So after all the major revelations last chapter, this one takes things a little easier. We're nearing the end of the arc, before school starts back up, and in the meantime we need to close a few more loose ends before we get to it.

KedharS: Yes, I wonder what this new player will bring to the table, and when he'll show up again.

Aquahaze675: I believe the point of this chapter was to demonstrate that Mega Evolution is most certainly NOT in play.

Negative EX: Thanks for your character, sorry it was such a struggle.

Thunder Fire: I don't know, we'll have to find out.

JoshGamerV: Yup, that's true, Adam is related to Maddi's backstory.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 441

The next morning, Cynthia awoke, feeling refreshed, with a bright smile on her face. For what felt like forever, she'd had a good night's sleep. Not just because she had gone to bed and woken up at reasonable times, but because for the first time in some time, the weight of her relationship with her sister had been released off of her shoulders, and she felt as light as a feather.

Sango couldn't help but smile as she saw Cynthia skipping through the inn. It was like the turmoil on her face from the day before had been blown away, and in its place was a girl with a smile that could light up the sky. Cynthia was even eagerly getting an early start on digging the hole in the garden for Marion's fish pond.

Cynthia.

An early start.

At physical labor.

Indeed, happiness and closure were frightening things.

Sango decided to lend a hand to her friend, helping the sisters with their digging. She didn't mind a little physical labor, and the positive atmosphere that was building around them made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside herself.

Also, Sango was personally interested in how long this positive attitude could last. Could Cynthia really continue with this smiling happy "I want to help" personality the whole day? Or would she eventually grow frustrated and fatigued after hours of physical labor?

Figuring out how long it would take was going to be something worth seeing, that's what Sango felt.

…Less than an hour.

Cynthia's positivity and energetic attitude didn't even last for a full hour before she was grumbling with frustration as she dug her shovel into the ground, flinging dirt over her shoulder.

"I can't believe I agreed to do this," Cynthia bitched, shoveling more dirt. "My arms are so sore!"

…Yup. That didn't last long. Sango let out a sigh and shook her head, flinging more dirt over her shoulder as well. Unlike Cynthia, Sango didn't have much of a problem with physical labor, so something like this was no issue at all for her. And though it probably made her a bad person, seeing Cynthia struggle like this made her feel a whole different kind of warm and fuzzy.

"What are you complaining about?" Violet snapped. "I had to do this all day yesterday! What, a little hard work for an hour and you're already quitting?"

"Stuff like this sucks!" Cynthia whined, shooting her sister a sideways glare. "We can't all be tough and bulky like you, Violet, I prefer my femininity, thank you very much."

Violet scowled.

"And who was it that was complaining about the fact that their body was such a scrawny twig yesterday, huh?" She demanded, smiling smugly down at Cynthia, who fumed at her. "Admit it, Red, you can't stand up to me in this, or anything, really."

Cynthia growled, and Sango was certain she was about to lunge at the other girl. Instead, she went back to digging, muttering expletives under her breath.

Sango sighed, jamming her shovel into the dirt and flinging it into the large pile building up at the rim of the hole. So much for a touching relationship between sisters. This was shaping up to be a rather long day.

Sango predicted correctly, the day's struggles were horrid. Well, for Cynthia anyway. Judging only by her complaints, you wouldn't be mistaken in thinking that her whole body was one giant pulled muscle. And yet, when they were given the go-ahead to wrap up for the night, she somehow had enough energy left to make a beeline straight back to the inn. Real classy girl, that Cynthia.

"Ugh, I'm covered with dirt and my body is unbelievably sore," Violet griped, stowing the shovels. Sango had to nod in agreement. If even she was feeling a little ragged, Violet and Cynthia must have a bunch of aches and pains. With that being said, Violet didn't seem to let her condition discourage her. She wore a big smile, and turned to Sango, "say, you know what the best part of a hard day's work is?"

Sango assumed "satisfaction in a job well done" was not the correct answer.

"We get to take a bath to soothe our aching bodies!" Violet said, placing her hand on Sango's back and guiding her towards the baths. "Come on, Sango! It's going to be a blast!"

Sango sighed, and nodded. Last night, she had seen Violet's body up close and personal, and could totally understand where Cynthia's insecurities had come from. Even Sango, who didn't pay a lot of attention to her figure, or really care all that much about looking "hot" knew what a good body looked like.

So while Sango and Violet headed off to take an early bath, Cynthia went to go pay a visit to someone else, entirely.

"…What?" Maddi asked, peeking out from her room. "You want something?"

"Come on, do I have to want something?" Cynthia grinned. "I just came here to pay a visit! You know, since we're friends now!"

Maddi let out a deep sigh, and slid the door open completely, letting Cynthia inside. Cynthia flounced into her room, her smile bright and cheerful.

"Maddi! Let's take a bath!" Cynthia suggested.

Maddi winced.

"No."

"Come on! Do you really want to miss out on one of our best hot spring experiences?" Cynthia pouted. "It's going to be such a cool experience, I promise!"

"You're doing it again!" Maddi snapped, causing Cynthia to flinch and take a step back. Maddi calmed herself down, and gave Cynthia a scowl. "Cynthia. We talked about this. After… after what happened yesterday, please don't assume that I don't think of you as a friend. Because I do. We opened up to each other, and we're closer now than we ever were before."

"Right!" Cynthia nodded, her expression brightening. She nodded eagerly.

"But this and that are separate things," Maddi said, holding her hands apart. "As my friend, I expect you to respect my desire for some privacy and time to myself. I know you're the kind of person who goes around asking your friends to join in on your exciting activities, but if I tell you I'm not interested in doing something, then I would like for my opinion to be respected. Understood?"

"Yeah, okay, if that's what you want," Cynthia nodded. "I don't want to try and pressure you into doing something you're not comfortable with, Maddi. But… can I ask you something?"

"…What?" Maddi asked, not sure what it was that Cynthia was going to ask, and also not sure if it was something that she would want to answer. It was probably Cynthia being clingy or nosy again, and that wasn't going to be fun.

"The reason you don't want to join the bath with us, it's because you don't want to show us your leg, right?" Cynthia asked. "I think you… said something about that…"

Maddi scowled. She was right, that was a question that she didn't want to answer.

"…Something like that," she muttered.

"Then… then if that's what you want, I won't ask again," Cynthia sighed. The look of disappointment she wore sent a twinge through Maddi's chest, but she wasn't about to let that sway her. She was going to draw the line.

"Yeah, thank you," Maddi said, nodding.

"But I just want you to know, that neither Sango nor I are going to care about that burn of yours, I promise. You already showed it to me, after all. And you know the kind of person that Sango is, she won't give a damn, either," Cynthia reassured her. "So if you're worried about what we'll think when we see it, you don't need to."

Maddi couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was Cynthia really that stupid?

"…Yeah, obviously," Maddi said, glancing down to avert her eyes from the beaming kindness that was getting a little too hard to stand. "I already know that, of course…"

"…Well, good then!" Cynthia grinned. "Then we're good! I just wanted to make sure that you were okay, and didn't think that we'd treat you weird! Don't worry, I'll leave you alone, Maddi! You have a good night, okay?"

Cynthia gave her friend a grin and a thumbs' up, and skipped out of the room.

Maddi closed the door behind her and smiled a little, her cheeks flushing slightly. Cynthia had actually listened and was concerned for her feelings. Along with Sango, it felt like Maddi actually had another friend she could rely on (even if it was just Cynthia) and that made her feel a little better.

Maddi forced a scowl back onto her face. She was smiling, and it didn't feel right.

Cynthia joined Sango and Violet in the bath, stretching out and letting a joyful sigh as she felt the water soothe her aching body.

"What took so long?" Violet asked. She was leaning against a rock, her awesome body submerged in the water, much to Cynthia and Sango's relief. "With the way you ran off, I thought you would have been here way ahead of us, did something happen?"

"No, no, nothing," Cynthia laughed, her prior animosity towards her sister draining away like the dirt covering her body had drained away in the shower, and the fatigue she'd felt draining away into the bath. "I just wanted to go see if Maddi wanted to join us."

"Yeah, she's been using that private bath the whole time," Sango noted. "I wonder why she doesn't want to take a bath with us. Did she say anything?"

Cynthia smiled at her friend. Maddi had definitely said something, but that wasn't her place to say. Instead, she filled her expression with as much smug condescension as she could muster, smirking at Sango.

"Unlike you, Sango, I don't make it a habit of gossiping about my friends," Cynthia replied. Sango's face turned red with shame and she sunk down into the water, realizing that she was doing it again. She mumbled out an apology that came out as a bunch of bubbles.

Before Cynthia could continue ribbing Sango, however, she was cut off by a grunt of irritation coming from the changing rooms.

The three girls turned to see Darla, a look of disappointment in her eye, staring at them. Her curvy figure was wrapped in a towel, and it was clear she wasn't happy about having other people in the bath. Lila came up behind her, the relaxed look on her face showing that she wasn't as bothered by the others as her partner.

"Come on, Darla, it's fine," Lila said.

"If you say so, Lila," Darla sighed, nodding her head and reluctantly approaching the bath.

Violet's mouth had dropped so far down her chin was touching the water.

"Y-Y-You're…" Violet was doing nothing but stuttering as she pointed at the two idols.

"I'm Lila Seelie," Lila grinned, slipping into the water, a professional smile on her face. "The lovely maiden who dreams of fairy tales!"

The only greeting Darla gave as she entered the hot spring was an annoyed grunt. Lila elbowed her in the side.

"I'm off the clock right now," Darla replied. "I'm not doing it."

"It… it's really them!" Violet gasped. Sango could see blood trickle from her nose as she admired the two girls' bodies. Indeed, truly she was Cynthia's elder sister.

"Yeah, it's really us," Darla grumbled. "Now if you wouldn't mind, could you leave us alone and take our bath in peace?"

"She's a fan, Darla, be polite!" Lila urged her. Darla groaned, and forced a smile onto her face.

"You two… are you staying here?" Violet gasped.

"Yep!" Lila said. "We've been here for a few days now!"

"Why did no one tell me?!" Violet demanded, shooting her sister an accusatory look. Cynthia rolled her eyes and turned away from her.

"It's called 'customer privacy'," Cynthia replied. She added under her breath, "and a significant amount of spite."

Darla curled herself up a little, shielding her body from sight. She didn't like the way that this woman was leering at her body, not to mention Lila's body.

"Cynthia…" Violet turned to her sister, wiping her nose. Her eyes were shining excitedly. "Is this… is it possible that my dream threesome will come to pass?"

"…We're in high school," Darla replied. Cynthia laughed as Violet fumed. Then Darla added, "also, just plain no."

Violet sunk down into the water, defeated. Even Sango had to snicker. The most Lila could offer in sympathy was a kind look.

"I'm just glad we're leaving," Darla grumbled.

"Darla!" Lila gasped. "That's rude! This place has been perfectly lovely!"

Lila turned to Cynthia. "Your family really does run a wonderful inn. Darla doesn't mean it, she's just in a sour mood."

"We're in the Hoenn Region," Darla growled. "How do you expect me to feel being back here, Lila?"

"Hoenn is our home," Lila reminded her. Darla scowled and turned away from her, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Your home, maybe," Darla replied. "If it's all the same to you, I would prefer to never come back to this region again, if at all possible."

Clearly, Darla had some issues with the Hoenn Region. What those issues were, Cynthia couldn't hazard a guess, but there was something more important that she'd picked up on.

"Wait, you guys are leaving tonight?" Cynthia asked, trying very hard to make it sound like a casual question and not a desperate plea for the two hotties to stay. "But you just got here, you can stay a little longer!"

"Sorry, Cynthia, personally, I would love to stay for a little while longer," Lila admitted. "But remember, our reservations were only for a few days. We only stayed here in the first place because Darla didn't want to go to Fallarbor Town, where the Empress and everyone else went to participate in the pokemon contests."

"…I know," Cynthia said, nodding glumly. "Still, it would be nice, you know."

"This might have just been a rest-stop, but it was really a lovely experience, right, Darla?" Lila asked, urging her friend to for once say something that wasn't absurdly rude and hurtful.

"…Yeah, it was fine," Darla said. She moved her hand through the water, swirling patterns in the pool with her fingers.

"Just fine?" Lila prodded. Darla sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Okay, the baths are absolutely lovely," Darla admitted, glancing down sheepishly. "I really love a good hot spring. And these are some of the best that I've ever been to. Just slipping into the water, and it's like…"

Darla took a deep breath and sighed, relaxing down into the water. "Yeah… pretty great, I have to be honest."

"I'm glad," Lila smiled. She was just happy Darla had something positive to say. She turned to Cynthia, "Darla's a little rough around the edges-"

"No, you're just too soft," Darla interjected. Lila rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders, giving Cynthia a coy wink.

"…But she's still a lovely girl," Lila giggled, scooting over and rubbing Darla's tanned shoulders, nuzzling against her cheek. Darla gasped, rolling her eyes, and scooted away from her friend, splashing up out of the water. She got out of the bath, covering herself with her towel, and walked over to the changing room, her face hot.

"I guess that's us," Lila laughed.

"Leaving so soon?" Violet asked, her face falling.

"Sorry, we just wanted a quick dip before we left," Lila said, giving her a wink. She pulled herself out of the bath as well, wringing out her hair, and reaching over to her towel and drying off slightly. "Gotta look our best when the Empress comes to pick us up."

Violet looked after Lila in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Violet asked. "Who's this Empress?"

A lightbulb went off over Cynthia's head, and a mischievous grin stretched itself across her face. She gave Sango a knowing look, and Sango rolled her eyes, shaking her head. She knew exactly where this was going before Cynthia even said anything.

"I think we should join you!" Cynthia said, getting up out of the water herself. She turned to Sango. "Don't you think, Sango?"

No, Sango thought it would be best to just sit pretty in the hot spring and relax.

"Oh, really?" Lila asked, her face brightening. "Yeah, Olivia would love to see you guys! She enjoys seeing friendly faces."

"Wait, wait, you guys… are friends?" Violet was finally catching up to the circumstances. "Cynthia, you KNOW Darla Drake and Lila Seelie? Like, not just as guests?"

Well, Cynthia wasn't going to let THAT go unmentioned.

"Oh, I know them in sooo many ways," she purred, licking her lips. Violet scowled, getting up out of the water and moving after Cynthia.

Sango did want to stay in the water, but on the other hand, she did want to see Olivia again. She sighed, and got out, following everyone.

The four girls stepped out into the lobby, where Darla was already waiting. Cynthia, Sango, and Violet had all stayed in their bathrobes, but Lila had changed into a simple white dress, and was carrying all of her luggage behind her. Darla had similar thoughts, changing into a torn black shirt and jeans, along with her duffel bag. She was playing on her phone to pass the time, glancing up and seeing Lila and the others come in.

"What are they doing here?" Darla asked.

"I'm just here to see the fireworks," Cynthia purred, plopping herself down into a big, soft armchair, squirming with excitement.

"According to her, she has an intimate relationship with the two of you," Violet scowled.

Darla's eyes widened for a moment, and then narrowed into a cold glare aimed directly at Cynthia, who flinched, averting her eyes.

Lila stepped between the two of them, holding her hands up to soothe the hostile tensions.

As Darla cooled off, her phone beeped.

"She's here," Darla said, glancing at the ID. She turned to Lila. "Come on, we're heading out."

"Before you guys leave, don't you think Olivia might like some dinner?" Cynthia purred. "I can offer her some sushi? For the road, I mean. We have enough fish for her and everyone else in your guys' group, if you want."

At this point, Cynthia was single-mindedly focused on getting her sister and Olivia face to face, excited to see what would happen. Whatever she could say to get Olivia into the building.

"Sushi, huh? Now, that sounds positively delicious. I suppose I could stop in for a bite, our schedule isn't that tightly packed." Every head in the room turned (a common occurrence when Olivia Himeko entered the room) to see Olivia standing in the door, a smile on her beautiful face.

Cynthia grinned. Apparently she didn't have to try that hard after all!

Now the Empress makes her entrance! What will result from this, I wonder? How's Violet going to react when she sees such a beauty?