The group continues their descent into the chamber. What secrets lay at the bottom of the staircase? And for that matter, what should Valdette's nickname be? If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to come up with them.

Also, thank you to everyone who read my story "The Heir to the Dragon". I would appreciate if you continue to read and support it in the future! You can get there through my profile!

The votes for the Elimination Round have begun to pick up, that's pretty good! Hope we can start getting them to role in! I've been very surprised by the results of this poll so far, some people are leading that I never would have expected, and some people are trailing behind who I thought would be frontrunners. Just goes to show how much things have changed since last year!

Nominated: Alcea, Ayame, Carrie, Caelia, Cynthia, Dakota, Darla, Elaina, Elizabeth, Julia, Kate, Kitty, Lila, Maddi, Marion, Nikita, Olivia, Sango, Sylvia

KedharS: That would be mean!

Pokemonking0924: Nice names, but I don't think any of them are quite right.

Aquahaze675: I'm glad it's paying off. It's only going to get more exciting from here.

JoshGamerV: Quite a good special move, if you ask me.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 639

Blake was thinking of good nicknames for their Valdette companion as he walked down the stairs with the two girls.

It wasn't the easiest decision to make. The way those golden eyes stared at him excitedly, brimming with hope, they made Blake desperate to get the nickname right. Hell, why couldn't he just say it for what it was?

The Valdette didn't want a "nickname" the way pokemon did. She wanted a real name, like the one he had, like Sylvia's name.

Of course it would have to be a name, he thought to himself, shaking his head. This is a particularly difficult problem for me, of all people…

Sylvia couldn't help but give him grief for his indecision.

"Come on, Blake, it's just a name," she laughed. "It's not like you need to make such a major deal out of this whole thing."

"This is important!" Blake snapped. "A name is important for someone! It's everything about who they are, Sylvia!"

"What about Val?" Sylvia asked. "Simple, easy." She wore a coy smirk, wiggling her eyebrows like she was laughing at a joke that Blake didn't share.

"NO. Not Val," Blake said, a shiver running down his spine. "I don't need another one of those in existence, especially considering what the other one looks like."

"Other… huh?" Sylvia asked, a confused expression crossing her face. "Wait… then… does that mean you…?"

Blake didn't like the way her face took on a hopeful look for a second. The idea that Sylvia knew Valerie Chiester was not one that he wanted to spend ANY time thinking about. So he decided to just drop the subject.

"It's okay, Blake!" The Valdette said, patting him on the back and walking ahead of him. "I am ready for whatever nickname you want to give me! You can take as much time as you need, okay? Ooh, I just can't wait!"

Well, that didn't make Blake's job any easier.

"Fine, but until he does, let's compromise," Sylvia suggested. "How about we just call you 'Valdette' until then?"

"But… you already have been?" Her golden eyes blinked curiously, and she looked back at Blake for confirmation.

"Yeah, but this way it's official," Sylvia explained. "I'm sure that the author is getting sick and tired of referring to you as 'the' Valdette, so this way we can just simplify it and call you 'Valdette' to make everything easier on us all. At least until Blake comes up with a nickname for you. So, what do you think? Sound like a plan?"

"Uhum, um… yeah, that's okay," Valdette said, nodding, like it was a stupid thing to ask. "But… that word you used, 'author', what does that mean?"

"Long story," Sylvia said, rolling her eyes. "Really long. Like, 2.5 million words long. Anyway. Getting off-topic."

She turned forward and held out her torch, the flames glittering off of something reflective in the distance.

"And besides… we have something a lot more important to deal with than names right now," Sylvia mused. "I think we're here."

"The Holy Spring," Valdette gushed, her face brightening.

"For a civilization without names, you guys certainly have a lot of important designations for locales," Sylvia noted dryly. She reached the bottom of the stone stairs and realized that the chamber at the bottom was entirely made of water.

And it wasn't any ordinary water, it was pitch black.

"Why… why is it black?" Blake asked worriedly. The three of them were crowded around on the bottom step.

"Isn't all water black?" Valdette asked, confused. Neither Blake nor Sylvia were in the mood to answer that question.

Sylvia solved things the way she usually did. She knelt down, cupped her hand on the water, and brought some to her lips to take a sip of it.

"Well… huh," Sylvia blinked. "Interesting."

"Are you nuts?!" Blake exclaimed. "Why. WHY would you drink the strange alien water, Sylvia, what is the matter with you?!"

"I drink it all the time," Valdette meekly replied.

"What, dude? It's just *ptooie* disgusting water, ick," Sylvia said, spitting it out of her mouth. "I mean everything about it says 'yeah, water' but when you drink it? Gross." She knelt down and scooped up some more.

"Here, try it," she said, smiling, holding her hand out to Blake.

"Uh, no thanks, I'm good," Blake said, shaking his head. Looking away from Sylvia he turned out to the underground lake and gasped. "Hey, wait, what's that?" He asked, squinting at the strange shimmer he saw reflected on the water.

"It's the water," Valdette volunteered. Blake let out a sigh.

"No, that's not what I mean. Sylvia, extinguish the torch, I think I see something, in the water," Blake replied.

"If there are evil creepy void sharks in this place I am officially calling bullshit on this world's physics," Sylvia grumbled, dunking the torch in the water. The flames fizzled out with a loud hiss. "Hungry worms, humanoid pokemon that drink blood and eat emotions, apparently magical forests that put you to sleep, what next? An actual orgy? This place MAKES NO SENSE!"

A crooked smile spread across Sylvia's face as the lights were extinguished. "And I love it!" She hissed excitedly.

"Wait… you're right! There's something there!" Sylvia gasped as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She could make out… a faint trickle of light glistening in the water. Sylvia's eyes shot up, and she saw at the very top of the cavern was a small speck of light. Immediately she figured out a lot. She realized why there was a hole in the top of the tent now. That was light from that sun/moon thing in the sky, trickling down into the light. And where it landed… "Hey! Over there!"

Syvlia hopped into the water. She was surprised, it was barely a foot deep. She had thought she would have to swim.

"Sylvia?! Are you nuts?!" Blake exclaimed. He was saying that a lot recently. "Get out of there, what are you doing?"

"Blame yourself!" Sylvia called over her shoulder, cackling. "Did you really think you could show me something this interesting, and I wouldn't immediately beeline there? I thought you knew me by now, Blake!"

She finally reached the circle of light. It was about two feet in diameter, just wide enough for her to stand in. She stepped inside, looking up at the light shining down on her. "Interesting… I wonder what this is…"

Her interest lasted for approximately two seconds. Then she got bored. She turned and stomped through the water, returning to them. Luckily, Valdette's eyes were a pretty good guide. She squinted at Blake's face. As expected, he was not amused with her shenanigans.

Oh, well. His loss.

"So there's this circle of light there," Sylvia said. "I think it's coming from the sun. Weird, if you ask me. That's definitely no coincidence." She stroked her chin in contemplation, and turned to the glowing-eyed Valdette. "Valdette, what do you know about it? You're our guide here, after all, so I'm assuming you know what it means."

"Well, it's-"

"And if you tell me it's called the 'Holy Circle' or 'Sacred Spot' or some other dumb obvious thing, I'm gonna lose it," Sylvia interrupted her.

"…It's the Ring of Purification…" Valdette meekly replied.

Sylvia let out a long sigh. "Of course it is…"

"Sylvia, be nice," Blake said, giving her a look.

"Okay, well, what's it for?" Sylvia asked, glancing back at the circle. "I can't imagine it's just an aesthetic choice. This whole structure is like the one outlier we've seen here."

"What? Outlier? What do you mean?" Blake asked, confused.

Sylvia was glad that the torch was extinguished, so she wouldn't have to see the dumb look on his stupid face. She sighed, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Well, Blake, think of it like this," she muttered. "What have we seen since we've been on this world?"

"Sand," Blake replied, rolling his eyes.

"Good boy, and people say you're an idiot," Sylvia scoffed. "…Or, well, me. What else have we seen, since we got to the village?"

"The Valetty, the Valdettes, tents, this rock, the forest…" Blake rambled off. Sylvia slapped her face in frustration.

"The tents are made by them," Sylvia said, nodding her head to Valdette, even though Blake couldn't see it. "But the forest, also natural, just like the desert."

"Yeah, I know, but what does this mean?"

"This rock isn't a natural formation," Sylvia replied. "I don't believe it's possible for there to be staircases carved this intricately by natural means." She turned to Valdette. "Was this you guys? Did you dig this out?"

Valdette's glowing eyes swung from side to side as she shook her head. "No, we came upon it. The Sacred Chamber was our beacon, and when we came, we set up our home here because of how sacred it is."

Sylvia nodded. "As I thought. This rock was put here to serve a purpose. What that purpose is? Not a damn idea. But it's definitely got one. And I don't think it's just for the Valdette's rituals. So tell me, Valdette, what exactly do you guys use this place for? I'm assuming you don't need to use the water for drinking."

"When a Valetty Feeds, they come to this chamber and purify themselves in the Ring of Purification so that they can evolve," Valdette explained.

"Yeah, I already put all that together," Sylvia said, waving her hand dismissively. "I meant any other function?"

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"I can't believe that you didn't want us to come here because we would see a glorified swimming pool," Sylvia said, glaring at her.

"Swimming… pool?" Valdette asked.

"Never mind," Sylvia scoffed. "So, what else are you hiding here?"

Valdette sighed. "And you promise you won't go into the forest?"

"How many times do we have to go over this? No, we won't go into the forest," Sylvia assured her. "So what's up?"

"The Mural," Valdette said.

"Mural? What mural?" Sylvia asked.

"Over there," Valdette said, pointing off into the darkness. Well, that wasn't very helpful. "It's on the wall."

Sylvia knelt down and grabbed her torch, lifting it up and holding it out to the Valdette. "Valdette, can you light this please, with your fire?"

"Sure," Valdette nodded. She opened her mouth and spit out a burst of flame that lit the torch, filling the cavern with light again.

"Now, where's this mural?" Sylvia asked, turning back to look at the lake. Valdette stepped down into the water and walked forward, leading Sylvia and Blake behind her. As she got closer to the far wall, and the light of the torch traveled closer, it became clear what was hidden behind the blackness, and what the "Mural" depicted.

"Here it is," Valdette said, gesturing up at the large wall.

Blake gasped in shock. No way. It couldn't be.

Sylvia narrowed her eyes. It was all coming together, alright. "So that's what this was. Now that's quite a surprise. What's going on here?"

The far wall was covered in white etchings, symbols identical to the ones carved on the tablet.

"It's the tablet," Blake said, shaking his head. He was stunned.

"No, it isn't," Sylvia replied. "The symbols are identical, but the order is different."

"This is our language," the Valdette explained. "But humans can't read it."

"You're right about that," Sylvia agreed. "It's just as much nonsense as that tablet."

Valdette blinked. A look of surprise crossed her face. "You… couldn't read the tablet?"

"No, I couldn't," Sylvia said, jutting her thumb at Blake. "Blake could, though. So what's going on, what do you know about that tablet? And this writing?"

But Valdette wasn't paying attention. Her face was suspicious, her narrow features twisting into a look of concern. "I don't… I think it's better to speak to the other Valdette," she admitted. "I don't think this is my place to say anything about the tablet. I was just a Valetty, I didn't know the full story. All I know is that every human I ever met could read the tablet, so it was a surprise to meet someone who couldn't. The others might know why..."

Sylvia scowled. "Fine, we'll talk to Dommy-Mommy about it. But before that, can you tell us what's written here?"

"I can," Valdette said, her voice sinking in sadness. "There's a lot of stuff that isn't important, ceremonial stuff, but… I know what you want to hear."

"And what's that?" Sylvia asked.

Valdette took a deep breath, and exhaled in a long sigh. "'Those who wish to claim their freedom from the bonds of this world, display your devotion. Purify yourself of your gluttony, and fetch water from the Cursed Spring of the Forest of Darkness. Stand within the Ring of Purification and let your desires drain away as you drink your salvation… and return to where you once came."

Finished speaking, Valdette looked at Sylvia and Blake with a pathetic look on her face. The two humans stood in stunned silence, letting the words sink in.

Blake understood now why, even with the warnings from the Valdette, every human who came here went to the forest.

"Is that saying what I think it is?" Sylvia asked. Her tone had taken on its cold edge again, which worried Blake.

Valdette meekly nodded.

"So… if we go into the forest and take water from the spring there… come back here, and stand in that circle over there… drink the water…" Sylvia worked out.

"Then we'll go home," Blake finished.

"But you can't go to the forest!" Valdette insisted frantically. Her eyes were wide with desperation. "You can't! You promised! You promised, you promised, you PROMISED!"

She was crying now. Black tears rolled down her cheeks and fell into the water. "Please… you promised you wouldn't."

Sylvia scowled. This is why she hated making promises. This wasn't simply about curiosity now. This was a matter of getting home. Getting Blake home. She'd agreed not to go into the forest for the Valdette's sake, because she wanted to see what was in the cave. It had been the most suspicious thing here, after all.

But they had to go to the forest if they wanted to get back home.

Sylvia let out a sigh. "Okay, Valdette, look-"

"YOU PROMISED!" Valdette shouted, flames leaping up from around her. She gasped in shock, not expecting her emotions to flare up like that. Her face white with remorse, she pushed Sylvia aside and ran through the water, fleeing the chamber.

"…Well," Sylvia scowled, glancing back at the mural. "This complicates things quite a bit, wouldn't you agree?"

Blake nodded. "Sylvia… I'm not going to that forest," he said. "Just thinking about it brings me unimaginable pain. Please, I think we should just leave it alone. Besides, didn't you hear what she said? If you go into the forest, then the darkness will send you to a permanent sleep. Is that what you want? To be trapped in sleep forever?"

Sylvia scoffed. "Is that much worse than being trapped here for eternity?"

"Think about it," Blake reminded her. "Every single human who came here, they all went into that forest, thinking they could take the water from that 'Cursed Spring' or whatever it is. But none of them could come back. They all fell asleep. Is that really what you want? To risk our survival, entering that forest and… just for the chance that we might come back? Even you have to admit that's insane, no one has come back! Ever!"

"Well, I'm not just anyone," Sylvia scowled at him. "I'll have you know that I'm capable of a whole hell of a lot! Just so you know!"

Blake was stunned at how upset she sounded.

"Forget this," she growled, shaking her head. She could see the indecision in his face. "And forget my promise! And for that matter, forget you! You don't want to go into the forest? That's just fine. I'll go myself!"

She turned and stomped through the water, Blake chasing after her.

"Sylvia, what are you doing?!" Blake exclaimed. "You can't! It's suicide!"

"Two years!" Sylvia growled, whirling around, the sparks of her torch nearly searing Blake's face. "That's why!"

"W-What?" Blake asked, confused.

"Two. Years." Sylvia said through gritted teeth, her eyes shining with rage. "You want to know how long we've been here? You asked me all the time at the beginning, remember?"

Blake shook his head. No way. She was lying. That wasn't possible.

"You… not a chance," he said. "You're lying, we haven't been here for two years!"

"Two years, three months, and seventeen days," Sylvia snarled. "Want to know how many hours? Minutes? Seconds? My internal clock is perfect, Blake, so you can just shut RIGHT the hell up! How much longer are you going to wait, huh?"

Blake couldn't believe it. He knew that Sylvia wasn't lying, but he still didn't believe it. Even if he trusted her… he would never trust her about this. He hadn't seen Aya… for over two whole years? But… it didn't feel that long.

"I assume this place has messed with your perception of time," Sylvia grumbled. "Hence why you were having so much mental stress. But me? I've been counting each second in the back of my head, I'll let you know."

Blake was horrified. It hadn't felt like two years. It wasn't two years. He couldn't believe it. He kept saying that. But staring into Sylvia's eyes, it was the truth. He knew it was.

That didn't make his heart feel any less ripped from his chest.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, shaking his head in disbelief. Was he apologizing to Sylvia? Himself? Everyone back home?

"So you see why we need to get home?" Sylvia growled. "Why we need to get home AS SOON AS POSSIBLE? Because we CAN'T stay here. I need to get you back home before you've lost everything that you ever cared about!"

Blake wasn't listening to her. His only thoughts were for Aya. They'd had such little time, before he had been trapped here. Only a few months.

And that time had been exceeded by years now.

What had he done to her? How could his happiness have been ripped so cruelly out of his grasp? Tears fell from his eyes. It just wasn't fair.

That's rough. Poor Blake. But at least, finally, they have a path home. Though certainly not an easy one.