Proteus

by

Melchior the Mewthree

--- XXX --- XXX ---

Chapter 1

Banishment

--- XXX --- XXX ---

The eevee, sitting by the edge of a cliff bordering the great forest, his dark-brown fur lit gently by the dusking sun and the scent of pine trees filling his nostrils, looked at the great golden orb like it was a clock, ticking its way to his fate. He felt apprehensive, to say the least.

In a few moments, he'd be heading towards the glade where his evolution ceremony would be held. Being already five, the eevee was old enough to evolve, a tradition most eeveean families still kept; something that started hundreds of years ago, during times when there were no real 'trainers', when humans still feared the pokemon like forces of nature and worshiped them as such.

Most eevees look forward to that moment of their lives, eager to leave that rather weak form they possessed, exchanging it for something powerful, capable of harnessing the elements to their will. It was also a joyous time for the eevee's family, proud of its newly evolved member. But this particular eevee wasn't eager to change.

It wasn't the first time he'd felt that sense of uneasiness. He felt it for quite some part of his life, the very mention of the term making him withdraw himself from any conversation. The strange thing was that he didn't know why he felt so averted to the concept.

He sometimes thought it was because of the fact that, when you evolved, you became a target for trainers. They sought powerful pokemon, and everybody knew just how powerful an eevee-lution could be. But that wasn't it. An eevee itself was an even greater target for, even though not especially strong, it had incredible potential. Plus, it was far easier to capture an eevee than a full grown eevee-lution.

Most humans believe that eevees can only evolve through stones and loyalty. The stones' part is correct, but an eevee can evolve into an espeon and an umbreon without such thing as loyalty to a trainer. That factor just speed things up. It's not completely necessary. And that was why the ceremony was held at dusk.

He decided it was time and started making his way towards the glade where most probably everyone was waiting for him. In the way, he tried to recall why was it that he just didn't run away from the whole thing altogether. Then, he remembered. His parents; his father an umbreon by the name of Shade, and his mother a flareon named Amber, had always given of the best to him, and had great expectations for his future. He didn't want to disappoint them, and he didn't have the courage and strength to tell them otherwise.

The dried leaves cracked softly beneath his light paws as he padded through the underbrush, dodging thorny bushes and jumping fallen branches, the light that descended through the canopy decreasing gradually as he made his way deeper and deeper into wild territory. The scent of the forest was pleasant, homey. He knew every aspect of that place, every hole, every tree and every berry bush. That had been his home from since he remembered himself as a pokemon, and he had never left it. He hoped he'd never have to.

On the way he heard, with ears so sensitive that little was lost, the sounds around him; a rattata running to its home; a taillow flying away from a faraway branch; magikarps splashing in the lake to the east; but the most resonant sounds came from the direction to which he headed, for it was there that the ceremony would be, and that's something that few pokemon missed.

The glade was like a natural temple of wood and leaves and flowers and water. It was chosen specifically for the fact that it was an elemental and spiritual nexus, and it was in these places that you could feel the energies that bound this world, the power of the elements, and they said that it was because of this power that the plants grew so majestically like they did. That was also one of the few spots left, most already defiled by human hands, which built their sterile and ugly cities where once the beauty of nature ruled, all in the name of 'civilization' and 'progress'.

Everyone he knew was there; his parents, his friends, the other pokemon that lived nearby, and those who lived not so near. There were even those few who came from long distances just for the purpose of watching the ceremony. He had always been amazed by just how many people attended to those things, even though it would probably be quite quick; he was the only one evolving that year.

He made his way through the masses of pokemon that lined each of his sides, all eyes set on him, all eager and analyzing, as if they could judge whether or not he was worthy of what would be given to him at that day. That only made the young eevee's embarrassment and uneasiness rise towards a new level. He kept his head and ears down, trying to block the stares and the whispering.

He reached the center of the glade, where he stood alone in front of the elder, a female espeon of some decades, her once vibrant lilac fur now gray and dull, though her eyes showed nothing more than burning wisdom and power. He had always feared her, especially when he was younger. She was probably not looking at him, but within him, and that didn't help the sensation on the pit of his stomach.

The whispers and talking died as soon as she started speaking. "Welcome my friends, honored pokemon of all species!" she said, her voice overpowering. "We are here, at this day, to celebrate nature! It that nurtures and provides to us, that encompasses all living things, no matter of what kind!" Her voice had a strange effect on other pokemon, and many wondered if she used some kind of psychic power as well. The eevee found himself listening to her every word, like he was within a trance and her speech was all there was in the world. "The evolution is the time when we can truly witness the power of nature, when it blesses one with great power, so that he can use it to honor the traditions that we of the wild have had since the dawn of the world!"

It was then that three other pokemon, a charmander, a totodile and a pikachu, placed the fire-stone, the water-stone and the thunder-stone, respectively and carefully, in a triangular pattern around the eevee, who was really starting to get nervous by then. That was it, he thought, there was no coming back now.

"This young eevee is of age, and thus shall pass through the ritual of evolution," the elderly espeon continued. "He shall evolve, by the hand of nature and fate itself, into one of five elements; Electric, Fire, Water, Psychic or Dark." She then turned her metal-gray eyes to him. "Young one, will you then accept the power that will be bestowed upon you?"

He knew what he had to say. His father had guided him through it, and he could feel Shade's eyes on him, expectant. A lump formed on his throat, and he spoke nothing for a few seconds. He then swallowed it and said, a little shakily, "I-I will accept n-nature's grace humbly and honorably."

She nodded, unfazed by his nervousness, and the eevee saw his father half-smile at the corner of his eye. "Very well. It is time. Let the ceremony begin."

The espeon closed her eyes and started chanting, in a voice so low that the eevee, even right in front of her, had to strain his ears to even hear anything. He felt a strange, warm, tingling sensation that traveled through his body in waves. The stones around him started to emit a bright light, and soon the eevee himself was glowing.

As soon as the light covered his entire body, he started to feel that something wasn't right. The tingling and the warmth were gone, replaced by a blinding, sickening pain. He heard his screaming voice, so far that it seemed like someone else. He couldn't feel his body or his mind anymore, and all that was left was the pain. He was pain, and right then he wished it would stop, by any way possible.

It did stop, not a moment after, almost as abruptly as it had started. He collapsed in his stomach, panting furiously and feeling like letting his lunch leave his body through where it entered. His eyes were closed like his life depended upon it, and he was shacking like a bamboo stick. He felt something wet and soft brush his neck. He opened his eyes, for a moment the nausea increasing, then, when his vision stop rolling, he saw his mother nuzzling and calling him. The look on her face was almost panicked.

"Son, dear, are you okay? Please talk to me. Son?" she kept asking and beckoning him. He would tell her something to ease her fright, but right then he just wanted his stomach to stay where it was, and all of his focus was on that task.

He failed at it, throwing up and filing his mouth and his nose with the disgusting taste of bile. He then greeted darkness, almost gratefully.

--- XXX --- XXX ---

He woke up within his parents' den, lying at the farthest corner of it. His first vision was that of something red and orange, and it took him some time to realize that it was Amber's fur. She began the whole worried mother scene all over again as soon as she noticed he was up, bringing him more annoyance than comfort, though he would never tell her that. He saw his father talking to someone, and he instantly recognized the elder.

"But... has anything like this ever happened before?" his father asked the old female, still unaware of the eevee's awakening.

"I have seen strange things at the ceremonies during the years, but this is something unlike anything that has happened before," she said.

"But he didn't evolve at all, and he wasn't wearing any kind of everstone. Gods, everstones don't even exist in miles from here!"

"True, but the strange fact is that the energies of the stones that were laid around him were all drained by the end of it. All three of them. And I could feel other powers within him as well."

By then the eevee had gotten up and shakily made his way to them, his mother beside him protectively. The espeon and the umbreon became aware of him, and his father was the first to say anything. "Hello, son. Are you feeling better?"

"Like I've been body-slammed by a wailord, but other than that, just peachy," he answered, trying to sound like it wasn't much of a big deal.

"You really scared the locals down there, young one," the espeon told him. "We are still trying to discover what really happened. Perhaps you could tell us how it was for you."

He looked at his father and his mother, in turn, and both nodded, consenting him. "It... it was... painful. Like I was burning in the inside." He shivered visibly at the recollection. "It wasn't a nice feeling."

"Something might have happened with the stones," the elder said. "They could have been flawed or cracked. But, if that were so, they wouldn't have even worked. This is most strange..."

The eevee was starting to get fed up with the whole thing. "I'm going outside for a moment," he excused himself, and then left.

The night air was cold, but only slightly. The eevee found himself enjoying it, letting it ease the lingering sensation of sickness. He could smell the scent of many pokemon, and looked around to find out that there were many pokemon nearby, all trying to hide in the bushes and grass that outline the big tree beneath where his family's den lay. They were all staring at him like he was some sort of circus attraction, and he felt his temper rising.

"Would you people please PISS OFF?!" he screamed at them, surprising himself with such an uncharacteristic outburst. Most started to run away, while other widened their eyes. He was confused for a moment, until he noticed something on the bottom corner of his vision. He looked down to see the dried leaves burning just beneath his feet. He yipped loudly, jumping away, but, right then, he noticed the flames didn't burn him. He felt nothing, except for warmth. He stretched his paw to touch it again, when he realized something quite peculiar about it. His fur was red, not brown, like it was just a moment ago. He stared at it, with a mix of slight fear and surprise, until his parents came running out of the den.

"Son, what's..." his father began, then looked at his son's new look. A flareon's look. "What the..."

The eevee looked at them, confusion written perfectly in his eyes, until the elder came out of the den herself. She looked at him, and seemed only a little surprised. She walked, her steps slow but precise, until she loomed over him. "It's just as I had thought," she said, and right then the eevee felt once again the sensation of pain filling him. It wasn't as bad this time, but it still hurt. It was over soon, and he was once more an average eevee, this time only feeling a little more nauseous.

"Why does this have to hurt so much?" he asked to no one in particular, as he shakily stood up.

"There was a legend," the elder spoke, "passed on from generation to generation, about an eevee-lution that, unlike the others, didn't only possess one of the elements, and yes all five of them. He was called the Omneon, and it is said that only once at every thousand years an Omneon is born."

As he heard her words, a sense of dread started seeping into his heart. Now he was certain that he should have just ran away when he had the chance. He had always had a bad feeling about the whole thing, and now he had all the reason to.

"There isn't much I know about it," she continued, "for much of the true legend was lost in the centuries. But I do know of one thing. If you truly are the Omneon, then you cannot stay here, within this forest, anymore."

His face fell, and he saw his father and mother about to protest her on impulse. "It is necessary," she cut them. "We need to find out more about this, and here is not the place he'll find the answers."

"But I don't want any answers!" he protested. "I just want to live a normal life, here!"

The elder looked at him, and her eyes told no lie. She wasn't going to let him stay there, and his parents weren't going to go against her. They had too much respect for her and what she did for all the pokemon of that forest. "Another part of the legend says that the last Omneon caused a great destruction over these very lands, a thousand years ago," she spoke. "If not to find the answers to this legend, then I'll keep you out to our very protection."

He couldn't believe it. She was going to banish him because of some mumbo-jumbo she had heard from some old hag before her. And, when he looked at his parents, he knew that he was right. They wouldn't go against her. He was alone in there. "F-Fine," he said, trying to make his voice not convey his feelings, and failing. "I-I'll go. And I won't be coming back." He turned away, eyes already trimming with tears he didn't want to show.

"Son, wait!" his mother cried out after him. He stopped and turned back to her, a spark of hope in his eyes. But she said nothing more, her mouth opening and closing, no words coming out. Her bright amber eyes, from which she had gotten her name, were, like his own, glinting with unshed tears.

Shade looked at the elder. "He should at least be given a name."

The espeon looked at him, then at the eevee in turn. "You are right. No matter what, once evolved, an eevee must be given a name that will be his for the rest of his life." She then took a deep breath. "I believe that it would be appropriate..."

"No." the eevee said.

She stared at him. "What do you mean, no?"

"I don't want you to give me a name," he told her, feeling a strange courage rising in him. "You are no longer my elder, are you?" He then turned to his parents, ignoring the surprised look on the psychic pokemon. "I want them to do it."

His father smiled at him. "Well then, seeing as you can probably use so many different abilities and forms, I think that this would be a good name to you," he said, walking towards the eevee, until he was right in front of him, the elder moving away as he approached. "My son, your name now will be Proteus. Do you accept it?"

"Yes," he answered, smiling slightly, and letting a single tear fall. "I do... dad."

"We'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too," he said. "All of you." He then turned and, trying not to cry, ran his way to the edge of the forest, disappearing in the grass and the underbrush.

It took him some time to exit the looming trees, and then he was at a large field of white rocks scattered through emerald grass, the moon casting its faint light all over it. He had been there before, once some years ago, and that brought him memories. Memories of him, with his friends and his family, of times he had no worries, only a will to live to the fullest. He looked back at the green canopies, this time crying without resisting. "Goodbye," he said, his voice barely a whisper.

And he padded away.

--- XXX --- XXX ---