Defender of the Night
Chapter One: Umbreon Knight

Melody

I sat, bored, in battle class, wishing that something, anything, interesting would happen. I didn't even care that I got to battle Gold, a snobby, stuck up rich kid. I beat him in three minutes and seven seconds (I was timing thanks to a transparent Shadow Clone and a Shadow Clone transformed into a stopwatch).

Damn it I'm bored. I complained to Tsuki over our mental link compliments of Hikari, my best friend Sakura's Espeon.

So deal with it. Tsuki shot back. You know you have to get a good grade in this class if you want to be a coordinator. Like in college, you've gotta pass your generals before you can get onto the stuff you really want to study. In class we always used our mental link so that no one actually knew we were talking. It sure came in handy.

And what would you know about college? I accused. You've never been to college, nor have I. You don't know anything about it.

Actually, I know more than you do. She sang.

I growled under my breath. I hate you.

She wagged her tail. Love you too.

"Melody!" The teacher, Mrs. Olbeck, snapped. "Would you kindly tell me what we're discussing, if you've been paying attention?"

I rolled my eyes. "Dark types, strengths and weaknesses. They are: strong against Psychic and Ghost, but weak against Fighting, Fairy, and Bug. A good example of a straight Dark type would be Umbreon, also known as the Moonlight Pokemon which evolves from Eevee, also known as the Evolution Pokemon." I answered. I could recite Dark type strengths and weaknesses in my sleep, and had done it once according to Sakura, who had asked me, thinking I was still awake (she knew I was asleep because about two seconds after I told her I rolled over and gave a giant snore, or something to that effect; to this day, she still wouldn't stop teasing me about it, calling it the 'strengths and weaknesses' incident).

Mrs. Olbeck sighed and glared at me. "Fine."

She always hated it that I could recite strengths and weaknesses (especially Dark types, my first and only Pokémon in accordance to school rules being an Umbreon) so well, even though I never paid any attention in class, because thanks to mine and Tsuki's mental link, we could think up a thousand different ways to beat an opponent.

That was why I never bothered to pay attention in class. I felt that battle class (along with Pokemon Care and Trainer Survival, two more subjects I had to take because I was a first year student despite already knowing plenty about both subjects) was useless and I could hone mine and Tsuki's skills in other, more efficient ways that didn't involve sitting in a classroom bored for an hour every day. I would have skived like I did Trainer Survival and Pokémon Care, but Mrs. Olbeck always, always, managed to find me no matter where I hid. I'd even hid in a broom closet, and she still found me. The only place I hadn't tried hiding was the sewers, though I certainly planned to. Maybe my teme teacher wouldn't catch me if I did hide in the sewers.

Finally, class was over. I hung back for a second, waiting for Sakura. Sakura, my redheaded best friend, was Hikari's trainer, and it was thanks to Hikari that Tsuki and I could speak mind to mind, not to mention the fact that we could both understand Pokémon. Sakura could practically be my twin sister or something, barring, of course, the fact that we had different birthdays and that we looked absolutely nothing alike.

"Yo." The subject of my thoughts greeted, bopping me on the head. "How many times do I have to tell you not to wait for me? You could be late for class!"

"Yes, and the world ends if I'm late for class." I scoffed.

My best friend groaned. "I don't get why you don't even care about your classes."

I sighed. "Because, I'm not interested in very many of them. The only interesting class I have is my history class, and even that's not really what I was hoping for. I wanted a class that gave the history of something other than the school."

"Amen to that." Tsuki agreed. Both of us were major history geeks. Like Trainer like Pokémon I guess. "It's a shame we first years aren't allowed to take the higher level history classes. I would love to take one of those. That would be so much fun! Stupid rules."

Hikari rolled her eyes. "History geek."

"Damn straight!" We declared in unison. I pumped a fist.

Sakura shook her head. "What you two see in history, I'll never know."

"And what you see in Math I'll never know." I countered.

"Touché Melody." Sakura surrendered. "Anyway, what's your next class?"

"Trainer Survival." I moaned mournfully. The principal had caught onto the fact that I'd been skiving, so I had to go sadly. "Least favorite class. I already know that stuff."

"I've got Pokémon Care, unfortunately." Sakura told me. "And this is where we split, so see ya." She then ran off before I had the chance to tell her I'd see her later.

I fell asleep in Trainer Survival. I usually did, not that the teacher ever seemed to notice. He just droned on and on and on about one topic: what to eat and what not to eat. It was interesting the first day, but after that, it became clear he never talked about anything else. Before going to sleep I automatically tightened the two belts made of cargo material that were wrapped around my wrists. The green one didn't matter. It just was there because I liked it and wanted to have cargo belts on both wrists, but the grey one was the really important one.

Why?

Well I suppose I should say it's not the belt itself that important, but what it concealed: a perfect eighth note birthmark. Everyone accused me of having tattooed it there, when I'd had it for as long as I could remember. Most people seemed to think I was lying and I'd had it tattooed because my favorite legend had always been the legend of Laputa, a huge floating kingdom high in the sky. No one knew if it was real or not, but I hoped it was.

It was said that the girl who was the original princess's rebirth (she apparently died fending off an enemy) had a birthmark exactly like mine. Weird huh? Anyway, that was why everyone teased me about it, no matter how many times I'd told them "It's a birthmark bakas," verbatim with that exact intonation they never believed me. Bakas.

A sudden explosion jolted me out of my thoughts. I frowned. "What the hell?" I wondered aloud. I looked at Tsuki, whose fur refused to lie flat, hackles raised, teeth bared at the doorway. "Double what the hell." My birthmark burned under the belt.

Suddenly, a monster burst in. Okay, triple what the hell? I reached back for my sword, which Tsuki had with her for some reason when we first found eachother, only to remember it got me in trouble on the first day so I didn't carry it with me. Oh shit.

"Damn it Melody, move your fur!" Tsuki barked. When I didn't, she tackled my leg. "Damn it Melody, move your fur this sarden instant!"

I got the message and bolted out of the classroom and for my room. "I can make it, I can make it, I can make it." I chanted to myself, turning and skidding into my room. The monster decided to follow me, so I lunged for the sword Tsuki had with her when she first found me and held it in front of me. "No, I won't let you hurt me or my friends!"

I drew the blade. Tsuki looked at me, concerned. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" She asked. "You know you haven't been able to use it recently!"

"So?" I shot back, preparing to slash at the monster. I used the bed as a springboard and propelled myself into the air. Descending, I managed to slash the monster's chest.

She sighed. "Then at least give me your sword. I'm going to give you the power to beat this stupid monster. I know where it comes from." She added at my disbelieving look. "Remember, it's thanks to me that you have it in the first place."

"Okay . . ." I said, unconvinced.

"Just do it!" She snapped.

"Hai hai." I sighed. I hated giving up my only available weapon, but if it would help me beat the thing, I was all for it. "Okay fine, do your thing Tsuki."

She chanted something in what I swore was Latin. When she finished, the blade seemed to glow. She pushed it towards me. "Here. Take it and call out 'Umbreon Sword Slash.'"

I sighed. "Well I'm still not too sure about this, but if it's my only chance to save my friends, then here goes everything. UMBREON SWORD SLASH!" I roared. Ribbons enveloped my body, forming a black skintight shirt that flared out at the elbows with yellow rings, much like an Umbreon's, just above the wrists, and a pair of combat worthy dark grey cargo pants. Black leather plate armor coated in what appeared to be yellow seals appeared out of nowhere and attached itself to me. Finally, my sword somehow strapped itself to my back. A black figure eight mask shaped mask with yellow highlights and a yellow dot on the nose rested over my eyes, hopefully concealing my identity from anyone who might stumble on the fight.

"Ha ha ha!" The stupid monster laughed, speaking for the first time. I hadn't even noticed that its shape was blurry before, but now I could clearly see it and realized that before I transformed, it was hard to see it resembled a lizard, or at least a reptile of some sort. I wasn't exactly sure what. "Do you really think you can beat me with that little toothpick of a sword? No one can beat me! I come from the mighty Laputa!" It eyed me interestedly. "Just who are you anyway? May as well know your name before I kill you."

Wait, Laputa? The legend was true? Were my dreams real?

I glared at the monster. My response was automatic. "I am the defender of the night, a master swordsman, and the leader of the ones protecting my home from stupid bastards like you, so prepare to meet your end! Game start!" I wasn't sure where the words came from.

"I don't care who you are, but you won't survive, even if you do suddenly have armor." The monster laughed. "I serve Queen Lucinda herself! You cannot beat me!"

I glared. "Oh we'll see about that." He blasted me with an energy beam of some sort. I held my sword in front of me, and the sword somehow deflected the beam.

Sakura came running. "I heard a noise, what's going on— wait, Melody? Is that you?"

I nodded. "Help me out, would you?"

"How?"

"Give me your glaive." Hikari instructed from her usual place beside Sakura. "I'll do to it what Tsuki did to Melody's sword." Unlike me, Sakura had one weapon that no one could disarm: her fists. She had monstrous strength and wasn't afraid to use it on anyone. Including me. She handed over her glaive and Hikari began chanting like Tsuki.

"You done?" Sakura demanded impatiently, not looking up from raining blows down on Monster-teme. "'Cause I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up."

As if to emphasize her point, the monster batted her away. Thankfully she missed Hikari and her glaive. "Okay, I'm done. Take this and call out 'Espeon Glaive Stab.'" Hikari instructed. "It's the only way you and Melody will save yourselves and eachother."

"Still not too sure about this, but I guess it's the only way to save me and Melody, so here goes everything. ESPEON GLAIVE STAB!" A bright light later, she wore lavender armor like mine, and the seals were red while mine were yellow. A red figure eight mask rested over her eyes.

I smiled. "Are you ready? I have an idea of what to do."

"Oh hell yes I'm ready!" Sakura cheered.

I grinned. "Great. Okay, here's what we're going to do." I explained my plan to her and raised my sword. "Darkness Slash!" A beam of pure darkness, like with Tsuki's Shadow Ball, erupted from my sword and wounded the monster, almost killing it. I was this close.

"Light Stab!" Sakura added. Rather like Hikari's Aura Sphere, blue light flooded from the tip of Sakura's glaive as she stabbed it the stupid nuisance in the chest. Finally, that finished the monster off. Weirdly enough, it just turned into a card. How weird. Still, I shook it off and sighed in relief. It really didn't seem like it, but that sure was a hard battle. Sure was strange.

"Glad that's over with." I breathed, slumping to the ground, completely exhausted. "Um, two questions. What happened, and how do we change back?"