Hey everyone! I hope today is treating you well so far. It's good to finally be working on this again, especially since writer's block can hit me like a truck sometimes. Either way, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 23: A Story of Nine Tales

"Oh sweetheart, you look drop dead gorgeous~ You look just like royalty~"

Glaceon looked at herself in the body mirror as the Amaura lauded her with praise.

"Er… thanks."

Glaceon frowned a bit as she shifted around. The people at the castle had given her this dress to wear, and she… didn't know how to think of it. Of course, she was flattered to have received it, that wasn't the issue. The issue is that it was a little… too much. It was a nice sky blue, and it flowed down her body nicely. They even had a nice little crown for her to wear, which was a nice touch. But it just seemed… extra? She looked amazing in it, she wasn't gonna lie. But Flareon didn't seem like the type to care about royal clothing much at all.

"...Miss Glaceon, do you not like it? I think you look stunning in it!"

Glaceon turned to her and quickly shook her head. "Oh, no, not at all! I absolutely love it. It's just… a lot to take in."

Especially since it had all happened so suddenly…

==== Flashback ====

"Glaceon, we need you to fulfill one last prophecy for us. One that has existed for as long as this kingdom has…"

Glaceon blinked a bit in confusion. "...Huh? You need me? Why would I be the one to fulfill this prophecy?"

"...Freezer Burn."

Glaceon looked back at the rest of the group with a confused expression, but Espeon perked up and stepped in. "Wait a moment, I think I know about this prophecy. But most record books just dismissed it as myth. Is it truly a prophecy?"

Froslass nodded. "It's what the entire land is founded upon. It says that the one who can master the power of Fire and Ice would be the one to unlock the power of the land. Only then will the world be able to heal."

Glaceon bit her lip. "And… The move that I used to defeat Articuno… Is that the power that the prophecy talks about?"

Froslass nodded her head once more. "Precisely. At least, that's what the king seems to think. We originally thought that the Alolan Ninetales family would produce the one spoken of in the prophecy considering their original type, but after we saw that battle, we knew you had to be the one the prophecy was talking about."

Leafeon stepped forward. "Wait a minute, that still doesn't explain what you need Glaceon for. She already mastered both, right? Then why do you still need here?"

Froslass sighed. "There's… a trial. The power of the land refers to an ancient artifact that's sealed away in the Ruins of Kyurem. Glaceon must go through the challenges in those ruins in order to achieve the power it speaks of."

Jolteon chuckled and stepped forward. "Oh, please! That should be easy enough. Glaceon took down an Articuno by herself! Not to mention, she has all of us to help out."

"I don't think so. Not only will this trial test different skills than raw strength, you all will not be able to accompany her. Glaceon must do this alone."

Everyone was surprised at that, though Flareon was the first to respond. "Wait… We can't go with her? Glaceon has to do it alone?"

Glaceon looked back at Flareon with a worried expression, and Flareon gave her the same one back.

"I'm sorry, but the prophecy says that she must go in alone. Otherwise she will not be able to receive the power of the land."

Flareon bit his lip as he turned away. "It's fine. Glaceon's tough. She'll be completely fine on her own."

Glaceon couldn't help but smile a bit at that, but it quickly disappeared as she turned back to Froslass. "Alright. In that case, I accept."

"Marvelous. Now then, let's head over to the regional castle near the ruins. We have to make sure you're wearing the ceremonious clothes."

Froslass hovered out of the hut, with Glaceon giving one last look back to the group before leaving. Once she was out of sight, Flareon sighed and slumped down onto the bed.

"Aaaaaand great, she's gone again… I can't even have 5 minutes with her before something pops up."

Leafeon shrugged her shoulders and walked over to him. "Don't worry, big guy. Once this is all over, you'll get to have as much time with her as you want! And you… hehe… You can even-"

Before Leafeon could finish that sentence, Sylveon grabbed her tail with her feelers and lifted Leafeon away. "Alright, sweetie, that's enough. It's clear that Flareon's a little lovesick right now." She put Leafeon down and walked over to Flareon. "Don't worry, Flareon. I'm sure she'd love to spend time with you if she could, but this is important."

Flareon sighed and hopped off the bed. "Yeah, I know that. It's just frustrating, y'know? Feels like we haven't had quality time together in years."

Espeon sighed and looked down. "Well, maybe if you hadn't gone into the tournament and spent the day with her then, maybe you wouldn't feel that way…"

Flareon was a bit taken aback by this. "W-What? That wasn't my choice! I only did it cause we needed the money! Besides, she wasn't even watching me for most of the match… I wonder why that was? Maybe she doesn't like me that much after all…"

Leafeon was starting to get nervous. She looked away, a guilty expression on her face as she started stuttering a bit. "Y-Yeah… I wonder what was up with that…"

Flareon shook his head and started walking out of the hut. "Whatever. We don't have time to think about that. We need to get a move on."

Vaporeon raised her eyebrow as she moved to cut him off. "Get a move on? To where? You're not thinking of following her into the ruins, are you? Froslass specifically said NOT to do that."

"I'm not gonna follow her into the ruins, I just wanna make sure she's okay before she goes in. It wouldn't feel right to just sit back here while she risks her life for this."

Sylveon nodded and followed after Flareon. "Flareon's right. We should go support Glaceon, even if we can't do it directly. I'm sure she'd appreciate it, right?"

Leafeon beamed and nodded her head. "Yeah! I know if I had to go alone, I'd definitely want to have you guys there to help me get ready. Let's do it!"

Jolteon sighed and shook his head. "Great, Flareon gets his 5 minutes of leading until he goes into another coma…"

Flareon grit his teeth and fired a Flamethrower at Jolteon, completely charing his face. "Just shut your mouth and start moving! We've got a lot of ground to cover."

Jolteon coughed a bit as the smoke cleared. "Y-Yes sir…"

==== End Flashback ====

Amaura nodded her head as she turned to the door. "Yes, I imagine so… It's a big responsibility that you carry on your shoulders, I imagine."

Glaceon nodded as she, too, headed for the door. "Yeah… But I can handle it. It's not so much the responsibility… More so being separated from my friends."

"Ah, yes… That must be tough. You've been traveling with them for a while, I can't imagine it'd be easy for you to leave them easily…"

Glaceon nodded and opened the door. "It's not, but I'll be okay. Now then, shall we continue getting ready?"

Amaura quickly nodded and scrambled to where Glaceon was. "Y-Yes ma'am! Right away!"

Flareon paced around in the foyer, staring down at the ground as he moved from left to right. Jolteon sighed at his antics.

"Dude, I get that you're worried, but she hasn't even gone into the ruins yet! Where are you already pacing around?"

Flareon sent Jolteon a death glare. "I'm just thinking, okay dude?! I've been in a come for the past 6 hours, lay off!"

Jolteon rolled his eyes and looked over at the statues of Alolan Ninetales that lined the room. "This place sure likes its Ninetales… They have statues of em all over the place."

Espeon nodded. "Well, this area is ruled by a royal line of Ninetales, after all. It makes sense that they'd laud them in this area."

Vaporeon clicked her tongue. "Doesn't make it look any less tacky. I mean seriously, they look so smug up there…"

Two Alolan Sandslashes opened the door from across the room, bowing down as the one on the right started to speak. "The preparations are finished. We now welcome Lady Glaceon out here as she prepares to take on the trials of the Kyurem Ruins."

The entire Eevee Group looked towards the doors as Glaceon stepped out, fully clothed in her dress and crown. She smiled at the group as she stepped out, look at them with a look of happiness. "Hey guys… How do I look?~"

Before any of them could respond, blood burst out of Flareon's nose, the heat rushing to his face as he fainted and fell onto the floor. Sylveon walked over to Flareon, hovering over him as she stifled some laughter. "Oh my… Looks like somebody likes how you look~ Well, maybe a little… too much, hehe~"

The rest of the group started laughing a bit, but Glaceon blushed like crazy and turned away. O-Oh wow… Okay, maybe he does care about that stuff…

However, their antics were interrupted as an Alolan Ninetales and Alolan Vulpix walked into the room. They both bowed as they passed by Glaceon before addressing her friends. "Everyone, please step out of the way. We must be going, so please move this fool out of the way for us."

Glaceon grit her teeth a little at that statement, and the rest of the group didn't seem all too pleased either. However, Sylveon wrapped her feelers around Flareon and moved him out of the way as the three ice types passed by. Flareon groaned, waking up as the trio left the building, heading off towards the ruins. Flareon looked around a bit, confused as to what just happened.

"What the… Huh? What just happened?"

Vaporeon snickered and walked towards him. "Buddy, you fainted once you saw Glaceon in her dress! I knew you were a sucker for her, but good Arceus that was just pathetic!"

Sylveon scoffed. "Oh, Vaporeon, hush now. I thought it was really cute~"

Leafeon nodded in agreement. "Yeah! Flareon's just… showing his appreciation for her! In… his own little way…"

Espeon giggled herself. "Well, surely all guys would do that if someone they cared about came in looking like that, right?"

Umbreon raised an eyebrow and tapped her on the shoulder. Espeon, I'm pretty sure that's not a normal reaction to seeing a special someone looking beautiful.

Look, I know that, but I'm sure Flareon's feeling embarrassed right now. We should lay off of him for a bit.

Jolteon seemed… oddly quiet during this whole discussion. Sylveon noticed this and turned to him. "Hey…. Jolty? You're awfully quiet over there. Is something the matter?"

Jolteon was brought out of his own thoughts as he heard the sound of Sylveon's voice. He turned to her and shook his head. "Oh… No, it's not much. Just… That Ninetales rubbed me the wrong way. I don't think she has very good intentions."

Espeon nodded her head. "I didn't get the chance to read her mind, but I do agree. She definitely isn't the nicest person around…"

Yo, Fluff Ball, I'm pretty sure they're right. That woman is gonna do something nasty. Flareon perked up as he heard this. She's definitely up to no good.

Wha- Melvin? What d'you mean? I know she's not the nicest person around, but every royal is at least a little stuck up. I don't think it's right to judge her based on that….

Dude, I was a pretty well known criminal before you showed up, and I know when people are about to do some nasty stuff. I wouldn't trust that woman around anyone, much less your lover.

Ok, first of all, she's not my lover…

Heh, not YET anyways.

Second of all, Glaceon's a strong person. Even if that woman tried to pull anything, I'm sure she can handle herself. Besides, what reason would she have to even attack her?

Think about it. I know that's hard for you considering how dusty your mind room is, but just try your best.

...Well you didn't need to insult me like that…

Remember what Froslass said earlier? About how the Alolan Ninetales family were predicted to be the ones the prophecy mentioned? I think there might some envy in there about Glaceon taking their spot, especially if the power of the land is as strong as Froslass says it is.

Oh shoot, you're right… Okay, I'll tell the rest of the group and see what they think.

"Don't bother." Flareon perked up when Espeon spoke up. "I was reading your mind the whole time, I heard everything."

Flareon cringed a bit as everyone looked at her with a confused expression. She turned to the rest of the group and began to speak.

"Flareon and Melvin were having a discussion in their head, and they're pretty sure that that Ninetales is up to no good. They think that she has some spite over the fact that Glaceon took their family's spot in the ability to obtain the power of the land, and that she's gonna try to do something to Glaceon in order to get it back."

Sylveon cringed at what she heard. "Well, in that case, we need to go help her! She could be in serious danger!"

"Hold it!" Everyone stopped what they were doing as Froslass floated into the room. "You will do no such thing. These accusations are absolutely foolish."

Jolteon grit his teeth and readied himself. "Oh yeah? And why's that? For all we know, Glaceon could be getting attacked right now!"

Froslass glared at Jolteon. "Lady Ninetales has made great strides in providing for the local community in order to fight the local plague. In fact, she and her family have been helping out the kingdom for generations. You all need to take a step back and think for a second before judging other people."

Flareon looked down, scratching the back of his head as he awkwardly shifted around. "I… I'm sorry ma'am. I didn't mean to insult her."

Froslass sighed and closed her eyes. "Look, Flareon… I know you're worried about her. But everything's going to be fine. You said it yourself, she's a strong fighter now. She can take care of herself."

Flareon nodded his head as he lay down on the floor. "I suppose we have no choice but to wait here until she gets back…"

The rest of the group sighed as they all lay down on their stomachs.

"My my, Miss Glaceon, you're looking quite tense. Are you sure you're fit to do this? If not, we can always delay it and try again when you're ready."

Glaceon looked over at Ninetales and shook her head. "O-Oh… No thanks, ma'am. I'm a little nervous, but I'll be quite okay."

Ninetales nodded and continued walking forward. "You know, it came as quite a shock that you ended up being the one to fulfill the prophecy. Many people, including myself, assumed that it would be my daughter here that would finally fulfill it. But I suppose that move you pulled off against the invading army is no joke."

Ninetales looked over at her daughter, who quickly looked away and down to the ground as she continued walking. Glaceon just chuckled a bit and kept looking forward.

"Well… I guess it was quite a surprise to me, too. I never thought I'd have a move that strong… ever, really. I didn't even know the prophecy existed until I had already used the move…"

Ninetales flinched and grit her teeth a little bit as she heard that. "Oh… Is that so…?"

Glaceon giggled and nodded her head. "Hehe, yup… But I guess that's in the past now, right? Nothing I can really do about it except for finishing this up, and I'm gonna do just that!"

Ninetales merely just nodded as the group arrived at the ruins. "Well now, here we are: Kyurem Ruins. Are you sure you're ready to go ahead?"

Glaceon nodded and started walking in. "As ready as I'll ever me, Miss Ninetales. Don't worry, I'll make sure to do well for everyone. Is there anything I should know before going in?"

The Alolan Vulpix stepped forward to speak. "Well, there's going to many different tests in there. Each test will-"

However, Ninetales cut her off. She shushed her and shook her head as she turned back to Glaceon. "Ah, sorry about that. She's just a child, so she wants to glorify things like this as much as possible. Kids, am I right?~"

Glaceon blinked a bit, but slowly nodded her head in response. "Y-Yeah… Kids. Right."

"Anyways, I'm sure you'll have nothing to worry about, sweetheart. As long as you have Freezer Burn, you should be okay! Just believe in yourself and I'm sure it'll all work out."

Glaceon smiled and nodded her head, though she did it genuinely this time. "Wow, thank you, miss! I'll make sure to keep that in mind." With that, she marched forward, entering the large doors of the ruins. Once she was out of hearing range, Ninetales whistled and a group of Weavile appeared behind her.

"Well now, you all came here faster than I thought."

The frontmost Weavile kneeled down in front of here. "You know that we're never late, Miss Ninetales, especially on matters this concerning."

Ninetales nodded her head. "Quite. Now then, I assume you're all caught up on the situation at hand?"

"Of course. That Glaceon has stolen our birthright, and we need to stop her from taking the power of the land. Normally, I could remove filth like her myself, but those friends of hers concern me. I want you all to hide out in the ruins, and make sure to set some traps for them if they try and interfere. Am I understood?"

The Weavile all nodded and saluted. "Understood, Lady Ninetales. We will remove any and all intruders if they try and interfere."

"Good. I'm glad I could rely on you all. You're dismissed."

Once she had said that, the group disappeared without a trace as they quickly ran into the ruins. A mischievous smile appeared on Ninetales' face as she watched them run in.

"Everything's falling into place…~ Don't worry, my dear daughter, the power of your birthright will soon be yours~"

The Vulpix looked down at the ground, swallowing as she nodded. "Y...Yes Mother."

End of Chapter 23

Alright, only a day after the last chapter, awesome! Now it's time for you all to wait another 4 months until the next one :P. In all seriousness, thanks for reading! Make sure to like and favorite if you enjoyed, and leave a review if you liked or disliked anything, as I love seeing you all here! On that note, I'd like to thank you all for reading, and have a nice day!