"Serena Batton."

Serena opened her eyes to see herself not within the hotel room she had fallen asleep in, but rather a dark void with nothing to be seen for miles around. Or at least that's what she had thought before something began to glow behind her, causing her to turn to see...Pokémon? They weren't any ordinary Pokémon though, Serena could sense their power even from where she stood.

There were three of them: a blue deer-looking creature with magnificently multi-colored antlers atop its head, a red bird-like monster with large wings tipped with talons and a sharp gaze, and a green and black colored snake. Neither of them seemed to move, but Serena could hear one speak to her.

"Welcome to our shared realm, young one. Few ever lay their eyes upon this place, and never has one seen all of us here."

Serena deduced it was the blue deer talking, the other two seeming to glare at her with suspicion. She didn't ask to be here, why were they getting upset? Surely she should be upset for being brought here against her will?

"Why am I here? I can't stay, I have a friend to go back to in Coumarine City and a Gym battle to win." She said, her voice echoing throughout the void, signaling the place was pretty expansive. That only caused her to feel more anxious.

"You are physically still where you had fallen asleep in the physical world, your mind is here. We have summoned you here because we need your help."

"You mean you need her assistance. We never asked to be here."

The voice came from the red bird, its blue eyes staring daggers at her. Serena had the feeling she wasn't exactly welcome here but she couldn't seem to leave.

"You are a fool if you think a child can do anything about the imbalance of our world. We are in danger of being discovered and this was your grand idea?"

It was the green snake who had spoken that time, though it appeared both of their words were annoying the deer.

"We have been discovered by those Team Flare fools, this girl is our last chance of stopping them before we are picked off, one by one. One of your Cores has already been captured Zygarde, how long do you expect to evade capture?"

Cores? Captured? By Team Flare? Serena was more lost now than she had been when she had first arrived.

"Enough! Can you just tell me why I'm here?!"

The deer nodded, glaring at its compatriots, but they said nothing.

"We are the Legendary Pokémon who watch over this land. I am Xerneas, these are Yveltal and Zygarde. You have already been made aware of Team Flare's presence in Kalos, but you do not know the full extent of their plans." of Team Flare's presence in Kalos, but you do not know the full extent of their plans." of Team Flare's presence in Kalos, but you do not know the full extent of their plans."

Team Flare had plans? Serena could've sworn she remembered Alex talking about something like this, but the memory played at the edges of her mind.

"Plans? What plans?"

Xerneas waved its head, causing a sort of hologram projection to appear behind it. The location displayed behind it was Geosenge Town, or at least it looked like it. But something was off.

"Team Flare's base is located underneath Geosenge Town. This may seem a random location, but there is an ancient weapon buried far under the ground, a weapon once for restoration now meant for destruction. It was built 3,000 years ago during the Great War, meant originally to revive the creator's Pokémon. After it was revived, the creator's intentions soon turned dark and he fashioned his creation into the Ultimate Weapon."

A large crystalline structure erupted from the ground, expanding until it formed a flower with a large red point in the middle. Ribbons of blue, red, and green energy flowed through and around it, the relic pulsing with a sort of eerie glow. The image switched to an all too familiar face standing before her and Calem and...Alex? She could've recognized Alex from a mile away by his hair but he looked different, and the way he looked at her was...different. But that wasn't what Xerneas wanted her to focus on, she could tell. Before them stood Lysandre, the CEO of Lysandre Labs and Professor Sycamore's fiancé. His usual blank face was now distorted by a deranged smile, her blood turning cold at the sight.

"Lysandre is the leader of Team Flare?! How has no one noticed? How has no one stopped him?!" Serena shouted, feeling as though her world was crashing down around her. He had always been so nice to her, he's the one who wants her captured? He's the one who sent Alex after her? But how would the Professor react, certainly he didn't know, right? At least she hoped not.

"Lysandre is indeed the leader of Team Flare. His ancestor is the creator of the Ultimate Weapon, and his goal is to unearth it to destroy our world as we know it. He seeks eternal beauty, but in his eyes it can only be achieved by mass destruction."

"However, he needs a power source for the Weapon as it has been dormant for so long." Zygarde chimed in, the first time it has spoken since Xerneas's speech. Xerneas didn't seem to care for the interruption but ignored it as it continued.

"Indeed, that is why the three of us are in great danger. Lysandre has been set on capturing us to help ensure the Ultimate Weapon will stay powered no matter what, and according to Zygarde our locations have been discovered."

"They are sending operatives as of this moment to Allearth Forest to capture Xerneas and Yveltal, but I'll be a little more tricky to find."

"Not all of us have the ability to break up our form and spread across the land to prevent capture."

The three Legendaries began bickering amongst themselves, Serena wishing she could just leave.

"Serena..."

That didn't sound like the three Pokémon she was talking to, that sounded like...

"Alex? Are you here?" She called out, Zygarde looking upwards to where the voice came from.

"You took too long with your explanation, the girl is waking up. Hurry and finish what you have to say!" It hissed, Xerneas nodding as its horns began to glow.

"We bestow upon you the Aura Blessing. This will aid you on your quest in time, but for now you must be wary of everyone around you. You never know who will be a friend or foe."

"Be wary."

"Do not fail us."

"Serena!"

Serena's eyes snapped open as she jolted awake, her heart pounding as she looked wildly around the room, finally registering Alex sitting beside her. He was gripping her arms tightly as though he had been trying to shake her awake, his eyes filled with worry.

"Are you okay? You were yelling and crying in your sleep." He said, Serena touching a finger to her cheek and felt fresh tears lining them. What had she been crying about? Then she felt a burning on her hand and turned it over to see a mark, something she couldn't quite make out.

"I'm fine, I think. But what is this?" She asked, Alex taking her hand into his to examine the mark. His hand felt warm around her own as he pulled her closer towards him. She thought it was only to examine her hand before he brought his other arm around her to hold her. Serena was surprised he would even try after yesterday's outburst but she couldn't but sink into the embrace. It was comforting to feel as he dropped her hand to hold her with both arms.

"I'm glad you're okay, and I'm sorry about last night." He mumbled, Serena sighing as she placed a hand over his own.

"I'm sorry for last night too, you and I only formed this alliance out of necessity, it was wrong for me to think you'd want to stay."

A moment of silence passed, before Alex spoke again.

"My parents signed me up for Team Flare. I didn't know until I was collected from my house one night by a weird-looking woman. They were doing it for my well-being, but I can't help but feel guilty about leaving them behind to become a criminal, even if they had wanted me to."

This was news to her. He had never talked about his family, and the fact that his own parents would be okay with him doing this was a sign to her they had known or suspected Team Flare's true intentions from the beginning.

"Have you kept in touch with them?" She asked, Alex shaking his head as he looked over to the window, the moonlight hitting his face just enough for his eyes to gleam in the dark.

"We're not allowed to interact with anyone outside of Team Flare unless it is for business only. This alliance you and I have made has put both of us in great danger. I'm sorry for holding that information out on you when we first negotiated the terms."

"No no, it's okay. I had a feeling that Team Flare wouldn't appreciate one of their own working together with the one who keeps beating their members." Serena joked, Alex smiling as he glanced down at her.

"No, you'd be right. My leader is powerful but arrogant as well. He has no reason to believe anyone working underneath him would have a question of loyalty."

He paused, laughing to himself as though he had just told a funny joke.

"That's how I've been able to fool him ever since starting this alliance with you, because he is too trusting for his own good."

Serena felt comforted by those words with the combination of being held by him. The thought of him leaving now hurt her more than it would have a few days ago, and she wondered how that could have been.

"So you're saying you don't want to break off this alliance?" She asked hopefully, Alex nodding.

"No, this is much more fun."