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Description
Part three: Release

Finally, the two reached the end of the long tunnel down through the caverns.  But what met their eyes was nothing the two had expected to find.
At the end was a large, open area, lit from an unknown source deep within the room.  But in the center was a huge underground lake, its shimmering waters hiding its depth.  But far away from the bank, near where the two guessed was the center of the lake was a glowing object.  The water disoriented it enough so that Claire and Eevee were unable to determine what the object was, but both of them knew it had to be the reason the caverns had been hidden until recently.
“Claire?  What is this place?” Eevee asked, looking to the lopunny at his side.
“I don’t know Eves, but I think this is what we were sent to find.” She replied, “But this alone…I’ve never seen anything like this place.”
Quietly, the lopunny stepped forward and dropped onto one knee, cupping some of the water in her hands.  As she drank it, Eevee stood by her and took out a note pad.  As he wrote what he was seeing, Claire stood back up and stretched.
“I guess now is as good a time as any to take a quick break before heading back up.” The lopunny said as she took off her pack.
Eevee nodded and sat down.  As he did, Claire handed him an apple.
“Eat up, by the time we get back we’ll have missed dinner.” The lopunny explained.
Eevee nodded and took a bite of the apple, looking out into the water, “What do you think that thing is?”
“What thing?” Claire asked, and then she realized what her partner meant, “Oh, the thing in the water?”
Eevee nodded, “Yeah.  I mean, what could be hidden there?”
Claire smiled and stood up, “Only one way to find out Eves.”
Quietly, Eevee nodded and took another bite.  With a smile, Claire knew her partner was deep in thought again.  But when he got like this, Eevee was mostly oblivious to the rest of the world.  An entire war could go on around him, and the fox pokémon wouldn’t even blink.  So, she took the opportunity to strip off her heavier armor.  Once she had, the lopunny was only dressed in a white tank top and shorts she had been wearing under the silvery armor.
Tenderly, she dipped her foot into the water.  It was oddly warm, almost like bath water instead of the ice cold lake it should have been.  With a glance back at her partner, she walked out into the water, going until it was up to her neck before taking a deep breath and diving in.
At the sound of her splashing in, Eevee looked up.  Startled, he realized what had just happened!  Immediately, the fox pokémon got to his feet and ran to the edge of the water, hoping to see his partner’s silhouette in the clear water.
“Claire!” He called, hoping she would hear him.
But when she didn’t resurface, the eevee sat down, his head in his hands.
“She’s doing it again.” He thought to himself, “Every time we find something she just has to check it out.  Usually it’s ok, but not when she knows I won’t notice until she’s gone.  I have got to start paying more attention…”
As he mentally yelled at himself, the eevee failed to notice the lopunny surface for air.  She floated for a minute, taking a couple of breaths before taking another large gulp of air and diving back down.  There was something down there.  And now she would find out what it was.
But this time, something grabbed her as Claire got close to the object that the water hid within it’s dark depths.  As if someone had grabbed her ankle, the rabbit pokémon felt herself begin tugged backwards.  Instinctively, she fought it, kicking the water as she tried to free herself from the invisible hand.  Then, as if she had become completely weightless, the force thrust her through the water, but back towards the surface!  Her body braced for what she knew came next.
As if from a catapult, the lopunny was flung from the water, the force only accelerating her journey back towards the shallow waters of the shore.
Helplessly, the lopunny cried out, “Eevee!”
Her cry snapped Eevee out of his thoughts.  Carefully honed instinct kicked in, and the eevee ran towards his partner.  Within seconds, Claire slammed into the eevee, causing them both to fall back into the shallow water.
“You shall not have it!” a voice boomed from the water, “The gear shall not leave it’s place of rest!”
Quickly, Eevee realized that Claire had been knocked out from the impact.  Her head must have hit the ground under the shallow water!  Luckily, her head was above the surface of the water.  Without hesitation, the fox pokémon pulled her to the shore, laying her on her back.  But as he tried to get a revive seed into her mouth, an unseen force threw him back from her, slamming him onto the ground!
  The fox pokémon struggled, but as much as he tried, he couldn’t move.  Something was holding him down against the ground.
“Do not attempt to help her.” The voice said, “She has attempted to disturb the sacred gear, her fate has been decided.”
“Y-you’ve got it all wrong!” Eevee stammered, “P-please, leave her alone!”
Suddenly, a creature appeared before him on the waters surface.  It’s pink head and blue body didn’t look too fearsome since it was only about a foot tall.  But it’s golden eyes held Eevee’s gaze.  In them were a mix of anger and knowledge from its years.
“I may not be correct.” It said, “But I, Mesprit, must protect the gear at all cost.”
With that it let Eevee go.  The invisible hands that had been holding him down suddenly released their hold.  Shakily, Eevee got to his feet and looked to the creature before him.
“Please, I don’t want any trouble.  I don’t know what your talking about, but I’m sure it’s very important.  Just let us go and we’ll keep this place a secret.”
The pokémon thought for a second, then shook it’s head, “No.  I cannot allow anyone with any knowledge of this room to live.  I am sorry, but I must do as I am ordered.”
With that, the pokémon rushed him, a black sphere growing in it’s hand!  In surprise, all Eevee could do was raise his arms to protect himself as a ball of shifting energy sped towards him.  But when it struck him, the eevee was flung back, the raw force of the attack breaking his guard as a second strike of psychic energy slammed into him!
But as he landed, the eevee was already countering the attacks.  Immediately, the fox pokémon became a blur, racing at Mesprit without a second thought.  But instead of striking head on, Eevee remembered something Claire had taught him.  At the last second, the blur changed direction, circling Mesprit and striking from behind!
Before the tiny psychic pokémon could recover, Eevee struck again and again from behind it.  Then Eevee struck a fourth time from beside it, his fist slamming into its side before circling around for a final strike!  But as he began to strike for his finishing attack, Mesprit caught him with another grip of its energy, the same way it had to Claire when it yanked the lopunny out of the water.  The sudden stop yanked Eevee off his feet, forcing him to fall onto his back!
“Did you think I would be that easy to defeat?” Mesprit asked as another blast of psychic energy knocked Eevee across the ground, “I do not enjoy what I must do, but please understand that it is for the protection of this world.”
Eevee struggled to his feet, but a third wave of energy finally lifted him off the ground, sending him flying into a wall!  That impact was enough to cause the fox pokémon’s vision to begin to fade.  As his consciousness slipped away from him, Eevee’s world began to darken until it had faded into nothing.
“I failed…I couldn’t protect Claire…” Eevee’s mind thought as it shut down, “I’m sorry…”
But then, something awakened inside him.  Almost instantly, his mind awoke, but not under his control.  A new force was awakening within his enraged soul.
*           *          *
Mesprit looked down at it’s opponent.  Sadly, it shook its head as it turned away.
“I may not like to fight,” it said quietly, “but I had to.  If the gear were to fall into the wrong hands again…no, best not to think about it.”
But suddenly, Mesprit picked up a new sense.  A powerful force of mental energy made itself known to the pokémon.  Quickly, it turned around and looked at the unconscious eevee.
“He must have had a revive seed in his teeth.” It thought, “That’s the only way he could still be fighting.”
“Did you really think that would bring me down?” the eevee asked in a gruff voice, “I may be weak, but that’s only for now.  I will never allow you to harm Claire.  I’ll fight to the end for her!”
Mesprit realized something as Eevee stood up shakily, but what it realized could only lead to another conclusion.  The voice that was speaking may be coming from the eevee, but Mesprit felt another presence in his body.  The kind eevee it had fought before was no longer in control.
As the fox pokémon looked at Mesprit, it saw his eyes.  No longer were they the soft brown it had seen during the fight.  Now, they had changed.  Where there had only been a will to fight for the female lopunny who still lay unconscious near the shore of the lake, there was now a merciless hatred.  No, it definitely was not the same eevee behind those blood red eyes.
“What’s the matter?  Meowth got your tongue?” Eevee asked, “Did you hear me Mesprit?  You wanted to fight before, so come on!  Give me your best shot!”
Mesprit hovered for a minute, carefully examining its new opponent.  Then, it struck again!
With a growl of challenge, Mesprit fired off a ball of shifting energy.  As the sphere raced towards Eevee, the fox pokémon moved quickly, dropping down and rolling under the attack.  Once the attack safely passed overhead, the eevee retaliated, striking back with a strong uppercut.
The hit forced Mesprit into the air.  But in the second it hung there, the helpless Mesprit felt something grab it.  In another second, Eevee had grabbed the pokémon and had now twisted it around, throwing Mesprit to the ground as he passed.
Landing a foot away from where Mesprit hit, the eevee got to his feet and looked to his opponent.  But as he did, he felt something slam into him, the force of the attack pushing him back from Mesprit and onto the ground.
“I-I cannot let you take it.” Mesprit groaned, getting up, “I-I will die to protect the gear.”
“I don’t want your stupid gear!” Eevee yelled, “And frankly, I don’t care much about your duty either!  That’s no excuse to harm my partner!”
Every bit of anger began to build up inside the eevee.  As if a switch had been thrown, he attacked, punching Mesprit as it tried to force him back.
“You. Will. Not. Harm. Claire!” Eevee grunted as his blows landed.
“THAT’S ENOUGH!” A voice boomed through the cavern.
The shout halted both of them as another creature appeared.  It looked similar to Mesprit, but instead of being pink and blue, it was all blue with golden eyes, a smile on its face.  Eevee recognized it as the pokémon that had followed him and Claire into the tunnels!
“Who the heck are you?” he asked as he dropped Mesprit.
“The question is, who are you.” The pokémon replied, “None the less, I am Azelf.  Another guardian of the gears.”
“I don’t care if you’re the guardian of the whole dang planet.” Eevee replied roughly, his red eyes glaring at Azelf with nothing but contempt, “If you lay a hand on Claire, I’ll take you out too!”
Azelf only smiled, “You know as well as I do that is not you speaking.  That is your anger.  You must calm down.”
Eevee stood for a minute, unsure of what to do.  His rage was fading, but this new force inside him didn’t want to relinquish its hold on his mind.  Finally, the eevee closed his eyes and tried to relax.
But as he did, both Azelf and Mesprit noted something.  As he calmed himself, they both felt the presence that had made itself apparent only when Eevee had been knocked down began to shrink.  Not only that, but when Eevee opened his eyes again, they were no longer red, but back to the soft brown they had been.
Eevee stood for a second, and then collapsed onto the ground!

Description
Part three: Release

Finally, the two reached the end of the long tunnel down through the caverns.  But what met their eyes was nothing the two had expected to find.
At the end was a large, open area, lit from an unknown source deep within the room.  But in the center was a huge underground lake, its shimmering waters hiding its depth.  But far away from the bank, near where the two guessed was the center of the lake was a glowing object.  The water disoriented it enough so that Claire and Eevee were unable to determine what the object was, but both of them knew it had to be the reason the caverns had been hidden until recently.
“Claire?  What is this place?” Eevee asked, looking to the lopunny at his side.
“I don’t know Eves, but I think this is what we were sent to find.” She replied, “But this alone…I’ve never seen anything like this place.”
Quietly, the lopunny stepped forward and dropped onto one knee, cupping some of the water in her hands.  As she drank it, Eevee stood by her and took out a note pad.  As he wrote what he was seeing, Claire stood back up and stretched.
“I guess now is as good a time as any to take a quick break before heading back up.” The lopunny said as she took off her pack.
Eevee nodded and sat down.  As he did, Claire handed him an apple.
“Eat up, by the time we get back we’ll have missed dinner.” The lopunny explained.
Eevee nodded and took a bite of the apple, looking out into the water, “What do you think that thing is?”
“What thing?” Claire asked, and then she realized what her partner meant, “Oh, the thing in the water?”
Eevee nodded, “Yeah.  I mean, what could be hidden there?”
Claire smiled and stood up, “Only one way to find out Eves.”
Quietly, Eevee nodded and took another bite.  With a smile, Claire knew her partner was deep in thought again.  But when he got like this, Eevee was mostly oblivious to the rest of the world.  An entire war could go on around him, and the fox pokémon wouldn’t even blink.  So, she took the opportunity to strip off her heavier armor.  Once she had, the lopunny was only dressed in a white tank top and shorts she had been wearing under the silvery armor.
Tenderly, she dipped her foot into the water.  It was oddly warm, almost like bath water instead of the ice cold lake it should have been.  With a glance back at her partner, she walked out into the water, going until it was up to her neck before taking a deep breath and diving in.
At the sound of her splashing in, Eevee looked up.  Startled, he realized what had just happened!  Immediately, the fox pokémon got to his feet and ran to the edge of the water, hoping to see his partner’s silhouette in the clear water.
“Claire!” He called, hoping she would hear him.
But when she didn’t resurface, the eevee sat down, his head in his hands.
“She’s doing it again.” He thought to himself, “Every time we find something she just has to check it out.  Usually it’s ok, but not when she knows I won’t notice until she’s gone.  I have got to start paying more attention…”
As he mentally yelled at himself, the eevee failed to notice the lopunny surface for air.  She floated for a minute, taking a couple of breaths before taking another large gulp of air and diving back down.  There was something down there.  And now she would find out what it was.
But this time, something grabbed her as Claire got close to the object that the water hid within it’s dark depths.  As if someone had grabbed her ankle, the rabbit pokémon felt herself begin tugged backwards.  Instinctively, she fought it, kicking the water as she tried to free herself from the invisible hand.  Then, as if she had become completely weightless, the force thrust her through the water, but back towards the surface!  Her body braced for what she knew came next.
As if from a catapult, the lopunny was flung from the water, the force only accelerating her journey back towards the shallow waters of the shore.
Helplessly, the lopunny cried out, “Eevee!”
Her cry snapped Eevee out of his thoughts.  Carefully honed instinct kicked in, and the eevee ran towards his partner.  Within seconds, Claire slammed into the eevee, causing them both to fall back into the shallow water.
“You shall not have it!” a voice boomed from the water, “The gear shall not leave it’s place of rest!”
Quickly, Eevee realized that Claire had been knocked out from the impact.  Her head must have hit the ground under the shallow water!  Luckily, her head was above the surface of the water.  Without hesitation, the fox pokémon pulled her to the shore, laying her on her back.  But as he tried to get a revive seed into her mouth, an unseen force threw him back from her, slamming him onto the ground!
  The fox pokémon struggled, but as much as he tried, he couldn’t move.  Something was holding him down against the ground.
“Do not attempt to help her.” The voice said, “She has attempted to disturb the sacred gear, her fate has been decided.”
“Y-you’ve got it all wrong!” Eevee stammered, “P-please, leave her alone!”
Suddenly, a creature appeared before him on the waters surface.  It’s pink head and blue body didn’t look too fearsome since it was only about a foot tall.  But it’s golden eyes held Eevee’s gaze.  In them were a mix of anger and knowledge from its years.
“I may not be correct.” It said, “But I, Mesprit, must protect the gear at all cost.”
With that it let Eevee go.  The invisible hands that had been holding him down suddenly released their hold.  Shakily, Eevee got to his feet and looked to the creature before him.
“Please, I don’t want any trouble.  I don’t know what your talking about, but I’m sure it’s very important.  Just let us go and we’ll keep this place a secret.”
The pokémon thought for a second, then shook it’s head, “No.  I cannot allow anyone with any knowledge of this room to live.  I am sorry, but I must do as I am ordered.”
With that, the pokémon rushed him, a black sphere growing in it’s hand!  In surprise, all Eevee could do was raise his arms to protect himself as a ball of shifting energy sped towards him.  But when it struck him, the eevee was flung back, the raw force of the attack breaking his guard as a second strike of psychic energy slammed into him!
But as he landed, the eevee was already countering the attacks.  Immediately, the fox pokémon became a blur, racing at Mesprit without a second thought.  But instead of striking head on, Eevee remembered something Claire had taught him.  At the last second, the blur changed direction, circling Mesprit and striking from behind!
Before the tiny psychic pokémon could recover, Eevee struck again and again from behind it.  Then Eevee struck a fourth time from beside it, his fist slamming into its side before circling around for a final strike!  But as he began to strike for his finishing attack, Mesprit caught him with another grip of its energy, the same way it had to Claire when it yanked the lopunny out of the water.  The sudden stop yanked Eevee off his feet, forcing him to fall onto his back!
“Did you think I would be that easy to defeat?” Mesprit asked as another blast of psychic energy knocked Eevee across the ground, “I do not enjoy what I must do, but please understand that it is for the protection of this world.”
Eevee struggled to his feet, but a third wave of energy finally lifted him off the ground, sending him flying into a wall!  That impact was enough to cause the fox pokémon’s vision to begin to fade.  As his consciousness slipped away from him, Eevee’s world began to darken until it had faded into nothing.
“I failed…I couldn’t protect Claire…” Eevee’s mind thought as it shut down, “I’m sorry…”
But then, something awakened inside him.  Almost instantly, his mind awoke, but not under his control.  A new force was awakening within his enraged soul.
*           *          *
Mesprit looked down at it’s opponent.  Sadly, it shook its head as it turned away.
“I may not like to fight,” it said quietly, “but I had to.  If the gear were to fall into the wrong hands again…no, best not to think about it.”
But suddenly, Mesprit picked up a new sense.  A powerful force of mental energy made itself known to the pokémon.  Quickly, it turned around and looked at the unconscious eevee.
“He must have had a revive seed in his teeth.” It thought, “That’s the only way he could still be fighting.”
“Did you really think that would bring me down?” the eevee asked in a gruff voice, “I may be weak, but that’s only for now.  I will never allow you to harm Claire.  I’ll fight to the end for her!”
Mesprit realized something as Eevee stood up shakily, but what it realized could only lead to another conclusion.  The voice that was speaking may be coming from the eevee, but Mesprit felt another presence in his body.  The kind eevee it had fought before was no longer in control.
As the fox pokémon looked at Mesprit, it saw his eyes.  No longer were they the soft brown it had seen during the fight.  Now, they had changed.  Where there had only been a will to fight for the female lopunny who still lay unconscious near the shore of the lake, there was now a merciless hatred.  No, it definitely was not the same eevee behind those blood red eyes.
“What’s the matter?  Meowth got your tongue?” Eevee asked, “Did you hear me Mesprit?  You wanted to fight before, so come on!  Give me your best shot!”
Mesprit hovered for a minute, carefully examining its new opponent.  Then, it struck again!
With a growl of challenge, Mesprit fired off a ball of shifting energy.  As the sphere raced towards Eevee, the fox pokémon moved quickly, dropping down and rolling under the attack.  Once the attack safely passed overhead, the eevee retaliated, striking back with a strong uppercut.
The hit forced Mesprit into the air.  But in the second it hung there, the helpless Mesprit felt something grab it.  In another second, Eevee had grabbed the pokémon and had now twisted it around, throwing Mesprit to the ground as he passed.
Landing a foot away from where Mesprit hit, the eevee got to his feet and looked to his opponent.  But as he did, he felt something slam into him, the force of the attack pushing him back from Mesprit and onto the ground.
“I-I cannot let you take it.” Mesprit groaned, getting up, “I-I will die to protect the gear.”
“I don’t want your stupid gear!” Eevee yelled, “And frankly, I don’t care much about your duty either!  That’s no excuse to harm my partner!”
Every bit of anger began to build up inside the eevee.  As if a switch had been thrown, he attacked, punching Mesprit as it tried to force him back.
“You. Will. Not. Harm. Claire!” Eevee grunted as his blows landed.
“THAT’S ENOUGH!” A voice boomed through the cavern.
The shout halted both of them as another creature appeared.  It looked similar to Mesprit, but instead of being pink and blue, it was all blue with golden eyes, a smile on its face.  Eevee recognized it as the pokémon that had followed him and Claire into the tunnels!
“Who the heck are you?” he asked as he dropped Mesprit.
“The question is, who are you.” The pokémon replied, “None the less, I am Azelf.  Another guardian of the gears.”
“I don’t care if you’re the guardian of the whole dang planet.” Eevee replied roughly, his red eyes glaring at Azelf with nothing but contempt, “If you lay a hand on Claire, I’ll take you out too!”
Azelf only smiled, “You know as well as I do that is not you speaking.  That is your anger.  You must calm down.”
Eevee stood for a minute, unsure of what to do.  His rage was fading, but this new force inside him didn’t want to relinquish its hold on his mind.  Finally, the eevee closed his eyes and tried to relax.
But as he did, both Azelf and Mesprit noted something.  As he calmed himself, they both felt the presence that had made itself apparent only when Eevee had been knocked down began to shrink.  Not only that, but when Eevee opened his eyes again, they were no longer red, but back to the soft brown they had been.
Eevee stood for a second, and then collapsed onto the ground!