Warrior Eevees #2: Pearl's Shadow

13- Shadows from the Past

"Someone go find Rapids, right away," Pearl ordered, fighting against the trembling in her voice. "And- Pebble, go try to find something- anything- to stop the bleeding until she's here."

Shell lay flat on his belly, where he had been dragged back to the village by Splash and Bubbles. All three Vaporeon were bleeding, but none worse than Shell. Floe hovered by her mate nervously, although she hadn't been part of the patrol.

"What happened?" she kept asking, although everyone's paws were too full to answer her.

Shell's tail had been badly maimed by his attacker, one of his flukes completely torn off, and there was a terrible wound on his ribs as well. Blood clotted the mud beneath him with its awful stench, and Pearl could acutely hear his breathing growing weaker by the moment.

"Can you use Ice attacks to stop the bleeding?" Pearl suggested wildly.

"I don't think attacking him more is-"

"Okay, okay, everything's going to be okay," Pearl said to nobody.

Rapids practically appeared at her side, breathing heavily.

"Oh Arceus," she gasped, and ran toward the recovery den without stopping to ask questions.

Pearl whipped back and forth, looking for something she could do- anything. Fortunately, Rapids was not long in returning with her stash of berries.

"What is that?" Peral heard Floe ask.

"It's a Sitrus Berry- It's a little like an Oran Berry, but stronger."

Rapids crushed the yellow berry in her jaws and tilted her head to drip the juice into Shell's mouth. Pearl jumped as Shell writhed, his paws jerking randomly. Rapids sniffed his ruffled pelt.

"Help me take him to the recovery den," she ordered Floe and Bubbles.

As the three mollies dragged Reed away, leaving smears of blood in the mud, Pearl stared after them helplessly. Splash stood next to her still, blood dripping from a tear in his frill. Dragging herself out of her horrified thoughts, Pearl turned to him.

"What happened?" she asked.

"We were attacked on the border," Splash explained numbly. "They came out of nowhere."

Pearl felt her pads go cold with panic. She could feel the fin along her spine rising even as she fought against it and tried to take deep breaths despite the tightness in her chest.

"Tell me everything," she gasped out, hoping she didn't sound as scared as she felt.

"We were patrolling the northern border of the Wildlands," Splash began, and Pearl's heart sunk.

Oh, Arceus, I should have asked the Forest Tribe...

"And- And I don't really know," Splash lapped at the edges of his frill. "It all happened just so fast. Something just grabbed Shell by his tail and threw him- literally, just threw him- into the creek, and then... Pearl, there must have been four or five of them and they were these huge black and white Pokémon with giant teeth, and they just- Just jumped us! Pearl, one of them grabbed me by the frill and dragged me down, and- Great Arceus, I thought I was dead. He was taller than me, I couldn't hit his belly, and he had these horrible red glowing eyes, and-"

But Pearl was having trouble listening. Suddenly, she had a terrible suspicion she knew what Pokémon he was talking about. Horrible red glowing eyes, huge, fang-filled muzzles, long legs, shaggy black and white fur...

"And he said to me, he said," Splash was trembling now, his pelt fluffed out. "He said- He said- 'Midnight is here to take her payment of blood for her son's eye.' And- Pearl, I'm sorry, I have no idea what that means..."