Death of an Angel

"Good afternoon. I'm Larry Pole and this is my co-anchor, Wendy Agnes. Welcome to Nation News."

"Today is a special broadcast. Our top story tonight is the murder of a teenage girl. According to our sources, the girl was stabbed and subsequently killed at an out of control party outside a friend's home."

"Apparently, the girl had been at the center of an intense conflict with a gang of students from a rival school. Our sources say that several students have been involved in the extreme rivalry between the two schools for the past three months. It is believed that this rivalry played a key part in the girl's murder."

"The suspect who committed the offense has been confirmed as a student from the rival school. The student has also been confirmed as being a member of the gang that started the war between the schools. More on this later…"

With the death of a Louhearst Academy student at the hands of a Seathroul Academy student, the four academies under James Everston were under fire from citizens across the nation specifically Seathroul. The school already had a reputation for its low attendance, low test scores, and criminal students, but the latest event had pushed things over the edge and the government had decided to step in. The Head of the Nation had ordered a meeting with Everston and the four deans of Louhearst, Seathroul, Throuleas, and Eastluroh. The Head made sure that Agents Jones, Quentin, and Stuckerland were all present as well.

"I don't even know where to begin…" the Head said as he walked towards the large window in his office. "I am extremely furious. A student was murdered by another student. This is unacceptable and I've had it with Seathroul."

"What do you want me to do?" Nathan Polk asked. He was the newest Dean of Seathroul and already he found himself unable to control any of the students. "I have four hundred students and a third of them-"

"Are juvenile delinquents!" Stuckerland interrupted. "If you ask me, Seathroul should be shut down. It has done nothing to improve its reputation in several years and thirty-three percent of them should just be thrown in jail where they belong. I say you should just get rid of Seathroul, send half of the students to Louhearst and send the other half to Eastluroh. Their only other options would be to go to Throuleas or drop out."

The Head arched an eyebrow before turning to Horace. "Mr. Horace. What do you think?"

"Louhearst is constantly under the threat of the Soul Destroyers as long as I'm there," Horace answered. He glared at Stuckerland. "No matter how much you try to cover it up, they're still out there. However, sending the majority of the Seathroul students to Eastluroh would be completely unfair as would forcing them to go to a military school. If you choose to shut down Seathroul, then I will take a short leave and appoint Professor Penny Pine as the dean. A student of mine was murdered and I have a feeling that if I stay right now, things will only get worse. I will return when things calm down."

The Head nodded and turned to Everston. "It is decided. Seathroul will be shut down. Half of the students will be transferred to Louhearst and the other half will be transferred to Eastluroh and their only other choices will be to go to Throuleas or drop out…"

With the sun shining brightly and no clouds in the sky, it seemed that the day was entirely too beautiful to have a funeral which made most of the attendants feel even worse. Jett looked around and was shocked at how many people had come to pay their respects for Emma. He remembered how her senseless death had sent the entire nation up in arms. All four expedition academies had been shut down for a few weeks and the students had to return home. Jett remembered how Shane had rushed into Rietta's house that fateful night to tell them the horrible news, he remembered everyone in the house rushing outside to Rietta's garden just in time to see the ambulance arriving, and he remembered how the doctor told them that there was nothing more they could do. Worse of all, he remembered seeing the stab wound which brought back haunting memories of his own past.

"If I could just get my hands on the guy who did this…" he muttered to himself.

"He's in jail, Jett," Roux said as she gently touched his arm. "Look at all these people crying and sad. Emma would hate this."

He nodded his head in agreement before looking around as the funeral ended. He saw Emma's family talking to the minister with her Pokémon, Shane Clarke and his friends were in the back row, Rietta was sitting with her parents, Ethan and Ronnie were trying their best to comfort a hysterical Lyra, and Z.K. and Becca were consoling one another. A few of the attendants had started leaving and Jett realized that the memorial would be held the later that day at the Cherrygrove Louhearst which meant that the grief was far from over.

"Logan…"

Jett looked around for his friend only to see him sitting closest to the exit. He hadn't said much to anyone and Z.K. had told him that Logan had been in extensive therapy for the last few days. Every student who attended the party was required to go to the counselor within Louhearst, but Logan's parents had taken him to another therapist after that. If there was one thing Jett knew, it was that Logan hated being considered 'crazy' by any means. With two deaths being associated with him, the name 'Bad Luck Logan' had started spreading through the students of the four academies.

"Man, this is so messed up…"

He had talked to his brother about how Sarah was doing and Jerry could only shake his head. The Mitchell brothers knew first-hand that losing a close family member to murder was possibly the worse way to lose someone. Jett didn't even ask about her parents. Emma's mother had two breakdowns during the course of the funeral and Jett could only wonder what was going through Vic Lawson's head when he pulled out the knife. He tried to tune out the conversation that Emma's family was having with the minister, but it was to no avail.

"T-Thank you," he could hear Emma's mother say to the minister. "It was a beautiful service. Emma was such a sweet girl. I just…I don't know why anyone would want to hurt her…"

Jett stood up and headed for the exit. He didn't want to hear any more of it. He approached Logan as Rietta joined them. Logan simply glanced at them before standing up. "Listen," he started as he reached in his pocket and pulled out a bottle of pills. He had been prescribed some type of drug that would help him 'feel better' in the words of the therapist. He knew what the therapist was trying to say. He was crazy and the therapist along with the rest of the world knew it. "I don't want to talk. Just…leave me alone."

"Wait," Rietta said. "I just thought-"

"I don't want to talk," Logan interrupted as he swallowed a pill. "What part of that didn't you understand? I'll see you guys at the memorial…"

Jett and Rietta followed Logan out and he felt his anger tensing up. He wanted them to get away from him, but they wouldn't listen. Before he could turn around to face them, the three of them were swarmed by reporters. Most of them went straight for Rietta.

"Henrietta Mackenzie. Is it true that the out of control party was held at your home?"

"Yes, but-"

"Henrietta Mackenzie, is it true that your negligence was the primary cause for the death of Emma Jacobs?"

"No, I-"

"Is it true that your parents allowed you to have a party with underage drinking?"

"No, they didn't know anything about it!"

The questions went on and on as the three of them rushed to get away from the swarming reporters…

"Zachary Winters, Dr. King will see you now…"

Zack glanced at his sister before standing up. Serena had been the only one to come with him to therapy, but he didn't care. He didn't even want to be there, but the judge had required it and he knew it was better than rotting in a jail cell with Vic. Dr. King's assistant led Zack to the back room and told him that the doctor would arrive in a few minutes. He frowned as he looked around the room. The walls were a plain brown color and were covered with pictures of Pokémon, mostly being from the Slowpoke line, along with several diplomas and certificates. The carpet was a lighter brown with the couch being a dark blue and the doctor's desk being made of oak.

"Ugh…" he said to himself. "This is so stupid. I didn't do it, so I shouldn't even have to be in here…" He relaxed on the couch and waited for the doctor. It was comfortable enough for him to slip into a light daze.

"Good evening, I'm Dr. King. You must be Zachary."

"I just go by Zack," he said as he turned to face the doctor. "And…"

He stopped in mid-sentence as he got a good look at the doctor. To his amazement, the doctor was not even human, but a Slowking. He had to keep himself from laughing as the doctor took a seat. "Feel free to laugh," Dr. King told him kindly. "Most of my patients tend to laugh on their first visit here. I can understand. Most people wouldn't expect a Pokémon to be a therapist."

"Okay, I knew psychic types were smart, but did you really graduate from Namus? That's the top school in the world."

Dr. King nodded his head. "So, you've heard of Namus? Not surprising. I reviewed your grades and they are extraordinary…when you actually do your work. However, we'll get to that in a moment. Tell me about that night and the events leading up to it..."

Zack sighed as he let his mind wander back to the beginning of the year. "My friend Duncan went to this back-to-school party that the Louhearst Academy was throwing. He ran into my ex-girlfriend, Veronica Ventura, and I guess he started trashing Ronnie for some reason. I don't blame him since she's a dumb slut anyway. Apparently this Emma Jacobs girl decides to stick her nose where it doesn't belong and she ends up slapping Duncan in front of everyone. So, he comes back to Seathroul all pissed and wanting to start a war with Louhearst."

"Hmm…" the doctor said as he continued writing down information. "How did you feel about that?"

"Look, I was only in the war because I wanted to put on a show for people. I think Duncan, Percy, and Tifatillah were on the same page as me and Vic…well, I don't know about him, but I didn't actually want anyone to get killed."

"It was all about your reputation? Before we get back to your story, I want to ask you something. How did you feel about the other students that attended your school?"

"Them?" Zack scoffed. "They pretended like they cared about everyone and knew what was best for the school especially Justin McShan and Derek Quinn. McShan's a total hypocrite, but people don't care that he does drugs and commits crimes just like us, as long as he's on the 'good' side. Then there's Quinn. Douchebag Derek Quinn. We should've jumped this guy back at Seathroul when we had the chance to get away with it. He talks a lot of trash, starts a lot of drama, and he's just irritating as hell. He's worse than McShan and I should've just kicked his teeth in."

The doctor watched as his patient clenched his fists in anger. "Well, people have a tendency to judge others when they don't want to confront themselves. We'll talk about that as well. You may continue your story."

"Well, the next day, me, Duncan, and two of our other friends went looking for some guy who was friends with Emma. I had my sister, Serena, set him up and after she and Ninjask led him to an alley, we beat the crap out of him while Melvin recorded it. After that, word got around Seathroul about the war and of course, McShan and Quinn, had to get involved with their lame peace declarations. They didn't care about any of that, though. They just knew I was involved and anything that I do, they have to play 'heroes' and try to stop me. I didn't care though, so things were a bit peaceful for a little while until Duncan and that guy we jumped got in a fight at Seathroul when the expeditions were in Azalea Town. After that, Duncan's sister sent him to military school and we saw a video where some Louhearst emo kid beat the holy hell out of Shady Sadie in a battle. With all that, the war was pretty much over and Louhearst had technically won the war."

"I see. I believe that the party took place after this?"

Zack nodded his head. "I was so wasted that night. Vic and I overheard some kids talking about a party at Henrietta Mackenzie's place and we heard that it was supposed to be pretty awesome, so we decided to crash. We got our hands on some beer and we just rolled in Mackenzie's house. The second we stepped in, everyone was already on our case, but they let us stay."

"And that's when things got worse?"

"I mean, everything was fine for the first few hours, but after that, over half of the people at the party were drunk. Vic and I ended up throwing a freakin' chair through a window. There was other people breaking stuff too, but of course, since we're the 'bad' guys, we got thrown out by that asshole, Jeremy Lynche."

"And you wanted revenge?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I guess you can say that. Like I said, we were drunk, so we decided to trash Mackenzie's garden with our Pokémon. That's when Emma came and we started an argument with her, but it was after midnight and I was tired. Me and Vic started to walk off and I guess Emma muttered something under her breath because Vic stopped. I wasn't really paying attention to him, so I just kept walking. When I turned around, he was already halfway across the yard with the knife in his hand and that's…"

He shuddered as the doctor finished writing down the information. "That's when you…"

"That's when I saw that nasty, bloody stab wound. Emma collapsed and there was blood everywhere. Vic took off running and I just stood there for a second. I didn't know what to do, so I just ran after Vic. We passed Martin and Clarke and I heard Martin screaming a few seconds later."

"Was there anything else that happened before you two were arrested?"

"Vic and I got in a fight before we decided to split up. I called Percy and Tifatillah to let them know what was going on, but it was all a waste. The cops caught Vic within an hour and they came after me next. They told us that Emma girl had died and that Vic was being charged with second-degree murder and now I'm here talking to a Slowking…"

The doctor ignored the last part of the sentence and began shifting through his papers. "According to this document, you were spared any prison time because your back had been turned when the offense had been committed. However, you've been court ordered to receive therapy and help take care of your son, Joey Ventura, if you wish to stay out of prison. How do you feel about that?"

"You mean, my kid?" Zack questioned. "I don't have anything against him. It's not his fault for being born. It's just that everyone pinned Ronnie's pregnancy on me, so that's why I didn't claim the kid. I was pissed that everyone was making Ronnie out to be this perfect little angel who was taken advantage of, but it doesn't matter. Joey is my son and I'll do whatever I can to make sure he has what he needs, but I'm not associating myself with Ronnie at all."

"I see there are some lingering hostility between you and Veronica, but we'll talk about that on your next visit. Now, your grades are remarkable, but that's only when you do your work. It seems that your attendance is low as well. Is this because of your reputation?"

Zack sighed and nodded his head. "My sister and I always got good grades, but we hate know-it-alls and the smartest kids tend to have no friends. They think it's because they're nerds and everyone's mistreating them, but that's not true. It's because they're arrogant assholes who think that they're better than everyone because they get good grades."

"I see. Well, I know you are aware of the schools merging. What do you think we'll happen next?"

"Let's see. Since I have to go to Louhearst now anyway, it's probably going to be the same, if not worse. Duncan's in military school and Vic's in jail, so I already know that I'm going to be the scapegoat for that Emma girl getting killed since they're both gone. For the past week, all I've been hearing is 'boohoo, your friend killed my friend' and 'a girl died because of you' and a bunch of other nonsense. I would've stopped it if I could have. They're treating me like I'm the one who put the knife in her back. Vic killed someone and it was totally fucked up, but I wasn't the one who did it. People want me to be all crying and upset, but I'm not. I'm sorry it happened, but I shouldn't have to apologize to anyone for something I didn't do. This was all Duncan's issue to begin with and now he and Vic have left me with a mess to clean up. They need someone to burn at the stake and I'm the witch…"

Shane Clarke made his way to the Cherrygrove Louhearst. The memorial was set to start in an hour and he had just finished making the slideshow for the event with June Hawthorne. The only thing he could remember while he was putting together pictures with June was how he had bullied Emma intensely during the previous year. He remembered how she was the only one who just retaliated with a smile. She wasn't like Logan, Jett, and Rietta, the latter of whom was still prone to his hatred. To him, she was better than them. He had gotten to know Emma during the previous month when she was helping Jewel with her pageant speech. They both took notes on how to be 'nice' and it had been sticking for the most part even after Jewel had won her pageant.

"Jewel…"

She was on his mind constantly and Shane felt sick to his stomach for the way he had treated her up until the current year. When they had first met at the age of six, they shared a mutual friendship. It wasn't until he started acting like his father, that Shane had begun to disregard Jewel. He glanced at the coin in his pocket and wondered why the Elder Sage's words had affected him so much.

"Because he saw me for me. He didn't judge me by my actions…"

That was it. It was because the Elder Sage didn't judge him like the students and professors of Louhearst did. Whenever he teased one person, he was hated for it, but when he tried to do good, people still doubted him and that is what he hated. He knew that good was not nice and as such, he was going to continue to do good things, but he didn't have to be nice about it, especially to people who didn't deserve it.

"Finally, I'm here…"

Shane entered the empty courtyard of the Cherrygrove Louhearst and found it ironic that it was the place where the war between Louhearst and Seathroul had started. He was surprised to see the entire north wall painted in a beautiful mural of Emma Jacobs. Her ocean blue eyes were the most prominent and her face was surrounded by several different hues of her favorite colors, blue and yellow. The eyes made Shane shiver a bit as he remembered how they were staring off into space after Emma was stabbed. It reminded him that he didn't want to make the same mistake that his cousin did. Jewel noticed him approaching and tried to clean up the mess that all the paint had left on her.

"You did an amazing job," he told her.

"Well, I had some help from a few other people and some Pokémon," Jewel replied. "You know, I'd be an artist if I didn't want to be a model."

"There's no reason why you can't do both. You have an amazing talent."

Jewel smiled and nodded her head. "Mommy always said that pretty women model not create art. I guess as you get older and wiser, you start to question some of the things your parents raised you to believe."

"Tell me about it…"

He moved closer to Jewel, but she took a step back. "I'm covered in paint and I don't want to ruin your clothes."

"I don't care. I have more clothes that I'm changing into for the memorial. Listen, there's something I want to tell you."

She arched an eyebrow as Shane moved closer. "Babe, we're in the middle of the courtyard. We can do that later."

"It's nothing like that. I just wanted to apologize to you for everything. All those years of me not treating you like you should. I've been taking all of my friends for granted. If there's one thing I've learned from Jacobs-I mean, Emma, is that you should appreciate your life and never take the people you love for granted…"

"Ten years ago," Jewel suddenly began. "I met a boy who wanted to be my friend despite the fact that I wasn't white. He introduced me to his friends, taught me how to tie my shoes, and taught me how to ride a bike. When another kid picked on me, he was always there to defend me. He gave me my first kiss and I fell in love with him not because he was rich or because he always bought me things, but because he was the only one who was nice to me from the start. As the years went by, he got meaner and so did I." She paused and gestured to the mural. "We were horrible even to the kindest of people, but I'm willing to change that and turn over a new leaf. Is he?"

Shane nodded his head. "I am…" He faced the mural and looked into the painted blue eyes before grabbing on to Jewel's hand. "For so long, all I wanted was to make my father proud of me. It meant everything to me, but lately, I've realized that I have my own path to follow. I shouldn't have anything to prove to anyone and I appreciate everything that I have especially you…"

Jewel blushed and shifted her gaze to the ground. "Wow, Shane, that's so sweet. Don't worry, I see you for who you truly are. I may be the only person who does, but that doesn't matter to me."

"I love you, Jewel…"

"I love you too…"

It was early in the night when the memorial had started. Hundreds of people from all over the nation had come to pay their respects for Emma Jacobs. A few of the people had begun taking their seats in the comfortable chairs placed around the courtyard of the Cherrygrove Louhearst. Jett looked around nervously. There was still no sign of Logan and he was getting worried. He walked around the building and was shocked to see a large black limousine pull up, surrounded by black cars.

"Jett," Roux muttered. "Is that-"

"The Head of the Nation?" Ethan finished.

Jett simply nodded his head in disbelief. He knew Emma's death had shocked the entire nation, but to have the Head arrive at the memorial was simply incredible. He figured that the reserved seats in the front near Emma's family and Pokémon were for him and his security. Jett only managed to get a quick glimpse of him before his security hovered around.

"I hope we're not late…"

He turned around to see a handsome young man with lightly tan skin, dark green eyes and straight brown hair. Beside him was an attractive young woman with emerald green eyes, fair skin, and long, shiny black hair. The two of them looked as if they could be a celebrity couple.

"Malcolm!" Jett said as he shook hands with him. "And who could forget, Lexi?"

"We had to be here," Malcolm said as Jett and Lexi hugged. "We couldn't make the funeral in time, so we made plans to arrive at the memorial. When we heard what happened, it's just…blew our minds."

"Definitely," Lexi added. "I mean, 'Emma' and 'murdered' don't even belong in the same sentence. What happened, Jett?"

Jett sighed and began telling them about the events leading up to that fateful night. "So, Clarke ran in the house and told us that she'd been stabbed by one of those Seathroul guys that we threw out of the party. We all ran outside to see the ambulance carrying her off and then we went to the hospital. The doctors said that her lung had been pierced and that she bled to death…"

Lexi held her hand over her mouth as Malcolm put an arm around her in an attempt to comfort his wife. "Emma was at the funeral after my brother was killed by the Soul Destroyers," he explained. "She came to the wedding and she went out of her way to make sure that everyone was happy. We needed to be here."

"We called a few of the others from last year and they said that they'll be here."

"There's definitely more than enough people here if the Head showed up," Jett told them. "Let's go find some seats…"

Logan arrived after his family and noticed that most people had taken their seats. Dean Horace was making his way to the podium along with his Ludicolo and Logan shuddered as he noticed the giant mural of Emma directly behind them. He felt the big blue eyes staring directly at him and he could already hear the voices in his head.

"Her death is entirely your fault …Why haven't you told anyone else what you did? Why didn't you tell them that you tried to take advantage of her? That was the reason she went outside in the first place. You should have just stabbed her yourself…"

He began breathing heavily as he swallowed another pill and took a seat near the exit. Dean Horace was preparing to speak and he could tell that the old man was fighting back tears. He adjusted the microphone and began speaking.

"Welcome to the Emma Jacobs Memorial. We have suffered a devastating loss at the Louhearst Academy. However, we are not here to mourn Emma, but we are here to celebrate her and everything that she did for us. Please enjoy this slideshow put together by Shane Clarke and Juniper Hawthorne."

Logan watched as the large screen came down and the music began playing. The first picture was Emma on her fifth birthday with Ethan and Lyra beside her as she blew out her candles. The picture disappeared and was replaced by a picture of ten year old Emma along with her Vulpix. Logan simply watched as the rest of the pictures came on the screen. He hadn't cried since the doctors gave them the news of Emma's death and he wasn't about to let his emotions get the best of him. However, he found it hard to control himself when the picture of Emma before her first day at Louhearst came on to the screen. There were several more pictures, but Logan's eyes widened when the image of him and Emma on the night of the dance came on to the screen. At that moment, he felt tears streaming down his cheeks. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. He had been in denial for several days, but he knew that he had to face the fact that Emma was gone. He'd never see her again and it was his fault. He had gotten cocky and let his guard down. He had made himself believe that only the Soul Destroyers were capable of murder and it had cost him dearly. He remembered Don Meladeo and remembered that his death had been his fault as well. Two people had lost their lives because of him and it was too much for him to bear.

"It's all your fault…"

The voices in his head continued their verbal assault as Logan rushed out of the memorial and ran out of the building. He sprinted down the street and continued running until he found himself in the middle of Route 29. He took the bottle of pills out of his pocket and stared at it as tears continued streaming down his face. He swallowed one and turned to head back. He walked a few steps before stopping to take another pill. He swallowed a third one and a fourth one and a fifth one. He continued on until he discovered that the bottle was empty. Logan threw the bottle to the ground as he began walking. His steps slowed as he continued on and the area around him began spinning.

"Martin?"

He heard Shane Clarke's voice call after him, but he didn't have the strength to call back. The area around him started spinning faster and faster until Logan felt himself lose control of his senses. He saw a blurred Shane Clarke rushing towards him as he collapsed onto the ground.

"Martin?"

Shane knelt down beside his cousin and began roughly shaking him, but Logan was unresponsive. He wasn't breathing and Shane's eyes widened in shock as he noticed the empty pill bottle a few yards away. He whipped out his phone and began punching numbers.

"Why does this shit keep happening to me?" he muttered as he waited for an answer.

"What's your emergency?"

"Listen, my name is Shane Clarke and I'm on Route 29. I found a boy passed out here and he's not breathing. I think he overdosed on his meds! Please, come quick!"

"I'm sending help right away…"

He hung up his phone and continued trying to wake Logan, but he was unsuccessful. He could feel a faint pulse, but he wasn't breathing at all and Shane knew that things weren't looking good. He knew that two deaths would completely destroy the spirit of the entire school. Shane remembered Logan rushing out of the memorial and had made sure to follow him to make sure he didn't get into something, but he had arrived too late. He simply stared at his fallen rival and he realized how intense everything had gotten. The rivalry between Logan Martin and Shane Clarke had been said to be one of the most intense conflicts in the history of Louhearst and Shane begin shaking uncontrollably. He never imagined that he could be feeling what he was at the moment especially for the boy who had collapsed in front of him. The thought that Logan Martin could be dead shook him to his core…

AN: BIG changes are ahead as you've seen. Seathroul has been sank and the remaining students have to go to other schools and of course we have the event at the end of the chapter, so yeah. A suicide attempt is a serious issue and this is the first time that I touched on it, so I hope I did a good job. I'm taking a small break from Louhearst to catch up on my other stories.

You can submit OCs on the forum, so check out the 'Eastluroh Academy' and 'Throuleas Academy' threads. Both stories take place in the Louhearst canon, so feel free to submit OC's for it. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.

~Later!