It was late in the evening when Tear came back from her daily search for berries. She set the berries on the ground quickly as she bounded over to Dusk. I saw something shine in her paws and I immediately found myself wondering what it was. Tear handed the object to Dusk and whispered something in her ear. Dusk whispered back.

Ruby was the first to approach them, wondering what it was as well, I joined her. I looked at Ruby, her wound had healed well and she seemed to forgive me, so I was happy. I didn’t want to feel hated. She placed a paw on the object and pulled it closer, I could see it clearly now: It was a large metal key. Ruby flinched at its touch. “It’s cold…” She quietly commented to herself. Tear and Dusk exchanged a look, and then looked at me. “What?” I asked, “Nothing…” Tear answered. I could tell they were planning something; that look in her eyes told me it wasn’t nothing.

“Well, I think I’ll be leaving,” Tear said, breaking the silence. “Okay,” Answered Dusk, “I can handle this.” With those last words Tear bounded out the cave and into the forest. “Handle…?” I accidently wondered out loud. Ruby and Dusk turned to me and I realized what I had just said. “Yes, handle,” Begun Dusk, “Tear thinks this key is ‘The Lost Key’,” Dusk finished, picking the key up and handing it to me. I took it and asked, “’The Lost Key’?” “Yes,” Came Dusk’s answer, “There’s a legend about it, do you not know it?” Ruby and I shook our heads. “Well then,” Said Dusk, sitting down on the floor, “I’ll just have to tell you then...”

“There was once an honorable group of Eevees that where known for turning into powerful warriors when they evolved. Now stories tell that one Eevee was born to a mother Eevee that was like all the others, but with one small difference: He could not evolve. He tried and tried, but as he grew he never could. This brought grate dishonor to the leader of the Eevees, and so, he ordered the young Eevee to leave, and not return until he had evolved.

“So the Eevee did, he had no choice left. His mother told him of evolution, and how to awaken it before he left; he used this to seek out his destiny. With the determination and beliefs that he would one day indeed evolve, he set out to the mountains. His brother had evolved into a Flareon, so he wanted to be one too. He traveled for many days, going deep within the mountain until he reached the hidden volcano in its interior. He met lava, fire, and incredible heat, but never did he change in any way.
“Yet he left with a smile in his face, ‘A Flareon is not for me,’ He thought, ‘I will become a Jolteon like my sister,’ He continued determined, ‘So I will go to the Thunder Planes, where thunder and lightning meets the earth every night.’ And he set off once more, to the Thunder Planes, to his destiny. He did not meet his destiny there, for he did not evolve even when he was struck by it, but he did not loose hope, he was determined. The next place he went to was the Crystal Rivers, and then to the frozen mountains. When nothing came, he traveled to the forest, yet no results there either.

“Bewildered as to why he had not evolved, he stumbled upon an old meadow. ‘I am not a Flareon, I am not a Jolteon,’ He murmured, ‘I am not a Vaporeon, yet not a Glaceon or a Leafeon,’ He continued, ‘I am sure I am not a Espeon or a Umbreon, I have been night and day and nothing has happened.’ He sighed, maybe he never would evolve. But he was wrong. He would evolve. He sat down on the edge of a tree stump and hung his head, he was a disgrace to his family, and now he could never return with them.

“Night came and he had just started to fall asleep when he heard a sound. It came from the other side of the meadow. He turned his head and saw a shape, and then it disappeared. ‘Odd,’ He thought and turned back around: Only to face slashing claws and a sea of red. A light blinded his eyes and he was back in the meadow, but not quite the same. He was bleeding and it had begun to rain. All his body hurt and getting up was impossible. But the pain left him as he was surrounded by light and begun to glow. He felt a change, was he evolving? When it finished he was so happy he didn’t realize what he looked like. He thought maybe he was an Umbreon because it was dark, or maybe an Espeon, just a little delayed. He blinked, surprised at first, as he stared at his own reflection in the rain. Then his look turned to horror and he was stunned.

“He couldn’t move; he felt a chill pass his spine and something caught his eye. Something shined in the pool of rain water that stood before him. He let his paw dive within the puddle and grasped the mysterious object. In his hand he held a silver key, not rusted by the water, not grayed by time. It was bright silver as new as if it had been made yesterday. His time to wonder did not last for a voice in his mind gave no time: ‘If you ever want to return to who you once where and see the proud faces of your parents when you evolve, you will take that key and hide within it until I call you once more.’ The words echoed for a few moments and disappeared with a cold feeling of dream and disappear.”

“And some say he took the key and locked himself within it, and others say he never existed,” Tear’s cold voice came from the entrance, interrupting Dusk’s story. “But one thing I can assure you, if there is a key that holds that Eevee’s soul, it’s that one.” Tear finished and pointed at the silver key still in my grasp. “To awaken the soul of the lost Eevee who never evolved you must find the one that owner of it,” Dusk’s voice broke the silence, “Or so I have heard.”  “Well, you better look for it then, Daichu,” Tear continued. “Me?” I questioned, “Yes, you.” And with that she left once more, Dusk behind her. I looked down at the key and felt a dark gaze fall before me, along with a feeling of dread and disappear. I would find the owner of this key.