Chapter 2, or Fight Club.
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Monday, September 3rd
Day 1
LATE MORNING: Hallway
"So, um, what you get for lunch is determined by how many stars you have?"
James shrugged at her. Lestia felt no small sense of dawning horror, as she and her other nine classmates walked back to their classroom.
"It is what it is," James said in response to her question. "I've only heard rumors about it, but I guess they're all true."
"But I like food," Lestia said plaintively. Her nerves were buzzing and her hands were shaking, and she forced them into the pockets of her uniform, but the butterflies didn't settle in her stomach. She didn't know whether they were from social anxiety or the thought that she may starve if she didn't do good enough in the evening battles.
"Don't we all," James said with the slightest smile, and then he reached over and patted her shoulder. She jumped at the contact, unconsciously shying away, and James consequently pulled back, changing tactics. "Cheer up! It could be worse – you could have no stars at all."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Lestia asked haltingly, but James merely smiled more widely at her, the skin around his green eyes crinkling. He really didn't seemed concerned in the least, and so Lestia asked, "Aren't you worried?"
"I'll cross the bridge when I get there," James responded, which wasn't really an answer at all. Lestia got the feeling she wouldn't get one out of him, and for a few moments, she floundered. She'd never been good at small-talk, and James wasn't saying anything, meaning she should probably fill the silence with something, sooner rather than later. But she hated talking to strangers in the first place, and she guessed James wasn't a stranger, but still, it was –
She took a deep breath, and said, "Um, you know these murals?" tilting her head towards the one closest to her. This one happened to be dark-types, with an Umbreon almost glowing at its center.
"They're amazing," James replied, as if she hadn't just spent ten seconds in panicked silence.
"They were painted by Athena," Lestia said, her voice dropping to a whisper. Their conversation had already been quiet, given the nature of the Academy itself, but even then the sound seemed to explode in the otherwise silent hallway – beyond Ray and CC chatting animatedly in Kalosian, of course. "The one in our class."
"You're joking." James studied her face and must've seen something that convinced him otherwise, as he said incredulously, "Really?"
"Yes. CC found her signature in the psychic-type one across from, um, from our room."
"Wow... That's actually super cool." James twisted his head around, presumably to find Athena, and Lestia raised an eyebrow when he looked forward again. "She's tall, jeez. Taller than me, and I'm six-foot."
Lestia smiled, though it was too small to accurately exhibit her amusement. "Are you jealous?"
"Not really. Short people like you are usually more down-to-earth."
Despite herself, Lestia burst out into laughter, and James was confused for all of two seconds before he scrambled to backpedal.
"Oh my Arceus, that came out wrong, I – I'm so sorry, Lestia, I didn't mean anything by it."
"It's, um, it's fine," Lestia said honestly. "When you're five-foot-one like me, you get kind of used to comments like that after a while."
"That doesn't make it okay," James pointed out, which she guessed was true, kind of? He seemed much more flustered about it than she was, though, which was a first. "I'll make it up to you."
"You... really don't have to do that."
"Oh yes he does!"
Lestia gasped when CC tackle-hugged her from behind, her heartrate skyrocketing and the adrenaline pumping. Good Arceus, she wasn't built for CC's inexhaustible energy; even though they got along very well despite meeting only days before, Lestia knew her limits, and CC seemed to ignore them at every opportunity.
She was still trembling when her roommate proclaimed, "You're a lady, Lestia! Let the man be chivalrous. It's the least he can do."
"It's r-really not necessary," Lestia managed, and she was so panicked her voice was hardly above a whisper. CC finally seemed to sense her friend's unease and released her grip, instead stepping up to fall in line next to her with Ray close behind.
"You okay?" James asked her, eyes wide in concern, flicking to and from Lestia and CC.
"I'm – I'm fine." Lestia only grew more jumpy at his question – she was slightly taken aback that he asked, actually, but then, he didn't know about her general nervousness and glaring social anxiety. Her palms were sweaty in her pockets. "Um, you really don't have to do anything, though."
"He insulted your honor!" CC insisted, violet eyes wide, "He has to make up for it." Lestia opened her mouth to protest CC's suggestion, but fortunately, Ray beat her to the punch.
"Cicely, perhaps you should stop?" he said, phrasing the command as a suggestion. "It clearly makes Lestia uncomfortable, so that is probably the least you could do."
CC pouted, but thankfully didn't pursue the subject any longer. Instead, she shoved her hands through her orange hair and stuck her tongue out at him. "You're no fun, Ray."
Ray gave a thin smile, meeting Lestia's eyes and nodding when she shakily mouthed thanks. "I do try, believe me – "
"As engaging as your discussion about gentlemanly pursuits is," said a voice that cut through their chatter like a hot knife through butter, "You are blocking the door. Please move."
The four looked back and up to find Athena Klymene glaring down at them, and they immediately pushed inside the classroom, more than a little intimidated. She had been right, though; they'd reached the classroom and had just stood around the door while they had chatted. Lestia felt her cheeks burn as she sat down in the same desk as in the morning, and both Ray and James sent her kind smiles as they did the same. CC took the simpler route, whispering an apology to her as she slipped into the desk next to her, and Lestia felt a little bit better as the teacher swept to the front of the room – until she felt a prickle at the back of her neck and turned her head to find Athena glaring at her.
Lestia snapped her head forward again, her cheeks burning so hot it actually kind of hurt. Athena had been here all four years at Ossos, and given the nature of networking, Lestia knew that she had to at least not be on Athena's bad side. It had been miraculous that she had made friends today at all, though; perhaps her luck had simply run out. Either way, Lestia was too embarrassed to look even her teacher in the eye as he began to speak.
"I assume all of you have your schedules?" No response, and the man smiled brightly. He was probably the same height as CC at 5'3'', but his presence seemed so much larger than that, despite his small size. "Great. As returning students know, the school operates on a specific schedule. You have three core classes on Monday and Thursday and three different core classes on Tuesday and Friday – a sort of A-day, B-day schedule, if you will. Wednesdays and Saturdays are devoted to Pokémon training, and Sunday is a rest day. Any questions on that?"
"What are the core classes?" someone asked. Lestia didn't know who they were, and she wasn't brave enough to turn to look.
"They should all be on your schedule, Josephine," the teacher responded, eyebrows raised.
"I only have room numbers," the student, presumably Josephine, responded. Lestia could hear the smile in her voice. "A misprint, I suppose."
The teacher sighed, and explained, "Core classes are your general subjects. Of course, since you're at Ossos, there are a bit more than you're used to, thus the – well, I wouldn't say strange schedule, but it certainly is different. Anyway, beyond math, history, and language, you also must take several hard science classes: chemistry, biology, and physics. Oh, and physical education. Usually students do that on their own time after school and just fill up a log for grading at each semester."
"At the same time as everything else?" Josephine asked. "What about homework completion, given how many hours are spent on evening activities?"
"You don't have to go fight every day, you know. – And there are top-notch tutoring programs, should you need them," the teacher said, and someone whispered sick burn, bro. The teacher's lip curled upward slightly at the comment as he went on, "Which is a nice segue into electives: you can take a total of five. But, as you might have guessed given the number, the amount you can take is based on your ranking. New students can take three; the moment you lose a star, you can't attend the elective anymore until you get the star back."
That is a terrible system, Lestia thought, and resolved to take only one or two electives. She didn't want to miss any classes, and since she wasn't sure how well she would perform in the evening battles, she didn't want to risk anything.
"You'll find a list of offered electives on the school's brochure or website. You have time to pick which ones you want, too, since they don't begin until next week." The teacher jumped up onto the desk up front and proceeded to sit cross-legged, which, amusingly, added to his height. "Homeroom is about forty minutes long, and your classes are an hour and a half. The entire Academy takes lunch at the same time, after your second official class, and that is an hour long. Then you go to your third class, and then you're done for the day until eight, unless you have electives. Any questions?"
CC asked, "Where's the cafeteria?"
"Why am I not surprised that that is the first question after the explanation?" CC stuck her tongue out at the teacher, who surprised Lestia by laughing, just for a moment, before answering. "It's on the first floor, and there are maps at the ends of every hallway. You're a smart bunch, so I'm sure you can figure it out."
"Doubt it," someone muttered behind her. Lestia, nerves already frazzled from Athena's stone-cold glaring, didn't dare look back to see who it was.
"I heard that, Date." The same someone behind her mumbled a swear even more quietly. "Now then, since we'll be spending the rest of the mornings this year together, I might as well introduce myself." The teacher grinned brightly at them. "Bryan Treble, at your service. I don't teach music, unfortunately for those irony-lovers out there, just Sinnohan history and language. You might have me if you're from that region. Oh, and you can call me Mr. Trebs; you'll find I'm one of the more relaxed teachers around here."
"That is not reassuring," Ray said dryly from the front, and Mr. Treble merely grinned wider. Lestia found the smile to be less than comforting and looked down at her desk.
"We have about a minute before the bell rings, so if you have any last-minute question, now is the time. Considering, you know, it is the last minute."
There was some forced laughter from several students in the room, but it was CC who spoke up and said, "I actually got that joke before you spelled it out for us."
"Gold star for you, then, CC." Pause, and then Mr. Treble said brightly, "Oh, wait, just kidding!" CC's next words were drowned out by the bell, and Mr. Treble waved at the class as they simultaneously stood up and began to shove their way to the door. "Have fun, kids! See you all tomorrow, bright and early!"
Lestia merely ducked her head instead of responding and went out the door, stopping a little ways down in the hallway to check her schedule. CC, James and Ray joined her a few moments later.
"Class begins at eight-twenty, and that is hardly early," Ray muttered, squinting at the sheet in his hands. His glasses threatened to slip down his nose, as he looked up again. "It seems I have calculus first."
"So do I," Lestia said, looking at the room number. "In room 2-C?"
"Yes. Shall we walk together?"
"What a gentleman," CC butted in loudly before Lestia could agree, and Ray rolled his eyes while Lestia bit her lip and tried not to shrink into herself at the sudden noise. "I have chem first, so I guess I'm leaving you all here. What about you, James?"
"Language – I'm going to try my hand at Sinnohan this year - which means I go right back to Mr. Treble's room, aha." James shook his head. "It's a shame we're not all in the same class."
"Cheer up, we can all do the phy-ed requirements together after school," CC said, and Lestia smiled slightly at that. CC grinned back, violet eyes gleaming, and said, "Anyway, how about we all meet up at the cafeteria after second hour?"
"Sounds good to me," James said with a smile. Ray also nodded his assent, and Lestia was pretty sure if she said anything she would stutter, so she stayed quiet.
CC's grin brightened and she made a shooing motion with her hand. "Go on, then, you two, have fun in math!
"Je ne te comprends pas quelquefois," Ray said to CC, as Lestia flushed this time, before he turned to her. "Shall we go?"
"Sure," she whispered, and she felt a bit better when Ray gave her a soft smile, waiting for her to catch up to him before they began the walk to the nearest staircase.
LATE MORNING: Homeroom
Athena wasn't the only one who thought to stay back to ask Trebs a question – a face she knew very well was here too, for the same reasons as her. She gave Alucard the slightest nod, one that he returned silently, before turning towards the teacher watching them from the front.
"Trebs," Athena greeted, more as a formality than anything else.
"Klymene," the teacher responded, nodding his head, green eyes intent on her silver ones. "What do you need?"
"Why have the rules changed this year?" He raised an eyebrow, and she clarified, "For the stars."
Trebs frowned at the question, and he tapped his foot on the ground and hummed a bit to himself. Athena had forgotten how much she towered over him, and how he never seemed intimidated by her no matter what she did. Probably, she mused, because he was a graduate of Ossos and could thus beat her Pokémon to the ground with his own without breaking a sweat.
"Honestly, I have no idea," Trebs said at last, still frowning. "I really do wish I could answer that question, since I've been asking it myself since the decision was made at the teacher's meeting last week."
"Does anyone know?" Alucard asked, in a near monotone as always. He was seated on one of the front-row desks, head resting on a hand shoved through unruly black hair. "Or is it just administration again?"
"The latter, I'm afraid. I'm sorry I can't help anymore, you two. There's only so much digging us teachers can do before the principal gets suspicious."
"Right," Athena said with a sigh; the principal again, I should have known. Alucard echoed it, before he slid off of the desk and Athena gave Trebs a nod. "Sorry to bother you, sir. We'll be going on to class now."
"Passing time is almost over, so be quick, you two. I'll see you later, Date, and take care of yourself, Klymene."
"Of course, Trebs," Alucard said with a slight nod, and he and Athena filed out of the classroom. They already had memorized their schedules and knew that they had almost the exact same classes, the first being bio; and if that had something to do with the fact that they had personally talked to the school's secretary, well, no one had to know.
"What do you think of the rules?" Athena asked as they walked along.
"Unnecessary. Also a bit of a stretch." Alucard touched his hand to the three stars on his collar. "Wonder what brought it about."
"If Trebs doesn't know, we're going to have our work cut out for us," Athena mused, glancing sideways at her friend. He looked painfully neutral as always, one eye hidden behind an eyepatch, the other gently flickering about, taking in his surroundings – but she knew his mind was working behind that calm exterior, that he was just as curious as she was. "Think you know where to start?"
"Battle moderator," Alucard said instantly. That was her thought as well, and it came as no surprise to her that they were not only on the same page but the same line. "Tonight is the time to ask them, whoever they'll be."
"After midnight, then, when the crowd's clearing out." Alucard nodded, and Athena asked, "We still on for doubles?"
Alucard gave her a small smile, genuine warmth blooming across his face for just a moment, his single crimson eye intent on hers. "Naturally."
With that, they continued on in silence, other students giving them a wide berth as they strode through the hallway. People always found it odd that two of the most silent students typically came alive around each other, but in reality, that had been their bonding moment in the first place, back in freshman year when they had first teamed up for a double battle. They had consistently been in each other's classes since then, year after year, and had never partnered with another person since.
"We'll get your stars back tonight, Alu," Athena said abruptly, firmly, as they entered their shared biology class.
"I know," Alucard answered, and it was easy to see how much faith the two had in each other.
EVENING: Courtyard
"Seems people are leaving the dorms."
Lester lifted his head from the grass of the courtyard, temporarily shifting his attention from the book in his hands to his friend. Mei was seated ramrod straight underneath the shady canopy of a tree, and was peering into the darkening dusk, a small frown across her elfin face.
"Already?" Lester said, looking back towards his book. The gem at his collar, opposite the side of his stars, pulsed a gentle, serene blue. "It's not even seven."
"Perhaps new students wish to investigate before the evening's events begin." Mei sat back against the tree trunk, finished observing, and folded her hands across her stomach and stared upwards. "Perhaps some veterans wish to ask the moderator about the new rules."
"I'd bet on that," Lester said; "I thought of doing it myself, but I figured Klymene and Date would already be on it."
"I think not," Mei said dismissively, causing Lester to raise an eyebrow. "Knowing them, they will ask after everything is said and done tonight. Wouldn't you agree?"
"This persona does," Lester replied with a delicate shrug, letting his book close and resting it and his hands on his chest. "I have an inkling that my other two personalities would not, however."
"Mm. That is no surprise, as they always agree with each other and not in rationality." Lester cast Mei a sidelong glance, noting her amber eyes were open again and focused on the leaves rustling above them. Her voice was painfully neutral as she added, "Besides, I am used to it by now."
"You didn't have much choice in the past," Lester pointed out, remembering Mei's inexhaustible patience when it came to his other personalities. He could recall every single instance where she had managed to keep him from doing something stupid when not in his calm persona, and every instance where she hadn't; as of yet, the former outweighed the latter. "No one else would partner up with you for double battles."
"On the contrary. I could have easily chosen to taken on double battles by myself, yet you and I would win, without fail, whenever we worked together. Unless against Alucard and Athena, of course." Mei cast him a sharp look, sweeping long black hair over her shoulder to retie the band holding it into a low ponytail. "Consider it a necessary risk."
Lester snorted, and said, "You say such sweet things."
"Perish the thought," Mei said with a ghost of a smile. "You are still, and always will be, a jerk."
Lester gasped, mock-offended. "I'm a jerk only fifty percent of the time, when this personality isn't in control."
"Even when you are calm, you still leave much to be desired – of that I assure you."
"Fair enough," Lester said with a sigh, and then he changed the subject in order to avoid further bashing, because Mei would do so in a flash. "In any case, you are remarkably good at diffusing tense situations when my angry or crazy persona is involved. Perhaps that is why teachers continually attempt to keep us together."
"I have had a lot of practice," she replied, amber eyes glinting, combing thin fingers through ebony hair, "Though I appreciate your words nonetheless."
"If anything, I should be the one thanking you."
"I do not need your thanks, though if it makes you feel better, feel free." Lester rolled his eyes – this was what it was always like when interacting with Mei Huang – and she watched him when he stretched his arms out, his hands brushing against the tree's trunk before pushing himself to his feet. "Are you thinking of joining the masses?"
"Might as well see what's going on." Lester briefly toyed with the idea of changing out of his uniform and decided against it; he wore all black in any case, and the uniform was the same color. No reason to waste more energy trekking back to the dorm, even though he would likely be one of the only people there not in more casual clothes. "Care to join me?"
"I suppose." Lester offered her his hand and, unsurprisingly, she ignored it, getting up on her own power. "There is not much else I could be doing, at any rate."
He hummed noncommittally. "Very generous of you."
Mei gave Lester an appraising look for a few moments. Then she said, with a hint of a smirk, "Who else is going to look after you?"
"Such trust, Huang," Lester said as much false sincerity as he could muster, placing his hand over his heart. "I'm flattered."
Mei shrugged, now smirking outright. "I would not be, but to each his or her own."
Lester grinned, sharp and cutting, as he tucked his book into his bag and they began the walk through the courtyard. "I must admit, my friend: you always know just what to say."
EVENING: Entrance to the Pit
Ray was feeling decidedly odd as he and his three new friends cautiously made their way to the so-called pit.
On the one hand, the whole idea of battling to maintain rankings was a ridiculous one – some students had come here for breeding or coordinator programs, which required different skillsets and were only offered as electives, and still others did not do battle with their Pokémon and merely kept them as pets. It was highly misleading of Ossos to masquerade as the ideal school when they had a deceptive streak as wide as the mountain range behind the main building.
On the other hand, this was likely where he would find very strong Pokémon trainers. If he ever wanted to prove himself to his parents, this was the place to do so.
"J'suis un peu anxieuse," CC muttered from next to him, and that was another thing Ray wasn't sure how to feel about, that there was another Kalosian here who was more than willing to speak his native tongue with him. He'd come here to escape Kalos, in a sense; funny how it seemed to find its way right back to him, however innocently.
He smiled kindly at her, noting her nervous tic of twirling her orange hair around a finger. "Il n'y a pas de sanctions aujourd'hui."
"Oui, je suppose," CC said doubtfully, and then she turned to Lestia on her opposite side and said softly, "How're you doing, Lestia?"
Ray couldn't hear the girl's response, it was so quiet. She really did not deal well with strangers or crowds – she was comfortable with CC, and she had slowly gotten along with James, but she was still skittish around everyone else, even him. During math class, she had stuck close to him but had only managed to voice ten words, and the whole time Ray could see her struggling with herself to get them out. Ray hoped the anxiousness would fade as she got to know him better; he hated it when people were unhappy, especially when he couldn't do anything to fix it except by waiting.
"Hey, Ray," James said, shaking Ray out of his thoughts, and as soon as the brunet knew his friend was listening, he asked, "Isn't that one of our classmates over there?"
Ray followed James's gesture and saw a person hovering nearby the supposed entrance to the pit, fingering the blond braid draped over his shoulder. "Luneth Gates, if I am not mistaken," Ray said, and, as was his prerogative, he turned to the two girls and told them, "James and I are going to go see if Luneth wishes to join us."
"Who?" Ray briefly pointed to where the boy was standing, and CC's eyebrows furrowed. "Oh, Lune? He was in my history class. Apparently he likes shopping, too, which is a boon because Arceus knows I need a shopping buddy, even if he hit on me for like ten minutes. He has the worst pick-up lines, let me tell you. – Anyway, I'll come with you two."
"You can flirt with him later, CC," Lestia said before Ray could open his mouth to decline, and he was surprised to see she had regained her voice and was even making a joke – but she had, and she also made eye contact with Ray and gave him a faint smile before looking away and continuing, "Let's wait for James and Ray here. It looks like Lune hasn't made any friends yet, and he'll probably be more comfortable around boys."
"Ugh, fine. You're the boss, Lestia." Ray could tell CC was only pretending to be annoyed, and Lestia only stiffened instead of jumping when the redhead threw an arm around the other girl's shoulders. "Go on, then, you two. Protip, though, don't tell him he looks like a girl. It happened in class today and he, uh, he just about blew the whole room into oblivion."
"I will keep that in mind," Ray said, eyebrows raised – she was surely exaggerating, as she was oft to do – but something in her gaze, something hard in her violet eyes, convinced him otherwise. He was therefore spurred on to add, "I will not mention it."
"Good plan," CC replied, grinning, and she made a shooing motion with her hand. "Good luck, too."
Ray nodded, once; then he turned to where James was waiting further ahead. James raised an eyebrow at him and Ray shook his head – CC would not be joining them, no – and then the two of them walked over to where Luneth was standing. The blond watched them approach with an unreadable expression, and for some reason this seemed significant to Ray – especially since immediately afterwards, Luneth's expression broke into a smile.
"I wasn't expecting people to come say hello to a stranger," he said. His voice was deeper than Ray had expected, likely because of his otherwise girlish face – all curves and no hard edges, sloped lines and soft blue eyes. Even his jawline was gentle and relatively undefined. "Then again, both of you are in my homeroom, so maybe not a stranger. James and Ray, correct?"
"Right," Ray asserted. "And CC says you go by Lune?"
"Oh, she remembered! Wonderful. I'll have to make sure to talk about it tomorrow." Lune smiled again, and it seemed a little strained. "Of course, there aren't many other people to talk with in our particular Kalosian history class, but she's quite the girl, isn't she?"
"You seemed pretty social in chemistry," James jumped in, effectively changing the subject - and Ray wondered how many of his friend group had had class with members of their homeroom; he'd seen Lestia, then Josephine Acosta in physics, who had been friendly but relatively distant, and then finally Mei Huang, who he didn't know at all and with his singular attempt to converse with her ending in stony silence.
"Eh, you know how it goes. I don't know any of the other seniors in that class and most are already tight-knit with each other." Lune shrugged, smiling slightly. "Athena and Alucard go way back, and Mei has always been the kind of de facto friend of Lester's. I can talk with them, but they're not going to stick around with me. Doesn't help my other senior friends are in different classes. You'd think with only thirty people in the senior grade I'd get lucky somewhere on A-days, but nope."
There had been so much information packed into those six sentences that Ray took a few seconds to process them. What little he'd known of Athena seemed sharply juxtaposed in comparison to her friendship with Alucard; those two had made it clear they were loners, much as Mei had exuded a 'stay away' aura in biology that day and Lester, while friendly, had maintained a distance from seemingly everyone in homeroom. "Us four are all new," Ray said, once he had gathered his thoughts. "You are welcome to join us if you would like some company."
"That sounds good in theory, but you guys are already paired off. I'm going to have to go hound our other classmate Josephine to see if she's up for some battle fun times." Evidently the confusion was apparent on both his and James's faces, for Lune regarded them curiously. "I guess the principal was pretty vague on what battles were like, huh. You guys want a quick crash course on what to expect?"
"The more information we have, the better," James said with an easy smile, but his hands, folded behind his back, suddenly fisted; Ray quickly realized that James, too, had noticed the almost artificial coat to Lune's words.
"Smart choice," Lune said, and there, Ray could just hear the trace of condescension in the blond's voice. "Well, they're all double battles, and most people grab a partner. That way, when your Pokémon faints, you still have another one to back you up, and so does the other person. Only downside is that you better know your partner really well for it to work. Oh, and you can try to go solo, but only a few can manage that against a bunch of partner pairs."
"I see," Ray said, and then, just to clarify, he asked, "I assume, then, that Athena and Alucard are a double team, as are Mei and Lester."
"Yep. Both pairs go pretty far back, and they're absolute monsters on the battlefield. Best thing you can hope for on a given night is to not go up against either of them, especially Athena and Alucard: they both have Gardevoirs, and since they can communicate with their Gardevoirs and their Gardevoirs can communicate with each other, it's pretty much a four-way telepathic connection that's completely silent." Lune laughed suddenly, delicately holding his hand over his mouth. "Ah, but maybe I should let you see for yourself. It's amazing to watch, and the moderators always like to put them up first to show the newbies."
"I'll take your word for it," James said, eyebrows raised, his voice carefully neutral. Like Ray, however, his friendliness prompted him to ask, "Are you sure you don't want to join us?"
"Positive, though by no means do I not appreciate it, and I may take you up on that offer later, " Lune said with a shake of his head. He was still smiling slightly. "You're both very nice people, but there are no friends in the arena. But hey, good luck to you, and kudos for trying to learn the ropes before the penalties kick in."
That was as clear a dismissal as any, and, exchanging a glance and finding neither had anything else to say, Ray and James turned around to rejoin the girls, who were chatting animatedly about something. At least, CC was – Lestia was listening intently, jumping in at random points. It was clear to see how good of friends they were, despite their polar opposite personalities.
Then Lestia's eyes widened and she pinched her lips tightly together at something CC said, who immediately started laughing, and Ray began wondering again if he'd been wrong. He would have asked James, but the brunet was staring off into the distance, his thoughts clearly elsewhere; Ray supposed he would have to ask the girls themselves if he wanted a straight answer, something he resolved to do later in the week when he found the appropriate time.
"He seemed nice," CC said as they came nearer, breaking off her one-sided discussion with Lestia, who at this point had hidden her face in her hands.
"He was, to a point," Ray answered after glancing over at James, who did not seem inclined to respond. "Apparently, all battles here are double battles, and people tend to partner up so they have a better advantage over those without."
"Well, that's easy, then." CC turned to Lestia, and Ray could already guess at the inevitable question – but instead, she surprised them all as she said, "Alrighty, Lestia, you and Ray partner up, and I'll go with James."
"Wh – what?" Lestia sputtered, looking mortified. Ray figured it was leftover embarrassment from her discussion with CC, but he didn't find it as amusing as the girl in question, who was cracking up.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" James asked, eyebrows raised – the subtle, kind way of questioning CC's executive decision.
"Would it surprise you if I said yes?" CC said, waggling her eyebrows, and then she jumped into an explanation: "In terms of type advantage, Lestia and I are stacked on flying-types, so it'd be pretty bad if our opponent had a rock- or electric-type. I'm guessing neither of you have just flying-types, so it'd be better if you guys went with us so we're not doomed." CC spread out her arms, grinning. "See, I thought about it!"
"And what if we did have flying-types?" Ray challenged, but he was already swayed; she was right, and besides, he really didn't want to cause his two friends any losses because of something as easily avoidable as type disadvantage.
"Then I guess we'd've been screwed," CC said with a shrug while Lestia made a small pained noise. "But you don't, so we're fine! At least, I hope we're fine." She studied them both for a moment. "... We are fine, right?"
"Lucky for you, we are," James said, and he and Ray exchanged rueful glances. Between the two of them, they had covered water, grass, and fire, along with psychic; perhaps they could partner up another time, and when Ray nodded, James turned back and agreed, "Let's try CC's idea for tonight."
"Yes!" CC cheered.
"Um, but won't it be hard because we don't really know each other?" Lestia said, quietly, but just loud enough that it got everyone's attention. "I only really know CC, so maybe it would be better if I just, um, stuck with her. N-no offense!" she added hastily, looking at Ray, and he gave a nod of understanding because he did get that she was uncomfortable. If he was being honest, he was too, a little bit.
"Aww, Lestia, Ray's nice! He won't bite." CC gave him a glare that told him exactly what she would do to him if he did. Ray didn't flinch, and Lestia merely cringed. "C'mon, just try it for one night. Please? It's the first day, and it's okay if we mess up!"
Lestia still looked troubled, but at CC's words, she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. Ray could tell she was counting to ten before she exhaled and inhaled again, and once she had done so three times, her gray eyes were clear and she gave a small nod.
"Great!" CC said, clapping her hands. "Then it's settled!"
"T'es sûr que c'est une bonne idée?" Ray asked her, eyebrows knit in concern and ignoring how James and Lestia kind of just looked at him, knowing he was talking behind their backs. (Or in front of their backs, he supposed.) "Lestia a dit qu'elle n'est pas vraiment à l'aise avec moi."
CC merely grinned at him. "Relax, bro. Lestia's a beast in battle. Et en plus, elle veut être ton amie, elle est seulement peur que tu vas, je ne sais pas, lui dire que tu détestes ses cheuveux ou quelque chose."
"CC," Lestia protested weakly - it took Ray a few moments to note she was probably reacting to the first part of CC's sentence, not the Kalosian part (thank Arcues) - but her friend merely bumped shoulders with her and, despite herself, Lestia chuckled, albeit quietly.
"All the better for us, then," James said with a grin. "Winning sounds like a good thing right about now."
"Exactly," CC said, "Which means, mister Clemmer, we should start discussing strategy and figure out how to make things work as best we can."
Ray looked at Lestia as CC consequently began her campaign of questioning James about everything under the sun, from his Pokémon's abilities to his favorite move. Her gray eyes met his with a shy little smile, and then, since he wasn't as nitpicky as CC, he started with "So what Pokémon do you have?"
"Oh, um, I have a Togekiss and an Aerodactyl." She tucked a loose strand of black hair behind her ear, and her voice, while small, didn't sound afraid. CC had been right, Ray supposed; Lestia didn't mean to be so hesitant with him, but he supposed that was just how it was to be painfully shy. "How, um, how about you?"
"Meowstic and Houndoom." Hm. This could actually work relatively well, if they played their cards right. Togekisses as Pokémon had a lot of tricks up their metaphorical sleeves, and Aerodactyls brought both speed and power to the table as well. Paired with his own Pokémon, they could get something pretty good. "I have never actually worked together with someone else before, so I apologize in advance if anything goes wrong."
"N-no, I'm sure we'll be fine. It's the first night, like CC said. We have time to develop a system." She paused, and then she said very hesitantly, very quietly, and very much full of doubt as if he might refuse, "Maybe we should let out Pokémon out so they can, um, meet each other."
Ray thanked his lucky stars that his friends had thought come early to the pit, as he agreed, "That sounds like a good idea," and Lestia's face bloomed into a relieved smile.
NIGHT: The Pit
The first battle of the night, of course, put Alucard and his partner against Mei and Lester. An exchanged glance with Athena, silver eyes flashing, revealed she was thinking the same thing as he was: the school was pitting the powerhouses together so the newbies knew what they were getting into.
As they always had done since they'd first partnered up, he and Athena sent out their Gardevoirs first, who acknowledged each other with serene nods, connecting their minds, before glancing back to listen to their trainers' thoughts.
Fast and furious, Athena thought to Alucard, and he nodded; that was the only way to take Mei and Lester down in the end. Their Pokémon were faster and much more nimble in general, and Lester's unpredictable, highly variant fighting styles didn't allow for effective adjusting on the fly. They had to work quickly, and they had to hit hard.
Mei and Lester started with her Arcanine, Kuro, and his Rapidash, upon seeing Athena and Alucard's choice. The crowd around them roared as the Pokémon squared off, the Gardevoirs linked up securely to each other and both trainers' minds, and Mei and Lester spoke to each other in quick shorthand, giving sharp, succinct orders to their Pokémon as they did so.
Gardevoir protects, Kaguya strikes, Alucard thought, referring to his Pokémon's nickname for clarity's sake, and Athena and their Pokémon acknowledged the command with a nod as the battle moderator declared, "Begin!"
Both Kuro and Lester's Rapidash opened immediately with Agility, as they always did – anticipating this, Alucard heard Athena whisper orders in their connected minds, and her Gardevoir closed her eyes, creating copies of herself with Double Team, as Kaguya glided forward, her steps silent on the solid dirt floor. They had a five-second window to do as much damage as they could, and Kaguya delivered by lifting the hapless Rapidash in the air – and then smashing Lester's Pokémon into Kuro and even further, ramming them into the wall with enough force to shake the building's structure, with a powerful Psychic attack.
Well done, Alucard thought to Kaguya, who accepted the compliment with a cool, affectionate response before disappearing into the army of Gardevoirs Athena's Pokémon had summoned with Double Team. As strong as the blow had been, Kaguya's attacks were not as powerful as Gardevoir's, and with the proper cover now available, Athena whispered to her Pokémon to get ready.
Both the Arcanine and the Rapidash were quick to recover – no surprise, considering who their trainers were – and Mei shouted out a quick command while Lester merely made a hand gesture. His Rapidash inhaled, reared on her back legs, and launched several Flamethrower attacks in quick succession at as many clones as she could, hoping to find the real two Gardevoirs in the mix. While Rapidash did this, Kuro charged in looking for those that didn't burn away, flames wrapped around its fur like a cloak in a Flame Charge, and Kaguya did her best to debilitate him with Thunderbolts and Magical Leaves.
While she was doing this, Athena's Gardevoir had teleported into the crowd itself, hiding in plain sight as she charged up a Hyper Beam. Students around her edged away as the light grew, and both Mei and Lester noticed at the same time when Gardevoir vanished. Immediately thereafter, Mei barked out another order while Lester let his Rapidash continue its relentless assault on the clones, and Alucard watched as Kaguya neatly intercepted the Arcanine attempting to return to the Rapidash with another Psychic, throwing him high into the air and letting him plummet to the ground.
In doing so, she left herself open for a Flamethrower, however – and Kaguya took one with a shriek, as Athena's Gardevoir launched a full-blown Hyper Beam point-blank into the Rapidash's side. Athena's Gardevoir staggered afterwards, momentarily winded, as Lester's Rapidash struggled to remain upright, and Kaguya quickly summoned one last Thunderbolt, downing the flaming horse for good – once again leaving her open, something Kuro took advantage of as he landed square on his feet and closed in on Kaguya, teeth snapping down onto her in a powerful Crunch attack.
I'm sorry, Alucard thought, and Kaguya sent a wave of understanding in his direction before she became limp in the Arcanine's jaws, which then dropped her. Alucard returned her, touched her Pokéball to his forehead, and then replaced it at his waist as Athena's Gardevoir, recovered now, Teleported back in front of her trainer, narrowly avoiding another of Kuro's Crunch attacks. The Arcanine didn't so much as miss a step as it pivoted neatly on its back paws, facing its opponents with a snarl as Lester, too, returned his unconscious Pokémon.
The yelling and screaming around them intensified when Alucard sent out his Blaziken, Asura, and Lester his Zebstrika. Battles with veteran seniors often were finished in minutes, but the fight had only been thirty seconds in before two Pokémon had dropped; it was natural that students were excited to see what happened next.
"Get the Arcanine when you can," Athena said; Arcanine's Crunch had always been the primary danger, something they had not forgotten, and Kaguya had been unfortunate enough fall victim to the attack. She went on, "Wait for Gardevoir to draw Kuro out, but take out Lester's Pokémon if there's an opportunity."
"Right." Asura similarly let out a grunt of acknowledgement, and Alucard watched as Athena's Gardevoir began Teleporting all around Arcanine, stabbing at it with Shadow Balls before vanishing into the crowd to hide, while Lester's Zebstrika focused his attention on Asura, practically a blur as it zipped forward, crackling with electricity: Wild Charge.
"Take the attack, counter with Blaze Kick, then Swords Dance," Alucard said quietly, and Asura squared himself, crossing his arms in front of his face as Zebstrika plowed into him. Asura had been through training worse than electricity crackling through his feathers, however, and he did as Alucard said, bringing up a powerful leg against the Zebstrika's side and sending him flying to the side. The Zebstrika managed to find his footing and skidded to a halt, kicking up a screen of dirt as Asura then performed Swords Dance – and without Alucard's command, Asura swung its leg out into another Blaze Kick, anticipating the Zebstrika's near-invisible lunge forward, and it missed as the Zebstrika veered off to the side to dodge.
"Here," Alucard heard Athena said from somewhere, and then her Gardevoir, somewhere in the crowd, was lifting the Zebstrika in a Psychic, preventing it from moving. Alucard had a window of opportunity that would last for only seconds – Kuro now had the chance to get Asura off of the Zebstrika's back, and it seemed he was intent on doing so. But it was not to be, as Asura surged forward with one last Blaze Kick, slamming solidly into the Zebstrika with enough force to send it crashing into the wall.
And then there was a surprised shriek, as Kuro leapt up into the bleachers and clamped his jaws around Athena's Gardevoir, who struggled momentarily before going slack between his teeth. Mei hadn't gone for Zebstrika at all; instead, during both Alucard and Athena's distraction, she had located Gardevoir and directed Kuro towards it. Clever, Alucard thought, berating himself for not noticing it sooner. He'd been so intent on destroying the Zebstrika he hadn't been looking; and neither, evidently, had Athena.
"You did well," Athena murmured as she returned her Gardevoir, and she pressed the Pokéball to her lips for just a moment before taking out her next Pokémon and sending it out without a word. Her Nidoqueen was probably most at home in this battlefield out of their four Pokémon, and she let out a roar as Mei sent out her second Pokémon to cover for Lester, a fearsome Salamence whose responded with her own.
It would be trickier now. Mei and Lester had never been perfect working together, and were often rendered to one-on-two; but once they were, either one of them was fearsome. For all that Ossos seemed to encourage teamwork, as seen between Alucard and Athena, it would be more than false to say each person here wasn't a trainer in their own right.
"Piggyback time," Alucard muttered, and Athena grinned ferociously, eyes intent on the battlefield. She knew what that meant; it was a newer plan they had just recently developed, and now all they had to do was execute it. They were only willing to do so since today there were no penalties; there was a plethora of ways this could go wrong, and only one way this could go right.
Mei said something that was lost in the sheer volume of the crowd, as did Athena, and Alucard simply told Asura, "Get on the Salamence's back with Acrobatics when you can." He trusted his Pokémon to understand the rest.
Both he and Athena knew that Mei's Salamence would open with Earthquake, a move that would wipe out both Asura and Nidoqueen; to work around it, they had drilled their Pokémon to learn some new moves and to practice something a little different. Thus, Mei's brows knitted in confusion when, as her Arcanine used Agility to hide in the bleachers while Salamence roared and slammed its feet onto the ground, Asura darted behind Nidoqueen, who then cast Protect – and as soon as the Earthquake passed, Asura used Athena's Nidoqueen as a platform for Acrobatics, flipping onto Salamence's back and ramming down into her hard enough to make her legs buckle from underneath her.
Once that was done, Nidoqueen then used Earthquake – and Salamence inevitably pumped her wings to get off of the ground and thus avoid it. Asura, still on her back, likewise enjoyed this benefit. Mei's Arcanine, weakened and having jumped back to the ground from the bleachers to launch an immediate follow-up attack, was not so lucky. Alucard watched with satisfaction as the Arcanine collapsed, and Mei clicked her tongue in annoyance as she returned the Pokémon to its Pokéball while Salamence flew about, attempting to dislodge Asura from her back by slamming him into the ceiling, into walls, whatever she could manage.
"I don't think so," Alucard heard Athena breath, and then yelled, "Asura, jump!" which the Blaziken did without question, despite her not being his trainer. A moment later, a solid clump of disgusting sludge splattered into Salamence, who took the attack in stride and instead dove right to Asura was landing.
"Dodge if you can," Alucard called, knowing it was pointless. Asura gave it a valiant attempt, lunging to the side as soon as he hit and rolled on the ground, but unfortunately took the Fly attack head-on; he fell, unconscious, as Salamence hissed, backing off of the Blaziken and attempting to shake off the poison coating her skin. Alucard then returned his Pokémon, briefly pressing the Pokéball to his forehead as before, and then stepped back; it was up to Athena now, and he was already confident she would win.
Still, Athena milked the situation for all it was worth; she waited until the Salamence readied another Earthquake attack, for her to just begin rearing up on her back feet, before her Pokémon struck viciously and quickly. Before Salamence could slam back down, her Nidoqueen landed another Sludge Bomb, charged forward with Thunderbolt, and finally finished off with a Horn Drill, landing it square on the Salamence's chest with enough force the Pokémon tipped onto her back instead of her front.
And, just like that, it was over. The moderator announced their victory, Alucard and Athena high-fived, wearing identical shark grins, as Nidoqueen let out a victorious roar, and the crowd went absolutely ballisti, chanting and booing and yelling all in the same breath.
Mei was gritting her teeth, and Lester reattached his brooch to his collar before fingering one of three stars on his collar, as if knowing anything worse would have resulted in losing it. After Athena returned her Pokémon, all four of them walked towards the center and shook hands like good little students.
"Figures you guys would come up with something new," Lester said, and Alucard was privately relieved to see his gem was shining blue. He found Lester's calm personality the easiest to deal with. "Mei and I are a little rusty; we haven't gotten together since last term."
"Friendless people like you, I bet you met over the summer pretty frequently," Mei said. There was no joking tone to her voice; she was utterly serious, and she was also utterly correct. Neither Athena nor Alucard bothered to confirm her suspicions, given it was fairly obvious, and Mei signed and shook her head. "Congrats. We'll get you one day."
"Keep telling yourself that," Alucard said curtly, and both Mei and Lester gave them brittle smiles before the pair turned and walked off the battlefield and into the bleachers. The student body parted before them despite their loss, and Alucard and Athena went towards a separate set of bleachers, a smaller one close the battlefield that was, at the moment, empty; as the evening wore on, victors will fill its ranks, and then those victors would be pitted against each other.
"Closer to another star for you," Athena pointed out quietly, and Alucard almost didn't hear it over the crowd's noise as the moderator announced the next set of battlers.
"Thank you," Alucard said in return, and Athena gave him a tight smile. Nothing else needed to be said; for them, this kind of stilted, halting conversation was all they needed.
Battles are rough, man - not to mention I made a ton of tiny changes here and there to make it more interesting. Feedback is appreciated so I know what I need to improve upon and such, but please make it more helpful than something like "It was too wordy, make it shorter," "I couldn't see it in my mind," et cetera.
I'm willing to bet that some of you are surprised to see your OCs have friends, particularly those who submitted the tough-and-silent types. Uh, surprise! Friends are pretty great, imo, and everyone should have at least one, also imo. ALSO. Also. I'm going to do something new and ask you to tell me any ships you may have between any two characters as the story goes on. Who knows, it might influence some events later on, depending on each OC's sexuality... you'll have to wait and see.
Okay, but enough of that and onto some more exciting news: class 1-A is now full! Hooray!
On the flip side, all new OCs will be delegated to lesser roles. New readers, feel free to submit a teacher (I need a lot of those) or other students - they will be seen sporadically every now and then but won't get a spotlight very often (kind of like the Mr. Treble cameo in this chapter). And please, do keep submitting! I promise all OCs will be used at one point or another, or be mentioned in passing or actually seen interacting with each other/class 1-A members. Form is on my profile and please submit by PM - thanks much in advance :)
Ask questions if you need any clarification! I am aware I made some pretty awful mistakes last chapter (which have been fixed, so those who didn't notice, you'll never know what happened now) and may have skimped on some details concerning OCs, but please, just give me time. I have to grow into the characters so that the characters grow into their personalities; once I have a better grasp of who they are, I'll be able to describe them better. I really am sorry to all OCs I was a bit sketchy about, and I promise I'll do better in the future. And I also won't grossly misspell names anymore. No, really, I won't.
Translation of French in this chapter:
Rayne says the following to CC in the first section: I don't get you sometimes.
The first conversation between Cicely and Rayne is translated here:
CICELY: I'm a little anxious.
RAYNE: There are no penalties today.
CICELY: Yes, I suppose.
When Rayne asks Cicely a question:
RAYNE: Are you sure this is a good idea? [...] Lestia did just say she's not comfortable with me.
CICELY: (Relax, bro. Lestia's a beast in battle.) Besides, she really does want to be your friend, she's just afraid you'll, I don't know, say you hate her hair or something.
Credits go where credits are due. In order of appearance:
LESTIA WHYTOO belongs to Tisuro.
JAMES CLEMMER belongs to ThatGreenPlumber.
CICELY WEISS belongs to Legacy918.
RAYNE ZIMMERMAN belongs to ShadeZyro.
BRYAN TREBLE belongs to Snowsheba.
JOSEPHINE ACOSTA belongs to unleash-hell-little-one.
ATHENA KLYMENE belongs to NemoTheSurvivor.
ALUCARD DATE belongs to DeathTheManiac.
MEI HUANG belongs to xSakura-Dango.
LESTER DAWSON belongs to WereDragon EX.
LUNETH GATES belongs to Apostle Of Regeneration.