Hey guys, KKid here, for another exciting chapter of Shadow Wood Academy! We're winding the clock back a bit, because, despite what the last chapter led you to believe, Zale isn't the only main character to watch. And in order to meet them, we have to go a bit further back in that train's journey. So sit back and enjoy!
Ketchum Kid
P.S.: That guy who appears at the end of the story…yeah, I have no idea who he is either.
Chapter 2: Of Freshmen and Fresh People
In recent years, the end of the summer brings a rather unique event to the region of Johto. Not surprisingly, this has to do with Shadow Wood Academy. The day before the opening of the school year, two fast trains depart for the Academy, one from Lilycove City in Hoenn, and another from Sunnyshore Sity in Sinnoh. Each train stops at any city or town where a student of Shadow Wood Academy lives nearby. The trains meet up in Violet City, and combine for the final leg over the mountains towards the ruins of Azalea Town, where their lives as students began. The trains are heavily guarded to protect from Shadow Pokémon attacks, making this the only safe way for students to enter the Academy.
It was well into the night on this very day, at Olivine Central Station, where a boy was waiting with his family for this very train. He was pulling along two large suitcases, which rolled along with him down the platform. Strapped securely to his back was a large Zanbato sword, nearly as long as he was tall.
He approached a station attendant. "Excuse me, but is this platform 3?" The attendant turned to the boy with the chocolate brown hair.
"Ah, I see you're here for the Express to Shadow Wood!" he exclaimed. "May I see your ticket?" The teen took a ticket out of his pocket, and gave it to the station attendant. The attendant scanned the ticket against his blue Pokétch. After a few seconds, he returned the ticket to the boy. "Roy Scott, I should have recognized that name. I was a senior in the high school attached to your middle school when your name started to float around the city." Roy waved him off.
"Ah, no worries, sir. I only do what anyone else would do if they had the same abilities." He noticed that the attendant was now staring behind him. He didn't need to turn around to know why. "Excuse me, but are my three siblings bothering you in any way?"
"Huh?" The attendant regained his composure. "Oh, sorry there. My parents are practically dead-set against Hybrids, so I have a habit of hesitating a bit when I see them. Personally, though, I find them fascinating."
"I see…" Roy pushed his frameless glasses against his nose. "Well, you have other passengers to worry about, so carry on."
"Will do. Good luck to all your days at Shadow Wood Academy! I know many a person and Hybrid will miss you here!" The attendant walked away to help other passengers, and Roy returned to his family. "Anyone else get an odd feeling from that guy?" Before he got an answer, his mom, Janet, embraced him into a tight hug. It was slightly awkward, since Roy was so much taller than she was.
"My little Scotti has grown up now," she commented sadly, a tear falling onto the platform "Mommy is going to miss you so much!"
"…you don't care about what I said, did you?" Roy sighed. "I'll miss you too, Mom," He gave her one last hug before she let go.
"Make me proud," she adds, giving him a kiss on the cheek. This made Roy blush.
"Mom, not in front of so many people…"
"Aw, who do ye see around here aside from ye family, Scotty me boy?" his father, Thomas, pointed out. "We can embarrass ye all we want, haha!" He slapped Roy on the back, making Roy cringe. "Make a difference out there, Scotti. Be heard, be strong, be proud. We Scots ought to stay tough, especially in this world. There's no time for us to be weak now." He ruffles his son's hair. "You know that whatever ye do is supported by all of us, so do what ye know is right, and make us proud." Roy smiled, nodding, and gave his father a thumbs-up.
"I will!" Janet cleared her throat.
"Now I know that this isn't a wedding or anything, but in honor of your acceptance and departure, we decided to give you a sort-of good luck package; something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. Kids? Time to say your goodbyes." The first to go up was boy, about Roy's age, with spiky blue hair. Out of a tiny hole in his pants was a black tail, which ended in a four-pointed yellow star.
"We're going in reverse order, actually," the boy admitted. "But before I give you the present, I want to say how much you've meant to me. Ever since you picked me up from that orphanage, you taught me that fighting isn't always the answer. And when I cut ties with those hybrid gangs that I was in, you were there to protect me when I was ambushed after school. Thanks a bunch, Roy." He embraced his foster brother.
"It's never a problem, Ricardo," Roy stated. "Help Dad out and don't cause any trouble while I'm gone, okay?" The Luxio Hybrid flashed a toothy grin, which showed off his canines.
"Only if I can still check out all of the hot girls!" he quipped, much to Roy's displeasure.
"Ricardo!" he yelled. "I said no trouble!"
"Chill out, bro!" Ricardo said, putting his hands up in defense. "I was only kidding! Maybe this will help you." He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small, blue box.
Roy took the box from his brother. "The something blue…I wonder what it is…" He opened the box. Inside was a royal-blue snowflake pendant. The teen picked up the black string, running his fingers down to the snowflake. As he looked into it, he could see the reflection from his eyes – one green, the other blue. An icy coldness emanated from the snowflake, almost as if it was real.
"No way…" he turned to Ricardo. "Where did you find this? I thought I lost it for good!" Ricardo put a hand on his side.
"It had fallen into your drawer. When I was helping you pack a few days ago, I discovered it buried underneath your socks."
"R-Really…?" Roy turned red in embarrassment. "I guess…I should stop checking the obvious places only, huh?"
"Yeah. You losing that snowflake is essentially losing the entire reason you applied to Shadow Wood Academy in the first place! I hope you didn't forget what this stands for, do you?"
"No…" he said solemnly, "I could never etch it out of my mind."
"Anyway, time's a-wasting." He turned around. "Oi, Yue, you're up next!" As Ricardo returned to his family, a girl, almost at his age and height, with long, waist-length chocolate brown hair, stepped out. She could have been his sister…if she didn't have a bushy tail sticking out of the bottom of her skirt, a mane of white fur around her neck, and ears at the top of her head that were similar to an Eevee's.
She shyly walked up to her brother. "U-Um, Roy, you know how that when I was adopted, I had been constantly bullied in school…?" Roy sighed.
"How could I? You were left besides a dumpster half-alive when I found you! If it wasn't for this…" He held the snowflake pendant. "…that's probably where you would have stayed." Yue cringed at the last part, but soon recovered.
"I…I still haven't gotten out of my shell completely yet, but you've been training me on how to use a sword alongside you. First, you were accompanying me to and from school, guarding me from their assaults. Then, as I got better at that, and more proficient at my attacks, you strayed behind further and further, out of sight eventually, but still close enough to come in if needed."
"Yeah. And this year, I stopped altogether."
"Right! They still bully me from time to time, but now I'm prepared for them. And guess what? Yesterday, I was accepted onto the school fencing team!" Roy was both surprised and amazed.
"Wow, really?! That's amazing!"
"It's all thanks to you, Roy! So, um, I guess what I'm getting at is, uh…" Her eyes began to water. "…come home in one piece." Roy smiled, and wrapped his arms around her.
"Don't worry, Yue," he answered." I'll be fine. What I'm worried about most is you. Promise me that you won't let those kids bully you at school, okay?" Yue nodded her head as she pulled away.
"I will."
"Don't just say that, now. Remember, I won't be here to help you. You're going to be the lone Scottish Sword in town." He eyed her teasingly, making her giggle.
"Okay, I promise I will!"
"I believe that one. Protect Ricardo and Amy for me, especially Ricardo. I trust that he won't do anything stupid while I'm gone, but I can't always be too sure about him."
"Hey!" Ricardo burst out.
"Don't worry. I'll take care of them. Oh, and before you go-" Yue reached into her pocket "-I want you to have Asuna. Just remember to return her when you graduate." The Eevee Hybrid took out a keychain of a small, carrot-orange haired chibi-girl doll. Her long, long pigtails were tied up into ribbons that were decorated with bells, which clinked upon motion. At first, Roy couldn't accept it.
"Chibi-Asuna? Yue, I can't take that with me! I like Negima and all, but that was found along with you! It's the only link to your past!" He tried to give it back to Yue, but she refused.
"I'm telling you to take it with you. I'm done with my past; I'll live my life here, with all of you guys. Besides, she has your eyes." Roy finally took the doll into his hands, holding it as if it is the most precious thing in the whole world.
"Alright, if you say so," he assured her. "I'll take good care of her. In fact…" He took out a small metal chain, and ran it through the loop of the keychain. "...I had a feeling you were going to give this to me. So I'll place her in the one place I'll always remember her." He took out his sword, its silver edge and black blade glistening in the light of the station. He then looped the metal chain around the hilt of the sword, and attached the ends together. Roy then took a few hacks in the air, to see how it would hold up. The chain bounced, but thanks to an expanded outcropping at the edge of the hilt and the tight loop of the chain, it couldn't slide off. "Works well." Yue clapped her hands in happiness.
"It's perfect, Scotti! Thank you!" She hugged him one last time, before returning to her family.
"No, thank you…" He felt a tug on his pants leg. "Huh?" Looking down, he found the culprit to be a small girl, about six years in age. She was wearing a dress as well; after all, how else could six red tails fit through the pants of a child who can't yet tie her shoes? In addition, she was holding a sizeable box in her hands, about the length and width of a head.
Roy smiled, and bent down to the girl's height. "Hey, Amy."
"Are you leaving, Scotti?" she asked, giving Roy large, puppy-dog eyes. Roy could only keep his smile and ruffled her long, ginger hair.
"Yes, I am," he answered, giving Amy a hug. "But not for good. I'll be back, squirt. I promise. Help Mom and Yue out at home, and help Dad keep Ricardo out of trouble."
"I'm not that bad, am I?" Ricardo protests.
"Yes!" Yue and Roy blurted out together, making the rest of the family laugh.
"I will," Amy nodded. "And don't forget to write to your favorite sister."
"I will," Roy replied with a chuckle.
"Where's Negi?" she asked. "I want to say goodbye to him one last time." Roy realized something.
"I knew we were missing somebody," he said. Reaching for his belt, he took out a white Premier Ball that had been attached there. "Evocem Vos, Negi!" The Premier Ball opened with a sparkle, and right into Amy's arms appeared a Pikachu. A bit of a curiosity, it was more of a golden yellow than the usual electric yellow, and its ears were gray instead of black.
"Pikachu!" it chirped.
"Hey there, Negi!" Amy greeted, giving him a hug. "I'm going to miss you, pal."
"Cha, Pikachu-pi-pikachu-pi. Chu-chu-pikapi, pi-chu."
"You're right, it's not a goodbye yet, and speaking of parting, Brother, here's something for you." She handed Roy the box, which Negi was resting on. "I helped pick it out."
"For me?" He eyed the box. "These presents seem to be getting bigger as we go down the list. I wonder how they're hiding the 'something old.'" He didn't hear Ricardo's snicker. "Negi, why don't you have a crack at this?" The Pikachu made a salute at its trainer.
"Chu!" Negi opened up the packaging, and then dived into the box. A second later, the top of the box opened, revealing a black baseball cap. On the front of the hat was a yellow outline of a chibi-Pikachu. "Chaa!" If Roy didn't know that Negi was under the hat, he could have sworn that the hat was speaking to him.
"Woah!" he said in amazement. "So cool!" He took the hat off of his Pikachu, and placed it on his head. "How does it look, guys?"
"Fits you perfectly, dear," Janet answered him.
"Yeah!" Ricardo added. "It matches you perfectly!"
"Thank you so much, Amy!" Roy thanked, drawing his sister into one last hug. "I'm going to miss you, squirt. Be good for me!"
"I will, Scotti!" She returned to Janet, as Roy stood up once again. Negi crawled up his arm, taking a perch on top of the teen's new hat.
"So we have something blue, something borrowed, and something new. Now for something old" He paused. "Come to think of it, it's getting pretty close to arrival time, and I've yet to see –"
"Pikapi!" Roy looked down the platform towards where Negi was pointing. Running down the platform was a girl, a little shorter than him, with feathery, dark-blonde hair that fell to her chest. Her angelic-blue eyes bobbed up and down, as she waved her hand in a greeting towards Roy.
"Scotti! Hey!" The girl slowed to a stop in front of him, her large suitcase rolling behind her.
"Skyler!" Roy said with a grin. "I was getting worried that you weren't coming!" The girl bent down with her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. "Geez, you need to get in shape, Sky!"
"Shut up!" Skyler wheezed, slapping his arm. "The bus was late getting here! It's not like I could fly or anything!" Roy started to laugh. "Huh?"
"Oh, nothing!" Roy replied with a grin. Skyler adjusted her denim jacket and looked at Roy's hat.
"Cool hat there, Scotti," she complimented. Suddenly, a wave of horror sunk into her. She turned around. "Oh no! Am I too late, Mrs. Scott?" Janet shook her head.
"You're just in time, Sky!" she replied. Roy was confused.
"In time for what?" he asked. Skyler turned around.
"Jeez, are you that dense there?" She placed her hands on her hips. "I'm the something old!"
"Huh?" Roy stated in surprise. "You?"
"What, we haven't known each other long enough? I don't have much in ways of a family besides you guys anyway." She bowed. "I leave you in my care!"
Roy blinked for a moment, the looked behind her towards his parents. "You went all out in planning this, didn't you?" Thomas grinned.
"What, we can't go all out for our son?" he asked. Roy smiled.
"It's perfect." He returned to Skylar. "Well, I guess I have two Pokémon to take care of now." This earned him another playful slap on the arm.
"Hey! Don't put me into a Pokéball now!" The two laughed, before banging their arms together and embracing. As they did, Roy noticed a light in the distance. It was slowly growing closer, accompanied by a chuffing sound.
"Looks like our ride's here," he noted. Everyone watched as the train whistled, before pulling onto their track. It was a majestic blue locomotive, with four front wheels, and six driving wheels. It hissed and squealed as it slowed to a stop, carrying a long rake of coaches behind it.
"Wow…" Amy awed. The locomotive stopped several yards away from them.
"That's the power of the 'Henry' Class," Ricardo stated. "I read that it used to be the backbone of the Mainland Railways before they electrified." The coach doors opened, beckoning Roy and Skyler to enter.
"Well, this is it for now," Roy said.
"Yes," Janet sighed.
"Good luck, ye two!" Thomas stated. They all hugged one last time.
"We'll see you in a year!" Skylar promised, as the two walked over to the open train door. The porter helped them with their luggage, and they entered the train car. The car was crowded, but there were still several seats left.
"Look," Skylar pointed. "There's one that's by your parents!" The two hurried to claim the seat. Once they did, Roy opened the window, and they waved to his family. A few minutes later, they saw the station attendant on the platform signal to the engine. Two quick blasts of the whistle were followed by the coach jerking. They were now on the move.
"Goodbye!" The two yelled out.
"Pika-pika!"
"We'll miss you!" Janet called out.
"Be sure to write to us!" Yue asked.
"And make sure not to let any of us down!" Ricardo added.
"We will!" Roy promised. They waved until the train was over the station points, and out of sight of the platform. The window was closed, and Roy began to put their luggage onto the overhead racks. He placed his sword up there as well.
"So…I guess this is it, huh?" Skyler mumbled. Roy nodded.
"Yeah. By the time the sun rises, we'll be attending one of the most prestigious schools in the world. I heard that it's so tough that if you don't give one-hundred and ten percent effort, you might as well drop out now."
"Are you feeling a little nervous?" his friend asked.
"A little bit," he admitted. "But I know Negi and I can handle the pressure. You?" Skyler nodded her head in reply, and smiled.
"If you say that you can handle it, then it should be perfectly fine for me."
"Why? Because I'll take out all of the tough opponents away from you?" That comment gave him a playful punch from Skyler.
"You jerk..."
I~+*=*+~I
A few hours later, along with many miles to the east, found the two trains at the combination point, Violet City Central Terminal. The Sinnoh Train had arrived first, and some of its passengers were already on the platform to get some fresh air by the time that the Hoenn train arrived. The plan at the station was that as the two locomotives were refueled by Water Pokémon, a diesel switcher would switch the Hoenn train onto the back of the Sinnoh train. The two engines would return to the head of the train, and they would get underway for the final leg over the mountains.
While this was happening, two Hybrids walked around the platform, taking in the students that were out or were stepping out onto the platform. One of them was a tall, muscular Duskull Hybrid; The other, a slightly shorter, female Absol Hybrid with unnaturally dark, almost black, purple hair.
"Meh, look at all these filthy humans, Tuneli" the Duskull Hybrid commented, adjusting the skull mask over his face. Tuenli shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly as a tan hand covered up a yawn.
"Eh, I wouldn't worry too much, Blake," she muttered, brushing her two long bangs out of her face. "I can see more than a few of our kind in here." Blake's ashen-grey, skeletal-like hands tighten into fists.
"As if there weren't already a lot of human students here already, Trick," he sneered, apparently using a nickname of hers. "The train you were on stopped in Sinnoh, Alima, Fiore, and Kanto. My train is from Hoenn, Jotho, and other parts of The Island. And even more people from Unova, Orre, and other places around the world are boarding here. Considering the amount of people going to this one school, a lot of applications were turned down, and many of them were probably us." Tuenli's bored, pitch-black eyes stared at the locomotive of their train, a 4-6-2 'Gordon' class. A worker was uncoupling it from the train.
"Well, at least we all weren't crammed on one big happy train ride over the entire country," she noted. "I just wish that we could just hurry up with this combine and get over to the academy." She paused. "Man, I wish we were still on that boat that ferried the train between Alima and The Island. That way, I could have a lot more fun with the people on there." Blake eyed her suspiciously.
"Since I wasn't there, enlighten me with what you did." Tuenli snickered, as a wide, all-knowing grin appeared on her face.
"What did I do? I had a blast! I managed to lock some idiot, human girls in a closet by telling them that Drew Hayden was there and wanted to play seven minutes in heaven with each and every one of them. They completely forgot that he was married to that May girl! I also pulled the bucket-of-water-on-top-of-the-door trick on someone, and he totally fell for it! I also scared the crap out of this random guy by popping up out of nowhere. Hehe, what a classic!" A mischievous twinkle appeared in her eyes, and she slyly rubbed her hands together. "I wonder what I can do once we get on the train."
"You do a fine job retaining your reputation throughout this," Blake sarcastically congratulated. "What are you going to do this time?"
"It's what I already did. I rigged the train a bit so that bubbles come out the train's funnel." The Duskull Hybrid was surprised.
"You didn't-" Just then, the engine started to pull away from the coaches. As it did so, bubbles begin to shoot out of its funnel, cutting Blake off mid-sentence. Students and workers alike looked around in confusion as a rain of bubbles descended lazily around the station.
"Hello?" the engineer said in surprise. "What's gotten into you, Gordon? We better inspect that funnel when we reach the refuel point; I'm sure that my Blaziken can do the trick…" Blake sighed exasperatedly, and rubbed his head.
"…I'm not going to even ask about the physics behind that…" he muttered. Tuneli simply smiled.
"They don't call us the Disaster Pokemon for nothing now, do they?"
"But you do realize that, this time, you've tampered with school property, right?" The girl simply waved him off nonchalantly.
"You're such a party-pooper, Blakey; it's just soap and water. As long as I'm not expelled, it's all harmless fun and games. Besides, who doesn't love bubbles?" She started to walk faster, and passed another passenger, a human girl. Immediately, something within Blake didn't like the girl with choppy, peacock blue and brown chest-length hair, with side-swept bangs that appeared to be held in by a few rhinestone-studded bobby pins. Soon, he found out why. The Duskull Hybrid's eyes widened in horror when the girl took out a pink bottle from her belt, and proceeded to pour a pink, gooey liquid right into Tuenli's path.
"Tuneli, look out!" But he was too late. As Tuneli turned back to see what was wrong, she stepped onto the puddle. Her foot slipped backwards, and she stumbled forward. A few steps later, she slammed into another person, knocking them both to the ground.
"What the hell?!" the teen, who was muscular and had raven-black hair, growled, and he ruthlessly pushed Tuenli off. "Watch where you're going, you freak!" He reached for his back, where a pitch-black Zanbato sword was secured. Its handle was bandage-wrapped. At an impulse, Tuenli rolled out of the way of the swing, thus preventing her from becoming mincemeat. The peacock-haired girl laughed hysterically in amusement, while Blake rushed over to Tuneli's side.
"Aw, that was so humiliating!" the girl laughed. "What a Morph! Raven, you should've seen the look on your face when that creature ran into you. Hahaha!" The girl pocketed the bottle, concealing the evidence.
"Trick, you're an Absol Hybrid, and you didn't foresee this happening?" Blake groaned. Tuneli tried to wipe the sticky, gooey liquid off herself, but to no avail.
"That's why we're called Hybrids, Blake," she retorted. "I'd like a piece of that –!"
"Filthy Morph!" The two's attention turned to the roaring teen with the Zanbato. Red and black eyes glared at them, as Raven tapped the tip of his sword onto the platform. Tuneli had accidentally created the perfect storm. With no other trains, the station staff was focused on the trains to Shadow Wood Academy, but when Tuneli's tampering had revealed itself, many of them went to help fix the locomotive. Now, the station didn't have enough staff to stop the escalating quarrel. "Aren't you going to apologize for running into me like that?"
"Why would I do that?" Tuenli snapped back, clenching her fists. "Your crazy friend spilt some freaky liquid onto the ground in front of me on purpose!"
"Tut-tut," the other girl said in mocking innocence, her doll-like face accentuating her bright, bubbly voice. "Now honestly, what would give me any reason to try and trip you? Morphs like you scare me anyway." She laughed again, irritating Tuneli to no end.
"Morph?!" she growled, gritting her teeth. "Why you little-! I ought to-!" Before Tuenli could advance on the girl, Blake held his arm out to block Tuenli.
"Quiet!" he ordered, holding her back. "I hate that derogative name as much as any other Hybrid, but that 'crazy friend' of that bastard happens to be Lollipop Lebedev." At the mention of Lolli's name, Tuenli cringed.
"You mean the Lolli Lebedev who specializes in chemical attacks?" she asked, shuddering at the thought. Blake nodded grimly.
"Oh?" Lolli smirked victoriously. "Is the big, bad morph scared of an innocent little human like me?" Blake winced at the insult, drawing upon every amount of willpower he had in order to prevent himself from pouncing on her.
"You've at least got the little part right," he chuckled, "at least in the chest." Lolli shot him a glare. "You don't have to worry about me, you'll get your due when you're not expecting it. Besides, we're classmates now, so even though I hate your weak, filthy guts, and you hate mine in return, we can't kill each other over that fact alone." Raven began to chuckle. More warning bells went off inside Blake's mind. "What's so funny, insolent human?"
"You stupid, stupid morph," Raven taunted. "Do you honestly know why I'm coming to Shadow Wood Academy in the first place?"
"Don't play dumb, red eye!" Tuenli demanded, glaring straight into Raven's eyes. "Everyone here either wants to protect the citizens of Southern Johto, find a cure for the Shadow Virus, or do both!" Raven shook his head.
"Sadly, I don't fall under any of those categories," he replied. He lifted his Zanbato out of the ground, and placed it onto his shoulder. Blake marveled at the strength that was needed to even do that. "I hate you Morphs."
"You don't need to waste your breath telling us," Blake groaned. "We've gotten the message already." Tuenli was seething in fury, but the last shred of reason inside her made her stop.
"No!" Raven continued, his anger escalating by the second. "You…you don't understand! You filthy monsters ruined my life! You took the thing that was most precious to me away, just like that! You know what I vowed to myself after that?"
"To head up to the Pokemon League and become ambassador to the Hybrids?" Tuenli guessed sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest.
"To shut the hell up?" Blake suggested, rolling his eyes.
"To go to your happy place?" Everyone stared at Lolli in confusion. "What? I'd do that in a heartbeat."
"Sadly, you three all missed the point," Raven answered, removing the Zanbato off of his shoulder. "I vowed to myself that I'm going to go to Shadow Wood Academy so that I can obtain the power to eliminate all you psychopathic freaks of nature! And since you forced the issue, I'll start with you two!"
Without any warning, he lifted his Zanbato high above his head. Tuneli and Blake gasped, and tried to run out of the way, but they suddenly found their path blocked by a massive Yanmega, emphasis on the mega in its name. The Duskull Hybrid was safe; he could simply phase through the blade if he wanted to. However, Tuneli didn't have that ability. The Absol Hybrid turned her head towards the oncoming sword, eyes wide in horror as she lifted her arms to defend herself. She closed her eyes when the Zanbato literally was within inches from her face, bracing for the painful impact, with the last thing that she heard in her life being Lolli's delighted shouts for more pain.
!KLANG!
Nothing happened for some time. Tuneli imagined that this must be how the afterlife is; a cold, desolate, dark place.
"Are you okay?" a voice asked. Tuneli was surprised. It looked so dark and bleak in this world. Maybe Arceus had…
"Tuneli!" Blake's voice now….was she in heaven? And why didn't Blake save his own life? He surely had the ability to do so.
"No…no way…"
Okay. If that Raven kid was here, then she was either in the worst pit of hell imaginable, or she was somehow still alive.
Hesitantly opens her eyes, she found that it was the latter. As well, the Zanbato sword which was mere inches away from her face was, in fact, not Raven's. This sword was a bright, glistening silver, not the midnight black that comprised up Raven's sword. In addition, she didn't remember Raven having a doll on his sword…
Roy smirked. "Whew! I'm glad to see that my arm has gotten a lot stronger." He applied force onto his sword, and knocked Raven's Zanbato away.
Blake blinked in surprise. They had just been saved by a complete stranger – a human, no less – and here he is, saying that he might not have saved them? "You mean that you didn't think that you would block Raven's attack without Trick getting injured in the process?" Roy gave a sheepish laugh, eyes still on Raven.
"Ehehe, I'd be lying if I said no," he admitted. "Considering that your friend here would have gotten hurt or much worse if I didn't step in, I think that it was a necessary but calculating risk."
"So, basically, I was saved on a hunch?" Tuenli asked in disbelief.
"Uh…yeah. Pretty much."
"Idiot…" Blake grumbled, slapping his forehead. Lolli, surprisingly, was impressed. There were twinkles in her eyes as she applauded him.
"What a genius!" she remarked. "Such rash and reckless actions…so much pain and suffering that can happen! Plus, you're rather cute!"
"I don't know what's worse," Tuneli mumbled. "This kid's recklessness or that girl's craziness." Roy waved Lolli off.
"Sorry, but a Scot like me stays on the path of righteousness. I'm flattered, but you'll need to show me something else to get my number." The psychopath girl placed her hands on her hips.
"A tough-to-get type, huh? Well, I guess my Yanmega will have to play matchmaker for us! Gristle, use Ancientpower!"
"Yan!" The monster-sized Ogre Darner Pokemon formed a large rock in front of its mouth, ready to thrust it towards the three.
"Do you have any more quick-thinking ideas?" Blake asked. Roy smiled.
"Just one," he said. He raised his left hand into the air. "My vintage attack! Volt Tackle!"
Out of seemingly nowhere, a dart of bright yellow electricity slammed into Gristle. The Yanmega yelped in surprise, its attack failing, and was forced into the platform. It tumbled into Lolli, knocking her over.
"Oof!" It took a second for her to recover. "What did you just do to my-!" She cut herself off, as the electricity around the 'dart' dissipated, sparking occasionally out of the cheeks of its source. "A shiny Pikachu?"
"Excellent timing, Negi!" Roy applauded.
"Pikachu!" The Electric Mouse Pokemon turned towards Lolli. "Pika! Pikachu-pi-pika-pikachu!"
"I'm not translating that," Blake decided. Roy decided to turn his attention back to Raven.
"A hybrid-hater, aren't you, Raven? I heard that little speech you gave earlier." Raven was still speechless.
"You…how dare you-!"
"Save it, kid," Roy ordered as he placed his Zanbato back into its holder. "Those station workers are coming back, so it might be good to put it away like I'm doing. And even without my sword, Negi here can still beat the pulp out of either you or your Pokemon. He's much faster than a normal Pikachu, you see."
"Kachu!"
"So, I've got a question for you, Raven. Do you still have some punch left in you, and risk getting arrested and expelled before even setting foot on campus? Or are you just so upset that I stopped your little crusade that you'll kindly leave these people alone? Oh, and while we're at it, don't even think of laying so much as a finger on any other Hybrid at the academy, especially when I'm a student there as well."
"Pika!" Negi hopped onto Roy's shoulder. Clenching his teeth, Raven reached for the pokéball on his belt. As he did so, a clunk was heard on the track next to them. The two trains had been coupled together. The overhead announcement system clicked on.
*ATTENTION ALL PASSENGERS OF THE SHADOW WOOD EXPRESS, THE TRAIN WILL BE DEPARTING IN FIFTEEN MINUTES. ALL PASSENGERS ON THE PLATFORM PLEASE RETURN TO THE TRAIN ON TRACK 4 AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. THE TRAIN WILL LEAVE PROMPTLY IN FIFTEEN MINUTES. THANK YOU.*
"Scotti!" Skyler ran towards the scene. "I leave for the bathroom for one minute, and you go running – huh?" Her gaze went from Roy and Negi, to Raven, then Tuneli and Blake, and finally Lolli and Bristle. "Roy? What's going on?" Lolli connected the name to something in her head.
"Roy Scott?" she mouthed in awe. Raven muttered something, and sheathed his Zanbato.
"Ngh…You win for now." He pointed at Roy. "But here's a fair warning: you've just made your first enemy here at Shadow Wood. I will not stop at my mission, and there's nothing that you or anyone else can do to convince me otherwise!" He turned around, and stormed away. Lolli watched him leave, before recalling Gristle. She got up off the platform, and walked over towards Roy, steering clear of Tuneli and Blake.
"Why did you do it?" she asked. Roy didn't understand the question.
"Excuse me?"
"Why would you intervene on behalf of a messed up, inferior, freak of nature like that?" She pointed a French-manicured finger at Tuenli. The Absol Hybrid still hadn't settled down in temper.
"You want to dance, you little iron board?!" she beckoned. "Then bring on the music!" Blake quickly grabbed Tuenli again.
"Did you forget my warning?!" he asked.
"Shaddup! I can take her!" Roy looked at the scene, and then back disapprovingly at Lolli.
"Do you seriously think of someone like her as a 'thing'?" he asked. "I mean, sure, they do look different from us humans, have powers we can only access through our Pokemon, and can achieve many things that we fail to comprehend. But as you see, they have the same emotions, the same feelings, as us. They think, they learn, they cry, they scream, all just like us." He paused impressively. "I understand the current viewpoints of Hybrids by us humans, and I'm not going to deny that they never existed. However, I will deny my support of those racist views. I don't see them as Hybrids, or 'Morphs,' as you like to call them. They're exactly like us, granted with spectacular and amazing powers that we can never achieve even with the most advanced technology. Soon, they will have their Ghandi, their King, will come, and we will realize that humans and Hybrids are not as different as they appear to be." Lolli stared blankly at Roy for a few seconds. Then, she gave him a small applaud.
"Bravo!" she replied, oozing with sarcasm. "Beautiful speech! But totally wasted on a person like me. You see, morality doesn't affect me one little bit, and to tell the truth, I only hate them because they scare the crap out of me. But you disgust me. Yeah, you're a real hottie and all, but I wish you didn't hang with those creepy morphs. I guess you haven't met any street morphs though. You're so stupid if you think that just being a morph makes them nice. They're humans gone wrong. They hurt people like normal people hurt others, and I think that one over there-" She points at Blake. "-would be one of the first to do so." She stopped for a second, and pulled closer to Roy. The girl ran a finger over his face. "And yet, I still feel attracted to you. Maybe for the reason's that wrench my stomach… " She turned on the two-inch heels of her suede ankle boots, and began to strut away. She continued to talk, however. "I will see you at the Academy, Roy Scott. If you survive up to that point, that is. Hahaha! That boy is gonna die! Die, die, die!" She walked down the platform, far away from them, and disappeared into the door of one of the coaches.
"And she calls us freaks," Tuenli muttered.
"No offense," Skyler warned, "But when you're dripping in pink ooze of…who-knows-what, I'd have to agree. What happened, anyway?"
"That psycho Lolli made me slip in a puddle of..." she sniffed her arm. "What is this even, anyway? Pepto-Bismol?" Roy chuckled.
"Maybe, but we'd better get it off of you. I'm sure we can find a Water-Type Hybrid or someone with a Water Pokemon somewhere on this train…"
I~+*=*+~I
Sure enough, an upper-classman and his Wartortle were more than happy to help. With ten minutes before departure, Tuneli was wringing out her shirt. She was rather glad that she had a change of clothing back in the coach. "Last time I walk past her without a care."
"Pika," Negi agreed.
"We'd better keep an eye on her, then," Skyler noted. Blake turned to face her and her Roy.
"Lolli's right on one count, though," he said. "I'm not a fan of you humans, and if given the right provocation, I would not hesitate to kill you. But unlike me, some hybrids wouldn't hesitate to kill you at just your mere presence alone. So be careful." Roy nods his head in response.
"Well then, I'll make sure not to get on your bad side, Mr….uh…what's your name?" The Duskull Hybrid scoffed at the question.
"None of your-"
"There you are, Blake!" Blake cringed at the sound of that female voice.
"Oh, no…" A girl with waist-long, raven-colored hair tied into a ponytail ran up towards the group. Her aviator goggles bounced over her eyes as she stopped, and she had to prop them back onto her forehead. The girl glanced between the Duskull Hybrid and Tuenli, bright amber-brown eyes eyeing both of them sternly. "Where were you two? I thought you both were following me to the station bakery here until I tripped, and saw you two weren't behind me. I had to look all over the station for you guys!" Blake merely stared at the girl, although Skyler noticed that his left eye was twitching uncontrollably beneath his mask.
"Since when did I say that we were following you, annoying human?" he retorted rudely. The girl retained her stern look. For once, Tuneli became the voice of reason.
"We were attacked by two other students named Raven and Lolli, Hakase," Tuenli explained. "Apparently, Lolli thought having someone slip on soap was funny…" The girl shifted her focus onto Tuenli, her eyes widening in surprise.
"No way! Are you serious? The Lollipop Lebedev attacked you in broad daylight, er, nightlight?" She grabbed Tuenli's shoulders and shook the Absol Hybrid violently. "How'd you two defeat them? Tell me!"
"Hey!" Blake snapped, feeling ignored. "Answer my question, you dumb human!" Nobody paid attention to him. Tuneli tried to speak
"A-A-Actual-l-l-l-ly…H-Hakase, can you st-stop sh-shaking m-me?" The girl let go of Tuenli, who quickly regained composure. "Actually, it was mostly Raven who attacked us. If it wasn't for these two,-" Tuenli points at Roy and Skyler, the two of them giggling at the trio. "-I'd been a goner." The girl turned to the two and bowed towards them.
"Thank you so much for saving Blake and Tuneli," she said. "It's nice to know that there are some people who believe Hybrids are equals."
"Er, your welcome," Roy replied. "I'm glad that –"
"And to think that there are those who want to kill them all off!" the girl continued, cutting Roy mid-sentence. The teen glanced over at Skyler, who merely shrugged. "How can people do such a thing? It's terrible!" Hearing this, Roy sighed and clutched his snowflake pendant.
"I know how you feel…" He trailed off, the icy coldness of the pendant matching his mood. The girl stopped her monologue, and realized what she had touched upon.
"Oh, I-I'm sorry…I didn't mean to make you feel a little…" Quickly, she held an outstretched brown leather-gloved hand towards him. "My name's Aliyah Mikage, from Verdanturf Town!" She jabs a thumb at Blake behind her. "Mr. Melancholy over there is Blake Charon from Fortree City."
"Get your wordings right, woman!" Blake spat. "I'm ticked off, not melancholy!"
"Quiet, you!"
"Don't tell me to-!" The verbal argument continued for a bit longer.
"Are they always like this?" Skyler asked Tuneli, watching the little quarrel.
"Yeah…" Tuenli drawled, staring at Blake and Aliyah. "I haven't met them until a few minutes ago, but this seems to be their mode of conduct." She turned towards Roy and Skyler. "I guess I should do it before Hakase does. Name's Tuenli Saru, an Absol Hybrid from Twinleaf. But call me 'Trick;' otherwise-" She placed her hands in her pockets, a suddenly serious expression on her face. "-you die..." Skyler giggled in amusement.
"We'll make sure to remember that. I'm Skyler Lightheart from Olivine City."
"And my name is Roy Scott, also from Olivine. You've met my partner Negi already."
"Pikachu!"
"Nice to meet you guys," Tuenli replied, extending each of her hands towards Roy and Skyler. Aliyah and Blake pause in the middle of their argument long enough to look over at Tuenli and widen their eyes.
"Oi! I wouldn't take those hands if I were you!" Unfortunately, Aliyah's warning came too late, and as soon as Roy and Skyler took Tuenli's hands, they felt a small but significant shock pulse through each of their hands.
"Ow!" Roy jumped, shaking his hand like it was on fire.
"What in the world-" Skyler exclaimed in surprise. Tuenli laughed, and held her hands up, showing two small red buttons attached to her palms. Blake sighed and slaps his forehead.
"They call her 'Trick' for a reason," he muttered. Roy laughed nervously, and adjusts his glasses.
"I can see why. While we're still on the subject of nicknames, please call me 'Scotti.' Roy is too bland for my taste, and since you two didn't get his name, here's Negi." He affectionately petted the Electric Mouse Pokemon's head.
"Pikachu!" Negi replied, flashing a peace sign. Aliyah instantly fell in love with the creature.
"Aw, he's so cute!" she complimented. "May I hold him?"
"What say you, Negi?" Roy asked. Negi nodded.
"Pika!"
"I can't say no to that." Roy took Negi off his shoulder and handed him to Aliyah. Tuenli groaned, and muttered something about "girl stereotypes," but paused when she noticed Aliyah's gaze soften.
"He's so plush. I wish Iris could hold him…"
"Huh?"
"Who?"
"Hakase, what are you talking about?" Before Aliyah could answer, Negi exhaled in her face.
"Phew!" Aliyah comments, wrinkling her nose. "I'm guessing the naming wasn't accidental?" She looks over at Roy, who simply laughed in reply.
"Right from the egg, he had a thing for leeks and onions. I've never figured-"
!FWEEEET!
"Ah!" Skyler clutched her ears in pain, dropping to her knees. Roy went over, and helped her back up.
"You okay, Sky?" he asked. Skyler nodded.
"How'd that hurt?" Tuenli asked, raising an eyebrow. "It was only the conductor's whistle."
"S-Sensitive hearing," Skyler squeaked meekly.
"All aboard!" the conductor shouted from afar. "You guys are the last ones!" Aliyah looks towards the front of the train, then the back. Indeed, the platform was empty, and a red tail lamp swung in the distance.
" I guess we better get on," she decided. "It'll be a loss if Shadow Wood loses us!" She grabbed Blake by the wrist, dragged him along to their coach.
"Hey! Let go of me!" he demanded, struggling to get out of her surprisingly strong grip.
"No way! I've never met a Duskull Hybrid before! I want to ask you a few question; therefore, we're sitting next to each other. For the entire ride." Blake began to panic.
"Who agreed to that?! Unhand me this instant, human!"
"No, and be quiet! Don't make a scene; people are staring at us!"
"Dammit!"
"No cursing, either!" Roy, Skyler, and Tuenli watched the scene in amusement as the two disappear onto the train.
"We should head in too," Skyler says. "We don't want all of our stuff to be stolen."
"Good idea," Tuenli replied. "My train had a baggage car, so all of our belongings were placed in there. I guess I can see if I can join you guys; my seatmate had been a creepy Slowking-Hybrid." She suddenly tagged Roy. "Tag! Last one to the coach gets the aisle seat!" Then she turned, and raced towards the train.
"Hey! No fair!" Roy shouted, laughing. "You got a head start! Cheater!" Skyler laughed, and patted his back.
"She's got you beat," the blonde-haired girl commented, before repeating Tuenli's gesture. "Tag, you're it!"
"What? You too, Sky!" Roy laughs, having to race aboard. "Traitors!" He attempted to catch up to them, but his Zanbato weighed him down. Shortly after the three had gotten aboard, the red tail light of the trailing locomotive – number three – backed down onto the train, and coupled up. Number four, the lead locomotive, gave two whistle blasts, having received the green signal earlier ahead. The wheels of both locomotives began to turn forward, and began to pull the train out of the station. The train snaked its way out of the station, and onto the main line.
The sound of steam echoed throughout the countryside, as the train came across an abandoned village several miles outside of the city. The town was in ruin, no doubt from an attack from a Shadow Pokémon, and the station platform was overgrown and crumbling. Only the signal box attached to the end of the platform was lit and maintained. Three whistle blasts signaled the box operator to change the points. A wooden semaphore at the end of the platform, fell from ninety degrees to forty-five down, and the adjoining colorlight signal flashed from green to yellow. This was the signal to change tracks onto the Azalea line.
A bit further off in the distance, the train changed direction, moving onto a curved line. Here, the overhead catenary supports lay along the roadbed, knocked off of their supports, and the wires that they once held long removed. Twisted rails that were from a second track piled up in a mangled heap, indicating that very few trains still plied these tracks. One of the few that still did swung out, charging towards Shadow Wood Academy, its headlight showing the way.
And showing where it was.
On the abandoned platform, a teen watched the train clatter off into the distance. He had on a black baseball cap, and wore a white collared shirt over a black long-sleeved tee, khaki pants, and green shoes. Numerous bracelets lined his wrists, a puzzle cube dangled from his pocket, and a necklace of a black sphere with twin discs hung around his neck. Long, green hair waved in the wind, as the sound of the switches resetting to their normal positions could be heard.
"Shadow Wood Academy…" he said aloud. "Show me and the world what kind of path you and your partners aspire towards to!" Overhead, a clap of thunder could be heard, while a stream of fire streaked across the sky.
I~+*=*+~I
SaME: I'm aiming to get at least one chapter out per month or two at most. We hope you enjoyed chapter two.
Trivia: Any of you guys caught any shout-outs in there?
-SaME