Taken (Part 2)

"Stand back!" I yelled.  "Inferno, light it up!"  Through the thorny brambles, I could barely see Snow standing in the dead center of the bramble circle, while Surf paced around closer to the outside.  Inferno used Flamethrower to light the thorny branches on fire, sending flames rapidly spreading around the ring.  Surf quickly put out any stray fire with a well-aimed spray of cold water.

Finally, the brambles burned enough so that Snow and Surf could easily jump over them.  Surf extinguished the last of the flames with Surf, causing Inferno to squeal and try to climb a tree.  Surf bounded over the ashes of the brambles, raced up to me, and skidded to a halt with his nose touching mine and his fins rubbing mine.  He leaned into me.  "I was so worried about you..."

I welcomed his caresses, some of the panic of Clover's abduction melting away.  Some.  "Me too.  But Clover's gone.  She was taken by the Mandibuzz."

Surf pulled away in disbelief.  His mouth was open slightly, whether from shock or he wanted to say something, I couldn't tell.  Inferno fell from the tree with a soft thud.  Surf ignored him and shook his head.  "What do we do?"

I closed my eyes and took a breath.  "We go back to camp, regroup, and track the Mightyenas.  I have a definite feeling that they're in cahoots with the Mandibuzz.  They must be going to the same place.  We find the pack, we find Clover."

Snow finally mustered up the courage to jump out of the ring as well.  "We'd need some serious help if we plan to save her."

I turned towards her.  "Exactly.  Back to camp.  I think I might have an idea."

After a brief mental contact with Espeon to make sure the camp was safe, the six of us marched in and sat in a circle, Espeon and Umbreon joining between Bolt and Snow.  There was an open spot next to Snow, where Clover normally sat.

I did my best to ignore that fact and continued.  "Ok.  Who here has good tracking skills?"  Everyone stood up.  I shook my head and sat back down again.  Everyone else followed suit as I spoke.  "Ok, never mind.  Four Eevees in the Search Party.  Myself, Snow, Espeon, and Umbreon.

Surf stood up again.  "No way, Splash.  I am not letting you out of my sight again until this threat is resolved."

I gently pushed him back into a sitting position with my tail.  "Surf, the reason I want you here is that, 1. you can handle yourself in battle.  If the camp came under attack, you'd be fine.  2. You're a good commander.  If we do come under attack again, Bolt and Inferno would follow your instructions to the letter.  I've seen you in action."

Inferno nodded in agreement.  Surf looked at the ground in defeat.  "Fine...  But if you get hurt out there, I will never forgive myself.  Understood?"

I smiled at him.  "Yes, sir."

Snow stood up.  "With all due respect, Splash, tracking her down is all well and good, but how are 8 Eevees going to stand up to 20 Mightyenas and a Mandibuzz?  Who knows, there might be even more foes than that!  We'd need some serious assistance!" 

I turned towards her with serious eyes and a ghost of a smile.  "I was just getting to that.  I think that the Search Party should track Clover down, get a location, then come back.  Then, Bolt, Inferno, and I will take a nap."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I watched Snow put her nose to the ground again, trotting along the scent trail of the Mightyena pack.  Espeon was searching for Clover through brain waves, trying to get a hold of her by thought.  Umbreon was keeping an eye out for danger.  He said he hadn't had any more premonitions, but better safe than sorry.

I raised my head from the ground, looking at Espeon.  "Anything?"

She shook her head.  "Nothing.  Something must be wrong.  I might have found her, but she's not responding."

Snow's head jerked up.  "Can you zero in on her location?" she said, much louder and quicker than usual. 

Espeon shook her head again.  "No.  She'd have to tell me where she is, and I'm not close enough to her to wake her up."

I looked at Espeon, deducing what was going on.  "So she's unconscious?"

"That's my best guess."  Snow said nothing, just slowly returning to her tracking.  Espeon sent a thought to me.  "She's extremely upset over the loss of her best friend."

I sent a thought back while resuming tracking myself.  "She's not dead, Espeon.  You just said that."

The thought came back in a very quiet whisper.  "I said that for Snow's benefit.  She seems distraught now, but she's broken inside.  Clover is the one Eevee she really trusted with all her heart.  She trusts us, as well, but no one as much as Clover.  I said that to keep her from breaking down even more.  The truth is, I can't tell if she's alive or dead."

I thought nothing in response.  My mind was blank.  I could tell that Espeon was distinctly regretful that she sent that thought to me.  I was worried enough.  I focused on tracking the Mightyenas.  If she was anywhere, they might tell us where... and if she was ok.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Time passed.  How much, I wasn't sure.  I was just trying to fix my mind on tracking.  Any thoughts about Clover I shut out as fast as I could.  They were all concerns, and concerns would only distract me and make me even more upset.

So caught up in tracking, I didn't notice that Snow had stopped until I bumped into her.  She was frozen.  Umbreon gasped.  I could feel the fear and concern radiating off of Espeon in waves.  I looked up and saw what everyone was concerned about.  We were there.  Umbreon finally spoke where no one else could.  "...yeah.  We're going to need that help."

Clover slowly came to consciousness.  Her first feeling was that of pain.  A lot of it.  The second was that she was cold.  Not the familiar kind of cold that she was used to, like ice from Snow, but a different kind of cold.  She didn't like this new kind of cold.

Clover forced her eyes open.  She saw shiny walls, like metal.  She sensed no danger around her, no sign of the terrible man, his Mandibuzz, or any Mightyenas.  Making herself stand up, despite how much it hurt, Clover turned around, making sure that she wasn't dreaming... or more accurately, having a nightmare.  Blank metal walls on three sides around her.  The floor was also metal, explaining the uncomfortable cold.  Behind her was a cage door, comprised of metal bars.  The gaps between them was far too small for her to slip through.  She could stick her paw through, but not much else. 

She used Synthesis to heal all of her cuts and scratches.  The pain subsided.  Clover took a shaky breath and looked around her cage again.  There wasn't much.  She had a total of three things in here: two red plastic... things that slightly resembled a Pitcher Plant, or a Weepinbell.  They were bolted to the wall using more metal.  There was metallic-smelling water in one and some brown mush in the other that smelled disgusting.  The only other thing in this cage was... a sand box!  Clover smiled.  She may be captured, but there was no reason she should be uncomfortable here.

Having nothing else to do, Clover pawed at the sand, spilling it all over the floor of her cage.  Trying not to think about the rest of the Clan, especially Snow, Clover dutifully smoothed out the sand with her tail, making sure it was even.  Then, she went over to the water container thing.  She hesitantly poked it with her paw, just to make sure it wouldn't hurt her.  It didn't.  She then set about slopping some of the water around the sand, making sure to leave a bit for herself.  She wasn't sure when she would get more...

Wait.  She was inside.  No rain.  No rain meant no water that would get in that red thing naturally... that had to mean that... humans came and gave her water!  That wasn't good.  From her experiences, humans = bad.  That man had really hurt her.  She was not keen on letting anyone near her. 

Clover shivered and shook herself out, as if to get rid of the touch of that horrid man that she could still feel on her neck.  If she was to protect herself, she'd better finish this project.  Clover stood in the far corner of her cage and focused on the sand.  It wasn't much, but it would have to work.  The water that she had sprinkled on the ground helped the tall grass and flowers that Clover grew, making sure that all of them had thorns.  She purposefully left a clear space from the door to the red things, so that her water could be refilled later.  As terrifying as the notion was, Clover needed that water, both for herself and for her plants.  For when the occasion arose that a human did come near her cage, Clover also wove a nice den of flowers, perfectly sized for her.  The thorns faced away from where Clover would be walking, from her makeshift flower den, to the opposite corner, where Clover had grown some berry-yielding plants and herbs, to the red things, so that she could get more water later.

"There." Clover said quietly, partly to reassure herself, partly to hear something in this desolate place.  It was unnervingly quiet in here.  "Protection and comfort.  Not exactly home, but it'll have to do until I escape."

"Escape?" a raspy voice said from a few feet away, making Clover nearly jump out of her skin.  "There is no escape.  Not for you, not for anyone."

Taken (Part 1)

I glanced in panic around camp.  Clover, gone!?  "This is beyond a worse-case scenario!" I shouted.

Inferno leaned on my shoulder, calming me down a bit.  "Splash, what about the others?  Are they still out in the forest?"

I took a deep breath, trying to clear my head.  "Yes.  They are.  Bolt, go treetop and see if they're still under attack!"

"Rodger!" Bolt shouted before zipping up his safety tree and rapidly leaping from one tree to another.  I could only watch the yellow blast leap away.  A thought entered unpermitted into my head.  Was Surf ok?

As if reading my mind (probably because she was), Espeon rubbed my cheek comfortingly.  "He'll be all right.  In fact, I think the Mightyenas attacking them are leaving..."

As if to confirm this, Bolt blasted back into camp, through the entrance this time.  "They were still there, but I scared them off with a bit of lightning."  Espeon gave him a look to say really?  Bolt shrugged.  "Fine, they were leaving just as I got there.  Everyone else is ok.  Clover's barriers worked wonders."

I groaned.  "She would have been safe if she'd stayed with us!"

Umbreon turned to face me.  "Look, Splash," he said roughly.  "Would those barriers have had any protection against the Mandibuzz?  No.  Everyone would have been too distracted by the Mightyenas to notice its approach."  He cut me off before I could respond.  "BUT it doesn't matter!  What happened, happened!  Now it's YOUR job to stay level and come up with a plan!"

It wasn't exactly a pep talk, but it grounded me.  Umbreon was right.  I had a job to do.  And on my roster right now was saving Clover.  "Thanks, Umbreon.  All right.  If we want to go after Clover, we need the rest of our Clan.  Let's go get Surf and Snow, then we'll start tracking the Mightyenas.  I'm positive they'd be going to the same place."

The rest of the clan nodded their consent, but Espeon stood up.  "Umbreon and I will stay here, just to be sure there won't be another ambush when we get back."

I nodded to her.  "Good thought.  Everyone else, let's move.  Now!"

Clover thrashed about desperately, trying to escape the Mandibuzz's cruel talons.  She was getting cuts all over the place.  She tried using Leaf Blade again, but to no avail.  She just wasn't in the right position. 

Where had this even come from!?  She opened up the tunnel into camp and had seen nothing threatening.  Next thing she knew, a Mightyena attacked her from behind!  Leaf Blade had saved her then, but just as she was driving it off with Aura Sphere, the Mandibuzz appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her!

She resumed thrashing, but the Mandibuzz squeezed her harder, driving her talons deeper into Clover's skin.  She yelped and quit moving.  Even if she could escape, they were too high off the ground.  She'd never survive the fall.  Another horrifying thought struck her.  What happened to everyone else!?  Last she knew, Splash, Surf, and Snow were still in her thorn barrier and the camp was obviously under attack.  Was everyone at camp ok?  What about Espeon's kits?  Did anyone in the forest follow her tunnel?  Did they get attacked?

Concerns flooded through Clover's mind.  She took a breath to focus herself.  She had to help her clan, but helping herself came first right now.  She had to escape.  Obviously, the Mandibuzz was taking her somewhere.  Clover might be able to make another, unexpected escape attempt when they were closer to the ground.  Heck, if she could manage, she could Dig back to camp, this time into the shelter of Bolt and Inferno's rock den.  She could fix the hole later.

They flew on for several minutes.  Clover thought she recognized some of the foliage...  That oak tree looked familiar.  But when had she been here before?

The answer came when the Mandibuzz made a banking turn towards a large building in a clearing.  A very familiar large building in a clearing... With a start, she realized where she'd seen this area before.  That's the same building where Entei and Suicune were captured!

With horror, Clover realized that this was their destination.  She screamed and thrashed in terror, not caring anymore how tightly the Mandibuzz held her.  Her feathered captor let out a piercing screech, making Clover wince.  A man in a white lab coat and a clipboard under his arm stepped out of the building, looking up at the Mandibuzz.  He removed a Poke Ball from his lab coat pocket and held it up.

"NO WAY!" Clover screamed, fighting for her life.  She refused to become a slave to this terrible man!  The Mandibuzz flew up to the man and hovered in front of him.  Clover froze, wishing she could disappear like Umbreon or Espeon.

The man spoke.  "Well done, Mandibuzz.  You didn't steal this one from another Trainer, now, did you?"  The Mandibuzz shook her head and shook Clover.  She shrunk away from the man in pure, unadulterated terror.  He peered at her, then held up the Poke Ball.  "Let's see if it cooperates."

The next thing Clover knew, she was trapped!  She threw herself against the sides of an enclosed space she could not see.  It gave way.  Clover tumbled back into the sunlight.  She scrambled to her paws and tried to make a run for it, but suddenly the Mandibuzz was on top of her, pinning her to the ground!  The man walked slowly in front of her, regarding her.  "All right..." he said, seeming a bit indifferent.  "Whatever works for you, Leafeon."

He reached out a hand.  Clover tried to bite him.  The Mandibuzz put one foot on her head, pushing her muzzle into the dirt.  A cold, sterile hand clutched her scruff, and hauled her off the ground, causing the Mandibuzz to push off her back to take flight, giving her more serious slashes.  Nevertheless, Clover fought the man.  He shook her by the scruff, causing a lot of pain.  She yelped again, but continued to fight. 

Finally, the man grew frustrated and threw her hard into a tiny, handheld cage near the door.  She hit the side hard, with the tightly woven wires digging into her cuts.  Stunned by the pain, Clover could only lie on the floor of the cage as the man walked up to it, closed the cage door, and locked it with a resounding click.

The Calm Before the Storm (Part 3)

I can say this for certain.  Clover's new Emergency-vine-that-you-can-only-pull-on-in-desperate-situations-as-in-SOS-someone-is-dying-and-I-need-to-contact-Splash-immediately works pretty well.  The slack is hidden under a rock, and the rest of the vine snakes though a small tunnel underground that Clover made with Dig.  Because my bed is in an air-filled space under the pond, it's kind of hard to contact me in case of emergency.  So, Clover tied the other end of the vine to my bed.  That way, if someone moved the rock aside and pulled on the vine, my bed would rise up and slam against the ceiling.  I have been told I sleep very deeply, so...  Since the possible threat of another Mightyena attack, I had Clover install it.

Needless to say, it works perfectly.

WHAM!  "OW!" I shouted as my head hit the ceiling.  I rubbed my brow with a paw.  The mechanism worked all right.  Oh, wait.  Emergency.  Right.  As I slid into the water, I thought to myself "I swear, if this is Bolt or Inferno playing a prank on me, I will seal them in their rock den for a WEEK."  As I reached the surface however, it appeared as though Bolt and Inferno were safe.  Espeon and Umbreon had pulled the alarm.

I pulled myself onto the ground, not even bothering to shake the water off of myself.  The pair looked rather eerie in the moonlight, with Espeon's jewel giving off a light aura and Umbreon's yellow rings glowing brightly in the dark.  I looked back and forth between the two.  "Ok... when I said that the Emergency Vine was only for emergencies, I meant it....  I am losing valuable sleep here...  What's going on?"

Umbreon spoke first with a note of urgency in his voice.  "I've had a premonition."

I was too tired for this.  "What?"

"A premonition." he repeated.  "You know, a feeling of what's to come."

"Like Future Sight?" I asked, still somewhat dazed from my head trauma. 

Espeon responded this time, soothing my head while she spoke.  "Something like that, yes."

I used Recover to fix my bump on the head, my drowsiness forgotten with Espeon's help.  "How?  You don't know Future Sight."  I gave a nod of thanks to Espeon as Umbreon explained.

"I don't.  But ever since Espy and I have been together, we've kind of... picked up a few tricks.  You know, like Bolt built up a resistance to fire since Inferno tends to explode in his sleep."  I nodded.  Inferno was prone to sleep-splosions.  Umbreon continued.  "Well, I've picked up two things from Espeon.  One you know about; I can sense lies?"

"Oh yeah," I recalled.  "All those times we've almost been scammed or cheated..."  Umbreon was my lie detector.  He was always present during customer negotiations to make sure our customer could and would pay.

Umbreon nodded and kept going.  "Right.  But the other one developed much more recently.  I can sort of... sense when something bad is going to happen."

Uh-oh.  "And... you sensed this just now?"

He nodded.  "Yeah.  Woke me up.  Someone in the Clan is in danger.  I can't tell who, but..."

I nodded seriously.  "I'll tell everyone to be on high alert.  I'll station two Eevees on watch and make sure anyone who goes outside the camp is with their battling partner."

Umbreon sighed in relief.  Espeon spoke.  "Since we're already awake, why don't the two of us relieve Snow?  She's up there right now.  It's only midnight."

I groaned.  "Thank you for reminding me of that fact...  Sure, go ahead.  Let her sleep.  And in the morning, put... Bolt and Inferno on watch.  Tell them that if there's too much chitchat and not enough watching, I'll box them around the ears."

Espeon chuckled.  "Will do."  With that, they walked off together, exited the camp and jumped up to the lookout post just as Snow slid down the ice slide.  The Glaceon shook her fur out and then walked casually to her thorn-bush shielded den with Clover.  I smiled, replaced the rock on top of the extra vine, and slid back into the water.  I swam into the small opening in the side of the pond, surfaced in my cozy little den, and laid back down in my bed, drifting off to sleep.

The next morning, I was grumpy from sleep deprivation.  Fortunately for everyone else, Surf met me in the middle of the pond.  I told him what happened the night before, and he not only told how reasonable I was, but rubbed and swam with me for a good half hour, melting my bad mood away like ice in the morning sun.

Together, we swam to the surface.  As we pulled ourselves out of the water, we were met by Snow and Clover.  Clover gave me a bright, sunny smile.  "Good morning!  We wanted to go out on a hunting patrol, if you Love Pidoves would like to join us."

I smiled at the analogy.  Surf just looked slightly embarrassed.  I nodded.  "Sure.  We'd love to.  Just one sec."  I left the three of them by the pond and walked over to Espeon and Umbreon, who, despite their long night, were eating by the prey hole, sharing sunny looks with each other.  If my calculations were correct, Espeon's eggs should be coming along in the next week or so.

I trotted up to the amicably.  "Morning.  How are you two this morning?"

Umbreon gave me a coy smile.  "You seem in a good mood, despite your late night."

I shrugged it off.  "You'd be surprised what Surf can do."

Umbreon leaned on Espeon.  "Oh, I know."

Espeon spoke, her soft voice like sunlight.  "Did you want to ask us something?"

I shook my head.  "No, tell you.  Snow, Clover, Surf and I are going out hunting.  I want you two in charge at camp.  We'll have four out and four home."

She nodded.  "Absolutely.  Be careful, though," she finished seriously, referring to Umbreon's prediction.

I nodded firmly.  "I will.  I'll be careful and make sure everyone else is, as well."

They nodded in thanks.  I turned back to the other three by the pond, sweeping my tail towards the entrance to signal to them that we were good to go.

Ten minutes later, the four of were padding side by side across the forest floor, keeping our noses and ears tuned for signs of prey... and danger.  Clover voiced my thoughts.  "Does anyone else find it a tad odd that it's right in the middle of fall, the leaves are turning and falling, and there's not a single sign of prey anywhere?"

"Yeah..." I agreed.  "Maybe we should head back.  I don't like this...  Everyone be on your guard.  Back to camp."  We turned around and started walking back home.  I couldn't shake the sense that we were being watched.

As it turns out, I was right.

Shuffling in the bushes caught Surf's attention.  He nudged my shoulder, and silently alerted the others to the threat.  Therefore, we were ready when the same pack of 10 Mightyenas exploded out of the thicket.  They surrounded us.  They had obviously been tracking us.  Thinking quickly, Clover thrust thorny brambles up from the ground, circling and shielding us from the ferocious dog Pokemon.  She turned to me.  "I can dig a hole back to camp!  Stay here and keep them occupied!" 

"Go!"  I shouted.  Clover sprang to the middle of her bramble circle and used a rapid and panicked Dig, drilling into the ground with alacrity.  Surf, Snow, and I remained outside the tunnel, drawing the Mightyenas' attention.  The three of us fired moves through the thick brambles, trying to disable or knock out any that we could, but it was hard to aim.  Our foes on the outside snarled and barked, trying to get into our protective circle.  All we could do was wait for Clover to return and give us the all clear.

Suddenly, Espeon's voice shouted in my head.  "Splash!  The pack is back!  They're at the camp!  Don't come back!  Wait for them to leave!  We're in hiding, better this time."

I stopped in dread.  I sent a desperate thought back to her.  "We're being attacked as well!  Clover's digging back to camp!  Tell her to come back!"  No response from Espeon.  "Espeon?  Espeon!"  I turned to Surf.  "Espeon just contacted me!  She said they're under attack at the camp, too!  There are more of them!"

His first concern was the same as mine.  "What about Clover?"

I shook my head.  "I tried to tell her, but she's not answering!"

Surf thought hard and fast.  "Maybe that warning to you might have given them away.  The less time in contact with you, the better."

"Not in this case!  Clover's in danger!"

Snow whipped around to face us.  "Splash, you go after her!  You can use Blizzard to freeze the tunnel in case of possible collapses!"

"Good idea!" I called back.  With that, I dove into Clover's hole, pinning my fins to my back and sides to avoid scraping them on the tunnel walls.  As I tore through the dirt tunnel, coming closer and closer to camp, I grew concerned for Clover's safety.  Finally, to my relief, I spotted her.

The good news was, she was fine.  The bad news was, just as I caught sight of her, she opened the other end into camp.

At first, I saw no Mightyenas.  Apparently, neither did Clover, because she stepped out into the open.  As she turned around to come back into the tunnel and reinforce it, something heavy stepped on the ground above the hole, exactly on the spot between Clover and me.  The extra weight caused a cave in between us before I could warn her.  I could only launch Blizzard to keep the tunnel from caving in on top of me. 

The only problem with this strategy was that I also ended up freezing the soil in front of me.  As I scraped and scrabbled my claws against the ice, I heard Clover crying out in surprise and pain.  She was in trouble!  Finally, I had the idea to use Stone Edge to shatter the ice in front of me.  However, by the time I was able to start digging, Umbreon was joining in from the other side.

As he dug me out, and Inferno and Bolt joined in, pulling me from the soil.  I glanced frantically around camp.  "Where's Clover!?"

Espeon shook her head.  "That Mandibuzz came back.  It snatched her right off the ground while the Mightyenas kept us busy.  It's my fault, Splash.  I should have took your sent thought.  She's gone."

The Calm Before the Storm (Part 2)

I finally mustered up the courage to speak.  "Did... did you say Mightyenas?"

Streak nodded.  "Yes, why?"

I sat down and did my best to look and act diplomatic.  "A pack of Mightyenas attacked us a short while ago."

Espeon's thoughts entered my head.  "This might be good news, actually.  It might mean that subject 470 is not among us."

I thought back to her, "But then why would they attack us so viciously?"

Espeon shrugged before thinking, "You have a point."

She stopped reading my mind as Streak continued.  "A pack of about... 10 Mightyenas?"  Night nodded to confirm his estimate.  "They were walking past our tree last night.  They looked like they were stalking something.  Anyway, Night here flew back to the nest with a catch, and they saw her.  They went crazy, barking, snarling, trying to climb our tree...."

Night, once again, finished Streak's thoughts.  "Good thing they didn't have a fraction of the tree climbing skills that you do, Bolt."  Bolt blushed.  "Luckily, we both know Close Combat and were able to fight them off.  Even so, it was close.  I don't think we could have done it if we couldn't fly."

I nodded, thinking hard.  Umbreon spoke up.  "Was there a Mandibuzz with them by any chance?"

Streak shook his head.  "No.  No Mandibuzz.  Or else we would have been in even bigger trouble."

I sent a deliberate thought to Espeon, telling her to quietly relax Clover and Bolt.  No need for them to worry about something that might not be there.  Mightyenas were common in the forest at night.  It was a bit unusual, but not unheard of, for a pack of that size to form to hunt larger prey.  True to her abilities, Bolt and Clover seemed to relax upon hearing this bit of information.  I closed the conversation.  "Well, thank you for letting us know.  We'll keep an eye out."

"Thank you for helping us rebuild and reinforce our nest!"

"Anytime!"  With that, I stood up, beckoned to my Eevees with a flick of my tail, and left.  Bolt trotted out in front, as usual, Clover walked next to me at the back, and Espeon and Umbreon walked in perfect sync back to camp.

When we returned, Inferno tackled Bolt off his feet, and Snow, who was on watch, slid down the ice slide to greet Clover.  Espeon and Umbreon padded back to their den just as Surf trotted up to me and nuzzled my fins in greeting.  As I observed Bolt and Inferno getting into another Exploding Competition (Raikou and Entei switching Lava Plume and Discharge gave them a realm of new game possibilities), I gestured to Surf that, perhaps it would be better to catch up by the pond.  I had a few things to ask him about.

"So," Surf began as we sat down with our tails in the water.  "You look like you want to tell me something."

I nodded.  "And I need you to be rational and calm about it, so just act like you normally do."  He smiled warmly at me.  "The Staraptors said that a pack of about 10 Mightyenas attacked them.  That's what caused their nest to fall.  But, Surf, they said that it looked like they were stalking something else."

Surf shrugged.  "So?  That could have been anything from a Patrat to a Tauros.  Was there a Mandibuzz with them?  No.  There wasn't.  That seemed like their calling card, don't you think?  Besides, that Mandibuzz seemed to do the most against us.  Why would they try again without their best asset?"

I sighed, feeling relieved.  "How is it that you always know exactly what to say?  You just took the weight of a Wailord off my back.  Thanks."

Surf shrugged with a smile.  "Anytime.  I know you like the back of my paw, Splash.  I know what to say."

We said nothing else, just leaned against each other and touched noses.

Meanwhile...

A man adjusted his lab coat and made a few marks on his clipboard.  His meeting was about to start.  Better be off.  He strode down the halls with purpose, clipboard under his arm and carrying a small stack of papers.  As he reached the double doors, a huge Houndoom stood in his way.  The man let the guard dog sniff his hand, then step on the button on the floor that admitted the man to the main building of the compound.

He adjusted his lab coat again as he entered the conference room, scanning the assembled party.  4 other Scientists sat around the table, each with their Pokemon sitting next to them.  The man sat at the head of the table, then released his Pokemon.  The meeting began.

"As you are all aware," the man began, "I have some new design ideas that I believe we should implement.  Testing should begin immediately."

Another Scientist with a Liepard spoke.  "Subject 470 again, sir?"

The man nodded.  The Liepard swished her tail hungrily.  Her trainer stroked her head and scratched her ears.  "Yes, my dear, you can play with them."  He turned back to the man.  "What do you have planned this time?"

Another Scientist with a Weavile standing behind him spoke.  "Does it have something to do with that unauthorized experiment on Number 7b?"

The man nodded.  "I wanted to see if my ideas were possible.  They are.  If this works, it could change everything."

The Scientist with the Liepard spoke up again.  "What do you have in mind?"

The man unclipped a paper from his clipboard, then placed it in the center of the table, where everyone could see it.  "This is the current model of subject 470."  He took a pen out of his lab coat pocket and sketched on top of the picture.  When he finished, he placed the new picture back in the center of the table.  "And this is the upgrade."

Gasps were heard around the table.  The Scientist with the Weavile stood up.  "You can't be serious!  We've had success before, but this!?  This takes it to a whole new level!"

Another Scientist with a Shiftry spoke above the clamor.  "It may not be as 'impossible' as you say.  I've seen it done before with a move pairing."

The man nodded to him.  "Exactly!  Why not make the effect permanent?"

The Scientist with the Weavile yelled again.  "We've made one into a shiny!  That was a huge success!  This is beyond impossible!"

Yet another Scientist with a Zoura on his lap stroked his Pokemon and asked, "Would they be functional?"

The man raised his hands to quiet the clamor, then responded.  "Of course they would be functional.  My test on Number 7b is a major step in the right direction."  He glanced at the man at the opposite end of the table.  "I just need more test subjects."

The head of the experimental committee crossed his arms.  His Bisharp did the same.  "How many?  And do keep in mind that these things are incredibly hard to find."

The man smiled.  This meeting was going his way.  "Three should do.  One for another test for this, another for the finished product, and a third in case something... goes wrong."

The executive leaned back in his chair.  "Three.  That will be rather challenging.  However, I have faith in you.  You have a high success rate, and this new idea of yours is beyond anything I have ever heard of before.  Very well.  I'll gather all of the Mightyenas to see what we can find."

The man smiled.  "Oh, I already know where a few are."  He sat back down.  "Just make sure that those blasted Legendaries don't get in our way again."  He pursed his lips and stroked his Mandibuzz thoughtfully.

The Calm Before the Storm (Part 1)

I heard movement in the bushes.  Quietly, I signaled to Surf.  In almost complete silence, he crept around the bush, being sure to stay downwind.  We didn't need this thing detecting us.  His tail swept back and forth as he walked, hovering over the leaves and twigs on the ground that would give us away.  When he was in position, I heard a small splash.  I tensed up.

Surf used Dive right underneath my feet, spooking the Pidgey and making it take flight.  Using the momentum from Dive, I pounced as high as I could, stretching out a paw and smacking the Pidgey right out of the air.  Just as I landed, Surf used Iron Tail to finish the job.

"Nice jump," he said as I trotted back over to him.

"Well, that was mostly you."

He shrugged and picked up the Pidgey.  "Either way, I think it's safe to say that we've still got it."

I nodded once.  "Absolutely.  We are in sync."  To prove my point, we walked side by side, paw step for paw step and tail sweep for tail sweep in perfect time with each other.

As we came back into camp, Bolt zipped up to us.  "Hi guys!  Hey, nice catch!  Also, Splash, you have a customer waiting for you by the pond."

I nodded.  "Thanks, Bolt."  I then turned towards Surf, who was still holding the Pidgey.  "Can you take that to the Prey Hole?  Make sure Inferno doesn't get his paws on it before you do.  I'm going to see what our customer wants and then divide up the catches, ok?"

He nodded astutely.  "Rodger."  He and Bolt left as I turned towards the pond, making sure that I had no Pidgey feathers stuck to me anywhere.  That wouldn't make a good first impression.

Sitting by the pond were a pair of Staraptors; mates, by the look of it.  I trotted up and sat next to them.  "Hello, I'm Splash."

The large birds nodded in response.  "I'm Streak and this is my mate, Night.  We came for your assistance."  Night shook my paw as her husband continued.  "We had a little skirmish with a group of Pokemon, and in the fight, our nest fell from our tree.  We put a lot of work into that, and we don't want to have to do it over again."

Night picked up where Streak left off.  "The problem is, it kind of folded in half when it landed, and now it's pretty damaged.  We figured we could hire you to either fix or replace our nest."

I nodded thoughtfully.  "I'd have to see the damage for myself.  Let me just grab Espeon, Umbreon, Clover, and... Bolt."  They agreed to wait, and I got up to inform the appropriate Eevees.  Espeon could levitate the old next back into the tree if we could fix it, and Umbreon would not go anywhere without her, now that she was pregnant.  Clover might be able to grow a new nest, if the need arose, and Bolt was particularly good at climbing trees.

I hit Espeon and Umbreon first.  The couple was, as per usual, in their log den, talking.  "How many do you think?" I heard Umbreon's voice.  They must be talking about her kits.

"I don't know," Espeon responded.  "I definitely think either three or  four."

I ducked in and interrupted.  "Four?  That's fantastic!"  Usual Eevee litters ranged from 2-4 kits, so this was a big deal.

Espeon purred.  "Thank you, Splash."

I didn't sit down, instead standing in the entrance.  "Hey, Espy?  We have a pair of Staraptors whose nest fell from its tree.  Can you come?  You might be able to levitate it back up."

As I expected, she said yes just as Umbreon cut in.  "Not without me.  I'm coming, too."

I laughed.  "I figured you would.  Can you be ready to go in about 10 minutes?  I still need to get Clover and Bolt and figure out a price."

The perfect pair agreed, and returned to their conversation, this time discussing kit names.  I left, going towards Snow and Clover's den before realizing that they had just returned from hunting as well.  So, I spun on my tail and trotted over to them. 

Clover agreed to come, as did Bolt.  After bargaining for the price of one dollar per minute, we set off.  Bolt ran directly underneath the flying Staraptors and we followed Bolt.  It made me smile to see him so happy and integrated into Clan life once again.  He and Espeon had even become closer friends, with him often taking part in conversation with her and Umbreon.  Finally, Espeon and Umbreon named Bolt caretaker of their future kits.  It would be his job to watch them in the couple's absence.

I tripped over a branch, snapping me out of my thoughts.  The Staraptors had landed on a thick, high branch of a tall, study tree.  "This is where our nest used to be!" Streak called.  The branch I had tripped over was part of the fallen nest.  As described, it appeared to folded down the middle.  With a little shove, I opened it back up, revealing that the damage was not quite as extensive as I had thought.

Without me saying a word to her, Clover touched her nose to the damaged nest.  Soft vines and leaves started weaving their way in and around the nest, repairing and reinforcing it.  She even went so far as to add felt-like leaves all over the inside of the nest, making it something I would want to sleep in on a daily basis.  When she was finished, she pulled away and looked at her work.  "There," she stated simply.  "Those vines will make it super-sturdy.  You could drop it off a cliff now and you wouldn't lose a leaf."

I only had to glance at Bolt before he bounded up into the tree, from one branch to the next to the next to the next to the next to the next, all the way to the branch upon which the Staraptors were sitting.  "Wow," Streak commented.  "He is good at climbing trees."

Bolt nodded.  "Thank you."  He then looked down at Espeon.  "Hoist the nest up!  I'll tell you when and where to drop it!"

Espeon said nothing, only nodded and focused her mind on the cozy nest.  It started to float into the air, up, up, up onto the high branch.  Bolt nudged it with his nose, flinching a bit as the Staraptors took off to make room for the incoming nest.  "Ok..." he muttered, just loud enough for us to hear.  "A little more to the left...  A little more...  That's too much...  Perfect!  Set it down slowly!"  The nest inched towards the branch, finally resting in the elbow between the branch and the trunk. Clover made vines that wound around the tree trunk and nest, securing it in place.  Knowing Clover, that nest could withstand an earthquake and never fall.

The Staraptors coasted to the ground, landing next to each other.  "How much do we owe you?"

I cocked my head and thought for a moment.  "That took about... six minutes, so six dollars."  They nodded and dropped the human currency on the ground.  As I collected it, Bolt piped up.

"What caused your nest to fall in the first place?"

Night answered him.  "A pack of Mightyenas tried to attack us."

We all froze.

The Invasion (Part 3)

An explosion of cheering met Espeon's announcement.  She beamed with pride at her Clan mates' joy.  Umbreon looked just as proud, sitting straight up with his eyes closed and a huge smile plastered onto his face.  Just when the cheers started to die down, Espeon jumped off the rock and landed next to Umbreon.  The perfect couple entwined their tails and touched noses, making everyone, Bolt included, go insane again.

After a while, the cheers went down for real this time.  I stood on the edge of the announcement rock, looking at my Clan's happy expressions.  Eventually, all eyes returned to me.  I just had to wrap up the meeting.

"Our Clan is whole again and will soon be expanding!  Those of you with injuries from the attack, please see Clover.  All others, enjoy this perfect respite!"  Everyone cheered respectfully as I finished.  I jumped back down to the ground as the Eevees started milling around camp, most heading towards Clover's and Snow's den.  I figured that my minor cuts and scratches could wait, heading instead towards Espeon and Umbreon, who were still touching noses.  They were completely oblivious to the fact that the meeting had ended.

I sat down next to them.  No reaction.  I cleared my throat.  No reaction.  Only when I tapped Umbreon on the shoulder to get his attention did they come out of their trance.

"What?" he asked, more confused than annoyed.

"I need to talk to you guys about the attack," I said quietly, not wanting anyone else to overhear and be alarmed.

Espeon nodded.  "Of course.  Our den?" she asked, tilting her head towards the log.

"Sure," I nodded. 

We padded to the log in a row, me next to Espeon next to Umbreon.  Once inside the log den, we all sat down to confer with each other.  "Espeon, I know they were Dark Types, but could you pick up on anything?"

She shook her head.  "No, just vague emotions.  Anger, hunger, a little fear in the beginning, and loyalty."

Umbreon looked at her in confusion.  "Loyalty?"

She nodded.  "Yes.  It was faint, but it was definitely there.  Especially on that Mandibuzz."

I was puzzled.  Then, a horrifying thought struck me like a lightning bolt.  "Please tell me this had nothing to do with what you guys found out.... a while ago?"

Both thought for a bit, knowing what I meant.  Finally, after a terse silence, Umbreon spoke.  "Possibly.  But the files that we found in there were all about 'physical alterations' and 'mutating individuals' on a subject... 470 I believe."  Espeon nodded in confirmation. 

I was still unconvinced.  "What's subject 470?"

"No idea," Umbreon shrugged.  "But this stuff was weird.  Whatever this subject was, they did all kinds of nasty things to it.  They used chemicals to change their color, stuck on an extra tail, did something with their eyesight..."

"Yikes," I winced.  That did sound nasty.  "But what, if anything, does this have to do with the attack?"

An uncomfortable silence settled over the perfect pair.  I gave them the look that said 'well?'  Finally, Umbreon spoke again.  "One of the files.... said there was a shortage of subjects..."

I tilted my head in thought.  "So there are multiple subject 470's..."

Espeon finally spoke.  "It might explain why they were so coordinated.  Nothing like a wild pack.  And with a Mandibuzz?  It just doesn't add up.  But if humans were involved, it would make perfect sense.  It would also explain the loyalty they had."

A growing sense of dread settled over me.  "So... You're suggesting that the Mightyenas were here to pick up subject 470?  Whatever or whoever that is?"

Espeon and Umbreon looked just as worried.  Umbreon spoke up nervously.  "Bolt sent the pack running.  How do we know that they didn't run straight back to their trainers?"

Espeon answered him just before I could.  "We don't."

Umbreon continued to voice his concerns.  "Should we move?  If the pack knows where we are, they could lead these... sick humans right to us!"

I shook my head determinedly.  "No way.  We put a lot of effort into this camp and we are not leaving it.  And the time we temporarily left to lead trainers off our scent doesn't count," I added just as Umbreon opened his mouth to point that out.  "We've hidden from humans before, easily.  And if they bring their Mightyenas, so what?  Espeon can put up scent and sound barriers.  Nothing she hasn't done before."

Espeon spoke up again.  "What if they bring a Psychic type?"

"Then Umbreon will block their brain wave searches.  Again, nothing he hasn't done before.  As for right now, everyone will be on guard while hunting.  We were just attacked in our own camp.  We have a night watch.  If we need to, I can assign a day watch, too, if it makes you feel better."

Umbreon nodded.  "It would make me feel better.  I need to protect Espeon more than ever now.  It's my job!"

Espeon accepted his brief nose-touch, but then pulled away.  "But look at how happy everyone is now!  Do you really want to spoil that?  Besides, I'm willing to bet that those Pokemon aren't half as resilient as we are.  They'll be licking their wounds for some time.  Let everyone enjoy the peace.  No need to worry over something that isn't there."

"Espeon's right," I said to Umbreon.  I'll put up a day patrol, but strictly for the reason that I want to be cautious."

"All right..." Umbreon conceded.  "But they won't be gone for good.  You can be sure of that."

The Invasion (Part 2)

I fired Blizzard at the escaping Mandibuzz, but he was just barely out of range.  I could see frost edging its wings, but it wasn't hindering its flight at all.  Clover was still fighting, attempting to use Leaf Blade, but her strength was ebbing.

Behind me, Umbreon was wearing thin as well, being overrun by the Mightyenas trying to get to Espeon.  While his Sludge Bombs were effective, they could only hit one Mightyena at a time.  I turned briefly around and used Surf, but it knocked them back only for a moment.

Snow wasn't doing so well without her partner at her side.  While her Blizzards were keeping multiple foes away and conveniently freezing some of them, they were coming at her from all sides, Biting her legs and Shadow Pulsing her when she wasn't looking.  When she used Recover, that only gave them the chance to attack all at once.  She didn't know where to turn, where to run, how to attack, or where to attack!

Espeon was hiding in her log den with the safety fake end of the log up.  They could still smell her.  Clover's vines could hold a lot of exertion, but the wood might not.  It was never tested.  She could hear Umbreon fighting valiantly just outside, but she could feel that he was getting tired.  Through the log, she used Hypnosis, putting some of the furious dog Pokemon to sleep, thus allowing Umbreon to use Dream Eater on them as well.  Even with the added help, she could tell by his emotions that Umbreon was being overrun.

Inferno climbed out of the fern bush, disoriented.  Luckily for him, none of the Mightyenas seemed to notice him.  While the fern bush had cushioned his fall, there were some thorns in there somehow.  Those hurt.  It didn't help that there was a rock under the ferns.  He was dazed, hurt, and slightly confused.  What was happening?  He felt like he should be fighting with Bolt.  That was it.  Where was he?

I glanced around at my Clan, which was doing badly.  We were short two members!  Three, since Espeon was pretty much useless in this fight.  How would we make it through this?

CRACK!  BOOM!!

As if in answer to my plea, a massive bolt of Thunder cleaved the sky, striking the Mandibuzz with extreme ferocity.  It and Clover plummeted to earth, Clover making a soft landing for herself with some rapidly grown clover, ironically.  I paused.  The Thunder was huge and powerful, but not quite as big as the Great Raikou's....  That could only mean...

A blur of yellow blasted into camp, braking in front of Espeon's log den, revealing a very angry Jolteon.  Bolt had returned.

His normally spiky fur was even more bristled with rage and crackling with electricity.  His ears were pinned back, flat against his head.  Narrowed eyes filled with fury scanned the confused pack of Mightyena.  He spoke only ten words.

"You want her?  You'll have to go through me first."

With that, he unleashed a massive discharge of electricity, striking every Mightyena and not a single Clan mate.  The Dark Dogs yelped as the miniature lightning bolts struck them, charring their previously glossy fur and massively injuring them.  Bolt kept the electricity coming, firing smaller charges as the pack fled, the shocks prodding their retreating backs and tails, giving them extra encouragement.  Within 30 seconds, the Mightyenas were gone.

Bolt sagged visibly when he was sure the pack was gone.  Umbreon was by his side in an instant, catching him with his shoulder as he almost fell.

Inferno and I said the same thing at the same time.  "BOLT!"  He was back.  And judging by his joyous smile, he was here to stay.

I looked at Espeon and Bolt behind me on the announcement rock.  Espeon looked none the worse for wear, though she was a little shaken.  She looked calm and confident.  "You sure you want to do this?" I asked. 

She nodded.  "Five of the eight members already know.  Why keep it a secret?"

Bolt looked at her kindly.  "Thank you for telling me personally, by the way."

Espeon purred.  "I don't want to hurt you, Bolt.  I really don't."

Bolt shrugged.  "Well, now I get why you didn't want to leave Umbreon.  Not that you'd leave him anyway," he said with a knowing smile.

I looked at Bolt.  "Where did you go when you left?  I couldn't find you anywhere!"

Bolt spoke without looking at me.  "I was never going to leave forever.  Just for a few days to think things over.  I met up with Raikou in a dream, he told me to meet him.  When he did, we talked my situation over.  He pointed out that Espeon and Umbreon were soul mates.  I may have loved her, but it would never work.  That didn't mean I couldn't be friends with her."

"Why didn't I think to say that?" I said, more to myself.

Bolt answered anyway.  "You don't have to think of everything, Splash!  But anyway, he sensed you were in trouble, charged me up to the max, and sent me back to the Clan.  Good thing I did..."

"Yeah," I responded.  "I don't think I've ever seen Inferno so happy."

Espeon touched my shoulder with her split tail.  "The others are getting impatient.  We should start."

I nodded, turning to the other 5 Eevees.  "Eevees!  We have big news!  First off, as you all know, Bolt has returned!"  Bolt stepped forward, smiling as the others cheered for him.  Just for show, he struck himself with a small lightning bolt.  After a bit, he jumped off the rock, landing next to Inferno, who all but hugged his best friend.

Espeon stepped up next to me on the rock.  "Eevees!  Before that attack started, I was about to say something very important."  Everyone leaned forward slightly.  "I will be having kits soon!"