Espeonage
Creeping lower down the horizon, the sun sheds its last crimson rays upon the fog. The burning light, finally banished by the overwhelming blackness of night, gives way to the icy mist as it swallows the lake into obscurity. Soft footsteps crunch through the snow, signaling the Espeon's approach. A slight shimmer around him hints at his enormous power, although this strength is all but useless against the shivering that wracks his slender body. He closes his eyes, focusing all of his power to the ruby inset into his forehead, searching. Well versed in the ways of weather, he is one of the few who could tell this was no ordinary fog- only a great power could summon such a thick barrier.
Music begins to play; a simple, quiet melody to start, which swells into a symphony of nocturnal sound. An unwelcome nuisance, as he has only one shot at reaching his target, and then even a simple Confusion will be beyond his strength. The cacophony fades around him, its creators fleeing the already massive amount of growing pressure as it surrounds the small purple fox. The gathered power grows closer to the threshold, aniticipating its explosive discharge. But as the strength increases, does the strain on the Espeon as he struggles to contain it. The only thought he could hone in on was his missing mate, it was all he had been able to think about for the last week. But that thought suffices, and after a few more moments of torture, a thin blue beam shoots from his forehead. It quickly slices through the fog, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared, but other than draining the Pokemon of near all his energy, nothing happened.
Failure, even more disheartening than imagined. His hope of ever finding his mate black as the air around him, the Espeon gazes one more time towards the center of the lake, a slow blink his parting farewell. There is not so much as a whisper of a breeze to dance across the lake, no kiss of wind to make the fog tango in spirals. No luminescence bares fangs to devour it, no fire to melt it away. Yet still, a hole opens, large enough for one small Pokemon to travel through- a faint blue aura revealed a powerful Psychic at work. A small smile winds across the psychic fox's face. He hopes that maybe now he will get some answers.
Swirling clouds encompass the Espeon, taunting with near touches, and then quickly darting around him. Only the sight of distant rock can sustain him; muscles scream in protest with every step, pleading for an end. He cannot fail, he will not tolerate it- he will not allow it. A few steps, a marathon, a lifetime later, his paws feel sharp stones, digging into his flesh, anchoring him back to reality. He blinks, then casts his head back and forth, searching for the cave he knows is there, but his scrutiny yields no results. Shudders wrack his body, and the ground beneath him melts into the softest of pillows. As his legs give out from beneath him, he hears the soft night sounds begin to return, only to die away again as his vision turns to black.
Dawn comes and goes, a shower of red and orange upon the trees, dispelling the bulk of the fog. Starly sing their morning anthem, proclaiming the morning to all as Kricketune fold their wings for the day. Golden rays strike the Espeon's face, but he does not wake. Only when the sun reaches its zenith does he stir, the pain of last night hitting him with full force. Tight scabs stretch, and then break as he rises to his feet, slowly oozing deep scarlet to the rocks below. He winces in pain and looks down, blinking slowly, sleep still heavy on his brain.
After another minute of standing the Espeon lifts his head skyward, eyes closed, bathed in golden rays as he begins a Morning Sun. As the sunlight is absorbed into his body, restoring his health, the purple fox glances around again. The fog is still present, even in its lessened state, and the opposite shore is not visible. The Morning Sun ends, having healed most of his wounds and put strength back into his muscles, but his Psychic powers have yet to recover. After searching the massive rock that juts up behind him for the cave, and once more failing to yield any results, he closes his eyes and uses Calm Mind to focus and heighten the little strength he has recovered.
The results are not impressive. Only enough power was gathered to send a telepathic message and raise a weak Reflect, but it will do. The former is all he needs, and as he sends his message, he desperately hopes that the intended recipient is awake. Mesprit, Legendary Being of Emotion, I plead audience with you so that I might ask you a question. I am devoid of almost all power, and I have no food, water, or shelter. I need assistance. Please.
Not expecting a reply right away, the Espeon settles down to wait. But when a section of the craggy wall before him disappears, revealing a large cave, he knows that his request has been heard and answered in some way. Leaping to his feet, and regretting it a moment later, he hurries toward the cave- an open maw, waiting for its prey to come and walk inside.
Soft, velvet blackness engulfs the Psychic as he walks into the cave; a small light in the distance is the only clue that the tunnel ends. For once, he wishes he was a Flareon, so this wretched darkness could be lessened, at the very least. Cursing as he stumbles over sharp rocks and into depressions, he again makes a wish, this time that he knew Teleport. But as with the first desire, nothing happens, and he resigns himself to more pain. Eventually the light grows larger, and the tunnel opens to large cavern strewn with boulders- a few small puddles litter the center of the room.
"My name is Tendo, I have come from the outskirts of Eterna Forest, near Floaroma Meadow. Please, Mesprit, hear my request," Tendo said, determined to not show his growing fatigue. "My mate, Hizashi, left our home to ask for your help close to a full moon ago, and I have not heard from her since she left. She was not very clear about her reason why she was coming, she only said that, like the moon, it involves cycles. She insisted she come alone, a woman's journey to make, but she promised to return before the half-moon rose. Please, did she ever arrive? And if she did, where did she go from here?"
His words reverberate off stalagmites, his voice lingering in the air until it fades to nothing more than a memory. Again he calls out, frantically swinging his head side to side. Fear builds in his throat, festering panic and uncertainty as the moments waltz past with no reply. His words hang in space, slowly dropping one by one as silence devours them, leaving the air as thick and stale as when Tendo first walked in. His heart sinks as low as his tail, dragging on the ground from sheer exhaustion, but he will not give up- he cannot.
An hour passes, cold, hard, and riddled with damp. Tendo's only movement is the occasional twitch of his ears, searching for a sound that does not yet exist. Hunger begins to gouge at him, receiving an annoyed glare in return. Feeling foolish, he shakes his head. Thinking he would be done in only one night, how stupid. But those emotions crumble to hope as a Psychic disturbance shatters the air in the center of the cave, accompanied by a glaring flash of blue light. Hunger is forgotten when the air clears, revealing a small periwinkle pixie with four magenta braids of "hair". An overwhelming sense of peace floods Tendo, mixed with no small amount of hope. Finally, his pleas have been answered; Mesprit is here.
Gazing steadily at Tendo, Mesprit floats towards the Espeon. He wants to bow, or dip his head in respect, but he is transfixed, overcome with hope and awe at the sheer power a Legendary Pokemon's presence commands. "I will help you," she says, staring at a point above Tendo's eyes, as if unwilling to make eye contact with a lesser Psychic. "However, there is a price."
Hearing the news, Tendo snaps to a more alert posture, joy flooding his veins- no price is too steep, not if it brings Hizashi home. Eager, he leans forward, every hair on his body hyperalert to the slightest shift in air currents, almost expecting his mate to step out from behind a boulder. "Tell me, Mesprit, what do you want of me? Anything you wish, just as long as Hizashi comes home."
Mesprit pauses, twin tails gently undulating to inaudible music, her eyes still not level with Tendo's. A smile begins to weave its way across the Legendary Pokemon's face, an expression of unspoken mirth so infectious that it soon is plastered onto Tendo's face as well. "Come, darling, let us go see my collection. Your mate can wait a few more minutes, she isn't going anywhere."
Joyful that Mesprit likes him enough to deem him worthy of an endearment, Tendo almost bounces after the levitating Psychic, renewed strength pulsing through him. The air before Mesprit wavers, and then collapses as she reaches the far wall, revealing a dark, narrow descending path. Relying solely on his heightened senses, Tendo slows his pace, falling behind Mesprit as she travels onward, never looking back. As he loses sight of her, panic fills him, and, desperate not to be left behind, the Espeon rushes forward, frantically leaping over the ground that separates him from his companion.
Two leaps later, Tendo crashes into a wall. Mesprit, only a few paces to his right, sends Tendo a disapproving glare, coupled with a warning to be careful, and guilt and shame tango through him, twisting into his heart. Gently padding over to where Mesprit floats stationary, Tendo strains his neck, trying to catch a glimpse at the object the other Psychic is gazing at with such rapt adoration. A dark sphere rests in a small indentation in the wall, but darkness obscures its identity, leaving the Espeon to question Mesprit about what it is..
"Oh, I forgot, you need light. I know every item in my collection by heart, my memory serves me just as well as sight does."
Just as Tendo opens his mouth to respond, a resounding crack shrieks throughout the room, and a hole in the ceiling opens, allowing the soft light of the full moon to drift into the chamber. Floating gently onto the object, the moon reveals it to be as round and full as itself, although not as big and pink in color. A beautiful, large pearl rests shimmering in the alcove, sparkling merrily in the luminescence. Staring at it, albeit with much less rapture than Mesprit, Tendo realizes with a growing sense of horror that the object is a-
"It's a Spoink's pearl. Gorgeous, isn't it," Mesprit said, finishing Tendo's unspoken thought. "I have a Grumpig's pearls in the next recess, to complete the set. See, I collect gems from Pokemon. A lovely hobby, if I do say so myself."
As Tendo listens to Mesprits words, he slowly begins to realize that her hobby, while different, is hardly an abomination. The pearl does catch the light nicely, and the Spoink and Grumpig must have been dead before Mesprit took them. While slightly disturbing, the pillaging of dead bodies, the Pokemon had no use for the gems anymore, right?
"Come, let us walk," the Legendary Pokemon says softly, wrenching her eyes from the treasure. Slowly progressing down the hallway, Mesprit calls out the name of each gem as she and Tendo pass by, a mix of longing and lust filling her voice. "Grumpig's pearls, the purest black you'll find. The ruby of a Golduck, rather small and weak compared to others, but delicate at the same time. The rubies of a Tentacool, and right next to them, Tentacruel. So large, yet almost liquid inside. I'm hoping to find Emeralds from a Shiny Tentacruel, but no such luck as of yet."
With every passing gem, Tendo relaxes slightly, ease swallowing away his initial horror. It is, as he thought, just a slightly different hobby. As Mesprit continues to speak, her voice fills the wide space, echoing into the Espeon's ears, drowning out any other sound. The corridor seemingly has no end, an infinite silvery path stretching as far as the eye can see. Each piece that adorns the walls is as unique as the previous one, and seemingly more precious. The gems of a Staryu and Starmie, a crown from a Slowking, a Clampearl's pearl, the gems from a Sneasel and Weavile, an endless stream of countless jewels.
"And here we are, almost the very end of my collection," Mesprit proclaims with pride, halting at what seems to be the last unfilled space. A chill has set into Tendo's bones, a cold that bites through the warmth generated by exercise. The moonlight steadily fades as its source falls towards the edge of the sky, ready to plunge into oblivion, making the final two gems impossible to make out until Tendo draws close.
"A set of gems from a Dragonair, complete with the ability to control the weather," Mesprit states, tears trickling down her velvet face. "Sometimes I like to put them on and dance around my sleeping chamber like an idiot to make it rain."
Tendo could only nod, Mesprit's joy contagious as it overwhelms him, too. Mesprit's collection is as beautiful as she, and gratitude chokes him as he struggles to ask a question. "What... what's the final gem, oh divine goddess?"
"Come, I'll be happy to show it to you," Mesprit replies, slowly beginning to float over to it. "In fact, it's a very recent addition, nobody has seen it yet. Not that many Pokemon see my gorgeous prizes... Azelf and Uxie have severed all ties with me, despite us being triplets, and Dialga and Palkia refuse to even let me see them. They've asked Arceus to restrict me from the Spear Pillar, which he granted... Pity, they have such marvelous treasures of their own, and I would kill to get at them."
Finally, they arrive at the last slot. Moonlight quickly vanishing into the grey tendrils of dawn makes it difficult to see the object, but Tendo can just make it out. Nestling snugly in the stone is the ruby from an Espeon, crimson against the black rock.
"The Espeon who donated that was happy to give it to me," Mesprit says as she turns to face Tendo, now level with him. "She begged me to add it to my collection, and I was happy to comply. However, it's so small, so... pathetic."
The stark realization of Mesprit's words hits the Espeon, that she extracts the gems while the Pokemon are still alive. But he does not care, the bliss he now lives in drowns out the horror of the physical world entirely.
"Tendo, your gem is no Sableye, and believe me, I would love to get one of those. But they're so sneaky, so nasty with their typing... But, all the same, do you think I could have it?"
"Have... have it..." comes the slow reply, ecstasy pulsing through Tendo's veins with more power than the most potent drug. Shaking his head, Tendo's eyes begin to clear, the prospect of certain death an alarm slicing through the pleasure. But a glance from Mesprit silences any doubts, and as Tendo's vision starts to fade, he utters one final word.
"Yes."
A/N. Hello~ It's been a while since I've uploaded anything, since I've written in general, really. With so much going on with college and other pursuits, writing just hasn't been at the front of my mind, especially since I had no ongoing projects. And my last work, Haunted, was a little hard for me to write. But anyways, if you're wondering anything about this story, it sprung from brainstorming with the very much under-appreciated Not So Gallant Gallade. He needed an idea, I gave him something akin to this, but he said I should take it and make it its own story, so here it is. I hope you enjoyed it, please leave a review if you did, hearing from you, the reader, means a lot to me.
I have no idea what or when my next story will be, but whatever it is, I'll write it as well as I'm able for you guys!
Pika~