Now that Dakota's had a touching reunion with her pokemon, she can return to business as usual! There's a lot she needs to get caught up on now that she's woken up from her coma and is back at the Pokemon Academy!

KedharS: Oh, I'm sure that she wants to. Regardless of what she says, she loves Akira to bits.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Definitely very sweet.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 838

Dakota finished her reunion with her pokemon, calling them all back to her pokeballs. She stretched and took a deep breath.

She was back.

Dakota walked over to her bed and flopped down on top of it. The mattress was as lumpy as always, but it was more comfortable than the cot she'd been lying on in the hospital. It was cheap and low-quality, but it was still home.

"You spend a month in a coma and the minute you get back home you flop down on the bed, huh?" Serefina dryly commented.

Dakota sat up and flashed a grin, shrugging her shoulders. Then she gasped and hopped out of bed, rushing over to her desk.

"Oh! I almost forgot! My computer!" She gasped, looking around frantically. "What happened to my laptop?!"

Dakota never went anywhere without her laptop. But right now, she felt something a lot more compelling than just a desire to surf the web, or even her usual compulsion to write an article for the paper.

She just didn't know WHY. There was something needling her brain and telling her that she needed to get to her computer as soon as possible, that there was something she needed it for. But whatever the reason was, it was one of the countless things lost in the fugue of her forgotten memories, much to her chagrin.

"Seri, you didn't touch my laptop, did you?" Dakota asked, looking up at her friend. She needed to find it, she just needed to!

Serefina's crestfallen expression made Dakota's heart sink.

"Look, Dakota…"

"Did you break it?" Dakota demanded. She was about to rip her friend a new one when she saw the tears welling up in Serefina's eyes.

"…Seri?"

"It… you had it… at the library…" Serefina quietly said. "Whoever attacked you… they smashed it to pieces along with your phone and your camera."

The room spun around Dakota as Serefina's words sunk in.

"…My… My camera…?"

She felt like a frail little girl in that moment. The strength left her legs and she collapsed to her knees, her heart breaking to pieces.

Serefina knelt beside Dakota and hugged her tightly, crying along with her friend. She knew how much that camera had meant to Dakota.

"My camera… the camera Aki bought for me… it's smashed… broken… I… but I… I took such good care of it this time, why… it's not- *sniff* it's not faaaaiiiirr…!" She wailed, burying her face in Serefina's shoulder.

"It's okay, sweetie," Serefina whispered, patting her on the back. "I know that camera was important. But I have something for you."

Serefina gave her a reassuring smile, then got up and walked over to the closet. Dakota watched curiously, wiping the tears out of her eyes.

Serefina returned with a large box, and handed it over to Dakota. She ripped it open, and gasped in shock.

She couldn't believe it.

A brand new camera, still in the box, was sitting within her present. It was the same kind that she'd had before.

Dakota looked up at Serefina with questioning eyes. She had a dozen things she wanted to ask, but the words couldn't come out.

"This… it's just…"

"Akira bought it for you," Serefina explained, giving her friend a warm smile. "It's yours. He said 'she's going to wake up. And when she does, then she's going to need this.' He knows you pretty well, don't you think?"

Dakota sniffled, touched by the gesture. Once again, he'd bought her a camera. She had the sweetest boyfriend in the world. She hugged the box tightly to her chest and burst into tears, unable to contain the joy she was feeling.

Serefina sat back and smiled, happy that Dakota was so happy. This was exactly what she hoped, her friend was content again.

Things had finally settled down, and then Serefina remembered. Something Dakota had been talking about earlier had caused a trigger in her head, something that she had put out of her mind before but was now coming back to her.

"Wait, Dakota, I almost forgot!" Serefina gasped.

"Oh? What? Did you get me a new computer, too?" Dakota asked excitedly.

"What? …No, no," Serefina said, shaking her head. "No, it's not that, but it is about your old computer, I'd nearly forgotten! Come on, let's go! I need to show you something!" She turned and headed for the door.

Dakota was curious now. She set down her camera and stood up, following after Serefina. Everything that had happened to her the night of her attack was a blur. She didn't know what she was doing at the library or why she'd been attacked, she didn't know anything, really.

So the idea that Serefina might be going to find her answers was a compelling reason enough to follow after her.

"Where are we going?" Dakota asked.

Serefina slowed down and winced, remembering something painful. "Look, after… after you got attacked… some stuff happened. And we found… I don't know, a sign from you? A message of some sort. You'd hidden a flashdrive on the scene, it must have happened right before you'd been attacked, do you remember anything about that?"

Dakota paused, searching her scattered mind for any recollection of that night. But it was still all a blur, she couldn't recall anything. With a sigh, she shook her head.

"Sorry, Seri," she apologized. "I mean, that definitely sounds like something I would do, but I don't remember anything."

"Okay, well, you did," Serefina said. "Whoever was trying to attack you, they were after the information on your computer, and you backed it up on the flashdrive and hid it so that they wouldn't be able to destroy THAT, too."

It was at the point, when she saw Dakota's contemplative face, that Serefina decided to do a very bad thing. She decided to lie.

It wasn't a REAL lie. It was a lie of omission. But it was a lie for Dakota's safety, because she knew just what her friend was like.

That was why she didn't tell Dakota that she suspected the Phantom was the one behind her attack, or maybe had even attacked her himself. She didn't want to bring those memories back, not really. Dakota forgetting about that night was a godsend, it meant she wouldn't have to relive that trauma, and could continue going through life like normal.

But if Dakota was told the truth? If she DID know who had attacked her, and that caused her to remember? It would almost-certainly result in her going and continuing to dig, trying to start a war with the Phantom, and, ultimately, she would most likely find herself back in that library, only this time the Phantom would complete the job.

If Dakota could have been reasoned with, Serefina wouldn't have had to hide it from her. But she knew Dakota. She knew EXACTLY the kind of person her friend was, and what she would tolerate and would not tolerate. And Dakota would never allow a threat of violence to prevent her from exposing the truth and continuing her research. She WOULD declare war on the Phantom, and continue to dig up dirt on him in the name of her righteous crusade.

And Serefina couldn't bear the thought of losing her friend again, even if what Dakota wanted was probably the right thing to do.

So even though she knew it was a horrible thing to do, even though Dakota would never forgive her for something as wicked and cruel as lying to her and trying to hide information from her, Serefina did what she felt was necessary to keep her friend safe.

If Dakota found out, of course, then that would probably spell the end for their friendship. But Serefina could live with that. She could live with a lot of things, if it meant that her friend would keep breathing. So she wasn't going to push. She wasn't going to tell her what happened.

But she WAS going to do something different and, possibly, even more risky.

Because Dakota still had all that information stored away on her flashdrive. The flashdrive they had been unable to crack, with a password neither one of them had known. They had given Serefina's computer with the flashdrive inside it over to Mirar, in the hopes that his knowledge of Dakota would allow him to somehow crack the password and get them access to the files.

It was most likely still in Mirar's office, though. He probably hadn't taken it with him, right? Or had he? Would he still be working on it even now?

Serefina would have left it alone if she could, for the same reason she didn't want to tell Dakota that she had been attacked by the Phantom.

But that was appearing to be less and less of an option. Because Dakota was going to keep digging, and if that was the case, then it was better if she just got the evidence from her flashdrive, right…? Serefina honestly wasn't sure.

At least with the data on the drive, Dakota could afford herself a bit of protection, as opposed to if she just started digging again, opening an avenue for the Phantom to silence her. The fact that he was abroad in the Orre Region didn't make her feel much better. She felt like he would still have some way to get to her, even then.

"So what's this about a flashdrive?" Dakota continued, distracting Serefina from the complex thoughts running through her mind. "You mean MY flashdrive? Like, the one I have all my important data on, is that what you mean?"

"Yes, exactly that one," Serefina confirmed. "Akira and I tried to get into it, and what ended up happening is we triggered this strange defense program that asked us for a password. We asked Mirar to try and crack into it, but no luck."

"So we're going over to his office now? But I thought the juniors and seniors went on their trip?" Dakota asked, squinting in recollection. "Or am I getting that wrong again? This whole thing is so confusing, sorry."

"No, no, you're right," Serefina said, shaking her head. "But hopefully we can get in contact with him and tell him that you're awake, and hope that he can help us locate my laptop with the flashdrive on it. Then we can have you bust in, and that whole matter can be settled once and for all." It was a slim hope, but it was still a hope. And worst-case scenario it just meant that they'd have to wait a little longer for Mirar to come back from Orre.

Luckily, Dakota's keycard still provided access to the Pokemon Newspaper Clubroom. Even though the activities were on hold while students were away, they could still get inside, and Serefina began looking for her laptop.

Needless to say, it wasn't anywhere to be found.

"Well, that's frustrating," she sighed, scratching her head in disappointment. "Hey, Dakota, you wouldn't happen to know where your boss keeps the important projects that he's working on, do you?" Serefina asked.

Dakota nodded. "Yup, of course I do. I might have some memory problems but even I can remember something as simple as that. He keeps them in his private side-office, over there," she explained, pointing at the locked door leading to the next room.

"…And that door… do you have a key to it?" Serefina asked, turning to Dakota.

"Nope. Mirar's the only one," Dakota confirmed.

Serefina groaned, leaning against the desk in frustration. Well, so much for that plan. She was hoping that, if Dakota couldn't be discouraged from looking into the cause of her memory loss and what had happened, that they could get it over with and find it quickly, so she would learn the truth while the Phantom was gone.

But no.

"So it looks like we don't have any choice but to call him, then," Serefina sighed, taking her phone out of her purse.

"I don't remember his number," Dakota sheepishly admitted.

"No need. He gave it to us when we consulted him about your laptop in the first place," Serefina assured them. She called him up.

"Hey, Mirar, it's me, Serefina."

On the other end of the line, Mirar sounded as tired and bored as ever. "Oh. It's you. What is it? If it's about Dakota's laptop, I don't have it here. I left it safely locked in my office. Sorry, I can't help you with it right now, even I have a right to enjoy my vacation."

He didn't sound like he was enjoying much of anything, though.

"It's not about that," Serefina said, shaking her head. "Actually… Dakota woke up."

Mirar gasped in shock, the first trace of emotion she'd heard from him. "Wait, what?! She's awake?! Are you serious?"

"Yeah, she's right here," Serefina said. "We're in the Newspaper Clubroom right now, trying to find my laptop. Want to talk to her?"

"No, I want to see her," Mirar said. "If you're in the Newspaper Clubroom, then it should be easy to set up a webcam using some of the equipment."

Serefina didn't get what the point of going through all that extra work was, but she wasn't going to argue about it. "I assume that setting up a webcam is something Dakota can do, so I'll hand the phone over to her," she replied.

"No need. I'm hanging up now." And with that, the line went dead.

"Did he say something about a webcam?" Dakota asked. "Yeah, that shouldn't be a problem, let me just get over to the computer and log in."

Dakota signed into one of the Newspaper Club's computers, and a few minutes later she was in her account. She connected with Mirar across the world in the Orre Region, and in a couple of seconds his face filled the screen.

He showed some actual surprise when he saw her, which was a surprise in and of itself.

"Dakota," he marveled. "You ARE awake. At least… I think you're Dakota? The pink hair and blue eyes kind of threw me for a loop."

Dakota grinned. "I thought you were good at telling who was who, Mirar, don't tell me you're slipping," she giggled.

"Of course I can tell. I'm just expressing surprise. I needed to make sure it was really you, and voices can be faked. But it looks like it's really you. Kind of," Mirar noted, raising an eyebrow. It was clear that he was still unsure why Dakota's appearance was the way it was.

"Yep. Apparently when I woke up from my coma, my hair and eyes went through a bit of a color change," Dakota explained. "Although I'm sure you're more of an expert than I am at changing your style. So tell me, what do you think?"

Mirar shrugged. He didn't have an opinion on aesthetics one way or the other.

Serefina was just relieved that they had such a good connection. As far away as Orre was, there was a real possibility that there would be visual or audio issues, but there weren't any. She attributed it to the Newspaper Club's budget being spent on upgrading their computers and internet connection to the best possible.

"So why did you call?" He asked. "Like I said before, your computer is locked up in that room, there's no getting to it. Even if you wanted to tell me the password, it wouldn't do me any good, sorry." He shrugged his shoulders again.

Serefina sighed in disappointment.

"Well, I was hoping that there was some other way of getting into the room," she explained. "You know, like a hidden key or something?"

Mirar shook his head. "The only key into that room is right here," he explained, holding up a key ring to prove his point. "Sorry, but a private office wouldn't be private if I could just have someone break the lock in."

"Well, we could always use a pokemon," Dakota volunteered. "If we use one of our pokemon to break the door down-"

"If you break that door down, the computer alarm system is set to automatically delete all the files inside," Mirar hotly rejected that idea. "This is exactly the reason I opposed the Phantom's attempt to seize control of the Newspaper Club, so that all my dossiers on other students wouldn't fall into the wrong hands."

"But we're not the wrong hands!" Dakota groaned. "God, I wish I could just get that key!" She slapped the table in frustration.

A clinking sound caught Serefina's ear. She turned and saw another set of keys lying on the ground. It must have fallen off the desk. She walked over and put it back. Then, as she left it, she saw something curious.

The keys seemed to be twitching.

"Well, I'm sorry, but there's nothing you could do. If you'd like to tell me the password-"

"I would if I could REMEMBER it," Dakota groaned. "But I don't."

"Wait, what?!" Serefina turned away from the keys to give her friend an incredulous look. "We came all this way, and you don't even remember the password to your files in the first place?!" She practically screamed.

Dakota looked like she was going to cry, and Serefina quickly shut herself down.

"I-I know that… that if I had enough time, I could figure it out!" She sniffled. "But… But I… I don't wemember it…"

She began sobbing.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Serefina said, quickly hugging her friend.

"I just… I just wand… I just wand do ged indo da woom…" Dakota blubbered, pulling away from Serefina and wiping her eyes.

Then she saw it. She was in Mirar's private office, and Serefina's laptop was sitting right there, on his desk. Another hallucination. She snapped back to the Newspaper Clubroom and kept crying, hating that she couldn't remember anything. Hating that she kept seeing all these things.

"Dakota… I'm so sorry…" Serefina apologized. "I didn't mean to lose my temper… I was just frustrated. But I know this must be so much more frustrating for you, I'm sorry…"

Mirar was less kind.

"What the hell just happened?" He demanded, his voice so sharp it startled the two girls. For a moment they'd forgotten he was still on the call.

"Huh? I just… I was just helping her-"

"Not you," Mirar interrupted, cutting off Serefina. He was staring at Dakota with suspicious eyes, studying her through the screen. "Dakota. What the hell did you just do?"

Dakota blinked, confused. "I… I was just crying… and I saw a hallucination of your office… I-I'm sorry, I know it's private, but ever since my accident I get these hallucinations, like… like I'm somewhere else, and I just-"

"I don't know what the hell's going on, but I just saw you… I don't even know how to describe it!" He groaned. "It was like… for a second you were here, and then you got all blurry and translucent, almost like an old movie." Mirar was already trying to puzzle through what had happened.

"What? No, she didn't, it must have been your connection," Serefina said. "I was looking at her the whole time."

"Maybe. But my eyes are far greater than yours," Mirar reminded them both. "Even if something happens at a fraction of a second, I can pick up on it. And it might have been so fast that you weren't able to see… but I was. For the briefest of moments, it was like Dakota wasn't even there."

The color drained from Dakota's face as she heard that. She turned to look at Serefina, frightened. She hadn't felt like herself ever since she'd woken up, but this…? She thought it was a hallucination, but Mirar said he actually saw her disappear. And Mirar's eyes…

"Seri?" She whispered, terrified, "what's wrong with me?"

That's a very good question, Dakota. What IS wrong with her?