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There was a blinding flash, and suddenly we were back out in the forest. Or, to be more precise, the spot we had set up camp the previous night. I looked down and saw a small circular mat below us, and figured Wes must have left it here in case we needed a quick escape. But why did he stay behind? Could he only transport 3 people at once? Or was it something else?

Lilly and I spent the next few minutes trying to calm Morgana. I was worried she might do something rash if we didn't, like go back and try to save him herself. Eventually, she gave in.

Well, what can we do now? she asked hopelessly. I looked grimly into the distance.

"I don't know, but Wesley said we should find Steven, that he might be able to help. That might be a good place to start."

She laughed humorlessly. We don't even know where Steven is! As much as I agree that it would be good to have him on our side, it's kind of hard to get help from someone who's gone ghost.

I nodded. "Wes told me that Steven talked about an abandoned house in a town several miles from here where he met Vix. I'm willing to bet he stopped there at some point, and he may even be there still."

This seemed to ease her. Alright then, let's get going, She said, standing up sharply and walking in the direction of the city. I looked at Lilly, who shrugged and followed. I sighed, stood slowly, and ran to catch up.

After about fifteen minutes of complete silence, Morgana finally spoke up.

So, what's your story? She asked us. I raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

Like, how did you two meet, and why did you start travelling? She added.

Lilly and I looked at each other and smiled. "It was six years ago..." I started.

I woke up suddenly, hearing the front door slam shut. I saw, glancing over at my clock, that it was eleven at night. Great, I thought miserably, Dad's home.

"Logan, GET YOUR WORTHLESS ASS DOWN HERE!" he shouted, obviously drunk. I got up slowly, and glanced at my pillow. Underneath it, I had hidden a personal treasure: a machete I had found out in the woods. It was like finding a sword on a pedestal; it had been stuck in the stump of an old tree, standing straight up for someone like me to find it, with a sheath propped up against it.

Can I do it? I thought nervously. I've put up with him for long enough, but can I really do it? I heard a bottle smashing and heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. I quickly threw on a sweatshirt and stuck the machete in the sleeve, hoping he would be drunk enough to not take notice. I opened the door, and ducked just in time to dodge my father's incoming fist.

"I've put up with your crap long enough!" he shouted angrily, slurring a little, as he charged at me. I quickly jumped to the side, causing him to slam into the wall and tear a massive hole in the drywall.

I decided I had had enough. I pulled out the machete and held it out defensively as he turned around.

"What are you going to do, kill me? All you'd be doing is proving my point; that you're a FREAK that doesn't deserve to live in my house!" he said laughing, as he charged again. I waited for the perfect moment, then raised my foot straight in the air, kicking him directly in the chin and sending him reeling backward. I threw the machete behind me, deciding I wanted to have a little fun first, stood over him, and repeatedly punched him in the face and stomach, screaming the whole time. This was twelve years of his abuse, building and concentrating, just now finally being unleashed.

After a few minutes I was sitting on my bed, sobbing, with my head in my hands. My father had fallen unconscious about halfway through my outburst due to the alcohol and heavy trauma. I looked up at him between my fingers and knew that I couldn't go through with it. No matter how much I hated him, I couldn't kill him. There was one thing I could do, though.

I ran away that night. I took very little with me; just an extra change of clothes, a journal and pencil, and the machete. I climbed out the back window, figuring it would be harder for anyone to see me leave if I didn't go out the front. I jumped into the bushes and ran out into the wild.

I walked for days. My house was on the edge of town, right next to a massive forest that went on for what seemed like forever. At night, I would climb a tree and hide out there for the night; in the morning, I would jump down and start walking again. It was hard, but I learned a lot of survival skills.

There was one downside to living on my own in the wild: I was losing my humanity. It had been a few weeks since I had talked to anyone, and I felt like I was losing my mind. I had pretty much given up on returning to civilization. After all, why go back when I was becoming so much more out here? It was no more than a few days later when that thought became certain.

I heard a noise one day while I was walking around, searching for some berries, or anything, really, to eat. When I turned around, I saw a massive Ursaring barreling towards me, giving me only a few seconds to dive out of the way. I quickly climbed up a pillar of rock and sat there. It was easy for me to reach the top, but the bear pokemon wasn't as lucky.

Great, I thought, Now I'm stuck.

We sat there, staring at each other as it circled me, neither one looking away, each daring the other to give in. I knew if something didn't happen, I would die, whether from dehydration, lack of food, or passing out and falling off. Each of these ended with the likelihood of getting eaten.

That was not the way I wanted to go out.

After two days, I had almost given up hope, when suddenly, the unexpected happened: a group of Lucario came out from the trees, and saw the Ursaring. They scared it away with some aura attacks, and then watched as I slowly slid down the pillar.

"Who are you? What is a human doing out here in the forest?" the leader asked. He was a bit taller and bulkier than the others, and his left eye was closed and scarred.

I shrugged. "Because I don't belong with humanity, I guess. I feel like I should be living like a pokemon."

This made the group laugh, but the leader silenced them with a low growl. "What is your name, human?"

"Logan." I said confidently.

He walked around me, looking me up and down and murmuring to himself. After about a minute, he walked back to the group and gathered them in a huddle. They whispered amongst themselves, and finally, the leader turned to me.

"It will be hard for a human to survive out here for long. Why not join us?" he asked, smiling.

I immediately accepted, and they led me back to their camp. As he did, I noticed one of the female Lucario kept eyeing me curiously, like she hadn't seen a human before. I simply smiled shyly when I caught her eye, and she would quickly look away, pretending nothing had happened. She was unique amongst the others, for rather than the normal blue-and-yellow fur, she was red and black.

When we reached the camp, the leader took me aside to ask me a few questions.

"How long have you been out here, Logan?"

"About a month." I replied, hardly able to believe it had been that long.

"What can you do? Do you have any skills?"

I thought about that for a while. "Well, I'm pretty good at tracking and finding berries. Also, I have this," I said, pulling the machete out of its sheath. He nodded slowly.

"Okay, then you shall help with the foraging. The group is just about to leave."

I was just about to go off, when he stopped me. "The female you saw, with the unusually colored fur?" he asked. I nodded, and he continued, "She is my daughter, Lilly. I noticed she was curious about you. I just want to warn you, do not get any ideas, and do not mistake her curiosity for fancy. I will speak to her about this subject, and, perhaps when you've proven yourself a valuable asset to this clan, we will discuss this again."

I nodded. I felt I should argue, for I felt he was being a little too protective, but I understood, in a way, why he was so careful: humans were cruel, and when it came to new and exotic things, such as unique pokemon, they were even worse. I turned back and headed to where the foraging group was headed.

And thus began my life with the Lucario.

About three years later, the leader spoke with me again. I had proven myself alright; I had helped with foraging, fighting off rival clans, and all sorts of other things. Lilly and I had become pretty good friends, and we fought and worked alongside each other in perfect sync. Her father had finally decided I was ready.

"Do you, Logan, swear to protect the members of this clan with your very life, and give your best in anything you do?" He began. I knew what this was: it was the oath. I was finally becoming a full member of the clan. It was hard to believe how fast it went by.

"I swear." I responded clearly. I glanced aside and saw Lilly, smiling happily and barely able to stand still. I gave her a stern, but humorous look.

"Then I, as leader of this clan, welcome you. You have proven yourself more than worthy to join us during your stay, and I am proud to have you here." He extended his hand, and I shook it firmly. "Also," he added quietly, "you may talk to my daughter about being mates, if you wish, and if she accepts, you have my blessing." I nodded gratefully, trying my best to maintain a straight face. I could hardly believe it. I finally had a home, and more than that, a family.

That night, I talked to Lilly about becoming mates, and she exploded with happiness, kissing me and hugging me tightly. "Of course I will!" she cried, and I shushed her, worried we might wake someone. She laughed, and all night we danced around, just goofing off and having a good time.

I turned to Morgana, who was smiling. That was a good story. She laughed, and I smiled sadly.

"Yes, but that's where the happiness ends." I said quietly. Lilly bowed her head as I continued. I didn't like to talk about this part, but I knew I needed to keep Morgana's mind off Wesley.

We were awoken the next morning by a scream. I shot up, which in turn woke Lilly. We bolted out of the tent and saw the camp was under attack by people! Sever people armed with flamethrowers and knives. Some of them had what appeared to be riot shields, which rendered the aura attacks useless. I turned and gasped when I saw the leader's tent was in flames.

"FATHER!" Lilly shouted as she ran to the tent, avoiding the attackers, and I followed close behind.

We burst into the tent, where one of the men had Lilly's father pinned to the ground. He struggled as the man pulled out a pistol and laughed. I pulled out my machete and threw it, stabbing the man in the side. He fell to his knees as Lilly ran and kicked him in the head, knocking him out. Then, she rushed to her father's side.

"Father, we have to get you out of here!" she cried. He smiled and shook his head.

"There's no point." He said, and I noticed he was bleeding profusely from a wound on his chest. He looked slowly over at me and said, "These men... they called themselves Team Blaze. They want... to use our power... for something evil. I refused, and they attacked. There's... no point fighting... Run, and keep my daughter safe..." he rasped, grabbing my arm," Promise me... you will keep her safe... That is your new duty... to the clan..."

I looked him in the eyes and nodded. "I will uphold this responsibility." He smiled as I said this, and turned back to Lilly. "I love you, my daughter... be well, and stay with this young man... We both know how well he can be trusted..." he said, his vice getting quieter, and his head started to droop. "I will give your love to your mother..." he said, his voice barely a whisper, and fell silent. Lilly was sobbing now, and men were starting to wonder into the tent. Right then, I felt an anger I hadn't felt since the day I attacked my father.

I grabbed the machete from the fallen Team Blaze member and slashed wildly at the newcomers., screaming like a maniac. These men had destroyed my home, and killed the closest thing I had to a father. They ran away in fear, and they were right to; for those few seconds, I forgot I was human.

"Come on!" I shouted to Lilly, who snapped back to reality, and ran to catch up with me. We burst from the tent and ran away from the destruction that was left of the camp, not looking back.

We his out in a cave that night, and hoped that Team Blaze wouldn't catch us. After that, we vowed to avenge our family and destroy Team Blaze, no matter what.

Morgana had fallen silent. So that's why you fight, she said to no one in particular, You fight for the memory of your family, Wesley fought for vengeance, and Steven fought for his friends.

I nodded. "Everyone has a reason to fight, but what's important is we all have the same goal, and we work together to reach it."

Lilly nodded in agreement. "Yes, and that is what makes us strong."

Morgana smiled. I feel much better now, but I fear the worst foe Wesley.

I rested a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure he's fine. He did what he did so at least if he did fall, we could keep going." I looked ahead. "And that's just another reason for us to keep fighting."

I turned to Morgana. "For friends."

Lilly chimed in, "For family!"

Morgana looked at us, and I saw something in her eyes that told me that I had finally brightened her spriits: I saw hope.

For Wesley. She said confidently.