What could Sylvia be planning? What does she want Misato to do? What other chaos can she spread now that she's back at the Pokemon Academy? Remember to review!
Also, thank you to everyone who read my story "The Heir to the Dragon". I would appreciate if you continue to read and support it in the future! You can get there through my profile! The story is finally completed! Thank you for reading!
The Elimination Round is reaching its climax! Only a few days left! Make sure to get in votes for who you think the best girl is! Also, because it's been brought to my attention that Valerie was indeed nominated to the contest, but was not given a vote, she will be getting a bye to the next round. In the meantime, get your votes in, and we'll determine who will go to the next round at the end of August! It should be exciting! The leading girls may surprise you!
Nominated: Alcea, Ayame, Carrie, Caelia, Cynthia, Dakota, Darla, Elaina, Elizabeth, Julia, Kate, Kitty, Lila, Maddi, Marion, Nikita, Olivia, Sango, Sylvia
KedharS: Definitely, she's just that sort of girl.
Just a Bad Writer for Fun: You never know, maybe he'll actually like it. It's possible. He might even see Misato as a real girl.
JoshGamerV: And hopefully, they never will.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 656
"So Misato, do you understand what I'm suggesting?" Sylvia purred.
"Affirmative," Misato acknowledged.
"And what does your judgment say about that?" Sylvia pressed. "Do you still think it's a bad idea that you don't want to attempt?"
"Given the actions you described, it is possible to conclude that a positive increase in the affection Will shows to me will result with a probability of 78%," Misato concluded. "This number is within the acceptable parameters."
"I like it too," Sylvia chuckled, twirling her finger against Misato's cheek. "And who knows? Maybe if you really try your best and nurture it with care and water it gently, a little seed of love will sprout forth and bloom!"
Her finger stopped. What she'd just said had made an idea flash through her mind. Water it gently… a little seed will sprout forth…
A wicked smile crossed Sylvia's face as a picture began to form. She had a new way to consider playing with her brand new toy. Oh, that's certainly quite wicked…
Sylvia pulled away from Misato and hummed. "Misato, I wish you all the best, my dear friend. As your friend, I'm sure that you'll be able to succeed in your endeavors! In the meantime, I will be here, occupying myself with my own interests. Have fun!"
"Negative. I am not capable of feeling joy, so it is not possible for me to have fun," Misato explained, but Sylvia didn't want to hear it.
"Sure you can," she assured Misato. "You just need to know how to do it! Ciao, my love!" She turned and headed out the door, towards the exit of the Sandbox. She stopped at the door, turned, and flashed her a smile.
"One other thing, Misato," Sylvia added. "I just want to let you know, for whatever this matters, that I really did miss you while I was missing. Trapped in that other dimension, without being able to spend my time teasing and testing you, it was definitely unpleasant."
Misato didn't respond, but Sylvia didn't expect her to. "So now that I'm back," she continued, "I have a little over two years of lost time to make up for. So you enjoy your date, while I enjoy my… experiments, and we can hang out together some other time. Sound like a plan?"
"Affirmative," was Misato's only response. That was good enough for Sylvia. So with one last parting smile, Sylvia turned to head out to the main room of the Sandbox and leave to go get the materials for her next experiment.
"Sylvia," Misato said after her, surprising Sylvia. She glanced back and raised her eyebrow curiously, not expecting to be called out to like that.
"Yes?" She asked, intrigued by what Misato had to say.
"I also missed you when you were gone. It is good that you are back," Misato told her. Sylvia's jaw dropped in shock.
"Misato, wow, that's… thank you," Sylvia smiled. She actually felt a little touched, though not nearly as touched as intrigued by the fact that Misato had actually expressed something similar to an emotion. She quickly regained her composure, shaking her head. There were more important things to do, for the both of them! "Anyway, save that mushy stuff for your hot date with your boyfriend!" She laughed. "I've got experiments to do, so have a good night!"
With a spring in her step, Sylvia skipped out of the room and walked across the Sandbox, hatching plans. It was Valentine's Day, after all, and what was Valentine's Day without a nice bouquet of roses? Or at least some rose seeds.
And Sylvia knew just where she could find those.
Sylvia sauntered towards the Gardening Club, surprised by what she saw. The Rose Garden had opened up the week before, in spite of the weather. Sylvia had no idea how she'd done it, but somehow Alcea had managed to get the flowers blooming in winter. It was a very romantic sight, and certainly worth whatever black magic Alcea had invoked in order to craft it.
"My, what a lovely sight," Sylvia mused, observing the couples walking across the green grass. It was like this section of campus was spring. She figured that Alcea must have been having her Grass type pokemon working around the clock with sunny days to clean things up and grow a nice little garden back up.
And it was certainly paying off, because there was a large line of couples outside the garden, walking hand in hand inside to observe the beauty.
It was nice enough of a date location, Sylvia had to admit, if not a little bit pedestrian. But Sylvia wasn't interested in details like love, she had more important things on her mind involving the gardens, now she just had to find where Alcea was.
She walked along the line, ignoring the questioning looks and exclamation, and approached the front, where Kate Nomia was sitting at the counter, wearing a bitter look on her face that seemed like the perfect fit for a toxic, miserable person like her.
Sylvia smiled. She shoved the couple at the front of the line aside and perched herself in front of Kate, seeing that she was busy writing something down.
"Hello there, Kate! How are things?" Sylvia asked. Kate raised her head and gave her a look, her face shifting into an even grimmer scowl.
"What do you want?" Kate growled. Well, clearly she wasn't Sylvia's biggest fan, that was for sure. "There's a line to enter the Rose Garden, get in it, or get lost."
"Lines are so dull, I prefer squiggles, zigzags, and circles. Maybe an oval," Sylvia said, drumming her fingers on the counter. "Come on, what's with the sour look, Kate? Aren't you happy to see me? Blake and I are back! We were only gone for two weeks, but we're back!"
Kate gave her a confused look. "Back? Back from where? Two weeks? What the hell are you talking about?"
Sylvia blinked in surprise. "Oh, wow, you didn't know? Kate, we're in the same class, how did you miss me? Wow, that's a riot!"
Kate's confused expression disappeared and her scowl returned. "I don't care about that! Anyway, get lost, you're not welcome here! Come back if you can scrounge up a date, and then get to the back of the line and stop bugging me!"
Sylvia wasn't about to stop her fun here, though, especially not when Kate had given her such a delicious piece of ammunition to use.
"Oh, come on, Kate, don't be like that," Sylvia smirked. "And besides, telling me to scrounge up a date? Me? Are you sure that someone like you should be saying something like that? After all, the only reason that YOU'RE here on Valentine's Day is because you couldn't get anyone to date you either, now isn't that right?"
Kate's face flushed hot with a mixture of rage and embarrassment and she sprung from her seat, spitting at Sylvia as she shouted. "Yeah?! So what?!"
"So maybe instead of talking down to others, you could work on a little bit of self-improvement, hmm?" Sylvia purred. "Maybe then you'd be able to find a boyfriend, or maybe even Blake would give you a second bit of consideration."
Seeing the way Kate's face burned with pain and anguish really brought a smile to Sylvia's face. Yeah, that right there, that was what she liked to see. Kate was such a fun toy to play with, now that she was totally aware of her feelings and was still nursing her broken heart. Sylvia could go a step further and rip her to shreds completely, but no, best not to mix business with pleasure.
"You… you-!" Kate sputtered impotently, unable to find the words to rebuke the other girl, as much as she loathed her.
Sylvia rolled her eyes. "Well, if you're not going to actually finish your no-doubt witty rejoinder, do you mind if I speak now? Good. Now then, if we're done here, I'm looking for a girl who actually IS pretty enough to get a date on Valentine's Day, do you happen to know where your little queen of roses is on such a lovely day?"
"Do you think I would let you get anywhere near her highness?!" Kate sputtered in outrage. "Absolutely not, you leave her alone!"
"Well, too bad, because you're stuck behind a desk," Sylvia leaned over the desk, staring up at Kate with a gleam of menace in her eye. "This isn't some social call little girl, I have business to attend to, and I would appreciate it if-"
"And I would appreciate it," a sharp voice cut Sylvia off, "if you did not harass my friends while they're working, is it?"
Sylvia's lips curled up into a smile and she straightened up, turning around to see Alcea Vermeil aiming a cold glare her way.
"Your majesty," Sylvia said, curtsying with an exaggerated flourish. "SO nice to see you! I was wondering if you could help me with something. I have a bit of a gardening project I would like to conduct, and I could really use the advice of a green thumb like yours. Would you mind so terribly as to lend a hand to one of your fellow members of the Eight Leaders?"
Alcea's eyes narrow. "Please forgive me, Sylvia, but as you can see, we are very busy right now, and I don't have time to help you. Please come back later, is it?"
Sylvia smiled politely back. "Why, thank you, your majesty, how courteous of you. But my request is quite simple. And then I shall be out of your hair. All I ask for is a few seeds to grow my own rose bush. Surely, you would not deny me something so simple as that?"
Alcea pressed her lips into a thin, polite smile. "Oui, if I could help you, I would, but alas-"
"Oh, but don't think I am asking for this for free, I'm willing to reward you quite handsomely," Sylvia said. She batted her eyelashes at Alcea. "I think you want to hear what I'm going to say, maitresse, give it a thought."
Alcea's polite smile was gone, now she wore a scowl that could give Kate's a run for its money. "What could you possibly have to say that I would want to hear?"
Sylvia shook her head. "No, no, not here, no, too many people!" She looked around in an exaggerated fashion, like there were spies everywhere. "What say we leave Kate here to do her little job, and you and I go to discuss something a little more private, what do you say?"
Alcea clearly wasn't pleased with it, the glower she wore spoke volumes. And she certainly didn't want to trust a word out of Sylvia's mouth.
But at the same time, while she didn't know what Sylvia was offering, she wouldn't be coming here if she didn't have something to give, and it wasn't the smart thing to do to just toss her out without listening to her just because she didn't like the girl.
"…Fine, I'll here you out, is it?" Alcea sighed in resignation.
Sylvia smiled. "Perfect!" She cheered, clapping her hands. "Shall we go then?"
"Milady!" Kate exclaimed, not willing at all to let her highness and Sylvia go off somewhere alone, knowing how dangerous Sylvia was. "You can't be serious!"
"I can at least hear her out," Alcea said, giving Kate a reassuring smile. "Kate, please, would you stay here and keep business going? Very important, is it?"
Kate didn't want to do it, but she couldn't say no to her. She sighed, and nodded reluctantly. "Take care, milady."
"Oui," Alcea said, nodding sharply. She turned to Sylvia. "Come."
"Bye, Kate~" Sylvia giggled, waving at Kate as she skipped after Alcea, who led her to the meeting room for the Gardening Club. Kate glared after her.
"Well, this place is nice," Sylvia noted as she entered the room, looking around at the club. "Must be nice, being a member of the Eight Leaders, if it can give you a clubroom like this! I wonder what sort of club I'll start~"
"Do you have something to say?" Alcea sharply asked.
Sylvia smirked, walking over to the table and sitting down, leaning back in her seat and interlocking her fingers, cradling her head in her hands and sporting a cocky smirk.
"Isn't it polite to serve tea to your guests?" Sylvia asked, relishing every moment of bothering Alcea that she could. "You ARE capable of serving tea on your own, isn't that right?"
"Oui," Alcea nodded, giving Sylvia another forced polite smile. She turned and walked to the stove, beginning to brew the tea. "Any particular kind?"
"Can you mix them all together in the pot?" Sylvia cheekily asked. "That's the sort of tea that I'd like to drink, it'll make me feel like a kid again!"
Alcea winced, resisting the urge to smack the other girl across the face for such a ridiculous suggestion. Something like that was insult to tea drinkers everywhere!
"…I have no intention of doing such a thing," she finally answered, letting out the breath she was holding. It was rude to refuse a guest their requests, but from where Alcea was sitting, Sylvia was no guest, rather, she was a nuisance.
"That's fine, I was just messing with you anyway," Sylvia called over her shoulder, and Alcea's eye twitched. She decided to serve Sylvia the cheapest brand she had available. She had no interest in making her happy.
Alcea had no intention to make small talk with her. She would prefer to wait here in silence, unless Sylvia would tell her what she wanted to hear.
But unfortunately, Sylvia was the kind of girl who delighted in messing with her, much to Alcea's continued irritation.
"So tell me, Allie-"
"DO NOT call me that," Alcea snapped, shooting Sylvia a cold glare over her shoulder. She cursed internally. She had made a huge mistake, giving Sylvia that sort of ammunition.
But interestingly, Sylvia didn't take it. She let the comment slide, and continued, "My apologies. Milady, I was curious. Tell me, why is a girl who looks like you alone and working in a garden on a day like today?"
Alcea's eye twitched, and she bit her lip to keep from screaming. She was a noble lady, she would not allow Sylvia to goad her like this.
If she could put with Olivia's humiliations, then she could put up with someone as infuriating as this, that was what Alcea decided. So she forced a smile to her lips and continued to steep the tea, considering what Sylvia might have to offer her.
"I think it's because men are intimidated by you," Sylvia theorized. She couldn't see Alcea's reactions, but she figured that the other girl was trying very hard to not lose her cool. Which worked just fine for Sylvia, she was having a delight either way. "Then again, I wonder if you even like men in the first place."
She noticed that Alcea didn't react to that, so she pushed further.
"There have been a lot of rumors about you, you know," Sylvia mused. "How you assemble the Gardening Club around you like a little harem? Maybe you aren't going out because all the girls you want are right here…"
Alcea had had about enough. She opened her mouth to curse Sylvia out, but before she could lose her cool, the whistle of the tea kettle cut her off. She sighed in relief, regaining her composure, and then she turned back to Sylvia.
"Here you go," Alcea said politely, pouring tea into a cup for her. "Please enjoy. Now, shall we discuss further?"
"I would love that," Sylvia smiled, picking up the cup and blowing on it. Far too hot for her tastes. "My request is very simple. Just two rose bushes. That's all. Hmm… no, on second thought, give me three, and the things I'll need to grow them indoors, with no lighting. Is that something that you can grant me, milady?"
Alcea forced a smile onto her face. "Oui. Such a thing is quite possible for me to accomplish, is it?" She said.
"Then let's horse trade," Sylvia said, wiggling her eyebrows.
"Why is it that you want these rose bushes?" Alcea asked.
"That's my business," Sylvia calmly replied. "Though if you must know, it's because I'm very interested in watering them."
"I see, watering is it?" Alcea said, taking a sip from her own cup. "Now that I think about it… I believe I read something about how you and Blake Harker were dead."
She raised her eyebrow, glancing at Sylvia, raising her eyes up and down. "You seem rather alive to me, is it?"
Sylvia smirked.
"I am, aren't I?" She laughed. "Just went on a little romantic vacation with Blake, nothing you need to concern yourself with, miss former fiancé."
Alcea set her cup down. "Now that we've dispensed with the niceties, I will choose to grant your request. Assuming, of course, that the information you provide me is worth listening to, of course. So if you have anything you wish to say, now is the time to offer up your side of the arrangement, is it?" She studied Sylvia, to see if she could make out any hint about what Sylvia was going to reveal. But the girl had a look of serenity that would make a noble blush.
Sylvia took a long, slow sip of her tea, making sure to slurp especially to bother the polite Alcea. She was enjoying this quite a bit. She set her tea cup down, and looked at Alcea, her eyes shining mischievously as she smiled.
"I believe you're interested in hearing about Gerard Alkwest, is that right?" Sylvia asked. "Unless you two have buried the hatchet in the time I've been gone."
Alcea narrowed her eyes. "Gerard, is it?"
"Yes, I have some wonderful information about him that I would be happy to trade," Sylvia said. "That is why you bent the knee to the Empress, isn't that right?"
"I'm not sure what you mean," Alcea said, keeping her voice calm as she took another sip. "But oui, I am quite concerned about Gerard. But what on earth could you have to offer me that would be worth hearing?"
Sylvia smirked.
"So, so much," she laughed. "And it can all be yours for three simple seeds. So tell me, do we have a deal?"
Alcea took another long sip. Obviously, the correct decision was to give Sylvia something that mattered nothing, in exchange for potentially valuable information.
It was the obviously right decision, and the one that Alcea was, of course, going to make.
Just as soon as she could bring herself to spit out the word "deal" to Sylvia, but doing something that would make her happy was rather difficult for her to do at the moment.
"Deal," she finally said, trying not to seem too bothered by it.
This had better be good information.
So, now Sylvia and Alcea have made contact. Things are only going to get more intense this Valentine's Day!