the subject.

Barefoot, Serena glided across the room and picked up her two swords, which were lying on the table. Flipping them quickly, she looked up and smiled. "I can still fight, even if I can't sing. And anyway, if you leave me behind, I'm just going to follow you."

Ash glanced at Dawn and Gary, both of whom shrugged. Ash still looked disgruntled, but the look on Serena's face made him feel he could never dissuade her. "Fine. But you're not getting into any trouble unless necessary."

Serena looked delighted as Ash held out his hands to the entire group. With a small flash of light, they were all gone.

They reappeared near the Hoenn Weather Institue, where four different routes extend north, south, east, and west. A single man stood outside, staring up at the sky with his little Castform bobbing in the air next to him. 

As the group approached him, he looked down and smiled serenely at them. "Yes, my young dears. Are you looking for the Terra Cymbals?"

"The what?" Gary asked.

"The Terra Cymbals," the man repeated, still smiling serenely.

Ash frowned: how did the man know about the seven instruments? He closed his eyes, focusing on the man in front of him. His aura was one of gold—the power of Arceus. This was not a man; it was a manifestation created by Arceus to lead them to Terra Cave.

"Yes, we are," Ash replied. "We need to know where Terra Cave is."

"Follow me," the man said, strolling down Route 116.

⚔️

"They're going to Terra Cave," Loralia said, legs up on the table as she stared at the monitor.

"We should follow them," Moranna said quickly. "That way they can't get the instrument."

"I don't think we should do that," Loralia said.

Moranna rolled her eyes. "Of course you don't. You never agree to anything I say."

"Moranna, it's because—no offence—your ideas aren't always the best. Think about it. We should wait for them to get a few more, before capturing them and the instruments. Then we can destroy all of them at the same time. It'll take less effort."

"None taken," Moranna said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "But by the time they get "a few more", they'll be a lot stronger. They won't be that easy to capture."

"And we'll have developed more weapons," Loralia said calmly. "And we'll have more technology as well as more grunts. We'll be able to capture them. I'll make sure of that. And I'm sure Sephtis would agree with me."

Moranna's appearance of calm snapped. "If they unite all the instruments, UFI won't be able to take over the world. You want that, right? Unless you're a traitor—I wouldn't be surprised. You're only a higher rank because you're Diana's daughter. You are not better than me. You're probably worse. You're weak, pathetic, and useless. I can't count the number of times Diana has told how disappointing you are."