The Eon Academy [S.S. Wishmaker Side-Story]

[[Desolate Divine]]

Season 5 Episode 8: An Unlikely Team

Spoiler:

“I still can’t believe how much food this place goes through,” Charlotte said in disbelief, as Cassandra drove the pair of them back to the Academy in Jon’s car. The back seat and the boot were both completely packed with bags of groceries. “We spent more today than I’ll earn all summer…”

“There’re over two hundred people on site,” Cassandra commented. “Then we also try and make a point of feeding most of the Academy’s Pokemon.”

Charlotte nodded, though was still surprised at the sheer amount.

It was Thursday afternoon of the eighth week of the summer. A little over a week since she and Dylan had seen April Sunsets, and a little under a week since her and Dylan’s screaming match in the staff lodge. The next day he had resumed work life as normal, making a point of not keeping to himself too much, although Charlotte knew that he was likely doing this to not put too much strain on Abbee, both with concern for him, and the fact that as his girlfriend, it made sense for her to be the first person someone asked if they were worried about Dylan themselves. From what Charlotte had heard from Abbee, after, to her dismay, having told her about her fight with Dylan the night before, Jon’s plan, although not placing him in Dylan’s good books, had worked. Dylan now had no reason to stay in Mossdeep, because even if he did, Jon would refuse his help, or to even see him. This alone, despite Dylan still being visibly unhappy with the arrangement, had caused any discussion of Dylan’s life after that summer to be had with a whole lot less uncertainty than it had in the weeks prior.

Despite having been on medication for almost two weeks now, Jon’s condition was still worsening, having had five seizures in the eleven days since he began medication, however he still seemed optimistic, though Charlotte had a hunch this was for everyone else's sake. He insisted that the first fortnight was purely to assess the effects of a small dose, and that whilst things seemed bad, this was likely the worst things would be. Despite this however, the Eon Academy had remained largely unaffected. Whilst Jon was missing multiple classes a week, the rest of the staff were covering for him, and after Chris’ demonstration with Dustin, no students had doubts about their time at the Academy being well spent without Jon as involved as previous summers.

Charlotte was pulled from her thoughts by a violent beeping that emerged from the dashboard, causing Cassandra to jump.

“Everything alright?” Charlotte asked, as Cassandra swore under her breath.

“Check engine light,” she said, looking for somewhere safe to pull over. However, the road they were on did not have an adequate shoulder to stop on. “I’ll pull over as soon as I can…”

A minute later however, the car jolted, and seemed to slow.

“What the hell?” Cassandra said, looking across the dashboard. When first learning to drive back home in Johto, her dad had told her to always check the temperature gauge, both to know instinctively how hot the car should be running, and to be able to tell if it is running too hot, to stop it before it did more damage. The gauge however sat exactly where it needed to. “The car isn’t letting me go above forty. I have my foot down and nothing happens…”

Charlotte looked at the road ahead, and saw a bus stop that was far longer than it needed to be.

“Pull into here, and back up as far as you can, in case a bus comes,” Charlotte said, as Cassandra, seeing the bus stop, acknowledged the instruction, and pulled over. Once the car stopped, Charlotte said, “open ‘er up.”

Cassandra pulled the latch to release the bonnet, as Charlotte climbed out, and fumbled for the latch behind the grille to raise it.

“I didn’t realise you knew how to work on cars?” Cassandra said. Charlotte grinned.

“I don’t,” Charlotte answered. “But the engine doesn’t look to have exploded so I think we’re off to a good start…”

Whilst Cassandra considered calling someone from the Academy, she knew Jon was training with Abbee’s team, and even if she called him, she had a solid idea of what she would be told. She looked at the roadside assistance sticker in the top corner of the windscreen, and began dialling the number.

As the phone rang, she climbed out of the car, it being a hot day, and the bus shelter providing shade, whilst the car would likely turn into an oven without the engine running to power the air conditioner.

“I think we might be here a while…” Cassandra said, as the automated voice on the other end of the line explained that they had a high volume of callers, before she was placed on hold.

Charlotte herself, despite the heat of the day, wasn’t as concerned with herself being stuck with the car whilst they waited for assistance. What she did worry about however, was the perishable food that needed refrigeration, which would spoil if left too long in the car.

Despite having not spoken to Dylan in nearly a week, other than when the jobs warranted, she grabbed her own phone. She wasn’t petty enough to let potentially hundreds of dollars worth of food spoil because there was bad blood between them. As she opened her contacts list to call Dylan, her attention was piqued by a loud, white car, pulling into the bus stop ahead of them, before the engine shut off. The car was a large sedan, seeming to be a late seventies model, that whilst not in showroom condition, seemed like it was well cared for and maintained. Charlotte gave Cassandra a puzzled look, before the door opened and a vaguely familiar young man stepped out, closing the door behind him with a heavy thud. He had neatly cut black hair, with dark eyes, and tattoos down his right arm, wearing a pair of black shorts and a black and green, button-up work shirt. His face seemed covered in dust and the odd smear of oil. Charlotte knew she had met him somewhere, though he looked like a mechanic, which confused Charlotte. She wondered if he had been the one to fix Chris’ bike the week before.

“Need some help Charlotte?”

This confused her even more as she had not spoken to the motorcycle mechanic, let alone given her name. He seemed to notice this confusion, deciding to answer her question.

“Cole. We spoke at the April Sunsets gig last week,” he said, as Charlotte remembered now. He had worked at the bar, though his tattoos were covered, and he was cleaner.

“Sorry,” Charlotte said quickly. “I was wondering if you were at the workshop I was at earlier that day.”

“I hope not for this,” Cole said, nodding towards Jon’s car, hazard lights flashing, and the bonnet up. “I’d be getting my money back…”

“Not for this,” Charlotte agreed. “Was helping a friend transport his motorbike. This is something else…”

Whatever that something else was, Charlotte had no clue. Cassandra stood to approach, though kept far enough back that should she be taken off hold, she wasn’t struggling to hear the roadside assist representative over Charlotte and Cole’s talking.

“So what happened?” Cole asked, looking at the engine bay of Jon’s car.

“No clue,” Charlotte admitted. “We were driving back, and got a check engine light. Before we found somewhere to pull over, the car just slowed down, and we couldn’t get it above fourty kilometres an hour. I’m just hoping we haven’t done any lasting damage…”

Cole shook his head.

“That in and of itself isn’t a problem…” Cole said, as he crouched down to look under the car for any liquids that may be leaking. Once he was certain the only liquid was condensation from the air conditioner, he looked in the engine bay, gently tugging on various hoses and plugs to make sure they were still connected.

Charlotte gave Cole a puzzled look.

“Well, I doubt Jon wants his car back, not being able to go reach the speed limit outside of school zones?”

“This is Jon’s car?” Cole asked. “I’d better be careful. But no, it’ll drive normally when you start it again. When the car detects a fault, it will sometimes prevent you from going too fast, just so you can find somewhere safe to pull over. Limp mode. So that you don’t drive the car as if it’s fine when something is wrong and damage something, or cause an accident.”

“So the car was meant to slow down like that?”

Cole nodded.

“It could be that there is nothing wrong. Modern cars are more like computers than cars themselves, with sensors for everything. All it takes is something like a bit of dirt getting in one of the speed sensors, and the car will think something is wrong,” Cole explained. “That’s why I drive older cars. New ones are too stressful…”

“And if it’s not that?”

“Well, it could be any number of things,” Cole answered. “If we were closer to work, I’d just grab a scanner and plug it in…”

“I thought you worked as a barman?” Charlotte asked, the thought only striking her. Cole grinned.

“Weekends and some weeknights. I work during the days as a mechanic,” Cole explained. “Having any sort of passion for cars will drain your bank accounts. So it’s better for me to have a bit of extra income…”

Charlotte nodded, before looking back to the car.

“So can you figure it out without a scanner?”

“Maybe,” Cole said. “You mind starting it up?”

“That won’t damage the car will it?” Cassandra asked from where she stood. Cole looked over, and seemed to recognise her.

“No more than driving it after the light came on would have if it did,” Cole answered. This seemed to appease Cassandra, as Charlotte jumped into the driver’s seat and turned the key. The engine effortlessly roared to life.

“No warnings?” Cole asked after half a minute.

“None,” Charlotte explained.

“Give it a little bit of a rev…” he instructed as he walked to the back of the car, inspecting the exhaust pipe.

Charlotte pressed the accelerator gently, as the tachometer slowly began to rise.

“Still nothing?”

“Nothing,” Charlotte called back. She climbed out of the car to speak to Cole.

“Well good news is that it likely isn’t anything wrong with the engine itself,” Cole explained, partially to himself. “If it were, there’d be warnings popping up by now. Could still be the transmission, which we wouldn’t be able to know for sure without actually driving it…”

Cole looked to Charlotte, before nodding to the cabin.

“You mind chucking it in drive, but keeping your foot on the brake?” Cole asked. “If there is something wrong with the transmission, that may cause it to fire a warning?”

Charlotte nodded, climbing into the car. She placed her foot on the brake, before pulling the selector out of park, past reverse and neutral, and into drive. Nothing happened on the dashboard, however, she heard Cole laugh from behind the car. Cassandra, who still remained on hold, looked over, slightly confused.

“I’ve figured it out,” Cole called out, as Charlotte put the car back into park. “You did have your foot on the brakes, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well you have no brake lights,” Cole called out.

“Wait really?” Cassandra asked, as she hung up the phone. “They were working when we left the Academy. I saw them lighting up the back of the carport?”

“So the fact the globes are dead caused the car to give a check engine light?” Charlotte asked in disbelief. Cole nodded.

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Modern cars are more computer than cars. They have sensors for everything, and the moment it detects even the smallest thing, it panics,” Cole explained. “The globes are fine. Turn on the headlights.”

Charlotte flicked the dial at the end of the indicator stalk from auto to on. Both tail lights lit up.

“There is a switch at the end of the brake pedal that gets pushed when you press it, and that powers the brake lights,” Cole explained. “If that switch dies, your brake lights won’t turn on.”

“And the car thinks the engine will blow up?” Charlotte asked, being intentional about the simplicity of the question.

“Most brake light switches will control other elements of the car. Cruise control is one, so that if you’re in cruise and tap the brakes, it will turn off. The other one is the automatic transmission. This switch lets the car know if you’re pressing the brakes, so it can figure out whether or not to change gear,” Cole explained. “What’s more likely is that the car wasn’t getting that signal, which confused it, and caused it to give you the error.”

“So what now?” Cassandra asked. “Is it safe to drive home?”

“The Academy’s not far from here,” Cole explained. “If you turn off traction control, put the car into sports mode and shift gears manually, and just take it easy going back, you should be able to get it to the Academy without it throwing an error light. If it does, just pull over and restart the car. The part itself is dirt cheap, and there are YouTube videos that show you how to change it in under a minute."

Cassandra nodded, before thanking Cole, and climbing into the driver’s seat.

“Thanks for your help,” Charlotte said with a grin. Cole nodded, though as Charlotte turned to leave, he spoke.

“Actually, Charlotte, I’m glad I ran into you,” Cole said, trying to sound confident. “I was actually wanting to ask whether you maybe wanted to go out sometime? Get some dinner?”

This took Charlotte completely by surprise. Whilst she thought Cole was a nice guy, and had enjoyed chatting with him on the two occasions they had crossed paths, her immediate thought was that she didn’t want to go out with him. However, she couldn’t help but wonder whether the reason for that was because of anything to do with Cole personally, or because she would have preferred that it be Chris asking the question instead.

Cole seemed to notice her uneasiness, and acted.

“No pressure,” Cole said quickly, as he grabbed his wallet, and pulled out a business card. “Take this, in case something does go wrong with the car…”

Charlotte accepted the card, seeing that it listed a workshop, with Cole as the assistant store manager.

“And if you do wanna grab dinner,” Cole said, as he turned to walk back to his car. “You know where to find me…”

“Thanks,” Charlotte said, unsure whether she was thanking him for the help with the car, the offer of dinner, or both. Cole waved, as he climbed into his own car, and started the engine. He took off, the engine noisy and the smell of petrol in the air, as Charlotte climbed into the passenger seat. She noticed Cassandra smirking at her.

“What?” Charlotte asked, though knew the answer.

“Nothing,” Cassandra said casually. “Just glad that it was you who came with me. I get the feeling if Violet or Jarena had helped me this afternoon, I’d still be waiting on hold for roadside assist…”

“I’m sure he’d have helped anyway,” Charlotte answered, as Cassandra’s smirk widened.

Cassandra pulled out of the bus stop, this time having held in the button with the logo of a sliding car, and pulled the gear selector across to sports mode, allowing her to change gears manually.

“So do you think you’ll call him?”

“I’m sure Dylan will be able to install the part for us,” Charlotte answered.

“That’s not what I’m asking…”

“Do you make a habit of listening in on other people's conversations?” Charlotte asked.

“When they’re had next to my open window, it’s hard not to,” Cassandra retorted, as Charlotte sighed, knowing she didn’t have a leg to stand on.

“I don’t think so,” Charlotte answered.

“He seemed nice,” Cassandra said casually. “And he has a decent job which is more than I can say for a lot of guys his age…”

“Well you can call him if you like,” Charlotte answered, as Cassandra laughed.

“I think he’d be too terrified of taking me out on a date,” Cassandra joked. “He recognised me pretty quickly, and most guys are a little cautious about risking upsetting someone who could blind them with a thought…”

Charlotte couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“It’s not that there’s anything wrong with him,” Charlotte admitted. “He does seem nice. But in a month, I’ll be leaving Mossdeep, and won’t be returning for more than a visit to Jon and Alyssa at this rate. Even if I did go out with him, I don’t see how that would work long term with my travelling.”

Cassandra considered Charlotte’s words, before answering carefully.

“Can I give some advice?” Cassandra asked.

“I get the feeling you will anyway?” Charlotte retorted, as Cassandra grinned.

“As someone who was one of the most famous battlers in the world, having achieved unequivocal success, regardless of how legitimate it was, when I see what Jon and Alyssa have together, hell, even Dylan and Abbee, or what I have heard about Justin and Candice, a small part of me does wish I had have let my career take second place every so often,” Cassandra said. “By all means, it worked out for the best that I didn’t. If I had a partner when things went belly-up on the S.S. Wishmaker, that would have made disappearing harder than it already was…”

Charlotte nodded in understanding as Cassandra continued.

“I let my career get in the way of a lot of things. My own conscience being a major one, and spending time with my family. And this," Cassandra explained. “Before I knew it, I was at the top of the world, where even if I did want to risk letting someone get close to me and them find out the truth, the only people who had the nerve to ask me what Cole asked you, were the ones I had to get restraining orders against, before I spent four years in hiding, and now, I’m twenty-eight having not been on a date in over a decade, and I don’t know whether I’ll meet anyone any time soon who will be able to completely look past my history enough that I can have what Jon and Alyssa, Dylan and Abbee, and Justin and Candice have.

As they pulled into Arcadia Drive, the quiet road that housed the Eon Academy, Cassandra continued.

“I won’t labour the point any further than this,” Cassandra concluded. “It’s good to have an idea of where you want the future to take you. But don’t let too much slip by because of that…”

Charlotte couldn’t help but think of Chris and Abbee’s relationship breaking down for that very reason. Chris had an idea of what his future held, and focused on that to the point of letting Abbee slip away…

“I appreciate it…” Charlotte said, genuinely. Despite her being a mentor to Cassandra in terms of battling, Cassandra had years of experience with success, that Charlotte had no insight into.

Cassandra parked as close to the main hall as possible, in order to unload the groceries directly into the kitchen. They were joined shortly after by Jon, who they filled in on the car situation, though Charlotte was thankful Cassandra did not mention her theory as to why their Good Samaritan was as good as he was. What Charlotte did notice however, was that when she didn’t give Jon, or even mention Cole’s business card, Cassandra seemed to have a slight grin on her face as they packed away groceries.

Once the groceries were packed, Charlotte made her way to the staff lodge, thankful that it was empty, before making her way to her room. She laid down on the bed, holding the business card up in front of her.

She was genuinely of two minds about it. The more she thought about Cole, the more she seemed to be interested in him, and the more she felt like she was only saying no, because of how she had felt about Chris. But she knew where Chris’ feelings were.

Her thoughts darted back between the two options she felt were in front of her, to not call Cole, and hope that Chris would be able to work out his own feelings, or to call Cole and give someone who seemed nice, and genuinely interested in her, a chance. As they did however, she remembered Cassandra’s words in the car, about not letting her ideas of what the future holds, cause her to let the present slip by.

As she did, she thought about the fact that it had been three years since she first found herself thinking this way about Chris, as he began a relationship with Abbee. And when that crumbled, Chris plummeted, acting like a completely different person. In the year since Spiritwater, they had spoken more than the year prior, and Chris seemed like he was more himself, though still working through a lot.

But Charlotte also knew that both of them would be leaving the Academy in a month and not returning. She would be training for the High Seas Tournament, and Chris would be beginning Second To None. And there wouldn’t be next summer to reconvene at the Academy, and see if Chris was finally acting like his old self.

Charlotte sat up, grabbing her phone off her bedside table and typing in the mobile number on the card. Pressing the call button, she lifted the phone to her ear. After a few rings, she heard a familiar voice.

Cole speaking…”

Wondering if she was doing the right thing, Charlotte spoke.

“Hey, it’s Charlotte, from the Academy…”

”Charlotte, everything okay?” Cole asked. ”Did the car get back alright?”

“Yeah, the car got back fine,” Charlotte said. “Listen, does that offer for dinner still stand?”

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

“What’s the occasion?”

Charlotte had exited the staff lodge the following evening, and had been asked the question by Chris, who had been on his way inside, wanting to put his phone on charge during dinner that evening, so that it had plenty of charge for his shift that evening.

“Just getting dinner,” Charlotte said casually.

“Who with?” Chris asked. “I didn’t realise there were people going into town?”

“Nobody from here,” Charlotte answered, trying to not raise more questions. “Just someone from the show last week.”

“Oh.”

“You don’t think I’m overdressed, do you?” Charlotte asked, now worried.

“Not particularly,” Chris explained. “For bumming around here, definitely, but if you’ve got a date…”

She was more dressed up than she normally was, wearing a navy blue sleeveless, button-up top, with a matching loose skirt. Her hair, usually tied back in the name of practicality, was down, having been straightened for good measure. Around her wrist was a bracelet with a singular, large charm dangling from it.

“So who’s the lucky guy?” Chris asked with a grin, Charlotte unsure if she had wanted him to seem less content about the situation.

“A guy Dylan and I met at the gig last week. Cole,” Charlotte answered. “He does bar work on weekends, but works as a mechanic. He saw Cass and I pulled over with Jon’s car playing up, and helped us out of a tight spot.”

“Then asked you to dinner?”

“Pretty much,” Charlotte said, looking at her watch. She normally didn’t wear it, not wanting to risk it being damaged, however had put it on for the occasion. Chris realising why, gave her a grin.

“Well, I won’t make you keep him waiting,” Chris said, before walking to the door to the student lodge. “Have fun…”

Charlotte was glad that it was only Chris. Whilst she wasn’t embarrassed by the whole thing, she didn’t want the whole Academy knowing that she had a date that night, or not even the entire staff. Cassandra knew, and Charlotte had told Abbee, partially because she wasn’t sure what to wear, and also because she figured it was the sort of thing that would distract Abbee from what she was dealing with with Dylan. Now Chris knew, though, he seemed that unperturbed by it, that she doubted he would tell anyone.

Quietly she walked to the gates, where, on the other side, sat the familiar white car with its low rumbling engine audible as it idled. Cole stood, leaning against the front quarter panel, flashing her with a grin as she stepped through the gates, closing them behind her. He wore a pair of beige shorts under a white button up shirt with a very subtle leaf pattern.

“You look nice,” Cole said with a grin.

“Thanks,” Charlotte replied, unsure of how best to respond. “You too…”

Cole opened the passenger side door, and stepped aside as Charlotte slid into the passenger seat. The interior was simple but clean. The seats were black leather, with black fabric making up the carpet and headlining. On the dash sat a small, backlit analogue clock, and the radio seemed like the one that came with it, playing what Charlotte quickly identified by the quirky noises coming from the speakers, the eastern Hoenn alternative station.

“Had a busy day?”

“Not overly,” Charlotte answered, trying to sound casual. “Taught for two hours in the morning, then had the rest of the day to prepare for next week’s classes.”

“What do you teach?” Cole asked, intrigued by this.

“Practical training,” Charlotte explained. “With Jon. Basically, give the students a chance to put into practise all the theoretical stuff they learn from their other classes. It’s a bit chaotic at times.”

Cole nodded in understanding, and despite only a split second having passed, Charlotte felt like she needed to fill the silence.

“What about yourself?”

“Fridays are always stupidly busy,” Cole laughed. “People decide they want their car serviced by the weekend, as well as every other problem they have let get worse for the last six months, and expect it done in time to go on holidays Friday night. Today was standard for Friday, which means twice as busy as the rest of the week…”

The pair made polite small talk as Cole drove, Charlotte noticing glances from pedestrians and other drivers towards the car she sat in, though not knowing enough about it to understand why. Before too long, Cole slowed to a stop in the carpark of a bowling alley.

“I had a place in mind for dinner,” Cole explained, as if reading Charlotte’s mind. “But the earliest booking I could get was for eight. We can find somewhere else that’ll take walk-ins if you’ve got a curfew or something? Otherwise, we can kill some time here?”

“Bowling’s good,” Charlotte said, though getting anxious at the thought that she had not been bowling in many years, and her coordination in the sport back then was laughable. She hoped that she wasn’t about to make a fool of herself.

The pair entered the bowling alley, booking a lane, and exchanging their shoes for a pair of bowling shoes. Cole had paid for three games for the pair of them, not giving Charlotte an opportunity to offer to pay for half, so she made a mental note to cover the bill for dinner, presuming that Cole didn’t decide to order caviar.

The first game, Charlotte was having fifty-fifty odds on whether she struck a pin at all, or got gutter balls. When she did strike pins, she normally got the bulk of them, however, it wasn’t enough. Even with Cole, subtly, yet not subtle enough, trying to get a few gutter balls himself, she lost the first game. Between rounds, she quickly scanned the racks at the bowling alley, before swapping out her bowling ball for one a little lighter, hoping that would help.

Her first bowl of the second game was worse than any of her first. Being unused to the weight, she had accidentally thrown it a third of the way down the lane before it hit the floor with a crash. Charlotte winced at the sound, and the embarrassment, however Cole didn’t make fun of her, like she knew Chris would have. He didn’t even acknowledge it, instead pretending it had been a normal bowl, which for a split second, annoyed her. She almost would have preferred it be made fun of, so she could then talk back. However she quickly dismissed this thought, telling herself that Cole is just trying to be nice.

The second game, Charlotte won, having bowled far better, though she could see Cole still holding back a little, and rushing a few too many of his bowls to be convinced they were genuine.

Charlotte’s first bowl of the third game was a gutter ball, Charlotte being distracted by her thoughts, about whether or not she disliked the fact Cole was letting her win, and whether or not she should say anything.

“I find that the lower I get it to the ground, and the lower it is when I release it, gives it just a few more kilowatts, and helps it stay on course,” Cole commented, and despite herself, Charlotte fought back irritation.

“Is that working for you, seeing as I won the last round?” Charlotte said, only half jokingly. “Or were you holding back…”

Cole smiled, which Charlotte wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She had been a little rude to him just then, yet he continued to be completely polite.

“I think I just needed a bit of time to warm up…”

Charlotte had got her wish however. It was the last of their three rounds, but she could now see Cole not holding back, and his score seemed to reflect that, surpassing his final score of the round before by the time they were halfway there. This however, was what Charlotte wanted, her competitive nature now firing up, and causing her to bowl better. In the end though, it wasn’t enough, and Cole won, though Charlotte was more satisfied with that result than her own win in the previous game.

The pair left the bowling alley, getting back into Cole’s car. From there, he drove them to a Mediterranean restaurant that seemed just as fancy as the Firehouse, which from her own trip there, she knew was not a cheap venue.

“So rumour has it you’re going to be competing in the High Seas Tournament next year?” Cole asked. Charlotte nodded, grinning.

“Not rumour anymore,” Charlotte answered. “Just got announced last weekend.”

“Surely you’re breaking some sort of record by competing?” Cole noted. “Youngest competitor or something?”

“I am, but not by much. I’ll be twenty-one and I think the current holder is only like twenty-three,” Charlotte explained. “But currently Jon holds the record for youngest winner, and he was twenty-nine, so if I win it, not only do I take the massive prize and all the publicity and titles that come with it, but I take that record as well…”

The pair ordered and ate, making polite conversation, and despite the fact that Cole had no visible faults, other than the annoying habit he had shown of letting her win at the bowling alley, Charlotte couldn’t help but feel like she wasn’t enjoying herself. This, along with the anxiety of not wanting this to be obvious, and by extension, offensive to Cole, made it even more difficult to enjoy herself. She couldn’t help but think about how different it would be if it were her and Chris. The big difference she knew being that she likely would be wearing something she felt more comfortable in, and that the pair would not have left the bowling alley, both being too eager to one-up the other. The best of three would have gone on to be best of five, then best of seven, until they were either too broke to continue, or kicked out by the bowling alley closing. She found herself wistful at this, quickly dismissing the thoughts, as Cole excused himself to go to the bathroom. She quickly withdrew her phone from the pocket she was thankful her skirt had hidden, and saw a message from Cassandra.

”When you’ve got a minute, how are things going?”

Charlotte considered replying, however pocketed the phone, wanting to be honest with Cass, but knowing she needed more than a text, and more time than Cole’s trip to the bathroom to do that. It was nearing ten, with the pair having been at the restaurant for nearly two hours.

“You ready to go?” Cole asked as he returned.

“Sure,” Charlotte replied. “Just let me go settle the bill.”

“Already taken care of,” Cole said with a grin.

“But you paid for bowling,” Charlotte protested, pulling her small wallet from her pocket to withdraw some cash. “At least let me pay you back.”

“It’s fine,” Cole said. “There’s one last place I wanted to go.”

Whilst Charlotte was ready to call it a night, having decided by this point that whilst Cole was nice, she didn’t see herself wanting to see him under the same circumstances again, she decided to let him have this last place. She figured if he had paid for everything that night, and there was somewhere he wanted her to see, she should at least give him a little more time, especially if she was planning on not going on a second date. She figured if wherever they went next cost anything, she could at least cover that.

As the pair drove in Cole’s rumbly old car, the conversation continued to confirm to her what she thought of Cole. He was a nice guy. Someone who, should he take not being given a second date well, she’d get a drink with as friends, should he loosen up a little, and be less perfect. But she could not see herself being in a relationship with him.

It was forty minutes later when Cole slowed to a stop in an empty car park, overlooking the beach.

“So why here?” Charlotte asked curiously.

“It’s the one place on the island where you can see Lilycove, across the ocean,” Cole explained. “Every other part of the beach that faces out to sea at this angle, has rock formations blocking the view. But not here…”

Charlotte caught a glimpse of faint lights in the distance over the sea, with a glow in the sky above it from the light pollution. She figured that it was more visible during the night of the new moon, however the moon was a few nights off being full. Despite trying to give Cole a chance, and get through the night, she found herself underwhelmed, wishing that she had feigned fatigue at the restaurant and gone home instead.

Looking out to the lights, she tried to see if she could identify the light of the Lilycove Department store, and as she did, felt a cold chill run down her spine, as she felt Colt’s arm place itself over her shoulder.

“It’s an amazing view, isn’t it,” Cole said, his tone sickly sweet.

“Yeah, it’s nice…” Charlotte said quietly

“I’m glad it’s just the two of us…”

Charlotte felt sick to her stomach, at the thought of where this was going.

“Listen, Cole, I’m pretty exhausted. I didn’t get much sleep last night,” Charlotte said, trying to sound casual, as if she were saying this to a long time friend. “Do you mind if we call it a night and head off?”

“Well if you’re that tired, my place isn’t far from here.”

“I’d rather just go home,” Charlotte said, her tone hardening a little, making it clear that she was not interested.

“You sure?” Cole asked, maintaining the same disgustingly sweet tone.

“Sure…” Charlotte answered, as her left hand moved quietly into her left pocket which contained the shrunken Pokeball containing Gengar. She had been thankful that given her own history of being attacked, be it at the Whirl Islands, or in Goldenrod City the summer before, that she made a point of carrying a Pokemon with her. Whilst Deoxys was her most powerful Pokemon, it was also potentially extremely dangerous. Meanwhile Gengar, when given a boost by the keystone that dangled from Charlotte’s bracelet, could handle almost as much. She had brought the Pokeball on the rare chance she was attacked, be it by poachers, witches, or even Blackstone. This however…

She felt a sense of relief as Cole withdrew his hand, however seized up when he spoke.

“I paid for all of tonight, and all I get is ’I’m tired, take me home’...”

Cole’s tone had changed, now dripping with anger.

“I was going to cover dinner. I didn’t realise you would pay,” Charlotte retorted. “You wouldn’t even accept my money…”

“It’s not about the money…”

The whining and sense of entitlement that emanated from those words caused something to snap in Charlotte.

“I know it’s not about the money. I’d have to be stupid to not see what it’s about,” Charlotte said irritably to Cole. “Do you do this often? Flatter girls, pay for a nice night out, then bring them here and try and convince them to put out?”

Charlotte’s blunt tone and language took Cole by surprise. Without knowing why, she opened the glove box in front of her, and was unsurprised to see inside, a strip of small square plastic packets, attached to each other. She couldn’t help but smirk.

“Tell me this, has it ever worked?” Charlotte asked smugly. “Because you seem to have a fair few of these…”

“Get out.”

“You’re disgusting,” Charlotte sneered, as she opened the door, and climbed out of the car, slamming it hard behind her, causing the window to rattle. As the door closed, the engine rumbled to life, and Cole backed the car out, before taking off aggressively. The wide rear tyres kicked up loose stones, as Charlotte attempted to shield her eyes from the dust with one hand, and raised her middle finger to the rear windshield of the car with the other. As it settled, and Charlotte realised she had been stranded, alone, on the other side of the island, the reality of her situation hit her. Her phone listed the time as eleven, and Charlotte realised that if she didn’t reply to Cassandra’s message now, she’d likely get worried.

”I’ll tell you about it when I get back. Don’t wait up…”

She slowly began to walk back towards the main road, which would take her to the Eon Academy. She knew that this late in the evening, the island’s public transport had shut down, and whilst she could have called almost any of the staff who could drive for a ride, no questions asked, or pay for a cab, she didn’t want to get back to the Academy just yet. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, she felt numb from what she just experienced and needed the time to process her thoughts. And besides, even if her shoes caused her feet to blister on the walk home, at least she’d be feeling something…

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

Chris’ phone showed the time as two in the morning, as he sat in silence, listening to a podcast he had found during the year. Hosted by Leon of the Galar League, it discussed various regional Leagues, and the level of difficulty each of them posed.

Despite the fact he was on watch, he had gotten clearance from Jon to listen to the podcast whilst he had his watch, thankfully before Jon had a seizure that evening. Jon had allowed it, because Chris had purchased a pair of bone conduction headphones, which allowed him to listen to content without reducing his hearing to almost nothing. This way he was still focused on the skies, which would likely alert him to any intruders before his ears would. Or so he thought.

He heard something, which at first, he thought was an audio artefact in the recording he was listening to. However, as he turned it up, he heard it again, this time, less obviously. He quickly paused the podcast, and stood to his feet, looking at the skies, but seeing no sign of an intruder. However, he heard the sound again, and without it competing for his attention with Leon’s voice, he was able to identify it. The sound of choked back sobs.

Chris grabbed his flashlight, the same one he had used to knock out an intruder the first time someone attempted to break into the Eon Academy in his first summer, and flicked it on, pointing it at the source of the sound. From the south, where the entrance gates were, he saw a solitary figure raise her hands to block the light, and once his eyes adjusted, he recognised them.

“Charlotte?”

Chris had forgotten about Charlotte, with Cassandra having told him before he went out for his watch that Charlotte had told her she’d be home late and likely would show up during his shift. In his eagerness to listen to Leon’s podcast, this had slipped his mind.

Charlotte said nothing, and seemed to avoid his gaze. The light seemed to reflect especially from her eyes, as Chris realised she was trying not to cry.

“Charlotte, are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Charlotte said, although Chris knew that was obviously not the case.

“Come on, let’s go inside…”

“You’re on watch!”

“Yeah, and I’ll keep the windows of the lodge open so I can keep an eye out.”

Not having the energy to fight with Chris, having made it back to the Academy on foot, as Chris placed an arm around her and lead her to the lodge, Charlotte obliged, following along as he opened the door.

The pair sat in the lounge, as Chris, despite trying his best to look out the windows for potential intruders, sat in shock. Charlotte was one of the strongest people he knew, and the closest he had seen her to this state was when they and Justin had watched Rayquaza fall battling Giratina on television the summer before. This however, had her even more upset.

“Charlotte, did he-” Chris tried to ask, though Charlotte shook her head violently, as Chris breathed a silent sigh of relief, though concern still flooded him.

“Charlotte…”

The voice came from the foyer, where both looked up to see Abbee, standing in the doorway, shock evident in her green eyes, followed closely by Cassandra, both having heard the noises.

“Charlotte, what happened?” Cassandra asked, as she rushed to take a seat, as did Abbee. A wave of guilt hit her, knowing that Charlotte had been apprehensive about seeing Cole, and Cassandra, wanting to give her useful advice, had suggested she consider it.

Charlotte didn’t want to talk about it, however knew, especially based on Chris’ question before, that they would assume the worst if she didn’t tell them. And at least if she were honest about it now, she may be able to make sure that none of this left the room.

“He was acting really nice. Too nice. Letting me win when we went bowling, and paying for everything before I even had a chance. It drove me crazy and I wasn’t sure if it was because I thought he was faking it, or I thought he was just too much of a pushover, so I ignored it…” Charlotte explained. “We ended up going to this empty part of the beach, because he said you could see Lilycove from there, but then he started dropping all these hints…”

Tears began to form in Abbee’s eyes, as Cassandra felt the same wave of guilt intensify. Chris however, felt a silent, devastating rage building up, unable to look any of them in the eye, because he didn’t know what they would see if they looked into his.

“So I told him I was tired, and asked if we could call it a night, and he tried to tell me we should go back to his place. But when I told him I’d rather just go home, he changed. Started ranting about how he paid for everything, and I got angry and called him out,” Charlotte said, as Abbee’s eyes widened. “I asked him if he does this often, flattering girls and spoiling them on a night out, to try and get them to…”

The words dwindled, as Abbee, despite her own tears, chuckled.

“It never ceases to amaze me how brave you are…”

Charlotte chuckled despite herself.

“He left me there and drove off. Kicked dirt and rocks up with his tyres into me…”

“So you walked back?” Cassandra asked in shock. “Why didn’t you call me? I would have come and picked you up…”

“I just wanted to be alone for a little while…” Charlotte admitted. “The walk home seemed like a good opportunity for that…”

Abbee looked at Charlotte, who was a mess, and obviously exhausted.

“Go get some sleep,” Abbee said. “If you want, we can talk more about it in the morning…”

“Don’t tell the others,” Charlotte said, with renewed sobs. “Please…”

“We won’t say a thing,” Cassandra assured. Abbee helped Charlotte to her feet, who, having now rested, was feeling the effects of the three hour walk back to the Academy, and despite her own above average level of fitness, struggled to stand at first. The pair made their way upstairs, leaving Chris and Cassandra in silence. Cassandra glanced over at Chris, and noticed he seemed deeply in thought, staring at the coffee table.

It was nearly fifteen minutes before Abbee returned, and collapsed onto the couch.

“Are you two alright?” Abbee asked. This seemed to pull Chris out of his trance.

“I’m going to find this guy... and break his f**king legs…”

Abbee shot Chris a concerned look, as Cassandra glared at Chris.

“All that’s going to do is get you in trouble with the law, and cause problems for Jon and Charlotte,” Cassandra said. “I’m just as angry as you are, but you can’t just beat this guy up and expect it to fix things.”

“Bulls**t,” Chris muttered.

“Chris…” Abbee warned, though lacked the motivation necessary for the point to be made.

“It won’t fix anything!” Cassandra reiterated, though Chris shook his head.

“Not that,” Chris said coldly. “Bulls**t you’re just as angry as I am, because if you were, you wouldn’t be content letting this guy get away with it.”

“You think I’m not furious-” Cassandra began, though Chris interrupted her, speaking with a cold and quiet rage that Abbee had never seen from Chris, whose temper was usually explosive.

“You’ve known Charlotte for what, two months? I’ve known Charlotte for nearly a decade, and she is the strongest person I know. Even when we were in the hospital room, last summer, thinking that Giratina had won, and the world was going to change forever, she was handling it better than this…” Chris said quietly. “I’ve seen Charlotte face Legendary Pokemon, poachers, witches, corrupt politicians, and even former League Champions, and face them all with her head held higher than anyone. So if anyone is enough of a piece of s**t to put her in the state we just saw her in, then I’m beyond angry. I’m going to teach this guy a lesson…”

“Abbee, help me out here,” Cassandra pleaded, knowing that Chris would not listen to her, even if she were completely right. Abbee was silent for a moment.

“I agree…” Abbee said quietly. “He needs to be taught a lesson…”

Chris looked over at Abbee in shock, making eye contact with another person for the first time since Charlotte had told them of what happened.

“I’m not saying we break his legs or something,” Abbee said quickly. “But Charlotte is up there in tears, and God knows how many other girls he has done this to, or will do this to if he isn’t taught a lesson…”

“Abbee, you’re going to be a Gym Leader!” Cassandra replied, unable to believe she was having this conversation with Abbee of all people. “You could lose your job!”

“Or I could keep my job, and know that when someone hurt my best friend, I didn’t do a damn thing about it…”

Chris nodded in agreement, as Cassandra sighed.

“I know I promised Charlotte I wouldn’t tell anyone,” Cassandra said. “But if I get wind of you two trying to get back at this guy, I will tell Jon. So that he can either talk some sense into the pair of you, or do what he needs to so that if this blows up in his face, he isn’t caught in it…”

“You’d break your word to Charlotte?” Chris asked, although his tone indicated he wasn’t surprised.

“Wrong. You would be, by forcing my hand…”

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

When Chris saw Charlotte the next day, he almost wondered whether the previous night didn’t happen. She seemed her normal self, and Chris knew that had Charlotte returned unnoticed the evening before, he would not have known of anything happening the night before. However, he had caught glimpses of her seeming a little deflated when she thought nobody was looking her way. What Chris also noticed was Cassandra keeping an annoyingly close eye on him. If he walked in the general direction of Abbee for any reason, it would get Cassandra’s attention, and he had caught her sneaking glances of his phone when he had it open in front of him, he suspected to see if he was planning anything with Abbee.

Chris still wanted to teach this guy a lesson, however he had no clue who the guy even was. He didn’t even know his name, and the only other people who had met him were Dylan, who Chris did not want to confide in about this, knowing Charlotte did not want word of what happened last night to get out, and Cassandra, who would not do anything that could enable Chris’ rash course of action.

During dinner that night, the four of them were spread out at four different tables with the students scattered across all of them, Charlotte sitting with Jon, discussing their plans for classes the following week, Chris sitting with Justin, Abbee with Dylan and Cassandra with Violet and Jarena. Chris sat quietly, thinking about the situation when he felt a strangely familiar presence in his mind.

”Don’t react. Cass is watching you like a hawk…”

It took Chris a moment to recognise the voice as Victini’s. Without moving his head, Chris looked across the room to where Abbee sat with Dylan, and sitting on the table, despite the health code violations it invited, was Victini, who ate the remainder of Abbee’s unfinished meal, seemingly oblivious to the world around him. Chris however knew that this was something Victini was well practised in.

”What’s going on?” Chris asked with his own thoughts, as he made a point of eating his meal.

”We’re teaching this scumbug a lesson, but Cass is going to be keeping an eye on you after what Abbee told me went down last night…” Victini said.

”You’re okay with this?” Chris asked. ”Intentionally working against your former trainer?”

”Charlotte is my friend, and I’m not going to do nothing,” Victini answered. ”And Abbee is my trainer now, so it’s her call whether or not we do this…”

Having no doubts about Victini’s loyalty having heard that, Chris couldn’t help but nod.

”Don’t nod, genius!”

Chris winced at the carelessness of what he had just done, though tried to change the subject.

”So what’s the plan?” Chris asked.

”Abbee thinks she has a way to find this guy, but will need to sneak into Charlotte’s room, and can’t do that safely with both Cass and Charlotte unchecked…” Victini explained. ”I will keep an eye on Charlotte and let Abbee know if she will be caught but Cass is watching us as well, and will be able to see what I am up to…”

”So you need me to distract Cassandra?”

”Exactly. You get Cass distracted, Abbee will sneak back to the lodge, and I’ll stay here and keep an eye on Charlotte…” Victini answered.

”When should we start?”

”The sooner, the better…”

Chris considered his options.

”You’re watching Charlotte, right?” Chris asked. ”Well let me know when she is focused away from me…”

After a few moments, Chris heard Victini’s cue, before standing abruptly, and leaving the table without saying a word. Charlotte didn’t seem to notice him, however Cassandra did. He placed his empty plate with the other dirty dishes, a little too forcefully, before leaving, letting the door slam shut behind him.

”She’s on the move…” said Victini’s voice. ”Lure her away from the lodge…”

Knowing that if he were being watched, this would imply exactly what Cassandra was expecting of him, Chris withdrew his keys from his pocket, containing the key for his motorbike, and walked towards Jon and Alyssa’s house intently. Whilst he didn’t want to risk giving them away by looking back, he was certain Cassandra was tailing him.

”Abbee is on the move…”

Despite having no idea where to even find their target, as far as he was aware, Cassandra had no way of knowing for sure that Chris’ biggest obstacle right now in his plan for revenge was a lack of knowledge. He arrived at his motorcycle which sat under Jon and Alyssa’s carport, opened the locker that contained his riding gear, and began to dress himself. Once his helmet was on, he placed the key in the ignition.

“Where are you off to?”

Chris was glad the helmet covered most of his face, because he could not hide the grin. Victini knew his former trainer well. Cassandra had emerged from behind Jon’s car. Chris knew he had a delicate balance to keep. He knew that should he and Cassandra fight like they did over Jon’s statement, there would be serious consequences for them both. However he also knew that the harder he pushed back against Cassandra, the less she’d budge, just like himself. Additionally, he needed to be suspicious enough that Cassandra would waste time here arguing with him, but not suspicious enough that she’d inform Jon of what happened to Charlotte, and he and Abbee’s own desire to get back at the person who hurt her.

“I didn’t realise I needed your permission to go anywhere,” Chris said pointedly. “Last I checked, I don’t ask questions about how you spend your free time. You don’t need to concern yourself with how I spend mine…”

”Abbee’s in the lodge…”

“If I had any faith you were going to behave yourself, I wouldn’t be asking,” Cassandra retorted.

“Well you aren’t Jon. It’s not your job to make sure I behave myself.”

“No it isn’t. But seeing as I get the feeling you’re going to do something that could affect the Academy itself badly, I gotta waste my time doing this anyway,” Cassandra answered.

”She’s in Charlotte’s room…”

“So what, even if you have no proof that I am leaving right now to teach this guy a lesson, you’ll go rat me out to Jon, even though you told Charlotte you wouldn’t tell anyone about last night?” Chris asked.

“Well if I had more reason to believe you weren’t about to do something stupid, I wouldn’t have to…”

”Abbee has found the intel,” said Victini’s voice, a little too amused by the operation they were conducting. ”Keep buying time for her to slip back into the dining hall…”

“Guilty until proven innocent? But I suppose you’re used to that,” Chris said to Cassandra, and noticed her temper flare. “Well fine, I’ll tell you where I’m going, not because I think you have any goddamn right to know, but because I don’t want you using me to justify breaking your word to Charlotte…”

Chris grabbed a Pokeball off his belt.

“I was the punching bag for today’s seminar, remember?” Chris asked, holding it up. “My Pokemon need a Pokemon Centre if they’re to stand any chance of holding their own tonight if there is another incident…”

“The seminar finished hours ago-” Cassandra retorted.

“And it was thirty-eight degrees outside when it wrapped up. Do you know how hot it would be wearing motorbike leathers in that heat?” Chris asked without waiting for an answer. “I waited for the temperature to drop…”

Chris was surprised at how quickly he was coming up with reasons for this, considering he had practically no plan at all leading up to this moment. Despite this, Cassandra wasn’t convinced. Chris decided to lace in a little bit of self deprecating truth, in order to make the story more believable.

“As much as I want to beat this a**hole senseless, I don’t even know the p***k’s name, let alone where to find him,” Chris said to Cassandra. “I only knew she was out with a guy when I bumped into her on her way out of the lodge. Even if I wanted to be going out to find him, I couldn’t. Now if you’ll excuse me, I was hoping to not leave the others short a staff member for too long after dinner, and you’re wasting both of our time…”

”Abbee is back in position. You can let Cass go,” Victini said.

”I gotta disappear for an hour or two to keep my cover believable and keep Cassandra off our backs,” Chris replied quickly with his thoughts. ”Tell Abbee to lay low until I get back…

Cassandra seemed to realise that Chris could likely be telling the truth, and sighed, stepping aside.

“I don’t like having to be the one to do this,” Cassandra muttered.

“Then don’t,” Chris said back bitterly, before turning the key on his motorbike and climbing on. Before Cassandra could say anything else, he had taken off towards the gate.

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

Despite not planning on going to the Pokemon Centre that evening, Chris’ lie had given him the opportunity to get his Pokemon healed, something he was, in all honesty going to do tomorrow, knowing that he had not used Lugia at all during the seminar, and would likely be able to rely solely on his Legendary Pokemon in the event of an emergency. Whilst he was gone, he got a message from Abbee, for the first time in years.

”When you get back, meet me in the laundry room…”

He returned to the Academy an hour later, turning off the engine of his bike and walking it past the gates. He knew the sound would give him away, but he could justify the desire for silence by not wanting to wake Amelia with the noise if she happened to be asleep. Once he had it back in place, he quickly, though trying not to raise suspicion, made his way to the small room in the student lodge blocks that contained washing machines for the students' laundry and bedding. The door was closed and locked, so Chris knocked on the door.

For a moment he felt the now more familiar presence of Victini in his mind, before he heard the door click. He opened it, stepping in and closing it behind him. Abbee held a finger to her mouth to indicate silence, as she closed the door behind him, and turned on the nearby clothes dryer, creating enough noise that they could speak without being overheard.

“Good work keeping her busy,” Abbee said. “I got what I was after…”

“What was that?”

Abbee opened her phone, showing a picture of a business card.

“Charlotte mentioned to me that she hadn’t given him an answer, so he gave her his business card, in case the car had other issues. This was how she called him…”

The name on the business card was Cole Fletcher, listing him as the assistant manager of a small independent workshop.

“I’ve found him on Facebook but his account is private. I can’t see anything but his name, and profile picture,” Abbee explained. “Any ideas?”

Chris considered this for a moment.

“Dylan was the one who set up the CCTV for this place, wasn’t he?” Chris asked. Abbee nodded in agreement. “Is he the sort to use the same password for everything?”

Realising what Chris was getting towards, Abbee opened her phone’s app store. She had seen the NVR which recorded all the footage before, and after searching quickly, found an app with the same logo, downloading it.

“The fact he uses the same credentials is what let us change the Eon Academy billboard earlier this summer,” Abbee said, as she typed in the username and password. She took a breath as she hit the login button and it began to load. Suddenly the screen disappeared and was replaced with a variety of camera feeds. She showed Chris.

“So, can you tell me what car picked Charlotte up last night?” Chris asked.

Scrolling down to the camera that observed the front gate, Abbee clicked on it, and scrolled back to six the previous evening, and sure enough, found the car, and showed Chris.

“These sorts of guys will have their personal account private as all hell, but some will make an account for pictures of their car, and it be completely public…” Chris explained. He recognised the badge of the make, so began searching online, narrowing down the results until finally he knew the make, model and rough year of the car. He then googled those terms, alongside white and Mossdeep. “Can you look up the workshop where this guy works?”

After a few more minutes searching, he came across an Instagram profile dedicated to a white car that looked identical to the one in the footage, which seemed to be their target.

“Got any pictures of that workshop?” Chris asked. Abbee nodded, giving Chris her phone. On his own, Chris opened a picture of the white car on a hoist, showing work being done to it, before comparing the background to a photo of the workshop on Abbee’s phone. Once he determined they were a match, Chris said, “this is him…”

He copied the link to the Instagram profile to a text to Abbee, as both looked through it, trying to find anything that looked like it may have location details. Abbee was the first to speak.

“Any idea what MCM is?”

“No clue,” Chris answered before googling the acronym.

“Because he posted a story a few hours ago,” Abbee answered. “It says ’MCM at ten.’”

“Mossdeep Car Meets,” Chris answered, before searching for the term itself. He found a Facebook page with the same name. “It’s a meet, happening on the island tonight.”

“Where?”

“The carpark of the ruined space centre,” Chris explained. “Going up that mountain is probably a fun drive, and the cops would not be too prevalent there…”

“So what do you think, we get him tonight?” Abbee asked. Chris nodded.

“I guess the question is, what should we do with him?” Chris asked. To his surprise, Abbee grinned.

“Leave that with me,” Abbee explained. “I have ideas. Nothing that should get us into too much trouble or do permanent damage if we are identified. But enough to teach him a pretty hard lesson…”

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

The pair had planned how they would escape the Academy that evening under Cassandra’s watch, with Abbee having the idea that would be how they pulled it off. That day during the seminar, Chris had battled against Jon, who had used Blaziken, Jolteon and Scizor. All the staff knew that Jon kept Rayquaza, Giratina and Latios in rotation at all times which meant that the rest of his Pokemon were in storage. However, being a business that owned numerous Pokemon, with the facilities to store them on site, all of Jon’s out of rotation Pokemon were kept in Pokeballs in the spare bedroom on the second floor of the lodge, where Dylan had set up the storage system years prior. Chris had no reason to not enter this room, being the trainer of eight Pokemon himself, two being kept in there during the summer. However, instead of exchanging one of his own Pokemon, he instead withdrew one of Jon’s, hoping that the Pokemon was well trained enough to obey him.

Justin was scheduled to start his watch shift that evening at ten, and Chris knew he and Abbee’s best bet was to make their escape before then. Though students would still be around, none knew that Cassandra was watching Chris, and the worst that could come of them seeing him and Abbee leaving together, would be rumours.

Chris had spent most of the evening in his room, whilst Abbee had been in the lounge of the staff lodge, where she could see Cassandra sitting with Violet in the dining room as they looked at a website on Violet’s laptop. Upon receiving the message from Abbee that it was time to go, Chris opened the Pokeball he had borrowed from Jon, as light flashed in the room, revealing Jon’s white and red Zoroark. The Pokemon itself was only a little shorter than him, though its wavy fur seemed to float unnaturally above it, dwarfing Chris.

“Zoroark,” Chris said quietly, as he put on a pair of over-ear headphones. “Can you make an illusion to look like me?”

The Pokemon was silent, and staring at him intently, the sight of which was unnerving. However, Chris blinked and found himself staring at an exact copy of himself, albeit with a blank expression. Somehow he found this to be even more unnerving. Either way, so far the plan seemed to be working. Chris grabbed the handwritten note from his desk, and held it out for Zoroark.

“If you get found out, give whoever finds you this note,” Chris explained. The note simply said Zoroark’s Pokeball was in his room. “But I want you to walk out of this room, out of the building, and do a lap of the property, starting from the top…”

Zoroark nodded obediently. Chris walked to the door, opening it, and allowing the Pokemon out.

Downstairs, Abbee noticed Cassandra look to the stairway, before hearing footsteps herself, and pretending to focus on the TV. In her peripheral vision, Chris walked downstairs, and silently left the lodge. A few moments later, Cassandra excused herself and followed after him. She quickly sent Chris a text.

”Now.”

Less than thirty seconds later, Chris had arrived downstairs, confusing Violet who sat in the dining room, something that could not be prevented. Abbee picked up the small backpack she had hidden on the floor next to the couch, as the pair of them quickly left the lodge, and briskly made their way south towards the gate.

“I can’t believe that worked…” Abbee said, despite what they were going to do, sounding excited by the scheming.

“I told you, she’s convinced I’m going to do something, so all I have to do is act a little shady, and she’ll follow me…”

The gate had just come back into sight, when Chris heard footsteps approaching. He turned around, to see Cassandra walking towards him and Abbee, obviously annoyed.

“How stupid do you think I am?” Cassandra asked quietly. “A Zoroark? Jon had planned to use the same trick to cover for us back on the S.S. Wishmaker…”

Chris however had an angry thought.

“What did you tell Violet?” Chris asked.

“What does Violet have to do with any of this?” Cassandra asked, confusion evident in her voice.

“Violet saw me leave the lodge twice. First the Zoroark, and then me,” Chris asked, his tone rising. “So what have you told her that when she notices that, the first thing she does is contact you?”

Abbee looked at Cassandra, shocked at what Chris was implying.

“I get threatening to tell Jon about what happened to Charlotte to keep us in line,” Abbee said. “But telling Violet so she could help you out?”

“I didn’t tell Violet!” Cassandra said defensively. “She didn’t tell me where you two had gone!”

“Then how did you know to come here so quickly?” Chris asked, though Abbee had the answer.

“How did you know Zoroark had left Chris’ room when you were in the lodge?” Abbee asked. “I assumed that you just had better hearing than me and heard its footsteps but…”

Cassandra went silent, as Chris realised what Abbee was talking about.

“You’ve jinxed my bedroom door, haven’t you?!” Chris asked indignantly. “What, does it tip you off whenever someone walks through it?”

Cassandra began to stutter a little bit, not expecting to be caught out, which all but confirmed Chris and Abbee’s suspicions.

“You were tipped off when the Zoroark left the room, which is why you seemed to know,” Abbee said, appreciating the genius of the plan. “But then, you had left, and Chris triggered the spell when he walked through it himself, so you came back…”

“I’m sick of this,” Chris muttered, before turning back to the gates. “Come on Abbee, let’s go…”

“Where are you going?” Cassandra asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Chris asked irritably. “We’re going to teach this piece of s**t a lesson. We know where to find him and we have a plan.”

“And what if I tell Jon?”

Chris snorted with derision.

“My mind is made up. I am calling your bluff, and going after this guy regardless. Charlotte is my friend, and he hurt her. Nothing you can say or do will change my mind. This is happening,” Chris retorted. “So the only thing undecided about how tonight will play out, is whether or not you go and break Charlotte’s trust in you.”

Abbee until then had been considering throwing in the towel, however she knew Chris well enough to know that he meant every word. Nothing would change what he did that night, which meant that all Cassandra’s threat stood to do was hurt Charlotte further. And despite not knowing Cassandra too well, she knew this was the last thing she wanted to do.

“Then I’m coming with you…”

The words took even Chris by surprise.

“Why? So you can try and talk us out of it?” Chris asked. “Or try and sabotage us before we do anything you don’t like?”

“To make sure you aren’t recognised, and don’t go too far…” Cassandra said firmly. Chris remained silent, unsure of what to make of her. Abbee however, spoke to Chris in a whisper.

“With what she can do, having her in our corner could make this whole thing run a lot smoother…”

Chris considered Abbee’s words. If Cassandra were with them, he knew that she wasn’t likely sabotaging their plans back at the Academy, or ratting them out.

Taking Chris’ silence as consent, Abbee addressed Cassandra.

“What we have planned for Cole, is all my doing. Chris helped to iron out a few creases, but is largely here tonight to be extra muscle,” Abbee said, resolve evident in her words. “What I have planned for Cole will not hurt him, but teach him a lesson. You have my word on that…”

Cassandra nodded.

“If you’re coming, you’re coming to help us, and if we have any reason to believe you are going to jeopardise the mission, we will intervene as much as necessary,” Chris said. Cassandra looked at him, a smirk lining her face.

“You think you could stop me?” Cassandra asked.

“Chris…” Abbee said, not wanting to begin this unlikely partnership with threats of conflict.

“There’s a reason Jon doesn’t have you taking shift on night watch. He said it himself. Witch or not, you couldn’t hold your own against our twelve Pokemon. I’ve battled witches before, and I get the feeling we could handle you if we needed to,” Chris explained. “And I don’t think you’d particularly want to incapacitate my Pokemon just because you’ve got a grudge with me…”

Cassandra knew both of Chris’ reasons were true. Whilst she was an exceptional user of Shadowcraft, one of very few who could perform it non-verbally, she would struggle to hold her own against both Chris and Abbee’s Pokemon, and wouldn’t want to fight them anyway.

“If what Abbee says is true, that you’re not going there just to hurt this guy, then I should have no reason to interfere…”

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

The trio got clear of the Eon Academy, finding a nearby paddock that was dark and empty, where Chris sent out his Lugia, which would provide transport for the three of them. Despite the island being small, it was not a simple trip, Lugia intentionally having to fly above clouds and avoid bright patches of the island, in order to remain unseen, though Chris was certain that somebody would have spotted the large Pokemon. As they flew, Cassandra asked about the plan, and despite Abbee being content with telling her, Chris wanted to keep that between them for now. Cassandra did notice however, that before they climbed onto Lugia’s back, Chris had taken Abbee’s backpack, which obviously was far heavier than it appeared. She heard a metallic clinking as they moved.

Lugia landed in a paddock a few kilometres from the meet, which they could just see from the skies, visible by the headlights. From there, the trio and Victini, whom Abbee had removed from his Pokeball, silently made their way on foot towards the meet, stopping when they reached the edge of the woodland surrounding the gravel car park. It was nearly midnight by this point, and there were still a half dozen cars. Chris quickly spotted the white car parked at the back of the group, and the man who stood by it, talking to another enthusiast.

“Is that him?” Chris whispered.

“Yeah, that’s him…” Cassandra answered bitterly. “Do I want to know how you knew he’d be here tonight?”

“No…” Chris said intently, shutting down the small talk.

Another hour passed, before cars began to leave.

“Victini, remember what we talked about?” Chris whispered.

”Yeah, I practised on Jon’s car after dinner…”

Concerned, Cassandra shot Chris a puzzled look, however Chris ignored it. Victini began to concentrate, staring at the wheels of Cole’s car. As Cassandra watched, she realised what was happening. The air was slowly being let out of one of the rear tyres, causing the whole car to lower. Victini had telekinetically unscrewed the cap on the tyre stem, and was holding it in the air, as he also held the pin inside, allowing air to hiss out. Once it was empty, with a shocking amount of finesse, Victini replaced the cap, leaving the tyre looking as it was, albeit flat.

Half an hour passed, before cars began to leave, with Cole, being at the back of the group, stuck being the last to leave. Eventually there were three cars left, then two, and finally, Cole and his car were alone, as he turned on the engine to let it warm up.

“While he is changing the tyre, Victini, kill the headlights,” Abbee whispered. “Chris, get behind him and hold his arms. I’ll put the bag over his head, and tie his arms behind his back. Then we’ll take him to the main road…”

Cassandra shot Abbee a look.

“The bag isn’t to choke him out!” Abbee said, offended that Cassandra would think such a thing of her. “Just so he doesn’t see our faces…”

Cassandra considered this for a second, before, against her better judgement, making up her mind.

“Abbee, be ready with the rope, but don’t go for the bag,” Cassandra said. “Once the lights go out and Chris has him restrained, I’ll place a hex on him to blind him temporarily, and another to confuse him. I don’t know what you have planned once he gets to the main road, but he will be back to normal in a few hours, with no idea of how he got there…”

For the first time towards Cassandra, Chris grinned, without any sense of contempt or ill will. Abbee however seemed concerned.

“Won’t that incriminate you, or the others?” Abbee asked, thinking of Violet, Jarena and Willow. Chris however was the one to answer.

“That same effect could be caused by a Psychic Pokemon using Hypnosis, and if he really does have a history of pulling this s**t, anyone could have done this,” Chris answered. “And even then, I don’t think he will exactly want to tell the police how he acted, hoping to incriminate Charlotte…”

Cassandra nodded in agreement. They heard the door close, as Cole climbed into his car, however he only drove a matter of metres before stopping, as he realised his tyre was flat. They watched him walk to the back tyre to inspect it.

“Victini, be ready for the signal…” Chris whispered, as the Mythical Pokemon nodded, now tuning into his thoughts. When Cole had removed his jack, and placed it under the car, the trio quietly edged closer to the car, thankful that Cole had left the engine running, which only served to muffle their footsteps. Once they were a few metres away, Chris knew that it was time.

”Now!”

From where he sat on Abbee’s shoulder, Victini telekinetically turned the dial on the end of the indicator stalk, causing the car’s lights to turn off. At that exact moment, Chris rushed Cole, slamming his shoulder into him to knock him off balance, before grabbing an arm. Cole yelled out in pain and fright, as Chris grabbed the other, and held both behind his back, pushing Cole up against the running car.

“What the f**k?!” Cole yelled, as Chris held him in place. He heard footsteps come next to him, as Cassandra approached, placing a hand on Cole, who continued to yell. First she placed the blinding hex, which Cole didn’t even notice with how dark it already was. Then she placed the confusion hex, as Chris felt Cole’s resistance disappear.

“Is he still conscious?” Chris whispered.

“Yes, just very dazed, and easy to manipulate…” Cassandra said. “Come on, let’s get this over with before we’re seen…”

“One second…”

Chris removed his phone, and turned on the torch. He walked towards the open driver’s door, and turned off the car, removing the keys from the ignition. Abbee grinned as he then threw the keys over the fence that surrounded the ruins of the Space Centre.

“Okay, now I’m ready…”

With Cole now hexed and compliant, Chris tied his hands together in front of him, and led him with a length of rope like a half asleep Growlithe.

“How long will this hex last?” Chris asked.

“If I don’t remove it early, a few hours,” Cassandra answered. Chris nodded.

“Plenty of time…”

The trio leading Cole reached the nearby highway, which, whilst they were relying on it being quiet overnight, they knew would be busy come morning.

“If a car drives past while we are doing this, we are done for,” Abbee explained as they waited within the treeline that was closest to the lightpost they had decided would suit their purposes. “So we have to make this quick…”

Unsure of what they had planned, Cassandra watched as Abbee opened her backpack, removing some cans of bright pink spray paint and handing it to Chris. Under the dim streetlight, Cassandra saw metres upon metres of chain, and numerous padlocks, and got a rough idea of what they had planned.

“I’ll get a start on the exhibit description, Chris, you make sure he won’t be going anywhere when he comes to…” Abbee explained. Chris nodded.

Chris sent out his Charizard, which Victini climbed onto the back of, before it flew high into the air. As they waited for the signal, Cassandra had an idea.

“It’s not going to be cold tonight, is it?” Cassandra asked.

“No colder than it is now?” Abbee asked, a little confused.

“Good…” Cassandra said menacingly. “Let’s strip him…”

Abbee’s eyes widened, though Chris couldn’t help but laugh. As they waited for Victini to give them the all clear, Chris began removing Cole’s socks and shoes, before his jeans, while Cassandra removed his shirt. Still confused by the hex, Cole simply moved whatever way the pair motioned for him to, as they left him in his underwear.

”No cars for miles. You’ve got time. Do it now…”

On Victini’s signal, they rushed forward, Chris and Cassandra moving Cole towards the light post on the median strip of the road, as Abbee sent out her Ampharos to provide light, and began spray painting an arrow on the road pointing at Cole, and large words next to it.

Chris quickly untied Cole’s hands, and tied them again behind him, though left them loose enough that he wasn’t going to hurt himself. They wouldn’t be the only thing holding them in place, and whilst he may have normally been able to wriggle free of them, the chains would prevent that. Meanwhile, Cassandra began unravelling the chain, and once Cole had been sat down, the pair began wrapping the chains around him and the pole, making sure to cover all possible points where he could wriggle out. Once they were done, they grabbed the five padlocks they had brought, using them to tie the ends of the chain together, as well as some sections of it.

“One more thing,” Cassandra said quietly, as the last lock was placed. None were touching Cole himself, which meant that her plan should work as intended. She began placing hexes on the individual padlocks.

“What’re you doing that for?” Abbee asked.

“So that if anybody touches them and tries to help him, they’ll desperately need to find a bathroom…” Cassandra explained as Chris burst into laughter. “Willow did the same thing to protect the box that powers our security system. This should buy him a few more hours before someone lets him out…”

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

Charlotte sat in silence during her shift of watch, not expecting anything to happen, though still trying to remain vigilant, knowing that complacency would be what screwed them over should someone actually attack. The thought that her shift only had half an hour left before Abbee was due to relieve her was comforting.

That day, she had tried especially hard to pretend the evening before hadn’t happened. She didn’t want Cassandra’s apologies, as it was her decision to call Cole and accept his offer of dinner. And she didn’t want the others worrying about her, as if she were that fragile that this had all but broke her.

She sighed.

She did however, worry about the fact that by wanting to bury the events of the night before, that someone else may be noticed by Cole, and might not have the nerve that she had to call him out before things got bad.

She was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of voices, and began scanning the sky, though saw no lights. The voices grew louder though. She turned on the light on her phone, figuring them to be students out of bed, and walked towards them, turning a corner near the staff lodge, and being shocked to find Chris, Cassandra and Abbee. What was even more shocking than the unlikely trio, was the fact that all, despite being tired, seemed to be enjoying each others company.

“What are you three doing?” she asked, as the trio noticed her for the first time. “Where have you been?”

“Abbee and I had some business to take care of, and Cassandra decided to help us out,” Chris said casually with a yawn. “But I’m exhausted, so I’m going to get some sleep…”

Abbee looked at her phone, seeing the time.

“Charlotte, you go get some sleep as well,” Abbee said. “I’d be covering you in half an hour anyway…”

Charlotte looked between the three of them in shocked disbelief. She made eye contact with Cassandra, who flashed her a grin.

“I’m not sure I want to know…” Charlotte muttered to herself…

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

The next morning, Charlotte awoke to the sounds of discussion downstairs. Unsure what this was, and having a hunch it had to do with the disappearance of three of their number the evening before, Charlotte went downstairs in her pyjamas. It was barely 7am on Sunday morning, but Dylan, Justin, Violet, Jarena and Willow all sat around the TV, watching the morning news. Chris sat in the dining room, eating a bowl of cereal, and noticed Charlotte enter the foyer. He approached her, as she saw what had taken the attention of the rest of the staff. At the same time, Abbee entered from outside, her shift having just finished, and made her way to where Charlotte and Chris stood.

Charlotte’s jaw dropped, as on screen, she saw a news program showing footage of a man she recognised as Cole, in his underwear and chained to a lightpost, looking furious and humiliated. Spray painted on the ground in front of him was an arrow, pointing towards him, and the words in oddly familiar hand-writing ’I try to take advantage of girls, and leave them to walk home in the middle of nowhere if they don’t comply…’

“You didn’t…” Charlotte said quietly in disbelief to her two friends.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…” Chris said, his tone him away. “But I’d almost say that whoever this guy is, he got what he deserved. What do you think, Abbee?”

“Oh definitely…” Abbee said with a grin. “Don’t know him, but I’d say he got what was coming to him…”

Chris couldn’t help but laugh a little at this, earning a couple of glances from those who were watching the live footage, as a police officer with a pair of bolt cutters, placed them against one of the locks, before quickly removing it, and excusing himself.

“That’s the third time that’s happened…” Justin said, as Willow seemed to stare intently at the screen, wondering if she was seeing what she thought she was seeing.

“Anyway, I’m going to get some sleep,” Abbee said to Charlotte and Chris. “I’ll see you at lunch?”

“Yeah, see you there,” Chris said casually as Charlotte nodded. When she had awoken that morning, she hadn’t expected her day to go this well. Not even seeing Cole getting what he deserved. But instead, for the first time in years, Chris and Abbee being friends, and by extension, what that could mean for herself and Chris…

Charlotte went upstairs to get dressed, and on her way out, ran into Cassandra.

“I saw the news…” Charlotte said, sounding oblivious. “How convenient that someone decided to make him pay…”

“I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about…” Cassandra said, though unable to hide the grin from her face.

“I don’t know what was more shocking,” Charlotte said lowering her voice. “Seeing that on the news, or seeing you and Chris, and it almost looking like you were getting along?”

Cassandra sighed.

“I was wrong about him. I mean, I knew I was being unfair on him, but thought he was justifying it. I guess I just understand him a little better now…” Cassandra said quietly. “Even if he is Lance’s cousin, I don’t think Lance would ever go to the lengths to help a friend that Chris did. That speaks volumes, which is good enough for me…”