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Last part up: finally! It's the day of the Krimson's big match. What will Skylar say to her team and to her father when they meet?
The NPC Team MR-2 appears courtesy of KDRaccoon, who he would have everyone know are available for the modification and use by anyone who wishes to. (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1277975/)
Skylar and all other characters (less Rene, Coach Marceau and Team MR-2) belong to Carlito, who requested this story. Thank you for your trust and confidence. I hope I have validated it.
Thank you.
The NPC Team MR-2 appears courtesy of KDRaccoon, who he would have everyone know are available for the modification and use by anyone who wishes to. (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1277975/)
Skylar and all other characters (less Rene, Coach Marceau and Team MR-2) belong to Carlito, who requested this story. Thank you for your trust and confidence. I hope I have validated it.
Thank you.
Category Story / Pokemon
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 50 x 50px
File Size 85.5 kB
&&&
Skylar Ferrotti in Parent Troubles
&&&
Skylar didn't get a wink of sleep that night. She kept tossing and turning over everything that could go wrong tomorrow: her father disowning her for being an out of control party girl who teamed with electric-types and wasn't even the leader; her teammates never speaking with her again for lying about her dad's bigotry, blowing the big match and making things worse with both her team AND her dad, maybe even get pulled from the PCA and—
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BE-- Skylar whirled over and smashed her hand down on her alarm with such force that she simply smashed the obnoxious little device.
Awoken by the noise of the alarm—and its subsequent destruction—Neve woke up. She sat up and yawned, stretching. She didn't have any trouble sleeping. “Tha' 'larm do somethin' ta offend you Sky?” Neve yawned.
Skylar plastered a grin on her face as she answered. “Nothing more than the usual...burrito.” Neve glowered at Skylar. She HATED that nickname. Skylar just shrugged and pointed to her. The sneasel looked down and started cursing in Spanish when she realized that she'd somehow gotten onto the floor, tightly wrapped up in her own blanket...like a burrito.
Skylar just shrugged and went out into the hallway so she could shower. Of course, since she didn't wear clothes to bed she wasn't wearing a stitch as she walked to the showers. “Three...Two...One...” Skylar absently counted.
Right on cue, Rene the vulpix walked out of Sam's room where he had spent the night—and his promptly hit the floor as the naked skarmory walked past. “Skylar!” His anguished howl bringing a brief smirk to her face as she sauntered into the bathroom, adding a certain wiggle to her step.
But as soon as she was alone in the shower with her thoughts, her glum mood returned. Torturing her roommate and the girly-fox could only distract her for so long. Her dad was coming today to watch her team's fight...she moaned and leaned her head back against the tiled wall.
What a fiasco. Her guts knotted. Could she do anything to avoid this? Could Romano? Skylar winced. There was another bit of awkwardness to deal with...later though.
She showered quickly and went back to her room to get dressed, passing Neve on her way back from the shower. It was a good thing too, because the phone rang just as Skylar came into the room. She dashed over and picked it up, hope and dread warring inside her. “Hello?”
“Hello, Skylar.” Skylar's face fell.
“Hello sir...has something come up?” She asked, suddenly hopeful again. “Can you not make it to the match today? Because if you can't that's TOTALLY understandable and—”
“--I'll still be observing your match.” Augustus Ferrotti said, dashing his daughter's last minute hopes. “I'll be running a little late so I won't have time to talk to you before the match starts. Though I'm sure with your training and hard work that you don't need me telling you how to run your team.” He added.
Skylar weakly chuckled back, it was the only thing she could do in lieu of bawling. “Yessir. Talk to you later....you know I love you, right?” She asked, the emotion thick in her voice. Her father apparently didn't hear it.
“I'll see you at 0830 hours.” He hung up. Skylar dropped the phone on its hook more than hung it up. Neve walked in less than a minute later, toweling off her hair.
“Wonder wha' was up with fuzzy-butt, he was lookin' like he saw a naked ghost or some—you okay?” She asked, seeing Skylar's drooping wings.
Skylar hastily pasted a less depressed facade on her face before turning to her roommate. “Yeah, just some family stuff. You know how it is.”
More than most mon, Neve did know how it was. “Si, I guess so.” She nodded doubtfully, not fully convinced though. “We should get going.”
“Okay.” Skylar agreed, as amiably as she could manage, which wasn't a whole lot.
The drive to the school was mostly silent. Skylar's responses were all short and spoken as if she only half-heard whatever Neve was saying.
Neve parked the car in the back parking lot, right behind the gym where they were going to be battling Team MR-2. They piled out of the car. But before they entered Neve stopped and put her clawed hand on Skylar's shoulder. No mean feat as the sneasel was rather shorter than Skylar.
“Hey! Before we go in, I just wanna know....Bird-brain, ARE you okay?” Neve looked at her. “This whole week you been lookin' like, I dunno, someone jest ran over your gato.”
“Neve, it's—”
“--if you say its nada then I swear I'm gonna key your sorry ass.” She held up her car keys for emphasis. “I ain't estupido.”
Skylar sagged. “Didn't think you were.” She sighed. “Just...let's change first. I'll tell you when I tell the others. I don't think I can say this twice.” In fact she didn't think she could do it once.
Neve looked at her as if looking for evidence as to whether or not this was a potential dodge. Finally, she nodded. “Yeah...let's go change.”
Her feet felt heavy as lead...which wasn't saying much. Her feet still dragged as she hauled herself into the locker room after Neve. Romano was waiting for them just outside the girls' locker room.
“...You're gonna tell them.” Romano stated, not asked, when she saw Skylar's face. The skarmory sighed. The choices had been taken from her.
“Yeah. I am...” Romano patted her shoulder.
“They'll be more understanding than you think.”
Skylar still looked like she was on her way to a funeral...namely her own. “Can we talk? After....after?” She asked. Romano nodded and moved off. “I'll be watching you guys. Go kick some butt!”Skylar could tell she wasn't just talking about the opponent team.
She mechanically changed in the locker room out of her street clothes and into her team uniform, barely acknowledging Neve as she did the same. She drudged herself into the arena where the rest of the team was waiting. Team MR-2 hadn't arrived yet. Neither had the observers or—more importantly—Skylar's dad.
Skylar felt her stomach knot itself up as she and Neve joined the rest of the Krimsons—Zach and Dominic; as well as their coach Tessa. “Something up birdy?” Dominic asked as he stretched.
Her mouth opened but no sound came out. The skarmory cleared her throat. “Um, hey guys...listen, I have to tell you something. Something...I should've told you a long time ago.”
“What is it?” Tessa asked as she put down her clipboard. “I won't bother asking if this could wait until after the match.” Skylar nodded gratefully.
She took a deep breath. Then another. And another. “Guys...my dad is coming to watch our match.”
Tessa cocked her head. “Well, I'm sure he'll be proud of how well you'll do, but I don't see the problem.”
“The problem is,” she took another deep breath. “Is that my dad...doesn't like electric types. He REALLY doesn't like them. And...” her head sank. “I lied to him about not having electric types on the team. I told him Dominic was growlithe and haven't even mentioned Tessa....and I let him think that *I* was the team leader. I never said that I was!” She blurted out. “He..he just assumed that I was because of all the training he put me through and...” she trailed off under the bewildered, hurt, and upset faces on her teammates and friends. “...I'm so sorry.”
A pregnant pause followed that stretched on until Skylar was certain she had been waiting for a lifetime. A sigh from Tessa broke the silence. “Oh Sky...”
She bit her lip and did her best to not break down right then and there. “I'm sorry...” She whispered again, looking down. Neve shook her head and sighed. “Chica...” She walked over and put her hand on Skylar's shoulder. “You think you're the only one whose familia has a few creeps? Everyone has at least one relation you don't wan' to look up to or has some obnoxious view...doesn' mean you share it.”
Zach's response was much less warm. “Whatever.” The irritable girfang snorted as he shrugged. Not in hurt, but in utter indifference. Skylar frowned, that hurt more than his actually being upset. He just hadn't been the same as of late...
Skylar had no time to dwell on it. Instead she risked a look at Tessa and Dominic, they would be the ones with the most reason to be angry with her. To be sure, they both looked clearly unhappy about it. Tessa pursed her lips then let out a stress-filled breath through them. “Well, you'll forgive me if I don't offer to shake his hand or anything.” She said flatly. “And as your coach I will say that if he says or does anything disruptive then I have the authority to eject him from the gym...and that I'll enjoy doing it too. But I'm not going to start anything. And like Neve said, we can't pick who we're related to or what kind of mon they are. Just as an example...” She jerked her thumb at her younger brother in a not-serious gesture. “Besides, what matters is who YOU are Sky. Not what kind of jerk your dad is.”
Skylar looked to Dominic last. Aside from her dad's bigoted views on electric types, she let him think she was the leader, basically usurping Dom's role. And, in truth, she often did a lot of the worker of being a leader in planning strategy and what not; but she didn't want the job. But would Dom see it the same way? He exhaled. “Look, I think that you screwed up and could have handled this in a less catastrophic way. And in a way that didn't have this blow up right now.” His frustration was evident. “You REALLY should've been straight with us...and with your dad. If he doesn't like electrics then that's his problem. But, you, didn't defend us or even acknowledge us to him...and that's like saying that we weren't worth defending. You could've stood up for is you know...for your team instead of being ashamed of it—”
“I'm not ashamed!” Skylar protested. Neve glared at Dominic. “Dom, you're entitled to be pissed an' all that but you're WAY over th' line. Plus you don' know whatchu're talkin' abou'. You don't know what it's like havin' to stand up to your dad like that.”
“So...what should we do now?” Skylar looked around, still a bit nervous.
Dom licked his lips. “Now? We fight. We fight and we WIN. Show your old mon what we're made of. ALL of us. If he has a problem...then we'll deal with it after we win.”
&&&
Skylar grunted as she tossed her opponent down to the mat. She scrambled up again quickly before Sky could do more. She was good—they all were. Team MR-2 were a grade higher than the Krimsons and have an average of winning two out of every three battles. They were also an all girls team. Skylar's first thought was that Rene would love them. But such thoughts had been banished from her mind since she got into the ring.
Flapping to get some altitude, Skylar kept her eye pierced on what Sandra Agusta—her opponent, the masquerain team leader of MR-2—was up to. This was the final round.
Dominic and Zach had faced their opponents—a ralt named Reiko Suzuki and a minun named Tara Ducati respectively—and won. Neve wasn't so lucky. She'd been paired against a rhyhorn named Jessie Buell...and lost. It was a poor match-up, the tiny sneasel against the large rhyhorn. Neve could often stand her own against much bigger bruisers like Jessie. Not this time though. Some days you get the ursaring, other days the ursaring gets you.
Since Skylar, and not Dominic, was facing the leader of Team MR-2 leader, Skylar's fight would determine how this match ended. Either as a draw, necessitating a tie-breaker or as an outright Krimson victory. And with her dad watching, Skylar wasn't about to lose.
Sandra was good, she used to be an alternate for the now-defunct Team Iridium, a very impressive and high-ranked team. And she was an upper-classmon. Skylar HAD to beat her. She could hardly do less. For all her flighty, flirty, and just plain ludicrous behavior outside the ring; inside it, she was a whole nother skarmory.
Even so, it still took extra focus to not turn her head and see what her father was doing. He'd walked in just as the match got underway. They hadn't had time to talk yet.
Skylar, banishing such thoughts from her mind, was fixated on only one thing now: the battle. Sandra had also taken to the air, meeting Skylar on a common terrain. Sandra soared up until she was above Skylar. Then she bent her wings back and went into a dive-bombing run on Skylar, lashing out with Air Slash as she plummeted down at Skylar!
Swooping away from the attack, Skylar turned right around and responded with Flash Cannon, blindsiding Sandra. She shuddered in midair, but didn't go down. Instead, the masquerian headed straight for Skylar again, this time attacking with Solar Beam. It managed to clip the edge of Skylar's leftwing, causing her to drop down a few feet.
Righting herself in the air, Skylar's eyes narrowed. She used agility to get into close to Sandra while avoiding the solar beams. The masquerian's eyes widened as Skylar got right on top of her. A combination of Leer and X-Scissor at point-blank range struck Sandra dead-on, sending her plummeting from the air. She hit the mats on the ground, hard.
Coach Marceau, the match's referee, ran into the ring to see to Sandra. After assuring that she was okay, but clearly not able to keep fighting, he raised his voice. “Sandra is unable to battle! The victor is Skylar! The winner of the match is Team Krimson!”
The Krimsons whooped and cheered. After some brief congratulations from Team MR-2, Marceau escorted them to the nurse to make sure they were all right. The Krimsons would go later...after they took care of remaining business. The flush of their victory quickly left their faces as Skylar's dad made his way down from his bleacher seat. Skylar stepped forward and waited to meet him. She was tense, nervous, and trying badly not to let it show; with little success.
Lt. General Augustus Ferrotti had blank face that was actually scarier than any scowl: it spoke of pure anger simmering just beneath the surface, waiting to burst through. “Skylar, I would like a word with you. Alone.”
Taking a deep breath, Skylar waited half a heartbeat before saying, “Anything you can say to me, you can say in front of my teammates.”
Now came the scowl at her sign of defiance. “Your 'team'” He bit out. “Is exactly what I wanted to talk to you about soldier. You need to make some...changes.” He glared none-too subtlety at Dominic and Tessa. “Now come along Skylar.”
“You're wrong sir.” Skylar said, stunning her father like a thunderbolt. She raised her voice. “First off, it's NOT 'my' team. Dominic is our leader and his sister Tessa is our coach.”
Augustus looked as if he'd stumbled into an ambush, but quickly rallied. “...Is that right.” He said evenly, as if commenting on the weather. “And is there a reason WHY you never informed me of this? Why did you lead me on to thinking that YOU were the leader?”
Skylar let a tremble run through her as she took another breath. “You assumed I was from the beginning sir. I—didn't want command. I still don't. Having the battling skills is one thing, but being a team leader is never something I wanted. I'm—I'm tired of being a soldier. I want to be a teenager. As to why I didn't tell you about Dominic and Tessa—with all due respect sir, you know the answer.”
Her father's face darkened. “Insubordination! A court-martial offense! Skylar it is nothing less than an insult to the service that you would lower yourself to following the orders of some flighty, scatter-brained, and unreliable pair who don't have the combined wattage to jump start my car!”
Dominic and Tessa's cheeks started sparking a sure sign of anger. Neve put her arm in front of Dom before he could make a move. “Let her fight her own battle.” She murmured, never taking her eyes off Skylar.
Skylar's look radiated pure mutinous anger. Her father could hardly fail to notice. “Soldier!” He barked like an old-school drill sergeant. “You will fall into line and NOW, or else I'll have a word with the administration and pull you from this pitiable excuse for a team if not transfer you to a proper military school as I wanted to from the beginning!”
Skylar up until now had been polite, respectful if firm. Now though, her carefully cultivated appearance of calm was casually tossed aside like an old shirt. “HOW DARE YOU?!” She raged at her dad, tears starting to well up in the corners of her eyes. “Dominic and Tessa are my friends! Everyone here is! I don't care what type they are! Your bigotry—YES, bigotry—is your problem! I hate that you you think like that, but I can't do anything about that. But I will NOT let your prejudice rule my life!” Tears were pouring down her cheeks but she paid them no mind.
“You want to yank me from school?! I can't stop you, but I will not give up my friends! Even if we're not going to be teammates or schoolmates anymore, we'll ALWAYS be friends! I will not abandon them!”
Augustus Ferrotti took a half step back from his daughter's furious shouting. He's faced artillery barrages that weren't as fierce. As furious as he was at her open and public defiance, he felt a grudging respect for her having the courage of her convictions. He could see the steel in her spine, the fire in her eyes. He knew he helped give her those traits and was proud of them.
“...It appears as if your time here has not been a complete waste.” He said at last, unusually calm after being chewed out. “And you're battling skills, clearly, remain superb. I would not rest on my laurels though Skylar. It promotes slackness.” He stiffened his posture even further. “I will not interfere with your position here. For now.” An edge entering his voice. “Provided that your skills continue to improve and your grades remain high...and I will, overlook, this rather egregious behavior.” Augustus nodded once, as if to assert that HE was the one in control and decamped. “I will be calling once a month to check on your progress. Good-bye Skylar.” He left without another word.
As soon as the doors closed behind him, Skylar exhaled sharply and sank to her knees.
Neve ran over and helped her up. “Chica, you did great!”
“Way to go bird-girl!” Tessa whooped as she and the others gathered around here. “I'm even more proud of you than I was for beating Sandra. Come on, let's go out on the town tonight. My treat!”
Skylar laughed and half-collapsed into her friends' arms. “Thanks guys! I could use it!” Further revelry was delayed as the doors slammed open and an reddish-orange blur dashed in.
“Hi everybody!” A familiar bubbly girl chirped as she entered, wearing a tight-red Krimson t-shirt and a pair of buckled pants. “Am I late?”
“Mitzi?!” Dominic yelped as the growlithe appeared. “What are you doing here—AND ARE YOU WEARING MY CLOTHES!?”
“I thought they were girls' clothes!” Mitzi blinked. “Skylar told me to!”
“A heh.” Skylar grinned weakly as everyone turned to look at her. “--knew I forgot something.”
FINIS
&&&
Skylar Ferrotti in Parent Troubles
&&&
Skylar didn't get a wink of sleep that night. She kept tossing and turning over everything that could go wrong tomorrow: her father disowning her for being an out of control party girl who teamed with electric-types and wasn't even the leader; her teammates never speaking with her again for lying about her dad's bigotry, blowing the big match and making things worse with both her team AND her dad, maybe even get pulled from the PCA and—
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BE-- Skylar whirled over and smashed her hand down on her alarm with such force that she simply smashed the obnoxious little device.
Awoken by the noise of the alarm—and its subsequent destruction—Neve woke up. She sat up and yawned, stretching. She didn't have any trouble sleeping. “Tha' 'larm do somethin' ta offend you Sky?” Neve yawned.
Skylar plastered a grin on her face as she answered. “Nothing more than the usual...burrito.” Neve glowered at Skylar. She HATED that nickname. Skylar just shrugged and pointed to her. The sneasel looked down and started cursing in Spanish when she realized that she'd somehow gotten onto the floor, tightly wrapped up in her own blanket...like a burrito.
Skylar just shrugged and went out into the hallway so she could shower. Of course, since she didn't wear clothes to bed she wasn't wearing a stitch as she walked to the showers. “Three...Two...One...” Skylar absently counted.
Right on cue, Rene the vulpix walked out of Sam's room where he had spent the night—and his promptly hit the floor as the naked skarmory walked past. “Skylar!” His anguished howl bringing a brief smirk to her face as she sauntered into the bathroom, adding a certain wiggle to her step.
But as soon as she was alone in the shower with her thoughts, her glum mood returned. Torturing her roommate and the girly-fox could only distract her for so long. Her dad was coming today to watch her team's fight...she moaned and leaned her head back against the tiled wall.
What a fiasco. Her guts knotted. Could she do anything to avoid this? Could Romano? Skylar winced. There was another bit of awkwardness to deal with...later though.
She showered quickly and went back to her room to get dressed, passing Neve on her way back from the shower. It was a good thing too, because the phone rang just as Skylar came into the room. She dashed over and picked it up, hope and dread warring inside her. “Hello?”
“Hello, Skylar.” Skylar's face fell.
“Hello sir...has something come up?” She asked, suddenly hopeful again. “Can you not make it to the match today? Because if you can't that's TOTALLY understandable and—”
“--I'll still be observing your match.” Augustus Ferrotti said, dashing his daughter's last minute hopes. “I'll be running a little late so I won't have time to talk to you before the match starts. Though I'm sure with your training and hard work that you don't need me telling you how to run your team.” He added.
Skylar weakly chuckled back, it was the only thing she could do in lieu of bawling. “Yessir. Talk to you later....you know I love you, right?” She asked, the emotion thick in her voice. Her father apparently didn't hear it.
“I'll see you at 0830 hours.” He hung up. Skylar dropped the phone on its hook more than hung it up. Neve walked in less than a minute later, toweling off her hair.
“Wonder wha' was up with fuzzy-butt, he was lookin' like he saw a naked ghost or some—you okay?” She asked, seeing Skylar's drooping wings.
Skylar hastily pasted a less depressed facade on her face before turning to her roommate. “Yeah, just some family stuff. You know how it is.”
More than most mon, Neve did know how it was. “Si, I guess so.” She nodded doubtfully, not fully convinced though. “We should get going.”
“Okay.” Skylar agreed, as amiably as she could manage, which wasn't a whole lot.
The drive to the school was mostly silent. Skylar's responses were all short and spoken as if she only half-heard whatever Neve was saying.
Neve parked the car in the back parking lot, right behind the gym where they were going to be battling Team MR-2. They piled out of the car. But before they entered Neve stopped and put her clawed hand on Skylar's shoulder. No mean feat as the sneasel was rather shorter than Skylar.
“Hey! Before we go in, I just wanna know....Bird-brain, ARE you okay?” Neve looked at her. “This whole week you been lookin' like, I dunno, someone jest ran over your gato.”
“Neve, it's—”
“--if you say its nada then I swear I'm gonna key your sorry ass.” She held up her car keys for emphasis. “I ain't estupido.”
Skylar sagged. “Didn't think you were.” She sighed. “Just...let's change first. I'll tell you when I tell the others. I don't think I can say this twice.” In fact she didn't think she could do it once.
Neve looked at her as if looking for evidence as to whether or not this was a potential dodge. Finally, she nodded. “Yeah...let's go change.”
Her feet felt heavy as lead...which wasn't saying much. Her feet still dragged as she hauled herself into the locker room after Neve. Romano was waiting for them just outside the girls' locker room.
“...You're gonna tell them.” Romano stated, not asked, when she saw Skylar's face. The skarmory sighed. The choices had been taken from her.
“Yeah. I am...” Romano patted her shoulder.
“They'll be more understanding than you think.”
Skylar still looked like she was on her way to a funeral...namely her own. “Can we talk? After....after?” She asked. Romano nodded and moved off. “I'll be watching you guys. Go kick some butt!”Skylar could tell she wasn't just talking about the opponent team.
She mechanically changed in the locker room out of her street clothes and into her team uniform, barely acknowledging Neve as she did the same. She drudged herself into the arena where the rest of the team was waiting. Team MR-2 hadn't arrived yet. Neither had the observers or—more importantly—Skylar's dad.
Skylar felt her stomach knot itself up as she and Neve joined the rest of the Krimsons—Zach and Dominic; as well as their coach Tessa. “Something up birdy?” Dominic asked as he stretched.
Her mouth opened but no sound came out. The skarmory cleared her throat. “Um, hey guys...listen, I have to tell you something. Something...I should've told you a long time ago.”
“What is it?” Tessa asked as she put down her clipboard. “I won't bother asking if this could wait until after the match.” Skylar nodded gratefully.
She took a deep breath. Then another. And another. “Guys...my dad is coming to watch our match.”
Tessa cocked her head. “Well, I'm sure he'll be proud of how well you'll do, but I don't see the problem.”
“The problem is,” she took another deep breath. “Is that my dad...doesn't like electric types. He REALLY doesn't like them. And...” her head sank. “I lied to him about not having electric types on the team. I told him Dominic was growlithe and haven't even mentioned Tessa....and I let him think that *I* was the team leader. I never said that I was!” She blurted out. “He..he just assumed that I was because of all the training he put me through and...” she trailed off under the bewildered, hurt, and upset faces on her teammates and friends. “...I'm so sorry.”
A pregnant pause followed that stretched on until Skylar was certain she had been waiting for a lifetime. A sigh from Tessa broke the silence. “Oh Sky...”
She bit her lip and did her best to not break down right then and there. “I'm sorry...” She whispered again, looking down. Neve shook her head and sighed. “Chica...” She walked over and put her hand on Skylar's shoulder. “You think you're the only one whose familia has a few creeps? Everyone has at least one relation you don't wan' to look up to or has some obnoxious view...doesn' mean you share it.”
Zach's response was much less warm. “Whatever.” The irritable girfang snorted as he shrugged. Not in hurt, but in utter indifference. Skylar frowned, that hurt more than his actually being upset. He just hadn't been the same as of late...
Skylar had no time to dwell on it. Instead she risked a look at Tessa and Dominic, they would be the ones with the most reason to be angry with her. To be sure, they both looked clearly unhappy about it. Tessa pursed her lips then let out a stress-filled breath through them. “Well, you'll forgive me if I don't offer to shake his hand or anything.” She said flatly. “And as your coach I will say that if he says or does anything disruptive then I have the authority to eject him from the gym...and that I'll enjoy doing it too. But I'm not going to start anything. And like Neve said, we can't pick who we're related to or what kind of mon they are. Just as an example...” She jerked her thumb at her younger brother in a not-serious gesture. “Besides, what matters is who YOU are Sky. Not what kind of jerk your dad is.”
Skylar looked to Dominic last. Aside from her dad's bigoted views on electric types, she let him think she was the leader, basically usurping Dom's role. And, in truth, she often did a lot of the worker of being a leader in planning strategy and what not; but she didn't want the job. But would Dom see it the same way? He exhaled. “Look, I think that you screwed up and could have handled this in a less catastrophic way. And in a way that didn't have this blow up right now.” His frustration was evident. “You REALLY should've been straight with us...and with your dad. If he doesn't like electrics then that's his problem. But, you, didn't defend us or even acknowledge us to him...and that's like saying that we weren't worth defending. You could've stood up for is you know...for your team instead of being ashamed of it—”
“I'm not ashamed!” Skylar protested. Neve glared at Dominic. “Dom, you're entitled to be pissed an' all that but you're WAY over th' line. Plus you don' know whatchu're talkin' abou'. You don't know what it's like havin' to stand up to your dad like that.”
“So...what should we do now?” Skylar looked around, still a bit nervous.
Dom licked his lips. “Now? We fight. We fight and we WIN. Show your old mon what we're made of. ALL of us. If he has a problem...then we'll deal with it after we win.”
&&&
Skylar grunted as she tossed her opponent down to the mat. She scrambled up again quickly before Sky could do more. She was good—they all were. Team MR-2 were a grade higher than the Krimsons and have an average of winning two out of every three battles. They were also an all girls team. Skylar's first thought was that Rene would love them. But such thoughts had been banished from her mind since she got into the ring.
Flapping to get some altitude, Skylar kept her eye pierced on what Sandra Agusta—her opponent, the masquerain team leader of MR-2—was up to. This was the final round.
Dominic and Zach had faced their opponents—a ralt named Reiko Suzuki and a minun named Tara Ducati respectively—and won. Neve wasn't so lucky. She'd been paired against a rhyhorn named Jessie Buell...and lost. It was a poor match-up, the tiny sneasel against the large rhyhorn. Neve could often stand her own against much bigger bruisers like Jessie. Not this time though. Some days you get the ursaring, other days the ursaring gets you.
Since Skylar, and not Dominic, was facing the leader of Team MR-2 leader, Skylar's fight would determine how this match ended. Either as a draw, necessitating a tie-breaker or as an outright Krimson victory. And with her dad watching, Skylar wasn't about to lose.
Sandra was good, she used to be an alternate for the now-defunct Team Iridium, a very impressive and high-ranked team. And she was an upper-classmon. Skylar HAD to beat her. She could hardly do less. For all her flighty, flirty, and just plain ludicrous behavior outside the ring; inside it, she was a whole nother skarmory.
Even so, it still took extra focus to not turn her head and see what her father was doing. He'd walked in just as the match got underway. They hadn't had time to talk yet.
Skylar, banishing such thoughts from her mind, was fixated on only one thing now: the battle. Sandra had also taken to the air, meeting Skylar on a common terrain. Sandra soared up until she was above Skylar. Then she bent her wings back and went into a dive-bombing run on Skylar, lashing out with Air Slash as she plummeted down at Skylar!
Swooping away from the attack, Skylar turned right around and responded with Flash Cannon, blindsiding Sandra. She shuddered in midair, but didn't go down. Instead, the masquerian headed straight for Skylar again, this time attacking with Solar Beam. It managed to clip the edge of Skylar's leftwing, causing her to drop down a few feet.
Righting herself in the air, Skylar's eyes narrowed. She used agility to get into close to Sandra while avoiding the solar beams. The masquerian's eyes widened as Skylar got right on top of her. A combination of Leer and X-Scissor at point-blank range struck Sandra dead-on, sending her plummeting from the air. She hit the mats on the ground, hard.
Coach Marceau, the match's referee, ran into the ring to see to Sandra. After assuring that she was okay, but clearly not able to keep fighting, he raised his voice. “Sandra is unable to battle! The victor is Skylar! The winner of the match is Team Krimson!”
The Krimsons whooped and cheered. After some brief congratulations from Team MR-2, Marceau escorted them to the nurse to make sure they were all right. The Krimsons would go later...after they took care of remaining business. The flush of their victory quickly left their faces as Skylar's dad made his way down from his bleacher seat. Skylar stepped forward and waited to meet him. She was tense, nervous, and trying badly not to let it show; with little success.
Lt. General Augustus Ferrotti had blank face that was actually scarier than any scowl: it spoke of pure anger simmering just beneath the surface, waiting to burst through. “Skylar, I would like a word with you. Alone.”
Taking a deep breath, Skylar waited half a heartbeat before saying, “Anything you can say to me, you can say in front of my teammates.”
Now came the scowl at her sign of defiance. “Your 'team'” He bit out. “Is exactly what I wanted to talk to you about soldier. You need to make some...changes.” He glared none-too subtlety at Dominic and Tessa. “Now come along Skylar.”
“You're wrong sir.” Skylar said, stunning her father like a thunderbolt. She raised her voice. “First off, it's NOT 'my' team. Dominic is our leader and his sister Tessa is our coach.”
Augustus looked as if he'd stumbled into an ambush, but quickly rallied. “...Is that right.” He said evenly, as if commenting on the weather. “And is there a reason WHY you never informed me of this? Why did you lead me on to thinking that YOU were the leader?”
Skylar let a tremble run through her as she took another breath. “You assumed I was from the beginning sir. I—didn't want command. I still don't. Having the battling skills is one thing, but being a team leader is never something I wanted. I'm—I'm tired of being a soldier. I want to be a teenager. As to why I didn't tell you about Dominic and Tessa—with all due respect sir, you know the answer.”
Her father's face darkened. “Insubordination! A court-martial offense! Skylar it is nothing less than an insult to the service that you would lower yourself to following the orders of some flighty, scatter-brained, and unreliable pair who don't have the combined wattage to jump start my car!”
Dominic and Tessa's cheeks started sparking a sure sign of anger. Neve put her arm in front of Dom before he could make a move. “Let her fight her own battle.” She murmured, never taking her eyes off Skylar.
Skylar's look radiated pure mutinous anger. Her father could hardly fail to notice. “Soldier!” He barked like an old-school drill sergeant. “You will fall into line and NOW, or else I'll have a word with the administration and pull you from this pitiable excuse for a team if not transfer you to a proper military school as I wanted to from the beginning!”
Skylar up until now had been polite, respectful if firm. Now though, her carefully cultivated appearance of calm was casually tossed aside like an old shirt. “HOW DARE YOU?!” She raged at her dad, tears starting to well up in the corners of her eyes. “Dominic and Tessa are my friends! Everyone here is! I don't care what type they are! Your bigotry—YES, bigotry—is your problem! I hate that you you think like that, but I can't do anything about that. But I will NOT let your prejudice rule my life!” Tears were pouring down her cheeks but she paid them no mind.
“You want to yank me from school?! I can't stop you, but I will not give up my friends! Even if we're not going to be teammates or schoolmates anymore, we'll ALWAYS be friends! I will not abandon them!”
Augustus Ferrotti took a half step back from his daughter's furious shouting. He's faced artillery barrages that weren't as fierce. As furious as he was at her open and public defiance, he felt a grudging respect for her having the courage of her convictions. He could see the steel in her spine, the fire in her eyes. He knew he helped give her those traits and was proud of them.
“...It appears as if your time here has not been a complete waste.” He said at last, unusually calm after being chewed out. “And you're battling skills, clearly, remain superb. I would not rest on my laurels though Skylar. It promotes slackness.” He stiffened his posture even further. “I will not interfere with your position here. For now.” An edge entering his voice. “Provided that your skills continue to improve and your grades remain high...and I will, overlook, this rather egregious behavior.” Augustus nodded once, as if to assert that HE was the one in control and decamped. “I will be calling once a month to check on your progress. Good-bye Skylar.” He left without another word.
As soon as the doors closed behind him, Skylar exhaled sharply and sank to her knees.
Neve ran over and helped her up. “Chica, you did great!”
“Way to go bird-girl!” Tessa whooped as she and the others gathered around here. “I'm even more proud of you than I was for beating Sandra. Come on, let's go out on the town tonight. My treat!”
Skylar laughed and half-collapsed into her friends' arms. “Thanks guys! I could use it!” Further revelry was delayed as the doors slammed open and an reddish-orange blur dashed in.
“Hi everybody!” A familiar bubbly girl chirped as she entered, wearing a tight-red Krimson t-shirt and a pair of buckled pants. “Am I late?”
“Mitzi?!” Dominic yelped as the growlithe appeared. “What are you doing here—AND ARE YOU WEARING MY CLOTHES!?”
“I thought they were girls' clothes!” Mitzi blinked. “Skylar told me to!”
“A heh.” Skylar grinned weakly as everyone turned to look at her. “--knew I forgot something.”
FINIS
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Ah yes, very good all-around, you got her dad down perfectly. She definitely needed some love and to have a side of her shown that wasn't just the exhibitionist party girl, very well done on that. And now I'm picturing Mitzi in a pair of those buckled jeans and tight-fitting tank top... mmmm...
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