They went back to the cave, where they see that their backpacks are still where they left them. Joltik was fast asleep on top of Burgundy's bag. ["Cilan?"] ["Yes?"] ["U-um..."] 'Come on, say it already! Tell him! Tell him!' ["Burgundy?"] Cilan came over and curled up next to her. ["If there's anything you need to say, tell me. I'm here for you."] ["I... I miss being human..."] ["We'll find a way to change back, I promise."] He snuggled against her as he fell asleep. Burgundy on the other hand, can't sleep. She could've sworn she saw something staring at them from outside the cave. Or maybe she's just paranoid. A pair of red eyes peeked out of the shadows.
["C-Cilan! Wake up! Cilan!"] ["Mmm... What is it Burgundy?"]
["I can't sleep... I saw something watching us from outside..."]
["Don't worry, I'm here. It's probably a wild Pokémon out for a walk. Why don't we go out and say hello."]
Burgundy shook her head. ["QUOI?! PAS DU TOUT! WE'RE NOT GOING OUT THERE! WE CAN'T TRUST EVERY WILD POKEMON WE SEE!"] The two red eyes disappeared at that moment. ["Hmm... I guess it felt the need to leave the two of us alone."] The Shiny Espeon said. ["Come on, you need your rest. Let's get some sleep."] ["O-oui."] Suddenly, they heard the sound of snapping twigs and rolling pebbles. ["W-w-what was that?!"] ["I'll go see what it is."] ["NON!"] Burgundy suddenly jumped on Cilan's back, causing him to fall over. ["EITHER STAY HERE WITH ME OR I HAVE TO COME WITH YOU!"]
It was strange, from the tone of her voice she sound like was threatening him, but from the words she said... She truly does care about him. A smile appeared on his face as chuckled. ["W-what's so funny?!"] Cilan then swiftly yet playfully pinned her down. ["You're so cute..."] He rubbed his nose against hers. ["...when you worry about me."] ["O-oh..."] Burgundy purred as two of them became very close. ["Mmmm... Cilan..."] He gave her a small peck on her muzzle. Burgundy snuggle against her rival's soft fur.
Suddenly, the two heard a familiar voice coming from outside. "Why are you guys always after me?! I have a little sister to take care of back home! Let me go! Let me go right now!" The two Espeons looked outside and saw not other than Nina, the silver-haired girl who's difficult to forget. She was surround by a mysterious teen boy and his Mightyena. "I told you before, let me go!" ["That's..."] ["Yes, that's the girl from before. Nina, right?"] "Don't make me have to change forms just to blast you into oblivion!" ["Change forms?"] "Don't you see?" The boy said. "I want you to do that!" "And you're telling me this because..." "Mightyena, attack!" "Uh oh, well, looks like I have no choice now..."
A bright, blue, fiery light enveloped the girl as her form changes. The two Espeons watched in awe. Nine long shimmering tails sprouted out of her body as the girl bend down on all fours. She changed into a silver Ninetales. ["H-how did she-!"] ["Shhh...!"] The two Espeons watched as the Ninetales breathes sparks of blue fire out of her muzzle. "I see you have quite the temper." The boy said. "Mightyena, Bite!" The Mightyena leaped forward towards the silver Ninetales. She dodged swiftly as the Mightyena stumbles to the ground. Nina became outlined in blue flames as she shouted ["Flaaaame Chaaaarge!!"] and tackled the Mightyena, which resulted in her win. "You're stronger than you look, but I'll be back! Just you wait and see! Mightyena, return!" The boy's Mightyena returned to its Pokeball and the boy ran off.
["Ha! We'll see what happens next time!"] The Ninetales said, she trotted away, returning to the nearby town as she changes back to her human form. ["D-did you see that?!"] Burgundy said. ["Yes, do you think if we talk to her..."] Cilan pondered for a moment. ["Maybe... We could find a way to change back?"] ["Oui, we need to... *yawn* go... Go and find her..."] ["We were up all night and you need your rest."] ["Non, we lose her if we... *yawn* If we don't find... *yawn* Zzzzzzz..."] Cilan brought Burgundy to lay down next to him. He closed his eyes to sleep, but a few minutes later, he heard Burgundy mumbling in her sleep. Was she dreaming? ["Cilan... Nnnn... Don't... leave me... Mmm... alone... Nnn... need you... Zzzz... S'il vous plait... restez... Zzzz..."] She was dreaming, about him! Cilan lay down closer to Burgundy and brought his muzzle near her ear. ["I will never leave you..."] He whispered softly. Burgundy shifted in her sleep. ["Mmm... Ooh... Cilan... Nnn... You're so... Zzzz... strong... Je t'aime... Mmm... Embrassez-moi...!"] The Shiny Espeon blushed slightly as he nuzzle against her and fell into a deep sleep.
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["Hey guys! Wake up!"] Joltik tried to wake up the two Espeons. ["Hey!"] He hopped around like crazy, desperate to wake them up. ["YOU GUYS!"] ["Ugh..."] Burgundy groaned in her sleep. ["H-huh?"] Cilan slowly awaken. ["Joltik..."] ["Are you guys gettin' up or not?!"] ["But Burgundy is still sleeping."] ["Fine..."] Burgundy rolled her head over as Cilan placed his paw to her cheek. His starts rubbing his nose against hers. ["Burgundy... You're so beautiful..."]
["I-I'll, um, leave you guys alone now..."] Joltik stuttered as he left the cave. Cilan kissed Burgundy softly on her muzzle as she purred in her sleep. ["Nnnnuuuu..."] Burgundy slowly opened her eyes. ["Cilan!?"] Burgundy blushed. ["W-wha...?"] ["Good morning, my dear Burgundy."] ["I... I fell asleep, didn't I?"] The Shiny Espeon nodded in response. ["C'est la vie, I guess... Even I can't stay awake all night long..."] She sighed quietly. ["You were also talking in your sleep."] ["Q-QUOI?! W-w-what did I say?"] ["You were mumbling about me leaving you... Among other things..."] ["H-huh? Like what?"] Burgundy blushed a bit. What exactly did she say in her sleep? When Cilan left the cave with their backpacks tied to him, as he dragged them along, Burgundy shouted, ["H-hey! Aren't you going tell me! W-wait for me! Cilan!"] as she quickly trotted behind the Shiny Espeon, heading back to the town again.
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Back in town, the two were wandering the streets. ["Where is she?! We're never going to find her at this rate!"] ["Don't worry, we'll find Nina."] ["But-!"] Burgundy then noticed something odd is happening to her sense of smell... 'What's... What's that smell? Or... Is it... Because my nose is stronger than before? All these smells are so foreign to me! I'm becoming more like a...' Burgundy had a worried look on her face. ["Burgundy, what's wrong?"] Cilan asked. ["N-nothing!"] She answered. ["Are you sure?"] ["Oui! Now come on, let's keep looking!"] Burgundy tugged on the backpacks straps that was tied to the Shiny Espeon with her teeth, causing him to lose balance and fall over. ["C-Cilan! A-are you alright...? Um... H-here, let me help you."] She helped Cilan lift the bags up then took one strap from each bag and tied it to herself with her teeth. ["Burgundy, you know you're tying us together, right?"] ["Oui, but you can't carry it by yourself..."] ["Yes, you're right. Now let's go."] The two Espeons dragged their backpacks behind them as they walked together, side-by-side.
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"Phiii..." Burgundy moaned quietly. ["What's wrong Burgundy?"] ["H-hungry..."] ["I see..."] The two Espeons hid in a bush to avoid any trainer who would want to catch a rare Pokémon in broad daylight. Cilan then took a container of Pokémon food out. ["Here."] Burgundy blushed in embarrassment. ["N-non, I'm not eating that again!"] ["You seemed to like it before..."] ["TH-THAT WAS ONLY ONE TIME! DON'T EVER TALK ABOUT THAT AGAIN!"] ["Alright, alright... Calm down..."] Cilan patted Burgundy on her head with his paw.
["I'll get you something to eat."] The Shiny Espeon looked around until he remembered something. ["There should be a restaurant nearby."] ["But we can't go in there..."] ["Hmm..."] He pondered for a moment. He opened the container and started eating the kibbles.
["C-Cilan! Pourquoi mangez-vous que?! Y-you shouldn't-"] ["Mmm... This taste... Mmm..."]
["C-Cilan?"] ["Burgundy, you need all the strength you can get. Please, you need to eat."]
Burgundy stared at her rival eye-to-eye. She didn't know what to say next. ["U-um... 'kay, but just this once. Don't ever talk about this to anyone! Got it?"] She started eating the Pokémon food with him. Cilan smiled at how cute she looked as she blushed a bright shade of red whiles she's eating, taking small bites of the kibbles. He wrapped his arms around her body; she can feel their fur intertwine as her rival rubbed up against her, as he purred and wagged his tail.
["O-oh... C-C-Cilan... Cilan..."] She felt so warm whenever she's with him, she just couldn't help herself. Her tail wagged happily as she purred with him.
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The two Espeons hung out in front of a café as the town's people sat at the tables outside. Cilan was sitting very close to Burgundy, who was now absolutely sure, without a doubt, knows that she's in love with him. She wants to take it a step further, but she doesn't know where to start. 'OK, alright, now's the time to tell him. You can do it Burgundy, you can do it, you can do it...!' ["Burgundy? Is something's wrong?"] ["N-nothing! Nothing's wrong!"] ["Hm? Are you sure?"] ["O-oui! O-of course!"] The two Espeons stared at each other for quite a while. ["Um, Cilan-"] Before she could finish speaking, a teenage girl with short black hair suddenly picked up Cilan from the ground. "Wow! A Shiny! I gonna show my friends! Hey girls!" She ran off with Cilan in her arms. ["H-hey! Dammit! Just when I was about to tell him too..."] Burgundy about to run after the girl until she realized... ["Th-the bags! I can't leave them here...! Umm... Oh, I know! I'll have Dewott look after it, I hope he doesn't mind."]
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["Cilan! Ciiiiilaaaaan! Where are you?! Cilan!"] Burgundy ran as fast as she could, following his scent as she look desperately for him. When she found him, the girl was showing him to her friends. "Isn't it just the cutest little shiny you guys ever seen!" Burgundy spied on them from the bushes. "Well, that's nice and all but..." One of her friend said, she was a red headed girl with glasses wearing a bright yellow shirt and a pair of jeans. The other girl was blonde, she was wearing a sky blue blouse and a lavender coloured skirt. "'But' what?" "What are you going to do with it?" "I dunno!" She said as she shrugged her shoulders. The girl stroked the fur on Cilan's stomach. "Maybe I should you home! You're so cute, yes you are! Don't worry, I'll take care of you no matter what!" She gave him a light peak on his cheek. ["Quoi?! Non! Obtenez vos mains hors de lui! Let him go! Let him go now! Grrrrrr..."] Anger rushes through her, like that river Cilan saved her from a few days ago. The girl hugged Cilan, she carried him like as if he was a baby, making him rest his head on her... chest. Burgundy tried to contain the her feelings, but unfortunately her anger got the best of her as the gem on her forehead shines and it released the multicolored beam towards the group of friends. The girls screamed as the flash of bright light surround them.
Burgundy realized what she had done. Terrified, she ran to get as far away as possible. ["Oh Arceus, what have I done!"]
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["Qu'ai-je fait..."] Burgundy muttered. ["I can't believe it... I can't believe I did something... something... so terrible..."] She roamed through the large town. Burgundy stopped for a moment, she saw a reflection on the glass window of the restaurant that she was passing. A small, frail, curly furred Espeon wearing ruby red bows around her neck and forked-tip tail with the look of sadness and disbelieve in her large, lilac eyes.
'This is the first time seeing myself after being turned into an Espeon.' She then looked at the bright red ribbon on her tail that her rival gave her. 'Cilan... I've been a very bad Pokémon. He'll never forgive me now. I don't know why... but I got so angry when that girl... When she... she...' Tears started to come out of her lilac coloured eyes as that familiar feeling has returned. That sinking feeling in her heart...
'That girl and her friends were innocent, they had nothing to do with it! They never knew we were human or the fact that I... love him... so much... I'm the guilty one here. I deserve a worse punishment then what I did to them.' She wanted to say she was sorry but... ["I can't go back..."] Burgundy felt her tail quivered, warning her of the upcoming rainstorm. 'Uh-oh...' She thought. 'I need to find shelter!' She dashes to find a dry place to take cover. Her fur was soaked by the time she found a cardboard box to hide in. 'So... tired... need... sleep...' ["Zzzzzzzz..."]
"Cilan!" She shouted with joy. Burgundy was about to hug him, but the green-haired Sommelier stopped her. "No." He said. "But-!" "Burgundy... it's just not working out... You never loved me back, did you?" Her eyes started to water as her rival walked away. "But Cilan-!" "Good-bye, Burgundy... I guess it wasn't met to be... At least there's nothing stopping me from visiting other regions. Perhaps, maybe, we would meet each other again, many years later, when we have grown and experience new places, new things, new... people. We'll meet again, that is, as rivals." "W-w-wait! Cilan! Don't leave me! Please!" She ran after him. "I... I... I LOVE YOU!" She shouted as hugged him from behind. The two tripped and fell to the ground. "B-B-Burgundy!" The Gym Leader stuttered. Burgundy didn't want to let go of him, in fact, she held him even tighter to her body. Cilan carefully flipped himself over to lay on this back and face Burgundy. "Je t'aime. Cilan, ma chérie, Je vous aimerai toujours." "Burgundy..." He gently lifted her chin, moved his face closer to hers as his hot breath brushed against her skin. "Je suis désolé, Cilan, Je suis tellement désolé... I took you for granted, I didn't mean to-!" Tears ran down her face as her rival's lips pressed against hers. "Cilan... Nnn..." She muttered against his lips. Suddenly, Cilan pinned Burgundy down and then whispered "I love you too..." before giving her hundreds of hot, fiery kisses. "A-ah...! Oohh... Yes... Cilan... Mmm... Ma chérie..." She enjoyed every single minute of being exposed to his heat, his warmth, his love. "Oohh... Cilan... I love you..."
Burgundy mumbles in her sleep. ["Mmm... Oh Cilan... Nnnn... Je t'aime...! Purr... Nnnn... Purr..."] She suddenly felt a drop of water landed on her head as she slowly awaken. ["H-huh?"] She looked up and noticed that the box she was sleeping in was leaking. ["Une fuite? Great... Now I need a new place to- Achoo! Ugh, I think I'm coming down with something..."] Her body felt cold. Really cold. ["Ugh... Am I sick again...? Cilan helped me last time, but now he's not here... I miss him..."]
Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice, ["Hey there, Grape Face!"] The voice said. 'Dammit, that's Joltik! What is he doing here?!' Burgundy peeked her head out from inside the box. ["W-where were you? And how did you find me?"] ["Heh-heh... You mumble a lot in your sleep."] ["Huh? R-really? Ah... Achoo!"] ["Yeah! You obviously have no experience in living like a wild Pokémon, this is no place anybody would sleep in! By the way, where's that Shiny friend of yours? Has he gone somewhere?"] Burgundy frown when he brought him up. ["Well?"] ["J'ai fait une très mauvaise chose..."] ["ENGLISH PLEASE!"] ["I, uh, I k-kinda, um..."] Burgundy had a depressed look on her face. ["Hm? Is something wrong?"] ["Faire taire! I... There's nothing wrong and even if there is, I just don't wanna talk about it, that's all."] Joltik wasn't convinced, he really wanted to know what's going on. ["Hmm..."] ["W-what?"] ["Come on! I know a nice dry place to take shelter in!"]
Burgundy followed Joltik to a house with a front porch. ["Huh? Who's house is this?"] Burgundy asked. ["Does it matter? We're not going inside the house."] ["But you said-"] Joltik used Fury Cutter on the fencing that was blocking the gap underneath the deck. ["We're going under the house, come on!"] Joltik said as the two take cover in there. 'Finally, a dry place to sleep. C'est étrange que, I would usually think sleeping in the dirt like this would be indecent, but considering all the stuff I've been through...' ["Je suis épuisé..."] She said as laid down in the soft dirt. She then started coughing as she felt her body heating up. 'Ugh, I don't feel so well... Sleep, I need sleep.'
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"Burgundy..." A voice whispered. The voice was so soft, so gentle, so calm, so... beautiful... It makes her heart flutter. Burgundy thought it was a dream, it certainly felt like one.
"Burgundy..." The voice whispered once more. After all the emotional hell she's been through, why is it that hearing the voice makes her feel so... happy? She felt warm, like she's lying down on a soft fluffy cloud with the sunrays bathing her body in the radiant heat, it's almost... heavenly... It feels almost too good to be true. 'Is this a dream? Or am I in some kind of coma? Has those girls gotten to me?! Non, that's silly! ...Or maybe I was simply more ill then I realized. Is this my punishment? My head feels dizzy... Am I... dead...?'
"Come on, Burgundy..." 'That voice... Is that a voice of an angel taking me to Heaven? That voice, it sounds so peaceful...'
"Are you alright...?" 'Oui... I am... I wish to be happy, I'm tired of crying, I'm tired of all this stress, I'm tired of running away... Although, if I had just one wish, I wish Cilan would forgive me. Now take me away, s'il vous plait... Help me reach happiness, Monsieur Angel... I want to be free from all this stress. I want to be somewhere where nobody would be mad at me for what I've done or be punished for my own insecurity...! I want go somewhere merveilleux... Somewhere where I'm free... but... I'll miss Cilan too much... Being with him, it caused me so much stress... and yet, I love him...'
"I'm here for you, Burgundy." 'It's not like it matters now, I don't have a choice. I'll be happy, for Cilan's sake. He wouldn't want me to be sadden by all this. Oui, if this is my fate, I will happily accept it... Ahh... I feel so warm... and... I smell something... What is that exotic scent...? It smells so good... Ooh... My head... feels... very light... It's like... I'm fading... away... Mmm... So warm... Is this what heaven feels like...?'
Burgundy sighed happily as a single tear ran down her cheek. ["Am I in heaven yet, Monsieur Angel...?"] She muttered softly.
The voice then chuckled lightly. ["You could say that, it certainly does feels like it when you're here."] Burgundy felt a warm body nuzzling against her, then she realized something... 'Wait... That laugh... and that voice... That voice is...' She slowly opened her eyes. 'Green fur...?!' She looked up, only to stare into his bright emerald eyes.
["Cilan?! W-where am I? H-h-how did you find me?"]
["It's a long story, but we managed to find Nina and convinced her to take us in when you caught a fever."] ["R-really-? Achoo!"]
["Bless you. Anyways, as it turned out the girls we met before knows Nina."] ["Wait! Quoi?! Qu'avez-vous dit? Achoo! Uggh..."]
Burgundy looked around, she was in a house, a very large one in fact, or maybe its because as an Espeon she's now just little more than 2 feet tall. She and Cilan were in a soft fluffy pet bed, complete with small pillows, squeaky toys and a blanket. Next to the pet bed was a heater and an Odd Incense. They were in the living room. On the chair was Dewott, fast asleep, with their bags next to him and sleeping on the couch was a Shiny Luxio, a Fletchinder and a Mienfoo.
Oddly enough, the Fletchinder is wearing glasses... 'Glasses...? Wait! Does that means...?' ["Those Pokémon! A-a-are they..."] ["Yes, they are the girls that you turned into Pokémon."] ["Je... J-je..."] The female Espeon's voice cracked as tears ran down her cheek. ["B-Burgundy... You're crying..."] ["J-j-je suis désolé! Waaah!"] She wrapped her arms tightly around Cilan, not daring to let him go, no matter what. The tears was wetting his fur, but he didn't mind. Cilan knew that she needed comfort and he was willing to give that to her. He wrapped his arms, legs and even his tail around Burgundy.
["Waah! Désolé! D-donc désolé! V-v-vraiment désolé! Je suis désolé, s'il vous plaît pardonnez-moi!"] Cilan laid down on his back, letting Burgundy feel the comfort in his fur, her face now buried in it. The sound of her crying has soften, but he can still hear it. Suddenly, Burgundy hooked her tiny claws on Cilan's bowtie and roughly smashed her muzzle against his. She was rather forceful, Cilan was surprised at first but then smiled against her lips, knowing that she had finally accepted him. Burgundy slowly stop crying. When she looked at him, her eyes were so innocent. ["Cilan..."] ["Burgundy, what you did back there was an accident, right? You don't need to cry anymore. I'm here for you."] ["M-merci, Cilan..."]
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"Huh? Where am I? Not another dream!" "Another?" Burgundy turned around and saw Cilan. The two of them were human and wearing their casual outfits. "Cilan, what do you mean 'another?' Is... Is that really you? Not a fake 'dream' Cilan?" "Yes, it's really me. It's seems that own Psychic powers as Espeons have grown. We could now see each other in our dreams." "I didn't know Espeons can even do that! Incroyable! Wait. If this is a dream, then do we have control over it?" "Maybe..." "OK, if I focus really hard maybe... But should I...?" "Why don't I try something?"
"W-wait, Cilan, I- Ekk!" Suddenly, Burgundy's hair grew so long that it reached up to her thighs. "C-Cilan! Why did you-" "You look so beautiful with long hair." "R-really?" Her rival nodded. "Cilan..." "Burgundy..." They enjoyed the rest of the night, together, in their dreams.