Hey guys, it's me again, your friendly neighborhood NightFall. And here I am with the next installment of Checkmate. Sorry for not updating in forever, but hopefully you'll all like what I'm giving you with this next chapter, other than that, there's nothing I can offer you. As a little recap, in case some of you aren't aware; on the first night of the Bishop challenge where the Bishops of each dorm go into another dorm for a whole week, all the six dorms try to learn to get used to their new additions. SuperNova, being the most paranoid dorm out there, is trying their best to keep Serena from learning anything, GalaxyStorm is busy trying to learn what drives Glenn to try so hard to succeed, SunLight is having a problem, not only with the addition of Candice, bit with their Pawn, Mike who still refuses to speak at all, CraterStrike is one of the more accepting dorms, already knowing a lot of Geo, PlanetFoundation is trying to find a way to blackmail Fiona, while trying to keep it from Sacha, and at Moonbeam, the members are testing a belief they have of the SuperNova Bishop Taisuke which has resulted in the latter challenging Sacha to a battle on the spot. Please note: this chapter deals only in the situations currently going on in both PlanetFoundation and SunLight.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKÉMON BECAUSE IF I DID, CHANDELURE WOULD HAVE LEVITATE.

Chapter 10: Finding Hope; Taisuke's Secret, SunLight's Tragedy, Sacha's Smile

Have you ever met anybody who didn't like to be around others? Have you ever considered that to be their choice, and not their curse? Too often people are convinced that people who are alone are this way because people find something wrong with them, and that they need to be friends with them, in order to the keep the shotgun at bay. But in reality, people are quiet, shy, anti-social, whatever you want to call it, because they believe that their lives work better this way for some reason. In some cases, it's based on a personal preference of the person in question, and in others, it's all based on the idea that they are lamenting for something that happened, that they feel is on their shoulders alone, and that it is never anyone else's burden to bear. People are called one of two things when it comes to this kind of situation; noble, or irritating. In most cases, it's more of the second option, and it's always seen in this way by the people most willing to help.

In the same way at Nix Academy, it would appear as though the burdens of every single student are shouldered in a different way. But for several of the students, they seem to have an idea that the problems they have aren't something that need to be passed on to others, and that they need to live with as a fact. The only problem with this idea is that they are always going to be people in the entirety of Nix, whether they're part of the chess game or not, that are going to try and help, never knowing if they actually are, or if they're just succeeding in making it worse. As it is said by both Sacha and Arisu, a real friend is not the kind of person who merely agrees with you, but is the kind of person who is willing to argue with you as well.

The room housing Hibiki, George, and, currently, Sacha had gone silent at the sound of Taisuke's battle request against the current Bishop for the dorm. As he always had been, Sacha made no extraneous movement, while trying to process the challenge made against him, and simply walked back into the dorm room, sitting down on the bed he was going to be using. He gave a large sigh, and looked back at Taisuke, who kept the same confident smile on her face. The two Bishops merely stared at each other, as though the challenge needed time to set in before Sacha would make a decision.

"Nyet," he said plainly, reaching back for the book stuffed into his bag. "No point in battle against own team. Is, how you say, counterproductive? So, no battle," he said, with no change in his emotion, snapping a nerve in Taisuke's forehead as she tried to maintain her position as the calm one in said conversation.

"Teme…" she said, muttering in Japanese, in a hoarse, threatening voice. "Then I guess you'll have to apologize to your head teacher for bringing me all the way here," she said in an offended tone, still receiving no reaction from Sacha.

"We have head teacher?" Sacha asked as his obliviousness to his teacher struck Taisuke, Hibiki, and the female figure outside the door, walking over only to hear that she had not been remembered by one of her own students. "Eto ona?" he asked, pointing to the woman, easily identified, or not so, as Missy Trenton.

"If that means you're asking if that's her, then yeah," Taisuke said, helping the young teacher to her feet. "You seriously don't know that each of the dorms has their own teacher that's in charge of their affairs?" she asked as Missy stood up, with the entirety of her full figure becoming apparent to the Rook standing behind them.

"Enchente, mademoiselle," Hibiki said, making a low bow to the teacher with his left arm extended out to her. "And what, if I may I ask, is your reasoning for visiting our good friend, Sacha?" he asked, trying to act as gallant as possible.

"Cold shower, dude," George said, recovering from his little stint in the hot spring. "Besides, Taisuke, I already have a challenge against the Czar here. You can just wait your turn," he said, weakly standing up.

"I already refuse that battle," Sacha said, turning around to see Taisuke looking at him with a smug look on her face at the sound of his response. "Chto?" he asked as the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "I only can refuse one battle…" he said as Taisuke and George faced each other, and held out their fists parallel to the other.

As the two began a game of rock-paper-scissors, Sacha walked over to his head teacher, standing several inches taller than her, not exactly convinced of her ability. As he shook his head, and turned back to where the two were playing, he stopped, and looked again at his supposed "head teacher," staring at her with his visible eye with a questioning look.

"Say something about each member," he said plainly, as his teacher just looked at him with a confused look in her eye. "I want you tell me thing about own team to test ability. If not, then you not qualified."

"Akemi Tomomiya, age sixteen, pokémon Rotom," Missy said spontaneously, making Sacha look at her with more of an impressed look in his eye. "Originally brought to the school in hopes of breaking out of a personality where she stalked every boy she found attractive, Akemi has heightened perception skills that help her assess different situations within minutes. Aleksander Ivanovich Tatarinov, AKA Sacha, sixteen years old, pokémon Lampent. Transferred in during your sophomore year, and towards the end, attempted suicide due to the language barrier between you and ninety five percent of the school, also the youngest member on MoonBeam's team. Devon Anderson, age seventeen, pokémon Absol. Resident of the academy island for the majority of his life as a form of asylum granted with a condition that turns into hyperactivity during battle. Donato Jacaruso, also seventeen years old, pokémon Scrafty. Birthplace, parents, and extended family unknown, is known for having contacts on all ends of the island, and for having a silent personality when battling. Fiona Hendricks, age eighteen, pokémon Froslass. Considered to be a major flirt, and of a sadistic personality, is also heir to a major corporation of her father's. Finally, Arisu Senjougahara, age eighteen, pokémon Eelektross. No exact details are known except for a supposed ability to enhance a pokémon's power through sheer will. So how'd I do?" she asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"Neploho," Sacha said, expressing indifference, but showing sincere amazement as he turned around, and widened his eyes.

"You're the youngest out of everyone?" Hibiki asked. "That's usually the Pawn, isn't it?"

"Sacha was born closer to the beginning of the school year, and thus was pushed ahead when he could've been held back," Missy explained. "Akemi is the same, but instead of pushed ahead was held back by her parents."

"So you two should be in the same grade, as of now, right?" Hibiki asked as Sacha simply nodded.

"Okay…" Taisuke said, slightly exasperated from the many different rounds she and George had been playing of rock-paper-scissors. "It's decided, I battle you," she said, as Sacha nodded, and motioned for Missy to follow after them.

"How many rounds of that did you do?" Hibiki asked George as he saw the Knight was still in shock from losing.

"Best of fifty one," he said as Hibiki flailed his head back and forth, trying to make sense of the situation before giving a quick stare to George. "I wanted to battle," he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets before following after the three. "At any rate, in this kind of battle there really is no major downside to the result."

"How do you figure?" Hibiki asked as George began contemplating the right words to use.

"Well, either Sacha wins and he gets the points for our dorm, and not his," he said. "Or Taisuke wins and we have a theoretical way of fighting against the once feared Sacha Tatarinov. And if all else fails, we'll still get a little show before bed. Hmm, maybe we can videotape this, and sell it around the school."

"Ooh, a battle that would've happened eventually, maybe even more than once at a school where that's expected of people, sign me up for a dozen copies," Hibiki said sarcastically. "Seriously, is there any way that you'll stop thinking about how to get a quick buck?"

"…No," George answered plainly as Hibiki just groaned, walking around to each of the other rooms for the chess team, and knocked on their doors to get them educated on the current battle situation.

The middle of the night, while not exactly suggested, is still a very real time that much of the battling for the chess competition actually takes place. As shown in recent experiences with the Rook, Austin Withers, battles in the night are based on one of two properties, adaptability when pertaining to the Pawns, and for Bishops, the other four pieces being disregarded from the two standards, faith. The common belief of Bishops in the chess competition is that they all have some form of belief that influences their actions and that with that feeling alone, they can fight in any environment. Which apparently includes the mixture of a windy, damp, swamp that appears naturally behind the PlanetFoundation dorm?

Out in the back, a dry spot in the land was found for the actual battlefield, and both Bishops had taken their respective places at the darkened ends of the battlefield. Neither of the competitors found themselves able to find each other through simple vision, and instead reached for their respective pokéballs.

"Battle between Sacha Tatarinov, currently of PlanetFoundation, and Taisuke Yana, currently of MoonBeam, begin!" Missy shouted from behind the battlefield as both trainer threw their pokéballs towards the center of the battlefield, the words coming from their mouths the same, but of completely different sounds.

"Lampent, idi!" Sacha shouted as the ghost and fire type slowly lifted itself out of the receding white light.

"Kirlia, ike!" Taisuke shouted, a small psychic type taking the field, spinning on its leg, much like a ballerina. "Hajimemashou, Sacchan," she said, making Sacha's eyes grow wider out of surprise.

"Still think we can learn how to beat Sacha like this?" Hibiki asked as George was left silent, defeated, and lying in a fetal position several meters away from the other spectators. "Reality can really bum a person out, huh?" he asked as the others nodded.

As the battle between the two began, both secondary evolutions met each other in the center of the battlefield, easily found by Lampent's internal heat, and light as an extension. As the two pokémon faced each other, both levitating above the darkened line made in the battlefield in the shape of a pokéball.

"Lampent, ten machyom!" Sacha shouted, as Lampent began making a spasm based movement, releasing multiple shots of Shadow Ball, all directed towards the frail psychic type.

"Kirlia, psychokinesis," Taisuke said in response, much calmer, enunciating every sound of the words she said, as the psychic pokémon lifted up its thin arms in defense, with a blue light shining in the entirety of the iris, pupil, and white.

As Kirlia thrust out its arms towards the Shadow Ball attacks, the blue light from its attack, surrounded them, and began to compress down on them, increasing the pressure as they tried to fight back, and attack. Making a final effort to end the attacks, Kirlia pushed its arms out once more, but with a much greater amount of pressure, putting the final squeeze, so to speak, on the shadowy orbs, turning them into mere particles wafting through the air. As Sacha and his Lampent both shared an expression of bewilderment, they couldn't help but look over and find that Taisuke seemed to have the same feeling around her that Sacha normally did in a battle.

"Kimi wa nihongo wo zenzen wakaranai, desu yo ne?" she said, in a mocking tone as she held out her arms and shrugged her shoulders. "Mendoukusai, ne?" she asked. "Jaa, owarimashou, Kirlia. Shadow Ball," she said, not needing anyone to translate for her as the all too familiar attack launched from Kirlia's body, and travelled fast enough to blast Lampent back towards the edge of the battlefield.

"Lampent, ty v poryadke?" Sacha asked, inquiring on Lampent's condition, to which he was answered with his pokémon slowly lifting itself back up in the air, facing the small psychic pokémon directly. "Da, davayte prodolzhim," he said as Taisuke partially understood what he meant, meaning that they were going to continue.

"Hey, Sacchan!" Taisuke said, switching back to English speech. "What do you say we make this battle a little more interesting?" she proposed as Sacha simply gave her a questioning look. "How about, the loser of the battle has to give up some information about something the winner wants to know?" she asked, making the PlanetFoundation team members all look at her confused. "Gives us more incentive to try all the harder, don't you think?" she questioned as Sacha looked forward, contemplating something that he wanted to know from Taisuke.

"Da," he answered. "Is fine by me. What you want to know?" he asked as Taisuke shook her head.

"You only get to know that if I win," she said, making Sacha look at her with a strange look, which quickly turned to a more confident look in his eyes. "That doesn't mean that we can't have some friendly conversation. Kirlia, tsudzukemashou!" she shouted as the psychic pokémon leaped back into action as Lampent simply followed a simple stretch of Sacha's arm back towards the center of the battlefield. "Now the real battle can begin," she said. "And then I'll know the real truth."

All other dorms in the entirety of the school campus had gone quiet, not even a student leaving their rooms for a quick bathroom trip. Back in SunLight, however, one of the members of the dorm had just woken back up from his own sleep, having started shortly after he arrived back from school. As Mike sat up in his bed, and looked with tired eyes around his room, he stopped as soon as he peered over at the door, finding Candice asleep, while seated with her back leaned up against the door.

Heaving out a sigh, Mike climbed out of his bed, and walked up to the temporary Bishop, crouching down next to her so that the two were eye level. As he let out another deep breath, he took Candice's arm, and slung it over his shoulder, carrying her over towards his bed, carefully placing her under the covers, leaving her in a more comfortable position than when he found her. Turning on a dimly lit lamp, Mike reached under his bed for a large futon, and blanket, pulling out a small box in the process, and knocking a small framed picture from the top. The faces on the picture haunted his memories as a loud screech, crashing sound, and the steady beep of some form of medical instrument entered his ears.

"That you're friend?" Candice asked, having just woken up, after being struck in the face by Mike's door. "He looks like a pretty good guy," she said, as Mike tucked the picture away, and rolled out the floor mattress, trying to find some way to go to sleep even with Candice in the room. "You know, things aren't always so bad when there's somebody to talk to."

Mike made no reaction, forcing Candice to heave out a large sigh, and then crouch over on the bed, making a pouncing maneuver towards Mike. As she came within inches of falling on top of him, Mike simply rolled over in the futon, grabbing the end to pick it up, resulting in Candice falling directly to the floor.

"Why are you so mean!?" Candice asked, noticing that Mike was already making an effort towards the door. "No you don't!" she said, making another jump at him, only to fly directly out the opened door, and hear it lock shut after she fell out. "Not funny!" she shouted from the outside of his door, noticing a small note slid underneath the door. "I thought so," she read, beginning to become more irritated by Mike's attempts to keep her out. "Double Edge," she said as Mike lifted his head in realization, and quickly backed away from the door, after which it was quickly blown from its hinges, leading the way for a large Golem standing in front of Candice. "Thank you," she said to her pokémon as she returned it to her pokéball, walking towards Mike. "I was trying to be nice to you, you know," she said, receiving another note. "Not that I wanted you to," she read. "I'm not leaving this room until you tell me who that is," she said, pointing underneath his bed, mostly likely at the picture that Mike was looking at previously.

"…," Mike said in silence, not making any effort to appease Candice, but then walked back over to his bed, and pulled the box out, handing her the picture. "He's nobody," he said, for the first time.

"Come on, he can't be nobody," Candice said. "He has to be somebody."

"He was somebody," Mike said, turning back to the box, and showing her an old newspaper clipping attached to the top flap. "He was my friend," he said, letting Candice read the newspaper clipping. "And now, because of me, he's nobody anymore."

"Today, the city of Goldenrod, for the first time in ten years, laments over the death of two in a deadly car crash, involving a large semi-truck that proceeded when the traffic light had changed to red," Candice began reading aloud. "The driver of the semi was left uninjured, and the other boy riding in the back seat of the car was left with minor injuries, and is now being treated at Goldenrod General Hospital."

"I was spared in that accident," Mike said, closing the flap of the box, and placing the picture back on top. "And it shouldn't have been that way. If anyone deserved to die back then, it was to have been me," he said, very much aware of the implication of his words. "I was just a stupid attention hog back then, and he was the only person I would ever share that glory with. If I hadn't led him into every stupid idea I came up with, he and his mother wouldn't have died. People who are friends with me are cursed," he said boldly as Candice looked at him with either regret of her words, or genuine condolence. "Nobody who's been friends with me has ever said that they never regretted it. From the bullying, the forgotten promises, right down to every single mistake I've made in my life. I don't deserve people to be kind to me, so I ask that you don't try and break that trend."

"Tonto," Candice said under her breath as Mike sat back down on his bed, almost as though he were trying to force regret on himself. "No voy a dejar," she said playfully as she jumped onto Mike's bed and wrapped her arms around his head, pulling the side of it flush to her chest.

"What are you doing?" he asked trying to move himself away, but was instead pushed down so that he was underneath the entirety of Candice's weight.

"Friends are never supposed to be something you're afraid to have," she said, looking down at his eyes, confused as to her meaning. "People can say they're not supposed to have friends, but in the end, if they don't have any, it makes them truly feel unloved, than if they just tried to become a person that others could get along with. You just need someone who accepts you for you," she said, resting her body down on him.

Instead of struggling, Mike froze at the sound of Candice's breath against his neck as she tried to go to sleep against him. Holding him at the wrists, and pressing her legs down on his ankles, Candice had Mike in a full lock to keep him from moving, and despite what he had originally thought, Mike had found her to be fairly strong in her own right. But something else was bothering him by this point; why didn't he fight her like he would have normally? Feeling her cool breath against his neck, Mike began to drift back off to sleep, despite his attempts to stay awake.

"I can't…" he said to himself as his eyelids grew heavier with each breath she took. "I can't make friends. They'll only get hurt if they associate with me, and how could I ever allow something to happen to…her?" he asked, looking down at Candice's peaceful face as she moved her face up closer to him, until her cheek rested on his.

The battlefield behind the PlanetFoundation dorm was still left in a stalemate battle between the use of fire, psychic, and ghost attacks from the two Bishops. Ever move that had been made since the two began their battle was matched in overall power, and none of the spectators watching were really quite sure of who was leading the battle. Between Sacha commanding his pokémon in Russian, and Taisuke doing the same, but in Japanese, the battle for the other members of the dorms was sort of a guessing game.

"So, have you figured anything out?" Hibiki asked George as the Knight was left dumbfounded at the speed at which both people were able to speak. "Because if you focus on one person, you start to hear certain things again and again, meaning that they're using the same commands. Think of it like a memory game, which is probably how somebody gets the most proficient in languages."

"The problem isn't deciphering the language anymore," George said as he looked through a small notebook. "The problem is how sensitive their pokémon are," he added as Hibiki gave him a confused look. "If you notice, the sound of the spoken word is rarely audible where we are, and by basic logic is also almost inaudible in the thick of battle. They're not only commanding their pokémon in other languages, they're doing so even when an attack explodes or makes a sound that makes it impossible to hear."

"It's because they're Bishops," Katherine said as the two male members looked at their King. "Bishops are always the most complicated piece because of all the prerequisites to become one; a near perfect behavioral record, a working knowledge of pokémon mythology, and a special connection between their pokémon. Sacha is a very religious person, so he has basic faith in everything he does, just trusting in it without proof that it'll work. Taisuke, on the other hand, is a psychic who makes a living on making connections between people to do her readings, and often can break through to people even in the loudest cases."

As they turned back to the battlefield, Taisuke's Kirlia and Sacha's Lampent were both beginning to show signs of fatigue with both of their trainers no longer looking at them, but at each other. Neither made any sound, nor did they show any emotion, but as Sacha lifted up his hand, Taisuke made a motion backwards with her stance, and motioned towards Kirlia to prepare itself.

"Sacha, if I win this battle, can I make a request of you?" she asked as Sacha gave no reaction to what she said. "There are two thing I want to know, and one of them is about you," she said as Sacha made a small twitch in his eye. "I want to know about this," she said, throwing a small rectangular frame at the Bishop.

Sacha looked down at the picture as they hit the ground, and held it up to the light made by Lampent. He heaved out a large sigh, and threw it back to Taisuke giving her an expectant look as to what she wanted to know. Picking up the picture of Sacha's team at their training over at the beach, Taisuke looked down at it, and traced the scowling face of the one she was currently battling.

"Why don't you smile?" she asked as every eye watching the battle was now turned to Sacha. "This picture and these others all show you, but you never smile in them. Why not?" she asked as she threw the two other pictures at Sacha, who caught them in both hands, this time.

The first was of Sacha with Devon, and the two probably after a practice battle on the beach; Devon was sitting down with Absol holding up his fingers in a victory sign, and then Sacha standing off to the side with Lampent floating above him. He threw the first picture to the side, Danielle catching it, and looking down at Sacha's solemn face. The second, Sacha instantly threw back, Hibiki catching it this time, his face erupting into a beet red color, and a small spurt of blood shooting from his nose before he passed out. As the picture spun in the air, Katherine caught it, and also blushed at the sight of both Arisu and Fiona in their swimsuits on either side of Sacha, with their arms around him.

"That kind of picture will probably put her in a coma, huh?" Amelia asked Danielle after they both peeked over at the picture.

"Ooh, nice," George said. "Make a few copies of that, and we can make a nice little pile of mad money, and then some."

Sacha looked back down the battlefield at Taisuke, and gave her the same expectant look he had before. Taisuke was silent, seeing if Sacha would be the first to speak, still making small movements with her hands towards Kirlia who continued to make small, unnoticeable nods.

"They care about you, Sacchan," Taisuke explained as Sacha made no reaction. "Those people in that dorm really do need you, you know."

"Ya znayu," Sacha responded, indicating his understanding on the matter. "Arisu no can cook, Devon is bad at study, Donato gamble too much, Akemi know nothing of chess game, and Fiona spend too much time doing nothing. I still need them, and they need me," he said. "We all like family, and we better than our own family."

"What?" Taisuke asked as Kirlia gave a small nod to her that Taisuke returned. "What was wrong with your families? It's not like they could've been that bad."

"Devon's father abandon him when he start school," Sacha responded. "Donato's family is nowhere, Akemi's parents no like her, and Arisu's parents expect too much."

"What about Fiona's family?" Taisuke asked, noticing that he had only talked about four. "And what about yours?" she asked as the PlanetFoundation members all stared at Sacha again. "Why do you always have to scowl at everything? Does it have something to do with your family? Or do you really have it in for one of the MoonBeam members?"

"Moya cemya…" Sacha started, referencing his family. "No wanted me. They do, how you say, abortion, but it fail. Doctor said I no want to give up, and it miracle I survive," he explained as Lampent began rising up into the air, high above where Kirlia stood. "They never care for me, they say I nothing but mistake, and something that never should happen. My smile is locked away, until I receive love from parents. This battle short, but is time to end. Lampent, Inferno!" Sacha shouted as Lampent's movements began to become spastic, releasing a giant pillar of fire that almost seemed to be sucking everything up inside of it.

As Kirlia tried to fight against the vortex, Taisuke looked back and forth from in between her pokémon and the pillar of fire, and then noticed the point where Lampent floated from behind its own attack. She let out a small smile, and then motioned for Kirlia who turned around, still mesmerized by the power in Lampent's attack. Pointing directly upward at where she could faintly see Lampent, Taisuke nodded at her pokémon, the psychic type nodding in agreement.

"Kirlia, Assist Power!" she shouted, the Kirlia's body now cloaked in a light green aura that almost seemed to be taking power away from it, before concentrating it into one single attack. "Osoe!" Taisuke shouted, as Kirlia shot the attack from where it stood, the spectators of the battle amazed as it pierced through the first and end of the fiery pillar, and travelled directly at Lampent, while attempting to break through the second layer.

"Assist Power or Stored Power," Hibiki said from the group, having finally recuperated from his little episode. "It takes the power of positive stat changes, and condenses into a single blast of psychic energy, and given the over stat increases, the power is also increased by near astronomical amounts."

"When did she have time to make the stat changes?" Amelia asked, looking down at the attack as it began moving slower through the fire. "Sacha was pretty determined to keep her at bay throughout the majority of this battle."

"It was during their little conversation," Danielle explained. "When Kirlia was out of his view, Taisuke was able to signal it to use a move probably like Calm Mind. Two stat increases at the same time, each about six times would increase the basic power of Store Power to well over two hundred forty percent of its special attack power, whereas Lampent's Inferno attack can only increase itself to two hundred twenty five percent of its special attack."

"You're wrong about Sacha losing this battle if that's the case," Katherine said, watching the attack burst through the second layer of the fire pillar. "There's a difference between the two pokémon in overall stat totals, assuming they're on the same level. And even if they're not, I can assure you that Sacha is at a much higher level than Taisuke."

"How can you tell how strong Lampent is just by looking?" George asked, unconvinced in merely his King's words. Katherine didn't have to say anything as the attack from Kirlia eventually burst through Lampent's Inferno, but by the time it had actually reached the ghost type; it had lost a considerable amount of power, simply passing through, barely doing any damage. "How'd you know that would happen?"

"Taisuke put too much faith into a single attack, only thinking of her own power, and not of her opponent's," Katherine explained as the fiery vortex began to subside. "Lampent's evolutionary line doesn't just have the strongest special attack of all ghost pokémon, but of all pokémon without legendary status, topping even some of them. To put these into basic numbers, Lampent would have an overall power level, at the base, of ninety five, which is much stronger than Kirlia's base power, capping off at a base of sixty five. Even at top power with all of the Calm Mind attacks into effect when she used Stored Power, Taisuke's Kirlia couldn't hope to match the power behind the natural state of a Lampent using one of the most powerful fire attacks in existence."

Taisuke simply looked at Lampent, undamaged, unhurt, and unwavering as it floated high above where both she and Sacha stood. Kirlia had already exhausted so much of its power as it tried to look back up at Lampent, but quickly fell to its knees, Taisuke about to say something, but was instantly cut off by Sacha holding his hand out in front of him, the Supernova Bishop's eyes growing out of terror.

"Lampent, eto zakachnivaee," he said slowly, Lampent producing a large Shadow Ball attack, no hesitation in its execution as it flung the attack towards Kirlia, Taisuke unable to stop it. "Prosti, Taisuke," he apologized, the dark orb instantly connecting with the small psychic type.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as Kirlia soared through the air from the impact, turning upside down as it fell down to the ground. Taisuke, Missy, Sacha, and everyone watching the battle seeming not to move as the form of Kirlia hitting the ground echoed through the entire area, the shape of it falling through the air, reminding Taisuke of her dream earlier of her own face taking the face of the man falling from the Tower card. As she looked up at Sacha who kept the same stern face, she fell to her knees; destroyed by the thought of losing to the person she needed to win against the most. Missy, looking at the defeated shape of the defeated pokémon, looked down as she lifted up her hand towards Sacha.

"The winner of this battle is PlanetFoundation Bishop, Sacha Tatarinov," she said, obvious regret filling her voice as she declared the winner. "The points will be distributed to the correct dorm by morning, and with that I will take me leave," she said, bowing to the spectators and both of the battles before leaving. "Will you be okay going back by yourself later, Taisuke?" she asked, the defeated trainer, giving a weak nod as she returned Kirlia to her pokéball.

Taisuke stayed on the ground, distraught by the fact she lost, and sat down on her own feet, watching Sacha begin to walk up to her, Lampent following after him. He stopped after reaching no more than three feet from her, extending his hand to her, Taisuke hesitantly grabbing it, allowing him to pull her up.

"As promised, what do you me to tell you?" Taisuke asked, Sacha looking back at Lampent who nodded once, turning back to Taisuke about to speak. "Well?"

"What you want to know?" he asked, Taisuke, and the PlanetFoundation members all giving him a surprised look. "I know everything I need, I want know how I can help."

"W-Well," Taisuke started, fighting back tears after her loss, looking straight into Sacha's soulless eyes. "I want to know everything about Fiona's family," she said, slightly embarrassed by the information she was asking.

"Pochemu?" Sacha asked, inquiring as to why.

"She told me that her grandmother was sick, and I just wanted to know if it was true," Taisuke explained. "She said that she's the only person in her family that actually cares about others' well being, and now that she's getting close to death, Fiona wants to know if somebody's going to help her because her own family won't."

"Her babushka," Sacha began, bringing his head closer to her ear. "Is sick in heart," he explained quietly, Taisuke eyes widening out of surprise. "She sick only in spirit. She help all kind of people, and her cemya disown for it. If she need money, it not because she need it, it for someone else, but cemya won't help."

"But they told me that her grandmother was sick and dying," Taisuke said, Sacha moving away, and turning back to the dorm he was living in. "Why would they lie to me? Are you all really monsters without any care for others?" she asked, receiving a slap across the face from Sacha, the rage in his eye reminding her immediately of Arisu's when she did the same.

"You keep secret from your friend!" Sacha shouted. "If you want use it for good, do good thing for another! But never say my friends no care for others," he said, his anger beginning to subside as he walked back to the dorm.

As he passed by the other members of his dorm, Lampent looking behind itself, most of them fearful of their new recruit, a hollow laugh appearing in its voice, Sacha looked down at the pictures in Katherine's hands, and instantly increased in his own anger as he ran back into the dorm. As soon as he disappeared, the other PlanetFoundation members found Katherine shuddering in ecstasy as she fell to the ground.

"I wonder who Sacha should be protected from; Kathy or Fiona?" Hibiki asked, the others nodding in agreement as they picked up their unconscious King, all helping each other to carrying her back into the dorm, leaving Taisuke outside alone, but that may have been for the best.

Still sitting on the ground, holding her cheek where it was struck from Sacha, Taisuke began to think of everything everyone had said to her since this challenge began. Thinking back to when she was doing the reading for Arisu, and when she began to doubt her position in the dorm, and received a similar strike to the cheek as from Sacha.

"There's not a day that goes by that Christian doesn't speak of you as though you were the heart and soul of the team," she remembering Arisu saying, going farther into the memory after she struck her a second time. "Do you really think your team would think any less of you for hiding something from them?" she could hear in her head, going straight to what she said next. "Think about how that secret would actually make it so that the rest of your team would actually hate you for it."

"She said that because she knows what I'm keeping from everyone else," Taisuke said aloud, knowing that she was alone. "And she knows that any of the dorms can't survive without their Bishop. The point of this challenge wasn't for the hardships it would bring on the Bishops, but the other members of the team, to see if they could make any of us snap," she said, remembering what Sacha had just said to her, the sound of his angry voice still echoing in her head.

"If you want to use it for good, do good thing for another!" he shouted to her, Taisuke lifting up her head with a more determined look in her eyes.

"He knows that if I can use that part of my life for good, then it isn't just a privilege, but a duty to do something," she said, still not expecting any reaction from anywhere around as she lifted herself up off the ground, and began to walk back to the MoonBeam dorm, unaware that down from the window, Sacha was staring down at her, looking at the two pictures Katherine was holding, the indifferent look on his face almost haunting him.

"Maybe smile not such bad thing, after all," he said to himself, looking at the smiling face of Devon, Fiona, and Arisu. "If they manage smile for me, I do the same for them. Spasibo, Taisuke Yana," he said, watching her disappear into the scenery around PlanetFoundation.

Morning came all too early for some, especially for those who barely got asleep at all, namely the Bishops from any of the dorms, but in this case, one of the Pawns as well. As Mike woke up, he looked down his body to find Candice still sprawled out on it, still acting as though she were trying to get comfortable. Finding some way to ease her off, and lay her comfortably in his bed, Mike stretched out his back, his arm behind him, cracking his knuckles at the same time as he grabbed his pokéball, and made his way out the door, turning the lights off for the Bishop.

Walking through the hallway, towards the staircase from the fifth floor, Mike began to make his way down, running into Flarita, Lina, and Melissa all about to make their way up. All four stopped as they stared at the other, Mike's eyes not showing as much anger as they were expecting for their action last night. They let out a sigh of relief as they walked by him, Flarita patting him on the shoulder as she passed by.

"Morning, Mike," she said cheerfully as she continued to make her way up, Mike stuck in the same position trying to say something.

"G-Good morning," he said, barely audible to the others, but audible nonetheless, making them stop in their tracks, turning around to see if they actually heard him say something. "Good morning, Flarita," he said again, all three able to hear him, smiles coming across their faces as he ran down the rest of the stairs.

"She did it!" Lina shouted happily, the three of them walking towards Mike's room to find Candice cuddling against his pillow on his bed. "Hmm, maybe she actually did it," she said suggestively, the other two girls giving her a cross look as they moved towards their own room.

"Yeah, it's one problem solved, but what about the other one we got over here?" Melissa asked, taking a seat on one of the sofas in Flarita's and Lina's room. "It's that time of the week already, and I don't think Candi's gonna be much help in that kind of a situation."

"It only took her one night to break the silence that Mike's been keeping for at least a month and a half," Flarita said, reminding the other two of what just happened in the hallway. "Even if she can't fix the problem, she can at least take a bit of the edge off. I mean, we never see it, but that clapping sound is never a good one," she said, both of her teammates agreeing. "Besides, she'll be here any minute, and we all know how Austin is with her."

"He's gonna fold like a cheap suit," Melissa said, suddenly hearing the doorbell ringing, all three of the female SunLight members jumping out of their skin at the sound. "Oh, this ain't gonna end well."

About to walk out of her room, Flarita was cut off by Austin walking silently along the hallway, already aware of who was at the door, despite his King's attempts to stop him. As the three ran down the stairs after him, trying to do whatever they could to stop him, Austin merely casted them aside, reaching the bottom of the stairwell, and walking directly towards the door. Walking through the lobby of his dorm, and passing by Mike on one of the couches, a quick nod as his greeting that Mike copied, Austin gripped the door, and quickly opened it, Flarita bringing her palm to her face at the sight of the figure behind the door.

"Hello, everyone," a cheerful voice said from a woman standing at the same height as Austin about, with a similar hair color, but with more care put into it. "Nice to see you all again."

"Yeah, you too, Violet," Flarita said, walking down from the staircase with Melissa and Lina in tow. "Come down for another visit with Austin?" she asked, Violet simply nodding. "Ah, well, at least this time when you ask what's new, we can actually tell you something."

"Oh, really, what's new?" Violet asked, looking more towards her brother, Austin. "You don't really tell me a whole lot, you know. It kinda hurts that you don't care for your sister, the same way she cares for you. What are you thinking when you do that?"

"A very simple law, 'Treat others the way you wish to be treated,'" Austin said plainly. "I never asked for your care, and I never expect it from you," he explained. "We may share a mother, but we are very different people," he said, quickly receiving a slap across his face from his sister.

"You will not take that tone with me, Austin!" Violet shouted, raising her voice levels louder than what she normally spoke in. "You know that between the two of us, there is no competition as to who is the favorite in our family," she said, a small wince appearing in his eye before he stood back up straight, unfazed by the strike.

"And yet you're still not satisfied," Austin said, walking away from the lobby, and back upstairs. "Try to be on better behavior today, we have a guest," he said, Violet's expression instantly brightening as Austin disappeared.

"So, how are we all doing today? And what's this I hear about a guest living with you all?" Violet asked, sitting down on the couch next to Mike.

"It's part of the first actual challenge of the Chess War here; all the Bishops from the six different dorms are all put into different dorms, and we're still not really sure how this is supposed to be a challenge for us," Melissa explained. "Chances are, though, that girl we have living here is gonna drain our energy dry. You've heard of Candice from CraterStrike, right?" she asked, Violet nodding, probably have talked about her with Donato. "Well apparently she needed a door being slammed in her face to get her to calm down," she said, Violet chuckling slightly.

"Accident," Mike said, Violet turning out of surprise at hearing his voice. "Call it a convergence of circumstances."

"First words I hear you say, and they're bigger than you," Violet said, looking at the other three for an explanation. "When did he actually start talking?"

"Just this morning after we put Candice in his room last night," Flarita said, Mike not as angry as some of them were expecting. "The girl really worked him over last night, and it made him so much more open. I'd like to know what she said to him to make him do the full one eighty."

"Call it my little secret," Mike said, standing up, passing by Candice as he walked back up the stairwell. "Morning," he said, Candice winking at him quickly before he disappeared upstairs.

"So, this is the infamous Candice, huh?" Violet said, extending her hand. "My brother really needs to get his act together, hanging out with this many cute girls. That kid Mike, too; you seem to be getting along just fine with him," she said, Candice blushing slightly. "So how's your old Bishop doing? Glenn, I think his name was."

"Well, it's only been the first day, and it's not like we've been in a lot of contact with him in the last twenty four hours," Lina answered. "Besides, if he's in with the GalaxyStorm folks, they're probably tapping his calls to us, making sure he's not revealing secrets to us. That, and it's not like we're a tightly knit group, not like with the MoonBeam dorm; they had to practically use a pry bar to get Fiona away from Sacha."

"That one always seemed to get girls interested in him," Violet commented. "I'm sure our new little friend had a thing for him at one point," she said, Candice giggling slightly. "But now, it's like Fiona, a girl from PlanetFoundation, and one other girl has a thing for him, or something?"

"Could be a couple more from the way this little internet article sounds," Flarita said, a laptop resting on her thighs, reading through a webpage. "Turns out that Sacha and Taisuke had a battle last night, and it wasn't just with their pokémon. The article says that there was a lot of banter between the two, and it turned into a wager where the loser had to give up information that the winner wanted. Sacha eventually won, but instead asked for what Taisuke wanted to know, and in the end, he gave up information for her. Looks like Fiona could be in trouble if Taisuke starts getting interested."

"Who wrote the article?" Lina asked, leaning over to read the by-line. "George DeSan, Knight of PlanetFoundation. Since when did he become a freelance reporter?"

"Anything to get a quick buck with that one," Melissa said, all five girls sharing a laugh over the fact, quickly hearing a violin sounding from upstairs. "That's probably the one thing that makes living Austin bearable. Aside from the fact he was the first to defeat a MoonBeam member," she said, looking over at Violet who eyes were now more solemn, quickly turning angry as she walked up the stairs towards the fifth floor.

Austin's room was filled only with the sound of his music, Mike watching from the doorway, smiling as Austin finished the piece, making a small note on the sheet music he was playing off of. Turning to face Mike, Austin made a small sigh, continuing to write small marks on his own sheet music, soon turning back to his Pawn teammate.

"Obviously Candice has a similar effect on people that Devon does, only in reverse," he said, placing his violin in his case, and running his rosin against the bow. "Before, you wouldn't come within fifteen feet of this room, and now you're less than a centimeter from entering. What did that girl say to you to make you think about this whole arrangement differently? Or was it a sudden revelation from having in her your room last night?"

"Who knows?" Mike said, not stepping into his room. "All I know is that I'm not the only one with problems that she can solve," he said, Austin turning his face away, so the red mark on the right side of his face wasn't visible. "Why do you put up with all the abuse you get from your sister? You may be younger, but you're by far stronger than her, and you can do things that she could only dream about. Why don't you just tell her to stop?"

"I don't how much you can relate to the loss of a loved one," Austin started as his answer, Mike not saying anything. "But in case you don't, it feels as though every part of your body is being pulled apart at the same time in all different directions. I lost Violet for longer than was necessary, and I don't think she's still forgiven me completely for what happened. She believes only in what she sees, and as it stands, all she sees when she looks at me is the person who could've stopped something from happening, and didn't do it."

"As opposed to…," Mike started off.

"As opposed to a scared kid who didn't know how to do anything to make him feel better about his parents not being there when he needed them the most," Austin said. "I have no more qualms about my past, and I have no problems speaking about it, but it's a subject my sister would never let me disclose with anyone."

"Why not?" Mike asked, feeling a presence behind him.

"Because he has no place to speak about what our family has gone through," Violet said, walking into the room, giving Austin a full punch to his cheek. "I told you never to talk about this with anybody!" she shouted, still aware that Mike was still watching. "This is why nobody is ever going to be friends with you! A person like you shouldn't ever have them!" she shouted, Mike's mind going back to when he talked about his own past with Candice.

"…'People can say they're not supposed to have friends, but in the end, if they don't have any, it makes them truly feel unloved, than if they just tried to become a person that others could get along with,'" he remembered her saying, reciting it aloud, Violet turning around, Mike keeping his own head down, so as not to face her.

"You just don't understand, Mike," Violet said as nicely as she could. "A boy who can't find friends by being himself is never going to have any. Nobody is going to want to hang out with a person like him, even if they were paid to do it," she said, Austin seeming to be unfazed by her words.

"Austin's my friend," Mike said boldly, Austin looking up slightly surprised. "I like listening to his music, I like listening to him make the other members of this dorm look like idiots when they start making suggestions, I like that he sees the world for what it is, and not what other people fantasize it into," he explained, Austin letting out a small chuckle.

"I guess if he says it, it must be true," he said, lying down on his bed, Violet looking back at her brother, and then back at Mike who was left smiling. "I'd be proud to call anyone who sees what Violet does to me, and still wants to talk to me, as my friend, and that won't be something that would change any time soon. And if you were to try and hurt my friend in any way, physically, or mentally, even if you are my loving sister, I will not hesitate to silence you," he said, Violet looking at both of them, walking past Mike, leaving both to wait for her to reach the stairwell.

Hearing her shoes click against the concrete steps at the end of the hallway, both Austin and Mike began laughing slightly, staying the same positions. After calming down, Austin placed his hands behind his head, looking straight up at the ceiling, and then at Mike through her peripheral.

"You know she's going to make your life a living hell from now on, right?" he asked. "I had a friend in my sophomore year when I was a Pawn here, and for the first six months I knew him, Violet would treat him the same way she does me; and never showed any mercy. Chances are, though, your will may be stronger than her influence."

"Why do you say that?" Mike asked.

"I can only register two emotions; pain and depression," Austin explained. "Not like my sister, who can only see happiness, joy, and rage when it comes to me. But every time I looked at your eyes, I knew you had experienced a pain in your life that could easily match my own. My other friend, he couldn't fathom anything that happened to me, nor could he see me as anything different after leaning the truth of who I was."

"Maybe he just didn't know what it meant to be hurt before," Mike suggested. "A common speculation of the six Pawns this year is that they were all chosen by the other members of the team for being the best at something; you've got perception and strategy with Akemi, analytics with Ike, contacts with Amelia, overall power with Rokuro, thought processes with Adrian, but people never knew why you guys chose me."

"You know, I asked myself the same question for several weeks, even after meeting you," Austin said. "You had all these other Pawns in the other dorms that were so obvious about their best traits, it made you seem so much more insignificant at face value. But after we spent that time together training, and figuring each other out; you were still a mystery to all of us. Whatever Candice did to you last night, made me realize now what you were chosen for in terms of your best, and most adaptable trait," he said, Mike looking at him expectantly. "You are the best of the Pawns I have ever seen who can see actual emotion. You are able to see when a person is hurting, when they want to become stronger, and, most of all, when they are lying to who they really are. And that's because, like all of the other Pawns who's power is known, you've lived through something that most of us can't imagine."

"So, in a way, we both have Candi to thank for being able to live with a our problems a bit better," Mike said, Austin still skeptical about being able to thank the new Bishop. "Had she not helped me with my own problem, I couldn't have helped you with yours; so therefore, she's the one that helped us both out of a situation anyone else would have called hopeless."

"And why do you think that is?" Austin asked, Mike shrugging his shoulders. "Because she's like any person who sees a problem, and takes it upon herself to fix it," he explained. "She doesn't see any point in giving up; especially if it would mean helping somebody she cared about."

"I guess you're right," Mike said. "The problems around here aren't going to stop, though, are they?" he asked, Austin simply shaking his head. "There will be times when we go back to where we started from, thinking that maybe it would've been better if she had actually stayed away from us. Ghosts of our past will come to haunt us, and remembering what that girl did for both of us, may be the only way out."

"Sounds like a lot of work, but if that's what it would come down to," Austin said, both of them chuckling over his distaste for activity. "I guess that means, I'll be looking forward to our time as friends, Mike," he said, reaching his hand out, with no intention of getting up, forcing the latter to walk in his room, and grasp his hand in the same way.

"As do I," he said, both holding the handshake for several seconds, suddenly noticing the other four members of their dorm watching them from the outside. "Oh, is this gonna take some explaining."

"Have fun with that," Austin said, walking out of the room, his violin case in hand as he waved goodbye, leaving his new friend at the mercy of the four female members.

In the other dorms, however, things were beginning to become more apparent that things in the Bishop challenge weren't as simple as a girl like Candi bringing two friends together by helping only one. Back in MoonBeam, Taisuke was left packing a small duffel bag with merely her tarot cards and a change of clothes, looking over her shoulder as she tried to be as discreet as possible. In GalaxyStorm, Glenn was still left under Tyson's watch, still scribbling away at one of his notebooks, making a quick, unnoticeable motion with his pencil that made his pokémon perk up at the sight of it. In CraterStrike, Geo was still left reading the multiple page essay written by Adrian on the subject of Triple-S, rubbing his forehead at the sight of some of the different ideas the Pawn was considering about the group. And in SuperNova, despite the wishes against her doing so, Serena was beginning to pick the lock on Anya's drawer, grasping at the picture frame she peered at on her first day in the dorm. All four of the other Bishops, whose trials are yet to be face, will soon be revealed, and then the true challenge shall become clear.

Dorm Points:

MoonBeam: 0

CraterStrike: 0

PlanetFoundation: 3

GalaxyStorm: 0

SuperNova: 0

SunLight: 0

Pokémon Debuts:

Taisuke Yana: Kirlia. Cyanide the Sneasel

Candice "Candi" Laria Isra: Golem. Lolli-S

Notes:

Imperative Form: All forms of language, with the exception of English, have a case called the imperative form which is another way of saying a command case. Using imperative in Romance Languages is actually very simple, normally incorporating the conjugated form of verbs to address a person directly, or the "you" conjugation, "tu" or "vous" in French for example. Sacha uses imperative form to command Lampent in a style that is how one would always refer to a person in a very informal way. Taisuke, on the other hand, does use imperative case to command Kirlia, but in Japanese there is only one way to turn a verb into imperative, and this involves taking the plain form of verb, saying "ikimasu" which is to go, but is in citation form; iku is the plain form, and then you replace the "u" sound with the corresponding consonant; becoming "ike," as a command to go.

Taisuke's Attack Names: Obviously, we all know that Japanese names for pokémon, whether it be their attacks, or their species names are often different, but are transliterations of English words. Attacks such as Psychic in Japanese are translated into a different word with a similar meaning, normally into a form of writing called katakana; which is the Japanese alphabet specific for writing out words in other languages. And in a lot of other cases, the names of all kinds of attacks, not limited to pokémon, can be heard in this really forced sounding English. To really say the name of the attacks Taisuke used, just with the two showed to be the Japanese names; it would actually be spelled as the following; for Psychic/Psychokinesis "Saikokineshisu," and for Store Power/Assist Power "Ashisuto Pawaa."

So, that's the next chapter of Checkmate, one that was definitely a long time coming, and I hope this was more to the liking of some of you, and in the end, this is the first part in a major part of the Bishop Challenge Arc. Again, the main focus of this arc is on Taisuke more than anybody, but I think we can all agree that things will eventually be able to mold together everything into one big finale for the first arc. Hopefully you all still remembering this story, and still think it's worth it. I had been planning this chapter for the longest time, and after updating Magic, this is the only thing to work on for a while, and in the end, I think I did pretty good considering that there was still so much stuff left to cover towards the end. Hopefully it flows, and it leaves you all wanting more of my writing. Until we meet again, ja nee.