With everything resolved, it's finally time for Akira and Sylvia to head to Lavender Town! Under Misty's supervision, of course. Nevertheless, Akira has been waiting for this trip for weeks; what will they find in Lavender Town? Will he finally be able to help Dakota? Will he figure out a way to stop Satsuki from transforming? Remember to review!

KedharS: So do I. She's really been through a rough ordeal for the past few months, I hope everything turns out okay.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Yep, it's definitely exciting. And it opens the door to a lot of exciting possibilities, too.

Venoms Cross 2: Well that would be nice and ironic. Akira doesn't have great luck with the ladies, does he?

Rowlets and Oshawotts: Well there's definitely SOMETHING going on with her, that's for sure. Wonder what it could be.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 841

When the trio of Akira, Sylvia, and Misty set out on the road to Lavender Town, they did so with three very different perspectives.

Akira was excited, of course, and a little nervous as well. He was desperate to get there as fast as possible and find out anything he could about Project ADAM, the µ Gene, and how he could help Dakota.

Misty, on the other hand, while still nervous, was mainly concerned for their sakes. This was stuff that children absolutely shouldn't be dealing with, and even though she had agreed to chaperone she was starting to have second thoughts. This seemed like something the authorities should be handling, not a couple of high schoolers. She had a responsibility to keep them safe, after all, and she didn't want to bring them there if she could help it.

But she knew that she had to. This meant too much to Akira, she couldn't refuse him, even though she knew that it was probably the right thing to do.

As for Sylvia, Sylvia was irritated, no two ways about it.

Misty had insisted that they take the faster, safer route to Lavender Town through Saffron City, after all, and she couldn't imagine anything more mind-numbingly boring and predictable. Where was her sense of adventure?

She'd been looking forward to seeing Akira wander his way through the maze of the Rock Tunnel, bumping into walls and tripping over rocks as he tried to navigate the pitch-black cave filled with pokemon. It would have served as an amusing way to pass the time. But no, Misty just had to be "safe" about this whole thing.

Getting the gym leader to chaperone had NOT been the outcome Sylvia had intended when she goaded Akira into revealing the truth. With Misty here, she wouldn't be able to manipulate Mr. Fuji as efficiently; she would definitely focus on the Dakota side of things, rather than what Sylvia was really interested in, which were the genetic projects including any speculation about what Professor Decker was currently planning.

But as loathe as she was to admit it, Misty coming along was the only way she could imagine the trip happening. The minute she found out about their plan, that was never in argument; there was no way she would have let them go off on their own, after all, which left the only course of action being to accompany the two of them.

So Sylvia would put up with it. She didn't have much of a choice.

Misty locked the gym up behind the three of them and told Diana to take care of it over the weekend. Then the three of them headed out.

Sylvia couldn't argue that the quickest way to Lavender Town was through Saffron City. They took a bus south from Cerulean into the city, much to Akira's amazement. He'd seen some large cities before, but Saffron City was larger than all of them. It was impressive enough to momentarily take his mind off of what their mission was, much to Sylvia's chagrin.

After a few more bus stops through the large city, the group made their way east towards Lavender Town. There weren't any buses headed there, though, which meant that the rest of the trip would be a walk through Route 8. They wouldn't make it to Lavender Town until nightfall, which Sylvia found rather well-suited.

As they got closer and closer to the town, Akira found his heart was racing in his chest. He didn't know what to make of all this; they'd be there in a few hours, and hopefully, they'd be able to talk to Mr. Fuji immediately. If not, then they'd spend the night and talk to him in the morning. Either way, by this time tomorrow, Akira would have the answers he needed.

The anticipation leading him there was overwhelming, and he was feeling anxious. Even though he'd been waiting for this for weeks, it felt like he still wasn't ready. What if… what if Mr. Fuji didn't have the answers Akira was looking for? What if he told her that there was no hope for Dakota, that she'd never wake up, and even if she did, she'd have memory loss or a learning disability or…

Akira didn't want to think that way, but he couldn't stop his worries from flooding into his head. He just wanted Dakota to be okay, why did he have to be beaten down like this? It wasn't fair. Dakota didn't deserve this, and neither did he.

No. Dakota's going to be okay. She has to be okay. Mr. Fuji will know what to do, he'll have some sort of cure or something, or at least reassure me that everything's okay. And then he'll help Satsuki too, figure out what's wrong with her, and how he can fix her. That's… yes, that's how it's going to go, I just need to have faith in that! Akira knew how desperate and pathetic he sounded, but he couldn't help it. He knew the odds were against him, but could he really be blamed for how he felt?

This was Dakota and Satsuki. He would do anything to make sure that the two of them were okay, whatever it took. He had to believe.

"Akira."

Misty's voice caught his attention and he paused to give her his attention.

"…Yeah?" He asked warily, confused what she wanted. "What's up?" The walk had been surprisingly tense and silent ever since they left Saffron, probably because everyone was letting the weight of what was going to come sink in. So to have Misty talk to him out of the blue was definitely a surprise, until he saw the look of concern on her face.

"Are you okay?" She asked. Akira realized his worries must have been showing on his face. He sighed and tried to smile.

"Yeah, I'm doing fine," he lied, even though he knew Misty would buy it for a second. If he said it enough times, maybe he could convince himself that he wasn't dreading their arrival just as much as he was desperate for it.

"I know this must be tough for you, Akira," Misty said, placing her hand on his shoulder. "You don't need to pretend like you're doing okay. You've been through a lot of tough stuff it sounds like, and this is something big. I mean, what if we get to Lavender Town, and this Mr. Fuji person can't help? What if the stuff you learn would make you wish you'd never asked in the first place?"

"Gee, it almost sounds like you don't want us to go," Sylvia said coldly, and Misty flinched. Sylvia narrowed her eyes. She thought so. "That's it, isn't it? You're worried about us, aren't you? You think that whatever we might learn from Mr. Fuji, it's not something that kids like us should be concerned with, so you'd prefer if we just gave up now and went back home, isn't that right?"

Normally Sylvia would had delighted in the look of regret that passed across Misty's face, a confirmation of her guilt so plain even Akira would be able to see it. But she didn't have any joy to take at the moment because she was in so much of a bad mood. She hadn't even asked the question to get under Misty's skin and rile up some entertainment, she was just frustrated at this point, and wanted to take it out on someone.

Misty sighed and hung her head in shame. "Yes, Sylvia, you're… not wrong," she admitted, unable to look Akira in the eye as he stared at her in disbelief.

"Misty…" Akira couldn't believe that the woman who had been so supportive of him up until this point would reveal now that she didn't actually want them to do this at all.

Misty quickly tried to explain herself. "Look, Akira, it's not what you think," she pleaded. "Please, I really, really want to help your girlfriend, and I'm really concerned about her condition, and your Gyarados, that's not what this is about. I just-"

"She doesn't mean anything bad by it," Sylvia said, cutting Misty off with a shrug. "She's just not sure what she's supposed to do in this situation."

Akira and Misty both looked at Sylvia in disbelief. After she'd started this whole mess to begin with, now she was saying that Misty wasn't doing anything wrong?

"That's… I mean, that's right, I mean…" Misty was momentarily at a loss for words. But as the only adult among the three she quickly regained her composure and nodded. "Yes, that's right, Sylvia, I really do want to help. And that's why I agreed to chaperone the two of you in the first place, because I think this is important. I wouldn't have come otherwise."

"But you still don't think we should go through with this?" Akira asked, confused how she could have it both ways.

"I think that… this is something for adults to handle," Misty admitted. "You're just a kid, Akira. Sure, you've been through a lot, but something like this… a kid your age shouldn't be worrying about this stuff. You should leave it up to the adults to handle, what if you ended up getting dragged into something dangerous because of this? You said it yourself, your girlfriend got attacked by somebody. And this guy, Mr. Fuji, you don't know the first thing about him! If he's involved in the kind of stuff you said, he could be dangerous, heck, he could even be a criminal! What if he's like a serial killer or something?!"

Sylvia snorted in incredulity. She couldn't believe Misty had said something so absurd with a straight face.

Misty was undaunted, her resolve only strengthening with each word. "My point still stands. This is a potentially dangerous situation, and as someone who's responsible for your well-being, I don't think it's right for kids like you to get involved in anything dangerous."

"You say that, but you're still agreeing to help," Sylvia pointed out, raising her eyebrow. Misty sighed and nodded again, unable to deny the apparent hypocrisy in her thinking.

"Yeah. And that's because I want to help. And because I have a pretty good idea that the two of you would have snuck out anyway, whether I helped you or not," Misty said, giving Sylvia the stink-eye. Even though Sylvia had been on her best behavior for the last week, Misty had gotten a pretty clear picture of the kind of person she was. Someone like that would absolutely not stay put like she was told, and would head out to Lavender Town with Akira in tow the first chance she got.

Sylvia didn't even bother to deny it, shrugging her shoulders and nodding. "Yup, that's pretty much right," she admitted.

"So that's why I'm coming," Misty explained. "Because I want to help, and I want to make sure that, if you two are going to Lavender Town anyway, that you at least have an adult there with you who wants to keep you safe. If this Mr. Fuji tries something, then I'm going to be ready for him, just you watch!" She tried to sound tough as she said that, but Sylvia couldn't help but laugh at the idea of an old man like Mr. Fuji being a threat to anyone.

Akira did feel a little better about Misty now, since it seemed like she was genuinely looking out for the two of them. He nodded, convinced. "Thanks, Misty, that really means a lot. And don't worry, if anything dangerous does happen, I'm sure that you'll be able to step in and put a stop to it. But we won't let it get that far, right Sylvia?"

Sylvia craned her head up to look at the sky. "Nice weather we're having today," she mused thoughtfully.

"Sylvia…"

"Fine, fine, we won't let anything dangerous happen," Sylvia sighed, rolling her eyes. She muttered under her breath, "killjoy…"

Akira didn't let that bother him. He turned to Misty, hoping she was convinced. She did look a little bit more relaxed, but there was something under the surface, something he wasn't quite sure about, like there was another thing she wasn't telling them.

Sylvia, of course, picked up on that immediately. "So what's the other reason you're feeling a little tense right now, Misty?" She asked, giving her a knowing smirk.

Misty flinched, surprised. "Uh… wh-what? I already told you why I didn't want you guys to go, but it's okay, there's nothing to worry about. What… um, what's wrong? What are you talking about?" She was babbling, and even Akira could see she was hiding something now.

"Misty, it's okay. I won't mind if you say you still don't want us to go. And look, if you've changed your mind about chaperoning us-"

"Whoa, whoa, let's not go too far," Sylvia interjected, cutting him off with a sharp glare. "We've come WAY too far to get cold feet now."

"No, it's… it's not about you two," Misty said quickly, shaking her head. When Sylvia stared at her, she felt herself wilting under the girl's gaze.

"…So what is it then?" Sylvia asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Because I can see that there's something about this trip that's bothering you, and it's not just nerves about us getting involved with this genetic stuff. No, just like Akira, you've been getting more and more anxious the closer we got to Lavender Town, and-"

Sylvia realized the answer to her inquiry and cut herself off. She smirked. When Misty saw that look she went pale.

"Um… l-let's get going!" Misty said, quickly turning and heading for Lavender Town.

"Misty," Sylvia sang out after her.

"L-Look, you can already see the tower from the distance, I think!" Misty was desperate to change the subject.

"Come on, Misty, don't play coy," Sylvia slinked up behind her. "You're… afraid of Ghost type pokemon, aren't you?"

Misty froze.

"Wait, what?" Akira asked, surprised. He thought he knew everything there was to know about Misty, but he'd never heard that she was afraid of Ghost type pokemon before.

"Well, what's wrong with that?!" Misty wailed. "They're scary! And some of them are even real ghosts! You don't know the stories about Lavender Town like I do, a long time ago the ghosts were so spooky and malicious you couldn't even tell they were pokemon! There's something about that town, that tower, the Ghost types there aren't like normal pokemon!"

Akira couldn't resist the smile that crept up his face. Wow, it really was true. Misty, the tomboyish mermaid, was afraid of Ghost type pokemon.

"Wait, but you were fine with Sylvia's Jellicent earlier," Akira noted.

"It's okay! Jellicent are okay, because they're Water types!" Misty explained, like that made any difference. Apparently Ghost type pokemon were fine as long as they were part Water type? That made even less sense. Akira had to chuckle.

While Akira was merely amused, Sylvia was thrilled.

She sighed in mock concern, and patted Misty on the shoulder. "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, Misty, especially after you just revealed how you feel about Ghost type pokemon." She was being dramatic, and Misty felt waves of insincerity coming off of her.

Along with something a lot more ominous.

"You see, as I'm sure you might have guessed, the reason I'm here has nothing to do with wanting to become a better pokemon trainer," Sylvia explained. She nodded her head at Akira. "He's not really here for that reason either, but at least he was giving it some honest effort. You see, I'm not exactly a Water type trainer. At all."

Oh no. Akira could see where this was going. Misty was just confused.

With a wicked smile and a flick of her wrist, Sylvia flung her pokeballs into the air, and released her entire team of pokemon. A parade of Ghost types surrounded the three of them, while Sylvia cackled madly.

"…I'm actually… a Ghost type trainer! Surprise!" She cheered.

Misty nearly peed in her jogging shorts.

"What the heck?!" She exclaimed. "Don't… Don't just DO something like that!" She wailed frantically, glancing from one ghost to the next.

"But Misty, pokemon are our friends, aren't they?" Sylvia teased, taking a step closer to the panicking woman. "They just want you to give them a big old hug, right Specter?" She asked, turning to her Shuppet.

"Shuppet!" Specter nodded, bobbing up and down eagerly.

"I get it, I get it, please stop!" Misty wailed, covering her eyes.

"Sylvia, we're just wasting time with this," Akira warned her.

Sylvia sighed. She supposed that was true. Teasing was fun in the short-term, but her boredom probably wouldn't be abated until they got to Lavender Town. "Okay, fine. Return everyone."

After she recalled her pokemon, she glanced back at Misty and gave her the most apologetic smile she could fake.

"I'm sorry, Misty, I just felt so guilty lying to you all these weeks, it just felt like the right time to come clean. I'm sure you understand," she said sweetly.

It took Misty a second to catch her breath. When she finally did, she levied a glare at the blonde girl, and scowled.

"I know exactly why you did that," she hotly replied.

Sylvia shrugged.

"Can we just go now, please?" Akira frowned. He didn't want to keep wasting time like this, he wanted to get to Lavender Town as soon as possible! Even if getting there DID feel like a more terrifying prospect with each passing second.

Sylvia sighed and nodded. "Sure, fine, whatever," she muttered, rolling her eyes. Actually, the reason she'd been teasing Misty in the first place was because she'd hoped that suddenly seeing all those Ghost types would have made the gym leader faint in fear, and then they could continue to Lavender Town without a babysitter.

So much for that.

They resumed the trip to Lavender Town, with Akira getting more and more antsy while Misty began shivering more. The fact that she was frantically looking around seemed to imply that the cold wasn't responsible for the shivers.

Sylvia was actually the only one whose mood was improving as they got closer. And soon enough, the imposing Pokemon Tower could be seen on the horizon. The sun had just begun to touch down behind them.

Within the hour they were close enough to the town that they could begin to make out the lavender-colored bricks that composed it.

"Well, would you look at that?" Sylvia smiled. "We finally made it!"

So after a long and tedious journey, our trio has made it to Lavender Town! But what secrets await them in this haunted place? Does Misty have good reason to be worried? Are the ghosts really as dangerous as she made them out to be? And what about Mr. Fuji? We'll have to see what lies in store!