Before we begin the Phantom Cup, let's celebrate hitting 2 million words! Quite a milestone. In the meantime, there are a few other details in need of further… obfuscation. Sylvia Driscoll's got something to do, and I wonder what will we see from her?
KedharS: Not only is this going to be fun, there are other fun things on the way, as well.
Aquahaze675: I agree, making Diancie into a Shadow Pokemon would probably be a bad idea. The only question is what will Gerard do.
JoshGamerV: Let's hope he doesn't go through with it. That could be pretty bad.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 516
The sun was high in the sky, shining down on a beautiful day. The estate was always gorgeous, but on a day like this it was truly lovely.
If only there was someone to witness it.
Right now, only two people were in the garden, and only one was finding joy in what he saw, the pain of his partner's silence echoing in his ears.
"What do you think, mom? Isn't it wonderful?" Kanone Harker pushed a wheelchair down a walkway through the lovely garden, a bright smile on his face as he tried to seem genuinely cheerful and upbeat to please…
Sitting in front of him was a beautiful woman with hair the color of gold, framing her pale face like a halo and cascading down her back like a river. She wore a beautiful black dress, and her face was made up, her nails manicured, everything about her looked the picture of pristine beauty.
But her eyes were empty. They were golden, but hollow, staring off absently into the distance. She wasn't blinking, her face didn't move a muscle. One would not be mistaken to think that she was a doll, because she was scarcely even breathing. An IV drip was hooked up to her arm, affixed to the back of the wheelchair.
She was an empty, hollow doll, but Kanone loved her the same.
"Look, mom!" Kanone said, pointing to a swarm of Cutiefly buzzing around the flowers.
Cynthia didn't turn her head to look, she didn't respond, she only continued to stare forward, empty and vacant as she had been for years.
Kanone sighed, but didn't let himself get discouraged. After what he had heard from Blake… the state of his sister, Guinevere… he wanted to be around his family. He missed his mom. He missed his siblings. He just wished that things could be… normal.
But no. Normal had never been a part of his family life. Things… they had always been troublesome. Little sisters… if only he could protect his family… but he couldn't. He was far too weak. Too weak to protect the ones he loved.
"Well now, gone out for a little family stroll, Kanone Harker?"
Kanone flinched, his eyes widening in surprise. His hands slipped from the back of his mother's wheelchair and he turned on his heel, shocked. He had arranged for the gardens of his father's estate to be empty, no servants or staff, no caretakers, no one to interrupt his time with his family. And the estate itself was impossible to break into.
So how the hell was a blonde girl wearing a Gothic Lolita dress walking up to him, a Shuppet hovering over her shoulder.
"Who are you?" Kanone asked, narrowing his eyes in confusion.
"Who, me?" Sylvia asked, blinking innocently as she walked up to him. "Are you saying you don't remember? I guess that would make sense, you didn't pay a lot of attention to the students while you were visiting the Pokemon Academy."
She pouted.
"Though, I wish you would have remembered me, I like to think that I'm a very memorable person. I always put my effort in," Sylvia sighed.
"I don't know who you are or what you're doing here, but this is a private estate, and you're not welcome here," Kanone said, narrowing his eyes. He was suspicious of this girl, something about her was putting him off. He turned to the girl's Shuppet, trying to get the feeling of what the girl was, but he sensed nothing coming off. The pokemon wasn't sending any feelings out for his harmonia to sense, apparently it was a very private pokemon.
"I'm Sylvia Driscoll," Sylvia said, giving him a little wave and a flirty wink. "Didn't your little brother ever mention me? You two are so close, after all. I thought he would have… after all, we're so tight, practically the best of friends."
"You're mistaken," Kanone said, shaking his head. "He never mentioned you. And I would appreciate not having this conversation in front of my mother."
Sylvia blinked. Her lips curled into a smirk.
"What's the harm?" She asked, turning her eyes to the back of the blonde woman's head. "After all, it's not like she's listening. Trapped in her mind the way she-"
Kanone lunged forward and grabbed Sylvia by the collar of her dress, glaring at her.
"I don't know what you think you know about my family, but I'm nothing like my brother," he whispered. "I'm less… kind than he is."
"Ooh, you promise?" Sylvia asked, licking her lips. "Careful… mommy might be watching. You don't want to talk about family in front of her, but you're fine with violence? That's quite an interesting bit of double-think if you ask me… but then, your family is quite a complicated issue, now isn't it?"
Kanone glowered at her, but didn't respond.
"Blake… your brother? In a manner, you might say," Sylvia said, rolling her eyes, "but what you don't like talking about, what you LOATHE talking about… you have two younger siblings, don't you? More or less. Two… or have I miscounted?"
Kanone narrowed his eyes, still not replying.
"I've met her before, you know," Sylvia said. "Your little sister. We're pen pals, actually. But don't tell Blake. He wouldn't understand. But then, you never talk about her to Blake, do you? No, no, he doesn't know, does he? Just how deep down the rabbit hole your family really goes."
"Shut up," Kanone said. He reached out his other hand, curling both around Sylvia's throat and beginning to squeeze.
"No, you're not *hack* like Blake at all," Sylvia coughed out. "I can *wheeze* see it in your *koff* eyes that you really would, wouldn't you? Fine… fine… I give!"
Immediately, Kanone released his grip, Sylvia falling back on the gravel path, coughing. She rubbed her sore throat, looking up at Kanone with her sparkling blue eyes that were glimmering with mischievousness.
"I flew all the way out here just for you, you know," Sylvia smiled. "The minute my battle with Blake ended, I took the first flight to Kalos I could find, all to see you! I just wanted to talk with you, first time, just to see if you were like she said…"
Sylvia stood up and clapped him on the shoulder.
"And you didn't disappoint! You, your siblings, and especially Blake, you Harkers are the best entertainment a girl can find!" Sylvia laughed, stepping back in anticipation of another attempted strangulation. But Kanone didn't make a move. Once she was far enough away, Sylvia raised a finger to her ruby red lips and tapped a black nail against them in contemplation.
"What do you want?" Kanone whispered, glancing at his mother with worry for a moment before turning his attention back to Sylvia.
"Do you like reading?" Sylvia asked, reaching into her purse. She withdrew a decently thick paperbound book and tossed it a few feet in front of her, the book skittering through the gravel and stopping in front of Kanone. A glance down revealed the title, "Appointment in Samarra", and Kanone's blood went cold.
He glanced up from the book, staring in surprise at Sylvia.
"There's the look," she murmured. "Go on, pick it up if you like. It's just an extra copy I had lying around. It's really one of my favorites, by John O'Hara, an excellent author in my opinion. You can take it, I'll give it to you."
Kanone didn't move a muscle.
"You're missing out," Sylvia shrugged. "It's quite an interesting book, you know. A story about a man who's got it all, and for reasons beyond our understanding he makes a series of self-destructive and impulsive decisions that tear his life apart, culminating in his suicide. Why? Well, we'll never know. Perhaps… a fascination with desolation, the feeling of taking something pure and good, and filling it with inky blackness and corruption."
"I'm not much of a reader," Kanone replied.
"…Not a fan of the title, I suppose," Sylvia shrugged. "But then, you wouldn't be. Not you, of all people, not… in your situation. Samarra…"
She studied him for a moment.
"Did you know it's a reference to a myth?" Sylvia asked. "The title, I mean. 'An Appointment in Samarra'. It's an ancient tale, from Mesopotamia, I believe. Would you like to hear it?"
"Not particularly," Kanone growled.
"…Well, that is unfortunate," Sylvia shrugged. Kanone took a step closer to her and she raised her finger, shaking it from side to side and going *tsk tsk*. With her other hand, she took her phone out of her purse and held it up to her ear. "No, no, I love a good recreational choking as much as the next girl, but no more. See, either you and me can talk… or I'll get on the phone with my beloved Blake. And then… he and I can talk. And something tells me you wouldn't want that to happen, now would you?"
Sylvia stood on her toes and peeked over Kanone's shoulder.
"Well, mummy? Has your little boy been naughty? Hiding secrets from his dear brother?" Sylvia cooed. "And what a secret, too, imagine, your daughter-"
"Enough!" Kanone snapped, spittle flying out of his mouth. His eyes were wild. "Enough… please…"
Kanone turned to look at Cynthia, swearing for a moment he could see her shiver. But no, it must have been the wind blowing through her hair, nothing more.
"…So does that mean it's story time?" Sylvia asked, licking her lips.
Kanone slumped over, defeated.
"Lovely," Sylvia purred. "Now, then. A merchant in Baghdad sends his servant to the marketplace for provisions. Soon afterwards, the servant comes home white and trembling and tells him that in the marketplace, he was jostled by a woman, whom he recognized as Death."
Sylvia paused, cracking a smile.
"Death is a woman! Those ancient Mesopotamians really got it right on the money, didn't they? So progressive!" She laughed. "Now, where was I? Yes, Death, who made a threatening gesture. Borrowing the merchant's Rapidash, he flees at great speed to Samarra, a distance of about 75 miles (125 km), where he believes Death will not find him. The merchant that goes to the marketplace and finds Death, and asks why she made the threatening gesture to his servant. She replies, 'That was not a threatening gesture, it was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him in Baghdad, for I have an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.'"
Sylvia's smile widened.
"What do you think? Quite a fascinating story, don't you think? Fleeing from Death, he ran to exactly the place death was waiting for him," Sylvia mused. "Samarra… death awaits us all in Samarra, doesn't it? That's what it's all about. The inevitability of it all."
She nodded to the book, still sitting in the gravel.
"The inevitability of the death of Julian English, for one reason or another… what compelled him to destroy his life and eventually take it?" Sylvia wondered. "What compels us all? What could possibly make us seek out Samarra?"
She turned to Kanone.
"What about you, Kanone? What leads you to Samarra?" She asked.
"What is it that you want?" Kanone demanded. "Why are you bringing this shit up, huh? Who the hell do you think you are, anyway? Coming here, saying these things, making threats and insinuations about my family-!"
"I'm just a girl, that's all. Just a girl who knows a little bit more than most people, a girl who knows your sister."
"Impossible," Kanone said, shaking his head. But even as he said those words, he couldn't believe them. There was no way that Sylvia could have met her… but she clearly had.
Sylvia smiled, and began to hum. Then, the humming turned into singing, a haunting melody that told Kanone in an instant that everything Sylvia was saying was the truth.
"I know a girl lost far, far away,
Locked in her room, locked in her mind,
Help salvage her 'fore her dark heart grows,
Pain hid by pain, and nobody knows."
"Impossible…" Kanone said once more, his voice a hushed whisper. That song. No one could know that song. Nobody except…
"Your sister has a lovely singing voice," Sylvia whispered. She stepped closer to him, kneeling down and picking the book up off of the ground, placing it in his hand. "I do enjoy her company quite a bit. …Oh, and don't tell Blake we had this little talk. It's a private thing, you know. I'd hate for him to get the wrong idea, after all. His sister Guinevere is so important to him, and we wouldn't want him getting all confused about things, now would we?"
Kanone opened his mouth but Sylvia placed her finger up against his lips, shaking her head.
"No, no, we both know you hate telling that poor boy anything. So this can just be our little secret," Sylvia said, shaking her head. She turned on her heel and headed back for the main grounds. She paused, turning back and glancing at Kanone.
"I'll be visiting Samarra now," she called back to him, giving him a little wave. "You're welcome to join me whenever you like."
Kanone turned back to his mother, terror piercing his chest as he resisted the urge to scream. He didn't want to bother his mother. Instead, he flung the book Sylvia had given him as far as he could, wrapping his hands around the handles of Cynthia's wheelchair, clutching his mother so tightly his knuckles turned white, like a frightened boy scared of what was to come.
While Sylvia was playing her games with Blake's brother, Blake himself was blissfully ignorant half a world away, sitting down in the stands to watch the next rounds of the Phantom Cup. Ayame would be fighting tonight, and he wanted to be there cheering for her, louder than anyone else would be. Cynthia and Sango were, of course, there, as were Reiner, Nikita, Nick, and Callie. Julia and Kitty, though, were conspicuously absent. So was Kate. But Blake didn't pay any attention to that. Apparently she was watching with Alcea. Blake wasn't sure why she had come to sit with his friends before, but he was grateful that she wasn't here today, as rude as that sounded.
Kate was… okay enough. But things were still awkward between the two of them, although they were slowly turning around.
"If only Maddi was here," Cynthia sighed. "Kind of rude, her not wanting to sit with us."
"Where is she, anyway?" Sango asked.
"She's in the Commander's box," Cynthia said. "I was invited, too, but I didn't want to leave my friends behind, so I declined. Guess she's not as attached to us."
Sango didn't want to comment on the fact that it was probably a response to how clingy and insistent Cynthia had been the night before, worrying over Maddi's health.
"What about Julia and Kitty?" Callie asked, looking around. "Is Kitty still not feeling okay?"
"Julia's keeping Kitty company in our room," Nikita explained. "They're watching on television. That way, if a Shadow Pokemon shows up, they can just turn the TV off."
"You think there's going to be more Shadow Pokemon?" Blake asked.
"Hopefully not, but it pays to be cautious," Nikita said.
"So when's this starting, anyway?" Cynthia pouted, starting to get impatient as she stared at the announcer's box, where Akira and Dakota were sitting, but Lila was notably absent. "I'm getting bored! Where's Lila Seelie, huh?!"
Where was Lila Seelie indeed? At the moment, she was walking down the halls of the inner stadium, heading for one of the waiting rooms, a certain waiting room in particular. She knocked on the door of Darla Drake's room.
There was no offer to come in, but Lila entered anyway.
"I didn't invite you," Darla said, turning back to look at Lila. She was sitting on a chair, deep in thought, her bandages freshly wrapped. "What are you here for? Don't you have a tournament to comment on, Lila? Or do I need to be at your side to keep you on schedule?"
It was said with the tone of a joke, but neither girl was smiling. They stared at each other in awkward silence, not sure what to say.
"…So you're really going through with it?" Lila asked.
"Of course I am," Darla said, rising from her seat, beginning to affix her pokeballs to her belt. "I'm not fighting yet, but… it's coming."
"How's your arm?" Lila asked, glancing at Darla's bandages.
"It's fine," Darla said, forcing the lie of a smile to her face. "Don't worry about it. I'll do my best in this battle, though. I always do."
"Darla…" Lila walked across the room and stopped in front of her partner. She reached up and placed her hand on Darla's cheek, leaning forward and placing her forehead against the other girl's. "Are you okay? Please, you can tell me if you're okay."
"Of course I'm okay," Darla smiled, closing her eyes with Lila so they stared at each other behind their eyelids. "You and I… we don't need to worry. Just a little more and it will all be resolved. I'm going to do my best, after all."
"And it's okay if you don't," Lila reminded her. She was going to say that as many times as it would take until it sunk in for Darla, until she would accept that she didn't have to keep pushing herself like this. She didn't know why Darla was doing it, but for whatever reason, Lila would be there.
Lila felt as though she'd been having this conversation with her friend far too often over the course of the past few weeks.
"I'm always here," Lila continued. She felt Darla's forehead leave hers, the girl's cheek pulling away from her hand, and she opened her eyes.
"And I appreciate it, believe me, I do," Darla smiled. "But I do believe that right now, you're supposed to be elsewhere? It is that time, after all."
Lila smiled back, but her smile was a shaky one.
"…Yeah, I better get going," Lila said, nodding her head. She bid Darla goodbye, turned, and headed out the door, towards her job for the day.
Darla sighed, slumping back into the couch, rubbing her temples. Things were getting more and more stressful, and her match today would only make things worse.
So, Sylvia's got some interesting plots in the work. What's her aim? And what will result from the Phantom Cup? The second half of the first round begins now!