CHAPTER ONE

[THE MEOWTH IN THE BOX IS DEAD]

Touya let out a groan and shifted, feeling a hard wooden surface pressed uncomfortably against his face. There was a crick in his neck and the tips of his fingers were numb. His stomach was churning and his head was pounding and his eyes didn't want to open no matter how much her tried.

"Ugh..." he managed, his mouth dry. He lifted his head despite it feeling like it weighed a ton, and instantly the bright fluorescent lights of the room shone through his eyelids. He groaned again, finally managing to open his eyes. His vision was slow to unblur.

His first instinct was that he had dozed off in class again. But everything was just a little too different- the chair was a bit comfier, and the desk was a bit larger, and everything smelled a little more pristine.

As his eyes adjusted, more and more things stuck out as being... wrong. Security cameras of some sort hung from the ceiling, exuding a low hum that indicated they were active. Castelia Tech, Touya remembered, blearily blinking a few times and putting too much effort into keeping his head from lolling back down. Must be... really secure...

Forming coherent thoughts was proving to be difficult, as Touya's gaze drifted almost lazily around the room. He was in a classroom- an empty classroom, to be precise. Every desk and chair was neatly in perfect rows, facing forward towards the chalk board. Lights lined the ceiling above, illuminating what would otherwise be an uncomfortably dark room.

It took a moment after Touya's gaze settled on where the windows should be for the sheer wrongness of it all to kick in. Where there was supposed to be glass, there were instead heavy metal plates. Not a single ray of sunlight managed to pierce through it.

"What-" he started, getting up despite the way his body creaked and groaned in protest, as if he'd been sleeping for hours, if not days. He pressed his hands firmly against the metal and tried to push it aside, to no avail.

He yawned in spite of the current situation, looking over his shoulder to examine the room again. Neat and orderly- save for where he had been sleeping just a few short moments ago. The chair was kicked out far from the desk, which was slightly askew. And on top of the desk was a crumpled, folded piece of paper. He hadn't noticed it when he woke up.

The young man, slowly but surely getting reoriented with the world around him, took a few bounding steps back to the desk before snatching up what he discovered to be a practice. "Orientation Info?" he read aloud, scrutinizing the childish scrawl that made up the cover. It looked like it had been written in crayon- and by someone who didn't quite know how to hold one, at that.

'The conference has begun... Wait, scratch that. From here, a whole new life has begun for you bastards!'

Touya pursed his lips. "Cute," he said aloud in a way that betrayed the fact that he didn't find it cute at all, before crumpling the pamphlet into a ball. He proceeded to hesitate, smooth the pamphlet back out, fold it neatly in half, and pocket it.

Finally, he noticed the clock that hung above the chalkboard at the front of the room. It was nothing compared to the one that hung in the entrance hall, but it did its job of keeping time well enough- he'd assume, anyway. The clock read just about 8:00.

That means I've... been here for almost an hour?

Touya didn't like having to wait, but that didn't mean he wanted to be late. Especially not when everyone else would likely already be looking down at him.

Now almost entirely reoriented, Touya leapt towards the door, half-expecting to find it locked. He was pleasantly surprised to find that it swung open with a certain ease- more ease than he anticipated. The door slammed against the outside wall, a sound loud enough that it echoed in both directions. Touya winced. "Sorry," he whispered to no one in particular, shoulders scrunching up and blush staining his cheeks.

"As you should be," said a voice, soft and scolding all at once. Touya jumped and shouted in surprise, whipping around to locate the owner of the voice. He spotted her just as she spoke again- her tone drawling and elegant. "Causing such a ruckus... how uncouth."

Touya's lips hung open as he stared. Curtains of golden hair flowed behind her petite form, which was dressed in a simple, yet refined gown of pale pinks. The girl's ethereal presence was unmistakable, even if Touya had only seen her on television before. "L-la," Touya struggled, "L-l-la...!"

The young woman stepped closer to Touya, the only emotion showing on her face with a twitch of her brow. "Lady Caitlin, yes," she said, followed by a practiced curtsy. She offered him a courteous smile that didn't reach her eyes.

A strangulated sound escaped the back of Touya's throat, and he bowed his head with almost robotic movements. "L-lady Caitlin," he squeaked, hands trembling at his sides. Never in his life had he expected to be in the presence of one of Unova's Elite Four- let alone taking part in a conversation! Even if the conversation mostly was just him squeaking, it still counted for something, right? "My n-name," he began, voice cracking and the blush spreading to his ears. "Um, T-"

"Touya, yes," Caitlin finished for him, walking past him with light footsteps.

Touya, in turn, nearly fell over. His voice hitched in his throat. "Y-you know me?!" He couldn't believe it. He had never been recognized for anything before in his entire life! And now, Lady Caitlin of the Unova Elite Four was here, in person, knowing him and recognizing him-

"No," she said, not stopping her steps.

Touya's heart, which had leapt into his throat, dropped into the pit of his stomach. "Oh," he said. And only then did he think to follow her.

"But then-"

Before he could ask how she knew his name, she looked up at him with her wide, doll-like eyes. "Because I'm an esper."

CAITLIN - SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL ESPER

Of course, Touya thought. He may not have read up on the people who would be attending the conference, but he did have a certain knowledge of the Unova region's celebrities- and Lady Caitlin, of the Unova Elite Four, was no exception. She was a powerful psychic, and that power was only magnified by her strong connection with her psychic pokemon.

"That's cool," said Touya with a smile, trying to make some conversation to drive out the maddening silence that hung between the two of them. Caitlin's footsteps hardly made a sound as she walked beside him, her hands folded neatly in front of her.

"...Indeed," Caitlin replied, and she said nothing more.

The two of them reached an intersection and Caitlin turned right without thinking about it. "Do you know where we're going?" asked Touya.

It was hardly noticeable, but Caitlin hesitated, just for a moment. "No," she said. And then a moment later, she added, "there is, however, energy in this direction. And I do not wish to be marked tardy."

"Ah, that's right!" Touya exclaimed, jerking where he stood and walking a bit faster down the hallway, soon catching up with and passing the psychic. "Hey, we're heading to the entrance hall," Touya observed, before spinning around to address Caitlin as he walked backwards. "That means... hey, did you wake up here, too?"

For the first time, Touya saw some sort of expression cross the young woman's face. Her brow furrowed as if she were trying to remember something- or perhaps figure out how to deal with a commoner asking her such blunt questions- but within a moment her face was back to being as smooth as a porcelain doll's. "I suppose so, yes," she said after another moment's hesitation. "But I am surprised I was able to fall asleep. These chairs are horrid. Darach should have handled my personal arrangements."

"Darach?" Touya parroted, but Caitlin had turned her head to the side, gazing at the wall as she strolled past, and pointedly not responding to anything more that Touya had to say. "Um... alright, well, I'm gonna go on ahead, okay? I'll see ya around," Touya said awkwardly, hesitating for a moment to see if that would evoke any sort of response. But it appeared as if the esper really was lost in her own little world, now, as she didn't even acknowledge him. He did his best to hide his disappointment as he turned around. For a moment there, he thought he was actually making a friend- or a friendly acquaintance, at least.

But no, it looked like things were going to go exactly as predicted: none of these renowned, important people would want to bother with an average nobody like him. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket and felt himself slouch. Even though he hadn't felt his pace quicken, he sensed the gap between himself and Lady Caitlin growing broader. And even though he heard a cacophony of voices growing more audible the further he walked, he couldn't help but feel completely alone.

He rounded the corner once more and, though his gaze was trained on the ground by this point, he saw a blur of white move out of the corner of his eye. He jerked back- even though he heard the voices, and he knew to expect more people, he still managed to be caught off-guard. He looked up to see a tall man- at least a head taller than him- in a pristine lab coat, a lock of inexplicably blue hair circling his head.

"Ah!" the man greeted, smirking and pushing up his glasses, which glinted in the fluorescent lights above. "And here come some more."

"Uh, hello sir," Touya greeted, bowing quickly and stiffly in his direction. "I'm sorry I'm late, sir! It won't happen again, sir!"

Keeping his head bowed, Touya couldn't see the curious tilt of the head that the man gave him. "Oh?" the man asked, a hint of amusement in his tone. Touya quivered and shook- this man clearly looked like he was in charge, or at the very least an important person. But before the man could say anything else, a different voice entirely spoke up.

Or at least... Touya had to assume it was a voice.

It was squeaky, and loud, and spoken in such a thick accent that Touya could hardly recognize the noise as words at all. But before he could figure out what the voice had said, something hot and forceful had pushed on his shoulder, forcing him into standing upright. Touya's vision blurred momentarily, and all he saw were smears of primary colours- was he going to have to fight? He wasn't any good at fighting! He wasn't good at anything, really. He forced himself to blink hard, clearing his vision to see who- or what- had shoved him.

A little girl stood in front of him. Her hair was blue, tied in pigtails that formed a sharp angle and shot inexplicably skywards. Both of her hands were on her hips and a sloppy smirk was spread across her face. Touya blinked again to make sure he was seeing things correctly, as no girl of that size or of that cuteness should be capable of that much force- or that ridiculous noise he had heard before.

But then she opened her mouth, and all doubt was forgotten.

"'Ey, it's about time ya showed up, pally!" she said in a much-too-loud voice, reaching out and shoving him again, more gently this time. If Touya focused, he could make words out of the ridiculous mess of sounds pouring out of her mouth. "We's been waitin' fer ages, and ya t'ink you's just gonna come saunterin' in 'ere like ya own 'da whole damn place? Not on my watch, guy!"

She stepped forward, making Touya shuffle a step backwards. "W-woah, look, I-" he started, putting his hands up in front of him in a desperate attempt to show that he meant no harm. It wasn't that he was afraid of the girl; it was more that he was so overwhelmed. He suddenly found himself missing the company of Caitlin very much. Maybe it wouldn't be too late to turn around and join up with her again. Even uncomfortable silence was preferable to... whatever this girl was offering.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the man in the lab coat move. He was leaning against the wall now, eyebrows raised and the corners of his lips turned upwards. "U-um, sir?" Touya called to him desperately. Maybe this girl wasn't supposed to be here? Touya knew that he certainly wouldn't have let her in.

The girl, who had been advancing, stopped in her tracks. "...You's callin' Aku 'sir'?" she asked, disbelief manifesting itself a moment later as a loud and shameless laugh. She gripped at her side with one hand and covered her mouth with the back of the other one, giving Touya ample time to be one-part offended and two-parts confused. "Ah, ah jeez...!" the pigtailed girl wheezed, trying to catch her breath. "Yeah, yeah, 'dat's a good one! Yeah, you's real funny, guy! I like ya! We's gonna be tight, you an' I!"

Touya didn't even fully have time to go from being confused at the girl's outburst to being terrified of the concept of being "tight" with her before she had snatched up one of his hands in both of hers, engaging him in a very enthusiastic and one-sided handshake. "'Da name's Kris, Kris Clarity, pride an' joy'a Johto! But ya can jus' call me 'da Supa' High School Level Know-It-All!"

KRIS - SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL KNOW-IT-ALL

Touya was struck with disbelief- this girl didn't seem like she could be super high school level anything, let alone a know-it-all. With that horrible accent, he had a hard time believing that she could even properly grasp the English language.

The young man was still disoriented to the point of being unable to protest as the girl dragged him the short distance towards the lab coat-clad man. As they approached he stood up straight, adjusting his glasses again and casting a sweeping gaze over the two of them.

"And 'dis 'ere is Aku!" introduced Kris, smiling in the man's direction.

Now it was the man's turn to bow to Touya- he placed a gloved hand against his chest and bowed his head slightly, his golden eyes fluttering shut. "I am Akuroma," he introduced himself, his tone smooth and even and in direct contrast to Kris' wild and squeaky voice. "And I believe you're mistaken- I'm just attending this conference, like my cousin here, and presumably, yourself as well."

AKUROMA - SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL SCIENTIST

"U-um, yes," Touya said, nodding almost imperceptibly. Maybe it's not so bad, he forced himself to think. Sure, this girl was starting to scare him a little, and grate on his nerves, but she had already decided that they were friends, right? That had to count for something, right?

At that point, Akuroma's eyes snapped open and he straightened himself up, apparently noticing something behind Touya. "Ah, Lady Caitlin!" he greeted, about as warmly as his distant tone would allow. He brushed past Touya and Kris. "What a pleasant surprise!"

Touya's hand was starting to sweat from being in Kris' warm, tight grip for so long. "Oh, there's my friend Caitlin," he said meaningfully, making to pull his hand away. "I should go say hi-"

But it was almost as if Kris hadn't heard him, because she instead dragged Touya in the opposite direction, through a large doorway that Touya could already see other people through. He tried to cast a helpless glance over his shoulder at Caitlin, but couldn't manage to catch her gaze.

"C'mon, pally. Ya seem pretty hopeless, so I's gonna be real nice an' introduce ya ta 'da rest'a 'dese schmucks!" she announced. Touya felt eyes on him as he entered the large room- he recognized it as the entrance hall, although a large metal plate was blocking the entrance he had walked in earlier that day. There were about a dozen people scattered about, mostly keeping to small groups with a few notable exceptions. With his free hand, Touya self-consciously removed his cap, smoothed out his hair, and placed the cap back on his head. But that feeling of embarrassment didn't subside- in fact, he was pretty sure that the feeling of embarrassment stemmed from being dragged around by a loud and arrogant girl.

"Um, thank you, but-" Touya tried, doing his best to keep polite. It wasn't as if Kris was malicious, right? If she knew how uncomfortable he was, she would do something to change it, right?

"Ya see 'dat guy who kinda looks like a rattata?" she asked in a harsh whisper that was hardly quiet enough to be considered a whisper at all. She finally let go of Touya's hand to jab a thumb harshly in the mousey young man's direction. Touya was vaguely aware of what a rattata was- it was some foreign form of patrat- and he couldn't help but draw a few parallels as the man turned to look at the two of them. He wore a simple button-down top and his brown hair, though combed through, was still something akin to a rodent's nest.

"'Dat's Bill Nye, 'da Science Guy!" Kris said, before pausing and waiting for him to get the joke with a knowing smile. "Okay, y'got me, he ain't really Bill Nye 'da Science Guy! He's jus' Bill! He's most famous fer inventin' 'da Pokemon Storage System, but he's done a ton'a udda work, too!"

BILL - SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL ENGINEER

Kris waved at him, beckoning him over. Bill exchanged looks with the young, purple-haired woman he'd been sitting with, before rising to his feet and somewhat stiffly crossing the room towards the entrance. "H-hi there, Kris," he greeted, and Touya picked up traces of a different accent in this man's voice- but this accent was more southern, and much more preferable to whatever alien accent Kris had.

"Hey 'dere Billy Boy!" Kris greeted, finally letting go of Touya's hand entirely to give Bill a hard pat on the back, even though he was nearly a foot taller than her. Touya immediately wiped his sweaty hand on the side of his pants. He saw the purple-haired girl stand up the second that Kris made contact with him, her purple eyes trained on Bill like a braviary's. "We's got a straggler, so say hi!"

Bill's wide-eyed stare moved from Kris to Touya, as he was clearly out of his element and not necessarily used to interacting with so many people at the same time.

Touya took the initiative. "Hi Bill," he said, trying his best to keep his voice even and reassuring. "I'm Touya." Bill's brow furrowed slightly, and Touya added, "...Super High School Level Lucky Ducklett."

"Ah, alrighty then!" he said, evidently drawing some sort of connection in his brain. His face relaxed and his mouth even twitched into a smile. "It's a real pleasure ta meet ya. I'm Bill." Then he paused for a moment and clasped his hands behind his back, averting his gaze in an embarrassed fashion. "But I... guess y'already knew that, didn't ya? Sorry, my brain's just a'wanderin' today."

"Tch," Kris spoke up, stepping between Bill and Touya before the latter had a chance to respond. "Ya really came ta 'dis conference wit'cher brain wanderin'?!" she scolded, invading his personal bubble and making him meekly step back. "What's 'da matta', pally? I know's you's got more goin' on up 'dere 'dan some'a 'dese schmucks, so why you actin' like-"

"Kris."

A new voice spoke up, and both Touya and Kris whirled around to see the purple-haired girl was now in their immediate presence. Her gaze was purple, unwavering, and staring intently at Kris. The pigtailed girl, acquiring a new target, immediately spun towards her, allowing Bill time to take a few steps back and remember how to breathe.

"Yeah," she started, "whaddya want?"

Even though Kris was standing with her hands on her hips and her chest thrust out, the purple-haired girl didn't waver. She exuded preparedness and control. Her voice was steady and trained when she spoke: "leave him alone."

Kris' eyes narrowed. "Why should I?"

The girl's response was instant. "Because in case you haven't noticed, we're locked in here," she said, her voice gaining a certain edge the longer she spoke. "Most of us are trying to figure out what's going on, where our stuff's gone, and how to get out of here."

Kris' eyes narrowed even further, at this point nothing more that dangerous pin pricks of silver through her heavy eyelashes.

"Um, if ya don't mind me sayin'," Bill spoke up, hands still clasped behind his back and gaze trained intently on the floor by his feet, "we ain't havin' much luck. It'd probably go a lot better if we had the Super High School Level Know-It-All helpin' us out. Y'know... since yer so smart."

Kris, once again, completely spun away from the purple-haired girl, drawn to the compliment like a venomoth to a flame. "...yeah, jeez!" Kris admonished, "why didn't ya t'ink ta ask me befo'?! I would'a had errythin' figured out before Touyo here even showed up!"

"Um, it's Touya," Touya corrected.

"Yeah, yeah, same t'ing," Kris dismissed with a flippant wave of her hand.

"Touya?" the purple-haired girl asked, turning her gaze on him. Immediately the hardness of her eyes vanished. "Super High School Lucky Ducklett?"

"...Yeah?" Touya said, skeptical.

"I knew it!" she exclaimed, all of the previous evenness in her tone having vanished. "I didn't recognize you from the forum, but I've heard about the random drawing- actually, my dad told me about it- and you don't look like anyone else from the thread, so I figured that it had to be you." She put a hand to her chest and bowed her head, her spiky ponytail almost brushing against Touya's face. "My name's Janine," she introduced, standing back up. "I'm here on account of being the Super High School Level Ninja."

JANINE - SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL NINJA

"Oh!" Touya exclaimed. "Um, it's great to meet you! I've never met a real life ninja before!"

Janine smiled, side-eyeing him as she stood back up. "Sure you have," she said. "You just didn't notice."

Then, without warning, that hard edge to her voice was back as she spun back to Kris. "Are you going to help us or not?" she asked, forcing the pigtailed girl's attention back on her.

Kris, in turn, gained an equally hard edge as she retorted, "Yeah, jeez! Hold yer fuckin' horseas!" And then, like a veritable ninja herself, she grabbed Touya's arm in a swift motion and dragged him away from Janine and Bill. "I's gotta finish showin' Touyo around! He ain't gonna get nowhere if I don't show 'im 'da ropes!"

"Um, no, it's fine," Touya murmured, trying in vain to tug his arm free. "And it's Touya-"

"Nonsense!" Kris chirped, dragging him to the center of the entrance hall. People had mostly gone back to doing their own thing after Kris had dragged him inside, and only a few pairs of eyes took fleeting glances at him occasionally. "C'mon, we's gotta hurry 'dis up, I gotta get outta here! Only 'da important people, a'ight?"

Before Touya could respond, she snapped her head to the left and homed in on, presumably, an important person. "Like 'im!" she exclaimed, a warble in her tone as she zoomed across the entrance hall, heading directly for a group of two young men who didn't have time to move out of the way.

"Hi, Red!" Kris greeted, skidding to a halt only when she was practically toe-to-toe with him. The young man- presumably Red- was tall, with sleek black hair that fell in his crimson eyes. He stood with his lips parted slightly, looking down his nose at Kris, but not saying a word.

"'Dis is Red," she explained to Touya, her tone airy and breathless. "He's 'da Super High School Level Traina'! Ain't 'dat 'da coolest? Aw man, Red's so cool!"

RED - SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL TRAINER

The man standing beside him- just slightly taller, with messy copper hair and a piercing green gaze- scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Not this again," he said to himself, but Kris ignored him. Red proceeded to look uncomfortable, and grabbed for the hem of the other man's shirt.

Touya, for his part, recognized the name. It was hard not to- he was the one who brought down the entire Team Rocket crime syndicate single-handedly. He then went on to become the Indigo League Champion, before climbing Mt. Silver one day, never to return. Even in Unova the news had been tracking his story, earning the mysterious Red quite a few fans, even in Touya's tiny hometown of Nuvema.

But he had never met a Red fan quite as enthusiastic as Kris. Nor had he ever really wanted to.

"Um, so, what are you doing down from Mt. Silver, Red?" asked Touya cautiously over Kris' incessant rambling, unsure if his questions would be welcome. Red turned his gaze to Touya, now, and Touya was overwhelmed by just how tired Red appeared. His eyes were dull and his face held absolutely no expression.

"Look, kid," the other young man spoke up, stepping forward as if to protect Red from the unwanted attention. "We're all pretty stressed, so why don't you make like a tree and leave?"

Had Touya not been so entirely overwhelmed, he might have tried to hold his ground against the green-eyed stranger. But the fact was that he was still reeling from the shock of this morning's events meant that all he wanted was to avoid any conflict that he could manage. "S-Sorry!" he stuttered, putting his hands up in front of him and stumbling backwards. "I didn't mean anything by it!"

"Hey, oy!" Kris butted in, and now it was her turn to step between Touya and the stranger. "Who d'ya t'ink you are, hotshot?" she demanded, her voice even louder than it had been before, making the rest of the entrance hall fall silent.

However, the green-eyed stranger matched Kris' aggression and took it in stride, leaning forward so their faces were mere inches apart. "The name's Green, kid," he sneered, smirking and tilting his head to the side. "Best known as the Viridian City Gym Leader."

"I know who ya are," Kris retorted without missing a beat. "'Dat was a rhetorical question, schmuck, 'cause nobody cares. Green Oak, grandson'a 'da esteemed Professa' Oak, and Champion'a 'da Indigo League fer a whole'a five minutes befo' 'da true Champion took his rightful seat on 'da t'rone."

GREEN - SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL PRIVILEGE

"I'm warning you, kid," he growled, his voice caught in the back of his throat as he further bridged the gap between himself and the blue-haired girl.

"Watcha gonna do?" Kris goaded, a familiar sloppy smirk smearing across her face. "Cry at me? Go take ten and give 'da real Champion some breathin' room. He don't wanna be around ya, breathin' in yer loser air."

Red, who had remained silent all the while, tugged on the hem of Green's shirt. His own crimson gaze had darkened- something told Touya that it was Kris he didn't want to be around.

"Kris," he said, softly but urgently, grabbing for the sleeve of her cropped white jacket.

"Stay outta it, pal!" Kris barked, sounding more like a feral pokemon than a human. She whipped around, baring her serrated teeth and glaring at Touya with enough fury to make him step backwards. "Nobody's allowed ta make Red uncomfortable, a'ight? So erryone needs ta take t'ree big steps back, or I swear, it ain't gonna be pretty!"

"It's already not very pretty," said a feminine voice from behind Touya, and before he could turn around to see who had spoken, he saw all of the colour drain from Kris' face. Her eyes focused on something behind him and her mouth hung open, as if she couldn't find a word that she wanted to say. For the first time, Kris looked afraid.

Touya jerked his head around, guard raised- and froze. A small crowd of people- mostly ones that he hadn't met yet- had formed against the wall behind him, and from the depths of that crowd a girl was emerging. At first glance, he thought she was Kris- but no, the longer he looked at her, the more he noticed slight differences. There was a more gentle curve to her pigtails, not to mention that her hair was a much friendlier brown as opposed to an outlandish blue. She looked to be slightly older, and her face had sharper features, but looked overall much kinder.

Behind him, Touya could hear Kris' breathing become shallow and more labored. He made to turn around but already the newcomer was there, reaching out to grab Kris' hand. "Kris, are you okay? Maybe you should lie down," she said, her voice a sweet contrast to the blue-haired girl's grating tone.

In an instant Kris leapt into the air, letting out something akin to a yelp and a hiss at the same time. She tugged away from the brunette and fell to all fours, crouching low to the ground and backing up, almost as if she would move on all fours just as naturally. Touya watched her quiver and shake, her chest heaving with every shallow breath she took, and her eyes not daring to tear away from the newcomer's gaze.

"What's wrong?" the newcomer asked, that defining cheeriness in her voice not entirely replaced by concern. The rest of the room had remained silent continued to watch the commotion. The brunette stepped forward again, crouching down in front of Kris with her elbows on her knees, as if she were addressing a pokemon.

Kris didn't respond though- with nostrils flaring, she scampered backwards, shaking like a leaf and trying to work her mouth in a way that would produce words. "W-what," she managed, only a shred of her gusto remaining, "what 'da fuck are you doin' here...?!"

Had Touya looked carefully, he would have seen tears welling up in Kris' eyes, threatening to spill over as she cowered like a veritable pokemon. However, he was much more intrigued by the sudden appearance of someone who could not only tame Kris, but send her into such a submissive state. There didn't seem to be anything special about the brunette- she had a pretty face, sure, but Kris hardly seemed the sort to take something like that into account.

The newcomer paused and cocked her head to the side, drawing a finger up to her bottom lip. "Oh? I got an invitation, silly! Just like you!" She laughed- a much more pleasant laugh than Kris had- before gesturing to herself. "The Super High School Level Social Butterfree- that's me!"

"What's the matter?" Green spoke up, pulling free of Red's grasp and moving forward, looming over Kris with a smirk on his face. "A little bit scared?" Kris scurried out from beneath his shadow, losing a bit of her grace on all fours as she stumbled over her crossed arms. But she never dropped eye contact with the brunette. It was as if Kris was staring death in the face and couldn't look away.

"No," Kris exhaled, but it was more to herself than a response to Green's question. She started moving backwards, repeating that single word under her breath with increasing frequency, until she stumbled to her feet. She'd broken into a cold sweat and was almost entirely out of breath.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME," was the last thing she managed to shout, pointing a finger accusingly at the brunette- and even then, her shout wavered and her voice cracked, before she turned and sprinted, stumbling onto all fours every so often. Nobody dared to speak a word until her hasty, uneven footsteps had disappeared entirely down the hall.

Slowly, Touya turned his gaze back to the newcomer. Her hand was covering her mouth, now, and the girl looked utterly downcast. "Oh dear," she sighed, brow furrowed as she stared after Kris. "I really upset her, didn't I?"

"Hell yeah you did," Green agreed, still smirking. He ran a hand through his unkempt hair and approached the newcomer, holding up a hand for her to high five- which she responded to by meekly slapping her hand against his own, accompanied by a nervous laughter.

"Should I... should I go talk to her?" she asked, casting a sweeping gaze past the crowd of people before making a hesitant step in the direction that Kris had fled.

"NO," said just about everyone.

"Oh!" gasped the girl, and a nervous smile crept across her face. "Are you sure?"

"YES," said just about everyone.

"Oh... okay, then!" She laughed, turning to look up at Touya with those big brown eyes of hers. "I'm so sorry about that," she apologized. "Kris just... I don't know why, but it's like she hates me."

Touya stared at her incredulously. "Are you kidding me?" he asked, clasping his hands together in front of his chest. "You probably saved my life just now!" If he was a little less reserved, he might have actually gotten down on his knees and bowed down to her right then and there.

The girl giggled, bringing a hand to her cheek to hide the traces of a blush. "Oh, no, stop it! Really, I'm awful... she's such a poor girl..." the girl trailed off, her lower lip trembling as her gaze trailed downward. God, Kris was making people cry and she wasn't even here!

"Hey... hey, don't cry!" Touya started, crossing the distance to stand in front of her. "Come on... don't worry about her, she deserved it... whatever it was." In fact, Touya was still a bit confused as to what had happened, but he wasn't about to complain. The brunette sniffled and looked up at Touya, opening her mouth to protest. "And don't you dare say she didn't!" he continued, catching her off guard.

The girl's open mouth twisted into a smile and she giggled again, despite herself. "Haha... you read me like a book!" She bit her lip before smiling up at Touya "My name's Lyra, by the way," she said, "Super High School Level Social Butterfree!"

LYRA - SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL SOCIAL BUTTERFREE

"What about you?" she asked.

"Oh, me? I'm Touya. Super High School Level Lucky Ducklett," he replied with as much pride as he could muster with such a title.

Lyra didn't seem to find anything wrong with it, though- in fact, she seemed absolutely tickled pink. "That means we're both pokemon!" she chirped, clasping her hands together in delight. "If that's not a sign, I don't know what is! Hey... if you still want someone to show you around, I could probably help out. You know... if my title's anything to go by."

Things were finally looking up. Everyone was starting to disperse back to their individual groups. Kris was still nowhere to be found. So Touya smiled, nodded, and said, "Sure!"

"Alright!" Lyra cheered, grabbing for Touya's hand much more gently than Kris had. "Okay, first off... you've already met Red and Green. Hm..." she scanned the entrance hall for a new face. "Ah! You see those two over there, the rugged guy and the one in the suit?"

Following the discreet gesture of Lyra's head, he saw two men standing apart from everyone else, talking to each other with very little room between them. "Yeah," Touya said. The taller one also had blue hair, but it was light to the point of almost being silvery, not unlike his pristine white suit, complete with an emblem on his shirt pocket that was unreadable from the distance.

"The tall one's Archer," Lyra whispered, "and the shorter one's Proton." The shorter one was not all that much shorter, but stood with a slouch. He, in contrast to Archer, was wearing a uniform of sorts that was almost entirely black, accented with stripes of yellow. He was scrappy in appearance, striking Touya immediately as the sort who would pick fights- and the sort that he wouldn't want to end up in a fight with.

"They look like they're up to no good," observed Touya, and indeed, the way that Proton kept glancing over his shoulder and shifting his weight around gave that very impression.

Lyra nodded. "Yeah, get this- I heard they're members of Team Rocket!"

Touya jumped, looking at the two already suspicious men in a whole new light. Coupled with news about Red's heroism, tales of Team Rocket had spread far. "No," he said in disbelief.

"Yes!" Lyra assured.

"What are they doing here? Surely they can't have been invited!"

"That's the thing!" Lyra continued, "they were! Archer's the Super High School Level Cold Blood, and Proton's the Super High School Level Sadist. It said so right on the forums!"

ARCHER - SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL COLD BLOOD

PROTON - SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL SADIST

At their names alone, Touya gulped. "They don't sound very friendly," he mumbled, tugging at the collar of his jacket.

"Yeah, no kidding," Lyra agreed.

"U-um," excuse me," said a quiet voice. Touya and Lyra turned around to see a trembling girl with pale pink hair.

"Yes?" asked Lyra.

"Well, I, um... I saw the way you stood up to that girl before..." she mumbled, looking intently at her own two feet as she spoke. "I, I... um, I, uh, I just wanted to say... that was super brave of you!" She bowed low, her entire face being hidden beneath the wide brim of her white hat.

Lyra laughed, scratching the back of her head. "Oh, no, really, it was nothing! Haha, I was just trying to be nice!"

The pink-haired girl was still shaking, but at least she was smiling as she stood back up straight. "W-well, whatever you did, thank you!" she said, her voice still soft and airy. But that smile... something about it seemed familiar.

"Hey... what's your name?" Touya asked. It wasn't inconceivable that he would run into somebody famous in this entrance hall- after all, he had already run into a gym leader, a Champion, and a member of the Unova Elite Four.

"U-um, I'm Yancy," stuttered the pink-haired girl. "Super High School Level... B-Baker!"

YANCY - SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL BAKER

Well, that didn't do Touya any good. He never really watched those cooking channels, but he still felt like he knew the girl from somewhere.

"N-no!" she exclaimed no more than a second later. "I mean, uh... Super High School Level... S-Super High School Level... T-Taste Tester? No... Super... Um..." Her already wide eyes went wider before she squeezed them shut. "I, um... I don't remember!" she finally squeaked, crossing her arms in front of her and squeezing her eyes shut.

YANCY - SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL ?

Lyra laughed nervously, stepping back to stand a little closer to Touya. "Well... that's okay!" she tried to reassure her.

"Yeah!" Touya chimed in, doing his best to mimic Lyra's cheeriness. If a social butterfree could manage so well amongst all of these celebrities, then why couldn't a lucky ducklett? "We're all a little stressed out from, uh... whatever's going on... so it's completely okay. Take your time!" And then he smiled at Yancy, doing his best to come across as nothing but benign.

"I'm sorry, I have to go!" squeaked Yancy, before she pulled the brim of her hat as far down as she could and ran the opposite direction.

Touya deflated.

That didn't work out well at all.

"...oh," Touya vocalized, his shoulders sagging. He supposed that he was the Super High School Level Lucky Ducklett, and not the Super High School Level Social Butterfree, for a reason.

"Oh, don't worry about it!" Lyra said, chipper as always. "You're probably right. The stress is just getting to everybody! I mean... waking up in a scary dark school when you're supposed to be going to a conference... it gives me the creeps!"

Touya perked up. "You woke up here, too?"

Lyra nodded her head, accompanied by a verbal, "Mmhmm," followed by a breathy, "everyone did. Pretty rude, if you ask me."

"Rude?" Touya repeated. He could think of a few words to describe the situation- bizarre, creepy, downright mental- but 'rude' was not one of them.

"Yeah, rude!" Lyra huffed. "Pulling some sort of prank on us like that... when we're supposed to be these super special guests at this prestigious conference, or whatever it is! Some guy in charge has got a terrible sense of humour." She sniffed, a pout crossing her face.

"Hey, Lyra!" called a voice- Touya recognized it as Janine's, and the two of them turned to face the purple-haired girl. She was standing by the large metal plate that blocked the door, along with Bill and two other faces that Touya didn't recognize. "Come here for a sec!"

Immediately the pout washed away from Lyra's face and she glanced up at Touya. "Alright, let's go introduce you!" she said with a practiced grin.

Touya nodded. "I already know Bill and Janine, though," he said as she led him over there. Her only response was a nod.

"What can I do you for?" Lyra asked as she slowed to a stop, joining the group. The two men in the group- Bill, and a younger boy with piercing red eyes and a mess of dark blue hair- were bickering, and it came as a surprise for Touya to hear Bill speak up.

"I don't care what you say- you're taking too long!" shouted the stranger. "If you're the Super High School Level Engineer, then why isn't this wall down yet?!"

"Look, I reckon this here contraption's a mighty fine piece of work," replied Bill. "We can't jus' go bashin' our heads against it and hopin' it'll work out!"

"At least that might get us somewhere!" snapped the stranger, and without warning he drew his hand back, clenched it into a fist, and punched the metal, hard.

A loud, metallic clang rang out through the entrance hall, followed a moment later by the boy's colourful vocabulary of cuss words.

"Y'happy now, stretch?" mumbled Bill, barely audible over the sound of the passionate swearing.

"God dammit, Hugh," muttered a girl that Touya didn't recognize- her striking white hair was pulled into a high, spiky ponytail, showing off her pale blue eyes and her freckled face. "Not again." She was short- maybe even shorter than Kris- and Touya recognized her distinctive appearance immediately. "Hey, Lyra," she said, turning to face the brunette. "Can ya do something about those two before they up and kill each other?"

"Oh, gosh, guys," Lyra laughed good-naturedly. "I'll do my best, but I don't know if I can do that much!" She stepped between the two men, placing a hand on each of their chests to keep them apart.

"You're Homika, aren't you?" asked Touya.

The freckled girl raised an eyebrow in Touya's direction. "Yeah," she said curtly. "Who's askin'?"

Touya decided to ignore the harsh tone- after all, he knew at least a little about her. "I'm Touya, Super High School Level Lucky Ducklett. I'm from Nuvema Town! "

"Ah!" Homika exclaimed in recognition. "You're all the way on the other side of the region, right? Never been there m'self. Too small for concerts." She grinned and looked skyward for a moment, before her gaze snapped back to Touya's. "You a fan?" Touya nodded he head enthusiastically, and Homika let out a bout of appreciative laughter. "I guess I don't have to tell ya what I'm here for, then do I?"

"Nah, I've got a pretty good idea," Touya said.

HOMIKA - SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL ROCK STAR

"Hugh, your hand's practically turning purple..." Touya overheard Lyra say.

"Pain is weakness leaving the body!" Hugh chanted, although he was still wincing and holding his wounded hand. "I have to get us out of here!"

"And that idiot," said Homika, stepping up next to Touya, "is Hugh. Super High School Level Vigilante."

HUGH - SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL VIGILANTE

"But if you ask me, Super High School Level Dumbass would fit better," Homika chuckled. Touya didn't exactly have any means to protest, so he chuckled too.

And that was everyone- with that, Touya had acquainted himself, at least second-handedly, with everyone in the entrance hall. By now Caitlin had joined the crowds, standing alone by the entrance and showing no interest in moving. Kris never returned to the entrance hall, and as far as he could tell, Akuroma never even set foot inside, but Touya was just fine with that: he didn't have any particular beef with the scientist, but if he was related to Kris in any way, he was more than certain that he wanted nothing to do with him.

He was just about to turn back to check on Lyra when a voice called across the entrance hall. "We're back, everyone!" And Touya froze.

"About time!" Hugh shouted, forgetting his argument with Bill and bolting for the two individuals that had just walked in from the hallway. He stopped just a short distance in front of them, but he still shifted his weight from one foot to the next impatiently. "Did you find anything?!" he demanded.

"No, nothing," said the man in the duo- his hair was tea green and long, tied in a messy ponytail that cascaded down his back. He spoke fast and appeared uncomfortable at Hugh's closeness. But it was hard for Touya to even pay attention to the green-haired man- his gaze was trained on the brunette that stood by his side.

"Ugh, then we wasted our time!" shouted Hugh, stomping his foot. "We could've been out of here by now if you two hadn't wandered off!"

"Look, Hugh, I get it, you wanna figure out what's going on just like everyone else," said the brunette- her long, wavy hair was also tied back in a ponytail, woven through her pink-and-white cap that matched Touya's. "We went off to see if there was a back door- and there is one, but it's got another metal plate over it, so we're screwed there, too. Hey, Bill, any luck figuring out that door?"

At this point the girl's gaze traveled over to where Touya stood. He watched her scan the crowd for Bill. He watched her notice him, move past him, and then, just when Touya's heart was about to shatter, her brilliant blue eyes snapped back to him.

"Touya?!" she called, a huge grin spreading across her face. She charged in Touya's direction, not even stopping until after she had already come toe-to-toe with him, resulting in the two of them stumbling and falling against the metal plate.

But Touya couldn't even complain about his head hurting, because Touko was here, attending the conference, and she recognized him.

"What are you doing here?!" she asked excitedly, making no move to get up and instead keeping him awkwardly pinned against the metal- and Touya didn't even mind.

"Touko, I-" he started, but his voice cracked. "Super High School Level Lucky Ducklett!" he announced, and in that moment, he really was the luckiest ducklett alive. "What about you?"

"Super High School Level Athelete, man!" she replied.

TOUKO - SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL ATHELETE

"But aw man, bro, that's awesome!" Touko cheered, playfully punching him in the arm before stepping back so he could get up. Only when Touya did, brushing his shoulder against hers, did he blush at the close proximity. "Dude, I don't care what's going on- I am so hyped for this conference now!"

From somewhere beside him, Touya heard Lyra go "tch," but before he could respond, the green haired man had approached, tailing along behind Touko swiftly and silently. "Your cheeks are flushed," he observed, pressing the back of his hand against Touya's cheek. "You might be coming down with a fever."

Touya went tense at the bad touch, vocalizing something akin to "waugh," but not being sure what exactly to do. This stranger had come between him and Touko, and was utterly shameless about it. "U-um, hey," he tried to protest, but instead the man leaned in close and looked Touya intently in the eye.

"Are you a pokemon trainer?" he asked swiftly, and waited for only a brief moment- not nearly enough time for Touya to respond in the negatory- before he continued on. "You look an awful lot like Touko," he observed. Then he reared back, craning his head to look back at the brunette. "Touko, who is this?"

Touko, in turn, laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of her neck. "Ahaha... that's Touya, N. He's a... a friend of mine, and I don't... thiiiiink he's a pokemon trainer? Unless something's changed?"

A friend?

"No," said Touya, because in his overwhelmed state he couldn't think to say anything more eloquent. "Nothing's changed."

When Touko left all those months ago to embark on her pokemon journey, Touya had stayed behind. 'It's not really my thing,' had been his reasoning, and even though Touko had protested, in the end she set off on her own. She had promised to keep in touch via X-Transceiver, but after the first few nightly calls, they suddenly became more and more spread apart, and more and more brief. And before Touya knew it, Touko wasn't calling at all.

"I see," said N, and just like that he stepped back, circling back around Touko like some sort of watch dog. "Yes, there is definitely a different feel to him," he mused, still talking very fast. "He would be just like every other trainer; I'm sure of it." Then his long strides took him right back to Touya, and he removed his own black and white cap and bowed. "Thank you, Touya; you recognized your inadequacy as a trainer and scarified your menial journey for the sake of my friends. You are exactly the type of person that I hope will lead this new world!"

Touya stared, even more overwhelmed than before. "...buh," he said, slowly turning to look to Touko for an answer to one of his countless questions, which had all arisen in the past two minutes.

"Ehehe," Touko laughed. "Uh... Touya, this is N," she introduced. "He's here as the Super High School Level Pokemon Whisperer."

N - SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL POKEMON WHISPERER

"I, uh... I see," said Touya, scooting to the side and away from the still-bowing N. What a name, he thought, but didn't say anything. Mostly because he was more conscientious than certain other blue-haired people, but also because Lyra took it upon herself to speak up first.

"Wow, Touya!" she said, catching him as he slunk along the wall. "I didn't know you knew Touko! That's so cool- and you two look so much alike! Are you twins?"

Touko rolled her eyes good-spiritedly, and Touya was hit with a wave of nostalgia. He remembered people back in Nuvema Town being baffled by their differing surnames- in fact, their exact opposite surnames, Touya Black and Touko White. Ever since they were little, they'd been believed to be siblings, if not twins. But they weren't related, even distantly- and their uncanny similarities in appearance became one of the great mysteries of Nuvema. (Some of the other great mysteries were how Cheren could comfortably wear those skinny jeans, and Bianca, but that's neither here nor there.)

"Aw, not this again," Touko mock-groaned, the smile on her face betraying her amusement. "Nah, we just grew up next to each other! There's gotta be something in the water, for both of us to grow up looking this gorgeous." And with that, she reached over, grabbing Touya by the shoulder and wrangling him in, positioning his face right next to hers for comparison. "See? Gorgeous."

Lyra clapped her hands and laughed. "That's amazing!" she lauded.

"Uh, Touko." Bill spoke up, stepping forward. "About the door."

"Right, right!" Touko pulled away, leaving Touya to stumble as he regained his balance. "What's the verdict, bro?"

Bill's gaze shifted downwards. "Ah can't even figure out where ta start," he admitted. "Ah'm mighty sorry."

Touko sighed lightly. "Drat," she said. "Well, no worries. We'll just have to keep trying!"

"Don't be absurd," sounded Caitlin, as she approached with nearly silent footsteps. "We are quite the talented group. If these doors were meant to be opened, we would have opened them by now."

A heavy silence hung over the small group, as each individual struggled to find something to say.

"I concur," said N. He had managed to approach without being noticed, which was quite the feat considering his outlandish hair colour and his astounding height. "There will always be a solution to the puzzle. If there isn't a solution, then the pieces have not been uncovered in their entirety." He tilted his head towards Touko, smiling at her. "We will solve the puzzle when it is meant to be solved. No sooner, and no later."

And just as N spoke those words- just as everyone's nerves began to calm- it began.

Ding dong, ding dong.

A chime played, sounding all around the entrance hall. And just as suddenly as the chime had played, the harsh sound of feedback echoed around the room, loud enough for Touya and a few others to press their hands to their ears. "Aaaah- aaaah-" said a voice that Touya didn't recognize. "Mic test, mic test! This is a school announcement!"

As the new voice spoke, the feedback petered out, allowing for the voice to be heard more clearly. It was a light, carefree voice that didn't fit the environment in the slightest. It was unnerving, like the echo of laughter at the scene of a crime.

The voice poured in from the speakers, positioned at all four corners of the entrance hall. "Ehh, can they hear me?" it proceeded to ask. "Is this thing on? Pat, pat!"

Muffled sounds of the stranger presumably hitting the microphone sounded through the room, as people hesitantly removed their hands from their ears. "Ehh... in any case," continued the voice, "attention all conference attendees! We would like to begin with opening remarks, so please gather in the conference room as soon as possible." The announcement rang out around the room as the voice went silent for a moment, before adding, almost as an afterthought, "And with that, I welcome you all!"

And then the speakers shut off, leaving those in the entrance hall in silence. Touya exchanged glances with Touko, who, in turn, exchanged glances with N.

"Well?" called Hugh impatiently. "Let's get moving!" And before anyone could even respond, he took off down the hallway.

Lyra smiled, clasping her hands in front of her chest. "Called it! I knew it was a prank," she announced. "I guess I just have a knack for these things." She looked over her shoulder at Touya. "We should get going, shouldn't we?" she invited, gesturing for him to follow.

"I'll, uh, meet you there in a little bit," Touya said. Lyra held his gaze for a short moment, almost as if she might have been challenging him- but then she blinked and shifted her gaze towards the other members in the group.

"Haha, alright," she laughed. "Anyone else wanna come with?"

Bill and Homika peeled away with Lyra, talking amongst themselves in hushed whispers. "Don't be a slowpoke, okay?" Lyra called before turning back to leave. Touko shifted, brushing her shoulder against Touya's, wordlessly expressing that she was going to wait, too.

"Wh-why is everyone leaving so quickly...?" Yancy stuttered, her voice high pitched and distressed as she tugged and twisted the hem of her shirt nervously. She went unanswered.

"Come along, Proton," said a voice, bored and uninterested. Touya saw a blur of white move past him, followed shortly after by a blur of black. Archer and Proton had finally moved from their corner, it seemed.

"Keh!" scoffed Proton as he followed behind Archer, slightly slouched with his hands thrust in his pockets. He spat on the ground as he walked, cast a hateful glare around the room, and disappeared down the hallway after Archer.

Across the room, Red was staring after the two Rockets with such hatred that Touya could practically feel it radiating off of him, even from this great distance. He scowled, his shoulders hunched, his raven hair falling in front of his eyes.

Green tugged his shirt free from Red's grip, which had tightened considerably when the Rockets passed. "I'm going on ahead," he said, more to Red than to anybody else. He put on a practiced, confident smirk and strolled towards the hallway. "Smell ya later," he said, saluting with two fingers as he bid farewell.

An almost inaudible pitter-patter of footsteps sounded as Yancy took off, skittering after Green. "W-wait, please, I'm coming too!" The brunet didn't slow to wait for her.

Those left in the entrance hall were split into two clear groups, if you could call them that. Touya, Touko, N, Janine, and Caitlin stood mostly clumped together by the large metal plate, while Red stood by his lonesome on the far side.

"This doesn't seem right," muttered Janine.

"Yeah," Touko agreed. "This is weird. It's like it's the same thing for everyone..."

"You, too?" Touya asked.

"Yeah," Janine nodded. "Right when I got in the entrance hall, I fell asleep, or something. Then I woke up in a classroom, all of my stuff was gone, and all I had to go by was a note talking about the conference."

"Wait-" Touya started, his left hand instantly reaching for his right wrist. His eyes widened as he realized that his X-Transceiver was no longer there. His mom was going to kill him if he lost that thing! His bag was also gone, as well as everything that he had stored in his pockets. "Where's my stuff?!"

Touko cast him a sympathetic look and shrugged. "I don't know," she said apologetically. "All of my stuff's gone... my pokemon, too..."

N and Caitlin seemed calm- N's calmness exuded confidence, while Caitlin's seemed to stem more from her indifference. "It's liberation, Touko," said N, circling outside the group to place a hand on her shoulder. "This conference is for progress, is it not? Thus, it's only logical for us to embrace the way of the new world."

Touya blinked hard in N's direction. "...oooor, we could have been robbed blind," he suggested.

"Maybe they just don't want battles going on during the conference?" Janine suggested, furrowing her brow. "But that wouldn't explain the rest of our stuff... hm..."

"Whatever the case," Caitlin spoke up, her hands still folded neatly in front of her, "we'll learn nothing if we remain here. I propose that we listen to that announcement and proceed to the conference hall."

Caitlin's tranquility was almost contagious enough to calm Touya's sinking, racing heart- almost. "I guess," he agreed weakly. After all, it wasn't like he had any better ideas.

Just like earlier, Caitlin's lips curled into a practiced smile. "Then let us go," she said.

The ragtag group started towards the hallway. "Hey, Red," Touko called. Touya turned to look back at the silent trainer- he had honestly forgotten that Red was even still in the room. The trainer stirred when his name was called. He flexed his hands and looked up, quirking an eyebrow in a silent question.

"We're all heading to the conference hall," Touko explained, indicating the group with a broad gesture. "Wanna come?"

Red seemed to weigh his options for a moment- his crimson gaze traveled skyward as he thought, before he nodded and joined the group with a few long strides.

"Champion Red," Caitlin addressed as he approached, and she bowed her head in his direction. "It is truly an honour."

Red tilted his head forward, just slightly, and said nothing.

"Alright," Touko announced, making her way to the front of the group. "The conference room was right by the school store, right?" N nodded in the affirmative. "Cool. Then I'll lead the way!"

Despite Touko's enthusiasm, Touya was still left feeling uneasy. Yes, he was reunited with Touko. And yes, he was feeling more at ease around these Super High School Level conference attendees than he had anticipated. But the oddities surrounding the situation suffocated any excitement that he might have otherwise felt.

His feet carried him with the crowd in silence, and before he knew it, Touko had led them to a pair of grand doors. "Non Progredi est Regredi" was engraved along the top of the doorway, shimmering with hints of gold.

The group slowed to a stop. "Well... here we are," said Touko. Her enthusiasm had diminished considerably. If Touya didn't know her any better, he would think that she even sounded... meek. "But it... didn't feel this suffocating, before..."

"I guess we should go in, huh?" said Janine.

"To not go forwards is to go backwards," said N.

"Well said," said Janine.

N cast her a sidelong glance. "It's what's written above the doors," he explained. "Though I suppose the sentiment does have merit."

The sentiment did nothing to inspire Touya. His feet were rooted firmly to the ground, his gaze trained on the doorknobs in front of him, his hands shoved in his pockets. "It's so... depressing, isn't it?" he asked to no one in particular. "For Hope's Academy, I thought it would be... brighter."

He was caught off guard as somebody reached for his hand, tugging it out of his pocket and entwining his fingers with hers. "Whatever's going on," said Touko, brushing her arm against his and giving his hand a firm squeeze, "they're right. We've just gotta press on. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best, right?"

Touya swallowed to wet his dry throat. "Right," he agreed, trying his best to sound as sure as she did. But the fact of the matter was that he was still engulfed in uneasiness and fear.

"Let's proceed," suggested Caitlin, and the crowd parted to allow her to approach the doors. She brushed past Touya, not even bothering to glance in his direction. She stopped in front of the doors, her gown billowing around her as she stood still for a long moment, her hands folded in front of her. "...No, don't get up," she said after a while. Was that a bite of sarcasm Touya heard in her usually controlled tone? "I'll get it."

The young man felt a strange sort of energy ripple through the air as Caitlin reached for the door, opening it with too much ease for its size and bulk. A cacophony of whispers and murmurs rushed out the door along with a blast of cool air. Touya instinctively squeezed Touko's hand.

Caitlin entered the room first, followed by Janine, then Red, and then, after a moment's hesitation, N. "We're the last ones," Touko said softly. "Let's go."

And with that, despite all of the uneasiness and fear, and despite his heart pounding in his chest, and despite the fact that Touya wanted nothing more than to go back to his small hometown of Nuvema, the two of them entered the conference room.