Hearts
Cassie purred, rubbing her cheek against the nearby couch. She could not believe it...and yet, she knew it would be true.
She blinked, and then thought to check again. Future Sights were never wrong, but sometimes they were just read incorrectly.
The Espeon took a deep breath, and relaxed all of the muscles in her body. Her fine fur shook as a small gust of wind blew around her, and the tips of her split tail quivered as her jewel sparkled. She would not look into the future to see the weather tomorrow (she already had: it would be partly cloudy with slightly cool temperatures) or the attacks of an enemy that had yet to happen (obviously, she was not in a battle), but something so much more important.
There! She saw it again! She felt herself in the future, licking an Eevee pup. The Eevee squealed, and happily looked over his mother's head. Cassie felt herself peer behind her, and stare into the bottomless red eyes of him. That Umbreon she had loved for a long, long, long time.
The future-telling Pokemon giggled in her normal fashion as her peek into the future ended. She knew what it meant; it was almost painfully obvious.
She. And. Mortimus. Were. Going. To. Have. A. Baby.
Mortimus and Cassandra, AKA Morty and Cassie. Could it be any cuter?
Cassie jumped up onto the couch, scanning the lobby of the research center thoughtfully. The Eevee Research Institute semi-owned her, since her old trainer had been diagnosed with cancer. The young woman had started her training journey late, at nineteen, and bought Cassie from a breeder when she turned twenty. By then, she had three badges and loved her life.
One year later, Cassie evolved. One month after that, her trainer came back from the doctor's office crying. She had to undergo chemotherapy and radiation if she had any hopes of living. And for that, she didn't want to have to take care of five Pokemon.
Her Charizard and Fearow went back to the Oak laboratory indefinitely, she lent her Gyarados to a friend who lived by the sea, and her lovely imported Roselia got a "job" at a super-famous flower shop in Hoenn. Cassie, like the Roselia, also got a job. They all were eager to help their trainer with money during her treatment, so it was not forced or anything...
The Eevee Research Institute, a new organization that studied Eevee and their evolutions, bought Cassie for two years. They paid the trainer a small monthly fee, and housed Cassie.
Cassie loved her new life. It was very nice, seeing as she got to use her psychic powers all the time. Then, she got treats for it! Plus, she made a few friends...and met Mortimus.
Mortimus was an Umbreon who evolved at the lab. It was a forced evolution with a sort of dust from Orre, but he never made too big a fuss about it. The female Eeveelutions regarded him as hot, and he seemed to enjoy that.
However, he only threw her a smile, once or twice. If she was lucky. Four other Eeveelutions, two Flareons, a Vaporeon, and a Jolteon, seemed to elicit his attention a lot more than she ever did.
But she could never get him out of her mind.
She was head over heels for the Umbreon, and that would never change.
Cassie often started making a fool of herself in front of him...but that would have to change. She remembered something from that vision she saw, and that was a calendar. The date on the calendar was sixty days exactly away, and Espeons carried their young in eggs for five to seven days before laying them. The pup would hatch from the egg anywhere from thirty-five to fifty days later. That meant she had a little over a week to make Mortimus do more than smile at her.
---
Crack.
Crack.
The eyes glinted as they looked at the two bodies. They died instantly. After all, their necks were the ones that made those sickening sounds.
---
"Well, little Cassie, guess what?" Cassie trilled in mock-confusion at the female scientist. She knew. But the lady looked to happy to tell her...it wouldn't hurt to play along, now would it? "You're going to have a baby! How does that sound?"
Cassie purred, acting surprised. However, she remembered Mortimus. They had gotten very close the past ten days. Granted, it wasn't perfect, but her son would bring them closer together. It would make him forget anything...well...
He would love her just as much as she loved him. She would make sure of that.
"Now, then, I'm going to hold off on the tests on your psychic abilities for a little while, save for one or two. It's not every day we have on of our Espeons pregnant!" The other scientists then started chattering with the woman, as Cassie yawned. She felt the egg inside of her, and she knew her son was on his way...
Now all she had to do was let Mortimus know.
---
This time, the figure paused. The one they had just tried to kill had screamed, and was running away.
How strange.
Well, they would never get away.
The body fell to the ground, having run face-first into a knife. The knife had just been sitting on the counter of the table, and the victim had stupidly run into it.
Granted, the knife had not really been facing the victim when the victim started to run to the counter, to jump on it to get to the window to get out, but then again, nobody could really know that.
Except the one that turned the knife.
---
"Okay, Cassie, push, and take a deep breath."
Cassie focused, feeling hot all over. Plus, the lower half of her body kind of hurt...no wait, really hurt...the egg was pretty big, after all. Delivery was tough...
"Keep her calm!"
It was a big deal at the lab that Cassie was laying an egg. Most mammalian Pokemon only laid eggs that were fertilized, so the researchers were almost positive a little Eevee was inside.
Cassie shrieked, and with one last push, a slimy brown-and-white egg slid onto the towel below her. The Espeon shuddered, and collapsed. She had never felt so exhausted in her entire life, and she had her fair share of intense battles.
Her soft eyes turned on the slimy egg, which the scientists were busy examining and cleaning. She mewed softly, wanting to be near it. The Espeon felt an unbearable urge to warm it with her body, keep it warm. Her son was in there, after all, and the warmer it was, the sooner she would get to meet him.
As she curled her tail around it, she barely noticed the flurry of activity around her as she also was cleaned off. She could only focus on the egg and the feeling of intense happiness that seemed to want to burst from her heart.
---
One more. The figure felt happy in a sick sort of way. Something had happened recently that made them just...happy. So happy that they almost forgot about this one.
But no matter. They didn't.
They were near the water. Drowning them would be hard, since the soon-to-be victim dealt with water on a daily basis. But maybe...yes, there were some sharp rocks in the shallow area.
If they were pushed into the shallow area with enough force, the rocks would stab them.
Oh look.
It worked.
The figure ran away as the water covering the rocks started to lose its reflected blue color and turn a dull, murky red.
---
Cassie sighed happily. Today was the day! Her son would hatch!
Her time around the egg had been one on almost non-stop happiness. Mortimus had been ecstatic to learn that his son would soon be out of it.
Cassie was not sure if she could call it love for her yet, but no matter what, Mortimus would love his son. The scientists at the lab noted how enthusiastic a father he would be, since he seemed so anxious to have a son.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Cassie's eyes widened as a small paw shoved the eggshells out of his way, and his small head poked out and mewed for her. The Espeon trilled happily, moving him out of the egg with her psychic powers.
She licked the egg-slime off of him, and proudly stared at the small, quivering body. She could barely believe it.
She, Cassandra, was a mother!
The scientists had already named her son Dusk. Cassie, Morty, and Dusky. No, it could not be any cuter than that.
---
The killer paused, a smile on her face.
One thing left to do.
She had to ensure she would get her way.
---
Three days later, Dusk's eyes had opened, and the researchers took the two out of their private room. The other Eeveelutions cooed at the baby, and the Eevees giggled at their new friend. Dusk would soon join them in their games...
She smiled, licking Dusk with motherly affection. Dusk squealed happily, and looked over his mother at a Pokemon who was slowly pushing his way through the crowds. Cassie felt her heart lurch, and she too looked at the newcomer, only to stare into his bottomless red eyes with that similar feeling of deja vu...
Mortimus smiled softly, licking Cassie. She purred, marking him with her cheek. The Umbreon settled down on her other side, sandwiching Dusk in between them. The young Eevee sounded a sort of meow-like giggle, and snuggled in down in between his two parents.
The other Pokemon, growing bored of the sappy event, left to go about their daily routines. Nobody noticed the absence of two Flareons, a Jolteon, or a Vaporeon...
Cassie sighed happily, then yawning. Her heart felt like it would burst; she had never felt so happy in her entire life...
Well, she had, actually, but she couldn't even remember what had made her so happy before. That was the past, this...her son...he and his father were her present.
---
"Are you sure?" The head scientists asked the other woman, shaking her head. "I don't know...you say you saw Cassie kill Aquaria?"
"Yes. Well, I saw her gem glow, then the Vaporeon rose into the air, and slammed into the rocks in the shallow area of your little rocky pond out back. The Vaporeon, Aquaria, you say, never came back up to the surface. The water turned red, and the Espeon, Cassie, walked away. I didn't look for the body, I just...ran..."
"Yes...it is certainly strange that Flare, Blaze, Electra, and Aquaria all disappeared around the same time that Cassie started developing Dusk's egg. The other four, as well as Cassie, all had their eye on Mortimus...and we all thought Morty would go for Blaze. Of course, Blaze and Flare were the first to go..." She raised a finger to her lip as she stood in deep thought, her eyes fearful.
The woman nodded, and turned to leave. "I wish you luck in your research. Which way do I go to leave the lab? I wouldn't want to go deeper into the lab to interrupt your research."
"Oh, take the door to your left in the hall. The other way goes to the rooms with the Eeveelutions," the scientist replied absentmindedly.
"Thank you," the woman replied, bowing. Then she turned to leave.
The head scientist sighed, sinking into her chair. She was certain now Cassie had something to do with the disappearances of the other four female Eeveelutions. Mortimus barely noticed her before then...
"Oh Mew...what if she...?" The scientist stood up, picked up her walkie-talkie to talk to the scientist nearest Cassie's room. "Hello? This is Midorikawa. I need you to go into room A-4, yes, with Cassandra and Dusk, and get Mortimus out of there if he's in there. Make up some excuse. He isn't safe."
After a confused "okay" came through the machine, Midorikawa groaned. After Dusk reached maturity, she supposed she would have to...do something about Cassie as well. She was no longer safe to be around, for anybody. Although she didn't want to have to put the Espeon to sleep (she had always been such a sweet girl, too), it really had to be done as soon as possible.
She had read about this...if a psychic Pokemon tried to manipulate somebody to love them, and after the initial reaction of love wore off...and they realized the love was no longer returned, or was never really returned in the first place...
They almost always killed or seriously wounded the one they loved.
---
Cassie meowed as the scientist took Mortimus out of the room for a test on Faint Attacks. She wanted to be with him...but the tests were important. Besides, she had maternity leave from the tests, not him.
Shrugging it off, she started to clean Dusk as the door shut behind the scientist and the Umbreon he held. They had left rather quickly...
A few minutes later, the door opened again. Cassie's large ears pricked up again. Had Mortimus's tests finished already?
"Hello, Cassie," a strange woman said slowly.
Cassie tilted her head. This woman looked vaguely familiar...
"Remember me? My name is Suki. You met me when I was twenty...remember now?" The woman hissed, her sunken eyes starting looking slightly crazed.
Suki...Suki...Suki...
Oh wait.
Now Cassie remembered!
Suki Yamada. That was the name of her trainer...so...
Well, it certainly looked like Suki had lived through her treatments...somewhat...
What used to be a tall, well-built young woman with flowing black hair, soft brown eyes, and a face full of laughter had become slightly shorter, skinnier and quite bony, her black hair looked greasy and had only just started to grow back, and her eyes looked cold. Her face had changed the most. No longer did it look like Suki would burst into laughter at any given moment. She looked...tortured.
Suki smirked, and crossed her pale arms. "Well, well, well, I guess you do remember. Do you remember how you left me? How you all left me? You, and Dragon, Hawk, Serpent, and Rose? And I had to go through my horrible, horrible treatments all alone, only for them to tell me that I would die anyway?"
Die...anyway?
And she had the story all wrong! They hadn't left her! Not by choice...but...
"Oh, and just so you know, the head scientist has taken your precious Umbreon mate away from you. She knows how you manipulated him and the others to make him love you enough."
Cassie looked taken aback. How had Suki figured it out?
"And they think you killed the others who stood in your way. The two Flareons, the Jolteon, and the Vaporeon."
Cassie paused. Killed?
But she hadn't killed them. She had merely hypnotized them...and told them to go out for a very, very long walk. She had been tracking them psychically, and knew they were somewhere outside Vermillion City, but they were still alive...
"But I know you didn't. I know where they are, but they don't. They are going to take your little son away from you too, and they will kill you." Suki laughed, but it was a cold, not happy. "But they won't have the chance."
Before Cassie could teleport her son and her out of the room, she heard a small, high-pitched shriek, and felt something warm hit her side. Something warm...that was a liquid...
The liquid, which was read, had started to pour out of the back of the glassy-eyed little Eevee beside her...dribbling around the dull cooking knife that had been sunk into his small body. Suki laughed as Cassie cried out to her son, trying some way to find life still in him...some way...
"Now, Cassie, why didn't you come back for me? Espeons are supposed to be extremely loyal to worthy trainers, and use your psychic abilities to protect them from harm. Was I not worthy enough?" Suki shrieked, whipping her knife out of the diminutive corpse. Cassie had reluctantly come to some panicked sense, realized her son would never again squeal for her, and jumped off the table. She had to get out of there. Her life was in danger...Suki had lost her grip on reality. Her happy, loving trainer she had forgotten had died long ago...when she made the decision to give her Pokemon away.
With one last look at her son, she prepared to teleport away. But she knew, no matter how far away she got, no matter how many things would happen in the still unknown, mercurial future to try to make her forget again, that image would be burned into her memory. The tiny Eevee, lying on his side, his back cut open and blood pouring out of a large, jagged wound surrounded by matted, sopping fur. His eyes were dull, almost yellow, and the corpse had begun to stiffen. Standing over him stood her trainer, her eyes wild, and the bloody knife in the hand she used to throw Pokeballs with...
But before she could teleport away to some sort of safety, a foot slammed down on her tail. Cassie screamed for help as her tail flared up in pain...some of the bone had to have been crushed under the boot.
Using her feet to hold Cassie in position, Suki raised her knife, and held it as high as she could above the purple mammal's body.
"None of you came back. All of you, you just...forgot about me! Left me to that torture all by myself! None of you knew how much I cried for you! So...you left me to die...so I did the same! I snapped Dragon and Hawk's necks when Professor Oak was away. I smashed Rose's face into a knife during the night after I broke into the flower shop. Serpent was tricky...but I was able to pound him into some shallow rocks after convincing him to come on the beach. Now it's your turn, Cassie. But don't you worry...you won't be rid of me for long. I'm going to die from my cancer. They couldn't get rid of it. But I broke out of that hospital. After you die, I'm going to kill myself. I won't let it take me! I won't! Hahahahah!"
Cassie's eyes flashed with fear, and she tried to focus on sending a psychic signal to somebody...anybody...to save her from her crazed trainer. It wouldn't work to try to reason with Suki, for she was past being capable of reason.
"Now DIE!"
Cassie shrieked as Suki's hand swung down, and the bloody knife glinted dully in the laboratory's sterile white light. A drop of the blood already on it fell off and splashed on Cassie's red gem, and she remembered, in that split second before the knife hit her neck, where that knife had been. In the back of her son. Her Dusk.
And in that split second, she focused all her psychic power on Suki. Although Suki said she would kill herself, Cassie wondered if she actually told the truth. This new Suki, this tortured Suki, she could not be trusted.
Two screams erupted from the two females in the room. The knife sunk itself into her neck, severing her spinal cord instantly. The blood splattered up in a geyser of red fluid, and her angry eyes turned dull and emotionless. Her pink fur became matted with her blood as it spread out of the wound, the knife standing victorious and upright from her neck.
Suki, however, was not so lucky. The psychic attack had not killed her, only wounded her. Her right arm had been twisted around, and had broken in at least one place. Gashes all over her torso had opened up, but they only bled a little. Her left eye had burst, and blood flowed from the socket. Suki's legs had nothing wrong with them, though. She knew, through the pain, they had to carry her. To the place.
So, breathing heavily, she snatched the knife, covered with the blood of Dusk and Cassie, and blindly stumbled for the door.
---
There she stood. Outside. Looking up at the sky and the sun. The blood loss made her dizzy, and she knew she would have to end it there. Somebody was bound to see her, and she wouldn't have enough blood left in her to go where she wanted, which was a shrine a few miles away.
So, in the soft, swaying grass outside the Eevee Research Institute, she raised the knife again. Only, this time, the point faced her own heart, not Cassie, Cassie's son, Rose, or anybody else.
It had to be done, and it had to be done that way. Her heart hurt. The cold-blooded killed Suki had to kill the only bit of the old Suki that still lived. The small part of her that cried out silently when she saw her five friends die, and even when she saw Dusk breathe his last breath. That small part of her...she hated it.
Yet, it made her feel guilty.
That was why she had to join her team. Avenge her team. Like Cassandra, the psychic, had tried to do. Her own pained heart needed to be purified from its horrible deeds...keeping the life-sustaining blood pumping during the time Suki murdered Dragon, Hawk, Rose, Serpent, Dusk, and Cassie. Their hearts had long stopped beating...and now the same had to be done to her own heart.
And so, during her last moments of life, it bubbled out to her voice. As the knife swung down with deadly accuracy (after all, she had practice in killing), her voice cracked, and screamed, "I'm sorry!"
Then it hit the blood-pumping organ. She fell backwards, her single working eye rolling back into her head, and her corpse smacking the ground.
Once again, the knife stood upright, out of the chest of the broken woman.
The hearts were all now equal and still.
---
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. It is owned by Satoshi Taijiri, the Pokemon Company, Game Freak, and any other respectable owners.
Author's Note: Heh. Yeah. I haven't written a lot in awhile…blame school. Anyways, this is my entry for Delmara's April 2006 Pokemon Fanfic Contest: Espeon Chiller! If you want to go to Delmara, check the link in…AvalonKitten's profile, I think…
But once again, please review!