With only one course of action left to take, Sylvia must now begin her quest into the Forest of Darkness, in the hopes of being able to retrieve the water from the Cursed Spring! Will she be able to enter the forest without falling to the Darkness? Or will she fall into an endless sleep like all the other humans who entered?

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

Guest: Elizabeth couldn't actually read the tablet. She just knew what it said from reports. But for the other three, Gerard's is definitely acknowledgment, Dakota hungers for the truth, and Elaina, well, she just wants to be accepted by others.

Aquahaze675: It's not just the desire. It's when it becomes so overwhelming that you're actually overly dependent on it.

Rowlets and Oshawotts: It all depends on how strong their hunger is.

Guest 2: Not for some time still.

JoshGamerV: Yep, it was quite amusing to see how much of the mechanics of the world you managed to work out.

KedharS: Quite a lot.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 643

"Sylvia, are you sure that you're willing to do this?" Blake asked. The group had returned to the Valdette's village, and Sylvia was preparing to head out into the Forest of Darkness. "You don't have to, honestly."

He said that, but he couldn't deny how desperately he wanted her to succeed. He was practically saying the words because that was what was expected of him. Sylvia saw through that completely, of course, flashing him a coy smile.

"You don't need to worry," she assured him, giving him a wink. She patted him on the shoulder. "You trust me, don't you?"

"Trusting you about… that, and trusting your ability to make it back alive are totally different things," Blake replied dryly. "Just be careful, okay?"

"I don't need to be careful," Sylvia purred, slugging him in the shoulder. "I either fall asleep or I don't, or something in between." She gave him a wink.

Blake didn't find that to be a very reassuring response. Even more concerning to him was the fact that Sylvia, for reasons he couldn't POSSIBLY understand, had chosen to change out of her cat suit after what had apparently been over two years wearing it, and change into her spare dress, with a black ruffled skirt and white petticoat, as well as white lace.

He didn't understand why she said it was the right "battle costume", but then again he didn't understand a lot of what she did or why.

"Come back, okay?" Valaya asked. "I don't want you to disappear."

"Aww, aren't you just the sweetest thing," Sylvia smirked. "And here I thought you didn't like me very much."

Valaya scowled at her.

"You sure you know what to do?" Blake asked. "You need to-"

"Yes, mother, I need to get the spring water and bring it here," Sylvia griped. "I know. Don't worry, I've got it planned out!"

She set her backpack down on the ground and dug through it, taking out a pair of water bottles. "This should be more than enough!"

She tossed one to Valaya. "Here, Valaya, why not take a drink of that!"

Valaya looked at the water like it was a strange substance. She glanced at Sylvia, confused. "What… what is it?"

"It's water, silly," Sylvia giggled.

"But it isn't black," Valaya said, confused.

"Just try it," Sylvia said. Valaya unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.

"Oh! It is water!" Valaya said. She handed the bottle back to Sylvia. "Is there any other strange stuff you guys have? That was weird! It wasn't like the water we have here at all, but it was still water, that's so cool!"

"Interesting, so Valetty and Valdette have a normal sense of taste," Sylvia mused. "I would have thought you wouldn't, since you can only eat emotions… Now I'm interested. Tell me, Valaya, if this all works out and I make it back here, would you be interested in coming to our world?"

"Really?" Valaya asked, her eyes widening in shock. "That would be so interesting! …But sorry, no, it sounds a little too much for me."

"Ah, what a pity," Sylvia sighed. "You should welcome new experiences and chances for excitement when they come, little one," she said, slipping the water bottle into her bag. "Speaking of new experiences, why not give this a try? You may not be hungry for real food, but at least you'll be able to experience the taste."

Sylvia pulled one of her bags of beef jerky out of her backpack and tossed it into the sand at Valaya's feet. Slinging her backpack over her shoulder, she said goodbye to Blake and Valaya.

"And you have that pill?" Blake asked. "It's really important that you have that pill, Sylvia."

"Yes, mother, I have the fucking pill," Sylvia said, rolling her eyes. "I'm going now, don't worry, I'll be back. Not sure when, but I'll be back."

Blake didn't like the sound of that. Now that he realized it, he had no idea how large that forest was, or how long it would take Sylvia to get through it. He could be waiting here for who knows how long without even knowing whether or not Sylvia was coming back.

Thinking about it that way, everything sounded a whole lot more risky.

I'm going to be back as soon as possible, Aya, Blake promised Ayame. Please, just wait for me just a little longer, okay?

"Are you okay, Blake?" Valaya asked, turning towards him. "I can feel your tension and worry right now…"

Fucking empaths, Blake silently cursed.

"Now I'm feeling frustration…" Valaya added, furrowing her brow.

Blake sighed. "I'm just worried."

"For Sylvia?" Valaya asked.

"Believe it or not, yes," Blake said, nodding. "I may not like her very much, but if she doesn't make it back okay then I'm stuck here."

Valaya blinked. "You don't like her?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. "You say that a lot, but your feelings are really complicated."

"…She's a complicated person," Blake dryly replied. He knelt down and pulled the beef jerky out of the sand and ripped it open. "So, what's up? You wanna try some of this stuff?"

"You're really trying to change the subject, huh?" Valaya said, taking the bag from him. "Ooh, yeah, definitely felt some irritation from you there."

"I think I liked you better when you were keeping your knowledge of being an empathy to yourself," Blake scowled. "I didn't have you countermanding my personal thoughts."

"I'm just being less cautious now that I can relax around you, that's all," Valaya replied with a smirk, tearing open the bag and popping a piece of beef jerky into her mouth. "See, the thing with emotions is-BLEAGHH! OH MY GOD WHAT IS THIS TRASH?!"

Valaya spat the meat out and scraped her tongue, sputtering and spitting in disgust. "That was horrible! Even the taste of sand is better than that!"

"…Well, if you don't like human food, I'm going to say that your decision to stay in this world and not travel to ours was definitely the correct one," Blake said, resisting the urge to laugh at Valaya as she rubbed sand against her tongue to try and dull the taste.

"Is ALL your food that disgusting?! How do you humans survive without feeding on emotions?!" Valaya demanded.

"At least we don't drink blood," Blake replied, sticking his tongue out. "But I wonder… if you did leave this place, WOULD you also eat normal food like the rest of us? That's definitely the kind of thing I can imagine fascinating Sylvia…"

"Eeew, don't even say that sort of stuff!" Valaya snapped. "That's just disgusting!"

Blake laughed, feeling a little better. He turned to Sylvia's departing figure.

I hope you'll be okay, Sylvia. Not just for my sake. That forest gives me nothing but bad feelings, and if you're stuck there… Blake didn't want to finish that thought. She shook his head and banished his anxiety. Just be okay.

Sylvia stood at the edge of the forest, staring at the shadows. She was standing right before the shadow, one step past and she would be in this… "Darkness".

This was getting exciting. Sylvia tore open the packet and withdrew the pill, tossing the foil over her shoulder. She didn't really care much about littering in this nothing of an ecosystem. She popped the pill into her mouth, but didn't swallow it. She just held it in the pocket of her mouth.

"Well, here I go!" Sylvia cheered to herself. "Hey, Darkness! Come out, come out, wherever you are!" She called, walking into the shadows.

The minute Sylvia crossed the threshold she could already feel the changes setting in. Her body was getting heavy and she felt herself beginning to fall asleep. She swallowed her pill, forcing herself forward through the sand.

Even though she couldn't see anything ahead of her, she kept going. Her natural sense of direction was what helped ensure she was walking in a straight line. She had considered reassembling her torch, but if she did, she had a feeling that it wouldn't have done much good. This didn't feel like the sort of thing you could beat off with fire or light.

Rather, it was like the darkness was clinging to her, pushing in on her from all sides and trying to swallow her whole.

It was certainly an exciting experience, that was for sure.

Sylvia found it odd that she was no longer feeling sleepy. The heavy air was still weighing down on her, like she was walking through a thick fog, but she no longer felt her body trying to sleep. Had her pill worked?

Or was she…

"Or am I already asleep?" Sylvia mused. She glanced behind her. As she suspected, she could not see the edge of the forest behind her. She was completely alone in the Forest of Darkness. "Now, isn't that an interesting thought? Weeeeell? Anybody here?" Sylvia looked around, but of course she saw nothing. But she certainly felt something, a presence, even if she couldn't quite figure out where. It was like that sensation where you knew you were alone in a room, but you still felt someone looking at you. "I know you're here, you know, I can feel you."

Sylvia got no response, so she kept walking. She found it rather fascinating that she hadn't actually walked into a tree so far. It certainly added weight to her assumption that she was already asleep, and this was her strange dream.

Well, how would I know? She asked herself. She was certainly feeling the odd effects of the pill running its course through her system, and her vision was starting to get all fuzzy and blurry. But what she didn't feel was tired. It was almost like-

The forest suddenly stopped being so bright. Now, rather than a pitch black canvas, it was like the darkness had been replaced by some sort of strange grayish white haze, though still clearly dark. Now, though, at least Sylvia could see her hands in front of her face.

The only problem was, her face was staring at her from a few feet away, a lopsided smile smeared across it.

"…Well now," Sylvia said, raising her eyebrow. "This is a new one."

Sylvia's double stepped forward, tilting her head to the side and blinking. She hadn't said a word, which Sylvia found rather odd for her duplicate.

"So why do you look like me?" Sylvia asked. "If this is one of those Jodie Foster moments, I must say, I'm really not impressed."

"Well, if I showed you what I really looked like, then we wouldn't be able to chat, now would we?" Her copy said, stepping closer. "And I was really, really hoping to chat."

"So who are you, then?" Sylvia asked, studying her duplicate. They circled each other, Sylvia eyeing her other self up and down.

"Oh, come now, Sylvia, let's not be coy," the other Sylvia laughed. She reached up and tapped her head. "I know aaaaaaaaaalll the thoughts in that cute little head of yours. I know that you know who I am, so let's not play games now."

"Maybe I just want to hear you say it," Sylvia purred.

"Well, which name would you like?" He duplicate replied with the same even, purring voice. "I can give you quite a lot of them. I've been known by many names, after all."

Sylvia tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes, her smirk growing crooked. "I think we both know the one, don't we?"

The other Sylvia lowered her head, her brow furrowing as she smiled wickedly.

"Why yes, we certainly do," she said, throwing her arms out wide, and then taking another step closer. She quickly closed the distance between herself and Sylvia, pushing herself right into the other girl's personal space. Sylvia didn't seem to mind. "Hello there, Sylvia Driscoll. My name is the Darkness. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Sylvia smiled back coolly. "Charmed, I'm sure," she replied.

The Darkness pulled back, licking her lips. "Well now, since we're on a first name basis, do you mind if I ask you one teensy, weensy little question? Just one, because, you see, I'm just dying to know. Why. Are. You. A. Wake?"

"I don't know what you mean," Sylvia said. "I thought you were little miss 'I know all the thoughts in your head' so why don't you tell me?"

"Well, you see. That. Is. Just. The. Point!" The Darkness said, her voice coming out in short, sharp bursts as if she was trying to keep from screaming. She reached up and grabbed Sylvia's head, and began to shake. "I. Can. Not. See. It."

Sylvia slipped from her duplicate's grasp, circling around her as she studied her copy. "Well, that's interesting."

"You see, Sylvia, most people who come here, they go riiiiiiiight to sleep," the Darkness explained, her voice taking on a mocking chirp. "And when they do, they become a part. Of. Me. But not you, no, you are rather special! You, Sylvia, you are just. Not. Play. Ing. Nice!"

"That's me, little miss 'not nice'," Sylvia smirked. This Darkness or whatever she was, she was not at all how Sylvia had imagined her. Sylvia had pictured some sort of eldritch entity, something that defied the laws of god and pokemon, not…

Well, not herself throwing a temper tantrum that's for sure.

"What's the big deal?" Sylvia shrugged. "Some folks sleep, others are night owls."

"No no no no no no no no no no, you don't understand," the Darkness said, and for a brief moment Sylvia lost sight of it. Then, she felt its hands draping over her shoulders, the Darkness reaching from behind her to stroke her chin. "You see… you're already dreaming. But you shouldn't be. You can't be. But you are."

"Am I?" Sylvia asked, in mock surprise. "I had no idea."

"You see, let me tell you what normally happens," the Darkness continued. "You come in, and then you go to sleep. And I tiptoe through your little bitty dreams, and then you DROWN in them. But not you! No! You are somehow dreaming, and yet. I. Can. Not. Find. A. Way. Too. Con. Trol. Your. Dream! So what do I do about this, HMMM?"

"So that's it? I was supposed to come here and then fall right off to a nice little sleep? Is that what would make you happy?" Sylvia asked, slipping out of her grasp again. She stepped forward and turned on her heel, staring at the Darkness with a triumphant smile on her face.

The Darkness cracked a broken grin.

"You see, I can't STAND when people like you stay awake," the Darkness said, shaking her head. She lunged forward, startling Sylvia, and grabbed her by the throat. Whatever the Darkness was, she certainly didn't have Sylvia's strength. She lifted her up into the air and squeezed down hard, Sylvia finding it hard to breathe.

Then she remembered she didn't need to breathe in this world.

"Sooooomehow, you've found a way to slip into my little dreamworld while staying in possession of aaaaaall your faculties," the Darkness explained. "And. I. Just. Can. Not. Have. That. You see, while you're here, in this forest, there's just so much, oh, what's the word… hmm, oh, yes, that's right, THINKING!"

Sylvia gasped in shock, for a moment her duplicate's face bulged out with rage. It was like her face had turned into a Halloween mask for a moment, and she could see a little bit of what was underneath it. And it frightened her.

"You see, most humans, when they come to my dream world, I get to make them nice and… quiet," the Darkness explained, her voice calming down and turning soothing, which only served to make Sylvia more worried.

"What's the matter? Scared?" The Darkness asked, her eyes twinkling excitedly. "Good, good. Now then, as I was saying-"

"Oh, you're definitely a little odd," Sylvia interrupted. "And I would definitely call you creepy, too. But scary? No no no, you aren't scary, not in the least."

She licked her lips and shook her head.

"You see, you're powerless. You can't do anything to me. If you could, then you would have done so by now, isn't that right? But you said it yourself. I'm dreaming right now. But since I'm not entirely dreaming, since there's a little special something keeping me awake, you can't control my dream, isn't that right? And like you said… you needed me asleep, didn't you?"

The Darkness said nothing. She stared at Sylvia and fumed.

Sylvia smirked.

"Do you know what your biggest weakness is, Darkness? You see, I'm not like normal humans. A normal gal, you come in, all pomp and circumstance and give me your 'I am you and you are me' speech, they're going to be afraid, creeped out, what-have-you but the thing is… I'm what you might call an actress. And Sylvia Driscoll? She's my masterpiece."

Sylvia approached the darkness and reached out to stroke her chin, or more accurately, her own chin, running her finger along her lips.

"I practice my expressions in the mirror, every day. Making sure my performance is juuuuuust right. I know that face, Darkness. I know when it's happy, I know when it's sad, or worried, or bored, or angry. And right now, you are very angry, isn't that right?"

Sylvia leaned in and pressed her lips to the Darkness's ear. "You can't lie to me with that face," she whispered.

Sylvia pulled back, expecting the Darkness to strike her. But she didn't.

"Now that we've settled the matter of you not being able to hurt me," Sylvia smirked, tapping her finger to her lips, "we can get down to the real business."

Sylvia's smile slid off her face, and her voice turned serious.

"Tell me how to get out of here."

So, now we have Sylvia vs. Eldritch God! And so far, Sylvia seems to be winning. But that may not be enough to overcome this monstrosity.