What do Team Rocket have planned on Mt. Silver? Will Ayame and Blake manage to stop them? Who could be behind all this? Happy New Year, everyone! We'll greet the New Year with a new character and a new conflict rising up!

JoshGamerV: It'll be more obvious by the end of the chapter.

Thunder Fire: Because you don't want her there and she revels in that.

KedharS: Hopefully as incompetent as usual.

Aquahaze675: Always keeping you guessing.

Pokemonking0924: No, it's really not. Blake's in rough straits.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 415

Why am I here? Why am I freezing my ass off on this godforsaken mountain? That was the question that Carrie had been asking herself for the better part of an hour as she walked with the other three members of her team.

She knew the reason, of course. She had volunteered. It was the same reason she had agreed to join Team Rocket in the first place. Ever since her mom had gotten into that accident, the medical bills had kept piling up. Her dad's income wasn't enough to pay them, so she had been forced to find a job. But there weren't exactly a lot of jobs available for a twenty-year-old girl with no work experience or marketable skills. She was also exceedingly clumsy, and had managed to get fired from every single job that would hire her. The longest she had lasted was a week.

She had broken that record already. She'd been a Team Rocket grunt for exactly two weeks, and this was her first assignment. She knew that Team Rocket was a criminal organization. Everyone knew. It wasn't a job she was at all proud of. But she had to support her family.

It's fine. I'll just do a few missions for them, collect some pay, and then leave. That was the thinking that had taken her to the recruiter for Team Rocket, even as her footsteps were shaky and her entire body was trembling. Maybe it was naïve of her to think she could dip her toe in the criminal underground, but it was the only job she could find that had a chance, slim as it may have been, at putting a dent in her mother's bills.

I love you, mom. And even if it means I have to plunge myself into the dirt and filth, I'm going to help you however I can!

And as though the gods themselves were hearing her wishes, she had been given an opportunity like none she had ever seen before. A wealthy client had asked Team Rocket to collect something, a special sort of rock. Carrie guessed that it was an evolution stone of some sort, but she wasn't asking questions. She was too focused on the reward. According to the admin who had been asking for volunteers, should the mission succeed, whoever went would receive a massive Christmas bonus! Carrie's eyes had bugged out of her skull when she had been told what the commission would be. Combined with her wages, it would be enough to pay for her poor ailing mother's medical bills, and then some! Certainly, it would come at the cost of spending Christmas with her family, but that didn't matter to her. The important fact was that after this one job, her family wouldn't have to eat such meager meals every day. She wouldn't have to see her poor little brother moping at the dinner table, poking at the scraps set in front of him, or listen to the rumble of his stomach as she was forced to squeeze into the same room as him.

Just one mission. It should have been so easy to find a rock. Well, not easy, it would have been time consuming. But still, not a challenge or a risk by any stretch of the imagination, save the harsh conditions themselves. So why was it all going so wrong? Why were there two people here, when there should have been no one anywhere on the mountain?

"Go, Houndour!" Iori, the grunt at the head of the party shouted, sending out his canine pokemon into the snow.

"Raticate!" Another grunt, Tora sent out a Raticate, and Daisuke, the third, sent out a Sandshrew.

"Ugh, this is why I didn't want to do this!" Carrie groaned helplessly, scratching at her pink hair. She just knew there was no point to any of this mess.

"Carrie, send out your pokemon!" Iori shouted back at her.

"What?! What would be the point?!" The Carrie demanded. "We only have one pokemon each! They have, like, probably six! Apiece! There's no way we can win this!"

"Team Rocket says we must use all methods to achieve victory, even if it means attacking as one!" Iori replied. "So send out that pokemon of yours, and give them a fight that a member of Team Rocket could be proud of!"

Yeah, we're just criminals and terrorists, I don't really think we're supposed to have that much pride. Carrie didn't say that, of course, taking the lone pokeball form her belt and throwing it into the snow, knowing full well that he wouldn't be of any help. Not that she cared that much. She didn't exactly give a damn about her supposed "pride" as a Team Rocket member.

She was upset, though. Upset that she might not get paid. So she sighed, kneeling down to look at the precious pokemon that had been a gift from her parents on her 10th birthday.

"Do your best, okay Shuckie?" She begged.

"Shuckle," her Shuckle agreed, scuttling through the snow after the pokemon of her teammates.

"Rhox, use rock slide," the tall girl glaring down at them growled.

"Golem." The large, round pokemon stomped his feet into the snow, gigantic boulders tearing themselves free and rolling down the mountain. The pokemon were immediately buried.

"No!" Iori gasped.

"Our pokemon!" Tora exclaimed.

"They've been buried!" Daisuke growled.

Yeah, what did you morons think was going to happen?! Carrie wanted to scream, but really she was just done with this.

Moments later, their pokemon managed to dig themselves out of the rocks, badly injured but still willing to fight. All except Shuckie, who had barely taken any damage due to his high defenses, who merely rolled back down the hill to her side, before scurrying back up.

"Blake, what are you doing?" The tall girl demanded, turning to the boy, who Carrie guessed was named Blake. "Send out your pokemon! No mercy! Use whoever you have to to take those bastards down, even you-know-who!"

Carrie didn't know who "you-know-who" was, but it didn't sound like a good thing.

The boy, Blake, threw a pokeball into the air, and a massive blue and white pokemon with curved crimson wings emerged, flying above them. It glared down at Carrie and the others with eyes brimming with rage, painful-looking scars etched into its scaly hide. The terrifying dragon looked down at them like they were bug-type pokemon, threw back its head, and let out a deafening roar.

"SALAMENCE!" A massive burst of flames erupted from the dragon's mouth, the cold air of Mt. Silver turning nice and crispy as the large pokemon flew towards them.

"Uwaah!"

"Run!"

"We can't beat that!"

The others recalled their pokemon and flew, running past Carrie as she stared at the approaching pokemon with a resigned look on her face. So much for the mission. She sighed, and recalled her Shuckle. Clipping her pokeball onto her belt, she reached into her jacket pocket and withdrew her cell phone, dialing a familiar number.

"Hi, mom… sorry, but it looks like my new job isn't gonna work out," she sighed. "Yeah, I know. I'm coming home, I think I'm gonna go job searching again. I love you too, bye."

Carrie pocketed her phone, and turned to walk down the hill. The trainers had thankfully recalled their pokemon before they attacked her, but that was a cold comfort when faced with the fact that she had once again had another failure. Another job gone up in flames.

"Hey, you!" Carrie turned just in time for the taller girl to grab her by the collar, squeezing tightly enough so that Carrie could barely breathe.

"Wh-what?" She rasped out.

"What the fuck are you lot doing here, huh?!" The girl demanded.

"Aya, she probably can't breathe with you grabbing her like that!" The boy, Blake, had come to her rescue, much to Carrie's relief. The taller girl grumbled and released Carrie, shoving her down into the snow.

Carrie sat up, coughing, loosening her collar.

"Answer my question!" The girl, Aya, demanded. "What the fuck are you doing here?!"

"…I was asking that question myself," Carrie sighed, staring up at the two with empty eyes.

"Well, start talking or fucking start bleeding," Aya growled, cracking her knuckles. Well, Carrie didn't like bleeding, and she really didn't give a damn about Team Rocket or their plans. This mission had been nothing but a disaster, and even if she didn't manage to get fired she wasn't really that interested in continuing with her job. A pay cut was a certainty at this point, and there was no way she'd be able to help her mother with that meager fee. This was all just a horrible mistake, all of it.

So Carrie explained to them everything that they had been told about the mission, the mountain, and what they had been looking for. She even explained why she herself had wanted to join in on the mission, not that she figured that would make a difference.

"I'm fucking done with this stupid job," she sighed. "So just arrest me or whatever, I don't care anymore…"

"Oh, you damn well bet you're going to jail," the girl, who Carrie had learned was actually named Ayame, snarled. "Thanks for the info, but a Team Rocket grunt like you is going to pay for what you've done!"

Carrie sighed. She hadn't actually "done" much of anything criminal, but she wasn't about to start making a huge fuss about what she had or hadn't done. At the end of the day, she had joined a criminal organization for money and this was what she deserved.

"Aya," Blake said, putting a hand on Ayame's shoulder.

"What?" Ayame snapped, glancing back at him.

"Can we talk for a second?" He asked. Ayame grumbled, sighed, scratched at her hair, and then finally nodded her head reluctantly. She turned and looked at the pink-haired woman who they had caught, warning her with a glare.

"You, stay right here."

Ayame let Blake lead her a few feet away, where they could speak in private. But even as he talked with her, she was looking over his shoulder at the Team Rocket grunt, who was standing in the snow looking like she didn't have a care in the world. It was really pissing Ayame off!

"Look, do we really have to turn her into the police?"

"What?!" Ayame asked, her jaw dropping in surprise. "Uh, yeah, of course we do! She's a fucking criminal, who knows what she and those other bastards were planning to do here, huh?"

"Yeah, I know," Blake sighed, shaking his head. "Still, I mean, didn't you hear what she just said?"

"Yeah, I heard," Ayame grumbled. "She said a lot of fancy things. I don't buy a word of it, though. I just fucking know that she's making all the BS about her family up to get out of trouble! She's a member of Team Rocket, you know, she deserves everything she gets!"

Blake sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He could tell that Ayame was really angry and adamant about this, but it still didn't make the decision any easier for him. Even though Ayame didn't believe her, Blake still did. He trusted her about what she had said about trying to make money for her family, and although he had never wanted for money himself, he understood that it was clearly something important to other people. He absolutely believed that it would be possible for someone to work for Team Rocket for the money, and he didn't feel any dishonesty from the girl. She clearly wasn't a zealot, at least, if lack of interest and willingness to volunteer information was any indication of how she felt about all this.

"Look, Aya, she clearly doesn't care that much about what's going on, do you really think it matters that much if we just let her go?"

"Oh, don't tell me you're buying that sob story?" Ayame hissed. "It's because she's a girl, isn't it? A pretty girl bats her fucking eyelashes and all of a sudden you're falling all over yourself to come in as her knight in fucking shining armor! This is why girls keep falling for you back at school, you know, how easy you make them swoon by bending over backwards to help them out! It's really annoying, you know! You don't have to be such a fucking…! Rgh!"

Ayame rubbed her temples in frustration.

"Look, Aya, I just think that if we give her the chance to turn things around, well, it'll be better for her," Blake explained. "I don't feel 'hardened criminal' from her, you know. So if we just… I don't know, give her another chance, well, maybe she can be a better person," Blake said, glancing down. "I know what it's like to care for a sick mother…"

He bit his lip, his hands shaking with concern and sadness from nostalgia about his own mother and her condition.

"And also… I think that someone… someone who works for someone bad, if… if they know what they did is wrong, well… I still think that they deserve a chance to make up for what they did," Blake said, his tone barely above a whisper. "So isn't it okay for us… to just let her go? Give her a second chance? I know you're upset, but…"

Ayame's face softened as she looked at the pain crossing Blake's features. She winced, knowing what he was thinking about. What he had just said…

Ayame sighed, knowing that this was something that clearly meant a lot to him.

"You're thinking about her, aren't you?" She asked softly. "Your sister."

Blake didn't say anything, but he nodded his head to show Ayame that she was right.

Ayame winced, glancing at the team Rocket Grunt again. She reached up and rubbed her temples in frustration.

"I know that Gwen means a lot to you, Blake, are you sure you aren't just projecting your own insecurities and wishes onto this girl?"

"…Maybe," Blake admitted. "But I still think that it's important to trust in someone else. I don't think she's that bad of a person."

"…Fine," Ayame scowled, walking around him. "But only because it looks like you're going to be sad if I said no."

"Really?" Blake asked, his face brightening.

"Don't think this means I trust her!" Ayame called over her shoulder. She walked up to the girl, who she had learned was named Carrie, stopping in front of her and crossing her arms over her chest, glaring down at her.

Carrie looked at her with a look of resignation. Ayame sighed. It hurt her to let the girl go, but she was okay with it. She would trust Blake's judgment.

"Listen, I don't trust you Team Rocket fuckers," Ayame scowled.

"Well I'm not as big of a fan of them myself," Carrie sighed. "They left me behind after all."

Ayame raised her eyebrow. "Listen, you, my boyfriend over there talked me into letting you go."

"Oh?" Carrie asked, surprised. That wasn't what she had expected.

"But I don't want to see you, or any other fucking member of Team Rocket, anywhere on this mountain, you fucking got it?" Ayame demanded.

"Yeah, in case you didn't know, I'm done with Team Rocket," Carrie said. "I'm going home, back to my family. So I can't speak for Team Rocket, and I'm not going to anymore."

"…Well, good then," Ayame said, nodding her head. "Blake says that he wants you to make a second chance. So, well, if that means that you're going to be starting a new life without being a part of Team Rocket, then I can feel at least a little more okay about letting you go like this. Find a real fucking job, okay? Not a flunky of some fucking evil organization."

Carrie nodded her head.

"Good. Then get the fuck out," Ayame said, pointing down the mountain. It was time for Carrie to leave. She turned and walked back to her Secret Base to retrieve her stuff as Carrie glanced down the slope.

"Um, excuse me…"

Carrie glanced over her shoulder to see the boy, Blake, walking over to her. Curious.

"Your name is Carrie, right?"

Carrie nodded.

"You're… you were part of Team Rocket to make money to pay for your mother's medical bills?" He asked. Carrie nodded again.

"So, like, you live in the area then?"

Carrie shook her head. "I'm from an entirely different region," she replied. "I'm just here because Team Rocket sent us here. Though I'm pretty sure that the escape truck with my former colleagues has already left."

"So you're just stuck here?" Blake asked. "Can't you, like, get a flight home?"

"…That costs money," Carrie dryly replied.

Right. She was broke.

"Okay, Blake, let's get going back!" Ayame said, jogging down the slope. "We need to tell my mom and dad what… happened…"

She saw the pink-haired Carrie was still here, and her face fell. She grabbed Blake by the collar and pulled him back.

"What's she still fucking doing here?!" Ayame hissed. "I told her to get out of here!"

"She doesn't have anywhere to go," Blake whispered back. "She's stranded in a foreign region with no friends and no money. Look, this is going to sound like a bad idea, and I know that you won't want to hear it, but-"

"Don't say it," Ayame hissed, already knowing what he was about to suggest, and she wanted no part in it. "Don't you fucking say it."

"Is it okay if we invite her back to your parents' cabin?" Blake asked.

"Rrrgh, I KNEW you were going to fucking suggest that!" Ayame groaned, slamming the balls of her palms against her forehead in irritation. "No! Absolutely not! The answer is fucking no!"

"Come on, it's Christmas!" Blake pleaded. "Are you really saying you want to just send her out to die in the snow?"

Ayame glared angrily at him. She wanted to rip his throat out, but at the same time, this was exactly what the Blake she loved would suggest. It was so infuriating! Why did he have to be such a kind fucking guy, helping out someone in trouble? She was a member of Team Rocket, he should just let her freeze!

But not even Ayame could do that. She growled, stomped her feet, and cursed in frustration, but in the end she locked her jaw and turned on her heel, storming over to Carrie.

"If… you don't… have anywhere… to go… tonight… would you like… to come have Christmas dinner… with… my… family?" She spat out the words through gritted teeth, trying to force as natural of a smile onto her face as she could, no matter how much pain the words caused her to say.

"Uh… are you sure you won't mind?"

"Not… a problem…" Ayame grunted out, resisting the urge to turn her expression into a glare. "Just one thing. We're going to need you to change your clothes. That uniform…"

Ayame gestured to the parka with a red "R" embedded on it that the girl was wearing.

"You aren't welcome in our home wearing that."

Carrie shrugged, stripping the jacket off. She turned it inside out, revealing a white inner lining. The jacket was reversible.

"Better?" Carrie asked.

"…Fine," Ayame growled, secretly hoping that the Team Rocket grunt would have no option, but whatever.

Ayame tried really, really hard to give Blake the silent treatment as the three of them walked back to cabin. But she couldn't do it.

"She stays for one night," Ayame growled. "Then, she's going on her way. Understood?"

"Sure," Carrie nodded.

"If that's what your parents want," Blake agreed.

About an hour later, they made it back to the cabin.

"Just leave it to me to explain to my mom," Ayame sighed. "And keep your mouth shut about Team Rocket!"

Carrie nodded obediently.

Ayame turned and opened the door, heading into the cabin, the other two following after her.

"Mom! Dad! We're back! And we brought a guest!" Ayame called out.

"Really?" Hiromi's voice chimed in from the kitchen. "Well, this looks like it's going to be a packed dinner! I brought home a guest of my own!"

"Really?" Ayame was surprised. She stepped into the living room, spotting a beautiful woman sitting on one of the large armchairs, reading a book. The girl raised her golden eyes to glance up at Ayame through her curly black locks, a catlike smile spreading across her pale cheeks. She rose up and stepped forward, greeting the taller girl.

"Hello there," the girl purred. "Who are you?"

"I'm Ayame Toujou," Ayame said, holding out her hand to the curly-haired girl. "This is my house."

"Ah! Ayame! Pleased to meet you," the girl said, her eyes shining. She looked past the tall girl and at Blake, standing frozen in the foyer, his eyes widening in shock and horror and his face going pale. "My name is Valerie Chiester."

Her eyes narrowed and her smile widened even further. She was reveling in the look of pure horror on Blake's face.

"But you can call me Val."

Val has returned, as well as this new character, Carrie! What will Val have in store for Blake and the Toujou family? Will Carrie be able to get a job to pay her mother's bills? Happy New Year, everybody!