I am SOOOOOOO sorry! I got caught up with Deviantart, severe writers block, school, and some construction workers breaking the internet at our house for days! But I finally was able to finish this chapter and get it on here. But I'm back!
Thank you everyone for being so patient. Now that I have things settled, hopefully I can get the story running again. I apologize that this chapter is a little short, but it's important!
Now, at the end of the chapter, I'm going to ask everyone a question and I'll appreciate it in the reviews if you give me an answer. It will really help me.
Read on and enjoy!
Chapter 12: The New Arrival
The days passed slowly, like before, and the sun was setting on yet another day. Umbreon tended to the egg and she knew just by instinct what to do. She made sure it was warm, nuzzled it, stroked it, she even would quietly hum to it like a lullaby. She was getting a little excited at the thought of what Pokémon it would be.
She kept on pondering this as she pushed the berries they had gathered into a neater pile. They should keep for about a week, and hopefully the egg will hatch until then.
I hope I'll be a good mommy.
Her absent thought made her ears twitch slightly.
What am I thinking? I'm not going to be it's mother. Just a Guardian.
Eve pushed aside some of the berries with her paw and noticed the Pecha berries Haunter had gathered for her. It made her frown a bit.
Why had he done that anyway? Was it really just to be friendly? It was so…strange of him. And yet…
Well, that was very nice of him to gather the berries just for me.
She rolled one of the pink berries with her paw and stared at it with admiration. It was more than just a nostalgic charm they had, but it was the fact that it was one of the things that made them bond. How many nights they had spent playing and tending to that silly little fruit tree of hers, and let's not forget how just one special berry had repaired their friendship when they were children.
She rolled the berry back into the bunch.
That was a little strange though, how that berry fell so suddenly. I never considered it when I was a child, but now that I've grown…
"Hey Umbreon."
She wasn't surprised by Haunter's presence this time and instead happily looking to him, "Hi Haunter." The ghost Pokémon floated to her and kept his eyes on the egg, "Aw, still no luck?" "I'm afraid not…" she stared at the egg with a hint of sadness, "It's so close though, I can feel it."
Haunter gave a slight chuckle and picked the egg up gingerly, "That's what you said two days ago, Eve." She rolled her eyes as her friend gently cradled the egg against himself and rocked it. Haunter had since then given up on being the tough guy and finally started to dote on the egg as much as Eve had, perhaps even more.
It was really sweet to see him so loving. She had seen Haunter be gentle, funny, and unfortunately upset and angry, but this was new to her. For someone that had no instinct whatsoever how to look after a baby, he sure was affectionate.
Now the question was could he be affectionate towards her.
Eve bit her black lip.
Though the egg had provided some distraction, she hadn't forgotten about her friend as a potential mate, and it had really been bothering her.
She noticed as he cradled the egg he glanced at her awkwardly. There was no way he was thinking the same, was he? No, he couldn't have been.
Then as he rocked it, he began to make a cooing noise, similar to a hum. She smiled at him. They had figured out recently that the vibrations from his chest seemed to calm the baby inside, so she had requested he did that more often.
At first he refused out of pride, but it was good to see he finally consented.
Umbreon found herself relaxing to his cooing and closed her eyes, listening to him. After a little while, Haunter suddenly stopped and said, "The sun's down. I thought it would never set today."
Umbreon opened her eyes and looked with him out of the tower and to the graveyard. The sun had indeed set and the sky had been sent into gentle hues of twilight.
She felt Haunter touch her shoulder, "Do you want to be with the egg now?"
Eve sighed and shook her head, "No, you're doing fine. Why don't you go ahead and keep making that noise? It really helps."
He nodded, eyes half open from exhaustion, and she stared back at the same kind of expression. She had been staying up later than usual and he had been up almost all of daytime yet again. Hopefully, this baby wasn't going to be one of those that cried a lot during sleeping hours.
Haunter settled down onto the blankets and wrapped the egg in them once again then resumed his cooing.
Eve stared at him for a few seconds and hesitated on what she was about to do. Taking up enough courage, she walked to Haunter and sat next to him so that she was against his side.
He awkwardly looked at her and considered scooting away, but, to be honest he kind of liked her company. It was very comforting in a foreign way.
Calmly, he relaxed himself and laid against the wall, letting Umbreon lean against him. He slowly began to calm the egg by cooing again, and Umbreon just listened. She was happy that she hadn't spooked him away and that he felt as if she could relax with her around.
It wasn't long before his cooing had lulled her into a deep sleep.
Haunter slowly woke in the middle of the night, slightly aware of his surroundings. He realized he was still at the same place on the floor with the blankets.
"Damn…" he muttered, "Must have dozed off…" he shifted a bit with the egg against his chest, but something he noticed was amiss was the warmth that was at his side. He looked over and saw Umbreon was missing.
He wasn't worried, but he was a little confused.
Where did she go?
He pondered this for a minute when it hit him.
It was a full moon tonight.
Oh…
Stretching, he carefully put the egg back down in the blankets and made sure it was warm before he floated to the top of the tower. He fazed through the floor of the ceiling and emerged to the roof, right where Umbreon happened to be sitting.
She jumped at his sudden arrival, but sighed and went back to what Haunter knew she had been doing. She had been gazing at the moon the whole time.
Haunter floated to her side and 'sat' next to her, looking up at the beautiful moon.
It's light shined down on both of them, illuminating their figures over the graveyard. He glanced over to his friend.
Her black fur shined like ebony and her red eyes the deepest shade of blood. Her yellow rings almost seemed to be silver from the pale moonlight, as if they were absorbing it's rays, though he knew they couldn't do that. Could they?
Slowly, he said, "Eve? Shouldn't you be asleep?"
She didn't move at all, and instead whispered, "Not on a night like this, with the moon so full. I can't…"
Haunter pawed the stone surface they were one with one of his claws, "What is with you and the moon anyway? Does this have to do with the moonstone?"
"Yes." The answer was so quick and blunt it left him a little slack jawed, "Sometimes we Eeveelutions can feel special things around our element, since it was a matter of choice whether from us or our trainers. I can't explain it, but I feel I have a connection to the moon, a bond. My mother had a connection with the sun, my father the ocean…" her voice trailed off and Haunter frowned.
He knew that even now talking about her parents was touchy, and in a way looking at the moon reminded her of them. Probably something about it being an unworldly, ethereal beauty, like the afterlife. At least he knew his parents were still around, probably, but to lose them in such tragic fashions…it was no wonder she hadn't outgrown it.
He gave a small sigh and turned his attention back to the moon, knowing full well she was gazing at it for more than just its beauty, but he kept quiet. If she wanted to talk to him about her parents then she would, but it would be best not to push it.
There was awkward silence for a while before she finally said, "Do you think it was my fault?"
"What?" he looked back to her. Umbreon sighed and turned her head to him, to which he stiffened. There were tears in her red eyes, "I said…do you think it was my fault?" Before he could ask what she meant, she began to sniffle and sob, "T-that my mother died? I was there Haunter and I should have…I should-should have done more. If only I was strong-stronger I-I-"
He immediately grabbed her shoulders, "No! No Eve!"
She dipped her head and tried to keep from breaking down completely, holding back her tears and straightening up, "I-I'm sorry. It's stupid for me to keep breaking down like this. I don't l-like bringing all this drama."
"Hush." He pulled her into an awkward embrace, both hands on her back, "It wasn't your fault, it wasn't even really that Nidoking's fault he was hunting. You two were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. If you're going to blame anyone, blame fate. I've seen enough mourners in my lifetime, so don't be ashamed of being upset. There's nothing wrong with that. The best you can do is move on, but don't forget them. Don't forget their sacrifices…okay Eve? You have to forgive yourself."
She shifted a bit, but that wasn't reassuring to him. He pulled away from her and kept his hands on her shoulders, looking her sternly but gently in the eyes, "Forgive yourself, or you'll never heal. Do it for me? Please?"
She stared at him for what seemed like hours before she gave a relieved sigh and weakly smiled, "Alright, I will. Thank you. You're a lot better at comforting than you think, old friend."
He smiled and removed his hands from her shoulders, "Hey, let's just call it a new talent then, shall we?"
She chuckled a bit and returned her gaze back to the moon, which he followed.
They were silent once again. Umbreon still felt sad, but at least some of the weight had been lifted off her chest, and it was all thanks to Haunter.
She looked back to him and smiled a little bit, pondering what she should do next.
It had been a few days, and maybe now was a good time to show just a little more affection towards him. Then maybe perhaps he would return it. While he was floating low to the ground, just in her reach, Eve cautiously scooted towards him.
Gently, she nudged her head against his icy side and carefully nuzzled into him, a common sign of affection among most Pokémon, but would he return it?
He jerked a little bit but didn't pull away. He was more confused than anything else, but for some reason Haunter seemed to like her sudden gesture of affection. She was a lot warmer than he was, and it felt a little good. It was just like when she had snuggled up next to him earlier. Sure this was random like before, but he oddly liked it.
Feeling it would only be right to return it; Haunter carefully leaned against her and reached his right hand around. He made contact with her right arm and pulled her against him gently, rubbing it a few times.
Butterflies lashed at Eve's insides at their closeness. He was actually returning her affection! Maybe she wasn't so crazy after all.
After a few minutes of awkward cuddling Eve was going to try and compliment him again when suddenly a surge of psychic energy smacked her like a brick. She took a deep breath and nearly slipped from Haunter's grasp. Well, that is if he hadn't increased his grip suddenly.
She looked over and knew by his surprised expression he felt it too. Slowly, he turned his eyes to her and whispered as if he was unsure, "The egg?"
Umbreon could barely contain her excitement when she practically yelped, "The egg!"
He let her go and Umbreon slipped underneath the rooftop from the hole she used to get up there. Not long after she dropped into the rafters did Haunter faze through the ceiling next to her.
He picked her up and floated down to the floor and put her down. Umbreon and Haunter both rushed to the egg, and just as expected the egg was glowing a beautiful white and the shell was already breaking off bit by bit.
Umbreon immediately used her motherly instinct and began gently peeling off the egg shells to help the baby out. Haunter didn't know what to do but he was there if she needed anything from him. His eyes were wide with awe as the glowing became brighter and brighter with every piece Eve pulled off.
Finally the glow reached its climax and began to recede as the baby Pokémon broke through its casing.
Eve and Haunter stared in amazement at the Pokémon before them.
It was a cute little Pokémon with a white body that looked like it was wearing a dress, little three fingered arms that looked closer to paws, and it had a white 'helmet' on its head with two very pale pink 'horns' sticking from it. The horns were pink because of the blood vessels within them. It covered half of the baby's face, much like a bowl-haircut, and they wondered for a moment if it even had eyes.
This was confirmed when the baby tilted it's head back to look at them with huge dark red eyes that greatly clashed with its snow white skin.
It smiled and waved its tiny arms at Umbreon, saying in a feminine voice, "Gaahhh."
Haunter just stared.
He had never seen this kind of Pokémon before, but Eve was ecstatic, "It's a Ralts!"
The ghost looked to his companion in confusion, "A what?" "A Ralts." She looked at him happily, "I've seen these in some human towns before. They're little psychic Pokémon that are very loyal to those they care about. I'm not really sure what they evolve into, but they aren't hostile unless provoked. I know that." She looked back to the wiggling baby, "They're also herbivores."
Haunter gave a small sigh of relief. It would be easier to feed the baby if it was a herbivore, "That's good, and I'm glad they're not aggressive."
Eve nodded but frowned a little, "Yeah, but…something's strange. Ralts have dark pink horns and pale green hoods, like the egg showed. Why is this one white with slightly pink horns?"
Haunter scratched his head a few times, at a loss, "Well, it could be a type of shiny? Or, maybe albino?"
"I guess…." Though a shiny Pokémon was unusual, and albino even more so, Eve was happy all the same that the Ralts was healthy, and apparently hungry.
The little female baby had already started crawling towards the still ripe berries they had gathered. At first she reached for one of the blue Oran berries, but Eve stopped her with her paw, "Wait, little one." The baby looked up at Umbreon happily, and she knew just by the way she stared she thought the Eeveelution was her mommy, "Try this one. It tastes better." Eve rolled one of the Pecha berries to the Ralts.
Haunter looked at Eve with approval as the Ralts stared at the pink berry. Admiring its color, the baby picked up the berry and stuffed it into her mouth, eating it greedily until the fruit was all gone.
Umbreon and Haunter couldn't help but smile at the sight of the joyous Ralts, eating the berry they bonded over. In a way, it brought back their own childhood memories.
From there on, they let the baby have her fill of whatever berry she wanted until she was done and spun to them, obviously thinking they were her parents.
Umbreon had to laugh at her innocent stare and said very carefully, "Hello there, little one. You are Ralts, okay? I am Umbreon and this is my good friend, Haunter. We will be taking care of you until you're old enough, alright?"
The baby seemed to get the message because she crawled over and snuggled up to Umbreon's legs. The Eeveelution was overjoyed and looked to Haunter, "I think she needs to rest. She just hatched after all."
He agreed right away and picked the little one up in his claws. At first she shivered, but she seemed unafraid of the male Pokémon she believed to be her father and allowed him to carry her over to where she hatched. Eve had moved the shell pieces away and pawed at the fabric to fluff the material up again. Once it was ready, she stepped aside and let Haunter rest Ralts on the blankets.
Then they both looked to each other and simultaneously decided to stay next to the baby, as they couldn't leave her. So, Umbreon walked to Ralts and wrapped herself around the child, while Haunter rested himself against the wall behind them, putting his hands protectively on either side of the Pokémon. He didn't need to sleep at night anymore, so he'd be awake to protect them from any kind of threat from the graveyard. Anything there could have felt the release of psychic energy come from the baby's hatching, so they could be at risk.
Umbreon could also stay awake most of the night, but she needed to be primarily responsible for the long days ahead of them and to do that she needed rest.
She didn't worry though because Haunter could primarily be in charge of the nighttime. As long as he was there, he'd make sure they both would be safe while they slept.
His best friend and their new little responsibility.
What would await them now?
Was that good? I hope so. XD
Well, for those who have previously read this chapter I actually made the decision that instead of the Ralts being pink, I wanted her to be Albino because I thought that would be really interesting. I've always wanted an Albino Gardevoir too. :D
So, the question I wanted to ask was this and it's important. I already was planning on making this story into two parts because it was so long. This is volume one, and I was planning on doing volume two. Not really a sequel, just a way to divide an enormous story.
My question is the Bell of Death will eventually reveal a super ultimate bad guy.
Now, here are the options.
Should I have this bad guy be revealed in this story and temporarily taken care of at the end, only to show up again in the second volume? Should I have this super bad guy be completely obliterated in this story, only to reveal a different bad guy in the second volume? Or should I have this bad guy kinda sorta revealed and built up in this story, but ultimately reveal him in the second volume and THEN permanently take care of him at the end of that story?
Please answer! I need some opinions because this could really affect the story!
PS: This story is NOT DEAD. I'm going to be posting again in about a week once I sort some things out.