♦ Dedicated to ktd527 for being a fabulous taco senpai. In all seriousness, your books are amazing, and I constantly wonder what I can do to meet their standard. Your covers are the bae, your writing is the bae, your art is the bae, everything about you is bae <3 I know you're going through a rough time on Wattpad, but stay strong. I hope I've been a good friend ^-^ ♦

Soooooooo this has finally been brought back with renewed writing. Meep. This is all new and edited and stuff :D

:I do not own Pokemon or the images used in the cover, but the plot, personalities and the edited cover belongs to me. You may not copy, translate, or reproduce it in any form unless given permission by me, @NyxAbsol.:

Enjoy~!

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❝ Who cares where we are, what we have to do, or whether we're even alive?

It's worth it as long as you're with the one you cherish most. ❞

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Cresselia

The meadow hummed with life, a sensation that I wasn't used to feeling.

The crisp, grassy scent drifted to my nose, overwhelming at first sniff, but I soon got used to the feeling. The sky was a pleasant shade of bright blue, gentle sunlight filtering down through my skin, causing me to shudder— ironically— in happiness.

Now I knew why I had missed the daytime so much— it was such a beautiful feeling, and I couldn't believe that I had just about forgotten every part of it. The only thing that had lingered in my memory was a faint, indescribable impression of bliss.

I had been so lost in that single memory— a memory that wasn't even mine— that I had nearly forgotten my purpose for entering a Pokemon's past.

Entering a Pokemon's mind is a privilege, not to mention an invasion of their privacy, I snapped at myself briskly. Remember your purpose of coming here. I stopped myself from giving a firm nod, and instead inspected my dreamlike surroundings.

At the very least, it seemed pleasant— but I was still suspicious. There had to be something more substantial to their past— not just a picture-perfect life in the lush wilderness of a meadow. After all, they had to have something more substantial, something that made them... who they were, and something that changed their life; that made them special.

Disgruntled with the less than satisfying pace of the flashback, I willed the recollection to move forward a little.

The milk-white clouds melted into a different position from their previous form, but the aromatic fragrance of the fresh greenery around me remained as calming as ever. I waited, knowing that the still, unmoving scenery was about to change any moment.

As I had predicted, there was the thumping, rhythmic sound of fur-coated feet against the soft earth. Raising my head, I felt the gentle breeze whistle past me, and two figures emerged.

They were seemingly ignorant to my presence— and that was normal, because I wasn't technically a part of their past. I was merely here as someone higher up; a mere observer. Someone merely here to learn a fact or two about their history— purely selfish, for my uses only— but I tried to push that thought out of my head.

The pair of Eevee seemed young— naive, even. They were small, easily allowing me to tower over them. Only a few years old, at most. Their brown fur was a deep, healthy shade of caramel, but was tousled with the trademark messiness of a wild Pokemon.

The two Pokemon seemed completely at ease with each other, their dark eyes shining with childlike happiness. They tumbled around the flat meadow, taking full advantage of their surroundings. The creatures' actions were rough and bold, sweeping in large, exaggerated strokes, but that all seemed as if it was adding on to their fun.

Instantly, I was captured by the boundless energy simply radiating off them in large, uncontrolled amounts. A smile started to creep to my mouth, but I shot it down with a harsh, emotionless look. This isn't for fun, and you know it, I hissed at myself.

About an hour went by, and patches of the Eevees' chestnut fur became dyed a dirty green from the grass. However, they didn't seem to particularly care about that, and instead went on chasing and tackling each other playfully. The scene was entertaining, but impatience soon overwhelmed that enjoyment that had sparked inside my heart.

Resisting a grumble— that would be unbefitting of a Legendary— I closed my eyes and sent out another wave of energy, causing the memory to skip once more.

The sky swiftly darkened to evening hues of rose-pink and blossoming orange, blended together on a perfect, artistic canvas. The tumbling slowed as the tendrils of tiredness tore at their muscles, until they lay on the meadow grass, side by side, wide grins on their faces. The bigger-sized Eevee rolled to its side and stood up, raising his head slightly.

"Let's go home now," he stated, tilting his large, slightly awkwardly-placed head to the left, oval eyes glittering in content. The female Eevee— with a frame so slender and small, she looked so gentle and vulnerable just like a sheet of fragile glass— nodded enthusiastically, getting to her feet to follow her brother out of the clearing.

Just as the sky darkened to a dusky shade of grey-blue, grass rustled ominously, and ebony-clad figures emerged like an ominous predator on the hunt.

Tall, awkwardly shaped creatures that had cold, hard expressions that was set across their faces in thin, drawn lines— beings that we later came to know as humans.

"Who are you? This is our territory!" the smaller Eevee squealed out, brown eyes wide with both fear and confusion, but of course, the humans didn't understand. They neared the duo, gloved hands grasping metallic weapons— the ones that the humans had called "guns".

As the duo hastily retreated, the tallest of the humans swiftly approached them, completely swathed in black clothing— the only feature visible to anyone was a pair of hard, cold pitch-dark eyes.

"Go away," the older-looking Eevee snarled, long ears stiff with hostility.

The man simply chuckled, a cold, empty sound, and I could almost see his smile beneath the layers of cloth that concealed his face. "I don't think so. Eevees' are very valuable Pokemon, you see. People offer extremely high prices for one."

Not understanding what he was talking about, the smaller Eevee cowered, folding down her ears to hide her eyes. I felt a tinge of dissatisfaction towards the creature— how timorous— but I did have to remember that it was still a young Pokemon--- barely older than a baby.

Growling, her sibling stepped in front of her, but fear was clearly reflected in his eyes. "Run now," he muttered to his sister, but the Eevee was still rooted to the ground, petrified in utter terror.

Mumbling a silent curse under his breath— I was surprised he had known of such profanities at such a young age— the male Eevee hissed another sharp warning. "I said run!"

He slammed his head into his sibling— gently, of course, but the scene caused me to wince. Eyes wide, the smaller creature gazed up at him, dark eyes wide and glistening with silver, crystalline tears. She darted a few feet away, but halted her escape, raising her quivering head. "B—but brother—"

"Just go!" The bigger Pokemon yelled, and the hint of a tear in his eye sparkled subtly, catching the waning evening night for just a split-second.

With that, a bright glow enveloped his tense form, pulsing with a massive force that nearly propelled him into the air. The once small Pokemon's figure rippled, and from my viewpoint, I could only see his contour growing and changing continuously.

When the blinding white had faded to nonexistence, the newly-evolved Umbreon evolved, ruby eyes glinting dangerously in the now-beginning moonlight, yellow rings positively luminous against their dark surroundings.

His sister gaped at the Pokemon in front of her, but one insistent look from those commanding eyes was enough to send her running— tumbling and clawing her way through the thick, grassy meadow.

Allowing a small sigh of relief, the Umbreon raised its head, letting out a short, angry bark, an orb of blithe, ebony destruction forming in its mouth as it prepared to escape.

"Not so fast," another man said, releasing a Pokeball on his belt, causing a Butterfree to appear, large wings accented with black that almost seemed to fade into the crawling darkness around them. "Butterfree, Sleep Powder."

Waves of lime green exploded forth, the shower of particles settling down and leeching onto the Pokemon's coat. Blinking, the globe of energy in the Umbreon's mouth died down as he turned to his powder-coated fur in comparison. When he had finally realised its fatal effects, it was far too late, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"It's a good thing I didn't have to knock it out," the gruff voice stated. "We can't hurt it, after all— it might bring down his price."

The tallest man— presumably the leader of the group--- ran his hand through the unconscious creature's fur, inspecting the Umbreon's fur carefully. "It looks like there are no lasting blemishes to his coat," he announced. "He also has a well-built figure— quite a valuable Umbreon if we can maintain his condition."

"What about the other Eevee?" another comrade questioned, looking in the direction in which the terrified Pokemon had ran in.

"We can't help it," his leader answered curtly. "We should not risk going after a Pokemon that we do not know the location of."

Nodding, a wave of silent agreement rippled through the group of men. Following that, they retreated to an old, suspiciously worn-out truck that was hidden away in a thick mess of overgrown forestation.

As the truck drove off and left me alone in the abandoned meadow, I hastily conjured up another concentrated globe of energy inside me, but my mind frisked the different options. Should I explore the Umbreon's past first? Or the Espeon's?

I had no time to answer that as I lost control of the sphere of light, causing it to explode in about a million different directions, consuming both the world around it— it was just a memory, after all— and I felt the once crisp surroundings swerve into a completely different canvas.

Stifling a groan, I lifted my head to inspect my new environment. It was a far cry from the peaceful, never-ending meadow that I had previously seen— this was, instead, a tight, cold room, the rattling air-conditioner blasting out stale, chilling gales of air, a sour odour rising from the ceramic tiling of the ground.

I cast my gaze downwards, noticing the black-coated creature that glared up at the men who approached him, ruby eyes bright with fiery anger.

The Umbreon's fur was surprisingly clean, subtly reflecting what little of the artificial lighting there was, and his figure was as sleek and powerful as I had remembered it to be. However, his eyes carried a dangerous spark— one of the overwhelming fire of fury that seemed to drown out every other emotion. However, if one looked close, they could see that far behind the wall of burning hatred was a dead, despondent look— and you could tell that he had completely given up.

"Hey, you," a man muttered gruffly. "Calm that damn anger, won't you? We've got a visitor who's interested in you."

Ears flattened, the pale rings decorating the Pokemon's body shone in warning, looking especially luminous against his coal-black pelt. The creature backed away, a threatening snarl escaping his mouth as the core of a Shadow Ball started to form.

"Disable," another man spoke up, and a Kadabra emerged from behind him, waving its spoon and effectively silencing the attack that the Umbreon had charged up. "You'll have to behave your best; he's going to be here an—"

He was cut off by the creaking sound of the battered door swinging open.

A hood hung over the man's face, shielding his identity from the world. He was oddly dressed for this era, cream robes swathing his figure so completely that even I couldn't make out how he looked like. He inspected the Umbreon's tense figure, circling around the Pokemon and scrutinising every inch of it.

The Umbreon snapped at his visitor, eyes hostile, but the man took no notice of his mood. Finally, he turned to the burly kidnapper. "I'll buy the Umbreon."

The rest was a blur of unnecessary events, and my vision settled in the temple I was currently in. Hurriedly, I sifted through millions of Pokemon once again until I reached the Espeon's memories.

The Espeon was curled up on a relatively flat patch of rock, and she seemed to be in some kind of cave. Her eyes were half-closed, yet, I didn't get the feeling she was about to fall asleep.

"Brother..." she mumbled, and the mournfulness in her voice was enough to make me flinch. "I miss you..."

She continued talking. "It's been months since I last saw you. Why were you so damn idiotic? Why did you sacrifice yourself to protect me? Who knows what could be happening to you now?" She let out a sound that mirrored a laugh and buried her head in her paws.

"I evolved. Are you proud of me?" Her ruby eyes seemed to blaze in the dimness of her surroundings. "I evolved into an Espeon because of you. My bond with you caused me to evolve, and now you're gone." Her voice was harsh, and she reluctantly slid off her perch, revealing her elegant, slim figure, split tail dancing from side to side.

She let out a soft growl as she exited her residence, ears flattened at the foreign human that had started to approach her. She remembered these vile creatures as ones that had taken her brother away from her— they were evil.

"Get away from me," she hissed, but the robed figure ignored her warning.

"I have your brother," he said shortly. "If you want to see him, come with me."

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I blinked as the visions ended, the hilly scenery around me fading to the muted wooden hues of the temple.

Are you finished? Jirachi asked, and I hastily nodded.

I faced the duo who had been observing us with mild interest. Jirachi seemed to have had spoken with them in the time I was reliving their memories, and their gazes, though slightly surprised, were serene and knowing.

I'm sorry for shouting at you earlier, the Espeon mumbled out despite her reluctant expression. I hadn't know your plight, after all.

The Umbreon said nothing, but gave me a sharp nod, his face set in a grim line.

I never knew that it was possible to feel sorry for a Legendary, Cresselia. The lilac-coated feline cocked her head at me, a distant look in her rose-tinted optics. You know, if we take away the fact that you're an otherworldly creature...it's kinda strange. We're the same.

I opened one eye, neck snapping up abruptly in sudden realisation. The truth here was clear—a treason in the empire of lies that had wrapped my life in thick, suffocating folds—the lies that had grown deep into the stem of my brother's very personality.

So... he led you here? I questioned.

The Espeon spoke, her voice smooth and lyrical. "Yes. We were reunited here, at this very temple. The both of us were taught to raise the sun and moon, and it is the only task we are required to do each day."

This is a place shielded from Arceus' reach, Jirachi explained. The forces of the sun and moon do not apply, and they have to be done manually.

"Our lives are devoted to this." The Umbreon's voice was rough but quiet. "But we don't mind where we are or what we do."

"I don't care if I'm dead or alive." His sister bobbed her head slightly. "I don't care what becomes of us as long as we're together."

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I have no idea when I'm going to update this xDD Thank you guys so much for 587 reads and 85 votes! My current goal is 105 votes, but that might be too much, so I'll go for 100 instead cx

Read, vote and comment as always, critiques are extremely welcome and now *salutes* Nyx out! :)