"Can anyone tell me what the square root of forty-nine is?"
Audino Agatha considered walking out of the classroom for a warm, refreshing morning walk. Torkoal Mr. West was being worse than usual today. It probably wasn't just her that felt like he was talking in slow motion asking the same questions to give them "practice".
Something, though, was different about this class. It was bothering her and eating up all her attention. It was a simple, elementary thing that bothered most people.
Everyone copied her style.
More than half of the class was wearing a black leather jacket sized for their species. Pokemon that had been sharp with her earlier like Elektrike Janette and Lillipup Shenise had turned into all smiles all of a sudden, and it didn't look like a fake mask of a smile, either.
The only one who wasn't wearing black leather was Pikachu Simone, but he still was being a copycat. He had on a brown, leather jacket instead of black.
The other difference was the seating arrangements.
When Agatha came in, Lucario Elijah had stolen her seat. She came in just before the teacher, so she didn't have many options for seats that weren't already taken. The only seat in the back was on the side of the wall, surrounded by Lucario Elijah behind her, Pikachu Simone in front of her, and an Umbreon to her left.
Elijah didn't bother Agatha as much as he usually did. All he did was ask for a pencil earlier.
It was the Umbreon.
He had on a black, leather jacket just like everyone else in class. He stared at her like a snake stared at a mouse.
Irritated beyond words, Agatha pulled out her phone and texted to ask Simone what his deal was.
"What's with the Umbreon staring like a creep?"
Simone didn't react to his phone. Agatha stepped on his tail drooping on the ground. He jumped, but didn't turn around. He might 've just woken up. She was satisfied when he pulled out his phone, though.
"His name's Walter. Varsity, but only saves himself for important matches. Feel free to slap him in the face. Anytime." – Simone
"And what's with all the black jackets?" - Agatha
"Support."
"For what?" – Agatha
"The rumor spread about your thing the other day. It was Zel's idea to be supportive." – Simone
Slurpuff Zel had been all smiles the entire class, and it wasn't anything school related. The moment Agatha looked up at her, she met her eyes and giggled.
With any luck, they probably didn't know about how Agatha got the scar, or how it stretched all the way across her back and encroached near her front, or how her feet were made of metal underneath her pink and black striped socks. Then again, how could they? At least Agatha's bone-headed mistake didn't cost her that much.
After math was science class. They watched science videos that Agatha struggled to pay attention to. If anything, it sounded like videos people used to fall asleep. The lights were turned off, and it felt like a strain to have to look at the small screen from the back of the class.
After a good nap, it was time for lunch. Despite the warmth outside, the cafeteria managed to be a cold, stone desert. At the very least, the rest of the school didn't seem to be wearing leather. The non-first years seemed to notice, though.
As Audino Agatha sat by herself, Umbreon Walter sauntered up next to her holding a metallic tray in his paws. She didn't look up from her phone on the table.
"Hey there," Walter said.
Agatha kept looking down. She savored the seconds she had left to not talk to him.
"Hey, Agatha?"
Agatha rolled her eyes up off of her phone screen. Walter smiled back down towards her.
"May I sit here?"
"Sit wherever you want," Agatha said.
"Cool."
Walter swiveled around the table and sat across from her. Agatha continued to stare down at her phone.
"Hey," he said, "so, uh, did you watch the game the other day?"
Agatha looked up and nodded.
"How'd it go?"
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"I know we won, but the other guys like to puff up their chests about how they did. Was it close?"
"I don't know. That was my first time watching."
"Ah, fair enough. Guess I'll have to show you sometime. Maybe in Gym."
Agatha sighed under her breath.
"Oh yeah," Walter said, "Thanks for making a fashion trend that's actually good, for once."
"Wasn't my idea," she said quietly.
"Yeah, but either way, thanks."
Sunlight streaming in from the windows up by the ceiling latched on Umbreon Walter's red eyes. With the extra light, Agatha could see a few more of his facial features from his black fur. His fur had a strange sheen to it and was perfectly smooth. His face seemed to light up the more she looked at him.
"Hey," he said. "You've got pretty blues, yourself," he raised his eyebrows, "reminds me of an ex."
Audino Agatha pretended to get distracted by her phone to avoid answering. Walter laughed to himself. She texted Simone "Get him off me.". She wasn't sure what he'd do, but she wanted to eat with some peace and quiet and there was no way Walter was going to shut up.
"Nice earring," Walter commented. "Is your family loaded?"
"Why should I answer that?" she asked.
"Sounds kinda like a yes?" He titled his head.
Agatha was close to mouthing him off. She just parted her lips when she saw Pikachu Simone coming in their direction from behind Walter. His brown leather jacket hung behind his back, attached to his body still by a top button. She fell silent as Walter turned and noticed him.
"Hey, Simone," Walter said. "How'd the match go?"
"Pretty good." Simone walked around to Agatha's side of the table. He waited until he got closer to keep talking. "Was fun. Feels great."
Agatha invisibly sighed in relief as he sat down next to her. He passed her a sandwich wrapped in plastic foil as he sat down.
"I really like mayo on sandwiches for some reason," Simone said. "Just, nowhere else."
"Ranch dressing actually goes well with pretzels for some reason," Agatha said as a smile grew on her face.
Simone smiled back ."I'll put it on the list."
"How was your fight, Simone?" Walter asked.
"Went pretty nice. Won it, and Elijah won his."
"Oh, you won!? Congrats!"
Maybe Agatha was a little hyper aware of the games people play. His exaggeration was meant to tell her that Simone didn't win very often. With how Simone's reaction was raising his eyes at his voice, Walter probably didn't exaggerate very often.
"Oh, uh, thanks?" said Simone. "Oh, that reminds me. Agatha, you helped me out using Wish when I fought Zel a while back in Gym. So, you know how to use moves, right?"
"Yeah," she said, taking her first bite, "why?"
"Why don't you show me stuff in Gym? Do you know how to use non-normal type moves?"
Umbreon Walter leaned his head closer to the table. His snake-like glare turned into an analytical, blank one.
"Uh, yeah?" replied Agatha.
"That's pretty hard to do. Do you think you could help me use different types of moves, too?"
"I dunno."
"You can use moves outside of your own type?" Walter asked.
Agatha nodded. Walter leaned his head back and turned his nose up.
"Prove it."
"Uh, whenever I use flamethrower, it kind of makes stuff taste funny," Agatha said with food in her mouth.
"Relax, man," Simone said quietly.
Walter leaned back as Agatha looked down at her phone again. Simone had sent a smiling emoji with a drop of sweat going down the left side of its face before he came over.
"I like the mayo," she said passively. "Did you make this?"
"Yup," Simone answered. "Not bad, right?
"Yeah."
________________________________________________________________________________
Umbreon Walter stayed quiet for the rest of lunch. Pikachu Simone and Audino Agatha talked about food again until it was time for study hall.
The seating arrangements were the same, but this time, Simone faced the opposite direction of the board to talk to Agatha. Their conversation was about food again, even though they just ate. Agatha kept drawing while Simone recited a list of things he planned to bring.
"-and how do you feel about spinach?" Simone asked.
"Eugh," Agatha groaned, smiling.
"Okay, copy that. Not bringing spinach."
"I'm gonna go get a drink of water. I'll be right back."
"Sure."
Agatha stood up and walked along the edge of the wall she was next to. There was a lot of room, but she scraped her shoulder against the wall to keep away from the other students as much as she could.
The teacher was Eldegoss Ms. Wilman for study hall. She spent most of the class on her phone, and Agatha wasn't even sure she noticed her walk out the door to the empty hallway.
Now that she was outside and walking down with lockers on both sides, Agatha realized she wasn't sure where the water fountain was. The chilly air stung at the edge of her fur as she looked at signs on the wall for directions. She realized how cold it was compared to the morning. They must have been blasting air conditioning or something close-by. At this rate, she wouldn't have been surprised to see literal icicles hanging from the ceiling.
Warm air suddenly hit her front. She stopped walking in the middle of the hallway and held out her arms forward and backwards.
The cold was centered on a thick, wood door that separated two rows of lockers. When Agatha touched the door handle, she flinched and pulled her hand back from the cold. She steeled herself and yanked it open.
Cold air whipped at her. She was pulled in and landed after two seconds of falling. As her chest stung and promptly numbed from ice, the door slamming shut echoed throughout.
"Arthur!"
Agatha's head jolted up. Pillars of ice sprouted up to the sky and disappeared through a layer of thick, gray fog. The ice below seemed to absorb some of the gray color, but still gleamed with its own blue, mystic glow.
A dark, hooded figure ran out of sight behind a pillar of ice. Agatha's head whipped around in search of the door, but the only thing behind her was a wall of thick, ridged ice. The fog lowered itself down on top of her.
"You know what will make it easy for me?" a deep voice asked, breathing heavily. "I could destroy the world one step at a time, and no one will even flinch."
The fog fell right through the ground and disappeared. Agatha screamed and fell back on cold, hard soil.
"Not until I'm right at their doorstep. And by then, it'd be too late."
An enormous band of white light took over the sky. It rounded past the horizon and shone like the moon if she saw where it was. The band was marked with stripes equally spaced apart. The stars that would be visible in the night sky were blotted out and drowned in light. It felt like she was on a rock in space.
All around her was nothing but a hard, rock floor. It felt like a cold desert,the lack of hills, plants, or anything familiar gripped cold fingers around her heart.
A ghost appeared just ahead. Agatha couldn't see or hear it, but she felt it like a bad dream when she was awake.
"You're like me. Not too scared of it being old age or some horrible accident. You're scared of the big ones."
Agatha stood up and faced it head on. There was nowhere for her to move or hide from its gaze. She folded her arms and stuck her legs together to keep warm. Her breath came out in spurts in front of her.
"I mean, what would it feel like to die if the moon were to fall right here? Or, maybe, what would it feel like to touch a black hole and be shredded apart atom by atom? In an instant with the most powerful force of gravity in the universe? The very thing that controls time and space."
The ghost turned around and faced her.
"It horrifies me, but I wish I could die that way to know what it feels like. I wonder if even my soul would escape. The most annoying thing is how many light years away I am from the answer."
The ghost gazed skyward. Agatha felt a rumble from somewhere in the distance, but it only rattled her feet for a second or two.
"Our planet used to have rings just like these on it. Guess that means the rings either crash down or wreck everything, or we're getting a second moon. The first one's still up there, y'know."
The ghost was right.
Behind the rings in the sky, a dark, round object loomed over like a shadow. The rough surface looked like the moon, but the color was so dark it was hard to see. It looked more like a floating rock on another plane of reality instead of a moon.
"The rings outshine it," the ghost explained. "Of course, if the rings form a second moon, they'll crash together a long, long time later. It's so strange, though. No one could imagine our planet getting rings. As if it wasn't all happenstance from whatever destiny was decided for us."
The ghost looked up again.
"Oh. You're still young. Past, present, future. They're all getting entangled. Looks like you're not ready for the truth."
The ghost's presence seemed to fade away. It left a quiet silence for Agatha to use and study her surroundings.
Behind her, the ring of light in the sky was interrupted by a tall, steel building that wasn't there before. Lampposts leading up to it had long branches with thick, green leaves instead of electric lights on top of them. On the ground, clean, shiny white tiles. All of the windows on the side of the building had white curtains drawn up the length of it.
On top, a brown leather cape shifted to the side. A Buneary's hazel eyes fell onto the Agatha and stayed there. He spun in place and turned around, causing his cape to catch wind and extend out like a wing on his back.
"Warlord spotted!" Buneary shouted. "Engage!"
"Luke?" Agatha asked under her breath.
Buneary jumped forward in the air and flipped three times. He flew straight down to the ground head first. His eyes thinned as wind hit his face.
Pillars of ice jut out of the ground in the distance the moment he landed. Agatha didn't feel any impact ring in the air or rumble through the ground. They appeared out of nothing along with thin patches of ice on the ground, covering over a few of the tiles and some of the hard soil. It was as if it just became visible.
Buneary pointed something at her. Agatha tried to snatch a closer look when an orange blast of light hit her in her left shoulder. She used Protect as another bolt of energy came, but it pushed her green shield aside and she fell back.
Standing up, Agatha shot a Thunderbolt from her fingertips. Buneary jumped over it and landed close in front of her. She took in his weapon as best she could in the short instant she had.
His finger went through a hole in its handle. It brushed over different moving parts, possibly some sorts of buttons. He shot energy out of a miniature cannon built above the handle. On top of the cannon, a metal blade like the tip of a sword slid out over the nozzle as she looked at it.
Buneary swung the blade towards her. Agatha kicked her metal foot up to her shoulder's height to stop it from cutting her. Somehow, her black and pink striped socks were gone, so she could use her boosters. She engaged them to push the weapon's line of fire away from her face.
A searing hot projectile soared past her head and singed the end of her ear.
________________________________________________________________________________
"Agatha?"
Agatha jumped in her cushion. She blinked rapidly and looked around where she was.
She was still in the classroom. Pikachu Simone's crystal orange eyes were locked on her face just in front of her.
"Hey, you good?" Simone asked. "Bad dream?"
"Yeah," Agatha mumbled as her breath settled. "Yeah."
"Study hall's almost over. You were out like a light."
"Yeah, sorry... Just tired."
"Don't apologize. I just hope you're feeling alright."
Agatha woke up a little more. Umbreon Walter looked down to avoid her gaze on her left. Behind, Lucario Elijah had been leaning closer with his hands on his knees like he was going to stand up.
She must've made a lot of noise. The pokemon that weren't looking at her were trying to get a look. Even Eldegoss Ms. Wilman stared at her from the front of the class with a concerned look that Agatha wasn't familiar with. For once, her attention on her phone had been lost.
"Hey," Simone said, "need anything? You want water? I'll go fetch you some water."
Without waiting, Simone rummaged through his backpack and handed Agatha a steel bottle. He uncapped the plastic lid for her as if she couldn't move enough to do it herself.
Once she lifted her arm, Agatha understood it. She was shaking like a leaf and sweating so much it looked like she just got out of a forest fire. She took the cool water and finished it all in one gulp. She gasped for breath as Simone took the bottle back. With a sigh, she slouched back in her cushion and covered her eyes with the back of her hands.
"Want to go for a walk?" Simone offered. "Here, let's go."
Simone pulled on Agatha's arm. She stood up with him and walked down the side of the room out to the hallway. Eldegoss Ms. Wilman just nodded as she turned her face back down, but her eyes stayed the same.
A lot of invisible pressure was lifted off Agatha's the further away from the classroom they walked. Simone continued to lead down the hallway until they reached a slightly parted window. Just out the window, they had a full view of a bird's nest and squirrels scurrying on the branches. Midday sunlight formed into rays that hit the deep, green grass below.
"A little better?" Simone asked, leaning his forearms on the short windowsill.
"Yeah," Agatha said.
"I know it might not be my place to ask, but what were you dreaming about?"
She probably shouldn't answer. Something told her she shouldn't be too honest with anyone about her visions.
"I had a dream that our planet had rings," she answered.
"Rings?" Simone asked. "You mean, like, planetary rings?"
"Yeah."
Pikachu Simone nodded as he stared out at the tree. "Yeah, that sounds pretty effin' terrifying," he said. "And you dreamed you were in space?"
"From the ground. It just overtook the sky like a huge band of moonlight."
"Maybe you're just afraid of it because you're not used to it. I mean, if the sky was purple since forever, we wouldn't really think much of it. We'd probably be afraid of the idea of a blue sky. I mean, it might not make it less scary in the moment, especially considering what rings on our planet would be like."
"What do you mean?" Audino Agatha turned her attention to his eyes.
"Well, the shadows would make some parts of the planet so cold, I think ice types would probably die in it. And the rings are made of rocks that'll just kinda' fall on us and kill everything."
"That sounds... even more terrifying."
Simone smiled and shook his head. "Listen, the world how it is now is terrifying enough. I mean, I know it's hard to do stuff like controlling your dreams, but... think about what is. Maybe through all of that fear, you'll be able to find out what's important to you. That's when you really become an adult."
"Since when are you an adult?" Agatha scoffed, smiling.
"Pft, not sayin' I am. That's a total you thing." Simone turned up his head. "But, dang. Our planet with rings? Where did you even get a crazy idea like that from?"
"Uh, well... Astrology books..."
Simone bent down and chuckled. "Never thought I'd think someone reads too much for their own good."
Agatha folded her arms. She couldn't tell if he was smart or dumb.
"I read some of them too. Y'know, with that whole zodiac sign fad. Study Hall ends soon, though. I really do wanna' learn moves outside my type."
"Okay. I'll try."
"No pressure. Just give me some pointers, and I'm sure I'll get some kind of progress."
________________________________________________________________________________
Agatha followed Simone back to the classroom. Seconds before they could sit down, the bell rang. Agatha bent down to grab her backpack after stuffing her notebook in it and then walked out the classroom with the rest of the class through the hall to the gym.
The gym doors were propped open when they came in. Other students around her broke out into an excited jog, leaving Agatha behind with Simone.
Flygon Mr. Rivers hovered over the gym floor. His head went in a small circle as students spread out below him.
"Free play today!" Mr. Rivers called.
Audino Agatha leaned towards the bleachers, but Pikachu Simone cut her off as they walked. She walked with him to the corner of the room. He set down his brown backpack right in the center of a wood panel on the floor.
"So, what move are you trying to use?" she asked slowly.
"Quick Attack," Simone said. "I mean, it'd be awesome to be able to use that."
"Show me your best move, first," Agatha said.
"Like, my strongest?"
"Yeah."
"Okay."
Simone made sure there was room and aimed for the blue cushion on the wall. A tiny spark flew from his body and slapped against it. The wall absorbed the impact without flinching.
It was pretty pathetic. The walls were made to take attacks, so Agatha probably wouldn't knock it down or anything, but the power of the jolt was like he got it from rubbing two balloons together.
"You still need to like, train up your energy more. Just using it in general," Agatha said, studying his sharp breaths after. "It should come naturally once you get it when your energy's strong enough."
"Okay," Simone said, sighing. "So, let's say I'm strong enough. What would I do to learn Quick Attack?"
"Get a feel for normal energy and try and do it. But for right now, you can just kind of exercise it."
Simone turned around from the wall and smiled at her. "Okay, sure. But you should show me your strongest move, too."
Agatha shook her head. "I can't use Hyper Voice in here. I'm not trying to super-scream in public."
Simone's face fell into bewilderment. "You know Hyper Voice?"" he asked quietly. "That's incredible..."
"It's... literally just screaming..."
Agatha turned around when someone called Simone's name. Umbreon Walter walked up to them. Behind his back, Slurpuff Zel, Deerling Belle, and Lillipup Shenise all stared towards him.
"Simone," Walter repeated, "let's run some matches."
"Ah, I'll pass for today," Simone said, smiling. "I want to up my power. I think I just want to work out with Agatha today."
"Just do it with us. C'mon."
Agatha could tell Simone was a little torn if he wanted to or not. She stared down at the floor to keep from pressuring him.
"Ah, sure," he caved in. "Agatha, you want to join?"
"I'll just watch, thanks," she said.
Agatha nodded as Simone left with them. She walked to the bleachers, set down her backpack, and opened up her notebook as Simone joined Walter and Lucario Elijah in the center of the gym. Agatha halfway turned down to her notebook, but she kept an eye on them.
Umbreon Walter sauntered around while they talked. In the end, Walter and Elijah decided to battle each other first. The rest of the class formed a large circle and gave them more room. Flygon Mr. Rivers floated over the bleachers and looked on from the top.
Lucario Elijah and Umbreon Walter stared each other down. Elijah threw an Aura Sphere. Walter batted it down to the floor with the side of his arm.
Agatha blinked and thought about the floor. It looked like wood, but it didn't snap or break apart from the attack. It must've been some kind of metal made to look like wood, but she should be able to tell by how it feels.
Agatha realized she never felt the floor before. She nodded to herself.
Walter's eyes glowed with blue light. He picked up the Lucario with Psychic and flailed him around in the air. Elijah didn't seem to have enough energy to get himself out of the grip.
Walter yawned and whipped his head. Elijah flew into the wall of the gym and fell to the ground. He laughed and smiled as he stood up. Walter nodded in his direction, then looked at Pikachu Simone.
"Okay," Walter said. "You ready?"
Simone shrugged. "Sure."
Elijah walked back and joined the side circle the class formed. Simone stepped forward and raised his yellow arms up.
Simone shot a small jolt at Walter. Walter swayed to the side and darted forward.
Agatha cringed. Walter used Throat Chop before Simone could move out of the way. Simone's scream cut out as his legs bent. He fell face down on the floor. Agatha watched and stood up as he fell.
"Simone!"
Audino Agatha's notebook fell to the floor. She raced forward, pushing between Persian Romania and Sandshrew Thomas to get to Simone. Walter turned around and stepped to the side when Agatha ran through. She rolled Pikachu Simone onto his back and placed the end of her ear strand on his chest.
The pain was obviously on his neck, easy enough to spot from a red mark. Agatha placed her hand on it and used Heal Pulse. Pink light scattered across his body as Simone took in deep breaths.
"Thanks," Simone croaked.
Agatha turned her head back around to Umbreon Walter. She didn't move her face very much, but his face seemed to change for the first time since she met him. He flinched and took a few steps back.
Simone stood back up and smiled up at her. "Wow, thanks. You're really good at that."
Simone tapped Agatha's forearm. He had a blank smile, but his eyes shivered left and right. He was shaking his head in the most subtle way she had ever seen. He must've noticed her clenched jaw and deathly stare. He leaned around her side to look at Walter.
"I think I'll just train with Agatha," Simone said.
"Okay..." Walter said, nodding. He turned his head out towards the circle. "Elijah, let's practice."
________________________________________________________________________________
Within a few minutes, Agatha managed to cool off. She hadn't realized how close she was to snapping until she was further away from it. The rest of the class blended together into a horde of activity behind them as Simone kept shocking the wall.
While he did that, Agatha drew out the place she saw after picking up her notebook. She only focused on sketching the huge rings in the sky. Putting it on paper could help her see it from a lens that didn't shake her to her core, hopefully. When the bell rang, she focused on finishing up the last curve before moving.
Others, including the teacher, Flygon Mr. Rivers, went through the gym doors back out to the hallways to leave. Simone loitered with Agatha for a minute, swaying from side to side on his feet as he walked over to the bleachers.
"Hey, Agatha," Simone said, waving his arms like pendulums at his sides. "Got a, uh, question."
"Yeah?" she asked, not looking up from her notebook.
"You walk strangely. And, uh, I don't want to intrude... But, uh, as a friend, just curious about if there's... something to keep in mind."
"What do you mean strangely?"
"Ah, well... A little wobbly, I guess. I'm just asking cause other people noticed," he said quickly, "and I don't want them to spread rumors about stuff they don't know about."
Simone seemed nice enough. He had a relaxing voice, and his crystal orange eyes were nice to look at. He's been nothing but helpful so far. He could know a little bit more.
"You can't tell anyone if I show you," she said. "And I mean it."
"Okay. I promise."
Agatha glanced up and double checked the gym. All of the noise from a barrage of footsteps and chatter was far away and below them. Sure, she pulled her arms from one of her sleeves.
"I'm n-not pressuring you," Simone said. "I can just tell them-"
"It's fine," she groaned. "It'd be nice for someone in school to see."
Audino Agatha pulled her other arm through her sleeve. She moved the notebook off to the side and stood up. Her black leather jacket slid down her back.
Everything had been charred dark, twisted colors. Simone's lower lip shook, but she didn't catch his reaction when she turned around. Her back was where most of the scarring was. She was just lucky the burns on her front all healed.
Agatha pulled down both of her pink and black striped socks in quick succession with each foot on top of the bleacher. When she turned around, the clang of metal on metal was unmistakable with the floor.
Pikachu Simone stared with his mouth hanging half open. His ears flattened against his back.
"It's like walking on sticks," Agatha said. "And my back does bother me, sometimes. Hard to get energy through it until it heals more, but it could be a few more months."
Agatha watched his face, then turned back around and put her socks back on. She slung her black jacket over her back again and pushed her arms through the sleeves.
"I'm... sorry," Simone said.
"Nothing to apologize for," Agatha said. "It's kind of a relief at least someone in this building knows what I look like."
"Uh, yeah... I can see that..."
"Looks pretty ugly, right?"
Simone turned his head to face her, then shook it. "Uh, no. Not at all, actually. Just, uh... Y'know."
"Bad?"
Simone probably wasn't sure if he should speak. Agatha smiled as his lips locked up.
"My funny walk is just a quirk, alright?" Agatha said.
"Oh, uh. Yeah. Of course. I'll just shut those rumors down."
"Thanks."
Agatha put her socks and leather jacket back on. Simone seemed to be getting over it just a little. His face had mostly evened out.
"You know what we should do?" Agatha asked. "We should go shopping."
"Oh, well, ah, sure," Simone said. "I just, uh, can't be out for hours and hours..."
Agatha rolled her eyes and folded her arms
"Uh, which wouldn't be a problem of course," Simone added. "Soooo, what are we shopping for?"
"You're the varsity battler. Don't you know any stores with battling stuff?"
"Well, I mean, I do. But if we went, we'd be stuck in the kid's section. So they might have wands and swords and stuff, but we would just have to get the less powerful stuff."
"Sounds fine to me."
"To be honest, I can't really use any of that stuff too well," Simone sighed. "I mean, it just..."
"It'll be good training. Where is this store?"
"It's in the city. We'd need a carriage there and back. I've got about 50 with me, how much do you have?"
"Three hundred."
Simone reeled his head back. "Oh, okay. The ride's just ten, soooo..."
"If you pay for the rides, I'll see if I can buy you a wand to practice with."
"Sounds like a deal."
________________________________________________________________________________
By the time the carriage came to the dusty area on the base of the hill, all of the other students were long gone. The teachers lingered somewhere in the building while Agatha and Simone walked out and caught their ride. There weren't any cushions inside, but Agatha was satisfied with her positing leaning back against the wall.
Agatha didn't expect the advantage of Simone knowing to show itself this soon. Her balance was a little wonkier than usual, so she took out a screwdriver and adjusted her right prosthetic foot as the carriage sailed along the roads. Simone had been just reading on his phone lying back against the wall, but his eyes got stuck angled to his right as she worked.
"Hey," Agatha said, "was it just me or was it a little chilly at school today?"
"Just the lunchroom," Simone said, seeming absentminded. "What do you want a weapon for?"
She wasn't about to answer that honestly. Luke said they'd need to do a lot of fighting as they made their way through the Old World. It was logical to have more tools.
"I'm a scarred child with prosthetic feet," Agatha said. "I don't want to get robbed."
Simone grew a look of confusion. He blinked rapidly staring at her prosthetic foot.
"Isn't that a booster?" Simone asked. "That's like, tech used in laser cannons? Wait?" his head shot up. "You have boosters on your prosthetics?"
"Still a scarred child," Agatha pointed out.
"I mean, yeah... But... Crap. Y'know you could kill someone with those things, right?"
"Better them than me if it came down to it. But..."
Agatha pointed to a small pin on the side of her foot. It jut out ever so slightly where her real ankle would've been.
"I have to pull this pin to use them," Agatha said. "Added it recently. Means no accidents."
Simone nodded and seemed to settle a little. "Well, that's fine, but you shouldn't have that in school. I mean, can't you just uninstall them and leave them at home?"
"Eh, doesn't feel as safe like that."
"Agatha, you're safe at school. Mr. Rivers used to be an arena competitor. He'd floor anyone that tried anything."
Agatha considered it. She didn't know about Mr. Rivers, and it did contribute to a lurking stress weighing down. All of those strange hallucinations weren't even real. She wasn't in physical danger, probably. If anything, she put others in danger wearing her boosters if she was having them.
"Fine," she said. "I'm still curious what they have, though."
"I just know about it from guys at school, so I'm curious, too."
"Do you know how much the stuff is?" she asked curiously.
"No. None of them actually bought anything, so it could be a hefty price. Either that, or they couldn't really use them at all. Probably the latter, to be honest. That stuff is tricky."
Agatha was excited to find out how tricky. She tapped her fingers on the wall at a quick pace out of boredom and yanked out her phone from her pocket. "Do they have a website?" she asked.
"No. Just a store. Kind of old school."
"Don't you know, like, anything about what they have?"
"I just suggested it since you asked me for ideas. It's just kind of the go to place, but not a lot of people around here really battle or anything."
His answer didn't satisfy her curiosity. She surfed the web to try and take her mind off of it for a while.
The carriage had stopped a few times on the way. Every time, Agatha stood up and looked out the small window up top to try and see if they were there yet. The fourth time around, they were parked on the side of the black pavement in front of a beaten up, old shop with it's white paint long gone.
"We're here!" Audino Agatha said, smiling down at Simone.
Pikachu Simone slowly turned up to her. "Yeah, uh, never seen you this excited before."
She rolled her eyes and walked over to the carriage's back doors. She pushed them open and hopped down to the sidewalk. Simone followed seconds after.
They had already paid the driver, so the carriage moved along down the road with more in its wake. The store in front of them had brown patches on its walls and rusty pipes that protruded from its sides. It lurked under the shadow of two taller office buildings on either side of it.
"Seems sketchy," Agatha observed.
"Just from the outside," Simone said. "I've seen the pictures. C'mon."
Simone stepped closer first. The entrance was a sliver of a brick walkway with brown, short, dry grass on either side of it. There were two glass doors with black frames, but the glass was so dirty and foggy they were hard to see-through. Simone pulled the right door with a grimace and one finger.
Inside, it was a touch darker. Some of the lightbulbs overhead seemed to be broken or turned off. The floor of the store was a shaggy, navy blue carpet crowded with items. Scattered throughout, Orbs of different sizes and shapes rested on top of stone pedestals with thin wires around them. The rest of the space was hidden by wooden isles with various items on them.
Along the wall to the left, a Mawile read a book on the front counter next to the register. "Don't break anything," he warned, not looking up from his thick, brown book.
"Yup," Simone squeaked. He let the door fall shut after Agatha walked though. "Let's take a look around."
Agatha walked down the store isles. Everything she looked at seemed cheap. The wands were small and looked like they would break if any serious energy was put into them. A lot of them were cracked or felt brittle and light when she picked them up in her paws.
Something caught Agatha's eyes on the back wall. She forgot about the isle and walked forward to the white wall with brown spots and black bruises. The items on it were bolted to the wall with thick, iron bars.
It was obvious from first glance that they were a tier above the other stuff. All of the metal was shiny instead of a dull gray. The wands were spotless with perfect ridges and custom grooves to pass energy through.
Agatha walked along the length of the wall until something caught her eye. It seemed to be the handle for a sword complete with a round guard to protect the hand, but it didn't have a blade. Agatha glanced back down the aisle towards the Mawile.
"Hey?" Agatha called, "Simone?"
Two aisles down, Pikachu Simone appeared from behind a short pedestal with a light blue Orb on top of it.
"Yeah?" Simone asked.
"There's no blade on this sword."
Simone looked as Agatha pointed to the handle.
"Oh," Simone said. "Damn. That kind of weapon in a place like this."
"What kind of weapon?" Agatha asked.
Simone walked forward and stared at the handle next to her. "It's an energy based weapon. All that other metal is the kind of thing that rejects energy formed when a pokemon uses a move, so they're good at cutting and defending against attacks. This weapon here is different because it's made out of energy."
"What does that mean?"
"Well, in a battle, it means it's a ton more volatile. Although, I am just kinda guessing. I think this stuff is kinda new."
"That's right."
Agatha and Simone jumped from the low, gritty voice behind them. They stepped back as a Mawile walked between them.
"Only part you're wrong about is calling it a sword," Mawile said, reaching up towards the hilt on the wall. "This here is a rapier. "
Mawile used a key and pushed it into a lock on the side of the wall. He turned it and took the hilt into his hand. He pointed it up as he turned around.
A deep, purple blade of light appeared. It extended up, then shortened back down to just a small knob.
"Metal that rejects energy won't break from attacks," Mawile said. "The blade on this weapon could, depending on the ratio of energy the blade has in it versus what it's hitting. Course, you can just grow the blade back. And you're right kid, this is new tech."
"Acuitan?" Simone guessed.
"Yeah, that's right. They were developed extremely recently, so there are probably less than a hundred or so energy-based weapons actually in use. And that means it's extremely unpredictable what will happen if you would use it in a real fight."
"How much?" Agatha asked quickly.
"Not for sale," he emphasized. "At least, not this one. I need to work on and study it more, and even still it isn't a weapon for kids."
Agatha stared as he put it back on the wall. She shared a curious glance with Simone.
"Is there a kid's version?" Agatha asked.
"Of everything else on the wall, yeah."
"If you develop a kid's version, then could I buy it?"
Mawile shifted his head from left to right as he turned back around from the wall. "Not worth just one sale. Most of your weird ass generation just wants Attract Wands."
"But if you make a kid's version, I'll be able to tell you how it works in battles."
"I can't tell if you're good enough to give me accurate information."
"What can I do to prove that I am?"
"I'm too tired to see how strong you are today. Come back again tomorrow."
With a rumbling cough, the Mawile folded his arms behind his back and walked back towards the counter. Simone and Agatha watched him before looking back to each other.
"I guess the ones on the walls aren't really for kids," Simone said. "I saw a few good wands, though."
"Which ones?" Agatha asked, walking side by side with him down the aisle he came from.
"Ah, well... Slumber, Confuse, and Slow Wands."
"How much each?"
"Just twenty. They're kind of like toys more than anything, but maybe they'll help with the real thing."
"Okay. I'll get them, and we can share."
"Which ones do you want first?" Simone asked.
"I'll try the Slow Wand first. You try with the other two."
"Okay. Sounds good."
________________________________________________________________________________
Agatha waited while Simone grabbed the three small wands and brought them up to the Mawile. Agatha counted from her pocket and put the bills on the table.
"Hey," Mawile said, staring down at his book. "You're that Pharaoh girl, aren't you?"
Agatha was caught off guard. She pulled the strand of her ear as Simone looked up at her.
"We'll talk tomorrow," Mawile said. "Have a good day."
"Uh, thanks," she said. "You too."
As Simone put the small wands in a brown paper bag, Agatha walked for the door. She forced herself to slow down for Simone to catch up, then pushed open the door with her foot. She shaded her eyes for a few seconds walking towards the sidewalk.
"You good?" Simone asked, walking behind her.
"Yeah," Agatha responded.
"Want to walk back?"
Agatha nodded. It was still nice and warm out, and it was all topped off with white, puffy clouds and the ghost of a ring.