The next morning, I woke staring into a light bulb and with cold sweat sparsely layering my body. Wiping some of it off, I sat up. It was odd; not the fact that I had woke covered in sweat, but they fact that I hadn't remembered even a second of a dream I had had. My night had contained nothing but a dark, dreamless doze, as far as I was concerned, and, like always, it had lasted for nothing but seconds. Shaking the thought from my mind, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and got off my bed.

"Good morning, Red," I greeted when I saw him sitting upon his bed, eating the breakfast that had been promised by the school. Putting his fork down, he pointed to the desk on the side of the room opposite the beds, and my vision followed. Placed on top of the desk was a tray and a few covered plates as well as another envelope. Assuming they were for me, as Red had an identical set of his own, I went over to observe them closer. Sure enough, the envelope was addressed to Cestian (though by the smell and traces of White-Out, it had likely been previously addressed to 'Lucario'). Opening it, I began reading the contents.

Dear Cestian, (more White-Out)

Today, being your first day, will be performed in a different routine than most. You are to report to you first period class, which is always your therapy session, located in room 14. Classes start at 8:00 AM, so be sure to arrive on time. Tardiness will be rewarded with a detention. At your therapy session today, you will receive your schedule and a map of the school to aid you in getting to classes on time.

On a normal day, you will eat breakfast in the cafeteria at any time you would like before class. As to keep you punctual, the cafeteria opens at 7:00 AM and closes at 7:55 AM. Once again, being tardy to class will earn you an hour long detention with the principal. Lunch is dismissed during third period, f a 45 minute break, and you are allowed to go to the cafeteria for dinner anytime after 5:30 PM and before 7:00 PM, as you are expected to be in your dorm by 9:30 PM, unless you have permission to be out. Accessing the cafeteria or being out of your dorm after curfew will earn you a detention.

Each day is composed of five periods that are approximately an hour and a half each. The first hour is always your therapy session and to give students a proper education while here, other courses such as math, science, history, and English are provided. Classes end around 5:00 PM. In the time before and after classes or during a study hall period, you are allowed to access the library, computer lab, gymnasium, and other rooms colored red on the maps, as well as ask teachers for help in classes. Every Wednesday after classes, you are to go to the conference room and meet with your fellow students.

On occasion, there will be breaks in which students have a free day, as well as half-days every Saturday and Sunday.

We hope you have a wonderful stay at our academy.

Sincerely,

SSB Academy Staff.

As I finished reading the letter, I couldn't help but snort. "Have you read this?" I asked, gesturing to the letter. Red nodded, rolling his eyes as he nodded towards the paper, indicating that he thought it was just as full of crap as I did. "This... this is so... false." Red nodded in agreement again, and, before I could start ranting, tapped his wrist. It took me a second to realize what he meant, but finally looked at the time: 7:40.

"Oh, thank you," I said as I grabbed my breakfast tray and sat down on my bed to eat. I opened the dishes and observed the content. The first held two rolls in it, which I was glad to have, while the other contained scrambled eggs. I stared in shock and disgust at the dish that had been prepared, when Red came over and swapped my eggs for his rolls. Looking up at his sympathetic smile, I returned the expression and thankfully bit into one of my rolls. Out of all the horrid things I knew I was going to go through at the academy, I was glad that I was roomed with someone else from the Pokemon sector. It was the little things, like Red knowing that Pokemon hatch from eggs, that made all the difference.

I continued to eat, and by the time I finished, I only had seven minutes to get to my first period. Red had already left after he had finished his meal, and I headed into the hallway in search of my room. Luckily, there was a map not too far from the dorms, and I was able to navigate my way to the classroom, if it could be called that.

When I entered, there was no one there; the only things occupying the space being a table with a chair on the side facing the door, and two on the other. Besides the table and chairs, the room was blank, what with its monotone walls and a door on the wall across from me. I sat in the single chair, wondering why my therapist was late and wishing that I had a watch. Finally, once the bell rang, two younger men in business casual ware entered from the door on the other side of the room.

"Hello... Cestian," the man on the right said, pausing slightly to look at his clipboard. The two took the seats before me, and the man on the left began to speak.

"Thank you for coming to our academy, and we hope you enjoy your time," he began, and I nodded in acknowledgement, keeping back a scoff. I thought it was terrible how they could act like this is a normal school, and for a second I wondered it the teachers and staff even knew how degrading it was to be sent here. It seemed some, like the instructor that talked to us yesterday, knew that this was a school for unwanted outcasts, while others could honestly think that they were helping us, like the therapists before me.

"As you have been informed in your letter, here is your map and schedule. And... where is your badge?" Picking my paw up off of my lap, I flashed my badge to the man with the clipboard.

"Right here; And I cannot wear it with out piercing myself." I added the last part, knowing that he was about to command me to put it on.

The two exchanged a glance at each other, perplexed. "I can see if we have something like a bandana in the other room. Will you be okay on your own?" The man on the left whispered, though I was able to pick up what they were saying.

The other man nodded after a moment of thought. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I can explain while your gone." They sent each other a glance of confirmation, and the man on the left exited through the door he came in through.

"We're sorry about that, Cestian. Let us continue from where I left off, shall we? Any who, here is your schedule, map and student handbook, though please refrain from checking your schedule or handbook now; you can do that after our session."

The man who left returned and reclaimed his seat, and he set a bandana on top of the table. "You may use this to put your badge on and wear." Grabbing the bandana, I nodded as I folded it and tied it around my neck, placing the badge towards the lower left. Once I was done, the man with the clipboard continued.

"Also, we are sad to inform you that we can do nothing about your condition. There's no way for us to help, so instead of having a therapy session, you will have a free hour. You are dismissed." The two stood and I followed suit, though no one made for the door. I assumed they were watching to make sure I left without trouble.

"Thank you for your help," I said politely, though without any sincerity. I then walked away with my map, schedule, and handbook. Not knowing what to do with my time, I leaned against the wall and began flipping through the handbook.

As expected, the first pages were filled with rules; simple things to begin with.

Do not be tardy; tardiness is punishable by a detention.

Curfew is 9:30 PM, and students are to be in their dorms before curfew. Negligence to follow this rule is punishable by a detention.

Students are to remain in their scheduled classrooms unless otherwise dismissed. Students unable to oblige are to be punished by detention.

Odd, I thought to myself. The punishment for breaking these rules is only detention. Do they not have any other means of discipline?

To test my theory, I opened the handbook to a random page and read the rule at the top.

Fighting occurring outside of the gymnasium is punishable by detention.

Vandalism or destruction of school property is punishable by detention.

Finally, I turned to the last page and read the final sentence.

Injuring or killing a teacher is punishable by detentions.

Shocked, I closed the handbook. Two things had struck me as odd: the only punishment was detention, and the rules themselves. It seemed they expected us to be violent and dangerous, and at that thought, I remembered how my two therapists had looked at each other, terrified at the prospect of being left alone in the room with me. The school seemed to expect us to be violent, possibly murderous. What dark past did the school keep?

"Hey, Cestian!" I heard Ike yell from down the hallway, and I jerked my head upwards to look towards him.

"Hello, Ike," I said as he caught his breath. "I'm guessing that you don't have a therapy session, either?"

"Nope. Words can't cure a 'cursed' person."

"As a freak of nature."

"Any way, what are you going to do with your free period? Nice bandana, by the way."

I shrugged, thinking back to all the rooms open for us to use. "I was thinking of possible going to the library. Would you like to join me?"

"Sure, I've got nothing else to do." Pulling out my map, I looked for the room marked as the library and began navigating our way there.

When we entered the library, I was shocked by the size. Shelves upon shelves of books of both fiction and nonfiction loomed before us, all of them stretching to about six feet tall. The books were organized first by fiction and nonfiction, and the rest into groupings of genre and theme: signs hung above the shelves to indicating said groupings.

"Wow," I whispered in awe at the enormous size of the library.

"Well, buddy," Ike said as he clasped a hand onto my shoulder, "have fun." I nodded almost robotically and headed to the nonfiction books, specifically the history section. Once again, I was surprised by the vast amount of different titles. They had everything from The Seas of Hoenn to Heaven and Hell: Skyworld and the Underworld. As I scanned the titles, one title caught my eye as if it wanted my to read it: Unova: Home to Few Others. Pulling it off the shelf, I opened it up to the first page and began reading.

Unlike most other regions in the Pokemon sector, Unova is home mainly to Pokemon found only in Unova, though do to trade and release between trainers of different regions, Pokemon native to other regions have populated the land. To compensate for the sudden flood of new Pokemon, new cities such as Aspertia City have been added.

Also a note worthy event that has happened in Unova is that it is one of two regions to date to have a Gym Leader to advance to becoming a member of the Elite Four, and it is the only region to have a Gym Leader advance to becoming the Champion.

As I felt the fur upon my cheek wetten, I closed the book and realized how much I missed the beautiful land of my home. Yes, I realized that Lucarios were one of the invasive species, but that didn't change the fact that I loved the land that I had hatched in and wished to be there now. For a moment, I wondered if I'd ever be able to return to my homeland, though shook it off as a foolish thought.

"What'cha reading?" Ike asked as he peered over my shoulder at the book in my paws. My first instinct was to snap the book shut and place it back on the shelf, though felt no real reason to hide a simple fact.

"Oh, just a book on Unova," I replied as I turned towards him. By then, I had already wiped the tear from my face, and my voice hadn't wavered, which I was grateful for. I didn't want Ike to see me as weak; I didn't want him to think I had already been broken by the school. "And you?" I noticed the book in his hands, which seemed quite out of place. Ike seemed like the kind of person who wouldn't be caught dead with a book, and yet, here he was with a large book open in his hands.

"You know how yesterday I mentioned Laguz? Well-- Cestian, were you crying?"

Mentally, I cursed the Legondaries; he must have noticed the light glinting off my still-damp fur. Slowly, I nodded. "You could say I'm just feeling a little homesick. I'm... I'm worried that I would n'tbe able to go home." Trying to reassure me, he grasped me into a sideways hug.

"Don't worry, we'll be out of this school by the end of the year and on our way home, just you wait." Releasing me, he continued. "So, as I was saying before, I remembered yesterday you didn't get what a Laguz was. Well" --He held the book upwards to show me the contents-- "here's what they are. See, this is a picture of my friend Ranulf."

Grabbing the book from Ike, I began examining the pages. The left page was filled entirely with a portrait of the Laguz, Ranulf, showing a lanky man that looked about the same age as Ike. He was garbed in odd clothes of many colors, and out of his pale blue hair peeked feline ears of the same color, as well as a long tail that hung behind him. Underneath his picture was a caption of his name. On the right, words were splayed across the page.

Ranulf, a cat Laguz, it read, served in the war between Gallia, Bednion, and Deign, and was one of few to escape Ashera's judgement. Serving under General Ike... I stopped and smirked. "So, would you like to tell me a little about Laguz, General Ike?"

He scratched the back of his head and gave me an awkward smile. "Yeah... the country I live in warred twice in my lifetime, and I helped out with both, so I ended up becoming a General. But onto Laguz. Let's see... Laguz are basically people who can transform into animals for a certain amount of time, like Ranulf can transform into a giant blue cat. But not all Laguz are just cats or blue; like Lethe and Lyre are yellow cats, and Tibarn is a hawk Laguz. Some of them are special, like this guy Volug, who can stay in his Laguz form-- he's a wolf --for as long as he wants."

I nodded when Ike finished his explanation of Laguz, and continued to read the book on Unova I had picked up. While I read, Ike scoured the other shelves and looked at titles, occasionally pulling out a book and reading a few pages before returning it to the shelf. As I read, my mind would wander to what Ike had told me, "Don't worry, we'll be out of this school by the end of the year and on our way home, just you wait", and I knew, no matter how much I wanted it, that I'd never be able to return to my sweet home of Unova.