Here, we get to learn more about the character. I hope to update this story every week, and if not that, every month.

Chapter 2 – Delusions and Sorrow

When the Eevee family came back from their trip to the river, I was met with silence. The children quieted down as they entered, Flare and the male Eevee both glared at me, and Ember and the female Eevee gave me a sympathetic smile.

I watched them from my little corner, tears had stained my face and at some point, I fell asleep. The hatred that Flare showed me haunted my dream. It started with him standing there, glaring at me. And then, he would lunge at me. I tried to run away, but he stayed on me, his size increasing dramatically and swallowing me whole with a mouth full of fire. I woke up sweating.

Shaking my body, I got up and looked at the hole. I crept towards the doorway and looked around the corner. The Eevee family was fast asleep. I turned back to the doorway and left without making a sound.

At night time, it was even colder. It was a clear night, and the grass was becoming wet with dew. I quickly took to the field, never looking behind.

Crystal

At some point, I woke up hearing a sound. Maybe the Vulpix had left? I got up and walked to the entrance. It was cold and wet outside, and the Vulpix wasn't in his corner like last time. I looked back to make sure my family was still asleep. I could distinctly smell the Vulpix, and it was only a matter of time before his trail faded, so I walked out and followed him.

Vulpix

I don't know how long I ran. The field was long behind me, and I was now surrounded by tall trees. I knew I had to keep running, despite what my legs told me. I took shelter against the roots of an old Hemlock and plopped to the ground, gasping for breath. "Maybe a little break wouldn't hurt."

"Why did I run? Was it because of Flare?" I asked myself.

'He was pretty scary, wasn't he?' Another voice said. I looked around for the source, but decided that I was hearing things.

"No, well, yeah actually. He hates me now, but… I don't know what made me run."

'Maybe it was the Eevee?'

"No, he was mean, and he hates me, but that's not it."

'Then what? What made you run away from those who were helping you?'

"I… I don't know. Maybe I am trying to find out what happened to my parents? And me?"

'That could be it. They did die for you, correct?'

"I…" At that point, I realized that that wasn't my subconscious. "Who's there?!"

'Oh please. You honestly think someone is out to get you? The world doesn't work that way.'

"I'm finding it hard to believe that you are my subconscious."

There was no reply.

"Who are you?! Where are you hiding?!"

"Vulpix?"

I shot a pillar of fire to my right. I heard a yelp as the fire reached the nearby trees. I suddenly stopped and ran over to investigate. There on the forest floor, hiding behind the tree, was one of the Eevees. Worry and fear shot to my face. The Eevee's tail tip was singed, and she was holding it affectionately.

"Watch where you aim that thing!" she yelled.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" I cried back.

My tails were spread out and slowly began to move together again as my fur began to settle down. She looked at me, her Sapphire blue eyes glinting in what little light there was. "We shouldn't be out here. Let's go back."

"N-no."

"Excuse me?" She looked back at me.

"I don't want to go back." I said flatly.

"But you don't understand."

"I don't need to!" I shouted back. "I have no memories, no family, or name! Your father and brother hate me, and I don't want to live in a place where I'm hated!" My tails had spread out again, and my fur drifted up again. "I'm tired of being treated like my opinion doesn't matter. I'm not given a chance to defend myself, and the only person who's been nice to me is your mother." Tears were streaming from my face, and my fur and tails had settled. The Eevee walked over to me and wrapped her forelegs around my neck in a gentle hug.

"I know what you mean. You're new here; you lost your family, and have no memories. You're lost, and I know what that's like. I'm sorry I didn't defend you from Father's anger. I would have talked to you earlier, but Father told us to stay away from you, for our safety, and to give you time."

"Then why are you here?" I sobbed through her fur.

"They're all asleep right now, and I couldn't let you just run off. It's not safe to be alone, and you need all the friends you can get. Now, how about we go back?"

"Ok." I was still crying as she pulled herself away. She began wiping at her damp fur and at my face. She then smiled at me, and led me through the forest.

"I want to be your friend, if that's ok."

"Yeah."

"You need a name too, unless you can remember yours. I'm Crystal."

"Crystal?"

"Yeah. I was named after my eyes. You see, an Eevee's eyes are usually brown, like our fur, but mine aren't."

"So, you're an Eevee?"

"Yeah. Have you never seen an Eevee before?"

I shook my head.

"What about your parents? They don't look like Eevees."

"They're not. They're Flareon, one of an Eevee's many forms."

"What do you mean many?"

"Hmm, well, we have three, five, seven forms that we can evolve into. The first three require an evolution stone to become a Jolteon, Flareon, or Vaporeon. Lightning, fire, and water. The second grouping is Espeon and Umbreon. Psychic and dark types. And the last two are Glaceon and Leafeon. Ice and grass types. Does that make sense?"

My mind couldn't focus on them, so they blurred together. "I don't know. It's too much to take in at once."

"We're almost out. It looks like you went in circles."

"Wait, what?"

"That's good. I'm glad we didn't go any deeper."

"What's wrong with going deeper?"

"Just look at the trees. Some are burned, while others are twisted or have overgrowth. Father says this forest is haunted by spirits, so he tells us to stay away from it."

"But you went in to follow me."

"True, but he doesn't need to know that." She smiled at me as we exited the forest.

"Now come on. The sooner we get home, the better."

'I don't like this. Something's wrong.'

It took a while, but we finally got to the other side of the field. I didn't realize just how large it was. We walked as we watched the Noctowl circling in the sky hunting Rattata.

As we neared the den, I heard Crystal gasp and she stopped walking. I stopped alongside her and followed her gaze to the entrance of the den. At the Entrance, I saw Ember. Crystal and I began walking closer, Crystal more hesitant than I.

And finally, we reached the entrance.

"Crystal, Vulpix." She said in a quiet, disappointed voice.

I sent a confused look to Ember and she replied with a stern glare. I stepped away from her, as she turned her head to look at her daughter. "Your father is looking for the two of you. When he gets back, you are going to tell him everything. Now get inside and stay inside."

We followed her orders and kept quiet. Instead of going to bed, Crystal lay next to me in my corner of the room across from the entrance. I barely managed to whisper her my question. "So we're in trouble?"

She didn't reply, but looked scared. I took it as a yes. "I wasn't told about the 'no going outside' rule." She glanced at me in mild surprise.

After a good half hour, Flare returned and we could hear the two Flareons talking outside. Crystal looked terrified, and to be honest, I was pretty scared too. Finally, he came in. He looked very tired, and very disappointed.

Flare walked to us and told us to get up. We did as ordered and followed him outside and away from the den. Somewhere in the open, he stopped and turned around. "I'm very disappointed in you, both of you." He glared at both of us, and we cowered to the ground. "Do you know how much you made your mother worry? I had to search high and low for you. And that includes the forest, where I saw a burned tree." Crystal's face was full of terror. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth was agape. I was scared, but he seemed to be focused mostly on her.

"It wasn't her fault!" I protested. "Crystal left to fetch me." Crystal turned to me, surprised that I had spoken up. Her father was now glaring at me as I yelled back at him.

"And why would she leave the den?"

"Because I ran away! I've been treated with nothing but disrespect and hate. When you left for the river, Crystal and your son returned, and when he saw me, he attacked me. I didn't do anything to provoke him, and I took the blame because my opinion doesn't even matter! You didn't even ask me what happened! I ran away from this stupid place! You should've just let me die at the river!" I was screaming at him, and as I finished what I was going to say, I ran away from him. I didn't see the surprise on his face, or the horror on Crystal's. I was too overwhelmed with guilt, hatred, and sorrow. My emotions were overflowing, and I didn't even bother to keep them in check. Tears streamed from my eyes for the third time that morning, and I didn't even care where I was going. All I knew is that I wasn't wanted anymore, and I wished I could just end my life there and then. 'Nobody wants me. They'd be much better off without me. I know I would.' I was faintly aware of my name being called, but I didn't pay attention to it.

That's the last thing I remember thinking that morning. I realized my eyes were closed and that I had no clue where I was going. Whether it was fate, or pure coincidence, I ran full speed into a tree, knocking myself to the ground in agonizing pain. Little did I know what that tree held within its branches, as Pineco fell down and began to glow.

I have to give thanks to Scytherider and Diego Zeyon for unknowingly giving me this wonderful idea. Because of Scytherider's awesome Silver Resistance stories, I had the wonderful idea for the plot of this story, though it'll be slower than his. Diego Zeyon's branch of the Silver Resistance story for his Vulpix character made me want to write about one myself. In fact, Diego even said that "writing Vulpix is easy". XD

Stay tuned, there's a lot to be revieled!