So for those of you who thought that the Winter Tag Team Tournament was the climax of the arc, you were right, in a way.

…

But it wasn't the ONLY climax. This is the real climax.

Rosealine gold: Hopefully her history with her sister will help a certain someone who also has a painful past with a sister.

KedharS: Rated "T" for "Traumatizing".

Aquahaze675: Their history is painful and dark, that's for sure.

JoshGamerV: It really was.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 405

While Maddi was getting comfort in Sango's arms, down below in the still-lit stadium, two other people had met to have a conversation of equal importance. At least, to one of them.

Elaina stood in the center of the stadium, staring up in silence at the cloudy sky. Snow was lightly falling upon them, and already the grass exposed from the intense heat of the day's matches were being buried once more.

"Blake…" Elaina whispered, turning back to her former teammate.

"What did you want to talk about?" Blake asked.

"This tournament…" Elaina murmured, stepping closer to him. She stretched out a hand towards his face, but before she reached him, she curled her fingers into a fist and dropped her hand limply to the side. "At first, I didn't think that there was any point in joining. I figured it would be more senseless battles, and people would want to use my strength if they weren't afraid of it. But because you asked me, I was willing to lend you my strength. And yet… I found that I… I was relying on you, more and more, not to win, but… to keep me grounded."

Elaina's voice cracked, and Blake caught the ting of emotion. Was… was she crying?

"And… you… You never turned you back on me, even after everything that my power did," Elaina said. She took a deep breath, and turned from him, walking a few steps away, back towards the center of the field. She stopped, and turned back. "Will you do something for me, Blake?" She asked, her voice sounding stronger and more resolved than before.

"What is it?"

"It's… just one last thing," she said, her head dropping so the eyes of her mask were no longer looking at his eyes.

"If it's something I can do, then please, I want to help however I can," Blake told her.

"Are your pokemon fully healed after today's battles?" She asked.

"Well, yeah, why?" Blake asked. His eyes widened as he realized… no, no, that was impossible. She couldn't mean…

"Fight me, Blake," Elaina said. Blake paused. He had to have misheard her. She… she wanted to…

"What?" He asked.

"Fight me, that's all that I ask," Elaina said, a gust of cold wind swirling around her, catching her hair and sending it dancing around her body. "Try to withstand my power. Please… I want to believe. That there is someone out there who will take my power and still accept me… for who I really am. So please, show me that I'm not wrong, Blake. Take my power, everything I have to offer. And accept me for who I am… please!"

The cold wind struck Blake in the face and he felt himself get pushed back, sweat dripping down his brow. He swallowed. The intensity coming off of him… he couldn't feel her harmonia, and yet he still felt such immense pressure.

Elaina turned on her heel and walked to the trainer box, turning back to him. With the lights from the field and the Meloetta Ballroom behind him, Blake could see nothing but darkness behind her. As she stared back at Blake, everything that Gerard had said to her that morning was flashing through her head.

"Remember, Elaina, no matter what that boy might say, not even he can know if he will truly accept you for who you are. Blake hasn't been on the receiving end of your power, Elaina. He hasn't faced the fear and terror it can inspire, not directly. Men like to use flowery, powerful words about 'love' and 'acceptance' but when faced with the reality of the situation they get cold feet all too easily. You may not want to drive him away, and I know you certainly don't want to hurt him. But the doubt you're feeling in your heart right now, the unwillingness to fully trust that boy, I'm certain it's because you know my words are ringing true for you, aren't they?"

They did. Elaina felt that pain now, more than ever. She didn't know if Blake really would accept her for who she was, even after she did horrible things to him. If she unleashed all her power and tore him to shreds, would he still think of her as someone to protect? To care for? Or would he finally see her for who she was, a monster? If he still accepted her… Elaina wasn't even sure if that was what she wanted at this point. Part of her wished that he would abandon her… for his sake. He was far too kind for a monster like her. But even thinking that… it was painful. She resisted the urge to cry as she stared at the pain on his face. He didn't want to fight her. But it wasn't even fear she saw. It was just sadness. The same sadness that she felt. She didn't want to fight him. But what Gerard had said… he was right. It was the only way to know for sure.

"Noctre!" Elaina exclaimed, her Noivern emerging with a howl, her ears throbbing.

"Elaina, why do you want to fight?" Blake sputtered, still not understanding what was going on. He didn't know why she suddenly wanted to battle him.

"Send out your pokemon, Blake!" Elaina snarled. And please, show me that you really can accept me… even when I show you everything that I am.

Blake swallowed. There really wasn't any way around this that he could see. He didn't understand what she was hoping to accomplish, but he was willing to give her a fight if it would let him have a better chance at reaching her.

I just hope that I'll be able to make it through this… Blake shook his head, snapping himself out of that line of thinking. He should be having faith in Elaina. The fear he was feeling… that made him no better than those jerks who bullied her.

"If it's a fight you want, then I'll give it to you," Blake said. Uni is too weak to fight, and Maria is probably exhausted after two matches today… so that means, my first pokemon should probably be…

Blake threw out a pokeball, which his first pokemon emerged from. The Galvantula landed on the ground, chirping cheerfully.

"Go, Ruru!" Blake said.

"Gal!" Ruru nodded, scuttling forward.

"Noctre! Blow that insect away with your hurricane!" Elaina snarled.

"She's an arachnid," Blake shouted at her. Elaina flushed behind her mask, her harmonia surging up again, increasing the strength of her partner.

"NOIVERN!" Noctre roared. She flapped her wings, and created a massive tornado the tore across the battlefield, raging straight at Ruru and her trainer.

"Ruru! Use your threads!" Blake shouted over the raging winds. Ruru spat some thread out of her rear, the string gluing itself to the ground. When the wind struck her, she was pulled into the air, but she remained connected to the ground by her strings, allowing her to withstand most of the tornado as the wind pelted at her.

Blake grit his teeth and braced himself, raising his arms to protect himself from being knocked away by the wind. But to his good fortune, the winds died down before they ever struck him. He dropped his arms and relaxed, and sighed in relief.

Ruru landed on the ground, her fur crackling with electricity.

"Ruru, thunder wave!" Blake ordered. Ruru released a shockwave of electricity across the battlefield. Noctre flapped her wings and took to the sky, flying over the electrical current.

"Burn her away," Elaina countered. Noctre opened her mouth, and fired a blast of flames down at the grounded Ruru.

"Ruru, agility!" Blake shouted. Ruru sped up, her high speed allowing her to dodge the flames as she kept herself low to the ground, never taking her eyes off of Noctre. She spat an electrified web at Noctre, but the pokemon burned it away with another burst of fire.

"Run all you like," Elaina snarled. "Noctre! She can't run from your wind! I'll give you even more power, so blast it away completely!"

"NOIIIIIIIVERN!" Noctre howled. The wind grew even stronger, ripping through the stadium itself as Noctre gathered it into a massive hurricane.

"Ruru! Sucker punch!" Blake shouted over the maelstrom. Ruru shot forward and leapt off the ground, striking Noctre in the face with her front legs. Noctre stumbled backward, startled. Ruru spat some webbing from her mouth, hitting Noctre in the face and covering her eyes in the sticky substance. Noctre flapped her wings again, and the tornado swallowed Ruru up, bashing her with powerful wind as it ripped across the stadium.

This time, it wasn't going to back off before hitting Blake. The wind struck him in the face and he felt his feet lifting off the ground. He clenched his eyes shut and winced, when something heavy and soft hit him. He opened his eyes in surprise, and saw nothing but yellow. Ruru had crashed into him. He held tightly to her fur, hoping that they would both be okay.

Finally, the wind died down, and the two were flung towards the ground. He braced himself for impact, but before they hit the ground, he felt a tug beneath him. Ruru had spat out thread and latched herself to the ground, pulling them to safety.

Ruru landed hard and Blake rolled off her, dirtying up his suit. He rose to his feet and brushed himself off as Ruru ran forward, keeping watch for Noctre.

"Ruru, you got your spider webs on her face," Blake said, noticing that in spite of how Noctre was scraping at the gunk on her face, she hadn't pulled the sticky substance clear. "That means right now, she can't see! Go, Ruru!"

"Galvantula!" Ruru nodded, scuttling quickly towards Noctre, building up electricity in her fur, preparing to release a discharge attack.

"You forget, Blake, that right now, Noctre's senses are shared with mine!" Elaina reminded him. "And I can see Ruru perfectly fine!"

Noctre swung her wing as Elaina sliced her arm, a blade of wind shooting out of her wing, cutting right at Ruru. Ruru managed to dodge to the side, the wind blade sailing past Blake. Ruru ran towards Elaina, and released the energy from her body in a shockwave of electricity.

"And you also forget… Noctre's very nature!" Elaina snarled.

"NOIVERN!" A pulse of sonic energy surged across the battlefield, the boomburst attack hitting Ruru directly. The powerful sonics deafened her, and she stumbled, falling on her face. Noctre released another sonic shockwave, flapping her wings and flying towards Ruru.

"Ruru!" Blake shouted.

"Noctre is a bat," Elaina said. "Even if her eyes are useless, she can find you easily with the power of her superior hearing! Noctre, finish it!"

"Noivern!" Noctre used another boomburst, the sonic releasing a deafening shockwave that threatened to wipe out the rest of Ruru's health.

"Ruru! Use bug buzz!" Blake quickly shouted.

"Gal!" Ruru nodded, releasing a high-pitched hum from deep within her throat. The sonic attack countered the shockwave, the two sound moves cancelling each other out.

"Way to go, Ruru! Now, electroweb!" Blake ordered. Ruru fired a web crackling with electricity at Noctre.

"Flamethrower!" Noctre spat flames, burning the web away completely. The flames surged towards Ruru, and swallowed her completely.

"Ruru!" Blake shouted. He could feel the heat from here.

"GAAAALL!" Ruru's wails of pain echoed across the stadium, when suddenly a surge of electricity ripped through the flames and hit Noctre, the Noivern groaning in pain.

Elaina winced, feeling the painful shock of electricity run through her body. For a second she felt like her heart was about to stop, but she shrugged it off and pushed forward. "Noctre!" She shouted, her harmonia suppressing the pain as her powers flared back up.

"Noivern!" Noctre winced, the electricity still running through her. But she didn't let the paralysis get the better of her, and finished Ruru off with another powerful flamethrower.

"Gal… van…" Ruru whimpered, flopping to the ground, badly burned and knocked unconscious. Elaina panted, still feeling the tingle of electricity as Noctre landed on the ground, paralyzed. Ruru was done, but she had left a last gift with her discharge.

"Send out your next pokemon, Blake," Elaina scowled behind her mask.

"…Yeah, sorry, Ruru," Blake said, recalling his Galvantula. Ruru was one of his strongest pokemon against Elaina's party, and she was already unconscious. He thought hard on his next pokemon, and with the current condition that Noctre was in, he could only think of one partner. She didn't have the type advantage, but she was possibly the best pokemon that he had to defeat the Noivern. There also wasn't a better pokemon to use her against, honestly. "Tara, please, I know that I need your help. It's going to be rough, but let's go!"

Blake sent out his next pokemon, his Snivy.

"Snivy!" Tara said, glancing at him. She scowled, and turned her nose up at him.

"…Sorry, Tara," Blake said sheepishly. She was clearly feeling scorned. "Look, I know that I haven't been using you very much recently-"

"Snivy!" Tara snapped, glaring at him. "Sni, Snivy! Snivy!"

Tara waved her hands angrily at him, slapping her tail on the ground.

"You're quite the hit with the ladies," Elaina commented dryly. "That one's rather jealous."

"Yeah, I get it," Blake sighed.

"She wants to know why you used that Mareanie of yours twice today and you didn't use her."

"Elaina, it's not funny!"

"It's quite amusing. But right now, we have bigger things to concern ourselves with," Elaina said. "Noctre, take her down."

Noctre finally ripped the spider webs from her face. She opened her mouth and roared, flapping her wings, preparing to whip up a tornado of wind.

"Tara! She's paralyzed so her moves are slowed! You can get her with your leech seed right now!"

"Snivy!" Tara nodded, running forward. She spat some seeds out, the tiny seedlings burying themselves in Noctre's skin. They sprouted out, long vines wrapping around them and beginning to drain energy from her.

"Noivern!" Noctre growled. She flapped her wings as best she could through the paralysis and the vines draining her energy. She sent a tornado right at Tara, preparing to sweep her away.

"Tara, return!" Blake shouted, Elaina flinching in surprise. She hadn't expected that. Blake recalled Tara before the hurricane attack struck her, leaving him as the only target of the attack.

"Blake!" Elaina exclaimed, the wind hitting him directly before she could weaken the strength of her attack. She stumbled back, stunned, the wind dispersing and sending Blake crashing to the ground. Blake landed in a big mound of snow, which was enough to buffer his wounds, Elaina sighing in relief. Her desires were contradictory in the worst possible way.

I can't deal with this for much longer, she admitted to herself, holding her hand over her breast. She wanted Blake to accept her at her worst. And yet, when she used the full force of her harmonia against him, it made her heart burn in her chest, like it was being cut in half. She didn't know what she was supposed to feel.

Elaina took a deep breath and steeled herself, refocusing her breathing. She concentrated the way Marion had told her to do, to try and calm herself down. The throbbing in her forehead was going away, too. This wasn't what she wanted… but it was what she needed. That was the conviction that let her continue to battle, and put the confidence in her voice when she shouted to Blake, "send out your next pokemon then, if you want to continue this!"

Her voice wavered on the next part, though, as much as she wanted to keep up a strong air around her. It was just too hard to get the words out.

"Unless you're ready to give up and admit you aren't able to accept me for who I am." More pain. Elaina was carving into her chest and ripping her heart out, and she felt every excruciating moment of it. And yet, she couldn't back down. "Just admit it, Blake! Even now, your heart is certainly starting to waver! When faced with this horrific power of mine, not even you can continue to say your sweet words about still accepting me for who I am!"

"El… Elaina…" Blake felt the warm taste of iron in his mouth, running his tongue against his lower lip. He felt a deep gash running along it, he had bitten down hard when he hit the ground. He struggled to pull himself out of the snow pile, and spat blood onto the ground. His body ached, but nothing was broken. He sat up, spitting out more blood. Really wasn't good, he might even need stitches.

"Doesn't it hurt?!" Elaina demanded, her voice getting more and more desperate. She didn't want him to leave her or reject her, but she also couldn't keep up with this uneasiness. This not knowing. Gerard was perfectly right, in the end. Unless she drove him away… tried as hard as she could to fight him with all her strength…

Then she'd never know for sure.

"This can all end, Blake! Just admit that you're done with this! That you can't bear any more of this pain and agony!" Elaina shouted. "If you do, then this can all end! Think of your pokemon! Think of yourself! Just forget about me, Blake! There is no future between the two of us! If you are to throw me away, then do it now!"

Blake was starting to figure out what she wanted. When they fought as a team, she had seen a glimpse of a future that she could have had. A future that he wanted for her. But she was too afraid to try and seize it. Too afraid that, if she attempted to be happy, that that happiness would be taken from her. Blake could understand her feelings, but that didn't mean they were right. He wanted to help her. And right now, she was desperate to push him away, more desperate than she'd ever been. And not just to push him away.

She was desperate to see if he would stay, even with everything she inflicted on him. Blake didn't have harmonia, and he couldn't see into her heart. But that wasn't going to stop him for a moment. Because even without any special powers, he could still hear the way her heart was crying out to him, begging him to stay by her side.

Blake closed his eyes and thought of Kitty. Kitty, who was so scared and alone, she had lost herself to her powers completely. Elaina was the same way right now. I helped Kitty. I can help her, too, Blake told himself.

"Well?! Just let this end! You won't accept me, you won't hold me! You say that you'll be there for me no matter what, but in the end you're like all the rest!" Elaina sobbed, her harmonia storming around her. "So if I'm going to be alone, then have it be by my own hand! Leave me alone, Blake, go back to your world with your friends and your girlfriend, and just leave me already! Because no matter how good of a person you might think you are… in the end we both know that you can't put up with more of this!"

Blake rose to his feet, shaking. He bit his lip, and felt that stinging taste of blood. In the cold air, his face was so numb it didn't even hurt. He took a step forward, back onto the solid ground of the battlefield, and spit out the blood on the packed dirt.

"I'm not going anywhere, Elaina," he assured her. He reached down to his belt for his next pokeball.

Blake vs. Elaina. The true climax has begun. Will Blake be able to get through to Elaina? Will Elaina manage to drive Blake away completely? Will they reach a conclusion together, or remain at an impasse? This battle is just getting started.