Experiment

"Experiment" is the 8th episode of Tears of the Fallen.

Synopsis
Serena is asked many questions by the gang, which she can't answer, due to some sort of memory loss. Alain is skeptical of the possibility of trusting her. Serena continues to stare at Ash, which Dawn nervously notices.

In Aquacorde Town, after Clemont, Bonnie, and Dawn go off on their own, Alain holds Serena against a tree and puts a knife to her, demanding to know more about her. Ash yells at him to stop. All that Serena remembers is that she was taken from her home 5 years ago to be used for scientific experiments with the Tekiyoku. Alain releases Serena, smiling, saying he believes her now. He comically says that's how he makes friends.

The 6-person gang arrives at Vaniville Town and go to Serena's house. It's unlocked. Upon entering, nobody is home and the entire house has no furniture. Serena is confused; she is confident this is her home and that her mom would be here. They leave and Serena tells more about where the Tekiyoku took her when she was used for the experiments. The room she describes that she was held in sounds familiar to Alain, so he leaves to make a video call to someone.

Serena goes off on her own. She thinks about her past and what started this. She suddenly gets very angry at someone in her mind, followed by her coughing up blood. Ash appears after that (not having seen what just happened) to assure her they'll find her mother, which she is grateful for.

Alain had called Professor Sycamore, who shows up to see them. Alain says the room Serena described sounds like Sycamore's lab. Alain knows Sycamore, having first met him while Alain was still in the Tekiyoku, and having met with him after he escaped to get assistance to start his own lab up. Sycamore's lab was used because the Tekiyoku's Science Division offered him money if he let them use his lab for experiments, even though Sycamore wasn't a Tekiyoku member. After seeing what terrible experiments were being done to Serena, though, he eventually withdrew from the deal. He informs them more about Serena's past, saying the person in charge of the experiments was Dr. Zager. He eventually says her mom was relocated to another city, but he doesn't know which city it is. He leaves after more conversation.

They decide to let Serena stay with them while they journey to find Ikazuchi, the Electric Plate, in Anistar City. While traveling, Ash spends time hanging with Serena to cheer her up, which saddens Dawn more and more. Alain explains Fighting Manipulation. After this, they make a quick stop in Ambrette Town to rest. Dawn wants to hang with Ash, but he says he wants to be with Serena to cheer her up, saddening Dawn. Serena breaks from Ash briefly to head to a sink in a building. She isn't feeling well and coughs up blood again. During this, Ash is being watched by an unknown person, who says they've never seen Ash in this town before. They say that maybe they'll cross paths again.

They camp outside that night. During the night, Serena leaves her tent to go into the forest. She questions where her mom is, getting very depressed about what's happening with her. She wonders how she can repay Ash for all of his kindness. She cries. She asks why Zager kept her for more than the agreed-upon 2 months. This starts to anger her quickly. She gets extremely mad and punches a tree, with such a large force that it knocks it down! Based on her reaction, this isn't the first time that happened...

Alain suddenly shows up and attacks Serena with the first version of Breath of Fresh Air, knocking Serena into a tree, as she falls down motionless. Alain angrily asks her what that power was, accusing her of being a Fighting Manipulator. She weakly begs him to stop. Ash suddenly appears, angrily telling him to leave her alone and checking on her. She assures she's not a Manipulator, saying she doesn't know where that power comes from. Ash takes her back to his own tent that he's sharing with Alain (she was staying in a tent with Dawn at first). Alain doesn't want to be in the tent with them and sleeps outside, still angry.

Debuts

 * Professor Sycamore

Trivia

 * In the episode, they visit Aquacorde Town. Here, Bonnie invites Clemont and Dawn to get souvenir photos taken by a photographer named Phil. This is a reference to the X and Y games; Aquacorde Town is one of the photo spots in the games where you can get pictures taken by Phil the Photo Guy.

Music

 * Tears of the Fallen Theme Song -- composed by Nocturnal Jay

Other Music By:

 * Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com)
 * Bensound
 * Purple Planet