Well, it looks like everything's worked out for the best! Maddi and Wes are okay! But as for the others, what about Misato and the Phantom? How are they going to be handling everything that happened? They did kind of break away from their group, so there's bound to be some fallout from that, isn't that right? So I wonder how they'll be able to lie their way out of this mess…

The Elimination Round of the Pokemon Academy Best Girl Contest 3 has started! Make sure to get those votes in, we've only got a couple of people who have voted so far! Please, make sure to get those votes in! You can vote for up to 5 girls, so make sure your favorites have a chance to shine!

Nominated: Ange, Ayame, Caelia, Chloe, Cynthia, Donoma, Elaina, Kate, Maddi, Marion, Misato, Ryoko, Sango, Satsuki, Sylvia, Vic

KedharS: Yeah, he's definitely playing a lot of games, that's for sure.

Hyphenman: There will be more details coming out about the Renegade System in due time, it should be interesting.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 980

Kiana was completely freaking the fuck out.

A few hours ago, she had taken the students in her group to watch the matches at the Phenac Stadium for a little time spent enjoying the city. It wasn't supposed to be anything big or fancy, just a nice day at a tourist attraction.

They'd even gotten their own private box, courtesy of the Pokemon Academy! It was all set to be a nice, relaxing day.

But then Richard Valon had asked to go to the bathroom. She hadn't thought anything of it at first, this was Phenac City, after all, not a place like Pyrite Town where one had to be constantly vigilant of all the troublesome people and all the danger around every corner.

So yes, she'd let him go, with Misato accompanying him, telling them to come back soon. She didn't think anything of it, Valon had been the perfect student in the time she'd spent getting to know the group, always following her rules and behaving politely, never getting into trouble, and even arranging things like their stay at a fancy hotel.

The problems began when he never came back.

She didn't think anything of it until about half an hour had passed. That was when she started to worry. But everyone told her that there wasn't anything to be concerned about, that he would be back any time now.

Another fifteen minutes later, and she was really panicking. But she couldn't exactly send more students out to go looking for them, or go herself, now could she? No, the only thing she could do was take everybody with her and tromp over to the security center of the colosseum and ask if they could look into his disappearance.

The security people weren't much help. While she waited in a panic, praying that the two students had gotten lost or something, they let her sit there, stewing in her own horrifying thoughts. The other students were a little worried as well, though not as much as she would have thought. Didn't they know how dangerous it was in the Orre Region?

She told herself that they were just trying to stay optimistic, but the truth was a lot simpler than that, actually.

Fact of the matter was, nobody actually thought that the Phantom was in any danger. After all, he had Misato Daisan with him. And while Kiana had no inkling of suspicion as to Misato's true identity, everyone there knew that she was a Mechadoll. You would have better luck trying to abduct a green beret than the Phantom when he had Misato as a bodyguard. Not to mention the fact that Valon also had his pokemon with him, and basically, nobody was really that worried.

When the security people reported back and confirmed that Valon wasn't anywhere in the building, that was when Kiana really lost it. She was practically running through the streets shouting out for him, calling everybody she could think of to call. The police, the military, the Ranger's Association, everyone except the people in charge at the Pokemon Academy.

Kiana didn't want word of this to leak back to them. After all, if they found out that she'd let two of her students wander away unsupervised, and those students had then gone missing, she would be in for a world of trouble.

But those concerns had only lasted about ten minutes before she made the call. After all, some things were more important than others. She wouldn't just abandon the students in her care; not if she could do something to help. So even though it made her look bad, and invited a lot of pain down on her head, she let the school know what was going on so they could advise her what steps she should take next to help her students.

She had to take quite a reaming out over the phone, but it would be worth it if it meant getting a lead on what to do to find her missing students.

Unfortunately, the school wasn't much help in that matter. They advised her to call the local authorities, something she'd already done. Next the Ranger Union, which again, had already been done. The last suggestion was to get in contact with the student's parents, which was all well and good until she informed them who exactly she was looking for, at which point the voice on the other end of the line went silent.

It turns out, the Phantom didn't have anybody to contact in case of an emergency like this, and neither did Misato. Whether that was because they just didn't have any parents, or because they weren't on very good terms with their parents, Kiana couldn't begin to guess. All she knew was that she'd reached another dead end in her search for her students.

She sat back on a bench and resisted the urge to cry.

Kiana reminded herself over and over again that she needed to stay tough. She couldn't panic. Panicking was the worst thing to do in this situation, even if she'd already done it several times over at this point. If she panicked, everyone else would start panicking too, and then-

Her phone rang and she practically threw herself into the fountain. Shit, what the fuck?! She fumbled for it and answered as quickly as she could.

"Y-Yes?!" She practically shouted, hoping that it was someone with good news.

A stern voice was on the other line.

"This is the Phenac City Police Department. Is this Kiana Canley?"

Kiana took a few sharp breaths to calm herself down. "Yes, this is she," she said, a little more seriously, even though inside she was screaming.

"You reported two lost students to our precinct several hours ago, a 'Richard Valon' and a 'Misato Daisan' is that correct?" The officer on the other line asked.

"Yes, that's right, why?!" Kiana asked. "Do you have news? Did something happen to them, are they okay?!"

"Ma'am, I need you to calm down," the officer chastised her.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" She shouted. "Those kids are my responsibility, and I need to know if they're okay!"

The man on the other end of the line let out a tired sigh. "We have the two people you're looking for in our custody, ma'am, there's no need to be concerned. They're alive."

And with just that, all the tension that had been building up inside Kiana was immediately drained. She sighed in relief, sinking to her knees. "Oh, thank god," she murmured.

"What's going on?" Lana asked hopefully. "Did someone find Valon and Misato?"

"It's the police," Kiana said. "Valon and Misato are fine."

She returned her focus to the officer. "Sir, can I ask what happened? When can I see them? What more can you tell me?"

"All I can tell you is that we picked them up at the hospital earlier," the officer said sternly. "When we informed them of the situation, they agreed to wait there for you. If you need, we can have an officer come and pick you up."

"N-No, that won't be necessary," Kiana said quickly, shaking her head. Inside though, she was screaming. The hospital?! What were they doing at the hospital?! "Why were they there? What happened?"

She heard the officer shrug on the other end of the line. "Something about a mugging. I'll let them explain it to you, I've already taken their statement. By the time you get here, they should be free to go."

Kiana felt the plaza spin beneath her feet. A mugging. Two of her students had gotten mugged, and all because she'd let them out of her sight. She couldn't believe she could be so careless. But at the same time, a mugging in Phenac City? In the middle of broad daylight? That was a little unexpected, she had to admit.

She quickly dismissed those thoughts with a shake of her head. It wasn't important. What mattered now was getting to the hospital and making sure they were okay.

"Come on, everyone," she said, trying to keep the anxiety out of her voice. "We're going over to the hospital."

"What?! The hospital?!" Lana exclaimed, her jaw dropping.

Kiana sighed. Well, so much for them taking it well. She should have expected that they would react like… like…

…

Actually, wait, they were taking it pretty well after all! In fact, besides Lana, nobody even seemed bothered by the fact that two members of their group were in the hospital! Kiana felt a little peeved. Were they all really that cold-blooded? There was a limit to being composed, you know! Folks like Dokukage, Gabrielle, and Ange who looked like they couldn't care less, or people like Gerard and Keahi who didn't seem to show that it was their problem… it was really starting to piss her off, was Lana the only normal one here?!

Willa raised her hand.

"…Yes, what is it?" Kiana sighed, nursing her headache.

"Do you think the doctors will let me give Valon some of my own medicine?" She asked hopefully. "Just to see what the effects are, I'm sure he'll be totally fine!"

Kiana's eye twitched. She could just scream…

After marching the rest of her group to the bus station, they took the line to the hospital. Phenac City might have been pretty big relatively-speaking, but because Orre had such a low population it wasn't that far. The hospital itself wasn't even that big, looking more like a small clinic than a fully-staffed medical facility.

While everyone waited in the waiting room (Kiana was reluctant to leave them alone, even to go in and check on her students) she heard from the doctors what the story was.

Apparently, while coming back from the bathroom, Valon and Misato had heard someone scream. Misato immediately went to go see what the problem was, and Valon begrudgingly followed after her, even knowing it was against the rules. Apparently, they'd run four blocks just to interrupt a mugging, and in the process, Valon's wrist had gotten fractured. Thinking it was a break, Misato had once again ignored the proper procedure (contacting Kiana and explaining the situation) and instead carried him all the way to the hospital for treatment.

Kiana was irritated with the two of them, but she was also begrudgingly impressed. They had managed to stop a mugging, after all, even if the mugger and the victim had both fled the scene.

"I heard from the officer that it was okay for them to leave?" Kiana asked hopefully. She really wanted to put this whole mess behind her.

The doctor made a complicated face. If it wasn't the fact that he was a medical professional, Kiana might think he was hiding something.

"W-Well," he began by clearing his throat, "the girl, Misato? Yes, she didn't sustain any injuries that we could identify, so she's free to go. As for Richard, well, we're still waiting for the x-rays to get back on his wrist. It was quite a nasty wound, you see, and that should take another hour at least. There are a few more things we need to cover where he's concerned."

Kiana sighed. Well, there was nothing she could do about that…

"Can I see them?" She asked instead.

The doctor nodded. "Yes, but… ahem. The rest of your… party… will have to remain here in the waiting room, we can't have them traipsing through the halls, you see." With how small the hospital was, Kiana could understand his point. They would absolutely get in the way.

At the same time, though, could she really afford to make the same mistake as last time and let someone else wander off? She was at a loss as to what to do. Thankfully, Rafe stepped in with a big grin on his face.

"Don't worry, I'll be happy to look after everyone," he assured Kiana. Kiana nodded, feeling a little bit better about that, but she still didn't feel totally comfortable. After all, Ange was in one of her moods again, clearly not a fan of being in a hospital like this, and Keahi seemed pretty upset about it himself. On the other hand, some of the students were a little too eager about where they were…

"So are you sure your facility wouldn't be interested in any of these?" Willa asked, pushing a veritable candy jar of pills across the counter of the receptionist's desk.

The receptionist raised her eyebrow and adjusted her glasses. "That's right. Not interested. Now, if you would please return to your seat-"

Willa made a face, but she didn't back down. "Okay, well how much would some of those pills over there cost? If it's about needing a prescription I have a blank pad, and my signature-"

The lady forced a smile onto her face. "Please return to your seat, young lady, or I will be forced to call security."

Will grumbled, taking back her pills and storming back to join the others.

Kiana let out a sigh. These kids were too much sometimes. She turned back to the doctor and agreed, following him into the back.

She nearly collapsed with relief when she saw Misato and Valon. Just as she'd hoped, they were okay. Nothing to worry about. Sure, Valon's wrist was in a temporary cast, but Misato looked completely fine, even if her clothes were torn and dirty.

"Hey there, guys," Kiana said, trying to force a smile onto her face. "Are you two okay?"

"I'm fine, thank you," Valon smiled charitably. "There's nothing to worry about."

She saw that he also had a pretty nasty bruise on his cheek. That just made her heart go out to the poor guy even more.

"So I heard from the doctors, you two stopped a mugger, is that right?" Kiana asked. She wasn't sure what sort of attitude she was supposed to be presenting. Should she be glad that they were okay, and that they'd done something so brave and noble? Or upset that they'd disobeyed her instructions and nearly gotten themselves killed?

She tried for a mix of both.

"We had to," Valon explained. "Once Misato heard that girl's cries for help, well, what were we supposed to do, just ignore it?"

He turned to Misato and gave her an expectant look.

"It was a very terrifying situation," Misato said, her voice as devoid of emotion as always. "It was necessary for us to intervene."

"Well, next time, you should come find me," Kiana said, crossing her arms over her chest. She didn't exactly approve of the two of them taking matters into their own hands, even if she had no intention of condemning them for their actions themselves. "I would have told you what to do, and then we could have called the police!"

"Yes, in hindsight, that was the right move," Valon admitted sheepishly. "But you see, Misato just ran off without even thinking, and, well, I couldn't let a girl just go off to confront such a dangerous situation on her own, you see?"

Kiana sighed, she understood where he was coming from, but still…

She turned to Misato. "Misato, next time something like that happens, instead of letting your emotions get the better of you and you go running off, come find me, okay?"

Misato nodded. "Clarification required. You are asking for me to come find you the next time my emotions compel me to make a decision that would go against the rules of the school trip, is that correct?"

Kiana smiled. "Yes, you understand perfectly. Is that okay?"

"Affirmative."

Valon had to resist the urge to laugh at the absurdity of that promise.

Kiana sighed with relief. Right now, she was just glad that nobody was seriously hurt. Valon had broken is wrist, but at least he was still alive, and that was something to be happy about for sure.

"I know that you guys thought that Phenac City was safe, and that it was okay to do something like that," she said softly. "But imagine if you were in Pyrite Town? Think about how badly you could have gotten hurt? It's a miracle you were able to drive that mugger off to begin with!"

"That is not something you need to concern yourself with," Misato stated. "I was never in any danger from any mugger."

Valon gave her a warning glance that Kiana didn't pick up on.

"That's… that isn't my point," Kiana sighed. "You could have been. That's why you need to think about stuff like this!"

"Your concern is unnecessary. I assure you that a considerable amount of time was spent thinking about this," Misato replied.

Valon decided to step in before Misato inadvertently gave away the entire thing.

"We're sorry for worrying you," he said with a smile, "but it's okay. It all worked out in the end, isn't that right?"

Kiana had to agree with that. "This time, anyway," she mumbled. Then she had another thought that put a frown on her face. "Now that I think about it, though, where were you two? It's one thing to get caught up in the moment, but you two were missing for hours! What, they didn't let you use your phones in the emergency room?"

Valon gave her a sheepish, innocent-looking smile. "You see, while fighting off the mugger, our phones got broken and so we couldn't call."

Kiana raised her eyebrow, glancing over to Misato. "Both of you broke your phones dealing with the mugger? Seriously?"

Misato nodded. "Affirmative."

I don't know, that sounds a little hard to believe… well, either way, it looks like everything's worked out for the better! Valon's convinced Kiana that everything's okay! And they fought off a mugger, too, how decent of them!