Character: Simone
Species: Pikachu
Age: 15
Year of character creation: 2012
Story: One of Agatha's classmates. He's a history buff with a fondness for the arts. Everyone loves good ol' Simone.
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Agatha walked around like a zombie until bedtime, then slept. That's how the rest of the day went after Alondra's little escapade.
The morning after that, Mightyena Claire called everyone together.
Lopunny Luke, Espeon Selina, Lucario Annette, Torracat Bao, Luxray Imani, Umbreon Walter, and Charmander Natasha all packed the room so tight, Audino Agatha and Cinccino Hannah had to sit on the stairs to her room. She tinkered with her prosthetics while they talked.
The adults drowned out the room with their adult ideas on what to do next. Agatha didn't need to listen that hard. She'd already decided herself that they needed answers, and how to get them.
"I mean, I don't mean to be snide," Annette said, "but I think we should go with Claire's suggestion. I know it doesn't sound like it counts for much right now, but she was the closest out of us to being a Guildmaster."
"Splitting up for research is one thing," Selina chimed in, "but Bao can't even find lunch half of the time. What the hell is she supposed to find all the way out in the Counselor Mountains that the Nightlights haven't already? And for heaven's sakes, she's married. She has responsibilities here. Annette can stay principal and I'll go."
"I don't see why anyone's going," Imani huffed.
"We have to try something," Claire urged. "Anything. Selina, if you want to go instead, then you should. We can't expect answers to swing our way. Does anyone want to add anything?"
"We could try to go after that Reaper that blocked us in the Old World again," Agatha murmured, not glancing up.
Silence.
"I think it's best we wait until we're a bit further along in our training," Claire answered. "But we will. For now... You're all welcome to stay for breakfast."
"Or we could simply take this to the restaurant now?" Bao asked.
"Ah, right. Of course."
Her eyes drifted around. "Are any of you kids joining us?"
"We had plans," Agatha spoke up again, still looking down. "But, uh, another time."
"Alright. Make sure you have Hannah with you if you leave the house."
"Yeah."
She didn't tell anyone about her plans yet, but Hannah, Walter, and Natasha went along with it. The adults streamed out and the air cooled.
"We have plans?" Umbreon Walter asked.
"Yeah," she said. "Come up to my room."
Agatha reattached her prosthetics, kicked up to her feet, and walked up. Charmander Natasha, Umbreon Walter, and Cinccino Hannah followed her up to her room.
Or Walter would have followed if Agatha didn't slam the door in his face.
"Uh!?" Walter yelped after grunting.
"No dudes," said Agatha. "Especially not you."
"Uh, wow!?"
Natasha wandered in place and took an innocent look around. Hannah stuck to Agatha like a shadow while she rummaged around. Within a minute, Agatha pulled out a gleaming pink orb with white veins from under her bed. She turned her face away from it as she lifted back up.
"No," Hannah said sternly.
"What?" Natasha asked. She glanced between them and noticed the Reticle. "What is that?"
"It's a relic for fortune telling we found in Valor," Hannah explained. "And it's known for very adverse effects."
"But what about Sel- I mean, Principal Gonzalo going to the Counselor Mountains?" Natasha asked.
"She's not going to learn anything by camping," Agatha spat. "That's why we're gonna cheat."
"Agatha," Hannah frowned, "you don't even have enough sleep after Alondra's situation."
"Look, no one's accomplishing anything." She glared at Hannah. "And I dunno about you, but I'm getting really tired of getting jumped in my sleep. This is our only option to get ahead for once. Now are you guys coming, or am I doing this myself?"
"But how?" Hannah asked. "Do you have enough control over what you can even see? How to use that thing?"
"I don't. That's why we're going to see Simone. I texted him to meet us at the park soon."
"Agatha, can't you slow down?"
Agatha tightened her lips. She stifled her voice down. "Do you not care about what happened to Alondra? Or you?"
Hannah's deep blue eyes remained still. "I do, but I care about your well-being, too."
Agatha nodded and glanced past her. "Well, I don't. So let's get started."
"Simone's the one who warned us about that artifact. Can't you at least listen to him?"
Agatha walked past her. "He seems fine with it." Along the way, she passed the Reticle to Charmander Natasha. She held it in her prosthetic arm, and away from her face. "Could you hold that for me?" Agatha asked her. "And, uh, try not to put it in front of my face."
Natasha smiled. "S-suuuuure!" she muttered. "Got iiiiit..."
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Geese often hung around the park at this time of year. They flew over small, green ponds. Park visitors turned down stone walkways in favor of letting their feet hit dirt.
Pikachu Simone sat at the top of a hill under a wave of rolling clouds. His fur looked freshly cleaned. He stood up on his checkered red and white blanket and waved to them. Agatha grimaced. So corny... She made her way up the slowest because of her prosthetics.
"Hey Simone," Walter said, once he arrived at the top. "Sup with the picnic blanket?"
"Oh, I take pictures of sunsets here a lot," he explained," and I don't like my cameras getting dirty or wet. Or my feet. What are you all doing here together?"
"They were following me," Agatha sighed as she finished hiking up. "I guess they can't find anything better to do with their summer vacations."
Simone's eyes lit up. "Relatable. So, let's figure this out."
"Figure this out?" Agatha asked. "Don't you know how to use it?"
"No," he said. "I know some things we could try, but I don't know the magic button. Lots of accounts say it's a different feeling for different people. Set it down in the middle there."
Charmander Natasha placed it down and sat. Agatha kept her eyes trained on her feet as she joined them, then at the sky; anywhere but the Reticle. The clouds looked huge today.
"Okay." Simone clapped his paws and leaned forward. "First and foremost, we don't want you to get lost in the... how does that go?"
"Lost in the sauce?" Walter asked.
"Yeah. That. We don't want you to get lost in the sauce. Focusing on the veins alone might not be enough to narrow down your visions. So first, what exactly do you want to accomplish when you're looking into the Reticle?"
Agatha drummed her fingers against her leg. "I don't know what kinds of things I can even look for. If I could, I guess I'd say I want to see what happens to people."
"Okay, then how about you pick one person in particular?" Simone suggested.
"I'll do it!" Natasha jumped in.
Agatha didn't think she'd get volunteers, especially not as hyper as Natasha's trembling, raised claws. She put it back down and glanced around. She didn't seem like the type to be this interested.
"I mean, it's a good jumping off point," Natasha continued. "So let's start with that. You wanna read my future, or, whatever. Right?"
"...Yeah," Agatha said. "It's a good start."
"You can probably learn all kinds of information about the state of the world by reading one person's fortune," Simone said. "Now then, from what I read, this is a very spiritual kind of act. Let's try having you look into the Reticle focused on Natasha, not physically. Spiritually."
She frowned. "I have no idea what that means."
"It's alright. Feel it out. Keep an open mind."
Agatha looked into it and thought about Natasha. She was cool, she guessed. Pretty unfortunate she got dragged into all this, though to be fair, she yanked herself in afterward. Agatha didn't know her that well. She only approached Natasha because she couldn't imagine going into a new school with her prosthetics on full display. Natasha didn't get that luxury like she did, and didn't need it. She was strong like that.
"Hey Agatha?"
She looked up.
Charmander Natasha bent down in front of her. Her right eye stayed half open under a cut on her forehead. She reached her hand down.
Her prosthetic arm hung in bits and strands.
"C'mon," Natasha said. "Get up."
"See anything?"
Agatha blinked rapidly. Everyone held their gaze on her. She glanced around.
"Uh, not much," she answered.
"You saw something?" Natasha asked. "What?"
"You were just helping me up after I tripped or something is all," Agatha said. "Don't think I know how to focus on something specific."
"Sounds like good progress!" Simone smiled.
"Hey," Walter raised his voice. "So, you think you can do fortune telling on people that aren't here? Like, uh, Mr. Rivers?"
Agatha gazed in and tried. She thought about Mr. Rivers. He always seemed so nervous all the time, but he was a great teacher.
Nothing; not even a tingle.
"It may be spiritual," Simone said, "but there may be a bit of science to it. The Reticle itself kind of has an aura, or like, an energy field almost. I think you'd at least need a piece of that person closeby, like a clump of hair or something. Maybe that'd be enough for something."
"I don't feel or see anything," Agatha said. She looked up and away. "So, they have to be close to it?"
"Based on what I read, but you never know. Y'know, I'll just text you the articles right now. Gimme a few minutes to find them."
"Hey Agatha," Walter said. "Try me next."
"Sure."
Agatha thought about how much Walter sucked. Literally the worst person ever. She kept that opinion for the longest time, till he showed his true colors. She supposed there were worse people in this world, especially with fathers like the one he's got. She hoped he'd find his own way.
Umbreon Walter slammed to the gym floor. Cuts and forming bruises covered him. He craned his neck up to keep his line of sight on his enemy.
Slender vines drew back to Bayleef Jenna's body. The entire school watched the battle turn south. She smirked left and right, almost at every individual person.
"Why were you dating me?" Walter asked with a gritty voice.
"Isn't it obvious?" Jenna roared. "I was just sizing you up, dumbass. You were nothing to me but competition. And now... I'm the most powerful fighter in the entire school district! My college tuition is going to be zip zero, guaranteed! Aaaaahahhaahhaahhaa! Enjoy your college debt, Walter!"
Agatha opened her mouth to speak, but only a wheeze came out. Walter looked at her from across the Reticle on the ground with expectant eyes. When their gazes met, his head lowered.
"What'd you see?" he asked.
"U-uh..."
"Is it bad? What'd you see?"
"I, uh, saw..." Agatha scratched her arm. "I saw," she cleared her throat, "you and Jenna."
"Yeah? And?"
"She, uh," Agatha cleared her throat, "betrays you, and says that she was only dating you to size you up as competition for a battling scholarship."
Walter shot up to his feet. "She what!?"
A flock of birds flew out of a tree. Everyone zipped their mouths shut. Hannah didn't seem to understand why but went along with it.
"It's not guaranteed," said Simone. "She could change her mind before that happens. It just... gives you what's currently the most likely outcome."
"I'm going to the gym later," Walter said.
Agatha hadn't seen Walter's face wrinkle up that much before. She turned back to Simone.
"How about you?" she asked.
"Oh, uh, not thank you..." Simone said. "I mean, I get it's fine for some people, but, kinda feels like an invasion of privacy for me, y'know? Besides, if you tell someone bad news, they might dread it for a while, or become obsessed. I feel like I'm that type of person."
Agatha shot another look at Walter.
"He goes to the gym every day," Simone added. "He'll be fine, right?"
Walter glowered and turned away.
"But if I may ask," he continued, "what's the rush to have visions?"
"It's not a rush," Agatha countered. "Just curious."
Simone broke out into a short laugh.
"What?" she asked.
"No, no, nothing," his laughs calmed. "Your face just now reminded me of that fancam Elijah made."
"Dude," Walter barked. "Bro-code."
His ears fell. "Oh."
"What fancam?" Agatha asked again.
Walter and Simone shared a knowing look. Simone picked up his phone, fiddled for a moment, then handed it to Agatha. The screen was too small for her to type on, but he already set a video to play. She bit her lower lip.
It was a montage, of sorts. It showed Agatha around school, doing her usual: reorganizing her locker, sneezing into a tissue, and smirking to herself at the class shenanigans from the back. Romantic music blasted in the background, and sparkles of all varieties fluttered around the screen. Hannah watched from over Agatha's shoulder.
"I don't think I understand," Hannah said, smiling. "But I love the music."
Agatha's face warmed. She grimaced and handed Simone back his phone.
"Y'know, you could ask Elijah to read his fortune," he said. "I'm sure plenty of our classmates would be willing to help you practice. I know most of them are hanging out today."
Agatha had to hang around her classmates six hours a day. Maybe some of their fortunes would have information on things that happened around her. It worked as an easy starting point.
"Do you know where people are today?" Agatha asked.
"Shenise, Janette, and Romania are at the spa today," Simone said, looking at his phone. "Roy's hanging out with Thomas in the shopping district. Alisha, Jenna, and Zel are out that way too. Avery, Sam, Grant, and Elijah are all over the place today... And it looks like Mr. Rivers is out on a date with Ms. Wilman... around here in this park, actually."
"Maybe he won't get on my case so much about my essays with this little piece of information," Walter hissed.
"Well Walter, even I still can't tell the difference between your O's and Q's."
"Thanks, Simone," Agatha said, "but how many of them would even be willing to let me try?"
"Oh, I'm sure most if not everyone will. You can even offer not to tell them their fortune if they don't want to hear it. Don't know till you ask."
"Okay... So let's find Mr. Rivers, then we can go to the shopping district. Then the spa."
"Think he's that-a-way." Walter pointed to some spot in the distance.
Agatha struggled to see where he meant exactly.. She scanned the edge of a treeline three times over before she saw two green dots against it. They floated and twisted around each other.
"You should go catch up," Simone said.
"Yeah." Agatha forced out a small smile. "Thanks, by the way."
"No prob."
Audino Agatha stood up and followed Umbreon Walter. Charmander Natasha picked up the Reticle and kept behind her with Cinccino Hannah.
Come to think of it, Hannah hadn't asked Agatha to read her fortune either. She'd been against it from the start, but Agatha couldn't read her blank face. Maybe she'd get more curious as things progressed. Walter's already turned out interesting; one way to put it.
Flygon Mr. Rivers and Eldegoss Ms. Wilman almost circled each other during their morning flight. Agatha would've left them alone if Walter didn't already interrupt them. He got to business fast; a spark lit up in their eyes and pointed in Agatha's direction. She let her head drift and pretended not to notice.
"Good morning, you all!" Mr. Rivers chirped. "I hear you're doing some fortune telling?"
Silence, Agatha's cue. "Uh, yes. So, uh, we were wondering if you wanted to have your fortune read."
"As a full time teacher, always willing to help a student learn." Mr. Rivers turned his head to the side. "Ah, ladies first, of course."
Ms. Wilman smiled. "Thank you. Such a gentleman..."
Charmander Natasha set the Reticle down on the grass. Everyone assumed a seat in a circle around it. Eldegoss Ms. Wilman looked around, uncertain. Agatha always appreciated her laid back study halls. Other teachers would stalk around and get on her case when she didn't feel productive, but not her.
Ms. Wilman traveled along the school hallways. Her head shifted towards a classroom door as she walked past it. She stopped, shuffled back, and peered in through a crack in the door. Mr. Rivers' voice carried through the room as he lectured on the history of Acuitan agriculture. She smiled to herself.
Agatha came back into focus. She glanced around and tried to figure out how to word it.
"Uh, didn't see much," she said. "I just saw you outside of Mr. Rivers' classroom while he was teaching history. I'm still trying to figure out how to find more interesting stuff..."
"That's plenty interesting Agatha," Ms. Wilman said, still smiling, "I'll let you know if it happens! Gerald?"
Mr. Rivers reacted slow. "Hm? Oh, uh, yes! Of course."
They swapped places.
Some of the other girls in class had crushes on Mr. Rivers. Maybe some of them made fancams for him, too. They probably did, but Agatha doubted it would help her understand it.
Flygon Mr. Rivers cracked open the front door to the school and promptly shut it behind himself. He kept his face stern. Sure signs of autumn began to reveal themselves through patches of fallen leaves.
"Can I help you, sir?" Mr. Rivers asked.
He stood across from a Dragonite with holes in his wings and platinum eyes. Dragonite kept his arms crossed behind his back, like he was hiding something, despite security cameras denying that.
"Good day," Dragonite said. His small voice wavered in the morning breeze. "I came to have a look at the school grounds. My son is in attendance."
"Oh, but you haven't been before?" Mr. River's shoulders loosened. "What's your son's name?"
"Lionel, Evergreen."
"Oh... Well, uh, I suppose I could let you meet with the Principal to discuss this further."
"Of course."
Agatha blinked. Mr. River's face blended almost perfectly with the neutral, studious gaze he held now.
"You, were, uh, letting a parent into the school," Agatha said.
"Interesting," Mr. Rivers said. "Parents don't visit often, unless they're called in. When do you think it will happen?"
"Around early Fall, I think?"
He smiled. "I'll keep that in mind. I'm... pleased to see that you're striving towards understanding how this all works, Agatha. You're doing well."
Hannah glared at the grass. Agatha grew a half-smile.
________________________________________________________________________________
From the list Simone mentioned, all of Agatha's classmates wanted to have their fortunes read. After an hour-long texting conversation, they settled to meet at a bowling alley, where Avery and Elijah declared they would "smoke some noobs lmao." And apparently Mr. West would be there for some reason?
During the carriage ride over (paid for by a proud Ms. Wilman), Audino Agatha busied herself by explaining bowling to Cinccino Hannah and answering her increasingly annoying questions.
"No," Agatha sighed out her frustration. "The bowling pins don't move, or dodge, or juke, or 'break your ankles.' Who taught you that phrase?"
"I must admit, this doesn't sound all too exciting..." said Hannah. She stared down at her crossed feet and didn't seem to hear Agatha's quietly worded question.
Agatha silently agreed as she surfed the menu. She felt hungry all the time lately. Charmander Natasha might have been doing the same. She kept the Reticle covered with a small blanket and used her phone with her non-prosthetic arm.
"They have food you've never tried," Agatha said. "Might help you lighten up..."
"I'm not hungry," Hannah asserted.
"Hard to tell, with you being such a stick in the mud either way."
Hannah's face soured. "Fine. I realize it's not my place to tell you what you can and can't do with your gift, but you ought to be more mindful that I can feel however I want to about it."
"Hey, Hannah?"
Charmander Natasha's voice came out soft, but stern. Agatha kept her gaze pointed away from her direction, in case the Reticle poked out as the carriage jostled.
"None of the adults really think we can do anything," Natasha said. "But I think we're more capable than just waiting for something to happen again. Especially as a team. Besides, she already read some fortunes, and nothing bad really happened except to Walter."
Umbreon Walter continued to stare at the void past the floor.
"And if something does happen," Natasha continued, "well, we'd really appreciate it if you were there to help."
"Of course I will," Hannah said. "But I can only do so much when you don't listen to me."
"That's all we're asking for."
Audino Agatha passed the rest of the ride on her phone. At some point, she rested her eyes. The carriage stopped maybe half an hour later.
Agatha swore the empty parking lot took up more space than the building. The building had plain, plastic-looking walls and a corny sign with bowling pins. She trailed behind her classmates' parade towards the front doors.
"Hey, Agatha?" Natasha turned her head back. "Did you see that new L'Oréal Paras ad?"
The question snapped Agatha out of her thoughts. "Uh, what?" she asked.
Natasha slowed down and matched Agatha's pace. She kept the Reticle in her prosthetic arm and raised her phone to Agatha's face. A video with a golden-striped Furret started playing.
"All of that fighting can really damage fur, especially with the intensity of the professionals. L'Oréal Paras' new patented scientifically researched formula smooths out fur and promotes even growth, with its powerful scientifically researched proven formula that promotes even growth. Charm the man of your dreams today. Because you're worth it.
"Side effects include heart attacks, liver damage, vomiting, blood clotting, anxiety, indigestion, high blood pressure, sore-throat, loss-of-appetite, blurred vision, heart failure, dizziness, poison, paralysis, burns, spontaneous combustion, and death."
The Furret ran a brush through their picture-perfect tail, not that it seemed to have anything on it. Good thing, too. Otherwise she might be dead.
"That is something," Agatha snorted.
Natasha looked at her with a sparkle in her eyes. "I know! Right? You think they have one for scales?"
"I hope not. It'd suck if you died now."
Besides a few pillars to hold the building up, the inside remained as open space. What felt like a mile of smooth, shined-up bowling lanes stretched out from wall to wall. A few of her classmates already arrived. Bayleef Jenna sat at a table with Growlithe Alisha and Slurpuff Zel with baskets of fries.
To Agatha's surprise, Walter walked up and talked to Jenna like normal. Maybe he planned to act normal until he had some kind of opportunity?
Whatever. Nothing about that situation would end well. Agatha kept her head low and claimed her own table. With any luck, someone would bring fries. She wanted them.
"Agatha?" Bayleef Jenna titled her nose up over the other heads at her table. "What're you doing over there? Just pull up a cushion."
Agatha grumbled to herself and awkwardly pushed a cushion in front of herself. She walked it over and sat at their newly quiet table.
"I thought you all would be busy practicing by now," Agatha said idly.
"Psht, nah," Jenna drawled out her voice. "Let the guys have their stupid little war over it. I'm just here for the food. And icies." Her eyes drifted across the table. "Okay, so like, do we have to do anything special for this whole fortune telling thing? Cause I'm kinda iffy on giving you a piece of my fur or stuff because, like, I read this article the other day on cloning."
"Um... No," Agatha answered. "You just have to sit still for a moment. Who wants to go first?"
"I can just go first."
"Alright."
After Natasha placed the Reticle on the table, Agatha saw the exact same event from Walter's fortune. She wondered if that could happen, and now she knew. Maybe certain major events between her classmates would be the same, but they couldn't all be as closely related.
"You battle Walter in some kind of scholarship event," Agatha said. "And then you... well."
Jenna stared into Agatha's soul. She never noticed how hardened Jenna's eyes were. Alisha and Zel flashed each other nervous, thin smiles, not privy to the message. Only Agatha and Jenna understood.
"I see," said Jenna. "If this information were to leak, we might have... problems, Agatha."
"You know there's an old saying about not doing a certain thing to the messenger."
"We will see if it is outdated, won't we?"
"Mhm."
"Can I go next?" Slurpuff Zel asked innocently.
"Sure," said Agatha. "Switch seats with Jenna. Please," she added quietly.
Jenna's face smoothed back down to its usual self. Zel kept her ever eternal smile trained on Agatha's face. Zel was the type to ask Mr. Rivers questions when he rattles off about Acuitan architecture. No doubt she'd be excited with anything Agatha saw.
This time, she saw something that might be helpful.
"You give Romania a sandwich," Agatha said, "but it has hummus on it. You don't realize she's allergic, and she has to leave school for the day."
Zel's eyes popped. "Oh my gosh, I gotta ask her if she's allergic now!" Her face straightened. "If this is for real, then... Wow... What else would you be able to warn people about?"
"Uh... I dunno."
"Okay," Alisha shot to her feet. "Do me now."
Alisha swapped in. Agatha focused in as best she could, but only came out with fuzz. Unimportant sounds and moments popped in and out like lightning. She couldn't stick herself in one place or event
"Uh, is there... something you want me to target? Agatha asked.
"How about my final grades for my report card?"
That thought rooted Agatha in a moment. The details of the room were twisted, but she could see Growlithe Alisha sitting on the floor with a piece of paper in her paws.
"This is the best I've done so far!" Alisha said, smiling. "I was so close to an A- in history, too!"
"That's nice, dear. Honey? Do you know where I left those baskets we got the other day?"
The conversation turned away from Alisha. Her face fell.
Agatha didn't exactly want a deep dive into Alisha's personal life. Maybe she had some responsibility in how she gave her answers.
"You did good," Agatha said. "Better than ever."
Alisha almost jumped out of her seat. She siphoned off her adrenaline into her clapping paws. Agatha kept her face straight. She needed to answer questions more carefully from now on. For all she knew, that situation with Walter became some sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. Maybe some situations could be better for them if she held her silence.
All this thinking made her hungry, but she really didn't feel like talking enough to order food.
Lucario Elijah arrived, with Boltund Avery, Oshawott Sam, and Croagunk Grant behind him. Agatha swore he hunched when he looked her way. Her mind replayed the fancam again.
"They're having a match right?" Jenna asked Alisha. "What were the teams again?"
"Uh, I dunno. Lemme check the text."
Agatha checked for herself. They formed three teams headed by Mr. Rivers, Ms. Wilman, and Mr. West. It amounted to a favorite teacher contest. If Agatha were a little more extroverted and had an easier time balancing on one foot while holding something heavy, she'd bowl for Mr. West. Unfortunately, based on the conversation between Hannah and Avery, Hannah chose Ms. Wilman. Traitor. She didn't deserve the donuts Mr. West brought on the last day of class.
Zel, Belle, Janette, Alisha, and Shenise backed Ms. Wilman along with the traitor. Natasha, Romania, Sam, Grant, Jenna, Walter, and Avery went with Mr. Rivers. Elijah, Roy, Thomas, and Simone realized Mr. West was the best. Maybe he had less team members because they thought he couldn't bowl.
"Is that the thing?"
Boltund Avery and Oshawott Sam drifted towards Agatha's table. She shifted under Avery's gaze. He'd never looked at her so directly before.
"I think it's called the Reticle," Sam added.
"Yeah, yeah. The Reticle," Avery said. "Is that it?"
"Yes?" Agatha answered.
"I want to have my fortune read!"
"Uh, okay... What would you like to know?"
Growlithe Alisha stood up and out of his way. Avery practically lunged into the cushion.
"How 'bout this?" he asked. "Try and tell which team wins this bowling match."
For whatever reason, Agatha held a clearer picture than any of her other visions. The signs above each bowling lane, dark now, lit up with numbers. The team names were simply "Mr. Rivers," "Mr. West," and "Ms. Wilman." Ms. Wilman's team trailed far behind with 100 points. Mr. Rivers and Mr. West's teams boasted 165 and 156 respectively.
In third person, Audino Agatha saw herself up at the lane with a bowling ball in hand. As she rolled it down the shined row of wood, her foot slipped. She landed on her lower back as it rolled down the lane at the speed of a falling piece of paper. It hit the first pin on the left side and nudged the rest. The last pin barely fell.
"Do you see anything?" Avery asked quietly.
"Uh, yeah," Agatha blinked as her vision changed. "Uh, do you have a piece of paper?"
"Paper?"
"I want to write down the prediction and see what happens, before I forget. I'll show it to you after."
"Oh. Alright then. I think I have a spare piece in my bag over there. Lemme get it."
Avery fished out a spare piece of looseleaf with half-done, crappy notes on the back. Agatha drew what she saw on the clean front: her awkward pose on the floor, the scores, and how the ball landed a strike, and a little representation that Mr. West's team won. Once finished, she folded it up and handed it to Avery.
"So, what happens if I look?" Avery asked jokingly.
"It might ruin the experiment," said Agatha. "You know how in science class we learned about having only one independent variable?"
Based on this jock's face, he didn't pay attention in science class. Agatha sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Basically, I want to see if my fortune will turn out correct," Agatha explained. "If you open it early and find out what it is, I won't be able to tell if my fortune is wrong because you know what happens or right because you know what happens."
Agatha saw Avery's brain cells trying and failing to find connections to other brain cells.
"Just don't open it," she said.
"Uh, okay. Sure."
Pressure pushed on the sides of Agatha's head. If she kept it up much longer, she'd end up with a migraine. She'd do one more.
"Can I go next?" Lucario Elijah asked. Agatha jumped at his voice. He'd been standing right behind her.
"Sure," Agatha said, "But I'll only do one more. I'm getting a headache."
"Don't force yourself on my account."
"No, I want to do one more."
Elijah paused. "Alright."
Elijah switched out with Avery and sat across from Agatha. He didn't say what he wanted her to try and foresee, so she used it as practice to find her own direction. She heard voices.
"I don't get it bro," Elijah said. "Who told her I made fancams, dude!"
"It's not that big of a deal. You know that one junior? Ryan? The girls in his class make fancams of him."
"Exactly! Dammit. There's only one option to keep myself looking normal. I have to make fancams of everyone in class. I can say I was going in alphabetical order or some crap. Yeah..."
"You could just ask her to go out for some pizza or something like a normal person. And besides, I think people will be more weirded out by you making a fancam of Avery."
"Just help me out dude!"
Agatha couldn't tell who the second, distorted voice belonged to. She didn't know what to say about this last one.
"The pizza idea would be simpler," Agatha said.
Elijah's eyes thinned. "What?"
"Don't worry about it. Hey, how do I tell Mr. West I want to join his team?"
Elijah perked up. "Oh! I'll go tell him! So you're joining our team?"
"Yeah."
"Nice!"
"Yeah..."
Agatha ran out of things to say. Maybe she could ask him to buy food she didn't feel like getting. She rubbed the sides of her aching head and sighed.
"You good?" Elijah asked.
"Yeah," she huffed. "Do you think you could get me some fries and a chocolate shake? I want to sit for a bit."
He rose to his feet. "Of course!"
"Thanks."
Agatha reached into her jacket's pockets and slid him some coins across the table. Elijah nodded stiffly as he took them and walked over towards the teachers. Mr. Rivers spoke for them to an employee Fomantis. A short burst of surprise and a quick, excited glance from Mr. Rivers told Agatha they hadn't expected her. Maybe her fortune of seeing herself bowl worked like a self-fulfilling prophecy. She could run other experiments for that later.
When Elijah came back, the rest of Mr. West's team drifted over and claimed the table. With the promise that Simone would show in a few minutes, they started talking strategy. Agatha half-listened. It didn't seem to matter for just bowling. Their conversation amounted to hitting more pins than the enemy teams. Well duh.
"How about you, Agatha?" Midnight Lycanroc Roy asked. "You ever play Wii bowling?"
Agatha glanced up from her phone and wrinkled her nose. "Played what bowling?"
"I think it's fine," Sandshrew Thomas said. "We have a lot more Wii bowling experience than Ms. Wilman's team."
"Ms. Wilman's team isn't the problem though," Elijah huffed. "Mr. Rivers got Walter, Avery, and Sam. And knowing Sam, he's probably watched a bowling anime."
"You really think there's a bowling anime?" Roy asked.
"If there is, he's watched it."
"It'll be tough," Thomas admitted. "But I still think we got it. Avery never did have good aim."
"Don't know about that," said Roy. "But at least we won't get last for sure."
Torkoal Mr. West filled the following silence: "I'm just happy to be your favorite teacher."
Agatha leered down at her phone and swallowed another fry. This was why Mr. West ruled.
"It's okay guys."
Pikachu Simone stole the table's attention. Agatha hadn't noticed him walk in the building. Was her hearing off today?
"I played Wii bowling," he declared. "We got it in the bag. I've actually been real bowling plenty of times too. You just got to aim for the right angle, and we'll be great." His eyes lifted to Agatha's. "So, how'd the whole fortune thing go?"
"Good," she said. "Just got a bit of a headache. But I'm doing a little test right now."
"Nice. Can't wait to see how it checks out."
Simone joined in on the strategy meeting with actual tips. By the time they were called to the lanes, a new touch of confidence straightened out Agatha's back. She could do this. If she ignored the vision, the results would prove more useful.
Then again, she only decided to join because of the fortune. Would she have changed her mind on her own? Maybe her experiment didn't have a single variable like she hoped.
Each team claimed a different lane. All three teachers went first, simultaneously. Ms. Wilman hit air. Mr. Rivers got stuck with a split he couldn't quite fix, and Mr. West cleaned up all the pins in two groups of four and six.
Agatha didn't keep track of how many throws were left in the match. In general, Ms. Wilman's team sucked. Hannah hit the most pins, and she rarely managed to hit all the pins. Mr. Rivers' team worked lopsided. Avery, Walter, Jenna, and Sam all knew how to actually bowl. Grant's performance usually hit the average mark, and Romania did terribly.
Agatha wouldn't say Natasha sucked at bowling: she couldn't balance quite right with her prosthetic. Agatha couldn't, either. Each one of their throws wobbled out of control. Because of each team having so many members, Agatha had to wait a while in between each throw. She should've practiced on her own first. Staring at her feet for ten minutes in between didn't help.
"Agatha?"
Agatha snapped out of her daydream. Torkoal Mr. West met her gaze.
"Oh, uh, hi?" she replied.
"How are you doing?" he asked.
"Uh, fine?"
Mr. West sat next to her like he was preparing a dad-talk. Agatha hadn't experienced one of those for a while...
"You know, as I've gotten older, things have changed," Mr. West said. "I struggled with not being able to do things I could during my arena days. You know, I had some level of pride in me about being able to do those things. But as I've been teaching these past twenty odd years, I started to pride myself in that instead."
"Uh, I, don't... follow."
"Have a look around."
Agatha did. Her classmates chatted each other up. Even Hannah showed all smiles.
"Relax," Mr. West said, standing up. "It's just bowling."
Agatha was the only one being hard on herself for bowling like crap, and she didn't even like bowling. Alisha, Shenise, Belle... Plenty of them were awful. Her jaw unclenched. Her priority was seeing how the score and her vision shaped up. None of the scores went over what she saw yet, but Mr. Rivers' team closed in on theirs.
For her vision to be correct, Boltuned Avery had to score seven pins, and Pikachu Simone needed to hit ten. She watched them throw in tandem.
"Uh!" Avery grunted.
Avery's ball slipped away from him, and right into the side of the lane. Simone hit eight pins and left him with a wide, difficult split. Agatha sat forward. If Simone hit this, her vision tracked. If he hit this, she could see the future, just like the stories.
They each threw again. Both of them tracked. Agatha flipped between them. She could imagine Avery's hitting seven, but Simone's was close. His ball hit one pin on its side. It danced around in a short circle towards the other pin. They both had to go down. The tops of the pins tapped.
They went down.
"Nailed it!" Simone hopped in place and tapped his feet together.
"Bro!" Sandshrew Thomas spat out. "How much Wii bowling have you played?"
"Eh," Lillipup Shenise shrugged as she waddled away from Ms. Wilman's lane. "At least we got triple digits."
The scores settled on 100, 165, and 156. Agatha's turn finished the game. Her legs shook as she stood up and went to the lane. She could see herself tripping already. Should she focus on not tripping, or trip on purpose? Or should she bowl like normal and let it happen naturally?
To keep the experiment in line, Agatha decided to bowl like normal. Walter and Hannah sauntered up to take their last throws. Hannah's didn't matter, but the difference between Agatha and Walter's decided the game. Agatha took a deep breath only to find her lungs shaking.
Walter already wound back for his last throw. Agatha stepped back to match him.
Her sock pinched something in her prosthetic. A joint locked up. She slipped back and lost her footing. Her foot smacked the bowling ball.
Agatha landed on her lower back. She rolled herself upright and groaned as she stood back up. Walter helped yank her back up.
"You good?" Walter asked.
"Yeah," Agatha huffed. Her bowling ball hit the halfway point down the lane, still humming from the impact. Her attention to it drew Walter's glare.
It struck gold, exactly like she saw before. Every pin went down.
"I call cheating," Walter said with an easy smile on his face. "But it doesn't matter. I only have to hit one more pin."
Agatha and Walter stopped and watched Hannah's ball waltz down the side of the lane. Hannah frowned. It seemed identical to the rest of her throws.
"I don't like this game," Hannah declared. "Can we switch to something else?"
Walter rolled for it. His smirk stayed on during its journey down the lane. It held steady, like all of his other rolls. It held so steady that it matched his previous one.
It matched his previous one so much, it slipped right between both groups of pins and tumbled down without hitting any of them.
"Well shit."
Cheers erupted. Agatha's jaw clenched as the rest of the team surrounded her. Mr. River's team turned on Walter and started roasting. She thought that knowing whether or not the vision would come true would bring some relief. Reality hit hard: she had responsibilities no one else could tell her how to deal with.
"Agatha!"
Boltund Avery broke off from his team. He scrambled on the floor and fell on his stomach. The piece of paper Agatha drew on drifted about her classmates' feet and landed. While Lycanroc Roy helped Avery back up, Lucario Elijah picked up the paper and unfolded it. He opened on the side of the useless notes before turning it around.
"What's this?" Elijah asked Avery.
"Bro!" Avery shouted. "Agatha drew that before it all started!"
Elijah scanned the paper again. "Before... She drew this..." His face recoiled back. "Wait, is this the fortune thing?"
"Yo, what?" Roy yelped.
Elijah brought it down and showed everyone. Their faces lit up. The teachers turned speechless. Cinccino Hannah's face remained still. Pikachu Simone managed to gawk more than anyone else.
"You know," Walter spoke up over a symphony of murmurs and gasps, "maybe the real reason I missed was because it was literally foretold by the prophecy."
Persian Romania steadied and turned towards Simone. "Wait, why are you surprised by this?" she asked him.
"The Pharaoh family is known for having varying proficiency when it comes to fortune telling," Simone replied. "But to be able to have a clear picture like this, correct down to the score is insanity." Simone met her stare in a way that made Agatha's blood curdle. "There's never been anything like this before."
Agatha froze. If she didn't know any better, she'd think Simone was almost... disturbed. Some of her classmates noticed her trying to sneak out away from their circle.
"Welp," Oshawott Sam smacked his lips, "guess she's never failing a test again."
"She could win the spelling bee with zero effort," Deerling Belle pointed out.
"She could win the lottery!" Growlithe Alisha howled.
"Legends will tell of the ultimate weather forecaster."
"I know you have a headache right now, but I really want to know if I get fat when you have the chance."
"The stock market..." Ms. Wilman muttered.
"Everyone," Hannah announced. "Please, quiet." Something about her tone worked. Her classmates fell quiet. "This is Agatha's gift. It is her decision to make what she does with it."
Agatha's shoulders dropped. With how her classmates exploded, she almost forgot that last part.
"It's no big deal," Agatha said. "It's just bowling."
________________________________________________________________________________
Most of Agatha's class went back to bowling. Others, including the teachers, chatted away on cushions. Agatha relaxed into her own. Her classmates didn't bother her with any requests other than idle questions. She ended up staying for most of the day. Her headache let up, but she had enough fortunes for one day. Her classmates would come to her when she was ready again.
The carriage ride back home with Hannah went quietly. Neither of them apologized, or stuttered out anything resembling one. Agatha guessed they came to an understanding, seeing how Hannah let Agatha keep the Reticle next to her.
At home, Mightyena Claire cooked. Hannah recounted the day to her while Agatha rested from all the attention in her room. She struggled to undo a button on her jacket. Something thick tied around it. After a minute of rip and tear, she pulled off a thick wad of golden fur. She traced it up and down to try and remember how it got stuck there.
"Gourmet cupcakes?" Furret Abigail squealed.
"Uh yeah," said Agatha, "it's, uh... Pretty normal at malls, I guess?"
Abigail grabbed the brass handle of glass doors and yanked them open. Agatha sped up to match her, a touch too fast. Her tail caught on the button of her jacket. Agatha tore back only to slam face-first into the glass as the doors shut; not that Abigail noticed.
Oh.
"It may be spiritual," Simone said, "but there may be a bit of science to it. The Reticle itself kind of has an aura, or like, an energy field almost. I think you'd at least need a piece of that person closeby, like a clump of hair or something. Maybe that'd be enough for something."
Agatha suddenly found the energy and motivation to try for one more fortune. She set the Reticle and clump of fur down on her bed and stared into it.
________________________________________________________________________________
"Is that it?" Umbreon Walter asked. "Damn..."
"Yup," Audino Agatha answered. She rolled her shoulders and shifted her weight. "Keep your head up. She doesn't take visitors often, or lightly."
"I hear you, but... Is it just me, or has Stargazer Palace gotten bigger?"
"It's been two years since we last saw it."
"I know. Even still."
It was bigger. Since Agatha last saw it, new golden spires, like closed flowers, lined the tops of the towers. Clouds grew small and disintegrated against its rock bottom. A fleet of pegasi wings hardly appeared as a candlelight against Stargazer Palace when they deployed. Agatha imagined they were coming to see them in.
"I don't like this," Walter said. "I wish you'd tell me why you agreed."
"You've followed this far already," Agatha replied. "What's a little longer?"
Agatha stood stalwart at the top of the hill, and waited. The deployment took a few minutes to reach them. At the formation's nose, an Ambipom touched down first. His pegasi wings held extra metal attachments. They reminded Agatha of plastic seats mothers used to keep their eggs safe during carriage rides. Lo and behold, they were about Agatha and Walter's sizes.
"Hey," Ambipom bopped his head at them. "Alright. Come on."
Agatha passed Walter a confidence-boosting smirk. She stepped forward towards him first and strapped herself in. After a moment, Walter figured out how his worked and tested it with a tug.
"Okay," Ambipom's voice boomed to reach his still-flying comrades. "Straight back."
Agatha's chest pushed against the metal during liftoff. It eased up seconds before she would've voiced a complaint. Walter's eyes trembled when they hit the ground. He wasn't as used to flying.
From above, Stargazer Palace's layout reminded her of a city. In reality, every building, object, and person down there served a military purpose. Trion had drawn up quite an army over the past few years. The entire world's endangerment from a singular threat helped with the motivational aspect. But once that passed, this place, with its skyscraping spires and platinum statues, would turn lonely as a coffin. Agatha wondered if she realized that.
The rest of the deployment around Ambipom broke away and landed in different spots on raised stone platforms. A straight path formed between them and the center of the palace.
"Landing," Ambipom spat out.
Agatha appreciated the warning. She held onto her metal straps for comfort as the force on her body increased. It hit an apex when Ambipom straightened out his body over a black metal straightaway. They landed still around the halfway point. She waited a few seconds before moving to undo her straps. Walter took longer to undo his own, what with his shaking arms. Ambipom unhooked himself a few seconds after Walter finished.
"Follow me," Ambipom said. "Don't loiter. Don't know what she'd do to you."
"Oh," Agatha sighed, "With how well-behaved you are, I'm sure you have some idea."
Maybe a hundred soldiers lined the runway on either side. Agatha didn't meet their thousand-yard stares. If there were more, it would be theatrics. These soldiers were here to keep her in line. Agatha found herself more intimidated by the shadows the towers cast. They stretched on for miles behind and in front of her.
The runway led inside. The Valorian, Veritan, and Acuitan flags swayed on velvet curtains. Lightbulbs on rose gold chandeliers turned on as they passed underneath them. A few stray open doors closed before Agatha could see inside. Halfway down the hall, Ambipom turned towards a staircase covered with velvet carpet. Every three steps, a small marble statue of a previous Valorian, Veritan, and Acuitan Lord interrupted the rails.
Given what happened recently, Agatha expected more security checkpoints. She must've held a strong trust in her external defenses, and her soldiers. Or she didn't care.
At the top of the stairs, the tick of a grandfather clock matched her heart. The black metal under her feet turned platinum. Artisans laid over the floor with the three flags. Sunlight streamed in through stained glass on the walls. Ambipom stopped walking, went to the wall between two works of stained glass, leaned back, and crossed his arms.
"Go on then," Ambipom said. "I'll be waiting here to escort you out."
Agatha saw right through him: Ambipom didn't want any part of this. It spurred her next decision.
"Walter," Agatha said, "wait here with him."
Walter stopped, considered her request until he realized she wasn't asking, and obliged. Agatha continued on her way to a set of black, steel doors. Grit rubbed on her digits when she knocked. She wiped it off and waited.
A series of chains spun and drew the door upward. Light filled the room from all sides. Balconies covered every direction. From here alone, Agatha could look down on almost every part of Stargazer Palace. From this far away, the soldiers on the balconies and streets below appeared as dots, indistinguishable from each other. Agatha doubted she could even tell a Steelix from a Pichu at this distance. A cruel wind constantly ran through. At this height, it held less oxygen. Every gale stole a nick of stamina out of her lungs.
A Furret with golden fur, tangled and coated in dirt, leered down at her. She rose to her feet from a diamond-encrusted throne. Three golden wedding rings adorned her right paw, each imbued with a gemstone; one yellow like the innermost edge of the sun, one azure like the outermost edge of a lightning bolt, and one pink like water corrupted by a drop of blood. A dark patch emblazoned with a gold Compass Rose covered the left side of her face.
And of course, the Trion Crown rested on her head; the Valorian, Veritan, and Acuitan crowns, melted down, reunited, and returned to her people.
"That relative of yours seeks the Sacred Treasures," Abigail said. "I have sources telling me he's traveling with Jewel Verity in the southern hemisphere."
"Yes," Agatha said, "well, hello. I suppose you're well on your way to catching up to him, given there's so much less land in the southern hemisphere."
"I need you to tell me where the third comet is."
"And I don't need to do whatever you tell me."
Abigail's eye thinned. "I don't bring guests into my home to be smart-mouthed. I bring them into my home for 'yes ma'ams.'"
"Maybe you're too used to getting what you want. I can do whatever I want with my gift. All of these problems are ones that you made. Take care of it yourself."
Agatha turned away.
The gate dropped shut. Agatha licked her front teeth and turned back around. Abigail hung her crown on the corner of her throne and exchanged it out for a silver blade with an electric aura: Lobera. Agatha hadn't seen it in a while. Its edges frayed into razors.
"My my," Agatha said, "you sure have been stacking up curses. And yet all of them originally belonged to my family."
"And yet here I am having to deal with them," Abigail said quietly. "And all because of your family's weakness."
"Don't even."
Agatha spaced her feet apart. Abigail stepped forward.
________________________________________________________________________________
Audino Agatha snapped back to her bedroom. Her head split in two. She pushed on either side of it and bent down to the floor. One more vision turned out to be a terrible idea. A terrible, stressful idea that made her feel like a different person in a different time and gave more questions than answers. With her forearm over her eyes, she picked up the Reticle and shoved it under her bed. That was enough for one week, or month. If she let her curiosity take the wheel, she'd wind up in a coma.
If her visions could be accurate, why was a palace floating in the sky with nothing to hold it up? And she reacted like it was normal. What changed between now and then?
A lot. And Agatha needed to press on, or it'd be too late. Maybe her head would feel better tomorrow. She breathed out. Yeah. Tomorrow. Tomorrow at least would still be okay.