A low buzz of chatter filled the air as Serena's inner circle filed into the meeting room. It wasn't that high tech, but it certainly passed the training room when it came to technology. A white, circular table sat in the middle of the room, and it had touch screen control. Blue lights were hung along the walls, dimly lighting the area around them. On the wall furthest from the steel door was a large map, illuminated by the LCD screen it was projected onto. Beside the map was an agenda. So once everyone had settled down, Serena began the meeting.

"Alright, let's get this started," she said. The chatter died down.

"Okay, what's the first order of business?" Serena asked once everyone was listening.

"The mission was successful," Misty began. "He was rescued on time and according to plan. He is now in our medical wing. No one was severely injured." She hesitated. "But..."

"But what?" Serena asked after a few moments of nothing.

Clemont, who had also gone on the mission, spoke up. "But we lost two Pokémon in the process."

Everyone was silent, waiting for Serena's response.

"Are they... dead?" she eventually said with a monotone voice.

"No," Dawn, having gone on the mission as well, immediately explained. "They are in captivity."

"Which two?"

"A Butterfree and a Touros."

Serena thought in silence. When she spoke next, she did so slowly. "We need someone to go retrieve them. It would be a solo mission. More than one person would draw too much attention. They would have to be small and nimble, and-"

"I volunteer."

Everybody fell silent. It was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

"Bonnie, no." This wasn't Serena speaking, but her brother.

"Why not?!" Bonnie shouted across the table.

"Because it's too dangerous!" Clemont yelled back.

"You went there!"

"I'm older than you!"

The two continued to bicker, getting louder and louder with every word. Serena took this time to think about the situation. If Bonnie goes, there will be a higher chance of success. On the other hand, she is very young. But she's not that young. Clemont is a bit overprotective, too. If she goes, there is a chance-

"YOU'RE NOT GOING TO THAT - THAT HELLHOLE!!!"

"QUIET!"

The two siblings, who had been so into their argument that they were both standing at full hight, immediately sat down after Serena's outburst.

"Now I don't know who is going to go. But you are not the one to decide that, Clemont!"

"But-"

"But nothing! And you know what? I think Bonnie should go! She's perfectly capable of retrieving the two Pokémon." Serena winked at Bonnie, who fought down a smile. "Bonnie is going. End of story."

No one dared argue after that. During these meetings, one thing was for sure: no one disagreed with Serena. It wasn't that she was an extreme power figure, or that she was the big scary boss of everyone; everyone trusted her judgement. That's why she was in charge. That, and the fact that she started the whole thing.

The meeting went on, and they talked about other issues. They discussed supply distributions, Pokémon care, combat squads, living quarters, and a bunch of other important stuff. But throughout the entire meeting, Serena found it hard to focus. It was that day.

But she continued to talk through the meeting, addressing every subject that came up. The decisions she made were still good ones, but not as good as they could have been. Serena would have loved to cancel the meeting. In fact, she had seriously considered doing it. But she knew that everyone else didn't need to be reminded of what had happened.

Serena was relieved when the meeting finally came to an end. She visibly relaxed when she reached for the doorknob to close it after everyone had left. She leaned up against the door, letting her mind finally run rampant as she let her head rest on the metal barrier.

Panic. Panic consumed her, feeding off of her very sanity. She could not hear anything, making her vaguely aware of the ear piercing scream escaping her throat. Her body felt like it was submerged in water; her being seemed to disappear. Her heart pounding inside of her chest, Serena hardly registered her knees hit the ground. H-he -

Serena's eyes snapped open. She was gasping for air as misty beads of sweat and hot tears poured down her face. She wiped her tightly closed eyes with her wrist.

After she finally caught her breath and stopped shaking like an earthquake had hit, Serena went out the dull door and down the empty gray hall. She didn't stop pushing herself forward until she reached a giant, industrial doorway. The two guards immediately let her pass, and she thanked them.

As the large door opened, slowly and dramatically, brilliant light entered the dark and light-lacking hall. When Serena's eyes finally adjusted, she saw hundreds of large trees, all of them overflowing will great bundles of green leaves. The ground danced with patches of light. The blades of grass were rich in color and fragrance, like any other spring day. Through the thick canopy of green above her, Serena could see the brilliant blue sky, which was sprinkled with miniature clouds scudding across it. A cool breeze hit her cheeks, turning them a light shade of pink.

Without missing a beat, she ran off into them.