"As you all know, the Legendary Trio can't come to help us. They're being kept busy. We have to devise our own way to rescue Clover. Suggestions?"
Everyone was silent. Inferno spoke without standing. "How are we going to pull this off? Last time, just to get in, we needed Entei's hole in the walls and Raikou as a distraction!"
Espeon stood up. "While I have no definite plan, I can highlight our strong points. We have the size, versatility, adaptability, and sneaking skills that the Legendaries don't have. We can operate in stealth mode. I've even been working on masking a Pokemon's presence."
Surf tilted his head at her. "How?"
She turned to face him. "Simple. I use distraction methods. I mask the ally's scent and sounds while focusing the foe's attention on something else."
Umbreon looked at his mate. "Does it work on Dark Types?"
Espeon shrugged. "I don't know. I've never tried."
I looked at her incredulously. "Well then, let's try it!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ten minutes later, I was hiding in a bush near Bolt and Inferno's rock den. I peered through the leaves at Umbreon, who was sitting in the middle of camp, and then moved my gaze to my intended destination, which was his and Espeon's log den. Espeon was sitting on top of the log, closing her eyes and focusing. Finally, she waved her tail. That was our signal to move.
I watched Bolt and Inferno creep out of hiding first, as they were the first group to try and beat Umbreon. Both had unnaturally silent pawsteps as they snuck behind the Dark Type, probably the work of Espeon. Umbreon had his ears up and eyes alert, but instead of detecting the pair of males less than two tail-lengths behind him, his attention was fixed on a tree above camp. At one point, his gaze strayed from the tree, but soon fixed on another random piece of foliage. Espeon was trying insanely hard to make this work. Finally, Bolt and Inferno crept into the log den.
Next, it was Snow's, Surf's, and my turn. Snow, who already had very quiet paws, reached the log den with perfect silence before Surf and I were halfway there. I placed my paws lightly on the ground, worried that I would give myself away.
"AH-HA!" Umbreon yelled, not at me, but at Surf. "Got you! ...which is not good news for us."
Espeon jumped down gracefully, despite her swollen belly. "Doing three is harder. Snow already has soft steps; maybe she can do without the sound muffling." Snow nodded in agreement.
I sat down and looked at Espeon. "Ok, so we can sneak around Dark Types... But that still doesn't mean that we can get in at all. We need a way to get the humans away from the weird white den."
Bolt jumped out of the log. "I can be the distraction!" Everyone turned towards him. "Not only do I know the Great Raikou's fighting style, he can hit from afar! If I hide in a tree and cause a big lightning storm, they might think that Raikou came back! It helps that he'd probably be the most likely to help anyway."
Umbreon led off of him. "That'll draw their attention... Then we can sneak in. I remember seeing a square hole in the wall with a plate of metal over it. If Espeon can pull it off while Bolt is keeping everyone else busy, she can levitate us in before anyone notices."
I finished. "We'll split up and go in pairs, Snow with Espeon and Umbreon. Best to have one more fighter on their team if it comes to it, because they seem so fittingly fixated on Dark Types."
"Yeah... Frankly, I'm disgusted with my type right now..." Umbreon muttered.
Wingbeats sounded from overhead. We tensed and prepared for battle as the shadow of a large bird Pokemon swept over us. Then, two forms landed on a low branch of Bolt's emergency tree.
"Mind if we help with this?" Streak asked.
I smiled at the two Staraptors. We might not have the Legendaries, but we might be able to hold our own now. "Ok everyone, rework the plan to include these two!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I tried my best to balance in the treetop, using my tail to steady myself. How did Bolt do this so easily? Next to me stood Surf, Umbreon, and Inferno. Umbreon was the only one amongst us who looked marginally comfortable in the branches. On another nearby branch sat Streak and Night, both of them analyzing the odds of Espeon and Snow on the ground.
Inferno was trembling. "We're supposed to... jump?" he asked shakily for the 50th time.
Night answered the same way she did the last 49 times. "Yes."
Umbreon looked at Streak and me. "What if you were to hold him instead of Splash? He wouldn't get hurt because of all his fluff, and he wouldn't be able to Torchic out of this."
Streak and Inferno spoke at the same time.
"Good idea."
"NO WAY!"
I rolled my eyes. Do it, Streak. I know him, he'll be fine. He'll make a racket in the process, but as long as he's covered by Bolt's lightning, we should be fine."
Streak nodded as Inferno continued to protest. "All right. Then, we'll find that Mandibuzz."
Espeon's voice sounded melodiously in our heads. "All clear for now. Bolt, start your diversion when you see Streak and Night take off. Air Strike Unit, wait at least 30 seconds before circling back. We'll move when you drop."
I took a deep breath. "Ready when you guys are."
"I am not!" Inferno shouted. We ignored him. The Staraptors turned around on their branch, putting our back to us.
I looked at Umbreon. "Ready?"
He nodded with a small smile. "Are you?"
Together, we jumped off of our branch, landing on the Staraptors' backs at nearly the same time, me on Streak, Umbreon on Night. Hooking our paws over their wings as they instructed, we got settled in and prepared for flight. Then, the two powerful birds took off, almost throwing me off before Streak's flight balanced out, giving way to the smooth freedom of the air that I had always imagined. The wind blew over my fins, making them wave in the breeze. I closed my eyes and breathed in the smell of the fresh, open air.
"Enjoying yourself?" Night asked as she flew up alongside Streak, matching him wingbeat for wingbeat, just as Umbreon and Espeon did with their pawsteps.
"I wish I could do this all the time!" I called back. I looked over at Umbreon, who seemed like he was all business, but I could tell he was secretly having fun, too. I looked back towards the remaining Eevees in the treetops. It almost looked like Surf was wrestling with Inferno. "Let's go back and pick the others up! I think Inferno is trying to escape."
With a single flap of his wings, Streak flew ahead of Night and extended his talons. Seeing this, Surf grabbed Inferno, rolled over, and shoved him upwards just as Streak grabbed the alarmed Flareon. In another perfectly timed maneuver, Surf got to his paws without falling and jumped, giving Night the perfect opportunity to catch him as well. The six of us rose into the sky with two pairs of wings.
That's when the lightning started.
CRACK!! BOOM!! CRASH!!
Blinding bursts of electricity flashed everywhere, just as Raikou would have done it. So far, the plan was going smoothly. The two Staraptors made a banking turn, despite Inferno's screaming, and soared over the desolate white den. On Espeon's silent signal, they dropped Surf and Inferno. Espeon stopped their fall with telekinesis just before they hit the top, then released them. Surf landed perfectly on his feet. Inferno did not.
Streak and Night started to circle back. "Ready?" my Staraptor asked. I nodded seriously. Umbreon and I counted down in our head before letting go and free falling.
For a few terrifying seconds, I just fell. Just before I hit the smooth, hard roof, I stopped in mid-air. Espeon had caught me. I hovered for a full second before gravity resumed working on me, and I landed solidly on the ground.
Umbreon, who had apparently jumped after me, was still falling. But he wasn't stopping. Espeon's voice screeched in my head in terror. SPLASH!! Her telekinetic powers didn't work on the Dark Type! Thinking quickly, I jumped into the air and gave Umbreon a solid thwack from my tail, sending him to the side and slowing him down a bit. Ever in sync with me, Surf tackled Inferno, shoving him directly into Umbreon's path.
POOF!
"OW!!" Inferno yelled as Umbreon landed on him. Neither seemed hurt, though Umbreon looked rather shaken, and Inferno looked extremely irritated. The Flareon's fluff had protected both of them. I bounded over to the pair of males.
"Are you two ok!?"
Umbreon staggered to his paws. "I think so... That scared me. Quick thinking, you two."
Surf nodded thanks as Inferno whined. "What is this, pick on Inferno day!? Umbreon, I'm glad you're all right, but seriously, you are much heavier than you look."
Umbreon, getting his normal friendly attitude back, tilted his head at Inferno. "Is that a compliment or an insult?"
Espeon's scared voice whispered in my head again. ...is he ok? Is my Umbreon ok?
I sent her a thought back. He's fine. Surf and I made sure he had a soft landing on Inferno's back. They're both ok.
I heard a mental sigh of relief. Good. I can't believe we didn't think of that. Thank you for being so quick on your paws, Splash.
I smiled. No problem. Just make sure that you and Snow are safe.
Inferno stood up and shook himself off, fluffing himself up even more. "Anyway..." he muttered. "Bolt can't keep going forever. Let's get in, save Clover, and get out."
Naturally, that's where everything went horribly wrong.
Clover was in pain. A lot of it. Breathing hurt right now. She didn't dare move. That would make the pain worse. Anyone who knew a thing about healing knew that. Still, she had to breathe. Still with her eyes shut, she took a quick, jagged breath through her mouth before holding her breath again. That hurt. A lot. So much pain. Clover took another quick breath.
What had happened? Clover could only recall fragments. She took another sharp breath. The last clear memory she had was fighting Terror. Another breath. The metal thorn. That had obviously done something to her, as she could remember scant details after that. Another breath. Lots of humans in white cloth-furs surrounding her. Another breath. The harsh cold of metal beneath her. Another breath. Unbearable pain in her back...
That pain was still there. Clover couldn't stand it. She took another breath, wishing she was unconscious again. She realized she was lying on her belly. Why? Another breath. If Snow were here, she could numb the pain. But Snow couldn't save her. Clover took another breath, this one edged with a sob. She might never see Snow again. Or Splash. Or Bolt or Inferno or Espeon or Umbreon or Surf.
The combined pain and emotional blows were too much. Clover started to cry. Tears leaked out of her eyes and every breath she took was laced with pain. How did this happen? How did everything go so wrong?
Clover dimly heard pawsteps. She was too busy with hurting to care. She just wanted it all to stop. Another tear splashed onto the unyielding metal floor. Something jumped up onto the platform her cage was on, shaking it. Clover screamed in pain, more tears flowing freely. She clenched her eyes shut and whimpered.
A female voice spoke. "Oh, gosh! I'm so sorry!"
Clover whimpered back, barely forming words. "Go away, Terror. Leave me alone..."
"Not Terror. Zorua. I'm here to help you feel better."
Clover still didn't move. "Don't wanna talk. Hurts too much..."
"I know, I know," Zorua mumbled soothingly. "I know it hurts. The humans have done this before, but with very little success. You got lucky, really."
Clover took a steadying breath that was still rough, still not opening her eyes. "Don't feel lucky..."
"I know... Here. These will make you feel better." Clover smelled Zorua's paw near her nose, along with two things that smelled a bit like food. "This is a cookie. It sort of melts in your mouth." Clover whimpered, smelling something akin to... what did humans call it... bread? It had a starchy smell to it. When she didn't move, Zorua stepped close to her, making sure not to touch her. "Here. I'll help." She gently pushed the 'cookie' into Clover's mouth.
Zorua was right, Clover thought. The cookie did taste pretty good, and it melted in her mouth. She was able to swallow it without much effort. The food made her feel a bit better. "And this," Zorua continued, "is what I call chew sap. It's like thick tree sap, but it doesn't stick to everything. It's super sweet and has a bunch of stuff in it that'll make you feel better."
"Ok," Clover managed to mumble. Once again, Zorua put it in her mouth so that Clover didn't have to move. It did require chewing, which hurt, but Zorua was right. It did taste good. It had a hint of... honey, Sitrus Berry juice, and a few things that Clover couldn't identify. As she finished the chew sap, the pain subsided a marginal bit. Clover was able to open her eyes now, without as much pain.
The first thing she noticed was that it was dark, like night. She was in a cage all right, but one with no door. The platform that the cage was resting on was a rather large height off the floor, but there was a larger area below, with walls to close her in, of course. A small bunch of dry grass was in the corner, and bigger pitcher plant things with more water an icky stuff inside. More water was good. The best part was, there was another sand box in the opposite corner!
Clover yelped as she leaned a bit to see more, the pain starting to come back. The small black fox Pokemon in front of her helped her ease back into lying down. "Shhhh..." she murmured. "Don't move yet. It's ok. You'll get better. Just give it a few days. You'll be up and walking in no time."
Clover breathed evenly now, though she was still in immense amounts of pain unlike anything she had ever encountered before. "I don't want a few days..." she sighed, still sobbing a bit. "I want Snow. And my Clan. I wanna go home."
Zorua sat down next to Clover. "Listen... As much as I'd love to tell you that that's possible, I don't think it is." When Clover didn't answer, she continued. "On the bright side, the humans won't bother you for a bit."
Clover turned her head to ask why not, but the movement sent a wave of pain over her, making her scream. Zorua, being careful not to touch the distressed Leafeon and cause further pain, instead moved closer to her. "It's ok, it's ok. Don't move yet... You have a really low pain threshold, huh?"
"Yeah," Clover squeezed out through clenched teeth. "I've been told... But why won't they bother me?"
Zorua looked towards the door. "I don't know, to be honest. I think there's some kind of disturbance outside or something."
Despite all of her pain, Clover smiled. The Clan was coming.
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