Darius Aubtraum was not an unreasonable man. He never considered himself to be unreasonable, anyway. He was strict, yes. Unyielding and stubborn in his beliefs, but then who wasn’t? Perhaps cynical and pessimistic, but that as a habit that, like many, were difficult to break. Still, he was never thought of himself as being an unreasonable person. He was willing to listen and consider alternatives, willing to make a judgment based on an informed opinion. But once he made up his mind, it would no be so easily broken. In all honesty, he didn’t mind being Principal of the PCA. It was a position he’d coveted for some time, almost greedily. But when he took the position, when he took power, he found his insatiable need mellowed considerably. It was not unlike his job over at the Board. He sat at a desk, signed and went over paperwork and red-tape, occasionally met people to give either praise or a chiding lecture, and occasionally gave press conferences.

It was a curious thing, the PCA. Darius would concede that he was never against the idea of a school to teach the bright and talented, to challenge them where the public education could not. It made sense after all, why not have a school where those who happened to be harder workers, smarter thinkers, and more creative souls have a chance to express themselves amongst their peers? It was not elitist to wish this either. Parents wanted their children to do their best, to succeed, to cultivate their talents and have opportunities and chances that perhaps they did not have. But this was not where Darius founded his opposition. If the school’s goal was merely to allow students to excel, this conflict would likely never exist.

No, the problem lied with the founder of the PCA, the ‘mon whose beliefs clashed violently with Darius’ own. A ‘mon, who having only lived for a few decades, fueled an ego that was almost volcanic in its proportions. That ‘mon’s name was Felix Felinduce. Felix, the Mewtwo, a creation of human beings who no longer wandered the Earth. A being whose entire purpose was to be a weapon, the strongest in the world, perhaps even second to the Original One. And this ‘mon had come up with the brilliant idea to create a school to teach the young ones. But there was a singular flaw, a flaw Darius found to be one so great that it stood out like a sore thumb. The flaw? The emphasis on combat.

A trivial flaw for most, but it was one that bothered Darius to no end. Why combat? There was any number of schools who emphasis was purely combat, ranging from public, to private, to even military academies. What was the point of adding one more? Darius managed to make a big a loud enough argument at least, because Felix was eventually persuaded to allow for other academics, despite his own misgivings. He even invited the Legends to join him, forming a Board, a Committee of sorts, to help him. Darius, despite his own reluctance…was willing to help. Until he discovered what his purpose in this grand scheme was to be.

They were little more than grunts. Their entire role was to deal with the red-tape and mounds upon mounds of paperwork and politics, while Felix had all the luxury of running the school. This made Darius seethe with anger. How dare this ‘mon, barely a babe in the scheme of time, attempt to treat his peers (Darius would never consider Felix his superior, regardless of his skill and power) as though they were nothing more than office interns, all because he didn’t want to deal with the responsibility that went into trying to run such an important establishment. No, the Legends were nothing more than his workers, who played little actual role. That is…until Darkest Rain.

Ah yes, Darkest Rain, an incident that had stained Felix’s supposedly spotless record with a black mark that he could not remove. Darius wouldn’t reminisce too much on the accident. Merely that it had resulted in the death of students. And that was an unforgiveable sin. Even a ‘mon like Felix couldn’t stop that judgment from falling on his shoulders. It was what gave the Board more power. Felix’s unshakeable confidence had been broken. That students had been allowed to die under his watch, as unthinkable. It didn’t stop him from running the PCA, and in fact, the entire incident was given a spin, a clean wrapping, packaged up and put away, to the side. And Darius had been holding onto it the entire time. It was his skeleton that was kept in Felix’s closet, ready to jump out at a moment’s notice, when it was commanded to.

Felix was always so rude and arrogant. He believed that the ‘mon of the age were growing soft, that intellectual pursuits had dulled the fighting instincts. He was always one to make that position known. That there was no forward growth or progress, or that it moved at a pace that Felix found completely unacceptable. And he was determined to get behind all ‘mon and shove them into the future kicking and screaming if he had to. Darius couldn’t argue with the fact that forward progress was important. But was the instinct and love for combat so important that it had to trump everything else? Was growth in battle more important than growth of the mind?

According to Felix it was. And the Board didn’t necessarily agree. And that’s when it began. The Board began to slowly exert influence. A mark in a checkbook here, a specifically worded evaluation there, and the leash slowly grew around Felix’s neck. It wasn’t apparent at first, and in fact, neither the Board or Felix were even aware of it’s existence, but it was there, and as the Board began to tighten its grip, Felix began to feel the squeeze. Notices were sent regarding student behavior, surprise visits from a Board Representative (at the time, a one Nikkal Delalune). At some point, Felix became aware of the fact that control of the Academy was slipping away from him. It wasn’t a malicious attempt on the part of the Board. What it was, as Darius would put it, was a desire to stand at an equal footing with Felix. They wanted a more active role than just dealing with paperwork and PR. They were Legends after all, they voluntarily decided to join Felix, and they wished for an equal share of the power. Of course, Felix didn’t see it that way. He saw it as a hostile takeover. An equally understandable position, because the Board had never come to Felix with any attempt at negotiation or compromise. Likely because Felix was not someone who could be negotiated with.

That’s when it happened: Felix vanished into thin air. He and Catherine Meow both seemed to simply disappear into the wind. It didn’t make any sense. He gave no warning, no preemptive signs, he simply disappeared. It was shocking, in that it was so uncharacteristic of him to do something so…sudden. What came as a bigger shock, was that he and Ms. Meow hired a pair of Ditto interns to impersonate them, a ruse which fooled almost all of faculty except for Professor Magnum, who suspected the unusual behavior of the Headmaster and the VP. They were not the only ones. One of the members of the Board, the non-Legendary, Kraemir Georgi Barayev, had apparently seen through the ruse as well. But given his long-standing grudge he held against Felix, it wasn’t a totally surprise. But now, faced with the dilemma, and the rapidly declining student morale, a choice had to be made soon. The school needed a new Headmaster. The competition was much stiffer than one might have expected. Candidates vied to prove their worthiness to try and run the school.

Darius however, managed to definitively prove his worth, when, the day the Chairmon was to choose the candidate that would take the position, he went before her personally, and stated his position, openly and freely. The school had been abandoned by it’s owner, who had given no reason or warning. He did nothing to tell the Board what they were to do in his absence. And as such, if Felix cared so little for the school he helped create, and he was going to abandon it so easily, then he forfeited his right to it, and the Board should do what they could to salvage the situation. The Academy was no longer Felix’s to run. If he wanted it back, he would have to come back for it and take responsibility for his actions.

That won him the position. Nikkal was extremely disappointed, and as a concession to all her hard work, Nikkal was given Ms. Meow’s position as the VP to the girls, which was still open. And for a time, things were well. The student’s didn’t much appreciate Darius’ attempts to restore order, not with the dress code, the rules to prevent student injury, or any of it. But it was necessary. All of it was necessary.

That didn’t keep voices of dissent from rising up, nor would it keep complaints from cropping up. It was inevitable. Complaints existed during Felix’s time, and they would exist now. It would be impossible to completely eliminate all the problems the school faced. But something changed recently, something that, while a surprise was not unexpected: Felix came back. Of course, only a few people were even aware of his recurrence: Darius himself, Nikkal, the Chairmon, and likely Kraemir, who had left work because of a “family emergency.” Darius himself only sensed Felix’s appearance during a brief conference with Nikkal. She was angry over the uniform policy, and how he was practically shooting the students in the foot. Then, her expression took on a shape the likes of which he’d never seen before.

She was surprised.

Nikkal was never, ever, truly surprised.

She was often upset, frustrated, angry, or flabbergasted. But shocked? Truly surprised? It was unheard of. While she had the facade of a gentle soul, she was devious and cunning planner. She could anticipate people’s moves as well as any ‘mon. Had Darius not made his case at the last second to appeal to the Chairmon, likely she would’ve had the position instead of him. And to see her look caught completely off-guard, only a few things could’ve possibly done that. Darius felt that twinge of power, but chose not to react. He played his part right up until she left. Then, he canceled his remaining appointments for the day, made sure no one would disturb him or find out he was missing, and then melted away.

It was in fact this place between where he did the most introspection. When he was in this dark place between here and there, despite the fact it was only for a few moments, he could spend that moment to mull over his own thoughts. However, it was an oppressive place, and when he melted through the wall in the shadow of a potted plant, he was glad for familiar sights and sounds. And the first thing he heard, was the sound of a woman swearing and cursing. That brought a smile to his face. He could always count on Nikkal to be furious. “How…how could he?!” She said, pacing back and forth. “I…I knew he might try something, but this blatant?!”

“What did you expect? Felix is not a ‘mon who does things by degrees. Either all or nothing is his only policy.” He said, striding up to the reception desk in the lobby of the building. Immediately, even as Nikkal whirled and began ranting at him, he tuned her out for a second as he appraised the situation. The security guard was on the floor, knocked out, bleeding from the nose…and apparently from the eyes as well. There was otherwise no other wounds or injuries. This was undoubtedly not Felix’s work. If it had, the guard would be a broken mass of bones and muscle. The three receptionists, Uxie, Azelf, and Mespirit milled around, looking worried and otherwise concerned, trying to calm Nikkal.

Hm, this was an interesting first move. It was blunt, but also quiet at the same time. The guard was down, yes. But the building remained intact. There were no holes in the wall, no blast marks. Felix wasn’t a total fool, it seemed. But then, coming in guns blazing would’ve never worked in Felix’s favor. After this few moments of consideration, he tuned Nikkal back in. “-and what are you doing here anyways?!”

He slowly raised his hands, and set them on her shoulders. He knew the lobby was being watched by security camera. Therefore, despite the gears turning frantically in his head, his ideas and plans churning and formulating in his mind, he had to keep a steady face. Her eyes widened as he made this small gesture. He usually never went out of his way to touch her, not for years. The fact that he did so would obviously get her attention. “I’m here not as the Principal, Nikkal. I’m here as the member of the Board that I always was. I’m here to do my job: running damage control.” She relaxed a bit, and he slowly removed his hands from her shoulders, watching her expression go from outrage and exasperation to lesser anxiety and concern. Darius let a smile form on his lips, and he nodded a bit. Then, hardening his expression, he turned to the receptionists.

“M-Mr. Aubtraum sir!” Azelf stuttered, looking rather pathetically apologetic. “I’m sorry, we weren’t expecting you back so soon! And this mess, we-”

Darius cut him off with a wave. “Do not worry yourself. I came without prior warning or notice. You have nothing to be sorry for. However, we have a situation that needs to be dealt with.” He said and with that hand, he pointed to the fallen guard. “Call the hospital, and inform them that our lobby security guard has suffered from a fainting spell, and has hurt himself. Have them send an ambulance to pick him up, but do not tell them anything else.” He then pointed to Uxie. “Continue taking calls as you were, but when the paramedics arrive, again, tell them what I’ve told your co-worker. You’re not lying to them, Mr. Richter here did indeed faint, and suffered some blood loss. But you won’t tell them what caused it.”

Finally, he turned his back, his arms behind his back. It was mostly for a small touch of dramatic flair. All his years working for Public Relations made it impossible to not add small flourishes. “Mespirit,” He said after a moment of silence, “Inform security that we have an intruder, who has broken into the building and attacked a security guard. He is to be treated as hostile and dangerous…” He hesitated on whether to add the next sentence. “Inform them the intruder’s target is likely the Chairmon. Have all available staff made aware of this, but make sure no calls are made to the police, or to the media. We should keep this as discrete and quiet as possible.” He said, and there was another moment of silence. “Tell them the identities of the intruders are a one Felix Felinduce and a Ms. Catherine Meow.”

“Mr. Aubtraum, c-can we even do that?! He owns this building!”

Darius turned slightly, enough to outstretch an arm to gesture to the fallen guard. “Perhaps, but there are laws and rules that extend beyond mere legal ownership. Simply being the owner does not afford him the right to attack a ‘mon without any provocation. Regardless of method or motive, he broke a law. And breaking the laws brings with it all consequences of such action.” He slowly clenched his hand into a fist.

“Felix is not above the law.”