Another chapter, focusing our attention on someone else. This time, let's see what Ayame is doing, and what she's experiencing in the labyrinth!
KedharS: Definitely should be I hope.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 769
Ayame snapped awake immediately at the sound of her alarm, alert and energized and ready to keep going through the labyrinth.
She felt invigorated by her brief half-hour nap. Her constitution was strange that way; while she needed sleep, a lot more than a lot of people, she was also capable of getting brief bursts of energy from short naps, as well. She knew that she was likely putting off fatigue and drowsiness that was to come later, but she would worry about that when the time came.
At the moment, the bigger concern was getting through the maze first! That was the only thing she was going to worry about right now.
"Let's go, Foof," Ayame said, kneeling down and waking her Wooloo up. She set down her pack and began putting her sleeping bag away, at the same time taking out some of her rations. "Here, eat this. We need to get going, and you need to keep your strength up!"
"Woo," Foof said, nodding eagerly. She bit into the thin cracker, filling up slightly. Ayame stood up and bit into her share as well, it was disgusting. But she had seen that coming, it wasn't the first horribly-tasting nutritional supplement she had taken.
Ayame and Foof headed down the hall, continuing their search in whichever direction Ayame's instincts decided would be the best to follow. Another dead-end, damn it!
Ayame grumbled and turned around, when a flash of light nearly blinded her. Shielding her eyes and stepping back, she let out a gasp of surprise, and felt something land on top of her. Two somethings, in fact.
And they were surprisingly soft.
"Ow…"
Ayame's eyes snapped open. Her vision was still a little blurry, trying to readjust to the darkness flooding into her. At first she thought it was the night, but then she realized that it was actually the sensation of something pressing into her face.
As she placed the groaning voice, she realized what was practically smothering her.
"S-Sewefiiinwa?" She mumbled, trying to push the buxom girl off of her.
"Oh… ow… Ayame?!" Serefina gasped, jumping up in surprise. Even with her adjusting eyes and the dim light of the labyrinth, Ayame could see the redness glowing on the other girl's cheeks. She pulled back from Serefina, the two giving themselves some space.
"H-Hey, how are things?" Ayame said, wiping the sweat from her forehead. What the actual fuck?! Those things were so fucking soft, no wonder boys like them so much!
Ayame's issues with her body had always been a complicated thing. Growing up she'd resented her lanky frame and sparse figure. But as she'd matured into puberty and began exercising, the lankiness had turned into muscle and she'd toned up nicely, and now she lacked most of the doubts she'd had over her appearance. She was still a little more boyish than she'd always wished she was, but the boy she loved didn't seem to mind, so she didn't either.
Still, she'd always envied Olivia's chest, and Serefina, well, she beat out everyone, even Olivia. Damn, if she had those…
Smack!
"Ayame?!" Serefina gasped, her jaw dropping. "What the heck?! Why did you slap yourself?!"
"Nothing, nothing," Ayame muttered, nursing the welt she'd struck on her cheek. "Just had a little bit of a mental break for a moment there, needed to do something to clear my thoughts. Never mind. What's going on? Where did you come from? I didn't see you and then you were just… there!"
Ayame had been so obsessed with Serefina's boobs that she'd momentarily forgotten that the girl had seemed to fall out of the sky.
"Ugh, it was a Xatu," Serefina grumbled, brushing off her jeans. She glanced around until she saw her Banette pop up beside her, and relaxed a little bit. She turned back to Ayame with an unamused expression on her face. "The thing popped up in front of us while we were walking around, it opened its wings and its eyes flashed blue, and the next thing I knew we were here."
"Ban, Banette," Barneby loudly scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest and shaking his head in dissatisfaction.
Serefina sighed, placing her hand on the side of his face. "I know, it's strange and annoying. I have no idea where we are, not that I'm any good at finding my way through mazes or anything like that, sorry to say…"
"I know where we are," Ayame assured her with a laugh. "We're lost."
Serefina rolled her eyes and suppressed a snort.
"Do you mind if I tag along with you, then?" Serefina asked. "It's not like I have anything better ideas about how I can find my way out of here…"
"Banette," Barneby shrugged.
"You have a Banette, right? Just have him pass through the walls, and you're good!" Ayame suggested with a shrug. "Easy!"
Serefina raised her eyebrow like that was the stupidest thing she'd ever heard. "Yeah, I tried that," she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Barneby, show her."
"Banette," her Banette sighed in resignation, nodding reluctantly. He turned and floated towards one of the walls. He tried to pass through it, and about an inch of his body made it through the dirt and stone before he was repulsed back.
"What the heck?!" Ayame gasped in disbelief.
"The walls of the labyrinth are set up with a barrier so that people can't get through it like that," Serefina explained. "Whether passing through as ghosts or even smashing it with brute force, it just doesn't work."
Ayame crossed her arms and scowled. "That's not fun… but I get it. I mean, that would give you an unfair advantage, right?" She laughed.
"Exactly," Serefina said, nodding. "So when I tried it out and found out it didn't work, I realized I had to think about other methods. But none of them worked. So we gotta just walk through the normal way, since they seem to have thought of everything."
"Not everything!" Ayame declared, smiling brightly. She pointed up at the sky. "Look! See? We can get out that way!"
"Uh, no, we already tried that," Serefina said, shaking her head. "Barneby got struck like one of those horrid electric traps for Bug type pokemon."
"Oh, damn," Ayame said. "Well, I guess the normal way it is then! …Even if we are totally lost."
"We might be lost, but I think I have an idea," Serefina said, smiling. She turned and looked at Ayame's Wooloo, and crouched down next to her. "Hey there, Foof, remember me?"
"Wooooo!" Foof giggled, rubbing up against Serefina's hand.
"Aha, I knew it," Serefina laughed. "You're as cute as I remember! You know, I liked taking care of you so much I caught a Wooloo myself?"
"Woo!" Foof laughed.
"Foof remembers you alright," Ayame laughed. "I'm glad to see you're getting along with her so well. So, you said you wanted to come along? Well, Foof wants you to come along, and I couldn't agree more! Let's go, Serefina!"
Serefina stood up and grinned, nodding. "Actually, I was thinking about something."
"Hmm?" Ayame asked, blinking.
Serefina checked her phone. "We've still got a decent amount of time left for the competition. But we need to keep our minds ahead of us. We don't know how long it'll take to get through this labyrinth, and if we spend too much time we might not even make it to the third leg of the competition before the break of dawn."
Ayame grumbled. "Yeah, I know," she scowled. "That's why we need to get going! We can't spend any time waiting around here, let's go!"
"I know, I know," Serefina said. "But I was thinking, there IS something we can do to help us get through the maze a little faster."
"Oh? What ways are those?" Ayame asked, excited.
"Well, if you walk through a maze and are holding your right hand on the wall, if you keep walking you'll eventually make it to the end," Serefina explained, demonstrating it herself by placing her hand on the wall.
"Oh, seriously? That's awesome!" Ayame laughed, clapping her hands. "Well, if we're short on time, let's do that, then!"
Serefina sighed. "It's not that easy," she said, shaking her head. "See, that only works if you start in the maze. For all we know, if we do that now, it could take us to the beginning, we don't have time for this now that we're all messed up from the start," she explained.
"Uh, I guess, then what's the point of talking about it?" Ayame asked. She was growing impatient. She knew Serefina was doing her best, but she really wanted to get going.
"My point is that we need a method like that," Serefina explained. "Some way we can keep track of where we're going, so we don't end up walking around in circles, don't you think? Because that would be really bad for making our way through the labyrinth."
Ayame nodded. "Yeah, that makes a lot of sense! Plus, we need to think about this tactically, right?" She asked.
"What do you mean?" Serefina asked, confused.
"Well, this labyrinth, they wouldn't have made it impossible, right?" Ayame explained. "This is a competition, after all. It wouldn't be a very good competition if no one could get out of the labyrinth within a reasonable time to complete the last leg of the race, right?"
"Oh, good thinking," Serefina said, nodding. This was sounding a lot more feasible now. "Yeah, we feel like we're really in a large place, and we definitely are, but it's not like this is a maze that would take days to complete, probably not even that many hours if someone knows what to do, right?" She agreed with Ayame's assessment.
"Exactly, since it's definitely possible, heck, even likely, that we'll find our way through before the deadline, then there's nothing to worry about! We just need to use our heads and think of a way to get out of here!" Ayame confidently proclaimed, holding her chest out proudly.
And suddenly, Serefina felt her confidence start to wane.
It wasn't that Ayame was an idiot, her assessment of the situation just now completely disproved that judgment. She just… wasn't the best when it came to puzzles like this, which was a serious problem when it came to the fact that they were still trying to come up with a strategy.
It wasn't that Serefina was that invested in the contest. She knew she wasn't going to win, and even if she had a chance, she wouldn't have cared very much one way or the other. But the idea of being stuck in this maze with a bunch of pokemon teleporting her around all over the place, for possibly DAYS, made her shiver.
No, she would much rather prefer if they could get out of this maze in a timely manner, and for that, they would need to come up with a plan of some sort. The problem was, Ayame's plan of "run around until I find my way out of here" wasn't exactly one that inspired confidence.
Serefina would have to be the one to think of-
"Wait! Oh, that's just perfect!" Serefina said, brightening up. "I just had an idea!"
"Yeah?" Ayame asked eagerly. "What is it?!"
Serefina beamed down at Foof. "We can use Foof! She's perfect for this!"
"Foof? I know she's pretty fast and has a good sense of direction, but what do you mean? You think she'd help get out of the maze?" Ayame asked quizzically. "I would think a pokemon like Nosepass would be a better fit… although, we already have a compass…"
"No, no, it's nothing like that," Serefina said, shaking her head. "Let me show you what I mean. I assume Foof would know the same moves as my Looloo, right?"
"I haven't taught her any special moves or anything, if that's what you mean," Ayame said, still not following Serefina. "So if you think she can use dig to get us out of here…"
"No, not that, does she know cotton guard?" Serefina clarified.
"Cotton guard…? Yeah, she does, but why- OH!" Ayame gasped in surprise, realizing what Serefina was getting at.
"You get it?" Serefina asked, nodding eagerly.
"Yeah! We can use the cotton to build a tower to stand on so we can climb it and see the way to the exit, right?" Ayame said, her voice filled with excitement.
Serefina's face fell in disappointment, and she stared at Ayame like she was garbage. Ayame returned her look with a straight face, but after a few seconds she couldn't hold it anymore, and burst out into peals of laughter.
"Sorry, sorry," Ayame cackled. "You should see the look on your face! You look like you just lost all faith in humanity!"
"Oh, thank god," Serefina sighed in relief. "I didn't think it was possible for anyone to be that stupid…" The second the words left her lips, Cynthia's winking face passed her mind as a possibility. She quickly shook her head and dismissed it, though. "No, no, never mind, not even her," she muttered under her breath.
"Huh, what are you talking about?" Ayame asked, blissfully confused.
Serefina inhaled, calming herself down, and shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Now, back to my original point, before you started getting funny, do you understand what I meant when I asked if Foof knows cotton guard?"
"Yes, I know," Ayame smirked. "I was just having a bit of fun. You're thinking Hansel and Gretel, right? We can use Foof's wool to make a trail of wool through the labyrinth. That way, we won't get lost, since we'll know we're going in circles if we come across some of her wool, right?"
Serefina sighed in relief, her faith in her senior restored. "Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking," she said. "It's the perfect strategy, don't you think? At least on the fly like this."
"Definitely, definitely," Ayame said, nodding in agreement. "So what are we waiting for, let's do it! You heard her, Foof! Use cotton guard and start making a nice little trail for us!"
"Wooloo!" Foof cheered, nodding eagerly. She curled up into a ball and leapt up into the air, spinning and releasing tufts of cotton out around her. She landed on the ground and began rolling forward, her defenses boosting as she left a trail of cotton across the ground.
"Looks like Foof's figured out where she's going," Ayame grinned, nodding to Serefina. "Let's go and find our way out of here!"
Serefina nodded, that sounded good to her. The two girls ran off after Foof, Barneby floating behind them.
Blake was watching the whole thing with a smile on his face. He was glad that Aya was coming up with stuff like this. While it had been rather adorable seeing her wander around the maze lost, he much preferred the idea of her winning.
"Yeah, that's a great strategy, Aya!" He cheered, hoping that she could hear him somehow, even though that was ridiculous. "You guys are gonna make it out of there easily!"
"Yeah, that's what I like to see!" A loud voice declared from his left. Startled, Blake turned to see that Cynthia was sitting up in her seat, loudly cheering the girls on herself. "Serefina and Ayame are going to take this whole thing!"
"Cynthia, you're awake?" Blake asked, surprised. He had some experience with a sleeping Cynthia, and needless to say rousing her was quite a feat. Especially when she was kicking. "I thought you had turned in for the night."
"Just a little light beauty rest," Cynthia purred, coyly fluttering her eyelashes at him. "You didn't think I would miss the moment of glory for Serefina, would you? Seeing her land on Ayame like that, mm… I bet that got you excited, huh? Thinking of some possibilities for threesomes, maybe?"
Blake rolled his eyes. Of course she would be thinking like that.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Cynthia laughed, reaching across Claire's sleeping figure to pat Blake on the shoulder. "But I've gotta say, I'm really excited watching this, believe it or not. Those pokemon wandering around, spiriting people across the labyrinth? It's great television. And look, now they're all gathered together!"
Cynthia was right, the girls had all found a partner for moving through the labyrinth. Ayame and Serefina, Sango and Olivia, Alcea and Gabrielle, and of course Darla and Lila. It was rather convenient, and Blake thought that it was a smart move, forming teams like that. It would help them get through safer.
And certain people definitely needed the support.
A thud rang out in the distance, and Lila screamed at the top of her lungs, grabbing onto Darla so tightly her nails nearly drew blood.
"Darla! Darla!" Lila wailed, looking around the darkness frantically. "What was that?!"
Darla took a deep breath, calming herself down to avoid saying something she would regret. "Lila? It was probably nothing. Don't worry about it."
Lila didn't accept Darla's attempt to mollify her for a second. She knew this was a mistake, she just knew it was! Forget the stupid obstacle course getting her stupid tracksuit all dirty! That was nothing! Sneaking around this maze, it was horrible! She was terrified, wondering when a ghost would come by and get her! This was the exact sort of place that ghosts would pop up, after all!
"Are… Are you sure?" Lila asked warily.
"Yes, I'm sure," Darla said. "Now, would you let go of my arm, please?"
"…Sorry," Lila apologized, dropping her hands to her sides and smiling sheepishly. "I was just kinda panicking a little, you know?"
"Well, if you're scared, hug Shine," Darla said, gesturing to the tiny Morelull hopping alongside them. "She's good for keeping the scary ghosts away."
"D-Don't say that!" Lila gasped, scooping up Shine and hugging her close to her chest. "There… There aren't REALLY any ghosts here, right?"
A lazy smirk crawled its way across Darla's lips. She wiggled her eyebrows and shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, you never know," Darla said. "There could be…"
Darla didn't really think there was anything to be afraid of, but she was enjoying teasing her friend too much. And Lila was trembling in her tracksuit, looking around the dimly-lit corridor for any sign of ghosts.
"Y-Yeah, n-no, no ghosts," Lila swallowed, shaking her head. She glanced back just to make sure they weren't being followed. "There's no ghosts here, right Darla?"
She turned back to her friend, but Darla was gone. Lila's blood froze in her veins. "D-Darla?" She whispered, a tremor running through her body. She took an uneasy step towards the corner a few feet ahead of them. "Darla, I-I know you're hiding behind the corner trying to frighten me! It-It's not gonna work!"
No answer. Lila gulped, and took another shaky step forward. "You… You can come out now, I saw through it, already!" She tried again, drawing closer. The sound of her footsteps was blocked out by the pounding of her heart. She squeezed Shine even tighter.
"Darla!" She practically wailed, summoning up her courage. She knew Darla was going to jump out in front of her when she turned the corner, so might as well get it over with. She took a deep breath and stepped forward, looking around the corner…
And she saw nothing but darkness.
"Lila," A voice from behind her whispered hotly into her ear.
Lila screamed at the top of her lungs, practically jumping over the wall of the labyrinth.
"DARLA!" Lila exclaimed, turning on her friend, tears streaming down her face. "That wasn't funny!"
"I thought it was a riot!" Darla cackled, rolling on the ground in tears. "You were way too high strung, loosen up a little!" She giggled, picking herself up and turning to face her friend. As she looked past Lila, her face froze, a wary expression crossing it. She looked concerned, and definitely worried, like she was staring at something bad.
Setting Shine down, Lila crossed her arms in front of her chest and rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, like I'm going to fall for THAT one. I'm not THAT gullible, Darla, don't think you can get me with the same trick twice."
"N-NO, Lila, it's not a trick this time," Darla said, shaking her head and taking a step back. Dina hissed angrily as Darla pointed her trembling finger.
"Please. You're going to wait for me to turn around, and then nothing's going to be there, and then you're going to shout 'BOO' or something stupid, right?" Lila asked. "I'm not falling for it, Darla, you're wasting your time."
As sure as she might have sounded, though, she was starting to worry that maybe Darla was right, and maybe there was something behind her.
"Just… just turn around, please!" Darla shouted. She glanced at Dina. "Dina, get ready!"
"Good, well done, excellent theatrics," Lila said, clapping her hands mockingly. "Fine, if it will get you to stop, then I'll humor you. I'll turn around, but nothing will-"
Lila turned around to get Darla to stop teasing her.
She screamed.
Uh oh! That's not good! Has another duo stumbled across something dangerous in these dark halls?