Darla and Reed finally meet! What could Reed want with our resident dragon idol? And what will Darla's response be? Can we make it through this without dragons burning the entire Pokemon Academy to a smoldering crater? Let's see!

Aquahaze675: They did indeed.

KedharS: And exciting.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Reed and Darla's meeting is sure to be good.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 787

Darla's heart was pounding with anxiety as she walked down the path leading towards the pier. Had it always been this long and winding, or was the tension she was feeling making it seem like such a greater journey?

Calm down, calm down, she urged herself, trying to force her heart to stop beating so hard. Since she was a little girl she had trained in meditation techniques to regulate her body, but those were the last things on her mind right now.

All she could think about was the fact that Reed was here.

Darla knew that things could have been worse. Reed being here wasn't the same as if another member of the Draconid Clan had come. At least she could be sure that Reed wasn't planning on dragging her back home.

But then why would she be here? What could she want?

Darla picked up the pace. Thinking and wondering and worrying wasn't going to get her any closer to an answer. The only way she could know for sure what Reed wanted with her was if she went to the woman herself and asked her.

It might have been the last thing she wanted to do at the moment, but that didn't mean she could get out of it.

What are you thinking, grandpa? She wondered, confused about what the old man was thinking. Why would you send Reed of all people here?

She caught the fresh scent of salt in the spring air as she burst out of the woods, standing on the ridge overlooking the beach. There she was.

Reed looked like something out of a picture, her white robes billowing gently in the wind. She was staring out at the ocean so Darla couldn't see her face, but she imagined Reed was wearing a pensive, thoughtful smile.

Climbing down the bank, Darla thought of what to say to her. She'd had the whole walk to come up with something, but she was no closer to an idea than when she'd started. What DID someone say in a situation like this, anyway? "Hi"? "Nice to see you again"? "How's grandpa doing?"

Darla wasn't made for situations like this. She'd spent a good portion of her life trying to RUN from this confrontation.

But running wouldn't help her now.

The only thing she could think to do was call out to the other woman. Reed would have known she was here, of course, her sense of smell was as perceptive as a real dragon pokemon's. So she was waiting, waiting for Darla to make the first move.

"Reed."

Darla stepped onto the pier with her head held high. She wasn't going to run. Reed could do what she liked, but Darla was going to stay strong.

Reed took her sweet time. When she finally turned and looked back at Darla, she was smiling right up to her eyes, a fact that was both a relief and a worry.

"Hello Zinnia," Reed greeted, waving at her. "It's been a long time. How many years since we last saw each other?"

Darla flinched. Her eyes shot to Ayame, who was standing off to the side awkwardly. But one look told her that Ayame already knew. Returning her gaze to Reed, she coolly replied "I'm not quite sure how long it's been, cousin."

Ayame did a double-take at that. Cousin? But Reed had said…

She shook her head and didn't think about it. There was way too much going on for Ayame to be concerned about something like that, and there were more important things deserving her attention at the moment.

But seriously, these two girls were cousins?

"At least half my lifetime," Reed nodded in agreement, stroking her chin contemplatively. "You really should drop by Blackthorn sometime. Grandfather is dying to see you."

Darla's eye twitched. "I already made my decision. I'm never returning home."

"I know that Hoenn is a little… pressuring for you, given your status," Reed said. Her voice had lost its jovial tune, and she looked at Darla with legitimate sympathy and concern. "But you don't have to be like that back in Blackthorn. We can look out for you there, and give you sanctuary. I promise, you won't ever have to worry about going back to the village ever again."

Reed might have thought that her offer was compelling, but Darla wasn't tempted in the slightest. She hadn't left home just because of the pressure of her position, but because there was something she wanted to do.

And it didn't matter if it was back in Hoenn, or in Blackthorn City, she couldn't ever achieve that dream if she meekly listened to what the Draconids had to say.

"Sorry, but I'm not interested," Darla scowled. "I'm not going back with you, I'm going to keep walking my own path and doing what I want to do."

She narrowed her eyes. "So if that was what you came here today for, to ask me to meekly go back to Blackthorn with you, then forget it."

Reed sighed, giving Darla a resigned smile. "That's a pity, Zinnia. Grandfather will be so disappointed when I tell him."

Great, now with the guilt-tripping. Reed's techniques were tried and true, alright.

"That old man's got more life in him than you'd think," Darla scoffed. "When you get back to Blackthorn, let him know that the reason I gave him my address was because I trusted him to only contact me about important matters concerning the Draconid, and not so that I could have people making impromptu drop-ins on me."

Reed stared at her. She giggled sheepishly, reaching up and scratching her head. "Oh, see, sorry, that's not exactly it," she laughed. "See, Zinnia, grandfather would never send me to bring you home, he trusts you far too much for that."

Darla narrowed her eyes and tensed. She'd been dealing with Reed on the assumption that her grandfather had sent her. Her grandfather, who had left Hoenn after retiring and moved to live with his daughter in the Draconid colony in Johto, who had always accepted Darla when she said she wanted to leave her home and find a path for herself.

He was the one person who she could trust, and if Reed wasn't working with him on this then that meant she was an independent agent…

Or worse.

"…Reed…" Darla said slowly, taking a step back. Ayame could sense the tension and reached for her pokeballs, prepared to defend Darla if it came down to it.

"Yes?" Reed grinned, tilting her head to the side.

"Who was it who sent you?" Darla demanded, her face darkening as she glared at the blonde.

"Whatever do you mean? Can't I come see you on my own?" Reed laughed, shrugging her shoulders. "Like I said, I missed my dear cousin."

"Then let me rephrase the question," Darla said, her fingers inching closer to her belt. "If it wasn't grandfather, then who told you how you could find me here?"

Reed said nothing. She stood there with a small smile on her face, the picture of serenity.

"Was it my father?" Darla coldly demanded.

Reed laughed.

She fucking laughed.

And Darla promptly exploded.

"Reeeeeeed!" She roared, flinging her pokeball into the air. Her Tyrantrum emerged with a roar and charged down the pier like a tank, lowering his head.

Reed flung her wrist and her Dragonair emerged from her pokeball, the gorgeous pokemon shimmering beautifully as she snaked through the sky.

"Mystica, protect," Reed ordered, and her dragon curled up in front of her and formed a shining blue barrier that completely halted the Tyrantrum's charge.

Reed shook her head and clicked her tongue disapprovingly. "Ah, come now Zinnia, you know better than that," she chastised. "Losing your cool and attacking like that? How unbecoming of our Lorekeeper?"

"Don't you call me that!" Zinnia roared.

"Oh? But that's what you are, aren't you?" Reed asked, the smarmy grin on her face widening. "Our little Lorekeeper? Our high priestess?"

"I threw away that title a long time ago, along with that name!" Darla growled. "I'm Darla Drake now, not your 'Loremaster' or anything else!"

"Really? Threw it away, did you?" Reed asked, raising her eyebrow. Her smile morphed into a smirk. "And did you throw it away when you summoned Rayquaza to your side?"

Darla's eyes widened and she went pale.

"Darla…" Ayame glanced at worriedly at her friend, not sure whether or not she should step in. While she played a grouchy firestarter on stage, Darla was normally a very reserved girl. For anyone who knew them personally, they knew that of the duo it was Lila who had the quicker temper.

But when Darla got mad, she got mad. And Ayame had never seen her this mad before. This was a personal matter, and as much as Ayame wanted to help, she wasn't sure if her help would be received with gratitude, or if she would be making herself another target of Darla's ire.

"Did you think we wouldn't notice?" Reed asked. "That you could just summon Rayquaza to your side and that would slip beneath our gaze?"

Darla was shaking. She didn't remember much of channeling that mighty beast, but she could still recall the power that surged through her, like it was burning away at her.

"That… That was…"

"You're the Lorekeeper, Darla," Reed continued. "That you could summon Rayquaza is proof of that. NO ONE else could do something like that, no one. No matter how much you might try to run from your position, you can't. It's as simple as that."

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Darla screamed, stomping her foot. "I don't want that! I never wanted that! I never wanted to be a Lorekeeper, I just… I just…"

"Wasn't that performance amazing, Darla?! You were spectacular!"

Tears rolled down her cheeks. "I just wanted to be her friend," she blubbered. "She didn't care I was the chief's daughter. She didn't care I was the Lorekeeper. She just… she just wanted me to be me…" Darla was trembling. Her rage was held back by her helplessness.

"…Isn't that enough?" She meekly squeaked out.

But Reed's eyes didn't carry a single glimmer of mercy.

"When Rayquaza descended, every one of us felt it," she calmly stated. She pointed at her chest. "We could sense, it right down in here. That was when the village found your location, Zinnia, did you know that? That they would be able to feel exactly where you were?"

Darla's blood froze in her veins.

No…

No, it couldn't be.

She had thought that the Phantom had broken his word and outed her location to her family in order to force her hand, but that wasn't what had happened.

It had been her fault.

Certainly, it may have been because she was compelled by the Phantom to summon Rayquaza, but she had no one but her own foolishness to blame for what had come next.

She should have KNOWN that summoning the legendary pokemon would have caught the attention of the Draconid, Rayquaza was their deity, and as the Lorekeeper she was the only person in the world with the ability to summon it to her side.

And she had just stayed right here like an idiot, when she should have been putting as much distance between herself and the Pokemon Academy as possible.

Well, now she was facing the consequences of her actions.

"So that's why you're here…?" Darla asked quietly, wiping her tears from her eyes and glaring at Reed. "You've come to force me back, haven't you? To be your Lorekeeper again."

What happened next came as an absolute surprise.

Reed shook her head.

"No, not exactly," she said. "I'm not going to force you to do anything, Zinnia. No, think of what's coming next as a test."

Darla froze again. "A… test?"

"That's right," Reed nodded. "I came here to force you to come back. Your family asked me, personally, because they know what I'm capable of. But I agree with your grandfather, that you should have the right to choose your own path."

"Then can't you just-"

"But," she interrupted, "unlike our honored grandfather, I'm not so doting. I'm the kind of woman who only believes what people can prove with their own will. Your words are big, and you've certainly the courage, standing up to your family for what you want. But unfortunately those things just aren't enough to convince me.

"So that's why you're testing me?" Darla spat back.

Reed nodded. "That's right. At the moment, I'm split between my duty to our clan, and my duty to your grandfather's wishes. And you'll be the deciding factor. If you pass my test, then I'll return to Hoenn and tell them I couldn't find you. You'll have to take some precautions, but you'll have your freedom and independence."

Reed narrowed her eyes, her smile curling up. "On the other hand, should you fail my test, then you've proven that you don't have what it takes to make it on your own; unfortunately, I won't be able to trust that you can keep yourself safe as our Lorekeeper, and I'm afraid that you will be coming back with me, one way or another."

Her threat carried weight that nearly knocked Ayame off her feet in shock. It was like the air around the blonde was burning. Darla could barely resist the force of her cousin's will, but she couldn't back down, either.

"…Then what's your test?" She finally spat.

Reed brightened and the chilling aura faded. "Does that mean you'll do it?" She asked, her eyes lighting up with excitement.

"If my only choice at freedom is passing your test, then bring it on!" Darla declared, holding her head up high. Her Tyrantrum roared in agreement, glaring fiercely at Reed.

Reed smiled. "Then let the test begin. Mystica!"

"Dragonair!" Mystica opened her mouth, energy crackling in front of it. She fired the dragon pulse ahead, hitting Darla's Tyrantrum directly.

"Rex!" Darla cried.

"TYYYYYYY!" Rex howled in pain.

"As I'm sure you can guess, this is your test, Zinnia," Reed said, flicking a strand of hair from in front of her face. "A pokemon battle. I'll use three of my pokemon. You may call as many as you wish. Isn't that generous of me? And rather simple for a test, don't you think?"

Darla's response was an icy glare so strong it could have knocked out the Dragonair on its own. "Fine then."

Ayame was beginning to get a bad feeling about this. "That… That's not fair! You just caught her by surprise!" She protested.

"It's absolutely fair," Reed coldly rebuffed her weak attempt to help. "After all, she attacked me first without warning, remember? Besides, she can use her entire party of pokemon. Against my team of three, such an issue is pointless."

"Err…" Ayame didn't have response to that. But the bigger concern was the matchup itself. It would be one thing if the two of them were fighting it out in a stadium, but that wasn't the situation they were in right now.

They were standing on narrow pier over the ocean, and that was bad. Darla's Tyrantrum did well in open spaces where it could maneuver and make full use of its hefty bulk. But the dragon could barely keep its massive figure standing on top of the dock, and as a Rock type, if it fell in…

Rex was strong, but the terrain was absolutely not in his favor. Meanwhile, Reed's Dragonair was a pokemon whose natural habitat was the sea, it was at a complete advantage. Already things were off to a bad start.

But Ayame was still optimistic.

"Come on, Darla! Call your Tyrantrum back!" She shouted. "You heard her, you can use as many pokemon as you want, you don't need to stick with him."

"Yes, 'Darla', by all means, call your Tyrantrum back," Reed smiled. "I don't much like hurting a dragon when it can't fight back."

Darla ground her teeth together. All of this was just more show, more playing on Reed's puppet strings. Well, she wasn't going to dance for the other girl. She was going to cut those strings tying her down and seize her own future.

"I won't recall him!" She snapped. "You said this test, I could use as many pokemon as I wanted against your team of three, isn't that right?!"

"Yes, absolutely," Reed nodded. She wasn't smiling, and that unnerved Ayame. She looked tensely at Darla. What was she doing? Why wasn't she calling back her pokemon?

"Well, then I'll choose the same!" Darla declared. "Three of mine against three of yours!"

"What?!" Ayame gasped. "Darla, that's nuts! She said you could use as many pokemon as you wanted, why would you only use three?!"

"Because then it's a fair fight," Darla said, narrowing her eyes. "If I was the kind of girl… who would give up on a fair fight and take the easy way out just because it was on the table… then even if I pass this test I wouldn't have the strength to achieve my dream anyway!"

Reed's lips curled back up into a smile. "Magnificent."

"We're going to fight you fair and square, and show you what we're made of, right Rex?!" Darla shouted, energy surging around her.

"TYRANTRUM!" Rex roared in agreement, his body starting to glow.

SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!

Gigantic rocks floated up into the air from around the docks.

"What the hell?!" Ayame exclaimed, looking around in shock. "He tore stones straight out of the depths of the bay!"

"We won't give in, not to you or anybody else!" Darla snapped, her dragon force surging. "Rex, stone edge!"

"Tyrantrum!" Rex bellowed, stomping his feet and sending the rocks flying towards Mystica.

"That's the kind of answer I like to hear, a head-on challenge and the refusal to give up!" Reed applauded. "I wouldn't expect any less of a response from our Lorekeeper! But that still won't be enough! Mystica, protect!"

"Dragonair!" Mystica growled, a barrier of blue light appearing around the two of them and shielding them both from the onslaught.

"What ferocious attacking power, Zinnia," Reed said as the barrier faded away. "It seems you've been maintaining your abilities."

"Of course," Darla said, her voice trembling as she laughed tensely. "As detestable as the Draconid are, I'll still make use of this power I received from you."

"I expected as much," Reed nodded. And the air around her began to change. Power swirled and caught her hair, her body shimmering with aura. "So I suppose you won't mind… if I do the same?"

Ayame fell back on her ass. The water was looking pretty good right now.

"As I thought," Darla spat, calling on her own power again. "So the match will be dragon force."

Reed's response was a smile. The power her cousin was calling was immense, and Reed could taste the energy.

Just a little more, little cousin. Reed was wild with excitement, the moment she'd been dreaming of was almost at hand. Bring me everything you're capable of… and then, when you've exhausted everything, I'll have you show it to me! Show me that pokemon…!

So Darla's test has begun! If she passes, she'll stay! But if she fails, then she'll have to go. And in the meantime, Lila is… having a spa day.