Chapter 4: Discovery

Weeks had passed since that night, but it felt like years. In that time, Eevee had sunk into deep depression. The sadness was greater than it was when she didn't have any friends. Losing her only friend for the past few months was crippling, and it hurt so much. It hurt deeper than a Beedrill's needle stab through the heart.

Today, she was sitting in the middle of the clearing while some of the other children played. Her head hung low and her ears were drooping down. They didn't seem to notice or care about her sadness, but the grownups did and they started to talk.

She didn't care. They could talk all they wanted. Nothing they said would do anything to repair her shattered soul.

Even her mother could do nothing to comfort her broken daughter. Espeon walked to her child and pulled her into her side, "Eevee, please. You've been like this for weeks now. You say it's nothing, but I know it's not. Why don't you tell me what's wrong?"

Eevee only nuzzled into her mother's pink fur, but said nothing.

She sighed, getting a little frustrated. Eevee was always a timid but stubborn child. If she had a secret, she wasn't going to tell it easily. It was something she defiantly got from her father. That stubborn Vaporeon…

Finally, Espeon gently asked, "Does this have to do with your secret little friend?"

Espeon didn't know about Eevee sneaking away at night, but she knew she had a friend after her daughter had been happier for the past few months. If she had to guess, Eevee and this friend of hers must have had a bad fight.

The baby didn't look up in shock or give a tearful confession. Instead, she slumped her head down more and pulled away from her mother, going to the river to be alone.

Espeon watched the baby leave and sighed, knowing full well what she was going to go do.

Eevee walked into the large meadow that held the river. Nearby, a few water-types were playing around in the water, having great fun with their friends. Her dim brown eyes pulled away from the happy sight and she continued on, leaning over and dragging her feet on the grass. She went a little ways from the river and into another small clearing.

She soon reached what she came there for, a Pecha Berry tree. It was full grown now, and today was the first day the tree had finally started to show fruit.

A week before their fight, Eevee had found out that Ghastly had a weakness for Pecha berries. He had scared a Treekco once when he was passing through the Graveyard. He had an arm full of them, but he only dropped one when he fled from Gastly's prank. The 'strange sweet pink fruits' were the best thing he's ever had, and he'd do anything to have another.
It took a while, but she managed to finally find some Pecha seeds and got permission from her mother to plant a tree nearby.

When it grew, she wanted to show Gastly and give him one as a gift.

She was going to tell him sooner, as it only took about 12 hours for the tree to grow up, but for some reason no fruit had grown on it until today.

Eevee looked up to the plump, pink fruits that hung from the tree's branches. Only 5 grew at a time, so they were rarely ripe. This made each one a delicacy.

She didn't care. She looks at the tree now and sees it as a painful reminder of her lost friend. How she wished she was a Flareon so she could just burn it down!
Angry, as if she was blaming the tree for her sadness, she walked to the trunk and kicked it with her back legs as hard as she could. It did barely anything, of course. It just shook it a bit, and that was a miracle by itself.
Furious at her tiny size, she sat right down and curled her tail around her, sulking. She really did want to go back and apologize. Gastly was scary, but he really was just truing to protect her. He didn't mean anyone any harm, and if he hadn't done anything she would probably be cooped up in some human's home right now.

Perhaps, though she hated to admit it, even if he really had to have killed those human children.

Still, she was afraid to go back. Would he really eat her soul? Was that just said out of sorrow and spite?

He is a ghost, Eve. What makes you think he wouldn't-

She stopped in her thought process.

Eve.

The knick name he had given her hurt for the first time. She wanted to go back, she really did, but what would happen? What if he wasn't lying?

What if he was?

She frowned. How she hated internal conflict.

Suddenly, something plopped hard into the top of her head and bounced into the grass, "Ow!"

Grumbling and rubbing her head, she looked to her side and had to do a double take.

A Pecha Berry had fallen from the tree somehow. It wasn't just any Pecha Berry, but a purple one.
She was stunned. She'd never heard of a purple Pecha Berry, they were always pink. This must have been some kind of color mutation. She sniffed it a few times to make sure it wasn't foul, but it smelled just as fresh as any fruit.

She looked up to the branches of the tree to see what would have caused it to fall, but nothing was out of the ordinary. Eevee looked back to the berry and pondered it's presence for a few minutes. If there was such a thing as fate, this had to be it.

Deciding in that moment what she had to do, she picked up the fruit with her teeth and left to go hide it in her tree.

She would have to wait until nightfall…

When the sun set, Eve made her way as briskly as she could to the Graveyard. When she reached the metal gates, she wiggled through them carefully to keep herself from biting the fruit in half.

Once she was in, she ran to the Bell Tower with urgency in her step. Now that she was no longer welcome, she could be snatched at any second by a hungry ghost.
She felt the eyes on her follow, but disappear when she reached the tower. To her surprise, the door was opened slightly. Of all the times for it to be shut, it should be shut now.

The baby Pokémon warily nudged the creaky door open and ascended up the stone stairway. Once she reached the top that held the bell, she looked all around.

There was no sign of Gastly.

She waited several tense minutes, but he never showed himself.

Sighing, Eevee placed the purple Pecha Berry on the stone floor and spoke with sadness, "Gastly, I don't know if you can hear me, but…I brought you something. A special purple Pecha Berry I grew myself." She pushed it forward with her paw, "I know you love them, and how much you've wanted one again. The tree I grew was supposed to be our special tree, a sign of friendship. Now, I can't even look at it without thinking about what I said to you."
She moved her head around, but still no sign of him, "For whatever it's worth, if you'll listen, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I was afraid of you. I know you were only trying to protect me, and I should have trusted you more. I'm sure my own mommy would have killed to protect me if she had to. Still, I'm really sorry. I still think you're scary, but I'm not afraid of you. You're still my friend. My only friend, really."

She waited for a noise, a chill, any kind of disturbance, but nothing happened.

Eve hung her head and started to turn around, the hole in her heart becoming wider. She'd never play with him again.

Once she turned to go down the stairs, she almost jumped out of her fur. Gastly was floating there, sorrow in his teary eyes.
She only jumped because it was sudden, but then she looked upon him without fear.

This could go south any second. He could attack her and eat her soul. Even so, she wanted him to know she wasn't afraid of him.

Gastly didn't look very good. The purple haze around him was dim and flowed slowly. His eyes were sunken in and puffy, as if he had been crying a lot. He was hanging low above her, like if he was hanging his head if he had a neck.

The seconds of silence that passed were agonizing, but she waited with patience.

Finally, he spoke quietly, "I told you not to come here again." His voice wasn't threatening and his words weren't venomous. Instead, it was a sad moan, "I told you I would eat your soul. I did, right? You came here anyway." he frowned, looking ashamed.
He could tell by Eevee's appearance she missed him just as much as he missed her, "But…I was just mad. I didn't mean it, really. I wanted to come track you down, Eve, and say sorry. But, I lost my nerve, as cowardly as it sounds. I…I knew you'd come back. I left the door open every night since we fought. Eve, I'm sorry."
He hovered down closer to her, "But, as for you, you mean it? You aren't afraid of me anymore?" his eyes looked to the fruit behind her, "Honest and for truly?"

She weakly smiled at him, "Yes, honest and for truly. You're too nice to mean me any harm."

He smiled back, something he hadn't done since she left, "Hey come on, I am still scary though. It's my job. Still, I'm glad at least you won't be afraid." His smile stretched, "Friends?"

"Friends." She happily agreed.

He nodded and floated up to her, nuzzling his head into her side. The affection was sudden and shocked her for a second, but she leaned into him and nuzzled back.

Gastly backed away and moved to the Pecha Berry, "Now, I can't possibly eat this all by myself." He looked to her, "Wanna split it?"

She shook her head, "No thanks, I grew it for you."

"I insist!" he moved down and bit the fruit in half, leaving the rest for her.

He did a roll in the air out of pleasure, "Oh wow! These really are the best fruits ever!" he laughed, and Eevee could feel the crushing sadness in her chest fade away at hearing him laugh again.

He swallowed the berry and smiled, "Thank you. You should show me the tree sometime."

"Sure, I can show you tomorrow." Eevee agreed, "I think you'll like it. It's really pretty." She bent down and scooped the fruit up into her mouth and ate it. Gastly was right. Pecha Berries really were great!

Once she finished, Gastly flew up to her face, "Hey, now that you're back do you wanna go play some tag?"

She was about to say yes when Gastly's expression suddenly became ominous and he looked out of the Bell Tower, "There's another intruder here!"

Eevee's stomach dropped, "What? The humans are back?"

"No." he looked to her, confused, "The living one here isn't human, and it feels…familiar. Kinda like if it was you."

Eevee cocked her head to the side, not sure what if could be.

Suddenly, "Eevee? Eevee are you here?"

She gulped, recognizing the voice immediately. Gastly looked down at the intruder at the base of the tower and growled, "Who is that? What's she doing here? We should scare her."

"No wait!" Eevee ran in front of him, "We can't prank her! She's my mom! Espeon!"

His brow furrowed and he looked back down to the Pokémon below them.

The Eeveeloution, or Espeon, was tall and slender, with fine pink fur, ears like Eevee's, and little tufts of fur on her cheeks. She had a long thin tail that slit down the end into two tails. Her eyes were purple and the pupils glowed white, and she had a unique red jewel in the center of her forehead.

Everything about her implied the elegant physique of any psychic Pokémon. Honestly, he did think she was beautiful, but nothing compared to the adorable simplicity of Eevee.
Though she didn't look like Eevee, she had certain similarities that distinguished her. The way she twitched her nose or leaned on her paws gave her away as his young friend's mother.

Espeon called out again, "Don't you try to hide young lady! I sense your presence! I know you're in there so come out!" she sounded firm, but not mad.

Eve couldn't remain hidden. She was her mother, how could she disobey?

Eevee whispered to Gastly, "Stay quiet while I go talk to her. She knows I have a friend, but she doesn't know about what you are, so you might spook her."

She started to go downstairs, but he flew in front of her and blocked her way, "No!" he insisted, "If you go with her I might not see you again! We just repaired our friendship after weeks of separation! Please don't go away again!"

He was so sincere it broke her heart, and though she loved her mama she found it hard to believe she could ever leave like that again.

Taking a deep breath, she said calmly, "I'll deal with it. Don't worry, I won't leave you. Trust me." She nuzzled him in between the eyes with her nose and walked past him down the stairs. He watched her disappear down the dark stairway with fear of being alone again.

Espeon was looking around the tower and was about to go in when Eevee peaked through the crack of the door, "I'm here mama."

Instead of looking angry, she looked relieved, "Eevee, thank goodness." The baby walked to her and Espeon immediately pulled her into her chest with her foreleg, "I was worried one of the spirits here could have taken you. What on earth are you doing here? Didn't I tell you not to come into the Zoryn Cemetery?"

"I'm sorry mama." She looked to her face, "I was dared to months ago and…"

"Enough explanation. I can already sense that your reasons are hollow, but tense. If I had to guess, something tells me the others who dared you to come here had a bigger part in your intrusion into this Cemetery than you'd like to admit. You're not the only one to blame...but we will talk about this later."
Eve looked down a little with shame as Espeon suddenly changed her mood and perked her ears up, taking an eager but cautious glance around , "Now, where is your friend?"

Eevee looked surprised that she knew her friend was here, and Espeon casually told her, "Sweetheart, I know your fear of the dark, and I know there's no way you would have ever remained here on your own after the dare ended. If this has been going on for a long time, you've had to be meeting someone here. So, who is it? Please tell me you haven't been coming here for an imaginary friend."

Eevee swiftly shook her head, "No, no nothing like that. He's real mom, but he's kinda…scary."

Espeon sighed, "Eevee, I've seen all sorts of sea creatures when your father and I went exploring. I think I can handle it." Espeon nudged her cheek, "Go on, you can tell him to come out."

Eevee smiled, glad her mother was so understanding. She turned in her foreleg to the door and could see the slightest hint of his big eyes showing through, watching them.

Eve nodded in his direction, "He's there, behind the door. Like I said mom he's scary, but he won't hurt you."

"Alright." Espeon let Eevee go and started to walk slowly towards the partially open door.

Gastly flinched in the darkness, knowing full well though ghost-types were one of the few that could defeat a psychic type, a powerful one like her could easily destroy him.

Espeon could see the wide eyes behind the door and bent her neck down to look at him, "Come on out." She said very gently, "Don't be shy little one. I won't harm you. I promise."

Eevee tensed, unsure how Gastly would react to her mother.

To her relief, the door creaked open slowly and Gastly floated out, revealing himself in the moonlight. At first, Espeon was surprised and took a step backwards from the young ghost. She had a suspicion of a ghost being involved very since she came to the graveyard, but it still caught her off guard. If it wasn't for the tense situation, Eevee would have laughed at Gastly's expression. He looked positively intimidated by her presence.

Her eyes went from shock to tenderness, "Well now, you're the little boy my daughter's been sneaking off with at night? How sweet." She turned her elegant head back to Eve, "Never did I dream your first best friend would be a ghost."

Eevee nodded her head and walked up next to him, "He's really nice mama. He cheered me up and saved me from humans. We've been playing every night."

"That explains why you were so tired in the morning." She said with a frown, "And humans? Well, I'm glad you both are alright, but you shouldn't have run off without my permission Eevee."

She hung her head, "I'm sorry. It's just, I didn't know how you'd react to a Pokémon psychics are supposed to fight…"

"Though we are one of the few that has a chance at destroying ghost-types, it's not our destiny or purpose, child." Espeon gently explained, looking to them both, "We choose to either make it that way or not. To me it wouldn't matter if a Pokémon was a ghost or not. Even if your father was a ghost, does that mean I would have loved him less? No." her eyes seemed to bore through Gastly, and it made him a little nervous. Even so, her tone was so gentle it kept him calm.
Espeon played on that calm aura by gently continuing, "I go for personality when I choose to be around a Pokémon or to let them play with my daughter. I trust your judgment Eevee, and if this boy wanted to hurt you he certainly would have already. I sense the bond between you two is strong, so I will allow this friendship."

Eevee and Gastly both let out the breaths they were holding, relieved they wouldn't be separated.

She smiled at them, brightening the mood further, "One thing I have to know is your name, child. Who are you?"

Gastly looked back to her and spoke for the first time since he revealed himself, "Gastly, ma'am."

"Ghastly? Hmmn, that's something you aren't." she smiled again, "Well Gastly, it's nice to meet you. Thank you for taking care of my daughter so well. She really needed a friend. You have no idea how much it means to me to see her happy."

He grinned and looked to the grass, embarrassed by the praise.

Eevee giggled and nudged him with her shoulder, "Mommy, we were going to play tag a minute ago. Is it okay? I promise we'll be careful."

Espeon laughed and sat down, "Alright, but be wary. Just because I'll let you play with a ghost doesn't mean I want you to become one."

"Thank you!" Eevee excitedly squealed, overwhelmed with happiness at the thought of playing again. Pulled completely out of her depression, she nudged Gastly again and yelled, "Tag! You're it!"

She ran off into the east side of the Cemetery, with Gastly looking back, "Hey! No fair! You got a head start!" completely oblivious to Espeon in front of him, he sped off after her.

Espeon watched with amusement as the two children chased each other around the tombstones. She was amazed at her child's ability to make friends with a Ghost Pokémon. Eevee was so shy and meek; she couldn't believe she had it in her.

Eevee had more fire than she thought, and she knew the baby would grow up to be a powerful Eeveeloution someday.

lol, sorry these chapters are tending to drag with all this buildup and stuff, but I promise the next one will be more eventful. :D