Hello everyone! I'm finally, FINALLY, uploading this prologue of the rewritten, new and improved, Dark side of the Moon! I'll be honest, I'm very excited to bring this back to everyone. Those who knew this story under my other account, I'm glad to bring it back to you, and I hope you enjoy the improvements that I've added in. To those of you who are new to this story, welcome! I began writing this story all the way back when I was in eighth grade. It's been five years since that time, and I really hope I've improved some since then.

This story is based off of the plot for Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky. Please be cautioned that this prologue has some spoilers for the post game, if you don't know who the final boss is already. if you're hoping to avoid spoilers, then I suggest coming back to this story after you've figured out who the boss is. This story will be mostly focused around the mission in this chapter, so the spoiler will frequently be mentioned throughout the story itself. I apologize for any inconvenience, and I hope you will return if you decide to wait!

This story will be rated K+, but depending on how I decide to write out the battles, it may be raised to T for violence. I doubt it'll be escalated that far, but for now, it'll stay as K+.

I hope you all enjoy! If you enjoy the story, leave a review and follow, and I'll be sure to upload more! Thanks everyone!

Prologue

The last sequence of events I remembered from that day was the collapse.

"Vulpix, Run! Now!"

Eevee's cry had reached my ears a second too late. Darkrai's claw swiped at my side in a quick fashion, and I was helpless to avoid it. The impact brought my body off the ground and flung it through the air. I crashed into the far right wall of the cave, the shock knocking all of the air I had left out of my lungs with a large Uhf. I didn't even register falling to the ground.

Eevee was screaming at me. What was she saying? I couldn't tell, my head was pounding too hard for me to comprehend her.

I quickly tried to pull myself together, trying to remember who I was, why I was here, why I was being screamed at so fiercely, and most of all, why I was being attacked.

That's right.

My name is Vulpix. My partner is Eevee. Together, we're what makes up Exploration team Pokepals. Currently, we were on a rescue mission.

Unfortunately, our client wasn't exactly in need of rescue.

"Vulpix!"

I snapped back into reality and struggled to my feet. Darkrai and Eevee were locked in battle, but it was clear that Eevee was at a disadvantage. Her normal type attacks weren't doing much against the legendary dark pokemon. To make matters worse, Darkrai was much faster, and was landing hits before she could pull away from her last attack. I tried to move forward, but only succeeded in tripping and falling flat on my face. I looked back to realize that my tail had been crushed under a rock, and I was now stuck firmly in place.

Fantastic.

I had chosen to go on this mission, I had forced her to go along. I hadn't listened to Eevee when she said the message looked strange, and hadn't paid attention to the shadiness of the client that had delivered the message from Spinda's cafe.

How stupid could I have been? Because of me, we were screwed.

I heard a sharp cry of pain, and saw my partner fly across the room. She hit the wall next to me and crumpled to the ground, breathing hard. I watched, powerless to help, unable to speak, and most of all, overwhelmed with grief and an urge to apologize. This was my fault, and we were both going to be killed here. After everything we'd gone through, this was where it ended…

Right?

"Wrong."

I met Eevee's sharp, knowing eyes. I should have figured she would be able to read my mind. She had that uncanny ability to read your facial expression whenever she thought something was wrong. And most of the time, she knew exactly what you were thinking. I rasped back, trying to form a response. "Why not... We're finished... And it's my-"

She cut me off without hesitance, standing shakily. It amazed me just how much strength and willpower she had, even in a situation like this. "Stop right there. None of this is your fault, and you know it. And we're going to make it out of here. One way or another." The look she gave me said she wasn't up for arguing. We didn't have the time anyway. Darkrai had advanced again, and was charging another attack. Eevee snarled, stepping over me in a protective stance. Darkrai's smirk widened as he realized his chance, and I felt the color drain from my face. Even Eevee's fierce and angry snarl couldn't conceal the fear that her eyes clearly showed.

This was it. I shut my eyes tightly, bracing myself for the end. And for one of the first times in my life, I prayed. I prayed to Arceus, begging for someone, anyone to please, please, come save us!

It was right about then that an earsplitting roar cut off everything. I opened my eyes to see Darkrai frozen, his attack diminishing. Eevee was looking around frantically. I was confused. Everything had just stopped.

And then everything moved. The entire cave began to shake violently, spilling more rocks from the ceiling than before. The walls cracked. The floor began to open below us. Darkrai cursed, backing away quickly to avoid a large boulder that cut him off from us. Eevee, once again, got the hint before I did. She spun around and expertly exploited an Iron Tail, smashing the rock that held my tail captive. I stood, but before I could ask why she hadn't thought to do that earlier, she pushed me towards the exit. "Run! Run, run, RUN!"

I ran, Eevee hot on my tail. All around us, the cave's angry, pained screeches echoed in our ears, and large rocks fell all around our feet. The cave was had been threatening to collapse for a while, and now it seemed as though it was going through with it. Other Pokemon in the dungeon were fleeing along with us, and within those Pokemon was Darkrai, who had also gotten the message. I guess even evil Legendary pokemon had common sense.

We just kept running, avoiding as many boulders and fissures as we could, recovering from the violent strikes of others as quickly as possible. Within a minute we had reached the end of the cave, and we could see the moonlight that shone down on the field just outside the cave. I couldn't believe it. We were going to make it.. We were going to survive!

"... Go."

I screeched to a halt and turned to stare at my partner, as though she had grown a second head. She was smiling at me, but she had halted just a few pawsteps behind me. By now the cave was shaking even more violently, and I could tell the collapse was near. "Why have you stopped? Come on, we're literally five steps away from the entrance!" I didn't like that smile she had on her face. It wasn't a happy, relieved smile. It was almost sad. And I did not like that at all. I growled. "Eevee, come on. Now is not the time to be playing hero of the world. Come on… We need to go! We need to go now!"

Eevee, with that infuriating, horrifying smile, turned away from me. I followed her gaze. Darkrai was farther back in the cave, quickly approaching. The entrance was five steps away from us. My heart sank as the horrible realization dawned upon me. If we let Darkrai escape, we would have to search for months before finding him again. He would cause destruction and havoc for that time, and possibly even recreate his plans for world domination.

And as heroes, we couldn't allow that to happen.

"No! We… we can figure out another way! Eevee, come on!" I tried one last, desperate plea.

Eevee looked back at me briefly, that smile still plastered to her face. The cave gave another deafening roar, this one the greatest of them all. She spoke. "Leave. Vulpix… You were an amazing friend, and an amazing partner. You've grown so much from when we first met. Never give up on exploring, my friend… That's my final request. Return, and tell everyone at Wigglytuff's guild of our adventures. Continue training… And someday, we'll meet again."

A single tear rolled down her face, and that was all it took for me to break. I took a running leap at her, desperate to stop this nonsense and drag her out with me, only to be met harshly in the gut by an Iron Tail. I coughed sharply, my vision going white, and briefly felt myself sailing through the air. I hit the ground headfirst, and pain exploded through me. I couldn't think, I couldn't see, I couldn't breathe. I dimly heard something falling behind me, and multiple sounds of crashing and piling. I also heard a scream.

And then everything went black.

When I awoke, it was daylight. I was dimly aware of multiple presences around me from the sound of multiple, frantic voices. I tried to open my eyes, and for a while, all I could see was black and white. I certainly couldn't move, and it was a struggle for me to speak. I could only manage to utter a few disoriented syllables that could hardly pass for any words. But it was apparently enough. One familiar voice spoke above the rest, and to my shock, I was able to register what it was saying. "By golly, she's awake! Yup yup, come on everyone, give her some air!"

The rest of the voices ceased, and I was allowed a few minutes to gather my bearings and register what was going on around me. The colors and shapes came to form the presence of a familiar beaver looking Pokemon in front of me. I dared to look to the side, and I was greeted by Sunflora and Corphish. I tried looking to the left, and found a worried Chatot at my side. It seemed like the entirety of Wigglytuff's guild was standing around me, and for some reason, I was outside, lying on the ground. What I couldn't figure out was why. To find out, I weakly turned to Bidoof, and tried to speak again. "... Ugh.. B-Bidoof?"

The friendly beaver Pokemon grinned at me. "You're alright! Thank goodness! We were mighty worried about you when you didn't return to the guild, so we all decided to form a search party… My, were we mighty surprised, and worried, to find you out here."

I blinked in confusion, then tried to stand. I felt the strong, indigo hands of Loudred lift me up by my shoulders, and with his help, I was able to at least get to a sitting position. My entire body felt as though it had been beaten several times. I looked down at my paws to find bruises and cuts all over them. Had I been in a fight just now?

Bidoof sensed my confusion and tried to explain. "Don't you remember..? You left a few days ago with Eevee to go on a mission… Something about a sighting of an important relic that's been missing for a while?"

I tried to think. We had gotten a mission request.. But a few days ago? That didn't make any sense. There's no way I could have been like this for a few days… If the Guild hadn't tried to find me, then Eevee most definitely would have… Where was she anyway? "... Bidoof, where am I… What's going on?"

I didn't like the worried expression I was given in return. Bidoof attempted to speak again, but he was cut off by Chatot, who had approached from my left. "Vulpix, maybe you should turn around."

I was even more confused by this, looking from Bidoof to Chatot now. "Why?"

Chatot gave me a harsh look. I felt my blood run cold; I didn't like that look either. Slowly, cautiously, I turned around.

I was met with the sight of a collapsed cave. The roof had fallen in on itself, and the entrance was covered in fallen rocks. Fissures and cracks lined the walls, and even the ground seemed shattered. It was a truly terrible sight. It looked as though something had happened inside to cause it… Something terrible. Something… Familiar.

It all came back to me in a rush. Shopping at the Kecleon market earlier that day. Eevee's hesitance at going out at all. The weird ghost in Spinda's Cafe. The strange mission request. The journey to the mission site that was way too easy. Encountering Darkrai in the cave. The collapse. Getting trapped. Eevee's goodbye.

Eevee.

Eevee.

Eevee.

The next minute I couldn't breathe. The guild members watched me with worried expressions as I tried to get myself together just enough to ask the next question. I didn't want to ask this question. I didn't even want to think about it. But I had to know. There was no way I couldn't know. Shakily, I raised my eyes to look at Bidoof. ".. Bidoof. Where is Eevee?"

Bidoof began his response by looking away from me, and my heart plummeted to the pit of my stomach. I looked at everyone else in a panic, but was met with the same response. I hardly registered Bidoof's words. "... Gee, Vulpix. She wasn't with you when we found you out here, and… She definitely went in there with you. We weren't able to get inside the cave to search, everything's blocked off. There's absolutely no way out around the cave either, except for this entrance. I'm truly sorry, yup…"

Bidoof's explanation hit me like a ton of bricks. I played the explanation repeatedly in my head, searching for anything, anything, that seemed like enough of a loophole to convince me that my partner could still be alive. But after each time of repeating it to myself, my hope faded, until eventually there was nothing left. If she hadn't left the cave when I had, the rocks would have crushed her, or she would have fallen into a fissure, without a doubt. If by some miracle she survived that, she would have suffocated from lack of air.

I hit the ground, collapsing in a wave of tears. I was slightly aware of Bidoof and the other guild members trying to console and comfort me, but none of their words or good intentions could sway me from the grief I drowned myself in. I could only remind myself of one fact, one undeniable, heartbreaking fact.

My partner, my best friend, was gone for good.