Serena groans as she slowly wakes up feeling a sharp pain in the back of her head. She slowly lifts her head and looks around to find that she's in her bed and the sun is up showing that it's past noon. Shauna is seen lying on top of the bed covers and has woken up from Serena's movement. The kitten lets out a cute meow and walks over to Serena to be petted.

"Shauna, I had the most peculiar dream," Serena says before scratching her chin. "Or...was it real?"

Suddenly, a knock is heard on her door and it opens to show Grace entering with a concerned look followed by Mairin.

"Serena, thank heaven you are awake," Grace says as she walks over to her daughter's bed. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Mama, Mairin, what happened?" Serena asks.

"We were hoping you could tell us, dear," Grace answers.

"Yeah, we came downstairs this morning to find you unconscious with all the toys and several dead rats scattered all over the living room floor," Mairin says. "Some of the toy soldiers and horses had holes in them or had their legs off. Calem has been crying all day over them and Uncle Timothy and Mr. Coovers came here to fix them."

Serena puts her hand on top of her head and she looks down deep in thought.

"Toys...rats...Uncle Timothy," she mutters while her mind recollects everything she witnessed that night. "Wait, were these rats dressed in armor and holding swords and clubs?"

Mairin and Grace look at Serena confused.

"Dressed in armor and holding swords and clubs?" Grace asked concerned.

Realizing what she said, Serena shakes her head and clears her throat.

"Sorry, I guess I hit my head harder than I thought," she lies.

Grace nods in understanding and asks, "What in the world were you doing with the toys in the middle of the night?"

Serena hesitates at answering the question. On the one hand, what she thinks she saw last night seems so real, but at the same time, her mother and sister would think she has gone crazy if she answers truthfully. The implication that the rats they found weren't dressed in armor or had any weapons also gives Serena the possibility that she was imagining the whole thing. With all that in mind, she thinks up a half lie to tell Grace and Mairin.

"I had trouble sleeping so I decided to go downstairs and look at the nutcracker for a few minutes," she says. "I remember something about a bunch of rats appearing all over the floor, but I don't recall doing anything with the other toys."

Grace looks at her second oldest daughter suspiciously while Mairin looks worried.

"You don't think those rats were trying to eat the toys, do you?" She asks.

"No, dear. Rats are not interested in toys," Grace says assuringly to her youngest daughter.

"Are you sure?" Mairin asks with a scared look. "I saw my new dolls on the floor. Maybe if Serena wasn't there, those horrible things could have torn Dawn and Kenny to pieces while I was sleeping."

The young girl begins to whimper in fear and her mother quickly places her hand on top of her head to comfort her.

"Don't worry, dear. They are perfectly fine," Grace says calmly. "Uncle Timothy and Mr. Coovers are laying traps all over the house just in case something like this happens again. Dawn and Kenny will sleep safely tonight."

Mairin slowly calms down with this information until she gives her mother a smile to show that she's feeling better. Grace smiles before turning back to Serena.

"Anyway, the doctor was here this morning and said you have a concussion," she says. "It's not bad, but he wants you to stay in bed today."

"Yes, Mama," Serena says obediently.

Just then, she hears a clamping sound and she turns around to see the nutcracker peeking from her doorway looking wide and lifeless again but has it's two front teeth back. The door then fully opens to reveal Uncle Timothy entering the room and holding the nutcracker with a smile.

"Serena, good afternoon," he greets warmly. "How is your head?"

"It hurts but not terribly," Serena answers.

"Good," Uncle Timothy says. "I just thought you'd like to see that Nutcracker has his teeth back perfectly."

Serena smiles, pleased to see that the doll has indeed been fixed. But then she frowns when she suddenly remembers the ghostly figure of her godfather and sits up.

"Uncle Timothy, why didn't you help Nutcracker last night?" She demands. "He was in trouble and you just stood there and watched him fend for himself against Powuru and his rats. He's your nephew and you didn't do anything. How could you?"

Uncle Timothy, Mairin and Grace stare at the honey blonde teenager confounded. Serena realizes what she just said and her cheeks heat up in embarrassment. She shakes her head again and clears her throat.

"Sorry, I guess I haven't fully recovered from that hit on the head," she says bashfully.

Grace glares at her daughter, unconvinced but silently drops it and turns to the nutcracker Uncle Timothy is holding.

"So this is the nutcracker you were so interested in last night, Serena?" She asks. "Calem told me about how you were so upset that he broke it's two front teeth."

"Uh, yes it is, Mama," Serena answers truthfully.

Grace nods in understanding and says, "Timothy can you please put the nutcracker away? I think it might be best if Serena stays away from it for a while."

"What?" Serena asks shocked.

"I'm sorry dear, but I think your fascination for the toy is getting the better of you," Grace says calmly. "You know you shouldn't be out of bed in the middle of the night playing with toys."

"But Mama, I -"

"No buts, Serena," Grace says calmly but firmly. "Timothy, if you please."

Uncle Timothy nods and Grace and Mairin begin to exit the room. Uncle Timothy waits for a moment before he leans close to Serena and whispers, "Don't worry. I'll keep an eye out for him."

Serena nods as her godfather leaves the room with the nutcracker and Grace closes the door behind them. Serena sighs and rests her head on her pillow again. She closes her eyes and tries to fall asleep until she hears muffled voices coming from the other side of the wall. She opens her eyes confused until she recognizes the voices of her mother and Uncle Timothy. Her mother sounds like she's scolding her godfather while Uncle Timothy sounds like he's protesting with a calm and friendly voice. After a moment, Serena's curiosity gets the better of her and she quietly gets up, walks over to the bedroom door and carefully opened it enough to clearly hear both adults.

"Come now, Grace, you're exaggerating," she hears Uncle Timothy say.

"Am I?" Grace challenges. "Then what was my daughter doing there unconscious and surrounded by toys? She claimed she did nothing with those toys and yet it's clear she took them out to play with them before those vile creatures attacked her. She's obviously hiding the fact that she thinks the toys are real."

Serena gasps quietly at her mother's accusation.

"Really, Grace, you're jumping into conclusions," Uncle Timothy contradicts. "Why would Serena go off playing with toys when she hasn't done that in ages."

"You know why," Grace accuses. "It's that nutcracker you gave her last night. It's that story I heard you tell her after Calem broke the stupid thing. It's clearly getting into her head for the worse. She doesn't need that, Timothy. She should be focusing on traveling the world as a ballerina like she wants to, not indulging in some made up fantasy."

Serena winces and her heart sinks. She doesn't know why but hearing her mother speak like this against the nutcracker and Uncle Timothy's story feels like something stabbed her with a sword.

"I don't recall her being that invested in my story," Uncle Timothy counters. "In fact, I specifically remember her acting very disappointed with my story and me clarifying that I made it up."

"And yet she suddenly said you were there with her not helping your nephew that lives all the way in Kanto," Grace says. "Face it, Timothy, something is going on with my daughter and until she clears her head, it might be best that you stay away from her."

Serena gasps sharply. She doesn't care that her mother and godfather might have heard her. She mentally prays that Uncle Timothy will do something to convince her mother otherwise, but instead she hears a reluctant sigh and her pupils shrink fearing what she is about to hear.

"Very well, Grace," Uncle Timothy says sadly. "I still think you're fretting over nothing, but if a little time is what it takes to convince you, then I will respect your wishes as her mother."

Serena feels tears in her eyes as she hears her mother say, "Thank you, Timothy. Good day."

"Good day, Grace," Uncle Timothy says softly.

Serena's heart breaks at those words. She wants to burst out of her room and demand that her mother takes back what she said, but she knows she will just make things worse if she does.

Suddenly, she hears footsteps coming her way and she quickly yet carefully closes the door, jumps back into bed and closes her eyes pretending she is asleep. The door opens and she can sense her mother checking on her before she quietly closes the door. Serena waits until her mother has completely walked way before she opens her eyes only to find tears in them. She sits up and wipes her face while Shauna hops back onto her bed.

"What's going on, Shauna?" Serena asks softly while holding her head where her bandage is. "All I remember about that night is going downstairs to look at the nutcracker and then suddenly Powuru was there with an army of armored rats and all the toys were alive. And then there was that battle and I had to save the nutcracker with my -"

Serena gasps again and she crawls over to the other side of her bed where she usually sets her bed slippers beside. Her eyes widen to find only one standing there. She hops off her bed and looks under it to not find her other slipper there.

"I threw my other slipper at Powuru," she says thinking out loud. "I threw it at him and his tail caught on fire. I don't remember ever putting it back on, so maybe that means it really did happen."

She smiles, satisfied with her answer for a moment before she suddenly frowns and thinks again.

"But then again it could just be missing without any of it happening and I am not aware that my slipper has been missing since before last night until just now," she says to herself. "After all, Mama and Mariam never said that I was wearing either of my slippers when they found me. So maybe..."

Serena gets out of bed and begins searching through her room. She checks her dresser, her bookcase, her closet and even under her bed, but no matter how hard she looks, her other bed slipper is nowhere to be found. Serena scratches her chin in thought and turns to Shauna.

"Okay, so it's actually missing," she admits. "Maybe it somehow came off while I was downstairs and no one has noticed it. Or perhaps they did find it and it just never came up because I was going on about armored rats and accusing Uncle Timothy of not helping his nephew who's a nutcracker. Or... maybe I actually did throw it at a big, evil rat king?"

Shauna twilts her and meows cutely. Serena groans and racks her head, frustrated.

"What is going on?" She whines. "I know what I remember but it doesn't add up. No one found any armor or weapons on the dead rats, and Uncle Timothy has no idea of what I was talking about. In fact, now that I think about it, he really did clarify that the story wasn't true. So why are talking rats and toys and Powuru trying to kill Ash as a nutcracker all I can remember?"

Serena jumps back into her bed, puts her pillow in front of her face and screams into it. Shauna walks over to Serena on the bed and licks her hand. Serena sighs and removes her pillow from her face with a sad look.

"Maybe it was...just a dream, Shauna," she says softly. "Maybe I was sleepwalking last night while dreaming that the nutcracker and the toys came to life and fought Powuru and his evil army. I know it doesn't explain the dead rats, but maybe that would explain everything else. The toys, the battle, Uncle Timothy as a ghost...even Ash turning out to be the boy from all those years ago - all if it sounds like something my mind would think of in a dream after hearing Uncle Timothy's story and bringing up the time I met that boy."

Her sad face grows as she rolls over and starts hugging her pillow. Shauna walks over to her and lies down and Serena smiles and starts petting her beloved kitten.

"You know the sad thing about it being a dream, Shauna? I actually want it to be real," Serena whispers. "When the nutcracker said it was Ash and claimed we met before in ballet class at Cerulean City, I was taken aback but...I remember feeling really happy too. The idea of finally seeing that boy again and turning out to be my godfather's nephew that I saved from a terrible fate sounds...so romantic. I could help free him from the spell and with Powuru gone we could become ballet dancers together and live happily ever after."

As soon as those words Serena's mouth, her eyes widen and she slaps her cheeks and shakes her head.

"Why am I suddenly saying things like that?" she asks herself. "Serena, wake up already. I don't want to think about things like that. I need to focus on becoming a ballet dancer and see the world not falling in -"

Her voice does in her throat as she realizes what she almost said. She shakes her head again and puts her pillow back in its normal spot, lays her head on it and pulls the covers over to her.

"I should just go to sleep and try to forget about the whole thing," she says. "For all I know, my head still needs to be healed from the fall before I can think clearly. Yeah, that's it. I'll just rest up and turn out fine and before I know it Mama will know I'm just fine and allow Uncle Timothy to come back and we'll all move on like nothing happened. Sleep tight, Shauna."

The little kitten meow softly as it watches its owner close her eyes and try to force herself to fall asleep with a confident smile on her face. But as she tries to go back to sleep, Serena's smile fades as her mind still thinks about what she thinks she saw last night.

"Ash..." she thinks in her mind. "Are you really that boy?"