"The project would have ended if it hadn't been for that one student. He was so eager to prove himself and we were so desperate to find a solution. When he said he had met this man who claimed to have the answer to our problem, I should have asked more questions."

-Doctor Harrison.

Empath

Why had its human left it behind?

Espeon was needed. Who else would make the humans' bad thoughts go away? Who else would make them feel like everything was going to be alright?

Its tail flicked back and forth.

Much like how it had sniffed around in its new environment before, Espeon closed its eyes and telepathically surveyed its metaphysical surroundings. At once it could make out its human's signature aura, gradually growing fainter as she went further away. Espeon probed at her emotions; determination, controlled uncertainty, a hint of sadness. That last one had been there for a while now…

There were other beings nearby, several humans, as well as Pokémon. Sometimes, if Espeon focused hard enough, it could determine what type of Pokémon were near, without being able to physically see them.

Not unexpectedly, there were plenty of grass types outside. Espeon decided to tune those out for now. More interesting was the presence of a fellow psychic type inside this massive human den. Psychics were always the easiest to spot. This one especially radiated its happiness without a care in the world, like it welcomed Espeon to sense its feelings. The human that was with it seemed to be similarly content. Although… when Espeon tried delving a little deeper, careful not to let its presence be felt, this human held a heavier, underlying tinge of sorrow, much like its own human did.

It found similar emotions in another human that was moving around a few hallways away. And another further down.

What was wrong with the people here? Why were they all so dejected?

Espeon kept on probing the emotions of the beings around it, sitting perfectly still, looking almost serene with its eyes closed. Although a slight frown of concentration was beginning to creep its way onto its velvety furred face. There were two more humans. One was a brick wall, Espeon couldn't find any way into his mind. The other was…

The fox Pokémon opened its eyes again.

It couldn't make sense of this final human's emotions. Somehow it reminded Espeon of… tar. Dark, viscid, but at the same time… somehow detached? It had occasionally felt something similar in certain people that came to see its own human. They didn't act or sound any different from other humans but Espeon thought that, if it looked closely, it could see a hint of it in their eyes…

Then, quite suddenly, it felt a spike. Visions of dark shapes with glowing red eyes filled Espeon's mind. In shock, its eyes flew open-

And the creatures were still there.

Like a cork shot from a bottle, Espeon jumped back, its fur on end and ears flat against its head. It snarled and hissed at the monsters, which had the same tar-like appearance it had felt from that human. They filled up every corner of Espeon's vision, pulling themselves free from the walls, growing out of shadowed corners. They approached the Psychic Pokémon, moving in unnatural ways, twitching and undulating, forming a giant, many-eyed mass of black and red. Espeon couldn't even think of an attack to save itself. Somehow it knew none would stop this thing. But as it helplessly flattened itself against the opposing wall, the monstrous figures grew less opaque. The tar slowly gave way to walls and paintings again and the creatures shrank back into the cracks between closets.

Espeon didn't move. It stood frozen, with its back arched, eyes wide with shock. Its heart was beating like it wanted to jump straight out of its chest and through the window to get out of this place.

This was unlike anything it had ever experienced before in its life. Had those creatures been real? They weren't ghost Pokémon, Espeon could tell that much. Despite sometimes being less… corporeally present, ghost Pokémon were still very much 'alive' and 'there'. It didn't feel like there was anything, or anyone, inside the room with Espeon at all. Yet those things had been so vivid and real that it hadn't been able to tell the difference.

Was this apparition somehow related to that human? Had he caused it? Could humans even do things like that? Espeon took deep, calming breaths. When the walls and floor remained mercifully devoid of nightmare monsters, it allowed its stiff muscles to loosen slightly. But its heart continued to beat treacherously loud.

It didn't dare psychically reach out again, though not doing so left Espeon feeling half-blind. How could it know for sure if everything was safe if it couldn't even see? It wouldn't be able to tell if its own human was alright either. Thinking about this made Espeon feel even more anxious. It wasn't even sure if the monsters had really been an illusion. They might very well attack someone else.

There were no other options; Espeon had to look for its human. Even if she had asked it to stay, this was no normal situation.

If a psychic Pokémon doesn't want to stay inside a room, something as flimsy as a closed door isn't going to stop it. Sure, it took a lot more effort and practice to open doors for Espeon than for humans, with their pesky opposable thumbs. But with patience, and food usually hiding behind locked doors as a motivating factor, Espeon had learned this skill quickly. With a flash of psychic energy, it extended its consciousness toward the door handle and pulled.

Quiet as snowfall Espeon padded over to peer down the hallway. The only thing its sensitive ears could pick up was the soft patter of rain on the windows. The rest of the human den was quiet as a Hatterene. Espeon stuck close to the walls as it made its way down several corridors, going in the general direction its human had disappeared to.

Everything here smelt old, though not uncared for. But the emptiness of each dark hallway after the next was distinctly eerie. Espeon carefully listened to each door it passed, hoping to hear its human's voice behind it. Without using its psychic abilities finding her was a lot more tedious. Finally, after what must have been over two dozen different doors, it heard a soft murmur. With a jolt of excitement, it pressed its ear against the wood, only to be disappointed when it realized it was a male human's voice.

"That excuse is not going to work for long. If we keep putting it off she'll grow suspicious."

A crackly, indistinct voice answered. Espeon couldn't make out what it was saying.

"She will find out eventually anyway. We might as well be upfront about it and make up a believable cover story."

More cracking noises.

"I do not know. He should really be the one to come up with one, not us. I'm just expressing my concerns. Giving her those documents will only buy us so much time."

A terse reply.

"Thank you. Keep me informed."

There was a click and then footsteps coming right towards the door Espeon was eavesdropping against. At once it dove under a closet, the tip of its forked tail vanishing beneath it just as the door opened. From this vantage point, Espeon could only see the man's shoes which were black and polished to a shine. It held its breath to not even make the slightest sound. But the man didn't seem to have noticed anything. He briskly walked away.

It was hard for a Pokémon to understand humans, even for a trained psychic type like Espeon who could actually understand some of their 'words'. They were such complex and different creatures with all their little intrigues and social cues. But even a Magikarp would have been able to tell this behavior was highly suspicious. The secretive tone, hiding where no one else could hear you. Something was going on and Espeon doubted her human was aware of it. It had to find her quickly.

Feeling highly apprehensive, it opened up its mind again to search for her. Thankfully, no sudden visions of horror greeted Espeon. It felt the suspicious male human moving away to a lower floor, her own human it spotted a mere two hallways away… in the same room as the odd human. With great trepidation, Espeon made its way to the right door and once again pressed its ear against it. To its relief, it heard its trainer's voice. She wasn't close enough to make out what she was saying but she sounded calm, using the same kind of work voice she reserved for the people who always came to visit her. This ruled out any monster attacks.

Espeon crouched down as it listened. Her human kept on talking but the other never replied. Despite its initial fear, Espeon was growing increasingly curious. It was its duty to help the people its human was helping after all. And this was a case unlike any it had seen before. It didn't dare quest into the odd human's mind again but it did observe him, like a Ninjask on a wall. There wasn't much it could make out from this proverbial 'distance', mostly fatigue and dull pain. The human was definitely ill and from the looks of it, getting worse. But the nightmarish visions from before didn't immediately jump out. Though Espeon could sense a level of anxiety that gave it the impression that they could at any moment. Like a glass teetering at the edge of a table, ready to drop and shatter at any moment. It was not a pleasant sensation. Yet it was omnipresent in this human. If that is what he felt like all the time it was no wonder he was so tired.

The fox Pokémon was so focused on what was happening inside the room that it neglected to check the rest of its surroundings. It failed to notice a large cat prowling closer and closer behind it. Espeon's tail twitched and it turned its head. It could only react just in time to dodge a heavy, clawed paw slamming down where it had been a fraction of a second before. Persian raised its upper lip to flash long, sharp-looking fangs in a snarl that looked almost like an insolent grin. Espeon let out a low growl in response, standing its ground defiantly. It wasn't about to give the cat the satisfaction of knowing it was scared. Just as Persian began lowering itself to the ground, evidently getting ready to pounce again, a noise came from the room, both Pokémon turned their heads as slow footsteps began coming towards the door. Espeon turned back to its opponent only to see the Persian had slunk back into the shadows.

The door opened with a quiet creak and Espeon's human stepped out. When she closed it again she leaned against it slightly and let out a soft sigh. At once Espeon reached out into her mind to feel her emotions; hopelessness, defeat, disturbance. She then looked up suddenly, blinking, clearly having noticed Espeon's intrusion into her mind. Her eyes quickly found her Pokémon.

"Espeon!"