Here's the next chapter! Yay, we made it to one hundred chapters! I wish I could say this one would be special, but it isn't that special. Nah, instead it will explore some interesting stuff, both in relationships and in the future state of the school!
Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Well, we'll just have to see!
KedharS: Fair wager I'd say.
Duskzilla: Thanks, but this is technically the 100th chapter.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 100
It was nice to finally be in some clothes that fit! Serefina began the walk back to Akira's room, eager to see what happened. As she turned the corner, she saw Dakota walk out.
"How did it go?" Serefina asked. Dakota looked up at her and smiled. Her eyes were red. Tears slowly began to well up in the corners of her eyes and she began trembling, hanging her head. She pushed past Serefina and ran down the hall, tears falling behind her.
Serefina whirled around, her face hot with rage.
"Akira!" She shouted.
"Wha- Seri? What's-"
"How could you?!" She shouted, swatting him over the head with as much force as she could. "How could you, you… you-!"
"Ow, stop it! I have a concussion!" Akira said, raising his good arm to shield his head from Serefina's slaps.
"Do you have any idea how hard it was for her to tell you?! To get up the courage, knowing everything that's happened between the two of you?! Do you… do you have any idea how long that girl… has been holding those feelings in her heart? Keeping quiet about it because she knew it would only lead to pain? And then you… you-!"
Serefina collapsed into the chair, holding her face in her hands as she shed tears for her friend.
"Of course I know," Akira said, looking at his lap. "She told me everything, after all."
"Then how could you-?!"
"Because what's past is past," Akira said quietly. "There's no way we can go back to how they were before."
"That girl…" Serefina's tone was uncharacteristically cruel and bitter. "The minute you collapsed, she ran to your side. When we thought you might not wake up, she sat at your bedside for days and nights still holding out hope."
"…" The guilt on Akira's face was plain to see. That made Serefina even more angry. He turned and looked away from her.
"Seri…"
"Yes?"
"I love Emilia."
"…"
"Who the heck is Emilia?!" Serefina exclaimed. Akira persisted in his refusal to look her in the eye.
Serefina stood up, glaring angrily at him.
"You just sit there and think about what you've just done. I don't want to see your face again until you've rethought your answer, understand?"
She furiously stormed out of the room, leaving Akira alone.
Serefina walked into her room, and lo and behold, Dakota was exactly where she thought she'd be: curled up in a little trembling ball beneath her sheets. Serefina stared at the bump on the bed, willing herself to calm down. Confronting her friend while she was still angry wouldn't do any good.
"Hey… Dakota…" Serefina walked beside her, and sat down. She petted the bump sympathetically.
"Seri…" A soft, muffled voice came from within the sheets. "Don't worry… I'm fine… I'll be fine real soon, okay?"
Liar.
Serefina frowned, grabbed the edges of the blanket, and yanked it off. Dakota was curled up and the sheets under where her head was resting were wet in a wide puddle.
"That face isn't the face of someone who's gonna be just fine, you know?"
Dakota nodded, her face red and puffy, and grim as death.
"Just so you know, I'm not okay with this," Serefina said, petting Dakota's shaggy red hair. "I gave Akira a piece of my mind! He'll take back his cruel words, just you wait! I'm very convincing when I'm mad!"
"Wha?!" Dakota said, sitting up, staring at Serefina with a mortified expression. "Seri… why?! You didn't need to do that!"
"Huh?" Serefina gasped, surprised.
"I… I… I was the one… who rejected him…" she whispered, looking down.
"…"
"Seri? What's wrong? The light's gone out of your eyes…"
"…Forget it." Serefina said, standing up, shaking her head. "I am so done with this."
"W-wait, it's not like that-! Let me explain…"
"…" Serefina turned back to look at Dakota's tear-streaked face, and sighed.
"Whatever." She sat down in one of their chairs, getting eye to eye with Dakota. "I thought you were going to ask him out? How did that turn into a rejection?"
"I… am a terrible person," Dakota said. She couldn't even bring herself to meet Serefina's gaze. "I've hurt the guy I like… over and over again. Even now… he wouldn't be in this condition if it wasn't for me. No matter what I do… I only cause him pain. And I… I don't want to ever hurt him again. But I know… that if we were to go out… I'm sure I would only end up bringing him more pain. And I couldn't bear that."
Dakota looked up into Serefina's eyes, and gave her a sad smile.
"So I told him how I feel… and that in spite of what my heart wants, there is simply no future between the two of us. He… will be much happier… if we're only friends, so I… I…"
She broke down and began trembling again, tears falling from her face.
"It… was my fault, Seri… so don't hate Akirra…"
Serefina scowled, grabbing Dakota by the collar and pulling her to her feet.
"What's the matter with you?!" She demanded, shaking Dakota senseless. "If you… if you had just…"
Serefina began crying too, hugging Dakota tightly.
"You aren't… a terrible person…" Serefina cried. "You're just… a little unusual, that's all… but you wouldn't… bring Akira nothing but misery… I know it! So please… don't do this to yourself… Just go back… and tell him you were wrong… tell him-"
"It's already too late," Dakota said quietly, placing her hands over Serefina's and lowering them from her collar. "Besides… if Akira and I… really had any sort of future together… then he wouldn't have accepted my words so readily. This is also… his answer."
She tried to smile, but all Serefina could see was the pain and the tears.
"It's okay, Seri. With this… we'll at least… all be able to be friends again. And that's… good enough." With that lie, Dakota finally gave out trying to be strong, collapsing into Serefina's arms as she burst our crying. Serefina placed a gentle hand on her back, rubbing her kindly as she let her pain out.
Frustration seemed to be the word of the day. Will and Reiner were training with the other members of the Gym Leader Training Club, but with both the president and vice-president away on business, no one was really sure what was supposed to be guiding their lessons.
"Will."
Will turned to see the vice-president, Gabrielle, walking up to him.
"Vice-president? You're done already? What about the President?" Reiner asked. He was still a little uncomfortable to be around Gerard at the moment given his relationship with Blake and what had happened with Kanone.
"I don't know," she said calmly, not even sparing him a glance. "Perhaps he will come by later." This was doubtful, as Gerard had stopped coming to club altogether in the few days to follow his loss. She turned back to Will.
"Now then. I need to borrow you for a while. Gather your things."
"What about? Something with the club?" Will asked.
"No," Gabrielle said, shaking her head. "Club is dismissed for today. You are all free to leave."
She turned back to Will.
"I request assistance with some… computer issues."
Will stared at her blankly before putting the pieces together.
"Oh… I got it."
"Your usual handler is undergoing repairs, so I'm tasked with bringing you to her." It was clear that she was not happy that someone of her position was being forced to play tour guide. While her expression was silent, her every step was filled with venom enough to chill bones cold and clear people out of her way. Will quietly followed her towards the Research Department main building, which was quite large considering the size of their student population.
"So where are we going, anyway?" Will asked.
"The Sandbox," she stated.
"A sandbox?"
"'The' Sandbox," she corrected him, like that actually helped clarify anything. You'll understand when we get there.
She stopped between two large reinforced doors, and typed something into the keypad. The doors rumbled open and the two stepped inside, Will shocked by what he saw in front of him.
What he had thought to be a basement was actually an enormous workshop, stretching out for what could be miles of school ground. There were different sections devoted to engineering, computer software, pokeball construction, and dozens of other things that he was too much of an amateur to even begin to think about. But it was clear that whatever was going on in the Research Department, this was where the students would go to work on it.
Gabrielle delicately maneuvered her way around an enormous robotic arm holding up a pokeball and ducked under some strange hanging headsets connected to a large computer. She stepped over a long, thin conveyer belt littered with pokeball debris and around a pile of stacked disks. As they went deeper and deeper into the room, the projects grew larger and more elaborate. Finally, they arrived in a small makeshift room whose walls were constructed by various computers and machinery to create a dome of buzzing and beeping privacy. In the center of the chamber was an impatient-looking Sylvia standing over a male student Will vaguely recognized, who was leaning over a table and working on something carefully. What that something was, much to Will's horror, was a headless body.
"Waah!" Will gasped, stepping back. "That's… what-"
"Wow, he nearly jumped out of his skin!" Sylvia chortled. "Maybe next time you should throw some clothes on 'er, Ozzie!"
"Please don't call me that," the scarred student, Oscar, said, peering up over his dark glasses at Will. One of his eyes seemed milky, and was scarred, though Will barely noticed his wounds over the corpse in front of him.
At least… he thought it was a corpse.
"It's not a corpse," Oscar continued. "This is a mechadoll."
"Why doesn't it have a head?" Will asked.
"Her head's right there?" Sylvia explained, pointing behind her. Will craned his next to see exactly what she was pointing to, and saw Misato's head staring back at him with eyes devoid of life (which was not too different from how she normally looked).
He let out a shocked gasp again.
"Wh-why is Misato…"
"Did you forget?" Sylvia asked, tilting her head to the side.
"Is she… alive?"
"Well, no, she was never alive to begin with," Sylvia shrugged.
"Sylvia," Oscar said, shaking his head. "Don't be so harsh."
"Well, it's true, isn't it?" Sylvia asked.
"The Misato series is the pinnacle of my father's work," Oscar explained. "Silph Co. developed the Mechadolls as an attempt at creating fully autonomous mechanical bodies with advanced artificial intelligence. Before the project was terminated, the prototype had reached its third wave.
He pointed at the number "3"on the side of Misato's hip.
"W-why is she naked?" Will asked, covering his face.
"Aww, shy boy, eh?" Sylvia teased, poking him in the cheek. "What's the matter, silly? It's not like there's anything there. It's like looking at a Barbie!"
Indeed, Misato's skin was devoid of any sort of discernable genitalia, entirely smooth. Her breasts were even devoid of nipples.
"Still, it's…"
"Well, if you want to get used to it, I'd be happy to give you a few anatomy lessons~" Sylvia pulled at the hem of her frilled collar to show some cleavage.
"Interesting. I would not have thought that my body would be capable of inciting arousal in this state. I will record this for further investigation."
Misato's voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. Will's eyes immediately shot to her head, but her lips were not moving.
"I am here."
Several lights began flashing on the surrounding machines, creating green arrows to direct Will's gaze to a large monitor suspended from the ceiling. On it was Misato's still face staring out at the world.
"How… what the…"
"My body sustained damage when I shielded you," Misato explained. "It was fortuitous that none of my internal functions were affected. The damages were contained to the external tissue membrane and several minor mechanical components. While my body is being repaired, I have uploaded my central data stream into the system mainframe of this school.
"So wait, you're… like, in the computer system?"
"Affirmative. I have access to every device either connected to the mainframe itself or accessing data through the campus Wi-Fi. There are several systems which I am not capable of accessing. Those systems operate on a separate connection that I do not have access to from this terminal."
"Uh… wow." Will shook his head. "I had no idea that our A.I. capabilities extended this far."
"Humans have mastered the technology to store, miniaturize, and transport living beings across the internet. There is technology pioneered to restore pokemon from fossils. Is the notion of an artificial intelligence capable of sustaining itself through a computer system so impossible to imagine?" Misato asked. "Understood. I will record this new information of human understanding."
"She might make it sound simple, but it really isn't," Oscar said, shaking his head. "I can understand the mechanics behind repairing her body and replicating her synthetic skin, but that's all hardware stuff. When it comes to her programming, even I can't really say what's going on there."
"My creator perished several years ago in an accident." Misato explained. "Not even I am aware of a method to replicate my existence in further iterations."
"It wasn't an accident," Oscar said quietly.
"There is not sufficient evidence to draw a conclusion of purposefulness behind the fire in question." Misato replied.
"So you're also working with the Phantom, then," Will confirmed with Oscar.
"Yes. Though I may not be intending to work as a researcher, I am still very much interested in Misato's upkeep. You can consider Richard… a patron, of sorts. He lets me tinker around and the like. Although, I don't necessarily need his funding… Still, it is convenient to have access to this facility. It would take a sufficient amount of capital to maintain her on my own."
"Hey, Misato, can I ask you for a favor?"
"I have no ability to control your decision to make a request of me."
"…" Will rolled his eyes.
"This once, can you say 'Just Monika'?"
"Affirmative," the onscreen Misato nodded.
"Just Monika."
"Thanks, perfect. So… can I go now?"
"Of course not," Gabrielle said, reminding everyone of her presence. "Your presence is very much needed for this discussion to continue. I've just come back from a meeting with the other Eight Leaders and-"
"Oh! I almost forgot!" Sylvia interrupted, the frustration evident on Gabrielle's face. "So, what's the good word? Am I going to be a member of the Eight Leaders?"
"Unfortunately not," Gabrielle said, shaking her head. "Although I attempted to make you out to be a valuable asset, the vote was stalemated at 4 to 4. Instead, Akira Saroyan and Elaina Bishop will be nominate to the next positions."
Oscar frowned at the mention of Elaina's name, but continued working.
"Darn it!" Sylvia groaned, shaking her head. "That's no fun! It would have been perfect, too!"
She shrugged, and reached into her purse, withdrawing a black pokeball with an S emblazoned on it.
"Oh, well, that's too bad~ If I can't get in through all the red tape, might as well get in the old fashioned way. I guess it's time for Plan 'S'." Will didn't know what that meant, maybe S for Secret? But he wasn't really in the mood to ask for any clarification. He figured it was some facet of the Phantom's plans that he was far too low on the food chain to have any knowledge of.
"In the meantime, it's fortunate that Elaina has not yet awoken from her coma," Gabrielle said. "That means that we can institute our original plan for the Pokemon Gym Leaders Training Club."
"The original plan?"
"Yes. Kanone's defeat of Gerard couldn't have been better for us," Gabrielle said. "Now, we can use that loss to sow discord among the other club members, questioning Gerard's ability to run both the club and maintain his position among the Eight Leaders. If worst comes to worst, I might have to battle him. That would not be… advantageous. So we have to work now, while he's still seen as a failure in the eyes of the students and the club. He hasn't shown up to club activities yet, which should make the transfer of power go smoothly. Then, when I become the president, it will put the Phantom in the perfect state to seize control of the other territories of the school."
"I always thought that you were loyal to Gerard, vice-president. What's going on?"
Gabrielle smiled. It was an icy, poisonous smile.
"Loyal to someone like him? Of course not. He sees people and pokemon as nothing more than tools. Perhaps it's time he was on the receiving end of being thrown away like an unneeded tool, wouldn't you say?"
Sylvia cackled as Gabrielle stared directly at Will, the dark glimmer in her eyes ominous and cruel.
So, it looks like Gerard is slowly being backed into a corner! What can he do?