Love in the Time of Tomorrow

Chapter 7: A Chaos

Even after last chapter, the story continues on, if from a different perspective. Do enjoy Chapter 7!

Chapter 7

A Chaos

She wasn't sure what had awoken her, given that nothing had changed in the slightest, but at some point, Serena was jerked from her nap aboard the helicopter, letting all the sounds surrounding her flood back into her senses. She blinked, wondering for just a second where she was, and what she was doing there. The horrible realization settled in before her companion even noted a thing, and she clutched at her chest, placing her wedding band upon the old ribbon that rested there.

"You have some drool, Miss Serena," muttered Tau's voice across from her. The honey blonde sat up, her gaze drawn outside the vehicle, the dotted lights of what looked like the Sinnoh Region passing by them. It almost looked like daylight was peaking over the hood of Mount Coronet. Taking Tau's suggestion, she used the back of her hand to wipe the drool away and shake her head. "Everything all right?"

"Mm. It was just a dream," Serena insisted. She finally took her gaze away from what was below, and looked over to Tau, the older man sitting there calmly, with one leg draped over the other. He was gracious enough to not ask what the dream had been about, though it wasn't like it was a nightmare. No, it had been pleasant...and that scared her.

It was such a simple dream, of a simple life with Ash. She closed her eyes again, her hand sliding down her chest and into her lap. Not that she didn't want a simple life with her husband, but the very thought that he had been...Serena shook her head. Those kinds of thoughts were distracting, though not any more than the words the woman in Nova Town had spoken. Locate our Pokémon Master a little faster. The possibilities it presented were full of both hope and fear, the dichotomy threatening to consume Serena. Maybe Ash was alive, and if he was, she was beyond happy. The problem was that if he was alive, and Team Rocket knew it, then they were targeting him for some reason or another.

That alone scared her. More than that, however, Team Rocket's targeted strikes thus far sharply reminded her of something; something pertaining to the man sitting right across from her.

"Tau, can I ask what you think of all this?" Serena asked, opening her eyes and looking at the purple-haired man. He raised an eyebrow, like he was asking her to elaborate. "These attacks on Nova Town, key strategic places...the only thing we're missing is an attack on the League..."

"You're finding it similar to our past actions, yes?" Tau asked. Serena nodded, not wanting to beat around the bush about anything. Tau removed his leg from its position, and placed his foot on the floor of the helicopter. "I won't deny it's similar, but I believe the motives are altogether different.

"Dalton dreamed of a world where children didn't have to die needlessly, and where the League took responsibility for its actions. We live in that kind of world now, thanks to the efforts of yourself and noble Champions, like Diantha. I do think he'd be proud to see the world we live in. Team Rocket, however, doesn't care. They wish to harm as many people for the glory of their 'new world', whatever that means. I don't think it's for anyone but themselves."

"You don't think this could have been avoided, then?" Serena whispered out. She wasn't scared to ask the question, but it was something that was, and had been, forming at the back of her mind ever since she'd first seen the news on Nova Town. Tau stared across at her, blinking, for a moment. Then, he leaned forward and crossed his fingers.

"Part of me wants to say it could have been...That ARC and the League should have made it so," Tau admitted, but he shook his head just moments later. "However, I know that it was likely an impossibility. This strike, it was perfectly planned, as though it took months, possibly years of planning behind the scenes and in absolute secret. Perhaps they studied Team Neo's attack and incorporated it into their own, but no matter what, their targeted attacks have been made with amazing precision, it can't have been avoided. It was too perfectly plotted to prevent that.