A Story of Shadow

Story by Alex Kitsune on SoFurry

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#2 of A Story of Shadow

A background of Shadow, from the "Adventures of Mark Steelheart"

Also a lead-in to 502nickster's "An Umbreon's Tale," (link at the end)


(Author's Note)

=Character thought=

"Human Speech"

'Telepathy between characters'

{Pokemon Speech}

example: "Ni nine tai tails ninetails ine?" is what a human would hear.

{What do you mean you can't understand me?} is what other Pokemon, and certain humans would hear.

-Computer Writing, or on Screen Text-

|| * * * | | | * * * || = End Chapter

* * * = Scene Change

// // = Major Scene/Time Change

A Story of Shadow:

The rain was coming down, just a light warm rain. It was the wind that was sending a chill down a lone Umbreon's spin. He was in a small alley, hunting for his next meal.

{Damn it!} he shouted, snarling at the hole the mouse he was hunting had dashed into.

He was about to vent his frustration at the wall in the form of a Shadow Ball attack, when he heard the scurrying of an even larger rodent nearby.

Looking around the Dumpster, he saw a rather fat Rattata, scavenging through the garbage.

=Now this is a meal,= he thought to himself, with the first smile he has had in a long while creeping onto his face.

Using the growing shadows to his advantage, creeping up on silent paws. The Umbreon readied himself, and when the Rattata looked back down into the garbage, he pounced snapping the oversized rat's neck before it had a chance to even look up.

(A few minutes later)

He had left not even the smallest bone on the ground, as the Umbreon sat down with a full stomach. He licked his paws, cleaning the blood off his paws and face. The rain was still coming down, harder than before, but the Umbreon no longer noticed it.

Finishing cleaning himself, he feels the almost overpowering need to nap. Knowing that he should have even better luck at night, he decides to take a couple of hours to sleep. With this in mind, he casts his eyes around the empty alley.

Seeing a fire escape, he jumped up catching the lowest rung on the ladder and heaved himself up onto the platform. He strode up the the rusting stairway, reaching the roof a few minutes later. The rain had stopped, and there was no longer a cloud in sight as the mid-afternoon sun shined down on San Francisco Bay.

The Umbreon took a quick look at the door, making sure the looks on the roof-access door were indeed locked, did a handful of circles, and got ready to take a nap. With that, he passed into the comforting shadows of the dreamland.

// //

(4 Months Earlier)

"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE F...!!!!" A loud crash as glass was broken interrupted him. The same moment, four dog-like Pokemon ran out the front door of the deli.

The 20-something that was just about to walk into the deli fell right on his ass when one of them used his as a launch pad.

The deli keeper ran out of the store a few seconds later, chasing the dogs, with a fatter-than-average Mightyenna close on his heels.

{Just keep running!} the Jolteon shouts to the others, when he saw that they were being chased.

After a dozen blocks of dodging into and out of alleys and traffic and people, the deli keeper couldn't keep up, and the three Pokemon ran into an alley, taking a moment to catch their breath and looking at the fruits of their labor. A golden, shiny, Flareon noticed that one of them was missing, {hey ... where the hell ... did Shadow go?} he said in between pants.

A few moments later, an Eevee dashed into the alley.

The Eevee didn't even have a chance to catch himself, as the green of his friends body overtook his entire field of vision.

{Ha-hey, my man!} the Leafeon said, using his vines to scoop up the Eevee and hold him tightly. {I thought fo sho we'd lost ya Shada,} the over-affectionate Leafeon, almost with tears in his eyes, belittling the inner-city accent in his voice.

{Ha. Can't get rid of me that easy Arch.} the Eevee said with a smile on his face. {Now... can ya let up just a touch so I can breath?}

{Wha? Oh ya, course man}' Arch said, blushing a little and letting his vines let go of his friend.

Standing up and giving himself a shake to put his fur back in place, the Eevee looked over at the other two and gave a small whistle to get their attention, {Yo Fallon, Tomi, what'd we get from the deli?}

{Well, let's see.} Tomi, grabbed the bags from the two vines Arch had not used to hold Shadow down with, {We have...} and he just listed off various types of meats and berries.

When Tomi got near the bottom, a shout from right next to him startled the Flareon. {All right!!} Arch gave a small cheer as he saw they had grabbed a box of strawberries, and he dived into them. Literally diving into the box of strawberries.

Tomi had dropped the bag and was holding the ear Arch had shouted into with a small scowl on his face, hiding the fact that he was happy the Leafeon was out of his hair {Damnit man, how many times do I got ta say this? Do. Not. Yell. In my ear.}

The Leafeon had entered nirvana however and was oblivious to the outside world. Tomi just shook his head and sighed.

{Did we grab the money as well?} Fallon asked, ignoring the soft coo's of pleasure as the Leafeon enjoyed his strawberries.

{Shadow was the one that was supposed to grab it.} Tomi remarked. The two Eeveelutions looked up from the bag-o-loot to stare at the Eevee.

Shadow just showed a toothy grin, reached into his thick black mane, and pulled out an envelope. {Here it is.}

Fallon took the envelope, opened it with his claw and dumped out $3000 in cash. There were 25 hundred-dollar bills, with the last $500 split amongst several smaller bills.

The Jolteon was actually surprised at how much the deli, which doubled as an illegal gambling site, was racking in.

Giving a small "hmpf" picked up the money with his mouth, stuffing it into a small bag he had slung over his shoulder and crooked just under his left-front leg. {Boss is going to be very happy with this. ha. Might even get us a week or two off.} Fallon mumbled to himself, putting the last bill into his bag. Looking up, about to get the other's attention that it was time to leave, an Oran berry hit him square in the forehead.

Glaring at the the others, who were practically dying of laughter, he just sighed using his paw to cover his face and shook his head.

Shadow gave another laugh and yelled in a puppy-like voice {Yo, Fal! Come on join us, have some food!}

The Jolteon gave a glance around the alley. On one side, there was an old parking lot overgrown with grass and other vegetation. At the other end, a main road that had people and Pokemon walking past it.

Giving another sigh Fallon turned, smiled, and pounced on the Leafeon, who was still in a state of bliss from the strawberries. Tomi pounced on Fallon, and Shadow jumped onto Tomi's back. All four of them were laughing, and enjoying themselves, even as they smeared berry juice into each other's coats.

The four eventually gathered themselves. They gathered up the stuff they had gotten from the deli, and made their way down the alley. Stepping cautiously out into the street, they fell into step behind a man dressed in rich looking clothes. They followed the oblivious man, and made it look like they belonged to him.

When another alley came up, they quietly slipped into it, leaving the people on the street none the wiser. Fallon lead the way, his head constantly moving as he watched for any sign of trouble. This alley ended at an abandoned parking lot, overgrown with weeds with a rusty fence on the one side.

They crossed the parking lot, and slipped under the rusty chain-link fence. Shadow was the last to slip through, and he gave himself a hard shake. Fallon glanced over them before they continued on. An old warehouse soon came into view. They all jumped up onto an old car, and slid through the broken window, carful to avoid the glass.

As they hopped down, a female voice hollered at them. {What were four up to? Look at your fur!} The four males turned slowly towards the voice, carful to keep their eyes down. {I mean, honestly! I get you all cleaned up, and what do you do? You go out and make a mess of yourselves!}

Shadow dared a glance up, trying to not let the exasperated Vaporeon see him. She now stalked up to Fallon, who took an unconscious step back, {Next time at least try to get the worst of the muck out of your fur.} She gestured with her nose to his grimy fur.

Fallon meekly answered, {Sorry Basila. Guess we...um...kinda...forgot.} He gave a cheesy smile, hoping to charm her.

She gave an exaggerated sigh, {Boys,} rolling her eyes. She shook her head, and turned around, talking over her shoulder, {Grand wants to see you guys.} She continued to walk off, {But when he's done with you, Lencita and I are going to make you four presentable again.} She gave a devious chuckle at that.

When she was gone, Arch gave a small, nervous, gulp. {We screwed, ain't we?}

The shiny Flareon looked at Arch, and gave a nervous nod. {Yep. We screwed.}

Only the energetic Eevee was undeterred. He gave a happy yip, {I don't see what's so bad about baths. Basila and Cita are always so gentle.} He bounced around a little, till he was in front of the Jolteon. {Hey Fallon. What do you think boss wants?}

Fallon thought for a moment before he answered the black Eevee, {Eh, he probably just wants a rundown of the job today.}

The black Eevee gave a happy yip, and bounded off, shouting. {Come on guys!}

Fallon sighed, Tomi facepawed, and Arch smiled while charging after him. {Yo, Shada! Wait for me, man!}

The Flareon and Jolteon looked at each other. Tomi gave a small snicker, and Fallon just shook his head, sighing. They slowly followed the two, as Arch and Shadow tackled each other and horsed around.

Fallon walked past the tumbling two, stepping around them. Tomi gave a small whack to the back of Arch's head, and gestured with his head towards the Jolteon. Arch gave an enthusiastic smile, and gave Shadow a playful nip. The Leafeon ran off after Fallon, the Eevee hot on his heels.

Shadow was suddenly lifted off the ground "whoa!!" He tried running on the air, but wasn't going anywhere. Out of the shadows of the small, dimly-lit room came a faint glow. Two more slowly appeared, bathing the room in their faint-violet color.

The light suddenly disappeared, causing Shadow to drop with a "umph!" He stood up, rubbing his jaw where it had hit. Looking up at the creature hidden in the dark, he gave a happy yip. {Grand! Why you hiding in the dark like that?}

The figure padded out of the dark, revealing a very feline form. The pink-furred head had a single crimson gem stuck in the middle of his forehead, his eyes colored a deep, pulsating black-and-white. He gave an apologetic chuckle, giving Shadow a rub on the head with his pronged tail, {Sorry about that Shadow. Caught me while I was sleeping.}

Jolt gave a small cough. When the Espeon picked his head up, {Hey boss, you wanted to talk to us?}

{Ah, yes,} the Espeon walked over to a semi-ruined desk. He hopped on top of it, his eyes starting to glow again. {How much this time?}

Fallon maneuvered out of his shoulder bag, and grabbed it with his mouth. He crouched, his leg muscles tensing, and he leaped onto the desk next to the Espeon. {$3000, more than enough for the next two months.}

The pink-furred cat gave a slow nod. {Good, good.} He looked over at the matted fur of Arch and Shadow, {I'm also going to guess you got some food as well.}

The Jolteon followed his gaze, and gave a deep sigh. {Yep, we found some food. Although we did dig in a bit.} He gave a sheepish grin to Grand.

The Espeon gave a laugh, {Don't worry about it. So long as there's enough food left for the girls, I don't mind at all.}

{Don't worry, there's still more than enough for all of us for the next two-three days.} Fallon lightly pawed at his ear, before giving a sneeze at the dust in the room. {Now then, I think I'll just go and....}

{See Lancita and Basilla.} The Espeon cut him off. Sitting down, the feline-like Pokemon brought a paw to his head, tapping it. {Don't think I didn't hear you guys talking. And you four are getting a bath, no exceptions} Arch, Fallon, and Tomi all groaned. Shadow just gave a happy yip, doing a small circle. {Now why can't you three be more like Shadow there?}

Tomi gave a mopey response, {Because Lencita doesn't like us.}

{Than let that be a life lesson for you three. Be kind to those who have Ice powers.} Grand gave a small chuckle, {and be doubly kind to one who has a best friend that has Water powers.} He made a motion towards the door with his tail, {Now get a move on you rascals.} The mirth in his voice only made the three Eeveelutions shudder at what was to come.

* * *

{HEY! THAT'S COLD!} Tomi shouted as another wave of water washed over him.

{Oh shut it, you fluffy furnace,} a Glaceon was saying. She turned to Basila, nodding, {He's still not clean yet, is he?}

The Vaporeon smiled mischievously, {Not yet sis, not yet.}

Both of the Eeveelutions turned to the sopping-wet fire type, and he tried to back up. A couple of vines held him tight though, and Tomi tried to fight them off. {Damn it, Arch! Let me go!}

As he struggled, the Leafeon laughed. Looking at the females, he gave a nod. {I got 'em, let 'er rip!}

A wave of water rushed out of the Vaporeon, making Tomi sputter. Once it ended, Arch let the Flareon go and backed up, laughing. Tomi's golden fur was completely plastered to him, and he glared at the three Eeveelutions around him. {You guys suck,} he said quietly.

Everyone laughed at that and Fallon stood up, stretching. Tomi shook himself hard, making his mane puff up as his natural heat dried him off. With a final glare at the Glaceon, the Flareon stalked off, leaving a trail of water as it continued to drip off of him.

The Jolteon sat on his haunches, scratching behind his ears before he also shook himself vigorously. Water went flying, and Arch held up a couple of vines to catch it. {'Ey! watch it with the shaking!}

Fallon sneezed, shaking his head as he did so. {Right,} he said, padding off after the Flareon, leaving his own trail of water. {Hey Tomi! Wait up brother!} He broke into a light trot to catch up with the Flareon.

Arch balked, and bounded off after them calling out {'ey! don't leave me with 'em!}

Basila and the Glaceon looked at each other, giggling at the antics of the three Eeveelutions. Then they heard the sound of paws splashing, and they turned to see the black Eevee playing in the water. He looked at them, laughing {I love bath-time. I really don't see what they don't like about it.}

The two girls looked at each other, practically melting as they watched Shadow splash around. The both came up, rubbing his black mane with their expert paws. Shadow sighed as he felt them hit tense muscle after muscle, slowly becoming putty in their paws.

Then the Glaceon started to tickle him, nuzzling his side and making Shadow laugh. {Stop it Len, that tickles,} he tried to say in between laughs. Instead of stopping, the Glaceon picked up her tickling, and was soon joined by Basila. Shadow just became a pile of laughing fluff under their attack, rolling around in a vain effort to get away.

Eventually the two girls stopped, letting Shadow slowly catch his breath. All three of them were laughing, and they headed out of the old shower-room. None of them even took a second look around the crumbling warehouse as they walked through it, having lived there for so long.

The main room was mostly empty with the exception of a pile of rubble near the center, and various tables, chairs, and other seemingly random items were strew about. Way up on the second level, most of the windows were either smashed out or were boarded up. There was very little glass or other dangerous debris around though, most of it having been cleaned up as the group of Eeveelutions had made this their home.

The others, including Grand were scattered around, lazing in the sun as it filtered in through the windows and holes in the roof. Arch was poking Tomi, trying to get him to play with him. {C'mon Tomi, let's play!} Tomi grumbled something, rolling away from the incessant Leafeon. {oh, okay,} Arch turned away from the Flareon, and set his gaze on the black Eevee. {SHADA!!}

With a dash, both of them charged each other, colliding with a small crash. Shadow playfully growled, pushing against Arch, {Let's play some.} Arch gave a cheer, and with their heads still locked together, the two maneuvered to the a small 'battle-field' that had been cleared out.

Baslia and Lencita both shook their heads, sighing at the two boys. The Vaporeon turned to her sister, {Boys.}

Lencita gave a laugh, and nodded. {Yep, boys.} Still, both of them sat down to watch the mock battle.

Shadow jumped back, away from Arch, laughing as he did so. Several vines extended from Arch to try and catch the fast Eevee, all of which Shadow escaped in a blur. The black Eevee kept vanishing and reappearing all over the battle-area. Soon Arch was getting tired of sending out his vines, and stamped against the ground.

Erupting out of the ground came dozens of vines, all making a tangling mass of grass. Shadow laughed, jumping only on the thicker vines and avoiding the mass that would have caught him. Time after time, Shadow was a mere blur, never staying in the same spot for more than a moment.

{Got ch' ya now, Shada!} Arch called out, several rainbow colored leaves floating around him. In a wave, they surged forward. Shadow laughed again, an ember attack leaving him and turning the oncoming leaves to ash.

Once again Shadow disappeared, his movement stirring the falling crisps that had once been a Magical Leaf attack. He appeared, with a quiet laugh, right in front of Arch. {Heya Arch,} he jumped forward, tackling the Leafeon, and both of them went rolling. Now that his concentration was broken, the mass of vines coming from the ground and the few leaves left in the air vanished. {No, I have you,} Shadow said, standing with his paws on Arch's chest, and a smile on his face.

As the two were rolling around, Grand's head suddenly shot up, his eyes burning with power. {Shadow, Arch!} He called out, making the two stop their mock fighting. His eyes went towards the entrance of the warehouse, a deep growl leaving his throat.

Tomi and Fallon both stood up, flanking the Espeon as power crackled around them as well. Grand looked back at Shadow and Arch, {You two, go with Cita and Basila, get to the upper floor.} His tone left no room for argument, and all four nodded.

The two girls, Arch, and Shadow climbed up to the second floor, getting an excellent height advantage on whoever came through. The air around Lencita grew frigid, leaving flakes of snow drifting in her wake. Basila shivered as ice accumulated on her azure skin, but didn't say anything.

Shadow shivered as well, white flakes gathering on his black mane. Arch shivered, and opened his mouth to speak, but a glare from Lencita silenced him. Together, the four crouched out of sight as they watched the entrance as well.

Everything seemed to go silent, even the whistling wind ceasing, as if holding its breath. Grand's growling increased, and the light seemed to darken for some inexplicable reason.

Never taking his eyes of the entrance, he tilted his feline head to the Jolteon. {Fallon, take up a spot right there,} he pointed with his tail, and Fallon nodded. Tilting to the other side, {Tomi, over there.} Tomi nodded as well, taking a spot on top of a pile of old tables.

Several voices could be heard speaking, not making any attempt to hide themselves. The sound of Pokemon being released from their balls filled the air with ominous clicks and hums. The sound of claws on concrete now also joined the voices, both getting closer to the half-closed door.

It suddenly burst open, a Tyranitar stepping through the hole it had made as a shower of wood rained down within. The cruel smile on his face sent chills down Shadow's spin, making him duck even lower. Several Sneasels, two Liepards, and a Houndoom stepped in behind the large lizard, spreading out as they stepped into the warehouse. All of them had the letters -TA- emblazoned, seemingly burned, on their chests.

Three men stepped through the ruined door, all dressed in black. Two were dressed in black cargo pants and had shirts with the same emblem as the Pokemon. They stood to either side of the third man, who was quite clearly the leader of this group. His black leather boots crunched against the ground and his black overcoat, which hung down to just above his boots, was clasped shut with two metal buttons. A Sableye sat on his shoulder, looking around with its diamond looking eyes.

He strode forward, arms clasped behind his back, with a stride filled with confidence, arrogance even. The Tyranitar took a step to the side to allow the human to pass, still with that evil smile on his face. The man paused four meters away from Grand, not phased at all by the power that was now visibly coming off the psychic feline.

"Hello Grand," the man spoke with the smoothness of a viper, "I can see you are expecting me." The Sableye lightly leaped off the man's shoulder, standing by his knee.

Shadow could see the gem on Grand's forehead glow, indicating he was using his psychic powers. The man started laughing, throwing his head back as he let the evil sound out. "My, oh, my," he brought his gaze back to Grand, "is that any way to greet the man who's been your ally?"

Grand growled, crouching as he communicated telepathically with the man. The smile left the man as the conversation continued, soon turning to a snarl. "Silence!" He shouted, his arm shooting out to the side to actuate the point. "I've decided to change the terms of the agreement. Give us the Eevee that you have with you, and we shall go back to the payments as they used to be."

The Espeon's eyes went wide, and he shouted both telepathically and verbally at the man. {Never! We had a deal!} Grand crouched, readying himself for battle.

The leader snarled at Grand, lifting a hand. The Pokemon around him readied themselves, as the man said "This is your last chance Grand. Do not make me order this." He did not sound as if there would be any remorse at all if he did order it.

The gem on Grand's forehead burned with power, and the man in the black overcoat gasped as he was slammed against the wall, his head snapping back. The other two with him called out "ATTACK!!!" at the same moment.

The host of dark types surged towards Grand, intent on dealing as much pain as they could to the psychic type. The Espeon yelled as he stood there, and a wave of fire appeared around him. With a shout of effort, the fire circled around him, creating a shield.

This stopped the attack of most of the dark Pokemon for a moment. Not so for the Tyranitar, who simply barreled through the flames, fist pulled back. With a mighty roar, the lizard slammed down, and the impact of his hit rocked the entire warehouse.

Suddenly a bolt of lightening shot out towards the Liepards, catching them both. With roars of pain, both collapsed for a moment before the Houndoom started countering the attack with his own flamethrower.

At that same moment, a massive ring of fire roared towards the group of Sneasels, catching them all within its burning depths. The two humans started to shout commands at the Pokemon, trying to counter the surprise attacks.

One of them shouted at the Tyranitar to charge the Jolteon. Fallon stopped his duel with the Houndoom, jumping out of the way of the charging Pokemon. With a sharp oath, Fallon used a quick attack to get between the Armor Pokemon's legs. The creature's strong tail caught him though, sending him flying. Everyone gasped as Fallon snapped against the wall, and fell down, not making another movement.

Tomi shouted {FALLON!!!!} and redoubled the power of his attack, making the Sneasels cry out in pain. Suddenly he was caught from behind, pinned down by a Liepard that was laughing cruelly. With its fangs burning with darkness, the cat bit down behind the Flareon's neck, making Tomi go limp in his grasp.

Now Arch and Lencita could hide no longer. With battle-cries of their own, they jumped down. {No! Don't!} Basila called after them as they jumped down. She saw to late that the leader, who was starting to stand, had seen she and Shadow.

The leader pointed up at them, and shouted {Get that Eevee!} The Pokemon smiled cruelly, advancing on the Leafeon and Galceon that stood before them.

Shadow cried out as well, jumping down to join them. Basila joined them a heartbeat later, and the four created a wall as they stared down the advancing wall of dark types. The Tyranitar led the way, each of his steps rumbling the warehouse as he advanced. Two Sneasels flanked him, and the Houndoom stood off to his side as well.

With an evil chuckle, the Tyranitar continued to move forward, one slow step at a time. {You're pathetic. You can't even hold a small group like us off.} A long tongue shot out, licking his scaled lips. {I'm gonna enjoy beating you.} With that he dashed forward, his fist brimming with darkness.

Several vines shot out of the ground, catching the Armor Pokemon's knees and making him stumble. The Houndoom roared, a wave of flame leaving his gaping maw to destroy Arch. Basila jumped in front of the Leafeon, a wave of water leaving her.

When the two Sneasels jumped forward, they were met by Lencita and Shadow. Shadow shouted as he formed the shadow energy in his maw into a Shadow Ball, and launched it at one of the leaping Sharp Claw Pokemon. The attack hit, sending it flying.

Lencita held her ground as the second ran towards her, blades extended out behind it. {BLEED!!!!} The Sneasel shouted as he reached Lencita, slashing his blade at her. Jumping back, Lencita continued to dodge the blades, constantly building the power within her mouth. {CUT!!! BLEED!!! BLOOD!!! YES, YES, YES!!!!} The mad Pokemon cackled as he continued to swing wildly at the Glaceon.

Than Lencita vanished, right as a bade went through her. The shocked Pokemon had no time to react though, soon being hit from behind with the full force of a Blizzard. So strong was the attack, the Sneasel was frozen solid. Lencita landed lightly, and pirouetted to face the Tyranitar.

Arch was struggling, doing his best as vines whipped from his body and ground, trying to hold the Armor Pokemon down. But the creature was to strong. With a mighty roar, the Tyranitar ripped himself up, and Arch fell to the ground from sheer exhaustion.

As Lencita made to launch another Blizzard, she felt something land on her back, and pin her down. She unleashed her greatest area-of-effect attack, only to feel four sharp fangs bite into her neck. With a gasp, she fell limp.

Shadow and Basila were standing back-to-back. Basila was facing the Houndoom, Shadow the second Liepard. With a mighty bark, the Houndoom charged forward and Basila countered him, a Water Pulse powering in her mouth. The Houndoom stopped, braced himself, and unleashed a wave of fire at the Vaporeon. She released her own attack, and the two met in mid-air with a rush of steam as they dueled for supremacy. Suddenly the Houndoom stopped, jumping over the onrush of water. Basila only had a moment to wonder before the Tyranitar slammed her into the ground, knocking her out cold.

Shadow caught it out of the corner of his eye, and this was enough for the Liepard to vanish. The black Eevee looked back, before vanishing himself. The Liepard appeared where he had been with a look of confusion on her face. Suddenly a Shadow Ball hit the Liepard square in the back of the head, causing her face to smash into the ground.

Then the Houndoom was on top of Shadow, above him even though the Eevee was in mid-air. With a mighty clamp of his jaws he took Shadow, and landed roughly on the ground. Shadow cried out in pain as the dog's sharp canines dug into his flesh, and he was forced to simply lie there.

The sounds of battle died away, leaving an eerie silence in its wake. The Houndoom carried Shadow back to its masters, and sat without dropping its prize. The two grunts recalled those Pokemon that had been put out of action, and had them carry the collection of Eeveelutions out of the warehouse.

The man with the overcoat, which was now slightly ripped, stopped the Tyranitar which was carrying the Espeon and Glaceon. Grand lifted his head ever-so-slightly to glare at the man. His gem was cracked, his eyes filled with an impotent rage. All he could do was spit in the man's face. The man wiped his face, before jerking a thumb to point outside.

Then the man turned to Shadow, who was still being carried by the Houndoom. "Drop him," the man said cooly. Shadow gasped as he hit the ground, and struggled to stand up. His black fur was matted with streaks of his own red blood, and he fell as he tried to stand. "Stop struggling, and listen to my offer." Shadow looked up, not knowing what he should do. "Good. Now that I have your attention, I have a proposal for you." The man walked over to Shadow, and did a squat so that he was closer to the Eevee. "Join us, and I'll spare your friend's lives. Refuse, and you'll still work for us, it's just that your friends will be dead." Shadow's eyes went wide. "And I need your answer now."

Shadow simply looked at the man, before hanging his head. "That's a yes, I assume?" the man said. Shadow gave a tiny nod of his head, refusing to look at the man. "Excellent." The man stood up, and whistled to one of the grunts, "Pick him up, clean him, feed him, and make sure he doesn't try to make a rescue attempt."

"Yes, boss." The grunt said, picking Shadow up roughly.

The last thing Shadow saw before the blackness took him was Basila being put into a cage, along with the rest of his family. Then he knew this world no more.

* * *

A dark forrest clearing. That is where Shadow found himself. Looking off into the sky, he saw the twilight of the setting sun paint her beautiful colors across the sky. He looked back around him, wondering how he got here.

He heard a branch snap and he spun to face the noise, falling into a battle pose. Out of the wood line stalked an Umbreon, his black fur blending into the shadows cast by the setting sun.

{Who are you?} Shadow demanded, an orb of darkness gathering in his mouth.

The Umbreon did not respond, simply stepping out and letting Shadow get a good look at him. The Eevee gasped at the Umbreon's rings. They were red, blood-red, as red as the creature's eyes.

{What are you?} Shadow gasped as he backed up in fear. He scrabbled over the ground trying to get away, but for some reason he couldn't move.

When the Umbreon was standing over him, it looked down on the Eevee. {The real question is: who are you?} Shadow gasped. It sounded exactly like a slightly deeper version of his voice. {Well?}

Shadow gulped, before taking a shuddering gasp. {M-m-my name is Sh-Shadow.}

The Umbreon tilted his head, processing the information. He suddenly smiled, a strangely soothing thing. {Shadow?} The black Eevee nodded nervously. The Umbreon nodded himself, closing his red eyes. {I think you'll do nicely,} as he said that, his blood-red rings faded to their normal yellow coloration. With the sole exception of the one on his forehead, that one turning the blue associated with shiny's of his race. {Will you accept my help? If you don't, one less.....helpful then me will take you.}

Shadow looked at him, before saying {Why do I need your help?}

The Umbreon looked at him in confusion. {Are you not here to become a warrior of the night? One of the mighty moon-kin know as the Umbreon?} Shadow shook his head slightly, and the Umbreon backed up a step in shock. {I would highly recommend you take my help then. This realm is not meant for those who are unprepared.}

Shadow nodded, and muttered {Yeah, okay.}

The Umbreon nodded, {Good. Now close your eyes,} Shadow did so, {and just breath regularly.} Shadow did as he was told. {Now feel the power of the night. Accept it into you. Breath in the dark, become one with the dark.} Shadow could feel himself changing.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that this wasn't how he was supposed to evolve, but now he couldn't stop. He felt a presence enter his mind, whispering. 'Now you are one with the night. My power is yours.'

Shadow gasped, snapping his eyes open. The Umbreon was no longer standing there, and he noticed that he was standing off the ground. Looking down, he noticed that his mane was gone, and the tufts of fur near his paws were gone. Craning his neck around, he saw several yellow rings on his body. {I'm an Umbreon!} He said to the empty field.

'Yes, you are.' Shadow looked around for the voice, and he heard a laugh in his mind. 'I am here, a part of you. Now sleep,' the voice commanded, 'return to the waking world, and leave this world of twilight.'

Then Shadow knew no more as he slipped to the ground, his eyes growing heavy. Once more he crossed bounds that no mortal should cross that easily. He once again entered the waking realm.

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http://www.sofurry.com/view/329712

To see where this story shall go, please read 502nickster's "An Umbreon's Quest"

Please note that Shadow and the main character in "An Umbreon's Quest" are different characters....

legal: Pokemon isn't mine, it belongs to those who own it.

Shadow is mine, the enemies are 502nickster, he and I are doing a collaberation.