Blake and Sylvia have escaped the Realm of the Ravenous, and returned to our world. But what will they discover there? What will the world have gotten up to in their absence? Hopefully, they'll be able to adapt properly to this new world…

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

Rowlets and Oshawotts: Well, we'll have to find out, now won't we? And good eye, picking up all those details. I hope you can find more things to enjoy on a thorough read-through!

Superduderr: Thank you! I wonder if it's really so simple…

KedharS: I guess we'll have to see, won't we?

JoshGamerV: Hopefully this conclusion will be adequate, and what comes next will not be boring and predictable. We're moving on to a new arc after this, after all. And don't worry, it isn't a tournament arc. As for Blake's name, well… who can say what importance it has? We'll have to find out for ourselves someday.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 646

February 13th was a very hectic day at the Pokemon Academy. It was the day before two major events, the Luvdisc Fishing Day, and the Star Dance. So preparations for those festivities were in full swing, and everyone was bustling.

Sango in particular was very grateful for that fact. It had been two weeks since Blake disappeared into that tablet. She had spent those two weeks getting used to the idea that her dear friend, the boy she loved in spite of herself, was never coming back.

That wasn't quite true. Sango had not "gotten used" to that idea. That was why she had taken Marion up on her request for assistance in organizing the fishing event, why she spent every waking moment making sure that things would be just right, waking up before the crack of dawn and working late hours into the evening, getting things perfect.

The more she could take her mind off of the fact that Blake was gone, the better. Some nights, she could even get to sleep without crying.

…Well, once, after she'd worked herself ragged trying to build a large display for the lake, and had fallen asleep before she could even hit the bed.

Of course, Sango had eventually had to tell everyone what had actually happened to Blake. At least, she'd had to let all of Blake's close friends know. Callie was the only member of their group still in the dark, because they'd all collectively agreed, even Nick, that if anyone told her the truth, she would then be obligated to report the incident to the faculty, which could result in a lot of complications that were better left avoided. Nick wasn't happy about it, but he had agreed to keep the lie going, even though Callie looked so down these days…

Sango had also found herself with the unfortunate responsibility of calling Blake's childhood friend Claire, and letting her know what had happened. Claire had not taken it well. After rattling off a string of curses and threats, Sango had finally managed to convince her that there was nothing that could be done.

Then she'd started to cry. They had both cried a lot that night, it was one of the hardest nights of Sango's life.

But with all the truth she had told, all the explanations she had given to everyone, there was one thing that she had held back for the good of everyone. She hadn't told her friends that Olivia had taken the tablet from Professor Reinhart; she'd lied, and said that Elizabeth had taken it back to Johto for further study.

She knew, of course, that Olivia wouldn't be able to bring Blake out of the tablet, just as she knew that even if Elizabeth had been given the tablet, she wouldn't have been able to save him, either. If she'd said anything, that could lead to conflict. Cynthia might end up butting heads with her over that, she was the kind of girl who would smash the tablet to pieces trying to bring him back.

So it was better for everyone if they thought Elizabeth was working on the tablet, to try and bring him back, even though she had made it clear how unlikely that would be. It was a merciful lie, at the very least. It was a lie that had kept Kitty from falling into broken-hearted catatonia. Now she almost looked like she would smile.

There was another reason Sango had kept that secret.

The name of that reason was Ayame Toujou.

Ayame hadn't left her room in two weeks. Sango had gone to visit her several times, at first, to try and see how she was doing, but all she did was hug the tablet to her chest and stare out her window with a hollow look in her eye.

The loss of Blake had broken her.

Sango no longer had the strength to go see her. It would only end up breaking her own heart just as badly. She still saw Olivia on occasion, and went to visit with her, inquiring about Ayame's condition, but as far as Olivia had to say on the matter, Ayame had not improved. She had only gotten worse.

If Sango didn't have this fishing celebration to devote all her energy towards, if she had just been left to her own devices without anything to occupy herself, she could imagine that maybe she would have slipped into just as horrible as a state.

Sango knelt down next to the water, staring at the lake. It had taken a great amount of work to provide the proper heating necessary to thaw the lake to a temperature that would serve as a suitable habitat for the Luvdisc, and Sango had spent a lot of time herself working with the other Ranger Course students to ensure there wouldn't be any damage to the ecosystem.

Silver's sunny day had been very helpful, and now here she was, admiring the fruits of her labor as she stared at the water. It was oddly bright and clear, a pool of pristine blue framed around the melting slush of the snow. She reached down and ran her fingers through the slurry, it was almost the right temperature.

The pokemon that naturally dwelled within the water had been fished up and relocated temporarily by Marion, and they wouldn't start moving the Luvdisc in until later this afternoon, once the water had heated up a little more, so the wide lake in front of her was empty. She stared down at her reflection, the still surface making a perfect mirror.

It was an eerie feeling, looking at something so perfectly calm and clear. The tranquility of nature, fresh and pure.

"Hey, Sango! How's it going?" Aidan called, coming up behind her. Sango sighed in relief. Finally, a distraction! She stood up from where she was crouching and turned to greet him, a big smile on her face.

"Hey, Aidan!" Sango waved, skipping down the bank to meet him halfway. Aidan had no idea about Blake's disappearance into the tablet, hell, even though it had been two weeks since it had happened, he might not even know anything had happened to Blake at all!

And Sango wasn't about to tell him, either. So she met him with the biggest smile she could, not letting on that anything was wrong. Silver floated down next to her, wearing a smile that was equally practiced to perfection. What a team of liars they made.

"It's uh… wow, it's really hot here," Aidan said, looking up at the bright sun overhead. He wiped his forehead and began taking his jacket off, stripping the coat off of his large muscles. "So, Sango, um, how's the preparations going? You know, for the Luvdisc Fishing Day?"

"Yeah, it's pretty hot alright," Sango laughed, scarcely noting the other boy's bulky frame. She knelt down and ran her hand over Aidan's partner Shinx, Arion. The small pokemon purred. She stood back up, and wiped her own forehead. "Silver and I have been trying to thaw the ice as naturally as we can, you know. How's the runoff going?"

"We're handling it just fine," Aidan said. He shifted in place a little, Sango staring curiously up at him. He seemed almost… nervous.

"Um, is there… anything else?" Sango asked, raising her eyebrow. She hadn't meant to sound that hopeful, she was mostly just looking for another excuse to get her mind off of the issue with Blake. "Or is that it?"

"Oh… oh! Oh, um… sorry…" Seeing someone as big as Aidan flinch like that sent a chuckle through Sango's body.

"It's okay, you don't have to stay here and keep me company," she assured him with a laugh. "If there's nothing else…"

"Actually, um… I did have something else," Aidan admitted. He looked even more nervous now, he kept glancing down at Arion. "I was just wondering, you've, um, been putting a lot of work into this event, right?"

"Uh… yeah," Sango laughed, nodding. "Marion's probably the only one who's been spending more time on this than me. Where are you going with this?"

"I was just wondering what, you know… what you were going to do tomorrow," Aidan said. "I mean, not tomorrow specifically! Just, like, once you're done with all this work, are you planning to, like, take a break, or something?"

"Oh! No, not really," Sango said, shaking her head. "Actually, I'm going to be working tomorrow, too. I'm basically gonna be spending the whole day overseeing things, making sure that everything's going okay, you know how it is."

Aidan blinked. He looked a little disappointed. Sango smiled a little. He was a pretty nice guy, worrying so much about her overworking herself. But he didn't need to worry, she was perfectly fine! "Don't worry, Aidan," she assured him. "I can handle stuff like that, no problem."

"Oh, um, I wasn't… I-I wasn't worried," Aidan said, shaking his head. "Just… well, you're going to spend the whole time working? You're not, like… going to the Star Dance, or anything? With, like, anyone? Just as a thought, you know. As something you could do."

Sango resisted the urge to make a face. The Star Dance. Ugh. Dances were bad enough. It might sound rather ironic to say given that she was working so hard on one herself, but even if she was trying to avoid thinking about Blake she had no interest in romantic events right now. Or ever. Especially because the guy she would have wanted to go with would never have gone with her.

For MULTIPLE reasons.

"Nah, I'm not one for dancing," Sango laughed. "Besides, no one asked me, so there's no point in even thinking about it."

Aidan blinked. "Oh! Well, then-"

"But even if someone did ask me, I'd probably turn them down," Sango continued. "I'm not in the mood for big romantic events like that, trust me. After the Luvdisc Fishing Celebration is over I'm probably just gonna stick around and do some fishing myself." She realized when she finished that she had cut him off. "Sorry, you were saying something?"

Aidan looked a little green around the gills, like he had been staring at a ghost.

"…Aidan? You good?" Sango asked.

Aidan quickly regained his composure, a nervous smile spreading across his face. "Yeah, I just… well, I was just thinking, that since you're going to spend so much time working, and I'm not really doing anything tomorrow myself, well, maybe I could…"

Sango blinked in surprise. Oh, that was nice of him. He was worried about the fact that she had such a heavy workload tomorrow, and was asking if it would be okay to help? Or trying to, anyway. Recently, Aidan had been rather apprehensive about asking if he could help with stuff. He probably thought that he was being an imposition.

"You don't need to worry," Sango laughed, giving Aidan a smile. "If you want to ask something, you can just ask."

Aidan's eyes widened and he swallowed. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, I don't see why you're so worried," Sango gave him a laugh that she tried to make not sound forced, slapping him in the arm. "Come on, haven't I given you enough signals already? It's totally cool, just ask."

"…Oh," Aidan smiled, his large body relaxing in relief. "Okay, wow, I just… I didn't know what to think, since you always seem so… I don't know…"

"Casual?" Sango asked, raising an eyebrow. Just because she acted like she could do everything didn't mean she wouldn't appreciate some help every once in a while. Better than standing around with no one to talk to.

"So… um, tomorrow then?" Aidan asked hopefully.

"I'll be here," Sango said, nodding. "Come by whenever you're up for it."

A big dopey grin spread across Aidan's face, and ne nodded. "Um, great. I can't wait! See you tomorrow, Sango!"

Sango waved as he walked off, glancing back at her a few times as Arion followed behind him. She sighed. He would be a nice enough distraction tomorrow if the fishing wasn't going to be enough. She glanced at the clear lake behind her. In a few hours, Marion would be coming by with the first wave of Luvdisc.

Sango hoped that would take her mind off the issue with Blake.

While Sango was trying her hardest to keep from thinking too much about Blake's disappearance, there was another girl who had never even tried.

Ayame cradled the tablet in her arms like she was hugging Blake herself. She sat beside the window and stared at the snow outside, just… thinking.

She remembered when they went to her parent's cabin. The fun they'd had there. Carving their names in the old tree, lying out on the deck in sleeping bags to watch the snow and huddling close together for warmth…

She would never experience those days again.

Ayame wanted to cry. So badly did she want to cry. But she couldn't. She'd spent so many tears already, what would shedding more do?

So she just wished, instead. Remembered and wished as she looked at the snow. Wherever the tablet had taken Blake, did it have snow? Was Blake staring at the snow like she was, thinking about her on the other side?

The other side…

This accursed tablet. When Olivia showed it to her and explained what had happened, she couldn't believe it. But it was the truth. This tablet, this… this was what had happened to Blake. He was gone, beyond her reach.

If she could have read the words written on it, she would have done so in a heartbeat. Anything to get to Blake. Even if she would be trapped there with him, sometimes she still thought it was better than a world without him in it.

When she'd said that to Olivia, the Empress had slapped her across the face.

"How dare you say that?!" Olivia had shouted at her. "How dare you think that Blake would have wanted you to do something selfish like that?! Don't you understand how much we care about you, Ayame Toujou?! How WE would feel, if you were gone? If you care about me, about anyone else other than yourself, don't you ever say anything like that again!"

Olivia had smacked some sense into Ayame with that. At first. But right now, Ayame just didn't care. She didn't have anything she could find worth holding onto, not without Blake here. Even as much as she loved Olivia…

It felt like part of her died when Blake disappeared. And she didn't know if she would ever be able to find that part of herself again. Every day without him, she missed him even more. It was growing unbearable.

Someone had been knocking on the door for quite some time. Ayame had ignored them, not interested in seeing anyone right now. But if it had been going for that long, that insistently, then that meant it was Olivia who was knocking.

Ayame sighed. She didn't want to see Olivia right now. But if she kept her waiting any longer, Olivia might just bust down the door.

"Come in," she muttered.

"Hey, Aya…" Olivia said, her voice soft and gentle. Ayame kept her eyes focused out the window, not wanting to respond. She could let the girl into her room, but she wasn't about to play along and start a conversation.

The only person she wanted to talk to was Blake.

Of course, she couldn't exactly prevent Olivia from grabbing her chair and spinning her around, unfortunately. Olivia glared at her. She dropped a plastic takeout container in Ayame's lap. It was boiling hot.

"HEY!" Ayame exclaimed, jumping to her feet, feeling her thighs start to burn. She clutched the tablet tightly to her chest. "What was that about?!" She demanded.

"That," Olivia said, kneeling down and picking up the container, which hadn't spilled out, "was spaghetti and meatballs. When was the last time you ate, Aya?"

"Who gives a crap about that?!" Ayame shouted. "I don't! Blake's gone, Olivia, so I don't care-"

"Yes, I know, you don't care about anything," Olivia growled. "Stop talking so selfishly! I didn't give that tablet to you so you could sit in your room and mope around all day! I wanted you to keep it close to you so that you could move on, knowing that you had part of you with him!"

"Well that's not good enough," Ayame snarled. "I don't want 'part' of him with me, Olivia, I want Blake! Here! With me! That's all! Nothing else! And this tablet, this…" Ayame held the tablet up to show it to her, but… something was weird.

The symbols etched into its surface were all blurry.

"…Aya?" Olivia asked worriedly. She didn't like the look on her friend's face, or the way she was squinting at the tablet.

"I can read it…" Ayame whispered. "The words, I can read them…"

Olivia's hand snapped forward and she grabbed the tablet, trying to yank it from Ayame's grasp. But unlike the other people, Ayame was stronger than Olivia. Stronger and more determined.

"Hey! Stop it!" Ayame shouted.

"Give that back!" Olivia shouted back. "You give that back right now! Don't you dare read it! I forbid it!"

"No, I need to!" Ayame cried. "Olivia, don't you understand?! This is it! This is my chance! I… I can read it, don't you know what that means?!"

"It means you're about to do something exceptionally stupid and I'm not about to let you," Olivia snarled. "THAT'S what it means!"

Ayame wasn't going to take that, not even from her friend. She sniffled, trying to sound angry and not filled with despair.

"But… But… if I go there…" Ayame pleaded.

"If you go there, then you'll never come back!" Olivia screamed. "I would never see you again, you wouldn't see ANY of us, ever again! Not your pokemon, not your friends, not your family! Nobody at all, is that what you want?!"

Ayame's mind was made up.

"…But he'll be there, won't he?" She asked quietly. "I'll have him."

"Ayame, please, I'm begging you-!"

Ayame didn't listen. Her eyes turned back to the tablet clutched between them, the words starting to translate themselves in her mind. She opened her mouth to begin reading as the tablet urged her, but the words never left her lips.

The symbols on the tablet flashed white again, releasing a light so bright it was blinding.

Then, black water spurted out of the tablet and flooded the room, Sylvia and Blake blasting out with it, both soaking wet and stained a grayish black from the water. Sylvia landed casually on her feet and Blake fell into Ayame, the two staring into each other's eyes for a second. Neither could believe what they saw.

Valaya had seen her friends off with a smile, because that was what they wanted.

But now that Blake and Sylvia were gone, she found herself missing them.

She didn't know what "time" was, not really. It was one of those words humans used that she couldn't quite understand. That was why she wasn't even aware of how much time they had been gone for, time just didn't flow the same way here.

Then, there was a commotion. Voices and shouting caught Valaya's ears, right before the wave of exuberance slammed into her.

"It's the Traveler!" A voice called. "The Traveler has returned!"

Valaya's face brightened. She couldn't wait to see the Traveler! To tell her what had happened, how humans had come and helped her evolve, and how special they were! Sylvia had come out of the Forest of Darkness, and Blake had given her a name!

She couldn't wait to find out what the Traveler had to say about that!

Valaya pushed through the crowd and stood in front of the Traveler, smiling brightly. The Traveler was a Valdette, of course, and one of the most gorgeous ones. She had curly black hair like all Valdette, cut short to frame her chin. Her golden eyes were most often narrowed into a cold glare, to match her always stern expression. She didn't even soften when Valaya greeted her, simply pulling back her hood and studying the other Valdette.

"Traveler! Hello! I am Valdette now!" Valaya explained. But that wasn't even the best part! "And I have a name! I'm Valaya!"

"…A name," the Traveler said thoughtfully. "Valaya."

Valaya blinked. Was the Traveler… mad at her? "Is… is that wrong?"

"Who taught you 'name'?" The Traveler asked, walking over to Valaya. Her fingers felt strange to Valaya's touch, they made her feel... "Who gave you a name?"

Valaya could definitely feel the harshness of the Traveler raging around her. It was coming off of her so hard that Valaya nearly lost her balance.

"And who…" The Traveler snarled, clutching Valaya's jacket, "gave you this?"

Valaya looked at the other Valetty and Valdette, but they averted their gazes from her. She didn't understand, what had she done wrong?

"I… I got it from my friend…" She whimpered. "A human…"

The Traveler blinked, her lips curling back into a sharp-toothed smile. She took a deep whiff of the jacket.

"This scent… no matter how long, I could never forget it… it's him… He was here…" The Traveler threw back her head and laughed.

Things are getting shaken up now that we're back! Blake and Sylvia finally made it back to our world! And to their relief I'm sure, it wasn't two years in our time, but two weeks.