In this chapter, we arrive at Hulbury! What will await Sango in this new coastal town?

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: This may or may not be an anime.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 169

As she stepped off the train, the first thing that struck Sango about the town of Hulbury was the scent of the sea slapping her in the face. She inhaled, the sea breeze stirring up a burning hunger for fish in belly.

I think this may be the first time I ever wished that Marion was here… Sango said, holding her aching stomach.

"Yo, Sango, what's the holdup?" Sango turned her head to see Petal a few yards away, Ritsu and Silver next to her. She was gesturing for Sango to come. "Didn't you want to eat?"

Energy surged through Sango's waning body, and she ran to Petal's side.

"…Even incognito, Sango, it's improper for a pokemon ranger to be drooling," Petal chastised her. She turned on her heel and led Sango through the port town.

Sango glanced at the houses as she walked by, as well as the other pedestrians. Everything about this town seemed so… upbeat, and peaceful. This was supposedly a large port, like Castelia City, and yet it was so much different. Everyone seemed to be taking things easy, there was none of the hustle and bustle she'd grown to expect of a large city. Even the buildings seemed so quaint. Unlike the towering skyscrapers, they were simple wood and brick houses. The cool breeze and the smell of salt in the air made Sango feel a little sleepy as she walked, lulling her into a comfortable rhythm. Or maybe that was her body starting to shut down from malnourishment.

So entranced was she in the calm and tranquil atmosphere that she had completely missed the fact that Petal had stopped walking, and she bumped into the shorter ranger.

Petal looked back at her like she was an idiot, and rolled her eyes.

"We're here," she said, turning to look at the building in front of her. It was build up on the side of the sloping hill they were walking down, overlooking the sparkling ocean below. It was a rather bustling restaurant, larger than most other places around, with a clear sailing theme, making it easy to guess what kind of food they'd be serving. (And in a port city, that would have been obvious) There was even an expansive deck outside, so one could enjoy the ocean breeze as they tasted the sea's bounty.

Sango resisted the urge to drool as they entered the restaurant, the scent of seafood blasting her in the face. Fish hadn't smelled this good since the Nature Preserve! So delicious-smelling was the food that Sango barely noticed how beautiful the interior was. The decorated walls and elegant furniture were a lovely shade of blue, bathed in a brilliant light from the afternoon sun. A wide window took up the entire rear wall, and led out to the deck, but Petal and Sango took a seat indoors, much to Sango's disappointment. Petal had explained on the train that they weren't coming there just to eat; the Captain's Table was a well-known and popular establishment, and they were waiting for someone. So even though it was sad, Sango had to admit it made sense. It was essential that they ate indoors, so they could spot their target as they came inside. Hence, they sat at one of the tables in the back. A table for four, Petal assuring the host that they'd be waiting for two others. In truth, the two rangers set their partner pokemon down in the seats. Sango herself also sank down into the comfortable shell-shaped chairs, and couldn't open the menu fast enough.

Petal's eye twitched at Sango's lack of decorum in such a fancy, establishment, kicking her under the table. Sango blushed, and regained her composure. Even so, she still couldn't help but drool a little. Everything looked so good!

The waiter came to bring them some water, and asked if they were ready to order. Sango was more than ready.

"Yes, I'll have the Clobbopus and Scallion Pasta, Family-Sized," she said, pointing at the mountain of pasta shown in one of the pictures.

The waiter blinked, staring oddly at her.

"Miss, you understand that dish serves four people, yes?"

"Yeah, I'll have two of those," Sango said without baulking in the slightest, not raising her eyes from the menu. "Then I'll get three bowls of the Shellder Chowder for my soup, and this order… Krabby's Legs, right? I'll have two-dozen of those, with all the dipping sauces, and the Rainbow Basculin Platter. That'll be to start with. Then I'd also like a full order of Chinchou Poppers, and two servings of the Fried Whiscash with double chips, as well as…"

The waiter, stunned, frantically began writing down Sango's order. As she kept rambling off things she wanted to eat, Petal's face grew more and more pale.

I know I can write this off as a business expense… but having to explain this bill to the Ranger Union… why couldn't this meetup have happened at a Red Clawitzer's or something?!

"…And for dessert I'd like three bowls of Whipped Alcremie's Delights, Salted Cream with Berry Sweet flavor, Caramel Swirl with Flower Sweet flavor, and Mint Cream with Ribbon Sweet flavor. And your finest blend of wet pokemon food and an Oran Berry smoothie for Silver, my Castform!"

"Y-yes…" the waiter said, his face red with exhaustion and his hand starting to cramp. He turned to Petal, clearly worn down. "A-and you, miss?"

"…A new appetite," Petal dryly commented, more than a little put off by Sango's massive order. "I think I just lost mine."

The waiter beat a hasty retreat from the monstrosity threatening to clean the restaurant out, Sango turning to Petal in surprise.

"You're not getting anything, but it all looks so good!" Sango said, surprised.

"…I think you're eating enough for the both of us," Petal replied. As well as a enough for all the other patrons, she silently added.

"If you say so," Sango shrugged. While Petal silently glowered at her, she basked in the lovel scents coming from the kitchen, her hunger temporarily abated by the satisfying aroma… oh, how she wished! It just made her anticipation even stronger! Needless to say, when two waiters walked up a dozen minutes later carrying three massive bowls of soup between the two of them, her eyes lit up eagerly. They had barely set it down before she began digging in, and Petal was almost astounded by the fact that as voracious as she was, she still managed to be almost dignified while eating, instead of tearing into her food like a wild animal.

Well, as dignified as a stick-thin girl could appear while devouring enough soup to fill a kiddie pool.

By the time the other appetizers had arrived, Sango had emptied two bowls and was halfway through her third. She quickly finished it off, and began digging into the Krabby's Legs and Chinchou Poppers. When she moved onto the pasta, Petal decided that enough was enough, and cleared her throat.

"What?" Sango asked, glancing up at Petal. "You want some?"

"You're making a scene," Petal hissed. Sango looked around. Staff and customers were looking at Sango and her appetite in shock and awe, having finished off enough food for three people in appetizers alone. Sango blinked, slurping up the rest of the pasta in her mouth.

Sango began eating more slowly, paying more attention to Petal, as the older ranger began talking.

"As I told you, we're here to look for someone," Petal said, frowning. "Sango… remember when I told you that I need you to objective involving harmonia? And that was the reason why I wanted you to work with me on this?"

"Yeah?" Sango nodded.

"Well, this is the girl we're supposed to be looking for," Petal said, reaching into her bag and withdrawing a photograph. "One of our undercover operators in Hulbury spotted her coming in this morning. We have reason to suspect that she's a member of the Children of the Oracles. She's known as a patron of this restaurant, so we have reason to believe that she'll be meeting her contact here."

Petal slid the photograph across the table, face-down so no one else could see who was depicted on it. Sango turned it over, her eyes widening. Suddenly, she didn't feel so hungry. She shook her head slowly, unable to believe what she was seeing. But it was a face that she knew all too well. Sango gulped, regaining her composure as best as she could. She was still feeling a little shaky. It just couldn't be true!

But captured in that photograph, walking across the docks of Hulbury Port, was a tanned face smiling bright as the sun, and a straw hat covering mint-colored hair.

She should be at school… why is she here? Sango asked herself, shaking her head. Marion… what are you doing here?

"I told you before, that you need to be objective about this," Petal said quietly. "I know what you must be thinking, but-"

"It's not true," Sango said, glaring at Petal and tossing the photograph down on the table. "There has to be a misunderstanding here. There's no way Marion would be associated with people like that."

"Do you forget so easily?" Petal growled. "She already IS associated with them. These are people that she knew since she was a child! Harmonia users just like her, who suffered just as she suffered."

"You said yourself, just because she has harmonia doesn't mean she's a… one of them!"

"I know. And you said you would think about things objectively," Petal replied to her. "Let's look at the facts. Marion Rivers grew up in Anja Karzat, alongside known members of the Children of the Oracles. We have on good authority that members of the Children of the Oracles are coming to Galar, at the same time as Marion Rivers is coming to Galar. We also suspect that members of the Children of the Oracles have infiltrated the Pokemon Academy, at which Marion is a student. However you look at it the evidence, it's reasonable to assume that Marion may be working undercover at the Pokemon Academy. In fact… she entered that school not long before Anja Karzat's collapse."

"What do you mean?!" Sango demanded, trying to keep the anger out of her voice.

"We don't know how, or why, but Marion Rivers somehow escaped or was released from Anja Karzat before the attacks. It is the only way to account for her records in the facility and her unquestionable presence in the world before Anja Karzat was destroyed. Right now, the Ranger Union is suspecting that after she escaped, she went to someone for shelter, someone who noted the potential of harmonia in her, and the other children, and worked with him in order to facilitate their escape and the facility's destruction."

All Sango could do was continually shake her head.

"No. She wouldn't. Not Marion. Marion isn't like that!"

"You said you would look at this objectively," Petal hissed. "And objectively, no matter how you look at it, the idea of her being a suspect is unquestionably clear. Of course we are going to inquire deeper about her circumstances!"

"You didn't see what I saw," Sango replied. "The look in her eye when she encountered Preya, the way she fought against him, she wouldn't do that if they were secretly working together! No way! She was absolutely astonished to see him!"

"Or was she acting for your benefit?" Petal asked. "Think back to the Nature Preserve. You're the only other person there who knows what happened. How did you manage to get to that shrine in the first place, where you encountered him? Where you found that Oracle? Was it luck?"

"I… I don't…" Sango searched through her memories desperately. She felt sick to her stomach.

"Marion… Marion guided me there…" Sango said quietly.

"And then you ran into Preya, is that right?" Petal asked. "You told me yourselves, remember? The whole story, everything that happened. Remind me, what happened, after you and Marion got there? Was he already there? Or did he come after?"

"A-After, I think…" Sango whispered, her hands shaking. "We… I had already taken the Oracle when he confronted us."

"So she guided you there, is that right? And then you just so happened to coincidentally run into the terrorist who was searching out the very thing you two stumbled across? How fortuitous of you." Petal's eyes were serious, but Sango could see a trace of sadness in them. She didn't want to say these things, to tear Marion apart like this. But she had to. "And then they put on their little performance, convincing you that not only did they know each other, but more importantly, that Marion was opposed to whatever it was Preya was doing. And then, something even more fortuitous happened, and you two just so happened to get away with the stone thanks to Marion's harmonia. And thanks to the circumstances behind your escape, the one person who could implicate Marion was buried alive, rather than either of you capturing him."

"That… that was…" Was that really what had happened? It sounded similar to what Sango had said, but it made Marion look so much worse. It couldn't be, it just couldn't be!

"I remember what happened when you two told me your story," Petal said quietly. "Who was it that asked when the ranger teams would be coming to search for Preya? Who was it that made an impassioned plea to grant you kids as much time as I could, for the sake of accomplishing your dreams? Quite a touching speech, it swayed even me. Was it genuine, I wonder? Or was she trying to buy as much time as she could, not for the sake of you prospective rangers and your dreams, but to give her accomplice the time he would need to escape before the ranger teams swept the mountain? The mountain area which I oh-so-graciously deemed to be hazard due to the recent collapse, allowing any potential terrorists all the time they'd need for an extraction? On who's words do you think I issued that judgment?"

"But there was a collapse!" Sango said. "Marion, she-"

"She what? How did you end up in those caves in the first place, Sango?"

Sango's face turned pale.

"Marion… she… she fell. And I went to go save her, and then the ledge collapsed, and…"

"Did she fall?" Petal demanded. "Did you see her fall?"

"I… I…" Sango couldn't remember. She had seen Marion falling, but…

"Paint the picture for me," Petal gently asked her. "Run through the scenario."

"We… we were chasing a Pichu… up the mountain… the path got really narrow… I suggested we cross it… and Marion, Marion said no… she said that we might fall… but I convinced her to cross it anyway…" Sango remembered. The more she talked about it, the clearer it became in her mind.

Sango closed her eyes. She took herself back to that mountain. What had happened? What had she seen? What had she heard?

"I heard dirt crumbling… Marion screamed… I turned back to her, and she had slipped off the ledge."

"So you didn't see her actually slip?" Petal asked. Sango clenched her eyes tighter, desperate to remember something else, anything else, but… no. It was exactly as she described it. She shook her head.

"So maybe she only pretended to lose her footing, and threw herself from the ledge knowing you would catch her," Petal suggested.

Could Marion have planned that? No, it was impossible. She wasn't that cunning, she… she was just Marion!

"How would she know that there was a cave there?" Sango demanded. "How could she have planned it out so precisely, to fall at just the spot that would lead to an opening? I can't believe she'd be able to plan something like that! I just can't!"

Petal nodded, considering what Sango said.

"What do you know about Marion's record on the Pokemon Ranger Probationary Exams?" Petal asked.

"I know that she failed like 12 times before she finally passed last month," Sango replied. Petal nodded her head.

"12 times. Every time, exactly the same way. She would always show up to the Nature Preserve late. Well after the deadline, and after the first boat where all the other latecomers went back on. And every time we offered to give her a lift back to the mainland, do you know what she'd say?" Petal asked.

"What?"

"She'd say something like 'nah, that sounds like a big hassle! I'll just stay here and fish until the test is over!' Now, normally we don't let failed students stay on the island, less they learn details about the tests, so of course we booted her off. But she just floated off the shore on that Mantine of hers, fishing away until the Third Exam ended."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Sango asked, confused.

"Harmonia users can speak with pokemon, remember?" Petal reminded her. "You said yourself, Marion called an entire school of Wishiwashi from the ocean to assist you two in the test. How far does her net reach, I wonder? Could she even connect with pokemon in the Nature Preserve itself? Pokemon dwelling in the mountain? See the entire island from their eyes? Bide her time until she found a patsy, someone she could use to draw the attention off of her own actions? A gullible freshman that would believe her words, while at the same time not think of her as a threat due to the way she acted? And then, when the time was right, she could arrange the perfect 'coincidental' situation that would lead the two of you to stumble across that Oracle. Breaking her own leg, forcing you to look after her, so she could lead you right to the shrine and get the Oracle off the island while looking innocent in all of it?"

Petal stared out the wide window, looking out over the ocean.

"I'm not saying it's her. I'm not saying it's plausible, or even necessarily possible. I don't know enough about what that girl, and others like her, are capable of to know for sure. All I know is that when the ranger teams got to the mountain, we never found the man who attacked the two of you. The only ones who know the full story are you and her. And are you sure what you saw was the truth of the matter?"

No. Sango wasn't sure. Not anymore. Could it really be possible? Could Marion… sweet, kind, fish-loving Marion… could she really…?

"We'll find out soon," Petal said. "There she is."

Sango glanced to see a girl walk into the restaurant. It wasn't Marion, thank god, but it was someone Sango recognized all the same.

She was dressed differently for the casual climate, a bright blue bikini top hugging her large chest, standing out against her creamy skin. A pair of jean shorts hugged her waist, left unbuttoned to reveal bikini bottoms underneath, and she wore an unzipped black jacket to cover her arms and shoulders. She wore sandals that were out of place for such a refined establishment, and altogether did not look the type for fine seafood dining. She looked like a college student partying on spring break. But in spite of her outfit being a lot louder than the one she'd worn on Mt. Chimney, the curly black hair that bounced around her shoulders and her smirking, full red lips were familiar. She was wearing big sunglasses, but her icy blue eyes could be seen peeking over them. She lazily twirled a lollipop in her fingers, strutting through the restaurant with a pompous air that seemed downright bitchy.

"That girl…"

"Her name is Rui," Petal reminded Sango. "I thought you'd remember. She's not in any of the files, we don't even know her last name. But she's certainly one of the Children of the Oracles, even if she doesn't have harmonia."

"And you think…"

"She's the contact," Petal confirmed. "She's going to meet with the other member."

"Then let's take her in," Sango said.

"Then she'll hush up, and we won't be able to know who she's here to meet," Petal explained to Sango. "We need to catch her accomplice. That's why we're here in civilian clothes. This operation, it's essential we remain covert about it. We're working with the Hulbury Police, but we can't tip our hand just yet.

"And Marion is the person she's going to meet?" Sango asked.

"I think she's here to meet Marion, yes," Petal confirmed. "Two girls chatting it up at a beachside restaurant wouldn't look suspicious at all, would it?"

Sango took another glance at the girl. She'd sat at a table a little closer to the door than theirs, her back was to them. Which meant she was facing the door, same as they were. She was staring at a menu, but Sango noticed that every few seconds she'd raise her head, her eyes flicking up to the door whenever it opened. And then they would return to the menu. Another customer entered. Her head would flick up, and then back down. Every time. Clearly, she was waiting for someone to show up.

"Do you believe me yet?" Petal asked. Her voice was contrite, and Sango could see the pain she was hiding behind her professional face. She really did feel bad for accusing Marion like this. But Sango could understand where she was coming from. Marion… she really did look suspicious. But even so, there was one piece of evidence that Petal hadn't considered yet. It wasn't really evidence at all, not really, but it was still enough for Sango.

"Marion is Marion," Sango said simply. "She isn't your terrorist."

"Are you sure?" Petal asked. "Can you be sure? Even after everything I've told you? I understand wanting to give her the benefit of the doubt, but-"

"This isn't giving her the benefit of the doubt," Sango said, shaking her head. Petal could see the resolve in her eyes. "I know that it isn't Marion. It can't be. Because Marion is Marion."

"There was never a time you got the slightest bit suspicious?" Petal probed. "Never an instant where Marion acted strangely? Or seemed like she was hiding something? She never broke character at all?"

There were plenty of times Marion had acted strangely. Lots of moments where she seemed to hold more intelligence than Sango would have ever given her credit for. Times where she'd seem to be saying something profound, and then laugh it all off with another fishing joke. Tiny inconsistencies that, Sango had to admit, added up to something more than a little questionable.

But even still!

"Marion is Marion," Sango repeated. "I believe in her. She may be odd, she may say strange things at times, and I know that there are things I don't fully know about her. But still… if you have to ask me to choose… then I choose to believe in her. Those smiles… those tears… I'm certain that they weren't lies."

Petal frowned, and shrugged.

"We'll find out soon enough."

Sango finished off the rest of her food, watching the door anxiously. She believed in Marion. She knew that Marion would not let her down.

Please be at school. Please be fishing somewhere. Please… do something else, anything else! Just stay away from here! Sango felt like praying for the first time in a long time. There's nothing here for you. There's no reason for you to come here, please-

The door opened again. Rui looked up, as did Petal and Sango. Three pairs of eyes scanned the door to see the new customer walking inside.

Sango's heart sank and she shook her head slowly, and helpless, desperate "no"s of denial slipped from her lips as though she could wish away the familiar face standing in the doorway. Sparkling blue eyes she'd seen shed tears of sadness and tears of joy sparkled in the late sunlight, and tanned skin glistened on her bright face as she smiled out into the restaurant, humming to herself. The ring of the fishing poll on her back pierced Sango's chest like a dagger.

Why, Marion? She asked, tears welling up in her eyes. Why would you come here?

Marion joins the party! What will this mean for Sango's mission?