Serena's POV

"You look nervous," I say to the brunette between Ash and I.

We've been navigating the streets of Los Lumeles for about 15 min now, winding through the skyscrapers. Our destination is the only house in the City.

We're close enough now that the gap in the sky due to the normal sized structure is visible. Granted, normal sized structure isn't actually accurate.

"I'm fine," Green look ahead the house. She keeps smoothing out the dress after fidgeting with it between her fingers. Her hair is down as usual but it seems glossier in the streetlights.

"We're going to have fun," I link my arm with hers. "It's been awhile since I've been to a house party."

"You've been to a house party?" Ash raises an eyebrow.

"May and I had some fun in Hoenn," I wink.

I expect a reaction from Green but she just guides us to the front gate.

12ft high black barbed fence surrounds the property. Not enough to hide the massive mansion of a home.

The grey bricks of the sidewalk turns into the property and becomes a prismarine green colour. It winds through a garden of cherry blossom trees, tropical ferns, and meticulously managed flower beds. 

The red, oranges, and pinks in the flowers contrast white the smooth white walls. Prismarine accents and a black roof finishes off the aesthetic. Hanging lanterns cast the building in a warm orange glow.

"Wow," I awe. "This house is beautiful."

"Eric's mom had an eye for design," Green agrees.

"Names and Passports," An armed guard stops us at the entrance. They are much less beautiful than the house.

"Serena Yvonne," I scan my Pokedex first.

Ash and Green follow suit and the guard lets us through. 

There are already a ton of people hanging out in the front yard. All the girls are fairly dressed up, but most of the guys are just in a bathing suit and dress shirt. Can't say I'm surprised, at least Ash won't stick out.

Green takes a noticeable deep breath before opening the door. Her expression goes from nervous to a big smile. A big fake smile.

Gold's POV

"No I shouldn't," I frown.

Vaporeon stands beside me as I look out at the city. With all the lights, it's hard to tell it's night time. It sure looks enticing though.

But I know it's a prison.

I noticed all the security cameras on the walk here. Los Lumeles is left open to the Capital on the condition that everything is closely monitored.

I'm probably already on some suspicious peoples list because I walked through it looking like I had been in the wild for a month. This city isn't for those kinds of people.

It'll be nice to get out of here. Maybe I'll get my friend back.

"Let's find another movie to watch," I turn away from the window but the smallest flicker of light catches my eye.

A channel separates Los Lumeles from the mainland. The route back to the Capital is dark, clearly not frequently travelled at night.

But amongst that darkness, a light seems to be waving around.

I bet there's no cameras over there...

My blue eeveelution looks up at me with a glint in her eyes. "I mean we really should be training for our battle with Eric," I argue with myself. "Can't lose that one."

And in moments we're out on the asphalt streets, going away from the skyscrapers and bright lights. Thankfully there are some other people walking around so I can bounce between crowds.

Green's apartment is on the edge of the City so it doesn't take long to get to the underwater tunnel. We disappear beneath the surface and all the sounds of the city go away.

The air is a bit stale down here and it's too dark to see out the glass tunnel into the shallow bay. Not sure how many Pokemon would hang around the tunnel anyway. 

My footsteps echo as we walk through the dimly lit tunnel. If Triton had caught onto our plan by now, this would be the place to make me disappear.

The sound of a second set of footsteps bounce against the glass walls.

Uh oh.

I slow my pace, trying to tiptoe forward.

The other person does not.

The sound quickens and becomes louder.

And there's nowhere to hide.

I squint and try to pick out anything from inside the tunnel.

But then the footsteps stop and it goes dead silent again.

They were running the other way. 

Well now I'm curious.

I sprint down the tunnel and quickly make it to the other side with my amazing speed. I slowly climb up the stairs at the end and look for any sign of movement.

The area is surprisingly flat. Nothing really sticks out of the dark horizon except for the coniferous tree line.

"Where'd they go?" I mumble.

Then something grazes my knee.

Before I can look down, my foot slips.

"Ahh," I yelp while tumbling down into a thankfully shallow pit. 

"Vaa!" Vaporeon leaps down beside me.

"Ughh," I groan and sit up. 

I untangle the caution tape wrapped around my legs. Not very good at its job.

My eyes are fully adjusted to the darkness but I can barely see a thing. If only I could bring Lanturn out.

I stumble into a pile of something that sounds like metal tools falling over. This must be a construction site or something.

A beam of light hits the wall beside us.

Not an attack.

A flashlight. 

I scramble away from it but soon enough I'm staring into what feels like the sun.

"Who are you?" The voice asks in a semi-hushed voice.

Not as scary as I was expecting.

"Who are you?" I retort, holding a hand in front of my eyes.

I try to peer through but can't make out the person.

"I asked first," They state, walking closer.

If they have a weapon, I can't see it because of the flashlight.

"We can do introductions after you put the light away," I say.

"Hm fine," Relief fills my eyes on the light move towards the ground.

The flashlight gives off enough light to make out the person.

The girl.

"Thank Arceus," I sigh. "I was expecting someone a lot more frightening."

"I can be frightening," She starts to move the flashlight back up. "Now who are you?"

"Go-Logan," I correct.

"Glogan?" Her voice turns from threatening to confused.

"Logan, L-O-G-"

"I got it," She stops me. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" I ask back.

She gives me an unimpressed stare.

"I'm supposed to be here," She answers. "Unlike you."

"If you're supposed to be here, then why are you sneaking around at night?" I question.

"I saw something from my apartment," She says.

"A light?" I ask.

"Yes actually," Her frown starts to turn. "You saw it too?"

"Mhm."

"I'm Sarah," She offers a hand. "An archaeologist."

The only features I can make out are her cargo pants and dark red hair.

I shake her hand. "What's an archaeologist doing on a construction site?"

 "This is a dig site," She shines the flashlight around, showing a bunch of wooden crates, shovels, and tents. "You're not from here."

"Ohh," That makes more sense. "And no I'm not, I'm a military recruit."

"Oh," Her frown returns. "Well you should leave, this is a restricted area after all."

"Right," I nod. "But what about the light?"

"I haven't seen anything yet but I'll keep looking," She leads me around the site. "It's not of any interest to the military."

"I'm not doing this to join the military," I say and Sarah stops.

Bit of a risk but I want to keep exploring down here.

"You're not."

"No it's just the only way to travel around," I answer. "I could only stand the Normal District so long."

The flashlight turns towards my chest and she closes in. The light bounces off my maroon jacket and into her brown eyes.

"Let me look around with you," I say. "Two is safer than one."

She doesn't want to say yes but clearly something is bugging her.

"Okay but this stays between us," She motions with her hand.

"That would be best."

Green's POV

It feels wrong being here.

It's hard to forget what we're really here for. Everything going on and we're partying.

The party music pounds into my head, not allowing any clear thoughts to form. Maybe that's a good thing. This won't work if I don't relax.

"How's the drink?!" The handsome brunette yells over the music. 

Eric has had his arm around me all night as people come over to socialize. They've all said the same things.

Tell him it's a great party. Pump up his ego about the battle (which he lost). And repeat.

"It's good!" I yell back, swirling the neon pink drink in the cup.

It's not good in case you're wondering.

And definitely not helping the headache from the music.

At least Ash and Serena are having fun.

Serena is the star of the show. The red dress. The effortless dancing. The smile.

She manages to make the uncoordinated Ash look like he's actually dancing. 

"We should join them!" Eric catches me staring.

"No I'm okay," I wave him off but his grip tightens and he pulls me up.

"Come on!" He pulls me into the jumping and dancing people.

I avoid the crazy heels and flinging hair from the girls, trying to keep up with Eric. He grabs my hands and starts jumping to the music.

I attempt to keep up but my headache keeps getting worse.

I lean towards Eric and his eyes start to widen.

"I'll be right back," I let go and navigate my way to the back of the luxurious house.

What I need right now is quiet.

Thankfully I know the house quite well. I wander around the house and find Eric's parents room. I doubt anyone ventures this far.

The door shuts behind me and the music weakens. The room is still vibrating but at least it's not as loud.

Everything in the bedroom is white.

The sheets, the birch furniture, and even the sweeping blinds. The king bed is inviting me in for a nap.

It all looks the same as when I was a kid. The best hide and seek places are in here.

I wander to the built-in closet, filled with dresses. "Strange," I mutter and move them off to the side.

Sure enough, my favourite hiding spot still exists. A small trapdoor in the floor that leads beneath the house. The house is built on the beach so it has a metal crawlspace beneath the floor.

Eric could never find me here.

It's taking a lot of will to not escape through it right now.

However, I'd rather not crawl through the sewers.

I close the closet and something new catches my eye.

A weapon.

A orange sword, shimmering from the overhead light. It sits straight up in its holder, perfectly balanced.

"I don't know if I could sleep with a sword over my head," I mutter and step onto the bed.

It draws me in.

I reach out and-

"I'm trapped."

"Bring me my sword"

"Ah!" My eyes fly open and my torso crunches. 

I'm laying on the sheets and I swear the sword above me was glowing for a second. I run my hands through my hair and try to get my senses back.

"I must've just fallen asleep," I hold my head, still pounding.

There's an image I can't get out of my mind.

The glowing orange sword... except it's a Pokemon's horn.

The bedroom door flies open.

"Eek!" I clutch the covers.

"Green!" Eric comes barging in, along with the music. "Oh? Were you waiting for me."

He seems to have a few less buttons of his shirt done up. He's been busy.

"What? No?" I stand up. "I needed a nap."

"A nap?" He questions. "We're at a party. Let's get back out there."

"I actually think I'm going to go home," I avoid eye contact. "It's been a long day."

"Oh?" He frowns. "You could stay here, you're already in bed."

I give a small chuckle. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Wait," He steps in front of me and leans in.

Eric kisses my cheek and I can't help but blush.

If it wasn't for the smell of another girl's perfume, maybe I'd take it differently.

Gold's POV

"This is one of Elemente's biggest fossil deposits," Sarah gives me a history lesson as we walk between excavation pits and small caves they've uncovered.

"A mass casualty event?" I question.

"Yes, I haven't quite figured out what though," She answers.

"Hmm," I stop and examine the rock. "Are these marking from you guys?"

They aren't as structured or legible as hieroglyphs typically are.

"No but they are all over," Sarah explains. "Usually close to any fossils. We used to preserve them better than we do now, archaeologists have spent decades trying to figure it out but haven't got anywhere. A lot of them have been destroyed by now to expand digging operations."

"That's awful," I shake my head. "Even if we can't read it, you shouldn't be destroying it."

"I know," She looks away. "That's why I've kept this a secret."

She shines her light at a small crevice in the wall and then slides through.

"Good thing I haven't had a full meal in a week," I follow her through.

"Oh no!" She gasps.

"What?!" I hurry through and Sarah backs up into me.

I lean over her and straighten out the flashlight in her trembling hands. 

I drop the flashlight.

"Run!"