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Bonds that Bind - Chapter Five

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Chapter Five: Lilah

 

 

A cloudy white-grey sky loomed above Winterbreath Mountains as Summer and her family finally reached the rocky base of one of its many mountains. A sudden chill ran down her spine, making her shudder; it had been getting gradually cooler over the day and a half it had taken them to get here from Petalflo City, which, as Summer daydreamed of taking a long, warm shower, felt like a thousand miles away.

    The ground was cold, pointy, and the dullest shade of grey stone; the whole area was completely devoid of anything green or colourful. There was a hint of misery in everybody’s expression, save for one . . . Glacia had been beaming since they’d set off after breakfast that morning. It was hardly surprising she was enjoying the crisp drop in temperature; she could relax and loosen up her body for a change, rather than focus on keeping the surrounding air cool enough so she wouldn’t overheat.

    They needed to find a way up into the mountains to reach the valleys that lay nestled beyond, but the rock was too steep to climb at every section they could see. The mountains spanned such a vast area that even Simon at top speed wouldn’t have been able to scout the entire boundary before sundown.

    “Come on, then, Dawn,” said Eclipse shortly to his Sylveon sister, who didn’t seem to hear him, being too focused on reading the old map of talisman locations she and her family received from Kadence in Petalflo. “You’ve got the map, so where do we need to go?”

    “That’s enough, Eclipse,” said Fall firmly.

    “Everyone’s getting tired of your attitude, Eclipse,” growled Raina with a hint of rare aggression, “so be quiet.”

    Eclipse, taken aback by his Vaporeon sister’s unexpected assertion, stared dumbly at her. Where it was true Raina was a year older than Eclipse, she had never behaved this dominantly towards him before; Fall looked sideways at her with as much shock if she had just challenged him to battle. Eclipse faked an itch on his cheek, so closed his eyes — finally escaping her glare — and scratched it with his back right paw.

    “Hey guys, I think I might’ve found us a path into the mountains,” said Dawn happily, and in no time her family had congregated around her, staring at the map between her feelers.

    “You have?” said Rose quietly.

    “Where’re we looking, sis?” Simon asked, wearing his usual confident smile.

    “Well,” Dawn started, pointing a free feeler to an area of green (most likely once all grassland) where Petalflo was situated, “Petalflo City’s hereabouts — and we’ve gone a little astray from true north . . . maybe north by east. . . .”

    She followed that course with her feeler until reaching the varying sizes of grey-coloured triangles — handwriting at the heart of the mountains read Winterbreath Mountains — (the biggest ones tipped white) stretching from coast to coast across the northern tip of Tavolous. “There —” A white line, a path perhaps, was climbing into the mountains; small handwriting beneath it read Gelid Pass. “What d’you reckon, Glace?”

    “Sounds promising to me,” said Glacia brightly.

    The family followed the mountains east, treading over the hard, rocky surface for more than an hour until —

    “At — last . . .” Summer groaned, slumping her backside, rather inelegantly, down.

    Up ahead was a sizeable path — enclosed between two mountains — travelling up into the mountains. To the right of the path stood a cosy-looking log cabin of sorts. Smoke streamed from the stone chimney. There were two windows along the face of the cabin, but no sign of movement within.

    “Anyone wanna come check it out with me?” asked Glacia cheerfully.

    “I will,” Rose volunteered. “It’s gotta be at least ten degrees warmer in there . . . right?” she added with such endearing naivety, looking round at Fall.

    The Shiny Flareon chuckled. “Right. C’mon, we’d better knock first, though.”

    One by one the Eeveelutions left the outdoors behind as they entered the lodge. Simon was about to enter as well when he noticed Summer still slumped where she was.

    “You all right?” he asked her, stopping in front of her.

    “Yeah . . .” she mumbled, “it’s just my paws are killing me, y’know?”

    Simon gazed at her feet a moment, then sat down himself and held out his right paw, pink paw pad up.

    “What are you doing . . . ?” Summer asked with an air of suspicion.

    “Give me your paw. . . . I promise I’m not going to shock you,” Simon added, rolling his eyes with a mischievous smile.

    Summer continued to glare at him, unconvinced, before, reluctantly, placing her right paw on his.

    “I’m warning you, Simon,” she said, as Simon set his left paw atop hers and started rubbing in a circular motion with his right, “if this is some sort of —” But her voice trembled and broke, replaced the next second by feeble moaning.

    Simon squeezed a little harder, parting Summer’s toes.

    “Sometimes if I run for too long, or too fast without stopping for a rest, my paws burn and can end up aching for hours,” Simon explained, his plum-coloured eyes focused on the task in paw. “Dawn says this is called a ‘massage.’ Usually bipedal Pokémon practice this ’cause their fingers can work the body’s muscles and joints deeper. Anyway, first time I over-did it, Dawn gave me one and I felt great afterwards. I may not be doing it much justice, but does it feel okay? Summer . . . ?”

    He looked at his Espeon sister; she was either slowly dozing off, but more likely — seeing as she was breathing softly through her mouth — was enjoying it to the point her eyes had closed. . . .

    The lodge was actually owned by a sweet old Cinccino, who rented out her spare room, free of charge, to tired travellers in need of a good long rest. She was a little overwhelmed at having six guests all at once in her home, apologizing sincerely she had only the one room to let, and that it was far too small to accommodate the six of them.

    Rose giggled playfully.

    “There’s eight of us; Simon and Summer are outside.”

    Eight!” said the Cinccino, utterly flabbergasted. “Oh — oh my,” she breathed, looking rather faint.

    “But we’re not looking for beds,” Glacia thought she’d better mention, and quickly at that.

    “Those are some really pretty scarves,” said Dawn distractedly, admiring a lengthy rack on the wall behind the Cinccino; long scarves hanged from it in a multitude of colours. “Are these all hand-knitted?” she asked, stroking a pink and cream coloured scarf (suiting her perfectly) with a feeler.

    “They most certainly are, dear,” said the Cinccino proudly. “Knitted them all myself. Helps keep the chill at bay, that’s why I give them to folk, both passing through and heading on up the Winterbreath Mountains.”

    “Really?” said Fall. “You just give them away?”

    “Sure do,” she said, shooting the Flareon a saucy wink. “Although I’m sure the cold for this time of year will be little more than an autumn breeze to a Glaceon, and I’m certain a strapping young Flareon such as yourself can quite easily go without one. . . .”

    Raising a smug smile, Fall then lifted his left foreleg, deliberately tensing his triceps; he was very strong — physically the strongest of his family. Now the Cinccino, old enough to be his grandmother, was ogling him even more so; Glacia and Raina exchanged grins, and even Eclipse, seeing what was going on, smiled.

    “Oh my . . .” she breathed, feeling up his solid muscles. “So very strong. . . . I’d forgotten how this feels. Do you work-out often?”

    Glacia and Raina giggled under their breath.

    Oh! Oh! Oh! Dibs on the brown one!” chimed Rose, just as naïve about the coquette Cinccino as Fall and rushing for the scarf rake. She reared up, resting her forepaws against the wall, bit down on it, and yanked the Eevee brown scarf off its hook. She kicked off from the wall and her feet hit the wooden floor. She approached Dawn and said, “Pud it mon —” — Dawn took the scarf from her mouth — “put it on me!”

    “What do you say first, sweetie?”

    “Oh!” Rose turned and gave the Cinccino a polite bow. “Thank you, ma’am.”

    “Hmm? O-oh yes,” the Cinccino said, her grey-brown eyes glued to Fall’s upper leg region, “genuine Cottonee cotton. . . .”

    Dawn wrapped the warm and comfortable scarf around Rose’s neck. As the excitable Leafeon surveyed her new look in the mirror, Dawn, Raina, and Eclipse all took a scarf each: the pink and cream coloured one for Dawn, a royal blue one for Raina, and a mature grey one for Eclipse; Dawn also picked up a cool black one for Simon, but didn’t get one for Summer on account of her already having a scarf of her own.

 

Armed with their warm and snug scarves, the Eeveelutions started their ascent from Gelid Pass. The craggy path was fairly steep and littered with loose rock, making it a long and strenuous climb. . . .

    “Oops,” said Rose, losing her footing a moment and sending a small shower of dust and rock back down for a third time; Simon dodged it sharply after expecting it; the first time caught him unawares and he ended up being pelted. “Sorry, Si!” she called, looking back at him.

    “I’ve had enough of this,” Simon grumbled. He took a few delicate steps backward, dragged his right forepaw back across the rocky surface twice, and crouched. Almost slipping on the level of grip, he launched himself forward. Rose ducked as he leapt and bounded over her. “Catch ya at the top, Slowpokes!” he called, speeding up the path.

    “Simon!” Dawn shouted furiously, “Simon, get back here! It might be dangerous!”

    But Simon had already disappeared around the left-hand bend up ahead. Dawn groaned exasperatedly.

    “He’s a moron,” sneered Eclipse.

    “He’s Simon,” said Summer, smiling light-heartedly in understanding.

    “What if he runs into trouble?” said Dawn worriedly. “If he gets hurt I’ve got the medical kit.”

    “He’ll be all right,” said Rose, faith in her voice. “This is Simon we’re talking about after all.”

    “I’m more interested in Fall’s new girlfriend,” Glacia teased, looking at Fall with a sly smile.

    “Huh?” said Summer. “Fall’s got a girlfriend? Since when?”

    “Since twenty minutes ago when we were at the Cinccino’s lodge,” Raina informed. “Right, Fall?” she then pressed, grinning.

    “I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about,” said Fall flatly.

    “Oh come on, Fall,” said Raina. “‘So very strong. . . .’” she mimicked the Cinccino’s excitedly breathless voice, then made silly kissing noises.

    “She was flirting with you!” said Glacia.

    Far from looking or feeling embarrassed by this revelation, Fall grinned.

    “Huh, guess she was. Can you blame her, though? What girl could possibly resist this red-hot hunk of fire?”

    “Maybe a girl who likes other girls,” said Summer hintingly.

    “Touché.”

    Rose giggled.

    “You’ve changed a whole lot over the past week, you know, Fall?”

    “I — I have?”

    “Ya-ha,” nodded Rose. “You were always so serious and grumpy before; the old Fall would never say things like this.” She fell into step beside her brother. “The old you was okay, but I like the new you way more.”

    Fall, touched by his little sister’s words, smiled warmly. He gave her a playful shove; when she returned it she was grateful he was her big brother; even just playing with him she could feel how strong he was.

    The path’s final straight took them to a lightless cave inside a mountain. There was nowhere else to go but the cave or back down the path; the wall of rock that surrounded them was intimidatingly tall — it was all Summer could see everywhere she looked. Glacia had the unnerving feeling they were being watched. . . . She looked up . . . Nothing but the same overcast sky and sections of rock reaching out to grab it.

    “Where the heck is Simon?” said Dawn angrily.

    Their Jolteon brother was nowhere to be seen.

    “He must’ve gotten bored and gone in to explore that cave,” said Raina knowingly.

    Dawn groaned in frustration again. “He said he was going to meet us at the top! Just wait ’til I get my feelers on him. . . .”

    “It’s very dark in there,” said Eclipse, peering into the cave. “From what I can see it’s very spacious. The ceiling’s up pretty high too.”

    “Can you see Simon in there?” Summer asked him.

    “No. There’s at least half a dozen chambers inside, if he’s gone down one he’ll definitely get lost.”

    “Great,” snapped Dawn. “So now we’ve got to find him. For his sake he’d better hope I don’t get to him first. . . .”

    “After you,” Fall said to Eclipse.

    The darkness seemed to swallow every trace of light from outside after the first ten metres, consuming Summer in its shadows in just a few steps. From somewhere to their left a pair of eyes gleamed in the dark, watching the group’s every move. . . .

    Aside from the darkness, the most immediate factor was how much colder it felt; Summer had seen her own breath. An occasional drip of water echoed from a small pool sounding a fair way into the cavern.

    “Ow!” said Summer sharply. “Someone stood on my foot!”

    “Sorry,” came Glacia’s voice from Summer’s left.

    “Hey — er — Eclipse? Small visibility issue back here . . .” came Raina’s voice.

    “Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled. His markings glowed a strong yellow, lighting up a sizeable area around him.

    “Ah, this is more like it,” Rose chirped, looking all around curiously. “Huh? What’s —” Something off to the shadows, back toward the bright white cave mouth, caught her eye. She wandered over to investigate, on the very edge of Eclipse’s light. It was a backpack — Simon’s backpack, the boys’ tent clipped to it . . . Why was this laying here . . . ?

    She gasped and looked to the right: A sudden pattering sound was rushing toward her. She caught a glimpse of something yellow, then, without warning, felt whatever it was slide underneath her. She screamed as she was lifted off the ground and taken out of the light’s reaches.

    Rose!” shrieked Glacia, spinning round.

    “Mwahahaha! There is no escape now, little girl,” Rose’s attacker echoed, his voice awfully familiar somehow. “Prepare to meet your doom!”

    Rose screamed again as she was carried, helplessly, off to her doom on her attacker’s back. . . .

    “Hurry, Eclipse,” barked Glacia, unable to get a target.

    “I’ve got ’im . . .” said Eclipse calmly, tracking their foe looping around them. The ring on his forehead glowed even brighter, penetrating the darkness like a torch. He found their target and followed him; Glacia wasted no time and fired an Ice Beam at him.

    “Whoa!” said the villain, narrowly ducking the frigid beam to his face. He came to a stop and faced the family, looking rather vexed. “What was that for?”

    Dawn breathed out in irritation. “Si-mon!”

    “Yeah, it’s me,” he said reproachfully. “Why’d you attack me like that for?”

    Why?” said Glacia incredulously. “Because we thought Rose really was in danger, you twit!”

    “Jeez lighten up, would ya? It was just a joke. I got you good, little sister,” he added triumphantly, looking over his right shoulder back to Rose still lounged over him; the rough ride left her feeling queasy.

    She opened her eyes and giggled weakly.

    “You got me . . .”

    Simon set her down and retrieved his backpack.

    Don’t,” Dawn hissed, slapping him on the hind leg with a feeler, “run off like that again!”

    “So-rry . . . !”

    “We all have to stick together, Simon,” said Fall a little sternly. “Now more than ever. . . .”

    “So —” said Summer, “where do we go now? All these chambers look the same.”

    “We could always split into pairs,” Simon suggested. “We cover four times as many chambers that way —”

    “Oh that’s a brilliant idea, Simon,” said Raina, rolling her eyes. “And how’re we all supposed to see where we’re going without Eclipse?”

    “Fall’s a Fire-type, right?” Simon snapped at her, “So he can use Flamethrower, and most of our moves give off some form of light — enough for us to see at least.”

    “Get real, Simon!” said Raina pragmatically. “We’re sticking together, like Fall says.”

    “Since when do you start calling the shots?” demanded Simon, his voice rising.

    “I’m not calling anything,” Raina retaliated through gritted teeth. “I’m merely pointing out your plan is flawed beyond stupidity and will not work.”

    “Oh who asked you — ?”

    “All right, cool it you two!” barked Fall, getting between the Jolteon and Vaporeon siblings.

    A subtle whisper flowed on the cold breeze . . . Glacia could hear it. . . . It was coming from the second most left chamber ahead of them . . . “Come to me. . . . I long for your touch. . . .” Glacia could not refuse the whisper’s request —

    “Yes . . .” she breathed. “Guide me to you. . . .”

    “Glace . . . ?” said Rose worriedly. “Who are you talking to?”

    Glacia opened her eyes, not taking them off the chamber calling her name.

    “Can’t you hear it . . . ?” she said distantly.

    Rose turned her gaze slowly toward the chamber and the pitch-black that lay within; stalactites, half-shadowed in the low light, up top unnerved her a little.

    “N-no. . . . Glace, you’re starting to scare —”

    “We have to go this way. Come on. . . .”

    Rose hadn’t the time to protest, for her eldest sister was already making her way toward the chamber.

    “Glace, where’re you —” started Eclipse, but was blanked as she passed him. When he turned to Rose seeking elucidation, she said, “Er — Glace says to go that,” she pointed a paw in the direction of the chamber, “way. Wait for us, Glace! We’re coming too!”

 

Glacia led them purposefully through the eerily silent cavern, Eclipse lighting the path ahead of her by use of his forehead ring still beaming like a flashlight. The deeper they went the narrower it became; soon they could only progress in twos.

    “Keep close to those in front,” said Fall at this point. “Eyes on tails.”

    Eclipse’s eyes kept darting from wall to wall . . . They seemed to be closing in on him, tall and shadowy . . . slight panic crept up his chest where it took hold, though he didn’t know why. . . .

    “Does anyone else feel — trapped . . . at all?” he asked quietly.

    “Not really,” said Summer truthfully.

    “Eclipse, you’re breathing quite heavily, what’s wrong?” Raina asked caringly.

    It was then Eclipse realized his heart, although beating at its normal pace, was thumping.

    “Nothing . . .” he lied, bringing his breathing under control. “It’s a little cold in here, that’s all. . . .”

    “It’s been cold since we were outside . . .” Raina gently pressed.

    “Well it’s colder down here,” snapped Eclipse, looking over his shoulder and back to Raina; she was following directly behind him.

    “Sweetie, you’re not claustrophobic, are you?” Dawn asked him.

    Eclipse felt highly frustrated and even more pressured — of course he wasn’t claustrophobic! He had a good mind to call his sisters both ‘idiots’ who should mind their own business. . . . Confined spaces had never bugged him before now . . . then again, he had never done anything like this in his life. The notion was stuck in his head. . . . If he wasn’t claustrophobic, why did he feel cornered with no means of escape in here? No. . . .

    He turned to Glacia alongside him, who hadn’t taken her eyes off the gloomy path ahead once.

    “How much further, Glace?” he asked, more tensely than he would’ve preferred.

    There was a very faint howling of wind along the walls: they were getting close.

    “Not far.”

    She was right, and soon enough a shaft of glorious white daylight shattered the darkness, waiting for them around one final left corner. Eclipse’s heart leapt. They rounded the corner into full exposure of the brilliant light, which momentarily blinded them. Gasps of surprise escaped their mouths to what they saw.

    They had reached a small cavern — Eclipse’s markings dulled back to normal. Toward the back was an opening outside; sunlight, so white, made it impossible to see anything through it, however a calm breeze, carrying snow with it, blew inside. In the centre was a large rock, sheathed in a layer of solid ice. It was sparkling magically against the cold light beaming directly onto it.

    “Is that what I think it is?” breathed Rose.

    “An Ice Rock . . .” confirmed Glacia, finding herself nearing its presence.

    “Like the one you evolved from, right?”

    Glacia placed a paw upon the icy-cold rock. Her lips curved in a wistful smile. The Ice Rock her mother had taken her to was not as large as. . . . A single tear trickled down her cheek. Her mouth produced a sort of choking sound when it opened.

    Rose hurried over to her Glaceon sister’s side, but before she could even say a word Glacia had buried her head into the Leafeon’s scarf, near her shoulder region. Rose, a little surprised by this, wasn’t sure what to say.

    “Glace, I-I’m sorry. . . . I didn’t mean to upset you . . .” she spoke softly into her ear.

    “You didn’t,” said Glacia, suddenly pulling herself away and wiping the solitary tear from her face. “And don’t be . . .” she added with a sniff, raising a weak smile.

    The Ice Rock was undoubtedly a rare thing to have come across, however it was the Hiemal Talisman — the Elemental Talisman of Ice — and its Keeper, Algor, they sought.

    A whoosh of particularly forceful, bitter wind hit Summer in the face as she emerged outside; her eyes watered slightly. Her paws went numb with cold . . . she was standing in snow! But a truly spectacular sight before her took her mind, for the moment at least, off the cold: She and her family were in an isolated valley blanketed with snow. There were snow-covered ridges that overlooked the valley on both sides; these got progressively taller, equally, until coming together at the very end of the valley. At its tip was a stone altar of sorts, and a dark crevice in the rock close by.

    “It’s beautiful . . .” Glacia breathed, mouth half-open and utterly enthralled.

    Fall waved a paw in her face, pulling her back to the present. “Let’s stay focused, Glacia.”

    “Huh — oh, right! Sorry, Fall.”

    Little over a quarter of the way there the snow deepened and most of them were beginning to struggle — Rose understandably the most; she was falling behind everybody else, shivering in the cold. What’s more, a snowstorm felt as though it was brewing.

    “It’s probably best you head back and wait for us, Rose,” said Fall loudly, for the wind was getting up. He’d kept a close eye on her and could see she was determined to keep going, but there was zero chance he was going to take the risk with the threat of an oncoming storm.

    “N-no!” said Rose adamantly, still shivering. “I w-wanna be s-strong like you and Glace and Simon!”

    “Well, all right — if you’re sure,” he yelled over the snow-swept winds. “Stay close to me! Hug my side if things get too cold!” And promptly, Rose pressed her side against his; he was like a huggable fire, so fluffy and warm.

    The snow was no problem at all for Glacia out in front; her paws worked like snowshoes, and her narrow chest allowed her to cut her way through the snow easily and silently. She was unflinching in the worsening storm. This was her species’ natural environment — as an Ice-type she was perfectly adapted for survival in these harsh conditions.

    The snow crumpled loudly under Fall’s steps as he continued to plough his way through with as much grace as a Machamp trying to wallpaper. Then, he stopped, as did Rose.

    “Get behind me, Rose,” he called.

    “Why — what is it?”

    “This storm’s progressing a lot —” he paused to brace against a sudden bluster, “a lot faster than I expected! If it keeps up at this rate we’ll be in real trouble; we need to get to cover, and soon!”

    “What are you going to do?” Rose asked. She understood the potential danger she and her family faced but was only slightly concerned: there was nothing to fear, not with Fall right there.

    Fall pointed with a paw. “That cave in the corner. It looks small, but with any luck there’ll be enough room inside for the lot of us. I’ll make us a path the rest of the way and we can take shelter there until such a time the storm passes.”

    “Err . . . when you say ‘make’ a path, you mean you’re going to. . . .”

    Fall smirked. Next second he pointed straight ahead; Rose, gladly heeding his aforesaid instruction, jumped behind him. He opened his mouth and blasted a powerful stream of fire, melting a line of snow to slush and revealing the rock previously hidden beneath. Summer, Raina, Dawn, Simon, and Eclipse all followed appreciatively behind them.

    The altar drew gradually nearer, but soon the strain of Fall’s efforts began to show; he was stopping to catch his breath before each Flamethrower now — no longer breathing long, strong flames whilst preceding — each one shorter and a little weaker than the last. In the face of his family’s protests to get him to stop, Fall carried on until, finally, reaching the altar.

    Fall slumped himself down at once (the snow started to melt around him immediately). His travail got them here not far behind Glacia but left him exhausted.

    “You did it, big brother,” said Raina gratefully, coming alongside his left.

    “No . . .” Fall panted, getting to his feet much too soon, “got to . . . keep going. . . . Cave’s . . . not far. . . .”

    “Take it easy, Fall,” fussed Rose.

    “The only thing you’re doing,” said Raina, rearing up and pressing her weight down on Fall’s behind, forcing him back down, “is staying put.” She sat down with him.

    “Look here, you two . . .” Fall breathed, “I’m fine. . . . It’s only two hundred metres more, and I —”

    “Raina’s right, Fall,” agreed Rose, sitting down on his right side and leaning happily into his bushy mane. Fall blushed faintly. “You’re beat.”

    “Just rest up with me and Rose awhile,” spoke Raina softly, bunting him affectionately in a rare moment of still calm, though the wind picked up again a few seconds later.

    Summer watched as Glacia climbed the altar’s three steps, on her way to its centre. Four crumbling stone pillars surrounded the altar, all enduring a losing battle against the snow and wind after countless years. At the altar’s centre stood a smooth, white-stoned pedestal with four sides, tipped like a pyramid; it, unlike the pillars, bared no signs of age or deterioration at the hands of the elements — even seeming able to repel the snow, which simply slid straight off. Near the top, on the side facing the Eeveelutions, was a small square hole, within which came a faint, ice-blue glow. Glacia reared up — placing her forepaws on the pedestal for support — and took a peep inside the hollow. . . .

    Something about this area put Summer on edge . . . she couldn’t place her paw on it. She glanced to the left: Simon and Dawn were watching Glacia also; Eclipse was watching to her right. She looked up to the ridge on the right, there she saw, for a split second, what looked like multiple cream-coloured tails — tipped with orange — disappearing behind the snow. Just then, the wind blew again; she brought a paw to her eyes.

    “Did anyone else see that?” she yelled.

    “See what?” Eclipse said.

    “Up there — it looked like . . .”

    “Guys! I’ve got it!” called Glacia excitedly.

    Summer and Eclipse turned at once to Glacia. The Glaceon withdrew her paw from the hollow, clutching a colourless, emerald-cut gem; at its core was an ice-blue coloured marking. She dropped to the ground on three paws, taking care with her treasure. Then, just with Summer handling the Angelic Talisman for the first time, Glacia gasped; the Hiemal Talisman gained a pale blue colour after a bright flash of light blue, and its marking glowed strikingly rich. An odd tingling sensation overwhelmed her entire body, as though someone had poured a weak acid over her, then ended unexpectedly.

    “All right, Glace!” Simon whooped, he, Dawn, Summer, and Eclipse all joining Glacia.

    “It’s the Hiemal Talisman, we got it,” cheered Dawn.

    “That’s two already,” said Summer happily. “I hope the others are this easy to find.”

    “Err . . .” said Glacia nervously, “you can hold it, Summer.” She pressed the talisman onto her Espeon sister, who caught it in fulmination: “Wha — ? Take it back! I don’t want —”

    But it was already too late. . . . Summer screwed up her eyes, trying her hardest to resist the talisman’s influence . . . It was hopeless — she felt that all too familiar prickle in her paw winning. Only when she gave up did the sensation run its course, turning her into a pure Ice-type.

    “Thanks a bunch,” she mumbled.

    Lurking in the darkness of the crevice, a pair of scarlet eyes — slit pupils, like a snake’s, glowing yellow — shadowed the Eeveelution family. . . . Whatever was watching them was big. Its snarled breathing sounded heavily hostile.

    “Kill . . .” it growled in a deep, aggressive voice.

    The strongest flurry yet swept across the valley; everybody, except Glacia, hunkered down. Visibility fell drastically as a thick haze descended with heavy snow freakishly fast. Fall, Raina, and Rose lost all sight of their other siblings, unable to tell which way the cave was; nothing but whiteness in every direction.

    “Glacia!” Fall roared, “Dawn! Summer! Where are you?! Give us a sign!”

    Summer could just about make out Fall’s calls over the howling wind. She only slightly opened her eyes, expecting the cold air’s nasty sting — to her surprise she felt nothing of the sort. She opened her eyes fully . . . “Huh?” The wind wasn’t affecting her in the least; to the contrary, she could see perfectly. She turned to see, very much visible, Fall, Raina, and Rose all huddled together; Fall and Raina were looking blindly in all directions, but Rose looked stiff as a board . . .

    None of this made any sense, she found herself thinking. Espeons were no more suited for these conditions than other non-Ice types — why wasn’t the cold affecting her like the rest of her siblings? And then it hit her: The Hiemal Talisman! She glanced down at it, still colourful and efficacious, securely in her clutches. Could this have been what Kadence meant before? Was this resistance to the cold and ability to see far further than she ever normally could through a white-out powers associated with this talisman — and if so, what else would she be able to do with other talismans? Maybe fly above the clouds with the Elemental Talisman of Flying, or breathe underwater using the Elemental Talisman of Water. . . .

    She shook her head. This wasn’t the time to fantasize.

    “Hold on, guys,” she responded, “we’re coming to get you!”

    “Hurry!” came Raina’s voice. She sounded fearful. “Rose will die in this cold if we don’t get her to cover soon!”

    A terrible chill ran down Summer’s spine at what she saw next. Rose, her only little sister, was freezing to death in Fall’s embrace. Her eyes were closed, her ears lowered, and she was shivering violently . . . life was ebbing away from the young Leafeon. . . .

    “I’m on my way, Rose!” Glacia called out. She turned sternly to Summer and the others. “You lot head for the cave and stay there.”

    “But —”

    “No buts, Simon!” Glacia snapped at him. “It’s too dangerous.”

    “We will, Glace,” said Dawn seriously.

    “. . . All right.” Much to his disapproval, Simon nodded. He’d have to just go with it this time, for Rose’s sake. “Be careful.”

    Glacia gave him a nod, then made to go when —

    “Wait, Glace!” Summer called after her, and she stopped. “Let me go back for them,” she requested intently, wrapping the tips of her forked tail around the pale blue talisman, freeing up her paw.

    “What?” Glacia exclaimed. “Summer, there isn’t time —”

    “I know,” said Summer loudly. “That’s why you need to trust me. I’ve got this.” She waved the talisman about. “Escort the others to the cave, I’ll explain later.”

    Glacia groaned impatiently.

    “Fine, go!”

    Summer entrusted her with her backpack (the Angelic Talisman safe and secure inside), tightened her tail tips around the talisman, and bolted into the white scenery, where even Glacia lost sight of her. . . .

    “Fall! Raina!” Summer yelled, and the two turned.

    Summer — !” breathed Fall, his eyes widening with shock. “How did — you — where’s Glacia?”

    “Talk later!” said Summer quickly, approaching Rose, who was in a slouched sitting position against Fall’s chest, her head was low to the ground; her eyelids barely fluttered when Summer placed a paw on the sensitive leaf on her forehead.

    “We’ll have to carry her,” said Raina.

    “Okay, Rose,” Fall spoke in her ear, “you’re gonna have to help me out here — come on, up you get. . . .”

    Rose let out a weak moan as Fall stood up, leaving her at the full mercy of the cold; her shivering now was heart-breaking.

    Raina’s eyes started to trickle. Her lips were shaking.

    “Y-y-you’re g-going to be all r-right, Rose,” she sobbed, raising a kind of self-convincing smile as she removed her own scarf and wrapped it shakily over Rose’s own. The Vaporeon started shivering at once.

    Fall swung his backpack off.

    “Raina! Summer!” he barked, turning his back to Rose and squatting down, “Help me get her on my back!”

    Raina took off her own backpack, slipped beneath Rose, and budged into her; the Leafeon keeled forward limply, resting on Raina’s back. The Vaporeon got up with difficulty; Rose was a lot heavier than she realized, plus the freezing cold sapped her of a lot of strength. Summer had been trying to simplify matters using Psychic to lift Rose onto Fall’s back, but failed to produce the results; panic was fogging her brain — she couldn’t concentrate enough to suppress the talisman’s full effects and regain some of her psychic qualities.

    Summer!” cried Raina. Summer apologized and leapt into action on the spot.

    Together they secured their little sister on top of Fall where she lie straight over him, her head buried into the back of his soggy mane, made wet by the snow.

    “Summer, do you remember, exactly,” Fall stressed, “where to head?”

    “I don’t need to remember; I can see it! Come on, the cave’s this way.”

    Summer led the way, almost unflinchingly, through the relentless storm of snow and wind toward the cave and safety; Fall followed hot on her heels, keeping his head down and scrunching up his face; Raina retrieved the two backpacks and followed alongside him, head lowered also.

    Soon a cylinder-shaped mass — one of the altar’s four, stone pillars — broke the vast whiteness, solid proof they were headed in the right direction.

    “Hang in there, Rose,” Fall called to her. “Just a little bit farther —”

    The ground between Fall and Raina exploded in an eruption of snow and force where a devastating orange beam, out of nowhere, struck; the resulting blast launched the two in opposite directions.

    Raina’s screams reached Summer’s ears and stopped before she could turn. There was a crater of rock in the snow; she herself walked there only moments previously. Raina lay on her side, static and eyes shut — Fall was lying on his front; he was groaning and stirring — Rose too lay motionless, face down in the snow. . . .

    “ROSE!”

    A pounding sound to Summer’s left grabbed her attention. She turned and looked up in horror: the heavy stone pillar fell forward — time slowed its fall, but the young Espeon froze. She drew a sharp breath . . . her last breath —

    Suddenly, something pounced her off her feet and out of harm’s way — something strong and powerful, yet at the same time warm and fluffy; the pillar crashed and fractured into three large chunks of rock. The Hiemal Talisman slacked from between the tips of her tail; it hit the snow close by and lost its pale blue colour, turning colourless and practically invisible (only its ice-blue marking betrayed its location, which wasn’t much better than being colourless against the white).

    Summer hit the ground, softly enough, on her back, trapped between the cold now on her back and the warmth of her rescuer lying on her front. She opened her eyes, coming face-to-face with the most beautiful fox she’d ever seen . . . Her heart raced. A wave of warmth spread throughout her body like a fire out of control; she opened her mouth and blushed the same shade of the vixen’s red eyes.

    The gorgeous vixen got to her feet, frowning at Summer. Her luxuriously thick, golden-white fur felt silky and soft, if not a little wet from all the clinging snow. She had pointed ears, a fluffy crest of fur atop her head, and a small mane around her neck. Her legs were long and slender, and she had three-toed paws. Summer counted nine, long tails, each tipped a pale orange. But it was those gleaming red eyes of hers that captivated our young Espeon.

    “H-hi . . .” said Summer nervously.

    “What’re you playing at, kid?” the Ninetales snapped. She stepped over Summer and recovered the Hiemal Talisman; it remained colourless in her paw as she glanced back at Summer, who looked positively dumbstruck. She buried it in her fluffy mane, continuing to glower at the witless Espeon for a couple of seconds before looking straight ahead and getting on her way, successful in her mission. . . .

    “W-wait!” Summer called after her. “Give it back! We need it to stop Bla —”

    She turned and gasped: A giant ice bear reared back, towering over Summer on his hind legs; her current position left her feeling vulnerable. . . . Something about the Beartic’s eyes creeped Summer out: the sclera wasn’t the normal dull grey colour of most Beartics — it was scarlet red, and his pupils weren’t round and black, instead slit and glowing a possessed yellow. . . .

    He flashed his deadly claws and let out a long, barbarous roar. Next thing Summer knew she was screaming in terror as the Beartic dropped down, his claws primed to tear into the Espeon’s soft underbelly and savage her.

    An intense stream of fire and heat rushed past Summer, engulfing the Beartic in flames that seared his protective layer of fur and licked his flesh. He instantly roared out, this time in pain. The Flamethrower forced him to lurch as he fell — he collapsed on his side with a mighty whump, missing Summer; some of the flames were extinguished. He was already back on two feet, bellowing in outrage as he snuffed out each remaining pocket of flame. Such resilience after sustaining a super effective attack, and a powerful one at that, frightened Summer. . . . And then her memory jogged . . . this was Algor, Keeper of the Hiemal Talisman!

    The Ninetales, whom twice now had saved her life, got between her and the dangerous Algor, standing over her like a guardian angel.

    “Stay low!” she barked, glancing over her left shoulder and back at Summer.

    Summer saw flames stirring inside her mouth when she crouched in preparation to attack . . .

    No!” she shrieked, scrambling to her feet and lunging to grasp the Ninetales by the left flank. The Ninetales swore incoherently thanks to a mouthful of fire; Summer’s actions caused her to fire off an enormously powerful blast of flame, which took a shape as it missed her intended target, disappearing into the sea of white.

    “Stupid kid!” she hissed, kicking out her left hind leg but Summer refused to let go. “Get — off — me!”

    She kicked Summer away, who hit the snow on her backside.

    “Don’t attack him!” Summer implored. “He’s Algor, the Keeper of —”

    “— the Hiemal Talisman,” said the stunning Ninetales, “yeah, I know. He’s also possessed by a Shadow of Black Nex! Or haven’t you figured out yet he’s been trying to kill you?”

    A hundred questions all at once inundated Summer’s mind . . . Nex! she thought alarmingly. Who was this Ninetales, and how did she know about Algor and the Hiemal Talisman?

    “W-what — ?”

    Algor roared again, and the two females faced him. He drew in a deep breath, then blew, rather pretty, white-blue sparkles high above the girls. The sparkles became clumps of solid ice, growing longer and larger by themselves as they fell, quickly forming into sharp and deadly icicles.

    This time Summer would save her: She focused on the imminent threat above and her eyes glowed a light blue; a great deal of the icicles became outlined in the same shade of light blue and stopped dead in mid-air. Algor grunted, struck dumb and gawping at his own attack — each icicle turned en masse toward him. The Icicle Crash then charged him, stabbing into his flesh where the wounds trickled blood down his white fur, parts of it still singed after the Flamethrower; he bellowed furiously, swiping at the ice spears with his huge forepaws; some withdrew with a squelch — the blood made them visible on the ground — others broke in two, driving still deeper into him.

    “Not bad,” the Ninetales complimented, raising a half-smile.

    Summer’s eyes swiftly locked onto hers. Her mind went blank; her eyes returned to normal and she blushed.

    “T-thanks . . .” she mumbled.

    The Ninetales turned her body to face Summer directly; Summer’s mouth opened slightly, taking generous breathes through it. The vixen held out her right paw. Summer stared at it before finally taking it.

    “I’m Lilah, in case you were wondering,” the Ninetales introduced softly before heaving Summer to her paws. “Want me to keep calling you ‘kid,’ or — ?”

    “. . . Hmm? O-oh — right, yes! Sorry, my name’s kid. Er, Summer,” corrected Summer awkwardly, “I mean Summer! I guess ’cos . . . er — I was born in summer. . . .” When Lilah raised an eyebrow at her, Summer wished she had the power to turn back time and start all over; she was highly embarrassed and kicking herself mentally. Smooth, Summer . . . real smooth. . . . About as smooth as a Graveler’s face! “W-well . . .” she added, hopeful the next few words would help redeem some dignity, but quickly realized, to her already sinking heart, she had absolutely nothing incisive to say, “it was the name my mum gave me. . . .”

    “Well then, Summer,” said Lilah, frowning with a small, tickled smile, “I think a combination attack ought to ‘calm’ our murderous friend here down a bit, if you catch my drift.”

    “O-oh, you bet!” chirped Summer, suddenly very eager.

    The two turned to Algor once more: Lilah blasted him with another super effective Flamethrower; Summer hit him with a Shadow Ball, which fused with the stream of fire and exploded, knocking him backwards. Roaring, he retreated backwards, flailing his huge forepaws about dangerously as patches of fire ate away at his fur. He hit a section of collapsed pillar — he originally knocked over to kill Summer with — and tripped up, hitting the snow on his back.

    Lilah wasted no time: She leapt on top of him before he could get up; the Beartic snarled weakly at her.

    “That’s it,” she whispered. And as she spoke, her hypnotically attractive red eyes glowed stronger. “Look into my eyes. . . .”

    A state of drowsiness fell over Algor and his possessed eyes started to close — too weak to resist Lilah’s Hypnosis.

    “. . . Kill you,” came his gruff last words before losing consciousness.

    And with his defeat, the snowstorm calmed. All-round visibility slowly returned.

    “What did you use on him?” asked Summer curiously, inspecting the mighty bear’s face.

    “Hypnosis,” Lilah answered, still atop Algor, a look of hatred in her eyes as she continued to glare at him. “But there is only one sure-fire way of exorcising the evil manifesting inside of him. . . .”

    She bared sharp, pointed teeth — her canines not as long as a male Ninetales’ but still easily long enough to kill prey by piercing the jugular vein. To Summer’s shock, she sunk her teeth into the side of his neck (unable to get a clean bite because of his ice beard), however struggled to penetrate deep on account of his protective layer of fur. Blood stained his white neck as Lilah ripped into it. . . .
Bonds that Bind - Chapter Five

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YouCubing's avatar
This is such a great story. One of my favorites, possibly my favorite.