In this chapter, we begin the climb up Mt. Chimney! What surprises does the mountain have in store for our heroes? We'll have to find out! Remember to review!

Seamitar X: Thank you for your kind words, I'm glad you like the story so far!

Duskzilla: Sadly, they won't be going to the peak. But yes, it's certainly one of those things.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 146

"Alright, gang! Let's move out!" Ayame cheered. That morning, after breakfast, the groups headed up to the cable car leading to the top of Mt. Chimney. The car stops at all 9 stations of Mt. Chimney, and they had disembarked on the Fifth Station, about halfway up the mountain. The scheduled climb would take them up to the Seventh Station, from where they would proceed back down to the Fifth Station on a separate route, where they would take the cable car back down. The entire trek would take approximately 12 hours, during which time they would have access to seeing a lot of sights and exotic wild pokemon.

Groups 10, 11, and 12 had taken the cable car up, the fourth set of groups to do so. They would each be walking up one of the three routes up the mountain toward the Seventh Station. There was only one route back down.

Before heading down the path that Ayame had chosen, she explained the dangers of the mountain.

"Most importantly, stay with the group!" Ayame ordered them. "We need to stick together, and stay on the path."

She indicated a long chain fences flanking the the walkway built into the side of the mountain.

"Even if you end up separated from the group, as long as you keep within these borders, you'll eventually catch up to us. We'll wait for you at the checkpoint, and if you don't show up, we'll notify the authorities and backtrack. Remember, stay on the walkway! We won't be able to find you if you leave, understood?"

They all nodded.

"These fences have been sprayed with a light repel," Ayame explained. "Which means pokemon aren't likely to come to close to them. You should still be able to see them, but it's unlikely that they'll attack. I'll begin handing out your day packs. There are come calorimates in there, and four bottles of water for each of you. We can refill the water at the Sixth and Seventh Stations. If you feel like you can't keep going and need a break, let the person in front of you know, okay? Then they can notify it through the others, and then to me, and we'll take a break. Are there any other questions?"

"Why are we only going up to the Seventh Station?" Will asked. "Man, this sucks. So we're not even going to go to the peak?"

"Of course not!" Sango said, shaking her head. "It's October! It's gotta be freezing up there!"

"Freezing?" Aidan asked, confused. "But this is an active volcano."

"'Active volcano' doesn't mean that if you peak over the edge it's just pits of lava, you know," Reiner said. "Actually, the peak of Mt. Chimney is covered in ice this time of year, due to the elevation."

This drew up some murmurs. Ayame didn't know that, either.

"Yeah, it sucks, but what are we gonna do?" Ayame shrugged. "Anyway, let's move out!"

Ayame turned on her heel and began the walk up the mountain. Aidan followed behind her, Arion napping in his backpack, followed by Reiner and then Will. Blake was behind them with Caelia taking the rear, Sango in the back to make sure no one fell behind. Silver was another watchful pair of eyes to be on the lookout for potential hazardous pokemon coming up from behind.

"I guess it's a good thing that it's cold," Aidan said. "Otherwise, we might get caught in an eruption!"

"Don't even joke about that," Sango said, frowning. "We'd all die. A pokemon ranger shouldn't be hoping for a catastrophe."

Testy… Blake rolled his eyes, not sure what was so bad about what Aidan had said. He also did not particularly like being swallowed by magma.

Sango followed after the others with a frown on her face. She was going much slower than she would like, but it was the best she could do. Caelia was clearly not acclimated to climbing mountains. She walked very cautiously and evenly, looking down and ahead of her as though she couldn't trust where she was going. This vigilance was greatly hampering her speed, and Sango understood that if not for her presence, the girl probably might end up falling way behind.

"Hey, Caelia," Sango walked up to the girl and whispered into her left ear. Caelia paused and turned to glance back at her, her gaze hollow and cold.

"Are you okay? You're walking a little slowly. Do you need to take a break?"

"…I'm fine. This is nothing," Caelia replied. Indeed, she didn't even seem to be out of breath.

Sango paused, and nodded. But Caelia didn't turn away from looking at her.

"Um… about the bath… last night…" Sango's voice trailed off as Caelia continued to stare at her without blinking.

"…I'm sorry," Sango said. "We should never have made you come out with us. Showing us that… I'm sure it must be very private. And Ayame is sorry too. We were trying to get you out of your shell, and we had no idea. Really, we're sorry."

"…" Caelia didn't respond. She just continued to stare at Sango with that single judging eye. Sango swallowed. She didn't know if Caelia was mad, or about to cry, or completely ambivalent about the entire thing. She was impossible to read. When she narrowed her eye, Sango could see that the damage was done. Caelia had made her decision, and it wasn't a positive one. Without a word, Caelia turned her head and began making the climb again.

Sango hung her head. She knew it wasn't really something to blame her for. She only had the best intentions in mind. But she and Ayame had still hurt the girl, scarred her as deeply as the wounds on her body, and it looked like there was nothing she could do about it. She hates me now… for sure… no way is she going to open up to us after this…

Ayame was also feeling put off by the situation. When she looked back, she could see that the boys were keeping up with her just fine, but Caelia was trailing a ways behind them. Sango was with her, so it wasn't like she was worried about the girl's health, but she still felt uncomfortable about the air that was going around. She'd wanted to use this trip to show Blake her good side, but right now, he was the furthest thing from her mind. She wanted to make up for what she'd done, and get Caelia out of her shell so she could interact with her classmates. But Caelia's lack of athletic ability was causing the distance between them to grow, literally.

"We're going to take a break here," Ayame said, stopping at a level portion of the path, and sat down to wait.

"Really? We've only been walking for like 20 minutes," Aidan said, confused.

"Any excuse for a break is fine by me…" Will said, already a little exhausted. He sat down and set his pack on the ground, unscrewing a bottle of water.

Blake arrived at the spot where they were waiting, and turned to look back at Caelia and Sango. They were still struggling a ways back. Caelia reached the plateau with Sango behind her, stopping with the rest of them.

"Hey, Caelia, is this hike too strenuous for you?" Ayame asked cautiously, standing up. The others also rose to their feet to begin the trek. "We can slow down our pace."

"Don't care…" Caelia muttered, shaking her head.

"Are you sure? You aren't sore or anything? Out of breath?" Ayame asked. "Don't strain yourself. Just let us know if things are going too hard."

"They aren't," Caelia coldly replied. "I don't get sore."

She doesn't get sore? Ayame was confused. That made no sense.

"Then why are you walking so slowly?" Ayame asked.

"Walking… is hard." Caelia replied. Ayame looked at her in confusion. She had noticed that Caelia was very cautious of every step she took, but she thought that was because she was a naturally reserved person. But walking… being hard?

"Well, if it's so difficult, we can slow down," Ayame suggested.

"I don't need any of your consideration," Caelia said. Her voice was tinged with malice and sent a shiver down Ayame's spine. "I will go at my own pace."

The matter-of-fact tone in Caelia's voice seemed to bring an end to the discussion.

"If that's what you want, then okay," Ayame said, nodding. "I'm just trying to make things easier for everyone."

"Indeed," Caelia said, nodding slightly. "Then let's go…"

Caelia stood motionless, her eye never leaving Ayame's gaze, until Ayame turned away from her. She sighed, turned, and raised her hand.

"We're moving out, everyone!" Ayame called. The students fell into line behind her, and they began walking onto a small staircase built into the side of the mountain to provide ease in climbing up the side. The climb was getting much steeper now.

Blake glanced behind him. Much to his surprise, Caelia seemed to have markedly increased her speed. She was holding onto the railing with her left hand, gripping it tightly, and walking at a brusque pace up the side of the mountain. It was rather intriguing how she was suddenly able to keep up with them. Apparently she really was walking slowly intentionally. Just as he was lauding her, he heard a scuffle behind him and glanced back. Caelia had tripped, falling to her knees while holding onto the chain fence to keep from collapsing entirely.

"Are you okay?" Sango cried, running up to her.

"I am fine…" Caelia muttered, pulling herself up to her feet with a little bit of difficulty, Sango and Blake watching her. The way she was moving… it really did seem like she had difficulty walking, almost like she was dizzy, or intoxicated. Still, she was able, with some time, to pull herself up and keep steady, resuming her climb.

Blake paused, and allowed Caelia to catch up to him.

"Hey, are you-"

"Don't concern yourself," she replied coldly. She stepped past him, Blake backing off and letting her move past him. He glanced back at Sango, a confused look on his face. Sango shrugged, and shook her head.

"Is everything okay with her?" Blake asked, walking next to Sango. "She seems kind of… upset, for some reason. It seems odd, I know, since she's acting so aloof, but still…"

"Yeah," Sango murmured, nodding. "I know what you mean. It's… just don't push the issue, you know? Maybe it's something private."

Blake had a good sense that Sango knew more than what she was saying, but he decided to keep his mouth shut and not press the issue any further, like she asked. She knew something he didn't, and he trusted her enough to know not to keep asking. He glanced ahead, watching Caelia walk up the side of the mountain, unencumbered by the steep steps and unmarred by fatigue the way they were starting to be.

It took another two and a half hours to reach the sixth station, and in that time Caelia had passed not only Blake, but Will and Reiner as well, and was keeping pace with Aidan. Will stared after her almost admiringly. While her movements were not graceful, she walked with an almost mechanical assuredness that Misato would have been proud of. If not for her obvious slips every now and then, it was still quite a sight to see. Almost as if she was striving to prove that Ayame was wrong to try and extend her pity. They'd been walking for nearly three hours. Will was almost dead, and Reiner wasn't doing much better from what he could see. Behind him, Blake and Sango seemed to be doing fine, but Will was flagging quickly. Hopefully, they could get a rest break soon. Every part of him was sore, and he just wanted to flop on the ground and give up completely.

"Hey, look!" Aidan said, pointing out across the rocky terrain, over the far edge of the mountain ridge. A flock of Wingull were flying in a v-shape.

"They're flying south for the winter," Ayame called back. "But man, what a view!"

They'd made some significant progress, and were almost to the Sixth Station. What they could see when they looked to their left was the majestic sights of Hoenn laid out before them, with the raised, rocky paths of Mt. Chimney swallowed by the lush forests. The desert of Route 111 could be seen off in the distance, and Lavaridge Town was barely a speck.

Ayame stopped to take a few pictures, holding a hand up to block Caelia, who had been adamant on continuing the walk. Caelia paused and nodded, waiting for the others, but did not retrieve a phone to take any for herself.

Once they were all back together, they finished the last leg of their climb to the halfway point, and arrived at the waystation, which was rather wide and expansive, providing enough flatland for a cable car station. Unlike the Fifth Station, though, the ground was no longer covered in soft grass, and there were no more trees to give them shade. They were at the real part of Mt. Chimney now, and it was nothing but red and brown rocks and dust from here on up. Three pathways scaled up the mountainside, giving most of the group pause. Getting to the Sixth Station was hard enough. A few of them weren't sure they could make it to the Seventh. Will, at the very least, wasn't sure. He inhaled, and let out a sigh.

"Don't worry, guys, it's time to take a break for lunch," Ayame informed them. "Let's fill up our water."

She gestured towards the waystation, and the water fountain. And most importantly… the bathrooms. Suddenly, Will and Reiner's fatigue went forgotten, and they ran to the restrooms.

"…So much for being tired," Ayame muttered dryly, rolling her eyes. She sat down on one of the intricately carved stumps used as a chair, assembled around a wooden table where they could all sit and eat their lunches, which had been packed for the trip by the kindly traveling staff. The other students sat down around Ayame, but Caelia sat as far away from the others as possible. She didn't event take out her bagged lunch. Blake noted that, and went over to sit next to her.

"Not eating?" Blake asked.

"Not hungry," Caelia replied, not even glancing at him. Now that Blake thought about it, he hadn't actually seen Caelia eat much at all this entire trip. She'd declined breakfast that morning, and she'd gone to bed without dinner the night before. How could she go without eating this long?

"Are you sure?" Blake asked, trying not to sound too insistent. He wanted to come off as concerned, but he didn't want to be too insistent.

"I only eat when I need to," she replied. "And I don't need to."

Blake didn't say anything, he just shrugged and began digging in. No need to hound her. She wasn't pushing him away, so even if she didn't enjoy his presence, she could at least tolerate it. And he could spend that time getting her accustomed to his presence, and hopefully, over time, he could leverage that into getting her to open up for real. It was just a matter of getting to the level where that transition could occur naturally.

After the group finished their preparations, they were ready to make their way up the ridges of the mountain. Caelia once again hung back near the rear, with only Sango following behind her. She kept her pace even with the others, even and steadily moving up. But as the climb continued, she began to hang back, and soon the others were further in the distance.

Sango glanced around at the trail. Gone were the scenic views of Hoenn; in their place, large rocky outcroppings jutted up on all sides, boxing in the wide trail into a large lumbering maze of ridges and flats that was difficult to navigate. There were gaps in the trail where roughshod grass and the more enduring trees could be seen, but they were far and off the beaten path. Sango was feeling uncomfortable. Even with Caelia's even pacing, the road up the mountainside was still steep and winding, and none of the other members of their group could be seen.

Blake glanced back behind him. It had been some time since Caelia and Sango had dropped out of sight. "Ayame!" He called up to the front, Ayame turning and glancing down to where he had paused.

"What is it?" Ayame called back.

"Sango and Caelia seem to have fallen behind," Blake replied, looking back at the rocks and trees framing the pathway up the hillside. The jagged pass made it impossible to find the two within the brush.

Ayame nodded, glancing up the side of hill, looking for a suitable rest stop.

"There's a plateau under that ridge up there," Ayame said, pointing a few yards up the hill. "We can rest in the shade while we wait for them to catch up." The group moved up the hill, waiting beneath the rocky outcropping for Sango and Caelia to catch up to them.

Sango sighed. This trek was beginning to get to even her. Caelia, who seemed to be lacking in fatigue of any sort, had already gotten out of her sight through the winding pathways. Looking up the path, she saw that the others had gathered together under a ridge. Summoning up one last burst of strength, she scaled the steep hill and reached the plateau, panting. Silver cooled her down with a breath of fresh air.

"Sango?" Blake asked, surprised. He looked around, the confusion on his face causing Sango to become confused as well. "Where's Caelia?"

"Caelia?" Sango asked, her eyes widening. She looked around the plateau, but the brown-haired girl was nowhere to be seen. "I lost sight of her. She was ahead of me, she didn't get here first?"

"We never saw her!" Ayame replied, shaking her head. Sango whirled around and looked down the hill. There was no way she had passed her. The last she'd seen of Caelia was her back as she walked through the jagged pass, far ahead of her, and now… she'd vanished? But how…

"She must have gotten lost somehow," Ayame said, the concern and near-panic in her voice evident. "Where… where could she have gone?"

Sango swallowed, sweating nervously. She glanced at Blake, who was staring down the route they'd come up, worry shining in his eyes.

Uh-oh. Looks like Caelia's gone missing! This is why it's important to hike in the mountains with a buddy.