Well, that was fast. No more than a few hours passed after I mentioned the vote in one of my stories, before this one won. Granted, I'm not exactly surprised that this one. I mean, people love stories that involve adventure, and this one focuses on that particular topic. So, here it is. Ashes to Ashes... the poll winner. So, I hope that you enjoy this story. It's going to be one of my more serious ones. Now, there will, of course, be some comedy, because a story without comic relief can get repetitive as fuck. I mean, who wants nothing but fighting in a story? I don't know, I just know that I don't. Anyway, let's go.


My Awakening

I opened my eyes to see that a canopy of leaves was far above me, with sunlight filtering through the greenery. I sat up, groaning with pain at the intense headache that was afflicting me. Arceus, that hurts. I looked around me and saw large trees in every direction. Where the hell am I? I thought for a second, before realizing something else. Wait a minute. Who the hell am I? This thought frightened me, so I quickly began plundering the deepest depths of my mind for an answer, but inevitably came up empty handed. Okay, let's go over what I do know first. I am an Umbreon. I looked down and saw that I was wearing an outfit made entirely of black. My feet were encased in a pair of black combat boots, laced up tightly. My legs had a pair of black jeans on, with a small bulge in my right pocket. I stuck my hand into my pocket and grasped the item. I pulled it out to see that it appeared to be a small metal clip, with a few pieces of thick folded paper clipped into it. My torso had a plain black t-shirt on it. I stood up, and gazed around. I inspected the paper, attempting to remember what it was, until a word came up in my mind. Money. Currency. An item given a value, thought the material it is made of poses one very small, and is traded to people in return for goods or services. Glad that I know what at least one thing is, I pocketed the money. Knowing that just waiting wouldn't be very beneficial, I began walking through the trees randomly. This is rather odd. I know what simple everyday objects are, I know common knowledge, but I don't know any of my past, nor do I know where I am, or even the names of any city or town. Hell, I don't even know if there are any towns here. For all I know, this world may just be an endless forest. And why does this word keep repeating in my head? Redemption. What am I redeeming? I was so lost in my thoughts, that I was jolted from them as my foot struck something and I fell, face first, to the ground. Seething, and in pain, I flipped onto my back to look at what I tripped over, only to be surprised when I saw that it was a long wooden crate. I opened it up, to see what appeared to be black cloth. I took it out, revealing that it was a black hoodie. Without thinking, I rose and put it on. It completely covered my torso, as it should. I flipped the hood up and reached into the crate again, to grab another piece of cloth. I took it out to see that it was a long black duster. I put it on and it went down to just above my boots. I saw a slight bulge in the duster's pocket, and pulled out the item. It was a plain black bandana. I flipped my hood down and tied the bandana around the lower half of my head, covering my mouth, before putting the hood back up. I bent down to look into the chest to see one last item. I drew it out, my breath catching in my throat at its beauty. I pulled it from its sheath, revealing the black obsidian blade, odd carvings tracing up its length on both sided. I fully pulled the katana from its sheath, revealing it to be about five feet long and, after lightly running my finger across the blade and actually drawing blood, razor sharp. Grinning widely under my bandana, I strapped the sword's sheath to my right side, before sheathing the weapon. I saw a small pond near me, so I went over to it. I gazed at my reflection in the water to see that the only part of my body that was visible was the portion my eyes. This makes for a nice disguise. I only had a moment to pride myself in my work, before I heard small footsteps approaching me. I simply froze, not knowing what to do. As I heard the small padding enter the clearing, I slowly turned around, to see a Flareon enter. It wasn't a morph or anything, merely a normal Flareon, whom appeared to be about the size of an Eevee, oddly enough. It froze when it saw me, before baring its teeth, growling.

"What are you doing in my territory?" It growled out, confirming the fact that it was a female.

I thought for a second to come up with an answer, but in the end, all that came out was, "I'm not quite sure, really."

"What the hell do you mean?" She returned.

"Well," I began explaining, "I just simply don't know why I am here. You see, I woke up only a few moments ago, lying on the forest floor, with no recollection of my past."

"What?" She asked, her tone turning into one of curiosity, rather than the former hostility. "Are you being serious?"

"Of course." I responded. "Why would I have any reason to lie to you?"

She padded over to me and began sniffing me, saying, "I don't know. Maybe you were scared of me torching your ass."

I chuckled, before saying, "I assure you, I am not frightened at the prospect of you attacking me."

"Are you saying that I'm not scary, or something?" The Flareon asked me, staring up at me.

"I never said that." I replied, not wanting to hurt her feelings. "I merely said that I am not frightened of your threat."

She sighed, before dropping to the ground, ears drooping.

"You don't have to lie," she said, eyes to the ground, "I know I'm not frightening. That's one of the reasons that I was kicked out of my pack."

"What do you mean?" I asked, dropping down to sit cross-legged in front of her.

"Well, I was born into a pack of Ferals." She began.

"What exactly is a Feral?" I asked, before she could continue.

"Do you really not know?" She asked me. I shook my clothed head, and she said, "Well, a Feral is obviously a Pokemon that is not a pet or anything. But, there are different kinds of untamed Pokemon. Some will be nice and peaceful, and will actually have a conversation with people, should they want to. Then there are Ferals. Ferals, or sometimes called simply monsters by the local townspeople, are extremely hostile wild Pokemon, ones that don't speak any human language. They use fear to intimidate others into getting what they want, and attack those that don't comply."

"They kill others just if they don't get their way?" I questioned.

"I'm sorry, you must have misunderstood me." She clarified. "They don't kill, at least not always. They'll sometimes just maim and bring close to death. Granted, you'd prefer either of those instead of what they normally do."

"Which would be?" I asked.

"Well, I assume that it's obvious by know that these Ferals don't obey any morals whatsoever, correct?" She said. I nodded, so she continued, "Well, all packs of Ferals are run by the males, so what they say is what happens. They will commonly kidnap other Pokemon and bring them home to the clan to join the females of the clan in their duties."

"Which would be?" I further pushed.

"Mating." She simply stated. "As soon as a female reaches sexual maturity, she is thrown into the breeding stock. No one ever takes mates. The females are the lowest on the food chain, only used as fuck toys by the males. Rarely a day goes by in a clan that doesn't end with every female in the clan getting fucked."

"Arceus, that sounds horrid." I said, shocked.

"I imagine that it is." She said. "I ended up getting out before I reached my maturity."

"How exactly did you get out?" I asked. "These Ferals don't seem to be the type to just go with a simple please."

"Trust me, they aren't." She said. "I ended up being kicked out because I wasn't as Feral as needed. I mean, as you can tell, I know how to speak to humans. As you can see, I'm not exactly the largest Flareon in the world, which not only makes me less intimidating, but is also a tell-tale sign of an infertile female, or, at the very least, one that doesn't have very good genes, which would be disastrous for any male wanting to pass down their genes. And then, of course, there is always the matter of me not agreeing with their practices. So, in the end, I was deemed too weak to be a part of the clan, and I was banished. They had assumed that I would die, but that was about two years ago."

By now, I could tell that she was holding back tears. I pulled her up into my lap, taking her by surprise, and wrapped her into a hug, gently stroking her fur.

"That seems like a rather foolish reason to kick such a wonderful and nice Flareon such as yourself out of a clan." I said, softly. "Granted, I can tell by your demeanor that that was probably for the best. You don't seem like you would enjoy killing. Or being a clan whore, for that matter."

"Trust me, I wouldn't." She said, nuzzling into my chest. After a few moments, she said, "Could you please let me go now?"

"Of course." I replied, sitting her down.

She was about to walk away, when she turned back to me, saying, "Hey, would you like to come back to my den with me? It's getting dark soon, and someone with no knowledge of the landscape, such as yourself, would surely fall victim to the local Ferals."

I weighed my options for a moment, before saying, "Are you sure? I mean, I wouldn't want to impose."

"Of course." She said, chuckling. "C'mon, follow me."

I complied, beginning to walk by her side, easily keeping pace with her, due to my longer legs.

"So," she said, "do you have a name, mister tall, dark, and scary?"

"You think that I am scary?" I questioned, slightly concerned.

"Well, at first." She replied. "I mean, you're wearing all black, which in itself is slightly frightening, you appear to be much taller than average, as most people around here are only in the 5'8 range, while you appear to be at least 6'4, and you have a giant sword on your waste. Yeah, you're pretty damn frightening."

I chuckled, and said, "So, what makes you so sure that I'm not frightening now?"

"Well, how you treated me back there, really." She replied. "You seem extremely nice, like you would help someone in need. But, anyway, do you have a name?"

I thought for a second, before saying, "I don't really know. I mean, as I said, I don't have any recollection of my past, nor of the land around me."

"Okay then." She said, seeming to be lost in thought. After a few seconds, she said, "Shade."

"What?" I asked, confused.

"You need some name other than 'Mister Tall Dark and Scary', so I thought of one." She responded. "How does Shade sound?"

I thought for multiple moments, before agreeing, "Yeah, Shade sounds alright. Do you have a name?"

"Of course." She replied. "I am known as Ember."

I smiled, before saying, "That's a cute name. Really fitting."

She smiled back, before saying, "Thank you."

We continued walking until we reached a cave. Ember lead the way in, and I followed. The cave was actually quite large, about the size of a standard living room, really.

"Well, here we are," Ember said, as the sun began setting outside, causing darkness to creep into the cave, "my home. I know it's small, but-"

I cut her off, saying, "It's perfectly fine. It's not too small, really."

"Oh." She said, obviously surprised by my reaction. "Thank you."

I nodded in return. As the darkness continued snaking its way through the mouth of the cave, it brought with it a slight chill.

"We should make a fire." I commented.

"That would most likely help." Ember agreed. "Food would be nice, as well."

"How about this?" I said. "Seeing as you know the area, which includes what we can safely eat, along with where to find it, how about you look for food, while I collect wood?"

"Alright." She said, nodding. "Let's meet back here in a few minutes."

"Agreed." I said, nodding.

We both left the cave, Ember going one way, and myself going another. I returned about five minutes later, my arms full of sticks. Seeing that Ember hadn't returned, I decided to go ahead and set up the sticks for the fire. Just as I was finishing this task, Ember entered the cave, a large leaf folded in her mouth. I saw that she was struggling with it, as it was dragging the ground, causing her to trip slightly with every step, so I rushed over and took it from her mouth.

"Thanks." She said, her mouth now empty. "That was slightly difficult to bring home."

"I imagine." I remarked, bringing the bundle over to the sticks, as the whole cave was plunged into darkness.

"Here, let me take care of that." I heard Ember say.

Moments later, I saw a small ball of fire shoot out from the shadows, before hitting the sticks, which easily caught fire. The fire cast light through the cave, basking Ember and I in its orange glow.

"There." She said. "That's better."

"Indeed." I agreed.

I sat the bundle that she brought down and opened it, revealing a small pile of nuts and berries.

"I know, it's not exactly the best meal ever, nor is it the most food in the world," she started, "but it's all I could find. I figure if we roast them over the fire, it would be pretty good."

"It's alright." I said, dropping to my knees and pulling the small Eeveelution into a hug. I released her and said, "Here, you go ahead and eat."

"Aren't you going to eat?" She asked me, staring up at me. "I mean, I'd rather have some meat as well, personally I can't stand having a vegetarian meal, but it's at least some food."

"No." I responded. "I'm not very hungry."

"Are you sure?" She asked me. "There may not be a lot, but there's enough for both of us."

"I'm positive." I replied. "Now, go ahead, eat."

She looked at me, reluctance in her eyes, before turning to the small pile of food. As she began using her own flames to roast them, I got up and went over to the mouth of the cave. I sat down, and looked out, staring at the moon. Who am I? And what exactly am I meant to redeem? After sitting there for a while, I moved to the back of the cave, where I dropped to the floor. As I did this, Ember came over to me, and laid down next to me.

"Goodnight Ember." I said.

"Goodnight Shade." She returned.

I felt her nuzzle closer to me, and I subconsciously wrapped my arms around her body, pulling her closer.


I awoke to hear feet approaching. I shifted my weight slightly, careful not to disturb Ember, who had fallen asleep in my arms. I gazed to the mouth of the cave, barely able to make out a large figure in the shadows, as the fire had died sometime while we slept.

"Hey, Ember." I whispered, nudging the Flareon.

She woke up, blinking drowsily, and opened her mouth to say something, but I silenced her with my hand.

"Ember, I believe that there is someone else in your cave." I whispered.

Her eyes went wide, and she pushed my hand from her mouth, before whispering, "Shit, I forgot that this was the night that they were coming."

"What?" I asked, confused. "Who?"

"The Ferals." She explained. "They are from my old clan. They found me one day, and threatened to kill me, but we struck a deal. The deal was, they would let me live and leave me alone, but twice a week they get to come over here and, um, use me."

She finished her explanation even quieter than before, and I could swear that I saw a few tears in her eyes. I knew by how she was acting what she meant by 'use' and I rose to my feet, my mind set.

"No, Shade, what are you doing?" She asked me.

"Fixing your issue." I replied, before heading to the front of the cave.

As I got closer, I could see the shapes of a Jolteon, an Espeon, and a large Leafeon at the mouth of the cave.

"Leave this place," I said, becoming bathed in moonlight as I reached the mouth of the cave, with Ember padding up behind me, "and do not come back."

Their reply was simply just baring their teeth, and the Leafeon let out a growl.

"No, Arc, just leave." Ember said. "I don't want you here, and my friend will not hesitate to get rid of you."

The Leafeon growled again, as the three Pokemon began stalking towards us.

"Damn it, get the hell out of here." Ember growled out, baring her teeth as well.

As the Pokemon got closer, I moved in front of the small Flareon.

"What are you doing?" She asked me.

"Let me handle this." I said, my hand on the hilt of my sword.

The Leafeon leapt at me, and I quickly pulled my sword from its sheath. As it flung from my sheath, the long blade connected with the Leafeon's neck, slicing its head off with one swing. Its lifeless body dropped to the ground, its head a few inches away from the rest of its body. I heard a loud gasp let out from Ember as blood began pouring from the severed body parts. The other two Feral Eeveelutions glared at me, before growling at me. They both leapt at me at once, but I intercepted them with my blade, hitting the Jolteon in the stomach, not with enough force to sever any body parts, but enough to slice a deep wound into it. As soon as the Jolteon's body dropped, I lashed out with my sword again, stabbing directly into the Espeon's chest. As its body went still, I used my foot to push the corpse from the blade of my sword.

Ember rushed up next to me and let out a gasp, before squeaking out, "Holy shit, you actually killed them."

"Yes." I replied, simply.

"What the hell have you done, Shade?" She said, suddenly freaking out.

"I believe that we already covered what I did." I replied. "I killed them."

"That's not what I meant, damn it." She yelled. "Do you know what you have done?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, calmly.

"You have just killed three of the most respected members of their clan." She said. "That means that you have officially just royally fucked us."

"How so?" I asked.

"The fucking clan knows where they go and the fucking clan will know that something's fucking wrong when they wake up and they will fucking come after us." She growled out.

I sighed, before bending down to Ember. I picked her up, eliciting a small squeak of surprise from her, and held her in my arms.

"It'll be alright." I said. "If they come after us, I will keep you safe."

"Shade, I don't know if you can handle all of them." She said, calming down.

I thought for a second, before saying, "Y'know, after tonight, I had planned on doing a sort of adventure thing, y'know, sort of just wander around and try to find someone who may know who I am."

"Okay?" She said, confused.

"Well, as your home is now compromised, and it is technically my fault," I continued, "would you like to come with me? We could travel together, meet some new people; maybe get into a little more trouble."

"Really?" She asked, sounding hopeful. "You want me to come with you?"

I chuckled, and said, "Of course. So, what do you say?"

"Absolutely." She replied, pressing her head into my chest. She looked up at me, and said, "Are we leaving right now?"

I looked out through the mouth of the cave and saw that the sun was currently rising, the sunlight seeping through the trees. I looked down at the dead Eeveelution bodies at my feet, and got an idea.

"I was thinking that first we could eat some breakfast." I said. "I'm getting slightly hungry."

"What are we going to eat?" She asked me. "I mean, I could go and find some more nuts, but that isn't very likely."

Instead of answering, I just looked down at the Eeveelutions. Ember's eyes followed my gaze, and when she saw what I was looking at, her eyes went wide.

"Are you being serious?" She asked, shocked.

"You said that you would prefer to eat meat." I said, shrugging as I sat her down.

"Well, yes, but them?" She said. "I mean, I've never had Eeveelution before, let alone one that I know."

"Well, it's not like you actually liked them." I replied. "And, besides, it's food."

She sighed, before saying, "Alright, fine. I'll go and find some more wood, while you carve them up."

"Alright," I said, as she walked past me, heading towards the mouth of the cave, "be safe."

"I will." She replied, as she left the cave.

As I heard her pad away, I aimed my katana down at the Leafeon's body. I stabbed the blade down into the Eeveelution's body, splattering blood onto my black clothes.


So, how was the first chapter? So, as I said, this will be a more serious story, so I hope that you guys enjoy it.

Anyway, two quick things about polls. One, I believe that, unless I already have something planned, I will use a poll to decide my next story each time from now on. Next time I put one up, I will replace this slot with another story idea, giving you guys four choices still. Two, I now have another poll on my profile, this one regarding to my AO3 exclusive story. I would appreciate it if you gave the poll and story a look, and I thank you in advance.

So, until the next chapter, goodbye.