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Moonlight's Shadow Chapter 14:

Mount Silver

This was it. It was the same familiar breeze, the same familiar air, the same familiar sky, the same familiar mountains. Hopefully they wouldn't meet them. Koja allowed himself a small dark smile. And if they did meet them? Well… They'd have a surprise coming towards them- a big surprise.

The three of them took a few days to reach the mountains… The area where Shadow's parents might be. Shadow herself was looking tense but excited, hoping that she'd find her parents here. Pep was annoyingly happy and hyper- as always. And himself? He was tense and always on the look out for them.

But now was not the time to be standing stock still thinking. Now was the time to get out of the rain. They needed shelter- badly. Koja, knowing the area pretty well, knew that if the three of them traveled up the mountain any farther, they would hit snow. They would also hit a blizzard, looking at the weather. Articuno must be about…

Koja scanned the area, his eyes looking for a rock cave or anything that would shield them from the rain. Already, rivers of mud were flowing down the mountainside and the rain was freezing cold. But no matter how hard the Absol looked, there was no shelter here. They would have to travel further up.

"We have to go further up the mountain," he called, "No shelter here! Shadow- carry Pep!"

Assuming the position of leader, as after all he was the oldest and the most familiar with their surroundings, Koja watched as Pep grumpily clung onto Shadow's back. For the first time in his life, the Absol saw the Poochyeena mutter angrily about him.

The trio trudged up the mountain side, Koja's senses becoming more alert by the moment. They lived around here… He and Shadow were in no state to battle either- they were tired form traveling.

It wasn't long before Koja felt his paws touch a freezing white substance- snow. Pep was ecstatic, while clinging onto Shadow with one hand, the other paw of the puppy was swatting energetically at the falling snowflakes. Shadow, strangely was paying little attention to the snow… It was as if she'd seen snow before… But the Absol took little notice of that. He was just the glad the blizzard hadn't started yet. They badly needed shelter.

"Koja!' Shadow's tired voice called out and the Absol spun around, "Look!"

A paw pointed at a tiny light far away. It was like a lighthouse, a beacon, shining brightly through the snow.

"Let's go over there!" Pep grinned, "That looks like a fire! And I'm cold…"

"Leave it to Koja. He knows best…" replied Shadow, "Have a nap. You won't fall off."

Pep snuggled into Shadow's neck and shivered but with no effort closed her eyes to sleep. Shadow tucked her ears delicately around Pep's tiny body, making them act as a crude blanket.

"So… Where to?"

"That l-" Koja hesitated from speaking.

He knew that a good choice in this situation would be to head towards that light…But it could also be bad choice meaning that there could be some unfriendly creatures near that light or even worse… Them.

"So?"

"Let's head for that light… I guess."

Trudging through the snow, Shadow shook her head. There was a possibility that her parents lived here, on the mountain? It was crazy… Snow, rain, rockslides, avalanches… Your life expectancy would drop dramatically if you lived here…

That Alakazam… Again Shadow shook her head. It was almost driving the saneness out of her body… Telling her that she was two years old… That her parents lived around here… Shadow sighed and bounded after Koja. She had gotten behind.

"Stop."

He was getting more and more tense and paranoid. Not because of humans, not because of the weather, but because of something else. The Absol crept into the cave, slinking into the darker areas to blend into the shadows.

Shadow's ears pricked up as she heard dialog, conversation. The Umbreon waited anxiously, trying to restrain herself from going into the caver herself. But at long last, Koja appeared and smiled.

"It's all right. Go in."

Puzzled, the Umbreon stepped into the cave, enjoying the sudden warmth she felt and the pure enjoyment from getting out of the darkness. It was… Sami? The teen was leaning against the cave wall, drinking from a flask and Inferno, Ditto, and Zan were out. All three Pokemon were resting by the fire. Standing next to Sami was a Slowking who with his many wrinkles, looked to be quite old.

"Oh."

This was unexpected. Very unexpected.

"Hi." Inferno nodded his head in greeting. Zan and Ditto made their greetings, but kept quiet after that.

"Fancy that. Didn't expect you two here…" a small smile made its way to Sami's lips.

"Not two… Three…" Pep though heavily sedated, struggled to raise her head.

"Where did you meet… her?"

"Somewhere…" replied Shadow distantly.

It would take too long to tell the whole story. And besides that, she didn't feel like spinning a tale at the moment. She just wanted to rest and sleep.

"How interesting…" the Slowking entered the conversation, "Your names are Koja, Shadow and Pepper?"

"PEP! NOT PEPPER!" shrieked the Poochyeena but then immediately dropped back into her drowsy state and seemed to have gone back to sleep. The Slowking merely smiled at Pep's outburst. Koja stiffened. How did he know his name? Let alone Shadow's and Pep's?

"Sir. What is your name?"

"I have no name. Do not call me anything. I have my reasons."

"But-"protested the Absol except Sami silenced him with a glance.

There were a few moments of silence, the atmosphere settling into a very somber and grave feeling. Shadow took Pep to the fire and set her down, half amused that Ditto was actually looking serious.

"So… What are you doing here? Coincidental or…" Sami trailed off.

"I might ask the same as you." Replied Koja coolly but added, "We're here to find Shadow's parents."

"I'm here to visit my teacher," Sami gestured to the Slowking, "There are many Pokemon here… How do you expect to find them?"

"Where there's a will there's a way." replied Shadow.

And that was the end of that conversation.

So this was it. Mount Silver. Were her parents here? Would she finally find some answers? And Koja… Shadow glanced at the Absol- who or what was he so afraid of? Lying down near the fire the Umbreon thought back to what had happened over the past few days.

The Alakazam had vanished promptly after answering her question and they were left in that clearing. They took a vote to see what to do next. Koja voted to just ignore the Alakazam, as he thought she had been lying. Pep voted to follow the Alakazam's instructions- she thought the Alakazam was cool and was telling the truth. Shadow thought similar, but left out the cool part.

So, grudgingly, Koja became the navigator. Being the one who had traveled the most, the Absol knew exactly which mountain range to search. But the Dark Pokemon did it warily- very warily. It was almost like there was something dangerous out there that Koja loathed coming here…

They had tramped through forests, rivers, and swamps… They had journeyed far and it had taken them an exact total of four nights to get here… They actually could've made it in three but there had been a heavy rainfall yesterday, forcing them to take shelter.

Well, forcing Koja and Pep to take shelter. Shadow had just sat out there in the rain… No shelter, no nothing. Koja was calling her an idiot and Pep was looking very worried for her sanity. But nonetheless, Shadow wasn't an idiot and no one should have worried for her sanity.

After all, what was wrong with a little bit of rain? That exact statement had been made to Koja but the Absol replied that only lunatics prance around in a rainstorm. But that still didn't stop Shadow from staying outside.

Even with the flooding that separated Shadow from her parents… Strangely, Shadow loved water. One would've thought that such a traumatizing event would have made the Umbreon have a phobia of water for the rest of her life. But if one thought such a thought, one would be wrong.

Before that fateful day, the day that Shadow's evolved, there was only one thing that would get Shadow any appreciation or acknowledgement from her pack. Swimming. It was her forte, her talent. She was like a rapidash in the water- no one could beat her. Maybe the older Vaporeons could, but they were probably the only ones. This was the reason that Shadow wanted so badly to evolve to a Vaporeon. But she didn't- she became her worse nightmare.

And then there was also the question of precisely how old she was… Was she a year old? Or was she two years old… Koja had already told her that there was a slim chance of her being in the two years old category. Her maturity level was quite high for a yearling though she would be on the small size for two years old it could fit…

Other then the flood- with separated her from her parents when she was at a very young age. And the flood happened one year ago… It didn't make sense. She had few memories of her childhood with her parents… They were the memories that kept the Umbreon going at her search for her parents.

But were her parents actually still alive? It was possible that they were dead… But- the Umbreon did not accept that fact, they had to be alive… But even if they were alive would they still want her? Would they still accept her? The thoughts came tumbling into Shadow's mind…

They would want her. They would love her. The stubborn bone in Shadow's body made the past two thoughts reality to Shadow. If she had no parents, no pack… There would be no life for Shadow.

MWEEHEEHEEHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! DONE!

I'm planning to start really heating things up in the next chapter… So yeah.

Oh… Please, please, pretty please, pretty please with a cherry on top review?

Thanks!