This chapter, we build up to Maddi's fight against the Phantom, with her learning some rather shocking information. It's an important chapter.

KedharS: Yep. It's only going to get more interesting from here.

Rosealine gold: That's a good thing to fear. Maddi's going to get a little bit of fear herself.

Aquahaze675: It definitely seems like an interesting premise. Like, what if it's sunny outside but there's still some rain? What's the threshold?

Rus4408: Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 503

Maddi swallowed, trembling nervously.

A few hours ago, she was nervous, but now she was flat-out terrified. She was jumping at sounds, and she couldn't stop her heart from pounding. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, but she couldn't.

Maddi wasn't a girl who was easily scared. She was tough, and though she would never say it out loud she thought that she was a little bit of a badass.

But right now, she was a scared little girl who had no idea what was going on.

It had started last night when she had asked Dakota to do some digging into Misato and the Phantom, telling her about the robot girl who had helped her escape from the destruction of Silph Co. all those years ago. She had been worried about the Phantom's connection to Misato, because it hadn't made sense. So she wanted to learn more about any potential connection between them before her fight. It didn't help that the Phantom was so unnerving, giving her an ominous feeling that she didn't quite understand. When she had asked, she had no idea that what would result from that would be a secret that she was still having difficulty trying to process.

Now, after learning the truth, she understood why she had felt so uncomfortable meeting his gaze. She had repressed it for quite some time due to the trauma.

A little over an hour ago…

Maddi was preparing her team when a loud knocking on the door shook her out of her fugue. She blinked, confused. Who would be coming to her now? Cynthia or Sango, maybe, to wish her good luck? The Commander with some words of encouragement?

No, it was Dakota Evans, looking like death warmed over, her face oddly pale and flushed at the same time.

"Dakota? What-"

"We have to talk," Dakota said, shoving past Maddi and slamming the door behind her. "We don't have a lot of time before the tournament gets started."

"What?" Maddi looked at her, confused. And more than a little worried. The wild look in Dakota's eye made Maddi feel uncomfortable. "Is something-"

"You wanted to know about the Phantom, right?" Dakota said. She stormed over to one of the tables in the waiting room and set down her backpack, digging through it. "You're sure, right? Richard Valon and Misato. You need to be clear with me, Maddi!"

Maddi flinched, surprised. She didn't know Dakota that well at all, except by rumor and what she'd observed in her few interactions at Cynthia's birthday. But the tone of her voice seemed… off. Was she usually this snappish? She didn't even bother correcting her about her name. Dakota had pulled out a really thick file, and slapped it on the table.

"Well?" Dakota turned to Maddi, and the look in her eyes was… desperation? Terror? Maddi couldn't be sure, but whatever that look was there was a growing discomfort inside of her that Maddi was beginning to share.

"If you don't want to know, I can go," Dakota said, her voice softening, but the tremble was still there. "You may have dragged me into all this, but no one says you have to-"

"I want to know," Maddi interrupted her. She didn't really want to know. But… "Whatever it is, I have to know. It's important."

Dakota studied her for a second, before sighing, rubbing her temples. She slid down into the chair and turned back to the table.

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

Maddi swallowed, and walked over to Dakota. This didn't sound good. She sat down beside the girl as Dakota began opening the file.

"You said you met that girl, Misato Daini, in the basement of Silph Co., is that right?" Dakota asked, digging through the papers.

"Yeah, she-"

"Is this her?" Dakota withdrew a sheet of paper with a picture on it. An exact copy of the girl Maddi had met was floating in a tube, eyes closed. Her body was notably devoid of any sexual characteristics, like a life-sized doll.

"Yes," Maddi said, nodding.

"I took what you said about Misato's connection to Silph Co., and I began doing some digging," Dakota explained. "I sent out some feelers to people who might know, but no one could find anything. But then another contact of mine came to me and showed me this."

"What is it?" Maddi asked. "What is she?"

Dakota grimly shook her head.

"I don't know. Everything on the Misato Project was redacted. Apparently, Silph Co. was involved in some pretty questionable stuff behind the scenes," Dakota said, shaking her head. "My contact, he was trying to find information on other stuff, and, well, he just came across this."

"So what's the big deal?" Maddi asked. Silph Co. had made a robot. She already knew that, that didn't answer any of the questions that she had.

"He wasn't looking into Misato when he found this out," Dakota explained further. "He was actually trying to find information on someone else. But Silph Co.'s Misato Project was involved. And there was also reference to something else. Adam. And that's-"

"Adam?!" Maddi's eye widened in shock. "Wait, no, say that again. You said 'Adam' right?"

"You've heard of it?" Dakota quietly asked, glancing at her.

Maddi was too stunned to make note of the fact that Dakota didn't seem all that surprised.

"My… my parents, they mentioned someone name Adam before, but I didn't think-"

"Adam isn't a person," Dakota said, shaking her head.

"It isn't?" Maddi asked, confused.

"No. A.D.A.M. It's an acronym. The A.D.A.M. Project. It was another of Silph Co.'s little projects. But not one that we've been able to find anything on. It's possible that any notes on the topic have been digitally redacted, and the hardcopies if there ever were any probably went up in that fire. My associate is very good at computers and research, and I don't know if even he can find anything further on it. But I do know that your parents were working on the project."

"They… they were?" Maddi asked, surprised. "My parents were geneticists, they-"

"That's how I know," Dakota explained. "This A.D.A.M. Project, whatever it is, it has something to do with genes."

That was a lot of information for Maddi to take in. But what did this have to do with Misato? It couldn't be… did her parents know about Misato, too?

"Maddi… last chance," Dakota said. She was holding a piece of paper close to her chest, so Maddi couldn't see what was on the other side. Just darkness showing through, telling her it was an enlarged photograph… of what, Maddi wasn't sure she wanted to know. "You don't have to look at any more if you don't want to."

What was Dakota saying? Did she really think that Maddi could actually go back, after hearing what she just had?

Maddi shook her head.

"I want to know."

Dakota sighed, and set the paper down on the table, sliding it over to Maddi. It was a photo, like she had guessed, blown up and printed out. A group of slightly over a dozen people sitting in an office, facing the camera and smiling.

The first thing that stood out to Maddi were the faces of her parents. They were as clear on the photo in front of her as they were in her mind right now.

"This was the team working on Project A.D.A.M.," Dakota informed Maddi, her voice quiet.

"But… but that's Professor Decker! He's the teacher of my Genealogy Class!" Maddi gasped, staring at a younger, though still aged, Johannes Decker wearing a smile on his face. His hair was less wild, and he had a short bushy beard that he didn't have now, but it was definitely him. "Are you telling me he was involved? He knew my parents?"

"That's how I knew Project A.D.A.M. was a gene project," Dakota explained. Though she hadn't been the one to make that connection, that had all been Mirar. "But that's not all. Look closer. See anything else that stands out to you?"

Maddi blinked, looking over the rest of the photo. Her eyes landed on something that made her heart stop.

No.

Maddi snatched the photo from the table and leapt to her feet, pressing it as closely to her face as she could.

No!

She shook her head, trembling. The paper began to crumple in her tightening grip.

"Yeah," Dakota murmured, nodding.

NO!

"So this is your youngest?"

Staring back at her were the piercing green eyes and white hair that she had completely forgotten about until just this moment, when she saw him a second time, the white lab coat calling back those memories she had repressed on one of the most traumatic days of her life.

Doctor Gleiss, an associate of her parents.

But that wasn't what had made her begin to shake, that wasn't why she felt like the ground beneath her feet was going to open up and swallow her, or the sensation that the shadows around her were starting to creep in on her.

Her memories were so vague she couldn't quite place it. It had taken a photo to make the connection, but now that she was staring at his face, it was plain to see.

"Doctor Gleiss" looked identical to Richard Valon, the Phantom.

"This… how?" Maddi asked, not understanding what the hell she was looking at. "I don't… what am I looking at here?"

"Richard Valon," Dakota answered. "The Phantom."

"No way," Maddi said, shaking her head, flinging the paper onto the table. "No way! That's impossible! This would have been almost 10 years ago, and he looks exactly the same as he does now! You're telling me that that's Richard Valon?! No, it's gotta be his father or something!"

Even though she was saying that, she didn't believe it herself. The man was too young to have an 18 year old son, even 8 years later. An older brother, then? It was possible, but as much as Maddi wanted to believe that was why they looked so similar, she couldn't bring herself to accept it. Because the man in that photo didn't just look "similar" to Richard Valon.

He was identical. 8 years later, and Richard Valon looked exactly the same.

"It goes further," Dakota said, digging into the file. "My associate has a great ability for research, I already told you that. But he's also good at identifying faces. When I called him about tracking down Misato, he found this picture, as well, along with the ones that he had already found. These photos? He was looking into Richard Valon."

Dakota sent another photo Maddi's way. Maddi took a look. It was that face, again, this person who looked like Doctor Gleiss and Richard Valon, wearing the same lab coat, but this time in a different group picture. And standing at his side was Misato.

"This photo was taken not long after the fire at Silph Co.," Dakota explained.

"What… what is this?" Maddi asked, glancing at Dakota. "How long ago?"

Dakota shrugged, shaking her head.

"I don't know. Do you know how difficult it is to find photos on this topic? Even my contact didn't know exactly when it was taken. But as for what it is? I know that much. Do you know of a place known as Anja Karzat?"

The word sounded familiar to Maddi, but she couldn't place it.

"No, what is it?"

"I don't really know," Dakota admitted. "All we were able to find was that it was a facility for doing experiments on people. What those experiments were, I couldn't guess, but what I do know is that, like Silph Co., Anja Karzat was destroyed by a terrorist attack."

"Team Rocket, again?" Maddi asked. No. This was too many coincidences.

"I don't know," Dakota said again. "All I know is that it's gone. We need someone who was actually there to fill in the details further. Apparently, nobody who knows anything is talking. All he was able to find was this picture."

"…I see…" These photos were painting a larger picture, and it wasn't one that Maddi was entirely comfortable with.

Maddi turned to Dakota, completely dumbstruck.

"All this… what does it mean? I don't understand, that guy… is it the Phantom? Or isn't it?" Maddi demanded. "What… what am I supposed to think about all this?"

Dakota sighed.

"There's one other thing I want to show you," she said. "One more picture we were able to find. Everything else in here is technical data on whatever we have. You can look through it if you want. But before that… you need to see this."

Dakota showed Maddi the final picture. Once more, a group of scientists, and once more, Richard Valon was among them.

"What, what is this?" Maddi asked. "Another research team?"

"Yeah, exactly," Dakota said, nodding. "Except… that photo was taken 25 years ago."

Maddi paused for a moment to let that sink in.

"Wait, what?! 25 years?! You can't be serious!" Maddi sputtered.

"Deadly serious," Dakota said. "That right there is a picture of a team working for an organization known as Team Cipher in the Orre Region. A group of criminals working on-"

"Shadow Pokemon…" Maddi whispered, her eyes widening in shock as she began to think about what that meant. Dakota nodded in confirmation.

"That man right there is named Ein," Dakota said, pointing to a man standing next to the white-haired scientist. He wore sunglasses and had dark hair with an odd fringe sticking out of it. "He was arrested after the events in the Orre Region with Cipher 25 years ago. He was the head of the group's research and development project on creating Shadow Pokemon. I don't know what role Richard Valon had in the project, but… there's a connection there. It's right here."

"But this photo was taken 25 years ago," Maddi said, still unable to believe it. "So you mean to tell me that someone can live for 25 years and still look as young as he did back then? You honestly expect me to believe that?!"

"I find it hard to believe myself," Dakota sighed, rubbing her temples in frustration. "Are you kidding me? How am I supposed to accept something this insane?"

"Is he immortal or something?" Maddi demanded. "It just doesn't make sense!"

"I know it doesn't make any sense!" Dakota snapped. "But the proof is in the pudding! No matter what we might 'believe' to be true, it's right there!"

"It's gotta be, like, his father or something," Maddi said. "It's the only explanation."

"Maybe, maybe not, I don't know," Dakota replied. "You want to know what I do know? I know that right now, there's a guy who looks identical to this person in a photo 25 years ago. I know that we have photos of him on other research teams going back through time, without looking like he's aging a day, and he's currently hosting this tournament! So tell me, Maddi, what am I supposed to say to this, huh? Tell me!"

Maddi swallowed, shaking her head. She didn't know what to say to that.

"I spend all my time digging into conspiracies and now it looks like I'm right in the middle of one," Dakota groaned, shaking her head. "If it's all the same guy, and he did have connections with Cipher… Cipher had connections with Team Rocket. And that means…"

"Whoever he is, he might have been involved in the attack on the Silph Corporation…" Maddi gasped, going pale. "Then that means…"

He might have been responsible for the death of her parents.

"Before the fall of Silph Co., this guy was by himself," Dakota said, pointing at the first picture she'd showed Maddi. "And then after the fall of Silph Co., he suddenly with Misato Daisan, working with another group. I think… I don't know. But maybe… maybe he's the one who…"

Dakota was very careful not to say anything that would lead Maddi down any bad trains of thought. But she wasn't very successful. She looked at Maddi, and saw that the girl was completely lost in thought. Dakota sighed. There wasn't anything more that she could do.

"Hey, uh…" Dakota rose from the table, drawing attention to Maddi. "Sorry I kind of… laid all this onto you. But you said you wanted to know the truth, and I thought you deserved to know about it, Maddi. This is stuff related to you, after all. And look, I'll tell you if I find out anything else, I promise. But, well… in the meantime, good luck…"

Dakota picked up her backpack and slung it over her shoulder, giving Maddi one last look.

"You can keep that file, if you want," Dakota said. "I don't know how helpful the stuff in there might be, but you knew your parents better than I did, maybe you can find out something."

"…Yeah…" Maddi said, nodding, her voice distant and hollow.

Dakota sighed again, turned, and walked out of the waiting room, leaving Maddi with her thoughts. She had her own issues to worry about, after all, the tournament was just starting and she needed to be there to provide commentary.

That had been over an hour ago. And Maddi was still sitting down, staring numbly at the wall thinking about what to do.

Richard Valon… the Phantom… was it possible? It couldn't be, right? And yet after going over the stuff in that file, it was becoming more and more clear. She didn't know what she was supposed to do with all this. She knew she had to tell the Commander, but…

What could HE do?

This was so far beyond what they were capable of handling on their own, this was more than just some school fight. It didn't make sense. She felt afraid for the first time in a long time, afraid, small, and above all, alone.

And she had no idea what she was supposed to do about it. All she knew was that any moment now, she would be called out to fight him.

And the thought of that terrified her.

So, certain things have to come to light for Maddi. What will result from this? Will she be able to make it through this match against the Phantom? Who or what IS he, anyway? We've found out some very surprising things about him, I would imagine.