Leaving Perihelion behind wasn't something Vanilla wanted to do, but if they couldn't convince the absol to turn against his brother, then there was nothing else they could do about it.
"Any idea where this luxray is?" Chocola whispered once she was certain no-one was within earshot.
Vanilla shook his head to say 'no', but stopped himself. If this Leshari was one of Absolution's top supporters, then it would make sense that she'd be close to the center of his operation, close to him. Not wanting to risk talking, Vanilla simply pointed forward, then up. If they wanted to get close to the luxray, they'd have to go to visit the Forum Chamber.
But to do that, they'd have to go through the room that housed the Legendary Evolution Stone.
Navigating the office level was a breeze for Chocola now that she knew the guards' patrol patterns. She'd briefly worried that they'd accidentally run into a guard on the stairwell, a place her mirage would be less likely to work, but fortunately, her fears seemed unfounded.
Upon reaching the next floor, however, the duo discovered that there didn't seem to be any guards at all, not even a few stationed in front of the Legendary Stone's viewing room.
Entering the Stone Room and verifying it was clear, Chocola took the opportunity to gaze upon the ultimate shiny. "It's beautiful…" She said, nodding her approval while gazing into the dull-gray translucence of the rock.
"That's nothing." Vanilla said as he reared up and placed his paw on the stone.
Before Chocola could protest, after all, Vanilla had just rejected obtaining his own evolution stone, she was cut off when the rock in front of her began to glow. What was once dull, now shone with a nearly brilliant white, at least until the eevee removed his paw.
"Neat, huh?" Vanilla finished with knowing grin.
"But, but, you didn't evolve?"
"Nope. The stone helps others to evolve, and only when an eevee, or one of its evolutions touches it. If another pokemon touches it at the same time, and their type is compatible with the evolution, then they can evolve too. Granted, there's usually a little more ceremony involved, but since it's just you, I thought you'd like to see it!"
"Thanks, Vanilla! Can you do it again?"
"Maybe later. We still need that key." Vanilla said in all seriousness. He didn't want to linger any longer than necessary.
As Chocola made a visible display of her dejection at not seeing the shiny in action again, Vanilla thought back to Perihelion's words. Things started clicking into place, at least concerning why Absolution was looking for the escaped eevees. Without the Legendary Evolution Stone, it would be difficult to maintain the ofttimes precarious balance between the various pokemon types. And if the Father, the umbreon, refused to work with the absol, it would put all dark-types at a disadvantage, further weakening Absolutions position.
If Absolution got his paws on Vanilla, his father would have no choice but to go along with his plans. As long as he remained free, the absol would find it difficult to get any support. Not just from the other Dark-types, but from any pokemon who realized that balance must be maintained.
Suddenly, Vanilla realized that it wasn't a very good idea to be wandering around. After all, this place was now, essentially, Absolution's new stronghold.
Too bad the freedom of others outweighed the risk. He needed that key. "Come on, Chocola. It's only a little further to the Forum. We just need to sneak up to this Leshari and find a way to steal her key without her noticing."
"Leave that to me." Chocola said with a wink. "I've still got a few tricks to play!"
Getting in position at the hallway entrance, the pair crouched closely together, much like they did on the earlier floors. After all, their sneaking had worked so far, why change a good thing?
Passing a few doors, the stairs appeared just ahead when Chocola felt Vanilla lag behind. To her horror, she found the eevee sound asleep behind her.
So enthralled with her recent memory of the stone, and her stealth work she'd missed something vitally important.
Hypnosis. The hallway leading up to the Forum was practically saturated with it.
Chocola tried prodding Vanilla awake, but her actions were in vain. Even if she could wake him, he was likely to fall asleep again long before they could escape.
What was worse was the angry sound of a static discharge emanating from the pokemon coming down the stairs.
