Okay, I'm back with another update. Yeah, I know I'm not too good at updating on time, especially with this story, but that's mostly because the chapters for this story are commonly longer than the others, and putting out long chapters bi-monthly for this story, like I try to, along with my other three stories, while simultaneously having to spend eight hours a day at school, and try to do other shit can be slightly overwhelming. Oh well, I enjoy writing, and I hope you guys enjoy reading what I write, so I'm not really complaining. Anyways, this chapter will be fun, as it adds a new character. So, enjoy.

Well, That Was Awkward

I was standing in the kitchen, cooking breakfast, with Azura sitting on the island behind me, drinking coffee.

"Y'know," Azura said, "I still can't believe that you've already been here for almost three months. It seems like just yesterday that I found you in a tree."

I shrugged and said, "Yeah, I guess. What I find to be more unbelievable is the fact that I've been living here for almost three months and I still haven't taught the others how to fucking cook. I mean, seriously, it isn't all too fun cooking every meal we eat."

Azura sat her coffee down and walked up to me.

Wrapping her arms around me, she said, "C'mon, it isn't that you haven't taught them, it's that they don't seem to really want to learn."

"Yeah, I know." I said, sighing. "But that doesn't make it any less annoying. I don't even see what the big deterrent is. I mean, hell, you had fun learning, right?"

"Of course," she said, giving me a quick peck on the cheek, "but you should know by now that the others, especially Markus, can be really fucking lazy. Well, except for today."

"Why, what's today?" I asked, turning around as the bacon began to sizzle.

"Halloween, of course." Azura said.

"What exactly makes today so special?" I asked. "Do you guys celebrate it or something?"

"Not necessarily." She replied. "Y'know how there's that whole bullshit thing where on Halloween people will go out and attack dark types?"

"Yes." I said.

"Well, Markus has this thing where, every Halloween, he goes out to try and be some vigilante or something and prevent it in these woods." Azura said.

"Has he ever actually accomplished it?" I asked.

"Not whenever one of us has gone with him." She said. "We've all went with him once and he never really seems to accomplish anything."

"Who's going with him this year?" I asked.

"I don't know." Azura said, shrugging. "But, to change the subject, there is something else that you haven't done yet."

"Oh?" I asked. "And what's that?"

"You still need to tell the others your story." She replied.

"Oh. Right." I said, slightly nervously. "You know I don't want to do that."

"Oh, c'mon," Azura said, nudging me, "you told me within a week, but they still don't know."

"I know, I know." I said, closing my eyes and sighing. "It's just that I don't like sharing things about me too much, and I can't stand being the center of attention."

"Please." Azura pleaded. "For me."

I opened my eyes to see Azura staring at me with puppy dog eyes.

"Fine." I said, sighing and hugging her. "You know that I can't say no to that face."

"Yeah, I know." She said, giggling.

"I'll tell them, but it will be later." I said. "I don't really feel like it right now."

"Alright," she said, "just tell them some time before the thirteenth, okay?"

"Fine." I said. Returning her kiss from before, I said, "And besides, you haven't told me your story yet."

"Tell you what," she said, "I'll tell you after you tell them."

"Fine with me." I said, shrugging. "C'mon, let's start bringing the food in there."

Azura grabbed the plate of eggs and the stack of plates and forks I had sitting on the counter as I started plating up the bacon. What she meant by "my story" is what has been going on in my life in the past five years. I had told her a few days after I woke up, but I had yet to tell the others, not knowing how they would react. She hadn't really questioned anything, more or less, and mostly just accepted it as a fact of life, so that was a giant relief for me. I grabbed the bacon, the pancakes, and both of our coffees before heading into the dining room. Azura had already put her plates on the table and was standing at her seat, the second one down on the left side. I sat my plates down, before sitting her coffee in front of her and mine in front of the seat to her left.

As we both sat down, I said, "Shouldn't they be awake by now?"

"Yeah, probably." Azura said. "Do you think we should go wake them up?"

I was about to answer, but I was interrupted by Midnight entering the room, laughing her ass off.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Nothing, just the mime from hell, or whatever the hell he is." She replied, between laughs. "Hey, is the coffee ready?"

"Yeah." I replied, still confused. As she went into the kitchen, I turned to Azura and asked, "What is she talking about, exactly?"

Azura sighed, before saying, "Probably Markus's costume."

"Costume?" I asked.

"Yeah," she replied, "he really loves Halloween, so along with the whole vigilante thing, he likes to dress up as a character from a movie or something as best as possible, and it's almost always some obscure character that none of us recognize."

"Yep," Rell said, as he and Alice entered the room, "and this year is no different."

"Seriously, what the hell is his clown from hell costume from?" Alice said, as they walked past us and into the kitchen. "And what the hell is with the stuffed bird on his shoulder?"

"I guess it's really obscure this year." Azura said, sighing.

At this point Markus walked into the room. He was wearing black jeans, a long sleeve black shirt, and a black duster, with the fur on his face painted white with black around the eyes and mouth, and a fake Murkrow sitting on his shoulder. As he entered, Azura started laughing, barely stifling it.

I jokingly threw my hands up and said, "Calm down there Eric, I didn't do anything to you or your girlfriend. Really, I think you're looking for Top Dollar."

At this, Markus threw his hands up, saying, "Holy fucking shit; someone actually gets the damn costume!"

I laughed, lowering my hands, and said, "Dude, how could I not get the reference? That's one of my favorite movies."

Alice, Rell, and Midnight came into the room, all of them holding a cup of coffee, with Midnight holding two, and they all sat down, Rell across from me, with Alice next to him, and Markus and Midnight next.

"Wait, so you actually recognize his weird jester outfit?" Midnight asked, as we began passing out plates.

"Of course." I responded. "He's Eric Draven." The others stared at me, confused looks on their faces, so I said, "C'mon, Eric Draven. From The Crow."

"Sorry man," Rell said, "looks like you're the only one here who gets it."

I sighed, saying, "Whatever. Just know that I will find some way to make you guys watch every single Halloween themed movie I can think of."

We began eating, the only sound being silverware hitting plates. When we were done, Markus stood up and clapped his hands together.

"So," he said, all of us looking at him, "who wants to go with me tonight?"

No one responded for a few minutes, instead just looking away awkwardly, and I saw his ears slowly begin to droop.

Feeling sorry for him, I raised my hand and said, "Fuck it, I'll go."

He immediately brightened up, his ears straightening out and a smile spreading across his face, and said, "Yes, awesome. Meet me at my room at ten tonight."

He then dashed out of the room, and I could hear his footsteps going up the stairs. I chuckled, before seeing everyone looking at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Did you just agree to go with him tonight?" Rell asked.

"Um, yes." I said. "I don't really see the big deal here."

"Well, besides the fact that it's just a waste of time," Alice said, "he goes out to try and defend dark types, which you are two dark types combined, and a morph. You do realize that that is literally a death wish, right?"

I shrugged and said, "I can handle myself. And besides, even if nothing happens, it still makes him happy, so I don't really see any harm in it."

"Whatever man," Rell said, getting up, "if you think it's a good idea; then go ahead."

He then grabbed his dishes and went into the kitchen, with Alice following him.

"Sometimes," Azura said, sighing, "you truly baffle me."

"Y'know, I have to admit," Alice said, as the credits of the movie rolled, "that actually was a good animated movie."

"Told you." Rell and I said at the same time.

We were in the living room, with Midnight, Azura, and I on the couch, Rell in the left armchair, and Alice in the right. All of us, with the exception of Markus, who had been in his room all day, had been watching Halloween themed movies all day, and we had just finished Nightmare before Christmas.

"But, doesn't it seem more themed for Christmas than Halloween?" Midnight asked.

"Well, that's the awesome part about that movie," I said," it's technically both, so you have an excuse to watch it twice a year."

"Well, yeah," Midnight said, "but do you really need an excuse?"

"Of course not," I said, "but it is an excuse for it to be played on TV twice a year."

Midnight shrugged, saying, "You got me there."

"Hey," Azura said, "isn't it about time for you to go get Markus?"

I pulled my phone from my pocket and saw that she was right.

"Yeah, it is." I said, getting up from the couch.

I left the room and went upstairs. I turned down the hall and went to Markus's door.

I knocked, and was greeted by Markus saying, "Umm, give me a few seconds."

I stood there, waiting, until Markus came out, holding a backpack. He still had the dye and costume on, but the Murkrow was absent.

"Ready to go?" He asked.

"Yep." I replied.

We started towards the stairs, walking at a steady pace.

"So," I started, "what's with the bag?"

"It's got some essentials in it," he said, "y'know, like bottles of water, bandages, and shit like that."

"Are you expecting one of us to get hurt?" I asked.

"Not necessarily," he replied, "but, you never know, we may need it."

"Fair enough." I said, as we went down the stairs. "So, since I'm doing this for you, I want you to do something for me."

"Um, okay." He said. "What?"

"You have to learn how to cook." I said.

"That's all?" He asked. I nodded, and he said, "Alright, I have no issue with that."

When we got to the bottom, we headed for the door, and Markus yelled, "We're leaving now!"

He opened the door and left, and I was about to follow, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see Midnight behind me, a worried expression on her face.

"What's up?" I asked, shutting the door slightly.

"Well," she said, "I just wanted to say good luck. And please be careful."

"Hey," I said, "like I said this morning, I can handle myself."

"I know," she said, "that isn't what I'm worried about."

Knowing what she meant, I said, "It's Markus, isn't it?"

"Yeah," she said, sighing, "I worry about him every time he goes out, especially after the year before last."

"Why?" I asked. "What happened then?"

"Well, none of us went with him that night," she said, "we were all too busy or just didn't want to go, but he was adamant about going. Well, it got to be about four in the morning, and I got worried about him, so Azura and I went after him. We found him, unconscious and laying in a pool of his own blood in a clearing."

"Damn," I said, "what happened?"

"Apparently he had actually found some guys beating up a Purrloin, so he tried to stop them." She said. "And, while I love him, he isn't always the brightest, and he's also not the best fighter in the world, so they sorta kicked his ass. He ended up having a broken nose and a few bruised ribs, but he recovered fairly well. But I can't help but be worried about him now."

"If that happened, why does he still go?" I asked.

"After that, he felt like he actually did help," she said, "as, while they were distracted with kicking his ass, the Purrloin was actually able to escape. So, instead of deterring him, it just made him want to do it more."

"Well, don't worry." I said. "I promise that nothing will happen to him. I'll defend him with my life."

"Thanks." She said, before hugging me.

She let go of me, just as Markus poked his head around the door.

"Hey, we going or not?" He said.

"Yeah, I was just coming." I said.

"Bye guys," Midnight said, as we left, "have fun."

"Alright," Markus responded, "be back in a few hours."

We closed the door behind us and left through the front gate. We turned off of the small dirt road outside of the gates, and started walking through the woods.

"Hey, dude," Markus began, after a few minutes, "I wanted to thank you for coming out here with me."

"It's no big deal dude." I said, shrugging.

"Yeah, it is." He said. "I know that the others don't like coming out here with me, and I know that they think that it's a waste of time, so I wanted to let you know that I'm grateful that you came out with me, even if it is just because you felt sorry for me."

I sighed, before saying, "Was it really that obvious?"

"Yeah, sorta." He responded. "But, that doesn't mean that I'm any less grateful. Really, I'm just glad that someone wanted to come."

"Well, even if their predictions are true," I said, "it should at least be fun anyways."

Suddenly, the near silence of the night was ripped open by a piercing scream.

"Or not." I said, as we both took off running for the source. As we ran, I felt my Extreme Speed kick in, causing the gap between Markus and I to grow even more. I eventually came to the edge of a small clearing, where I stopped and waited for Markus. He arrived a few seconds later, panting lightly. He opened his mouth to speak, but I quickly signaled for him to be quiet. He did so, and I pointed towards the clearing, where there was a group of teenagers, dressed as the ghost trio, kicking two Pokemon that I couldn't see. I signaled for Markus to follow me, and I stepped out of the trees and walked up behind them.

"Hey," I said, getting their attention, "what's going on here?"

They all whipped around to face me, masks on their faces covering what I assumed to be a shocked expression. When they saw me though, they seemed to calm down.

"Holy shit, guy," the "Gengar" said, "you scared us to fucking death. We thought you were a cop."

"Damn dudes," the "Haunter" said, "those are the best fucking costumes I've ever seen. They look so realistic."

"Thanks." I said, trying to get back to what I was doing. "So, what are you guys doing?"

"Just teaching these dark type fuckers their place." The "Ghastly" said, waving the stick he was holding, "Wanna join?"

I shrugged, before saying, "Sure, why not?"

The "Ghastly" handed me the stick, and I accepted it. Looking at Markus, I saw a horrified expression on his face, but I just turned away and went up to the group. They parted, exposing a Houndour and a Houndoom lying on the ground, both with blood dribbling from their mouths, and bodies covered in bruises, with the Houndour being unconscious. But, what caught my attention the most was the Houndoom. Its horns were shattered, with only the jagged stumps remaining, and some minor scarring visible, indicating that the injury was a few months old. Hello, old friend. I gripped the stick tightly, and cocked my arm back, ready to swing, but as I did so, I quickly turned, nailing the "Ghastly" in the stomach with the stick, knocking him to the ground, breathless.

"What the fuck?" The "Gengar' yelled.

I quickly spun and delivered a quick blow to the "Haunter" as well, knocking him down. As I swung at the "Gengar", though, he grabbed the stick and broke it.

"Nice try, asshole," he said, "but, I took karate for years."

He quickly sent a punch flying at my head, but I caught it and held him in place.

"There's a big difference between karate and a real fight kid." I said. "The main one being that, in real combat, honor and safety are optional."

I then kicked his legs out from under him, sending him flying to the ground. By now, the other two had gotten up, with the "Ghastly" catching his breath. I turned to Markus to see him standing on the sidelines, eyes wide.

"You gonna jump in, or just watch?" I asked.

"Right." He said, nodding.

He dropped the backpack off of his shoulder, and rushed over to confront the "Ghastly".

"Looks like I've got you two." I said, as the "Gengar" picked himself up off of the ground.

They both rushed me at once, but I easily side-stepped them, causing them to go right past me. We whipped around to face each other, and the "Haunter" pulled a kitchen knife out of his pocket.

"Not playing fair, are we?" I asked.

He rushed me, but I easily grabbed his wrist before the knife made contact. I snatched the knife from him with my other hand and easily bent the blade with back onto itself. He looked at me, a scared look in his eyes, and I simply chuckled.

"Regretting this fight yet?" I asked.

I dropped the knife and flung the "Haunter" to the side, and into a tree, where he collapsed, unconscious. I turned and saw that the "Gengar" had pulled out two kitchen knives from his pocket.

"Two now?" I said. "You guys really like blades. But, I think I still have you beat."

I coated my right hand in an Iron Claw, causing four long, metal blades to come out of my fist.

"What the fuck?" He said, eyes wide, with a look of terror in them.

I coated my left hand in an Iron Claw as well, and scraped them across each other, creating a loud noise of metal on metal.

By now all eyes were on me, so I simply said, "Run. Now."

The "Gengar" dropped his knives and ran over to his unconscious friend, the "Ghastly" following closely. They picked him up and quickly fled through the trees. As they retreated, I got rid of the claws, and they disappeared into thin air.

"Well, I guess that's one way to end a fight." Markus said, coming over to me.

"Yep." I said. "C'mon, let's check on those two."

We went over to the Pokemon and knelt down at them. I inspected the Houndour first, as it seemed in a more critical condition, and saw that it was breathing steadily, with its only visible injuries being a missing tooth and a few bruises.

"Alright, it seems to be stable." I said, turning to look at the Houndoom.

Its eyes were open, and it was breathing steadily, with the only visible injuries being a few bruises.

"Thank you," It said in a female voice.

She tried to sit up, but I could tell that the strain was too much, so I gently lowered her to the ground.

"Don't move, you're too hurt." I said.

"No, I must get myself and my son home," she said, "my mate will be worried about me."

"Let us take you there," I said, "you aren't strong enough to walk, and your son is unconscious."

"No, I can do it myself." She said, trying to get up again.

I wrapped my arms under her and lifted her from the ground.

"Hey, what are you doing?" She protested. "I said I can do it."

"And I said that you aren't going to." I said. Turning to Markus, I said, "Could you grab her son, please?"

He nodded and put his backpack back on, before lifting the Houndour and holding him in a similar position that I was holding his mother.

"So, where to?" I asked.

She sighed, before saying, "Head west of here, please."

We started walking, Markus keeping pace with me. I looked down and saw the Houndoom had her face buried in my shirt.

Looking up at me, she said, "Why do you smell so familiar?"

I chuckled, before saying, "I'm not sure if I should tell you, as you may not like the answer."

"You can tell me," she said, "after all, I can't really do anything right now."

"Okay then," I said, "do you remember a few months ago, when you attacked that family?"

"Yes, why?" She said. A light bulb seemed to go on in her mind, as she said, "Wait a minute, were you that kid with the stick? The one who broke my horns?"

"Um, yes," I said, awkwardly, "I'm sorry about that by the way."

"Don't be." She said, sighing. "If anyone should be sorry, it's me. I shouldn't have attacked them in the first place. It was obvious that they meant no harm, I was just extremely cautious, as I had just recently had my son."

"It's alright." I said. "All you did was shake them up a bit."

"No, it's not, and you and I both know that you're lying." She said. "I know that I almost killed you, there's no need to pretend."

I shrugged, before saying, "What happened, happened. I'm alive now, so there's no harm done."

"Okay, if you say so." She said. "So, what's the deal with the double morph thing?"

"I don't know." I said, shrugging. "We've all sort of just accepted it as fact."

"All?" She asked, confused. "Do you two live with Rell?"

"Yes," I said, "do you know him?"

"Sort of." She replied. "My clan learned of the house being built in the forest just before it was completed, so we went to investigate. We came to an agreement with him and his father that he could build the house in our territory, with no trouble from us, as long as they didn't harm us."

"You have a clan?" I asked.

"Yes." She said. "The clan started as a purely Houndour and Houndoom clan, but since then we have grown to accept pretty much any canine Pokemon that wanted to join, and we all live like a family."

"That sounds nice." I said. "So, should I assume that that is where we are taking you?"

"Yes." She said. "It is actually near the clearing, although I imagine that one of our patrols will find us first."

"You have patrols?" I asked. "What for?"

"We normally only have hunting parties that double as patrols," she said, "but, as this is Halloween, we send out real patrols, to get rid of any people with violent traditions."

"Such as those teens." I added.

"Yes," she said, "such as those teens. Arceus, I hated their costumes." Looking at Markus, she said, "Speaking of costumes, what's with your friend?"

I shrugged, saying, "He really likes Halloween. He sort of does his own patrol every Halloween, as well."

"Yes, I remember some patrols reporting seeing him." She said. "I guess it's a good thing that he has that tradition, I guess."

"Finally someone sees some worth in it." Markus said.

I laughed, before saying, "Y'know, I never got your name."

"Grace." She said. "And my son is Mark."

"Well then," I said, "it's nice to actually meet you, Grace. I'm Izaak."

We continued walking and, after a while, I started to recognize where we were, and I knew that we were close. We finally reached the clearing, so we stepped out into it.

"Odd," Grace said, "I legitimately believed that we'd run into someone by now."

"Maybe they're taking a b-" Markus began, but was cut off as a large ring of fire surrounded us.

"Okay then." I said, sighing.

"Remain calm." Grace said. "This is merely a tactic of my clan, used to surround and deter intruders."

Suddenly, a group of six Pokemon leapt through the flames, surrounding us. I saw a Mightyena, two Houndooms, and three Houndours.

"Freeze, intruder." The Mightyena ordered.

Seeing no reason not to, I complied, standing still.

"What business do you have here?" He demanded.

Well he's nice.

I was about to answer, until Grace spoke up, saying, "Calm down, Axel. They're with me."

At this, the Mightyena faltered in his stance, before saying, "Grace? Why have you brought them here? What happened?"

Grace straightened up to where she could look at Axel, before saying, "I will explain when we get home. Could you lead them there?"

"Umm,sure." Axel responded. Looking up at me, he said, "You two, follow me."

He turned around and left the circle of fire, followed by the other Pokemon. As they left, the fire receded as well. Markus and I exchanged a quick glance, before I shrugged and we went after them.

When we caught up, I said, "So, where exactly are we going?"

"To our camp." Axel responded, sternly.

"Calm down and stop being so damn aggressive." Grace said. "They haven't done anything to you, they're just trying to help."

"Then why does the odd one smell like the human who attacked you?" He asked.

I sighed, before saying, "For fuck's sake, do I really still smell like that? It's been almost three fucking months."

At this, the group froze and turned on me.

"So, you admit that it was you?" Axel said, growling.

Before I could answer, Grace said, "Calm down, we will explain when we get home. Now, as I said, stop being so damn aggressive and walk."

He obeyed, albeit reluctantly. Markus and I fell back slightly, to where we weren't within biting distance.

"Why is he being so aggressive and defensive?" I asked Grace.

She sighed, before saying, "He's always like this when it involves me or our children."

"Wait," I said, "he's your mate?"

"Yes." She said. "He is also the leader of our pack."

"Okay then." I said.

We eventually came upon a small shed, with the sole window broken out.

"Here we are." Axel said.

"This shack is your clan's home?" Markus asked. "How does that even work?"

"Just follow me." Axel said, nudging the door open, before entering.

Markus and I entered, followed by the other five Pokemon. The shed itself was completely empty, with nothing but a bare bulb hanging from the ceiling, which appeared to be dead, and, along with the rest of the room, was covered in a thick layer of dust.

"Okay," I said, "now where?"

"Right here." Axel said, leaning down towards the floor.

He grabbed a small handle I hadn't noticed previously and pulled it up, revealing that it was connected to a wooden hatch, which he was slowly lifting. When he was finished, he leapt in. I went over to it and saw a set of small steps leading down the black hole. Looking back, I saw the other five Pokemon motioning for me to enter, so I did. I continued down the dark steps until it left off at in a tunnel, about five feet high, causing me to stoop down, with the dirt walls and floor brightly lit by a lantern hanging from the ceiling.

"Woah." I heard Markus say, as he landed behind me.

"Follow." Axle said, before continuing down the tunnel.

As we went, we passed more lanterns, all lit, along with other cave offshoots, but we kept with Axel.

"What is this place?" I asked.

"An old smugglers tunnel." Grace responded. "It was used to keep valuables and contraband safe and hidden until it could be moved. Almost all of these paths lead to a dead end or, in very few cases, a false floor that would open into a large fall."

"That doesn't sound very safe." I said.

"Well, it wasn't." Grace said. "So, we fixed all of the false floors and made sure that everyone in here knew the correct way. Some of these tunnels are so long and have so many other offshoots that you could get lost for days down here."

"Damn." I remarked.

"Yep." Grace said. "But, it worked for the smugglers purpose, or at least it did, until they were caught. Granted, we don't know when that was, but we thank the cops for doing so, as it has given us a nice little home."

"So I see." I said, as I saw a large amount of light around a bend up ahead.

We turned the corner and it opened up into a large cave. We were greeted by hundreds of pairs of eyes locking onto us immediately, all belonging to a Pokemon.

"Damn." I said.

"Continue following." Axel said. "We are going to another cave."

We continued walking, the eyes following us with each step we took. We eventually entered another cave, which was slightly less populated. We followed Axel to a large opening in the cave wall, with what looked to be a moss door, which was being guarded by two Arcanines. He whispered something in one of the canine's ears, who nodded and sprinted off.

"Come on." Axel said, entering the hole.

We followed, leaving the other five Pokemon behind, and ended up in a room that was about as short as the tunnels, with two more holes in the walls.

Axel sat down, before saying, "Please, sit."

Markus and I sat across from the Mightyena, before sitting Grace and her son down as well. Grace sat up and moved over to sit next to Axel, showing some strain, but her son was still unconscious, so Axwel moved him to sit between us.

"I have already sent for one of the clan's doctors." He said. "So, while we wait, why don't you explain what has happened?"

Grace and I told him about Markus and I finding her and her son under attack, and about us helping them, and as we finished, a Ninetails came in.

"Hello," she said, "I have been told that I am needed."

"Yes." Axel said, nodding. "Grace and Mark got into an altercation, and I would like for you to see if they need any medical attention."

"Very well." The Ninetails said, nodding.

She moved over to the unconscious Mark and started nosing at him. Looking closer, I saw that the Ninetails had a large scar running down her face, over her left eye, which was cloudy.

After a few minutes of silence, she raised her head and said, "He does not appear to need any attention, but it may take him a few hours to wake up, after which he may have minor headaches fairly often, but those should go away in a few days."

She turned to Grace, who said, "Don't worry about looking at me, I don't need any attention. I don't feel anything broken or sprained, just a minor headache."

The Ninetails looked like she was about to argue, but seemed to decide against it. Bowing slightly, she left the room without another word.

"Now that that is sorted out," Axel said, "I feel that it may be for the best if you leave. As you could see, the clan isn't too familiar with having outsiders, especially bipedal ones, in here."

I nodded, before saying, "Of course."

As Markus and I got up to leave, Grace said, "Thank you again, Izaak."

I simply nodded, leaving the room, with Markus close behind. Axel followed us out and stopped next to me.

"I will lead you out of the caves." He said. "Come on."

He started retracing our steps, with Markus and I following him. When we were back in the tunnels and out of the caves, he fell back to where he was walking by our side.

"Listen," he said, sighing, "I'm sorry for being so aggressive earlier. I was just really worried about Grace and Mark, and I sorta lost control of my emotions."

"It's alright." I said, waving him off. "I understand. I would be as well if my family was hurt."

"I'm glad that you see where I was coming from." He responded.

We eventually came up into the shed, and, after saying goodbye to Axel, Markus and I left the building.

"So," I said, turning to Markus, "where to now?"

He sighed, before saying, "I don't know. I sort of feel like going home. This has been enough excitement for one night."

"Fair enough." I said.

"You coming?" He asked.

"No, I think I'm gonna go wander around a little." I said. "See if anyone else needs help, I guess."

"Alright." Markus said. "You want the bag?"

"Sure." I replied.

He handed me the bag, which I threw onto my shoulder.

"Can you tell Azura that I'll be home soon?" I asked.

"Yeah." He said. "See you back at the house."

I nodded, and he left back towards the house. Sighing, I started walking randomly. After what felt like an hour or so, I started feeling tired, so I decided to head back. I had only been heading home for a few minutes, when I heard a loud shout. I quickly took off in the direction of the sound, activating Extreme Speed on the way. When I got to the edge of a clearing, I dropped the bag on the ground and silently leapt up onto a tree branch. Looking out through the foliage, I saw five men, all in a fighting stance, with one of them holding a pistol, while the rest merely held batons, glaring across the clearing. On the other side of the clearing, I saw what looked to be an Umbreon-morph curled up into a shaking ball, it's blue rings glowing dully, and it's fur stained with blood, with a familiar face standing in front of the morph, arms spread in a defensive position. Arceus damn it, Zach.

"Get the hell out of here kid," the man with the pistol said, "this doesn't concern you."

"I don't care." Zach responded, standing his ground. "I'm not leaving."

The man growled, before saying, "This is you last warning damn it, you morph lover. If you don't leave now, then you'll be leaving in a body bag."

Zach stared him straight in the eye and said, adamantly, "Fuck you."

"It's your choice, kid." The man said, raising his pistol.

And now is when I step in. As soon as the man pulled the trigger, I focused my entire mind into my Psychic ability, hoping that it worked. My concentration paid off, because as soon as the bullet left the barrel of the gun, it froze in midair between the two sides, a glowing purple aura around it. No sooner had I stopped the shot, then had I destroyed the bullet, causing it to crumble to dust, which fell harmlessly to the ground.

"What the fuck?" The man said, the surprise evident on his face and in his voice.

Quickly shaking off the minor headache that I got, I silently jumped down from the tree, landing behind the men.

"So," I said, cracking my knuckles, "who's dying first?"

The men whipped around and all eyes fell on me.

"Well, I'll be damned." One of the men said. "Two freaks in one night. Must be our lucky day."

"That's one way of looking at it." I said, shrugging. "Personally, I see it as your funeral. So, who's first?"

I was quickly answered as the previous man rushed at me, waving his baton wildly. I easily grabbed the weapon and snapped it in half, before delivering a swift kick to his chest, knocking him down. Two more rushed me, but I quickly dispatched them with a swift kick to the stomach each.

"C'mon fuckers," I said, bouncing on the balls of my feet, "a couple of teenagers put up a better fight than you cocksuckers."

The last baton wielding guy dashed at me, actually managing to nail me on the shoulder, before I brought him to the ground with his friends, leaving just their leader for me to take out. Looking up, I saw, to my horror, that he had grabbed Zach, and was currently holding him, his arm around his neck and Zach's back to his chest, with the barrel of the gun pointed at his head. Fuck.

"One step closer and the kid dies." The man said.

"Let him go." I said. "Now."

"Come over here and make me, freak." He said, before laughing.

I quickly dashed over to the man and grabbed his hand, forcing the gun from it, which I easily caught.

"Never fuck with my friends." I said, before pointing the gun at the man's leg and pulling the trigger.

The shot rang out and the bullet left the barrel, hitting his leg almost instantly and tearing through it. He released Zach, his arms shooting to his legs, but I grabbed one on the way down. I twisted his arm, before delivering a swift blow to his forearm, causing the sound of bone cracking to be heard through the clearing. He dropped to the ground, tears rolling down his face, and his friends, having already picked themselves up off of the ground, dashed over to him, dropping to their knees.

One looked up at me, fear in his eyes, but I simply said, "Leave. Now."

They quickly picked up their friend and retreated through the trees. Looking at the gun in my hand, I slipped it into the back of my jeans, unsure of what to do with it. I turned to see Zach staring at me, eyes wide.

"Holy shit." He said.

"Calm down, Zach." I said. "I'm not going to hurt you or anything."

He froze, before saying, "How in the hell do you know my name?"

"C'mon," I said, chuckling slightly, "I save your ass from a Houndoom, yet you can't even manage to remember my name."

"Wait," he said, confused, "Izaak?"

"Yep." I said. Walking past him, I said, "Now c'mon, we've got a morph to check on."

I went over to the Umbreon and knelt down at him. He was still curled up in a ball, shaking.

"Hey, calm down." I said, lightly patting him. "They're gone, you're safe." Instead of relaxing, he just seemed to become even more tense, so I said, "Listen, could you at least let me check your injuries. I want to make sure you aren't seriously hurt."

At this he seemed to relax slightly, so he uncurled and looked at me, but what I saw horrified me. In the center of his forehead was a cracked blue gem, similar to an Espeon's, but, upon looking at his eyes, I saw that they seemed to be burned or fused shut, with heavy scarring covering the lids and surrounding parts of his face.

"Holy shit." I said, taken aback.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." Zach groaned.

Looking over his shirtless torso, I saw a lot of scarring, most of it looking fairly old, with only a few newer looking injuries.

"Okay," I said, "can you turn over, please?"

He complied, flipping onto his stomach. Oddly enough, I saw two long, black tails stretching from his backside, both ending in a fork with a ring at the fork's base. Looking up his back, I saw an extremely large gash, stretching up from his left hip diagonally until it hit his right shoulder.

"Okay," I said, "I need you to hold completely still for me. This may hurt some, but I promise I'm just trying to help you."

He nodded, so I bent closer to the gash and poked it lightly, causing him to wince in pain. Alright, no nerve damage, so it isn't too deep. Looking closer, I saw some minor scar tissue beginning to form, but I could still tell that the gash wasn't very deep.

"Alright, good." I said. "That cut's not too deep, so I won't have to stitch it, but I do need to wrap it in some bandage." Turning to Zach, I said, "I've got a bag over there, at the base of a tree. Can you get it for me?"

He nodded, before running into the trees, leaving me sitting with the Umbreon.

"So," I said, "do you want tell me your name?"

He flipped over, before sitting up and facing me, almost as if he was staring at me.

"S-Sylva," he said, fumbling slightly, "my name is Sylva."

"Well Sylva," I said, "I'm Izaak, and the other guy is Zach. It's nice to meet you."

Then, without thinking, I stuck my hand out. Realizing what I was doing, I started pulling my hand back, but, to my surprise, he grabbed it and shook it. What the hell? How did he know what I was doing? We both retracted our hand, mine slower than his.

After a few seconds, he said, "You look confused."

Shocked, I said, "Um, yeah. How'd you know that?"

He was about to answer, when Zach came back, the bag in his hands.

"Here you go." He said, sitting it down next to me.

"Thanks." I said, unzipping it. Finding the bandages, I pulled them out, turning to Sylva and saying, "Alright, once again, this may hurt, but I'll try to keep from it doing so. Just hold still."

He nodded, so I began wrapping the bandages around his torso, careful not to put too much pressure on the wound. When I was done, I put the bandages back in the bag.

"Alright, that's the best I can do right now," I said, "but the wound needs to be cleaned as soon as possible."

"Hey, Izaak," Zach said, getting my attention, "I should probably get going home now. I mean, it's past midnight, and my parents are probably worried about me."

"Alright," I said, "it was nice seeing you again."

"Yeah, you too." He replied. "Thanks for saving my ass again."

"No problem." I said, as he left through the trees. Turning back to Sylva, I said, "So, what brings you to these woods?"

"I'd prefer to not talk about it right now, if it's alright with you." He said.

"Of course, man," I responded, "I won't press if you don't want me to."

"Thanks." He said. "Hey, do you have any water? My throat's killing me."

"Yeah, give me a second." I said, starting to dig through the bag. Finding a bottle of water, I gave it to him, saying "Here you go."

"Thanks." He said, before uncapping it and downing half of the bottle in one drink.

Chuckling, I said, "Damn, you really were thirsty."

"Yep." He said. "Hey, thanks for helping me, but I really should be going. It's probably not a good idea for me to be living in this forest for too long."

Thinking quickly, I said, "Well, there is another option."

"What?" He asked.

"You could come and live with my friends and I." I suggested.

"What do you mean?" He asked, a slight hint of curiosity in his voice.

Sighing, I said, "Well, we live in this large house, out here in the forest, away from humans. It's sort of like a safe place for morphs. Would you like to live with us?"

"I don't know," he said, "I've never really lived with a lot of people before."

"It isn't too many." I said. "It's just myself, my girlfriend, and four others, so it isn't extremely crowded or anything." Still seeing the uncertainty etched into his face, I said, "C'mon man, you'll fit in perfectly. And besides, it'd be better than living on your own."

Sylva sat there for a few seconds, silent, before saying, "Sure, I guess I'll come. I mean, it's not like I'll be the weirdest guy living there, with your half species thing going on."

I laughed, before saying, "Hey man, keep in mind that you're still some fraction. And for the record, you really need to tell me how you can see all of this."

"How about I do that when we're at your house, out of any possible danger?" He said.

"I agree." I said, standing up.

Sylva tried to stand, but quickly fell back down.

"Shit." He said, hitting the ground.

"You alright?" I asked, picking up the backpack and putting it on.

"Yeah," he said, sighing, "probably just a combination of blood loss, and not sleeping in a few days, and not eating in even more."

"Can you walk?" I asked.

"Yeah, I should be able to." He said, rising up again. He was met with the same result, falling onto his ass, saying, "Fuck."

"Okay, you aren't going to be able to walk like that." I said.

"Well, what other options do you have?" He asked.

I thought for a second, completely stumped, until an idea suddenly popped into my head. Grinning widely, I stepped closer to Sylva.

Looking up at me, Sylva said, "Why am I almost positive that I don't like whatever idea you just got?"

Instead of responding, I bent down next to him, before lifting him into my arms.

"Woah!" He yelled, flailing slightly. "Dude, what the hell?"

Beginning to walk towards the house, I said, "Well, you obviously can't walk right now, and we certainly aren't waiting there, so I came up with another solution."

"Oh." He said, leaning his head into my chest, before mumbling out, "Thanks."

I continued walking, Sylva in my arms, and after a few minutes I heard his breathing steady, and heard light breathing coming from him. Looking down, I saw that he had fallen asleep. Holy shit, he really was exhausted. I eventually got home, and managed to open the door without waking Sylva up. I entered the house, closing the door behind me. As the door closed, Azura came out of the living room, a tired look on her face. She opened her mouth to speak, but, upon seeing Sylva, she froze.

"I'll explain in a second." I mouthed out, before walking past her and into the living room.

I gently sat Sylva on the couch, before going back into the foyer with Azura.

"Who is that?" She asked immediately.

"I'm not quite sure." I said, sighing. "I found him being attacked by some assholes, so I helped him out. Afterwards, I bandaged him up, he told me his name was Sylva, and then we came back here."

"Why were you carrying him?" She asked.

"He couldn't walk." I said. "He was too exhausted, so I carried him here."

Sighing, Azura said, "I assume that you already offered him a place to stay?"

"Yeah." I said. "Why, am I not allowed to do that?"

"No, it doesn't really matter, although Rell may be slightly pissed about it at first." She said. "So, if he's sleeping in there, what about us?"

I sighed, thinking, before saying, "I guess you could ask Midnight to sleep in her room for tonight, and we can think of something in the morning."

"But what about you?" She asked.

"I'll think of something." I said.

"Alright, but what if Midnight starts asking questions?" Azura asked.

"Just tell her that it'll be explained in the morning." I replied.

"Okay." She said. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"Yeah, me too." I said.

"Goodnight." Azura said, wrapping her arms around me.

I was about to reply, when I felt her hand hit something in the back of my jeans. Fuck. I forgot about that.

Pulling away, she said, "Izaak, what did I just hit?"

Reaching behind me, I pulled the pistol from the back of my pants. I showed it to Azura, and she let out a gasp of shock.

"Where the hell did you get that?" She asked.

"I got it from one of the assholes." I said. "I don't know what the fuck I'm going to do with it, though."

"It'd probably be best if you hang on to it." Azura said, surprising me. "I mean, it'd be better than just throwing it out and someone finding it and hurting themselves or someone else."

I sighed, before saying, "Yeah, I guess you're right. I should probably hide it in my bag."

"Probably." She said. Hugging me again, she said, "Goodnight. I love you."

Hugging her back, being careful with the gun, I said, "I love you too. Goodnight."

We let go and she began walking up the stairs. When she disappeared from my view, I went into the living room and put the gun in my bag next to the TV. Looking over, I saw that Sylva was still asleep. Not able to think of anything else, I laid down on the floor in front of the couch to go to sleep.

I woke up, still on the floor, but now with a sore back. I sat up, looking around, and seeing that Sylva was still asleep on the couch. I reached over and shook him lightly, but he barely stirred.

"Hey, Sylva," I said, shaking him slightly rougher, "wake up dude, it's morning."

This time, he jerked away slightly. He looked around franticly, before calming down.

"Oh, morning Izaak." He said. "Sorry about that, I don't really like people sneaking up on me and touching me. So, I take it that this is the house?"

"Yep." I said, standing. "You want some breakfast?"

"Uh, sure." He said, standing as well. "But, is there a shirt somewhere that I could wear? I don't really enjoy not being completely clothed."

"Yeah, sure." I said, bending down and reaching into my bag.

As I pulled out one of my shirts, I gently brushed against the gun, reminding me to do something with it. I threw the shirt to Sylva, who caught it easily.

"I swear," I said, "you have got to tell me how in the hell you do that."

"Later." He said, pulling the shirt on. "So, what are you gonna do about that gun?"

I sighed, saying, "I don't fucking know. But right now, I'm pretty hungry and you haven't eaten in a while, so let's deal with that first."

"Agreed." He said, just as his stomach growled.

"Can you actually walk now?" I asked.

"I should be able to." He responded.

He took a step forward, and I prepared myself to catch him if needed, but he didn't even begin to fall.

"Alright, that's good." I said. "C'mon, let's head to the kitchen."

We left the living room, Sylva following me, and went to the kitchen. Good, no one's awake. I'll need some time to think of how I should explain Sylva to the others.

"I'll go ahead and make some coffee first." I said. "Do you drink it?"

"Um, no, I've never had coffee before." He replied.

"Well then, you can try some today." I said, starting to make it. "You can just sit on the island while I cook."

"Thanks." He said, hopping up onto the island.

As the coffee maker started, I asked, "So, do you want anything specific for breakfast?"

"I don't really care," Sylva responded, shrugging, "just so long as it doesn't have gluten in it."

"Do you have celiac or something?" I asked, walking over to the fridge.

"I guess." He responded. "I don't know what that is, but let's just say yes."

I laughed, before saying, "Celiac is an extreme gluten intolerance, which can cause massive issues in people if they eat any." Looking in the fridge, I said, "And, unfortunately, pretty much all we have that is safe and a normal breakfast food is eggs, bacon, sausage, and cheese. How do you feel about omelets?"

"Sure, I guess." He said.

"Alright." I said, getting out everything I needed. "Thankfully, dinner shouldn't be as much of a problem, as we always seem to have corn and rice here. Granted, that is most likely due to the fact that I don't cook it much, but that is actually coming in handy now."

"Why do you know so much about this stuff?" He asked, as I went over to the stove.

"My mother." I said. "She was the same way, so we pretty much only ever had gluten free food in the house."

I started cooking, neither of us talking, and when the coffee was done, I got us each some, before finishing up breakfast.

"Here," I said, handing Sylva his plate, "since it's just us awake right now, we can just eat in here."

"Alright." He said, taking a bite of his food.

"So," I started, leaning up against the counter, "how exactly can you see?"

"Okay," he said, "you know how Lucarios have Aura Sight, letting them see auras and emotions?"

"Yeah." I said, nodding.

"Well, I have a variation of that." He said. "But, instead of auras and emotions, I can see legitimate physical objects, so instead of being completely blind, I can actually see through walls and shit."

"That is extremely cool." I said, taking a bite of my food.

"I guess." He said, shrugging. "Cool or not, it has proven to be extremely useful in multiple occasions."

"Yeah, I imagine." I said.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps start down the stairs. Freezing, I listened to them descend, until they hit the foyer floor.

"Hey, anyone awake yet?" I heard Rell yell.

"Yeah, in the kitchen." I responded.

Rell entered seconds later, yawning widely.

"Morning Izaak." He said. Noticing Sylva, he froze, before saying, "Um, hello."

I waited for Sylva to respond, but he seemed to freeze, so I said, "Rell, this is Sylva."

At this, Sylva seemed to snap back to reality.

"Oh, right." He said. "Hello."

"Hey. I'm Rell." Rell said. "Um, anyway, I was just curious as to if anyone was actually awake yet. I'm gonna head back upstairs and take a shower now. See-yah."

"Have fun." I said, waving as Rell left the room. As I heard his footsteps retreat up the stairs, I turned to Sylva, before saying, "Well, that was fucking awkward. Dude, what was with that? You just froze."

"Right, sorry." He said. "I just don't do too well around new people."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "You didn't act like that with me."

"Well, that was because you kind of saved my life." He said. "So, that sort of made me warm up to you a bit, I guess."

"Fair enough." I said, sighing. "Just please try to keep that from happening when I introduce you to the others."

"I'll try my best." He responded.

"Good." I said. "Now, you should probably hurry up and eat. I imagine that you'd want to shower, seeing as you have blood stuck in your fur, and if you hurry, you may be able to do so before the others wake up."

Am I the only one that finds Pokemorph vs Human fights to be slightly boring? I mean, it's such a one-sided fight that it's obvious who'll win and, personally, I enjoy Pokemorph vs Pokemorph fights much more.

Anyway, I hope that the chapter was well received, and I hope that everyone enjoyed the introduction of Sylvas's OC. And to Sylvas, I hope that I did your character justice, and if there is anything that you feel that I didn't do correctly for him, if you tell me in a review or PM I'll try to be better about it in later chapter.

Anyway, for added suspense, what could possibly be so significant about the thirteenth?! Find out next time.