The Absol walked around her so that she could see him. "Wow. You must have evolved really recently. I've seen Poison Types have better reflexes than that."
"Yeah..." was all Sunbeam could manage. Boy was she glad she cut that deal with Absol...
After a few seconds, he spoke again. "Those are just bruises and superficial wounds. If push comes to shove, they shouldn't slow you down too much." He stayed where he was, watching her. "...Have you ever been in a real fight?"
Sunbeam bit back an acidic response for the first time in her life as she rolled to her paws, wincing a bit. "I have, but I had friends with me." She didn't want to give anyone away.
She could read his thoughts without using telepathy. Of course you were. She may not have been the biggest fan of him, but she needed him to help both of them escape. She shook herself off and tried to act nonchalant. "Can we go now?"
"Sure. Pretend I knocked you out. Shouldn't be too hard." Sunbeam did her best to ignore the slight mocking tone. She needed his help. "I'll have to carry you in to make it more realistic."
Sunbeam huffed indignantly, but allowed him to approach again anyway. If Two or Three ever heard about this, she would near hear the end of it.
Absol grabbed her scruff in a surprisingly gentle manner and lifted her off the ground somewhat awkwardly. Sunbeam hung limp and closed her eyes, casting her senses out in a small area, just in case. The Dark Type trotted her back to the building, scratching at the door. She felt a human approach, then open the door. Absol held Sunbeam up a bit higher, taking on the same haughty attitude that he had before.
The human stepped away to let Absol in. This was it. She was inside the humans' lair. The guard human shouted towards the stairs. "Hey, guys! Absol found the Espeon!"
Another voice shouted from below. "Perfect! I knew the darn thing couldn't get away for long! Absol! Bring it here!"
Sunbeam had to resist laying her ears down. What, did they have him trained at their beck and call? He may have been working for them (until now), but he deserved more respect than that! Nevertheless, Absol trotted towards the stairs. As he descended, he whispered around Sunbeam's scruff. "I've about finished with my end of the deal, and now you do yours. They keep my Poke Ball on the shelf next to the door to the holding area. It's an Ultra Ball. Black with gold markings."
Sunbeam nodded slightly. Absol seemed content with this and approached the door. Another part of her vision flashed back to her, and she urgently tried to telepathically contact him.
"I can hear you. Stop it."
Absol, my vision ended with this building exploding. You can't be inside when we escape! No one can!
At first, when Absol stopped near the door, she thought that he hadn't heard her. She couldn't tell if she had done it right. Finally, however, he spoke again. "Kid, that isn't how the world works. You can't save everyone. I'll stay... outside, but if you want to try and get everyone out of this building before it blows, then fine, be my guest."
Why did you pause before saying 'outside' like that? ... Absol? He didn't answer. ...Absol, I plan on trying anyway. Thanks for the warning, though.
Again, he said nothing. He only waited for one of the humans to open the door to the 'holding area,' which apparently was the room with the cage in it, then walked inside and glared at the Mightyenas as he approached the cage.
Wait. When Sunbeam had seen the police humans burst into the room in her vision, she was trying to open the lock with her claws, and the Mightyenas weren't there. Where had they gone?
Another human followed Absol inside and opened the cage for him. The Disaster Pokémon stood up on his hind legs and placed Sunbeam inside, who sluggishly sat up and poised herself like her mother, still acting like she was just waking up from being knocked out. As Absol pulled away, Sunbeam telekinetically lifted Cresselia's feather and tucked it into the thick fun on Absol's chest. For the first time, he smiled at her. Not a taunting smile, but a genuine one.
Finally, he dropped back to the floor and dashed out as the human closed the cage door. Right. Now she just had to get the Mightyenas to leave and escape. But how? With a twinge of regret, she wished that Future Sight could be more specific.
Espeon concealed her presence as she pressed herself against the wall of another human den. How long did Sunbeam need? She had already used Morning Sun a few times and was to top shape, but she was still hiding from the humans who called themselves Team Rocket's Pokémon. She had taken out a Weezing and an Arbok easily, but she was still tired. She couldn't keep up this pace for much longer. Where was the human police station?
A howl split the air. The Houndooms were onto her again. She had to act fast. Taking a risk, she broke her cover early, sprinting for the opposite side of town, near the Pokémon Center. It had to be somewhere close by!
Another howl sounded again, closer this time. Espeon knew how they got her last time. They surrounded her after one of them had used Mean Look, disabling her teleportation. She wouldn't let that happen again. Her daughter was depending on her!
She kept her senses cast as far out as she could, encompassing nearly the whole town, but specifically focusing on the human den where Sunbeam would be held. She could feel her daughter's distress earlier, but it then turned to a mixture of relief, sadness, and satisfaction, followed less than a few seconds later by annoyance. Wait! There! Espeon veered into another alley while she shut her eyes and tried to focus on Sunbeam.
Whatever she had done, it had worked. She was approaching the human den. Espeon couldn't tell much more than that since her daughter wasn't trying to contact her, but she could tell that she was a bit bruised, but mostly in good shape. She let out a quiet sigh of relief. Her daughter could take care of herself. She had charged Espeon with finding and contacting the human police as soon as possible. Apparently, it had to be her that convinced them to come.
A low growl snapped Espeon out of her thought, and she opened her eyes quickly, coming face to face with a Houndoom. They had found her.
She teleported quickly onto the roof, appearing with just enough space between her and the tiles to land running. Where is my mind today!? she though angrily to herself as the Houndoom behind her howled again. Step it up, Espy, she thought, picturing Umbreon saying it to her. Go save Sunbeam!
She leapt rooftop to rooftop, catching glimpses of the growing number of Houndooms pursuing her. She had to stay far enough away to avoid being caught again! She tried teleporting to a roof that was farther away, but she knew her pursuers would know here she went. She had to get ahead of them. She had to lose them.
Suddenly, she saw another figure bounding across the rooftops towards her. White fur with a black arc. Absol. She quickly changed course. Absols lived on mountains. Jumping building like this would be a walk in the woods for them. She'd rather jump over the Houndooms than get into a fight with an Absol with the same Houndooms around the building.
Not being able to detect the Dark Types by casting her senses, she had to rely on sight alone. She looked down when she jumped, showing that the Houndooms seemed to have figured out her path. That couldn't be good. They could catch her with Mean Look again if they timed it right! And a quick glance backwards showed the Absol quickly gaining on her. She was running out of time. This was going to lead to a fight. Desperately, she tried reading the minds of the humans within the buildings, most of whom were shaken my Team Rocket's attack, searching for any police.
Her luck swung in her favor as she neared the edge of another roof, detecting the human police in a building not too far away. Even with the Dark Types after her, she knew she could make it there.
Until her luck swung back the other way. A Houndoom caught her with Mean Look as she jumped. Distracted and unable to complete her jump, she fell to the street, landing on her paws in a fighting stance. She was NOT going down without a fight! And this time, she knew what she was doing. It would be tough, but she could possibly win this battle. Sunbeam needed her to.
Suddenly, the Absol dropped from the rooftop as well, landing between her and the advancing pack. Espeon took a step back. If she had to fight the pack and the Absol? She knew her limits, and this was beyond them.
The Absol stood facing the wall, not looking at neither Espeon nor the Houndooms. "I have waited far too long for this..." he muttered quietly. Espeon caught a glimpse of something poking out from the fur on his chest. Was that a feather?
Before she could do anything, the Absol spun away from her and leapt at the Houndoom pack, Using Slash and the element of surprise to land a critical hit on the Houndoom that had Espeon trapped, knocking him out. In the moment of shock that affected both Espeon and the rest of the pack, the Absol turned to look at her. "Do you have any more sense than your daughter!? RUN!!" he shouted just as the Houndooms leapt at him.
Having no other option, Espeon turned and ran, free of the capturing stare. She wanted to ask why he was helping her, but she had no time, running for the police station.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Teleporting through the closed glass door to the police humans' den, Espeon jumped onto the nearest table, out of breath from her mad dash from the Absol's distraction. She got their attention the first way she thought of. She lifted a water glass telekinetically, smashed it to the ground with a loud crash! and yelled telepathically to everyone in the den. HEY!
Everyone stopped suddenly, looking at the panting Espeon on the table. One confused officer spoke what the rest were thinking. "What...?"
Espeon continued with telepathy, there being a slight language barrier between them. I know where Team Rocket is hiding out and I need to lead you there. They have my daughter. Please help! She hadn't been this desperate in a long time. Calm, methodical Espeon was gone.
A few humans looked at one another. "How do we know that this isn't a trap by Team Rocket?"
They wouldn't have an Espeon. They focus on Dark and Poison Types, not Psychic. If any of them got their rotten hands on an Eevee, they evolve it into an Umbreon, paws down. Maybe a Flareon, but not an Espeon.
The humans spoke quietly for a moment before one spoke up. "Come on, what are we waiting for!? We were looking for a lead on their location, and now it's staring us in the face! Literally!"
Espeon smiled with a twinge of satisfaction. She jumped off the table and raced for the door. This way! Follow me!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunbeam looked down at the Mightyenas pacing the room. How was she going to get rid of them? She glanced at the other Pokémon in the cage with her. She doubted any of them could help. The vision had to match, or else it would turn out differently! How was she supposed to-
A human yanked open the door to the holding area. "Mightyenas! Police! Go get 'em!" The Dark Types raced around the human and out of the room, with the human following and shutting the door. Sunbeam stared. "Oh. Well, that was easier than I thought it would be."
She jumped to the door and grappled the lock with her claws, trying to find the opening. An Axew stepped closer to her hesitantly. "Do you have a plan?"
"I have better than a plan," Sunbeam grunted as she tried to force her claw into the lock. "I have a vision!"
Sounds of fighting issued from the other side of the door. The police humans had made it! She yelled to all of the Pokémon in the cage with her. "Ok, everyone! When we get out, you have to get everyone out of this building as soon as possible! Even if they're the bad guys! Understand?"
Silence.
"It's important!!" she shrieked. "The building is going to be destroyed! You HAVE to get everyone out!!"
Still no one spoke, but she could sense acceptance of her order. She loved being an Espeon.
The lock wasn't working. She couldn't unlock the door. "Mother! I can't the door! How do you do it so easily?" she growled, not meaning it to be out loud.
However, her mother then answered her. Please! The stolen Pokémon are in here! My daughter is in here!
She heard a human shout. "Feraligatr, go! Use Headbutt!" The door exploded open, revealing the exact scene from her vision. Except for one thing. Espeon ran from behind the Big Jaw Pokémon, stopping just short of the cage.
"Sunbeam!"
"Mother!"
"You're all right!"
"You're not hurt!"
"Come on, we have to get out of here!"
"I can't get the lock open!"
Espeon smiled at her daughter, despite the chaos, and focused on the lock, scrambling it with telekinesis and popping it open with ease. In the following stampede, Sunbeam and her mother pressed close to one another.
"Thank you, Mother."
"I love you, Sunbeam. You make me proud."
The Feraligatr behind them spoke in a rough voice, but in a kind tone. "I hate to be the one to break up the reunion, but we should get out of here. My trainer needs to help the rest of the force.
The final part of her vision came back to her. "Wait! They building! It's going to explode! We have to get everyone out!"
"What!?" the Water Type exclaimed, taking a step back.
Espeon relayed Sunbeam's warning to the trainer. "No... I thought I heard them say something about a backup in case they were busted. That must be it! Come on, guys, let's get everyone else and get out!"
He turned on his heel with the three Pokémon following behind him and ran back into the main room, which was pure chaos from the multitudes of battles happening at once. Sunbeam called to the burly Feraligatr. "Wait! I made a promise." She searched the wall near the door, finding the open Ultra Ball and lifting it towards him with telekinesis, noting her mother's proud look. "Can you break this for me? Please?"
He hesitated for a moment before taking the Ultra Ball out of the air and snapping it in two with relative ease. The police human, noticing his Pokémon had stayed behind, turned back and knelt down on one knee to be more level with Sunbeam and her mother. "Espeons? I know you're wild, but if it's true that they're going to blow the building, I need you to go outside and make sure everyone makes it out. I'll come with you and tell the rest of the force. Ok?"
Both Espeons nodded, and the human stood up again. "Come on. Feraligatr, help them get out safely! I've got to tell the other officers!"
Espeon looked at Feraligatr. "Will he be all right without you to help him?"
The larger Pokémon nodded. "He's chief of police. He's got a whole team with him. He'll be fine. He's the toughest human I know!" he said proudly. Sunbeam smiled. "Now come on, let's go!"
They two Espeons led the way, running stride for stride with the Water Type behind them. They passed two drenched Houndooms, fainted on the floor. Before Sunbeam could even say anything, Feraligatr spoke again. "We'll get them out, too, don't worry."
Finally, they burst outside into the sunlight again. Sunbeam breathed a sigh of relief, but she knew she couldn't rest yet. They had a job to do. She looked at her mother. "How do we know when everyone is out?"
Her mother smiled. "How do you think?"
"...Cast our senses?"
"Well done."
Many people and Pokémon were already out of the building, so when Feraligatr's trainer ran back out holding a Quilava under one arm, Sunbeam called loudly. He was the last one.
The chief of police looked panicked. "RUN!"
They didn't need to be told twice. Feraligatr loped on four legs for speed as Sunbeam and Espeon tore away from the building as quickly as possible, just as the entire structure blew off of its foundation in a fiery explosion.
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