The groups have reunited in Agate Village, but this is the perfect opportunity to immediately jump to an entirely different location! We'll skip ahead a few days to the future to see what happens to the Phantom's group after the whole incident with the S.S. Libra and Phenac City. What's going on there? This is sure to be an exciting chapter!
The Elimination Round of the Pokemon Academy Best Girl Contest 3 is coming to a close! Today is the last day, so make sure to get those votes in! We've only got a couple of people who have voted so far, so try to vote if you can, if you want your girl to be the third year champion, and if you want this contest to happen for a fourth time! You can vote for up to 5 girls, so make sure your favorites have a chance to shine!
Nominated: Ange, Ayame, Caelia, Chloe, Cynthia, Donoma, Elaina, Kate, Maddi, Marion, Misato, Ryoko, Sango, Satsuki, Sylvia, Vic
KedharS: Yep. Big time.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 992
It was about five days after the incident at the S.S. Libra before Valon had recovered enough from his injuries to travel, or in other words, about a week after the Empress's group met with the Commander's group at Agate Village.
Now they were heading to Agate Village as well, at least, that had been Kiana's original plan. After all, their group was rather complicated considering how many of the people in it didn't get along very well with one another.
Hopefully, a nice, relaxing trip to Agate Village would be enough to soothe some of those nerves, and let them embrace the rest of their time in the Orre Region with a bit more of a positive attitude, and maybe even let them see their fellow students as friends.
Which was why Kiana was surprised when Valon requested they make a little detour on their way to the village.
"You want to go where?" She asked, looking at him incredulously. The students were all in a small bus that she had chartered, heading down the dusty desert road towards the looming mountain that was growing ever-closer.
"Mt. Battle," Valon repeated. "It's a facility located near the top of the volcano."
"A defunct facility," Gerard reminded him. "You realize that they shut down Mt. Battle years ago, right? The whole thing's been mothballed, why would you want to go there?"
"It doesn't matter," Ange scowled. She didn't care one way or the other why the Phantom wanted to go to Mt. Battle, because that wasn't happening. "Kiana said that we were going to Agate Village after Phenac City, and that's where we're going. I need something to wash the foul taste of that polluted 'oasis' out of my mouth."
Valon glared at her for a moment but didn't say anything. He calmly smiled and considered how he could convince them.
In truth, contrary to public claims, Mt. Battle was not, in fact, a defunct facility. The truth was, it had been purchased anonymously by a private corporation, and repurposed for… well, not even he knew exactly what.
But he did know the identity of the man behind the purchase. Richard Harker, the father of Blake and Kanone. Both of the boys posed a certain… annoyance, but only Kanone was a real threat to his work. He was famous and popular, and believed in awakening the inner potential of pokemon… but in a way that ran counter to what the Phantom was planning.
If he was going to get his Shadow Pokemon project off the ground, then someone like Kanone was an absolute threat. A threat that needed to be negated. But it wasn't like he could just kill one of the most popular stars in the Pokemon League; no, he needed to remove Kanone from the board in some other way, and just as he was thinking about methods to do that, Sylvia had dropped one right in his lap before he left.
Apparently, there was something at Mt. Battle that was a threat to Kanone. Blackmail material, perhaps? It would certainly explain his father's attempts to cover everything that was going on there up. Richard Harker had sunk an obscene amount of money into that facility, and the Phantom wanted to know what for.
The glee in Sylvia's eyes when she told him about it, and her refusal to elaborate further, did give him some pause. Sylvia was a rather duplicitous person on her best days. But he didn't let that worry him. He focused instead on what he sought to gain from this, since in the end, Sylvia would certainly be working for his best interests-
After all, destroying Kanone Harker, or even better, finding leverage to compel him to work with them, would be quite entertaining indeed.
The problem was, he couldn't just say all that. So when Gerard asked him why he wanted to go there, he had to think of a compelling answer.
"I just wanted to check out a historical site," he replied calmly. "Mt. Battle is an important part of recent Orre history, after all, even if it has been shut down. I think that going there would be very educational, don't you?"
Gerard stared suspiciously at the Phantom. For a long time, he hadn't trusted Valon, nor did he like him. He'd actually been working against him at various points. But now they were in a tentative partnership, so he wasn't sure if he should vocally object to his suggestion or not. Just as he was thinking about what to do, Keahi spoke up.
"I say we go," he shrugged. "It's not that big of a detour, right? If I remember the maps, Mt. Battle is just on the other side of the mountain from Agate Village, it wouldn't take us more than a day. We can go there, check it out, and then it's a quick hop over to Agate, what do you guys think?"
Kiana frowned, scratching her chin. "Well, if it's just a day…"
"I don't believe this!" Ange exclaimed. "You can't be serious! You said we could go to Agate Village! You promised!"
Kiana sighed. "Yes, I know, and we will!"
"We already had to delay because of Valon's stupid arm injury, are you seriously saying we need to wait even longer!?" Ange was burning with impatience. The thought of going to Mt. Battle made her sick to her stomach, that place… it was the pinnacle of everything she despised, human technology imposing on nature, warping such a pristine place.
She turned to the Phantom next, with vengeance in her eyes. "If you think I believe that little story of yours about saving a pickpocket-"
Ange cut herself off when she saw the sharp look in Valon's eye. It was chilling, like nothing she'd seen from him before.
The glowing green light in his eyes seemed to be sending her a message. Like he was reminding her of how much she owed him. And warning her what would happen if she betrayed him right now. It made her shiver.
"So, uh… where are we going, then?" The bus driver called from the front.
Kiana looked over at Ange. She was personally fine with the detour, and it seemed like the rest of the group was okay with it. Ange was the only holdout.
The blonde girl sighed. She didn't want to go, she really didn't. But she didn't want to push her luck here, not after everything that had happened.
"It's fine. Whatever," she muttered. "We can go to Mt. Battle if you want. But after that, I want to go to Agate Village."
Valon smiled cheerfully. "Excellent! Then let's head out."
Kiana just sighed in relief, since it appeared that everyone was finally getting along. "Did you hear that?" She called to the bus driver. "We're going to Mt. Battle."
The bus driver changed course as they headed up the mountain. It would be a few hours before they reached the facility.
The Phantom smiled, wondering just what it was that could get Sylvia so excited.
To the bus driver's surprise, he reached a large metal gate that he couldn't pass through.
"It says 'private property, no trespassing'," Kiana read. She turned to the Phantom. "I thought you said this was public land?"
"It should be," the bus driver said, confused. "I don't remember reading anything about someone putting up private areas on Mt. Battle. Just that nobody came up here anymore because there wasn't anything to do."
"Well either way, it looks like we can't go further," Gerard said. "So I guess we'll have to go back."
Valon glanced over at Misato. She nodded. She'd mostly repaired herself after what happened at the S.S. Libra. She wasn't up to 100%, of course, and she wouldn't be capable of fighting or merging with her pokemon until she returned to the Pokemon Academy and received a complete overhaul by Oscar, but at the moment, she was still working fine. Covertly, she released her Rotom from their pokeball, and the plasma pokemon disappeared, hopping into the gate. A few crackles of electricity later, and the gate rumbled open, much to everyone else's surprise.
"W-Well, I guess we're allowed to pass then?" Kiana asked. "Weird…" She'd been ready to agree with Gerard that they should skip Mt. Battle and go to Agate Village instead, but it appeared that they weren't being turned back after all.
She didn't say anything about it, so she figured that she'd talk to whoever was in charge when they go to the main facility. But when the bus arrived a few minutes later, there didn't appear to be anyone around. The only thing in sight was a large metal door with a swiping card, there were no guards or attendants at all.
The bus pulled to a stop and everyone but the driver got out to stretch their legs. Valon grabbed Ange's arm before she could leave.
"Remember that you owe me," he whispered. "If it wasn't for Misato, you never would have found that precious Oracle of yours."
Scowling indignantly, Ange ripped her wrist free. "I know perfectly well," she spat. "And with this, we're even."
He nodded, satisfied with that answer. "Fair enough," he agreed. "With this we're even."
"Why do you even want to come to a horrible place like this, anyway?" Ange demanded. "What's so important here that you just HAD to see it? Even getting your little robot doll to bypass that gate for you?"
"Oh, you caught that, did you?" Valon asked, smirking.
"I swear, if you're doing anything to hurt the Orre Region further, I'll-"
"I don't care about the Orre Region," Valon assured her. "Trust me. This is purely a personal matter for me. And once it's resolved, then I'll be happy to go to Agate Village or wherever else you want to go, fair?"
"Fine," she spat, stepping off the bus.
Valon followed after her, lost in thought as he contemplated the strange changes to this facility. What he knew was that he needed to succeed here. He'd already failed once with that "Eve" disaster. Having failed in his main goal for the Orre Region, he hoped that he could at least make this trip worthwhile by finding something here he could use against Kanone Harker. If this was just one of Sylvia's games to yank him around and screw up his trip, and there was nothing here at all, he promised himself that he would make her hurt for it.
The group gathered beneath the rocky outcropping jutting out. There were metal tiles installed around the entrance, and at the edge of the tiles was a metal plate that resembled the yellow and black stripes of a caution railing. Cautious, but curious, Kiana immediately approached the door. There was a camera above it, which turned directly towards her.
"PLEASE PRESENT VALID I.D." A computerized voice broadcasted.
She glanced back at the others, confused.
"Okay, what's going on here?" She demanded. "I thought we were going here on some sort of historical trip, but what the hell is this place?"
"I don't really know," the Phantom admitted. "I heard about Mt. Battle from a friend, and I wanted to see what it was all about. But I've never been here before."
That was more or less the truth. He hadn't been to this particular version of Mt. Battle before. He was here when the facility first was founded, and it didn't look anything like this back then. No, someone had gone to a great deal of expense to make it as insulated and closed-off as possible, and he was struggling to figure out why.
"TRESPASSERS ARE NOT PERMITTED. ORGANIC LIFEFORMS ARE NOT PERMITTED. IF VALID I.D. IS NOT PRESENTED IN THE NEXT 5 SECONDS, DEFENSIVE MEASURES WILL BE TAKEN TO ENSURE THE REMOVAL OF ALL TRESPASSERS AT THIS FACILITY. 4… 3…"
"Everyone, get back!" Ange shouted, turning and running past the caution line at the edge of the metal flooring. Everyone ran after her, and the second that they passed the line, the voice stopped counting down.
"What the HELL was that?! 'Defensive measures'?!" Lana screamed. Everyone was looking at the Phantom, and Kiana was shaken.
"Okay, that's it," she said, shaking her head. "I don't want anything more to do with this! First the gate, now this, I don't know what's going on here, but it is NO place to go for a school field trip! Come on kids, we're heading back to the bus."
She turned and began ushering the other students towards the bus. But Valon remained at the edge of the line, staring at camera. Misato stood beside him.
Kiana turned back to them. "NOW, Richard."
With a sigh, the Phantom turned back to her. His affable mood had faded. "I'm sorry, Kiana, but I won't be going with you."
"What?! What are you talking about?" She demanded.
"I don't know what's going on here, but I know it's important," he said simply. "And I'm not going to just leave, not when I'm so close."
Kiana placed her hands on her hips. "I'm not giving you a choice. I'm the chaperone in charge of you, so if I TELL you that you're getting on that bus, then you're getting on that bus."
"Yeah, come on, Valon, I know you're curious, but come on, you heard that thing!" Lana said. She supported the Phantom's organization, but that didn't extend past being zapped by ray guns from an evil computer.
"It said 'organic lifeforms' are not permitted," Valon said plainly. He turned to Misato. "Misato, if you please, will you open that door?"
"Affirmative," Misato said, turning and stepping back onto the platform.
"Misato!" Kiana sputtered in disbelief. "What are you doing?! Get back here!"
"You don't get it," Lana sighed.
"What? What don't I get?!" Kiana demanded. "What aren't I being told here?!"
"Misato isn't a person," Ange spat, glaring contemptuously at the Mechadoll.
Kiana scowled at her. "Ange, I've warned you before to watch your language! That's no way to talk about your fellow-"
"She's right, though," Valon interrupted Kiana, startling her.
"Wh-What?"
He smiled cheerily, but his eyes held no joy in them. "It's exactly as Ange said. Misato isn't a person. She's a Mechadoll. An artificial humanoid created by science. That's why the computer isn't responding to her."
Valon nodded over his shoulder at Misato, who had her hand over the keycard swiper. "And that's the reason why she can hack into the system, just like this."
With a ding, the computer disengaged and the metal door swung open. Kiana gasped in shock.
"Now then, time to get going," Valon said, stepping onto the platform himself.
"I told you to stop!" Kiana ordered him, grabbing his good arm. "You can't go in there, that's trespassing! I won't allow it!"
Valon kicked her in the leg, forcing her to break her grip. He wasn't playing anymore.
"You're the one who said we have to keep the group together," he coldly reminded her. "You can come, or go. Whichever rule you'd prefer to break."
With that, he headed inside with Misato.
"Oh, no you don't!" Ange growled, charging in after him. Keahi wasn't far behind.
"Ange, Keahi, stop!" Kiana shouted. Then Willa headed inside as well.
The members of the eight leaders paused, glancing at each other. They were all trying to figure out what to do, when, of all people, it was Rafe who stepped forward first.
And he wasn't smiling.
"Kiana, there's something going on in there," he said. "And I think it's important that we see what it is."
Coming from Rafe, sounding unusually sure of himself, there wasn't anything Kiana could say in opposition. She sighed and looked at Lana, who just shrugged. She looked scared, and Kiana didn't have the words to comfort her.
And with that, the rest of the group headed into the facility.
It was like walking onto the set of a sci-fi movie. The hallways were pure white, making it impossible to judge the size. There were no computers, no counters, no phones, no people. Valon had no idea what sort of facility this was.
"Misato, what is this place?" He asked.
"The purpose of this facility is unknown."
"So it's not some secret lab… but you interfaced with the computer, right? Did it tell you if anyone's here?" Frankly, he was worried about that warning of "no organic lifeforms". If this was a testing facility for some new virus or something, that could be very bad.
"Only one biological lifeform was detected. Species: human."
That was a surprise. Valon took a moment to think about that. "So wait, is this entire place automated? Everything?"
"Affirmative."
He couldn't begin to imagine the cost. How much money would it take to automate an entire facility? And for what? For one person? Was this some sort of survivalist bunker or something? Another thought crossed his mind. It was a prison.
"Take me to the human."
"Affirmative."
Misato guided the Phantom, and by extension, the rest of the group, through the hallway. After several turns, they reached a massive room. A woman was lying in bed, dressed in a white medical gown. Everything in the room was either white or silver, which made her stringy brown hair and piercing brown eyes more notable. She looked like it had been over a decade since she met a brush. She looked a little older than the students, but not by much. And surprisingly well-fed.
She also looked unsurprised to see them.
"What's going on here?" Kiana breathed as she stepped into the room. Valon didn't bother answering her, approaching the strange woman, who rose from her bed to approach him, as well.
"Who are y-" Before Valon could get his question out, he smacked into a wall of glass and stumbled back. Because of how white the room was, it was nearly impossible to see. So he was right, this was a prison of some kind.
The woman stared at him and blinked.
"I don't see a door…" Lana noted nervously. The woman was completely sealed in behind the glass wall.
"Can she even here us in there?" Keahi wondered.
"Yes, I can," the woman replied, startling everyone. Her voice seemed to be coming from everywhere. She pointed up at large speaker on the wall, near the ceiling; there was a matching one on her side of the glass partition.
"It's two-way intercom. The operators don't like it when people hear my real voice, you see," she said. That explained the strange distortion in the sound.
"Who are you? What are you doing here? Do you need us to call the police?" Kiana demanded, running over to the glass and pounding on it.
The woman tilted her head to the side and smiled, as if she was curious about Kiana's actions.
Valon had his own concerns. "I came here because Sylvia Driscoll told me to."
The woman brightened. "Sylvia? I see. She told you about me?"
"No, she didn't, and that's what's gotten me a little confused," he said, narrowing his eyes. "She just told me that I would find out something incriminating about Kanone Harker. But unless you're his captive sex slave, I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to do with you."
There was a glimmer of something strange in her eyes. They flashed.
"Kanone…" She murmured, her head twitching to the side a little.
"You do know him, then?" Valon asked, narrowing his eyes.
She nodded. But she didn't tell him a damn thing. "Okay, so you know him, but who are you?" He asked again.
Her eyes flashed again. "My name is… Samarra. Yes, I know, odd name," she giggled. "My mother her daughters' names, you see, and she had a rather odd naming sense. But still, I'm lucky. It's better than 'Guinevere' don't you agree?"
Well, this new girl should prove quite interesting. I wonder what's going to happen next?