Because Olivia is such a bitch, she's making everything difficult for everybody. So what's going to happen now? Is there some way to resolve this, and soothe Olivia's pettiness and spite? Hopefully, Alcea will be able to find some way to smooth things out, but Olivia definitely won't make it easy for her. What are the plans for Samarra moving forward? What about the Battle Frontier?

KedharS: Yeah she's dealing with a lot of stuff.

Guest: Yup, Alcea's definitely going to make things clear with Olivia this chapter, and make it clear that this attitude won't be tolerated going forward. She just has to present her case in a way that Olivia will actually listen.

Hyphenman: Well, they ARE seniors. And Olivia might not be as out as you think she is.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1098

Olivia turned on her heel and stomped out the door, heading back for Vic's room. She left a stunned and disappointed Alcea standing in the doorway, shaking her head in disbelief. With Olivia's departure, things turned tense.

"So what now?" Alden asked, frowning. He turned to Darla and the others from the Empress's group. "Are you going to listen to her and stay out of this fight?"

Darla's expression was complex. There was a hollow look in her eye, and that's when Lila stepped in to speak.

"Look, I don't… I don't agree with what Olivia said," Lila cried. She glanced down at the floor. "But at the same time… I'm not a pokemon trainer. I don't have any skill at pokemon battles. If I fought… there's no way I would win, I would be controlled by Samarra, but if I don't… then I'd be safe. So I mean… I can see where she's coming from."

"Oh, please," Gerard snorted, rolling his eyes. "The Empress isn't avoiding the battle for the sake of you, or anybody else. It's purely out of spite for our little Queen of Roses here!" He was practically laughing at Alcea, much to her frustration.

Lila turned to Darla. She was frightened herself, because she knew she wasn't a powerful trainer. But Darla was. "So, um… what are you going to do, Darla?"

Darla flinched. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. That was when Erik decided to address her directly.

"Don't bother asking," he said coldly. "That girl is the type of person who cares more about herself than her duty, you should know that well enough."

Fury crossed Darla's face and she whirled towards him. "What the hell do you know, you filthy mutt?!" She screeched.

"I know how you look down on me, that's what," Erik growled. He wasn't about to give Darla any benefit of the doubt. "So get over yourself and admit that you have no interest in actually helping anyone but yourself!"

Darla clenched her fist.

"Hey, come on now, let's not get into a big mess," Ian said, stepping up to act as a mediator. "Donoma, what do you think?" He asked, turning to the Poison type trainer. "Are you going to help battle against Samarra? Or do you think it's better for Lila and the others to back off?"

He was staring at her with an innocent smile, his eyes bright and devoid of any guile. Donoma could just eat him up.

"Well, I say forget the Empress," Donoma chirped. "I'll help you! I'm a very talented trainer, after all, I should be able to do something!"

Lukas rolled his eyes. Donoma would say anything to get on somebody's good side, but h doubted that she was actually willing to sacrifice her position with the Empress just for the sake of getting laid, even she wasn't that shortsighted. He kept that to himself, though.

"Great!" Ian said cheerfully. "What about everyone else?"

Donoma was one of the only fighters on that side, though. Lukas would if he could, but like Lila he knew his pokemon were too weak. Giselle felt the same way. As for the others…

Not everyone had come to a decision by the time Rui and Wes entered the room. They had stony expressions on their faces.

Darla sighed, relieved that she didn't have to make a choice right now. "What is it?" She asked, turning to the owners of the house.

Rui glanced at her husband. "Wes and I… we've been talking all day about what we would do," she said softly.

To Alcea, it sounded more like fighting than talking, but she didn't say anything about it.

"And we decided… um, I'm… I'm going to go to the Battle Frontier," Rui said.

"What?!" Maddi gasped.

"B-But…" Chloe's mouth flopped open and closed behind her mask. She couldn't find the right thing to say.

"It's necessary. I can't leave my daughter in that state." Rui turned to Alden. "And… I need your help, Alden."

Alden's eyes widened. "Are… are you sure?"

Rui nodded. "Alden… I know it's going to be dangerous. And I know there's a risk, asking our strongest trainers to go somewhere else. It's doing just what Samarra wants us to do… but at the same time I don't think we have a choice."

"We were talking about something similar to that, actually," Andrea said glumly. "The idea that the stuff about Samarra coming to attack us was just a ploy to keep us on guard, so we wouldn't get involved while she brainwashed more people."

"That's what I thought, too," Wes agreed. "And if that's the case, then all the more reason we need someone to go on the offensive."

"I'll go too," Maddi said. "They're from my group, I should at least be responsible enough to help them out."

"Not happening," Wes shook his head.

"What?! Why not?" Maddi demanded.

"That ability of yours, the fact that you can see who's possessed by Samarra, we need that here more than we need it there," Wes explained. "That way if anyone approaches the house, you'll know about it, and you'll be ready to stop it."

Maddi scowled. She couldn't argue with that logic.

"…Fine," she agreed.

"But… will the Commander actually be enough?" Chloe asked worriedly. "There are a lot of tough trainers there, shouldn't he have some backup?"

"He should," Rui agreed. "Is there anyone else who's willing to come? We can't take too many people, though."

Nobody raised their hand. Even with Alden on their side, the thought of taking the fight to Samarra was still a frightful prospect.

Then Ian stepped up.

"I'll go," he shrugged. "I'm not on the Commander's level, but I've got some skill of my own."

"In that case, I'll go, too," Donoma decided, making a decision that shocked Lukas and the rest of the Empress's group.

"Are… are you sure that's okay?" Lila asked. "I mean, the Empress did say she was going to take away funding if you-"

"If I help you all fight against Samarra's siege, right?" Donoma smirked, her eyes twinkling. She leaned in close so Ian couldn't hear. "But this way, I'm joining the fight without technically breaking her rules, see how important that is?"

"Um…" Chloe felt a little uncomfortable. "If… If it's alright… I'd like to come, too," she said, surprising everyone. They weren't use to the shy girl advocating for herself.

"Well, I can't exactly say no," Rui said, scratching her hair, "but are you sure? It's pretty dangerous there, and we can't take too many trainers away from here…"

Chloe nodded. "I… I probably wouldn't be much use in an actual battle to begin with," she admitted sadly. "I mean, I could do my best, but I don't think I could win… so at least I can support the Commander like this?"

A slight glanced towards Ian and Donoma betrayed her real concerns, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Donoma.

"So it's decided, then," Wes said. "You five will go to the Battle Frontier to rescue the rest of our comrades." And my daughter, he silently added.

"So… you're leaving first thing tomorrow then?" Alcea asked, glancing at Alden. She was worried about him.

Alden opened his mouth to reply, but Rui cut him off.

"No, we're leaving now," she said, not caring how dark it was getting outside.

"Right now?!" Lila gasped, her eyes bulging.

"I can't say that's a good idea," Andrea said. "You might get ambushed in the night."

"That's true," Rui admitted. "But at the same time, it's important that we get to the Battle Frontier as soon as possible. And if we're ambushed, then at least I can run back and get everyone to com help, right?"

It was far from a great plan, but nobody had the courage to speak against Rui's suggestion. Hiromi in particular could empathize with the fact that she was a mother worried about her daughter, and so could Yellow. Both women nodded their assent, and the others said their goodbyes.

Alden and the rest of the small party headed towards the outskirts of town, but they didn't travel alone. Dokukage flanked them from the shadows, using his covert ninja tactics to conceal himself, so that if someone came, he could report back instantly.

And Alcea came along as well. Because she was worried about them.

"It seems so sudden, is it?" She murmured, staring at her group member with a hard look on her face. Her heart was twisted up in knots.

"Don't worry," Alden assured her with a grin. "We'll be fine. I promise, we'll come back, and bring Vic and the others home with us."

Alcea sighed in relief.

"Is there anything else?" Alden asked, raising his eyebrow. "Do you want to say something?"

Alcea's heart was heavy. Her feelings were all twisted up, and even though there were a dozen things she wanted to say, she couldn't. She just smiled and wished him good luck.

"Thanks, I'll take it," Alden nodded. "And if you want my advice, I'd say you should be honest with yourself, too. If there's something you need to say, you don't want to regret not getting the chance to say it. Samarra could attack any day. You need to take the risk and be honest, even if it's not the right time."

Alcea's eyes widened and her cheeks turned pink. "Th-That's… do you?!" Did he know? No, there was no way he could have known, Alcea hadn't even realized her feelings until recently! "How did you know?!" She hissed.

"Oh, please, it's written all over your face," Alden laughed. "You're worried that if I don't come back, you won't have the chance to have a real battle, right?"

Alcea stared at him. "…That's what you thought?"

"Of course," Alden said. "I'm right, aren't I?"

Alcea rubbed her temples and exhaled. She forced a smile to her face. "Oui," she nodded. "So make sure you return, is it?"

Alden nodded and they headed out, leaving Alcea to return to the house. She was relieved that Alden hadn't actually figured out how she felt. If he knew about her crush, that would make things even more complicated between him, Alcea, and Olivia.

"You need to take the risk and be honest, even if it's not the right time."

"That's easy for you to say," she mumbled under her breath. Whether or not her feelings would be reciprocated, this was clearly not the time.

To her surprise, she came across Callie in the front yard, crouched in the grass and hugging her knees. Even in the darkness, she could see that her friend's face was wet.

"Callie?" Alcea whispered, approaching her. "What's the matter?"

"O-Oh! Alcea!" Callie was quick to wipe the tears from her eyes. "S-Sorry, I just…"

"You want to talk?" Alcea asked, sitting down beside Callie. She didn't worry about the possible grass stains on her dress.

Callie sighed and stared off into the night.

"I… Rafe and I… we fought against some strong trainers today," she mumbled.

"Oui, and you drove them off, right?" Alcea reminded her.

Callie shook her head. "I didn't do anything," she mumbled. "My brother was the one who fought them off."

Alcea blinked. "But… it was a double battle, is it?"

"Yeah, but still, I was just dead weight," she grumbled. "That's all I am. I'm the weakest of the Eight Leaders, no one takes me seriously as a trainer. I couldn't defeat Ian, I couldn't do anything against the Children of the Oracles, and Rafe could have done that whole thing by himself."

She started to cry, and that caused her to start hyperventilating, which only made her chest hurt, which made her cry even more. It was a vicious cycle.

Alcea reached out and placed a tender hand on her friend's back, rubbing her gently.

"It's alright," she murmured. "I know you're doubting yourself, but you shouldn't-"

"I'm not like you, okay?!" Callie snapped. "I'm not a tough trainer! I'm just me, I just-!"

She cut herself off, going pale. She shook her head frantically. "S-Sorry," she stammered. "I just… I mean, I…"

Alcea smile softly at her, not bothered at all.

"You've had a rough day, is it?" She asked.

Callie nodded glumly. "I just want to be stronger," she said. "Tough, like a pokemon trainer should be. Like a member of the Eight Leaders should be! But I feel like… like nobody takes me seriously."

"Tell me, Callie, is it true that you did nothing in the fight against those ninjas?" Alcea asked curiously. It was a risky question, she knew, in case Callie really hadn't done anything, but she still asked it. Because she knew that Callie was a skilled trainer. Yes, not on her level, perhaps, or her brother level, but talented nonetheless. The thought that Callie had been of no help at all was simply impossible for Alcea to believe.

Callie winced, staring at the grass.

"W-Well, I mean… it's not like I didn't do ANYTHING," she mumbled. "I did… well, I did fight them… and I even knocked out some pokemon, so…"

"So it sounds to me like you did just fine, is it?" Alcea said. "Why do you think you dragged your brother down?"

"B-Because…" Because she just did! That was the only thing Callie could think to say. But before the words escaped her lips, she realized that she was behaving like an idiot.

"W-Well…"

"It sounds to me like you did the best you could," Alcea said, her voice brimming with confidence in her friend's ability. "And even if you couldn't fight on the same level as your brother, tell me, do you think he would have done just as good on his own? Look at it with an objective eye this time, not fueled by your own insecurity, is it?"

Callie thought about it, remembering all the crucial moments in the battle. This time she followed Alcea's advice, recalling the fight from a more neutral perspective. And yeah, the truth was… even if she HAD lost, she and her pokemon had done a lot to help support Rafe and his team.

"I-I guess… maybe I wasn't as useless as I thought," Callie admitted. "But that doesn't change the fact that I really want to get more powerful!" She quickly asserted. "I want to become even stronger, so I can support Rafe even more!"

"I think that's an admirable goal, is it?" Alcea said, smiling. "Oui, I believe you'll be just fine. You're growing stronger, Callie, I'm certain of it."

Callie's heart skipped a beat. Alcea really had that effect on people. She glanced at her friend with clear eyes, and for the first time could see that in spite of how confident she was, Alcea was feeling turmoil herself.

"What about you?" She asked.

Alcea blinked. "Me? Why, I am quite a skilled trainer-"

"No, not that," Callie said, shaking her head. "I mean… you seem anxious, Alcea. Is it, um… because of what Olivia said? Or maybe…" Her voice trailed off.

"Maybe…?" Alcea urged her on, but Callie's lips were tight. She knew that Alcea had feelings for the Commander, she'd said it directly. And he was throwing himself into danger for the sake of another girl. That must have been hard.

"About your, um… crush," she mumbled. "Do you remember what you told me?"

Alcea blinked and her face turned scarlet. "That… this is not the time, is it?!" She stammered. "That is to say… we have more important things to worry about!"

"You need to take the risk and be honest, even if it's not the right time."

Again, the Commander's words echoed in her brain.

"I-I know, but… he's leaving now," Callie said. "You should still tell him! After all, you might not get the chance again, and that would be too sad!"

"That's… excuse me," Alcea said, standing up. She'd made a decision. "I-I just… there's something I need to do."

To Callie's confusion, Alcea turned and rushed into the house.

At the moment, the Commander and his struggle in the Battle Frontier was the furthest thing from Alcea's mind. She needed to speak with the Empress. She rattled her knuckles against Vic's door, and didn't even wait for Olivia to answer before pushing the door open.

"What do you want?!" Olivia was curled up in bed, her eyes red with tears. "Get out of here."

"No," Alcea said, narrowing her eyes. "We need to talk. Now." She closed the door behind her, and locked it.

"Well, I don't want to talk," Olivia growled, standing up and approaching Alcea until they were staring directly at each other. "I have nothing to say to you!"

"You've said quite enough to me already," Alcea calmly replied. "You just don't remember it."

Olivia's face turned red. "That… you know damn well I wasn't myself! Shut up!"

"Oui, you were controlled by someone else," Alcea nodded. "It makes sense that you would be nervous about fighting Samarra. But that isn't the reason you decided to back off from this fight, is it?"

"It's… that's…" Olivia was too exhausted from everything that happened to think of a good response. Alcea pressed on, taking a step closer to the girl. Olivia found herself stepping back.

"You said so much about wanting my acknowledgment… but now, all you do is get angry with me. Why is that? It's been like this for so long, Olivia. Whatever happened between us, it's in the past now. Can't you put it behind us? Move forward without this animosity? Your pettiness and spite are clouding you from what you want, and I refuse to let you jeopardize our safety because of it."

Olivia glared back at Alcea. "You think you have any idea what I want!?" She spat. "You don't know a damn thing!"

A small smile crossed Alcea's face. "I think I know quite well, actually."

And with that she pushed Olivia up against the wall and jammed her tongue into her mouth.

Well, that was quite a sudden move on Alcea's part. It's a bold strategy, that's for sure. I wonder if it's going to pay off?