Blake and Sylvia have made it back to the real world! What awaits them, and how will they be treated now that they're back? What will Ayame's reaction to seeing that Blake is back? How will everyone else react? Hopefully, things can get back to normal soon!

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: Well, it was an eventful two weeks.

Rowlets and Oshawotts: Thank you for your insight! Keep in mind, though, that this is the pokemon world, where 10 year olds are expected to wander the country with no supervision. Homesickness is sort of a grey area. There are definitely people who experience it, it just isn't the focus. I'm sure that Kitty and Nick were definitely homesick a lot, as for the other main characters, well, Blake and Sango have incredibly questionable home lives, Cynthia doesn't get along great with her parents, Nikita isn't a very emotional person, and Reiner's relationship with his family is rather tense. As for Julia, well… I haven't been focusing on her family or backstory much. And that's intentional.

KyubiMaster9: No, it was definitely 2 years from her perspective. Time's just not the most stable thing right now.

JoshGamerV: The only one of your theories I can comment on is that I can confirm definitively that Valerie is not a Valetty or a Valdette. She is 100% human, Kate grew up with her and saw her age naturally, even if not for the last few years.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 647

Ayame couldn't believe what she was looking at. It just wasn't possible. She was staring at Blake, he was lying on top of her and his face was right in front of her eyes, and yet she just couldn't accept that what she was seeing was real.

She was too afraid to believe it was true, after she had spent all this time hoping for him to come back. This must have been a dream. Blake… Blake was here? In her arms? She reached up to hug him tightly, afraid that if she wasn't holding him he would somehow disappear.

"Blake?" She whispered, tears welling up in her eyes in spite of herself. "Are you really here? Am I not dreaming?"

"I'm here," Blake whispered. He didn't know how or why he was staring at his girlfriend, but by some immeasurable stroke of luck, after all the time he had spent in that accursed desert of silver, he had made it back to the one person he wanted to see again the most. He wasn't going to ask any questions, he was just happy he was home.

"Yes, we're all here, we all made it back," Sylvia crowed. She turned to the bed, where Olivia had landed, and pulled her up in her arms, stealing a kiss from the other girl. "Woooo, that's the stuff!" She said, wiping her mouth and pushing a stunned Olivia back.

"That… gross!" Olivia spat, feeling disgusted by not only the black liquid that had completely ruined her dress but also by the kiss that had been forced on her. "What the hell is going on here?!"

Sylvia looked around, raising her eyebrow. "That's what I'd like to know myself," she frowned. "Are we still at the pokemon academy?" She glanced down at the tablet, and kicked it. Yes, they were definitely still here. Not only that, they were in a room she recognized, belonging to Ayame Toujou. Seeing the tablet on the floor of Ayame's room led her to half a dozen possibilities.

I assume after our disappearance, Olivia and Ayame put together what happened to us, found the tablet, and brought it here, to Ayame's room. And clearly we weren't gone for two full years. Which means there must a time differential of some sort… Sylvia mused a little more on the topic. So there was a distortion in time of some kind. That's very interesting. I theorized that either we would wind up at exactly the time as if it were flowing for us, and we just wouldn't age, or that we were trapped in an isolated time bubble and we would return to the exact moment that we left this world. But it turns out that it's neither… how curious.

"What's the date?" Sylvia demanded, snapping her fingers at Olivia.

Olivia stood up and indignantly slapped Sylvia across the face.

"Who do you think you are to make demands of me?" Olivia snarled. "Coming and kissing me like that, after spraying this awful substance all over this room that I rent from the academy, and even worse, over MY new dress?! Not to mention what you've done, dragging Blake out on some crazed rendezvous?!"

Sylvia rolled her eyes. Great. The Empress was in one of her moods.

"It wasn't my fault," she calmly replied. "I don't know what you think happened, or why we disappeared, but if you want to know anything of importance about where Blake and I went then it is imperative you tell me the precise date and time!"

Whoa, whoa, bring it back, she reminded herself. Sylvia Driscoll wasn't the kind of person who made serious statements like that. She was a few years out of practice. A smirk crossed her face and she strolled over to Olivia.

"But I will say, I understand why your little girlfriends are so drawn to you," she giggled. "You're quite a kisser, Empress."

Sylvia could tell that Olivia wanted to strangle her, and admired the actress's ability to keep her temper in check. Olivia gave her a saccharine smile.

Sylvia turned her head to look at Blake and Ayame, still lying on the ground. "Maybe you should take care of those two first," she suggested. "But the faster you tell me what I want to know, the faster I can get out of your hair, so…"

Olivia suppressed her growl.

"So we were only gone two weeks?" Blake asked over the sound of Olivia's hair dryer. They had relocated to Olivia's large room to take advantage of her shower, while Olivia had cleaners taking care of most of Ayame's ruined things.

Ayame didn't seem to care much about her stained carpet or bedspread, though. She was just overjoyed that Blake was back with her; it had taken Sylvia AND Olivia's efforts combined to pry her off of him long enough for him to clean himself off in the shower, and now that he was getting dried off she was right back to clinging to him like a body pillow.

The two of them were curled up on one of Olivia's couches, while the Empress herself sat in a comfy chair across from them. Sylvia was busy washing herself off in the shower, so they could engage in some civil conversation while Blake explained to them what had happened while he was in the other dimension.

"You were there for two whole years?" Olivia asked, amazed. "But you two don't look any older than the last time I saw you."

"It was weird," Blake said, shaking his head. "Time didn't seem to pass for the two of us; we didn't need to eat, or drink, we didn't need to sleep, hell, we couldn't even get injured or die! It was the strangest place I've ever been!"

"Two years…" Ayame whispered, shaking her head in disbelief. She hugged him tighter. "You were gone for two whole years?" She couldn't believe it. She had thought two weeks had been agony, but for him to be gone for two years…

She couldn't imagine two years without Blake, and she didn't want to, either. But he wouldn't have to worry about that anymore. He was home now, and she was never going to let him go.

"It didn't really feel like two years," Blake admitted. "Time flowed kind of weirdly in there. Sylvia's internal clock counting out the seconds was the only reason I knew how long it was. And… I was really scared. I thought…" Blake's voice caught in his throat and he tilted his head back to look over his shoulder at Aya. "I thought that I was never going to see you again," he admitted. "Or, if I made it back… that since it had been two years… you wouldn't want to see me anymore, you would have already moved on."

Ayame hugged him tighter and shook her head, scowling. "I would never," she promised. "I don't care if I had to wait two years, or ten years, if you want me to wait, then I'll wait. I would have sat there waiting for you forever if that's what it took!" She asserted.

Blake was happy to hear that, he really was. But he couldn't find it in himself to thank her for her words. He was too busy thinking about what had started this whole mess. That tablet… he had been drawn into it because of how much his love for Aya and his friends consumed him.

Maybe it wasn't right, to be this devoted to her. But right now, feeling her warm arms wrapped around him, hearing the even, soft tone of her breathing as she nuzzled her head against his… No, he was sure. This was definitely right. And even if it wasn't, Blake didn't really care.

"I thought about you all the time," he told her. He reached into his wet pants and withdrew the ribbon he had bought. Her face lit up when she saw it. "Every time I had the chance, I was thinking about getting back to you."

Ayame looked at him with tears in his eyes. Meanwhile, Olivia focused on the more important matter at hand, which was the issue of the tablet itself. After that mess, she dropped the thing in a plastic bag so there would be no more surprises.

"I knew this thing was dangerous, but what the two of you described…" Olivia stroked her chin in contemplation, turning over the tablet in her hands. The plastic didn't seem that sturdy considering what she'd heard the tablet was capable of. She had a really bad feeling right now. Hopefully it wouldn't act up again, and she wouldn't give anyone a chance to read from it. That would have to be enough, she figured.

Now there was just one other issue that threatened their safety. Olivia's eyes slid to one of the several doorways to her bathroom, where Sylvia was currently whistling to herself as she cleaned up. Sylvia Driscoll. Ugh. Just thinking about the girl made Olivia want to gargle with sulfuric acid. She was surprised how defensive Blake was acting about her.

What had happened in those two years, when they were together? She trusted that Blake wouldn't have cheated on Aya. He wasn't the type at all. But still…

"Sorry, sorry," Olivia said, remembering she had been in the middle of a conversation. "Where was I? Oh, right. As I was saying, what you two told me about that other world… I think it might be smart to break this tablet into tiny pieces if we want to make sure that everyone is safe."

"I agree!" Ayame nodded. There was a passionate light in her eyes that Olivia was relieved to see. "I don't want there to be any chance that someone gets sucked up again! If that happened, and someone else had to go through what I went through… or even worse, what you went through?! No, absolutely not. The boss is right, we need to destroy that thing!"

"I'm not so sure about that," Sylvia called out, stepping out of the bathroom. "What would the fun be in that?"

Olivia scowled, and turned to look at the other girl… and needed to do a double-take, startled by what she saw.

"Hey, do you have any hair dye?" Sylvia asked, running a hair dryer through her dark hair. "Mine all ran out into your drain."

"No, I'm a natural blonde," Olivia said, resisting the urge to burst out laughing.

"…Oh, well, I guess I can live like this for a little while longer," Sylvia sighed, checking herself out in the mirror. She was still wrapped up tightly in a towel. "What about a change of clothes?"

"I'm not giving you anything," Olivia growled. "Get out of my building."

Sylvia sighed, turning back to Olivia. "Look, I get you're upset, but come on. I'm sure Blake must have told you, he has ME to thank for bringing him back. I went into that forest and put myself at risk of perpetual sleep just to bring him back here, whole and hale. Are you seriously going to be so hostile towards your precious Blake's savior?"

Olivia held her tongue. The fact that Sylvia had saved Blake and brought him back was the only reason she hadn't been kicked out into the snow to freeze.

"Thank you."

Sylvia's mouth dropped open in surprise and she turned away from her reflection to confirm what she'd heard.

"Sorry, I must have some shampoo in my ear," Sylvia said, smiling gleefully as she wiggled her pinkie in her ear. "What was that?"

"Thank you," Ayame repeated, staring at Sylvia with a face brimming with gratitude and appreciation for what she'd done for Blake. "If it wasn't for you, then Blake would have been trapped there forever." She hugged him tighter, tears rolling down her face as she smiled at Sylvia. "Thank you for bringing him back to me."

Sylvia blinked, seeming a little taken aback by Ayame's gratitude. But she curled up her lips into her usual smirk, and gave a bow. "It was my pleasure. Though you may wish to save your gratitude when you hear about what he and I got up to, I'm sorry to say."

Ayame rolled her eyes. "No, sorry. I'm not buying it, I know full well that Blake and you didn't do anything like that. I trust him completely."

Sylvia smirked. "Makes sense that you would," she said, her voice more than a little mocking. "He is quite a ray of sunshine in your life, now isn't he?"

Blake shot her a dirty look. "Sylvia…"

"Sorry, sorry, I couldn't help myself," Sylvia laughed, giving him a coy smile. "Now then, I do believe I've worn out my welcome here. But, as I was saying, I don't think breaking that tablet will be a very good idea."

"Well, I don't recall anyone asking you," Olivia snapped. "This thing is dangerous, and I want nothing to do with it! I don't want anything to have anything to do with it, ever again." She held the Ziploc bag tighter.

"Look, Sylvia, Olivia's right," Blake agreed. "We made it back okay, but we need to think about what could have happened. We almost could have been trapped there forever. Olivia's right, we can't just leave this thing around!"

"It belongs in a museum!" Sylvia insisted. "…No, no, just kidding. But my greater point is that we don't know what that thing was intended for, do we?" She asked, strolling over to Olivia. "We have no idea who created it, what its purpose was, beyond some vague ideas… and most importantly, we don't know…"

Her voice trailed off as she stared into the distance, a gleam in her eye as a mischievous smirk crossed her face. She shook her head.

"What?" Blake asked. "We don't know what?"

"Nothing, nothing," Sylvia said, turning back to him and giving him a big grin. "I was getting a little too ahead of myself! Olivia, you are absolutely right! It's a danger and we need to destroy it, so go ahead, be my guest!"

Olivia glanced suspiciously at her. Sylvia had been arguing against destroying the tablet just now, but now she was all for it? That was way too suspicious.

On the other hand, knowing the kind of girl Sylvia was, she could very likely be faking her agreement to cause suspicion and wariness so Olivia wouldn't destroy it. Those blue eyes of hers were inscrutable, and Olivia didn't like it.

She was the one who played games with women, she HATED when women tried to play games and get the upper hand with her!

"I know you're trying to use reverse psychology," Olivia scowled, "and it's not going to work. This is dangerous, and we need to take care of it!"

"Oh, I agree completely!" Sylvia nodded, sitting down in a big armchair and crossing one leg over the other, pulling up her towel a little. "Let me just get myself comfy, I'm dying to see. …Sorry about your chair, by the way, but then again I wouldn't have gotten it wet if you'd just given me a change of clothes, right?"

Now Olivia was really getting suspicious. Sylvia seemed way too on-board, especially the way she had rested her hands in front of her face while leaning in to see what Olivia was going to do. Her eyes were shining with anticipation and Olivia didn't know what it was she was anticipating.

"Well? Are you going to do it, or not?" Sylvia asked, her eyebrows flaring up in challenge. "I'm excited to see what happens!" Her smile widened dangerously. "…After all, that's no ordinary relic, it's a rock that opens a portal to another dimension. I'm quite interested in seeing what will happen when you break one of those apart."

Olivia suddenly found a very good reason to reconsider her prior decision. She glanced at Blake and Aya, both students looking a little unsure themselves.

"…Fine," she relented, setting the tablet down. "But I'm still going to find some way to take care of it, I'm not letting this fall into the wrong hands."

"Works for me!" Sylvia chirped, standing up. "Now then, I must be going, I need to go track down what happened to my pokemon, after all! I'm sure the Phantom's taken excellent care of them." She tucked her finger into the hem of her towel and shot Blake a look, raising her eyebrows just in time to send him the message to stop looking at her. He snapped his eyes shut as she stripped the towel off, revealing she was wearing a strapless black bikini underneath.

Olivia rolled her eyes.

Sylvia quickly pulled her still-wet dress on and headed out of the dorm, bidding goodbye to Blake in particular.

She stuck her head back in a second later.

"In case any of you were curious, we did in fact stay in that world for two years. Which means, for all intents and purposes, Aya, that boyfriend of yours is 18 now, in case that would make either of you more inclined to… do anything to celebrate your reunion," she called, closing the door just as a pillow hit where her face would be.

"That… that's…" Ayame glanced at Blake, her face bright red. Blake glanced away, a little embarrassed himself.

They both looked at each other again, neither one ready to make the first move. Both of them had felt the pain of their separation, and they both never wanted to feel that loneliness again. And yet for some reason, no one was saying anything.

Olivia was the one who came to their rescue.

"Look, I get it, you two are happy to be together again," Olivia interrupted. "And believe me, there's no one happier for you both. But right now, Aya's bed is a little… gooey, and there isn't going to be any sex on mine that doesn't involve me in some way, shape, or form."

"We-We weren't thinking-!" Ayame exclaimed.

"Th-That's right, it's not like-!" Blake stammered.

Olivia rolled her eyes. They were both so red in the face that it was embarrassing, they actually thought that she'd believe a word out of their mouths, looking like that? But she pushed past it, there was something else that was more important that Blake had to deal with.

"Forget that, I don't care what you two do in your private time," Olivia said. "But there's another issue at hand that I think Blake here needs to take into consideration."

Blake blinked. "Oh? What are you talking about?"

"Well, you're back now, right?" Olivia asked. She could see that Blake was so lost in the joy of having made it back that he wasn't even thinking about what that meant, so she was going to have to spell it out for him. "For whatever else she said, Sylvia was right about one thing, going to go take care of her pokemon."

She gave Blake a look until he gasped in realization.

"Oh, shit, I totally wasn't thinking about that!" He said. "I was too focused on being with Aya that I didn't even realize!"

"Yep, you've got a lot more friends here who thought you were never coming back," Olivia said, nodding. "I think you should take a moment to talk with them and explain what happened before you two get all hot and heavy, don't you?"

Blake blushed in a mixture of embarrassment, shame, and relief, and nodded. "You're right, of course, I wasn't thinking."

"Well, I'm coming too!" Ayame said, standing up with him. She was still hugging him tightly. "I'm not going to let him out of my sight again!"

Blake blushed some more. He appreciated the clinginess, he really did. But he was also more than a little embarrassed by it.

It's very good to see that Blake is finally back home, and I think we can all agree that we're happy to see him and Ayame together.