"So, you knew Lunick?"

"What excuse can I give him without ending up in half a year's worth of detentions?!"

Protector of Silence

Chapter Twelve – Eclipse of the Dark Moon

"Help! Rangers!" A man in a blue T-shirt and brown swimming trunks stopped at the top of the steps leading to the top of Breeze Hill. Everyone, even Crawford who still had a sandwich halfway to his mouth, looked at the man.

"Po-Pokémon have gone wild!" he cried. Barlow rushed over to him.

"What seems to be the matter?" he asked in a surprisingly calm voice.

"W-We were down by the beach when the Pokémon there started acting mean!" explained the man in a panicky tone "They've surrounded my girlfriend and won't let her go!"

All the rangers looked at each other, alarmed.

"Okay, I get the picture" Barlow nodded "We'll handle it from here." He turned to the rangers "It's an emergency mission! We're taking a break from lunch! To Nabiki beach! Move it!"

Elaine and Luana got up at once, but Crawford was trying to cram as much lunch as possible into a big bowl to take with him. Luana sighed, snatched the bowl from him, set it down and then dragged him to his feet.

"Nabiki Beach! Now!" she hissed with her Irish accent.

"But my food!" Crawford cried, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"You can finish it later!" Luana sighed "Now come on!"

Beside Kellyn, the same thing was happening with Keith and Kate.

"Wait for me my triple-decker beef, cheese and crisps sandwich!" Keith cried like a two-year-old being dragged away from their favourite toy.

"Our first real mission!" Kate squeaked "Let's go guys!"

They followed the rangers down the steps to the cliff that overlooked Nabiki Beach. The man was practically dancing on the spot whilst looking at some Pokémon encircling a woman in a bikini.

"We have to clean this mess up!" Barlow ordered "Crawford, you and I will take the Shellos duo. Luana, you take the Starly. Interns, you take whatever's left. Got it?"

"Roger!" Everyone agreed, rushing down the steps onto the beach. Kellyn was about to follow when he one again got the shivers. He spun around saw a white tail vanishing into a bush.

'Is that a Pokémon?' he asked himself 'It could be injured. I'd better check it out.'

He stepped over the bushes and walked into the dense forest. After a minute of skirting around bushes and trees, he found a sort of track he could follow. Another minute later he reached a large tree. It had fallen over and was completely blocking the path. Kellyn paused. A Poké Assist could clear it, but he didn't have any Pokémon. It was too heavy for him to lift, physically anyway...

'This'll hurt, but I have no choice' he told himself 'That Pokémon could be injured, or suffering from whatever those beach Pokémon are.'

He took a deep breath and allowed his eyes to turn blue-white. The log was surrounded by a white light before it slowly rose into the air. Kellyn gasped as he felt his strength drain and his head felt like it had been placed inside a washing machine.

'Come on! You can do this!'

He took another deep breath and focused as the log slowly turned so it was parallel with the path. Then Kellyn fell to his knees, gasping for air, as it crashed to the ground, startling several Starly from their trees in the process. He just knelt there for a few seconds, trying to get his breath back, before standing up and walking into a clearing. He then stopped dead, his mouth hanging open and his blue-green eyes wide. Lying on a rock in the centre of the clearing, licking its paw, was an Espeon. There was something noticeably different about it though. For one, it was smaller than most Espeon, more Eevee-sized. Then it had dark blue eyes rather than purple, and it's jewel on it's forehead above its eyes was about the same shade of cobalt as them. Though the thing that took Kellyn's breath away was its coat. It was completely snow-white!

'W-Who are you?' He took a breath.

The Espeon stopped licking its paw and looked at him with its cobalt eyes.

"You do not remember me, Kellyn?" she asked, it was apparently female "Oh, of course not. I forgot, you were a mere hatchling back then."

'We've met before?' Kellyn asked 'What's your name?'

"My name?" the Espeon cocked her head to one side slightly "My name is Eclipse of the Dark Moon, although I think you'll find it easier for you to call me Luna."

'Luna?' Kellyn pressed 'How do you know me?'

Luna sat up, a single ray of sunlight hitting her back and making her coat sparkle like silver sequins.

"I have know you since you were a hatchling" she explained "I knew your brother very well. His most famous partner Pokémon was Minun, but I was there also. I was beside him when the Go-Rock Quads tried to take Fiore, I was beside him when the Ringtown Base almost burned to a cinder that stormy night during the Great War, I was beside him when the secret base went into self-destruct mode, and I was beside him when the Legendary dog trio bore down upon him. The two of us were always there for each other."

'So, you knew Lunick?' Kellyn asked 'You were like a partner Pokémon to him?'

"Discreetly, only he, Solana and eventually Spenser knew about me. But yes, his trusted partner" Luna nodded "Which is why I'm here."

Luna stood up, stretched, and then trotted forward so she stopped about three metres away from Kellyn.

"Every person with a gift like yours has an unusually coloured Eeveelution" she explained "Each of these Eeveelutions has a single child in their lifetime, to pass onto the next generation of human. We're supposed to help humans like you control your powers, but personally I see us more as friends for when the going gets tough. That's what Lunick always saw me as."

'I see, so like Partner Pokémon' Kellyn said. Then he knelt down so he was more level with Luna 'Well, Eclipse of the Dark Moon, or Luna, would you like to be my Partner Pokémon?'

Luna rushed over to him and pressed her nose into his palm. She said in a teasing tone: "I think that would be most pleasant sir."

'Wait one moment then' Kellyn stood and removed his styler 'Capture...on!'

It was the longest capture Kellyn had ever done, but that was only because Luna was the highest-level Pokémon he had ever captured. She didn't move, only blinked and swished her tail as he captured her, although they were a few heart-stopping moments when her forked tail would flick excruciatingly close to the capture line.

'Capture complete' Kellyn caught the capture disk as it came flying back to him.

Luna blinked again. "Was that really necessary?"

'Well if some mind-controlling bad guys try to capture wild Pokémon, I don't want to risk loosing you' Kellyn answered.

Luna blinked, then shook herself and leapt up, sinking her claws into the hem of Kellyn's green school jacket. Then she scrambled up onto his shoulder and rubbed her face against his cheek. Kellyn smiled and patted the top of her head between her ears.

'So, ready to meet my friends?' he asked, turning towards the exit to the clearing.

"Well, what are they like?" asked Luna. Kellyn winced as when he moved her claws sank into his jumper and gazed against his skin.

'Well, Kate's the one you might get along with best, she's quite normal' Kellyn told her, setting off down the track he had come down before 'Then there's Keith, he's a little...hyper...and unorthodox. Not as unorthodox as Ponte though.'

By the time they reached the beach, Kellyn had managed to outline most of the students at Ranger School. As they walked down the steps to where the rangers were, Luna hopped down from his shoulder and walked alone whilst sticking as close to Kellyn's leg as possible.

"...Let's release these Pokémon" Barlow finished. He and Crawford released two pink Shellos, Luana released a Starly, Keith a rather fitting Munchlax and Kate a Pacharisu.

"Oh hi Kel!" Keith smiled as he saw his fellow ranger approaching "Don't wander off like that. We were worried about..." He broke off and his jaw dropped "WHOA! Where in the world did you find THAT?" He jumped up and down on the spot several times as he pointed at Luna.

The white Espeon hid behind Kellyn's leg. "He's creepy!"

'Don't worry, Keith won't hurt you, unless you wake him up early on a Saturday' Kellyn smiled at her 'He's the hyper and unorthodox one.'

"Oh" Luna nodded slightly.

Kate knelt down and held her hand out to Luna. Cautiously, the unusually-coloured Pokémon took a step forwards and sniffed Kate's palm. She then gave a squeak of delight and began rubbing her cheek again the girl's palm.

"So cute!" Kate squealed, then looking at Kellyn "Where did you find her?" Kellyn gestured at the woods on top of the cliff "Does she have a name?"

Her name is Luna

"You've given her a name?" Keith asked, walking over "Is she like a Partner Pokémon or something?"

"That's impossible unfortunately" Barlow shook his head "As you're still students, you can't have Partner Pokémon yet. But she can follow you until you get to Ranger School if she wants to."

Kellyn signalled the others over and underlined something he had written prior to arriving.

I thought she could just stay in the school grounds until graduation. As long as she's not in the school building, it should be okay, shouldn't it?

"I guess" Kate nodded in a low voice "We'd better not tell anyone though. Well, maybe Rhythmi, but that's it. If we tell everyone about her they'll wanna try and find her, and then that'll alert the teachers and if they find her..." Kate shuddered "So, just between the four of us, okay?"

"Oh goodie!" whispered Keith excitedly "I love secrets!"

"You just love secrets so you can spill them!" Kate hissed.

Yeah, just like new rules. You love them because you can break them!

Keith snorted, folded his arms and shook his head.

"Rangers!" The man and his girlfriend walked over to the ground of rangers and trainees "Thank you for saving my girlfriend!"

"We heard some strange noises form the sea" his girlfriend explained "We noticed a big cargo ship disappear over the horizon. And then suddenly I was surrounded by Pokémon. I think the Pokémon were startled by the cargo ship."

"Well, whatever happened, I'm glad to see your safe" Barlow said, then turning to his rangers "Crawford, Luana, sweep the beach and made sure no Pokémon are still confused."

The two rangers nodded and saluted before setting off down the beach.

"Keith, Kate, Kellyn, good work" Barlow told them "Thanks in no small part to you three, we managed to calm the Pokémon around Nabiki beach down. In the world of rangers, we call it a Mission Clear!"

"Oh! This is where we do the cool ranger poses isn't it?" Keith beamed. He performed a somersault, threw his styler into the air and caught it again. He then released the capture wand and held it in front of him like it was some kind of sword.

"Oh! I wanna a piece of that!" Kate beamed. She quickly twirled before standing on one leg, holding her Styler up above her head and letting the capture wand activate, smiling the whole time.

'Guess it's my turn' Kellyn thought. He jumped up, doing a flip in mid-air before landing and throwing his Styler up, releasing the capture wand. Beside him, Luna also performed a mid-air flip before landing and posing on three paws with her marble tail arched above her back.

"Well I'll be! You've already got your own ranger poses!" Barlow laughed "They looked good too. Anyway..." He put on a straight face again "Alright people! We need to head back to the Ranger Base!"

He was just setting off when he suddenly realised something.

"Ah! We have to clean up that mess we made on top of Breeze Hill!" he remembered in a panic "Keith, Kate and Kellyn, you guys head back to Base without us. We'll clean up to apologise for that prank we pulled earlier."

"We will?" Three voices cried from various places on the beach.

"Yes! We will!" Barlow growled to his three complaining teammates, jogging down the beach towards Breeze Hill "Sundown's coming people! Let's move it!"

Keith and Kate laughed as they saw Crawford and Elaine's disappointed faces. But they laughed even harder when Luana pushed the two of them up the hill and said:

"Cheer up Crawford. If you want, you can be in charge of cleaning the dishes to put in the basket."

Crawford immediately looked excited and Kellyn knew Crawford needed no other instrument to clean dishes other than his big mouth.

"That Hastings guy is so hilarious!" Keith laughed as they walked down the path towards Ranger School.

"Keith, seriously!" Kate shook her head and sighed "He's a really important professor at the Ranger Union!"

"Could've fooled me" Keith snorted with amusement "I thought he was a comedian!" Kate groaned and hid her head in her hands "Sorry! It's just the way he called Rhythmi Misery! I almost burst a gut trying not to laugh!"

As Keith tried to keep a straight face at Kate's scolding, Kellyn was walking a few metres behind them. He had Luna curled around his shoulders as he patted the top of her snow-white head between her ears, her indigo eyes closed in contentment. He was starting to understand why people like Ash and Red like to carry Pokémon, or in both those cases Pikachus, on their shoulders. It was a comforting feeling - a feeling you were never alone.

'Stupid school rules not allowing us to be partners' Kellyn thought as he kicked a rock into the grass at the side of the path.

"It's only until July" Luna reminded him "But why do I have to sleep outside exactly?"

'Huh?' Kellyn looked at her, confused.

"Why do I have to sleep outside?" she asked "It's cold, wet, damp and just generally not nice."

'You're a wild Pokémon though, you ought to be used to sleeping outside?'

"I don't sleep outside. I find dens in hollow logs, caves and old Pichu nests in tree trunks."

'So why can't you do that here?'

"It's not as simple at that Hatchling! Those were only temporary stays, a day or two at the most! In order to find a long-term den you have to find a suitable one, battle any previous Pokémon out of it, prepare it for living circumstances and find ways to defend to against other wild Pokémon! Do you have any idea how annoying it is when a Mightyena smashes into your den and completely wrecks it if he doesn't take it for himself?"

'Um...bad I guess.'

"Bad! It's infuriating! It's like a giant coming crashing into your home and wrecking it! And for a small Pokémon like me, finding dens and defending them is like climbing Mt Cornet!"

'Aren't other Pokémon, like...afraid of you? With you being white and all.'

"Pokémon don't care if your white, pink, purple or blue. You're a threat and that's that. Shiny does nought for ya'."

'Ah, that's rough.'

"That the reality of wild Pokémon, kiddo. You have no idea."

Kellyn sighed and kicked another rock, but this time it rolled down the side of the hill next the fast approaching bridge and made a 'plop' sound in the water.

'You didn't have to come with me you know.'

"I know. But I wanted to, and still do. This way I'm also fulfilling my promise to Lunick."

Kellyn stopped for a split second upon hearing his older brother's name spoken so freely. Then he remembered Luna would have been unlikely to be afraid of Lunick during the Great War and probably wouldn't say his name in a fear tone.

'You really cared about him, didn't you?'

"We were best of friends. We did everything together, even if I had to spend a lot of time under the protection of his invisibility abilities. Even then that was great training."

'Training?'

"Lunick didn't learn how to use his psychic abilities overnight. It took years of training between the two of us. But he was a remarkably fast learner, and a good friend. I felt his death all the way from Fiore. The Pokémon there said it took me weeks to recover."

'Uh-huh' Kellyn kicked his foot against the wooden bridge.

"You're a lot like him you know."

Kellyn came to an abrupt halt and stared at Luna out of the corner of his blue-green eyes.

"You're a lot like him. I put that log you moved in your path on purpose, to test your abilities. I doubt Lunick could move such a big object without training. It possible you could grow to be as good as him, or even better."

Luna gave a long sigh.

"Maybe all that stuff Lunick said was true. Maybe you really could be the Hero of Almia."

There was a suspense-holding pause between the two of them.

'What is that?' Kellyn asked finally. He held his breath as Luna leapt off his shoulder and trotted a few steps ahead. Then she ruined it all by looking back at him and winking.

"Not a clue."

Then she trotted after the still arguing Keith and Kate. Kellyn snorted dismissively as he walked behind them, uncharacteristically jamming his hands in his pockets.

'Some help you're gonna be.'

"Kellyn!" Keith hopped out of bed and called to his bunk-mate "Kellyn! Come on! Rise and shine! It's a Thursday!" He got no reply.

"You know what's first period on a Thursday!" Keith grinned "Reading period! So I can choose between sleeping or secretly reading a comic! My favourite pass-times minus eating and showing off!"

He still got no reply. Keith frowned. Since when did Kellyn ignore him like this? He didn't like being ignored.

"Kel-lyn! Wake up!" When Keith still got no reply, he partially climbed the ladder to see what was going on. He smiled at what he saw.

Kellyn was fast asleep, his arm around Luna who was circled up, also asleep, almost under the duvet near his head. The small window beside Kellyn's bed was partially open, highlighting Luna's entrance.

"Ah, maybe reading period can survive without you for a while" Keith told the sleeping boy before climbing back down the ladder. He walked out of the dorm and then froze.

"Mr Kincaid's supervising reading period today!" he gasped out loud "What excuse can I give him without ending up in half a year's worth of detentions?!" He panicked.

"Kate will be able to think of something" he decided.

Kate would be in the canteen finishing breakfast. He quickly rushed down the stairs towards the school building's door, noticing he had left his green jacket back at the dorm and his yellow tie was only half on.

"Keith Dazaru! WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT RUNNING IN THE HALLWAYS!"

Looks like he'd be facing Mr Kincaid a lot sooner than he thought.