With Dakota's condition still a mystery, Serefina has turned her attention to more serious matters: namely, figuring out who put her in such a terrible state in the first place! Serefina will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of things, and hopefully the people who were trying to shut up her friend won't take care of her, too! Will she be able to do it? Or will she tragically follow in her friend's footsteps? What's Sylvia up to, in all this?

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 Semi-Finals have come to a close! And I have something tragic to declare. The Semi-Finals only got 6 unique voters. It seems like so few, but I suppose it can't be helped. And even more tragic news, or perhaps, happy news, depending on your point of view, the queen has been unseated! In a surprising upset, Ayame Toujou, last year's winner, has been eliminated in the Semi-Finals! If she was going to lose, I would have thought it would be in the Finals, at least, but it seems that all her happiness with Blake is now marked with a sad brush, receiving a paltry 2 votes, in spite of tying with Sylvia at 6 votes apiece in the previous round! How the mighty have fallen. But no time to think about that! Right now, we have our three finalists to get to, and the race is close! With only one vote to cast, who will our finalists be? Let's check the results!

Sylvia: 5

Marion: 4

Sango: 4

Ayame: 2

Elaina: 1

Valerie: 0

So our three finalists are Sylvia, Marion, and Sango! Who will be the one to claim Ayame's title as the Pokemon Academy Best Girl? Let's get out the vote, and get as many people to vote as we can! Don't let Ayame's pathetic defeat be for nothing!

Finalists: Sylvia, Marion, Sango

Rowlets and Oshawotts: Or we can twist the knife in and mock her death for a little while, with some casual insults thrown her way to boot. One or the other.

KedharS: Yes, with Ayame's defeat, the campus will be thrown into chaos.

Thunder Fire: Very possible.

JoshGamerV: Once you learn the truth, it should all become clear.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Can't wait to hear what you come up with, it should be interesting.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 689

For a moment, the specter of Dakota Evans passed through Akira's sight, and with a gasp of shock he felt the first thing he had since seeing Dakota's bleeding, crumpled figure.

For a moment, it was like Dakota was in front of him. His heart swelled with hope for a moment, but then…

He saw that it was all his imagination, and his heart broke in two. Dakota wasn't back, she wasn't alive, it was just Serefina.

He averted his eyes, he couldn't even look at her. It was too painful.

Like Serefina was going to allow THAT to happen.

"Hey!" She growled, grabbing him the hair and jerking him up, scowling at him. "What's the big idea, huh?! What do you think you're doing, looking away from me and going back to moping? I saw that, you snapped out of your shock! And I'm not letting you slip back in!

"Wha-what?" Akira stuttered, glancing up at her in disbelief. She… He didn't know Serefina was like this, but… "No, I can't…"

"Why not?!" Serefina demanded. She wanted to slap him across the face, she was so pissed off at him. She hadn't gotten him up and running just to watch him shut down again, this was as bad as her crummy old cell phone. "What, are you just going to sit here and sob? Feel bad for yourself? Is that what Dakota would want?!"

Now, Akira was pissed. He rose from his seat and grabbed Serefina by the collar. "What the hell do you know about what she would want?!"

When Akira saw Dakota there, lying in an ocean of her own blood, two emotions flared up within him, both immensely powerful. The first emotion was sorrow, mixed with a healthy amount of disbelief and horror. He couldn't believe that she could really be in such a condition.

The second emotion was rage. And unbelievably rage at whoever had hurt the woman he loved. In the hours since then, his sorrow hadn't increased; instead, it had turned into remorse and self-blame, cursing his foolishness for not being there in time to save her. How could he have been so dumb, sitting in that restaurant checking his phone when she was bleeding out?

He should have been there for her! He should have gone looking for her the second she was late, if he had, then maybe… maybe he would have been able to protect her. Maybe none of this would have ever happened at all.

It wasn't right for Akira to take his anger out on Serefina. She was hurting as much as he was, and part of him knew that, deep down. But right now, he couldn't bring himself to care. His emotions were high and pretending to be Dakota hadn't helped him.

Serefina slapped him across the face. The blow was so sudden and so striking that Akira was stunned. Losing his balance he stumbled back and fell on his ass, staring up at her in shock.

"You aren't the only one who's dealing with this!" Serefina snarled. She felt bad for Akira, but she wasn't going to be talked to like that. Akira didn't have the right to piss on her just because he was upset, and if he was just going to throw a pity party for himself, Serefina had no intention of RSVPing. She glared down at him, letting him know with her eyes that this was the case.

Fortunately, Akira got the message. Wilting under Serefina's gaze, he mumbled out an apology and curled up into a ball on the ground.

But Serefina wasn't about to take THAT, either. She grabbed him by the ear and pulled, yanking a scream of pain out of him as she dragged him to his feet.

"Oh, no you don't!" She shouted. "No slipping back into moping. Get your ass back up here, we've got shit to do!"

"What are you talking about?!" Akira exclaimed.

"Simple," Serefina said, releasing him and crossing her arms over her chest. She wanted to be nice about this, but as natural as that was to her, it wasn't the sort of response that would make things better for him in the long run. Comfort and kindness when they knew nothing would probably just make him more nervous and anxious.

Right now, Akira needed to be doing something. That outburst had just confirmed it for her. He had a bunch of repressed emotions he was bottling up, and if he had just let them out on Serefina for no reason, who knows what he was going to do when left to his own devices? Serefina wasn't going to find out.

"Akira, let's be clear," Serefina said. "Dakota isn't dead. So stop acting like she is."

"You weren't there!" Akira cried. "You didn't… you didn't see…" His voice broke and he choked on his words. His anger was starting to peter out, which meant that his remaining emotions were starting to leak out. And the only emotion he had left was the despair that threatened to overwhelm him. He gurgled out a sob, falling back to his knees and beginning to burst into tears for real. It was all too much, it was overwhelming him.

Serefina gasped, momentarily shocked. She hadn't expected that reaction from Akira, but maybe she should have. She was about to tell him not to cry, but she wasn't sure if that was for the best. Thinking twice, she realized that maybe this was for the best after all. Akira… Akira was letting out his emotions, after all, and that's what Serefina had wanted, wasn't it?

Saying nothing, she knelt down beside him and placed her hand on his back, rubbing him soothingly as she said comforting words. "Akira… it's okay. Let it out. I'm here for you, you know. Take your time and give me everything you have."

Akira kept crying. They were in the front office of campus security, and everyone was looking at the breakdown with expressions ranging from sadness to shock and confusion, but mostly they were uneasy. No one was willing to lend a hand, though, nobody but Serefina.

Comforted by Serefina's tender embrace, Akira finally found the words to describe what he had seen, mixed in the fog of his past. He remembered when Satsuki's face had been cut up by her father, and how much blood had seeped into her shirt when it had happened. He had no idea that someone could bleed that badly.

It was nothing compared to what he had seen that night.

"There… there was so much blood…" Akira muttered. "So dark, it was… it was so thick, and black, and she… she was so pale…" Akira could still see the colorless face and the glassy look in her eyes. He could still hear the faint gurgles as she choked on her own blood. Injuries like that, there was no way that she was going to be okay.

Serefina could feel the despair flowing through him, and held him a little tighter. She went from a crouch and comforting pat to a full-on side hug, and as she felt his body go slack she shifted her position again so he was outright crying into her chest as she hugged him tightly.

It was one of the few times that Serefina was grateful for her boobs, hoping that it would serve some sort of maternal comfort to her friend as he used her as a soft cushion.

"Well now, this looks pretty cozy." A chilling voice dripping with saccharine humor unsuitable for the situation. Serefina's blood went cold, and she felt anger begin to well up in her chest. And there was a lot of room for it to build.

"Sylvia…" She hissed, not even needing to turn her head. She recognized the owner of that voice all too well.

"I know your girlfriend's dead, but can't you at least wait until she's buried in the ground before making a move on her friend?" The glee in Sylvia's voice as she mocked the two of them reminded Serefina just how much she loathed the girl.

"Shut up!" Serefina growled, turning her head and aiming a scathing glare at the blonde. The big broad smile on Sylvia's face made it even worse. "Shut… up…"

Sylvia shut her mouth, but she didn't let up for a moment. She stalked over to Serefina, standing over the two of them and radiating bad bitch energy. She twirled an errant strand of hair between her fingers.

Serefina knew she wasn't done. All Serefina could do was hold Akira tighter and hope that after Sylvia got her jabs in, she would just shut the fuck up and go away.

"I've gotta say, I'm a little jealous. Can my girlfriend die next so I can get a chance to cop a feel?" Sylvia asked.

Serefina lost it. Forgetting she was supposed to be comforting Akira right now, she let him slip from her arms as she leapt to her feet, shouting angrily and winding back her hand, throwing as hard of a punch as she could at the other girl.

Sylvia held her hand up and caught the girl's fist. It wasn't very difficult. Serefina had telegraphed what she was going to do like a lighthouse, and she wasn't exactly a skilled fighter. With a snort, Sylvia withstood Serefina's attempt, and squeezed tightly around her fist, forcing the other girl to wince in pain.

"Sorry, better luck next time," Sylvia purred, clicking her tongue. "Maybe you should have allocated some of those boobs towards muscle, you punch like a girl."

Serefina snapped, raising her left hand and smacking Sylvia across the face. The girl stumbled back, her eyes wide with surprise. She managed to keep her balance, but she seemed more thrown off than if she had actually fallen over.

"…Wow," Sylvia said, reaching up and rubbing the sore red welt on her chin. "That was… wow. I didn't see that coming, Seri. Well done, you actually managed to surprise me, and you have no idea how difficult that is. I expected you to try and hit me the one time, but I had no idea you could be so violent as to follow through with a second strike! I'll keep that in mind for next time."

Serefina didn't give a damn. She stormed over to Sylvia and grabbed her by the stupid ugly gothic collar, practically ripping Sylvia off her feet.

"You shut your mouth before I 'surprise' you again," Serefina snarled. She wasn't a violent person, she honestly wasn't, but Sylvia Driscoll, she… She was just Sylvia Driscoll! She deserved it, the fucking bitch, what the hell did she think she was doing?!

"Come on, Seri, what's the big problem?" Sylvia said, rolling her eyes. "Who died?"

"You know damn well!" Serefina barked out, shoving Sylvia and releasing her, Sylvia falling onto her ass. She wasn't about to let Sylvia go around pretending that she had no idea what had just happened! What had happened to Dakota, not a chance!

"Oh, I was right, it is about her," Sylvia laughed, standing up and cricking her neck. "Come on, Serefina, don't be like that. Don't be so glum! I have full confidence that Dakota will pull through, whole and hale!"

Serefina gasped. Sylvia knew something, didn't she? She had to have! Then maybe-!

…No.

Realization dawning on her, Serefina's excitement drained from her face and her expression morphed into a cold scowl.

"I'm not going to fall for that," Serefina growled. "Do you think I'm a complete idiot?"

Sylvia smirked, and shrugged her shoulders.

"…Well, maybe not complete," she admitted. "But come on now, I thought that you would be a little more optimistic! True, I may not know for a fact that she's going to be okay, but I like to bet on the impossible, don't you?"

The underlying statement was clear. Sylvia didn't believe for a second that Dakota was okay, or that she would pull through. The thought that it might happen had occurred to her, certainly, but Serefina could tell that she wasn't seriously considering it. She was referring to it as an impossible miracle, which was all Serefina needed to hear from her to know the truth.

"It's really astounding that she even managed to make it this far," Sylvia continued, not about to leave well enough alone. "I wonder just how much she suffered... maybe she'd even be preferring death at this point, don't you think? If it comes to it, I'm willing to help make her transition as painless as possible."

And Sylvia would still enjoy twisting in the dagger to entertain herself, of course, much to Serefina's disgust. She was just that sort of person.

Serefina glanced down at Akira, who looked like he had been heartbroken all over again. It brought tears to her eyes, tears of rage and disgust. Who the hell did Sylvia think she was, taunting Akira like this, knowing what Dakota meant to him?!

Serefina wanted to strike the girl all over again, she was so outraged. But she didn't. Losing her temper and flying off the handle like that was something that disgusted her. She didn't want to be that way, as much as Sylvia might have goaded her.

This wasn't the time to get angry.

Serefina knelt next to Akira and helped him to his feet, never taking her eyes off the vile witch standing in front of them.

"You get the hell out of here," she managed to spit out, her rage threatening to bubble over again. Sylvia was just the kind of person that Serefina couldn't stand, being as needlessly cruel as she was. Serefina wanted the blonde as far away from Akira as she could get.

"How rude!" Sylvia gasped, placing her hand over her chest in a blatantly obvious approximation of shock. "And here I had come to help you! Is that any way to talk?" A good-natured smile crossed her face, as fake as could be. "How about a thank you?"

"Help?" Serefina exclaimed incredulously. "You're here to help? You think Akira or I want any of your help?!"

Sylvia pouted. "Hey! That's not nice! Don't you remember what happened the last time I helped? Back with the whole newspaper thing, remember?"

"Help?! You call THAT help?" Serefina couldn't believe what she was hearing, what backwards world did this bitch live in, thinking that was help? "What the hell happened to you while you were gone, did your brain get attacked by an eggbeater? That wasn't help, that was you trying to seize control of Dakota's club!"

"…And, in doing so, I managed to get Dakota and Akira to finally confront their feelings for each other and move on from the past together, and now they're happy as can be!" Sylvia reminded her. She gave a sideways glance at Akira and shrugged. "Well… prior to recent events, anyway."

Calm down. Don't choke the bitch, Serefina, not in front of campus security. They were already looking at her warily after her last outburst, and she didn't want to cause any trouble, even if doing it would feel SO GOOD.

"…I was hoping you would attack me again," Sylvia said, a little disappointed that she hadn't been able to goad Serefina into taking the bait.

Serefina inhaled. It was one of the things she did when she was at the brink. Take a deep breath, build up her negative feelings, and release it in a long exhale.

Serefina built up her anger for quite a long time before letting it go.

"…I'm trying to be the bigger person," Serefina said, giving Sylvia as diplomatic of a smile as she could, even if it killed her inside. After the pain she had already gone through this morning, this was nothing at all.

"…With those boobs, I imagine you usually are," Sylvia said, raising an appraising eyebrow as she glanced at Serefina's chest. Serefina rolled her eyes, she'd heard it all before, it wasn't going to bother her now.

"Leave us alone," Serefina replied. "We don't need, nor want, your help, right Akira?"

She wanted Akira to have her back, but she doubted he would be saying much of anything. So she was giving Sylvia a disapproving glare intense enough for two.

It rolled off her like water.

"You may not want it, but I think you do need it," Sylvia laughed, walking over to Serefina and cupping her face with her hand. Serefina scowled and pulled away from her, the bitch's fingers felt like oily worms wiggling against her skin.

"Don't you touch me, you bitch!" Serefina shouted. So much for keeping her anger in check, Sylvia just knew how to… AAARGH!

Sylvia giggled. "Just because you're a bit stubborn, that doesn't mean you can compare with Dakota Evans, Seri. See, for all her faults, she did still know what she was doing when she was reporting on her stories. And you… well, you don't know anything."

Serefina couldn't argue against Sylvia's words, as much as she would have liked to. She knew that she wasn't exactly a great reporter.

"But that's… I can still figure out what happened to her!" Serefina exclaimed, and Sylvia's eyes widened with glee. Serefina realized her mistake too late. Until now, Sylvia had been guessing, working on the assumption that Serefina was going to try and figure out what had happened to Dakota.

And Serefina had just gone right out and confirmed her suspicions, how could she be such an idiot?! She had walked right into it! For all she knew, Sylvia was the one who had attacked Dakota, and had been making a play to see if Serefina was going to keep her nose out of Dakota's business!

"Oh? You really were planning to play junior detective?" Sylvia cackled. "A sweet little thing like you? What are you going to do to get the bad guys to confess, offer to show your boobs?" Serefina's face flushed with shame. Sylvia grabbed her by the chin, jerking her over to stare into her eyes. Sylvia looked serious for once, and it frightened Serefina a lot.

"Whoever attacked Dakota, they were trying to kill her, Seri," Sylvia whispered, as if that same person was standing in the room. "And don't take this personally, but I don't think you really understand what it is to put your life on the line. Let me be clear. This is some dangerous shit. I'm going to be investigating it, because I can handle it. Can you?"

Serefina suddenly felt very afraid.

It was just now sinking in that Dakota had been attacked for what she had discovered, and in trying to figure out the truth, that meant that she would be putting herself at risk. That wasn't good. Serefina wondered if… if maybe she…

But she wouldn't let those thoughts get a stable footing in her mind. If she gave in and ran, then everything Sylvia had just said about her was true, that she didn't have the strength to follow through with things.

Serefina was not going to allow that accusation to hold. Seeing the mocking look in Sylvia's eye just reaffirmed her conviction even more. But at the same time, she knew that what Sylvia had said was unfortunately correct.

Serefina was out of her depth here. Just because she wanted to uncover the truth, that didn't mean she would be ABLE to do so. She wasn't Dakota. She didn't have the ability to be a persistent sleuth uncovering crimes and conspiracies.

As much as Serefina hated to admit it, she was too damn nice. Too gullible. She too easily put her faith in others. It was what let her be Dakota's friend when nobody else would, and it was ironically the reason that she wouldn't be able to pick up said friend's mantle.

"I… I don't know," Serefina admitted, on the brink of tears. But she kept her heart going strong. She might not have Dakota's ability, but she was going to inherit her friend's guts. "But I'm going to give it my best."

Unfortunately, giving her best in this instance meant making a deal with the devil. Because Serefina didn't have the skill, or the ruthlessness.

Dragging the words out of her took a herd of wild Tauros, or mental power of comparable strength, but they slowly slipped out.

"Sylvia…" Serefina said through gritted teeth. "Will… you… please… help… me?"

Sylvia smiled like the girl who just got asked out to prom by the three hottest boys in school.

Serefina and Sylvia teaming up together! The Monster and the Model, the Brains and the Boobs, the Good, the Bad, and the Hilariously Well-Endowed! Will our new dream-team be able to uncover the truth? And when they do… what will await them at the end of it?