Chapter 20: Anne Finnished?
The new morning rose with Ash's temporary dorm used. Krookodile opened the door to view the rising sun. It was a day after the insanity that was brought forth by Anne's concoction and the students wanting Ash for themselves. Molly saw the Intimidation Pokémon as she woke herself and stepped out for a walk. "Good morning, Krookodile," she greeted. Krookodile saw Molly and wondered about the visit.
("Hi, Molly,") he greeted.
"Is Ash okay? That was a scary time yesterday with everyone just wanting him. I mean, I wasn't any different."
("Boss recovers quickly. He'll be back up.") Seeing the smug on Krookodile's snout, Molly believed Ash was okay.
"Can I come in and see?" Rather than say anything, Krookodile gestured his arm to allow entrance. Molly took the gesture as an invite and entered. She saw the other Pokémon around the fire pit before seeing the closed door. 'Ash must still be asleep in there. I hope he doesn't mind a visit.' Before she could reach the door, it opened as Ash started out of the room. When he saw Molly, he stopped.
"Molly?" he recognized. Molly froze for a minute before straightening out.
"Good… morning… Ash," she hesitantly greeted. After what happened yesterday, Ash believed Molly wanted to check up on him.
"Are you worried about me from that chaos?" The question made Molly nod as the rest of the Pokémon awoke to see the two.
"Who knows what we would've done if the Headmistress didn't free us."
"That's for sure. At least there's no hard feelings about it." The Pokémon smiled to the resolution. "By the way, I need to get ready. The Headmistress said that she's overseeing Miss Finnelan's case and I was asked to be there."
"Oh, she's the one who made that batch that caused the mess, right? I think I would like to come with to understand." After a bit for Ash to get dressed, he, Molly and Pikachu entered the school. In a small room, two podiums stood a few feet from each other and facing a desk with Miranda behind it. Ash stood behind one podium while Anne was behind another. Ursula, Croix and a lot of students stood in the back and watched proceedings.
"Anne Finnelan, you were the cause of the fracas that occurred yesterday on the campus of Luna Nova Academy," Miranda began. Anne looked upset at getting called out for the actions. "The Cupid Bee venom, by the fact that when it was destroyed and the situation quell, would've been in Ash's system." She laid her elbows on the desk, interlocked her fingers and rested her chin. "When someone is stung by a Cupid Bee, the venom injected creates a pheromone that causes the person to fall madly in love with the first person of the opposite gender seen. However, it seems you've created a new pheromone that causes the opposite gender to come after the person with the venom in his system."
"It was a mistake," Anne complained. "The formula was supposed to include secretions of Midnight Snail's shell that got mixed up with the Cupid Bee's Venom. Why should a boy… A BOY! He's not allowed to have witchcraft, so why should he be allowed to be in an all-girls' school and learn magic!?" Ursula gasped to Anne's complaint.
"We've told you many times that-" she snapped with Croix did her best to hold Ursula back.
"Ursula, I want her too, but-" started Croix before Miranda hammered her gavel.
"Miss Meridies, Miss Callistis, restrain yourselves," she warned. Ursula and Croix reluctantly relented. "Miss Finnelan, this is not about what happened when you and Delia were attending classes that you're taking out frustrations on Ash, is it?" Anne cringed to the guess. "The reason we made an exception for Ash is his misplacement and how he offered to help us while we tried to find a way for him to return. The Council of Magic has been in progress with a method of finding Ash back to his home. We've told you to be patient on a handful of times. However, your vendetta against Delia has become costly." Anne worried about her tenure with Luna Nova Academy. "We do understand that this is an all-girls' school, but this is a temporary move since finding out about Ash's magic that you apparently had a target for. The Council of Magic has helped Luna Nova Academy to take your position." Anne gasped to the notice.
"Now, wait a second!" she voiced. Ash watched Anne start to lose it. "If I'm losing my job, he's going-" Miranda slammed her gavel down once more.
"Anne Finnelan, this is all on you," she reprimanded. "As of now, you are hereby suspended for the remainder of Ash's stay. You may be regarded as one of the most influential teachers by the Council, which is why you aren't suspended for longer, let alone sacked." Anne bowed her clutching head.
"The actions that I've heard about against Ash were rather exaggerated," Croix brought up. "The fact that you wanted Ash away without considering his arrival, and how you've dismissed him almost every time you two interacted, is proof of your hatred towards Ash. He's never done anything to get under your skin, but it didn't matter to you."
"And when it looked like there was common ground when you two wanted to protect Diana Cavendish," Ursula added. "There was hope… Hope that you stabbed in the back, and for what? Protecting the pride of Luna Nova Academy? The legacy? If this was some nonsense that it was an accident, and it happened to someone else, I wouldn't be this upset! Ash is a son I wish to have: full of life, full of wonder, full of opportunity! If you think I'm upset, imagine if Delia saw what happened to her son!" Anne never moved, let alone looked in Ursula's and Croix's faces.
"I should've been the villain that you were to go after, Anne," Croix irked. "Then, I met Ash… and suddenly, I wanted to help him instead of hurt Luna Nova Academy. I was happy to be part of a family to help a child. Anne, you had a lot going for you, your reputation on high… and one little boy is what causes it? A boy who had done nothing but appear before you? If you had that spell to take him back, you would've done so. Anne, you're a coward. You're mad that a boy is the cause of your anger rather than work with him like the teacher you became." Again, Anne never moved. Ash seemed sympathetic. He knew this was because he and his Pokémon came here against their wills. Halfheartedly, he walked through the halls as the last 24 hours made him believe his courtesy to the teachers caused the ruckus that made him a magnet to the students. Amanda came to and patted Ash on the back.
"What's with the glum look, Ash?" she teased. Akko, Lotte and Sucy found Ash with Amanda as he sighed to the question.
"It's… all so sudden," he admitted. "I wasn't trying to get Miss Finnelan in trouble at all. It just happened so fast that it felt like a nightmare." Amanda understood Ash's briefing.
"Hearing that we were all under that spell, I'd agree. I had no idea the Cupid Bee Venom could do that. It's like a school of sharks to some chum dropped into their territory." The point made Ash befuddled for a moment.
'What sharks? Like… Sharpedo?' He dismissed the analogy and agreed to Amanda's mention. "Yeah… I see it. I mean, this would be something a friend of mine would benefit from." Hearing the conversation, Sucy had an idea of Ash's friend.
"Would he be able to afford the lifestyles?" she wondered. Ash and Amanda turned to the other three.
"What do you mean, Sucy?" he wondered.
"All of the kids he would make with the student body," Amanda clarified. Ash gawked, not sure about how to reply on the subject mentioned.
"I know I wouldn't," he shuttered. "Anyway, are you guys alright after yesterday?"
"You don't need to worry about us," Lotte dismissed. "You're the one who was attacked relentlessly for who knows how long."
"And we wouldn't have done it willingly," Akko added. "I just wish there was a better way to get why Miss Finnelan would come after you when you've been doing so good, even better than me." Stunned beady eyes painted Ash's face.
"You just confessed to him being out of your league," Sucy whispered. Akko gawked, her confession out in the open.
"Right now, I'm just glad that no one is hurt from everything that happened," Ash sighed. "Can't we just leave it at that?" The girls agreed as Miranda arrived with a woman who looked oddly familiar. She wore the same cloak as the rest of the staff, but she had a similar ponytail to Delia. She had emerald-green eyes to go with blond hair. Seeing the students, Miranda approached them.
"Students?" she called, the blond in tow. On her cloak was a pin of a raven's head with a yellow "B" behind the eye.
"Headmistress?" addressed Lotte. The blond saw Ash, intrigued to the sight.
"This is the boy that's staying here?" she questioned.
"This is, Ellen," Miranda confirmed. "This is the boy who opened the tome." Ellen knelt down, getting a better look.
"This is someone that I might want to learn from," she studied.
"Me or the tome?" guessed Ash. Ellen smiled to the claim.
"Students, this is Miss Ellen Alapoe," Miranda introduced. "She's from Salem, Massachusetts, and she'll be your new Linguistics teacher for the meantime."
"Hearing about the history of Anne with some of the students," Ellen spoke. "We have some catching up to do." Amanda caught the sight of the pin on the cloak.
"You say you're from Massachusetts," she recalled. "But you have a pin of the Baltimore Ravens." Ellen smiled to the observation.
"My favorite bird is the raven," she clarified. "And it's something some of my close friends, who are American Football fans, gave me." The students laughed to the claim.
"Anyway, let's get to class, children," Miranda dismissed. The students agreed and left for their classes. Ellen made sure to get class going as she resumed Anne's teachings with a softer tone. After class, Ash came to Ellen with his tome.
"This is it," Ash presented. Ellen took the tome and looked through it.
"I see," she studied as she skimmed through the book and stopped at a page. She read through as best as possible. "The Council did bring up the unusual text and potential dead languages. I can see why. Some of these languages stemmed from the Semitic family." Ash blinked to the name.
"Semitic?"
"Yeah, the text contains a mix of Syriac, Himyaritic and even Jewish Babylonian Aramaic. When the Council said the texts involved dead languages, a few decided to examine extinct languages throughout history." The explanation left Ash more puzzled.
"Languages that died?"
"Yeah… In fact, there was a language created in the state of Oklahoma called Wichita. It's rather odd since Wichita's the capital of Kansas, just north of Oklahoma." The information made Ash begin to ponder.
"You say these languages are dead, but could Sir Aaron have actually preserved them for a later use?" To Ellen, the identity of the original holder held a clue.
"Aaron, huh? Well, it might explain some parts…" That's when Oshawott and Pikachu arrived on the Sea Otter Pokémon's Aqua Jet. The two saw Ash and Ellen after landing and wondered.
("Is everything okay?") asked Oshawott. Ellen became awed to Oshawott and reached over.
"What do we have here!?" she giggled as she picked Oshawott's head like a claw in a crane game. "Is this what Headmistress Holbrooke told me before I met the lone boy learning?" She tickled Oshawott below his Scalchop which caused him to laugh.
"Oshawott, what did I tell you about staying in the dorm?" questioned Ash.
("I tried to tell him not to,") Pikachu squeaked. ("But he wanted to see the girls again.") Ash sighed, not sure how to respond to the response.
"Let me see if I can understand them better," Ellen offered as she brought out her wand. "They're pretty talkative." She shot a beam from her wand that struck the Pokémon. After the beam, Pikachu sighed to the concept.
"It's a feeling that I might not get over," Pikachu sighed. Oshawott gawked to Pikachu's voice.
"Wait, you can talk!?" he pointed out… before realizing that he could talk himself. "Wait, I can talk!?" Ash and Ellen laughed to the reactions.
"I did that so that I could know you better," Ellen briefed.
"Pikachu, Oshawott, this is Miss Alapoe," Ash introduced. "She's taking over for Miss Finnelan until we go home." The Pokémon seemed clued in on the transition.
"She looks like a nice teacher," Pikachu briefed. Ellen giggled to the compliment.
"I heard that you have four others," she recalled.
"They're in my dorm, by Miss Callistis's tower," Ash informed. Ellen nodded as she flipped to another part of the tome, new symbols appearing.
"Huh?" she irked. "What's this?" Ash and the Pokémon heard Ellen and looked. "These symbols are ones I've never seen. What language is this?" Looking, Pikachu snapped his fingers.
"Pikachu?" irked Oshawott.
"I've seen them back at Lenora's Gym in the Nacrene City Gym," Pikachu recalled. "Back when that wild Yamask was trying to take its mask back. If Cilan was here, he'd understand the language… but didn't you say that you 'unlocked' the languages, Ash?" Looking at the tome, Ash's eyes were aglow.
"I did, and from what I'm reading right now," he studied. "It's a method to open dimensional gates… Cavendish… blood?"
"Wait, blood from a Cavendish?" repeated Ellen. "Could it be talking about a… sacrifice?"
"No, I think it means a bloodline," Pikachu guessed. Ash started to wonder what it all meant. Ellen brought out a smartphone and photographed the texts within the tome.
"Anymore, and the Council may be wanting the tome for themselves to study," she groaned.
"It would be in safe hands in the process," Ash figured. In another classroom, Akko fidgeted while seated as Lotte and Sucy looked on.
"What's wrong?" asked Lotte. Akko flung herself back, nearly tipping her chair.
"I wanna ask Ash out!" she complained. "Diana's already got a step up. If I don't do something, I'll lose my chance!" Sucy shook her head with a grin.
"They do say 'she who hesitates…'" she quoted. Lotte lofted a sigh.
"Sucy, it's 'he' who hesitates," she corrected.
"I know, but I've wanted to ask him out for a long time!" she whined. Lotte sighed again.
"It's only been about two and a half weeks," she reminded. "But what are you waiting for?" Akko continued her flustered behavior, itching her cheek.
"I'm believing that Diana has claimed him already," she murmured. Lotte had an idea.
"Sucy, get Akko straight," she ordered. Sucy looked to Akko and revealed an evil grin.
"Okay…" she agreed. Akko heard the eerie confirmation and gulped in fear as Lotte escaped. She found Ash and the Pokémon coming her way.
"Perfect!" she chirped. "Ash!" Hearing his name, Ash and the Pokémon turned to Lotte approaching.
"Lotte?" he noticed.
("What's up, Lotte?") wondered Pikachu as Lotte reached.
"Akko was looking for you," Lotte lied. "She had something she wanted to ask you." Oshawott began to wonder about the question. Interested, Ash and the Pokémon followed Lotte into the classroom as Sucy stood Akko up. Lotte held Oshawott while Pikachu's on her shoulder. Akko struggled to maintain composure, her leg itching her calf.
"It's either the question or my experimental soup," Sucy whispered. Akko irked before taking a deep breath. She faced Ash, wanting to know.
"Ash," she called to name. Ash waited for her to say something. With one deep breath, Akko bowed. "Please go with me on a date!" Ash, Lotte and the Pokémon gawked to how formal she acted. Ash smiled and placed a hand on Akko's head.
"Sure thing," he accepted. Akko froze. Then, she looked up to Ash's smiling face. She smiled greatly and hugged Ash.
"Thank you!" she cheered before breaking the hug. "I gotta tell the Headmistress!" She raced out of the room. Everyone else looked puzzled.
"Why the Headmistress?" pondered Sucy.
"Same thing like with Diana?" guessed Ash. As evening fell, Ash returned to his dorm and wore his Pokémon Trainer garb. "I don't know why Akko wants me to be out of uniform. Heck, I don't know why Akko went to the Headmistress."
("She was eager,") Pikachu observed. ("She also said to prepare Shooting Star.") Akko appeared before too long. She now wore a black hoodie and denim shorts to go with black street shoes.
"Okay, I got permission with the Headmistress to leave campus," she reported.
"You did?" irked Ash. "So, where are we going?"
"Easy… My hometown." Akko's reply left Ash startled.
"Your… hometown… in Japan!?" A nod from Akko made Ash gulp in fear. "You do realize how far it is…" He paused himself before realizing the requests Akko made. "But we could be there shortly with Shooting Star."
"Which is why I was hoping for this date." Ash figured out Akko's plan as he allowed Shooting Star to levitate. The two boarded with Pikachu jumping into Akko's hood. Feeling the weight, Akko turned to Pikachu.
("I wanna come!") he wanted to join. Akko laughed but put Pikachu back on the ground. Pikachu whined at the rebuff.
"If they see you, we might be exposed as witches," she warned. "Now, we don't want that, right?" Pikachu sighed, an idea of the mob coming after the two. Shooting Star levitated as Akko leaned over, gripping Ash's hands. "Let's go!" Shooting Star did a spin before it rocketed away from Luna Nova Academy as Croix rushed outside to see the chaos.
"Ash?" she guessed. "And Akko?" To Ash, the trip to Japan would be quick, but who knows what awaits in the land of the rising sun.
TO BE CONTINUED...