Wait a second, ANOTHER!?
The third human responded. "Watch the pond. It'll come out at some point."
I willed my liquid body to drift down to the bottom of the pond. Patrats. Not they'd be watching the pond like Talonflames. And they must have found Surf, or at least seen him. Did they hurt him? I couldn't get to him to help! Not only that, if he was all right, now he couldn't get to the pond.
Ok, think. If Surf needed to get to the pond, he'd give me some kind of signal. He was smart. If humans were watching the pond, it had to be because they had seen one of us in the water, and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be Inferno. If he got my attention, all it would take would be one Blizzard from me. That would give him the cover he needed. Come to think of it, that would work for any of the others in my clan, with the exception of Bolt and Inferno. I needed my Psychic.
Espeon? I called mentally. Usually, that was all it took for her to respond. This time, nothing. Maybe it was because I was still water. I slowly inched my way across the pond, still silently calling out to her. Finally, when I reached my den, I reformed myself as I exited the water, making poor Three jump. "Sorry, Three! I had to sneak around the pond."
He relaxed a margin of a bit. "Ok. Where's mommy?"
I tried once more, screaming Espeon's name in my head. Nothing. I looked at Three. "I don't know. She's not answering me." I didn't say how scared I was for her safety.
Three laid back down next to his unconscious older sister. "Did you go look at the camp?"
I shook my head. "I tried to, but the humans are right there. They saw me. Now, they'll be watching the pond and waiting for me to show up. A Vaporeon can only stay a puddle for so long."
Three looked at the ground sadly. "Then... What do we do now?"
My eyes found the ice sculpture of Suicune that Snow had made me for Snow Day. "We have to wait it out. I don't like just sitting here as much as you do, but we can't make a move until those humans go away."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Espeon slowly awoke, she was in the dark. Pitch darkness all around her. She didn't like the dark. She was also moving. At least, the floor was. It was too much for her to try and stand up in her current state. Not liking the lack of light, she tapped into her Psychic powers, making her jewel glow. The touch of light was all she needed. That was one of the many reasons that she loved Umbreon. When she was with him, she was never fully in the dark. He always cast a light for her to follow.
The glow didn't give off much light, but it was enough for her to see the wooden box she had been imprisoned in. It was barely small enough to turn a circle in. She stayed laying down and calmly organized a list of priorities.
1. Where was she?
While the answer was rather unclear, she could technically cross that one off.
2. Umbreon.
She still felt rather weak from whatever the humans had done to her, so her powers were not as strong as usual. Nevertheless, she cast out her mind, searching for her beloved. After a few seconds, nothing. He was probably out of range of her current powers.
Just as she was about to search for her kits, Espeon felt a mind stirring very close to her.
Snow? Are you all right?
The Glaceon took a few seconds before coming to her senses. Espeon? Where are you? I can't see anything!
The humans have us, I'm sure of it. I don't know where we are exactly, my powers haven't fully recovered yet.
Why are we moving so much? I can't stand up.
Don't try. Espeon shifted her mind around, scanning the other presences in the area. Four humans... Five Rapidashes. She moved back to Snow. We are in boxes on a galloping Rapidash. The humans must be taking us somewhere.
Snow's mind became angry and upset. Great... Well, at least Clover isn't with us.
She isn't?
No, she's a long way away. Good thing, too.
Just then, Surf started to wake up as well. Espeon informed Snow and helped clear the mist from his mind, waking him up more thoroughly. The first thing the male Vaporeon tried to do was stand up and fight his way out of what ever had happened to him. He fell and knocked his head. Espeon tried to calm him. Surf, take it easy. We can't get out like that.
His initial response was out loud. "Splash!? Where are you!?"
She's not here! She's safe. I think. I only know for sure that she's not here.
Surf was silent for a few seconds before responding mentally. ...Than at least I have that.
Espeon gave him a minute to think while she set up a telepathic network between herself, Snow, and Surf. The second it was completed and the other informed of it, Snow filled Surf in on the events up until now. Surf sighed. I don't know where to go from here.
Snow thought about a plan. What if Espeon ...mind controlled the humans to let us go...?
Espeon smiled sadly. While a good idea, Snow, very few Legendaries can use mind control. In fact, only two that come to mind. I cannot.
Snow reprimanded herself that whatever she thought could be heard. What about emotion? I know you can do that. Make the humans pity us so much that they let us go?
Again, I can only influence change in emotions, not create them. If the humans felt any pity for us at all in the first place, then I'd have something to work with.
Surf rejoined the conversation. But they don't. It was a statement, not a question.
Espeon nodded, though no one could see her. There was a bit of silence in which all three were thinking about ways to escape. Finally, Surf directed a question. What if we came from a different angle and attacked the Rapidashes?
Snow thought about the idea. Possible... They do get scared rather easily.
Espeon thought about it. The idea had merit. If the Rapidashes reared up, the crates that she, Snow, and Surf were in might fall of their backs and break open. It was a gambol, but one that more possibility than drawbacks. It is a good plan. Surf, if our boxes do break open, you'd be the one to keep the humans at bay. I'll help as soon as I can. Snow, if any of our crates do not break on impact, it'll be your job to remedy that. Ice can break rock, so this thick wood shouldn't be a problem. Surf has priority. He'll need to distract the humans. Once we have them unstable, which I can assist with, we can make a break for the woods, if there are any.
Snow added. Just run in the opposite direction. If we stick together, the humans would be on one side of us. And we'll stay together when we run.
Espeon and Surf agreed. Surf inquired, should we do it now?
Not yet, Espeon thought. Creating the mental links took a bit out of my still recovering powers. I'd need a few minutes before I'm at full capacity.
The male Vaporeon, ever patient, relented. Whenever you're ready, Espeon.
Espeon meditated, trying to increase her Psychic power and trying not to hear her kits in her mind. They weren't really contacting her, it was just the memory haunting her. They were safe, that's all that mattered.
Umbreon saw Four's glow pressed against a tree through the smoke just before he also saw the human shadow reaching towards him. Fury overtook Umbreon as he bolted past Clover and make a flying headbutt into the vile man's skull. Umbreon put as much dark energy as he could muster into the blow, making it one of the most ferocious Dark Pulses he has ever used.
The humans staggered back, reeling for the force of the strike and trying not to lose control over his mind. Umbreon landed perfectly on all four paws in a protective stance in front of Four. "Daddy!" came his kit's voice from behind him.
"Four, go to Clover. Now. I'll hold him off." The venom in his voice was all the encouragement that the radioactive Eevee needed, dashing towards Clover as the human regained his composure.
The human stared Umbreon down, brown eyes meeting angry red ones. Umbreon took a threatening step forward. "You want my kit? You'll have to go through me first," he snarled.
The human threw a Poke Ball on instinct, but Umbreon was one step ahead, using Phantom Force to dodge the projectile. Re-emerging into the physical dimension a second after he vanished, he dealt another crushing blow using a Dark Pulse-Headbutt combo. The human fell to the ground, reaching for his pocket, probably to take out another Pokémon to defend himself, the worthless coward. Umbreon landed directly in front of the man's face and lit his rigs up, summoning a blinding light from his forehead ring to temporarily blind the human, when shouted and covered his eyes with his hands, pulling them away from the Poke Balls. Umbreon took the opportunity to blast the despicable human with a critical-strength Sludge Bomb. Using another Dark Pulse as he leapt away from the human's swinging fist, Umbreon savagely bit the man's shoulder and used Sludge Bomb again to infect the wound. Another quick jump brought Umbreon in front of the human's face again. Umbreon smashed his forehead to the human's, projecting every possible image and emotion of just what Umbreon could and would do to this man if he EVER came anywhere near his family again. The man screamed and tried to pull away, but Umbreon wouldn't release him. He combined the terrifying images with Dark Pulse after Dark Pulse, pushing towards insanity. Finally, when the human's mind has just about broken, Umbreon sprayed poison into his eyes, used Phantom Force again to move behind the human undetected, reappeared, and dealt a swift and strong kick to the base of the human's skull, knocking him deep into an unconscious state full of nightmarish images.
Umbreon stood still, hackles raised, teeth bared, and in an attack posture. He panted heavily through clenched fangs. He finally managed to relax his posture a bit, looking over to see Clover and Four hiding behind a tree. Umbreon let his fur fall flat, but his ears remained pinned back as he stepped over to them. Clover managed to find her words. "...You... could've held back a little..." she stammered, choking on her words a bit.
Umbreon looked at the damage he had done. "That was me holding back, I didn't kill him," he growled.
Both Clover and Four looked terrified. Four was unable to speak, but Clover still could. "Remind me to never, ever cross you again."
Umbreon said nothing, only leaning down and nuzzling Four, ignoring what Espeon and Splash had told him. It calmed both father and son. Umbreon whispered in Four's buzzing ear. "I will do anything in my power to keep you safe, Four. Always."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bolt paced back and forth nervously across the smooth treetop, giving off tense sparks when he turned. The kits had fallen into a fitful sleep next to the warm and comforting Inferno, and the Flareon himself was helping Bolt keep his cool. "All of our Clan members can hold their own weight, they'll be fine!"
Bolt couldn't stop thinking about Espeon. "What if-"
"Espeon is fine," Inferno said firmly. "If anything, she has the most control over her type than any of us. She's very powerful." How did Inferno know him so well?
Bolt stopped pacing and hung his head, still breathing rapidly. "I just want to shower the camp in thunderbolts until every last human is out of our territory!"
Inferno flicked an ear. "You would almost certainly hit clanmates," he said factually.
Bolt forced himself to lie down. "Where do we even go from here?" he asked desperately. "Is there a protocol of some kind that I can never remember? I'm really bad with the protocols, are there six or seven, I think there's one for a flood, or was it tornado, maybe both, I don't know, I'm really bad at th-"
"Bolt. I'm sorry, but for the love of Mew, shut up." Bolt stopped talking and took a breath. Inferno continued after a second of silence, just as Bolt was about to start up again. "And no, there is not a protocol for 'camp blows the heck up.' I think the fire one would be the closest in this case." The poor Flareon still seemed on-edge about being up so high, but he had dutifully not looked over the side of the Emergency Tree, nor had he lost his cool in front of Bolt and the kits.
Bolt nodded, rising to his paws again. "That's, like, the only one I know. We go to the river, you keep the fire from spreading too close to us, and Splash and Surf work to put out the fire. Easy."
Inferno nodded as Five turned fitfully in her sleep. Bolt was by her side in an instant, whispering soothing words in her ear. "Shh... It's ok, Five... I'm here... I'll protect you... It's all going to be ok..."
With his words, Five drifted back into a more peaceful sleep. Bolt stood back up as Inferno looked on, impressed. "You're really good with kits, Bolt."
Bolt glowed with pride, to the point where Inferno had to gesture with his tail to take the light down a notch. "Sorry. But thanks." There was a long silence. "Now what?"
Inferno stammered. "I... guess we follow the fire protocol? I guess? I don't know. It seems like the most logical thing to do. Right?"
Bolt shrugged, just as unsure as his best friend. Nothing seemed straight right now. Everything was upside down and backwards. "I guess so. But we can't go anywhere now, that's for sure. There are humans down there, and I don't want to get Two and Five to get caught up in a fight."
"Also true," Inferno agreed. Bolt started thinking again. Too quickly and about too much. Where were Espeon and Umbreon? What about One, Three, and Four? And Splash? And Snow? And Clover? And Surf? Were they all ok? Did the humans find any of them? Did they get away? Where was everyone? Would they also think to come to the river? What if no one showed but them? Then what? What about rebuilding the camp? Would they have to relocate? Would the kits be able to handle that? Could they handle themselves in a fight? Could he stop that from happening? Was he electrocuting the tree? Would that light it on fire?
Inferno spoke and cut Bolt's runaway train of thought off. "Bolt. You are short circuiting again. Calm down. Run in circles."
Bolt forced himself to not think about anything. He began blasting in extremely tight and rapid circles, focusing on keeping his footing. He didn't know why this helped him think, but it did. As he continued to race around in tight loops, one question stuck in his mind: What now?
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