"E-Eevee!" Pikachu shouted agonizingly. A slight smirk appeared on Zorua's face.
As the two of them rushed back down the trunk to where she had badly landed. She opened her brown eyes with difficulty.
"Eevee... are you okay?" Pikachu asked worriedly.
"Pi-Pikachu...? What happened?" she asked softly, when she suddenly flinched in pain. "Ow! My leg, it hurts!"
"Pikachu pushed you from the Oak tree," Zorua stated plainly, eyes darkened.
"W-what?!" The Electric mouse yelped, "I didn't do it on purpose! I would never have hurt you, I'm so sorry, Eevee一!"
"It's okay, Pikachu. What matters now is getting help," Eevee interrupted him.
"...Should we get your parents, Eevee?" Pikachu asked, touching her shoulder with a frown.
"N-no... it's better if my dad doesn't find out... he can be really overprotective in these situations..." she said about the Umbreon, "I suggest we find my Aunt Leafia! She's a Leafeon and the Healer of the Forest!"
Pikachu helped Eevee stand back up, as her leg was badly hurt.
"Can you walk?" he asked worriedly.
"Barely," she said, "but I still can." Eevee started limping, leading the way. "C'mon, guys! Follow me!"
Pikachu's ears lowered with guilt.
"She must hate you now... I mean, who wouldn't? You almost killed her! You're lucky Eve's stronger than you think," Zorua whispered to Pikachu as they followed Eevee to Aunt Leafia's cave.
...
"She's not here!" Eevee exclaimed surprised. "She must be in one of her trips."
"What to do now...?" Zorua furrowed his eyebrows, sweat-dripping.
"Maybe we should tell your mother, Espeon..." Pikachu suggested, insisting in getting help from a fully grown adult.
Eevee thought on it for a minute. "Hmm... maybe we shou一"
"We could just find some healing berries ourselves!" Zorua interrupted Eevee.
"...What do you mean?" She tilted her head to the side, not understanding.
"I've seen a handful back at the Forest..." he explained.
"Isn't that forest supposed to be ultra dangerous?" Pikachu frowned, walking in front of Eevee as if to protect her from Zorua.
"Without the protection of an Eeveelution... yes, it is," Eevee told him, nodding.
"Then I don't think it would be a very smart idea to go there alone, Zorua," Pikachu stated.
"Oh, come on, dudebro!" Pikachu cringed at the nickname. "I basically live in that Forest! Don't you know, Eevee! It's my favorite route to come visit!" He winked at her.
"Eevee, don't tell me you're in with this!" Pikachu exclaimed, turning his head at the female Pokémon.
"I-I think it's best not to bother Mom, either..." she stuttered. "She probably would be angry."
"Well, I don't know you, but I would rather an angry mom than getting beaten by some Houndoom!" Pikachu said bitterly.
"You just got here yesterday, and you already think you can go around telling everyone what to do?! Wow, so funny of you," Zorua added sarcastically.
"Well, sometimes, friends from yesterday can care more about you than friends you've known all your life!" Pikachu glared at him, stomping firmly at his direction, but then his eyes softened as he said his friend's name. "...Eevee, I... care for you."
"Like you'd care more than I do, I know her better than you think, right, Eve?!"
They both looked expectantly at the shivering Pokémon to choose... between her two ever dearest friends; both for different reasons.
"Pikachu... Zorua... I'll..." She started, both of them stared at her intensely. "I..." She began sweating nervously. "...I'll go with Zorua."
"W-what?! Eevee?" Pikachu said, not believing it.
"I'm sorry, Pikachu... but he is my childhood friend. He's an expert about the forest! He's... my big brother!"
The used words made Zorua flinch.
"I trust him with all my heart," Eevee finished sincerely, glancing downwards.
Pikachu stood there for a full minute. "I-I know it's your decision... but you don't know what you're getting into一!" He turned to see Zorua and Eevee had disappeared already. "...Eevee."
He should had warned her when he still had time.
..
Meanwhile, Zorua was carrying Eevee on his back as he ran towards the Forest. "I'm sorry, Pikachu," she thought with guilt. "But I had to make a choice."
They finally got to a deep, dark part of the forest. "We're here," Zorua stated, letting Eevee down. "I'm sure the berries are somewhere around there, wait here," he said before walking towards some bushes.
Somehow, Eevee was starting to feel uncomfortable. She didn't know if it was the environment; the inner fear that she was in a dark forest basically all alone made her shiver further.
...
Time went by, and Zorua still hadn't returned. "Where could he be? I swear, it's been almost an hour." It had been so long ago, in fact, her hurt leg did feel a little better... Maybe she should start looking for him.
She effortlessly got up and started limping slightly towards the direction Zorua had leaded to.
After entering the bushes, she looked around. "Zorua? Are you一" She suddenly got hit massively by something. "A-ah…!"
She struggled to get up when she got pinned by a dark figure.
"L-let me go!" she cried desperately.
The figure whispered to her ear maliciously, "Oh, Eve, don't you recognize your big brother?"
It laughed.
"...Zorua? What are you doing?" she warily asked, expression horrified.
"Well, what do you think...? Why didn't you wait for me? I was almost there!" Zorua said, as an Hypno appeared in front of Eevee.
"If you don't love me willingly, then I guess I'll have to get you to, because, you know, anyone who doesn't actually love me must have some issues in that furry little head of theirs," he teased her, expression darkened.
He chuckled maniacally again, managing to partially hide his amusement with his paw.
"Z-Zorua... you're not serious, are you?!" Eevee screeched.
"...You sure you wanna find out?" he murmured as he pressed her neck further.
"Stop it!" She kicked him away.
"Not until you love me like you should!" he growled.
"After knowing you're capable of all of this... never!" she yelped.
"Well... you asked for it," Zorua said, completely serious, "now you'll have to battle!"
That was it. He was fully insane. But Eevee knew there was nobody to protect her, she would have to use all her strength...
"Let the battle begin!" he declared.
Zorua started shooting attacks at Eevee repeatedly, and Eevee kept dodging them.
She used her fastest Quick Attack, it was unexpected, so it threw Zorua to the ground efficiently. "I see you really are stronger than it seems." He chuckled before getting up and biting her leg with his jaws.
"Ah!" Eevee let out a scream of pain, kicking him away, making him let go. She gasped as her leg started bleeding.
Zorua smirked as he used Agility and shoved her to the ground. Eevee started coughing weakly, but still managed to get up. "Whatever you do, I'm not giving up."
She used Double Team, as Zorua wondered which was the real Eevee. She took advantage of it and bit him herself.
"Augh! What?! Did your father teach you how to use Bite?" Zorua said mockingly as he pushed her away.
Eevee used Sand Attack, confusing Zorua and making him cough; she used Tackle, throwing him to the ground once again.
Finally weakened, he started protesting, "Ugh, Hypno, what are you staring at?! I didn't hire you for this! Attack!"
"W-what?!" Eevee was alarmed; she certainly wouldn't have advantage over an overpowered Zorua and an Hypno.
Hypno started using Hypnosis on Eevee, but she immediately shook it off.
"My mother taught me how to avoid this kind of Psychic Moves, losers…!" she loudly cried as she ran away before Zorua got in front of her.
"You're not going anywhere," he threatened, slowly walking towards her, Hypno doing the same from behind.
Eevee began panicking, not knowing what to do anymore.
The Dark Pokémon took advantage of this, jumping onto her and biting into her fluffy nape.
"Z-Zorua... how could you?!" Eevee broke into tears, being killed by who she thought was her big brother.
"You know what they say... either love... or die." He bit her further, keeping her in one place as she struggled.
Eevee shouted the hardest she had in her whole life as she let out an agonizing scream, a massive Shadow Ball forming it.
It exploded, creating an air wave that shook the dark place.
Zorua immediately fainted right on the spot. "Well, I guess I no longer have work!" Hypno said as he crept away.
Everything seemed blurry to both sight and hearing as she quickly got up... and finally ran away.
She ran and ran as she got the further she could from that place; she saw feet under some of the bushes, and cautious, she started preparing another attack... until she saw who they belonged to.
"Eevee! Eevee! Where are一" Pikachu cried desperately until he realized his friend was right in his way. "Eevee…! Are you okay?!"
Finally having found someone and being severely hurt, she fainted.
Pikachu ran back to Eeveelution Camp and Aunt Leafia's cave as he carried Eevee on his striped back. He knocked on the door. Nobody answered. He knocked again, this time much harder.
"Hold on! Hold on! I'm coming, alright! Ugh, one just can't miss one day, can one!" a feminine voice grumbled as she opened the door.
She then saw her niece being held by an unknown Pikachu. "I-I can explain一!"
"It's okay, bring her in, she's extremely hurt," the Leafeon sighed deeply with a frown.
"You know, I just came back from my trip," she said as she let Pikachu in, who let Eevee down on a plain stone like a bed.
"That's why I wasn't here before," she explained. "How long it's been since this? Could you explain how she got hurt?" she asked as she started healing her.
Pikachu kept silent.
"...Do you have any idea?" Leafia asked, knowing Pikachu was really worried for his friend.
"...It was a Zorua. A vicious one. He attacked her while on the Forest. These are battle scars..." Pikachu told her, wrath in his voice as he looked away.
"Okay, then... I'll tell her parents what happened," the healer said calmly, but concernedly. "She should be up in an hour, I'll take care of her, you can leave." She smiled softly.
"I'm not leaving," Pikachu said decidedly. Leafeon proceeded to leave as the Electric mouse laid his head gloomily in his arms as he stared at Eevee.
"I... wasn't there to protect you... I should have warned you before... maybe everything would be okay..." Tears started forming in his eyes after realizing all she had been through. "But Zorua lied to you... and... I'm just a different kind of liar."
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