17: The Crags of Lament

Wherever Espeon is, she certainly knows how to stay under the radar. There has been nothing to go off of to find her. No rumors, no sightings, nothing. Dang it… There has to be something! I’ve been coming here to the inn and loitering around eavesdropping on people to try and get an idea of where Umbreon’s sister is every day. And it’s yielded nothing. It’s so infuriating.

“Alex.” Thunder whispers to me. He has been aiding me as well. He’s like my shadow. And I don’t really mind it. In fact I prefer when he’s around. “There’s someone over there that might know something.” He points to the Rampardos at the adjacent table. “He keeps talking about seeing something off at the Crags of Lament.” Well, it’s better than most leads so far.

“Right. Let’s check it out.” Thunder and I get up from our seats and casually walk over to the Rampardos, who seems transfixed by a Cinccino on the other end of the dining area.

“My sweet Cinccino…” He says quietly to himself. “You’re the most beautiful Pokemon on Pokèmar… I… I just wish I could be brave enough to talk to you… Feel your soft fur in my arms as we embrace. My-” he cuts his train of thought short as we approach. “Ah! Uh… H-hi! I didn’t see you there. What’s the occasion?” Hehe… Poor guy. Wish I could give him advice. That is, if I had any to give in the first place.

“Thunder tells me that you saw something at the Crags of Lament. See, we’re looking for someone. Any information you can provide would really help us.”

“Oh? The Crags of Lament… Oh yeah! I remember. I saw this Pokemon with pink fur, a forked tail, and a gem on her head. I can’t remember what species that is… But she looked nervous and exhausted.” Wait… Pink fur… Forked tail… Gem on the forehead… According to Umbreon, that’s what an Espeon looks like! The trail just got warm.

“Was there anyone else?”

“Yeah, now that you mention it… There was a Purugly and a Toxicroak searching around. They might have been looking for her.” That’s it! We know where she is! We can get her. Once she’s inside Post Town she should be safe. I look to Thunder, who definitely is thinking the same thing as me. We nod to each other and start to leave.

“That’s all we need to know. Thank you.” I say to the Rampardos.

“Anytime.”

“Umbreon!” I call out as we enter his room. “We know where she is!”

He immediately turns his attention to us. “Espeon?! Where?!”

“The Crags of Lament.” Thunder answers. “The Toxicroak and Purugly are there too. We need to move fast.”

“I’m coming with you.” Umbreon replies.

“No.” I say. “You’re still recovering. I’m not taking any unnecessary risks. Not when someone’s life is at stake.”

“But she’s my sister! I can’t just-“

“Umbreon…” Thunder interrupts. “Just trust us. We’ll bring her back, safe and sound.”

“…well… Alright. Good luck out there.”

“Thanks, Umbreon.” I respond. “We’ll be back soon.”

I just noticed something. Since I’ve been here, there’s been a lot of me either falling or facing the danger of falling. My skydive to Pokèmar, the gap in the path when I was following Thunder for the first time, Hazy Pass, and now this. Following a jagged, uneven, rocky path elevated quite a ways up, the risk of falling was high. Why would anyone come here? Then again, it’s isolated and remote. A good place to hide when being hunted.

“You know, there’s something I was wondering.” Emolga says from behind us. He had volunteered to come with us. As did Virizion. You could tell I was hesitant to allow those two in such close proximity with such a dangerous mission. But they are two of the stronger members of the team so I went with it. “Why are they called the Crags of  Lament ?”

“You know how Giratina betrayed Arceus when he created the first world? And how he destroyed it?” Virizion spoke up. Huh? Arceus? Giratina? Are these mythical figures? So… I guess this is the second world since the first was destroyed?”

“Yeah. But what does that have to do with the Crags?”

“Legend has it that Arceus mourned the loss of his world and the betrayal of his son and stowed his sorrow and lament in this area. Some people claim that at night, you can hear his cries echoing through here.”

“Huh.” I say. “That’s interesting. Thanks, Virizion.”

“My pleasure. But we need to focus on the matter at hand.”

“That’s true. Ok, everyone. Eyes open. Keep a lookout for her.”

Espeon

Espeon runs as fast as her legs will let her. She’s tired and exhausted from this extended chase. But she can’t stop. If she stops, they will kill her. She just hopes that Umbreon is alive and safe. Then she notices something ahead. Or, more accurately, the lack of something ahead. The was nowhere to jump to and falling was certain death. She skids to a stop before she has a chance to go over the edge. She turns around and sees the one thing she didn’t want to see. The Toxicroak and Purugly are there. She’s trapped.

“Well now…” The Purugly chuckles. “That was quite a run you sent us on. But, everything must come to an end at some point. Including your life. Now, hand over the Entercards and you’ll die quickly.”

“Screw you, you overweight, son of a Ditto!” She retorts. The fur on Purugly’s neck stood up in anger.

“You dare call me that?! Toxicroak. Search her.”

“With pleasure.” The Toxicroak responds. He began an invasive search of her body to find the Entercards, only to come out empty handed. “Nothing. She doesn’t have them”

“That’s right. I don’t. But I know where they are. If you let me live, I  might  tell you.”

“Ah, bargaining for your life, are we?” Purugly chuckles. “Well it hardly matters whether you tell us or not. You are the only one alive that knows how they work.” Wait… Only one alive?! Then…

“Umbreon… What have you done to my brother?!”

“Oh, he’s long gone.” Toxicroak taunts. “Don’t worry. My venom made sure of that.” No… No, they’re lying! He can’t be dead! He can’t be!

“No… Please no… Not Umbreon… No…” She tries to hide the tears welling up in her eyes, but inevitably fails as the tears start to leak out and drip from the fur around her eyes.

“Aw, don’t cry, sweetheart. You’ll see him again in the spirit world soon.”