"You know most men, when they become headmasters, try to behave in a dignified way. Set an example to the children they are trying to help usher into adulthood."

Jack looked up from the carton of chocolate milk he had been blowing bubbles in, trying to flash his most innocent look.

"That didn't work when you were 11 and it won't work now," the older woman complained as she settled into the chair across from his own and shifted some of the trinkets and odds/ends he kept piled on his desk.

"Yes it did, Mrs. Hucksville. We both now you loved me… and still do."

"I tolerate you, Jack," his old year master stated but the smile that graced her lips told a different story. "How many times must I ask you to call me Jennifer?"

"Infinity plus one?" Jack wagered before turning to his milk, actually drinking it this time.

It had been an old fight between the two of them dating back nearly a decade now. When Jack had been awarded the position of Headmaster of Olivine Pointe half the teachers had retired; some out of genuine disgust that someone with no actual academic background had been given such an important position (no matter that he was a war hero) while others had done it as an actual sign of respect. They knew that Jack would want to change things and by taking the rather generous retirement package offered to them they gave him the ability to do just that. Some though had stayed and that included Jennifer Hucksville.

Olivine Pointe did not use a house system like some regional trainer schools. Rather there were seven professors whose were tasked with overseeing an entire class of students from the first time they entered the academy to the day they graduated. This way the students always had a familiar face while also being allowed to easily mingle with children their own age. Hucksville had become like a beloved aunt to Jack, seeing the cocky youth as someone who actually could back up his claims… but could also use a challenge to direct his energies in the right direction. When Jack had returned to become headmaster he'd begged Jennifer to stay and while her husband had hinted that they should take the retirement package while they were young enough to be able to enjoy retirement in Alola she'd accepted.

They actually made for the oddest pair in the school. Jennifer was nearing 60 now but didn't look a day over 40, dressing in classic modern styles and making sure to never fall into the trap of being an old biddy. Dress slacks, simple yet professional tops, and a crisp white lab coat greeted every student who entered her Econ Class (for even before Jack had pushed to modernize things Olivine had believed in giving a well-rounded education; how else could students know how to properly spend their prize money?). Jack, meanwhile, was in his 30s but acted at times like he was a 100 and other times like he was 10 years old. This day he was wearing blue jeans and a flannel shirt and since he hadn't shaved in several days his beard and attire made him look more like a lumberjacket than a teacher.

"We're colleagues-" Jennifer began.

"I'll never be able to see you like that," Jack said sweetly. "You'll always be the professor who comforted us when we were homesick or if we had a problem with a girlfriend…"

'Or after that horrible night,' Jennifer thought to herself, the idea of uttering the words never entering her mind. She still remembered that day: the knock on the door in the early morning to find 6 shivering teens huddled on her doorstep, clinging to each other and eyes darting about as if they expected someone at any moment to leap out and slit their throats. How Jack had not been the brash but yet oddly innocent young man she'd known for the last 4 years but instead had appeared so… broken. How he'd looked at her and whispered, "Help" before all but collapsing into her arms.

Then had come the worst of it. When she'd gotten those poor children to remove their destroyed clothes so they might change into something warm and discovered what she'd thought had been dirt was blood. And the marks on their bodies… how all of them had huddled together like a litter of puppies, protecting each other, trying to shield each other, making it so she didn't see the bruises and the cuts. Especially on their privates…

And when it had been Jack who had finally broken down in her arms when the others had finally fallen asleep and asked her what they'd done wrong to cause those monsters to do that to them…

They never spoke of what had happened. Nor who had hurt them so; she knew they were dead which was a horrible thing because it meant she didn't get to murder the bastards herself. But from then on she had known that Jack, Lance, Clair, Jonas, and even Cynthia and Diantha, despite the last two not even GOING to Olivine… would be her's. That she would protect them.

It was why she stayed at Olivine and why when others asked how she dealt with Jack scoffing and mocking the norms of academia she merely smiled and shrugged.

"Now, I know that you didn't come here for a drink-" Jack gestured at her unopened carton of chocolate milk and Jennifer fought the urge to roll her eyes; she'd wondered why he had taken a sudden interest in what the cafeteria served this year. It also explained why the menu was mostly pizza, tater tots, and other high fattening foods that all young people seemed to love. "-so what exactly can I do for you?"

"I have a discipline issue I need to get your opinion on."

Jack let out a sigh at that, leaning back in his chair and giving a lazy wave of his hand. "Well, no use prolonging the pain… lay it on me."

"Are you sure?"

"It can't be any worse than some of the shit Lance and I got involved in."

Jennifer made a face. "Honestly I think things got worse with Clair and you-"

"What? Me and Lance once made everyone blue! Even I don't know how we did that!"

"Yes but we expected that chaos to come from you two," Jennifer pointed out. "Clair in the mix though… we couldn't figure out if she was joining you in causing mayhem or the reason you were going on a rampage."

Jack made a face. "Those girls said her jacket was ugly. She cried."

"And that's why you made them think everyone in school was dead?"

"They had it coming."

Jennifer just shot him a sour look.

"…okay, I might have gone a touch too far."

"A touch?" Jennifer said with a scoff before shaking her head, unable to stop the laughter that bubbled up from her lips. "You know we all realized you two were destined for each other."

Jack's brow furrowed at that. "How? I didn't realize I wanted to date Clair until after I graduated. She was just my sister-and oh boy does that sound wrong considering what we do on a nightly basis."

Jennifer decided not to comment that per some of the rumors concerning just how open and explorative Jack and Clair were incest would hardly raise an eyebrow. Instead she merely stated, "You were protective of her in a way you weren't anyone else. When everyone began to notice how beautiful she was becoming you were so utterly possessive… it was clear as day."

Annoyed at the prodding at how blind he'd been when it came to the young woman that eventually had become his wife Jack tapped his desk with his index finger. "The discipline issue?"

"Clark and Wayne-"

"Stop." Jack held up a hand while the other pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just tell me first how much this is going to cost the school."

"Actually very little. That's why I'm coming to you on this… I'm not sure how to handle it." Reach down next to her chair she picked up her briefcase and pulled out some photos.

"Oh by Arceus there are visual aids," Jack whined. Clark and Wayne were two 4th year students who had clearly decided that life was far too boring at Olivine Pointe and thus they needed spice things up with pranks, schemes, and maniac cons. Every year they were desperate to not merely top themselves but do something completely and utterly different. It wasn't enough to merely pull a prank if said gag was a 'repeat'. No, they needed to come up with something fresh and different and wild that would leave people talking. Their first year it had been getting all the Pokeballs in the school to turn pink and sing Disney songs when they popped open. The next year had been convincing the students that the 2nd floor girl's bathroom was haunted by the ghost of a lonely girl who would only go away if Jack returned to Olivine because he had a magical ring that could seal her spirit away. Third year had seen them set up a betting ring but only on the strangest bets there were; some of their wagers had been:

-How many times would Prof. Reins dab his mouth at lunch with his napkin.

-Would Jennifer herself or Prof. Blinkin be the first professor to say, "Jimmy Jippers!' in class

-How many cookies would Baby Love manage to steal from Jack's plate before he put a stop to it? (That had been the final one, as Jack had secretly bet big on himself and thus cleared out the boys' profits, which he'd used to, of course, buy Baby Love even more cookies).

"So first those two snuck out of school and made their way over to Moomoo Farm where they shaved a bunch of Mareep."

"…why does Moomoo Farm have Mareep?"

Jennifer snapped her fingers in front of his face, much as she had when he was a child and would get distracted by something. "Focus. They then dyed the wool pink and used it to make Flaaffy costumes, which they then used to sneak into Olivine's Pokemon center afterhours-"

"Pokemon Centers are open 24/7. They don't have 'afterhours'!"

Jennifer sighed. "Apparently this one does because the boys convinced Nurse Joy that she needed to shut down for the night in order for a software update to go through."

Jack reached into his desk and pulled out a bottle of aspirin. "For the love of… alright, I'll make some calls, get her straightened out so that doesn't happen again. She's one of the newer ones, right? I'll make sure her family doesn't punish her… I'll take the blame since it was my students."

"That's not the end of it, though that is nice of you."

"Oh for… I'm saying that a lot this conversation." He shot Jennifer a look and finally rolled his hand, motioning for her to continue on.

"They wanted to get into the Pokecenter so they could make use of the new teleporters."

That had been something the Johto Government had been pushing for that had only been instituted the year before. They had argued that there were some trainers, especially younger ones, who might like to return home and see their families but didn't have Pokemon that could fly or could use the move Teleport or any of the other means that there were for quickly moving around the region. The lighthouse incident where the lead Ampharos had gotten sick and getting the medicine it needed had been an absolute chore. It had taken a trainer from Kanto to fly across the Straits of Haythem to get the medicine from Cianwood because no one else had been available to make the journey. That had been an utter embarrassment after the war to rely on a young trainer from Kanto of all places… and JASMINE being the one to beg for his help at that! Thus the Teleporter Project had been started, to link all of the region's Pokemon Centers together for quick travel. There was a fee, of course, unless there was a known emergency, but it had already proven quite popular.

Jack just stared at Jennifer for a long moment before looking down at his milk. "It is days like this where I wished I actually drank."

"Still not done."

"Of course you aren't. What did the two little idiots want with a teleporter anyway?"

"They teleported to Prof. Birch's lab in New Bark and drew faces on all the Pokeballs."

Jack turned his head.

"What?" Jennifer said, looking in the same direction he was.

"I was hoping I was suddenly in one of those mockmentary sitcoms and I could do the, "Can you believe this" face to the camera. That seemed to be the only proper reaction to the fuckery you just told me."

"I did not educate you for 7 years for you to use a word like 'fuckery'."

"Then you should have done a better job of educating me then!" Jack groused before rubbing his forehead. "Okay, okay… why did they want to draw faces on the Pokeballs?"

Jennifer grimaced. "To be honest I kind of lost the thread to the plot at that point. They were both rather excited when I was grilled them. You understand."

"I kind of due and that is very concerning." He took the newest photo from her and tilted his head at the sight of all the Pokeballs with happy little faces drawn on them… including one with a scribbled on beard. "Is… this one me?"

"I think so," Jennifer said, leaning over to double check that he was looking at the photo she thought he was. "Is that a problem?"

"I have concerns about children grabbing something that looks like my face and throwing it around. Might give them ideas. It's the same reason I refused to let them make those ice cream sandwiches that looked like me."

"Someone actually tried to do that?"

"If you realized how much shit people had tried to market with my face it would make your hair curl. Just… Johto has issues."

"Well, they said children are a product of their parents, Father."

"Ha fucking ha," Jack growled. "Clark and Wayne?"

"I'm still trying to get all the details after that but I know their little adventure ended with them running through the cafeteria wearing Sinnoh fur hats being chased by half-evolved Butterfree."

"Don't Caterpies basically melt in their shells and then reform into Butterfree?"

"Yes," Jennifer said, passing over another photo. Jack looked at it and instantly gagged before flipping out over and retching, struggling to keep the vomit that threatened to bubble up from his gullet from doing so. "Luckily most of the school had already gone to their first classes-"

"Did they at least give a reason WHY they were committing this stupidity?"

"They said it had something to do with a competition Weasleys' Wheezes-"

"Stop," Jack said holding out his hand. "I've heard enough. Figure out how much damage those idiots caused and informed them that they will be working at the school gift shop with their wages docked to pay back everyone they hurt. To and from class and meals and then either back to the dorms or to the store. That's it. Weekend privileges suspended and if they are on any teams… well, they aren't anymore."

"Isn't that a little strict?"

"Don't tell them that I'm limiting how much they have to pay to $500 dollars max. 2 hours a day at 10 bucks rate… that is 50 hours of detention or one month and a half's time. And if they are smart and get some commission work done then they can shorten that. But at most we'll make'em squirm before we finally let them off the hook… assuming they show good behavior. They screw around and they don't get paid."

"Devious… I like it."

"You taught me well," Jack said with a smirk.

Jennifer's good mood though soured a bit as she thought over the source of their problems. "We've been having a few other issues with the Wheezes Company. Apparently there is some sort of prank competition… Wayne and Clark are just the most extreme but we've had other students trying to win by pulling pranks."

"Alert the hall monitors and dorm aides about it. We could put a bounty on catching pranks before they start… I'll have to think it over. If I were their age I'd have convinced someone to turn me in for the bounty and split the money, so I need to make it just rich enough to entice. But hopefully when students hear how I dropped the hammer on those two wildcats it will help stem the tide."

"Are you going to contact Wheezes?" Jennifer asked. Jack had done that before when third parties caused issues; three years ago, before the Grand Trainer Tournament, a phone app game had been causing problems because students could spend real money trying to win digital rewards. Loot boxes that actually encouraged gambling. Jack had personally gotten involved to get the entire thing shut down. While she knew he hated to play on his reputation as the Father of Johto sometimes that was a good threat to get people to actually work with them instead of against them.

But the headmaster merely shook his head. "No. Not this time. The last time I deal with the Weasleys…" he reached up and rubbed his throat.

Jennifer clenched her fist, digging her nails into her palm. Though the doctors had worked wonders and ensured that Jack wouldn't carry a scar from that incident (unlike many of his other battles… she'd seen him without a shirt many times when he worked out in the morning with eager older students who wanted to learn from the Father and nearly wept at the destruction that was his body) just the idea that the brilliant boy who had, for all his snark, greeted the world with smiles and delight had nearly been LYNCHED…

"it's fine," Jack said, clearly noticing her distress.

"Are you talking with your doctor about it?" she pressed.

"Yes mum," Jack said, rolling his eyes.

"I mean it," Jennifer said, using the same tone she'd used with Jack when he'd been her student. Not the voice when he was in trouble or when he'd made a mistake and needed to face punishment; that was entirely different tone. No, this was the one she'd used when she'd known he was hurting and she needed to get it through his thick skull to take care of himself. Even when he'd been 11 years old Jack had always put others before himself.

She still remembered one of the first Pokemon Care classes when another student's Charmander had gotten scared and unleashed an Ember attack that had bordered on a Flamethrower. Jack had leapt in front of the attack himself, suffering burns on his arms and chest shielding his classmates. When she'd demanded to know what he was thinking when his actions had actually caused him far more damage than the others would have suffered (as he'd run INTO the attack while they were far enough away that it would have only singed them) he'd told her that he didn't want the Charmander punished because it had injured another student. And the idea that it would be punished for merely hurting HIM had been like a foreign concept.

Her brave stupid boy.

"I know you haven't been sleeping good these last few weeks, what with the new school year and all. And that is only adding more stress. You need to keep up with your appointments."

"I am," Jack said softly, looking away from her. "I have therapy twice a week. And Dr. Ross said I can call her any time if things get rough."

"And do you?" He squirmed at that and Jennifer rolled her eyes. "Jack-"

"She has a life outside of me."

"STOP filling yourself with guilt," she said sternly. "If people want to help you let them help you." She reached up and tugged on a bit of her hair, twisting it around her finger and giving it a few hard tugs. The sharp pain kept her grounded and stopped her from lashing it; it was something she tended to teach her more emotional students so they could find an outlet for their frustrations. People thought that explosive yelling or punching a wall was a sign of a problem but honestly in her opinion it was better for someone to smack themselves in the head than bottle up their rage into a tiny ball. Because stack up enough balls and suddenly there could be an explosion.

"I know."

"You don't," she told him. "I want you to call her now."

"I'm fine!" Jack protested.

Jennifer shook her head. "You need to tell her how many times you've thought about calling her but didn't because you were scared of upsetting her. Do you hear me Jack?"

"I don't-"

The intercom on his desk buzzed.

"This isn't over," she warned him as he pressed the button.

"Yes?"

"Headmaster!" Jennifer recognized Mr. Dashings' voice; he was the PE teacher at Olivine, one of the newer positions that Jack had put into place. He'd argued that during his entire time at Olivine there wasn't a good outlet for students who weren't interested in sports to get exercise and that was one of the most important things to help build a strong mind. Jack hated the belief that all jocks were idiots and all nerds weaklings. He wanted women that could bench press a truck and then cure cancer and men that could create new clean energy right after they competed in a marathon.

"What is it Dash?"

"I need help out here and security isn't answering."

Jack was already on his feet, reaching for one of his custom Pokeballs. "What's happening?" he said sternly, his voice cold and firm. Jennifer remembered listening to news broadcasts of his during the war and hearing that same tone as he barked orders to his men; it chilled her then and it did so now. Chilled… and made her want to grab a rifle and storm the gates of the Reverse World.

"We got a fight on one of the practice dueling fields… I'm trying to break it up but there are too many involved-"

"Fuck!" Jack snarled, clearly more mad that his students were causing problems rather than it being an attack by an outside force. "Oroku!" He snapped out his hand and a Kalosian Ultraball flew out, sending out Jack's Greninja. "Shadow Shift to the practice field, me and Jennifer now."

The water type nodded and silently touched Jennifer and Jack, one webbed hand on the smalls of their backs.

Shadow Shift was the Dark version of Teleport and frankly Jennifer hated it. It wasn't for the fact that, even if it was only a few seconds, she was in absolute darkness as Oroku literally leapt from shadow to shadow to cover the distance. No, it was when they finally emerged despite that sun shining overhead she still felt like she was coated in cold slime. The feeling would of course pass in a few moments but every time it had her shudder.

'But not as bad as this,' she thought to herself as she stared at the scene before her.

The training arena was a shallow bowl-like structure, only maybe 3 feet below ground level at its lowest, with a small ring of stands on the lip. It wasn't for watching epic fights but rather just some place for the students to practice and study Pokemon battles in the outdoors. Sandy bottom, tended to get rather mucky when it rained, it was very basic. Anyone could have made it in their back yard with enough time and space.

But at the moment it looked like a war zone.

A group of students, 6th years if Jennifer was guessing correctly, were huddled at one end of the bowl with a couple fainted Pokemon around while two Heracrosses were doing their best to protect their trainers. On the other end of the arena was what appeared to be the entire 5th year student body who screaming out attacks for their Pokemon to use, though it was hard to tell due to all the noise. Dashings was trying to get everyone to settle down but his voice was lost in the confusion as everyone was yelling and screaming. Jennifer reached down and pulled out a Luxary Ball that held her Milotic only for Jack to intercede.

By leaping into the middle of the arena himself.

"ENOUGH!" Jack roared at the top of his lungs, startling most of the students and their Pokemon.

Most.

One Galarian Darmanitan though had become too amped up and unleashed an Ice Beam right at him.

Jennifer screamed out his name and threw out her Pokeball but it was never going to get there in time. All she could do is watch as he braced his legs and threw up his arms in an X position, shielding his face as the Ice Beam struck him. He bellowed out in pain as the sub-zero beam of pure cold hit him, his legs shaking as he struggled to push forward before he finally was sent flying back, slamming into the ground and half coated in ice.

THAT… got EVERY student to go silent.

"Oh no," one 5th year moaned when Jack didn't move. "Please tell me we didn't just kill the headmaster."

Jennifer was thinking the same thing.

"BACK!"

Jennifer turned to see Lance Blackthorn leap off the back of his Dragonite and rush towards the students, waving his arms. The students started at that but Lance continued to yell as he too leapt into the bowl, crying out for the students to all get out of the way.

"Lance!" Jennifer called out. "Jack! He got-"

"I saw, now get back!" He made a pushing motion with his hands towards the students.

"We have to help him-"

"Damn it we need to get everyone back!" Lance snapped.

Jennifer didn't understand what he was getting at. The startling hit had knocked all the fight out of the students and they were now quiet and scared, not looking to start fighting again.

A pained snarl ripped through the air.

Lance froze, body stiff and he slowly, carefully, turned towards where Jack had fallen.

"Hang on," he whispered, terror coloring his words, "this is going to be bad."

Jack SCREAMED.

The Pulse he unleashed knocked every Pokemon around off their feet; even Lance's Dragonite fell to the ground in a crotch, panting and struggling not to curl up into a ball. The humans weren't any better, shuddering and trembling as every instinct told them to flee. And still Jack screamed, a primordial sound as he began to twitch and thrash against the ice that held him to the ground and caked his form. The sound grew louder and more terrible with every second, so that to Jennifer it seemed utterly impossible that human lungs could make such sounds. It was horrible and made her want to clap her hands over her ears and yet it also, in the same moment, made her want to stop and listen because it was just so against nature… it was like hearing the music of an exotic land and even though it sounded like nails on a chalkboard you wanted to keep listening to try and understand it-

The ice exploded.

Jack leapt to his feet, teeth bared as he panted, fingers curled into claws. His eyes scanned the area, dark and menacing and decidedly NOT human. A deep rumble that should never have come out of a human blossomed from his chest and out past his clenched jaw. His clothing was torn and other parts wet from the ice, leaving him looking like a werewolf who had just come out of a transformation. He sniffed the air, twisting his head and Jennifer felt a chill run down her spine as she recognized stalking patterns.

"No one move," Lance whispered.

"What… what happened?" one of the students whispered.

"He's functioning on instinct right now."

Jennifer swallowed. She knew that Jack's trip to the Whirl Islands had changed him. Made him the Master of Speakers. He had told her that he wasn't exactly human before which wasn't that hard to believe considering some of the things she'd seen him do. He'd also been energetic and athletic but after the war she had seen a difference in him.

But… not like this.

Jack snapped his head towards the Darmanitan that had attacked him and the stupid, stupid Pokemon merely grit its own teeth, the smile it normally wore disappearing as it slammed its fists into the ground and bellowed out a challenge. For his part Jack's lips curled back, revealing his canine teeth that now looked like vampire fangs, and he snarled back before reaching up and ripping away the remains of his shirt. This allowed all of them a good look at the damage the ice had done, the spots of frostbite already appearing on his skin, blending in with the old scars that the doctors still hadn't been able to get rid of. Muscles seemed to bulge out further with every breath he took, the skin on his neck tight and tense while the veins began to pop out as he took a step forward.

The Darmanitan charged, a fist radiating pure frost lashing out as Jack's head.

He easily dodged it, twisting his body away before slamming his own hands into the back of the Ice type's skull staggering it. The Darmanitan though didn't go down easily and it whipped an elbow out, catching Jack in the gut and doubling him over. But that only seemed to enrage the man all the more and with a roar that would have made a Pyroar proud he grabbed the Pokemon's wrist and twisted before driving his knee into its back. The Galarian Pokemon cried out before firing an Ice Beam at the ground, using that to propel itself right at Jack and send him back before it spun around and tried to deliver a Superpower-punch to his jaw. But the headmaster bellowed as he leapt up and drove both his fists into a hammer strike right into the top of the Darmanitan's head before leaping back.

Now it was the Ice Type's turn to roar as it flashed with white light before entering its blazing Ice/Fire form.

Jack didn't care. He was beyond caring. Honestly Jennifer was pretty sure any rational ability to care had died in him the moment he'd snapped and now all he knew was battle. He would win or he would die, that's all he knew. The Fire Fist attacks launched at him but he spun out of the way, ducking the burning inferno rushing out of the Pokemon's nose as he went for another shot-

A red beam of light struck the Darmanitan and recalled it, leaving Jack twisting out before looking at them again.

"Don't," Lance warned the students, holding out one arm to keep them back while he reached out with his other hand towards his berserker friend. In that moment Jennifer knew if someone ran there was a very good chance Jack would spring into action.

"Lance…" Jennifer hissed.

"It's fine. It's fine. He won't hurt me."

Jennifer heard several students from the group that had originally been attacked scoff at that but Lance merely continued on, taking a step towards Jack who was still panting and snapping at them but hadn't actually launched himself for an attack.

"It's an issue Speakers can have… Jack is the one that actually explained it to me. The more they do Long Talks the more Pokemon DNA is in them… and thus the urge to battle. Primapes getting it… Rage Point. Humans too if they have enough Pokemon DNA in them. But like a Pokemon… he recognizes pack… and Pack." He was now within striking distance of Jack but the headmaster of Olivine merely sniffed the air.

'No… he's taking in Lance's scent…'

Jack suddenly shifted forward and several students screamed but this wasn't an assault. No Jack had just pitched forward, eyes shut as Lance caught him.

"Get the medical team out here now," he said, firmly and without any room for debate. "His body just gave out when he knew he was with friends; it was taking everything he had just to stand at that point. He needs to be looked over… he's still not recovered from Avalon."

It took 20 minutes to get the team there, for them to assess the situation, and get Jack sedated and wheeled away. Lance finally seemed to settle down when Jack was out of view, letting out a sigh of relief before turning towards the students. Jennifer saw the hard stare there and suddenly all of them remembered that Lance wasn't merely a guest at the school; he was co-headmaster.

"I want to know right now what the hell happened that led to all this. And if I don't get an answer I'll get the government involved and NO ONE wants that!" He snapped out that last part of that and everyone cringed. "Now… what caused you to attack-" He turned towards the students who had been the original receivers of the attack, cutting himself off before letting out a long sigh, eyes shut. "Right… I have a guess."

"They were bad mouthing the Father!" one of the attacking students cried out.

"Headmaster. He's your headmaster. You know how we feel about that."

"Yes sir." The young man swallowed before working up the nerve to speak again. "But they were doing it! Mocking him and Johto! So we just-"

"Don't!" Jennifer said, stepping forward and taking charge. "Not another word. If a single one of you tries to claim that Prof. Kenway would have wanted you to behave this way I'll have you in detention for a month. And that's on TOP of what we do for this attack! You KNOW he would NEVER endorse something like this! What you've done? It's a disgrace against all he fought for! Now get to your dorms, now!"

The younger students shuffled off, quiet and sullen, shaken by Jennifer's declaration.

"See some things never change," Lance muttered, walking up to her.

"Not my fault children never learn. Including you 36 year old ones." She nodded towards the students that had been attacked. "Think they really insulted Jack?"

"Yeah, they did," Lance said, mood souring as he turned to address the remaining students. "What happened?"

"They started it!" one teen girl declared.

Lance raised an eyebrow at that. "You really expect me to believe that, Renee? That you didn't decide to bad mouth Prof. Kenway-"

"He's a murderer!" she shot back. "He killed people in Kanto… on Little Surrey! And everyone here acts like he walks on water!"

Lance though just shook his head. "Yeah, they do. And I warned you that they'd think like that when you came to me about transferring. Didn't I?" He stepped right up to the students that Jennifer was now realizing had something else in common rather than being just the same age: they were all the Kanto transfers they'd taken in at the start of the school year. "You complained that Daggertooth's standards had dropped, that you wanted me to take over your education, like I did during your first few years-"

"We did!" Renee retorted. "But that man-"

"HEY!" Lance barked. "I am talking and you will show me respect and not interrupt. Understand?" Renee nodded and the other Kanto students swallowed. "I told each of you what it would be like… that even this many years out from the war that Johto still loves Prof. Kenway. And you said you were fine with it."

Renee swallowed and didn't say a word.

"Go back to the infirmary. I'll talk to each of you individually while you get checked out." He shook his head. "What they did to you? Attacking you? They will be punished. I'll see to that. But you egged them on."

"They insulted you!" Renee cried out.

"I'm sure they did," Lance said softly. "And I would have dealt with it. But its not your job to defend me… or tear down the other headmaster. Now go."

Jennifer moved to stand beside him as the transfers walked off.

"All this… because of some insults?"

"Yeah," Lance said, running his fingers through his hair. "It's been what… almost a decade since the war? And these kids want to start it all over again. Why? Why is it always like this? Johto, Kanto, Avalon… no one ever wants to let go. They just want to restart up the damn fights and see if the can get better results."

"I guess that's just human nature," Jennifer whispered.

"You know, when I was young… you'd have said something better than that."

"You aren't a kid anymore… and I don't think the world is as black and white as it was back then."