"Espeon?" the gruff voice replied, now sounding less gruff. The large Pokémon stepped out of the bushes, temporarily making Sunbeam freeze with fright. That is, until the Electric Type's face lit up with a smile. "It is you!"
Both shared a quick hug, putting one paw around the other as Sunbeam sat down in confusion. Wait, what was she thinking? She could read its mind! Nice job acting like an adult...
She found that her Psychic Powers were amplified tenfold, making them much more powerful and easy to use than when she was still an Eevee. She tried to focus her untrained mind on the Luxray's thoughts, trying to avoid detection. It's been so long since I've seen her. How long? It was before the Shinxes, that's for sure. Was it before I met-
Sunbeam cut her powers short when she noticed both the Luxray and her mother looking at her. She felt herself go hot under her pink fur. The Luxray spoke first. "That's a bit rude. Who are you, even?" he asked, some of his hostility returning.
Espeon skillfully diffused the situation. "Luxray, this is my oldest daughter, Sunbeam. I believe she was confused as to your motives." Sunbeam only nodded in agreement, looking at Luxray's paws. "Sunbeam, this is Luxray. Umbreon and I met him a few years ago, before we joined Splash's Eevee Clan. He helped us escape a ...persistent trainer."
Sunbeam tilted her head. Was her mother keeping something from her? "Why?" she asked Luxray.
He sat down as she answered. "Well... I always believed in true love. When I saw the bond that your parents had, I knew it was something special. They deserved to be together. So I battled the trainer while they escaped."
Espeon nodded as he concluded. Sunbeam smiled. "That was really nice of you."
"Thank you." Luxray peered at Sunbeam. "You know, you look exactly like your mother, Sunbeam. If there wasn't a size difference, I wouldn't be able to tell the two of you apart!"
Sunbeam flushed an even deeper pink, getting closer to red. Espeon gave her daughter time to recover. "Umbreon told me that he saw you here a while ago."
"Right, he was looking for you. I guess he found you."
She smiled warmly. "He did."
Luxray looked back and forth between the two Espeons in front of him. "If he did, then what are the two of you doing out here without him? Or the other Eevees? Did any of your siblings evolve?"
Sunbeam shook her head as Espeon answered the first question. "We're headed towards Bell Tower to help Sunbeam get more in touch with her new type and abilities."
A look of concern crossed Luxray's face. "Bell Tower? In Ecruteak City?"
Sunbeam stood up again. "Is that what the humans call it?"
Luxray nodded. "Yes, but you'll have to be careful. It's not too far from here and I've been hearing about some not-so-nice things that have been happening there."
Espeon grew slightly worried as well. "How bad?"
Luxray thought for a moment. "Well... I know you're a powerful Psychic, Espeon, so you two should be fine. Just be careful and try to stay out of sight."
Espeon dipped her head. "Thank you, Luxray. We'll be careful."
"If you want, I could walk you there. Most of the Pokémon in this part of the forest know me. ...Or of me," he said with a grin. "They wouldn't dare come near you if they see me."
Sunbeam was just beginning to wonder about that. "Really?"
He nodded. "And I can tell you have lots of questions that you want to ask me..."
"Oh, I do!" Sunbeam smiled, getting excited again.
Luxray gestured for them to follow, leading them through the dark forest and answering every question that Sunbeam asked as best he could.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Night was falling as Luxray and his two accompanying Espeons reached the edge of Ecruteak City. Sunbeam gasped as she saw it. "It's huge!"
Luxray laughed. "Compared to some other human cities that I've seen, this is a pretty small one!"
"Really!?"
"Really!"
Espeon smiled, rubbing her daughter's shoulder. "We should get going. We'll climb the tower in the morning."
Luxray nodded. "Before you go, it might better to sleep inside the first floor of the tower. There are no humans there, and the few Pokémon who do live there are all about "peace and spiritual enlightenment." Whatever that means."
"Sounds like what we're looking for," Espeon added with a small smile.
"But they won't fight unless they have to. Bell Tower is a good shelter. Probably because Ho-Oh is said to live at the top."
Sunbeam couldn't help but get excited every time that myth was mentioned. "Do you think we'll meet him?"
Luxray shook his head. "Sorry, kid, but Ho-Oh hasn't been spotted for decades. Even then, nowhere near this place."
Sunbeam's face fell in disappointment. Espeon nudged her daughter's chin up with one paw. "Cheer up. By the time we get back to the Clan, you'll be a full-blown Espeon," she said with a smile, quoting Inferno.
They thanked Luxray and said goodbye as he returned to the forest, soon disappearing from sight. Sunbeam looked around at the old building style, which was nothing like the quaint little human town closer to home. It wasn't hard to find Bell Tower, soaring over the rooves of the other buildings and human dens. Nearby Bell Tower stood the charred remains of the Burnt Tower, also easy to recognize. Sunbeam's gaze drifted back to Bell Tower. "It's so tall!"
Her mother nodded. "Let's get there before nightfall."
Sunbeam looked up at the beautiful crescent moon as it was rising above the treeline. "How do we get to the tower without being noticed?"
"Simple," her mother answered. "Just act like you belong. Eevees are rather rare in the wild, so if a human sees us in a city, they'll just assume we belong to another trainer."
That made sense. Espeon waited for her mother to take the lead, following her closely as they began navigating the streets of Ecruteak City. It was actually rather peaceful here, despite the surprising amount of humans about. They made Sunbeam nervous at first, but her mother had been right; none of them gave her a second glance.
Halfway across the city, a thunderous roar split the air, feeling like it made the ground itself tremble. Espeon stood up straight, at full attention.
Suddenly, a human den nearby burst into violent flames, and humans began running away in fear, some in utter terror. Sunbeam dove away to avoid being trampled by the sudden stampede, realizing a second later that her mother wasn't with her. "Mother!?" she called desperately. "MOTHER!?"
Sunbeam, run! Go to Bell Tower! I'll meet you when I can! Espeon shouted in her daughter's mind. Afraid and not thinking at full capacity, Sunbeam did as she was told, dashing along the sides of the buildings and trying not to get run over by humans.
She wasn't sure how long she had been running, or how far she had gone, but eventually, she caught sight of Bell Tower, still standing tall despite the chaos happening around it. Her gem lit up as she sensed a human with malicious intent running towards her. Making a mad dash in the direction of the tower, Sunbeam managed to dart away from the human's outstretched hands. She ran in a panic with her destination in sight, but letting fear rule her actions. She slashed her claws against another human who wanted to intercept her, then dodged between his legs and pelted on.
Finally, she reached the tower. There was a low wall blocking her out, but an adrenaline-fueled jump was all that she needed to clear the obstacle. She landed on fallen leaves in the signature colors of autumn. Reds, yellows, oranges, and browns crunched softly beneath her paws as she slowed down, pushing her fear down. That was no way for an Espeon to react, letting her emotions get the better of her.
She berated herself further as the unearthly silent atmosphere calmed her down. It was like being in another place. The only sounds were the wind rustling the leaves and her own tense pawsteps, crunching quietly on the ground beneath her. She could see what Clover was talking about. This did elicit mental focus.
"Ok, Sunbeam..." she muttered quietly to herself. "Get ahold of yourself. Mother told you to wait for her. She'll be here. She knows what she's doing." She repeated these words to herself as she walked to the steps in front of Bell Tower. With a final assuring nod, she sat down on the first step and waited, confident that her mother would return to her soon.
Sunbeam yanked her eyes open again for the... She had lost count at this point. The moon was almost directly overhead. The same question that she had been asking herself all night played again in her mind. Where was Espeon?
She stood up and shook herself out. She had to do something. Obviously, her mother was in some kind of trouble, otherwise she would be here by now. She walked back in front of the tower, looking up towards the top. It was a big city, and Sunbeam would never find her way around. There was one other option.
Climb the tower.
If she reached the top quickly, she would be able to see the whole city from above. It was night. If Espeon was out, she'd have her jewel lit up to guide her way. A light and pink fur shouldn't be too hard to spot at night, right?
She looked as high up the tower as she could from this position. It was tall. Nine floors, Clover had said. How hard could it be? Luxray had said that the Pokémon didn't fight unless they had to, so they wouldn't be a problem. Maybe they'd even help her if she told them what happened.
Steeling her resolve, Sunbeam jumped the steps and raced into the tower.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Around the fifth floor, Sunbeam had to stop running. She was panting hard and her legs screamed at her to stop. She was already tired from her trek to Ecruteak City and the flight from the human stampede. She still had four more floors to go. She had greatly underestimated the amount of time and energy it would take to get to the top.
"I'm already more than halfway there... I can't stop now..." she panted to herself, while her body told her very firmly that she can, would, and should stop now. She laid down on the wooden floor before she collapsed there.
There had to be something that she could do. Sleeping wasn't an option. Nor was meditating. She didn't have the time. She was really hungry, too. Could she hunt in Bell Tower? Was that allowed? Wait! Clover's berries and herbs! There had to be something in there!
She took the leaf pouch from around her neck, wondering why it hadn't occurred to her sooner. Spilling the contents on the floor, she pawed through them. "Berries, I can eat... Revival Herbs... Mental Herbs, maybe? Probably not. I need physical strength, not mental. Not yet, anyway."
Right then, something took hold of her. It was a Psychic presence, but an unrecognized one. It looked her over, then faded away. "Hello?" she called quietly. Who's there? She tried telepathy, but it reached no one.
Just when she thought it had been her imagination, the presence returned for a split second. Within that fraction of a second, Sunbeam felt fully recharged, like she had just gotten a full night's sleep in an instant. The Psychic presence vanished, but the energy remained. Sunbeam quickly got to her paws, putting all of Clover's herbs back in the pouch. "Thank you!" she called loudly, probably disturbing several Pokémon around her.
A tendril of a soft, melodic voice touched her mind. Come and see the crescent moon. I will help...
Sunbeam leapt to her paws with renewed energy, dashing for the stairs. Four more floors to go. She could make it. She'd be tired when she reached to top, but she could make it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunbeam staggered up the final flight of stairs with a very familiar feeling of tired achiness. She could see the night sky. There! The perfect crescent moon! She hauled herself up the last few steps, finally out in the open air. She breathed a huge sigh of relief.
"Hello?" she called, just above a whisper. She had the distinct feeling that this was a sacred place. She had to be quiet. She took in her surroundings. There wasn't too much space on the roof. Four statues of Ho-Oh stood watch on the four corners of the roof, each with their wings raised and looking in a different direction. In the very center of the roof was an ornate bar. The perfect place for an avian King of Legendaries to perch.
She looked around for who had called to her. No one was present. Her eyes strayed back to the perch of King Ho-Oh. It couldn't be. "...Ho-Oh...?"
"Close," a quiet voice whispered behind her. Sunbeam spun around to see a hovering apparition. Light pink rings floated around a Pokémon with pale blue skin, cream undersides, and a bird-like head.
Espeon stared in fascination. She had never seen or heard of anything like this Pokémon before. "...Who are you?" she asked in disbelief.
The mystery Pokémon responded with the same melodic voice that she had heard in her thoughts on the fifth floor. "I am known as Cresselia. I am the Lunar Pokémon, bringer of good dreams."
Cresselia... "Are you... Are you a legendary?"
Sunbeam could feel her mirth as she answered. "Yes, young Espeon. I am indeed. I heard your plight for your missing mother. While I cannot intervene directly, I can be of some help."
Sunbeam's eyes widened in stunned silence. She struggled to find words that would show her respect and gratitude. "Th-Thank you," she stammered ungracefully. So much for that.
Cresselia didn't seem to care. "Look over the city, young one. You will see how to save her. I shall give you a gift to help you."
Sunbeam nodded and slowly turned away from the legendary to look over the rooftops of Ecruteak city. Evidence of fire was obvious in many places, but nothing serious was amiss. She thought about Cresselia's words. You will see how to save her. Something about the way she said the word "see..."
She heard Cresselia move closer to her from behind, then begin singing a quiet, but beautiful song. It had no words, just a perfect melody. Sunbeam wondered what the gift that Cresselia mentioned was. The song was very beautiful. Sunbeam stared to feel the effects of her climb again, the energy that Cresselia had lent her drifting away and leaving Sunbeam more exhausted than she had ever been. She was so tired. So tired... So...
Sunbeam's eyes drifted closed, and she collapsed on the roof of Bell Tower.
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