Silver

[ryan22424]

So, here I am, six in the morning, writing this. Okay, this is a story I started writing about the same time as I wrote Light but abandoned about 16 chapters in, so I'll be writing the majority of it now. This is a story that contains romance and multiple chapters, just like Light. However, unlike Light, this will take place in the wild, not with trainers. Anyway, I'm nervous to see how you guys will react to this so without any further ado, Here is Silver.

Dislaimer: I do not own rights to Pokemon, I don't want to be sued.

Silver

Chapter 1: Shiny

Silver woke as something prodded him in the side. He grumbled a little at the intrusion to his nice rest and rolled over onto his stomach to get away from whoever it was. Unfortunately, he rolled right off his nest onto the cold floor. Silver was instantly awake from the shock of the sudden temperature change. Silver jumped up and got his sensitive belly off the floor. He shivered at the coldness that had already seeped into him, though. And it wouldn't be getting better as it was the end of autumn.

He heard a giggle and looked over to see Rose, his sister. Like him, she was a regular, brown pelted Eevee. He sighed, never really being able to get angry at his sister for some reason. "You looked so funny when you jumped up, Silver," she said in between small giggles. For her, that was the equivalent of rolling on the floor while laughing. His sister usually kept all her emotions in, at least she had recently.

Silver sighed again, but Rose's laugh was too contagious and he soon joined in. "Good morning, Rose," he greeted once he was over his laughing.

"And good morning to you, too. Come on. Dad's waiting for us in the clearing," she replied.

Silver followed her out of their small room into the main section of the den. He saw the food pile against one wall, but he didn't have time to eat as Rose took him outside. His belly rumbled, but thankfully Rose didn't hear it, or at least didn't react to it. It could have been either, knowing her. Closing his eyes for a second, Silver steeled himself against the hunger. He had had a large meal last night. If he had really wanted food, he should have gotten up earlier.

Silver followed Rose over to the training clearing. The clearing was just a large circle of sand where one could practice fighting without getting hurt against the ground. However, the sand was horrible when it got in one's fur. It usually took an hour to wash the sand out of his fur, and then he had the assaulting stuff on his tongue. Silver would rather just have a grass clearing to practice in, instead.

She sat down on the edge of the clearing. Silver looked around for his father, but he was nowhere in sight. Rose glanced back at him and said, "He said to wait here until he came. Today we're supposed to learn something new."

Silver nodded and sat next to Rose. He shifted uncomfortable on the still cold sand. The sand stayed cold until night, even while the sun beat down on it all day. After a while, he was started to get impatient. He wished he would have gotten something to eat if he would have so much time. He hoped his father would show up soon; his hunger was harder to ignore with nothing to do, while growing larger by the minute. He got more and more impatient with every second. He wasn't exactly the patient one of the family. He let out a sigh and lowered his head as he tried to block out his unwavering hunger.

"Don't worry. He should be here soon," Rose said, laying her tail on his back for a second before returning to the same position she had been in since she had sat down. Her gaze was just staring out at nothing in particular.

Silver stared at her in amazement. How could she just sit there with nothing to do? It seemed she never got bored anymore. It was probably because of the day she decided she wanted to become an Espeon like their Mum. Their Mum could just sit and meditate for hours if she wanted to. Silver knew it would be difficult for Rose to become an Espeon, though. She had to create a true friendship with a non-family member, usually becoming love, before she could evolve. Plus, it had to happen during the day. With their resolute Mum, the only way Rose could form a bond that strong with someone was sneaking out at night, which meant she would become an Umbreon.

As for Silver, he didn't know what he wanted to become. He saw nothing wrong with what he was now. However, he was constantly being pressed about the situation. He always wondered why he couldn't be a Vulpix or a Sandshrew. They didn't have to choose what they had to become. They only chose whether to evolve into one single evolution or not. He had to choose between seven different evolutions. And it seemed he had to. It was normal for other Pokemon to not evolve, but for Eevee, it seemed to be like a rule that you had to evolve into something. And his parents seemed to follow that stereotype also.

In order to distract himself, Silver started to study the trees around him. It didn't really help as he knew the area by heart since he had lived here his whole life. Few trees grew near their den, a small burrow in a slight hill. Instead, undergrowth grew everywhere. The practice clearing was where their father trained them constantly, preparing them for the real world. They were the only Pokemon living here within one hundred yards. His parents had marked their area and no Pokemon had protested. He didn't see why they would as the forest almost went on forever.

Silver continued to look around, starting to space out with his thoughts. Suddenly, something in his brain went off, bringing him back to the present. He looked around for what was out of place, but he couldn't tell. Rose was sitting stock still next to him, still. He scanned the area again. Finally, the object caught his eye again.

There, he thought. Something was moving through the undergrowth. It was to their left from the way they were sitting. Silver watched it a little longer as it got slowly nearer. He didn't want to make Rose worry about a possible enemy, so he thought up of an excuse to get away. "Rose, wait here. I need to go use number one," he said.

She nodded absentmindedly, and he walked in back into the undergrowth. Once he was sure he was hidden in the thick plants, he starting making his way around to intercept the creature. Soon, he heard the rustling from it as it stalked along the clearing. Silver slid into some rather thick ferns and waited for the creature to appear, knowing he had the element of surprise.

A black snout appeared first, before the creature took a step forward, allowing Silver to see it completely. He was astonished to find that it was his father. Why would he be sneaking around? Then Silver remembered that they were supposed to learn something new. Maybe this was it. Silver started to follow his father silently. The Umbreon continued, oblivious of the Eevee trailing it. After following him for a little, Silver came up with an idea.

Crouching down, Silver prepared to spring. He then gathered his strength and sprung at the Dark-type. Silver landed squarely on his shoulders, causing the unsuspecting Pokemon to collapse to the ground.

Silver's father suddenly flipped over quickly, throwing Silver off his back. "Huh? Silver was that you? What are you doing here?" he asked, shaking the dust off his pelt.

Silver got up, barely containing a laugh. "I came over to see what someone was doing sneaking through the bushes."

His father raised his paw and ruffled his son's hair between the ears. "Well, let's meet up with your sister."

Silver followed his dad out of the undergrowth into the clearing. Rose jumped as they appeared. "Silver, what are you doing over there? I thought you were going to go over there," she said.

"What, no 'hi dad' or anything?" their dad said, barely suppressing a laugh of his own.

"Oh! Sorry. Hi dad. Why were you two over there?" she asked.

"That's what I want to talk to you two about. Today's lesson was going to be observance. The reason I had you wait, was that I was going to sneak up on you and show how you need to always be alert," he started. "But, Silver proved himself well by finding me out early. So I guess today's lesson will be unneeded."

"What are we going to do now?" Rose asked.

"Well, with no lessons for the day, that means you two have the day free," he said.

Even Rose cheered at the announcement. They rarely got a day off without having some training or chores to do. Rose rushed back to the den, but Silver paused as he saw his dad motion for him. "Yeah?" he asked, once Rose had left.

"I just wanted to say that you did well finding me out," his father praised. Silver smiled warmly at the compliment. His father smiled back before passing him and leaving the clearing. Silver was glad that his father was proud of him. He knew it wasn't right, but he liked his father more than his mother. Though his father worried about him and how he needed to evolve, too, his father wasn't as adamant about him evolving. Also, he felt like he could come to his father with more problems than his mother.

Silver headed back to the den and found Rose at the entrance, doing her imitation of their mother meditating. He wondered why she had been so excited to just come and sit. Then again, he rarely understood his sister's actions lately. Mentally shrugging, he headed on in and went straight for the food pile. He pulled a berry off and ate a quick breakfast.

He had just finished when his mother came in, a load of berries floating behind her. She placed them down on the pile with her psychic powers. Silver once again admired the convenience at being able to influence things just by thinking about them. However, it wasn't a strong enough attraction for him to want to be an Espeon or Umbreon. He liked staying just as he was.

"Hello, Silver, did you guys get a day off?" she asked.

"Yeah, but I really don't know what I'm going to do, though," Silver answered.

"Then it would be a good time to start thinking about the future," she said, already getting serious. "You need to plan, or you won't make it out in the real world. For instance, what do you plan to evolve into?"

Silver sighed at her persistence; she already knew the answer. "I told you I don't care about evolving," he answered. He winced as his mother gave him a stern look. However, rather than listen to her lecture again, he quickly changed the subject, "It's a nice day out, so I'll go get some exercise. There won't be many days like these left."

She continued to give him the look for a moment before sighing and walking back into her den. As she went, Silver heard her murmur, "What am I going to do with that boy?"

Keeping to his word, Silver went outside, passing the still meditating Rose on the way. What he had said had been true; the day was nice and sunny, with a slight breeze. The temperature was warm enough for the afternoon, though it would be colder tonight.

Silver randomly started walking to clear his mind. It wasn't that he didn't want to listen to his mother, it was just that she insisted on him making life decisions that he wouldn't be able to change so soon. However, Silver did realize that she was only looking out for him. It was true that it was easier to survive in the wild when one was fully evolved. Also, she wanted him to think ahead, which Silver thought was okay. No matter what, though, he loved his Mum, and he wouldn't trade her for any other.

Silver paused as he suddenly noticed that he didn't recognize the nearby surroundings. After a moment of inspection, Silver realized that he was lost. Silver's first instinct was to panic, but he pushed that thought away. His father had always taught them that panicking never helped. Taking a deep breath to push back the recurring instinct to panic, he studied his surroundings more closely. Finally, he was able to recognize some of the bushes behind him. He hadn't gone that far past the territory his parents had.

He turned, about to go back, when something caught his eye. He looked around, but couldn't see it again. Curious, he walked toward the area he had seen it in. After a few steps, it caught his eye again. This time, he locked on to it. A few steps away, something was reflecting some sunlight. Silver stepped closer to see what it was. Silver was unable to identify what it was, but it did seem to have a gleam to it, that sort of lured Silver toward it. The object was smaller than his paw and was stuck in the dirt. The grass around the object was smashed flat, as though it had been trodden on by something heavy.

Finally, curiosity got the better of him, and he reached out and touched it with a paw. Suddenly, something popped above him. His head swirled up to see some net-like material falling above him. Before he could react further, the net was over him, pinning him down with its heavy weight. Against what he had been taught, Silver panicked and started to thrust around to try to get out. But the more he struggled, the more it seemed to ensnare him. His legs were soon caught completely in the net, the strands painfully rubbing against his skin.

Silver suddenly noticed a strange smell in the air. As soon as he smelt it, he knew it held some kind of poison. He held his breathe and stopped struggling to concentrate on this new problem. He knew it was unlikely to pass quickly, but it may have moved enough to not affect, at least too much. At least there was a slight breeze at the moment. His lungs started to ache for air, but he disciplined himself against it. He knew how long he could hold out from testing himself when he was bored. Eventually, though, he had to breathe in or pass out; he decided to breathe in.

Determined to escape, he decided to try again before the poison set in. After taking a few gulps of air to steady his burning lungs, he reached down and bit into one of the strings. The strand was small and stringy and tasted horrible. It also left his mouth with an almost unbearably bitter aftertaste. However, he continued. The cord was tight and strong, but after a little gnawing, he finally managed to tear it. He wanted to continue to bite through the cords, but his strength seemed to be leaving him. He tried to hold on as his vision started to dim, but the effects seemed to continue. Finally, his consciousness faded.

That was Chapter one, tell me how it was and I'll get on to chapter two.

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[ryan22424]

- Chapter 2: Escapees -

Silver opened his eyes, only to shut them tight again. A bright, white light was shining down from above him. Had he died? No, he could still feel soreness in his unused muscles. Wait, unused? he thought. Then the memory of the net came back to him.

He opened his eyes again, once again starting to panic. The light stung his eyes again, but Silver ignored the pain. He looked around him as his vision came into focus. He was in a black cage on a table. All along three of the walls, ran a counter of the same height. Vials, syringes, tubes, and notes covered it all the way around. On the other side of the simple four wall room, was a door, a small glass square at the top. Besides his cage and the items on the counter, everything was white. The
counters, the walls, the floor, and the ceiling were all a plain, dull white.

The light didn't seem bright at all now and Silver deemed his first reaction to having his eyes closed for so long. How long had he been here? How did he get here? What was going to happen to him? Silver heard his stomach growl. Well one answer
was that he had been here too long.

It wasn't long before he heard a click behind him. He turned and saw the door was starting to open. A human walked in and shut the door behind it. It was looking a pad in its hands. The human was wearing an all-white coat, a color Silver was starting
to dislike. The human was muttering to itself, but it was too low for Silver to distinguish what it said.

Finally, the human looked up at Silver. It walked up to Silver's cage and produced a small silver object out of the coat. It unlocked the cage and swung the door open. Silver immediately tried to slip out, but the human was ready and Silver was soon
locked in a vice grip by one of the human's arms. Silver knew the grip was too strong and he let himself go limp. He would have tried to bite the human, but nothing was in range of his teeth besides cloth. The human muttered again, but all Silver
could understand was 'me'.

The human picked up a syringe and held it over Silver. Realizing that he was the target, Silver started to squirm again to get away from the needle. However, the grip continued and the needle was soon against his skin. Silver felt a painful prick
against his side as it pierced the skin. Soon, the syringe turned red as something filled it. Silver then realized that it was his own blood.

Once the syringe was full, the human slid it inside of the coat and carried Silver back to the cage. Silver growled as the human locked the cage back up, but the growl was weak sounding. His throat was cracking, both to unused and no water. The
human simply ignored him. The human walked out, leaving Silver alone once again.

Silver curled up on the cold metal floor of his cage and tried to think. He would need to get out, but the human probably wasn't going to just let him out. Silver started to go through several possibilities of escape, but all of them ended at the door. Not
only would he have to open the door, he would have to found his way from there.

Eventually, only Silver's thoughts of food and water got attention. His stomach rumbled as it cried out for substance, but there was nothing inside the cage to eat. His throat wasn't getting any better, either.

Silver looked up hopefully as the door clicked open again. A human, probably the same one with all the muttering, came in with two, black saucers in his hands. As he put the two on the counter while he fished for the metal item again, Silver saw that
one contained water, while the other had some weird brown stuff in it. The human pulled out the object and opened the door again. Silver didn't try to escape, since there was no way out with the door closed. The human watched him closely as it put
the saucers down in front of him. It then shut the cage door and walked out, once again shutting the room door.

Once the human was gone, Silver approached the saucers. Since he didn't know what the brown stuff was, he decided to drink first. The water was horrible with the same aftertaste the netting had, but he was still grateful for anything that quenched
his thirst. He stopped halfway, unsure how long it would have to last.

His thirst mostly quenched, he turned to the only saucer. Inside were what appeared to be small, brown, Rattata droppings. Silver cautiously sniffed it, but couldn't smell any flavor to it. Since the other one had been water, he assumed it was food,
probably human made. Silver was indecisive until his stomach growled once more. Silver squeezed his eyes shut as he put one of them in his mouth. Unlike the water, it didn't seem to have any taste, like eating solid air. When his stomach growled
again, Silver ate faster. Soon, his stomach stopped, satisfied for the moment. Sighing, Silver left the half-finished saucers and curled up again.

It wasn't long before the human once again came back. This time, he seemed angry, as he was almost muttering loud enough for Silver to hear. He pushed the door back, not really watching to see if it closed. However, Silver was, and he realized
that this could be his chance when the door didn't fully close.

The human came up and opened the door to the cage. Silver tensed to jump, but the human reached in quickly and grabbed him ruffled by his collar. Knowing he would only get hurt struggling in this position, Silver once again went limp, involuntarily
whimpering as his hair pulled against his skin.

The human carried him to the long counter and it picked up a syringe from the counter. The human filled it with some strange liquid out of a tube and poised the syringe over him, the sharp needle catching the dim lighting. Silver knew he definitely
didn't want that strange liquid in him. Silver started to wildly struggle as the syringe hovered above him. The human lost his grip, though still being able to hold on to some of Silver's fur. He cried out slightly as some of his collar fur was pulled out of
his skin. Silver fell to the floor in a heap.

Silver looked up, slightly dazed from the fall to see the human suddenly puncture itself with the syringe by accident. Time seemed to stop as the human paused, the needle puncturing its skin while his mouth opened in a pained expression. Suddenly,
the human passed out and fell to the floor, luckily missing Silver by a little.

Silver approached the door and saw it was indeed still open a crack. He pulled the door inward using his snout, making just enough of a gap for him. He looked out and saw a completely white hallway. Seeing no one around, Silver snuck out. He
glanced around for a second, before he felt almost drawn to the right. Seeing both ways being equal, Silver decided to follow what he thought was his instinct to the right.

He stopped dead in his tracks as another lab coat came around the corner. It seemed to not notice Silver as it passed right by him. Suddenly, a Houndour came from the other end of the hallway. It passed right in front of the human, but the human
paid it no mind. Silver realized that Pokemon must have walked free here. All he needed to do now was act normal and maybe no one would notice!

Silver continued down the hall, the strange feeling still guiding him. He tried to act as natural as he could, as though he belonged here. He wished he had a bag or something. Most of the Pokemon he saw were carrying something to and fro. He barely
held back from flinching whenever a Pokemon or human got close to him. That would definitely raise some suspicion.

Silver had gone down about three hallways, when he saw an open door. Silver had passed several doors has he had walked, but they had all been closed. Against his better judgment, the feeling was telling him to go in. Also, he was slightly curious to
see why they had captured him. He checked around and saw no one around, so he stuck his head in the room. There were no humans or free Pokemon walking around inside, so he slipped in. The room was mostly like the one Silver had been in, but
there were three cages on the counter in the middle. He headed for them, not wanting another Pokemon to stay captured if he could help it.

Silver jumped up on the counter to see that each of the cages held a Pokemon inside. The cage on the left held the dark green and pale pelt of a Cyndaquil. The Cyndaquil was curled up in a corner, sleeping. The cage in the middle held the white form
of a Ralts. It was sitting, staring right at Silver as though it had been expecting him. A black band covered the whole length of its arm. The cage on the right held the orange form of a Trapinch. The Trapinch was sitting in a corner, jumping as Silver
suddenly jumped up.

"Shh, shh, be quiet, guys," Silver warned. The Trapinch paused, while the Ralts simply nodded in agreement.

The Cyndaquil suddenly stretched and looked up. It had obviously heard what Silver had said, for it sat near the door of its cage, not saying a word. It stared at Silver, waiting for the reason of why he wanted them quiet.

"Okay guys, I trying to get away. I noticed your door was open, so I came in. I was captured but I got out of my room, somehow. I came in to get you guys out, also," Silver quickly explained. He paused for a moment before added, "It would also
help if one of you knew a way out of this . . . place."

The Trapinch looked annoyed, while the Cyndaquil simply shook his head. However, the Ralts nodded before it suddenly stuck the arm with the black band on it through the bars of the cage. "Here," he whispered, "Bite this band off of me. The others
couldn't reach"

Silver gave him a confused look, but leaned down and carefully tried bite the band off. It took a second before Silver was able to slide one of his teeth underneath the material. The material easily snapped and fell off as soon as Silver got one tooth
under it, showing how weak it had actually been. The Ralts pulled its arm back in. It stretched its arm for a second before it waved its hand at its cage door. Silver was surprised when the door opened in response.

"I have psychic powers, but the band prevented me earlier," Ralts explained when it saw Silver's confused look. It waved its hand at the other cages and they opened also. The Cyndaquil and Trapinch stepped out and jumped down with Silver to the
floor. Ralts floated down to the floor from the counter. Silver wasn't as awestruck as he possibly could be, since he had had an Espeon as a mother. Still, the fact that the small Pokemon could use the same powers as his mother was startling.

"So, you said you know of a way out," Silver whispered to the Ralts.

The Ralts once again nodded. "I'll continue to show you the way," he said, motioning for Silver to go.

Silver was confused at his statement. "Continue?" he asked. "I just freed you."

The Ralts smiled a little. "That feeling you had was me leading you. You didn't think it was dumb luck that the human stabbed himself and you came here, did you?" it teased.

Silver decided not to answer and followed the feeling that was now leading him into the hallway. "Follow me, I guess. You have to stay close and walk as though you're allowed out. Otherwise, we'll raise suspicion," Silver whispered. The others
nodded and crept to the door with him.

Silver saw no one outside, so he slipped out and walked down the hallway, following the feeling. He waved his tail for the others to follow. He hoped a large group wouldn't arouse suspicion, but it was too late to think of that. He noticed less humans
and Pokemon traveled these hallways, anyway.

Finally, they turned around a corner and saw the hallway end with a door. It seemed like all of the others, but Silver knew it was the exit by the way the feeling was leading him straight there. He started down the hallway, glad no one was around.
However, part of the way down on the left was a partially open door. He knew if the room held humans or free Pokemon, their cover would be blown, but now that he was sure other captured Pokemon were here, he couldn't just pass it up. He slowed as
he reached it.

"What are you doing?" the Trapinch spoke. It was the first time it had said something and Silver jumped at the unexpected noise.

"There may be other Pokemon in here," Silver explained.

Cyndaquil shook its head. Trapinch spoke again, "We can't go in every room we come by or we'll be caught. We need to go, now."

Silver glared at the Trapinch and Cyndaquil, "If I hadn't gone into your room, you guys would still be caught. Besides, it's just this one room because the door is already open. I don't want to leave any Pokemon I might have been able to save."

The Cyndaquil lowered its head in shame, while Trapinch gave Silver a mutinous look. Guys, stop your arguing. There is only one Pokemon in there, and I don't think it is a bad Pokemon. Silver jumped at the sudden voice in his head. He saw the Cyndaquil
and Trapinch also jump. It's me, the Ralts. I usually speak telepathically, but the band prevented me earlier, as I said.

Silver relaxed. "So, you're sure only one Pokemon is in there?" he asked. With a nod from the Ralts, Silver pushed the door enough to enter and slipped in.

The room surprised Silver greatly. Inside, there was no furniture, except one small counter with a few items and a chair pulled up to it. Silver noticed immediately something even more surprising. The walls were a dark gray. The floor was too, except
a few whitish spots scattered here and there, as though something had been spilt and never cleaned up. What surprised Silver the most, though, was the Pokemon curled up on the floor.

Silver took a second to study the Pokemon. It seemed to have a brown coat with a tail, but there were whitish spots covering it, with a few red marks near the base of the tail and on its back. The tail covered its head, but Silver couldn't see the tail
too clearly. The Pokemon had a chain leading from its neck to a plate on the wall. Silver was horrified that they would chain a Pokemon up like this. He was now slightly glad he had been in a cage instead.

The others came in behind in. The ears of the Pokemon perked out of its tail at the sound of them entering. Its ears seemed to be brown, but both had red spots near the edges. Its head swiveled slightly to see who it was. Its tail still covered it, but
Silver could just barely see two eyes through the fur.

The Pokemon suddenly shot up and ran into the corner closest to it and farthest to them. Silver heard it start to whimper as it cowered in the corner. What had they done to scare this Pokemon so much? From how it was now, Silver could see the tip
of the tail. It was a lighter brown than the fur covering the rest of it. Also, he saw the Pokemon had a mane of the same color. The realization hit him: this was an Eevee!

Silver motioned the others back and started to approach the Eevee slowly. Silver heard the Trapinch mutter something under its breathe, but Silver ignored the grouchy Pokemon. He didn't want to frighten the Eevee too much with a bunch of strange
Pokemon approaching it.

But his approach seemed to fail, as the Eevee pushed itself farther into the corner and started to sob. "W-why can't you P-Pokemon leave m-me alone already?" the Eevee begged quietly.

Silver stopped. This situation was ripping at his heart. How could these people hurt a poor Eevee? The other Pokemon, though he didn't know how long the others had been there, didn't seem to be hurt at all from what Silver could tell. "Wait, shh, be
quiet. I'm not here to hurt you," Silver tried to soothe.

The Eevee seemed to try and squeeze into the corner even more at the sound of his voice. "Yeah, right. Don't try to trick me. I know what you guys want," it hissed with such venom that Silver took a step back. "Oh, oh, don't try to play dumb. I
know what you're here for," it continued. It hissed at Silver, though he could tell it was still on the verge of tears.

"I don't know what you're talking about, honestly. Look, I'm trying to escape and would like to know if you wanted to also," Silver tried to explain.

The Eevee looked at him and a flicker of hope entered its brown eyes, but only a flicker. "I already told you not to try to trick me," it said, trying to keep its bravado going, but Silver knew a little more and it would break out crying.

"Fine, don't escape with us, but at least let us free you," Silver said. The chain seemed to be very strong by the large width of them. Hey Ralts, are you listening to me?

Yeah. Call me PJ. Silver heard him say into his mind.

Okay, can you break these chains? I asked.

One second, Silver heard. A purple glow surrounded the chain about a foot from the Eevee's neck. The Eevee cowered from the section of chain. Silver heard she had broken into soft sobs again. The chain lifted a little, but nothing else. It dropped
back to the floor. It is pretty reinforced steel. Mind attacks are near useless. Even at my high level of psychic power, I am unable to break it, PJ explained.

Silver thought for a second. He could hear Trapinch tapping one of his feet impatiently. Finally, an idea came to mind. "Hey, Cyndaquil, come here," he whispered. The Cyndaquil approached him, but didn't say anything. "Can you heat a section of
the chain to a high temperature?" Silver asked.

The Cyndaquil nodded and shot flames at the chain where Ralts had lifted it. It warmed and started to glow orange. The Eevee cowered even more from the flame near it, but the chain wouldn't stretch any more, even if Eevee wasn't in the corner.
Soon, the Cyndaquil stopped. The chain was left a bright orange from the intense heating.

Okay, PJ- Silver started to think to him, but PJ had already caught on. Once again, the chain was surrounded by a purple glow and it soon snapped. The chains rattled on the floor and Silver panicked at the thought of someone else hearing them.

Don't worry; no one else is near enough to hear, PJ thought to him.

Silver looked at the Eevee once again. It was still cowering in the corner. This time, he approached it completely and leaned down next to it. The Eevee tensed, ducking its head away from him. "Come on, we're friends. You don't even need to stay
with us for long. At the end of this hall is an exit to the outside. Please come, at least to there. You'll be free again, I promise," Silver whispered.

The Eevee relaxed slowly and got up. It still shot suspicious glances at them, though. Silver inwardly sighed with relief that he had been able to convince it to come. He went to the door and glanced at PJ. The coast is clear, he heard.

Silver went into the hallway and headed for the exit. They got there quickly, though he noticed the Eevee lagged behind some. PJ waved his hand at the door and it opened quickly. Another human was outside, this one wearing black. It swiftly turned
around when the door opened and noticed the Pokemon. The guard started to reach toward it belt, but suddenly passed out.

Let's go, before they find the guard, Silver heard in his head. The door closed behind them as they ran toward a large mass of trees nearby, Silver still being guided by the feeling.

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[ryan22424]

- Chapter 3: Direction -

Silver and the Ralts led the others into the group of trees for a while before stopping to rest. Silver sat down, while the Trapinch laid down next to him. It was out of breath and Silver guessed it wasn't used to running. The Cyndaquil sat quietly
nearby, looking at its feet. PJ sat down in front of Silver in a cross legged fashion. He realized the Eevee sat at a distance to everyone.

"Well, I think we should have a proper introduction now that we're out of immediate danger," the Trapinch spoke up, once it had caught its breath. "I'm Ace." He nodded at Silver.

"My name is Silver," Silver said.

You can call me PJ, Silver heard. He must have only told him his name, earlier.

"I-I'm called Flame," the Cyndaquil nervously said.

Silver glanced at the Eevee. Though its ears were pricked as though listening, it was obvious the Eevee wasn't going to tell them its name.

"So, umm . . . does anyone have any ideas on what to do now?" Silver asked. He was slightly embarrassed at having to ask, but he wasn't about to lead anyone with no idea with what to do.

You're to ride my friend over to the mainland, Silver heard PJ think to them all. Before you ask, we're on an island right off the coast. It supposedly has a ready to erupt volcano, but that's a misplaced rumor to keep away curious people. These scientists are
doing experiments that are illegal, or at the very least immoral to most beings. Luckily what they do is all here and hasn't spread yet, so I'll be able to stop them here.

I've been planning this for a long time in order to stop this kind of thing. Don't worry; I'll be able to easily take down this weak humans. I'm much stronger than I appear on the outside. I plan on stopping them soon, but it will take some hours to prepare my
powers and then a few days to get the other captured Pokemon to the mainland and safety with only my one friend to help at the moment.

That's why I'm telling you how to leave now, before all the chaos. There is a beach near here where my friend is waiting. She'll take you over there. She'll be able to carry you all easily. Now follow me, there's no time to stop. I need to start rescuing the other
Pokemon.

"But . . . wait . . . WHAT?" Silver stuttered.

As I said, I've been planning this for a while. I had almost succeeded when I was caught. When they put the band on me, they cancelled the most of my psychic powers. My friend couldn't help because she can't come out of the water long enough. All I needed
was the band off. This is the way I'll repay you: an early way off the island. Come, PJ thought. He headed off through the trees. Silver, Ace, and Flame exchanged glances, but shrugged and headed after PJ. Silver saw the Eevee follow at a distance out
of the corner of his eye.

They soon reached the beach. Silver had never seen the ocean, and he gasped at its beauty as the waves rolled around and against each other. The sun glinted off the water, making it glitter. A smell of salt was in the air as the waves rolled gently
along the coast. The Eevee came up on his right, equally awestruck by it. It probably hadn't noticed how close it was to them.

Here is my friend, PJ said.

A large blue creature came into view from a bend in the coast. It had a large, purple colored, corral like shell on its back. Its underside was a pale yellow. There was a horn on its forehead. Though Silver had never seen one before, he knew it must
have been a Lapras, having heard the amazing tells about them.

The Lapras came up to the beach, dunking its head in greeting. "Hello, everyone; I am Pail. Nice to meet you. PJ has told me, and I will take you all over to the mainland," she said. "Everyone please get on my back."

Silver was the first to react. He put a foot on Pail's back and was glad to note how sturdy and solid her back was. He jumped onto shell and turned around to face the others still on the shore. Ace saw Silver standing easily and jumped on. Cyndaquil
hesitated long at the shore, but finally overcame his fear of water enough to jump on Pail's back. Silver was glad to see the Eevee finally jump on last, though it curled up in the shadow of one of the larger spikes on the shell, as far as it could get
from the others.

Silver turned back to PJ. "Thank you, PJ, for everything. Are you sure you can take them?"

Yes, yes, now go on Pail, PJ said.

"Bye, PJ," Ace called out, as PJ sent us away.

"B-bye, PJ," Flame stuttered out before we were out of hearing range.

Finally, they were out of talking range, but they weren't out of range of PJ's mind. I hope to see you again someday with better circumstances, Silver. Thank you for taking that band off. I'll go rescue all the others. Oh, and one last gift for you: her name is
Eve, Silver heard in his head.

Silver puzzled over what he said even after PJ was out of sight. Suddenly, the realization of what PJ meant hit him. Eve was the Eevee! But how had PJ known? Had she confided in him through her mind? He looked at her, but she was still curled up,
ignoring everyone.

The raft sailed a straight direction and constant speed. No one talked as they sailed over the water. Silver wondered how far Pail would be able to travel with all of them on her back. After a little, he saw something on the horizon in the direction they
were moving.

That must be the mainland, Silver thought. Soon, the silence was really getting to Silver. He was one of those Pokemon that just needed noise. Finally, he thought of something to say, "Is it just me, or is all these events that have happened going by
in a blur."

Ace nodded, "I feel it, too. It's like everything moving faster than normal. As you can tell, I don't do well with fast. But I'm not complaining about this quick change. I'm glad to be free again."

Flame also nodded, though he didn't say anything. As usual, Eve didn't speak up. He wondered why she wouldn't talk, but she probably wouldn't answer any of his questions.

The conversation ended there, and Silver didn't try to start it up again. He kept silent as they approached the mainland. Soon, they could distinguish some of the terrain. They were headed for a strip of beach right in front of a forest. The ground rose
on either side forming cliffs.

Finally, Pail reached the beach and floated right beside it, close enough for everyone to jump out onto land. Flame immediately jumped out and Silver could tell that if they weren't there with him, he would be kissing the ground right now. Ace followed
him, looking much more calm and relaxed with a more reliable ground under him. Giving Eve one last glance at her curled form, Silver jumped out.

The sand gave way slightly underneath him, but it kept his weight. He had been on sand before, but this sand felt much smoother and much, much more comfy than the sand he had ever experienced before. He immediately wanted to curl up right
there and sleep, but he stopped himself.

"Thank you, Pail," Silver said to the Lapras.

"Thanks," Ace echoed, while Flame just nodded.

"You're all welcome," Pail said.

Silver looked back, but Eve didn't seem as though she was coming. He shrugged to the others and started up the gentle slope into the trees. The others followed right behind him. Right before they reached the tree line, though, Silver heard Eve jump
out of the boat. He resisted looking back and continued into the trees.

Fate must have been smiling down on them, for they had only been moving five minutes through the trees before they came upon a cave large enough to camp in that night. It was starting to get dark outside. Between the three of them, they
collected enough berries for a hearty supper. It was really getting dark by the time they were done eating. They went into the cave and slept, each of them having a few feet of space between the other. Silver could've sworn he saw Eve sneaking into
the cave, but he could've been wrong.

(0)

Silver stretched from his sleep, the sunlight shining on him. He got up and looked around groggily. He panicked for a second when he realized that he wasn't in his cave. Then his memories came back and he calmed down.

He looked around again, but saw Eve wasn't there. He must have been wrong then. He saw the others were still asleep. He started thinking of what to do. He wanted to go back to his family, but for one, he didn't know where he was or they were, and
for another, he felt strangely reluctant to leave Ace and Flame behind. When his stomach growled, he headed out and gathered a berry for each of them. When he got back, Flame was already awake and was grooming himself.

"Good morning," Silver said.

Flame looked up at him and nodded, but didn't say anything. Silver put the food in a corner and ate a hearty breakfast. Flame soon joined him. Silver was almost finished when Ace awoke.

"Good morning," Silver said.

Ace stretched each leg and replied, "Good morning."

When Silver finished eating, he tried to think of something to start a conversation. Finally, something came to him, and, seeing Flame was finished, he asked him, "So how were you captured, Flame?"

Flame seemed slightly surprised that Silver had asked him, but quickly hid it. "Well I was a trainer's Pokemon. We lived over by a desert near a cave formation where I was born. One day, I was coming out of the cave ahead of my trainer when a net fell on me. Then I woke up in that strange place. I was there about a week when you came. They did some tests on me like running on a treadmill and taking blood samples."

Silver nodded, but then all their attention was drawn to a new sound. In the direction of the beach, a sudden loud explosion sounded. Silver saw the sky light up a little. Soon, smoke started to rise into the air. Several flying type Pokemon flew away
from the island.

"I guess PJ wasn't kidding," Silver said.

Flame nodded in agreement. He went back to grooming himself.

Wanting to take the attention off the island, Silver turned to Ace, "So how did you get captured?"

Ace paused, half of his berry left in front of him. "I was a wild Pokemon, a loner who didn't care about anyone else. I was walking through the forest, recently beating another trainer who wanted to catch me, when I saw something shiny out of the
corner of my eye. I walked over to it and found a flattened area with something in the middle. I touched it and a net fell on me. I had been at the island for two and a half weeks when we escaped. They pretty much did the same tests on me, except, recently they . . . they tried to get me to mate, though I didn't."

Silver put a paw on his back to comfort him, but he shrugged it off. "I was a wild Pokemon. I was playing around near my home when I found a flattened spot like you described. I touched it, was caught, and I think that was my first day there. They
took my blood once, but that was all before I escaped."

Ace finished his berry and they sat there with nothing to do. What was there to do? None of them knew where to go. Finally an idea struck Silver.

"Hey Flame, I'll help you get back to your trainer, if you want," he said.

Flame looked at him, startled. "You want to help me? Why?"

"Well why not? I have nowhere to go and nothing to do. I may want to go back to my family, but I don't know where I am or where they are. So, I want to help you," Silver stated.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you!" Flame said enthusiastically. Silver was surprised to see that much emotion from Flame, but didn't comment.

"I'll join in, too. You two probably don't have any sense of direction. You'll also need someone with experience and who can keep your imaginations from going wild. You two will probably be trying all kinds of impossible stunts," Ace said.

Silver held back a laugh when he heard Ace's excuse to come. He knew Ace didn't mean it like that. He took a breath as the three of them walked to the entrance of the cave. They were on their way.

[Previous]
[Next]

[MrHeartGold]

This is a really good story Ryan keep it up!

[ryan22424]

This is a really good story Ryan keep it up!

Thank you!

[ryan22424]

- Chapter 4: Events -

Silver followed behind Ace and beside Flame. Ace had decided to lead them, saying he had a sixth sense for traveling or something. Flame had tried to describe everything near where he had lived, but Silver thought it was depressingly little to go on.
Ace, however, said he should be able to lead them there. Silver couldn't complain as he didn't have any idea of where to go. At least they were moving.

They were still in the forest area. It seemed to never end as they walked. At least they hadn't met any wild Pokemon seeking a fight yet. They had met two Rattata, but the two had run when they saw them.

They came upon a small pond and they gratefully drank their fill. They decided to rest there and headed out to find berries. They split up to try and cover more ground. Light followed his nose and quickly found a berry bush. He collected enough for
him and a few more in case the others were unsuccessful.

When he got back to the pond, their meeting place, he saw Eve taking a drink of the pond. Silver didn't question her and found a flat place to lie down and put the berries. He was about to take a bite of his first berry when he heard Eve gasp. Silver
barely held back a laugh.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Eve slowly backing away, her hackles raised, as she tried to slip out of the clearing. She kept her eyes wearily on him, watching for any moves. She glanced to his side, and he realized that she was looking at the
berries. He saw the hunger in her eyes, but she kept silent and continued backing away. She paused once again at the edge of the small clearing the pond was in and stared at the berries.

Feeling sorry for her, Silver flicked a berry over to her with his tail. She froze for a second as it rolled over to her. She saw it was a berry and sniffed it warily, though Silver could tell how hungry she was. To let her know they were good, Silver took an
obvious bite out of his. She hesitated another second and then leant down to take a bite.

Suddenly, Silver heard rustling and realized one of the others were coming back. Eve darted a glance toward the noise. She picked the berry up and ran out of the clearing. Silver shrugged and went back to his food.

Ace entered the clearing, a large Oran berry in his mouth. He sat down without a word and started to eat. He must not have seen Eve leaving the clearing.

Flame soon came back with his arms holding a few berries. Silver nodded as he appeared and they finished their meal. They took another drink and started off again, as it was only sunhigh. Silver purposefully held back a little and put a berry in the
middle of the clearing, obviously seen by anyone nearby.

He trotted off and caught up with the others before the others expected anything. They headed along for a while. Ace occasionally looked back and frowned, but continued on. Silver looked back a few times when Ace did, but he didn't see anything.

They came upon a small clearing where the trees intertwined above, making a decent shelter. They searched for a few more berries and ate a good supper. They laid down on the soft grass. Silver hoped the following days wouldn't be as uneventful as
today.

(0)

They headed off the next day. Silver didn't see any change in the area. All that was around was trees and undergrowth, nothing like sand, rock, and caves. But Ace was still determined that he knew where to go.

Ace was too busy trying to lead them to talk. Silver tried conversation with Flame, but it usually ended quickly. Silver was starting to get bored. He wished his sister was here. At least she openly talked when not copying their Mum most of the time.

It was almost sunhigh when it happened. They were still plodding through the forest, when they saw an apple tree. The apples looked wonderful and delicious. While he had never tried an apple, Silver still heard his stomach growling at the sight of
them.

"Well, it sounds like someone's hungry. I could do with an apple or two myself. How about you?" Ace asked Flame.

Flame nodded, his eyes gleaming as they looked at the apples.

"Good, well now we have to find a way to get them down. None of my moves will do it," Ace said.

"I could try to climb the tree," Silver volunteered. He ran up to the tree and jumped at it. He tried to get a grip, but the bark was extremely smooth for some reason and he fell to the ground. If only he had claws to help him climb.

"So, any other great ideas?" Ace teased Silver.

"I-I could get some," Flame said.

Silver turned to him in amazement. He had actually spoken without being spoken to. They were finally getting through that shyness. Ace shrugged while Silver nodded, still slightly stunned at Flame.

Flame charged up an Ember and shot it at the tree. He was aiming for the end of a branch to burn it off. However, a Beedrill moved in the way right before it hit. The attack instantly roasted the bug Pokemon.

"Quick, RUN!" Ace shouted, starting to run into the woods. Flame and Silver exchanged confused glances. The Beedrill was definitely defeated and wouldn't be able to hurt them now.

Then the Beedrill gave out a keening cry. Instantly, the forest was filled with the droning of wings. Silver and Flame looked around to see Beedrill everywhere, ready to attack. Ace's advice started to make sense.

Flame and Silver dashed after Ace. They followed his frantic trail, trying to avoid the Beedrill. Soon, they came upon a large boulder. A small hole on one side led somewhere. Seeing Ace's trail went in there, Flame and Silver squeezed inside.

Silver was surprised to see that the boulder was hollow on the inside. It made the boulder the perfect hiding place for them. Ace was lying on the ground, panting for his exertion. The Beedrill rammed themselves against the boulder, seeking
entrance.

Eventually, the Beedrill started to give up and move away. They waited for five minutes after the last of the sound of the wings, before even peering outside. Seeing the Beedrill were really gone, they all came out into the sunlight.

Ace had escaped the Beedrill completely, while Flame had been struck three times and Silver twice. Flame and Silver sat down to lick their stinging wounds.

"Maybe next time you'll listen to my warnings," Ace said.

Silver and Flame didn't respond. Soon, they were heading along their way again. This time, there was even less conversation than before.

Soon, Ace started looking back every now and then. Finally, Ace stopped completely. "It seems we're being followed," he whispered to Silver and Ace.

Silver sneaked a peek back, but couldn't see anything. Flame started to fidget nervously.

"Silver, why don't you try to talk to it? If it was aggressive, it would have already attacked. Besides, you always want to talk," Ace said.

Silver ignored the insult and nodded. He went into the trees to their left and started in a semi-circle to come up behind the creature. He made sure not to snap a twig on step on a dead leaf in order to stay hidden. He made his way around and then
started toward Ace and Flame again.

Soon, Silver saw it, or rather her. Eve was looking through the trees at Flame and Ace. Silver was disheartened to see her in the same state as she was in the lab back at the island. Her fur was still matted and had the stains on it. She also had the
band of the chain around her neck, a horrible reminder of the past.

"Hello," Silver said.

Eve jumped around, startled. She looked around for a way away, but she was stuck between the three of them. Turning to aggression, she raised her hackles and bared her teeth, though her state deteriorated the effect.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I just wanted to talk," Silver explained.

Eve gave him a doubtful glance before relaxing some, though her hackles still stayed raised. "W-what do you want?" Eve asked quietly.

"Well the others wanted to know who was following us and why," Silver said. "And now I know who is following us. Would you like to explain?"

Eve looked away and didn't say anything. Her paw scraped the ground nervously as a silence prevailed between them.

Seeing she wasn't going to explain, Silver just said, "Well, I'll go back to the others then."

She backed away from him some as he passed her, still watching him cautiously. He wished she would trust him, but he knew he couldn't force trust. He let a sigh out. He reached the others again.

"So, who is it?" Ace asked.

"Oh, it's that Eevee from the island lab thingy," Silver said.

"Well, it better not try anything," Ace said.

Silver followed after Ace as they headed on through the forest. Soon, the sun started to set and they looked around for a place to stay for the night. It was starting to get dark, when they finally decided to stay at the roots of a large tree.

They started to search for berries again. Silver quickly found a berry bush, but ignored it and continued. Soon, he found what he was looking for: an Oran berry bush. He knew Oran berries had healing properties.

He searched for a large leaf and pulled it over to the bush. He tied the stem of the leaf to the pointed end. Once done, he put several berries on it and slipped his neck through the improvised basket. It hung gently against his chest, but didn't hinder
him too much. He could still keep up with their walking pace.

He grabbed enough berries for supper and made his way to the tree. Flame and Ace were already back.

"What's that?" Ace asked.

Silver put down his berries and answered, "It's a basket so that we'll have Oran berries in case someone gets hurt."

Ace shrugged and went back to his supper. Silver ate his own supper. By the time he was done, Ace and Flame were already getting ready to sleep. He laid down next to them and waited. Soon, he heard both of them softly snoring.

Silver got back up and took one of the Oran berries. He headed back the way they had come and soon found Eve, already sleeping between the roots of a tree. Silver dropped the Oran berry by it and went back to his tree. He fell asleep quickly, this
time hoping tomorrow wouldn't be as eventful today. He could do with a rest.

(0)

Silver got up and stretched. Flame was up and nodded, before continuing to groom himself. "Would you like to help me gather a few berries for breakfast?" Silver asked.

"Sure," Flame said.

They headed out and gathered the food quickly. Silver actually got Flame to join in a normal conversation. Flame was actually very talkative once you got past the shyness. As they returned, they saw Ace waiting. They ate quickly and headed out.

They headed in the same way as before. Silver stayed slightly behind Ace and Flame. He looked back repeatedly to see if Eve was still following them. He caught sight of her a few times, though she quickly dunked away into the nearby undergrowth.

Soon, a new noise could be heard. They came out of a stand of trees and saw Silver's first sight of a bustling city. Silver looked around in amazement at the large buildings that seemed to stretch endlessly, though he thought he could see the green
of trees on the other side far on the horizon. Ace and Flame looked calm and he realized that they had probably would have already have seen cities before, if not this very one.

"Do either of you recognize this city?" Silver asked hopefully.

Flame shook his head and Ace said, "No, but I still sure we're on the right path. Now let's go and face what comes at us."

Silver got behind them as they headed for the city. He looked back and saw Eve was hanging back, not wanting to go close to the city. Silver hoped that she would come with them, though he did not know why.

[Previous]
[Next]

[ryan22424]

- Chapter 5: Suburban Wars, Part 1 -

Silver followed Ace and Flame right up to the city. Right before entering, Silver stopped him. "Wait, wouldn't it be easier to go around the city?" Silver asked. He was mostly thinking of Eve, who could still follow them if they went around, though he
was a little hesitant of entering the city himself.

Ace shook his head, "No, cities don't have a lot of problems unless you attack something. Trainers are here and will fight back, but they mostly will ignore you, thinking you're someone else's Pokemon outside its Pokeball. It should be easy to get
through quickly, saving a lot of time."

Silver couldn't argue his points. He nodded his head, not showing any outward emotion, but he wanted nothing more than argue until Ace gave up. But knowing Ace even for a little, Silver knew he probably had enough reasons to defeat anyone and
then some. And once Ace had made up his head, little of it could change, if any.

Where they were, there wasn't a formal entrance into the city, but there was a damp alleyway. They headed down it, making sure not to step on the few items scattered here and there. Silver didn't like the straight, stone walls blocking him in on two
sides. The straight angles and grayness just didn't seem natural and Silver found himself almost shaking. Besides, it felt way too easy to trap someone in the alleyway with only the two exits.

He was instantly proved right. Suddenly, three dark shapes appeared in front of them, blocking off their progress. They were slightly larger than himself, but as Silver looked at them, they seemed to be more menacing than normal. Their pelts had
only different shades of black, their long black tails spiking out behind them in a sign of aggression. Each of them had menacing teeth showing in their snarl with yellow and red piercing eyes. Silver recognized them as Poochyena.

Silver took a glance behind and realized that four Pokemon blocked their way back out of the city. Two were bird like Pokemon smaller than him, but both looked powerful. Another was blue with no eyes, but had somehow landed on the ground without
enough noise to warn them earlier. It had a large mouth with large gleaming teeth to match, sending small shivers down his back. However, this one also seemed to be slightly tired as it was normally nocturnal. The last one was like the first two, but
much larger. It had decorative feathers growing from its head, though a few were missing. Silver recognized the common forest Pokemon as two Pidgey, a Zubat, and a Pidgeotto.

Silver knew that there were only two options left for them: fight and run when given the chance, or give in and hope they don't want to simply kill them. Studying the Pokemon, Silver realized all of them were fighters. Each of them had several scars,
and each of them looked like they do with some extra sleep. Every one of their gazes was hard and cold as they stared them down. These were not merciful Pokemon. If it did turn into a fight, they wouldn't be getting away without injuries. Silver was
glad for his leaf of Oran berries now, even if it would hinder him in a fight a little.

Silver saw Ace seemed calm on the outside as he stared the other Pokemon down, just like what Silver would expect. Flame, however, surprised him. He had expected Flame to be intimidated by the opponents, but it was a completely different
reaction Silver saw. Flame's back was glowing, giving off a strong heat. His small hands were drawn into fists and his whole demeanor said to get back. Flame was actually enjoying the chance of a battle. This new ferocious Flame was actually
starting to scare Silver.

While Silver wanted to help the Cyndaquil, who was facing the flying type Pokemon, Ace wouldn't be able to keep up with the Poochyena. Besides, Flame looked like anything that got in his way was going down, and Silver didn't want to accidently get
burned by his attacks. Silver turned and faced the Poochyena with Ace, trusting Flame to watch their backs.

They waited in tense silence. The Pokemon on either side were not moving toward them, but they still kept up the aggressive stances. Silver was about to suggest they charge out through the flying Pokemon, escaping before they took flight, but
something finally happened. The Poochyena silently moved to either side of the alleyway, leaving a gap. Silver soon saw why. A large dark colored Pokemon stepped into view, its size making up for the gap the Poochyena had left. It looked slightly
like the Poochyena, but it made their attempts at aggression look pathetic. He was the most frightening thing Silver had seen in his life. And yet, it wasn't even in an aggressive stance. In fact, the Pokemon, a Mightyena, seemed completely calm.
Silver definitely didn't want to see this Pokemon become mad. Silver glanced at Ace and was surprised to see Ace was still his normal calm self and still holding his aggressive stance.

The Pokemon slowly walked up to them. It stopped in front of them and started to stare at them. Silver almost shook as he watched the powerful Pokemon study them. After a moment, it finally spoke in a gruff voice, "They'll do."

Silver didn't know why the courage came, but he managed to ask, "We'll do what?"

"See, courage to match their stubbornness, they'll fit in with us well. Come, I'll explain as we go," the Mightyena said, turning around.

Silver didn't want to go anywhere with it, but the Pokemon was one you didn't want to disobey without a powerful advantage, especially when it had all these comrades around it. He walked along beside Ace, Flame bringing up the rear. Each
Poochyena took a spot to the left, right, and behind them, effectively surrounding them. The flying Pokemon took flight and perched on top of one of the buildings. Silver inwardly sighed. They had just gotten free just a little bit ago.

The Mightyena didn't look back as he started talking. "I'll begin. Recently, a war between Pokemon has started in the city. All the wild Pokemon that live in the city are now fighting for one of two fractions, one led by me, Mark, and one led by an
Arcanine called Dereck. Each side was pretty much equal, so we're enlisting more Pokemon, namely every Pokemon not captured in the city. The humans do not care about what happens, as long as they don't see it, and it doesn't involve them. We
saw you come from the forest, so you're not with a human. Now, I'm letting you join."

"What if we don't want to join?" Ace asked boldly. Silver wanted to slap him right then for asking such a dangerous question.

"You've got more courage than most asking that, which makes you valuable partners. The answer to your question is if you don't join, then you're not on our side, which means you're an enemy. That's a bad situation for an enemy to be in the heart
of our territory," Mark answered, letting their imagination work the rest out.

Ace had enough sense to keep quiet this time, to the relief of Silver. Mark led them down twisting alleys and soon, Silver was completely lost. He had hoped to remember a way out, but there was no chance of that with all the twists and turns.

Finally, they stopped at what appeared to be a meeting place. About thirty Pokemon were sitting, or perching in the bird Pokemon's case, around a large box in the center. The area was just large enough for everyone to sit around without brushing
pelts.

"We're about to have a meeting. Sit down anywhere you like, but first," Mark said, lowering his head to Silver. Silver closed his eyes, afraid of what Mark would do. He opened them when he felt a weight lift off of him. He saw Mark throwing his Oran
berry sling to a Poochyena. "Those are our provisions now," he said, leaving them. He headed straight for the box that was in the middle. He leapt onto it and faced the crowd. Silver was amazed the old box could hold the large Pokemon's weight.

Seeing the only exits were blocked off, they sat at the edge of the crowd. The Pokemon shifted restlessly around them as they waited for Mark to start. Silver kept looking back over at his Oran berry sling, but it was being sorted away with a few
other supplies.

Silver's attention went back to Mark as he began. "As you all know, Dereck has been pushing at the lines, trying to gain the advantage. As you make your rounds, make sure not to let them think we'll be pushed back. The final battle will be coming
soon; I can feel it. Get ready, for soon we will win!" he finished. The Pokemon around him started cheering as he jumped off the box and pushed his way through to the exit opposite the one Silver had come in.

The Pokemon got up and started to trail off into certain exits. Silver, Ace, and Flame simply stayed where they were, unsure of what to do. Silver was just to suggest trying to get away, when a red Pokemon walked up. Silver knew it was a Vulpix by
its six tails and signature head fur.

"I'm guessing you guys are new," it stated as it came up.

Silver nodded at its question.

The Vulpix glanced around and then said, "I'll show you where you'll be resting."

Silver was unsure of following anyone, but he could do with some rest, especially if they would be stuck here long. The Pokemon here didn't seem to get much sleep at all. The Vulpix started away and took them into another alleyway. This one
branched off several times, but each one had a dead end with one or two Pokemon lying down.

Finally, they arrived at a wall, the last two branching sections to their left and right. Both of them were empty. The Vulpix turned right and they followed it to the end. Silver soon saw why these were empty. There was some king of large green and
black box taking up half of the pathway, near the end. There were bits and pieces of broken glass everywhere that Silver was careful to not step on.

At the end of the alley was a high wall that, even with its many paw holds, would be almost impossible to climb. The ground was hard underpaw, making Silver think they would get no rest. The Vulpix nodded toward the wall and said, "This is where
you'll be staying." And with that, it turned to leave.

"Wait," Ace said, making her stop. "Will you tell us what's going on here?"

The Vulpix glanced around before nodding and coming back. It sat down on the ground and the others followed suit. As Silver thought, the ground was way too uncomfortable to be able to rest on. "Why did you come here?" the Vulpix asked.

"We were forced here," Ace said angrily.

The Vulpix paused a little before quietly asking, "Can I trust you?"

Silver was a little surprised at the question. "We don't even know your name," he pointed out.

"Can I trust you?" she repeated quietly.

Silver exchanged glances with the others, but figured they had nothing to lose. They nodded together.

"I'm Sara," she introduced. "What's happening here is a battle between two Pokemon that are fighting for various reasons. Most Pokemon, at least under Mark, think it is to rule over the city Pokemon. Some think that the true reason is because
they just like to fight. However, few, besides the Pokemon under Dereck, know that the real reason is that their fighting over a female. Mark took in a mate, but left her to try to survive on her own when she became pregnant. Dereck found her and
took pity. He took her in and cared for her. Soon enough, they became mates.

"Mark then wanted her back, but she refused. He took the refusal badly and is now trying to get revenge by attacking Dereck. However, Dereck was highly respected and several Pokemon stood up for him. When Dereck started to draft Pokemon from
the city, Pokemon went to Dereck both to help and get protection. Now, Mark and Dereck battle constantly.

"Soon, though, they'll be starting what they're calling the 'last battle.' Mark is going to take all his available Pokemon and charge at Dereck, trying to finish it. He actually thinks he defeat Dereck that way," she said, snorting at that point.

Silver and the others were silent all the way through, but Silver spoke up at the end of her explanation. "Why is that? Won't Mark surprise Dereck, giving him the advantage?" he asked.

"Ah, but he won't have the advantage of surprise," she said, grinning.

"Which confirms that you are a spy," Ace said simply.

Silver looked at him, surprised, before looking back at Sara. "Yes, I am," she said.

"Could you help us get out of here?" Silver asked hopefully.

Sara shook her head sadly. "I can't for they guard new members too closely. However, you won't have to wait too long before they do that last battle. I'll make sure to tell them about you. All you need to do is not attack Dereck's members and they
won't attack you. That's the most I can do for you," she said.

She was about to turn to leave, when Ace asked, "Why are you battling?"

She paused a moment, surprised, before saying, "Personal reasons." She quickly left, obviously not wanting to answer any more questions like that.

There was silence for a little while they just sat there on the hard, rocky ground. Finally, Silver asked the one question they all had. "What do we do now?"

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- Chapter 6: Suburban Wars, Part 2 -

Silver and the others had a hard day as they were forced to stay in their small alley. It wasn't long before the alley across from them got occupants, though they didn't speak to each other. They tried to lay and rest, but the ground just didn't allow
them to. Also, they weren't fed the entire time, making Silver rather hungry.

Silver tried to pass some time watching the sky, but an almost transparent cloud seemed to cover the sky, blocking out the real colors of the sky and sun. Also, there was a reek that lingered on the place and made Silver wonder how these Pokemon
lived here. Eventually, the sun was going down, the beautiful sunset blocked both by the strange cloud and the buildings.

Flame went and curled up in one of the corners of the alley, seeming to not notice the hard ground. Ace simply laid on the ground, not caring about the ground since he was a Ground type Pokemon. If it wasn't for the stones in the ground, Ace would
have been able to use Dig to get them away. However, it appeared they would be staying for at least this night.

Silver inwardly winced as he curled down on the ground, the stones poking into his side. There was nothing else to lie on unless he wanted to get on the box that reeked or the glass. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but sleep was long in
coming. He was awake for hours, trying to sleep. Several Flying type Pokemon kept passing overhead in the middle of the night, but Silver still concentrated on sleeping. Eventually, his body was too tired to stay awake and finally fell asleep.

(0)

Silver woke up stiff and uncomfortable. The sun seemed dull overhead as he slowly got up. He looked around and saw that Flame and Ace were already awake and just sitting there. Silver wondered what would happen to them today.

Silver's stomach took that moment to complain about its status. Silver sighed as he sat down next to Ace and Flame, the ground not affecting him as much now that he had managed to sleep on it. They stayed there, mostly silent as they waited for
something to happen. Silver wasn't sure whether he wanted something to happen or not.

Finally, a Poochyena came around the corner and approached them. "Hey, you three," it started, "It's time to test you. Come with me."

Silver didn't know what test it was talking about, but he reluctantly followed it anyway. Ace and Flame walked along beside him as they went back down the alley they had come down before. Soon, they were back in the small clearing where Mark had
talked to all the Pokemon before. Mark was there, along with a few milling about Pokemon.

"It's the three newbies," Mark greeted, the grin scaring Silver more than his clam expression. "Now it's time to test to see if you're really any good," he said.

"Test?" Ace asked.

"It's basically the initiative for all the-" Mark started. However, he was interrupted as a heavily breathing Pidgey landed next to him. The Pidgey was gasping for air and yet trying to talk to Mark at the same moment. "Just say what you have to
say," Mark demanded.

The Pidgey took a large breath and managed to say, "Dereck is advancing."

"So, he's finally trying to push us out? Well it won't happen. It's time for the battle. Get everyone ready. We all march soon," Mark ordered. Several Poochyena stopped what they were doing and shot away to follow his orders. Mark turned to Silver
and the others. "I guess the battle will be your test. You better fight well, because if you don't, I won't go easy on you when we win," he warned.

Pokemon started to pile in and Silver, Ace, and Flame were pushed forward to right in front of the box. Soon, the whole clearing area was full, even with all the flying Pokemon perched on the roofs. Silver looked around amazed that so many Pokemon
followed Mark after what Sara had said.

"The time has come for the battle we've all been preparing for. Now, with our group stronger than ever, we'll crush the enemy!" Mark started. The Pokemon watching him cheered. "They won't stand a chance as we surprise and overwhelm them. Let's
go and defeat the enemy once and for all. Move!"

Mark jumped down and led the way out of the area. Everyone followed, though no one tried to pass him. Silver, Ace, and Flame reluctantly followed them out rather than get trampled by all the Pokemon around them. Mark led them out into more
alleys, filled with stinking items and bits and pieces of broken stuff. Silver was definitely lost after the first few alleys with all the twists and turns they took. The ground bruised Silver's pads as he walked. Soon, he was leaving small droplets of blood
behind as they went. Maybe they could follow that out later.

After about half an hour's walk through the confusing alleyway labyrinth, they arrived at a large clearing, much bigger than the meeting place for Mark's Pokemon. Another exit on the opposite side was soon filled with more Pokemon.

These Pokemon were led by a large red Pokemon that stood proudly with its black stripes and chest. It was an Arcanine, who looked as powerful as Mark, but seemed more . . . gentle. That was the only way Silver could put it. If he really had to
choose a side, he would have chosen Dereck's side. He looked like a much better Pokemon. The admiring glances from the other Pokemon proved his point. He was glad to see that Sara was over in the crowd of Dereck's Pokemon, meaning she had
told him in time.

Mark stepped forward into the area, as did Dereck. Mark started off in a loud voice, letting it carry with the wind, "This is your last chance Dereck. Either give up, or I'll make you."

"Never," was Dereck's calm reply. He didn't even raise his voice, but Silver was sure everyone had heard him.

Mark leapt at Dereck, howling, and everything became chaos. The bird Pokemon flew off their perches on the building and started an aerial battle, while the land Pokemon of each side flooded into the clearing. The Pokemon leapt at one another,
going for deadly wounds.

When they were jostled into the clearing, Silver pulled Flame and Ace into a corner. He had come up with a plan when he saw what was going to happen and whispered quickly, "Now, we'll stay here and defend. Ace, you look for a way out, while Flame
and I cover you. No Pokemon gets through, Flame, got it?"

Flame and Ace nodded. Flame turned with Silver and watched for Pokemon coming at them. Flame returned to his battle ready stance. Ace got onto some large, gleaming, silver can in the corner, albeit with some difficulty, and started to search the
area.

Flame's back suddenly shot into flame as he opened his mouth. A torrent of flames came out and hit a Persian that jumped toward them. The Persian was scorched and ran, crying out in pain. Flame's back went back to having no flames, but it still
was emitting heat and Silver realized that was so his flames would start faster. Clever, Silver thought.

Silver jumped to the side as a Shadow Ball came by. It exploded nearby and shook the can Ace was on, but didn't knock it over, luckily. Silver looked around and saw that no one was targeting them. The attack must have been a dodged attack.

Silver and Flame stayed tense and alert as they waited. They were only targeted once more. The rest of the time they were blocking random attacks. Neither side seemed to be giving at all. In fact, it seemed there were more Pokemon than before.
They needed to get away soon.

Silver almost fainted with relief when Ace said, "I found one." Ace jumped down and joined them. Ace slowly led them along the wall until they came to a small crack that Silver wouldn't have seen if Ace hadn't pointed it out. Luckily, it was big
enough for Ace, who was the largest of them with his head.

"Flame, stay with me while Ace goes through first. I'll need your help to fend off the Pokemon," Silver said. Ace quickly made his way down the hole, going slowly as not to get stuck or hurt himself.

Silver covered the sight of Ace escaping with his body. He looked the nearby fighters over, watching for anyone to make a move on them. Flame had to keep his flame attacks constant as several more dodged attacks came at them at this angle.

Silver's attention on the crowd stopped as his gaze rested on one individual that he actually recognized; Eve. She was crouching against the opposite the wall, but the fighting Pokemon seemed to separate and allow him to see her for a second. She
was cowering in fright under Mark's shadow. Mark started to approach her. Then, the fighting Pokemon got in the way and Silver could see no more.

"Stay here," Silver quickly said, not thinking. All that was on his mind was the Eevee at the moment.

Flame gave him a confused expression, but it was ignored as Silver jumped through the fighting Pokemon. If it was frightening watching the battle, it was terrifying to be under the battle as Silver darted under the legs of the larger Pokemon and
around the smaller Pokemon, but he continued. He had to jump over a few bodies on the ground and Silver almost gaged at the sight. One Pokemon nearly collapsed on top of him, blood leaking from a wound. His paws were really starting to ache
from all the dodging and weaving he was doing.

Finally, after what seemed like hours in the mad chaos, Silver reached the other wall of the clearing. Mark was standing near Eve. He seemed to very slowly approach the Eevee, enjoying the terror it was causing. Silver knew there was no way he
could defeat the Mightyena in a fight of any kind.

Then, a saying that he was sure he had never heard before came to mind: If you can't beat them, join them. It didn't even seem like his mind that was remembering it, but Silver didn't linger on it. He took the saying to heart and came up with a plan.

Silver ran up to Mark, who was between him and Eve, and started to growl, though at Eve instead of Mark. Mark turned at the sound, ready to attack, but recognized the Eevee and grinned. "Well, well, I knew you would be a good addition. Here, this
one's yours if you want it so much," Mark said manically. He laughed at the end.

However, Mark didn't leave, but watched for what Silver would do. Eve stared at him with recognition and, what almost broke Silver's heart, betrayal. Knowing he would have to use his complete plan, Silver continued. Since Mark was on his right, he
winked at Eve with his left eye, hoping she would catch on.

Silver leapt at Eve and pinned her down, which was easy as she didn't struggle much. He reached down and put his mouth where her throat was and bit down. However, with the mane around her neck and the steel collar, he was able to make it easily
look like he had done a death blow without hurting her at all. As his teeth met the steel collar, he felt one tooth go partially in an indent in the middle. At the moment though, all he thought about was if he had convinced Mark.

The Mightyena chuckled evilly and turned back to the battle, attacking the first opponent who came by. As soon as his back was turned, Silver got off Eve. However, as soon as she was free, her back feet came up and hit him in the stomach. Winded,
Silver fell to the ground.

A paw rolled him over and Eve pinned him down. The look in her eyes was frightening Silver so much, he felt tears coming to his eyes. Eve stopped, confused, as she saw Silver's expression.

As she paused, Silver took his chance and started, "Wait, I know a way to escape. Let me up."

Eve hesitated and finally let him up. Silver got up and motioned for her to follow him. He charged around the fighters, making sure Eve was following him. Soon, they were back at the crack. Flame was still there, though he was looking tired.

Silver nodded as he got close. Flame was about to attack the Eevee behind Silver, when Silver stopped him, "Wait, she's coming with us. Let her through."

Flame hesitated, but moved. Silver motioned to the wall and Eve hesitantly slipped through. Once she was in completely, Silver motioned for Flame to go in first and followed in after him. The hole ended up being a tunnel to the other side of the
building, luckily right by the outskirts of the city.

As Silver came out of the tunnel, he saw Eve struggling under Ace, who was trying to get her with a good attack. "Wait! Don't hurt her!" Silver shouted, darting over to them.

Ace paused at his comrade's request, allowing Eve to shove him off. Eve glanced at Silver for a second, before charging out into the forest. Silver went over to Ace and tried to help him up, though he pushed his help away. "Why did you do that? I
almost had her pinned," he demanded.

Silver blinked at Ace's anger, surprised at the outburst. "I got her away from the battle. She wasn't the enemy. There was no reason to attack her," Silver reasoned.

Flame backed up a couple steps, not wanting to join in the fight.

"So what are you, her guardian angel or something? She chose to follow us, but not join us. You almost got us captured trying to help another Pokemon. What were you thinking?" Ace said, almost shouting.

"I was thinking that she was in trouble and that I could help her. What does it matter if I got caught? Flame could easily have went through the tunnel and escaped with you. I risked my life not yours. I was doing what I thought was best," Silver
retorted, his temper flaring up.

Ace simply turned away, his anger seeming to roll off him in heat. Flame looked between the two Pokemon, unsure of what to do. Finally, not knowing what else to do, Flame sat down and waited.

After a while, Ace finally turned back to Silver, "Fine, risk your life however you want, but don't count my life with it. Now, let's go before we're caught all over again."

They headed off into the forest, Ace in front, then Flame, and then Silver. The sound of battle could still be heard from the city as Pokemon cried out their battle cries.

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Hey, I'm in need of rare candies! In light of that, a few of them would be most appreciated.

- Chapter 7: Trust -

Silver tried thinking of a way to cool things off between him and Ace, but only one idea came to mind: apologizing for saving Eve. That was one thing he wouldn't do. After saving Ace, he had expected some kindness from the Trapinch. However it
was the opposite.

Besides, Silver thought, He chose to come with us. If he doesn't like it, then he can leave as far as I'm concerned.

But Silver knew that was unfair, as was this fight. Flame seemed torn in half with who to support or talk to. In fact, the Cyndaquil seemed to try and avoid them, else the other get mad. Silver wanted to tell him that he didn't care if Flame talked to
Ace, but he didn't know what Ace's reaction would be.

Silver sighed. He thought he had understood the two Pokemon, but it seemed it he didn't, not even close. Now he didn't even have anyone to talk to. He didn't even know if Eve was following them anymore. He looked back several times, but he didn't
even catch a single glance of the Eevee. For some reason, that seemed to hurt him the most, though he didn't know why.

They continued until night, where they arrived at a large oak tree. The space between two roots was enough for all of them to fit and then some. They split up, looking for berries. Something told Silver that they wouldn't be gathering for each other
tonight.

Silver found a berry bush right on the other side of the tree. He was about to shout to the others about his discovery, when he remembered the fight between them. Silver felt even more alone as he picked the bush by himself. He grabbed a few
berries and ate quickly, having nothing else to do.

He didn't even notice what berries they were until he tasted them. He looked down and confirmed his guess by the sweet, rich flavor; Pecha berries, berries that were extremely sweet and good for a poisoned Pokemon. He finished what berries he
had grabbed and sat in silence for a little.

Then, he couldn't stand the silence anymore and decided to look for Eve. He grabbed a few berries and started back the way they had come. Not wanting to force anything, he walked in the open. He soon heard the rustling of a fern and looked over. A
fern was slightly moving in between the roots of a tree. What made him suspicious though, was the fact that there was no wind at the moment.

He sat down in the open and put the berries beside him. He sniffed the air and confirmed that it was Eve that was hiding. He waited a little, and then finally said, "I know you're there."

Eve stepped out of the bush slowly, still looking the same as before. She stayed standing, waiting for him to start.

"Here, I brought these for you," Silver said, nosing the berries to her.

"Why?" she asked cautiously.

"Because I thought you would like them. Also, I wanted some conversation," Silver said.

"What about your two friends, the Trapinch and the Cyndaquil?" she asked, not making a single move toward the berries.

Silver looked away from her intense gaze. "We're in a small fight right now, while the other's trying not to get in it."

"Why?"

"Because whe-" Silver started, looking back at her.

"Not that. Why did you help me?" she asked.

"Because you needed it," Silver answered simply.

She gazed into his eyes for a little and finally snorted. She bent down and sniffed the large, pink berries.

"They're Pecha berries. They're sweet and help with poisonous ailments," Silver informed her.

She sniffed them again and finally started to nibble on one. After a while, she started to eat with normal bites. She made quick work of the berries after that. As she ate, the chain around her neck made a soft clicking sound.

Silver hated to see the horrible steel collar around her neck. While she ate, he tried to think of a way to get it off. He hadn't come up with anything by the time she was done. "Would you like more? I could go get some more," he said.

"No . . . I'm good," she said, though Silver wasn't entirely convinced. She still looked extremely thin to him. "Shouldn't you be getting back to your friends?"

Silver suddenly realized that night was starting to grip the forest. He didn't even notice until now that he was barely able to Eve. "Uh oh, I've got to go. Good bye," he said, starting off back to the tree.

Eve muttered something, and though it was really low, he was sure he heard, "Good bye."

Silver reached the tree without tripping on anything in the dark, luckily. Ace and Flame were already there, though Ace was already sleeping. Flame seemed to have been waiting for him. Flame came up to him as he approached, "D-did you find
e-enough?"

Silver was slightly startled that Flame was speaking to him, especially since the fight was still going on, but nodded, "Yeah."

"O-okay then, good night," Flame said, seeming to not know what else to say.

"Wait, Flame?" Silver said.

"Y-yes?" Flame asked.

"You can talk to Ace if you want, if won't bother me," Silver told, seeing the chance to make peace appear.

Flame looked slightly startled that Silver said this, but nodded and turned in for the night. Silver soon joined him, his thoughts strangely only on Eve.

(0)

Silver woke up and saw that Ace was already awake, while Flame was slowly getting up. Silver yawned and stretched to shake off his tiredness. As soon as he was done, Ace started to head out. Flame and Silver followed him, the same awkward silence from yesterday appearing.

However, Silver didn't mind this time. The silence seemed to help him think. At first, his mind just wondered from subject to subject, but they finally rested on Eve. He couldn't tell why, but his mind just started thinking about her. He remembered
how he had last seen her; the look of loneliness in her eyes, her fur still matted and stained, that chain still around her neck. Silver wanted to help her somehow, but he didn't know how.

His thoughts once again came to that chain on her neck. Maybe there was some way to get it off. If they put it on her, then there had to be a way to get it off. Silver remembered how he had felt the small space that was in the chain. If it was a lock
thing like on the cage he had been in, then using that small metal item might open it. However, he didn't have one of the small metal things. Would he be able to improvise? He didn't have claws, but his teeth were pointed. However, he definitely knew
that he wouldn't be able to get Eve to trust him enough to get that close. He needed a different idea.

Silver's thoughts came to an abrupt halt as his nose painfully rammed into something. Startled back to reality, he realized he had walked into a tree. He shook his head and looked around for the others. Luckily, they were a little ways ahead and had
not seen his blunder.

Silver got up and caught up to them. This time, he made sure to watch where he was going, though his thoughts still stayed on Eve.

(0)

It wasn't long before they stopped for the night. Silver paused, but Ace just left to find food without saying a word. Flame simply looked away and walked off to find himself some food. Silver sighed, frustrated at the fight still going on.

Silver walked off and quickly sniffed out a few berries. He gathered enough for him and Eve and set off back down the way they had come to look for her. He thought that he might have found a way to get the collar off Eve, but he was unsure if it would
work.

After a little searching, Silver finally found Eve again. She was instantly on guard when she saw him, making Silver mentally sigh. If she was going to be this suspicious, there wasn't even a slight possibility of getting the collar off.

"D-do you mind if I eat with you? I brought some berries for you," Silver said, pushing hers forward.

Eve looked hesitantly at the berries, before nodding slightly. Silver nudged the berries closer and Eve slowly took them. As Silver ate, he watched as Eve sniffed the berries slightly and then began to eat them. An awkward silence prevailed as they
ate their meal.

When Silver finished, he looked around until he found a suitable twig. He waited until Eve finished before he told her his idea. "I think I've found a way to get that steel thing off you," he said.

A sudden glint of surprise and happiness entered her eyes, but she hesitated. "Why are you trying to help me?" she asked, confused.

"Because I want to," Silver explained.

Eve stared at him a little, not completely convinced of his explanation. Finally, she hesitantly asked, "How do you think you can get this thing off?"

"Well, I'm not certain of it," Silver began uneasily, "But there's a small hole in the side. The humans back there used a small metal piece to open things like that, so if I used a small twig, I might be able to get it open."

Eve sat there a few seconds, taking it in, before she asked, "C-could you do that?"

Silver nodded and picked up the twig he had picked out with his mouth. He slowly approached Eve. She tensed slightly, but lowered her head to allow him to see it better. Now that he was able to look at it, he saw that there was a small hole. Taking
the end of the twig, he pushed it into the hole. After wiggling it around a little, there was a quiet clip and the collar suddenly opened. They jumped as it swiftly fell off, narrowly missing their feet.

Eve shook her head a little, her mane now moving back where the collar had been. "T-thank you," Eve whispered, smiling at him.

Silver smiled back, glad he could help. Glancing at the sky, he realized it was late. "I've got to go," Silver said.

"Umm, Silver?" Eve said, stopping him.

"Yes?" Silver asked.

"M-my name is Eve," she said, not meeting his eyes.

"Okay, then," Silver replied, beaming. "I'll see you later."

"Bye," Eve replied loud enough for him to hear.

Silver got back to the others and saw that both of them were already asleep. Curling up on a patch of grass, Silver smiled at how he had finally gained Eve's trust. He fell asleep soon after his eyes closed.

(0)

Silver was the last to wake the next morning. The other two were already getting ready to go. Stretching, Silver got up and they headed out. As they went, the scenery around them started to change. The large amounts of trees around them started to get sparser. Undergrowth became less and less noticeable. Soon, Silver could feel the grittiness of sand pressing against the pads of his feet as they walked.

The sun hadn't even reached its apex when they left the last few trees behind. Silver could suddenly see much farther than before. In the distance was a yellowish field that met up with the horizon. Small gray things could be seen sticking out of the
ground here and there. Silver realized it was sand and rocks as they continued on.

The grass started to become meager, the sand now dominating the area. Silver grumbled to himself as the small grains rubbed against his paws and got caught between his toes. He tried avoiding the sand whenever he could by walking on any
smooth rocks or shoots of grass he could find.

Ace and Flame didn't appear to mind the sand. In fact, both of them seemed to enjoy it. Flame seemed oddly excited, and it took Silver a moment to remember that he had lived in an area like this. Maybe Ace really did know where he was going.

Silver glanced back a few times, but didn't see Eve anywhere as they headed out into the sandy area. As he went, he found himself hoping that Eve would still be coming along

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- Chapter 8: Sand -

Silver's opinion on sand continued to get lower and lower as they traversed the shifting land. As the sun rose higher, the sand began to heat up, almost burning the pads on his feet. The point that his long fur seemed to absorb the heat from the sun
didn't help.

Ace and Flame continued normally, not seeming to notice the heat at all. Then again, Flame was a Fire type Pokemon. Silver walked wearily behind them, the grass patches he had been using to relief his feet earlier now gone.

Silver glanced back, but didn't see Eve anywhere behind them. Silver sighed and continued following his two companions. The heat made talking too exhausting, even if Ace and him weren't fighting. Besides, Silver felt too parched from all the heat.

Soon, they paused as they reached a small path in the middle of the sand. Silver knew that the path was human made. Straight dirt roads don't just naturally appear in deserts. Ace turned and led them alongside it, though he kept a little distance
between them and the road.

Silver was just about to ask if there was water nearby, when a wind started to kick up. He half way closed his eyes as sand was blown up around them. As the wind changed from one direction to the next, Silver's fur was blown all around. Soon, so
much sand was flying in the air, he lost sight of both Flame and Ace. Not knowing what to do, Silver hunkered down against the ground.

The wind continued its tempest, covering Silver's fur with the gritty sand and making Silver badly itch. As it continued, Silver was sure he heard strange sounds nearby, but couldn't see anything in the storm. After a long while, the wind eventually
died down, though sand still slowly drifted around in the air.

Silver slowly got up and shook the worst of the sand off of him, though sand still stubbornly stuck to most of his fur. He saw Flame nearby in a curled position. Flame got up and shook himself, throwing most of the sand off of him. His shorter fur didn't
allow the sand to hold on as much.

Silver didn't see Ace for a second, but finally saw him. Ace was about halfway to the human path, facing off with a human. Across from him and next to the human was a small, rock-like Pokemon floating slightly off the ground. It was a Geodude.

Ace was breathing quickly. By the bruises on him and the Geodude, Silver realized they had been fighting. Flame had also seen it and Silver could feel heat coming off of Flame's back as he prepared for battle.

"Geodude, use Tackle," the human ordered, reminding Silver that it was here.

The Geodude followed his instructions and rushed at Ace. However, Ace sidestepped it and hit it with a Tackle of his own, ramming it into the sand. The Geodude grunted and started to try and wiggle his way out. The human yelled at it to get up all
the while.

Flame's back erupted into a blaze as he shot a stream of fire at the Geodude. It had just out of the sand when the flames hit it and threw it back against the ground. For a second, his brown body glowed a reddish tint that quickly left after Flame
stopped cooking it.

Deciding to join in, Silver rushed in when Flame was done. The Geodude seemed irritated when it saw that a third opponent had appeared. Silver rammed into the Geodude in a Tackle. He belatedly realized that a Geodude was basically a rock as his
forehead hit its hard skin. He quickly backed away using his back paws, while rubbing his head quickly with his front paws.

Luckily, the Geodude didn't have time to counter as small stars shoot past and hit it. Silver used the moment to back out of range of the Geodude's reach. He ended up beside Flame again and nodded a thank you as he stopped.

"Geodude, use Defense Curl and then Rollout," the human yelled.

The Geodude obliged and curled into a ball. Silver paused, unsure of what it was doing, before the Geodude started to spin. The Geodude fell onto the ground and started to head toward Silver and Flame. A trench was left behind where its spinning
had dug down into the sand.

Silver and Flame split to either side as the Geodude rushed past. It turned and started to head toward Ace, though it seemed to be going slightly faster. Like its first attack, Ace once again side stepped and then tackled it in the side.

"Keep up the Rollout!" the trainer ordered.

The Geodude continued to spin as it was thrown through the air. It landed on the sand and started heading toward Ace once again, this time much faster. Ace seemed to crouch in preparation, though it was hard to tell with his body. He then grinned
as the Geodude got closer.

"Is this all you can do?" he taunted.

The Geodude rushed at him, but Ace moved at the last second. However, the Geodude stopped moving as it came next to Ace. Faster than Silver thought it could move, it had grabbed Ace using only one hand on his head. Ace was lifted off the
ground, his small legs squirming as he tried to get back down.

Silver rushed forward to try to help. Other than his Tackle, he really only had one other damaging attack. He focused his muscles in his tail, forcing them to become stiffer than normal. Soon, Silver could feel his energy inside his tail ready. He leapt
at the Geodude as he got close and swung around, his tail hit the Geodude's face. The Geodude instantly let go of Ace and dropped to the sandy ground.

Silver stood there, stunned for a second. He hadn't realized he would do so much damage. However, his attention snapped back to the present as the Geodude disappeared in a flash of red. "Fine, then I'll go with Vaporeon!" the trainer yelled, as
though agitated for some reason. He threw a small sphere and it released something in a flash of red.

The Pokemon was blue and had a close body shape to Silver's, though it was larger than him. The Pokemon had a fin like collar around its head, with a small, dark blue spine ridge down to its fin like tail. Silver knew it was a Vaporeon, the Water type
evolution of Eevee like him.

"Vaporeon, use Water Gun on the Trapinch," the trainer ordered.

Silver had tensed for fighting again, but hesitated when the trainer purposefully ordered to attack Ace. The Vaporeon opened its mouth and shot a watery stream of water toward where Ace had been. Silver blinked when he saw that Ace wasn't there.
The stream of water hit the ground, making the sand turn a slightly darker brown and form a sort of paste like mud. He glanced around quickly, but couldn't see Ace anywhere.

Shaking off his confusion, Silver ran at the Vaporeon, ready to fight. However, the Vaporeon jumped to the side, making him miss. The Vaporeon growled at him and raised its tail to whack him, when several small stars hit it in the side of the head,
distracting it.

Silver suddenly heard a shifting sound and looked down to see some of the sand shifting around the Vaporeon's back legs. Ace's head popped out of the sand. He instantly latched onto the Vaporeon's tail. The Vaporeon yelled and started to slam
Ace into the ground with its tail. However, the sand easily shifted as Ace hit, allowing him to keep his grip.

"Vaporeon, Hydro Pump," the trainer commanded. "Get it off you."

The Vaporeon opened its mouth to blast at Ace, but Ace let go and went back down into the safety of the ground. The Vaporeon was just about to the launch the blast of water at the hole, when Flame plowed into its side. The Vaporeon went off aim,
and the large torrent of water that it shot soaked the ground all around it. Flame moved back out of range before the Vaporeon could retaliate.

Silver took the moment to run and hit it in the side with a Tackle. He didn't seem to do much, though, as he bounced off its side. Silver turned to move out of range, only to trip. He looked back to see that his paw had sunk into the wet sand. Silver
jerked his leg to pull it out, but the Vaporeon put a paw on it, holding him down and stopping him from escaping.

"One more Hydro Pump," the human said.

The Vaporeon opened its mouth, the large burst of water already being prepared. The ground shifted nearby and Silver saw Ace crawl out of the sand a little bit away. Ace glanced at him and just stood there. Silver growled when he saw Ace willingly
do nothing. He looked back at the Vaporeon and tried to hit it with his tail. However, his tail couldn't reach it while he was stuck on the ground.

Right before the Vaporeon launched the attack, Flame ran into its side. The Vaporeon moved some, but still shot the attack. Most of the attack missed, but Silver stilled got drenched on half his body and felt wet sand already sticking to his fur.

The Vaporeon had left go of Silver's leg, allowing him to pull his leg out of the sand. As he moved out of range, he had to limp a few steps. However, his leg was soon back to normal. He looked around and saw that Flame had moved out of range, also.
Ace was still where he had appeared. The Vaporeon was still ready to battle, though it looked a little tired.

"Vaporeon, use Water Pulse on all of them," the trainer said.

The Vaporeon formed three rings made of water. The rings seemed to spin slightly as it made them. The rings moved forward and then split, one heading for each of them. Silver turned and ran a little until it was obvious that it was going to catch
him. As the spinning ring got closer, Silver realized how to dodge and simply leapt through the center of the ring. It tried to close as he passed through, but he made it out without getting hit.

Silver looked over to see that Ace and Flame had both been hit, though. Flame looked the worst for wear, his back extinguished and having to take deep breath. One eye was slightly shut and Silver wondered how the attack had done so much
damage.

Ace had looked better, but still ready to battle. Even as Silver watched, Ace rushed forward and bit onto one of the Vaporeon's ear. The Vaporeon shook its head quickly and Ace was thrown off, his grip not as good as before. Ace stood back up and
seemed to crouch once more.

"Vaporeon, finish this with Water Gun," the trainer ordered.

Ace just stood there as the Vaporeon opened its mouth and shot a small burst of water at him. Silver started forward, but froze as Ace just simply disappeared right before the water made contact. Silver was starting to worry until Ace somehow
reappeared behind the Vaporeon. It had no idea where Ace was until he suddenly latched onto its tail once again. This time, he lifted the Vaporeon and tossed it before it could try to shake him off. The Vaporeon groaned and fainted as it hit the
sand.

Silver watched in amazement as the human just made the Vaporeon go into the small sphere with a flash of red. "This is almost too much effort. If you guys want to gang up, then I'll just have to send out two. Go, Cacturne! Spinda!" the human
shouted as he threw another small sphere. After the flash of red, a large, towering green Pokemon appeared. There were spikes covering its body and had a green cap like object on its head.

Then the human threw a second orb. This one released the Pokemon closer to Silver and Flame. A small cream colored Pokemon came out, spinning as it made its entrance. When it posed at the end of its spin, Silver could see red spots on its body,
while it had a swirl like pattern for eyes.

"Cacturne, you focus on the Trapinch. Spinda, keep those Pokemon busy," the human ordered.

The Spinda bowed to its trainer, though its feet were still moving for some reason. It then turned to face Silver and Flame. Its arms were held out for balance as its feet constantly kept it moving. "Let's dance," it suddenly said. It gave a twirl and
posed before it started moving around again.

Silver was confused on what it was doing, but then rushed forward and tried to hit it. However, it moved to the side just in time to let him sail past and fall into the sand. He got up to see Flame land next to him as he also missed.

Silver clenched his teeth and tried to hit the Spinda again. But, the result stayed the same and Silver missed again. He turned around to see the Spinda had stopped moving and was holding its arms to one side.

Suddenly, a small, purple orb appeared between its hands. It threw its arms forward and the sphere flew toward him. Silver prepared for impact, but gasped as the ball went through him. The Spinda frowned, obviously not expecting this. Silver looked
back to see where the attack had gone to see it hit the sand and explode, sending a spray of sand over him and straight into his eyes.

Silver cried out and crouched down as to reach his eyes with his paws. However, his paws couldn't quite reach, leaving him partly blinded. With his foggy vision, he half saw Flame tried to hit the Spinda again just to miss. Flame got back up and
turned around. He shot out the small stars that he could use and they went sailing toward the Spinda. They missed as it danced around them, but they sailed back around and hit the Spinda on the second pass.

The Spinda stumbled and fell to one knee. While it was down, Flame's back came ablaze as he used Flamethrower again. Wanting to help, Silver stumbled next to him and touched his side with his snout. He felt his energy poured into Flame, doubling
the size of the Flamethrower, as Silver used Helping Hand. The large torrent of flames covered the Spinda. When Flame finally stopped the attack, the Spinda had fainted, several patched of fur burnt off.

As Flame turned to look for Ace, Silver continued to try to get the sand out of his eyes. The gritty molecules were making his eyes burn, forcing tears to come to the surface. Luckily, the sand grew damp and was washed away as the few tears fell,
clearing his eyes.

Silver heard Flame gasp and turned to see the Cacturne standing over an unconscious Ace. Silver was only able to take one step forward before a sphere suddenly hit Ace, pulling him into the device.
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[ryan22424]

- Chapter 9: Friends -

Silver and Flame couldn't move as the small Pokeball fell to the ground. It shook a little on the sand before it finally clicked. Silver didn't know what it meant, but Flame's shoulders fell as it did; Silver took it as a sign that that was bad.

The human walked over to the Pokeball and picked it up. He grinned and put it on his belt. He then turned toward Silver and Flame, frowning as he saw his Spinda defeated. He returned it and clipped it onto his belt. He then paused, staring at us. He
seemed to murmur something to himself before he finally said, "Cacturne, use Mean Look; don't let that Eevee escape."

Silver started to back up as he realized that the human was talking about him. The Cacturne stepped forward and stared at Silver. Somehow, Silver's eyes seemed to move up and lock with the Cacturne's. He felt a strange presence seem to try to
hold him in place, but pushed it away. Silver shook his head, helping him to break contact with the Cacturne.

"Shoot, it has the Run Away ability; Mean Look won't work on it. Hold it down with-" the human started.

Before he could finish, Flame stepped forward, his blaze getting higher, and shot a surge of fire toward the Cacturne. The Pokemon screamed as it was instantly set ablaze. It waved its arms and run out of Flame's attack, flames eating away on its
body.

The human cursed and returned the battered Pokemon. He pulled out another Pokeball and threw it. However, this one was thrown toward Silver instead of on the ground. Shock seemed to freeze Silver's muscles, keeping him in place as the ball
sailed toward him. Right before the ball hit him, Flame jumped in front of him. The Pokeball hit him and shot its red beam over his form. However, Flame stayed as the beam disappeared. The Pokeball dropped to the ground, still open.

The human stood there stunned, before growling and stomping onto the sand. He then walked off and back onto the path, quietly cursing and kicking up dust and sand as he went. He didn't seem to care that he had left the Pokeball behind.

Silver sat down on the sand, still stunned and confused. Flame stopped the flames on his back, though he kept watching where the trainer had left. "Uh, w-why were you not captured?" he finally asked.

Flame sat down beside him. "Captured Pokemon cannot be recaptured. I'm already a trainer's Pokemon."

Silver nodded and then sighed. "So what do we do now? Ace was our guide."

Flame paused for a little before answering, "Well, I-I think I used to live near here. I was near a path like this, so i-if we follow it, we might find my trainer."

Nodding, Silver got up. Flame got up as well, though he didn't look too confident. "Don't worry; we're already lost so we can't go the wrong way," Silver said encouragingly. Then again, that was actually discouraging on second thought.

Flame nodded, a little more confidence now showing. He started to head the way we had been heading before. Silver stared at him confused. He could have all the confidence to face down any opponent, but was not confident at all when being a leader
or trying to communicate. Maybe him leading would help him get over his fear of it.

As they walked, Silver's adrenaline rush left, leaving him feeling slightly tired. However, Flame looked much worse, though. That water attack had weakened him more than Silver had been. His usual warm back didn't seem to release as much heat
as normal. His skin was slightly glittering where it was still wet.

Though Silver was also mostly drenched, neither had to endure being wet for long. The sun, along with the heat dried them quickly, which also made Silver's longer fur puff up some. For Silver though, this was more a curse than a blessing. He would
rather have had cool damp fur giving him a few extra pounds of weight to drag, than the damp sand that dried with his fur. Not only would it become clamped onto his hair, it would reach his body as his fur stopped being plastered from his side. The
sand rubbed against his body, making his skin tingle and itch. Also, a few grains of sand seemed to be stubbornly stuck in his eyes, making him blink more often to try to get them out. Silver was sure he would never like sand again.

As they walked, Flame seemed to be going slowly faster and faster until Silver almost had to trot to keep up. The scenery never seemed to change. A rock here and there was the only thing to show they were making any progress. Other than the
rocks and the road, Silver could just see the sand.

By now, Silver's body reminded him of his thirst. His throat felt dry, and his tongue seemed to be caked into the roof of his mouth. The heat didn't only affect his thirst, though. His body was beginning to sweat, only making him smell worse.

Finally, Silver had had enough of the dry wasteland. "Flame, I can't go-" Silver started, his voice slightly cracking. He stopped as he walked into Flame's back.

After picking himself up, he came around Flame to look at whatever had his attention. In the distance, there was a large black blob. Flame seemed to be trembling beside him.

"Is something wrong, Flame?" Silver asked, concerned.

"That . . . I'm sure that is the . . . it is," he replied.

Silver tilted his head at Flame's gibberish, but shrugged and started forward. He was a good ten feet ahead before Flame snapped to attention and swiftly caught up. "Can you talk now?" Silver asked, his tongue temporarily sticking to the roof of his
mouth.

Flame looked blankly ahead at the rock protrusion. Nope.

The rock formation grew as they got closer. When they even a hundred feet, Silver found that the rock formation was not just a huge rock, but a large cave system. There were a multitude of tunnels everywhere along the side. Flame stared at it as
though it was the most amazing sight in the world.

"Okay, there's . . . something special about . . . this rock. What is it?" Silver asked, tapping Flame to get his attention.

"Well, this . . . this is where I was c-captured," he almost whispered. "I live near here."

Silver nodded, a large smiled on his face. They were almost there. He opened his mouth to congratulate Flame, only to remember his parched throat. "Uh, is there . . . water here?"

"Yeah, it's just around this turn. I'll show you," he said. Silver made note that his stuttering was disappearing. His stride was also more confident. Maybe being home was the confidence boost he needed.

They went around the rock formation thing a little, before Silver saw a much more beautiful sight. There, right in the shade of several tall, skinny trees, was a large pool of glittering water. The calm, fresh water seemed to call him and he lunged
forward. He immediately started to gulp as much as the water as he could. It was more delicious than any other he had ever tasted.

Silver had only barely started to push back his thirst, when someone grabbed him and pulled him away from the precious water.

"I need water," Silver protested, trying to squirm in his captor's grip.

"You need to slow down, or you'll seriously injure your body," Flame said.

Silver calmed down, and Flame finally put him down. Silver more calmly went to the edge of the water, Flame watching him carefully. It took all his willpower not to jump at the water, but he wouldn't get any water if Flame pulled him away. He more
slowly lapped at the water, taking pausing when Flame put a paw on his back. He only belatedly realized that Flame had stopped him and ordered him around without stuttering a bit. He was definitely becoming more confident.

When his thirst was sufficiently quenched, he sat back beside Flame under the shade of one of the weird trees that grew around the water. Flame sat outside the shade, the sun's heat basically powering him up. Short grass allowed him to not sit on
the irritating sand. However, he was still distracted from all the sand on his body. He longed to jump in the lake and clean some, but didn't want to hold Flame up too much.

However, his willpower failed him, and he leapt into the water. His small body made only a small splash as he dipped down. He shook himself while in the water. The sand started to come off, though not too much. The rest of the sand would need to be
scrubbed off with a solid surface to rub against. Silver looked around, but there was only sand banks around, the nearest rock or slab being the rock formation thing itself.

It was only when Silver looked around, that he noticed Flame was gone. He started to panic at first, but then he saw Flame again, neat the rock formation. He was looking at the ground near one of the entrances. From what Silver had heard, that spot
was probably where Flame had been captured.

Silver got out of the water and headed over to Flame to comfort him. Flame was staring at a rumbled up part of the ground, as though someone had dug the area to look for something. A small stone sat in the middle, a few symbols on it. All Silver
could recognize was what appeared to be a small fire near the top. Somehow, looking at the stone made him feel sad.

"Do you know what this it?" Silver asked, making Flame jump a little.

"No idea. It wasn't here the last time, though. I would remember, for this is the last place I saw here. This is where I was taken from my trainer," Flame murmured. A small tear was forming in his eye.

Silver was about to press against him to comfort him, but remembered that he was still dripping wet, probably not the most comforting hug for a Fire-type. Instead, he nuzzled Flame's side and said, "We'll find him soon. We're almost there."

Flame sighed and nodded. "Let's-" he started.

Silver's head shot up as he heard something nearby. Flame stopped and looked in the direction Silver was looking. Soon, Silver was certain that he was hearing footsteps; human footsteps. "Someone's coming," Silver warned.

"I'm already captured, so I'm okay. I'll stay here and . . . think. You should go hide in one of the tunnels until they leave," Flame said, still looking at the small stone in puzzlement.

Silver nodded, once again surprised that Flame wasn't nervous anymore. Silver quickly slipped into the tunnel they were in front of. A rock near the entrance allowed Silver to hide and yet stay close by.

Soon, the sound grew louder as it finally started around the rock formation. Silver held his breathe as the person seemed to be heading straight toward them. Flame didn't look up as the human finally came into view. It paused as it saw Flame, but
continued coming toward Flame. The human was holding something in his hands that Silver suspected to be flowers from the smell wafting from it.

The human came right up to Flame and crouched down next to him. Flame still didn't seem to notice it until the human put the flowers down in front of the stone. Flame jump high in the air in fright, over the human's head. Silver definitely liked his
heightened senses more than Flame's. How could one not notice a human crouching down next to you?

Flame turned around, still frightened as the human laughed a little. Suddenly, both of them froze. After a while, the human's mouth started moving, though no sound was coming out. Flame's back was now to Silver, hiding his expression from view.

Then, to Silver's utter surprise, Flame leapt up and into the human's arms, the human eagerly grabbing him. The human stood up and began to swing in a circle, letting out a loud laugh. "Flame? I-I though . . . Where have you been? Never mind; it
doesn't matter now! You're back!" the human yelled laughing. Silver saw tears openly flowing down the human's cheeks. This was a giant difference from the other humans he had seen. This was the first to show actual compassion and genuine
happiness. However, Silver stayed back, unsure of what to do.

The human collapsed on the ground, leaning against the rock formation. This put them slightly out of view, but Silver could still hear them. Flame was nuzzling the human's cheek as the human began to lazily pet it.

"I can't . . . I can't believe this. You're here and okay," the human said, sighing. "I wish you could tell me what happened to you." Flame nuzzled him again and the human smiled. "Just please don't leave again. I was so worried."

Flame nodded and laid back on his trainer and they both looked at the sky. Silver waited a little, but he finally lost patience and came out. When Silver stepped out, Flame looked over and saw him. He quickly jumped off his trainer and came over.
"Look, Silver!" he exclaimed, pointing at his trainer.

The trainer in question was looking over at Silver. When he saw Silver looking, the trainer froze. "I take it this is your trainer," Silver commented.

"Yes, Silver; I've finally back!" he said, emotions pouring out through his voice. This was the happiest and most open Silver had ever seen Flame.

"I saw-" Silver began, smiling back.

A crunch interrupted him. Silver looked back at Flame's trainer to see that he was standing up. He froze again as Silver looked at him. The human used only side of his mouth to whisper, "Flame, that's an Eevee."

Silver couldn't help it; he burst out laughing. Flame tilted his head at his trainer's actions. The human tilted his head back, and a look of understanding seemed to flood over Flame.

"Flame, get ready," the human whispered again, as though Silver couldn't hear.

Silver looked over at Flame, to see that Flame was staring him down, slightly crouched. Silver could tell that his back was starting to heat up. Silver took a tentative step back from the two, not liking their expressions.

"Flame, Tackle," Flame's trainer ordered, now talking at a normal level.

Flame suddenly charged at Silver. Even though Flame wasn't going all out, Silver was too stunned to dodge and was thrown back from the impact. When he fell on the ground, he was finally able to react.

"What was that for!" Silver yelled.

"I'm following my trainer's orders. He wants to capture you," Flame explained calmly.

Silver's eyes bulged at the statement. He took a hesitant step back. "Uh, I-I'm not sure I want to be captured," Silver admitted, taking another step.

Flame frowned at his comment. "Being captured is a great thing," he protested.

"Flame, Tackle again," his human commanded.

Flame once again charged at Silver, though Silver once again saw that he was moving slower than before. Silver dodged to the right this time, and Flame went past him a few feet before stopping.

"Flame, you can do better than that!" Flame's trainer yelled.

"He's right. I'm not going all out, yet," Flame agreed. "I want to let you have a chance just to join. We don't have to fight." He sounded wistful, but was still determined.

"That's right; we don't have to fight," Silver said. "But I don't to be captured right now."

Flame sighed; his face showed disappointment and sadness, but only for a moment. Then, resolution and determination took over. Silver was stunned, for he couldn't see any of the Flame he remembered from before.

"Flame, use Flamethrower," his trainer commanded.

Without another word, Flame's back went ablaze with fire. A torrent of flames came out, straight for Silver. Silver leapt to the right and avoided the flames, though he felt the intense heat coming from it. Taking a deep breathe, Silver leapt at Flame.
Flame was thrown back, his flames finally stopping. However, he flipped back up, seemingly unharmed.

"I'm stronger than you normally. I know you're holding back. You'll have no chance if you hold back," Flame stated.

"I don't want to fight!" Silver yelled back. He was barely holding back tears as he stared at Flame. Where was his friend, his traveling companion?

"Flame, Tackle," the human said.

Flame charged at Silver. Silver dived to the right in order to dodge the much faster Tackle. His soaked fur wasn't helping his speed. Silver quickly looked around for a way to run, but found himself hemmed in. Flame was in front of him, while the
trainer was behind. The lake on his right and the rock formation on his left blocked his other sides.

Wait . . . the lake! While the lake wasn't big, it was still water. Flame had shown his unwillingness to go near water. All Silver would have to do is swim and he could escape without fighting.

"Flamethrower," the human repeated.

Flame opened his mouth, not allowing Silver the chance to just run. The torrent of fire came at him, but Silver didn't watch it. Instead, he darted to the right, toward the lake. However, Flame had noticed that Silver had repeatedly dodged to the right,
and had moved the fire in that direction. He didn't know Silver had just chosen to run, but Silver had moved to the right again, confirming Flame's guess.

Silver screamed as the flames consumed him. The fire burned, even with his fur wet. He could see his fur signing badly as the fire attack burned him. It could have been five seconds or five minutes before Silver was finally released from the flames.
He fell heavily on his side, groaning as his burned side touched the ground. His vision had started to have black spots on it as he simply stared ahead. He opened his mouth and let out a soundless howl, the pain taking over. The pain only seemed to
increase, especially while the sun beat down on his side. Even breathing was painful as his sides rose and fell.

The world had already begun to spin when he saw it. His vision had grown cloudy, and he could barely see, but his little sight and still intact hearing noticed it as it came. The small white and red sphere flew at him. Right before Silver's eyes closed
and he fell in unconsciousness, he saw a flash of brown and then a bright red light, blinding his already weakened vision.

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[ryan22424]

- Chapter 10: True Friends -

Silver was floating in a black void. Unlike sleeping, this void seemed actually empty and yet full at the same time. Silver could feel and yet not feel the empty yet full void. He couldn't explain it, but he could. There was no light, but every part of his
body was completely visible. The very place seemed to deny reality.

However, Silver recognized this void. Once before, he had fallen from a tree, falling unconscious as he hit the ground. He was in this mysterious void until he had suddenly wakened in his nest, his parents watching him carefully. Silver had forgotten
all about it until he was here again.

He was unable to form thoughts as he just drifted there. Without any correlation to time, he did not know how long he was there. Finally, the darkness seemed to fade away. Soon, he was sure that he was able to feel his body again and that his
consciousness was coming back.

Silver cracked open an eye, to quickly shut it in pain. The light was too bright at first, but Silver opened his eyes slightly so that they could adjust to the sunlight. It was only then that he felt the pain. His side was aching in pain from the burns; the
sand rubbing against it only making it feel worse. There was a slight breeze, though, that cooled him as it hit his side. Silver was sure that there was a winter chill in it.

Deciding to see where he was, he opened his eyes a little further. He could see that he was lying on grass on his side. He was in some kind of clearing, with actual forest trees surrounding it. Other than that, his limited vision didn't see much.

As he laid there, his started to get used to the pains from his burns and pushed them to the back of his mind; he had other things to focus on. Where am I? Silver wondered. Is this the inside of one of those spheres? Am I dead? Silver shivered at the
last thought, but pushed it away. He wouldn't still hurt if he was dead, right?

Silver closed his eyes again as he started to get a headache. Not able to do anything else, he just stayed there. It wasn't long before his hunger became apparent. He was also thirsty, though not as much. Plus, sand still covered his body, seeming
to coat the side that was against the grass. However, the hunger, thirst, and itch still made his wait harder, as he had nothing to distract himself with and couldn't get the sand off.

Silver's ears twitched as he heard pawsteps. He opened his eyes some to see a Pokemon coming out of the forest area. His eyes opened wider as the Pokemon entered the clearing, even though the light hurt at first. It was an Eevee. Even though he had grown up around a family of Eeveelutions, including his Eevee sister, this one was different, at least to Silver. The Eevee's fur seemed to shine in the sun and flowed around its petite form, the brown a vibrant, rich color. Its tail and mane swished around it as it started coming toward him. Silver was left breathless after seeing it.

The Eevee dropped the berries it had been carrying when it saw Silver. "You're awake," it said, coming over to him. Somehow, Silver thought he recognized the voice, but wasn't sure how. The Eevee looked him over quickly before bringing the berries
over. "Eat these."

Silver looked at the berries to see that they were small, blue Oran berries, except for the one lighter blue Rawst berry; good for health and burns. Silver reached forward and grabbed a berry with his mouth. His side flared up in pain slightly as his
movements, but he endured it. He slowly began to take small bites out of the Oran berry. Soon, energy was flooding back into his system, the pains in his side leaving. After a while, Silver was able to finish the berries. The pain in his side had
completely disappeared, including the burns.

"T-thanks, uh . . ." Silver said, pausing.

The Eevee tilted its head, a small smile on its face. "Eve," she finished.

Then the voice clicked in his head. "Eve!" he exclaimed. "Sorry, I d-didn't recognize you for a s-second."

She continued to smile as she looked down at herself, though she blushed. "I found a lovely pond near here and was able to wash all that off."

Silver looked away nervously as he realized that he was staring. "Uh, where are we?"

"We're back in the edge of the forest," Eve replied.

Silver tried to remember what happened, but all he could remember was the bright red flash. "H-how did I get here?"

Eve shuffled her paws and looked away. "I-I dragged you here. I saw the battle, and I came to help. After the trainer left, I brought you here," she explained. "If you don't mind me asking, weren't you and that Cyndaquil friends?" she asked, looking
back up.

Silver sighed as he remembered the incident. "We found his trainer . . . his trainer wanted to capture me, but I didn't want to be captured. So, Flame and I started to fight." Silver paused for a second, before he finally asked, "How did I not get
captured?"

Eve lowered her ears at the question. "I . . . stopped the Pokeball," she said, almost whispering.

It took a moment before he realized what this meant. "Wait, then . . . you're a captured Pokemon?" he asked sadly. After three different experiences with humans, he definitely didn't want to have another one.

Eve nodded silently. After that, an awkward silence appeared between them.

When another cold breeze hit him, Silver shivered. Winter was definitely close. The clouds that were starting to gather on the horizon warned of worse weather. "We should get under some shelter," Silver commented, breaking the silence.

Looking around, he chose a larger tree and moved over in between its roots. Eve hesitantly followed him over to it, though she with a slight distance from him. Silver, still tired, curled down where the two roots met the trunk of the tree. Eve laid down
as well, and they rested.

"Eve, thank you for helping me," Silver said sincerely, getting Eve's attention. She nodded in response and they fell silent again.

Silver couldn't rest, though. The sand was still itching pretty badly. Sighing, he sat up and began to groom the sand out. He half closed his eyes in disgust as his tongue rubbed against the sand. The sand tasted horrible on his tongue. He detested
the how long the process he used took to get sand out of his fur. He lightly went over the few small patches of fur that had been singed off. From all the heat and pain he had been in, he was surprised that he hadn't lost more fur. By the time he had
finally finished, he was sure his tongue would always feel like there was sand covering it.

Sighing in contentment, he curled back up again. It wasn't long after he was done before the dark clouds completely covered the sky. Soon, the clouds released their load of snow. The white little flakes drifted down and fell onto the ground. The snow
began to slowly collect on the ground. Silver glanced over at Eve again and was surprised to see that she was far enough out that the snow was landing on part of her.

Silver scooted over a little against the root and pawed the area beside him. "Here, come in out of the snow, Eve," he invited.

Eve hesitated for only a second before coming closer and getting out of the cold snow. There was little space between the roots and as Eve curled up, their pelts slightly touched. However, Silver strangely didn't feel uncomfortable with the contact.
Silver fell asleep again quickly, his body glad for the rest.

(0)

Sunlight shifted through the branches of the tree overhead. Silver slowly woke up, though he stayed still with Eve behind him. Opening his eyes, he saw that the snow had stopped falling. There was a small layer of snow on the ground at about an inch. Everything seemed brighter with the sunlight flashing off the white snow.

After a while, he felt Eve start to shift and sat up. Eve slowly got up and stretched. They sat in silence with nothing to do as they watched the snow. Silver didn't know what to do next. He had been traveling with Flame to find his trainer, and that was
now accomplished. He could look for his family, but he had no idea where he was or where they were. In fact, there was little chance that he would ever see them again. Where do I go from here? Silver wondered, as he looked out across the snow.

He glanced over at Eve. She was staring at the snow, also, looking lost. Suddenly, he knew what he would do. "Eve?" Silver started, getting her attention.

"Yes, Silver?" Eve responded.

"Well, I . . . I really don't have anything else to do . . . so I was w-wondering if I could help you find your trainer," Silver said.

Eve looked over at him surprised. "R-really?" she asked. When Silver nodded, she jumped forward and nuzzled his cheek. She then pulled back quickly, blushing, as she realized what she was doing. Eve looked away and quickly mumbled, "S-sorry."

Silver could feel blood rushing to his cheeks. To avoid any more awkwardness, Silver stepped out into the snow. Looking around, Silver simply chose a direction and started out.

Eve quickly came out and caught up to him. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"Well, you're trainer is somewhere, so we have to search around. Any direction is an option now," Silver explained.

They walked in silence through the soft snow. As the sun started to rise, the snow began to melt. Luckily, there was only enough snow to wet the ground and not create any slush. Silver's thought drifted off to his friends. He wondered how Ace would
be now that he had a trainer. Was his trainer going to be a nice one? From the battle, Silver thought not. Flame was now with the trainer they had looked for so long. Silver's tail lowered some as he remembered the fight with Flame. He had thought
they were friends, but then they had fought right before they left.

"A-are you okay, Silver?" Eve asked, breaking the silence.

"I was just wondering about Flame. I still don't know why we fought," Silver said, sighing. "I mean, we were friends, but he just attacked me. I only didn't want to be captured. Why would he still hurt me?"

Eve was silent for a second before answering. "Well, bonds for captured Pokemon are usually pretty strong. Maybe his bond with his trainer was just more important."

Silver sighed again. A question immediately started to nag at him, and he finally gave in. "Would you do that for your trainer?" Silver asked quietly, half hoping Eve wouldn't hear him.

When Eve didn't answer at first, Silver thought she hadn't heard. But, just as quietly as he asked, Eve answered, "Not if it was a true friend."

Silence once again reigned as they continued on the now dry ground. Though the sun was now shining directly on their backs, the air was still cold. Now that the snow had started, winter was finally setting in. Berries would stop growing, and the
berries already grown would start to shrivel in a few weeks.

Before Silver knew it, the sun was starting to set, signaling the end of the day. Upon silent agreement, Silver and Eve stopped at the next berry bush they came to. The fruit was large and yellow with green circles on it. Silver knew the Aspear berries
were a sour kind of berry.

When Silver saw Eve looking at the bush sadly, he sniffed the air. Though the bush let off a distinct sour smell, it didn't block the other scents of berry bushes nearby. Close by, there was a bush of some other berry. Walking around a tree nearby, he
saw that there was a Mago berry bush.

"Over here," Silver said. Eve walked over with him to the Mago berries. "These are sweet instead of sour. Would you like them instead?" Silver asked.

Eve looked much happier as Silver told her that they were sweet. Mago berries let off the usual scent of berries, but their sweetness could only be smelt as the skin was pierced. Seeing Eve's expression, Silver reached up and pulled off a few berries
for each of them. Eve smiled as he put a few berries in front of her. "Sweet berries are my favorite," she admitted quietly.

Silver smiled back, and they began to eat. The sun had fully set, the light growing scarce, as they finished. Silver and Eve headed over to a nearby large tree. The space between roots was slightly larger, allowing them to curl up without touching this
time. The night wasn't kind as a wind started up. The cold, winter air made Silver shiver slightly, especially with the small patched of fur that had been burned off.

Silver looked up as he felt a paw touch his side. Eve was up again and standing next to him. "If y-you're cold, I-I could lie n-next to you," she offered.

Silver nodded, and Eve curled up next to him. Though it was slightly awkward, Silver surprisingly enjoyed the feel of their fur touching. With Eve next to him, the slight chill left him and he fell into a content sleep.

(0)

Silver woke up and smiled as he felt Eve's soft fur against his back. Eventually, they both got up and headed out once agai
n; there was little else to do. The air was still cold even as the sun began to rise. Silver wasn't looking too forward to the coming temperatures and winter weather.

While Silver and Eve didn't converse, there were still noises drifting about. There were Pokemon here and there, most likely doing any last preparations for winter. Even with these Pokemon heading around, Silver and Eve were pretty much ignored
by them all.

Near sun high, the wandering Pokemon seemed to disappear as they went back to their dens. Silver wandered for a moment if it was smart to continue searching around as winter set in, but didn't say anything to Eve. He didn't want to make her wait
if she didn't want to.

After a while, Eve finally broke the silence between them. "Silver . . . why did you choose to help me? Why didn't you go to look for your family?" she asked. Before Silver could answer, she quickly added, "Oh, do you not have a family?"

"I have a family, but . . . I don't know where they are. I don't ever think I'll see them again," Silver admitted.

Eve came up next to him and touched him lightly on his back with her tail. "I'm sure you'll see them again one day," she said sympathetically.

Silver shook his head a little, but didn't say anything else. Silver's ear twitched as the undergrowth rustled nearby. He glanced over, but didn't see anything. "Did you hear that?" he asked.

Eve nodded her head in agreement. "Do you know what it was?" she whispered.

"I can't see anything, but-" Silver started.

He was interrupted as the creature exploded from the underbrush, and came right at Silver. All Silver could see was a light purple blur, before the Pokemon tackled him in the side with a cry.

"Silver!"

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[ryan22424]

- Chapter 11: Family Opinions -

Silver was pinned on his side as the Pokemon tackled him in an embrace. However, his attention was on the fact that the Pokemon had said his name. Looking up at his assailant, he saw that the light purple Pokemon was actually an Espeon, though
he was sure he hadn't met it before.

The Espeon fell away as Eve tackled it in the side. Silver hurriedly got up and stood next to Eve. "What was that for?" Silver demanded.

"Silver, it's me," the Espeon said.

Though Silver didn't recognize the Espeon, he thought he recognized the voice slightly. Eve stayed tense beside him. "Who are you?" he asked.

The Espeon smiled and giggled at him. "Honestly, don't you remember your own sister?" he asked.

"Rose!" Silver exclaimed, finally remembering the voice.

The Espeon giggled again and nodded. "Where have you been?" Rose asked. "Our parents have been running themselves ragged trying to find you."

"I was caught in some net and taken-" Silver started.

"Explanations later; first, you need to come back to the den," Rose stopped him. She turned and headed back into the undergrowth, her two tail tips motioning for him to follow.

Eve looked at Silver worriedly. "Rose is my sister," Silver explained. "This must mean we're near my family's den. Will you come with?" Eve paused hesitantly, unsure of what to do, before simply nodding.

Silver started after Rose, and Eve stayed right at his side. Following Rose through the forest, Silver started to remember his surroundings. Eventually, he recognized right where he was and wasn't surprised as they came upon the old den.

Rose immediately went in, calling, "Mum, Dad!"

Silver paused at the entrance and took a breath. He walked inside, Rose still right beside him. Rose went on into their parents' room, still calling out to them. As Silver waited, he looked around and once again took in the place he had lived at for so
long. It felt like it had been forever since he had last been here, even though it was only a week or two. Other than the entrances to the two rooms, the small den was mostly plain. Nearby, the stockpile of food was heaped up, ready for the coming
winter. This once again reminded Silver how food would be scarce soon.

"What?" a voice exclaimed from farther in the den. Pawsteps could then be heard as his parents came out of the room. Silver only saw his Umbreon and Espeon parents for a moment before he was in a tight embrace from his mother. "Silver, my son,
are you okay? Where have you been?"

Silver tried to respond, but had to wait until she finally let go. "Yeah, Mum, I'm okay," Silver responded.

"I was so worried," his mother said, nuzzling his face. Now that he wasn't trapped in an embrace, he saw that there were still tears stains on her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Mum," Silver replied, nuzzling her back.

"Who is your friend?" Silver's father asked.

Silver glanced back and saw Eve behind him, as though she was trying to hide. "This is Eve. Eve, these are my parents," Silver introduced.

"H-hello," Eve timidly greeted, staying behind Silver.

"So, I'm guessing you have a story to tell," his father said, sitting down.

Silver nodded and began to tell them what happened, leaving out Ace and Flame and how he had found Eve. He didn't want his parents having to worry. "And finally, Rose found us and brought us back," Silver finished.

"Well, we're glad you're back," Silver's father said. "It's about dinner time. Why don't you pick something out to eat, if you're staying that is," he added.

"Of course he's staying," his mother interrupted.

Silver walked over to the pile, Eve followed close beside him. Silver looked through the pile and was about to pick his piece, but saw Eve looking hesitant. "Go ahead," Silver promptly, motioning to the pile. When Eve still hesitated, he realized what
was wrong; there were no sweet berries on the pile. "Wait here; I'll be right back," Silver said.

Eve watched him nervously as he went outside. Going around the side, he found his memory still working. Beside the den, there was a Mago berry bush hidden in the undergrowth. He picked a few and came back. Eve calmed down when Silver finally
entered the den again.

"Here," Silver said, placing the berries down, "Some Mago berries."

"T-thank you," Eve replied, picking them up.

Silver picked a few berries for himself and sat against the wall. Eve sat next to him, their pelts slightly touching. After they finished their meal, Silver asked Eve her opinion. "So, do you want to stay here a little?" he asked.

Eve looked down at her paws, thinking. "I-I'm not s-sure. Do you w-want to?" she asked.

"Well it's late already. Why don't we stay the night and let you sleep on it?" Silver suggested.

"O-okay," Eve agreed.

Silver was about to tell his parents, when he saw Rose about to leave. "Rose, where are you going?" he asked.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Rose replied. She came over and sat down. "When you disappeared, I went out to help look for you. While looking, I met a Poochyena named Jack. Well, we sort of started meeting. I know I was supposed to look for you, but .
. . well, Jack was so nice and sweet and . . . Anyway, after a while he . . . he told me he loved me, and I evolved. I stay over at his den now. I was just going back over there," she explained.

"So I guess you got to evolve into what you wanted," Silver said.

Rose blushed and shuffled her paws. "Uh, if you're going to be staying, I can bring Jack over to let you meet him tomorrow," she suggested.

"We'll be staying the night at least," Silver said.

"Okay, I'll be back here tomorrow morning," Rose said, getting up and leaving.

Silver got up, Eve quickly getting up as well. He led her into the room he and Rose had once shared. The place was still set up as though he had never left. Both his and Rose's nest were still in order.

"Uh, this is the room where I used to stay," Silver said. "That was my old nest and that was Rose's old nest." A silence crept up as they wondered what to do. Silver cleared his throat uncertainly and said, "Uh, so you can have whichever one you
want."

"Oh, t-thank you," Eve murmured. She walked over to Rose's nest and curled up on it.

Silver went over to his old nest and curled up on it. The nest was a definite improvement from lying on the cold ground night after night. However, as he closed his eyes, he missed the feeling of his and Eve's fur rubbing against each other's.

Even inside the den, the cold winter air swept in on a breeze. With the den's construction made out of rock, the cold air easily sapped the warmth that was left. Silver curled deeper into the nest. Winters were always hard with the cold. If they stayed
any longer, he would need to gather more leaves for the nests.

When another breeze came in, Silver glanced over at Eve. She was shivering as well from the dropping temperature. Gathering his courage, Silver got up and padded over to her. Eve glanced up as he stopped next to her. Silver paused, unsure what
to say. However, without saying a word, Eve scooted over, leaving enough room to for him to lie down beside her. Silver curled up next to her, grateful for her silent acceptance.

Will it . . . will it go this well if I tell her? Will she return my feelings? Silver wondered. What will she say if I told her that . . . I love her?

As he wondered about it, his eyes grew heavy and he fell asleep.

(0)

Silver yawned as he woke, accidently waking Eve beside him. Getting up, Silver led Eve down the short tunnel into the main area of the den. Silver was surprised to see that he had woken at dawn, even without the light shining on him. His parents seemed surprised too as they came out of their room.

"Morning, Dad, Mum," Silver greeted.

"You're up early. Well, eat your breakfast so we can go berry gathering. Just because you had a little adventure doesn't mean you get out of chores," his father replied.

Silver once again slipped outside and got a few more Mago berries for Eve. She accepted them gratefully again and they sat down to have breakfast. They had just finished eating when Rose walked up.

"Hey, we're here," she said.

Silver looked over at his father, who nodded his permission. Silver got up with Eve and headed outside to meet Rose's mate. Right outside, a small Poochyena sat looking around lazily. Unlike the Poochyena Silver had seen at the city they went
through, this Poochyena had softer features, without scars or the desire to fight in his eyes.

"Silver, Eve, this is Jack," Rose introduced. "Jack, this is Silver, and this is Eve."

"Hello," Jack greeted.

"Hello," Silver responded. Eve stay quiet beside him, pressing against him some.

Jack grinned as Rose sat down beside him. "Rose has told me a lot about you, Silver," he said. "I'm glad to see you're okay."

Silver smiled back. "Rose told me how you two met," he replied.

Jack grinned even more. "Did she say how she fell in love after our first meeting?" he asked.

"Jack!" Rose complained, her cheeks reddening from his teasing.

"I love teasing her," Jack told them, chuckling.

"She always disliked that," Silver agreed, also chuckling. Rose continued to blush harder as they laughed.

"So, does that little Eevee speak?" Jack asked.

Eve pressed slightly closer to Silver. "Uh, she's just shy," Silver answered for her.

"We've got to go," Rose said, getting up.

"Nice meeting you," Jack called as Rose led him away.

"Bye," Silver called back. Silver and Eve headed back into the den.

His father was standing near the entrance as they came in. "Are you ready to go?" he asked. Silver nodded and they started to go out, Eve still following.

"Uh, Eve?" Silver's mother started. "I actually wanted to talk to you, alone."

Eve stopped and looked hesitantly at Silver. "Go on; I'll be back soon," Silver said. She paused before nodding a little and heading over to his mother. Silver watched her for a moment, concerned, before following after his father.

His father was silent as they went through the forest. It didn't take long before Silver realized that something was on his father's mind by the way they passed a few berry bushes without picking anything.

After a while, Silver finally stopped and asked him. "What do you want to talk about?"

His father chuckled. "I guess you didn't forget about me," he replied. "I do have something I want to talk to you about, though. What really happened to you before you got back here? Even in this short time, I've noticed that you've changed. You're
more mature, calm, and independent. You're even less trustworthy than before."

Silver looked down at his paws for a second, unsure how to answer. "I don't really want to bring it all up, but I guess it was being taken out of a protected home. I saw the world in new eyes and how others act. Having to survive almost by myself and encountering humans; I guess I'm just not as naďve about the world anymore," Silver tried to explain.

His father was silent for a little, before nodding. "Well, I can respect you not wanting to talk about it, though I bet it's an interesting story. That's not all I wanted to talk about, though. You and Eve aren't just friends, are you?" he asked. "I saw how
you were treating her."

"I like her, a lot. I-I think I'm in love with her," Silver said.

"What about her?" his father asked.

Silver sighed and lowered his head. "I . . . I don't know," he admitted.

"She seemed pretty attached to you earlier," his father noted.

Silver shook his head. "She was . . . treated badly in the past and now doesn't trust anyone easily. I don't know if she likes me the same way I like her."

Silver's father laid a paw on Silver's back. "What about her trainer?" he asked. "Are you willing to be a captured Pokemon?"

Silver paused. "Maybe . . . If she likes me, too . . . I guess I wouldn't mind."

"Well, just give her time, son, that's all I can advise," he said. "Now, are we going to gather some food, or not?"

"Okay," Silver said, getting up.

After gathering a load of berries from nearby bushes, Silver took them and headed back toward the den while his father continued gathering a load for himself. When Silver got close to the den, he could somehow tell his mother was aggravated by the
distilled way the air was. Anxious, Silver picked up his step.

When Silver entered the den, his mother was facing Eve, a stern expression on her face. Even with Eve's back to him, Silver could tell that she was distressed by whatever his mother was saying by the way she had her head, tail, and ears lowered.
Silver quickly put the berries down and came up to them. However, before he could try to intervene, Eve suddenly turned and darted away out into the forest.

Silver turned to go after her, but his mother moved into the way. "Move," he said, surprising even himself that he had just told his mother what to do. However, all he could think about was how Eve looked as she had run.

"Silver, I've got to talk to you first. You need to let that Eevee leave. She's way too secretive, probably meaning she has a shadowy past that she's hiding. You shouldn't be around her. She's a bad influence and will give you nothing but trouble," his
mother lectured.

Not thinking of the consequences, Silver instantly responded. "I know her and what's happened. She's anything but a bad influence. I love her, and I'm not about to leave her. If she can't stay here, then neither can I," Silver yelled back.

Before she got over the shock of his words, Silver dived past her and dashed into the forest. He followed the trail Eve had left before. Soon, Silver started catching up and finally found her. Eve was lying in the middle of a tiny clearing. Even from the
side of the clearing, Silver could hear her sobs, her shoulders shaking as she cried.

Eve's head whipped around as he stepped into the clearing. The tears were still fresh on her face as she looked at him. A look of confusion was on her face as he came up to her. "W-what-" she started.

"Shh," Silver whispered, pressing against her. "No matter what my parents say, I'm not going to just leave you out here alone. I promised to take you to your trainer, and I will." But what's more, I love you and will follow you anywhere, he thought
silently.

"T-thank y-you," she whispered, leaning against him.

A rustling nearby made Silver look back. The black form near the clearing clarified who it was. "Wait here one second," he murmured. Walking back into the forest, he saw his father waiting for him. "Hey," he greeted.

"Hey there, son," his father said. "I heard what happened."

Silver looked down at his paws. "I . . . I shouldn't have said that, but I was so worked up at the moment . . ."

"No need to apologize," his father said, stopping him. "Your mother wasn't exactly being diplomatic either. She just sees you as you were back before you left. She doesn't want to lose the old Silver she remembered. However, you've changed, and I
can tell you're mature enough to make decisions like this. . . . You're not coming back, are you?"

"No," Silver murmured. "Tell Mum I'm sorry for what I said and that I know she was just looking out for me, okay?"

His father nodded. He touched his nuzzle to the top of Silver's head. "Be careful, okay?" he asked. Silver nodded. "And remember you always have a welcome home here."

"Thanks Dad," Silver said.

"Now go; Eve is waiting," his father said.

Silver went back to the clearing and up to Eve. She got up and leaned against him as they headed away into the forest. Though he could still hear his father's words ringing in his head, he somehow felt that he would never see his family again. As
long as Eve was with him, though, he felt he would be alright.

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[ryan22424]

- Chapter 12: The River -

Silver really wasn't sure what direction they were headed, he just made sure they were going in a straight path. Since he wasn't sure where their destination was, directions really didn't matter. They just had to keep moving.

They hadn't started walking through the forest long before it began to snow. The small, white flakes drifted down, melting as they landed on the ground and on their pelts. As the snow continued to fall, the temperature started to lower. It wasn't long
before the air had turned the ground cold enough that the falling snow began to collect.

As they walked on through the weather, Eve continued to lean on Silver slightly. She was both physically and mentally tired and was grateful that he was allowing her to borrow his shoulder. However, she was even more grateful that he was even
there, still helping her. She still could barely believe that he had left his family behind just to help her.

As the snow covered the ground, they began to leave behind small pawprints in the snow that were slowly erased. Soon, the snow was collecting enough that they were starting to pad on top of the soft substance. The trees passed by, slowing
growing white, as they walked in one direction, though Eve wasn't sure where they were going.

As the temperature went even lower, Eve began to shiver a little, though she tried to hide it from Silver. However, Silver had seen it and put his tail over her, gently pulling her closer and sharing his body heat, while at the same time keeping the cold
snow from landing on her. Eve smiled slightly as his fur brushed up against her. The cold atmosphere seemed to force them silent, though it was a silence Eve enjoyed with Silver next to her and a moment to think.

After a while of walking through the whitening land, the light began to darken, signifying the sun setting. Silver started to turn a little when they noticed the time, though Eve didn't question why. Soon, Silver led her to a snow laden bush, and she saw
that there were several large pink berries growing on the bush. She remembered that Silver had told her they were Pecha berries.

Eve smiled slightly as Silver picked a few and gave them to her before getting his own. The silence continued as they ate. They kept pressed against each other to ward off the worst of the cold, Silver's tail still posed to keep most of the snow off
Eve. Eve still wondered how he could be so kind to her without her doing anything, but was too tired to ask him.

When they were done, Silver started looking around the area, while Eve simply stayed next to him, her eyelids started to droop as she held back a yawn. After a little searching, Silver slowly got up, Eve quickly following, and started leading her over
to the spot.

"Eve?" Silver began.

"Hmm?" Eve murmured sleepily, unable to fully open to her eyes.

Silver glanced back at her as she gave her sleepy reaction. "I know you want to find your trainer soon, but with winter coming, it's going to be hard to just keep traveling. Would it be okay to start looking for a place to wait out the weather tomorrow?"
Silver suggested.

She nodded a little, letting her eyes fully close. For some reason, she didn't really mind if they stopped searching for a little. Besides, she owed him still for coming with her.

"Here; we'll rest here for tonight," she heard him say as he came to a halt.

Eve opened her drowsy eyes to see a small spot in between a few roots of a stout tree. The spot was bare of any snow, proving it was a good enough shelter for at least the night. As tired as she was, though, she wasn't being too picky at the
moment.

Eve pulled away from Silver to curl up on the ground to one side. Eve paused a moment as her sensitive belly touched the ground, but did her best to ignore it. Silver laid down next to her, also hesitating a little. Eve shivered slightly from the chill of
the night, but stopped as Silver timidly placed his tail over her to help. Unsure if it was okay, she scooted slightly closer to him until their pelts once again touched, calmly as he didn't stop her.

Eve had never lived in the wild, but was raised with her trainer. Eve never knew what to do around Silver, who had been raised a wild Eevee. While she always slept near her trainer, she didn't know if that was appropriate between Eevee in the wild.
Did the gesture hold more meaning out here? What about leaning against him as they walked, or other small things that she did? However, she trusted that Silver would tell her, knowing that he would help guide her. Silver never told her no or
protested, but she still wondered when he became slightly awkward or became embarrassed.

As Eve felt sleep start to come on her, her thoughts turned to Silver. After everything she had gone through in her time at that island place, he had come and been a true friend, sacrificing even his family to help her. Eve glanced at Silver, and smiled
slightly at his sleeping form. He treated her so nice.

Maybe . . . maybe he'll come with me when we find my trainer, she wondered for a second, before pushing it away. After all the experiences with humans he's had, he'll never want a trainer, Eve thought depressingly, sighing sadly. Will our friendship end
when we find him? She hoped not. Her trainer and Silver were the only friends she had ever had. Would she have to choose between them?

Her heart heavy with the possibility, Eve fell into an uneasy sleep.

(0)

Silver woke up feeling frozen. Light was just appearing with dawn, allowing him to see the small cloud that appeared as he breathed out. Raising his head slightly, his ears twitched as he felt a little snow fall off him. The area they had stayed in had stopped most of the snow, but they were still lightly covered in the white element.

Silver flicked his tail behind them, throwing off the snow that was on it, before replacing it over Eve's side. Even pressed together, he was starting to shiver slightly. They would need to find a more permanent shelter soon.

He looked at Eve's sleeping form and sighed as he once again thought about how he felt about her. He was sure that he loved her, but how did she feel about him? What would happen if she didn't like him the same way when he told her? When would
he tell her how he felt? He wanted to tell her how he felt, but he didn't know what he would do if she didn't return his feelings. He might lose the trust he had worked for as their friendship stopped. He might lose the comfortableness he had around her,
instead having an awkwardness that wouldn't be able to be undone. Silver sighed again. Maybe he could watch and see if she did anything to say that she liked him.

Laying his head back down with one more sigh, he waited for Eve to awake. After a little, Eve suddenly shivered slightly before scooting tighter against him. Silver blushed a little, but saw that Eve was still sleeping. The sun was just starting to rise
over the trees when Eve finally woke up. She blushed when she realized how close they were and pulled away some, leaving Silver wondering how to interpret that.

Now that she was up, Silver stood up and shook himself to shake off the snow that was still on him. When Eve had done the same, Silver started toward the small berry they had been at before. The snowfall last night had made a layer of snow that
was a few inches high. Eve came up next to him and leaned against him like before. Silver plucked a few more berries of the bush, and they crouched down to eat the small breakfast.

Once Silver was sure Eve had had her fill, he got up and starting leading her in the direction they had been going. He kept glancing around for a possible den or burrow they could use. Unfortunately, any ones that he saw were being used already by
other Pokemon.

As Silver kept looking, snow began to fall once again. Silver's already numb feet just continued on through the new snow. Tentatively, Silver put his tail over Eve again. Eve pressed closer to him as she noticed. Silver once again wondered if this
meant anything.

The snowflakes started falling faster, quickly building up on the snow already on the ground. Silver's vision was slightly limited now, the sun hidden by clouds not helping. Silver concentrated his fogging breath upward as they went, hoping to warm up
his freezing nose. They needed some shelter soon.

Silver stopped as they came up on something different. In front of them, there was a wide river, a layer of ice over it. Silver could barely see the water churning under the ice from the white frost that was on top. On the other side of the river, the white
forest continued on.

Turning, Silver started leading Eve alongside the river. The faint sound of water could be heard from the river. He kept an eye out for any places they might be able to stay, but there were none that weren't already occupied. With the weather, most
Pokemon would be bunkering down, trying to keep warm. All the Pokemon around here had been preparing for a while for winter. Even his family had been getting ready when he had been taken.

As they went, Silver began to slowly lose hope. The chances of them finding a den or such during the winter were slim at most, but it appeared as though there wasn't one in the whole forest. Eve stayed silent beside him, and he wondered what she
was thinking. Was she losing hope as well?

His breath billowing, Silver diverted from the river to look further in the forest for a possible den. Eve still stayed silent and simply stayed by his side, shivering slightly as the temperature continued to drop. Silver's eyes darted from one tree to
another, but none were showing signs of a possible refuge.

Sliver's head swiveled around as he heard snow crunching nearby. A little away, a strange Pokemon Silver had never seen before was nosing through some of the snow. It looked like a small Stantler, though it had a yellow flower instead of antlers.
The Pokemon had a dull gray pelt with a pale face and underbelly.

Silver paused in decision. The Pokemon might be aggressive, but it also might be willing to help. Also, it was the only Pokemon Silver had seen so far that hadn't been in its den. Finally choosing, Silver stepped toward it, about to call out. However,
it jerked its head up and noticed him as his foot came down. Before he could say a word, the Pokemon bounded away through the snow with its long legs.

Sighing, Silver continued on in his search. If it wasn't for the silent encouragement he felt from Eve being next to him, he wasn't sure he would have continued. However, Eve's presence next to him was a constant reminder that he had to go on if
they were going to find somewhere to stay.

But even with Eve right next to him, he wasn't sure much farther he would be able to go. His legs were starting to ache even while being numb from the ever rising snow. The snow had risen another few inches, almost reaching his belly. The cold air
seemed to sting his lungs as he breathed it in. Even sharing each other's body heat, both of them were beginning to shiver.

After a while, Silver was sure that there were no burrows left on this side of the river that were empty. However, there was a possibility on the other side of the river still. The ice covering the river had looked strong enough for them to cross. Maybe
there was a den being unused on the other side. There really was no point staying on this side any more anyway. However, he wasn't a good swimmer and didn't know if Eve knew how to swim at all. If they fell in, it could be terrible.

There were two other possibilities, though. They could head back to his family's den, or they could try to find someone who was willing to let them stay. Silver threw out the idea of returning to his family immediately. Eve would be way too
uncomfortable, and he didn't want to have to deal with his mother again. However, trying to find help was a possibility.

Choosing quickly, Silver led Eve toward one of the burrows nearby. As the others, this one was occupied by other Pokemon. As Silver and Eve got close, a pink Pokemon popped out of the entrance and took an aggressive stance. By the large ears
and horn on its forehead, Silver was able to tell it was a male Nidoran.

"What do you want?" the Nidoran asked gruffly.

"W-we were looking f-for some shelter, and-" Silver began.

"No," the Nidoran replied flatly. He turned to go back in, purposefully kicking some snow with its foot and hitting Silver in the face.

Silver felt both mad and flustered that, but held them back, knowing it wouldn't help. Turning, Silver led Eve to another burrow nearby that was occupied. As before, a Pokemon came up before Silver could get too close. The small purple Rattata
didn't appear to be as aggressive as the Nidoran, but it still didn't appear happy.

"What do you want? It's too cold to stay out her long," it said, shivering slightly.

"W-we were looking for some shelter, and . . ." Silver drifted off, unsure how to continue.

The Rattata sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, but our den doesn't have a lot of room to begin with. Besides, we don't have any food to spare," it said.

"Oh," Silver murmured, not having thought of that.

"Well, I hope you find something," the Rattata said, before heading back into his den.

Siler sighed. Trying to find someone to let them stay wasn't going to work. No one could spare food during winter and most Pokemon made burrows large enough only for themselves. They were going to have to do something else.

Making up his mind, he led Eve back toward the river. When they got back, Silver studied it once again. The ice appeared thick, though he wasn't able to see the other side as clearly. The ice was still frosted, but Silver could see the water moving
about under the ice. The snow was piled on either side, as though not willing to land on the ice itself.

Eve didn't say anything about coming back to the river. Either she had come to the same conclusion that they needed to cross, or she just trusted him that much. Silver was silently hoping that it was because she just trusted him enough.

Silver reached down and hesitantly put a paw on the ice. He flinched and drew his paw back as the cold of the ice stung even his numb paw. Gritting his teeth, Silver pressed his paw back down on the ice. He pushed on it several times, but the ice
didn't give any.

Holding Eve back with his tail, Silver slowly stepped fully onto the ice. Other than his paws going completely numb from the freezing ice, nothing happened. The ice was solid under his paws, though a little slippery. Concentrating on his footing,
Silver reached forward with a paw and stepped forward. Once again, the ice held, showing it was solid.

Silver motioned for Eve to come with a gentle nudging from his tail. Eve stepped slowly onto the ice. When she had gotten fully onto the iced river, she pressed against him. When he went to step forward again, she copied him. Her paw slipped as she
put it down and she began to fall, but Silver held her until she got her footing again.

Slowly, they began to make progress across the river. Silver made sure to test his steps each time, pausing to watch Eve as she stepped forward. Soon, they were making it past the hallway part. Silver's tense muscles relaxed slightly as they
began to make their way toward the closing in bank on the other side.

Suddenly, time seemed to slow as a loud crack rang through the air. The sound lasted less than a second, yet continued to ring in Silver's ears. The sound seemed to paralyze both Silver and Eve where they were, unable to move as fear shot
through them. All the other noises and sounds nearby fell silent, as though waiting for what was about to happen.

A crackling sound suddenly came, snapping and popping as it seemed to get louder. Snapping out of his petrified state, Silver turned to grab Eve and jump to the bank. However, as he turned, the ice split under Eve. In an instant, Eve disappeared
under the water into the churning river.

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- Chapter 13: Cold -

Silver's heart stopped for a second when Eve suddenly dunked into the water as the ice gave way beneath her. Without a second thought, Silver leapt in after her. His body immediately tried to stop from the shock of the icy water hitting him, much
colder than the outside weather. He barely kept himself from gasping for a breath, knowing he wouldn't survive if he did. His body was tossed a little as he took a second to reorient himself.

The water threw him around from its strong current. Silver waved his paws around, trying to swim in the raging water, but his struggles were almost useless. He barely knew how to swim before, and he was way too inexperienced to swim in this
current.

Remembering his objective, Silver opened his eyes, though they stung from the freezing water. A little farther down river, Silver saw a bundle of brown being dragged away, a few bubbles coming off it. It had to be Eve.

Silver desperately tried to start moving toward her his legs wildly swinging to try and control his movements. When his body's course was barely changed, he tried harder, though still to no success. As he began to want to breathe, Silver started
concentrating on holding his breath, his legs started to move on instinct. Soon, his body actually started moving more to his will, and he slowly started to move toward the flowing brown body that was Eve.

Silver's lungs were starting to burn as he finally reached her, though he was distressed to see no more air bubbles coming from her. Bubbles rushed out of his mouth as Silver latched onto what he hoped was her mane.

As Silver continued to hold his desire to take in air, his instinctive padding brought him toward the closest bank he could find. Silver's lungs were really started to burn now, black appearing on the edge of his vision, as he finally reached a side. The
current was weak here, allowing him to stay mostly stationary with his paws barely touching the bank.

Silver tried to move up, but the ice blocked him from escaping. Silver's mind raced as his vision continued to fade. How would they get past the ice? Taking the first idea that came, Silver spun in the water, his tail glowing as he gathered energy into
it. His Iron Tail broke it with a muffled crack, the ice flying out and away.

Desperate and weak, Silver kicked up through the hole, scrabbling at the edge to pull himself up. His vision was almost completely black before he pulled Eve fully out. Letting go of her mane, Silver gasped as he finally took in a breath.

As his body tried to get in as much oxygen as possible, he almost lost his grip, but found a slight traction with the frost to keep his paws still. After a few more struggling gasps, Silver pulled himself out of the freezing river with about seven pounds
of extra weight in water absorbed into his fur. The air seemed even colder as it hit his wet skin, making him instantly shiver.

Silver's teeth were chattering a little as he looked over for Eve. She was splayed out on the ice nearby. Quickly, Silver grabbed her by the scruff and pulled her to the bank. Though her back end was dragging along the ice, he did not stop until he was
sure they were off the ice river.

Silver gently put Eve down, panting as he had not fully recovered his breath. He looked Eve over, her fur completely flattened with the soaking. Worried she might have swallowed water, Silver came up to her and moved her onto her back. Though he
had only been taught rudimentary lessons about swimming, he knew that he needed to get any water Eve had swallowed out so that she could breathe.

Silver placed his paws on her stomach and gently but quickly thrust down. Eve heaved and some water was spat out. Encouraged, Silver repeated the process until Eve stopped coughing up water. After checking to make sure she was breathing,
Silver moved his thought process to the next step, taking everything one at a time.

When he noticed the cold again, and that snow was still falling, Silver realized they needed shelter now, or they would freeze, especially while they were drenched. Silver looked around frantically and saw a tree nearby that might provide a little
shelter.

Silver grabbed Eve by the scruff again and started to drag her over the snow to the tree. He tried but failed to keep Eve off the snow, so they left a wide trail behind as he pulled her through the ever rising snow.

It seemed like an eternity before he finally reached the large tree with the little protection it would provide. His sides starting to shiver from the cold, Silver headed between two roots to settle down.

As Silver stepped forward, he suddenly stumbled as the snow gave way. Holding Eve tightly, he started to panic as he continued to fall past the ground. Finally, Silver hit some ground, Eve next to him. Once the snow had settled, Silver sat up and
blinked open his eyes.

He gasped as he saw he was in a small burrow underneath the tree. It had been mostly dug out, part of the walls and ceiling made of the roots of the tree. The burrow was more than large enough for both him and Eve, the ceiling high enough for him to
stand with his ears up. It seemed just like the perfect shelter.

Pausing, Silver remembered that the den might already be taken. Raising his nose, Silver took in the air deeply, almost sneezing from a small amount of dust. Silver's tail tiredly wagged as he found no other scents beside earth and roots. They had
finally found a place to stay.

Silver turned around and saw that the entrance was a small, short tunnel that had been hidden by the snow. Though it was much warmer inside the den, it was still cold, and getting colder as the open entrance allowed the air in.

Shivering, Silver picked Eve up and pulled her to the farthest wall away from the entrance to keep her in the warmest part. Finally safe with a good shelter, Silver allowed himself a moment to rest a little.

After slowing his rapid heartbeat and catching his breath, Silver realized they were both still drenched. Worried about the shivering Eve, he leaned down and started to lick her fur dry, making sure to go the wrong way to fully dry it and keep her as
warm as possible. Though he normally would have been uncomfortable doing it, he only thought about making sure she was warm and safe. Even with this thought, he still stopped before rolling her over, too self-conscious to touch her there.

Now that Eve was mostly dry, Silver began to dry himself off. By the time he had finished, he was growing extremely tired by all the sudden exertions. The light had also heavily darkened as night began to set in. His eyelids already drooping, he
suddenly paused as he wondered if he should lay next to Eve.

He immediately made his decision when Eve shivered. Curling up next to her, he laid close enough for their fur to touch to help keep her warm, his tail laying over her. He instantly fell asleep from exhaustion.

(0)

Silver woke up with Eve pressed closer to him than the night before. Easing slowly away, Silver got up and stretched his aching muscles. Now that he had had some rest, he began to plan what to do next.

Now that they had a stable shelter, the next objective was stockpiling some food. Most berries had a week at most before they all shriveled from the cold weather. If they were going to get enough for winter, he would need to start gathering food now.

Glancing back to check on Eve, Silver headed over to the entrance. Silver poked his head out the den to look around. The snow had stopped, the sun now out. However, the sun's rays would not be melting the sun anytime soon. The snow was now about six inches high, shocking him by touching his belly as he came out.

Looking around, Silver headed for the first mostly covered bush he saw. Going over to it, Silver brushed the snow off. Not really noting what the berries were, Silver leaned in to snip off a few berries. He paused as he realized he would have to make
several trips. Thinking quickly, Silver instead snapped the branch off, carrying twice as many berries than he could before as he headed back to the den.

Silver came down and placed the berry branch down to the side. He glanced at Eve before going for some more berries. He continued to work as quickly as he could, glad that the den was still staying much less cold than the outside. Eve stayed
asleep in the same position as before each time Silver checked her, making him slightly worry.

Silver rested slightly as he placed another berry branch on the growing pile. When he was outside, he could tell it wouldn't be long before the sun would begin to set. The day was almost over, but Eve was still not awake.

Worried, Silver headed over to her and placed a paw on her. Thankfully, she was warm . . . not even slightly cold. Leaning down, Silver was worried to see her breathing was slightly faster than it should be. Something had to be wrong.

Trying not to panic, Silver wondered what he could do. Eve shouldn't be this warm for no reason. But what could he do? I need some help, Silver decided.

Checking on Eve one last time, Silver slipped back out into the white forest. Unsure where to go, Silver went to the river, using it as a guide so he wouldn't get lost. He was about to head downstream, when he saw a strange lump on snow on top of
the river nearby. Though against the bank, it was too far out to just be snow.

Approaching it, Silver saw that it was actually a large den made of sticks and logs. Any ice near the wooden den was broken, allowing Silver to once again see the sinister river. Ignoring the water, Silver went up to the den.

He paused, unsure how to get their attention, when he finally just called out, "Hello?"

He waited a moment before hearing a quiet splash. He was startled when a head suddenly popped up out of the water and glared at him. With a brown furred hear, the paler fur shooting up around its eyes and the almost black snout, the still most
startling feature was the large teeth outside its mouth. "What is it ye want?" the Bibarel asked.

"S-sir, I have a f-friend that I think something is w-wrong with," Silver started.

"We can't help ye, so go away," the Bibarel said, about to dunk under the water.

There was another splash, before a second Bibarel appeared, this one looking much friendlier. "Honey, we can still tell how to help his friend," she said, a motherly tone in her voice. Her head turned to face Silver, and she said, "What's wrong with
her?"

"I-I'm not sure. She's really warm and taking deeper breathes than normal. Yesterday, we were outside a lot and accidently fell in the river," Silver said.

The motherly Bibarel paused, before nodding. "She may have a cold. Try to get her to eat some Oran berries, they should help her recover. Also, she'll need plenty of rest," the Bibarel explained.

"Thank you so much," Silver called as he turned to go, seeing she was done. The Bibarel nodded in response and went back under the water.

Silver dashed back to the den eager to help Eve. Inside, Eve was still asleep, her breathing still deep. Silver quickly went through the small pile of berries and pulled out every Oran berry he found. They had four in total, so he would need to make
them count.

Silver paused as he realized Eve needed to wake up to eat them. He needed to get her the Oran berries now, not when she woke. Coming up with an idea, Silver brought the Oran berries over to Eve. Carefully, Silver punctured one side of an Oran
berry with his teeth. Placing it over Eve's mouth, Silver slowly squeezed the berry, allowing the juice to drip down into her maw. After a little, Silver stopped to tilt Eve's head back, sighing with relief when she instinctively swallowed the juice.

Silver continued the slow process until he had completely squeezed out two Oran berries. Placing the others to the side for later, Silver checked Eve's head. She was still running a fever, but Silver hoped the Oran berries would start to work soon.

Unsure if he should, Silver hesitantly laid down beside Eve. Her body was warm against his, another thing to make him worried. Out of habit, Silver laid his tail over her. Realizing too much warmth may be bad for her, he went to pull it off. However,
Eve suddenly scooted slightly closer to him, though she was still asleep.

Sighing, Silver left his tail over her and tried to sleep. It was a while before sleep came, though. His thoughts were running around in his head, preventing him from relaxing for a long time. Finally, though, he was able to fall into an uneasy sleep.

(0)

Eve slowly woke, her head hurting slightly from a headache. Her first thought was on how she was starting to sweat a little, though she didn't feel that warm. Her second thought was on how she felt something pressed against her tightly, while something else draped over her.

Enjoying the warm, Eve tried to huddle against whatever it was. Eve held her breath when the thing began to move. Her cheeks lit up when she realized it had been Silver next to her. She kept her eyes down as he got up, unable to meet his eyes.

"You're awake," Silver said, sounding extremely relieved. "How do you feel?"

"A-a little s-sick," Eve murmured, still slightly embarrassed.

Eve looked up when Silver suddenly put two large, blue berries in front of her. "Here, I was told these Oran berries should help you get better," he explained.

When she looked at the berries, she suddenly realized how hungry she was. "Thanks," she murmured, before quickly eating the two berries. She felt much better once she had consumed both, and sat up. Looking around, Eve saw that they were in
what appeared to be a small den. "Where are we?" Eve asked.

"I found this burrow by accident, but no one was using it, so I brought you here," Silver explained.

Wondering how she missed this, she tried to remember what had last happened. We were crossing the river, and then something happened . . . a loud crack . . . I fell in! Eve suddenly remembered. "What about the river? How did I-" Eve stopped as she
looked at Silver. "Did you pull me out?"

Silver nodded, though he didn't meet her eyes.

"I-I don't know what to say. Thank you, Silver," Eve said, still stunned.

"Uh, you're welcome. I'll go get you something water," he replied, adding the last part quickly.

As he went out the small tunnel, Eve laid back down. He saved my life, Eve thought slowly. Why would he risk his for mine? Eve wondered, watching the entrance. Eve suddenly blushed as she then realized she was dry after the whole ordeal.

Before she could speculate more, Silver reappeared, a piece of ice in his jaws. He placed it down in front of her and sat down. Eve only realized how thirsty she was when she started lapping at the melting chunk of ice. Though the ice melted quickly,
Eve was still able to quench most of her thirst with it.

"I'm going to go collect some more berries. I'll be close if you need something. Try to rest," Silver said, before going back out.

Eve watched him until he was fully gone, her heart fluttering for some reason. Am I . . . am I starting to love him? I-I can't; he's my friend and wouldn't want that . . . would he? Eve covered her head as she tried to stop her thoughts, but they still
continued. We couldn't be anything; I'll going with my trainer. But . . . if he comes with me, maybe we could- No, he wouldn't want to be captured, right? Eve sighed as the unanswerable questions flew through her mind. I need to ask him if he will, Eve finally
thought, putting the other thoughts aside.

Tired, Eve curled up and went to sleep.

(0)

Silver came in one last time, the berry branch dragging behind him. After working the whole day, the growing pile was finally starting to put hope into Silver. At this rate, they would be able to make it. He was extremely thankful of all the nearby bushes.

Sitting the berries down on the pile, Silver went to check on Eve. She had fallen asleep again, though it appeared to be a more peaceful sleep. Checking her forehead, Silver was relieved that Eve's fever had dropped some; she was starting to get
better.

With Eve getting better, a growing stockpile of food, and a protective den to keep the cold out, things were finally starting to look up. Silver sighed contentedly and laid down next to Eve. As he placed his tail over her, he wondered how he could tell
her how he felt. However, he knew he would be waiting at least until she was healthy once more.

Enjoying the feel of Eve beside him and the knowledge that she was getting better, Silver quickly fell asleep.
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