The Eeveelution War

Chapter 10: The Creatures of the Forest

Zappy stopped, leaning against a tree, panting.

"Ugh......we will never.....find Pepe.....at this rate!" Zappy told Candy and Crystal, while panting.

"Well, what should we do, smart guy?" Candy snapped.

"Maybe you should leave! I bet Pepe left because of YOU, not the dumb fire, which probably caused!" Zappy yelled at Candy.

Candy gasped, and stepped back a bit. "She-she- but I- I never- how would I-."

"Zappy! Don't be mean! Why would Pepe....." Crystal realized that Zappy had a good point.

Pepe had acted differently towards Candy ever since the eeveelutions had split up into their own groups. She would hide anytime Candy would come close to her, cry if Candy tried to pet her or even be close to her, and Pepe said a lot of mean things about Candy. That was one of the main things that caused the family to split, after all. Crystal knew that Candy wouldn't ever want to talk to Pepe again at this rate, so she took her and they found a place to stay. The others seemed to have done the same, for their own reasons.

"...Pepe just doesn't know how kind of a soul you are, Candy, and she doesn't know-" Crystal started telling her, before Candy butted in.

"You think that is the reason, too! You're siding with Zappy!" Candy shouted, her eyes wet.

"Candy, no! I just meant-" Candy tried reasoning, but before she could, Candy took off.

Candy and Zappy were about to run after their upset friend, but they heard what sounded like someone shooting a spitball through a straw, and then an ear piercing scream, that belonged to Candy.

Zappy and Crystal looked at each other, both of their eyes wide and frozen with fear. They looked back to where they heard Candy scream, and they got surrounded.

The creatures came from the trees, hopping down and trapping Crystal and Zappy by circling them. They seemed to be wearing masks made of bark, with different types, colors, and different numbers of leaves on the top of them. They all were holding hollowed bamboo shoots, each up to the creature's mouths, though all of the creature's mouths seemed to be clamped shut.

Crystal charged at one of the beasts and was able to tackle it, but then, she felt a bunch of needle-like things shoot into her, and she yelped in pain. She tried to scratch them all off, but before she could, her vision got blurry, and it seemed like she was spinning, until it finally faded to black for her.

Zappy put his paws up in the air. "I mean no harm! My friend on the other hand..." he glimpsed over to the passed out Crystal, then back to the creatures. "She just wasn't thinking. I, again, mean no harm."

One of the creatures, with what appeared to be a lion's mane made out of leaves on its mask, stepped forward a bit, and waved its green paw, signaling for Zappy to lay flat onto his back, which he did. The creature pulled off its mask, revealing that it was a Leafeon.

The Leafeon seemed older than most Zappy had ever seen. His green color was more faded, and his leaf ears were drooping, along with his tail.

"You..." The old Leafeon said in a raggedy, old voice. "You have proven that you are a friend of the Forest Clan. I am Zuki, leader of my group. We heard some noises in the bushes and then a Sylveon leapt right in front of us. We thought it was an attack, so we shot her with our sleeping darts. Then, we looked out and saw you and your friend, so we decided to surround you, and you know the rest of the story. We apologize for making your friends fall asleep, Jolteon." Zuki turned to the other creatures. "Alright, Forest Protectors, you may take your masks off!"

The creatures all took their masks off, one by one, all revealing Leafeons. One was barely old enough to say a sentence, while another was a weird shade of turquoise. Zappy was amazed at all the different Leafeons there in such a small space. He turned to Zuki.

"It is quite alright! If I were smart enough, I would've done the same!" Zappy told Zuki.

Zuki chuckled an old, friendly laugh. "Well, why don't we take you and your friends to our village? There, you can meet all other types of Leafeons and be safe." Zuki asked Zappy.

Zappy nodded, and one Leafeon went over to Crystal, picked her up, and carried her on their back like it was nothing. Another Leafeon went over to Candy and tried to pick her up, but to no avail. He called over two strong-looking Leafeons, who could, even together, barely pick her up and carry her.

Zappy, Zuki, the unconscious Crystal and Candy, along with the rest of the Leafeons, started their trek off to the Forest Villa.

Zappy groaned. They had been walking for a while now, and by a while, about 15 minutes, but he had already kicked the bucket.

But it was worth it, as he turned the cliff's corner, he saw it.

At the bottom of the cliff, there were the most beautiful huts, hanging in the trees, bark bridges connecting them all, and at the very back, a big, castle-like hut with more bridges connecting to it than he could count. Leafeons of all shapes, sizes, and colors walked along the bridges. Some a dark green, a yellowish tone, even some were the colors of Autumn. Zappy looked to the huts. Some of them looked like they were selling stuff, with a Leafeon in them waving something around in their paws, while others seemed like cozy homes for them to sleep and live.

While the others continued to walk, he gazed at the view, and then, took a step forward then suddenly the ground beneath him started to crumble. Zuki called to him, but it was too late. The next thing he knew, Zappy was tumbling down the cliff's edge towards the Forest Villa.