Gunned | SatoSere

Chapter 20 - A Solemn Vow

After Serena is suitably treated, Miette leaves her alone, but not before nodding to a duffel bag that's sitting on a chair beside the table. Alongside the chair, resting against its legs, there's a fairly large gun case as well.

"You should change out of that bloody blazer, boss. It's disgusting. Can't have you look like we picked you up off the street." Then Miette purses her lips, her finger tapping on her chin. "Well, actually, we did, so it wouldn't be that far off the mark-"

Serena groans. "I swear one day my hand will slip and you'll be six feet under by the same hand if I'm nice enough. Get out."

She hears Miette humph and then her snicker on her way out as the door closes. Serena sighs and goes to open the duffel bag and she pulls out the clothes that are picked out for her. There's a variety of them like they were handpicked by several different people and Serena is willing to guess who they're from, a smile forming on her face. In the layers of fabrics there's Misty's practicality, Dawn's love for comfort, and Miette's flair.

In the spare bathroom, she slips into a black jumpsuit and tucks her feet into a pair of polished combat boots. The neckline dips slightly and Serena's fingers graze over the pendant around her neck, Ash's ring reflecting in the mirror in front of her. Her jaw sets into a firm line as she pats her own cheeks to calm her nerves. She sets the suitcase on the counter and opens it, not holding back the satisfied grin at the materials inside.

Over her shoulders, she loops her arms through a leather weapon harness, clipping the garment just underneath her chest. Two handguns are holstered at her sides, while a few knives are sheathed on the belt towards her back. For safe measure, she slips another into the side of her boot.

On her way out the door, she grabs a suit coat that she drapes over her shoulders without putting her arms through the sleeves as she simply tucks her hands into her pockets as she greets the sunlight once again.

She holds back a surprised noise in her throat when the upper circle of the Demons greet her with the operatives behind them in neat formation, dressed like the shadows, all geared and ready for a fight. In fact, a war. At the sight of Serena, the operatives stand straighter and she can't help but feel like this is all a bit surreal, like the day she first arrived.

Cilan nods approvingly at Serena. "We're ready for you, boss."

Serena nods and peers at the humvees already pulling away from the port. She looks back at the rest of her friends. "You know where he is, don't you?"

"All thanks to you, actually," Brock provides. "Those goons you took out with Misty to save Ramos, left behind a very important clue that Cilan and his team found during their investigation."

"A clue?" She repeats.

"We found sand embedded in the soles of one of their shoes," Cilan answers. "Sands one millimeter in grain size also containing silica, are unique and said to make whistling sounds on the bleaches of Shalour City. It's located west of Kalos which is a good amount of time away, matching the timeline that Giovanni gave Ash to meet. We've sent scouts ahead on the backroads to avoid arriving in large groups, and disable any traps set out. Although I doubt Giovanni is expecting us with how proud he is of staying hidden all of these years."

"But his dumb ploy for revenge targeting you along with some fresh meat trying to gain footing in the mafia. He made a mistake that's going to cost him," Gary practically sings, laughter on his lips. "We could've taken them out here with a few grazes, but this way, we can kill two birds with one stone. We save Ashy-boy and then the Ketchums is no more."

"The beaches of Shalour City are gigantic though," Serena protests, crossing her arms. "There's forests and mountains everywhere. How are we going to navigate the whole thing in time?"

At that, Miette pulls out her phone. She flips it over for Serena to see a blinking red dot on a zoomed out map of the country. "Courtesy of our friend Clemont. We've got a chip on Ash that they won't find."

The new leader doesn't hide the shock on her face. The fact that Ash was willing to trade places with her was one thing on it's own, but to become live bait so that they may have a chance to put this war down once and for all was another. It was a lot to bank his life on, knowing what he was leaving behind if it didn't work. The ring feels heavier on her hand.

"He agreed to this?"

"It was his idea. Ash was pretty bent on finding you, Serena. Not without a plan though. He's way too smart at this stuff," Dawn offers with a kind smile, a statement of fact that leaves Serena with a bitter taste on her tongue.

Cilan adjusts the collar of his suit, a solemn look draping over his face. "I hate to say it as well, but we have time, thanks to Giovanni."

Serena doesn't need to ask what it means. After years, Giovanni finally had his ambitions within reach and his prey beneath his heel. There wasn't a chance that he wasn't savoring it and it makes her sick, knowing the incorrigible acts he was capable of.

"We'll find him," Misty reassures calmly. "We'll have you both home."

It was the second time that day that Serena had heard it — home. She looks at her companions that encircle her and looks over her shoulder to the others that support her at her back. Months ago, she had nothing to give her life to or live her life for, and now, it feels like she would do anything if it meant they could smile in the morning light again, with Gary and Brock making some ridiculous competition of who can catch the most meatballs in their mouths or Ash and Misty arm wrestling at the table, along with Dawn's high-fives with them.

It seems silly to think of such mundane things as criminals. In a flick of a killswitch, they became cold-blooded figures that haunt the streets of Lumiose City, and the shared nightmare of their enemy's dreams. In a way, Serena wanted better for all of them, to be a little less bloodless, their shoulders less heavy from the lives they take, and hearts less empty from the ones they lose.

Today, she realizes that if she simply shares the burden with them, carries that weight alongside them, it is possible. For that, her blood burns hotter with a new fire because Giovanni and the darkest criminals be damned, she would have Ash back to be a part of that.

"You're right. We will," Serena agrees with a smile.

"Squads have been assigned and their orders are on standby. Miette and Misty will lead the other set of scouts and lock down the perimeter of the base. I will fulfill my orders from Ash to be your guard while Dawn, Gary, and Brock secure the inside of the base with their divided squads," Cilan informs. "We leave on your word."

Serena nods at the strategy before turning to the operatives that are patiently waiting for her, stepping forward and away from the upper circle for a moment. The group stands behind Serena now with a mix of surprise and satisfaction on their faces as she takes the lead.

"Okay, listen up," she bellows, her voice echoing louder than the ocean roar. "Kill whoever you want, take whatever prisoners you want. Teach them what it means to mess with demons and burn the base to the ground. But let's make one thing perfectly clear."

Serena goes deathly still as she closes her eyes, a moment of silence passing over the port as no one dares to move in the way that Ash commanded a room to his whim. She can feel the first step of the staircase descending to a godly new power that is now hers to hold, to bend and to break who she chooses. It licks in flames at her heels, igniting her soul with a new desire to crush, kill, and raze it all to ash.

Her eyes open, and another devil descends upon their world in a newfound blaze, with her decree as cold as a winter's rage.

"Giovanni's head is mine."