Lance stood in the back of the box, as he took in the aftermath of the heated battle between Trevor and Ritchie. He felt a tug on his arm. He turned and gasped, silently, at what he saw.

Sabrina's normally cool and collective demeanor, which could send chills down the spines of even the champions, was shattered. She held a terrified look in her eyes, as she panted, attempting to catch her breath. Lance took a quick glance over his shoulder. An annoyed grunt escaped his mouth, as he saw Cynthia was staring back at the two Kanto natives, with a curious expression across her face.

"Come on, Sabrina," Lance said.

He motioned for Sabrina to follow him, out the door, and into the atrium of the stadium. The atrium wasn't crowded. The only life, that walked its halls, was the two powerful trainers, along with a few scattered fans, who were heading to get snacks.

Lance saw a look in the wall, of the atrium, which would provide the champion and Gym Leader some privacy. He turned as he stepped into the small space and saw Sabrina also stepping into the shadows.

"This had better be good, Sabrina," Lance said annoyed. "Your little appearance caught Cynthia's attention. We don't want anyone else knowing about our little investigation here, especially her."

"Oh trust me, Lance. It is well worth your time." Sabrina stated to the Kanto and Johto champion.

"Spit it out, then!" Lance snarled.

He could feel his frustration beginning to boil over. After witnessing Aaron's display of power, he had begun to feel more pressure to find out the identity of the two mysterious trainers. He was, after all, the champion of not one, but two regions. Despite that, he had felt powerless as he could do nothing about them.

Sabrina hesitated, as she sensed the annoyance and anger growing in the Kanto and Johto champion. She shook it off, as she began to choose her words carefully.

"I know who our two mystery trainers are." She answered.

Instantly, Lance's demeanor changed. A small smile began to appear on his face, as his wish seemed to have finally come true.

"Very good, Sabrina," he stated, before asking Sabrina the question that's been on his mind, ever since the tournament began "So who are our two mysterious competitors?"

"Ash Ketchum and Giovanni." Sabrina kept her composure, as Lance's demeanor changed again.

"Is this some kind of a joke, Sabrina?!" he spat.

"They have both retu-" she was interrupted by the now screaming Kanto and Johto champion.

"Both of them died five years ago in Kalos!" Lance exclaimed. "You expect me to believe that two people could have survived the explosion that enveloped the Rocket Kalos HQ? Impossible! The very foundation was obliterated, and you expect me to believe that two people, who were closest to the detonation, survived that? Although Ash and Giovanni have escaped death before, there's no way that they could have survived that!"

Sabrina closed her eyes. She took a deep breath before exhaling, and then, looked back at Lance. Her gaze didn't falter.

Lance, I'm telling you the truth!"

Lance shook slightly, as the psychic specialist had found her nerves, once again.

"Ash and Giovanni have returned! They're currently on a crash course, for the tournament finals, as they both seek to finish what they started five years ago."

"How do you know that they are, who you say, they are?"

"Please Lance!" it was now Sabrina, who was annoyed. "That fire, burning within his eyes, as he battled against Paul, no one has that kind of fire, except for Ash. Then add that with the hatred, which both Aaron and Sakaki hold for each other; and the fact that they both have memories of an explosion, it doesn't get much more obvious than that."

Lance began to muddle through the facts, presented to him by the Saffron City Gym Leader. It was starting to make sense, but something was still not adding up here.

"But you said that you couldn't find anything. You stated that they were hiding their true identities from you. How did you come to this conclusion?" Lance questioned.

"During his battle with Paul, Ash finally let go of his emotions," she answered. "He didn't hold back when he released his Charizard. He let his battling spirit finally come out. That was when I recognized him, from his time in Kanto, twelve years ago. Not many people have that kind of fight."

Lance chuckled, as he remembered his encounters with Ash.

"Yeah, that is true," he said. "Any more proof?"

Sabrina smiled and nodded. "I checked the minds of his friends, specifically Serena, as they were exiting out of the suite, while I was heading towards the elite suite, to get you. Serena knows it is him, along with one Gary Oak and Trevor."

Lance lifted an eyebrow at this new information. "How do Gary and Trevor know that Aaron is really Ash?"

"I believe Gary knew that it was Ash, who stole his own Pokéballs five years ago. As for Trevor, he found out a few nights ago when he accidentally listened in on Ash's conversation with Giovanni through his Mewtwo's telepathy." Sabrina shrugged and continue, "but I didn't investigate any further. I just wanted to confirm if it was Ash. When I got what I needed, I stopped."

Lance hummed. His gaze shifted to the ground, as he nodded his head. His mind was rapidly racing through the many options, which he was now presented with. He was snapped out of his thoughts when Sabrina spoke up.

"Huh? What was that?" he muttered, as he lifted his gaze to meet the green-haired Gym Leader's own.

"I asked, what should we do now?" Sabrina repeated.

Again, Lance's gaze shifted to the ground. "Right now, I think it's best if we keep tabs on them both. Whatever is going to happen, it's obvious that it'll take place during the finals. Tell me, Sabrina, will Ash, being here, put people in danger?"

Sabrina was now the one, who had a confused expression across her face.

"Well, not inherently. No. But as I have said before, Giovanni is here and it's clear that those two want nothing more than to battle each other. Who knows how much damage those two could cause during their confrontation. But if you're asking if he's a threat in, and of himself, then I would say no." Sabrina answered. Lance closed his eyes and nod. "Why do you ask?"

"I think it's time to speak with him, myself."

---

"Well, that was very anti-climactic," Max stated as the group exited out of the elite suite and into the atrium.

"That's for sure," Dawn added. "Besides Trevor and Ritchie's battle, along with the first part of Paul's battle with Aaron, the rest of the battles were kind of boring. Tobias and his Darkrai are stronger than ever." She shivered as she visualized the pitch-black Pokémon standing in front of his shadowy trainer.

"Yeah, no joke," Brock interjected. "Something snapped in Sakaki's head too. He crushed his opponent. Their battle and Trevor and Aaron's will be very interesting tomorrow."

"It should be," Trevor responded while carrying a sleeping Ashley, on his back, with Pichu, Eevee, and Charmander, following behind them. "Although, I do hope that Aaron can handle an opponent like me."

"Hey, you never know," Max responded. "That's what we said about Aaron when he faced Iris, and now, she's back in Unova and he's in the Semifinals."

---

The group was now walking through the Silph Village, along a lighted pathway that leads them to the hotel, which stood above the path and shined in the dark. Whispers could be heard from various conversations, from other small groups, that walked along the path, that's surrounding the friends. They continued to walk along until May noticed something.

She turned and noticed that the group was missing someone. "Hey Dawn, wasn't Serena walking right beside you?"

Dawn looked to her right and noticed that Serena was nowhere to be seen. She yelped as she turned and scanned the crowd, for their missing friend. "Where could she have gone?"

The rest of the group turned and also began to frantically search for their missing friend, but only to hear the laughter of two professors, along with Trevor and Angela, towards the front of the party.

"Guys, this isn't something to laugh about! Serena could be in serious danger!" Clemont snapped.

"Come on, guys. Where do you think she would be right now?" Gary asked as a grin appeared across his lips.

The group continued to glare at the young professor before Professor Oak decided to step in. His laughter died down. He took another breath, to control himself.

"What Gary is trying to say is that Serena will be just fine. Take a look for yourselves, if you don't believe me." He then turned and pointed to a spot, further down, in front of them.

The group look passed the group of four, in front of them, and smiled at what they noticed. Standing toward the edge of the pathway, was Serena, with her arms behind her back. She was swaying, back and forth, on her feet. From their angle, they could barely show a small blush on her face. Standing across from her was Aaron, dressed in his normal attire. He had a hand in his pocket, while the other one, was waving to and fro, as he talked. On his shoulder, Pikachu could be seen with a smile, while Lucario was leaning on a lamppost, that was a little behind his trainer. The Aura Pokémon was also seen smiling, as he took in the view of the couple before him.

The group made their way to the trainer and performer. The pair didn't notice the group approaching them, as they continued talking until finally, Dawn let out a soft cough. Both Ash and Serena jumped a little, before turning to the group.

"Oh! Hey guys," Serena said as she took one hand from behind her back and waved. "What's up?"

"Well, besides worrying sick about you, we're doing fine!" Dawn said firmly before a playful tone arose into her voice. "But not as fine as you two seem to be doing." The rest of the group laughed. Both Ash and Serena's heads fell to the ground in embarrassment.

"It's fine," May interjected. She shifted to Serena's side away from Ash and intertwined her arm with Serena's. "It's alright, as long as you invite your new boy toy to dinner. We're headed to that cute café, which we ate at on the night that we first arrived! You'll love it, Serena!"

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. Plus, it will give us time to get to know Aaron more. I'm sure you have more stories, like one of you and Lucario. We'd love to hear more of them!" Clemont exclaimed.

"Well I-I . . . "Ash stuttered while trying to find a way out of this invitation. He had already eaten, for the night. Also, he really wanted to spend more alone time with Serena.

"Now hold on there, guys!" Trevor announced.

The group looked at him, with confused eyes, as he moved in front of Ash, with only one hand up, since the other hand was still holding onto Ashley, who was sleeping on his back.

"Don't you think that these two might want some time alone?" Trevor suggested to the group.

He turned and gave Ash a wink. Ash took a sigh of relief, as Trevor turned back to the rest of the group.

"Now, come on," Trevor said. "Let's get something to eat and give these two lovebirds some peace and quiet for a change."

Dawn and May groaned as they saw the rest of the group nod. They looked at each other and sighed again, before turning back to Serena.

"Fine, but we expect you to tell us everything, this time!" May said in a playful, but serious tone.

"Yeah," Dawn said while pointing to Serena. "No more leaving us in the dark. Especially about something as important as this."

May let go of Serena and the two coordinators quickly ran, to catch up with the group that had started walking to Saffron City. Ash and Serena laughed at the two coordinators, as they watched the group turn a corner, and now, were out of sight.

Ash turned back to see Serena, who was now staring at him. His heart skipped a beat, as he noticed her blue eyes shining, thanks to the lamppost that they were under. He snapped back to reality and took one of her hands in his.

"Come on. Let's go for a walk." He turned to his faithful Pokémon. "I assume you guys know how to use this." he turned to Lucario and handed him the electronic key card, to their room, "and I also trust that you two will stay out of trouble. Got it?"

Pikachu and Lucario gave a chirp and a bark of approval. Pikachu leaped from Ash's shoulder to Lucario's, as the pair turned and walked toward the entrance of the hotel.

"Those two are something else, aren't they?" Serena giggled at the two Pokémon.

"Yeah. They're quite the team." Ash chuckled. "Pikachu's job was to basically make sure that Lucario stayed out of trouble when he was a young Riolu. He now has his work cut out for him, but now, I would say that they're more like partners in crime."

The young couple began to walk from the path and into the forest. Serena dug her head into Ash's shoulder, as her outside arm hooked with Ash's. Ash's thumb gently went back and forth, over the top of Serena's hand, which was still intertwined with his own. The pair walked in silence, while often letting out a sigh of content. They didn't need to say anything. The fact that they're able to hold each other again, was more than enough for them both.

---

Eventually, they reached the same clearing, which they had met in, twice before. Ash chuckled, as he noticed the view it gave. Serena felt the vibration of the chuckle and looked up.

"What's so funny?" she questioned.

Ash kept his gaze on the scenery. He stopped chuckling and gave another sigh of content. "It's just funny how we always seem to find ourselves at the same clearing, over and over again."

Serena chuckled as she began to think about the different times that they had been to the clearing. "Well, of course," she said playfully. "We are a couple, after all, and this is a very romantic location." She yelped softly, as Ash pulled his arm from her grip.

He slowly made his way behind her, He wrapped his arms around the front of Serena's shoulders, and then, pulled her close to him.

"Yeah, you're right," he whispered softly into her ear. "It's really beautiful out here. Almost as beautiful as you."

Serena giggled softly. She brought both hands up and gently grabbed onto his arms, before resting her head back against his chest. "I missed you so much, Ash."

"I missed you too, Serena."

The couple stood in the clearing, for what felt like hours. Both were feeling comfortable, until a gust of wind came by, which made them realized how cold and late it was.

"I guess we have to go back, huh?" Serena asked disappointed that their alone time, together, had to come to an end. She didn't want it to be over. For once, she felt happy and serene.

"Yeah, I guess we do." Ash looked down and could notice the disappointment, in his lover's eyes. Suddenly, an idea came to his mind. "Hey, you want to do something fun?"

"What do you have in mind?" Serena asked perplexed. She looked up and saw a smile, dancing in Ash's eyes.

"This," Ash threw a Pokéball in the air to reveal his loyal bird Pokémon, Pidgeot.

The bird squawked, before landing in front of the couple. Ash could hear Serena squeal a little, as she watched the Pokémon come out, and now, she was beginning to jump up and down.

"You did want to go for another ride again, so why not now?" Ash chuckled, remembering her request from the letter she gave him, along with the box of macaroons.

"Yes, yes, yes!" She shouted.

Ash let her go, as she took a step toward the Kanto bird before another gust of wind came. She stopped and shivered.

"It's freezing out here," she said as she rubbed her arms, while her teeth chattered.

Again, Ash had an answer. He took off his jacket, to show the black shirt that he wore underneath, and his raven hair, which was under his hood. He took the jacket and slipped it over Serena's shoulders. "Better?"

Again, Serena giggled, as she slipped her arms into the sleeves and zipped the jacket up. It was big for her, but it kept her warm. She looked at Ash. "Almost," she said. She reached up and slid his mask down, before kissing him, once more, on the lips. "There, now I'm better."

Ash smiled as he passed the performer and jumped on Pidgeot's back. He turned and offered his hand to Serena. "Well then, what are we waiting for?"

Serena grabbed his hand, as she ascended onto the bird and took a seat behind Ash. She wrapped both hands, around his waist, and rested her head on his back. She smiled, as she felt one of his hands lightly gripping the top of her own.

Pidgeot soared to the sky and glided smoothly through the air. After a bit, Serena could see the hotel come into view, and her heart sunk in her chest. She grabbed Ash a little tighter. "Please, can we keep going?"

"Will, that make you happy?" Ash responded.

He smiled, as he felt her head nod into his back.

"Yes, it would," she answered.

Pidgeot continued to fly around the skies of Saffron City, effortlessly gliding through the air, as the couple, on his back, enjoying the peaceful ride. For Ash, he felt all the anxiety of the tournament, of Giovanni and Team Rocket, and of the last five years, disappeared into the night.

I can't wait to do this, every night.

He lightly tightened his grip, on Serena's hand, and heard a sigh of content, from behind him. He smiled, as he turned back and witnessed the moon shining brightly in the night sky.