Wow, that was quite a match! Maddi looks like she really went through the wringer, though. Will she be okay? That looked like a painful experience, and she just passed out! This seems to be a recurring problem with this school, people keep falling into comas. What will result from this? These Shadow Pokemon sure are dangerous, it seems. Remember to review!

KedharS: I'm sure she will be, if she wakes up.

Hellraiserphoenix: It should be a pretty interesting fight, that's for sure. Certainly not a boring and predictable fight.

Rosealine gold: Oh, you'll see. It should be good. She's got a pretty interesting arc going here.

Aquahaze675: Yeah, he really is.

JoshGamerV: It really isn't. We managed to make it through one battle without anyone collapsing, though! That's something!

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 507

"Maddi!" Sango and Cynthia both shouted at the same time, jumping to their feet. Sango clutched Silver tightly to her chest as Cynthia paled in horror. Both girls nearly tripped over themselves trying to get out of the aisle, before two strong hands grabbed the backs of their shirts.

"Calm down you two!" Julia barked. "Look!"

Sango and Cynthia calmed down slightly, turning their attention back to the battlefield, looking a little closer. Maddi was starting to stir, and before long she had managed to pick herself off the ground, though she was still shaking.

Sango and Cynthia both sighed in relief. It looked like Maddi was okay. Their relief was shared by Lila, who had stopped mid-dial on the phone, ready to call the EMTs and maybe special forces as well. Dakota and Akira were also relieved that Maddi was fine.

Maddi herself managed to rise to her feet, taking one shaky step forward, then another. Her head was still swimming. Maddi fell to her knees as she put her hands on her belly, leaning over and throwing up all over the ground. The vomit was a sickly blackish-purple color, and it oozed an ominous mist. A few people in the stands threw up at the sight of that, for sure. Even Sango and Cynthia felt a little green around the gills.

When Maddi finished spewing out the toxic sludge she had been inhaling, she nearly collapsed face-first into the muck. But luckily she had enough sense to keep her balance, even if she was still a little shaky to rise back up.

"Maddi, are you okay?" Lila asked, louder than she had intended due to the fact that she had unknowingly shouted into the microphone. A piercing migraine shot through Maddi's skull and she turned to Lila, glaring venomously at her.

As if to spite Lila's headache-inducing good will, Maddi stood up on her own, even though doing so made her dizzy, and she nearly pitched over again, but managed to limp her way over to the exit, walking out into the hall of the stadium.

Sango and Cynthia tackled her the moment she stepped out into the hallway, nearly knocking the shaking girl off of her feet.

"Maddi!" Sango cried.

"Maddi, are you okay?!" Cynthia asked.

Maddi took a deep breath, grateful that it didn't hurt for once. Right now she wanted to go lay down and pass out for real, maybe throw up again, but the worried looks on the girls' faces softened her heart and kept her from snapping at them. She'd had a rough day, but that didn't mean she should take it out on the two of them. They were her friends, after all, even if they had nearly knocked the wind out of her with their double flying tackle.

"I'm…" Maddi had meant to say she was fine, but her voice trailed off as she took her eyes from the girls and looked at Silver, floating behind Sango and Cynthia, staring at her with a look of confusion and worry on his face. Her left eye suddenly began to throb. She shot her hand up to grab it, the pain spreading from her eye to her head. She grit her teeth and nearly fell over as another migraine seized her, and a wave of nausea stirred up her gut. She had seen… something when looking at Silver. What was that just now…?

"Maddi? Are you okay?!" Both girls cried out again.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Maddi said, shaking herself free of the girls. She reached up and rubbed her eye. It was a little sore and itchy. She glanced at Silver again.

"Castform?" Silver asked, tilting his head to the side. Maddi shook her head, not seeing anything strange. It was probably fatigue from her battle with the Phantom.

…That's right… the battle… Maddi winced at the memory. She had lost. And not only had she lost, she had lost badly. She had fought her hardest, but it hadn't been enough. Maddi look down, feeling the weight of her loss sinking in. The Phantom… whoever, whatever he was, he had defeated her, and made it look easy. The thought of that made her want to vomit all over again. She scowled in discomfort. Everything she had learned about him… She knew a lot now, even if it was a conspiracy theory of magnitude proportions backed up by photos that, for all she knew, were doctored. But in her mind, she could picture him for real, she knew it was true.

Maddi was so lost in thought she didn't realize that Cynthia and Sango were talking about taking her to the infirmary, she wasn't paying attention to anything, just staring mindlessly off into the distance, until she saw Ayame and Kitty walking in their direction, Kitty having mostly recovered from her sickness after seeing the Shadow Pokemon and ready to rejoin her friends. THAT caught her attention, snapping her out her hazy thoughts.

Maddi's jaw fell open as she saw Kitty. Or more specifically, the strange thing about Kitty.

"Maddi? Are you okay?" Kitty rushed over to her, staring worriedly up at the girl.

"She looks like she's out of it," Ayame said, staring at Maddi with a serious look in her eye. "She might have hit her head out there. We should get her to the infirmary, just to make sure that there's not anything wrong with her."

Again, Maddi snapped out of her thoughts, regaining control of her senses. She'd been out of it for a while now, maybe Ayame had a point about the concussion. But there was something more important to deal with! Didn't anyone else see it?!

"Anything wrong with me?!" Maddi gasped, her head throbbing in pain. "What?! Are you guys blind? What about what's wrong with Kitty?!"

"Me?!" Kitty gasped, nearly jumping out of her shoes in surprise, her eyes wide with shock. "What's wrong with me?! I know I almost threw up, but I'm fine! Seriously!"

"What? Maddi, did you actually hit your head?" Cynthia asked worriedly. "There's nothing wrong with Kitty."

"Yeah, calm down," Sango agreed, trying to soothe the tensions. Maddi was looking a little high-strung, her miscolored eyes were wide and her face was waxy, not to mention the fact that she had just thrown up not five minutes ago. "Maybe you just need to sit down?"

"Nothing wrong with-?!" Maddi sputtered, jabbing a finger in Kitty's face. "Look at her, she's glowing like a light bulb!"

Kitty's eyes bugged out in surprise at Maddi's accusation. Maddi was staring right at her, and she knew what she was looking at. A bright, soothing aura was coming off of Kitty in waves, but it wasn't enough to calm Maddi down at all. She looked… what was she even looking at? And why did no one else seem to think this was a problem?

Ayame sighed, rubbing her hand against her forehead. "I knew it. She's got a concussion." She fished her phone out of her pocket. "I'll go call the paramedics."

"Maddi, Kitty's not glowing," Cynthia assured her, keeping her voice calm and soothing. Being "calmed" by Cynthia of all people made Maddi nearly apoplectic.

"I'm not seeing things!" Maddi exclaimed, panting. She calmed herself slightly. "…Well, I am, but I'm not seeing things that aren't there! She's glowing like the sun, and it's… it's warm and bright, and… urgh, oww, my head…"

Maddi held her forehead, which was throbbing, Sango and Cynthia gasping out and catching Maddi before she fell.

"I knew it! Ayame, call the doctors or somebody!" Cynthia wailed, her "calm and soothing" voice forgotten in an instant.

"Maddi, your nose is bleeding," Sango gasped, seeing a trickle of blood roll down Maddi's lip as the brunette shook the two off again, reasserting her ability to stand on her own.

Realization finally dawned on Kitty. Her jaw dropped and she pointed a finger at Maddi, a direct reflection of the accusatory gesture Maddi had just aimed at her.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Kitty exclaimed out, finally getting a good hint at what Maddi was talking about, even if it made no sense. She stepped forward and pushed Cynthia and Sango aside, grabbing Maddi by the wrist.

"Kitty?" Sango gasped.

"What?" Cynthia sputtered, confused.

"Hey, Kitty!" Ayame called, already on the phone.

But Kitty didn't pay any mind to the others. She had a suspicion and she was about to get it confirmed. She held onto Maddi and turned on her heel, dragging her down the hallway.

"Hey! What?!" Maddi demanded.

"Come! Come!" Kitty snapped, her voice insistent. Maddi looked back at the other girls, who were following after them, their faces filled with worry. Kitty didn't care though. She kept pulling Maddi insistently, shutting up her attempts to ask the short girl what was happening with hisses and growls like a wild pokemon.

Maddi finally gave up and sighed, letting Kitty pull her along.

A few minutes later, Kitty stopped in front of a door. It was a door to one of the waiting rooms.

"Hey, this is Blake's waiting room," Ayame said, catching up with them. She glanced at Kitty and Maddi, confused. "Kitty, we need to take Maddi to the infirmary, not to go see Blake."

"This is important, we're borrowing your boyfriend," Kitty snapped. She knocked on the door loudly. "Blake! Open up!"

Blake was confused when he opened the door to see Maddi and Kitty standing in front of it, with Ayame, Cynthia, and Sango behind them. Maddi's face was confused and tired-looking, which was no surprise considering the battle he had just watched on TV, but Kitty's face was unusually adamant.

"Guys, I was just about to go out to my match-"

"Not the time!" Kitty snapped, pushing Maddi into the room. She walked in after her and turned around, looking apologetically to the other girls. "Sorry, but this is private."

Ayame scowled, not happy to have the door of her boyfriend's waiting room get slammed in her face. She turned back to the other girls, and while Sango still looked worried, Cynthia's face had twisted into something more mischievous.

"So, you already knew where his room was, hmm?" Cynthia smirked. "We all know because we came to visit him before we found our seats, but what were YOU doing with him when we left him alone, I wonder?"

"Sh-shut up! What I do with my boyfriend is none of your business!" Ayame snapped, her face turning bright red in embarrassment while Cynthia cackled. Sango rolled her eyes and stared at the door, still worrying about Maddi.

"Okay, Kitty, what is so important that you have to interrupt the tournament?" Blake demanded. He glanced at Maddi, seeing the state she was in. "Maddi, are you oka-"

"MADDI HAS HARMONIA!" Kitty exclaimed. Blake's mouth fell open in shock and he turned to get a closer look at Maddi, seeing she was equally surprised by the statement.

Maddi nearly burst out laughing.

"Harmonia? No, no, I don't," she said, shaking her head. "Believe me, I don't."

"Look!" Kitty accused, pointing at the trickle of blood under Maddi's nose. Maddi defiantly smeared it away on her wrist.

"What? This? It's just a little bit of blood, you don't have to make a big deal out of it!" Maddi protested. "People get nosebleeds all the time, it doesn't mean they have harmonia, Kitty. I think you're just being paranoid."

Kitty crossed her arms in front of her chest and shook her head, scowling. She wasn't just going to let this go.

"And the migraines?" She asked.

"…Well, maybe Ayame was right," Maddi suggested. "Maybe I have a concussion." She didn't really believe that, but it was easier to believe than the thought that she had harmonia of all things. She was just feeling weird because of the battle.

"Okay, and the soft aura of light you said you were seeing floating around me?" Kitty asked, raising her eyebrow.

THAT caught Blake's attention. He narrowed his eyes and began studying Maddi closely. Maddi flinched, not sure how to explain it. She could still see it if she focused, a bright halo of light surrounding Kitty, and Maddi didn't think that it was just a trick of her eyes, either. It really felt like it was there, and the soothing aura she felt coming off the girl was unquestionable. She could feel Kitty's kindness wafting off of her, and she didn't have any reasonable explanation for it.

"I… I don't have harmonia," Maddi said, shaking her head.

"She does," Kitty insisted. "Look, Blake, didn't you hear her? She's having all the symptoms! And I can tell!"

"You can?" Blake asked.

Kitty glanced down sheepishly, her cheeks flushing.

"W-well… not… not exactly?" She said. "It… it's weird, okay? Look, like… I never felt anything from her before, okay? Not even a hint. But right now…"

Kitty glanced at Maddi again, and squinted.

"There's… something. It's weird. It's not like with Marion or Elaina when I can just really feel them, you know, but… maybe it doesn't work that way? Maybe, since it just awakened in her, I can't really get a good grip?"

"Or maybe you're just seeing things?" Maddi asked hopefully. "I swear, I don't have harmonia. Look, my friend Vic has it, okay? And she would have pointed it out. And it's not like my mom had it or anything, so I can't have it!"

Blake sighed, scratching his head. He was about to open his mouth and say something, when a voice came over the loudspeaker of the room.

"Would Blake Harker please report to the Eon Stadium Battlefield?" Lila asked, her tone was sickeningly sweet, to the point where it sounded to Blake like she was restraining herself from yelling at him. Clearly, he was wanted elsewhere.

Blake sighed again.

"Look, guys, I know this is important," he said, glancing at Kitty and Maddi. "Really. If Maddi really does have harmonia-"

"I don't!" Maddi snapped. He rolled his eyes.

"Look, if Maddi really does have harmonia," he repeated, "then we're going to have to take this seriously. But it's not something we can solve just by speculating here, okay? I don't know what's going on either. But what I do know is that I have to fight against Sylvia Driscoll right now."

He rubbed his forehead in frustration. He REALLY didn't want to have to go through with this, especially since she had intentionally angled things to fight him. He'd never fought her before, but if possible he wanted nothing to do with Sylvia and her scheming.

Blake shook his head.

"Go, we can wait," Maddi said, flopping over onto Blake's couch. "I don't think it's harmonia, but whatever's going on with me… it doesn't feel right. I feel miserable. So get back soon, okay? …And good luck. The Phantom and his people are really powerful."

"I know," Blake said. "I saw." He headed out into the hall, where Ayame, Cynthia, and Sango were all waiting.

"What's going on with Maddi?" Sango asked nervously.

"…She's fine," Blake said. "Sort of. She's feeling a little under the weather right now, but she should be fine. She's just going to rest for a little bit with Kitty, and then she'll be back out to join us. I don't think it's anything serious."

He wasn't going to tell them about Kitty's suspicions about harmonia. Even if they suspected that was the case, for whatever reason, this was Maddi's privacy that he was dealing with. He wasn't about to reveal something like that. He didn't know Maddi very well, but he knew harmonia, and he knew not to play around with it.

No, no, he told himself. There's no way she actually has harmonia.

"Blake, you better get going," Ayame warned.

"Yeah, they were calling out to you over the loudspeaker," Cynthia chipped in, reveling in the fact that Blake was getting in trouble.

"That was Lila's 'angry' voice," Ayame explained. "So… yeah. Better get going."

"…Good luck kiss?" Blake asked.

"Err…" Ayame glanced at Cynthia and Sango, both of whom were staring at the couple, Sango looking casual while inside she was hurting, and Cynthia just looking in with her eyes shining, even though she should have felt as bad as Sango.

"I-I guess just a little one," Ayame reluctantly agreed. She leaned in and gave Blake a peck on the lips.

"Awesome," Blake grinned. "Thanks, Aya. I'll be sure to do my best."

"…Good luck," Ayame breathed. Blake headed off towards the closest door out to the battlefield, while Ayame was left behind with Cynthia and Sango. Again.

"…Well, someone looks like she enjoyed that," Cynthia purred, Ayame scowling at her. But her red cheeks betrayed the pleasure she had felt from the sweet gesture.

"…Better make sure that Sylvia doesn't get her hooks in him," Sango said.

"So what about Maddi?" Cynthia asked, glancing back at Blake's door. "Blake said she wanted her privacy, but should we really leave her alone?"

"I wouldn't," Ayame said. "But then, I'm not exactly the best when it comes to stuff like this. I don't exactly buy that she's totally fine."

"Maddi wouldn't want us to pry," Sango said. "So maybe we should just leave her be like she asked us to?"

Even though she said it, Sango, like the other girls, didn't believe that everything was okay with Maddi. They were all worried. But she wanted to hope that Maddi really was okay, that they were all overreacting. That would probably be for the best.

"Hey, Aya, want to come with us?" Cynthia asked suddenly.

"Hmm?" Ayame blinked, surprised. Cynthia hadn't called her that before. Maybe the redhead felt close enough where she could? Ayame didn't really mind.

"Oh, yeah, we have a spare seat, if Kitty's going to be looking after Maddi," Sango agreed. "Come on, come sit with us. We can boo Sylvia together!"

"…Sounds like a plan," Ayame smiled, glancing over her shoulder one last time at the door. She was worried for both Maddi and Kitty, but… they'd be fine, right?

We can only hope, Ayame. We can only hope.