AN: So, I'm feeling particularly inspired right now, as witnessed by the fact that this chapter is 11 pages, as opposed to the normal 4-6 :) And brownie points for anyone who recognizes what happens with the numbers thing!

Special thanks to Ramazy18-chan for the wonderful, detailed review!

Bit of a time skip here, exploring the wonderful first day of classes. And no, that clock is not off. We watch our boys deal with the battle fallout, pricks that masquerade as teachers, plus a flashback. :D Enjoy!

oO000Oo

Last time…

"I'll talk to you later." He practically ran out of the library.

And now…

Jack lay on his bed, curled on his side with Lyssa at his back. Spear was sleeping on the desk, on a pillow he had set there.

He watched the clock tick over to 6:29, wondering how he was going to deal with seeing Adrian this morning. The other probably thought he had merely not been paying attention to what he was writing, but then Jack had ruined that assumption when he ran away. Now Adrian would know for certain something was wrong, and would probably ask him about it.

He didn't know how to fix that, especially since he had decided to avoid everyone for the rest of the day, skipping lunch and scarfing dinner as fast as he could before Adrian could sit down. He even ignored the knock on the bathroom door—three times.

Today was also the first day of classes. He had never had any sort of formal education, so he had no idea what to expect. He could only read because of Lisa, and numbers clearly gave him problems.

Oh, Arceus, Lisa. He tried to swallow past the lump in his throat, instead shutting off his ringing alarm as it clicked over to 7:30. He made his way to his wardrobe just as he heard the shower in the bathroom click on.

He pulled out his uniform and hung it on the wardrobe door, then slipped a notebook into the school-issue backpack. He waited until he heard the shower shut off and the other door open and close again before taking his stuff to the bathroom to get ready, where he promptly locked both doors. It was a good thing he did, because the door might have rattled when he turned the shower on.

Once he was ready, Jack had to throw himself out the door before he could talk himself out of it. And Lyssa had also begun nipping at his heels, herding him slowly towards the door while Spear stayed directly behind him, pushing him forward.

He halted sharply in the doorway, gripping the frame tightly as he caught sight of Adrian standing in the hallway, almost hugging himself as he waited to ambush his new friend. Jack might have ran back into the room if Spear hadn't chosen that moment to head butt him in the back to make him move forward.

Adrian licked his lips. "Look," he began. "I'm sorry, okay? I don't know what happened. Just please stop avoiding me." He shot him a pleading look.

Jack paused. He really didn't know? Had he assumed it was just a string of transpositions from Jack not paying attention? It seemed so unlikely, but was that it? Maybe he should…? Actually, what was the acceptable response here?

"It's…okay," he offered. It wasn't, but what else was he supposed to say to someone who hadn't realized there was actually a problem? "It's not your fault, I just…" He scratched the back of his head, trying to think of how to explain it without having to explain. If he told Adrian about the numbers moving around, his new friend would leave. Luckily, Adrian just gave him an uncertain nod.

He didn't want to be alone in a school full of people who despised him on principle.

oO000Oo

At the bottom of the stairs, Lyssa and Spear began acting strange.

The fire type's ears perked, and she began sniffing the air. Spear began circling her. Finally, Lyssa looked up at the bug type. "Vul," she barked sharply.

Spear nodded and flipped in the air, shooting off in one direction while Lyssa ran in another.

"Follow Lyssa, I've got Spear!" Jack nodded and tossed Adrian Spear's Ball. The blonde caught it midair and took off at a sprint, while Jack followed his suddenly rebellious vulpix.

Lyssa looked behind her once or twice during the run, making sure her trainer was following. Jack realized then that she wanted him to follow; she had four legs, she was a lot faster than him, yet she only ran just fast enough to remain out of reach and to make it difficult to call her back with the Friend Ball. Jack imagined Adrian was having a similarly rough time getting Spear.

"Lyssa, wait up," he pleaded, panting. She ignored him and led him deeper into the school, up staircases and down hallways. As he passed a suit of armor, he wondered if she was even leading him in circles, because he was certain they had already passed one just like it.

Finally, she picked up speed and sprinted down a hallway, towards a group of four. As he got closer, Jack could hear an argument.

"—had absolutely no right to take Artemis," one man snapped. With a jolt, Jack realized Rowen was standing partially behind a man who looked extremely similar to him. His father?

"Your Majesty, with all due respect—" one of the other men started.

"Vulpix!"

Rowen turned, startled as Lyssa flew into his arms to lick his cheek. Jack, meanwhile, skidded to a halt, gasping in a combination of exhaustion and shock.

"Jack, what are you doing here?" Rowen hissed, glancing between Jack and his older counterpart. Had to be his father, but there was no way—

"Rowen, what is the meaning of this?" his father demanded, shooting Jack a look. He wasn't sure what it was, exactly; not disgust, not any sort of hatred. Maybe just frustration—?

"I'm not sure," Rowen confessed, giving Jack a questioning look.

Jack inhaled deeply, having finally recovered his breath. "I-I'm sorry, s-sir," he stammered, licking his dry lips. "Lyssa j-just t-took off all of a sudden."

"We do not have time for this," Rowen's father sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Then let us step into my office," the other man—Jack presumed he was the headmaster, Darrel Askance—suggested.

Rowen nodded and tried to put Lyssa down. She bit his uniform shirt gently, letting it stretch between them for a second before he sighed.

"Jack," he pleaded, shooting him a wide-eyed look.

"Right." Jack fumbled for the Friend Ball and brought it up.

Lyssa growled and jumped away, releasing her death bite on Rowen's shirt. Every time Jack started to recall her, she would dodge away—at one point, that was behind Rowen's father, but he quickly stepped away, leaving her to glare at him helplessly.

"Return!" In a flash of red, the fire fox disappeared.

"Is she usually that stubborn?" Rowen joked.

Jack flushed and shook his head. "Not usually this bad."

They looked up as someone cleared his throat quietly. "Child, unless you witnessed the events leading up to the battle we were discussing, I suggest you go back to the dining room," he chastised gently.

Jack swallowed, opening his mouth to say, "Yes, sir." Only what came out was, "I did, sir." Rowen gave him a sharp look.

The headmaster gaped. "You were there?"

Jack was Cherri berry red. "Y-yes, sir." He tried to ignore Rowen's exasperated looks. It wasn't like he could turn back now! He had already admitted it; denying it now would get him in more trouble.

"Why didn't you step forward earlier?" Headmaster Askance snapped.

"I didn't know you were looking for anyone," Jack admitted uncomfortably, trying not to squirm at the hard looks he was getting.

A soft snort made the four turn to the forgotten individual. The man was bleach blonde, wearing the uniform of the Royal Guard.

The guard looked completely bored. "Forgive me if I don't believe you," he explained sleekly, an odd look in his eyes, "but I'm sure Prince Rowen would have said something if anyone else had been there."

Well, damn, Jack thought, amazed. Rowen was a prince. He cleared his throat, trying to keep from zoning out. "I have no idea what Rowen's said," he said carefully, "but I was there."

"Let's step inside," Rowen's father—oh, Arceus, it was Aaron Woode—urged, "before there are students in the halls."

Askance nodded sharply and strode away, lips pressed in a thin line. A few doors down, he paused and opened the door. "Your Majesty," he murmured as Aaron passed by him. Rowen and Jack followed closely; Jack thought the headmaster might have closed the door in his face if the guard hadn't been the last one through.

The guard took up a position behind Aaron, falling into parade rest with an impassive look on his face. Aaron sat, settling back quietly, while Rowen and Jack stayed standing.

"I gather we all know why we're here?" Askance asked dryly. "Rowen chose to engage in a battle with a new student." He looked at Jack. "What happened that started the battle?" he asked, staring at the wall behind the new student.

"Lou accused me of, um, stealing Lyssa and Spear," Jack squeaked. Someone, he suspected was the guard, snickered.

"Who are Lyssa and Spear?" Aaron inquired, head tilted.

"L-Lyssa's my vulpix. Spear's m-my beautifly." He kind of wished Spear hadn't taken off; what if they wanted to see him? And that guard was definitely laughing; Jack stared straight ahead, his pants clenched in his fists.

"Anthony!" Aaron hissed; he looked like he would kick his guard if it wouldn't have garnered stares.

"What? That's like naming your lillipup Killer!" But he stopped laughing at Aaron's glare.

Aaron turned back to Jack. "Continue, please."

Jack swallowed, his mouth feeling as dry as cotton. "Lou challenged me. He wanted me to bet Lyssa." Aaron's eyes narrowed. "Rowen talked him out of that, but he insisted that Bailey—his lillipup—could beat any opponent she faced.

"Rowen knew I didn't want to battle," he continued. "I'm not sure how." He gave Rowen an uncertain look. "He said he would be willing to battle, if Lou still wanted to. I-I thought Lou would back down, but he didn't."

"Why did you think Lou would back down?" Jack wondered briefly why the king was asking the questions, but a look at Askance proved the man wasn't even listening anymore; he was staring blankly at his desk.

"I—he looked like he was going to," Jack said. He bit his lip. "Rowen's in his second year, I thought Lou would realize the match up wouldn't be fair."

"Why didn't you accept?" Aaron asked pointedly.

Jack looked down, his shoulders hunched. "I don't know how," he muttered.

Aaron frowned. "Leroy didn't teach you anything?"

Jack stiffened. That was dangerous territory; if it got back to Lord Richards that someone thought he was a less-than-adequate guardian, or that Jack had said something to imply it, he was in for it.

He shook his head. "I think he thought I was taken off the acceptance list," he said quickly.

Aaron nodded thoughtfully. "Rowen, you realize Lou would have taken the blame for this if he remained the challenger?"

Rowen nodded tightly. "Adrian told me Jack had never participated in a battle before," he said with a shrug. "If I hadn't turned the challenge around, Lou would have trashed Jack."

"So, you're saying you were defending your friend?" Askance asked suddenly. Rowen nodded. "You are claiming the son of a traitor, whom you met only two days ago, as your friend." He gave Rowen a disbelieving look.

"I don't hold that against him," Rowen said evenly.

"You've only just met, his father's a traitor, he can't even read, and you don't think there isn't a good reason for Lord Richards not teaching him how to battle?" Askance asked incredulously, ticking everything off on his fingers and ignoring Rowen's statement. Jack flinched, waiting for at least the guard to start laughing at him. "If what you claim is true," Askance continued, "then I don't see how I can trust you, when you make friends with someone no one can trust!"

Rowen said something back, his tone acidic, but Jack couldn't hear what he said, or Askance's response.

***FLASHBACK TIME!***

Jack was nine; he and Liam had been working on spelling. Jack had felt so lucky that Richards had thought he was worth teaching anything, and Richards didn't have to deal with Jack while he dealt with "business." Jack wondered if anyone else knew about the strangers in the weird costumes that came to visit.

Lord Richards checked their progress occasionally; today was one such day. He gave Jack and Liam a test, not giving an explanation. He simply told them to follow the instructions and give it back to him when they were done, then sat behind his desk, turning his attention to whatever he had been working on before.

The test covered many subjects; science, reading, math, and history. Jack felt he had done well with reading and history, but when he reached the science and math portions, he ran into a problem: the numbers moved around the page. A few would switch occasionally, enough that he knew he wouldn't give the right answer; he bit his lip, looking silently at his guardian and back to the paper. The more time passed, the worse his anxiety got and the more the numbers swam.

Unsure of what to do or if he should say something, he quickly circled and scribbled his answers, hoping he would get at least some of them right, and turned his test in with Liam.

They stood there, waiting for him to tell them how they had done, both nervous. Liam got his back first; it had very few marks on it. Liam's smile could have lit a room.

Then Richards turned to Jack, his face disgusted and furious. "Did you think this was funny?" he hissed, shoving the paper back to him. The math and science parts of the test were a mess of red marks. Jack shook his head, not sure what to say.

"Then I'm assuming you're too stupid to read! All you had to do was follow the instructions, Jack, it isn't that hard. Liam, go," he snapped at his son, who pouted, but left.

Richards circled around the desk, fuming. Jack flinched when his guardian grabbed his arm, but didn't try to escape; the last time he had, Richards had beaten him.

Nor did he try to tell Richards that he was wrong, that Jack could read, the numbers just had a nasty habit of moving on him.

"You will do it over again, and I swear, Wolfe, if you don't get it right—"

***END FLASHBACK***

"Jack!" Someone shook him.

Someone touched his cheeks. "Jack Ericson Wolfe, wake up."

Jack opened his eyes; they burned with tears, and he realized he was crying. He realized Aaron was holding his face, watching him with very obvious concern. He hadn't zoned out for very long, had he? Or was it because he was crying?

He swiped at his face, embarrassed. "I'm fine," he mumbled, sniffing.

"You've been ignoring everyone for the last five minutes," Aaron told him gently.

Jack looked away, instead looking around the room; they were two down. Rowen and Headmaster Askance had disappeared.

He felt a chill; he didn't want to be alone with two people he didn't know. He just didn't know how to back away without insulting him.

"Askance has taken Rowen to retrieve Artemis," Aaron said grimly. "I simply cannot believe that man."

"We've always known he isn't your biggest supporter," Anthony said dryly. "He will continue to take every opportunity to go after Rowen. He did the same thing with Joseph."

Aaron actually groaned, flopping dramatically into a chair. "Don't remind me," he sighed, startling a laugh out of Jack. Aaron perked up slightly.

"—cannot believe you would deface academy property," a familiar voice ranted.

"What now?" Anthony groaned.

Askance burst back through the door, towing Rowen and Adrian behind him—he actually had Adrian by the wrist.

Adrian looked at Jack, eyes widening slightly. "Jack, you won't believe where Spear led me."

"So you are behind this," Askance growled, pointing a shaking finger at Jack. "I had wondered why one of our best prospects had suddenly decided to go to an out-of-bounds area! I should have known."

Jack frowned. "What?"

"Spear found Artemis!"

"Be quiet," Askance snapped. "Sit down."

Rowen took one chair, and Adrian all but fell into his lap. Jack stood reasonably close by, since Aaron still occupied the other chair, and had a perfect view of a vein on the headmaster's forehead pop. For a minute, everyone was completely silent.

"So, I thought Spear belonged to Jack," Anthony said slowly, breaking the tension.

"He does," Jack admitted. "When we came down for breakfast and Lyssa took off, Spear flew off in a different direction. Adrian said he would round him up." He looked at Adrian.

"The headmaster took him."

"And you won't be getting him back anytime soon," the headmaster said matter-of-factly. "You clearly are not capable of handling him; he would be better off with a different trainer."

"You do not have that authority," Aaron said lazily, settling back against the seat. "You did not have the authority when you took Artemis, and if you insist on keeping Spear as well, you will be spending quality time in one of my cells."

Askance stared at him, flabbergasted. "You can't arrest me!"

Aaron gave him a look that said, "Oh, yes I can." "The academy is under my direct jurisdiction," he said smoothly. "I do not have to rely on one of my lords getting around to an inspection to replace or arrest you."

Askance spluttered, then stopped. "Of course I don't have that authority," he muttered. "We'll get Artemis and Spear back to you just as soon as we leave this meeting."

"Good," Aaron said cheerfully. "Then we're done here." He fixed Rowen and the headmaster with a meaningful look. "I trust there won't be anymore…issues, requiring my return?"

"Of course not, Your Majesty," and "No, sir" were his answers. With a nod, the king left, his guard close behind.

The headmaster stood and beckoned for them to follow, leading them to the taken Pokémon while muttering under his breath.

oO000Oo

The headmaster dropped Jack and Adrian off at their first class of the day, which was almost over by the time they arrived; Rowen had split away from them once he had gotten Artemis, since he already knew his way around the school.

The Crafting Professor met them at the door and handed them a packet. "Grab your book," she told them. "We just pretty much went over class attendance and grading, then everyone's supposed to start reading the first chapter." Jack nodded silently, and he and Adrian found seats in the back.

Jack immediately pulled his book from his backpack and flipped it open and started reading, even though he didn't expect to get much done in the last fifteen minutes of class. Adrian, however, grabbed a notebook and started doodling on a blank page, until he had what was starting to look like a Pokémorph, though he couldn't tell what kind yet.

Adrian noticed Jack's curious looks. "I don't need to read the textbook," he explained in a whisper, "because Dad's already taught me everything. I don't see why I have to take this course, but they wouldn't give me anything else." He frowned and erased a line.

Jack nodded; it made sense that Adrian wouldn't need to study for something he had been raised for. It didn't make the drawing any less distracting, however; especially once he saw it start to turn into a Rowen-Artemis mix. Arten? Rowtemis?

The bell rang, shaking Jack from his thoughts. He marked his place calmly as the rest of the class scrambled to put away their things and dash off to the next class.

oO000Oo

They skidded into the Training Intro classroom and dove into two of the seats in the back just before the bell rang. The teacher behind the desk watched them in complete amazement—or possibly alarm, it was hard for Jack to tell—as the last half of the class straggled in.

Jack sighed softly as they received their syllabus for the class; it seemed they would have a lot to cover in this class, and the time frame seemed barely adequate. He could already picture the long nights he would spend studying.

oO000Oo

Jack lowered himself into the chair in the dining hall slowly, trying not to tip anything on his tray, while Adrian settled next to him. Rowen joined them a few minutes later.

"I swear, I've been lectured by every single one of my teachers this morning," Rowen sighed.

"You've had what, two classes?" Adrian snorted, setting Chester's bowl in front of him.

Rowen threw him a dirty look and set Artemis's dish on the ground next to Lyssa's. "So, how was it for you two?" he asked casually.

Adrian shrugged. "I drew a picture for Pokécrafting, and all we did for Intro to Training was go over the syllabus. Jack," he said, jerking his thumb at their silent companion, "actually studied in class, though."

Rowen grinned. "Wonderful," he praised, "you'll be top of your class in no time."

Jack grimaced; he wasn't sure what reaction he would get from Richards if he managed to beat Liam in the class standings, but he was sure he didn't want to find out. But that did not mean he didn't want to try his best, because if he didn't, he would be screwed if he tried to get away from Richards.

"I'm not sure how I'm going to keep up with Intro to Training," he confessed. He bit his lip. "There seems to be so much."

"It's not so bad," Adrian encouraged, patting his shoulder. "We'll help you study."

Rowen blanched. "We will?"

Adrian kicked him. "Of course we will!" He glared at his boyfriend.

"Of course! More studying, just what everyone wants." Rowen rolled his eyes, then brightened up. "Drop by after dinner."

Adrian frowned. "Why not during free study?"

"Free study's not exactly free. We're all crushed into the library for either math or reading comprehension." Jack cringed, drawing Rowen's attention. "Are you all okay?" the older boy asked, concerned.

"I hate math," Jack mumbled at the table.

Adrian sighed gustily. "Don't we all?"

"Speak for yourself, Addie, I like math."

"Yeah, but you're good at it, Ren," Adrian whined. "You've never met an equation that didn't practically solve itself for you."

Rowen just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. So, Jack, did you want to work with Spear this weekend? Your training class usually wants you to work with your starter, because you would normally be closer to Lyssa."

Jack hesitated. "Would they not let me use Spear?"

"No," Rowen assured him, "but you might hear some comments for it."

Did Jack care about that? Did he want to avoid it? How fast would it all get back to Richards if he worked with Spear only on the weekends, as opposed to during class as well?

Adrian tilted his head. "They'll get over it. So, what are we going to do about history?"

"What about it?" Rowen asked absently. He pushed Artemis's paws down from his thigh. "I'm not giving you table scraps," he scolded.

"It's history."

"Why, yes, yes it is history," Rowen said dryly. "Thanks for stating the obvious, Addie."

Adrian stuck his tongue out at his boyfriend. "Hopefully it's not as bad as my last tutor made it." He shuddered. "I almost fell asleep."

"I thought you did, a couple times. Weren't you grounded for it?"

"Shut up, Rowen."

oO000Oo

As Jack and Adrian sat inside the history classroom, waiting for the bell to ring, Jack wondered if they would be going over another syllabus or actually doing something. Jack skimmed idly over the first couple paragraphs of the book; should he get a head start? Should he wait to see what the teacher had planned?

Adrian was scribbling again, finishing his drawing of Rowen-morph. It was very realistic, Jack noted, like Adrian had actually seen it and was copying a memory.

They both jumped as the bell clanged; Adrian cursed as he accidentally drew a jagged line across his drawing's chest. He started to carefully erase it as students streamed into the room, while Jack settled back uneasily and tried to return to the first chapter.

Jack glanced up as someone plopped into the seat next to him—then flinched when he realized it was Liam, causing Adrian to look up from his erasing.

Adrian frowned, then shuffled his paper away, coming up with a fresh one. He kept one wary eye on Liam and started sketching in another face.

Liam glanced at Adrian and Jack, then turned to a brown headed boy next to him. "Did you hear? Team Galactic's trying to re-establish."

The brunette looked up, startled at the choice of conversation, and saw Jack on Liam's other side. He sneered. "Oh really?" he asked casually, leaning back in his chair. "Wonder who their contact is this time around. Wasn't it Eric Wolfe before?" he asked innocently.

Adrian snorted, making the three of them stare. "The teams are like weeds," he snapped. "Once they're here, they're difficult to get rid of. I doubt they ever left to begin with."

Jack wanted to curl up in a corner when his father was brought up. He had hoped he could get through his first day without anyone bringing his father up, but it seemed that hope was in vain; he should have known Liam wouldn't leave it be. Maybe he could ignore them, he thought as Adrian and Liam began "debating."

Then Adrian dropped a bombshell. "No one believes Lord Wolfe was the actual ekans," he snorted, lips twitching. "Didn't anyone ever tell you? Until the evidence miraculously appeared overnight in Wolfe's office, it was Lord Richards who was the primary suspect." He grinned evilly as Liam's mouth fell open.