Into The Moonlight: Farewell

"She's missing..."

My heart dropped a beat, turning to Tanya with confusion and fear, "missing! What's that mean!" I demanded out of fear that my question be answered, exchanging glances at my new human trainer and Gal.

Tanya had her head lowered and placed her head onto her palms, sobbing quietly by the sounds of it. Gal on the other hand looked away and held himself tense; getting a hunch that he knew something.

"She just happened to run away after..." he turned his back and walked in circles, looking down and grumbling. "I thought I..." he collapsed forward by accident, he managed to grab onto the end of the bed, stopping him from falling to the ground. "That was silly," he had a wide grin on his face, rubbing the back of his head hesitantly.

My heart at that point felt like it stopped, she ran away, why? What caused her to run away? I felt something in me dislocate itself, I don't know what it was, but a small shudder overcame my body and tears seeped at my eyes, though I had never tried to cry, nor had I tried to hide them. They were forced.

"Why did she run away? Why?" I repeated with my body slumping onto the bed and taking a snivel as tears slid down my eyes.

Gal crossed his arms and placed his head to the side, "No clue..." he said hesitantly with a lack of concentration, me noticing it knowing now he was hiding something.

"You're hiding something, you solve problems, and she would have told you something that, cause her to do something stupid..." I stated as I stood on all fours, my voice stinging with my voice rising, only increasing the discomfort in my throat. "She was lying with me when I went to sleep earlier on this bed with odd behaviour," I added with a sob, my ears lowering and more tears spilling forward.

"Earlier? When you awoke, she was being cared for in the room next door. The only one with you was Sally, who stayed by your side until you awoke." I heard Tanya explain as I held my gaze at Gal's expression changing from stern to guilt.

"Sally..." my tears stopped, my mind piecing together fragments and the information Tanya just told me. "Is Sally an Espeon?" I asked as I heaved myself up and sat back on my haunches. I received a nod from Tanya as she wiped away tears that stained her skin, Gal looking away as if he was the criminal of a crime.

"...It's my fault she ran away... I told Sally to pretend to be her and she fooled you with ease... as she didn't look like she was going to pull through. But she woke up after you had and I'm still baffled by that..." he started as he sat on the edge of the bed and placed his arms in his laps. "I carried her in here when you and Sally were sleeping together, you hugging her... She flailed out of my arms and that's about all..." he claimed as he placed his arms crossed again, that was like his signature move.

Confusion took me at that point, Sally played as Eirene because Gal told her to, just to hide me from the truth. "Where's Sally?"

"Crying at her home," Tanya stated as I saw Gal flail his arms, beginning to tell her off for not being quite, which I was beginning to like about her. She was truthful from the moment I saw her.

I ignored it and jumped off the bed, staggering as I fell forward and hit my chin on the tiled floor. I got back up and staggered out of the Pokémon Centre, not giving a care on what Gal was telling me to do. He was supposed to solve problems, not cause them.

When I reached outside, the sun shining brightly onto the town as I viewed where I was, I found myself faced with so many things. The fact that I realised the town, was confusing, they mustn't have moved yet. That would explain why Gal and Sally were still here now that I think about it.

So much ran through my head and I found that the only place I could go was in the forest surrounding the town. She would of had to run into there, yet in which direction and when. I didn't know how long she had been lost and how long she was alone.

Yet, I didn't care where I ran, I wanted Eirene and I was determined to find her... to fix myself. I didn't feel myself since i heard she's missing, something was missing within me and it was beginning to cloud my senses. It was something dark and twisted as I didn't like the feel of it one bit. So I ignored it as it was what was important now, it was finding Eirene that was.

I made myself into a random direction of the forest, running hopelessly and pointlessly as I had no plan, I was just sure that this was the right direction to go.

My body lay near the river, the sound of continuous streaming water like the cries of the one I love, raging on with one thing causing it. But the cause was unknown until I found where she was. I was lying near the bed of it, glancing into the water and watching my reflection as I found myself different.

I had stopped running around, taking a breather near the river as it was my only way to get back to town, if I chose the right way anyway. That was only if I found Eirene though, I wasn't leaving her out here if she was here in the first place. I also stopped as my throat was burning and I needed something to cool it off. My breathing was incredibly heavy and my body was unbearably tired.

The image of me was what I looked like; it was the same, but deeper inside, their lurked darkness. My crimson eyes were holding a new entity within them... each second alone now was bringing me down to a point where I was blaming myself.

It was true actually, it was my fault. If I managed to identify it was Sally who was sitting next to me when I awoke, this wouldn't have happened.

"You can't help but give in, can't you?" my reflection said with a grin on its face.

"Can't help what?" I asked my reflection with confusion.

"The dark impurity in your heart, you know it's there, you just have to let it run your body. You'll feel so much better, you'll feel relieved."

Dark impurity? I had a dark impurity in my heart. "That's a lie! I can't have that...!" the more I forced the idea of not having it, it made sense that I did. I wanted that Weavile to die in my clutches and I done it. The feel of killing a creature, a living creature was something... Shade could never do that...

"And you are not Shade, are you?" the reflection said as the river turned to the darkest of nights. A replica of me emerged itself from the once clear river, woven in black tendrils as they slithered around me and grabbed my paws with no delay.

The reflection I was staring at held deep red eyes that were broken, looking in them showed the fear and lust of hurt in them, of pain, of darkness. I tried to avert my gaze, but I was entranced by them as the dark tendrils began to tighten and burn my body, sending jolts of pain throughout it.

"No..." is all I could manage as the tendrils yanked my body forward, having no difficulty at dragging me as I laid there with the surge of pain gone and only thoughts of malicious desires corrupting my mind.

I felt pain in my heart seep away with ease, my body laboured completely as I felt relaxed in the daydream of what I am. The small piece of lust for hurt accompanied me before it seemed to settle me down with each pull I felt from the tendrils that were dragging me into the blackened river.

The sounds of screams from the river, agonizing, painful ones were running through me somehow from the tendrils. They were like a link from darkness itself, collecting me to become what it wanted from me...

I turned my head towards the water as the tendrils encompassed me fully at a sudden accelerated rate. Darkness covered my eyes and I saw nothing but emptiness. A place I was somehow familiar with.

"To see yourself true..." a female voice echoed through my head, one familiar, but I couldn't put a name to it.

The emptiness was somehow familiar, but I wasn't ready to take it into my mind. I could feel lust, desire and need envelop and enclose around my heart and clench at it, trying to pierce it and destroy it and weave itself into the impurity of those who have lost themselves.

"Counting the faults that cradled you back..."the voice repeated as I was lured to it.

"Those who have lost themselves are of impurity and those who craze blood and death of others with sadistic pleasure... something that I know Shade wasn't and isn't going to become." Who was this voice, it sounded so familiar...

"To be abandoned and forced... forced..."

I opened my eyes wide, glimpsing at darkness itself as the tendrils began to weaken themselves around me. The sudden change of darkness began to change my body, feeling pain surge through me as I forced myself onto my feet.

"To darkness..."

They all began to diminish; leaving only what started this, my reflection of impurity, what took me into almost complete darkness. I conjured my mind with glimpses of my memory, my rings radiating a bright yellow as I got onto my feet.

I hung my head high as I glanced at the shadow of my darker ambitions backing away with uncertainty. A shining figure behind him, that held my gaze before it disappeared in a ray of light, stunned me as its figure was somewhat familiar.

"How...? You're meant to give in!" The dark Umbreon called out, lowering its head and growling weakly. The river under it remained black and dark, tendrils pooled around him, sparks of dark electric energy pending itself between the snake-like appendages.

"To see myself true and counting the faults in my life. To be abandoned and forced to darkness. To yield a shattered glimpse of love, and turn the darkness into light," I murmured as I realised what I said, unwillingly, something was controlling me that I couldn't explain, but it was warm and right with the presence of another spirit within me, something that I hadn't felt before.

The Umbreon turned its head, "Love? Light? All that to stay weak, and content to have happiness at the end of the tunnel?" he chuckled loudly and hissed for the tendrils to surround me once more. This time they circled me continuously, making no attempt to attack me as if stalled by something.

Something in me clicked, something that had been lost and now felt it was fallen into place. I took a step forward, having a feel that I had to beat this former impurity somehow, and the way to do it was printed across me, but I was unsure if I could go through with it.

"No! You can! Show your darker ambitions that you hold power in the darkest of situations," the voice once again echoed again as it finally keyed its way into my mind. "Do it for me, show the darkness you can tame it like you did me!"

I placed another paw forward, my paw stepping into the rivers black water and creating a spark of dark energy that tried to snake itself onto me, failing as golden sparks countered them from the rings on my body.

The next thing I knew was that I lunged at the shadow, making it disappear completely as I landed in the blackened water face first, and feeling pain course through my body.

"Just remember, I'll always be lingering within you, and I'll strike when you're prone to give in." a voice echoed before it diminished, not the feminine one, but the one that tried to blacken my soul.

The tendrils wrapped around my back from the water, pulling me down into it somehow as they wrapped themselves around me and constricted every part of my body, making me gasp for some air after several minutes, gushes of bubbles emerging in great quantities, light swirling alongside it and soon nothing came into existence.

I opened my eyes as I got a view of my surroundings, standing onto my feet as my fur was standing on ends, even though it felt drenched and matted. My heart felt like it was going to pop out of my chest with how scared I felt, my body shivering as my fur was soaking wet for an odd reason. That was a dream, wasn't it? My fur was soaked and my dream that I hope was a dream was me lastly drowning in water.

"Ironic... isn't it..." a female voice echoed throughout the location I was in. It was dimly lit, able to make out most features of the den. This was my den, and that voice was Eirene. I looked around and caught Eirene sitting on her haunches, staring at me curiously.

"What's ironic?" I said cheeringly as I begun to make my way to her. Her head was lowered and she sounded like she was sobbing.

I felt my body stopped suddenly and my body flung back against the wall when her face swung up. I fell onto my side as I gazed at her with confusion, "You found me at a river like I did you just now. You awoke scared and trembling in fear like I did when I awoke here." She paced forward and sat down in front of me as I saw her fur to be matted and dirty. I assume it was safe, so I got onto my feet carefully as I expected her to send me flying again, but she didn't. "And you want to cry to me like I did to you," she added as I fell forward, landing below her as a small yelp made its way out of me when I hit my neck onto the ground.

Tears streamed down my face as she crawled closer to me and pushed me onto my side and hugged me softly. I rubbed my head into her chest, crying louder as I felt her coo for me to stop crying. "Eirene... it was so dark... I was so scared..." I said to her with all the truth I could in my voice.

"It's okay, just pour your heart out and I'll listen to you," she assured me, licking me on my forehead. I snivelled and placed my head on the floor as I slowly but surely came down from my crying fit after several minutes, trying to forget the darkness.

"How did I end up here...?" I asked after I got to thinking of what I done last, remembering I was lapping up some water at the river, catching my breath after having ran aimlessly around the forest, waking up here with my Espeon..

"I found you lying in the river, submerged in it, might I add," she began with her licks continuing along my face, licking my already drenched fur. "How did you end up in it?" she asked as she pushed her head back, blinking a few times as I stared hazily at her violet eyes.

That's a good question really; all I remember about it was that I was drinking water in my sad state. Unless that dream was real, and I was merely blocking it as a fact, being too scared to face dark impurity. "I think I'm breaking down... I had, I think anyway, a dream that I was being pulled towards darkness and hatred..." I glanced away, looking over at the entranced of the long, narrowed tunnel that led to the den, "it had to be a dream though... reflections can't talk..." I murmured in my raspy voice.

Her eyes were wide open when I turned to look back at her, her tail coiling around my right hind leg with small jolts. "Well you're here now so the dreams over," she pointed reassuringly.

I shook my head as I didn't want to talk about myself, not now anyway. "Why did you run away?" I questioned her straight out as she leaned in close to my face as we laid in each other's paws, lying on our sides with our breathing settled and similar.

"It was stupid of me, but when I saw you with another Espeon... I thought you were cheating on me..." she removed herself from me and stood up, walking a few paces away. "But it was Sally... finding out after she followed me and found me in tears, here. Realising it was her and I had missed her evolution, and had made a fool of myself... I've been here for two days waiting for you to come," she explained as her voice became angered and her tailed flicked a small amount in anger, "you made me wait here, alone, cold, hoping you'd show up any minute..." she lunged at me and rolled me onto my back with her paws pinning me down as I remained calm. "But you never did, I had to go out and find you... swimming unconsciously in water!" She sobbed as she held her head near mine, her tears strolling down and falling onto my face.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to... It was my..." I stopped as she leaned forward, placing her lips on mine and kissing me passionately as her cries increased in speed.

She leaned herself back as she blinked the tears that remained at her eyes away, "It's not your fault, it Sammy's, no one else's!" she quickly went back to the kiss, making me shudder and purr along with her in a tender moment, before once again she pulled away, "just promise you'll never leave me alone again."

With a nod from me, I leant forward and gave her a kiss with a small sting in my throat that I was ignoring at this point.

A few minutes passed and I was conflicted about what I didn't see about the difference, Sally was no different in appearance then Eirene, anyone could make the mistake, right? But I did suspect something of personality, though I didn't say anything. How stupid of me.

"This may be a bad time to say this, but your voice sounds funny, like you have a Pachirisu in it. It sounds all raspy and squeaky... but it's cute for you," she smiled as she sat on her haunches and pawed at the ground, her claws retracting and scraping the once solid ground.

"Squeaky?" I cocked my head to the side, dumbfounded as it didn't sound squeaky for me.

She nodded her head and drew a small circle with her claws, "have you decided who you're going to live with? After all, when I go back, we'll probably be leaving straight away," she said suddenly with a change of her happy attitude to a more serious one.

I gave a sigh as I placed my head on the ground, drooping forward my body and lying on my stomach, pinning my ears back. If we were to leave straight away, that means I wouldn't get a chance to talk to Lacy... and I remember Gal commenting that Tanya was my new trainer.

I stood up and walked to the entrance of the den with my mind decided. I gestured with my head to follow me, or lead me back to town as she must know the way back. I didn't.

She was standing by me as I leaned on her, falling asleep suddenly as I saw darkness veil over my vision and attack me from all sides.

The feel of licks on my face began to stir my body from a comfy slumber. A sudden movement made my body fly in the air, opening my eyes quickly as I slammed into a metal wall with my head, falling back down and landing on a green sought of pillow.

My head was throbbing as I placed my paws on it and began rubbing it, trying to make the throb go away.

"You okay!" Eirene said as she licked my forehead, having to nuzzle my paws away to sooth it.

"Ngh... That hurt... What was it?" I said as I began to purr and relax with her licks, though her looks continued and I slowly began to seep into impurity of darkness...

"Were in a moving truck, and it's quite a bumpy ride so far," she laughed, rolling me onto my back and laying on me, her weight being a way to hold me from flying in the air again if they were to hit something.

"So..." I looked around to see we were surrounded by furniture of all variety: chairs, couches, tables and others that were covered with plastic, boxes that were tied and stack securely, although they shook softly and made me fear that they would collapse. There was also the pillow we were lying on, not secured by anything but our combined weight. "I guess I should be happy," I continued with a sigh, placing my head on the pillow.

Eirene gave a lick at my nose, giving a small whine, "You're not happy? Why?" she said as she placed her paws on my chest, supporting herself as she gave me a look of weariness.

"I'm scared... I just want the darkness to go away..." I cried verbally as I gave Eirene my gaze of emptiness. I truly didn't feel happy at the situation, not after my awkward dream, and my sudden collapse into sleep and waking up here without goodbye to old friends. I was feeling less and less myself...

"Don't worry... just think of me if that shadow Umbreon tries to pull you into his mind," she cooed as she placed her weight on me and gave me a warm embrace, leaning her head next to mine and making a whistling tune that was soothing.

I realised what she said after a few minutes after she had settled me down, shuffling herself so she was lying her head on my chest while still looking at me. "How did you know..." I was cut off as I heard a voice in my head.

"Because I was there, aiding you through thought as you were being consumed by the darkness," Eirene gave a small smile and I was in a little confusion, though I knew she just spoke through her mind to me.

"...Thank you..." I said as I pulled her up with my front paws and hugged her, rubbing my head into her matted fur, "But please don't read my mind without my consent... I know you would have or have... but it's an invasion of privacy..." I claimed as I placed a small peck on her muzzle with a smile forming on mine during the small affectionate act.

"Okay... only with your consent..." she paused for a few minutes, rising up and down my chest as I breathed along with her, mine slightly faster, but just as quiet. "Can I now?" she pleaded with a lick on my chin.

Shaking my head as we jumped together thanks to a bump on the outside of the moving vehicle we were in. Sometime during our moment in the air, we swapped places and I ended being on top of her when we landed back on the pillow. Man the driver was reckless or the ground must be extremely rocky with how high we went then.

I looked over her body as I shifted myself so I was sitting on her stomach, looking down and noticing how dirty her fur was. "Look at your grimy fur, all dirty and muddy..."

She looked to the side and gave a small sigh, "I want it clean, but I have to wait to reach home before I can have a nice bath and feel my fur to be sparkling clean, and a nice grooming along with it..." she murred afterwards and curled her body.

"All that in... two days you hid. Don't you know how to groom yourself?" I joked but she took it offensively as I felt her paw slap me across my face leaving me a little dazed as I lifted my paw and felt where her paw had struck. The small sting came after and she just gave out a giggle as I rubbed my left cheek with my left paw.

"That's what you get for saying that you little joker, though I think you should still pay up in more ways than one," she said as she flicked her ears to the side and stared at me with the corner of her eyes, grinning with mystery at me as she remained curled with her tail slithering up my back.

Was she actually thinking of mating? In a moving truck? "Yeah... I'm not exactly up for mating; I don't feel in the mood for it." I gave her a smile as I leaned down and kissed her, feeling the tip of her tail push the back of my spine hard and begin massaging it, setting me into a small purr.

"Who said anything about mating?" The Espeon stated in my mind with a smile during the kiss. I leant back and cocked my head to the side, baffled by her response. "I'd prefer you to groom my fur... and I want to have a little talk with you about our future." Her voice showed she was begging for a nice groom that I would happily give her...

The way I fell onto the pillow that Tanya set up for us in my new house was clearly out of shock. I collapsed on it with all my thoughts concentrating on the offer Eirene gave me and surely was a hard one for me. Was I ready of such an… obligation?

Only an hour in and I was already conflicted by more than darkness or saying goodbye to friends. Though, Eirene wanted what many couples wanted in love and was surely deciding this with me if I were happy to it. Yet, the question was if I was actually ready to be a father to a kit, or litter. She said she was in heat and wanted me to help her with it and produce offspring, as she said it. At least now I knew what offspring were now, and that strong aroma I had smelt emanating from her.

I gazed at the ceiling of the walled house, nothing in particular to say besides big, empty, lack of coloured walls and a white ceiling that was the same as the walls. There were boxes stacked around, but they would soon disappear when everything was arranged and furniture was adjusted and placed where everyone liked it.

My ears twitched when I heard Eirene's laugh from the bathroom, getting the bath she wanted with haste so she didn't feel dirty.

Though I waited by the pillow for her to finish, she had told me she had a surprise for me when she finished and I was looking forward to something to brighten my day. Even though feeling Eirene lie next to me made me happy and to be in her embrace as we would lay side-by-side talking and getting to know each other better, that made my day then mating did. Sure it was pleasurable and really intimate with one another, I found it somewhat wrong and demeaning in a way. Hard to explain as I'm filled with conflicted feelings, there probably making me more detailed about everything I questioned.

I was so deep in thought that I must have lost track of time as Eirene was splashing me with water from her, laying on me as well and slightly matting my fur as it absorbed some of the water that dripped from her.

"Are you ready for your surprise?" She said quickly as I realised I wasn't lying on the pillow anymore and instead in the basin of a big, white tub that was filled with a small quantity of water that was soaking my back and matting it. It was lukewarm at least and I assumed my surprise was a bath, yet I was only guessing.

"How did you get me in here?" I asked as I tried shifting my body but found she held me down with no attempts to let me go.

"The answer you give determines the answer I give you. so did you want to have a scurrying child to be cared by you and me?"

I gave a small nod as I had decided I would like to have a son or daughter for one reason, it would make me happy to have someone look up to me for advice and other things I thought they would need of a father.

"Well that answer means you receive an answer of me dragging the pillow here and tipping you in here with a fair amount of effort while you were thinking," she giggled as she leant her hips against my loins and began rubbing up and down. "And without further ado," she bent down her head and gave me a kiss as she used her tongue and try and find entrance in my mouth. Let's get to making one."

That mind talking she does got at me and I was questioning how she managed to speak to me in such away, but I thought love came first and that was what I was focusing on.

Not exactly to be honest, I was thinking of that Umbreon, it said it would attack me when I'm prone and that it was still within me. Then Eirene said to me that she had aided me through thought, that echoing voice through my head was her during that out of place dream.

But how? That's really what I wanted to know, and when I had a chance to ask her she just replied that love works in mysterious ways. What was that suppose to mean in such a situation? Was I like at deaths grip or something? Well I'm here now, so that says that I'm lucky... Lucky to have someone who was willing to take care of me after I had failed my own promise to her...

"Your promise wasn't broken as you're here with me now with my number one wish hopefully coming true after all the years I wanted it," she said through my mind as I gave her a frown.

"I told you not to do that..." she stopped me as she placed her paw onto my muzzle.

She gave me a long stare with a mischievous grin on it, her paws placed on my chest as she leaned in close, passing my muzzle, her muzzle just a few inches away from my left ear. "Oh... but I can give you the feel of what you really want. I can see what you like most about the whole mating act," she whispered as I felt her breathe on my ear before teeth nibbled at it and bit down hard, me giving a yelp as I didn't expect that, "after your punishment, that is," she grinned seductively and tossed her hips against my exposed flesh as she began to grind herself against it.

Punishment? What punishment? I was beginning to shake before I got an answer from her mentally, making me shudder as I didn't think she actually was still holding it against me. Now I can see why Gal hates her mind reading.

"You failed to see the difference between Sally and I, and you made me wait for you. Those 'mistakes' deserve you some punishment of some sort, don't you think?"

I leaned my head back, giving out a small yelp that turned into a yip. Now this was something I was looking forward to her mind reading, she was going to get at things I wanted from her. I was eagerly waiting for my punishment in a happy, but scared way, knowing that I was going to be in for a... thrill...

It was somewhat of a farewell present… leaving behind others to receive a new sort of… life… A gift rarely given and hard to receive… only if you're willing to except yourself into new responsibilities…

I was.

And the ability to think I could have something with her that our love can nurture is what would be my key to looking forward to a bright future. If nothing goes wrong that is… I had to keep myself up going and not fall back. I don't want to fall to darkness and be lost forever… that's why I think a child will make me look forward to each day…

The End…