Part III

Ray was up next to Viola in a flash. "Are you Viola?" he asked, a bit weak at the knees from being love struck. Ebony scowled.

"Get away from her Moon-ray," Ebony ordered. "This instant." Ray cringed from hearing his full name and meekly left Viola's purple side.

"I never got your name before, do you realize that?" Viola hinted. Midnight stuttered for a moment.

"Um... my name?" he asked.

"Yes silly," Viola giggled. "Your name. What people call you."

"You know, you ARE a psychic, its kind of your job to know," Ebony informed her, taking a strange dislike to Viola. Ray looked at Ebony strangely, while Midnight tried to get an answer out.

Midnight stuttered out an answer. "I'm Midnight. This is Moon-Ray, but call him Ray, and this is Ebony, and…"

"And don't get any ideas, Espeon filth," snapped Ebony. "Why don't you go back to where you came from? Or has your kind already trashed up the land?"

Midnight stared at Ebony, shocked. "Ebony!" he gasped. Ebony turned to him cooly and glared.

"Ebony," Viola sighed, a bit sad. "Give me a chance. Espeon aren't bad, honest." Ebony turned her head and closed her eyes; her nose stuck high in the air. Viola took a step forward, her eyes pleading for a chance. "Please Ebony. I want to be your friend." From up on the low rock, Ebony opened one eye, her emerald pupil staring at Viola's lilac eyes.

Ebony turned and faced Viola. "Look here Viola, I've got enough problems without you barging in here and expecting us to wait on you with our bare paws. We have our own problems, and so does your pack. Did you ever solve the problem with that mother who bred all the time for fun? Or the problem with the field and the Miltank and Tauros? I don't think so."

Viola frowned. "For a matter of fact it wasn't the female Espeon's fault that she kept on breeding. It turned out that a Houndour was the cause. And the Miltank and Tauros were moved into a different field anyway, so take a chill pill," Viola retorted. "And what is your problem with me? I just turn up here and say hi to Midnight and you turn all nasty on me?"

"For your information," Ebony began. Ray licked his lips, feeling hungry. With his knowledge that there were a few HootHoot chicks around, he sneaked off to find some. Midnight didn't even see him go. "Espeon and Umbreon do not get on."

Viola turned nasty. "Oh really? We'll we sure are getting on aren't we?" she shot back sarcastically.

"You wanna make something of it?" Ebony demanded.

"Hot stuff, I'm ready if you are," Viola answered, putting herself into a defensive position. Leaping off her rock, Ebony bared her teeth and snarled. Viola snarled back. Midnight moved away as not to get hurt when the fight started.

"You know, you better watch it prissy," Ebony snarled. She lunged at Viola, who quickly stopped Ebony in the air, surrounding her with a purple aura. Ebony struggled to get free, and found herself being thrown in the air and smashed into the floor. Closing her eyes and concentrating, a glow darker than black overpowered the purple and Ebony landed safely, and flickered. With another flicker, Ebony reappeared behind Viola and slammed into her, shoulder first.

Panting hard, (those psychic attacks take energy!), Viola lay there, not bothering to get up for a while. After about a minute, she struggled to get up, and shakily stood there, breathing in and out deeply. "You haven't one yet," she told Ebony, who just smirked, and started to concentrate, powering up for an attack. Before she could, a commotion caught their attention.

Midnight stood up tall, his neck out long and his ears pricked. "What's that?" he asked. He climbed onto the top of the rock and looked, trying to get a glimpse. Viola and Ebony looked also, pausing their intensified battle.

"Guys!" Ray called, running as fast as he could up to them. He paused, heaving breaths, his chest looking like a balloon being inflated and deflated. He looked up at them, showing them the panic in his eyes. His next words came out strangled and harsh. "Houndour."

"Houndour!" Ebony repeated, shocked. "But they can't come on our land! They can't!" She backed up along the rock in panic.

Ray nodded, still tired. "They are! They are coming!"

Viola sighed. "Now is the time," She spoke softly.

Midnight looked at her quizzically. "Time for what?" he questioned.

"It is time to…" Viola answered softly. She suddenly raised her voice loud and clear. "RUN!" Turning with their tails low, the four sprinted, Midnight leaping off that pewter rock and dashing for his life. Behind them they could hear Inferno and Kala charging up, panting heavily, teeth bared.

"What are we going to do?" Midnight yelled, worried and scared. Even for a 3-year-old Umbreon (15 human years), Houndour and Houndoom were a lot larger, and stronger. Also, a lot faster. They were gaining on the four Eeveeloutions.

Viola called back. "We can't run! There's no running! We'll all be tired in about half a minute and collapse. Then we'll be hostages and what good will that be?"

"WE can't fight them!" Ray shouted, still running. They were a small distance apart from each other, and now weaving themselves through the trees on the other side of the meadow, in and out, the moonlight lighting the path for them.

Dashing out of the small clump of trees, there was a small length of ground, before a long drop down into a gushing stream at the bottom of the gorge. Stopping suddenly, Viola, Ray, Ebony and Midnight looked down. Ray, a bit dizzy, stepped back, and whirled around, gasping.

"You two are in such big trouble now aren't you," Kala grinned darkly.

"How old are you anyway?" Viola demanded out of the blue. Inferno blinked at the question.

"What's it to you anyway?" Kala growled.

"I'm 5 and Kala is 6," Inferno answered at the same time. Kana turned to him and trod on his front paw in anger.

"You idiot!" she snapped. "I don't want these nimbus's knowing how old we are! It's supposed to be private! Why can't you just keep your big mouth shut for a change?"

"Me? Big mouth?" Inferno repeated. "Well excuse me for pointing this out but you're the one who suggested we grab a hostage. You're the one who-"

"Who what?" Kala snarled. "Or have you just lost your tongue?"

"Come on, let's get out of here," Viola whispered. The four crept out of sight into the trees and made a mad dash for the pack again. Ebony scowled as she ran.

Why does the Espeon get all the attention? she complained to herself.