Here's the second chapter of Cult of the Eevee! From here on out, I'll try to stick to every four days, though a lot will depend on my schedule. I'd like to thank everyone who is reading this right now.
If anyone ever wants to chat with me off this site, my Discord tag is Lucas the Lion#2967. I accept almost all friend requests. With that out of the way, enjoy!
Current music: Reactor - Billy Talent
I wanted to believe that it had only been a hallucination. Then again, in a perfect world, none of this nightmare would be real.
But those words, straight from my mother's lips to my ears, would haunt me for some time to come.
I hope so.
Normally, she would try to project confidence in such a frightening situation. She would do her best to reassure me that everything would be alright. It must have been a mark of how bad the situation was that she didn't do so.
Instead of sticking around to assure my mother that I loved her, I kept running. I would not slow down for even an instant, because any hesitation was an invitation to doubt, which ultimately meant an invitation to death.
The residential area of Fortuna lay just beyond the "business district" - at least, to the extent that the village contained a downtown. And the scene was grisly.
Battle was taking place amidst the wooden buildings. Several of them had already been destroyed, burned to a crisp, nothing but ashes now. Many more were currently being consumed by the flames, releasing smoke into the atmosphere. I instantly knew that the air quality would suffer for at least a week, if not longer.
Pokémon from Fortuna were duking it out with the Fire-types. I had forgotten the name of the group that was attacking us - my mother's last words would never let me go. All I knew was that this carnage showed no signs of slowing down in the near future.
"Teren!" I yelled, not caring how many enemies I might expose myself to. When you have tunnel vision to the degree I did, there's nothing in the world that will tear your mind away from your goal.
I'd probably just lost both of my parents. I couldn't lose my best friend too. In that case, I'd have nobody to fall back on, and besides, I cared deeply about Teren.
Seconds later, I crashed into a large object, falling to the ground in an unceremonious heap. The wind was knocked out of me, and it took some time before I was able to look up and see him.
Please don't be a demon.
A Sawsbuck roughly my age looked down at me. Unlike the Chimchar just a few minutes earlier, the Sawsbuck's expression wasn't condescending in the least. Rather, he had a look of care and concern on his face; a sad smile.
"Whoa, Altai, be more careful next time!" Teren exclaimed, trying to sound playful. "Though I'll give you a pass when you're running for your life."
The levity was over as abruptly as it had begun. As much as I would have loved to chat with the Sawsbuck just like old times, I was a 'mon on a mission.
"We're running for our lives, Teren" I shot back. "There's no time for small talk."
"About that…" the Sawsbuck began. "Altai, I have something to tell you."
I narrowed my eyes. "It can wait, Teren! I promise you, there'll be plenty of time to -".
"It's not about that, Altai. It's about right here, right now: I'm going to stay and fight. I'm going to help liberate Fortuna from her oppressors."
The Sawsbuck grinned as he said this, though his eyes looked almost sad.
"You can't be serious, Teren!" I snapped. "We're both going to run for cover, and we'll live in the woods until it's safe to return!"
"I've known this day was coming for a while" the Sawsbuck replied, as casually as someone might answer a math problem in class. "The attack on our village from the Fire Sanctuary - it was inevitable."
Amidst all the noises of battle around us, Teren's tone was as clear as a bell. If a silicon chip were surgically implanted inside my brain to play that sound, it would not have been any more evident what he meant.
"How did you know?"
"My parents warned me," he said simply.
"But you wouldn't hurt the tiniest little insect! How could you fight them with lethal force?"
Teren stood tall, his antlers pointed toward the sky. "I'm always willing to use force to defend what I love. When the other option is surrender, what choice do I have?"
"But my parents didn't give me that option" I replied, trying not to raise my voice in front of my best friend. "They just told me to leave at all costs!"
I didn't want to accept the possibility that Teren's parents trusted him more than my own parents trusted me. Of course, every family is different, but…
"I'm going to stay," Teren insisted. "If you thought I was going to run off with you and leave our town hanging, you were sorely mistaken. I'm…I'm going to make the old buck proud of me!"
He means his father. He'll risk his life just to please his parents, even though they may not survive this battle either.
"You can't do that!" I replied hotly. "You're going to run away with me. I've already lost both my parents - I can't lose you too!"
"Maybe you just don't understand," Teren said simply, turning his nose up in the air like I was a peasant he was flexing on. "Maybe you're not brave enough if you're just going to run."
"Is that so wrong, though? I want to live." If the desperation came across in my voice, that's because it was there.
"I never said it was wrong," the Sawsbuck replied. "It's just…go. While you still can. Because pretty soon…".
Our conversation was cut short at that point, because a Charizard launched an Ember at Teren, and the Sawsbuck was forced to leap out of the way. Before Teren engaged the Charizard in battle, though, he gave me one last glance.
Much like the final words my mother said to me before my escape, this glance wouldn't leave my mind anytime in the near future. It was a tragic smile, one that suggested that he didn't want to leave me either.
When the other option is to surrender, what choice do I have?
Perhaps Teren's personality only gave him one option: To remain in the village and defend it at all costs. But that hadn't been the Teren Sawsbuck I'd known for most of my childhood. I'd never seen this side of him before, and it was frightening.
I have a choice. But what do I do? I've only got a few seconds!
I weighed my options. I could either stay here and risk my life fighting alongside Teren, or I could flee like a coward, in which case I might never forgive myself for preserving my own existence on this planet.
But then I remembered something my mother had said recently: If you fall in battle, I'm not going to forgive myself. That was slightly paraphrased, but it's what she meant. And suddenly, the idea of staying lost all its appeal.
I ran. I ran until I could barely breathe, my lungs feeling as though they were being stung by thousands of tiny Beedrill. And it's not even that I was in bad shape; rather, it was a function of how rapidly I needed to move.
As I sprinted through the alleyways, away from the sounds of battle and carnage all around, I tried not to dwell on what I had just done. It was a shameful act to abandon one's homeland like that, just to save one's own skin.
That's what they wanted me to do, though. And I can't let their sacrifice be in vain.
Another thing that gave me pause: My navigational skills weren't the best, and I was prone to getting lost. At every fork in the road, the route became more confusing as I tried to keep a mental map. Of course, I didn't really have a destination in mind - only away from all the fighting.
Eventually, after what felt like forever (but can't have been more than a few minutes), I collapsed to my knees in an alleyway. It felt relatively safe, to the extent that any area can be considered "safe" in the midst of a burning town.
I'd bought myself a minute, maybe. I could use that minute to rest, but I needed to milk all sixty seconds for all they were worth. My paws still cried out in protest at the sheer number of rapid steps and leaps I'd taken.
Wait - what's that yellow thing over there?
I stood up as I realized that there was an odd-looking object in the distance. Even in the midst of total warfare, my curiosity had been piqued. I bounded after it.
As I got closer to the yellow object, it grew legs and began scampering through the alley. Wait, no, that's not quite right; it had always possessed legs - it was merely using them now.
It might be a lost Pikachu or Pichu, I thought. That's horrific - an innocent victim of this war. This war shouldn't even be happening, but the poor 'mon got caught up in it.
I chased after it. And let me tell you, that thing could move. I practically had to sprint to keep up, and even then I thought I was losing ground. This creature ran like the wind.
Why is the little guy so scared of me? I don't mean him any harm! Poor guy must think I'm a monster who wants to eat him alive!
Is running after him the right thing to do, then? Maybe if I keep chasing this yellow mouse, he'll only grow suspicious of me. And I don't want to be on the wrong side of an Electric attack - that shit hurts!
As my mind raced around a metaphorical motor speedway, I realized that I had stopped dead in my tracks. And that's when something else occurred to me, too.
The Pokémon who had been galloping so rapidly in one direction suddenly stopped moving. It looked up at the night sky, punctuated by the scenes of aerial combat, and then turned to face me.
Sure enough, as evidenced by its bright red dimples, the creature was a Pikachu. Something about its eyes just didn't look quite right, though I chalked this up to the Pikachu's fear - wouldn't you be scared in the same position?
"Well?" I asked, trying to keep my voice from breaking. "Come to me, and I'll help you escape."
The Pikachu did not seem so willing, however. It turned tail again and began jogging forward, though not at quite the rapid pace as before.
It was easier to keep up now, but my muscles still burned, as did the part of my leg that had literally been burned by that Chimchar earlier. Still, I was determined not to lose sight of the creature.
Even then, I should have known that something just wasn't quite right. If the Pikachu were so frightened of me (or the village we were fleeing from), why did it keep halting in its tracks? Why did its eyes shine that way, both seemingly so bright and also mechanical, in a way?
The "M word" would come back to haunt me later.
I kept following the Pikachu through the streets of Fortuna. We were away from the main combat zones by now, though it still made little sense that the creature's path seemed totally random. If your number one priority was escape, why would you take such a roundabout route in doing just that?
As it turned out, I would pay dearly for being so gullible.
Eventually, the Pikachu ground to a halt in front of what looked like a tavern of sorts, as evidenced by the wooden cutout of a tankard outside the door. Though I was practically an adult by now, my parents had never permitted me to visit one - they always told me I was too young, though maybe too young was a euphemism for not mature enough.
"You want me to go in there?" I asked the Pikachu softly.
The yellow mouse nodded, gesturing at the open door.
"Why? Do these people know how to help me survive in the wild?"
Once more, the Pikachu nodded. He didn't use any words, but his message was unmistakable: Enter the tavern, and all your questions will be answered. Fail to do so, and you'll be abandoning me.
"Well, I guess I have to do it," I said with a slight laugh. Even that chuckle felt forced; anything lighthearted seemed like a sin at this point.
I entered the building, and the door shut behind me. I don't remember closing it, but I still heard the padlocks sealing the entrance shut, signaling that I wouldn't be leaving the tavern the same way I'd come in.
"Paws up!" a harsh voice exclaimed.
That was an expression usually associated with police, but what had I done wrong? Leaving the village out of self-preservation, while perhaps despicable, wasn't exactly a crime.
Nonetheless, I did as I was told, and then there was laughter. A lot of it.
"Mechanical Pikachu? That's the dankest trick in the book, and you still fell for it!"
I gulped as my cheeks heated up. It seemed that I'd walked right into a trap - a mouse trap, if you will.
"I d-d-don't understand," I stammered. "What's g-going on?"
"You can't say the signs weren't there" the same voice announced, stepping out from behind the bar to reveal its bearer as a Magmar. "For one, the Pikachu never showed any fear - wouldn't he be frightened if he were running for his life?"
I didn't have the requisite self-respect to say even a single word. It was unnecessary anyway - the Magmar continued a few seconds later.
"Doors don't lock automatically without a sort of magic. Of course, by then it was too late to escape, though look at it this way - unlike your parents, you've got a chance to repent and join the Fire Sanctuary."
"After you attacked my village, why would I do that?"
The Magmar winked at me. "Well, you don't have a choice. That's reason enough to do something, I should think." He then snapped his claws.
Seconds later, the most almighty sense of drowsiness collapsed over me. I couldn't move, I couldn't speak, I couldn't think - my body suddenly demanded sleep.
I crumpled to the ground in a heap.