Yes, I know this chapter took me long. I'm sorry about that, I was busy. But that was not my point for now…
The subject of this note is actually Leafias and Glacias names. As we know by now, the English names of these two pokemon have been confirmed as Leafeon and Glaceon. However, since the two have been referred to as Leafia and Glacia for the whole story, I don't think I should suddenly change that, as it would be a little confusing. I don't find this a problem though; after all, as a kimono girl, it isn't that weird for Tamao to refer to the two with their Japanese names. One could say that she prefers to use the Japanese names because of her background, or they can also be considered as nicknames. Whichever you like better.
I just thought I'd mention this.
Thank you for reading Moonlit days!
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Chapter 12: FearlessTamao knew she had to do something, fast, if she wanted to get some help from Silver. The pain might knock him out any minute. She didn't know how bad it was, after all, she hadn't felt it, but she had seen what it did for a legendary pokemon. And if a being so powerful was nearly crushed by those rays, how long would a human boy last, no matter how tough?
However, she had no idea what to do. She took wavering steps towards where she had seen Umbreon, though it was impossible to tell whether it was the right way, it was extremely dark. Tamao couldn't even see the flickering yellow eyes of the being that had once been her pokemon.
"Ugh!" she suddenly gasped, when her lungs took a deep breath all of a sudden. Her throat wheezed, and her body was suddenly taken over by wild shaking and coughs.
" Wha…?!" she thought, as she was unable to stop the coughing. She fell on the ground, holding her throat, trying to get herself together.
The coughing had stricken in a split second, and wouldn't let go of her. It was so bad, Tamao didn't even hear Silver's silent mourning in pain.
" Hey… What… Are you…? Agh!" she could hear Silver trying to speak to her, but the pain he seemed to be feeling was too much for him, and he fell silent.
" Idiot", Tamao thought as she kept coughing harder and harder.
" He should concentrate on fighting the pain, not talking!"
There was not much she could do. Even though she too tried to talk, somehow contact Umbreon, the cough stopped her. She was unable to make any noise, other than the wild wheeze in her throat. Tamao knew she had only one choice. But she didn't have the heart to do it. She didn't want to… But yet it happened.
Two of her pokeballs bursted open, and in a red flash, Leafia and Glacia were standing in front of her. They looked like they were going to charge, no matter what happened.
Tamao knew that the pokemon she raised had the habit of, if not starting off, at least turning stubborn. That was a feature she couldn't see in herself, but it was possible she didn't know herself entirely. That had been already proven today, when she had yelled at Silver. Even so, stubborn pokemon, such as Murkrow, never turned any less stubborn with her. Glacia, who had been cold and drawn back ever since Umbreon died had become stubborn enough to fight for her without her asking her to. Leafia was nervous, but he had recently started controlling his fear better in situations even Tamao would have wanted to withdraw from.
The only way Tamao could explain this was that the stubbornness had to somehow originate from her, even though she didn't know what part of her was stubborn. Being so close with others changed both parties. When Tamao was little, she had been extremely bubbly and wild, never thinking after anything. Umbreon had been very cool and collected, and when he was still an Eevee, when they first met, he had even been a little scared of the wild little girl who was going to train him in the future. There had been some hard times at first, but eventually the two had learned to understand each other. Tamao had learned to concentrate her energy, rather than wasting it in running around, and Umbreon had relaxed a little. Because they had been so close, they had adapted things from each other, and become similar in nature.
So maybe that had happened here too? Some part of her was stubborn, maybe a part that had been left hiding in her since she had calmed down. And that part was such a great part of her it even left marks on the pokemon and people she interacted with? Maybe. But it didn't matter for now.
What mattered for now was that Leafia and Glacia were both staring at her, probably waiting for her to take the sacred ash, and give them power. But were there guarantees it would work the same way it had last time? It was likely, but not set in stone. Tamao didn't want to risk the two, even though they so bravely wished to protect her.
But they weren't afraid. Just like she didn't fear for herself, they didn't fear for themselves. All the three looking at each other feared for was that someone else got hurt. When Tamao thought about the chance of herself being injured, she just thought, surely, that it wouldn't happen. But when she thought about the silently suffering Silver by her, the two pokemon wishing to fight for her, the one pokemon respecting her wish in her pokeball, that was when she felt a sting in her heart.
That was when another wild coughing took over her body, and Tamao had to kneel. She coughed, and felt that if it wouldn't stop soon, she wouldn't be able to breathe. But that was the least of her problems.
Silver had just made a silent gasp, and Leafia had suddenly yet out a small roar. Tamao could barely see the two in front of her in the darkness, but she could see that the two were now surrounded by black-and-red rays.
" Oh no…" she muttered between her coughs. She had been left with no choice.
Tamao, still coughing, slowly put a lot of strength to her feet. She placed one hand on the ground, and left one on her mouth, trying to keep down her coughing, at least a little. Slowly, she managed to get up. She took up the item, the pouch with the ash, which was glittering even in this infinite darkness. Somehow, the Sacred ash revolted her, but right now it was Tamao's only hope.
" I know this is what you want, but… It's against my will", Tamao said as loudly as she could. Her sentence was interrupted by coughing several times, but Leafia and Glacia, fighting back the pain they were feeling, just like silver did, heard her and understood. Tamao could see their eyes glimmering in the darkness.
" However… If I have to let this matter off my hands, I'll rather it to be to you than to anyone else", Tamao then finished, in a deep sigh.
She felt a wave of both disappointment and satisfaction slash over her, leaving her feeling even more shaky outside than she was outside in her coughing and trembling state. She was disappointed that she had willingly agreed to assist her friends to do something so dangerous. But she was satisfied that she had finally managed to admit to herself that this was not something she could do alone. She couldn't. She didn't have the strength, or the right. This involved others than her. This involved Glacia as Umbreon's sister, and Leafia as both Tamao's and Glacia's friend. Murkrow too. It even involved Silver, now that he had willingly walked into this battle. So it wasn't her responsibility to fight alone and chase away anyone trying to help her. It was her responsibility to make sure that everyone involved would get out safe, even if it meant she had to give them the means to fight. And that was exactly what she had to do now.
Tamao gripped to the pouch of the ash, tighter than she ever had gripped to an item. She could feel the sacred power left to the ashes of Ho-oh's fire, it tingled her fingertips. If she could switch places with her pokemon, she would. If she could be the one to receive the power, she'd do it without hesitating. She wasn't the bravest person there is, but she had a heart. A heart that told her to protect, cherish those who had protected her, treasure those who had ever been dear to her. Even if she was afraid, even if she'd rather escape to the end of the world, she knew. Acting upon those feelings was the only thing she could do. For Umbreon… For everyone.
But she wasn't afraid.
She hated the fact that she had to do what she was about to do, but she still didn't fear. Everything would turn out okay. Even if the legendaries weren't here. Even if she wouldn't manage to rescue Umbreon now. There'd be other chances. There was still time. It was not a grave situation just yet. She still had time for second chances. And if she did her best, she would be able to achieve her goal. And once that would be done, she would never need to feel such worry again. She would be able to leave Johto, but stronger than when she left it five years ago. She would be able to return, whenever she wanted. She wouldn't need to run anymore, but she didn't need to pretend to be stronger than she really was. If she'd just fake her powers as long as Umbreon needed to see her strong, she'd be able to rescue him. After that, she'd just be who she is, without any danger to it.
This was what Tamao decided, as she fearlessly took some ash with her fingers. Not much, but she was sure it'd be enough. This was a sacred item, after all.
Tamao looked at Leafia and Glacia in front of her, both in pain, but both with clear eyes. She nodded slightly, and then opened the grip in her finger. The glittering ash was released, and started flying through the darkness. The ash flew to Leafia and Glacia, as if they would have drawn the sacred power to themselves.
In a third of a moment, a bright light had pierced the darkness. The shine emitting from Tamao's two dear pokemon lighted the area, and for a while Tamao could see the small room she was standing in. The rocks, the water silently floating by them… The astonished look on Silver's face as he stared at the two pokemon going through a wondrous transformation. It was no doubt like nothing he had ever seen before.
In a moment, the light had dimmed down, save from four bright spots, shining in front of Tamao. She couldn't see her two pokemon in the darkness, but she knew Glacia would have once again gained her glorious form, and Leafia would have gained a similar one. Glacia's eyes were shining the same light blue light, Leafia's were light green. Tamao sighed.
" Just do what you must", she mumbled softly, looking down.
" And no more. No one is to get hurt."
She wasn't sure if she saw a nod in the shining green eyes, but in an instant, the lights were gone. The speed of the legendary pokemon had flown her two friends to Umbreon already. She couldn't hear a thing, so she knew they had not attacked yet. She didn't know their plan, but she trusted them. Neither of them ever did anything rash; Glacia always thought things over coolly, and Leafia wouldn't dare to run into anything, wanting to avoid any mistakes.
As Tamao silently gazed towards the direction where she had seen the yellow eyes flicker occasionally, she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned a little, and saw that the hand belonged to Silver. He wasn't looking at her, but rather the way she had looked just a moment ago, the way Leafia and Glacia had disappeared to.
Silver looked tired, as if he would just have run a marathon. He was taking as deep breaths as he could, and his eyes were not fully open. His hair was a little messed up. Tamao wasn't sure if it was just the darkness, but it appeared that his clothes were dirty too. He was exhausted by the pain. However, there were no red-and-black rays recklessly flying around his body, causing him the pain that was still unknown to Tamao.
Tamao knew what he wanted to know, but was not sure how he was going to ask it, so she remained quiet, and looked at him. After a while of staring into the darkness, apparently awed, he turned to look at Tamao. Their eyes met, and neither looked away. They stared into each other's eyes in the darkness. It was dead quiet.
Silver was the one who broke the silence first.
" I think… I realize what you got so worked up about earlier."
" That's all you want to say? No questions, no yelling and screaming wanting to know who I am?"
" No. Good guys do things like that, but I'm the bad guy, remember? Besides, it seems that were in a life threatening situation here, so this isn't really the best place to start asking questions."
" Are you going to ask them later?"
" Wha-? I don't know. If no-one's going to answer them, it's a waste of time to even ask question."
Tamao looked down upon hearing his words. Somehow, she felt like she owed something to this guy…
" I might answer you", she muttered, not sure if she hoped Silver would hear or not.
Silver made a strange sound. He sounded like he was mocking her, he sounded surprised, but the also sounded pleased. Tamao wondered if she had done the right thing, but somehow always came to the conclusion she had done as well as she could.
Tamao heard a small sound that indicated that someone was about to speak, but whether it was her or Silver, she never found out. Before the sentence managed to start, flash of light took over the room, and just after it dimmed down, a loud crack covered all sound under it. Tamao felt silver grab her shoulder harder, as a reflex, and she herself gripped her hands tightly.
It was frustrating not to see anything. Tamao could hear silent growling, and from the cool feeling on her skin she got the feeling the one who growled was Glacia. But she didn't know what was happening, she couldn't see at all. Leafia and Glacia were probably moving, because she would only occasionally see the flash of their eyes. Umbreon she couldn't see at all. It was like no light was able to pierce this deep darkness.
Silver spoke her thoughts aloud.
" Heck, it's too dark, we can't do anything!" his voice sounded furious, frustrated. Maybe he had had a plan. Tamao wasn't sure. Even so, it seemed that he knew what he wanted to do better than she knew about herself. She just knew she wanted to do something, not just stand there staring. But what, that she didn't know. For a while, she envied Silver for being able to think clearly.
Then suddenly, she felt the grip on her shoulder loosening. Tamao looked at Silver, just to see a determined look in his eyes. Then, without a warning, he let go of her shoulder, passed her, and ran towards the darkness, disappearing to the way the growling could be heard from.
" What are you doing, you idiot?!" Tamao gasped in horror.
" What does it look like?" she could hear Silver's voice shouting. She wasn't sure how far away he was from her, but he didn't seem to be in the mid of the small battlefield yet.
" It looks like you're trying to get yourself killed, that's what it looks like!" Tamao shrieked at him.
" Oh come on! Like you're afraid to take risks!"
" Oh come on, we met for about an hour ago, how would you know?! Even so, that's different from what you're doing, you moron! You're just running around like a headless Psyduck!"
Tamao was angry. No, she wasn't afraid for Silver. That guy seemed to have a lot of guts in him, he had even easily recovered from a pain that had harshly shaken legendary pokemon. But the fact that he pretty much had no plan, he just ran around, probably hoping Umbreon would trip on him or something as stupid as that. How did he hope to achieve anything like that? Sure, Tamao wasn't a person who always made a plan for everything; there wouldn't even be time for that now. Even so, it's quite good to know what you're doing before actually starting to do it! You should at least have an idea! Right now, it seemed like Silver was just… Unless he had a plan after all.
For a while, Tamao just stared to the darkness, and confusedly wondered if Silver actually knew what he was doing. But how come she didn't see his meaning? Had he figured out something she had not? But he didn't even know all the details!
" Aww, the heck with this!" Tamao screamed in her head, and suddenly found herself running towards the darkness, where Silver had disappeared.
And she ran. She might have even run in circles, she didn't know. It was dark, and there was growling all around her. She could hear occasional claps, when the foot of either Leafia or Glacia hit the ground more harshly than usually. Silver was nowhere to be seen, heard or sensed. But Tamao didn't want to yell. She could be standing right by Umbreon, and in his unstable state, he might even get scared.
Where was she? She didn't know. She was still in the same area as before, but she couldn't see or feel anything but the ground under her running feet. Even the sounds of combat that reached her ears didn't give her any clues on where she was coming from or going. The occasional flashes of blue, green or yellow light missed her eyes. She was lost in the infinite darkness, caused by a mere feeling called guilt. It was so absurd she couldn't help but to wonder, even as she ran and hoped to find something. What, she didn't know. She felt ridiculous, just running around like that, doing the thing she had cursed a while ago, but still. Something had to be done. Maybe trusting sheer luck wouldn't end badly. After all, there wasn't anything else that could be done. There was absolutely nothing she could do for now.
Tamao had to stop, so she did. She was the one running around like a headless Psyduck. Not Silver.
Suddenly, Tamao felt a gentle breeze in her neck. She turned around, and saw slowing green eyes, slightly dimmer than earlier, look gently at her. Leafia was there.
" Leafia! Are you-?" she started, not even knowing what she was asking, but the gentle shake of the eyes calmed her down, oddly enough.
Tamao took a step closer, and could just about see Leafia's big and elegant figure. One of a legendary beast. Leafia kneeled down in front of her. She knew what he wanted, so she circled him, threw her leg over his back, and jumped on. In the instant she managed to grab hold of his back, she felt them leave the ground in an amazing speed. Tamao could only gasp, as she felt the air zooming by them, as Leafia flew through the darkness. She could see lights ahead of her. Leafia could probably see the fighting pokemon… Glacia and Umbreon. Maybe Silver had started fighting too, she didn't know. But right now, it didn't really matter. Right now, what mattered was what she had to do.
Suddenly Tamao thought of something. She had ignored it until now, because she had thought it didn't make any difference. The darkness was caused by such huge powers, after all but… Leafia and Glacia had gained a equal power from the ash… Had they not? If not equal, at least near!
She raised her head, and placed her hand on the head of the pokemon she was riding but could not quite see.
" Glacia!" she shouted, not too loudly, but loudly enough.
An icy wind answered her, as well as a deep voice, probably ten times stronger than Glacia's usual voice.
" Use Mirror coat!" Tamao continued, shouting so her throat hurt.
For a while, it was dead quiet. Nothing moved. No sound was heard. Was anyone even breathing? Tamao was holding her own breath, at least. Leafia had stopped, and seemed to be still like a statue as well. For a while, it seemed like time would have stopped in the darkness.
Then, a bright flash of light! Tamao felt blinded by the pure blue shining ahead of her, from the figure she knew to be Glacia. What she knew would happen had happened; the light wall Glacia had created was shining in an amazing light, who knows where it was reflected from. When shining with the powers of a legendary beast, the light Glacia made was stronger than it had ever been, stronger than anyone had ever dreamed it to be. And after that infinite darkness they all had stayed in for so long, it hurt their eyes. For a while, Tamao couldn't see anything at all.
Tamao had to close her eyes, and still the light shone brightly ahead of her. For now, it seemed too much, but she knew it was good. They had managed to penetrate the darkness, which was their greatest enemy up till now. They could finally see what was going on.
Tamao opened her eyes, and finally saw her surroundings. It was a small, round area in the cave. She was riding the magnificent, legendary form of Leafia, and far ahead, was the shining from of Glacia she had seen in the forest. Silver was standing very near her, holding his eyes while gripping his hands harshly. The light seemed to have taken him by surprise.
Umbreon was there, though he was hardly visible. The light had not made the black mist disappear, but was simply shining inside of it. The mist was still there, but rather than black, it seemed light grey, and Tamao could easily see though it. Like regular mist. Though she knew that it only appeared so; if Glacia were to stop shining, the mist would return to its horrifying dark state.
Umbreon was like this too. After all, his body was made of that mist. Right now, he appeared as he always had, only it seemed that he was only slightly more grey than the mist around them. The light in his eyes was so dim it was hardly visible in the shine coming from the icicles in Glacia's fur. Any light would have seemed like a shadow when compared to this brightness.
Tamao had realized that she had made it both better and worse by telling Glacia to use flash. Of course, having light made it easier to comprehend the battle, easier for her to confront Umbreon. However, Umbreon himself seemed very shaken by the light, but since he'd get used to it too, that wasn't the real problem. The problem was that if Glacia was to keep up the light, she could not move.
Ages ago, when Tamao had tried to get through a dark cave, she had realized she didn't have the HM flash. She had wandered to the dark cave, hoping she'd find her way anyway. She had ended up totally lost, but in the cave, Glacia had learned Mirror Coat. When she had used it, it had collected every single ray of light nearby, and reflected them into one, bright light. Tamao didn't know how it was possible, but ever since then, she had always done this to avoid darkness. When concentrating on lighting the way, Glacia had found it hard to walk. That was why she couldn't move; she used all of her energy and concentration in keeping on the light. Usually, when needing light, Tamao would just carry her as they walked, as she wasn't that heavy. Leafia, and sometimes Murkrow, had done the fighting.
Of course, right now it was more serious than that. If Glacia couldn't move, she couldn't defend herself. So everything, fighting and protecting her, would be up to Leafia, and Silver, if he'd even be of any help.
Tamao saw Silver from the corner of her eye. He seemed tired, as he stood in a corner, staring. He had a defeated expression, though Tamao couldn't understand what it meant. She sighed, frustrated with herself, and decided to deal with the guy later. She still hadn't done what she was supposed to do.
Umbreon wouldn't move. He just stood in another corner, looking straight at his trainer riding the pokemon he seemed to have fought in the darkness caused by himself. Tamao couldn't help but to admit that he looked sad, almost pathetic. It hurt her heart to think about that word, but she had to admit it. There was no denying it.
" Leafia…" she whispered, so that she knew, she just knew, Umbreon wouldn't hear.
" …Charge…"
Leafia might not have understood the reason of her command, but he did what he was told, regardless. He made a soft leap, and Tamao found herself flying through the air once again, in a speed so amazing her eyes couldn't see anything but light grey around her. The pale yellow light ahead of her was the only thing she needed to concentrate on, though.
As Leafia was apparently about to attack, the light disappeared. Tamao felt them slowly land on the floor, and as she turned her head, she saw that Umbreon had dodged, and was now standing right next to them. She had no idea why, but she had known it would happen. She had known it, like she knew that red was red and blue was blue. It was like a memory, like a skill. She knew it, she didn't know how she knew it, she just did. She also knew what would happen next. It was weird, she did realize it, but that was also why she wasn't afraid.
" Don't move…" Tamao whispered to Leafia. He became like a statue, and Tamao wasn't sure if he was even breathing. But since he seemed okay, she didn't worry.
Glacia was still gracefully lighting up the darkness. The now grey looking fog swirled, almost gently, around her as Tamao swinged her leg to the ground. She jumped down from Leafias back, and nodded to him. He knew not to move before she'd tell him to.
Umbreon had not moved either. His yellow eyes, drowning in Glacias light, were shift on Tamao. She herself couldn't read his expression, but she somehow just knew how he felt. He was fairly calm. How all this knowledge seemed to be in Tamao, as if they were memories of an incident that had already happened, she didn't know. It was like a huge Déjà-vu, only it was so accurate it couldn't be one.
This frightened Tamao slightly, but it also took away her fear. After all, she knew what was going to happen. She was sad though; she also knew that she wouldn't end this crazy incident for good tonight. And since this strange knowledge did not include when she'd do that, she was as insecure as anyone would be of their future. This fearlessness, knowing her future, only included the incidents in this cave, this darkness, this battle.
Tamao started walking towards Umbreon. With normal speed, not slowly, not too fast. Umbreon didn't move an inch. Soon, Tamao found herself standing right in front of him, looking deeply into his eyes. She could not see her reflection in them like she always had when young, after all, his eyes were light themselves. Even so, she felt connected to him. She could almost feel the bond that, even though old and fragile, still existed between them.
" Umbreon."
Tamao felt her hands become colder. She leaned closer to him, and started whispering the words she had known she would whisper as she flew across the room in Leafias back,
" I know we don't have enough time today…" she started, Coughs tried to take over her body, but she resisted them. She could see the mist around them darken one bit. Everything happened just as she knew it would; once again, it seemed that Umbreons powers were getting out of control.
" But don't worry. Just take care of yourself, just make sure you won't get hurt, and leave the rest for me. I'll…" Tamao felt like she wanted to cry, but she resisted that too. She had to be strong. Weeping would only make things worse. She would achieve nothing by tearing up now; she would probably only ruin everything. Everything.
Tamao took one step back, as she saw Umbreons eyes flicker.
" I'll save you for sure. So…" Tamao tried to finish, but that was when the darkness returned in an instant. All of a sudden, the only light Tamao could see were Umbreons dimming yellow eyes. She wasn't shocked, she knew it would happen, but she had hoped she would have managed to say her words faster.
As Tamao tried to get herself together, she saw a red spark run across her eyes. She was once again covered in those pain-inducing rays, yet she, once again, felt nothing at all. However, she could hear Leafia and Glacia breath quickly, and felt horrible inside. The others were in pain.
Suddenly, she felt a hand grab her shoulder. Even more red-and-black rays were surrounding the hand, and she felt the person holding her shoulder leaning to her slightly, obviously getting support from her. He was in pain. But he fought it well. As expected from Silver.
Silver spoke quickly.
" I know where the other two are. You know, Crystal and the other guy, whatever his name was."
Tamao spoke as quickly as he did. Their voices were both calm and collected, and both seemed to, despite Silver being in pain, be in control of the situation.
" How?" Tamao asked.
" I wasn't just running around you know. I searched for another exit from this area, and had my Weavile go look for them. They're not too far from here, and it seems that the light… uh, that pokemon of yours… made weakened this mist thing a little, as they almost woke up."
" Ah… So they're almost awake?"
" I think so. So it might be wise to finish the things here quickly, before the pain…" Silver shivered before he continued.
" …wakes them up."
" How does he know I haven't told the two about this?" Tamao thought quickly. However, she knew this wasn't the right time to ask questions.
" I understand. Leave it to me", she said instead.
" Yeah, it's not like I can do it", Silver answered her, maybe a bit bitterly, and let go of her shoulder. His legs seemed to fail, and he fell to the ground. Tamao could not see it, but she could hear and feel it in the air.
" Could you hurry up, please?" Silver even managed to laugh as he spoke.
Tamao nodded, even though she knew Silver couldn't see her.
" Hang in there", she said, and turned around. Umbreons eyes were hardly visible, and they were the only things Tamao could see of him. However, she rusted that Leafia and Glacia, even though they were in pain, would see him.
Tamao took a deep breath, not letting any coughs out, and started shouting.
" Leafia, Glacia! Attack like I'd want to catch him!" she screamed.
Leafia and Glacia understood what she meant, even though it might sound confusing. After all, if one wanted to catch a pokemon, completely knocking it out was out of the question. Tamao had always taught her pokemon to control their powers so that they could use just enough, if she were to want to catch someone. Now that finally paid off, as she had never really wanted to catch anyone. Umbreon had been her starter, Glacia she had taken with her when she left home, Leafia she had obtained from another trainer, and Murkrow had just started to like to pull pranks at her.
Tamao could hear Leafia and Glacia roar, and suddenly, the air became freezing cold. However, the cold breeze that obviously came from Glacia wasn't the only power activating that moment. Tamao could hear Leafia making a familiar noise. The noise he made when he collected sunlight. Where he got light from now, Tamao didn't know. She knew, however, that trying to understand the power of a legendary pokemon was useless. All she needed to know that a Solar beam was being prepared.
In the next instant, a bright light revealed everything in the cave, once again. An Ice beam more powerful than any Tamao had seen before, excluding the one in the forest, shot towards the flickering yellow eyes near her. Following this shining, freezing beam, another beam, so bright Tamao could not give it any colour, appeared form behind her, just slightly (but surely) missing her. The Ice- and Solar beams flew right across the small area in the cave, hitting one target. Tamao wanted to turn her eyes away, feeling bad for what she did, but she knew she had no other choice. The target was, of course Umbreon.
Even as he was hit by these two magnificent powers, Umbreon didn't seem to be in pain. Tamao had known it would happen too. She just took down his powers that were greatly out of control, so they wouldn't hurt anyone against his will anymore. How this worked, or how she knew it was like this, well, it was all a part of the strange Déjà-vu.
Not too long after beginning, Leafia and Glacia stopped the attack. Umbreons eyes were dim, but he still looked at Tamao. He didn't seem afraid. He seemed to understand. Slowly, the dark mist in the cave started dissolving, and Tamao could see more and more clearly every second. It was now or never. She didn't "remember" saying this, but she knew it was something she had to… no… something she wanted to do.
" Umbreon. Don't be afraid", Tamao said, as gently as she could. It might have sounded fake, but she knew Umbreon would understand she was sincere. That she really meant it.
For a while, it seemed like Umbreons eyes became brighter. A sort of a happy feeling took over Tamao, and somehow, she felt that she had finally done the right thing. Umbreons eyes dimmed down, and Tamao wondered if he had smiled to her. He always used to when she was small.
Tamao closed her eyes, and smiled. Morty had once told her that if she smiled with her eyes closed, she could best hide the sadness she happened to be holding. So if Umbreon really had smiled for her, she could not let him see the sadness in her. The sadness that would not go away until this'd be all over. Once there would be a result they could all be content of… Once she actually would have managed to rescue Umbreon. After all, she had to succeed. She didn't know it, not like she had known the events of this cave. The things she knew before had all happened, and she was, once again, unknowing of her future. Just like everyone always is.
Tamao heard some noises from behind her. It seemed Silver was getting up – the pain had ended. Tamao opened her eyes, and found the mist completely gone. Only the regular darkness of Mt.Mortar surrounded them. And when compared to the darkness they had just been in, it was nothing. Tamao could never have believed that she'd ever think this darkness was like light. Right now, it was in her eyes.
Well, that only lasted until two bright lights ignited behind her. Tamao turned around. She quickly glanced at Silver who was standing behind her. He was a little dirty, but otherwise he seemed okay. Not even dazed. Then, she turned her eyes towards the lights.
Leafia and Glacia were shining a bright light. As Tamao watched, they quickly shrinked back into their true forms, as the evolved forms of Eevee, instead of two elegant beasts. Tamao felt relieved, however, she did realize she hadn't seen Leafia very well, so she wasn't really sure what his legendary form looked like. She couldn't help but to feel a little curious, even though she was painfully aware he'd see that too, eventually. This wasn't sure knowledge; she just knew it couldn't be helped.
After the two pokemon had returned to their original states, Leafia fell to the ground, but Glacia remained standing. She was shaking, but standing. Was she used to this already? Hopefully not.
Tamao passed Silver, and walked up to her pokemon. She whispered her words of thanks, and they both smiled. She then took up two Super potions from her bag. She knew they wouldn't help much, but they were something. After spraying them on her tow dear pokemon, who both seemed to greatly enjoy it, she withdrew them. They could rest in their pokeballs. She then checked the state of her Scared ash – it was safely in her bag, and hadn't leaked.
As Tamao got up, Silver walked up to her.
" That… trick… you did with your pokemon… what was it?" he asked unsurely. He seemed to be impressed.
" I don't really know myself. I was told that if I do this in a danger, something would happen. I've only done it once before, so I don't really know how it works", Tamao sighed. Silver had seen so much outright lying to him was out of the question.
" Where did you get that thing… whatever it is?"
" You won't believe me if I tell you."
" I will after this!" Silver sounded very genuinely interested, like a little kid.
Tamao sighed. She smiled a little.
" Well, I guess. Why not?" she thought to herself, and said:
" Well, it's an item called Sacred ash."
Silver turned pale, paler than he already was.
" You- you don't mean?" he stuttered with his words, and Tamao kept her expression unchanged.
Silver stared at Tamao for a while, and then laughed a little.
" Cool…" he muttered, but then acted like he would have completely forgotten what he just heard. He looked away from Tamao, and then turned back.
" We should head to those others though." He said, completely normally.
" They're awake?" Tamao asked, a little worried.
" How'd I know? Weavile hasn't come back yet, so I haven't had the chance to ask her", Silver seemed to be mocking her, but Tamao didn't mind. She was so exhausted; she didn't have the energy to start arguing with this guy. She just followed him as he started walking in the cave.
" You're going to fight Crystal now?" Tamao asked, She just didn't feel like being quiet.
" Nah. I'm not in the mood anymore, not after my life was in danger though I'm going to keep an eye on her, so I won't need to search again."
" Oh. Good." Tamao answered his bored tone.
" What do you mean? It isn't really your concern…" Silver sounded surprised.
" True. But I just want to get out and sleep, as soon as possible, and I don't care what time it is. I'm tired. I don't have the energy to watch you two fight, who knows how long it'd take." Tamao didn't bother to hide the whiny tone in her voice.
" Oh. I know what you mean." Silver sounded oddly calm,
" No you don't! You had it worse. I wasn't in pain, you know", Tamao almost gasped her words out.
Silver looked at her, with a wondering expression on his face.
" I thought it was a bit fishy how well you hid the pain. You seriously weren't in pain?"
" Not at all."
" Like, you felt absolutely nothing?"
" Nothing."
Silver sighed, and then laughed his evil laugh.
" I guess this really is more your than my business", he said, but something in his tone made Tamao think he still didn't mind getting involved in this. Even so, she didn't care. For now, he hadn't been in the way, so it didn't really matter what he did.
Silver seemed to sense his thoughts too, since he stayed quiet, with a content look on his face. He asked if he could carry Tamao's bag. For a while, Tamao suspected that he wanted to steal her sacred ash, but gave the bag to him anyway, after removing the important item from the bag. Silver laughed at her action, but didn't seem insulted.
The two walked in the darkness that felt like light to them, until a Weavile suddenly ran up to them. The pokemon jumped up, and Silver reached his hand, so that they Weavile managed to capture it, and climb to his shoulder. The pokemon seemed to whisper to his ear, and he nodded once, and then withdrew the pokemon. Tamao had seen many Weaviles in Sinnoh, so she wasn't very surprised. She could also see that this one was clearly a female (and not only because Silver had spoken of her a she).
Silver turned to Tamao, and spoke.
" Crystal and that guy are straight ahead. They're awake, with no clue of what happened, and they are looking for you. They think I kidnapped you or something."
Tamao nodded and answered.
" Good."
" Here's you bag", Silver said calmly, and gave the bag back. As Tamao took it, she realized something.
" You're leaving?" she asked. She wasn't sure why she felt a little disappointed by it, but she certainly didn't want to show it, so she kept her voice blank.
" Yeah. I don't feel like yelling at Crystal now", Silver muttered, and then looked Tamao into her eyes. He seemed ot be able to read through her blank voice.
" If you've grown that fond of me, you could come with me." Tamao was a bit bothered by this joking, but she kept her cool.
" No", she said simply.
" Too bad. I guess I'll have to come and find you next time I see black mist around. You seem quite useful in these situations", Silver just said simply.
" You do that."
" Excellent, the attitude returns!" Silver laughed, and then turned around. Tamao watched as he walked I not the darkness. Just before he disappeared, he raised his hand and waved a little. Without looking back, though. Tamao waved her hand, even though she knew he couldn't see it. She just felt it'd be rude not to.
Tamao then turned around herself, and continued to walk in the dark. Not even a minute went by before she heard Crystal yelling at Eusine. The two were apparently fighting again. Soon enough, Tamao saw them too. Eusines Electrode was out of his pokeball, and was using flash. A bright light dwelled around Eusine and Crystal, and once Tamao entered it too, the two instantly saw her.
The two seemed to be very worried, and kept asking her where she had been. She simply told them she had gotten lost. When Crystal asked her about Silver, she just said that he had disappeared after a while. Eusine seemed horrified that Silver had left a poor girl alone in the cave, and Crystal snorted at him. Everything seemed normal. As it had been before the storm, that is.
The three decided to head to the opposite end of the cave, now that they were there. As they started walking, Tamao felt horribly confused.
Why had she known what would happen beforehand in that fight? Why hadn't Silver fainted?
Those were the most important questions she had, but she couldn't find any answer to them. She was so frustrated she just decided to stop thinking about them for now. But as other questions, like about the strange dream and pokemon she had seen a while ago, she became so confused she started randomly digging her bag to get something to distract her thoughts.
As she looked through all the items, she noticed that her sisters had packed her old Pokegear too. She felt nostalgic, and took the item up. She looked through the map and radio parts. IT seemed that the station she had always been listening to had been cancelled, since there was a deep silence there. Tamao felt a little disappointed, and started looking through her saved phone numbers.
They were as they always had been. The numbers of her sisters, the number of Morty, the number of a boy who went to school nearby, the number of Dana, Tamao's cousin, and…
"What? There shouldn't be anything more here!" Tamao thought, surprised, as she noticed there was still one number on the list.
The number itself looked unknown to Tamao, making her even more confused. Also, it seemed that the number had been added today. But how was that possible? Tamao suspected that there was a glitch in the old gear, but that was when she looked at the name above the number.
Silver.