Chapter Nine

Secrets

A strange cool breeze whipped in through the cracks of the window, causing a chill to fill the room. The slightly flickering candle light was put out as the wind crept through. A soft whistling noise sounded and an eerie feeling filled the air. Vex's eyes slowly opened and he looked around the room, a huge yawn escaped him. The riolu sat up with his legs outstretched in front of him. He then rubbed his eyes and yawned again. "What?" He whispered quietly and eyed the dark room. There was nothing there and little light from the street-lights outside. He stood up and lazily made his way over to the window. He pressed all his body weight against the window and finally got it shut. It was hard to shut because the wind was so strong. He then leaned against the cold glass and sighed. He scanned the room and his gaze fell on the sleeping Eevee who was curled up tightly in her nest. She was shivering some and Vex felt a little sorry for the poor thing. Before they went to sleep, she was acting a little strange. She was acting like something or someone had scared her out of her mind! She said she was just tired but was that really true? What if Banette had said something to make her seem so scared? What did Banette say to her anyway?

Vex shook his head and scurried around the room looking for something. He reached into a basket that was placed in the and grabbed something soft. It was a blanket! He pulled it out and smiled. Tiptoeing over to Marcy, his mind kept racing with thoughts. He then sat the blanket on Marcy who instantly snuggled with it. Her shivering had stopped and she was now sleeping peacefully. A soft and gentle smile showed on his face and he stared at the weird light brown patch over her eye. He reached out to gently brush it before pulling away. It was so strange that she was like this. She wasn't a normal eevee but she was his partner. Joy filled him and he scratched right behind her ear. "You sleep well," He whispered to her.

Turning away, Vex went over to the door that leads to their room. He quietly pushed the door open and made his way out of it, shutting it softly behind him. The tower was so peaceful and quiet with barely any noises from other Pokémon. However, he looked around and could make out some of the Pokémon that lived in the Spirit Tower. Vex made his way to the top of the tower, where they were first told to see Banette and the others. As he reached the top, he realized that the door had been opened. Curiosity sparked in the young Riolu. Who would be outside so late with such cold weather? Or perhaps the last Pokémon out to the balcony didn't get the door shut completely. Either way, Vex was still a little curious. He poked his head through the opening of the door and instantly got covered with cold air. He quickly brought his head back in and huffed.

"What are you doing?" A deep voice sounded from behind him.

Vex jumped and he stood still. He then put one hand behind his head and turned around slowly, shutting his eyes. A huge, embarrassed smile sat on his face as he replied with a soft chuckle, "Heh. Heh… Nothing…" His eyes opened and he gasped. "Oh. It's only you, Absol!"

Absol looked down at him and stepped forward. He then used his sickle-shaped horn to shut the door, pulling it backwards and toward him. "You should not be up so late," He told Vex and stared down at him with his gleaming red eyes.

Vex frowned and sighed. "I couldn't get back to sleep!" He truthfully told Absol.

He simply just nodded and made a gruff noise. "If that's the case, would you mind coming with me?" The white furred Pokémon turned away from Vex and began to make his way down the circular staircase.

"U-uh… Sure?" Vex replied and tailed after Absol. He began to wonder what the Dark Pokémon wanted from him.

"Tell me… How did you meet your partner?" Absol asked, trying to start back up the conversation.

"Huh? Oh, Marcy? Oh! Well. I was just leaving Cincinno's guild because… Of reasons and I went to the beach to calm down. I was just strolling along and then I saw this strange figure on the beach. I didn't know what it was, so I approached with caution. I then realized it was an Eevee, a washed-up Eevee in fact," Vex explained.

"Washed-up?" Absol echoed with no emotion behind his voice. He nodded.

Vex nodded and began to walk beside the Pokémon. "That's right!" He replied with a smile, "I woke her up and she kind of freaked out."

"Hm… It's not common for a Pokémon to be washed up on the beach," Absol murmured softly. "That's very strange."

Vex sounded a little offended when he replied, "Hey! Any Pokémon can be washed up on the beach!"

"Tell me this then… What day was it?" He asked.

"Day? Um. It was the day after that huge storm."

Absol didn't reply and just began to think quietly to himself.

The pair finally reached the bottom of the stairs where few Pokémon roamed. The round room was lit up with different lights and candles. Absol walked to the back of the circular room (furthest from the front door).

"How did you join this guild?" Vex asked out of the blue.

Absol froze and looked down at him, his eyes looking rather wide as if he was a little scared to say anything. "How?" He murmured and cleared his throat. "Well. I guess I was a very young Absol when it happened. There was supposed to be a major storm the day I wanted to go out and explore. My parents didn't allow me, however I disobeyed them and went out anyway. I was with my friend though. Her name was Rayne. At the time, we were both living in Mt. Jade. It was a beautiful and huge forest on the mountains. It started to rain gently and we both thought that it was no big deal. It was just a little sprinkle here and there. That's when the wind began to pick up. Rayne and I ignored it and continued to play and explore the forest," He fell quiet and his gaze clouded up some. "Then the rain began to fall harder and we went looking for shelter. The nearest place we found was in some cave. However, in this cave there was a huge Pokémon there and forced us out. We had to go looking for some other place. The skies got dark and it began to storm. Rain and thunder… It was a terrible storm. Rayne and I got separated in the dark and I was on my own. I had no idea where to go or what to do. So I began to follow the river upstream. As I was doing so, the ground began to get slippery and muddy… My foot slipped and I fell over into the rushing water. At the time, I didn't know how to swim. My parents never taught me. So, there I was, trying my best to catch my breath by bobbing up and down in the water. However, the current was too powerful and I went down and under. I wasn't sure what happened during that time, but I woke up here in the Spirit Tower." The Winged-Absol looked at the display case that sat in front of them. He then continued, "I was saved by a member of the guild. However, I never met him. They say he was an Alakazam and they say he was the best guild member they ever had. He was the best leader they ever had. Then one day, he disappeared. No one knew where he went or what happened to him but one Pokémon. That Pokémon is Banette. But she chooses not to share with us what happened to him. She just tells us one day we'll learn his story. Alakazam had a very good friend who told me about Mega Evolutions. I decided to join their guild in hopes of one day returning to my family and hopefully finding Alakazam. But I also joined because I thought it was an opportunity in a lifetime. I was so excited to join," He finished with a sigh.

Vex listened so very well and his eyes grew wide. "Whoa. That's... Incredible!" He whispered, obviously amused. He was always a Pokémon easily amused.

Absol let out a soft chuckle and nodded before pointing to the display case. "You see this case here?" He asked.

Vex stood on his tiptoes to see into the case. He gasped at all the different colored stones that sat in the case. There were over twenty different, beautiful stones! They were beautiful stones. Each of them had a little name-tag below them, labeling each stone.

"These are the very first Mega Stones. They were introduced to the guild by the Great Alakazam. He keeps all of these stones here, proving that Mega Evolution is possible and is a wonderful thing to the Pokémon who are able Mega-Evolve," Absol explained softly.

Vex's eyes scanned the tags and he quietly named them off, "Mega Garchomp, Mega Gardevoir, Mega Mawile, and Mega Aggron…" He continued to name them until his gaze rested on the last one. A loud gasp sounded from him, "Mega…. Lucario?!" He couldn't believe it! There was a stone for his evolution form! How could that be possible? Excitement lit up from him and he began to bounce up and down. "THIS IS AMAZING!" He gasped. "I can be turned into a Mega Lucario?!" He asked with wide eyes.

Absol nodded and stared at the stone. "Yes. You have a Mega Evolution, Vex."

"That is… Sooooo cool! What's it look like? Can I use it now? How do I evolve into a Lucario?!" He asked questions nonstop.

"Shh!" Absol sighed, listening to how loud he got. "Quiet down before you wake the sleeping Pokémon. Your time to evolve won't be very soon, Vex. You're still very young and have a lot to learn about the world until you can become a Lucario. And when that day comes, you may want to train with us for a little bit until you can Mega evolve."

Vex stared down at the stone and continued to speak, "But... I want to evolve now Absol!"

"You cannot rush something that happens naturally."

"Why can't I?!"

"That's not how it's done, Vex. When you are ready to evolve, you will. But for now, you must continue your training with Cinccino's guild and continue to learn about the world surrounding you," Absol spoke truthfully. He looked down at the smaller Pokémon and something glinted in his eyes for that small Pokémon. Pride? Joy? What was it?
Vex sighed, "You're right Absol." He murmured and turned away from the display case. "I just have to be patient!" A loud huff sounded from him and he began to pout. He crossed his arms and stared at the ground. "I hate being patient!"

Absol chuckled and shook his head. "Now, try and get some rest. You have a long journey back to Cinccino's tomorrow. Perhaps it may be a quick journey. Who knows?" He nudged Vex toward the stairs.

Vex flailed forward and sighed. "Okayyyy," He sighed and made his way back up the stairs to his room. "Stupid stairs," he muttered. The Riolu reached the room and made quietly opened the door, walked in and then shut it gently behind him. His gaze scanned the room and he noticed Marcy still sleeping under the blanket. How could he sleep knowing there was a mega evolution just for him?

The next morning, I woke up with a start. I was breathing heavily from the terrible dream I had. My gaze swept the room and I began to look around for something that might resemble the terrible nightmare. A sigh escaped me. Nothing was in the room except for Vex and I. I stood up and realized that something was gently resting up on. I turned my head to notice a blanket and I was a little confused to as of how it got there. It wasn't on me when I went to sleep. Shrugging, I shook the blanket off and stretched my way over to the window. (Like, stepping but stretching at the same time.) Outside the window, Moonlight Town was already covered in shadows from the mountains surrounding it. The snow on the other side of the mountains was shining brightly as the sun shone. It was surprising that it wasn't snowing at the moment. It has been snowing non-stop since it started. It was a relief that it was snowing for once. I turned away from the window and trailed to Vex. I then nudged him, hoping to wake him up. "Hey! Vex. It's time to get up!" I murmured.

Vex rolled over and now had his back to me, saying something.

I tilted my head some and then poked at his back, rather hard.

He didn't even stir.

I huffed. I then bit, knowing that will hopefully wake him up.

"HEY!" Vex screamed and turned around quickly, kicking me away from him.

I scattered back and stared at him. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"

"YOU BIT ME!"

"I DID NOT!" I lied. "Okay, maybe just a little…"
"A LITTLE?!" Vex huffed and stood up. "Next time don't bite me!" He whined and crossed his arm and turned his back to me.

I stuck my tongue out at him before shaking out my fur. "Fine. I'll use swift next time. Better?"

Vex shook his head and stretched out his arms, shaking his hands as well. "No-no! Just… Try harder next time!"

I rolled my eyes at him and nodded. "I'll try!" I then reached down and nosed under my bag strap and maneuvered it onto my shoulders.

Vex picked up his own bag and made his way to the door and opened it. We both left the room and went down the stairs which were still dreadful!

"Okay. So, if we leave soon, we should be there before the sun goes completely down," Vex spoke, looking around the round room.

I looked around the room as well, seeing all the Pokémon active and ready for the day. There was a Combustion and Meditite near the front of the guild, punching the air. A Mega Evolved Manetric walked through the doors with a normal Garchomp. All the Pokémon looked so happy and busy with their activities. I smiled and began to think of Cincinno's guild. I have not seen any of the guild members for two days. I kind of missed them. I missed the meals that Medicham cooked and I miss how happy the members are. I was feeling homesick. I sat down at the bottom of the stairs and eyed everyone around me. I was wondering where Banette was – if she had even gotten back from her mission last night.

"Hrm… I wonder where Banette and them are," He murmured.

I tensed and flattened my ears some. "Yeah," I whispered. I didn't want to see Banette after her little episode with me last night. She still freaked me out and she knew I wasn't from this world. What if she tried to get rid of me? No she wouldn't… She just couldn't!

"Banette is still out," Houndoom's voice sounded from behind us.

We turned around to look at the huge Pokémon eyeing us both. His gaze seemed to be set on me though. He looked confused or upset. I couldn't tell. Houndoom's always looked serious – in my opinion.

"Where did she go?" Vex asked.

"She went on a mission and then went to speak with the Town's Elder about something," Houndoom replied and looked at me. "Hrm…" He examined me closely, causing me to stumble back some, before turning away. "I assume you're leaving?" He asked us.

"Ooh! What kind of mission?" Vex asked, sounding excited. "Can we go help?!"

Houndoom growled and shook his head, little flames coming out of his mouth. "No. Go back to Cinccino's guild. I'm sure Medicham will be excited for the return of his berries and apples."

I took a step back and nudged Vex, "We should go."

Vex nodded. "I suppose you're right. Thank you for the help, Houndoom. Give Absol and Banette our thanks!" He smiled and began to walk to the front doors.

Both of the doors were propped open and we walked out to the path that took us through Moonlight Town. We looked around at the buildings that sat on the side of the path. We could see smoke coming up through chimneys. It must be cold since some of these buildings were so thin. There were few Pokémon happily running outside in the snow, some with scarves some with hats and earmuffs. (Hey, if it's in the anime it's in this story. :P) In front of one of the houses, there was an Emolga and Petilil happily chasing after each other. I smiled at them. I continued after Vex.

Okay so they walk, blah blah blah, they reach Silvermist. WOO!

"FINALLY, we're back!" I groaned, flopping on the ground in a pile of snow that was there. I laid there for a few seconds before hearing a familiar voice. I looked up to see the familiar metal and dark type Pokémon addressing a group of Pokémon. "What's going on there?" I drug myself through the snow to get to the back of the group to look to Bisharp.

"There has been no word from the Legendary Articuno. We have gone through the mountains numerous times in search of her. We have not seen her anywhere," Bisharp told everyone, moving his metallic hands all around.

"That's impossible! What has happened to her?! Is Articuno okay? Has anything happened?" A Glameow asked, her voice trembling with fear.

Bisharp silenced her with a wave of one of his arms. "Quiet down, Glameow. We will find her. She is probably just roaming the skies and avoiding trouble," He explained with a soft sigh.

"How do we know that?!" Another Pokémon asked Bisharp.

He gazed at the Pokémon and sighed some, "I don't know."

"But you're the great Explorer Bisharp!" Fletchling squeaked, shivering.

"I will find Articuno," He promised everyone and put a hand up to his gray chest.

The towns-Pokémon began to murmur quietly.

I frowned. They still haven't heard anything about Articuno which disappointed me. We were gone for two days and they haven't found one trace of Articuno. Was the legendary bird even the cause of this? She couldn't possibly cause all this snow by herself in the middle of fall. There had to be another Pokémon. Then again, I knew nothing about her except that she was an ice, bird Pokémon. Perhaps it was possible for her to cause all of this. But why are they suspecting only Articuno?

"If Articuno really was the cause of this, I would definitely teach her a lesson to go and freeze OUR town like this!" A voice hissed.

"Articuno isn't as good as I thought she was," Another voice whispered.

I wanted to reply to the Pokémon who were bashing on poor Articuno, but they might have a point. Maybe Articuno isn't all that good of a Pokémon.

"HEY! You're finally back!" A cruel laughter sounded.

Vex and I turned around noticed Dusk (the Pawniard) and Coal (the Houndour). They were also accompanied with another Pokémon. "Who is that?" I asked the Pokémon, seeing the floating purple and pink Pokémon. There was also this stone hanging around her neck and I wondered what kind of Pokémon this was. She was kind of pretty, in a way.

"I am Maggie," The Pokémon replied with a soft smile.

"Wow. You're so much nicer than those two bozos. How'd you get stuck with them?!" Vex asked with a gasp.

She gave him a cold glare before turning to face me. "You must be Marcy, am I right?" She asked.

I nodded and dipped my head. "Yes. If I may ask, what kind of Pokémon are you?"

"I am a Mismagius, a ghost Pokémon and these two 'bozos' team leader," She replied with a little twirl in the air. "You're that cute little Eevee that everyone in the guild is talking about, especially Flicker. She tends to talk about you a lot…"

Her voice sounded super familiar but I wasn't sure what it was from. I flattened my ears and then nodded, "It's nice to meet you." I then turned away and hurridly trotted off.

"HEY!" Vex called, yelling after me. "Where are you going? MARCY!" He called.

I was running in the direction to the guild, hoping to get away from these evil Pokémon. I did not like Coal or Dusk. They creeped me out and they were so mean! After the incident at the beach my first day, I didn't trust them. I didn't trust Maggie either. I mean, how could she possibly join their team? Why would she do that? Ghost pokémon, I tell you. They're always creeping on me. First Flicker, then Banette and now Maggie. I did not like this. She was just as cruel as they were. I came to a slow stop just before nearing the guild. My feet had grown tired by running and springing through the snow. I looked over my shoulder and then tackled Vex into the bushes surrounding us. I had pinned him down and looked around, worried out of my mind.

"OW! GET OFF MARCY!"

"SHH!" I growled to him and backed off the Riolu, allowing him to get up. "Listen and listen well," I muttered. I began to explain to Vex about Flicker and Banette. I told him how both of them know I'm not human and Flicker was just all over it. She wanted to know everything. I told him about how Banette reacted last night after she dismissed him and the other megas, leaving us by ourselves I told him all about how rude and cruel she was.

Vex was sitting down in the snow, listening intentionally to my story. He looked surprised when I explained him about these ghost pokémon. After I fell silent, he looked hurt but shocked. "Both Flicker and Banette know about you not being human? Why didn't you say anything to me? We could have questioned them together."

I blinked and looked taken back. Yeah... But that's not the point!" I murmured, flattening my ears.

He frowned and sat up straight. "But it is the point…" He replied and stood up, "Why didn't you tell me about it?"

"I figured you already knew about it…" I whispered and took a step back. "I thought you heard Flicker the other day when she blew up my eardrums about being human."

Vex said nothing but just nodded slowly, "Let's… Just get back to the guild to deliver this stuff," He mumbled. He began to walk away toward the guild.

I was left standing there, staring at the area where Vex had been sitting. I felt terrible now. Was he really upset that I didn't share with him about my Banette and Flicker? What could I do to make up for it? I could try to say sorry but I'm sure he won't take it completely serious. Would he even be able to trust me now?! I sighed and began to trail after him. I couldn't believe the look on his face. He looked so hurt.

We made it back to the guild and we gave the requested food to Medicham who even gave us a little pay. Vex said he didn't want it but Medicham insisted that we take it.

"Go on, take it! You worked so hard for it!" Medicham told us.

So I took the money and placed it in the bag that I was carrying. I smiled at Medicham in thanks before heading out and running into Ampharos.

"You're back! Oh that's outstanding! And you're not hurt at all. That's impressive." He smiled at me and looked around the guild. "Where did Vex go? I thought I just saw him." He shrugged and looked back down at me. "Since you're back at the guild, I'll let you have a rest. However, tomorrow you will be back and working for the guild. You still need to work hard if you want to go with us on the expedition." He wagged his finger at me and then walked into the dining to talk with Medicham, I guess.

I blinked. I totally forgot about the expedition! We had tons of work to do if we wanted to go on that expedition. I quickly looked around for Vex and saw him heading down the hallway to our room. I felt sorry and ashamed to talk to him. So instead, I left the guild once more and made my way to the main part of the town – where everyone always gathered. There were no Pokémon grouped up there and it kind of surprised me. However, I was kind of glad that there weren't so many Pokémon here. I made my way over to Kirlia's Bank. There, I ran into Flare and Flicker. "Hey!" I called to the two fire Pokémon.

Flicker turned around and gasped. "MARCY!" She squealed and floated over to me and began to float around me. "I MISSED YOU SO MUCH! Where have you been? I've been stuck with mean old Flare all day and yesterday! It was terrible!" She frowned at me and crossed her arms. "And I want to know more about your secret!" She said in a hushed tone.

"What was that?" Flare muttered, glaring at her. "What secret?" He demanded.

"OOPS! Nothing, no secret. Just happiness and truth!" Flicker grinned at the young fire type.

I smiled some at Flicker and let out a soft laugh, "Has it really been that bad? Ooh, tsk, tsk Flare. Bad Growlithe." I looked to the Growlithe who raised a Growlithe-Eyebrow at me and gave me this strange look.

"Right, right. Me? Bad?! Nah.. I'm the most loyal Pokémon you'll ever meet!" He then purposely stuck his chest out and shook his head.

"Aha. What have you two been up to?" I asked them. I also wanted to quickly change the subject about my 'secret.'

"We've been running missions all day long!" Flicker sighed and floated to the ground dramatically. "It's sooo exhausting!"

Flare poked the Litwick and rolled his eyes. "You're just a little Pokémon," He teased.

"I AM NOT!" She huffed and crossed her arms.

I laughed softly and nodded. "That's great. I'm exhausted too! Going to Moonlight Town and back is so tiring." I sighed.

"Moonlight Town?" Kirlia echoed, butting in on our conversation.

I turned and nodded at her. "Do you know of that place?"

"YES! It's a beautiful town. So majestic and wonderful. However, legend has it there's a Pokémon there who causes severe nightmares! I can't remember his name, but he's a huge scary Pokémon!" She let out a huge gasp. "Did you have any nightmares there?!"

Nightmares? I frowned at the thought of it. I did have a nightmare while I was in Moonlight Town but it wasn't all that serious. I was scared though. Everything was broken in my dream and everything was dead. There were no Pokémon and I was all alone. I had nothing around me in my dream and I felt so alone. Everything was cold and it was just scary. I could smell fire and in the distance, I could hear Pokémon calling for help. I even heard an evil laughter in the background.

"I… Didn't," I lied to Kirlia and looked away.

Kirlia frowned and leaned on the counter, resting her head in the palms of her hand. "If I hear anything about it, I'll let you know. I do know he's a dark type Pokémon though. He's like… A legendary Pokémon or something," She shrugged. "That's interesting you didn't have anything. I know… One day, mother had traveled to Moonlight Town to speak with the guild master and she came back with these horrible stories about a nightmare."

Litwick jumped up and floated high, her flame lighting up brightly. "Oh my gosh, I know it! I know him! I heard about him. I can't remember his name! ACCCCK!" She frowned and floated back down.

Growlithe and I listened to the two Pokémon before speaking up. "I guess we'll have to do a little research, right Flicker?" He asked.

Flicker nodded and sighed. "I guess so. But right now, let's go return these items to that Pokémon! COME ON FLAME!" She squealed and disappeared in the sunset sky.

"She's always on the move," Flame sighed and smiled at me. "I'll see you later, okay?" He ran after Flicker.

But within a few seconds, Flicker came back to me and whispered, gazing around. "You and I are talking tonight." She demanded and then smiled, "BYEBYE!"

I watched them go and flattened my ears. Flicker really wanted to talk to me about this human thing… I didn't want to turn her away but I don't like discussing human things with a pokémon. Sighing, I turned to Kirlia. I then deposited some money and made my way down the path that lead to the main path of town. Following the path, I made my way back to the guild but came to a halt when I noticed the beach and ocean path. Why go back to the guild when I can watch the beautiful sunset from the beach? I hurriedly made my way down the beach path. I looked at the trees surrounding me, seeing several Pokémon resting in them as they got readied to go to sleep. I smiled to myself and reached the beach. When my paws hit the snow on the beach, I felt kind of relaxed. The snow was cold, but only half the beach was covered in it. When I touched the warm snow, I smiled and nestled down in the warm sand. I began to watch the sunset. The sunset made me feel very warm on the inside and it made me smile. A small yawn came from me and I stretched my paws out. It felt nice to just sit down and relax for a little bit.

"I have been looking for you!" A voice whispered.

I turned my head to see Gallade strolling down the path.