Hey guys! DuffleGamer here, finally able to upload a new chapter! Sorry this has taken so long, I've been dealing with a lot of stuff irl and this has been a lot of work for me, but here it is! Enough chit chat, let's go!

Chapter 19: No Rest for the Weary

Flareon slowly opened his eyes and rolled out of bed, rubbing his eyes and he slowly walked towards the door of his hut. He was exhausted and he knew it, with the mixture of the over-exertion on battling and the lack of sleep due to talking to Melvin, he was not ready to go for the day. But, he supposed he had no choice, and shook his head before opening the door. The air felt… calm. Children were playing, the breeze was blowing, and the grass slowly drifted back and forth in the wind. Now that those horrifying statues no longer dotted the plains, pokemon were free to roam the area and enjoy it to their heart's' content. Flareon turned to his left and saw Venusaur walking towards him.

"Ah, Flareon, good to see you're awake. Feeling rested after that long battle?" Venusaur had a smile on his face, but it turned into a frown as Flareon shook his head.

"Unfortunately, no, I still feel completely drained. But, I suppose there's nothing I can really do about it. I still have a job to do, and I plan to keep going until it's finished."

Venusaur shook his own head in response. "Dear friend, you shouldn't be pushing yourself so hard. If you're tired, you shouldn't try and do more, you'll only end up holding everybody back."

Flareon gritted his teeth at how he said that, but sighed once he realized it was the truth. "I suppose so, but they need a leader. Thanks for the advice, and I'll take it easy, but I must keep going."

Venusaur lowered his head. "If that is what you insist, then I will not stop you. But please, be cautious on your travels. The road ahead is sure to be a bumpy one."

"Gotcha." Flareon nodded and walked towards where his group had seemingly gathered. Jolteon smirked and walked over to him.

"And so the sleeping prince awakens! Good to see you pal, how're you holding up?" Jolteon had a large smirk on his face, and Flareon was more than happy to knock off that smirk.

"Better than you are, buddy. You look like a wreck."

Jolteon grit his teeth. "I'll have you know that I'm just fine, thanks."

Espeon rolled her eyes and stepped between the two. "Alright, alright, settle down. I hate to interrupt your ahem measuring contest, but we have a job to do. Our next stop is the icy landscape to the North. They call it Freezeezy Peak, which is a bit misleading since the entire area is pretty flat. But, as you could probably tell, snow and snow storms are very common over there, so make sure you're packing something warm."

When Flareon heard that, he could feel his heart drop and his eyes shrink. ...Snow? As in… cold?

Jolteon was walking away with the group when he turned back and looked at a Flareon who was frozen in place. He chuckled. "Aw, what's wrong, little Flareon's afraid of a little snow?"

Flareon blushed and grit his teeth. "I am not afraid of any snow! I was just… distracted, is all." Flareon quickly walked past Jolteon, starting to the lead the group to their next destination. Jolteon tilted his head in confusion.

"Geez, I didn't mean it, I was just messing with him. He never reacts like that before, what do you think happened?" Jolteon looked around at the other Eeveelutions, looking for someone who could give him an answer.

Sylveon, with a worried look on her face, stepped towards Jolteon. "He's probably just stressed, sweetie. Having a maniac take over your body and almost losing your loved one is a lot to take in. We just need to support him." Sylveon turned back to Espeon. "Sweetie, do you mind making some leader decisions a little while longer? I don't think Flareon's gonna be able to do it…"

Espeon was taken aback, but nodded in agreement, feeling a little smirk of pride form on her face. "Y-Yes, will do… ma'am."

Sylveon giggled at how flustered Espeon got, but stopped when she felt Glaceon tap her side. "Now, when you said loved one, you didn't mean…"

Glaceon smiled and turned back towards the direction they were walking. "Well, who else could I have been talking about?~"

Glaceon growled. "So you were! Oooo, Sylveon, get over here!" Sylveon happily ran away as Glaceon chased her down. Vaporeon and Leafeon looked at each other with smiles as they both chased them as well. Espeon was about to go join the other girls, but was stopped when she heard Umbreon.

Hold it, Espeon.

She turned back to Umbreon. Umbreon? What's up, is there something wrong?

Not with me, but with Flareon. I think you need to read his mind.

What? Umbreon, you know I don't just read someone's mind willy nilly, I have to take responsibility with-

Yeah, and I get that, but there's something wrong with him. Like, something VERY wrong with him, and I think Melvin is the cause of it.

Wait, you don't mean… Melvin's still around?!

Umbreon nodded. That's what I'm thinking. And what I'm also thinking is that Melvin is feeding him some information that's putting him on edge. If you can find out what's happening in there, maybe we can talk to him and help him.

But he's not gonna listen to us. Sure, we're friends, but we're not SUPER close.

Then get Glaceon to talk to him. Surely out of all of us, she'd be able to knock him out of his slump.

I guess, but… I don't know, it just feels wrong….

Espeon, please. You know he needs this. The entire team is at risk if our leader is making rash decisions, and in his state, that's very possible.

Espeon sighed and turned towards the path. Alright, fine. I'll do it.

Umbreon nodded and they both ran to catch up to everybody else.

It wasn't long after they were continuing on the road that Flareon was gritting his teeth in frustration again. Melvin, oh how he hated that name, decided that talking to Flareon frequently was a good way to cure his boredom. Well, Melvin's boredom that is. All it did was feed Flareon's frustration.

You know, you're acting pretty on edge there, Fire Boy. You alright? You need Uncle Melvin to come give you some advice?

You can shut it, Melvin. You know the reason I'm on edge is because of you, and I don't wanna hear your stupid "advice", because I know it'll just be some stupid comment about how friends don't matter or something. I don't need you, Melvin.

Oh, but you really DO need me, hot shot. You really think the power in this body is all yours?

...I don't understand what you mean.

Here, lemme try and make it clear for you. When you're fighting, do you ever feel a situation where you're going on autopilot? Where you just stop thinking and just… attack.

...No….

Ah, now you're getting it. See, in those mere moments, where you will isn't strong enough, it allows me to briefly take control of your body, even if it's only for a split second. However, it seems that I'm going to be able to take control for even longer in the future, now that our link is stronger than ever. In fact, I could probably take control of this body for the entirety of a battle if I wanted to! Ahahaha!

Espeon gasped and opened her eyes. She had been reading Flareon's mind, and she listened to every part of his talk with Melvin. Everyone, Flareon included, moved over to Espeon.

"Espeon, what's wrong? Did you see something?" Glaceon was the first to ask Espeon. Espeon was breathing pretty heavily as her gaze darted around the group, finally resting on Flareon's deadpan expression.

"N-No… No, I'm fine. Sorry, was just… surprised, is all. Sorry to have worried you all, but we must proceed if we want to get to our destination in a timely manner." Espeon shook herself and tried to recompose her body as everyone turned around to head towards the next Green Shard location. Umbreon, however, took this as an opportunity to talk to Espeon.

So, you going to explain what that was all about?

...We need to send Flareon home. We can't let him battle how he is.

Are you kidding?! There's no way the situation can be THAT serious, could it?

Melvin has way too much influence over Flareon right now. I heard their discussion, and Melvin explained that he has the ability to take over Flareon if he has even a slight lapse in his will. Espeon turned to Umbreon with a concerned look on her face.

Well, that doesn't seem like too big of a problem. After all, Flareon is pretty adamant in what he wants. You saw what happened in the palace, he's not one to just give up.

Espeon frowned and furrowed her brows. Umbreon, you know as well as I do that he can have his will broken, just as much as any of us. Besides, it's happened multiple times before. Apparently, when Flareon has little bursts of power, that's Melvin stepping in and taking over.

Umbreon's vacant expression was soon replaced by one of shock. Wait, but how is that possible?

Don't you see the issue? In order to maintain Melvin, that means that Flareon has to be focused on it at all times, and control his strength. If he tries to do anything more than a basic Flare Blitz, than Melvin has a good chance of taking control.

So, if he were to use something such as Sacred Fire, then he would-

Lose control completely, yes. And with how shaken he is, he could lose control very easily. And as we know, Melvin is a hazard to everyone. The enemy, our own group, even just innocent bystanders.

...Still, with all of this said, I think we should wait it out.

Espeon was bewildered. Are you kidding me? After all I've explained, you still think he should come along with us?!

I didn't say that. I merely said that we should… wait it out. See how things go.

...I don't think I follow. You mind explaining?

If what you say about Flareon is true, than his emotions must be going wild. Sylveon's bound to notice this eventually, and she can find a solution. I don't think we should just give up on him until we give her or Glaceon a chance to calm him down.

Espeon sighed and shook her head. Yes, you're correct. I shouldn't be hasty in my decisions here, this band is putting their faith in me to lead them to victory, and I should consider all options.

Umbreon gave her a sideways look. And you were doing so well?

Espeon had a look of confusion on her face. And what does that mean?

You were talking pretty casually for a while there, but you changed back after you calmed down.

Espeon bit her lip. I'm still working on it. It's hard to completely change my speech patterns, y'know?

Umbreon smiled. Well now you're just combining the two.

Espeon stuck out her tongue and giggled. Hmhm, well, gotta keep you on your toes somehow~ Espeon winked as she walked a bit ahead of Umbreon, rejoining with the group.

Umbreon just blinked and felt a blush rising on his face. Man, if I could talk, I'd probably be stuttering very hard right about now…

Meanwhile, Umbreon's predictions were right. Sylveon kept stealing glances over at Flareon, who she could tell was incredibly bothered by something. She could see him with his eyes closed, constantly tensing and untensing his body. It… wasn't something you just do when you travel. She looked the opposite direction, towards Glaceon and Leafeon who were talking about the events that took place not too long ago. Well, if anyone can talk to Flareon, it's her. Sylveon walked over to the two girls and cleared her throat, getting the attention of the two Eeveelutions.

"Hey, girls, sorry to bother you, but I have a pretty big problem."

"What is it, Sylveon? Is Jolteon being as dense as usual again?" Leafeon stuck her tongue out while Glaceon giggled a bit at her joke.

Sylveon blushed a bit. "W-What? Now, you listen here, Jolteon is… not that bad…." She looked over at Jolteon and sighed. Through all of this struggle, she had completely forgotten about her own love life… The one she couldn't follow through on. She had a job here, she was the mother figure! And Jolteon… well… He wasn't much of a father, really. More like the kid brother.

Glaceon walked towards Sylveon and put her paw on Sylveon's shoulder. "Don't worry Sylv, I'm sure he'll notice eventually. All 3 of the guys here haven't taken a hint yet, so it's not like this is something we all can't deal with."

Sylveon smiled at that comment. She was right, though. Flareon, Jolteon, and even Umbreon had no idea about the advances that the girls were making. Well, maybe Umbreon did, but she wouldn't know. Can't really communicate with him very well, after all. Flareon had no excuse though, Glaceon was being very clear! Wait, Flareon…?

Sylveon snapped back into reality and quickly shook her head. "Ugh, I forgot, I'm not here to talk about Jolteon! I have something urgent!"

Leafeon had a look of curiosity on her face as Sylveon started getting worked up. "Sylv, sweetie, are you okay? I've never seen you this… intense, before. Not even in a fight!"

"It's Flareon, okay? There's something seriously wrong with him, his emotions are all over the place!" Glaceon immediately perked up, and she looked over at Flareon. Sure enough, he was by himself, seemingly brooding about this or that. "He hasn't talked to anyone since we left, not even Jolteon!"

Glaceon bit her lip. "So you want me to go talk to him?" Sylveon nodded. "...But wouldn't Jolteon probably be better? He'd probably understand what's going on a bit better…"

"Sweetie, he doesn't know it that much yet, but you're his best friend. If he's not willing to talk to something with you, then he's not gonna be willing to talk about it with anyone." Sylveon turned back to Glaceon and winked. "Besides, are you really gonna pass up an opportunity to talk to your man?~"

Leafeon giggled, but Glaceon just rolled her eyes. "He's not my 'man', Sylveon, but he is my best friend. I'll go talk to him."

Leafeon got serious. "Hey, good luck sis. Just try and cheer him up, that's all you need to do."

Glaceon nodded and headed over to Flareon. Right off the bat, she could tell something wasn't right. Just the act of approaching him made her have a pit in her stomach, and that never happened before. It was obvious that Flareon wasn't the caring, strong individual she had seen in the past few areas. Instead, she was left with this… scared husk. She closed her eyes and shook her head. No, I can't think like that. Flareon needs me, and we all need him back. Glaceon swallowed and finally tapped Flareon on the shoulder, trying to get his attention. "H-Hey, Flareon? Are you alright?"

Flareon, being surprised by her touch, frantically opened his eyes and whipped his attention back to Glaceon. "W-Wha- Oh… It's just you. Yeah, I'm fine, just got a lot on my mind right now."

Glaceon started walking side-by-side with him. "You wanna talk about it? You'd probably be better off talking about it with someone, it lets you organize your thoughts."

"..." Flareon was quiet for a little bit before he sighed and eventually complied. "Okay, you're right, I should be talking about this. You're aware of what happened at the castle, right?"

Glaceon nodded. "I didn't witness it, but Leafeon filled me in on what happened. She said you… had your body taken, by some guy named Melvin? And then that person went on a rampage?"

Flareon nodded in response. "Yeah, that."

Glaceon smiled, shaking her head. "Flare, you don't need to worry about that, that was just a slip up. Besides, everything worked out in the end, right?"

Flareon closed his eyes and turned away from her. He could hear Melvin cackling in his head. So, you gonna tell her what happened BEFORE she was freed? Or should you just keep being guilty about it?

Glaceon inched a little closer. "Flareon! Hey, are you in there?"

Flareon sighed and turned back to her. "Glaceon, I need to explain something to you."

Glaceon pulled back and nodded, keeping her mouth shut.

Flareon took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to prepare himself for his little story. "Okay, so when I had lost control of my body, Melvin went on a rampage, as you know. He… burned down buildings, killed innocent people… And I watched, unable to do anything. I was so full of shame that I let all those people down."

Glaceon wanted to interject with something like "That's not your fault!" but she just bit her lip and let Flareon continue.

"He kept going until he reached the castle. It was there that the remaining members of our group were fighting King Braviary. Melvin decided to join in, and his strength was monstrous. It was at a level I'd never even seen before. He matched the King's Brave Bird with a Flare Blitz, and turned him into a crippled pile in a mere minute. But…"

Flareon paused and grit his teeth. "The King, that cowardly craven, wasn't going to take defeat like that. So he… He used you guys as a trading piece. He said he'd slice off your head if we didn't stand down."

Glaceon's mouth opened up in surprise. I suppose that explains why we were in the throne room when we were freed, but what does that-

"Most of our group stood down, since we didn't want to see you hurt. But…" Flareon's composure was starting to fade. "But Melvin didn't. He was so full of rage and pride that he didn't stand down, and was charging right at the King. He was inches away from slicing off your head before I finally gained enough will to take the body back."

Glaceon was dead silent. I… I could've… died? Just like that? "Flareon, I…"

"Me losing control almost got you killed, Glaceon. And now that he's taken full control once before, it's now easier for him to do it again." Flareon clicked his tongue. "It doesn't help that this is actually his body…"

Glaceon quickly whipped her attention back to Flareon. "Wait wait, what?! You mean to tell me that you-"

Flareon nodded. "Remember on the beach? How I kept insisting that I was a human, even though I had no memories? Well, it turns out that I had taken Melvin's body when I came here. I don't know how, or why, but I do know that it happened."

Glaceon looked down at the ground. "I… see."

"That's why I'm scared. It's now easier for him to take control, and if he does, none of you are safe. I don't know what I'd do if I ended up hurting any of you, or god forbid killed one of you because I couldn't hold him back…" Flareon was looking down at the ground, an expression of disgust plastered on his face.

Glaceon let out an exasperated sigh and put her paw on his shoulder. "Listen Flareon, I… I don't know exactly how this whole body switching thing works… But I do know that we care about you. All of us do. Don't feel like this is a burden you need to bear on your own, we can help you."

Flareon looked up. "Espeon already did, not too long ago. She read my mind."

Glaceon was a little shocked by that. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"She could tell I wasn't feeling great. So she read my mind, just like that. I'm sure she knows everything about my situation with Melvin, and the fact that she's doing nothing about it speaks volumes."

Glaceon bit her lip. "Flareon, that's not… I mean, we… I…."

Flareon turned to her, now looking more frustrated than rattled. "Glaceon, what I've learned in the last day is terrifying. I can lose control to a maniac at any time, I'm a hazard to everyone in the group, and to top it all off, I'm gonna lose control permanently once this adventure is over."

Glaceon didn't dare reply after the last part. She just continued to walk next to him in silence, a looming silence that almost seemed suffocating. If only her thoughts could retain that same silence...

Flareon's… losing control? Forever? That can't be true… That CAN'T be true… Can it?

Conflicting emotions started to arise within Glaceon as she considered everything that had just been said. Meanwhile, Flareon continued talking with Melvin.

I hope you're happy, Melvin. I hope you're happy that THIS is the other soul inside your body.

Melvin didn't reply. Flareon rolled his eyes, starting to become impatient.

Look, Melvin, I'm sick of your games! I'm sick of you trying to mess with my life, and I'm sick of you trying to turn me into something I'm not! We're talking this out right now, you hear me?!

...You're pathetic.

That means nothing coming from you.

Melvin sighed. Look, buddy, there's something you need to realize. This is MY BODY, alright? You might think that you're living your own life, but the fact of the matter is that you aren't. What you did was steal my life and start calling it your own. Do you know how unfair that is to me? To have your control ripped away by some random person?

Yeah, actually, I would happen to know what that's like, considering you did it to me not too long ago.

You're still upset about that? Look, I'll make a deal with you. You can have your happy happy fun times with your friends, and I'll only pop in during the battles. Deal?

That is exactly when I DON'T want you popping in, Melvin! You battling almost got my best friend killed!

You mean your lover?

Don't even start with me, Melvin, this is not the time for jokes.

Yeah, whatever. Yeah, sure, I might've almost gotten her killed. But these things take sacrifices, you know? The only reason you made it out of that castle is because you got incredibly lucky.

Sacrifices?! Melvin, what is WRONG with you?!

Nothing's wrong with me, but there's clearly something wrong with you. You were never adverse to sacrifices before this, were you?

Flareon didn't respond.

I'm gonna take that as a yes. Now see, this type of hypocrisy isn't like you, either. You were always someone who was adamant in their ideals, someone who wouldn't take no for an answer. So it seems like there's some sort of outside motive that makes you hesitant to let me out during battles.

And what do you think that motive would be, Melvin?

Melvin laughed a little bit. Oh, I don't THINK I know, hothead, I DO know. You don't want me to go out there because you can't accept that fact that I'm stronger than you.

Flareon froze, both in his head and in real life.

Well well, looks like I hit the nail on the head with that one.

Yeah, right, keep telling yourself that. I don't care who's stronger, I care about the safe-

The safety of the group, yeah, now which one of us is delusional again? We have access to each other's mind room, buddy, and I took a gander at yours. You wanna know what I saw? I saw your caring side start to get smaller. And that side was replaced by something quite interesting: pride.

Flareon bit his lip. You're crazy.

Oh, I knew that, but I'm also right. The curse of every hero, the curse of pride. We've seen it time and time again, have we not?

I'm not talking about this anymore. You can just go back to browsing or whatever you do in there.

Oh, I'll do just that, my fluffy little friend. But think about what we've been talking about. This is important information, after all. Tata~ Flareon's head was suddenly quiet, and so was Flareon himself.

Can't accept the fact that he's stronger than me… That's ridiculous! I just wanna keep everyone safe. Everything he said is just manipulation. Flareon cringed. But… If that's the case… Why do I feel so… guilty?

End Chapter 19

Okay, wow, that was a doozy! But I'm glad that I finally got this chapter out for you guys, it was certainly a long time coming. Sorry for no major story progress here, but I needed a bit of a set-up chapter so that writing Chapter 20 is both easier and better. No shoutout this time, but I'll try to find one for next time. Thanks for reading and have a nice day. Deuces!