After the battle with Rafe, Wes needs some time to relax. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that he's going to get it. After all, it's time for a reunion with his wife! We need to gather everyone together on this trip, and head to Agate Village to resolve this mess with Samarra. And hopefully, Rui and the others aren't walking into any sort of trap. Remember to review!

KedharS: That's just the kind of guy Rafe is. Nice and relaxing.

Hyphenman: He's a nice breath of fresh air. Though, I imagine his sister would disagree with that assessment.

Gyvarius: He's the Seventh Leader, which means he is the second strongest, after Gerard. But he could probably beat Gerard… he mainly gave him the responsibility of being the Eighth Leader because he couldn't be bothered.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: That's the thing about Rafe, it's too easy to be caught up in his pace.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1086

After the surprisingly-exhausting battle against Rafe, Wes was relieved to see the bus containing his wife pulling up to the rest stop. It wasn't that Rui was relaxing, just… well, she was something to take his mind off of things.

"Wes!" Rui practically leapt off the bus, throwing herself into Wes' arms. "I'm so glad to see you! I was so worried, I-"

"Ahem." Maddi stepped off the bus and cleared her throat, pointing at the two of them.

Rui gasped and pulled away, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. Wes was caught off-guard.

"Wh-What?" He asked, confused.

"You can't fool me!" Rui snapped, pointing an accusatory finger at Wes. "You're being controlled by Samarra, aren't you!?"

"What?!" Wes couldn't believe his ears. "No, I'm not! Don't be stupid!"

"Please! That's just what someone possessed by Samarra WOULD say! I know what's up! You lured me here with the promise of sex, all so you could brainwash me for your dubious plans! I know my husband when I see him, and I know he would NEVER do something like that!"

"Promise of-?! I didn't promise you anything like that!" He snapped.

Rui's finger dropped and her face sank in disappointment. "…Oh."

Wes rolled his eyes and massaged his temples. "Rui, for the love of god…"

"Hey!" Rui snapped. "You don't know! You could still be possessed! I'm suspicious of everyone! Prove you aren't possessed, right now!"

Alden and Chloe got off the bus and glanced at each other. Chloe winced behind her mask. She'd suggested the possibility of possession, and apparently that had been enough to send Rui off the rails completely.

Whoops.

"I-I said it was a possibility," she said weakly. She'd only wanted Rui to be on her guard. Chloe glanced at Maddi to see what she thought, and Maddi just looked exasperated.

Maddi could see full well that Wes wasn't possessed. Or, if he was, then it was different from Gerard and Gabrielle. Because none of those odd energies she'd sensed were present. Same with Rafe and Dokukage. They all looked completely normal.

Wes had finally had enough of his wife chewing out. He clapped his hands together, startling her. Rui took a step back when she saw her husband's irritation. But he took a deep breath, calmed down, and returned to his normal stern appearance.

"Rui, I'm not possessed," he said. "I'm myself. I promise."

"Prove it!" She snapped, narrowing her eyes.

"I was the one who TOLD you about Samarra in the first place," he reminded her. "If this was some trap to get you here, why the HELL would I do that?"

Rui opened her mouth to fire back a response, but it died in her throat.

"Uh… well, now that you say it like that…"

Chloe gulped. She wanted to curl up into a ball and die. How could she be so stupid?! Of COURSE Wes wasn't possessed! There was no reason to tell Rui any of this if he was possessed, he could have just called her and told her to come over. Or come over himself.

Whoops. That was another mistake on her part. This was why Chloe didn't like talking or sharing her opinions.

"Sorry…" Rui apologized, batting her eyelashes contritely at her husband. "I was just really worried, that's all. What you said scared me."

Wes sighed. "It's fine. Don't worry about it. But I'm surprised you believed me so readily without any evidence. I mean, a woman capable of brainwashing people? I'm not even sure if I believe it myself, honestly."

Rui let out an awkward laugh. "Uh… yeah. Evidence…"

Wes raised his eyebrow. "What is it?"

"We… were attacked," she admitted, glancing down at the dirt road. Wes gasped. What?! Rui had been attacked?!

"By who!?" He snarled. "Why didn't you tell me anything about this?!"

"Because I knew you would react exactly like this and I didn't want to worry you, you dumbass," Rui wanted to scream. But she held her tongue. "I just wanted to tell you in person," she mumbled. "A trainer who was controlled by Samarra came to attack us, and, well…"

Before she could finish her explanation, an impatient Gerard stepped off the bus. "What's taking so long?" He demanded. "Are we going to Agate Village today or not?"

Wes glared at the rude boy. Already the punk was rubbing him the wrong way. Who did he think he was, talking to his wife like that?

His reaction was nothing compared to Dokukage's though. While Rafe was off in his own little world not paying any attention to what was happening, Dokukage, as a ninja, was paying attention to everything. And when he saw Gerard, his blood went cold.

Gerard?! FUCK! He's possessed by Samarra! What the hell's he doing here?! Forget about setting a trap, THEY'RE the ones who were trapping us! Gerard's probably brought Samarra here to turn all of us into her servants! Not good, we need to get away from here! As worst-case scenario after worst-case scenario flashed through his brain with all the sensibility of a conspiracy theory, Dokukage made sure not to let any of that show on what parts of his face could be seen.

"Sorry," Rui said, sensing her husband's hostility. She stepped between him and the boy, introducing Gerard. "This is Gerard. He's the one I told you about, the person influenced by Samarra who attacked us."

The words had just barely left her mouth before she realized that had done nothing to de-escalate the situation. She went pale.

"W-Wait, I meant-"

"You attacked my wife?" Wes seethed, reaching for a pokemon ball. "You're pretty daring, boy… not many men have tried to hurt someone important to me and lived to tell about it. Feel proud of yourself…"

"Hey, it's not like that," Alden said, surprisingly coming to Gerard's defense. "Gerard was controlled by Samarra. You said it yourself, remember?"

He glanced at Dokukage. "He's a member of your group, right?"

Dokukage was startled that the Commander was addressing him. What did he ever do to get the attention of someone like that?! But he composed himself and gave the slightest of nods, silently affirming Alden's words.

"So what? He was possessed, he's still possessed, and he needs to be dealt with," Wes replied icily, not at all convinced.

"Okay, but… he's not possessed," Alden said. "Not anymore."

THAT got Wes' attention.

"What do you mean?" He asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"Yes, he challenged us to a pokemon battle," Alden said. "But after I defeated him, it was like he woke up from a dream. He isn't possessed anymore."

"Or he's bullshitting you," Wes said, glaring at Gerard, "and he's still completely possessed. I'm not falling for it."

Wes had heard the story from Hiromi, about how the snooty blonde girl, Olivia, had been possessed by this girl Samarra. She'd been defeated by Alcea, and apparently that had broken her out of her possession. But to Wes, that all sounded far too convenient. He didn't really think it could be that simple; it was part of the reason why he was heading back, to make sure that everything was okay, because he couldn't trust Hiromi's words.

He recognized the irony that this was very similar to what his wife had been going through when she was suspicious of his motives.

"He's not."

The words came from an unlikely source. Surprised, Wes turned to Maddi. She had a serious expression on her face.

"Sorry, but you can't possibly know that," he said, shaking his head.

"…Yeah. I can. And I do," Maddi said. She rubbed her eye. "I can see him."

Wes, knowing the truth behind the nature of Maddi's eye, turned even more serious, if that was even possible.

"What do you mean you can see it?" He asked.

Maddi glanced at Gerard briefly. "When someone is possessed by Samarra, they give off a very specific aura," she explained. "It's like… well, it defies explanation. But there's a clear difference between someone who is possessed and someone who isn't."

"I saw it too, kinda," Rui added. "It's sort of like seeing a Shadow Pokemon." An involuntary shudder ran through her as she considered that. She quickly shook her head.

"So wait, you can tell when someone's possessed too?" Wes asked. He was wary of Maddi's eye, but he knew his wife and her abilities well. Then another thought crossed his mind. "Hey, wait, then you knew all along I wasn't possessed!"

Rui shook her head. "It doesn't work like that," she replied. "I could only see that aura when he was battling. But apparently, Madison can see it all the time."

"…Is that right?" Wes murmured, glancing at Maddi. They exchanged a knowing look, both well aware of what Professor Decker had explained about Maddi's eye. Whatever it was that gave her harmonia, perhaps it had allowed Maddi to see this strange aura as well. It made sense to him, anyway. He didn't push the idea any further, though, and accepted it.

Maddi nodded, and that was that.

"So he's not possessed anymore… I see," Wes said, already putting together the pieces that the others had. "So if you defeat a possessed trainer in battle, it can free them. That's something worthwhile, at least."

With a sigh, he sat down on the rest stop bench and rubbed his temples.

"You know, where was this easy possession break back in the good old days?" He grumbled. "Do you know how freaking hard it was purifying all those Shadow Pokemon? And now you're telling me all you have to do is win pokemon battles?"

He shook his head, bitter at how easy the younger generation had it. Whatever happened to challenges, huh?

Rui had no sympathy for her husband, though, and rolled her eyes.

"It's okay. You don't need to apologize for misunderstanding," she assured him. "After all, this Gerard guy is kind of a jerk."

Gerard glared at her, but didn't bother refuting her statement. He didn't really give a damn what she thought of him, basically proving her point.

At that point, there wasn't much left to do. Everything was cleared up, and it was time to head back to Agate Village and regroup.

While everyone piled into the bus, Chloe found herself sitting next to Dokukage. She tensed up as he sat next to her. Something about him always put her off. He was a real ninja, after all, and that was something to be worried about.

Dokukage didn't greet her in return. He just sat, still as a statue.

This girl… she's wearing a mask. Only shinobi wear masks like that… it couldn't be. Could she be a…? No, no way, that's crazy talk! But he was starting to panic. After the run-in with his sister, anything was possible. How many ninjas are gathered around here?!

Thus, as the bus pulled away and began to scale the mountain, an awkward tension hung in the atmosphere, and nobody felt like talking.

The sun was starting to set by the time the bus pulled up to the drop-off point of Agate Village, and everyone filed off.

"So this is Agate Village, huh…" Gerard stared at the green village, bathed in light from the setting sun. Facing the west, Agate Village was directly in the path of the light's rays, and was practically glowing bright orange.

It was truly a beautiful sight. He'd heard a lot about it. But honestly? It wasn't anything special. He shook his head, not at all interested.

Thankfully, his response wasn't shared by the others. Alden, Maddi, and Chloe had all been there already, of course, so they'd gotten used to how beautiful it was. But Rafe reacted about as one would expect, admiring the scenery, and nearly wandering off into the wilds before Rui pulled him back, sighing.

Dokukage, on the other hand…

The shinobi was frozen in place. It really was amazing. A village secluded in the mountains, surrounded by a dense forest, nearly untouched by civilization… it reminded him of home. But he couldn't let his awe show on his face, even beneath his mask. He needed to be the perfect shinobi. So he walked forward, pretending that nothing was wrong.

It didn't go unnoticed by Chloe, though.

How can he just walk away without even saying anything? Gerard's a jerk, sure, but Dokukage? Can he really not be fazed by such a majestic sight at all?! What's wrong with him?! Chloe suppressed the urge to glare at the boy, but she couldn't believe how rude he was. Did he really feel nothing? Was it even possible to feel nothing?

She shook her head and followed the others, unable to believe what she was seeing. Soon enough, they had made it back home.

"Phew, it's good to be back," Wes said as he stepped through the door.

…Only to realize that, as had been the case for the last few days, "his home" was no longer solely his home. There were a bunch of teenagers still hanging around. And just because they were girls, that didn't mean they weren't messy.

"Welcome back," Hiromi said, greeting Wes diplomatically. "I'm glad you came back so soon after what happened."

"It seems like I missed quite a lot," he said darkly. "Where is she right now?"

Hiromi's face fell. "She's locked herself in your daughter's room. I don't think she wants to come out right now."

He could imagine why. While Wes had never been possessed before, he knew full well what it felt like to be ashamed of your actions in the past. She'd attacked people, and even if she couldn't remember what happened as Gerard seemed not to be able to, if she really was free, then this was definitely something that was going to bother her.

He knocked on the door and got no response.

"This is my house," she sharply addressed the door. "I will not have any door locked from me in my own house."

The sternness in his voice made it perfectly clear what his thoughts were. As far as he was concerned, Olivia may deserve sympathy and care, but that wasn't his responsibility. If she was going to shut herself away and be a big drama queen, he was going to confront her about it.

He waited outside the door, and finally it cracked open. The blonde girl didn't even look at him, and he couldn't blame her. Why would she? They'd never even spoken before. Who was he to comfort her? Nobody.

But that wasn't important. Wes walked inside, standing over the bed that Olivia curled back up in, staring down at her with a cold gaze.

"How are you doing?" He asked, voice devoid of tenderness.

Olivia flinched.

"Leave me alone," she muttered.

"I won't. You might think this is none of my business, but it absolutely is. This is my house, and this is a major issue. Tell me what happened."

"You know what happened," she said, glancing up at him from her pillow. "Hiromi already told you what happened."

"I don't care what she told me. You tell me."

Olivia sighed, sitting up on the bed. She wasn't even facing him.

"I don't remember," she muttered. "It was like I was in a dark place. All I could feel was my emotions, they were overwhelming me, like I was drowning. A painful dream that was suffocating me, and then, when I woke up… it turned out that I'd done a bunch of stuff that I couldn't even remember."

"…I see…" Wes mused. "So you don't remember either, then. That's what I expected. So why are you locked up in here?"

Olivia didn't have an answer. She just stared at the floor.

Wes shook his head. "You aren't responsible for the things you did, kid. You were being controlled by someone else."

She knew that, of course. Hiromi had explained the situation to her enough times for her to put the pieces together.

But that didn't mean she felt any better about what had happened. Even if she knew it wasn't her fault, she had still said and done terrible things. Especially to Alcea. This wasn't at all like when she mocked and challenged the girl normally. She'd actually attacked her, and tried to brainwash her as well. Even if it wasn't her fault, she still felt responsible for what she'd done.

She couldn't imagine facing Alcea. She might die of shame if she did.

Olivia's clearly having a rough time in the aftermath of what happened between her and Samarra. She was possessed, and now she's facing the backlash. That's a huge problem to deal with. Compare to Gerard, who doesn't seem that bothered by it. It seems pretty clear which one of them is a better person, huh?