FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Author's Chapter Notes:

This chapter is extremely long, and I decided to make it less tiring to both you and I by splitting the chapter into two chapters. The original word count after proofreading to the end of the entire chapter was 18,605 words. The first half of the chapter (part 1) is just shy of 10,000 words, part two, which has yet to be proofread is just shy of 9,000 words. I was writing this while I was at summer camp, and yes I am back now. I also should be submitting stories more often hopefully because I now have a laptop. I would love it if after you read, you would review. I strive to become the best that I can possibly be, and if you would help me it would be much appreciated. If you review, please answer the poll in the end notes, it's something that I do to get to know you better. With this being said, I'll be quiet and let you read the chapter, please enjoy!

The Phoenix

Ch.8 - From the Ashes (Part 1)

~Charles~

Right now I was in more danger than I had ever been in my life. I was evading not one, but two organized crime organizations, and the only protection I had was Greg's team, my team, and the pistol I had hidden in my shorts. We were running, running as fast as we possibly could to get away from our so called "guardian" from the Mafia.

Both Greg and I didn't want to have that double-edged sword around; we both knew that as soon as we were of no more use to the Mafia, he would kill us. It was how they worked; you didn't just leave the Mafia, which is why we both knew we were in extreme danger. Both groups would be looking for us, and we both knew that we couldn't trust anybody, no matter how friendly they acted towards us.

At last the rugged terrain of the forest that was on the outskirts of the city greets Greg and I as we rush into the protective black blanket. Out here there was more cover that we could use in case we came under attack or were seen. We knew that from now on, our senses would have to be keen, our reflexes razor sharp, and our ability to reason and plan in top notch. Those three things would determine if we would live or not.

Now almost every choice could be a life or death decision. Going out to eat could mean a drive by shooting. Simple things such as swimming in the pool at a hotel were impossible now because the risk of being discovered was too high. Going out to eat breakfast could result in being discovered, or even worse, captured, and we couldn't go for a walk in the park because there was too much open space. When we got to the next city we would need to buy new clothes to help disguise us.

I wasn't looking forward to this because the attire that I was wearing was quite comfortable to me, and not to mention, I thought I looked good in them. The shaggy look felt good on me, like I was free to do what I wanted. Hell, I loved the look; maybe I should grow out my hair also, maybe a little shorter than Greg's hair, or possibly even longer.

We both needed a new look, but for now speed was of the essence. We both knew this as we ran. Already the city's lights were beginning to fade, but as we put distance between the city and us, a pair of lights was getting closer by the second. "Car." I whisper to Greg, who nods.

We dove into the foliage on either side of the road, I went to the left, and Greg went to the right. This was so that if the car stopped and the passengers decided to come looking for us, one of us could distract them while the other snuck up from behind and eliminated the threat.

Waiting like a predator for its prey, I crouched in the bushes, with one hand on the firearm that I had commandeered from Team Rocket. My other hand was stabilizing myself so I wouldn't move and give away our position. Greg was in a similar position; he had his pistol from the hotel. It was a 9mm semi-automatic, and he had a silencer on it. Very useful for escape and evasion like what we were doing right now.

Thankfully, the car drove by without stopping. As the car drives away, I hear water flowing nearby. I walk towards the sound and in the moonlight I could see a stream following the same path as the road. "Greg, get over here, I found a stream we can follow to help avoid detection." I say to him after the car had passed by.

The sound of rustling bushes, then the sight of Greg follows my voice several seconds later as he crosses the road. "Good thing you found this stream, it should greatly reduce our chances of being spotted from the road."

Nodding, I make my way through the bushes and to the stream bank. Greg follows close behind me as we drop onto the sandy bank. Looking down, I see the stream had dried up for the most part, but there was still a small trickle of water running the length of the trench it had dug over the years it had run through the forest.

"This is getting to be too easy, I don't like it, the Mafia should be out looking for us right now, it's almost sunrise right now and we've only seen a few cars. There should be squads of people searching high and low for us right now." I say, concerned at the lack of attention to our disappearance.

"They'll most likely be waiting for us in the next city; they tend to be conservative in their expenses." Greg replies.

"Maybe we should stay out here for a little while, would give us a chance to disguise ourselves, and I could learn more about the world I'm living in now." I suggest, the idea seeming like a good one.

If we could find a campsite, or make one, we could easily grow into new people, simply by being weathered by the elements. A few scars here and there, longer hair, facial hair, maybe a tattoo and we would be able to avoid detection easier than we would be able to now.

"I was thinking the same thing, but then they could come looking for us, as long as we stay moving we'll be harder to catch. Which is why I'm going to have to disagree with your suggestion, I suggest that we keep moving."

"Both are good tactics, but if we keep moving we'll be tired, and if we got ambushed, we would be captured. I suggest that we stay out here for a while, and we would move every so often or find a remote valley where we could stay for a while to change how we looked. It would be risky, but it would be better than going from city to city. I was trained in wilderness survival, but I'm not sure if that would be any help to us since this isn't Earth." I reply.

"Some of the skills should still work here; you know how to navigate by the stars?" Greg asks

"On Earth, yes, I did know how to, but probably not here. The constellations will be different and so I won't be able to tell where I'm at, or what direction I'm heading." I reply.

I had been trained for situations such as this. I had completed escape and evasion. And here I was, needing that same training, but most of it was useless because I was on a different planet. At least some of my training would still be able to be used here. At least not all of my training was useless, I could still build fire and my evasion training would still work.

"I know how to navigate by them, but I don't know much about evasion other than how to hide, and even then I probably couldn't do a very good job. You could probably teach me though right?" He asks me.

"Yeah, I actually completed an escape and evasion course in the military back where I come from, so I can teach you how to hide yourself. I'm not the best at it though, but there was a guy in my flight who was good at hiding, if he's anywhere around here, he could be watching us right now and we would never know about it." I reply

"I am watching you right now Charles, and have been for the past few minutes." A ruff voice from deeper in the foliage says.

"Like I said, he could be watching us right now, and we would never know. Come on out Caleb and say hi to Greg." I say.

From the foliage a bush moves, and eventually takes the rough form of a human. Through the various leaves and sticks that were attached to the clothing, you could barely see an American flag, the darkness of the night making him look like a black silhouette with a few specks of white on his right shoulder "Good to see you again Charles." The walking bush says.

"Same to you Caleb, you having as much fun as I am? I wasn't even here for a day and I was already mixing in with the wrong crowd, now I'm being hunted by not one, but two crime organizations." I say with a sigh.

"And you've been here how long Charles?" He asks me.

"I crashed here and was rescued about a week ago." I reply flatly.

"I'm surprised; usually you know who's a good person to be around and who isn't." He replies.

"Yeah well this isn't Earth now is it? Not exactly the same crowd." I say defensively.

"True, very true, even the animals are different, the main thing being that all of them talk!" He replies.

"Keep your voice down, I don't know if anybody followed us out of the city or not." I reply with my voice tinged with concern.

"Good idea, come with me, I have a camp that I've set up that you can stay in for a while so you can get under the radar. You're going to have to stay in the store house though, I wasn't expecting visitors." He replies as he turns and begins walking through the bushes.

Quietly Greg and I follow him, making sure that we didn't injure ourselves on our trek to his camp. The forest was dense, and I saw glimpses of Pokémon through the trees. One that caught my attention seemed to be following us. From the few glimpses I could see, the Pokémon looked to be much like a monkey that had a hand on the end of its tail.

Thinking nothing of it, I continue following my fellow airman deeper into the forest. At least I knew I could trust him, and I knew he would be able to support us in the wild, so long as a famine or drought didn't occur. As long as we had food, we would be able to stay hidden from the two crime families that were hunting us.

It was a while before we saw any signs of occupation, then after about two hours of walking through the woods, Caleb stopped. "Welcome to what I've been calling home for about three months now. I know it's not much, but it's enough to support me and my new friend." Caleb says.

"Who's your new friend?" I ask.

"Come on down and say hello to our visitors Shawn." Caleb says towards the trees.

Seconds later the same monkey that had been following us jumps down from the trees to the ground. It was about two feet tall, and had a tail longer than its body. "Ma'name's Shawn, nice to meet ya!" the monkey says with a wide smile across his face.

"I'm Charles, and it's a pleasure to meet you my new furry friend. The other human that is with me is named Greg." I reply.

"Pleasure to meet ya Charles and Greg. I've heard Caleb talk about you Charles; he said you were a close friend." Shawn replies.

"We are, we've known each other for about six years now. We met in basic training." I say.

"You're both military? That's cool!" He says excitedly.

"Don't ask too many questions Shawn, remember they're going to be here a while hopefully. You'll have time to ask them all the questions you want to after they get settled in." Caleb says.

"But I want to talk to them now!" Shawn whines.

"Justa second, I'm going to let all of my Pokémon out of their balls, they've been cooped up in them for a while now." I say as I release my Pokémon from their confinements.

As I released Mirabelle from her ball, I counted in my head "3...2...1..." and sure enough, Mirabelle looks around, sees me, and then pounces me and knocks me to the ground with her on top of me and kisses me. "Umm...Charles.... what is that thing on you, and why is it kissing you?" Caleb asks me, unsure at what he's seeing.

"Caleb, this is Mirabelle, and she's my mate. I know it's different, but I love her, and she loves me." I say.

"But...she's an animal, and you're a human, it isn't right! The bible says that you are not to love another man nor animal!" Caleb says

"But, it is what it is. I'm a human, she's a Zangoose, and we're both soon to be parents. We love and cherish each other, and if you don't like it, keep your opinions to yourself. I'm tired of the war sluts who sleep with us just because we're soldiers and want to say that they've fucked a soldier. I want somebody that will cheer me up when I'm sad, and will be there when I need someone. Each and every single one of my team members does that for me."

Caleb sighs and looks at the rest of my team as he says, "If you say so sir. How did you two meet?"

"I rescued him after I saw him parachute out of the airplane he was flying. I was his first teammate, just like how you have Shawn. The other team members came in different fashion. Adalene found Charles when we happened to walk by where she was hiding, and since Charles looks a lot like her father, she ran out and hugged him, thinking her father had come back from the grave. Kiara joined when Adalene said she wanted to stay with Charles, and since Kiara didn't want to leave her daughter, she joined also. Ansgar was found in a cave in some cliffs when he was crying because he was lonely. Destiny, the newest member of the team, was hatched from an egg a few days ago." Mirabelle says.

"Can I see Destiny?" Caleb asks.

Smiling I reach down to the sleeping Riolu and pick her up, making slow movements so I don't wake her up. "She's cute." Caleb says with a smile.

"Yeah she is." I reply, smiling as well.

Slowly Destiny's eyelids open to reveal her marvelous ruby red eyes. "Wow...her eyes are magnificent." Caleb whispers.

"You can get lost in them can't you? They just suck you in and mesmerize you so you can't escape." I say.

Caleb, who was now staring into her eyes and paying zero attention to the outside world, doesn't answer. However, Destiny's spell over him ends when she starts fussing about how hungry she was. "I'll feed her." Mirabelle says as she takes her from my hands and raises Destiny to one of her tits.

Destiny begins feeding and I smile as I hug Mirabelle. "At least we don't have to worry about having somebody who is traveling with us pull a gun when we least expect it" Mirabelle says.

"Very true, and it's been a while since I was camping without a tent. Camping out will be a nice change from sleeping in an air-conditioned room. I like getting back to nature. I also like being out here because it allows me to sneak around any enemies that do find us." I reply.

"Yeah, but it also means enemies can plan an ambush easily." Mirabelle says.

Nodding I reply, "Every rose has thorns."

"Let's try to avoid those thorns though; I want to live to be the parent of your firstborn child." She says.

Smiling, I nod and kiss her on the forehead before saying "And I want to live to see that child."

"I want you to see that child also; you're going to be a good father." She says as she shifts to get into a more comfortable position.

Ansgar had by now stretched out, and was now behind me with his arms around me in an embrace. "How are you doing Ansgar?" I ask.

"I'm doing fine, a little cramped from being cooped up for so long though. But I'm also not used to pokéballs also, so that's to be expected." He replies.

"Well you shouldn't have to go back into your ball for a while, as we're at a place where we can hide now." I reply

"Good, it's nice to be able to not have to worry about being double-crossed." He says with a sigh.

Nodding I lean against him and say, "Yes it is, and I'm back with another friend of mine again, which is a good thing also."

"Yeah it is, and I'm glad we found him." Mirabelle says.

"Actually, he found us." I reply with a smile "We just happened to say his name while he was nearby."

"I guess you're right, he did find us. But the main thing is that we're together again, and I don't have to stay in that pokéball any more. It was tough not being able to be with you. I mean I was there and stuff, but I wasn't able to communicate with you." She replies.

"Could you hear me or see me while you were in the pokéball?" I ask her, curious about the devices.

"We have a choice of whether we want to be able to look out and hear what's happening around us. Most of the time Pokémon will want to look out and be able to hear what is going on outside of the ball. This is for a variety of reasons most of the time it's so they know if their trainer is any trouble when they get called out, another reason is so that they don't get sick when they get let out of their balls and are ready for whatever they might be needed for. I like looking out because I enjoy traveling and watching the scenery go past, and because I wanted to be sure that you were doing okay." Mirabelle replies.

"What is it like if you aren't looking out?" I ask.

"It's dark and quiet so that the Pokémon can sleep. Or if the Pokémon wants they can listen to music." She replies. "Like I said, most Pokémon prefer to be able to look out and hear what's going on around them, it's much more interesting than pitch blackness with a limited selection of music."

"I would imagine so; I would want to look out also." I reply.

Nodding she looks down at Destiny, who had now stopped feeding and was sucking on her thumb with her eyes closed. "She's so cute when she's asleep." Mirabelle says.

Nodding I rub Destiny's back and say "Yeah she is. But all puppies are cute aren't they?"

Smiling, Mirabelle replies, "You do have a point, but she's still cute."

"Almost as cute as you." I reply with a smile as I kiss Mirabelle.

Blushing she kisses me back as I take Destiny from her paws and cradle the small blue pup in my arms. I gaze down upon her with admiration, her silky soft fur and her gentle breathing seemed to take away all of my worries. She was so calm, so peaceful, and so oblivious to all of the world's problems that it made me jealous. It would be a dream to become her and become oblivious to all of the world's problems and be carefree. But like life, it wasn't so.

Looking over at the rest of my team in the morning light, I see Kiara playing with Adalene, and Shawn was approaching them, obviously wanting to join in on the fun. Adalene, who was on top of Kiara and pulling at one of her head spikes was too preoccupied to notice Shawn, who upon reaching the two, growls playfully at the two.

Adalene, upon noticing Shawn, gets off of her mother and growls back. Shawn pounced her causing the two small Pokémon roll around on the ground as they try to overcome the other. They roll around for a few minutes before coming to a stop, Adalene on top of Shawn.

"You're good." Adalene says, her breath a little short from the romp.

"You are to." Shawn replies, also a little short on breath.

"My name is Adalene, what's yours?" Adalene asks.

"I'm Shawn, nice to meet ya." He replies, a smile that went from ear to ear on his face.

"Well Adalene as a new playmate now." Kiara says, after walking to me.

"And he has as much, if not more energy than her so they should be occupied for a while now." I reply.

"You think I don't have enough energy to keep up with her?" Kiara asks with a smirk.

"I know you do, but now you have that energy for other things." I reply.

"Like what?" She asks curiously.

"Like hunting, battling, helping around camp." I reply with a smile.

"Oh okay, I was just curious." She replies with a smirk. "Well I'm going to go and play with Adalene and Shawn again." She says as she walks back to her daughter and the small monkey, who both jump onto her, the sudden weight throwing her off balance and eventually knocking her onto the ground where they climb on top of her.

"Bye Kiara, see you later." I say to her as I turn to go back to Mirabelle.

Mirabelle was talking to Ansgar about the next city's gym when I got within earshot of them, but I had a suspicion that they had been talking about something else while I was gone. "Looks like Adalene has a new playmate." I say as I approach them.

"She'll have another one soon enough, and eventually a fourth friend when we have our child." Mirabelle replies with a smile on her face.

Smiling, I sit down with Destiny, and moments later Mirabelle and Ansgar sit on either side of me, and both cuddle close to me. "I'm glad that we met." I say with a smile as I lean against the tree I was sitting at the base of.

"I'm glad we met also, I haven't regretted it yet." Mirabelle says as she closes her eyes while leaning against my shoulder, enjoying our closeness.

"I haven't regretted it yet either." I reply with a gentle smile.

"I'm glad you found me, I was a mess before we met." Ansgar says.

"Hey, I'm happy we were able to help." I reply with a smile. "Anything for a friend in need right?"

"That's my motto." Ansgar replies with a smile. "Always help a friend in need."

"Good motto to live by." I say as I look up at the heavens, the sky painted different hues of orange and yellow from the morning sun.

"I've always loved watching the sun rise." Mirabelle says.

"Me to, back on Earth, I would drive ten miles early in the morning just to watch the sun rise. I always found it to be the most beautiful thing in the world, until I met you that is, then sunrises took second place." I reply.

"Hey Charles, want to see your new home? It's right over here." Caleb asks me.

He had been working for about half an hour on working on the room I would be staying in. It was originally going to be a storage room, but building a bed inside it and turning it into a place of rest for Mirabelle and I.

"Sure, where at though? All I see are trees and a giant pile of sticks and leaves." I reply.

"That's because your new home is that giant pile of sticks and leaves. Come and look at this. This is how I managed to hide my campsite so well."

Curious, the three of us stand up and walk over to where Caleb was standing. Sure enough, true to his word, between several large trees was a hole covered by a mesh of sticks and leaves. I walk into the hole, and inside was a room about the same size as a small hotel room, which translated to about fifteen feet long by ten feet wide. In the center was a bed made of leaves, feathers, and other assorted natural items that would pad me and keep me off of the ground.

It was strange, because he was better at escape and evasion, but I was better at wilderness survival, and both went together in a combat situation like we were in. That meant if we stayed together we would have an advantage over our enemies, and that meant we would be working together a lot, but I didn't mind this as we had been friends for a few years before we went into the military.

The bed was the first thing I noticed of course, and I knew that it would be too small for Mirabelle and I to sleep together in, and I would need to fix that. The second thing I noticed was that the room lacked windows. I would want windows so that I could look out to see if anybody or anything was coming that would be a threat to my team. This was so I could help protect my team and myself. The room itself, however, was constructed quite well. It wouldn't leak too much, if not at all, when it rained since the leaves that were used made a roof that would cause a run off on the outside, instead of a flat roof which would collect water and eventually bow in to the point that the structure would no longer be safe.

Speaking of water, I would need to set up a method of collecting purified water. A few leaves collecting the dew from trees should work, but I would also need a stream or pond of some sort to bathe in.

Another resource I would need to start collecting was food. I would need berries and meat, and with a few snares I could get meat, getting berries would be the hard part since I didn't know the local foliage, and so I didn't know which berries would hurt me, and which would be beneficial to my body. The last thing I wanted to happen to me, besides getting captured, was getting sick while out in the wilderness. If I got sick I would be of no use to my team, or my new friends.

Those were the two main problems I would need to fix before I could work on improving my living conditions. I decided that I would improve the way we were obtaining food and water, and then I would improve our living conditions. But that was for a later time. Both Greg and I were tired, and we needed rest.

Mirabelle and I of course slept together, with Ansgar, Destiny, Kiara and Adalene slept in the shelter next to ours. For once, Mirabelle and I were able to sleep peacefully without any distractions. Even Destiny was quiet; she didn't stir once. It was as if whatever deity was watching over me right now, wanted me to have a few hours of peace.

And was I going to turn this opportunity down? Hell no, I was going to enjoy it for all it was worth, and so I put my arm around Mirabelle as we fell asleep together in the peaceful morning.

We slept for hours on end, oblivious to the world around us. When I woke up, Mirabelle was already up and outside. Outside the sun was directly above us, which meant it was around noon. Yawning I look around for Mirabelle, who was currently nowhere to be found. Then from behind I felt something run into me and push me to the ground.

"You sleep well Charles?" I hear Mirabelle's angelic voice ask me.

"Never slept better, how about you, you sleep well?" I reply as I'm pinned by her.

"I slept well, thank you for asking me." She replies with a smile.

"Could you get off of me? I want to find the rest of the team and explore the area a bit" I ask her, curious as to where exactly we where.

"Sure, mind if I come with you?" She asks as she gets off of my back.

I stand up and look at our surroundings. In the daylight I could see we were in a forest that looked to be made up of mainly oak trees; however there was an occasional fruit tree and a few pine trees here and there. The underbrush was made up by ferns, small plants, and bushes. It was your average forest, nothing too special other than the talking animals that you knew were living in it.

"Looks like Caleb found a good spot to set up camp, there are lots of building materials around here." I say as I return my gaze to Mirabelle.

Her snow white fur had some leaves in it, and I smile as I reach down and remove them from her beautiful fur. The silky substance still amazed me, it was just so soft. Before I had realized it, I was stroking her fur on her back, lost in the sensation of the silk moving through my fingers like water. "How do you keep your fur so soft? It seems like it's always soft and silky." I ask her.

"I keep it smooth with my claws, they act like a comb, and I make sure to wash it daily." She replies as she closes her eyes and leans into the scratching.

"That would do it I suppose, but even if there is more you do to it, it still feels amazing. It's just so soft that it feels like silk." I reply softly, my hand removing itself from her head.

With as soft whine she opens her eyes once more and looks up at me, then follows me as I start walking. "This should be interesting living out here. I'm so used to living indoors." I say as we walk along, looking at our leafy surroundings.

The one thing that I noticed around us as we walked about was the abundance of life in the forest. It seemed like everywhere I would look there would be some form of a critter scampering away from us, and in the trees staring back down at us was more of them. This forest was a safe haven for the life that existed here, and it was amazing because these creatures didn't mind being seen by humans.

In the forests back on Earth you wouldn't see any creatures except birds, reptiles, and bugs. Here everything was active and moving around. It was amazing and beautiful. Upon reaching a stream near our camp I look in and once again, it was full of life. Fish, frogs, and even a creature that looked to be a mixture of a dolphin and a fox lived in harmony with each other.

The fox looking creature in particular interested me. It was just so unique that it was entrancing. As I watched it, it noticed me, and suddenly it was invisible and I looked back to Mirabelle and ask "What was that?"

"That was a Vaporeon. As you saw, they have the ability to disappear in water. It's one of seven eeveelutions, which means they evolved from an Eevee, a small brown fox. It's quite an interesting creature, because each eeveelution is a different element. The ones that are known are fire, water, grass, electric, darkness, psychic, and ice." She replies.

"A creature that can disappear in water? That's pretty cool, and could be pretty useful." I reply as I stare at where it was looking at.

"They're very shy, but also very curious." She says with a smile "Which means it might be watching us still, it just doesn't want to be seen right now."

"Well I'm just relieved that we found a source of water, because now we can clean ourselves off, and we can get water from it, since you can purify water with fire." I say.

"Maybe, this stream isn't exactly in the best location" She replies

"What do you mean?" I ask her

"We're currently in a pack's territory. If they see us here they might attack us." She replies.

"Well we can just leave if we have an encounter with them right? I can explain to them what we're doing. With any luck they'll listen and let us go, right?" I say.

"Maybe, some packs don't take too kindly to trespassing however." She replies with a frown. "And if that happens, they will attack you, and the only way out of that is to challenge the alpha of the pack to a fight to the death. Not that I doubt you could fend for yourself, if the alpha is something big like a Mightyena or Absol, you are going to have difficulty defeating him, especially if it's a Lucario.." She replies

"True, but I'll take my chances; I mean most packs have a large territory right? Unless it's a really big pack, we should be fine, and as for fighting, I know how to fight fairly well, although you're right about the alpha, it would be a challenge, but I bet I could beat him. Besides, I don't think a human could become an alpha, could they?" I reply as I rub her head.

"If they beat the current alpha, they would technically be considered alpha of that pack, which means that you could become an alpha." She replies with a smile "Don't try it though please, I want to have you alive."

"I'll only challenge the alpha if we get caught okay? I won't go looking for the pack just so I can become the alpha." I reassure her.

"Let's continue looking around and then come back after we're done looking around and get washed off." She suggests.

"Alright, lead the way Mirabelle." I say with a smile.

She takes the lead as she starts walking away, and I follow close behind, eager to see the surrounding area of our new home for the next few months. We continue walking, the mid morning dew making everything glisten and glitter. The rest of the forest around the campsite was rocky and the only other significant natural formation that we found was some small caves. Other than that there wasn't much, just trees and bushes. It was a beautiful place, and we could see everything clearly now since the sun had come up and was now illuminating and warming the planet it its warm embrace.

We arrived back in the camp about two hours after we had left, and upon returning we tell the rest our group what we had seen. "Looks like you picked a good location Caleb, there's a stream nearby and lots of building materials, which means we should be able to stay out here with no problem, that is as long as our food and water supply doesn't diminish too much." I say.

"So there's a stream nearby?" Ansgar asks me.

"Yeah, and it isn't too far away. It's about ten minutes to the north." I say.

"Good, that means we can bathe while we're out here, and we don't have to worry as much about water now." Greg says.

"Yeah, that's what I was going to do in a bit. Mirabelle says it's in a pack's territory though, so it's risky taking a bath there." I reply.

"It might not be a good idea to take a bath in that stream then; you wouldn't want to get attacked." Ansgar replies.

"I could take on any pack if I had my team with me right?" I reply with a smile.

"Depends on the pack, and what kind of Pokémon the pack consists of." Kiara replies. "If it's a pack of Arcanine, you better run, and it would be even better to not even go near their territory. And if you fight the alpha, you're on your own. It's like a code of honor among Pokémon."

"What if it was a smaller type of Pokémon?" I ask.

"You might be able to take on the alpha then, but I doubt it. You are a human after all, and Pokémon would have the elements on their side. However if it was a dark type, you could probably beat the alpha, but then it becomes a problem of how you are going to keep the pack in line, and what if another pack member challenges your authority? You have to fight them also." Ansgar says.

"If you do go over to the stream to bathe, at least take Mirabelle with you, that way if you do run into the pack, you and her can fight them off." He replies.

"I'm okay with that." Mirabelle says with a smirk. "We could use some alone time together."

"Let's get going then." I say to her as I rub her head.

"Yeah." She replies as she starts walking off towards the stream.

I follow after her, eager to get clean after last night. As we walk, a third person joins up "You mind if I join you two? I wanted to get cleaned up after last night, plus you might as well have some extra protection in case you do get caught by the pack." Kiara says.

"You can come if you want to, I don't mind, Mirabelle do you mind if Kiara joins us?" I ask.

"She can come, she's always welcome to have fun and bathe with us." She replies with a smile.

"Thank you, that means a lot to Mirabelle." Kiara replies.

Upon reaching the stream, I take my clothes off, causing both Mirabelle and Kiara to gaze at me admiringly, and I even thought I heard Mirabelle purr with admiration. "Alright you two, you know we aren't doing anything right now right? We can wait until we get back to camp right?" I say hesitantly.

"Aw, but I wanted to have some fun now!" Mirabelle whines.

Smiling I give her furry butt a light swat "Behave and I promise we'll do something together later okay?" I say as I smirk.

"Fine, but remember, you promised, and I'm going to make sure that you keep that promise." Mirabelle says as she kisses my cheek.

Slowly I get into the stream, testing the water and find that it was cold. "Come on in, the water is a little on the cold side, but it feels fine otherwise!" I yell to them on the shore.

Mirabelle, upon hearing me, comes running to me, splashing me with water, while K decided to be more cautious about it and enter slowly. Mirabelle was playful during her bath, as was I. We both were splashing each other as we bathed, playing around with each other more than actually bathing. We were having some fun, when I noticed that the Vaporeon we had seen earlier was watching us splash each other.

"Hello" I hear a mystic female voice say "Who are you new comers? Unless you're guests of the pack I would recommend leaving, the alpha doesn't take to kindly to unannounced guests, especially humans. He hates all humans with a passion."

"We just wanted to take a quick bath, could you let this go unseen? We won't come back after this, I promise. We'll finish up in a matter of minutes." Mirabelle says her.

"I'll let it slide, since I'm nice, the alpha isn't. In my mind he's a little harsh to those who violate his rules, but he is fair when a situation needs to be sorted out." She replies.

"Thank you for your kindness, we won't be long, I promise." Mirabelle says. "I understand that you can get in trouble if you're caught not making us leave."

"You don't know how much trouble I could get into with the alpha for this." She replies worriedly.

"Get in how much trouble with me for doing what?" A deep male voice asks. "Are you disobeying me again Aqua?"

"Get down, hurry, he might not have seen you." She whispers, trying to not get in trouble.

"I heard voices, and can smell other foreign creatures. Did you tell them to leave?" He asks her.

"There was a Tyranitar, who is still here; she's just bathing as was the Zangoose, and there was also a human."

Looking out, I could see a medium sized dog with white fur, with what looked to be a blade growing from his head, and he had another blade for his tail. "Where's the human? I'll cut him to pieces!" The Pokémon I presumed was the alpha yells.

"Please alpha, don't they said they were going to leave! They just wanted to bathe!" The water Pokémon pleads back.

"No, even if they are leaving, all humans deserve to die; you know what they did to me. Now show yourself human!" He replies, his voice tinged by anger.

"Stay down Charles, that's an Absol, it will rip you apart. Those blades are razor sharp!" Mirabelle whispers.

"I heard that! Show yourselves, there isn't any use in hiding!" He yells out.

"I'm going to face him, I can take him. He doesn't look too tough; all I have to do is watch out for his blades and out smart him." I say.

"You sure Charles, he is a Pokémon, and a powerful one at that. Absols are very strong, and can learn elemental attacks. If you want I can take him on for you, it would be less dangerous, and I would probably win, which would mean I could make you alpha." Kiara says.

"No, I want to earn the title of alpha properly, that way there is no dispute as to who is alpha. If you see I'm about to die, save me then, that goes for both of you. Otherwise, let me fight, I want to see how good I do when I face a Pokémon." I reply

"Charles, this is stupid, you don't know how strong he is! Let Kiara fight him!" Mirabelle says, trying to prevent me from fighting the alpha.

"Is there any way out? He knows I'm here, and he won't go away, not when he knows there's a human near his territory he can kill. This is the only way out, plus if I make you fight, it's only proper that I fight a few fights. Even if I do lose, and he does kill me, you'll know I did my best." I reply.

"If you start losing, I'm going to come over and rip him to shreds, and then I'm going to knock some sense into you after I'm through with him." Mirabelle replies.

"Thank you." I say before I stand up and yell "I challenge you to a fight for your position as alpha!" I yell to the Absol.

"You, a worthless, weak, harmless human, challenge me? I am the alpha here! I choose whether to accept a challenge or not!" He yells back, angry that something as weak as a human would challenge him, the alpha of one of the largest packs for a good distance, for his position as alpha.

"Alpha, you must accept a challenge for your position, all alphas must. It's one of the natural laws of the pack. The Vaporeon says to the alpha male.

"Fine, I accept your challenge, but remember, it is a fight to the death. Now prepare to die! And Aqua, if you ever interfere with my actions and challenges again, I will personally rip your legs off so you can't swim in your precious stream that you insisted you guard, very horribly if I might add, since you allowed these three to bathe in the stream. You know how important protecting our borders is!" The Absol yells.

Seconds later the large bladed canine charges me, only slowing down to cross the stream so he wouldn't hurt himself as he ran at me, his mind set on killing me. Upon seeing him rush at me like that, I get out as fast I can and get into the open where I would have more room to dodge any attacks he would throw at me. Sure enough, he came out of the stream charging like a mad bull, reckless and bearing down on me in a straight line, hoping for a one hit kill. I knew he would most likely do something like this, underestimating a human. As he charged me, right before he struck I moved to the opposite side the horn was on his head, that way it wouldn't hit me.

He ran past me, and looking around I realized something, he couldn't stop himself very fast when he charged me like that. If I stood in front of a tree and moved out of the way at the last second, he would get stunned by hitting the tree trunk. That was the only way I would get out of this alive. And so that was what I did, I ran for the nearest large tree that would take his attack head on. I saw what I was looking for about twenty feet away, a large oak tree stood tall and firm.

I ran for that tree like the devil was on my heels, which it was. I could hear the dog closing on me fast, and before I could reach the tree I had to dodge another attack, which put him between me and the tree. "You are going to die today human; you got any last words before I slice you into pieces and feed you to my pack? The alpha growls as he turns to face me.

I saw his tail begin to glow, and he charged at me then jumped up before spinning in the air, his tail headed straight for my chest. I dodge out of the way of the attack and he barely misses me, I could actually feel his fur against my skin. It was long and not kept well as the fur strands were knotted and there were small patches of his fur missing, showing that he wasn't one for keeping proper care of his fur.

As he passes by me I grab his back legs and stop him in the air, flipping him and causing him to land on his back. Angry, he swipes at me with his tail blade, this time landing a hit on me as the blade scratches the skin on my arm and puts a small cut n it, sending a stinging sensation through my body as the blade cuts my skin. I yell out in pain as he jumps out of the way of a punch I swing at him right after he cuts my chest.

As he dodges the blow I continue past instead of moving out of the way of a counter attack and grab him by his back legs and swing him around, then release him so he gets thrown a few feet away from me, but in the wrong direction, once again he was between me and the tree.

"I won't be dieing today" I reply, defiant to what he thought was going to happen. I knew that if I made him angry he would be more likely to make a stupid mistake, which was the only way I was going to get him to fall for my trap.

"That's what you think" He says as he charges once more, blade lowered in an attempt to slice into my midsection, hoping for a more serious wound than the one he had just inflicted upon me.

I manage to almost dodge it, his blade barely scratching me in my stomach, but he still didn't get a good solid hit, which meant he went running past me another ten feet before he had a chance to stop. Now was the time to put my plan into action. Once again I start running toward the same tree, putting as much distance between him and I as I could, eventually getting trapped against the tree.

He charges me once more, this time head-butting me in the leg, causing me to roll past the tree, but he couldn't stop or dodge the tree and so he ran into it with a loud, resounding thump. I ignore the pain of the scratches on my legs, arms, and torso and jump onto him, my hand around his throat, choking him. "What are you going to do when a human beats you? It just shows how weak you were!" I say to him, my knee pushing his tail blade into the ground as my other hand held his head blade against the tree, pinning him and preventing him from using his blades to move me from on top of him.

Suddenly in a split second the tables had turned and I now had the upper hand and he was now at my mercy. "I'm not going to win huh? Looks like you just ate your own words." I say as I look into his eyes which swirled with fear and a lack of oxygen.

He tries to squawk out a few words, but is unsuccessful as his windpipe was currently cut off by my hand which had his head pinned to the ground. I made sure he couldn't bring that tail up also. I did this by laying my knee across it, pushing it into the ground. He wouldn't be getting out of this, I had this fight, and I wasn't going to lose now.

I feel him start to weaken under me, but I knew that if I let go now he would right back at me. I had his blade on his head held against the tree with my other hand, which meant that both of us were in an awkward position, meaning he had a possibility of countering and knocking me off of him. I would have to wait for a while in this position before he died from suffocation.

Suddenly I felt his leg move my leg off of his tail, and I knew what was coming next. His tail swung at me, forcing me to have to move my leg once more. There wasn't much force to it, but I knew his tail was still deadly being out in the open like that and so I move my hand once again and grab it and pin it against the ground again.

I move my leg to once again pin the leg, then I punch him hard in the throat, collapsing his wind pipe. "Will you just die?!" I yell at him as I keep him pinned, my hand once again around his throat as I make sure his breathing tube stayed closed.

I hear him choke as his wind tunnel was now useless, and even if my hand was moved he would be having trouble breathing right now. Even if I didn't win this fight, he would still die. Now I just had to stay alive, and I would be alpha of a pack. "How you think your pack is going to react when they hear that I beat you in a fight?" I ask him, mocking him now for being so cocky.

He tried saying some words, but they didn't come out at all, in fact he seemed to be struggling just to stay conscious. In his eyes I could see what he was feeling as I slowly stole his life from him. His eyes swam with fear, sadness, admiration, and understanding. He struggled no more; he knew the fight had been won. He calmed his body, and let himself walk the path to his eternal rest. As he closed his eyes, he brought his lips back in what looked to be a smile. As he laid there with his eyes closed, he reminded me that this fight could have very easily ended up the opposite way, with me underneath him as he watched me die, severing me from my mate as I would have slipped into the realm of the unknown. He knew that he had fought and lost honorably, and he knew a fit alpha was now leading the pack, one who had defeated him by following every rule of the fight.

He was unconscious now, but I knew he wasn't dead yet. I needed to put him out of his pain, and so I grabbed his tail blade, and then slit his jugular with it, ensuring a quick death. Blood began spilling forth from his neck, staining his fur a pinkish red color. It was official now; I was alpha of the pack. I had slain the alpha in one on one close quarters combat, and I had witnesses that I had done it. I couldn't believe it. I had actually won the fight! Everything was quiet for several moments as the realization hit everybody.

When I realized what had just happened, and when the realization hit me, I stared down at the Absol and closed his now lifeless eyes. "You fought well and I'll make sure you're laid peacefully to rest." I say as I lay his tail on the ground, it touching the ground soundlessly as he began his long trip to the eternal realm.

The victory was bittersweet, and I felt both relieved and ashamed inside. I felt like crying and cheering at the same time. Yes, I had won, but at what price? I had to kill a Pokémon. I couldn't keep my mind off the question as to whether he had a family or a mate. Now that mate had nobody to come home to, and if he had children, that mate would have to work by herself to feed his children.

I would make things right with them I decided, they would get the best treatment I could provide for them. They would never go hungry, and never would go homeless. I also realized I would have to take responsibility for my actions, and so I would have to lead the pack now. I was now the alpha.

The second person to snap out of the trance of watching the fight was Mirabelle, who came running after me, and hugged me. "You're the alpha now!" she yells, excited that she was now the mate to the alpha of a pack.

"Yeah, but I had to kill another living creature. What if he had a family? What about his mate?" I ask as my voice trailed off.

"They'll be fine; I know you'll figure out what to do with them." She replies as she hugs me. "Every Pokémon lives every day like it's their last, so that when it truly is their last day, they know they had enjoyed their life fully. His mate will be fine; she'll continue on, as for the children, they will be taken care of. If his mate can't provide enough for the children, I will help keep them alive." Mirabelle replies.

The next person to approach me was Kiara, followed by the Vaporeon. Kiara joined in our festivities, but the Vaporeon sat about ten feet away from me and quietly watched us hug each other in celebration of my victory. When I realize that the Vaporeon wasn't celebrating I break free of the hug and ask "What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong; I'm just not used to being shown affection. I congratulate you on your victory, you are in fact, alpha now. We need to head back to the caves to tell the rest of the pack about the change of power. You will, however, need a trophy from the slain alpha to prove that you did, in fact, defeat him. Might I recommend his tail blade? It would make a fine trophy, plus he is the only Absol for a distance around here, so there will be no question that it is his tail blade."

I turn to my mate, and then ask "Mirabelle, could you cut his tail off for me? I don't exactly have claws." I say before turning back to the Vaporeon "Do you have a name?" I ask her.

"I do, I am known as Aqua in the pack." She says. "You will need a mate, if you are going to be the leader of the pack."

"I already know who I want my mate to be. She's currently getting my trophy. Aqua, can you come with me? I need to get the rest of my team, and my friends." I say.

"Whatever you wish, I shall do alpha." She replies. "Lead the way."

"Thank you, and call me Charles, it's my name. Mirabelle is my mate, and the Tyranitar is Kiara." I reply.

"Will Kiara be your beta?" Aqua asks.

"She might be my beta. May I have more than one?" I ask, not sure as to how the pack system worked.

"You're alpha, your word is law, and therefore yes you may have more than one beta, I wouldn't recommend it however as it gets hectic with too many leaders. You can also have more than one mate." She replies as she stands up.

Mirabelle had cut off the tail, and was now standing next to me with the severed tail blade. "Thank you Mirabelle." I say as I kiss her head and take the blade from her. "Let's go back and get the rest of our crew okay?"

"Okay, shall you lead the way oh fearless leader?" She says with a smirk.

"Yes I will, after I get clothed again." I say as I go back to get dressed once again, quickly getting dressed so we could leave to go back to camp and tell the others what had happened.

Chapter End Notes:

Alright, poll time! Have you ever gone to a Summer Camp? If so, what type of camp was it and what did you do there? I'll answer first. As you know I was working at a summer camp all summer, and I actually got a raise about quarter way through the summer to $275 a week. I enjoyed myself out there, and made some great friends. I was the aviation and space exploration teacher there, so I got to fly on flight simulators and launch model rockets, which means that every Thursday I would smell like sulfur.