So what secrets will be uncovered from within the depths of these ruins? Will we learn anything new or surprising? What will emerge from within the belly of the beast, I wonder…

We've got a decent amount of votes in the Pokemon Academy Best Girl Semi-Finals! The current lead runners in the polls may surprise you! The shakeup really makes me realize how a girl may be in many people's top 5, but not necessarily in their top 3. So I'm certainly feeling more than a little surprised. But there have only been a few votes so far, I'm sure that more people want to cast their votes! If you want your best girls to make it to the final round and beyond, then make sure to get your votes in! You have 3 votes, make them count!

Semi-Finalists: Cynthia, Ayame, Sango, Kate, Marion, Alcea

ConfusedCradily: I'm sorry you don't find Sango to be interesting. Her role in the story is going to diminish a decent amount after this arc, at least, so you might enjoy that. I think there's a decent amount of depth to her, and I hope you'll eventually come around.

Pokemonking0924: That would be quite interesting.

Tambry96bj: Danger is walking into Blake?

Thunder Fire: The dub was pretty bad.

Aquahaze675: Well, we'll certainly be finding out.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 268

Blake stared at the door for a few seconds, waiting in silence.

Sango lowered her hands from in front of her face and cracked her eye open to peek.

"What, that's it?" Blake said, raising his hand and placing it on the dais again. Lightly slapping the stone a few more times, the door refused to open. Blake wasn't really sure if he had expected it to open for him, when it hadn't opened before, but it was still worth a shot. Seeing that nothing was happening, Sango's heartbeat slowly returned to normal. She let out a sigh of relief.

"Well, I'm sure this happens to every guy sometimes, so why don't we just wait a few hours, and go again?" She cracked. Blake glanced over his shoulder and rolled his eyes. Sango stuck her tongue out at him.

"Well that was underwhelming."

Sango and Blake jumped in shock at the new voice echoing through the chamber. They saw Professor Reinhart standing at the doorway, with a chalk-white Kate standing beside him, looking down at the floor worriedly.

"P-Professor…" Blake stuttered, his face going white.

"I could have sworn that I had instructed the students to not go off in the ruins without adult supervision," Professor Reinhart mused. His face was NOT happy. Blake and Sango glanced at each other and gulped.

"Um, well… that's…" Blake fumbled for answers.

"That-that's my fault!" Sango replied quickly. "I-I wanted to find something exciting, to make my dad proud of me, and I convinced Blake and Kate to come with me!"

Blake shot her a look and Sango replied with a shrug. It had just come out.

"Sorry, your chaperone here already explained everything," Professor Reinhart replied, placing a hand on Kate's shoulder. She flinched, keeping her head lowered so Blake and Sango wouldn't see the shame on her face.

"O-Oh…" Sango looked down, her face flushing with guilt and embarrassment.

"Professor, it's not what you think," Blake said. "I mean, yeah, Kate just came here because she wanted to dodge supervision-"

"Hey!" Kate interrupted, shooting him a dirty look.

"But I actually had a reason to come here by myself," Blake explained.

"Right, you wanted to feel up a pedestal," Professor Reinhart replied. Blake scowled at him.

"I wanted to open the door," Blake replied.

"Yes. I know. I'm sure everyone wants to pull the sword from the stone, but-"

"It's not about that," Blake protested. "It's because of what's behind that door."

Sango spun her head around in shock, and this drew Kate's eyes as well. Professor Reinhart raised an eyebrow, staring quietly at Blake.

"Wait, what?" Sango sputtered.

"You… what?" Kate was also confused.

"What's behind that door, huh?" Professor Reinhart murmured. "I see, so you were around 3,000 years ago, is that right? How do you know what's behind that door?"

"Well, not 'know' exactly," Blake replied. "More of a… suspicion, I would say."

"…Oho…" Professor Reinhart narrowed his eyes, his lips curling into smile.

"Come on, out with it!" Kate said, her previous shame and terror forgotten, now wrapped up in what Blake was talking about.

"I think that there's an Oracle behind that door," Blake replied. "I can't say for certain, but I think that's the case."

Sango gasped.

"Are you serious?!" She cried.

"Wait, what's an Oracle?" Kate asked, confused.

"That's what they're called, right?" Blake asked, ignoring the girls' outbursts. "Oracles? Those magic stones you're looking for."

A small, cold smile crossed Professor Reinhart's face.

"It looks like we came here with a similar intention, then," he murmured.

"So I'm right then."

"I can't say," the professor replied, removing his hand from Kate's shoulder and stepping into the trainer. He tilted his head down and looked Blake in the eye. "I also wasn't here 3,000 years ago, after all. But I suspect as much."

He glanced at Sango.

"Judging by what a certain girl told me, it seems that the Children of the Oracles are in the Galar Region at the moment. Though they were in Circhester at the time, I suspect that they're seeking out Stow-on-Side, this mural… these relics… If they're after the Oracles, then I think they'll start here. It's just a suspicion, but look at this podium."

Professor Reinhart gestured at the dais raised up on the pedestal, particularly at the hand marking on it.

"Yeah, it's a hand," Blake replied dryly.

"The circular marking in the center…" the professor explained. "It's suspicion, but to me it looks like it could be an Oracle."

"So wait, you mean, behind that door you think that there's a… an Oracle?" Sango asked.

"WHAT is an Oracle?" Kate exclaimed, still totally lost.

The professor didn't respond to her. He reached into his bag, and from its depths he withdrew a midnight-colored stone.

Blake's eye twitched when he saw the stone, a throb of pain going through his forehead.

"Hey! It's that thing!" Kate gasped, remembering that black stone, and the white one beside it, from discussion about her highness's treasure in Professor Reinhart's office, which felt like it had taken place years ago.

The professor palmed the stone and placed it on the dais, his hand spreading out over it. Sango gulped, expecting the room to start shaking or the door to creak open, but no, just as before, nothing had happened.

"…I guess not," the professor murmured, removing the stone. So much for that idea.

"If you brought that with you… then you must have suspected something, huh?" Blake asked, scowling.

"Not quite," the professor said, shaking his head. "I simply wanted to get… Doctor Skye's… professional opinion on this relic. I was hoping that it would serve a double purpose, but apparently not."

"Wait, so that rock!" Kate stormed into the chamber, her previous fear completely gone, replaced with something resembling outrage. "That… that's an Oracle?"

"Yes," the professor replied, pocketing the black stone. "But you don't need to concern yourself with it. It doesn't have anything to do with-"

"It does!" Kate protested, the professor a little startled by her outburst. "You were just saying that those Children of the Oracles people are looking for those Oracles, right?"

The professor didn't answer.

"And… and her highness, her beloved necklace! She has one of them, too!" Kate exclaimed. "So doesn't that mean those people will be coming after her? I heard what happened, that these 'Children of the Oracles' attacked Mt. Chimney! What if… what if they-?!"

"The Pokemon Academy is safe," Professor Reinhart replied. "At any rate, this isn't something you students need to be concerning yourself with."

He turned to look at Blake again.

"I understand the urge to want to find the Oracles yourself, but this is something that is best left up to the adults," Professor Reinhart insisted, glaring at him.

"So you're sure, then?" Sango asked. "The Children of the Oracles are going to come here?"

"That is not something you need to concern yourself with," Professor Reinhart repeated.

"But we need to call the rangers then!" Sango said. "We could be in serious trouble if they're going to come here!"

Blake's eye twitched.

"It's fine," the professor reassured her. "They're busy right now chasing leads and trying to track their movements. The closest rangers will be coming here in two days' time. You don't need to concern yourself any further."

Kate's eyes widened, and she glanced at Blake. That meant that the rangers would be coming the day after the Children of the Oracles would be there. They weren't going to get there in time. She was worried; it was one thing, to give a stay on confronting these terrorists when there wasn't really a reason she could think of that they would be there; if it was just a rendezvous or something. But now, she knew that it was really because they were after something here. This Oracle, whatever it was…

Blake… you can't think that this is a good idea, right? You have to tell the truth, that this is an emergency, that they'll be coming here tomorrow night! Kate silently pleaded with him, hoping he could see the alarm in her eyes.

Blake replied with a sharp look that made her flinch. Clearly, he wasn't about to call things off. Kate wilted under his gaze. It was clear that Blake had come here to try and find this "Oracle" before the Children of the Oracles came to take it, so it wasn't like he didn't care. But she could see in his eyes, that he was going to meet them. He wasn't going to let them get caught, even if it was a risk. Kate swallowed. This… this was not okay.

"Uh-um…" Kate opened her mouth, catching the attention of the professor.

"What is it?" Professor Reinhart asked, turning to her.

"J-just, um…" Kate tried to avert her eyes from Blake… but when she saw that look, she couldn't do it. He wasn't angry, like she had feared. That worry, that terror in his eyes… she had seen it before. In the mirror, for so long.

That was heartbreak she was looking at. She didn't understand, but she could see that if Blake didn't go to this meeting… it would tear him up inside. Having so recently had her heart ripped to pieces… could she bring herself to do it? Elizabeth had told her yesterday that she needed to move forward. She wanted to shout the same to Blake, to forget what he was going through, and focus on the future. But… if she hadn't confronted Val, if she hadn't fallen as far as she had… could she really move forward with no regrets. She'd gotten her closure. And she was about to take Blake's away from him?

Kate tried to say it. She really tried, but her heart wasn't letting the words come out.

"Are… are we in trouble for sneaking in here?" She asked quietly. She knew they were. Not for the reason that the professor might think.

The professor sighed.

"I'll let it slide this one time," he acquiesced, glancing at Blake. "I know that there are… extenuating circumstances. But you three have spent enough time in the ruins for today, I think. You'll return to the campsite with me, and spend the rest of the day in your tents, working on your reports."

Sango opened her mouth in protest, she had only come here to stop them! But she didn't really have a leg to stand on, so she shut her mouth and hung her head shamefully. At the end of the day, she had still broken the rules.

With nothing more to say, the professor escorted the three out of the chamber, passing a frantic Uboss on his way out.

"Sango!" Uboss exclaimed. "Silver came over to get me, and-"

"It's fine, Uboss, I just came in here with the students ahead of you," Professor Reinhart said, flashing him a winning smile. Uboss nodded, seeing that his daughter and the other two students were at least being supervised. Behind him, Reiner and Nikita gave each other a look. They knew the truth, but weren't going to say anything.

Silver floated over to Sango, worry on his face. Sango reached up and cradled him in her hands, looking apologetically at her father.

"Sorry," she murmured.

"No, no, it's fine, you heard the professor," Uboss said, dismissing her apology. Sango nodded, but her heart wasn't in it.

"I'll be helping these three with their reports," the professor explained. "You continue showing them around, okay?"

"Of course," Uboss nodded. Professor Reinhart passed them by, the three students following after him in silence. Each of them were worrying about something, but Kate's anxiety was by far the hardest.

The walk down was even harder no her.

I need to say something, she kept saying to herself. As she walked down the long stairway back to the campsite, her steps were punctuated by a deep, painful weight in her gut. She felt so… raw. This was so wrong. And yet… she couldn't bring herself to hurt Blake. Blake, who had done so much for her, who supported her when she had needed it most. She… she owed it to him, right? To guard his secret and let him have his way.

Kate wanted to throw up. For the last two nights, her pain and guilt had twisted her up inside, making it hard for her to sleep. And even though she had promised Elizabeth that she would move forward, she felt like she was in such turmoil that forget moving forward, right now she couldn't even walk. She was sticky and hot on the outside, and there was a gurgling in her stomach that was even worse. It was almost like heatstroke, maybe?

"Kate."

Kate was shaken from her thoughts by a hand on her shoulder. She glanced over to see Sango looking at her.

"Are you okay?" Sango asked. "You look like you're in real bad shape. And you did really badly with the stairs yesterday, so I worried that this might be too much for you."

Sango's eyes were shining with concern, and Kate felt a ping in her heart. Those were the kind of eyes that so seldom turned towards her. She fell to her knees and let out a choked gasp, bursting into tears. Sango did a double-take in shock, certainly not expecting that reaction from her. Professor Reinhart and Blake both looked back in surprise as well.

"S-sorry…" Kate murmured, wiping her eyes. "It's… it's nothing. Just…"

Her urge to vomit came back up. Keeping this secret was a lot harder than she expected, now that she'd gotten the full story, or at least a more coherent understanding of it.

"Professor…" Sango glanced at Professor Reinhart, who was watching with a look of concern.

"I'm-I'm fine, really," Kate insisted, but the cold sweat she was going through did not make that proclamation look accurate. Blake was already on his way back up the stairs, and Sango could see he looked a little worn down himself.

The professor looked down, towards the flat ground a few steps below, where a rest-stop had been put in. It was occupied by an attendant, but it had a shaded awning and benches to rest at.

"Can you make it to the bench?" The professor asked.

"Y-yes, obviously," Kate said, rising to her feet. But her legs were shaking. "I can get down my… urgh…"

Another recoil was bubbling up in her gut. Sango and Blake each draped one of Kate's arms over their shoulders, and helped her down the stairs, laying her down on a bench.

"I'll go get a doctor," the professor declared. "You three stay here. I'll be back as soon as I can."

It was clear he didn't see things as an emergency, which was a reassurance to the less certain Blake and Sango. Kate looked half-dead, and they didn't understand how much of it was actually her feeling awful about the situation she found herself in.

"Guys, I'm fine, really," Kate said, shaking her head. Physically, she didn't feel low-energy, or feverish, or anything. She just… briefly, she wondered if this was what it was like for a pokemon to feel poisoned. She felt nauseous, like there was something eating her away from the inside. She'd been trying to push this concern out of her mind, and focus on her own issues, rather than Blake doing something very, very close to facilitating and providing aid to a terrorist organization. But now…

"Kate, are…" Blake's coughing broke out, cutting off his words. His raw throat had been coming and going for the past week, but since they'd come to Stow-on-Side, the dry climate was causing it to sting again, and this physical exhaustion, making him take deeper and deeper breaths… it wasn't going well. But Sango was less concerned for Blake than she was for Kate.

"Blake…" Kate couldn't even look at him without feeling vomitous. Not for any disdain towards the boy that she still couldn't help but love, but because her own guilt over what she was helping occur was starting to get the better of her. She could see that she wasn't getting any reprieve from him there, there wasn't any discussion to have.

And if she had to put up with it until tomorrow night, it would kill her. She'd gotten no sleep last night, and a restless sleep the night before. And what would tonight have in store? How much worse would she feel tomorrow? She wanted to help Blake, and so she'd swallowed her tongue, and not told the professor what was actually going on. And now… she couldn't hold it in any longer. It was all going to come out.

And boy did it come out.

Kate curled into a ball on the bench, tilting her head over the edge and holding her stomach, and a wave of vomit broke out of her mouth as she coughed. Blake and Sango leapt back, dodging the puke as Kate emptied her guts on the bricked plaza

When the waves of nausea subsided, leaving nothing but the trembling Kate, she still didn't feel better. Somehow, she felt even worse. It was burning hot outside, but Kate still felt a deep chill going through her body. She shivered, holding her arms and feeling like she was going to throw up again. She rose her head, spitting out a little more vomit, and looked Blake in the eyes.

"So what do you want to do?" Elizabeth's voice echoed in her mind. Kate was still living a lie. She wasn't able to keep this up, as much as she wanted to. She wanted, so, so badly to see Blake happy, to have him appreciate her for keeping his secret and helping him.

But she wasn't that girl. She couldn't overlook what was right, not matter what her heart was telling her to do. For an instant, a dark thought passed her mind. Exactly as she had tried to fool herself into believing that she should be a grass trainer to earn the love and adoration of her classmates and the respect from Alcea, she'd tried to fool herself into believing that she should be a loyal friend and keep Blake's secrets. She hadn't changed, she was still making the same mistakes of desperation. She'd been trying to deny it, but…

She could see the pain in Blake's eyes, and it made her want to cry. Blake hadn't meant to do this. He wasn't manipulating her. If he had wanted that, he would have acted like Val. He would have accepted her confession, played the part of the boyfriend, and the joy from that would all too likely have overpowered the guilt she was feeling right now.

No, what Blake had done hurt her so much worse. He'd had faith in her. That she'd understand his desperation, and agree to help. And she did understand. But she couldn't help. She couldn't keep this secret, she couldn't let something awful like this slide. The Children of the Oracles were going to break into those ruins and take that crystal, by whatever means they could. Even if they destroyed the ruins, hurt others, and whatever they planned to do with that rock… it wasn't what she wanted to think about. And Blake was helping them doing it. It was wrong, and not even the love she still felt for him would allow her to hold it in any more.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. Blake's eyes widened in realization of what was to come and he hung his head in shame, nodding.

Kate explained everything that had been eating away at her to Sango, who listened to her confession in abject horror.

So now, a third person has been let in on the little secret. And what is Sango going to do about it? Will Blake be able to have the meeting he's tried so hard for?