Now that the fight with the ninjas has come to a close, it's time to return back to the critical problem, which is this entire mess with Samarra. Tensions have only risen since this morning, and it's clear that they still don't have a great plan. And now Callie and Rafe have had some strength depleted, which isn't good at all. So how will this situation be resolved, I wonder? What will we do next? Remember to review!

KedharS: No, it definitely did not, that is for sure.

Hyphenman: All really good guesses. We'll have to see as more Children of the Oracles are revealed.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1097

The four students stood in silence as the shinobi departed. They were all members of the Eight Leaders, or former members, in Mirar's case, so they all had significant experience with intense battles that had high stakes.

That, along with his ninja training, was how Dokukage managed to recompose himself after everything that had happened with his sister and former friend. He took a deep breath and let those feelings of anxiety go.

He could worry about what would come later; right now, there was work to be done. They had to prepare for a potential attack from Samarra, and anything else that might be coming their way. At this point he wouldn't be surprised if a meteor dropped down on the village.

Like Dokukage, Mirar and Rafe were both experts at not being fazed by the unbelievable things that occurred around them. But Callie was different. Of the four, she was the most disturbed by what had transpired.

It wasn't just because she'd narrowly escaped another battle with terrorists, although that was certainly part of it. What upset her the most right now was how poorly she'd done. Oh, certainly, Ken, Harriet, and Ferno had done an excellent job of fighting, but when it came down to it, her pokemon had been annihilated and she'd been forced to rely on her brother to come and bail her out.

She clenched her fists and bit her lip in frustration. I couldn't do anything…

Callie was the weakest of the Eight Leaders, the First Leader. She couldn't have defeated Mirar, and she'd certainly tried in the past. Even Sylvia, who was a year younger, had managed to effortlessly soar her way into the position above hers.

And she hadn't even gotten an invitation to the Phantom Cup.

Callie had hid it well, but that had felt particularly humiliating. Gerard, Alcea, Raizer, Gabrielle, Dokukage, Sylvia, they'd all been personally invited. Rafe's rejection of such an event would have been a matter of course so certainly he wouldn't go, but Callie?

Callie hadn't even been up for consideration.

I need to get stronger, much stronger… this battle was just the latest in a long string of losses and humiliations that reaffirmed Callie's already-teetering self-esteem. She sniffled and promised herself she wasn't going to cry, but the stab of pain in her chest made that choice for her. Refusing to let the others see her weakness, however, she turned and dashed for the Pokemon Center to heal up her precious teammates.

Alcea sensed that something was wrong the second the four of them returned. Rafe was smiling as usual, Dokukage was imperceptible with his mask, and Mirar was unable to read at any given moment, but the shadow on her friend's face was clear.

"Is everything alright?" She asked suspiciously. She'd somewhat taken a de facto leadership role, being a neutral party between Alden and Olivia. Ever since this whole mess with Samarra had started, the animus between the two of them had only grown more intense.

"Does it matter?" Olivia snorted, shooting a derisive stare at the others from where she sat on the couch. "I'd say it's pretty clear that they're just as fed up with being stuck here as the rest of us, wouldn't you agree?"

Alcea refused to let Olivia's words get to her. Even though the blonde had been significantly more bitchy, and mainly towards her, she knew that the chances were high she was lashing out over what had happened to her best friend, who even now, was still tied to a chair in the other room.

"We were attacked," Rafe said calmly, startling everyone in the living room. The others had all gathered together, save Rui and Wes, who were discussing something important in their bedroom.

A shadow crossed Andrea's face. "Was it this Samarra?"

Dokukage shook his head. "It-"

"The Children of the Oracles," Callie blurted out. "They attacked us again. Rafe and I, we managed to drive them off, but our pokemon are pretty exhausted. The nurse said it wouldn't be wise to use them in battle any time soon."

That brought the mood of the room down. Two of their stronger trainers were at a disadvantage. Of course, Callie assumed their disappointment was solely reserved for Rafe. In her current state, she couldn't accept the idea that other people were counting on her just as much.

"That is… troublesome, is it?" Alcea said, frowning. "It seems that our fighting power has diminished considerably."

"This is exactly what I was worried about," Alden frowned. "Here we are, waiting around for the fight to come to us. We're getting weaker, fighting people like that, while every day this Samarra woman is probably making more of these mind puppets out of the trainers all around the region! I know you guys think I'm irrational because all my people were taken, but I'm serious, going on the offensive is the right strategy!"

Alcea hated to admit it, but the Commander had a point. While splitting up their forces and going after the people at the Battle Frontier would weaken their position here, it also meant they were completely stuck. While they waited in Agate Village, Samarra could be amassing an army. And at that point, it might not even matter if they lost a few fighters.

"I don't know… he might be right," Hiromi admitted, staring at the floor. The thought of more people becoming like her daughter was terrifying.

"It's what I'd do," Gerard scowled. "It's exactly what I'd do. Make up some BS about coming to attack you all, and then while you're here fortifying your defenses I'd be out recruiting the strongest trainers I could find."

"Of course it's what you would do, because you're a devious scumbag who only cares about winning," Maddi snapped. She was getting really pissed off at him. Screw the brainwashing, Gerard was still as much of a prick as he always was.

Gerard wasn't fazed by her words. "And you think that a woman turning people into her servants is somehow more ethical than me? That's rich."

Again, valid point.

"If Ayame, or Samarra, or whoever that was, if they were lying to us, that's really bad," Marion said, a serious look on her face. "Gerard's right, I don't think we can just dismiss this whole thing out of hand so easily."

"That's easy to say, but what are you going to do about it?" Olivia sneered. "Throw your fishing rod at them? Last time I checked, Rivers, we're not exactly near any oceans for you to call your little fishy friends, and even if we WERE, no way they'd get here without dying. So just accept that, like me, there's nothing you can do."

She sat back in her seat and crossed her arms with a huff.

The smile drained from Marion's face, which was a rarity. She dropped her bag on the ground, and it opened to reveal a stack of bright blue Dive Balls.

"I'll have you know that I don't just call my friends from the ocean," Marion said. "When I make long trips like this, I always make sure to bring along a few just for safety."

Alcea brightened. This was news! Marion could join in the fight? While the girl might not be some master battler, they'd take anything they could-

"Oh, and here I thought you were in the Ranger Course?" Olivia taunted her, her eyes shining with bitter malice. "Isn't there some rule stating you can't carry pokeballs? Be careful, you wouldn't want our ranger friend over here to report you…"

Andrea's expression soured, not at all interested in being used as a pawn in Olivia's little game. Andre and Erik were likewise getting irritated with what Olivia was saying. Andrea spoke for them, "given the circumstances-"

"Like I give a damn," Marion snapped, startling everyone. Marion was cursing?!

"Mari! Watch your language!" Yellow gasped.

"Sorry, mom," Marion apologized, but her scowl remained. "What the hell's the matter with you right now, Olivia? You're acting meaner than even usual!"

Olivia narrowed her eyes. "Oh, is that right? Well, how about that? Can't imagine why THAT would be, want to take a guess?"

Marion was about to snap something back when she saw the look in Olivia's eyes, and it caused her to hold her tongue.

Olivia's face was a cocktail of emotions that Marion couldn't decipher. There was glee there, certainly, and anger of course, but also fear, disgust, guilt, sadness, and a whole steaming pile of humiliation. What the hell was the matter with her? Whatever it was, Marion knew better than to keep pressing, and held her tongue.

"Um…"

An unlikely voice broke the tension and everyone turned to see who it belonged to. It was Giselle. She'd been remarkably quiet this entire time, and it wasn't like she was particularly attention-grabbing before, either. No one in her group really paid any attention to what she was doing, they were all too busy pleasing Olivia, or caring about their own interests to concern themselves with some nobody. Only Ayame ever cared, but she was…

It didn't matter. What mattered was that she'd managed to work up the courage to speak for herself, and that was exactly what she was doing now.

"I think… I think maybe we can trust that they aren't pulling a trap," Giselle confessed. It was hard to say, with everyone staring at her, filled with their own opinions. "What I mean is… well… it's like this, see… it was Ayame who said it, right? She said that Samarra was going to attack us… and well, Ayame wouldn't lie."

"…My daughter IS incredibly honest," Hiromi admitted. "…To anybody but herself…"

"Was it Ayame though? Or was it Samarra?" Allen asked. It was getting a little difficult to keep the two of them straight. "Ayame might be trustworthy, but can we really count on Samarra to keep her word? If she's in the driver's seat, or hell, even if she's not…"

"Allen's right," Celia agreed. "I trust Ayame with my life, but she's brainwashed. So she's not herself right now."

"Aargh, this is too much thinking!" Raizer groaned, scratching his head in frustration. "Mirar, you're good at reading people! You should know if she's lying, right?" He demanded, turning to the nondescript boy.

Mirar raised his eyebrow. "You think I can just… know when someone's lying?"

"Yes!" Raizer said matter-of-factly. "With your whole, you know, getting-into-people's-heads thingy, right? That's basically mind reading."

"Uh, no, it's a lot more complicated than that," Mirar said dryly. "And I agree, Ayame is a trustworthy person, but this Samarra, I haven't studied her nearly enough to know how she would respond to any sort of questioning."

Raizer's brain started to short-circuit so Ian stepped in. "I guess what he's saying is that he doesn't know her well enough," he clarified. "And I've gotta say, I agree. We don't know what these people are like when they're controlled by Samarra, for all we know she's molded Ayame into a deceitful manipulator, it's just too hard to say."

"…Well sure we do," Donoma said. She was leaning back against the wall with her arms crossed, propping up her sizable chest. "We just have to ask someone who's already been under, isn't that right?"

Everyone turned to Gerard, who suddenly looked rather uncomfortable.

"Hey, what the hell do you want from me?" He growled. "I already told you, I don't remember anything that happened while I was being controlled."

"But we do," Maddi said. "And now that I think about it, Gerard was being pretty honest when the Commander fought him. More honest than he's ever been before, anyway."

"Was he?" Alden asked. "I mean, I suppose it seemed that way, but I don't know the guy well enough to comment."

He turned to the other members of the Eight Leaders in the room. "You guys would know what he's normally like, right?"

Nobody answered. Gerard wasn't exactly the type of person who endeared close personal friendships. Alcea scowled. Another dead end. Unless…

Just as the idea struck her, Donoma cleared her throat.

"Yeah, no, I wasn't talking about him," she clarified, turning and pointing her finger. "I was talking about the Empress."

Olivia tensed and a shadow crossed over her face.

"What about her?" Allen asked suspiciously.

"You heard the kind of stuff she was ranting about in her fight with the flower girl here," Donoma said, her eyes twinkling mischievously. She took care to reign herself in, not wanting to tip herself off as a bitch in front of Ian before she got him between her legs. "It seemed kind of honest to me, but then we aren't exactly close. What do the rest of you think?"

"What, the stuff about wanting Alcea to acknowledge her?" Lukas asked, glancing at the Empress. "I mean, I guess that makes sense."

Alcea thought back at all the incendiary things that Olivia had said during the course of their fight, and the way she'd broken down at the end of it. She exhaled.

"I think… I think she was being honest," she admitted, and with that admission came an acknowledgment of the true nature behind Olivia's feelings, whether she was willing to confront that right now or not. "She-"

"SHE," Olivia snapped, rising from her seat, "is getting pretty sick and tired of being referred to like she's not in the room!"

Her eyes were furious, and they glanced from person to person like a chain of accusations before finally landing on Alcea.

"Fuck you," she spat. Those weren't the words of a Daeva, or from the Empress. There was no posturing, no subtlety, and no guile to hide behind. They were raw and rude and came from Olivia Himeko's heart. She turned and stormed out of the room.

Things turned awkward from there; nobody knew quite how to proceed. Then, a moment later, Olivia returned.

There was a twisted atmosphere around her, an air of disturbing calm where there had previously only been fury. For a moment, Alcea feared that Samarra had somehow regained her control over the other girl.

"Donoma," Olivia said calmly, "we're going."

Donoma blinked, not sure she heard the other girl properly. "Uh… excuse me, what now?"

"You heard me," Olivia said. "We're going. Not just you. Allen. Lukas. Celia. Lila. Darla. Giselle. We're done here. Let's go."

Giselle was so stunned by what the Empress had said, she completely missed the fact that Olivia had finally remembered her name.

"Going? What do you mean going?" Hiromi demanded. Olivia turned to the mother of her best friend with a cold look in her eye that Hiromi had never seen from the girl before, and it caused her to freeze in her tracks.

"This isn't our fight," Olivia said calmly. "We're not pokemon trainers. We're Coordinators. Entertainers. We don't do this. And frankly, I don't want to be here when this… whoever she is, comes calling. So let's go."

"You can't be serious!" Alcea exclaimed. She stormed across the room and seized Olivia by the collar. "You're saying that you'd really leave us all behind, is it?!"

"Yes," Olivia hissed, her eyes blue daggers stabbing Alcea in the face. "I would leave you behind in a heartbeat, Alcea Vermeil. Why would I EVER sacrifice myself for someone like you?"

Alcea stepped back, stunned. Olivia's words were like a smack across the face. But she couldn't let her emotions dictate what she said next.

"Then you'll just abandon Ayame, is it?"

Olivia may have looked serene, but her control over her emotions was not so great that she didn't flinch at the other girl's words.

An uncomfortable silence hung between the two of them, and by extension, the rest of the room. Everyone was waiting for what Olivia would say.

"…What would you have me do?" She finally responded. Her voice was small, not at all like the Empress was normally. Alcea was taken aback, staring into the eyes of a vulnerable girl for what felt like the first time.

It lasted for only an instant.

"I'm not a trainer!" She shouted. "I can't fight! And you know something? I don't WANT to fight, either! You want me to lower myself to the level of YOU, Alcea Vermeil?! To get my hands dirty, risking myself, just for… for what? For her?"

"Do you really hate me so much that you'd let your best friend be controlled?" Alcea couldn't believe that was the case, she REFUSED to believe it. Even the Empress could not be so callous.

And it was clear by her hesitation that Olivia didn't want to go through with it, either. The two were stuck in a dubious position.

It was Darla of all people who stepped in.

"Boss, just because you're not a fighter doesn't mean we can't still help," she said. "It may not be the case for all of us, but some of us ARE capable of fighting. Wouldn't that be the best thing for Ayame? Fighting for her sake?"

Olivia glanced at her, and Darla flinched. She didn't like that look in her eye.

"Not a chance," she sneered. She continued speaking, but even if the words were addressed to the members of her group, they were aimed squarely at Alcea.

"Anyone who wants to fight for them, go right ahead, I won't stop you," she said, as slowly and deliberately as possible. "But let me get one thing clear. I have no use for puppets. Or people who refuse to follow my orders. So if a single one of you lets one of your pokemon out of their pokeball, that's it. You're done with me. All my support, my resources, like that," she said, snapping her fingers. "Gone. You are OUT of my organization. Do I make myself clear?"

Throughout her speech, Olivia kept her eyes staring straight into Alcea's. They blazed with a fire filled of anguish.

Well. Olivia's certainly laid out quite an ultimatum. It seems that even though she knows how dangerous Samarra is, she still won't lend her support to help. That's pretty cold of her, even if she does hate Alcea that much. But still, she must realize what she's doing, right? What the hell could be the point of something like this?