Chapter 10: Past Present and Future
by Slink34884I grew up in a village, Collected Village, on the other side of the Continent. And what makes this village unique was its high population of Eevees and Eeveelutions. Supposedly when the Fire Continent was first discovered, the Wigglytuff Guild over on the Grass Continent decided to send one of its top teams to the new Continent to set up a base there. They wanted to be the first to explore the new Continent. Little did they know that the Expedition Society was already up-and-running and thriving in Festive Town on the opposite coast.
Anyway they sent one of their teams, Team Elements I think they were called, to set up a base. And what made them one of the top teams is that they had eighteen members, all Eeveelutions, with a male and female of every species. And once they got to the Continent they found the Scale mountain range to be nearly impassable. Instead of pressing on, or going back to the Grass Continent they decided to settle down.
So because of its odd origin and its relative isolation my village became, well a bit old fashioned. We were only Eeveelutions for quite a while, but only when other species began to migrate across the Continent did we end up diversifying. But then again we did relegate them to their own section of the village.
Yes I do realize that that was probably part of the problem, Slink. I didn’t make these choices.
But let’s get back to me. I was born two years after Sam, and there were about twenty other Eevee kits that were born that year in the village. Of course another was Shane.
I first met him in school. I came in the first day, and naturally my attention was drawn to him. An odd Eevee, with silver fur of all things. I had never seen a shiny before, and so mostly it was curiosity that led me towards the Eevee sitting in the back with nobody around him. Everyone else seemed a bit weirded out by him. I felt bad for him. I wasn’t disgusted, I was curious. Nobody was sitting in any desk adjacent to his, so I decided to be the first.
“Can I sit here?” I asked him. He seemed to tense up for a minute, and then asked something I hadn’t expected.
“Why?” He didn’t look at me. His voice was small, like he didn’t want me to notice or acknowledge him. I was confused, mostly because I had grown up with two siblings and loving parents. His reaction was foreign to me.
“I want to sit here. You look lonely.” He gave me a furtive glance, like he wasn’t expecting that answer.
It was funny. We didn’t talk the rest of the day, and I’m honestly not sure how much he paid attention to everything. He stole glances at me throughout the day, as if he half expected me to suddenly grow a second head and attack him. There was also a desperation in his stare as well. Like he was afraid I would simply disappear. He was so tense next to me. Only later did I find out that his neighbors, two Eevees that were a few years older than us, made fun of him, and even attacked him anytime he left the house. In fact it was only about three years ago that he actually told me about them. So I understand how nervous he was around me at first.
It was that way for a few weeks actually. Everyday I would sit next to him in class, eat next to him at lunch, and even walk around with him at recess. I could tell that he was a bit annoyed with me tagging along, but he also never asked me to leave. I think he was so grateful to be with someone who wasn’t going to insult or yell at him.
Bullies were a common problem for him. For a while I didn’t understand why? I honestly still don’t.
Yes Slink I realize that now he has a reputation. He was only a kid then. Calm down.
At recess Eevee of all ages would call out to him. “Hey silverback!” or “Arceus, I think you made a mistake. Take him back.” I think the cruelest attacks were the far more physical ones.
There was this Machop who was in our grade. I had never liked him considering he was far more brawn than brain. What he did only made me hate him more. We were at recess, Shane trying to hide, and me relentlessly following him around, when the big grey doofus walked up. “Hey silver,” he said smugly, “how are you doing today?”
Shane mumbled something like “go away”. I’m ashamed to say that I stayed back and watched. I didn’t know if these two were friends, or even if this was a normal interaction.
“I heard a rumor the other day,” the Machop continued, “that your dad was a Ghost Type, and that he scared you so bad that you turned white. Was your dad a Ghost Type? Seems right. I mean it made it easier for him to disappear then!”
Shane turned his back on the bully, doing everything he could to avoid the conflict. I could also see that he was doing everything he could to stop himself from crying. The Machop wasn’t finished.
“Hey, I asked you a question,” he said. He lunged forward and caught Shane by his tail. He dragged him backwards across the ground. “You need to listen when I talk to you!” It had rained the night before so there were several large mud puddles all over the schoolyard. The Machop unceremoniously dumped Shane in the largest one he could find.
“You should thank me,” the Machop said as he scooped up a handful of gross, slimy mud. He flung it sideways, the entire fist full splattering across Shane’s face. “Maybe now your fur will be the right color!”
I don’t think I ever felt as much rage and hate as I did in that one moment. I wanted to destroy the Machop, but I only knew Quick attack and Sand attack at the time. I did something else though. I waded through the knee high mud and pulled Shane out of it. He went home early that day to clean up, but we met eyes before he left and he gave me the tiniest nod.
He warmed up to me quickly after that, and we were best friends before the end of the year. We were nearly inseparable at that point. We spent almost all day together at school, and we slept over at his house several times a week. Usually he invited me over for dinner and to do homework, and we’d work so late that I’d just sleep over.
I would have returned the favor and invited him to my house, but, well, my parents didn’t like him. I don’t think they approved of him really. They would always scowl at him whenever they saw him. I never really understood and, as you saw tonight, my sisters never liked him either.
That doesn’t mean that I didn’t get along with my family. Honestly the only thing we really disagreed on was Shane. Otherwise my parents were really calm, and stayed out of my business for the most part.
I guess I should tell you a bit more about my family. I mean you already know about my siblings, so I should tell you about my parents. Well, my mom is a Glaceon, and her name is Nadine. She had actually moved to the village from the Sand Continent of all places. My father had lived in that village his whole life.
Actually my father is what my village calls a “legacy”. Essentially he is a direct descendant of one of the original eighteen. My father is a Leafeon, as was his father, and his father, and back and back and back to the male Leafeon that helped found the village. It became a tradition that at least one male in every generation has to become a Leafeon in order to keep the tradition alive. Oh, and his name is Royal by the way.
Shane’s parents were also really cool. Well his parent. His mom was the sweetest Pokemon I have ever met. She was a Flareon, a bit older than my parents, who you could tell loved Shane with all of her heart. It made me happy. The town didn’t exactly treat her right, especially since Shane was her son, but she dealt with it, and never gave up on her kid.
Yeah, you would have liked her, Slink. You actually remind me of her. It’s funny really.
So life was good, and as the years passed I was content. Things never really happened with me and Shane. I kinda developed a crush on him, but he didn’t really feel the same way. And while we were best friends, that came with its own problems.
I guess if you only had one real friend you would call them your best friend. To be fair, there were a few non-eeveelutions in our class who weren’t complete jerks to him, but they were also targets of bullies. Especially the only other legacy in my year, an Eevee named Jolt. You can probably guess who his father was descended from. Shane only told me years later that Jolt was one of his bullies, and that he “punished” anyone who was nice to Shane. I’m fairly certain that it was only my status as the daughter of a legacy that saved me.
I had a few friends other than Shane, but most if not all of them were ones that my parents had nudged me towards. The ones with “proper breeding” they had said. These Eevees never really rose above acquaintance level with me.
No, my parents definitely won’t like that we’re partners Slink. No offense. That is partially why I’m not going to talk to them anytime soon. Especially after Sam tells on us.
But everything changed when we both evolved. You already know how I evolved, and since it was an accident I actually evolved a few months before most of my class. It was honestly really strange to be that much bigger than all of my classmates so quickly. Plus now my Psychic powers made class much more interesting. There was this one day when I kept stealing Jolt’s pencils from him. He thought he kept losing them and he had to borrow from everyone in class.
I evolved almost a year before Shane. And Shane’s evolution was truly…horrible.
Around a month after I evolved Shane’s mom, Melissa, started getting sick. It started off almost normal. She just had an occasional bad cough, but she still seemed her kind, bubbly self whenever Shane and I stayed over. But as time went on, it slowly got worse.
The cough got worse, and happened more and more frequently. She got completely lost at random times. Once when I went over for dinner she completely forgot that she was cooking and she nearly burned down the house. She started fainting, passing out randomly. She got bad headaches, and had to stay in bed for several days at a time. The worst was the vomiting. Shane would run away to my house because he simply couldn’t watch her be violently sick anymore.
That was the first and only time I saw my community treating that family right. Every day someone, somebody from town, would bring over dinner for Shane and Melissa. Most of the time they were the non-eeveelutions, but some of the eeveelutions did. I even convinced my mom to help out once or twice. Older Eeveelutions went over and took care of Melissa while Shane was at school. They helped raise money for Melissa’s doctor. The whole village was helping, and for a while, it seemed like Melissa was getting better.
And then one night, Shane knocked on my window waking me up. I let him in, extremely worried. I lived on the second floor, so I knew he had to be desperate. There was a horrible storm. The wind was howling and sheets of rain were flooding down from the heavens. He collapsed to the floor soaked to the skin and shaking from cold, from fear, from grief? I still have no idea. Tears streamed down his snout, but I didn’t notice because of how wet he was. I ran off to get him a towel, and when I returned he was in the exact same spot staring off into space with a blank expression. Obviously I was concerned, but I didn’t know what to do for him. I didn’t know what was wrong. So I just laid there next to him, waiting for him to calm down. Eventually he was able to choke out two words.
“She’s gone.”
We still don’t know what happened. She seemed to be doing fine, she was getting better, but apparently it hadn’t been enough. She took a bad turn, and didn’t take it well.
The funeral was the next day. We buried her in the town graveyard, just south of the village. I sat with Shane through the entire ceremony, just being there for him as he dealt with everything. I held his tail in mine the entire time. It rained that day, as though even Arceus was sad that Melissa was gone. Honestly it wasn’t fair, but what were we supposed to do?
I sat with Shane for as long as I could, long past when everyone had gone home. Shane cried on and off, his shoulders heaving with every sob. I thought about using my new Psychic powers to try and help him, perhaps lock up his bad memories for a day or two and let him adjust, but I couldn’t. His thoughts were so tangled up and Dark that I could just barely sense his mind. As night fell, I had to go home, and I begged him to do the same. I told him to go home and get some sleep. Beating himself up wasn’t healthy, and it wouldn’t change anything.
I now know that he didn’t. I now know that he spent the night right there, sleeping next to his mother’s grave. I know now that that is the night he evolved. I know it is selfish of me, but I hated the fact that he had become an Umbreon. It felt like another kick in the teeth from the universe. He couldn’t have become a Glaceon or a Leafeon? At least then it would have been much harder to figure out that he was shiny. But again he couldn’t catch a break, and those blue rings became another bane in his life.
It took him quite a while to recover, and even longer to get used to his new powers. Kind of like your Fire, Dark Type moves are fueled by emotions, but more poisonous emotions. Sadness, fear, anger. His state at that time wasn’t exactly conducive to his new powers.
It was also around that time that the village showed their true colors. We should have known that they were only helping out because they liked Melissa. All of that kindness and compassion that they had shown disappeared almost overnight. There were one or two people who tried to help Shane, and of course I did all I could, but the village turned their backs on him once again. It didn’t help that his powers would burst out randomly whenever he got upset.
It was five years after that when we first started talking about leaving. We were in our secret spot in the woods that day. He had skipped school (again) but we had met up like we always did here. He barely spent any time in his house anymore, and it wasn’t like I could take him to mine considering… well everything.
“Shane,” I scolded once I saw him. “You have got to go to school! You can’t just skip whenever you want to.”
“Why not?” He grumbled. “What are my odds of actually getting a job in this stupid town even if I have an education.”
“I don’t know. There are plenty of jobs. I’m certain that in the non-eeveelution districts…”
“Oh so in order to live my life I have to change.” He was angry. He had been angry for a while, but he seemed angrier than I had ever seen him. “That is idiotic. Meanwhile you have everyone tripping over themselves to give you whatever you want!”
“Shane, I -”, but he cut me off.
“I am sick of it. Sick of this…” and then he said a word I refuse to repeat.
No Slink it wasn’t that word. This wasn’t an invitation to guess.
“…town. And these abhorrent people. I’m done with all of these Pokémon who think they are better than everyone else simply because their great-great-great- whatevers crashed their boat here!”
“My great-great- whatevers crashed their boat here. If you are so sick of them then maybe I should go!” I turned to leave, but he ran in front of me, cutting me off.
“Wait, Eve! I’m sorry.” He hung his head. “Jolt trashed my house again this morning. That is why I didn’t go to school today. I didn’t mean to take it out on you, but I was being honest. I am sick of it.”
“Shane, I get it. But what are you going to do. Maybe you could move to the non-eeveelution districts, but still. I’m not sure how much better it would be there.”
“I wasn’t planning on moving to the non-eevee districts. I was thinking a bit bigger than that.”
“Shane? What are you…?”
“I’m leaving. I’m going and I’m never looking back.”
“But Shane,” I said feeling a pit form in my stomach at the thought of losing him, “where will you go?”
He thought for a moment. “I’m going to join the Expedition Society!”
I waited for him to laugh. Joining the Society had been a joke for us the last couple of years. I had always wanted to see the world, and he had wanted to get away for a while. But neither of us were confident enough to leave. At least we weren’t.
“Shane, you can’t!” I tried to argue, but I realized that I didn’t have any reason that he should stay. There was nothing tying him here, and I hated that. He had every reason to go.
“Of course I can? Why should I stay here?” he snapped, voicing my worst nightmare. “Besides nobody would care. Nobody would miss me!”
“I would,” I muttered under my breath.
We were both silent for a moment. Neither of us really knew what to say.
“Then come with me.” Shane said.
“Shane, I can’t. My parents are here. My whole life is here.”
“Didn’t you say that you wanted to see the world? To help people? What would you do if you stayed here?” He was right. I had never thought about it before. School was nearly over, and once I graduated I would probably join my father’s courier business like Sam had. I hadn’t considered anything else.
“I won’t be seventeen for another six months.” I said. “They won’t let us join until then.”
“I can wait,” Shane said excitedly. “Does that mean yes?”
I smiled. “I guess it does.”
“Yes,” he exclaimed. He did what I can only describe as a victory dance. He stomped his feet and spun in circles. “Damn, I love you Eve!”
We both froze as we realized what he had said. I felt a tingle in my stomach. It was finally happening! “Oh, I’m…Arceus I… Eve I meant…”
I shut him up as I nuzzled against him. “I love you too Shane.” He was tense for a moment as I nuzzled him, then he relaxed. We stayed there till nightfall. Snuggling.
I barely remember the next six months. It all felt like a giant preamble to the next chapter of our lives. I bought my bag with my savings and stocked up on all of the supplies we would need. Shane packed up some stuff from his house, but he left most of it behind. I guess he was planning on forgetting. He did take one thing though. The Dark stone. Apparently it was something that his father had given his mother when they had become mates. He gave it to me off all people, and asked me to be his partner. No offense Slink, but that was one of the best nights of my life.
I guess this one counts too. Come on Slink, are you jealous?
From there, we both just had to wait for my birthday, the day we would both be seventeen and old enough to join the Expedition Society.
And then of course, everything hit the fan.
It was the night before we had planned on leaving, we were actually leaving a few weeks early because the town was getting twitchy. It was several things really. There had been a drought the previous summer, crops were dying, a whole bunch more people were getting sick (although no one else had died up until that point). Everything boiled over that night though when one huge thing happened. The mayor had caught a cold earlier that week, but that night he… he died. He was an old Vaporeon legacy that everyone loved. And from what I learned later, it seemed to be the same sickness that killed Shane’s mother.
Of course I didn’t know it at the time, I was sound asleep. But around midnight, something woke me up. It was the sounds of hundreds of Pokemon running down the street. A harsh orange light filled my room, flickering, sending sharp shadows projecting onto my walls. Blearily I crawled out of bed, drawn to the window almost unconsciously. Down in the street, a huge crowd of Pokemon marched. Fires burned within the crowd, some of them were torches, but a few were being produced by the Pokemon. Flareons’ manes burned like pitch. Jolteons occasionally let out a burst of lightning, flashes of blue and yellow among the orange glow. There were non-Eeveelutions too. Lucarios, a Charizard, even a few Gogoats their horns glowing an eerie green color.
I didn’t know what they were doing, but I didn’t want to be left out. I slipped out the window and leapt across the rooftops trying to keep up with the mob. Several times I had to use Psychic to levitate over some of the larger gaps. We were heading towards the center of town, and that was all I had to go off of. Had something happened? And what was this mob doing
Soon enough we reached the town square, where it seemed like the whole population of the town was gathered. It was like a massive pool of creatures all gathered around the fountain in the center of the square.
I had always loved the fountain, because it was our history. It was circular with stone effigies of all nine eeveelutions facing outward. All nine of their tails wound together, creating the spout. As long as I had lived in that town, the fountain had been active twenty-four, seven. But for the first time, that night, it was dormant and dry. From what I could tell there was a quadruped Pokemon standing on the head of the Eevee statue. At first I assumed, perhaps naively, that someone was perhaps giving a speech or something, but then I saw it. The glowing blue rings, as bright as any of the torches the mob carried. It could only be one Pokémon. Shane, what had happened?
After I came to this realization, I noticed what I had been blind to before. Shane wasn’t standing still. He couldn’t. Anyone in the mob who had any sort of long-range attack was taking potshots at Shane whenever they could. The entwined tails of the Eeveelutions had been blown off, the Jolteon was missing it’s left ear, the Espeon was missing it’s front left leg. You get the picture. But the worst was the Umbreon which was, quite deliberately, missing it’s head.
Thankfully Shane was agile enough and tough enough to survive, but the crowd fell silent and still as a huge, hulking figure began to wade through the crowd. It was the chief of police from our village, a gigantic Blastoise with a mega stone hanging from a chord around his neck. Instead of instantly blowing Shane away, he stopped when he reached the rim of the dry fountain, turned around, and addressed the crowd.
“Please, ladies and gentlemen, let’s try and keep this civil. As an officer of the law…” he loved to shove that in people’s faces, “…I cannot condone these actions. Who are we to take up the mantle of Judge, Jury, and Executioner upon ourselves?” The crowd stared at each other, looking confused. Was he actually protecting Shane?
I didn’t let my guard down for a second. That Blastoise had never been a big fan of Shane. He was up to something.
“However,” the turtle continued, “today has been a strange day. What happens when someone gets sick?” Before anyone in the crowd could answer he plowed on. He was making a point, but I couldn’t figure out what it was yet. “We cordon them away from us. We send them home from work or school. We keep a safe distance from them. We take measures to protect ourselves, even if it is at the expense of others. It is a necessary evil. But once the sickness has passed, we welcome the victim back to us with open arms.”
At that moment my attention was snatched away by a slight moment in the corner of my eye. Someone, I was only able to make out a flicker of shadow, had darted across the rooftops to my right. I wanted to go investigate, but the Blastoise was busy whipping the crowd into a frenzy.
“But what about a victim who doesn’t show his sickness. Who spreads it to innocent people, forcing them away, killing them, with no repercussions to themselves? What is their punishment?” He suddenly turned to face Shane. His voice rising to almost a scream. “You who have killed the mayor and your own mother, who operates outside the rules. I may be a man of law, but you kill outside of it. There should be no protection for you. Those blue stripes were a sign from Arceus. Beware of this one, he is deadly.” He turned back to the crowd. “Let us rid this town of this scourge, once and for all!”
He suddenly started to glow with a bright white light, his body cocooned in energy. The light grew brighter as the figure encased within grew larger. Eerie music filled the air as he transformed. With a rainbow-colored explosion, the Mega-Blastoise roared as he primed himself to turn the Umbreon before him into little more than a red smear on the back of a statue.
But Shane wasn’t going down without a fight. I could almost sense him gathering energy the whole time Blastoise had been speaking, his anger and fear only giving him more power to draw from. Just as the Blastoise was about to strike him down, Shane exploded. A burst of thick, oily, black smoke shot from his form in all directions. Darkness poured from him until the entire square had been filled with thick, black smoke.
A small whiff of it rose high enough for me to get a taste, and I immediately felt unsteady on my feet. My head felt like it was a hundred pounds. Dark Void, I realized. He was trying to put everyone to sleep. But something was amiss here. At that moment I didn’t question it, but now… I don’t care how afraid or angry Shane was at that point. Under no circumstances could he have actually created that Dark Void alone.
The smoke cleared about as quickly as it had come, but the damage was done. Most of the crowd had simply keeled over where they stood. It was almost beautiful in a way, the entire town sleeping peacefully within the square.
Well, most of the town. There were still a few Pokemon who were really confused, but were still standing. A few Glaceons, a Lucario, a Persian and a few others were ready to fight. That is until I put them to sleep as well. I focused in on as many awake minds that I could and sent a small burst of Psychic energy into all of them. Before any of them could say “Hypnosis” they were on the ground snoring with the rest of them.
Shane looked around for a minute. It was actually a bit comical. He was equal parts happy that the people who were trying to kill him had simply dropped like flies, but at the same time he wasn’t sure if his “savior” was gunning for him next. It didn’t take him too long to spot me up the rooftop. “I think we should leave tonight.” I shouted down to him.
In light of everything that had just happened, somehow he had retained his sense of humor. “Great idea Eve. However did you come up with it?”
No Slink, I don’t look for sarcasm in my potential partners. Apparently I just attract it.
I ignored him. “We have to stop by my house and grab my bag. Is there anything you want to-“
He cut me off, “-No. I don’t want to remember anything about this village.”
The amount of venom in his voice made me a little nervous.
I carefully jumped down from my rooftop. He hopped down from the fountain and met at the head of the street that led to my house, careful to step on as many sleeping Pokemon as possible. As I waited for him I looked around, wondering how all of these people could even consider killing Shane. My heart sank as I recognized the forms of my parents curled up together. I felt a little betrayed. Thankfully I didn’t see either of my sisters in the crowd, or at least I couldn’t find them.
Of course this made our brief pitstop at my house way easier. I simply ran in, grabbed my bag, and left out the note explaining what Shane and I had done where my parents could find it. I didn’t think about how much I would miss the place. My friend’s life was in danger. I had bigger Magikarp to splash.
As we left town, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being watched. I know it sounds ridiculous, most of the town was asleep at this point. I’m still not sure if it was Psychic, or instinct, or Arceus trying to warn me, but nonetheless the paranoia washed over me to the point where I forced Shane to duck into an alley.
“Eve, what’s going on?” He sounded a bit tense, almost angry. I hushed him and peeked back around the corner. Somehow we had decided to hide at just the right time. Almost exactly at that moment I saw someone (I ducked back behind the corner before I could get a good look at them) strut into the street, looking around carefully. Slowly I reached out with my mind, simply trying to sense theirs.
One was definitely a Jolteon, I was used to the shape and “color” I guess of their minds. The second one took me only a moment to identify, considering I only had to poke at it slightly before his mind just let me in. Fighting Type, Machoke. The third one though I honestly could not make any headway with. That really only told me one thing, it wasn’t an Eeveelution.
“Jolt!” A gruff, deep voice called out. “I think I saw something this way.” My heart climbed up into my throat. Was it us? Were they headed our way? Where had these guys even come from? I closed my eyes and spread out my Psychic senses. My stomach fell out, the two minds I could identify were headed towards our hiding spot, while the third, the one I couldn’t place, stayed behind. I would have been more curious, but I was fearing for my life at the moment.
I held my breath and pressed myself as close to the wall as I could, hoping that these guys simply wouldn’t notice us. I was wrong.
I felt myself ripped from the ground as a meaty hand grabbed the scruff of my neck and pulled me in the air. “Jolt, Rob, I found him.” I kicked and hissed, but the Machoke held me at just the right angle that I couldn’t get to him. Looking over I saw that Shane was in the exact same situation as I was.
The other two revealed themselves. A Jolteon and… a Vaporeon? That wouldn’t have been even in my top five hundred guesses of who the third person in this posse would be. Their mind had felt strangely slippery. It was there, but I couldn’t grasp it. Then I realized something perhaps a touch less important, but no less problematic. Jolt? Oh no.
“Hey Shaney,” the Jolteon looked gleeful, but in the same way a psychopath looks gleeful before he slips a blade between your ribs, “did you know that there are about a hundred people back that way that are looking for you?”
“And why aren’t you with them?” Shane snapped. I tried to shoot him a look that perhaps he should try and be a little nicer to the people who were holding us hostage.
“Oh well, we weren’t quite eager enough I guess to actually be in the Town Square, although I must be honest; attacking you sure looked like a lot of fun. No, we couldn’t get close, but it did mean that we weren’t in range when you and your friend here put the whole town to sleep. I like to look on the bright side, now it is just the two of us.”
“By my count there are five of us. If you wanted some alone time with me all you have to do is ask,” Shane growled angrily. Jolt’s expression immediately turned sour.
Jolt glanced up at the Machoke holding us. “I think Shaney could do with a little knocking about before we turn him over to the mob. Don’t you Mach?”
The Machoke nodded, but Shane huffed and rolled his eyes. “Sure, fine, go ahead. But can we hurry this up. Eve and I had plans for this evening.”
“Wait, Mach. Hold up.” Jolt’s leering grin had returned. “I don’t think softening up Shane will do that much for him. But the girl…”
“Don’t you dare!” Shane snarled, trying to rip himself free from the Machoke’s grip. I simply rolled my eyes. Stupid boys, didn’t they realize that I was a Psychic Type being held aloft by a Fighting Type. My eyes and gem flared with purple light as I burrowed my way into the Machoke’s head and started kicking around in his mind.
He roared in pain almost instantly. He dropped Shane, clutching his head, but what he did next actually surprised me. He didn’t drop me. As he reeled back, he threw me, slung me overhead and let go. The world spun around me before I felt myself slam into something hard, feet first.
My back legs instantly snapped, pointing in directions that I doubt even a Ditto could achieve. Time seemed to freeze, I had about three seconds before the pain hit me and, if I didn’t go into shock, I would be worse then paralyzed. I had one move, and that was it.
I still had some of my Psychic power inside of the Machoke, and I could potentially take him out with little issue, but my problem would be finishing him before I became incapacitated. As I fell, I connected the Psychic energy in his head to the brick wall beside him; pink tendrils poked out from his head like tentacles, latching onto the wall. Before anyone could do anything to stop me, I shortened the tentacles, slamming his head into the wall as hard as I could. The ground shook as the Machoke toppled. Then the world went white as I finally hit the ground.
It was agony, it was torture. But somewhere in the back of my mind I knew Shane was still in danger. I knew that the others would most likely leave me alone, but I couldn’t just leave Shane. While I knew it would probably be easier to just pass out and lose touch of reality, I clawed my way back to awareness.
I was laying on my back, by ruined legs in the air. My head lay back at an odd angle, and I could just barely see what was happening, but that was fine by me. I wasn’t about to move just to see better.
The Jolteon, had encased himself in a sphere of electricity. Rogue bolts and sparks shot from his shield forcing Shane to dance and dodge to avoid being fried. The Machoke was still unconscious, and the third member, the mysterious Vaporeon, held back for some reason. And the more I looked at him, the more I noticed a strange Darkness radiating from him. It reminded me of when a Kirlia who was in my class for years demonstrated her Psychic powers to me just after I evolved. She had condensed a point of space to the point that it had become a black hole. This Vaporeon was a black hole, his presence seemed to strain the space around him.
Before I could process what I had seen, Jolt decided that he had had enough. He roared as he stamped one of his forepaws on the ground. His electric barrier that he had maintained and charged up to this point was instantly sucked into his body. His fur flickered with sparks, and seemed to glow with an inner light, before he threw his head back as the electricity exploded out from him. A net of lightning shot from him in all directions, the electricity exploding whenever it struck something. Shane tried to call up a Dark pulse to counter, or at least dampen the blow, but the lightning tore through his shadow and exploded directly in his face.
Shane collapsed instantly, convulsing on the ground. I tried to reach out with my mind, tried to somehow absorb some of that electricity but I couldn’t touch him, I couldn’t even find him with my power. Jolt walked up to the completely exhausted Shane and placed a paw on his chest. “Honestly I expected more from you little Shaney. Do you not want to play our game anymore? Do you quit? Because if you quit, well…” he held up a paw and unsheathed his claws, “you get it.” His expression suddenly changed, becoming that insane twisted grin. “Goodbye little Shaney!”
He swung, there was a flash of black and red, and I heard a scream. I didn’t dare look away, I’m not sure I even could. But nothing happened to Shane. Jolt on the other hand had a look of complete horror on his face as his paw, the one with the claws unsheathed, slowly sagged on his wrist before it toppled off and fell to the street below. Jolt opened up his mouth to scream, but no sound came out.
Before anyone could register what just happened, there was another flash of black and red that slammed into the Jolteon, both of them rolling off into the street. Shane shakily got to his feet as ozone seemed to fill the air. With a bright flash of electricity, the two figures separated and I finally got a good look at this new player. I didn’t know him then, I didn’t realize how dangerous he could be at the time. Now I’d recognize the shiny Greninja, Smoke, in a heartbeat.
Jolt charged up another electric shield, green-yellow energy creating a halo around him. “Rob, I’ll take this newcomer. You get that Umbreon!”
Rob, the Vaporeon, nodded. He tilted his head back, priming for an attack. Shane had just barely managed to get to his feet. I tried to do anything, but I had no Psychic energy left, and I couldn’t get up. I met eyes with the Vaporeon who grinned, red eyes flashing. Red eyes?
Rob turned so he was facing Jolt, and released his attack. However, instead of a stream of water, a wall of flames exploded from the Vaporeon. Jolt didn’t even have enough time to be surprised. The flames consumed him, and he collapsed.
Everything was silent, except for Shane’s heavy breathing, and a slight crackle as the last of the flames died out. “You cut it a bit close there Moon,” the Greninja cooed. His voice, you know how it is; calm and soothing, like waves on the shore. It took me a minute to realize he was talking to the Vaporeon.
Rob? Or was it Moon? I didn’t even know at that point – frowned, and in a clearly feminine voice said, “Sorry, but to be fair, the look on his face was priceless!” He/She/It grinned before that distortion, that stain I had seen earlier began to spread outward from the Vaporeon, shrouding him in distorting shadows before fading away just as quickly as they had come. I shouldn’t have been surprised to see a Zoroark standing there in his place. She ran her claws through her mane of purple fur and sighed. She shot me a look. “I don’t know how you quadrupeds do it.” She braced her hands on her lower back and stretched. “That posture always hurts my back.”
The Greninja remained silent, not acknowledging anything the Zoroark was saying. “What did you do with the Vaporeon?”
“Don’t worry about it. I took care of him. The three of us will be long gone before anyone here finds him.”
The Greninja opened his mouth to reply, but at that moment Shane must have reached his breaking point. “What the hell is happening? Who are you? And what do you mean the three of us?” Suddenly he turned to me. “Were you in on this? We could have been killed!”
Smoke moved faster than I thought possible. He grabbed onto the scruff of fur on Shane’s back and pulled him into the air. “You need to calm down.”
“Chill out, little guy,” Moon assured, “she isn’t with us. In fact we would have had you out of here much earlier if she hadn’t gotten involved.” She glared at me, as if the whole town trying to kill Shane was somehow my fault.
“Wait, you said you would have me out of here. I’m not going with you. Why would I? Eve and I are going to join the Expedition Society!”
“Shane, have you ever left this village?” Moon asked shaking her head.
“Well, no, but that is why we are leaving. To join the Society and see the world.”
Moon gave a hollow laugh. “If only it were that easy. I hate to break it to you, but the Society won’t let you join.”
“No,” Shane argued, “we are of age, and as long as we do enough contracts they have to take us.”
“Ugh,” the Greninja snapped shaking Shane around before lifting him to eye level, “do you not get it? Look at Moon and me. See a problem?”
Shane regarded them both before he realized. “You’re different…like me.”
“The correct term is ‘shiny’,” Moon prompted, “but yes, we are like you. And what you’ve experienced in this village… it’s just like the rest of the world.”
“What do you mean?” Shane looked crushed.
“The rest of the world doesn’t like shinies either. Take it from us. We have experienced what you have here. We know.”
“So what do we do?” Shane asked, glancing over at me. “Obviously I can’t stay here anymore, and you say we can’t go to the Society, so…”
“There is an option for those like us,” Moon said slowly, “and Smoke and I are here to offer you a place on our team.”
“Hatred?” I gasped. Everyone looked over at me, as though they were just realizing that I was there.
“You’ve heard of us,” Smoke smirked.
“Shane, you can’t go with them. They kidnap people, they kill people!”
“Only in self-defense,” Moon interjected, “besides we don’t ‘kidnap’, we do what we were going to do for you. We simply rescue them from these horrible lives.”
The Umbreon still seemed uncertain. “You guys want me to join your team, but I assume Eve won’t be able to join.”
“Of course not,” Smoke grumbled, “she isn’t like us.”
“But—“ Shane tried to argue, but was cut off.
“She can’t understand us, what we’ve been through.” Moon’s eyes narrowed as she glared at me. “Besides, why would you want her with us.”
“What are you talking about?” Shane nearly shouted. “She’s my best friend!”
“You sure about that?” Moon taunted. “What about when your mother died? Did she invite you to come live with her? Did she stay with you, perhaps stay up with you to make sure you were okay? And then what about tonight? Where was she when all of these people tried to kill you? She was content to watch from the rooftops as the crowd took potshots at you. Only once we put most of the crowd to sleep was she willing to help out.” It was only afterward that I wondered how Moon had known about all of this.
“Stop,” Shane protested, but he didn’t sound sure of himself anymore, “this isn’t fair to Eve!”
But it was, because it was all true. I hadn’t invited him to live with me. I was convinced that he would be more miserable dealing with my disapproving parents than living alone, and he had never said otherwise. As for that night, well it was true. I wasn’t brave enough to try and help. I was worried that striking, making any move against the crowd, would turn their wrath on me. Guilt burned in my stomach and I felt myself unable to meet Shane’s gaze.
“She only cares for herself.” Moon purred to Shane. “She left you to fend for yourself, she nearly let you die tonight to keep herself safe. Does she even know what this prick—“ Moon gave Jolt a sharp kick, “—did to you everyday? How much he tormented you. She’s just like everyone else who abandoned you when you needed help. You were just a curiosity to her. She’s just like the rest of them.”
I could tell Shane was conflicted. He didn’t believe for a second that I wasn’t his friend. I knew for a fact that he still probably loved me. But at the same time, he didn’t know how much was true. What he should believe.
“The Expedition Society, they’ll treat me the same way these people do?” He shook his head. “I guess I really only have one option left.” He turned to face Smoke, his expression twisting into that scowl he always seems to have now. “You say Team Hatred is the only place for us. Prove it.” He was almost begging by this point. “Show me this place with people who understand.”
Moon and Smoke smiled, they smiled like a child on the morning of the Festival of Xerneas. “Excellent choice,” Smoke said. “We need to get going soon, Pokemon are waking up from that Dark Void as we speak. Besides, we have a long way to go before we reach Team Hatred HQ. Are you ready Shane?”
“Let’s go.” He was solemn about it. Moon and Smoke immediately turned and led the way down the street and out of town. Shane followed a few steps behind. I saw him halfway glance back before he shook his head and continued on. The last I saw of him was his back, trotting behind two killers, believing that I had never been his friend.
I laid in that alley for a long while after that before someone eventually found me. I know I blacked out at least once. But the physical pain wasn’t the only thing that was torture. It was the idea that my best friend, the one who I had tried to protect and care for had abandoned me in an alley next to two dead or unconscious Pokémon to take the blame. It was at that moment that I realized and accepted that my friend was gone. Shane was gone. Only the Hatred was left.
Eventually the townspeople found me and put me in jail. The mayor was dead, and the leader of the city guard was whipping everyone into a frenzy. It was complete anarchy up there, and honestly I was somewhat pleased to be in jail. I was in there for three days before someone came to get me. Thank Arceus that I learned Morning Sun on the dawn of the first day. That way my legs were almost good as new when they came and got me.
Unfortunately things only got worse. They informed me that Rob, Jolt, and Mach had all been found dead. Moon had mentioned that she was going to take care of Rob, but I didn’t think it would be anything like this. They kept me down there for almost another week while they tried to assemble a court in order to try me for murder.
Finally my parents came to rescue me. Apparently a more detailed autopsy had discovered that Mach had been killed by someone slitting his throat (something I couldn’t have done with broken legs), Rob had been suffocated by a Dark Type move (again that cleared me), and Jolt was missing a paw, and had burned to death (again, not me) so they had no choice but to let me go.
When I got home… my father had been distant and silent the whole way. I should have known that something was going to go down. My mother was waiting for us in the entryway when we got home. She was crying, and holding a scrap of paper. My note!
“What the hell were you thinking Eve!” my father roared.
“Royal,” my mom protested, but father cut her off.
“No Nadine, I’m not excusing this. Eve your mother and I told you so many times to stay away from that monster-”
I couldn’t help myself. “-Shane. His name is Shane.”
“Shane then,” my father snarled, “does it really matter? Because of him three innocent people were killed. Not including the Mayor or his own mother. He killed a legacy! You were hurt, and he left you!”
“You were all about to kill him! Most of it was self defense! And do you really think that he would kill his mother? Besides that ‘legacy’ that is so important to you was a bully and tortured him everyday. I didn’t want him to die, but honestly he deserved what he got!”
My father was livid. His voice grew deathly silent and he was practically trembling with rage. “And now your partner is a member of Team Hatred. Way to pick them Eve.”
This was the one argument I couldn’t refute. He had to have known that the Hatred were murderers and kidnappers. How could he have picked them over me?
My father must have sensed my defeat. “Eve, go up to your room! We’ll talk later.”
They grounded me. For almost a year. Honestly it was closer to house arrest than a parental punishment. I had aided and abetted a fugitive. According to the new mayor, that Blastoise, at least. I wasn’t allowed to leave the house without supervision for a whole year. Meanwhile on the news Shane had been spotted several times with the Hatred. Meowth was at it again. It hurt every time I saw him, not even considering how my family looked at me everytime he appeared even though he hadn’t been confirmed to have killed anyone.
So my year of isolation was long and boring. Of course I would have snuck out a few times, but without Shane to run around with it really wasn’t that fun. I lived like a hermit that year, and despite everything I didn’t really blame my parents. They just wanted to protect me, my freedom be damned.
Does that sound familiar Slink? Oh really? I thought so.
After a year of imprisonment I didn’t really care what anyone thought anymore. It was time. I was going to the Expedition Society. I grabbed my bag, left a note on my bed explaining where I had gone, and then I snuck out the window and got the hell out of town!
Yes, that was when I ran into you Slink. Wait, actually there was one more thing.
It was the night before I met you actually. I had just left a really nice village northwest of where I met you, where I was asking directions to Festive Town. Everyone had told me to go south in order to avoid a particularly nasty Mystery Dungeon just outside of town. They also warned me that the Hatred had been spotted southeast of town, and that I should be careful. I didn’t tell them that I wasn’t afraid, or that I knew someone in the Hatred. That would have been bad.
That night I set up camp in a small clearing in the same woods just a few miles west from the cave where I found you. Digging a nest was easy, but it took me forever to start a fire. You honestly don’t know how relieved I was when you and Vix joined the team.
Anyway I had just managed to light the fire when I felt someone else enter the clearing. You know how sometimes you can identify a person simply by their aura, the feeling they bring with them when they enter a room? Well I could tell almost instantly who it was. “Hello Shane,” I said softly.
I turned around and there he was. Except, he wasn’t. He looked… hollower than usual. Shane was still there, but it wasn’t all him. It was like someone else had taken up residence in his body. I guess this was about a day after the Hatred was at your house. I wonder if that had anything to do with it?
“Eve,” he said tentatively, “I only heard, just the other day, that you left town.” He looked worried, but at the same time confident.
“Yeah, I decided that I’d had enough. I ran away to join the Expedition Society. Sound familiar Shane?” He reeled back like I had hit him. He tried to protest that he hadn’t wanted to abandon me, but I made sure to cut him off. In that year I had spent trapped in my house, I had realized something. I was done feeling sorry for Shane. He obviously meant more to me than I did to him. I had helped him as much as I could and he just left.
I told him to leave. I told him to leave and never talk to me again. I was done with him. He didn’t try to argue, or apologize. I turned around again to tend the fire, and when I looked back he was gone.
Eve shook her head, still stewing in her anger. I felt a pit in my stomach, and I knew I had to say what was on my mind. “I don’t think he stopped loving you.” I remembered back to the two times we had encountered Shane. The first time he had made sure that nobody had gone after Eve. The Hatred only chased me and Vix. The second time, he had almost begged her to come with him while his teammates captured me, Vix, and Abby.
“I know,” Eve pouted before her anger flared up again. “But he has also shown that he will always pick the Hatred before me!” I knew exactly what she was talking about. They were two of the most terrifying moments of my life. When Shane had allowed Eve to be hurt to get to me. I could still see her neck clamped between his jaws, still feel the sticky wetness spreading across my back as I tried to rush Eve to the hospital. She was right, he had made his choice.
There was a tense silence between us as we both realized what was coming next. I felt a pit growing in my stomach as the time came for me to tell the story. “Well, now I owe you my story, don’t I?”
“That was the deal,” Eve said, although she also seemed to be dreading it.
I took a deep breath. “I just want to warn you now. This is…hard for me to… to remember. To try and put into words. Just please bear with me. I may lose control, but…
Eve blinked as she registered what I was saying. “Slink, you don’t have to tell me your story if you don’t want to. I don’t need to know. If you just need a shoulder to cry on, or simply a friend to be with, we can do that instead.”
I shook my head, but I felt my heart pound and my breath come faster. “No, you told me your secret. Fair’s fair. Besides, I need to get this out in the air and off of my chest. Maybe then I can start to forget.”Eve placed a paw on my shoulder. “Whatever you need. I’m here. But can I suggest? Don’t forget. Heal.”
I nodded before closing my eyes. “This probably won’t be easy for me to say. I’ve kept this locked up inside for so long that I don’t know what to think anymore. Just hang on.”
I took a deep shuddering breath before I began my story…
It was nearly midnight when my father shook me awake. “Slink,” he had whispered, “Slink, you have to get up!” I don’t remember what I had been dreaming or what I was thinking about when I woke up. I just know that I immediately locked onto the urgency in his voice.
“What’s going-?” I tried to ask before he clamped one of his paws around my muzzle. This shock helped me wake up and take in his appearance. He didn’t look good.
His fur was bedraggled, sticking up every which way. The thick patches of red fur that hung from his ears were badly matted (he ran his hands down them whenever he was nervous). In the paw that wasn’t clamped over my mouth he held his wand aloft; an eighteen inch twig taken from the aspen tree that grew outside of his childhood home. The tip was ablaze, but the Fire never consumed the stick. I could tell that he was ready to lash out at the smallest provocation.
“Hush.” His voice was barely a whisper. It was more like he was simply mouthing the words. “They are watching and listening. We cannot make any noise.” He uncurled his hand from my snout slowly.
“What’s going on?” I hissed back. I could feel the hairs rising up on my back. It itched slightly, and simply increased my feelings of unease.
“Slink, I don’t have time to explain.” My father glanced around, as though someone might have come into the room since he last spoke. “They are coming for us,” was all he said before he slowly stood and padded on silent feet to my bedroom door. He carefully peered through it before slowly beckoning to me.
I gingerly stood on my bed, the bed springs creaked slightly as I shifted my weight. My dad flinched at every small sound like each was as deafening as an Echoing Voice. I hopped down from bed lightly, not quite knowing what was going on, but sure that my dad was doing the right thing. I trusted him wholeheartedly.
The hallway was pitch black. Despite this my dad still seemed to float down it quickly yet carefully. If I hadn’t known he was there, I wouldn’t have noticed him. I tried to follow, but I couldn’t walk as fast as him. I nearly had to run to keep up, but even with how fast I was moving, I made sure to remain completely silent.
Suddenly I felt myself being lifted into the air. My father had his eyes closed and his wand was producing a stream of pink energy that held me off the ground. He carefully maneuvered me to his side before setting me down. “Creaky floorboard,” he breathed. Part of me thought he was being paranoid, but the rest of me was anxious. What could possibly make my dad this nervous?
For some reason the living room was very brightly lit. But that wasn’t the strangest part. My dad had gotten to his hands and knees and was crawling across the floor. I followed him looking around curiously. My mother was sitting in her favorite armchair, a book in her lap, and she seemed engrossed in it. Her lamp behind her was lit, providing the room with illumination.
“Mom? What’s going on? Why are you still up?” I made sure to keep my voice down. Mom only shook her head slightly before turning a page in her book and continuing to read.
“We needed an excuse for the lights to be on in the living room,” my father breathed into my ear. He was still on all fours, sitting crouched beside me. “We know that they can’t see into this room very well, so we should be relatively safe here. I’m going to go get your sister. Stay low, and stay quiet.” Without another word, my father army-crawled back to the hallway door and slithered through it.
I guess now would be the best time to explain a little about my house. We lived on the south side of Lake Ogon. Have you heard of it? It’s just south of the exact center of the Continent. At the foot of the Crimson Peak? Anyway the house was technically one story, but it was built into the side of a hill. This means that for the back and the front to be the same level, the whole front of the house is up on stilts. The living room faces the lake, with a big bay window and a solid bench seat beneath it. That night the moon was directly over the lake, a white disc seemed to float on the water, and everything was bathed in a silver glow.
“Who is watching us mom?” I tried to ask when my father left. “How do you know?”
Mom remained silent for quite a while. Eventually she turned the page of her book again, and shifted noisily in her chair, crossing her legs. “Across the street, by the bushes,” I heard her say.
Remembering that I was supposed to stay low, I slunk to where I could clearly see out the window. Thankfully since the room was at a higher elevation than the street outside, I had a good view but nobody would be able to see me. I stared across the street, searching for whatever or whoever had my parents so scared. My heart almost stopped when I caught movement, and a few flickers of light. I could see the moonlight reflecting out of several pairs of eyes. They were watching.
I stumbled back, subconsciously wanting to dive into a hiding spot. How the heck were my parents so calm? I choked down the one thousand and one questions that were throwing themselves into my head.
“Who?” I mumbled.
When she answered, my mother’s voice was quiet, but firm. She ran her finger along the page like she was quoting from her book. “‘You’re not,’ he said, his quiet voice full of hatred .” Hatred, Hatred. I still don’t know why, but Team Hatred was there. They had come for me.
It was about that time when my father came back into the room, my sister crawling on the floor behind him. I’m fairly certain that this was the only time I had ever been grateful to be the only quadruped in a family full of bipeds. “Do they know?” my dad whispered as soon as he entered.
My mom let out a quick bark of laughter, holding the book closer to her face. “No way!”
Dad nodded, turning to my sister. “Are you ready?”
“No,” she said. She would have sounded almost cheery, but her voice shook, “but I don’t think I really have a choice.”
I still don’t understand what they were talking about but before I could dwell on it or ask what they were saying my father turned to me. “Slink, do you trust me?” He seemed pained, almost guilty.
What? Of course I did. “Yes,” I breathed wondering where this was heading.
“I think it’s time we invite our guests inside.” Then he did the last thing I expected. He stood up, and anyone looking into the house would have seen him. He grinned, he waved, and he pulled out his wand and waggled it. There was a flash of pink light, and I felt a huge burst of Psychic energy shoot from him. A few seconds later I heard a huge crash outside. I only found out later that my dad had thrown the trash cans at them.
“Okay,” my dad said at a normal volume, “that should grab their attention. Hey Blaze, would you be a dear and barricade the door. They should be on their way inside.” He sounded completely casual, as if he had invited our neighbors in for tea; not giving a violent organization all of the reason they needed to break in.
My sister rolled her eyes at him, but did as he said. She pulled her wand from her tail (twelve inches of pine) the tip instantly catching Fire as it drug through her fur. Despite the obvious flame, it didn’t even scorch the actual wood. She began tracing runes on the door, each glowing a brilliant ruby red. I’m ashamed to say that I felt a surge of jealousy towards her. Since I hadn’t evolved, or fashioned a wand, my father had never taught me any magic. A sheen of Fire seemed to pass over the door once she’d finished. The door was sealed. For the moment.
My father went over to the lamp that stood behind the couch. He pulled off the shade, unscrewed the bulb, reached into the socket, and pulled out a thin grey key.
He turned to my mother who was still staring out the window. “Is anyone watching?”
Mom shook her head scanning the front yard, the road, and the area across the street. “No. I’ve checked. Besides, they’d be stupid not to only send up Dark Types. If anyone else is watching we can ‘convince’ them to forget.”
The entire time I just stood there, stunned. I felt like an understudy who had only been handed a script the night of the play. My other three family members seemed to know exactly what to do, what was going on, and they almost seemed practiced.
“Guys, what is going on?” I demanded.
My father moved over to the bench under the window. He beckoned me over. “Slink, I ask again. Do you trust me?”
“Of course,” I answered once again, although a small balloon of doubt was growing in my stomach.
He looked me dead in the eyes, and for a moment he let his facade fade away. He suddenly looked twenty years older, his face drawn and lined. I recognize his expression better now. Defeat. He became someone who had fought as long and as hard as he could, but he had finally come across a foe he couldn’t best. Keeping his eyes on me he reached down and slid aside a panel cleverly concealed in the front of the bench revealing a silver keyhole.
The short silver key slid easily into the lock. As it clicked into place there was a mechanical whirr, followed by a solid thunk. Then with a soft pop, the benchtop lifted up. No, not a benchtop. A lid. Inside the bench was hollow, revealing a wood-lined hiding space. I allowed myself to release a breath I didn’t know I was holding. My parents had a plan after all.
“How long have you been working on this?” I asked, appraising the hidey-hole.
My father smiled wryly. “It has been a while. Way longer than it needed to honestly, but nobody else could know about it.”
I nodded, before a thought struck me. I looked my father in his eyes, confused. “There isn’t enough room in there for us.”
My father broke his gaze, shaking his head. “It wasn’t supposed to.”
As if to punctuate his point, there was a sudden loud crash at the door. The Hatred had arrived, and they didn’t sound too happy.
“What?!” I looked around wildly to my sister and my mother feeling panic rising like vomit in my throat. None of them would meet my gaze. “How are we going to escape?”
“Oh, Slink honey.” My mother’s voice shook. I could tell she was on the verge of tears. “ We aren’t.”
“You are.” my father finished for her.
“What about Blaze?” I turned to look at her, but she shook her head.
“There is only enough room for you in the box,” she said, “you have to go.”
“But-“ I tried to argue, but my father cut me off.
“-Slink. Calm down. Remember how Delphoxes can see the future? Your grandfather taught me himself. I know what is going to happen tonight, and I know how to change what I saw.” He knelt down and put his hands on my shoulders. “Everything will be fine. You will have a family after today. I promise. But you have to hide. Now!”
The door crashed again, but this time one of my sister’s carefully drawn runes flickered and died. The protection still held, but for how much longer…
I couldn’t help myself. I ran over to my mom and buried my face in her arms. “I’m scared,” I admitted, I’m not too proud to say it.
“I know,” she cooed, “but you have to go. I love you Slink.” She kissed my forehead. Blaze came over and pulled me and mom into a giant hug. Dad came along a moment later.
It could have been an hour that we knelt there cocooned together in a hug. A day? A week? I never wanted to leave the warmth and comfort.
Smash . Something angry was slamming itself against the door. Neither the enchantment, nor the wood would hold out much longer. “Hurry,” my dad said. Blaze and mom got up quickly as my father picked me up and dumped me unceremoniously into the box. He made to shut the lid, but he hesitated.
“Slink… if something happens… I want you to… I need you to find the Dreamstone. Please, will you do that for me?”
I had a million questions. I wanted to ask what the Dreamstone was, or where it was. I wanted to ask why, but at that moment there was a loud crack as the door finally gave away. Dad slammed the lid to the box shut and spun around taking the thin silver key with him.
I was plunged into darkness instantly as my heart started beating in my throat. What was happening? What could I do? For almost a minute all I could hear was the sound of blood rushing in my ears, and the echo of my heavy panting.
I clenched my paws, my claws digging into the wooden floor of the box. I looked down, seeing the white marks my claws left behind. Wait, I could see?
A thin shaft of light was shining through the keyhole. I pressed my eye to it, just wanting to know what was going on. I had a clear view of the door, about the only thing I could see with any clarity, as well as the backs of my mom, dad, and sister who all stood, wands out, staring at the door.
The doorway was an open maw, black and empty, and strangely nobody was coming through it. My sister made to step forward, but my dad threw out a hand, stopping her. He took three huge steps towards the door. Suddenly he twirled his hand in the air, the flame at the tip of his wand traced two huge rings of Fire. An inferno exploded from the center of the rings, like a Charizard breathing Fire. The doorway caught almost immediately, as if the wood of the door frame had been soaked in oil, and the light from the flames illuminated the hallway.
A familiar blue glow answered back.
But Shane wasn’t the first to enter the room.
The doorway was a maw of swirling flames, but that didn’t discourage the Hatred. A flash of blue announced a new player, and with a loud hiss, and a billowing cloud of steam, the flames vanished. A black and red Greninja stood in the charred doorway, a water sharrukin in each hand.
My father and Smoke regarded each other with something like mutual respect. At least respect as warriors. In the back of my head I wondered how this would go; a melee fighter against a long range fighter. Shane trotted into the room, staying to the left and just behind Smoke. Two on three.
Dad struck first, his wand flared pink, and suddenly the couch flew forward hurtling towards both Hatred members. Smoke was quick enough to leap over it, but Shane was swept up and pinned to the wall.
Smoke was moving instantly. He threw both of his water stars. They curved through the air unnaturally before making a beeline for my mother and sister. My sister easily deflected her’s with a small Psychic pulse, and my mom evaporated her’s with a tiny ember attack. While the Greninja was defenseless, my father rushed forward swinging his wand like a sword. Flame trailed from the stick like the fiery tail of a comet.
The flame slashed across the Greninja’s chest and he backfliped away, trying to avoid it. I could smell burning skin even from my hiding place. As he dodged backward Smoke slapped his hands together sending out a Dark Pulse. My father flew back, head over heels, and landed directly overhead. I didn’t see, feel, or hear him move for a while.
Smoke landed back on his feet, just in time for the carpet to shift under his feet. He lost his balance, falling onto his back. Before he could make another move all of the furniture in the room seemed to dogpile him. They threw themselves on top of him pinning him down. For the moment.
My mother stepped forward, her stick ablaze, ready to strike the final blow, but at that moment Shane brought himself back into play. He leapt onto my mom’s back and began ripping away at her with teeth and claws. At first, nothing made it through her fur, but my mom couldn’t reach him, and she couldn’t use Psychic to rip him off her back.
My sister was trying to help, but realistically she couldn’t do anything to help without putting my mother in danger. All she could do was hold down Smoke, but we all knew that wasn’t going to last long. I lent my own power, keeping as much pressure on Smoke as possible, but he was stronger than the both of us.
I saw his arm, and I know my sister did too. He managed to pry it loose, a blade of water forming in his hand. He drew back and threw it as hard as he could. Before my sister or I could shout out a warning the blade slammed with a loud thock into my mother. I saw her stiffen, and then fall to her knees. I don’t think that is what killed her, but Shane leapt off of her back as she collapsed. My sister stood alone facing them both.
I couldn’t erect a Psychic shield. They would have just walked through it. I couldn’t wield Fire from within the box. All I could do was watch in horror as they advanced on my sister.
Crash ! It was the sound of breaking glass. Even within the box I felt the cool breeze as the bay window shattered. What was that? Help? It had to have been my dad, but what was he doing? Escaping? No. He was getting a better weapon.
I felt a wave of pure Psychic energy, more than me and my sister could possibly hope to create, exploded above me. It was like a giant Psyshock attack, but instead of rocks made of pure energy, shards of glass shot at the two Hatred members. The Greninja pushed Shane behind him, crossing his arms over his chest. Water pooled from the white pads on his elbows, rippling and flattening until it became a makeshift shield over his chest. There was no stopping the shards, the water only slowed the blades. Along with his body. Smoke stumbled back flinging glass, blood, and water everywhere as he reeled back in pain.
Shane darted forward, his whole body darkening, the air in front of him growing thicker with shadow. Before my father could do anything to stop him, huge spears of shadow exploded from him, darting forward and impaling his legs, arms, hands, feet, and one right through his middle. Shane retracted his spikes, dragging my father forward so he couldn’t escape. My sister could do nothing to stop the Night Slash headed at her.
They dragged the three of them into the corner beyond my line of sight. I could only see their shadows cast from the lamp knocked over in the fray. I knew that all three were still alive, but I knew that none of them were in good shape. And I could do nothing. I didn’t dare speak. Whatever future my father had seen… had been wrong.
Shane stepped forward with a growl. “Where is he?”
“Who?” I cringed to myself. My father had always been sarcastic with almost everyone, but never before did it have the potential to kill him.
“Where is the Fennekin?” Shane growled.
“Fennekin?” dad asked equal parts defiant and condescending.
“It really is simple,” Shane said his voice becoming softer. “If you give me the Fennekin, you all go free. Either way we will find him, but this way you will be around much longer.”
“How about you leave,” my father suggested angrily, “and then the Fennekin, wherever or whoever he is, will let you live.”
Were they talking about me? All I wanted was to escape and help them, but I couldn’t.
The Greninja stepped forward. He spoke calmly, but there was danger in his words. “I think I can make this decision much easier.” He moved, and I couldn’t see exactly what happened, but my sister let out a yelp. My heart was beating in my throat. What was the Greninja doing? “Tell me where the Fennekin is, or I will kill her.”
I don’t particularly want to give him credit, but Shane spoke up. “Smoke calm down. Put her down. There are other ways we could go about this.” Smoke ignored him.
Neither of my parents moved, even Blaze wasn’t making a sound. “Really? The life of your son means more than the life of your daughter?” Nobody said anything. “The life of your brother means more than your own?” Smoke sounded shocked. His tone became angry. He made a move, and my sister screamed. I let out an involuntary gasp, and I instantly saw all heads turn my way.
“I guess the Fennekin values all of your lives more than his.” The Greninja smirked, I could hear it in his voice. Suddenly Shane’s shadow vanished. My heart started pounding, until a glowing yellow eye suddenly jumped into view. I leapt back, trying to get as far away from the front as possible.
“I must admit friend that this is a rather nifty hiding spot.” The Umbreon grinned. “Come on out.” I heard claws scratching at the lid of my hiding spot, and light was temporarily blotted out as he inserted his claw into the lock.
“Hey Smoke,” Shane called, “do any of them have a key?”
I heard a few smacks, and a couple of grunts from my three family members, but soon enough the Greninja spoke up. “Grey?”
“Should be.” Shane responded. Smoke tossed him the key. I felt like I was going to vomit. Despite my family’s best efforts, I was about to be discovered. I braced myself, preparing to explode in a nuclear Firestorm as soon as the lid opened. The lights went out as the key clicked into place. There was a mechanical whirr again, and then I was falling.
The hill under the house rose to meet me, and I tumbled down landing in front of the house in a heap. Looking back, I saw the floor of the box hanging down. With a soft pop it swung back up into place, and I assume up above the lid clicked open. There was a quiet moment, before I heard a sudden cry of anger. I ran forward, scrambling back up the hill. I was out, I could save them. I had to. I closed my eyes, locking onto their Psychic aura. I could do it. I could…
In an instant all three of their auras vanished. Extinguished. Gone.
At first I didn’t understand. I couldn’t comprehend what was happening. Then I felt nothing but burning rage. My fur was on Fire, my eyes were filled with Fire. I was Fire. They had done this, and I could only do one thing to make them pay. The flames spread from me to the house. Then I ran. The house an orange and black smudge behind me.
My words were coming fast, I couldn’t make myself stop. “And I ran. I think that is how feral Pokemon feel. I couldn’t focus on anything else rather than food, water, and running as fast and as far as I could!” I was panting, I was hyperventilating, I felt like I needed to vomit.
“And then I just couldn’t run anymore. I stopped in that cave and everything finally came back to me. It was overwhelming, and all I could think of was the three of them… and… how… they… ” I couldn’t breathe, and then the dam broke.
Molten tears streamed down my cheeks. My Fire was so hot that they evaporated before they reached my chin. I couldn’t talk, and I could barely breathe. Despite my Fire, I felt cold and alone.
Eve moved close to me, but she moved slowly. She carefully placed one of her paws over mine; then she froze gauging my reaction. At that moment I’m not sure I even registered her presence.
Since I didn’t pull away she reached up with her tail and wrapped it around my waist. She lifted me up, turned me around, and pulled me close to her. We were facing each other, and she nuzzled into my neck and chest trying to comfort me as I continued to sob.
And then she took it one step further. I felt a Psychic pressure completely surround my mind. It was something that my mother had done when I was a child. The constant presence and pressure was reassuring, like a mental security blanket. I’m not sure how she knew to do it, but it made me feel better.
“Eve,” I whispered as soon as I was cried out.
“Yes,” she said, lifting her head to look me in the eyes.
I took a deep shuddering breath. “Thank you. For everything. For being my friend, for listening, and for giving me a family a year ago.”
Eve snuggled back into my chest, maintaining the presence around my mind. “What was I supposed to do? Leave you to die in the wild? Mind my own business and let you die in that cave?”
Despite myself, I chuckled. She purred into my neck, and I hummed in response. We lay there in silence for a while. I felt a sudden fire in my chest, and I buried my nose into her fur, wrapping my forelegs around her and pulling her as close as physically possible.
“I love you.” I said as I took in a huge breath of her scent. “I love you so much. Thank you. Thank you for being here for me. Damn it, Arceus, I love you Eve!”
We fell asleep right there that night, and we wouldn’t wake up until a simultaneously irate and uncomfortable Sam found us.
But before I drifted off I whispered one last thing. “I can’t wait to find the Dreamstone. My parents and my sister will love you!” I felt an uncomfortable tingle in the back of my mind as I said those words. It was almost as if I was forgetting something. But then again, it probably wasn’t that important.
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