Chapter 2: Jailbreak
Oshawott was petting Eevee in their jail cell. Many thoughts were coursing through his mind. Where were they? Where was Darkrai? Would they get back home? So many questions were floating around, and none of them were answerable at the time. So, Oshawott decided to start up a conversation. "Hey, Eevee, I know you're probably not thinking about this, but if you were to evolve, what would you want to evolve into?"
"I think I'd want to be a Flareon or a Vaporeon. My older sisters, Vaporeon and Flareon, are like idols to me. They're amazing role models. Before I joined Wigglytuff's Guild back in Treasure Town, I'd get scared at night, and Flareon would snuggle with me until I fell asleep. And Vaporeon always looked out for me. She was like a mother to me," Eevee explained.
"Wow. You know, I'm sure all seven of your older siblings are aching right now, wondering if you're okay," Oshawott said. He gave his love a look of determination. "I'll get you back to them!"
"If we can get out," Eevee pointed out rather glumly.
"Not to worry!" Oshawott assured and pulled out two Iron Thorns. "I'll pick the lock!" He went over to the bars of their cell and inserted the Iron Thorns in the keyhole. He began to twiddle one of them around while he held the other one in place. It took all of his concentration and several minutes. He had even begun to sweat, but at last the gate to their cell opened.
"You did it!" Eevee exclaimed. She was surprised, but overjoyed. Her tail wagged rapidly as proof. They ran out of the jail cell, but they didn't go unnoticed. As they ran, they were being pursued by Team AWD, and they were closing in fast. Eevee became both angry and frightful. Team AWD had been the ones to kill her parents and make her and her older siblings orphans. She wanted to avenge her parents, but she, even with Oshawott by her side, wouldn't have stood a chance. She wasn't paying attention and rammed right into Oshawott, who had stopped in his tracks.
In front of them was Team Skull. Koffing chortled and gave Eevee an eerie glare and matching smile, "Whoa-ho-ho! Some little girl likes Master Darkrai's hospitality!"
Eevee made a quiet whimpering sound, and Oshawott stood defiantly in front of her. He strongly and boldly said, "You crooks stay away from my Eevee!"
"Chaw-haw-haw! Or what, small fry?" Skuntank demanded mockingly.
"Or this!" a disembodied voice answered. The hall went dark. Then, when the lights came back on, Oshawott and Eevee watched Grovyle beat the crud out of team Skull singlehandedly. Dusknoir had done the same to Team AWD.
"Hello," Grovyle greeted. Celebi appeared beside him, and Dusknoir floated up to them. "You two sure look surprised."
"That's an understatement," Oshawott chuckled nervously.
"You see, we survived the changing of history and we three decided to form Team New Life," Dusknoir explained.
"What a cool name!" Eevee commented.
"Thanks," Celebi giggled.
"We're the ones who should thank you! You guys saved us!" Oshawott said to them. He and Eevee were very grateful.
"We'll save the thank-you time for later. Right now, we must hurry. Teams Skull and AWD surely won't remain unconscious for long," Dusknoir advised.
"And Darkrai probably sent backup to this spot," Grovyle added. He looked to Celebi, and she nodded at him. With her time travel powers, she teleported them a short distance away. They were not even out of the compound, but at least they were away from where the action was.
"If my calculations are correct, the exit is not far from here," Dusknoir reported.
"We've actually been working on this case for months," Celebi giggled and explained.
"Case?" Oshawott echoed.
"Yes. We've been laying low here to get as much information as we can while other Guilds and Exploration Teams fight Darkrai on the outside," Grovyle nodded.
"Well, what exactly is this place?" Eevee asked.
"This is a world of darkness. If the planet's paralysis had happened, this world is what it would look like. Darkrai, using all the variations of his dark power, created this place. It's almost like an underground world, and I use the term loosely. Resorting to elder tactics, he—" Dusknoir began explaining, but was cut off by Celebi.
"Darkrai's at it again, only without using Dialga as a puppet or tricking Palkia," Celebi condensed Dusknoir's explanation. "We're in a future. Not the future. No. We're not going to let that happen!" Celebi assured. "Think of it like a…like a split future! Yeah, that's it!"
"Uh…" Oshawott was unsure how to process all of this information. He gave up on trying when Eevee rubbed her head under his and smiled. They both ended up smiling.
"So, there's a Passage of Time we can go to, right?" Eevee asked, her chocolate brown eyes glittering with hope.
"Um…" Celebi twiddled her thumbs, like she was hiding something.
"Oh, no…" Oshawott frowned.
"Do not worry. We can get back using other methods. We could open a Dimensional Hole, but that would take time. This clearly isn't the place for that," Dusknoir assured.
"We've spent more than enough time here. Let's go," Grovyle ordered. Dusknoir and Celebi nodded to him. Dusknoir, with his big, ghostly hands, gently scooped up Eevee and Oshawott, and the five of them left the compound.
Yes! They escaped! But what they came upon was depressing. It was dark out. Everything seemed…lifeless. Loveless. Hopeless. Oshawott mumbled, "A world of darkness…"
"Halt!" someone barked. Behind the group were three Mightyena. They had been brainwashed by Darkrai and became his top team of outlaws. The ironic part was that they were once bounty hunters prior to their brainwashing. Eevee used to have a crush on the smallest Mightyena when he was only a mere Poochyena. Then, as Mightyena, he nearly killed her on Blizzard Island.
"N-no!" she whimpered. Oshawott held her tightly and protectively.
"Don't worry, Eevee! They'll have to get through me before they can even think about touching you!" Oshawott promised.
"Those who act against our master will feel our fury!" the biggest and eldest of the Mightyena brothers snarled.
"We will punish you!" the middle child of the threesome added.
Eevee began to whimper again. Oshawott hugged her and did the best he could to make her feel like she was protected in his embrace. The youngest Mightyena saw this and felt a moral obligation against what Darkrai had taught him. He said to his two older brothers, "Brothers, wait! Team New Life, I agree, is a problem, but the other two…they're just kids!"
"So are the Poké Pals!" the middle Mightyena snarled at his brother. "What's your point?! All who act against Master Darkrai's plan to renew the world must be dealt with accordingly! If Master Darkrai has taken the kit to be our prisoner again, she is either of high value or a great threat! And I see no value in her!"
"Enough!" the eldest Mightyena scolded. "We are to follow our master's orders. We are his personal soldiers. He taught us all we know. It is our noble duty to repay him."
"With this?" Celebi cut in and gestured to everything around them. "You want to repay him with something so agonizing and depressing as this world? Isn't it depressing?"
"Well…" the youngest Mightyena mumbled.
"It's a utopia," the middle Mightyena snarled at them.
"If this place is so perfect, then why do you think we continue to fight against it?!" Grovyle demanded with a hot mixture of passion and anger.
"We will not hear anymore lies!" the eldest Mightyena snarled and fired a Hyper Beam attack. The attack was aimed at Oshawott and Eevee.
No! Oshawott thought to himself and stood protectively in front of Eevee.
The youngest Mightyena was baffled and even amazed by this. Why would Oshawott do something so selfless as to shield Eevee? Something was not right, and it had nothing to do with Oshawott and Eevee. The youngest Mightyena fired a Hyper Beam at his brother's Hyper Beam, which caused the first Hyper Beam to misfire.
"Why you little traitor!" the eldest Mightyena roared and clamped his mouth around his brother's neck.
Grovyle, Dusknoir, and Celebi exchanged glances and combined their powers to save the youngest Mightyena. Grovyle used Energy Ball. Dusknoir used Shadow Ball. Celebi used Ancient Power. The attacks not only hit the eldest Mightyena, but sent him flying. The youngest Mightyena exhaled gratitude with every rapid, relieving breath he took.
"Thank you for saving us," Eevee whimpered softly to the Mightyena who she had once had a crush on. He had not heard her because she had spoken so softly.
"Wow…" Oshawott was amazed by the youngest Mightyena's noble act of noble treachery.
"Cease this fighting, my brothers! Other than our master, we are all we have!" the middle Mightyena pleaded.
"Please…my brothers…the two children have done nothing wrong," the youngest one gasped.
"Fine. We shan't kill them…yet," the eldest decided. He snarled at his youngest brother, "You're a fool."
"Nay, perhaps those two have some value that we could not see," the middle one pointed out.
"Luminous Orb!" Grovyle held up a Luminous Orb and brought it to the ground. The three Mightyena were blinded by the light it emitted. When the light died down, Eevee, Oshawott, and Team New Life were gone.
"Our master will be cross with us," the oldest sibling of the Mightyena team muttered. To his youngest brother, he barked, "This is your fault! If you were not my kin, I'd strike you so hard—"
"Enough," the middle sibling sighed. "We are not discussing this. I can understand why he wouldn't want to harm the children. It would seem dishonorable to strike them with our clearly superior power."
Meanwhile, Oshawott, Eevee, and Team New Life were in hiding. Oshawott, while hugging Eevee, said, "That was way too close."
"M-Mightyena saved us," Eevee stammered in disbelief.
"That was something I found to be quite shocking, but we must not dwell on it now," Dusknoir pointed out. "We need to get you two back home, along with telling our allies of Darkrai's schemes."
"Right," Oshawott nodded. He turned to Eevee and kissed her nose. Both of them smiled and cuddled.