FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Finally!!! After a couple days, including today, of going over this time and time again, I'm finally satisfied... That's what she said. Lol. Anyway, it did take me forever and a day to feel that this chapter was worthy enough to post. Maybe I'm trying too hard. Maybe it's the stress I've been having recently is making me on edge about everything. I don't know. I'm freaking out even as I'm typing this. Crazy, huh? It's not even about the tags anymore. Anyway, I think I'm gonna have to officially slow down on chapter releases. You've pretty much caught up with me. Not 100% sure on that though. I might have another one ready for you next week around this time since I've written a good couple thousand words after this chapter. I'm a slow writter, but what can I do? I could probably go on all day about the thoughts I'm thinking like I am now, but I won't bore you with that... unless you think I'm interesting enough to want me to post stuff about how I view the world each day. I'll leave that up to you. That was my idea of the day. Anyway, before I go off into a thought-to-type frenzy, I gonna tell you that all your comments and votes are STILL welcome here. I think I've said this a while ago, but maybe not. No, nevermind. Hehe, got you wondering what I was gonna say huh? Okay, I gotta stop before I take up anymore space. I do this when I'm freaking out. Just so you know I'm very tempted to type more.

*********8*********

Ten months have passed since that day. Dante and Flora have experienced the joys parenthood has to offer and they loved every minute of it. Having the psychic cat around has brought everyone a lot closer together. Gil was no longer considered "The rolling headache" by Quake anymore. He's a lot more relaxed and easygoing. He's even loosened his short leash on Ori, which she was thankful for. Aaron wasn't afraid if Quake at all anymore. They've grown to be as close as brothers in the short time they've known each other. Aaron has also considered Dante and Flora to be the best parents he could ask for. Aaron and Ori were practically inseparable. They spent everyday playing together in their secret spot. Of course they would mate every once in a while, but it wasn't anything intimate, just for fun. They also learned to take baths after their sessions to avoid being found out by the adults. Things were going well for everyone and were soon going to get even better as Dante realized what was coming in a couple days.

"Aaron, would you mind staying over with Ori and her family for a couple days?" Dante asked.

"No, I don't mind. Why?" Aaron asked.

"Flora and I haven't had some time to ourselves in a while, so I was hoping that you would... give us some time alone..." Aaron looked confused. "Just the two of us...alone...without you being here..." Aaron was still left in the dark and Dante let out a heavy sigh. "Look Aaron, a couple days from now is a very special day for me and Flora and I want to really impress her." Dante explained. A light bulb went off in Aaron head.

"Oooohhh, I get it. You want to 'impress' her." Aaron said with a wink. Dante kept himself from breaking out into laughter by biting his tongue. At this point, he didn't care what Aaron thought. "Do you want me to leave now?"

"Actually, I have to clear things with Gil first, but expect to go home with Ori tonight."

"Okay, I'll go play with her right now." Aaron flew out of the cave to go meet his friend. Dante let out sigh.

"What's so special about a couple days from now?" Flora asked as she approached the fire weasel.

"You don't remember? It was a very special day." Dante replied as he hugged his taller mate.

*****8*****

Aaron picked up Ori from her home and flew over to their secret spot. "Guess what!" he said excitedly.

"What?" Ori asked.

"I might be staying at your place for a couple days!" Ori let out an excited squeal.

"That's awesome Kitty! I can't wait for you to come over! We're gonna have an awesome time together! Just watch out for my mom though." Kitty was a nickname Ori came up with for Aaron.

"What's wrong with your mom?"

"She can get a little carried away with her emotions most of the time. You'll see soon enough." After that, they started playing games and even went exploring a bit. Before they knew it, it was getting late in the day. The sun would set in a couple hours and they needed to get home.

*****8*****

"So you think things went okay with your folks?" Aaron asked as he flew alongside the blue pachyderm.

"Don't worry Kitty. I'm sure daddy wouldn't mind you staying around for a couple days." Ori responded.

"That's good. I really want to spend the night with you." Just then, they heard someone screaming in the distance.

"You heard that?!" Ori asked.

"Yeah, let's check it out." Aaron flew in the direction they heard the scream come from. Ori followed behind him with her, now perfected, rollout attack. They arrive a short while later in a small clearing surrounded by burned trees and bushes. There were patches of burned grass and small embers still remained scattered about. "Woah, looks like a real fight took place here." Aaron thought.

"Somebody help us!!!" someone screamed. This time they could clearly identify it as a female's voice. The two friends rushed off to the source of the plea for help. They arrived at a disturbing scene. There was a pack of three houndoom surrounding a female girl. Judging by her looks, she didn't appear to be more than fifteen, but that's not what scared them. One if the houndoom had a vaporeon hanging limply by its neck held tightly in its maw. The other two were slowly cornering the terrified girl who was holding a small stick at them to defend herself. The houndoom were too preoccupied with the girl to notice their presence. Aaron took a moment to come up with a decent plan to ensure the safety of the girl and her pokémon, but most importantly, themselves.

"Ori, use rollout on the one holding the vaporeon. I'll back you up while they're surprised." he whispered to her.

"Are you nuts?! We can't take them on!" She whispered back.

"Yes we can. I thought of a good plan. Trust me it's going to work." Ori was still unsure about the idea, but she agreed hoping that he did have a good plan. She gave herself a good running start and jumped in the air spinning really fast. Once she hit the ground, she took off like a rocket and slammed into the unsuspecting fire dog, effectively knocking him out. The houndoom let out a "yipe" and released its hold on the vaporeon. The other houndoom quickly turned around to see their pack member on the ground and a little phanpy standing over him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" one of them barked.

"You gotta death wish or somethin'?!" the other shouted. Ori turned to face them.

"I wouldn't be making threats if I were you!" she said confidently.

"Ha! What are you gonna do about it?!"

"I won't do anything, but my friend behind you will." Both houndoom turned around and freaked out when they saw the green, six foot tall tower of pure power. A mighty tyranitar stood before them. He let out a mighty roar as he swung his tail around and smacked both fire dogs into a tree, knocking them out. The tyranitar approached the bloodied vaporeon and knelt over it with an outstretched claw.

"D-Don't touch him!!! Get away!!" Ori and the tyranitar turned to the girl, who was now holding the small stick at him. "I-I'm s-serious!!!" she shouted. Even though she tried her best to be brave, they could clearly see she was very much afraid of him.

"Kitty, turn back to normal! You're scaring her!" Ori said with urgency.

"Oh, right. Sorry about that." Aaron said with a nervous laugh. Aaron transformed back to his true self. The girl wasn't as frightened as she was shocked at the moment. A mew was floating just ten feet in front of her. Aaron descended to the vaporeon.

"Can you hear me?" he asked the blue water fox.

"P-Please... M-Master is... in d-danger." the vaporeon said through labored breaths.

"Shh, it's okay. The girl is safe. More importantly, you're badly hurt and need medical attention."

"M-Master knows... Where t-to go..." Aaron nodded and turned to the female trainer.

"Is there a place you can take him to get healed?" The girl took a moment to respond.

"Uh, y-yes! There's a pokemon center a couple miles just east of here!" she replied. Aaron read her mind to find the exact location.

"Okay. Ori, wait here for me."

"What? But I wa- " before she could finish, he was already gone, along with the trainer and vaporeon. "Stupid Aaron!" she shouted in the air.

Aaron teleported the trainer and her vaporeon to the pokemon center just on the edge of the forest and the base of the mountain. The female trainer was confused as to how she appeared in front of the pokemon center when she was just in the middle of a forest.

"Did you bring us here?" she asked Aaron.

"Yes, now hurry up and get that vaporeon inside!" Aaron ordered. The trainer quickly, but carefully, picked up her vaporeon and ran inside the center. "Hm, never seen one one of these places before." Aaron thought. "Oh well, can't find out now, since it's getting late." Aaron teleported back to where he left Ori. When he got back, he found the blue pachyderm sitting in front of a tree. "Ready to go home?" he asked as he flew over to her.

"Yeah I guess so." she replied in what sounded like a sigh.

"Something wrong?"

"No, it's just... Nevermind." Ori started walking towards her home.

"Are you sure?"

"It's nothing. Let's hurry and get home before my dad has a fit." Ori took off in a rollout attack. Aaron followed behind feeling concerned for his friend.

"Since she won't tell me, I'll just find out for myself." Aaron thought. Reading minds for information wasn't something he did often, but he felt that this time was necessary. He took a moment to scan her mind for recent events and was surprised at what he found. Though the urge to confront her about his findings were strong, the fact that she chose to keep them from him, gave him some time to think on how to approach this.

It didn't take them long to get Ori's home. The sun was just setting on the forest edge and there was a fire illuminating the cave. Gil was waiting for them near the entrance.

"It's getting late. Where were you two?" he asked.

"Sorry we're late coming home, but there was a trainer bei-"

"-and she was hurt really badly in the forest, so we took her someplace to get healed." Aaron interrupted. Ori glanced at Aaron, a bit confused as to why he just lied. "We don't need to tell him that we just took on a pack of houndoom by ourselves to protect a human. He'll go ballistic." Aaron told her telepathically. Ori gave a slight nod and turned her attention back to Gil.

"As long as you're back in one piece, no harm done." he said. "Dinner's waiting for you" Gil lead them a little deeper into his home, where there was another donphan waiting for them next to a pile of berries and fish.

"My baby's home!" she exclaimed. The female donphan ran up to Ori and began to nuzzle her affectionately.

"Mom, I'm not a baby anymore!" Ori said as she tried to fight off her mom.

"But you'll always be my baby."

"Come on dear, let the children eat." Gil said with an amused grin. Gina, Ori's mother, is what one would call an 'overly loving' mother. There wasn't a time when she wouldn't show how much she loved her daughter. It was cute if you were watching, but it's another thing if it's happening to you.

Ori let out a sigh of relief when her mother stopped her affectionate loving. She and Aaron joined the adults around the food and happily began eating. They laughed and shared stories about each other's day, ori and Aaron of course leaving out their encounter with the houndoom. After dinner, they all went out and shared a bath together in a nearby pond, an event Ori could live without. Every time they would bathe together, Gina would try to clean every inch of her, a phase in Ori's life she felt should have ended a long time ago. Aaron couldn't help but laugh at his friends' embarrassment, which got him a few splashes in the face. After that, they returned home and retired for the night, Gil and Gina in one chamber, Aaron and Ori in another. Aaron thought that now would be the best time to make his move. He had to make it seem like he didn't know anything so she wouldn't get upset. They were lying next to each other getting ready to sleep for the night.

"You think they're gonna be okay?" Aaron asked lying on his back.

"Who?" Ori asked.

"That female and the vaporeon." Aaron replied.

"Oh. Yeah, I'm sure they'll be fine. Why'd you ask?"

"No reason. It's just that, you seemed upset about something when I came back. I thought that maybe you were concerned."

"I was, but that wasn't really it."

"Then what was it?" the psychic cat asked as he sat up. Ori paused for a moment to think if she should tell him what was bothering her.

"When you told me to attack one of those houndoom, you know I wasn't sure if we could take them." Aaron nodded. "When we did manage to beat them, I was relieved, but when I saw that vaporeon I sorta thought he was... nice looking."

"Nice looking? He was covered with blood!"

"I know, but even with it there, I thought he looked... not handsome, but..."

"Cute?" Aaron suggested. Ori felt her face get a little hot.

"Y-yeah. Does that make me weird? I knew I shouldn't have told you. I should've just kept my big mouth shut. Argh, I'm so stupid! Who would think a half-beaten vaporeon is cute?! I'm so weird!"

"Ori!" Aaron shouted trying to calm the blue pachyderm. Ori stopped her ranting. "You're not wierd. Actually, yeah you are, but you're not the only one. Everyone does something wierd every once in a while and you can't really expect your body to be under your complete control all the time. Just think of this as tripping over a rock. You didn't see it coming and no one can blame you for it." Ori took a moment to think about what he said.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"Is it working?"

"Maybe a little bit." she said with a tiny grin. Aaron nuzzled against her ear, to which she started giggling. "Getting better..."

"If it makes you feel any better, I think he would've thought you were cute., if he wasn't beaten to near death." Aaron said, now playfully nipping at her ear. Ori started laughing harder.

"Okay, you didn't have to go that far. I'm sure he has other things on his mind than looking for someone to... hang out with. Just promise you won't tell anyone about this." Aaron stopped his nipping.

"Who am I gonna tell? Your dad?" Aaron joked. After a quick laugh, the two friends snuggled together and went to sleep. "And the award for best acting goes to Aaron!"

*****8*****

The next couple days flew by for Aaron and Ori. They played all day and haven't seen the pack of houndoom anywhere. Before they knew it, Aaron's last day of staying with Ori was over. He said his farewell to the pachyderm family and headed home. He felt a little homesick and was eager to get back home. He thought back to the conversation he had with Dante before he left and smiled. The sun was sitting just on top of the trees, signaling the end of the day was near. As he got closer to the cave and saw that Dante was sitting outside. The fire weasel saw Aaron approaching and stood up.

"Welcome back home." Dante greeted with open arms. Aaron flew straight into the hug. He really loved the soft, warm fur of his father figure. It made him feel like all his troubles would disappear if he just hugs this warm mass of fur. Strangely enough, Dante felt a low rumbling coming from the little cat. "Aaron? Are you..."

"N-No! That was my stomach!" Aaron denied embarrassingly. He didn't really like it when others caught him being true to his nature. He felt it was a little... personal. Dante simply chuckled at his embarrassment.

"Did you enjoy your stay with Ori?"

"I had a lot of fun, but it's good to be back home." Aaron replied as they ended the warm greeting.

"I can understand that. Now let's get inside, I have a surprise for you."

"A surprise? What is it?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise." Dante said as he led the curious psychic inside. The inside was illuminated by a fire as always and the supply of berries had been refreshed. There were even a few freshly caught fish sitting right next to it. Aaron followed Dante to his and Flora's chamber of the cave, a place he rarely goes in anymore. There was a small fire in their room as well. Aaron didn't have a fire pit in his room because his night vision was better than theirs. Flora was sitting next to the fire, apparently waiting for them. Aaron felt his excitement rise a little when Dante took his place next to his mate.

"Aaron," Dante began. "you've been living with us for a whole year now. We've been through a lot together and I've come to think of you as... the son I never had. I speak for both of us when I say that." Dante paused for a moment to calm down. He felt his emotions coming over him. Flora glanced over at him to make sure he was alright to continue.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." he assured her. "But anyway, you being here has brought us all closer together as a family. When I say 'all', I mean quake and ,strangely enough, Gil. As a show of my thanks and appreciation, I went out and got you this." Flora lifted one of her vines to reveal a necklace with a small blue stone on the end. The thin metal chain holding the stone was silver and the stone was a magnificent shade of blue. Even in the dimly lit room, its shine was absolutely breathtaking to the psychic cat. Flora handed the necklace to Aaron, who took it in his paws and stared at its brilliance. Aaron couldn't believe what was going on. This was the greatest thing anyone has done for him. He looked back and forth between the stone and Dante.

"How did you get this?" Aaron asked in disbelief. He knew there was no way he could've actually found something like this, let alone come across it anywhere near where they were. Dante let out a nervous laugh.

"Well, that's something Flora and I will never agree on. Let's just say I know a weavile in the area that has a thing for uh, what do the humans call it... Jewelry and leave it at that."

"But... I thought today was supposed to be special for you two."

"Today is special for us. It's the day you came into our lives and made us whole as a family." Dante replied with a warm smile. Aaron glanced at Flora, who had the same warm smile as Dante. He put the necklace on and stared at the stone again. Strong emotions were going through his body, pure joy being the strongest.

"Thanks mom and dad." Flora and Dante went wide eyed in surprise. Aaron noticed their sudden silence and tore his gaze away from his gift to look at them. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"You... called us mom and dad." Flora replied.

"I did? Sorry, I wasn't thinking. It just slipped out. Why are you crying?" Indeed, the two lifelong mates were shedding a couple tears.

"It's... It's nothing. We're just happy, that's all." Dante replied as he wiped the tears from his face.

"You cry when you're really happy?"

"Yeah, we do." That sorta confused the pick cat. He thought you only cried when you were sad, not the other way around.

"Are you happy cuz I called you mom and dad?"

"Yes. Hearing you say that really means a lot to us." Flora said.

"So, you don't mind me calling you mom and dad from now on?" Flora shook her head.

"No, we don't mind." Aaron nodded and flew toward Dante to hug him. His fur felt even warmer than it had been earlier. It was strange. Aaron felt more at home than he's ever been since he's stayed with them. Dante wrapped his arms around the smaller pokemon to return the embrace. He was a little surprised that Aaron was purring again and didn't even try to stop himself. He's never been this glad to have a pokemon in his arms other than his mate. This was the feeling he's been wanting to feel for a very long time. The feeling of a sons' warm embrace. He started felt his eyes start to water again and made no attempted to hold them back. Flora got up and nuzzled her mates' wet face with her own. She couldn't have asked for a better ending to the day than this.

*****8*****

Dante awoke from his sleep in another good mood. He stretched his muscles and got up feeling like he could take on the world. He made his way outside the entrance of his home and took in deep breath of fresh air. The sun was getting up pretty high and it was around the time Flora and Aaron should be coming back from their morning baths. It's been a few days since he's officially declared himself a father and Flora a mother. They had been congratulated by Quake once he told him what had happened that night. Gil congratulated them as well, but it wasn't with as much enthusiasm as Quake. Aaron no longer called them by their names, instead calling them mom and dad. He's also been wearing the necklace given to him and has even showed it off proudly to Ori. Flora was in a generally better mood all the time and has even gotten a little more... frequent in wanting some "alone time" with the fire weasel, something he definitely has no problem with. Dante looked around and saw his mate and son come into view.

"Hey dad!" Aaron called out.

"Hey Aaron, enjoy your bath?" Dante asked.

"Yes sir. Ready to eat yet?"

"Of course. Let's get inside." Aaron flew ahead inside the cave to prepare the food, leaving Dante and Flora alone.

"I hope we didn't make you wait too long." Flora said as she licked Dante cheek.

"There's no such thing as waiting too long for you." Dante replied.

"Keep it up and you might get lucky today."

"I got lucky when you decided to become my mate. Besides, there was nothing 'lucky' about the last couple of days." he said with a low lustrous growl and let a paw slowly trace down the side of her neck. Flora couldn't help but shiver at his touch.

"Mmm, I might have to take you right now." she said with a hint of lust in her voice.

"What's stopping you?"

"Our little audience behind you." Dante looked behind him and saw Aaron floating at the cave entrance watching them with curious eyes. He turned back to his mate with a small grin.

"Let him watch. It's about time I showed how I please my mate." Flora laughed and used one of her vines lightly pop his nose.

"I think once is enough, don't you think?"

"He came at halftime. It's about time he stayed for the full show." he countered. Flora felt her face get a little hot.

"Alright, I think that's enough fun for now." she said as she stepped around her mate to go inside. "Since you've been such a naughty boy, you get punished when Aaron goes out to play." Dante followed closely behind her.

"What you call punishment, I call pleasure." Dante then put a paw on her rump and gave it light squeeze, enticing a little "eep!" from her. Dante laughed as they continued to go inside. He felt a gentle breeze blow across his back. This breeze felt a little cold though, as if it there was something wrong. A scent hit his nose, making the fur on his neck stand on end. "No, it couldn't be..." he thought. He turned back outside to sniff the air more thoroughly. The scent was weak, but it was still there.

"Dad, aren't you gonna eat?" Aaron asked, breaking him from his trance.

"Uh, yeah. You two start without me. I gotta... go check on something."

"Where are you going?" Flora asked.

"Just around. Don't worry, I'll be back soon." With that, he started walking off toward the source of the familiar scent. He followed it a little ways from his home. "Those bastards better not be back." Dante thought as he kept his senses sharp for anything suspicious.

"Ya' think it's 'round here somewhere?" someone asked.

"That girl said she saw it in this forest so we ain't leavin' til we find it." another one said. Dante ducked behind some cover and carefully spied on whoever was talking. To his surprise, it was the same two humans who came looking for Aaron the previous year, the red and brown capped poachers.

"What if it already ran off? Then we'd be wastin' our time." the red capped man complained.

"Won't know til we try. You know how the new boss gets when we don't work as hard as we should." the brown hatted man responded.

"I liked our old boss better. He at least let us take a break every once in a while."

"I hear that. Come on, let's keep searchin' til we find that little money maker."

The two poachers walked off. Dante suppressed the urge to jump out and incinerate them on the spot, but doing that might confirm their suspicions about a mew still being in the area... or that the pokemon here have gotten hostile toward humans. Not wanting to take chances, Dante quietly slipped away and went to find Gil to warn him about the poachers. Quake could handle himself just fine, but Gil has a family to worry about. If he warned him, then it would be total lockdown at his home. Dante ran as quickly and quietly as he could to get to his home. Not more than a few minutes later, he found him drinking out a pond.

"Gil!" Dante shouted. Gil stopped drinking and looked at the approaching typhlosion. "Those hunters are back! Where's your family?!" Gil was startled at the news.

"They're back?! Where are they?!" Gil asked.

"They're a little ways away, but they're close. Is everyone at your home?"

"No, Aaron came by shortly before you showed up and took Ori off to play. Are they in danger?!"

"They could be. Where are they now?!"

"They went east of here!"

"Okay, go home and I'll bring them back." Before Gil could say anything else, Dante took off in the direction he was given. He ran on all fours going as fast as he could, sniffing the air for any trance of Aaron's scent. He picked it up along a mountain trail and followed it up the mountain. He ran a good ways up until he heard a loud bang in the distance. A couple seconds later, he felt a sharp pain in his side and fell over. "Argh, damn that hurts!" he grunted. He looked at his wound and found a dart stuck in his side. Dante looked around to see where it came from, but saw no sign of anyone close to him. He yanked it out and threw it off the side of the mountain. He got up and endured the dull pain as he continued his search for the kids. Dante was getting tired from all the running, but he didn't have time to take a break. He needed to find them before those poachers did.

It was about another ten minutes of running before he came face to face with a dead end. "What the hell?" Dante thought, now out of breath and very tired. He looked up until he saw the very top. "Aww, hell. Aaron! Ori! Are you two up there?!" he shouted. A few moments later, he saw the heads of both children looking over the edge.

"Dad? What are you doing here?" Aaron asked.

"Both of you need to come home now! There are hunters in the area again and I think they came back for you Aaron!"

"Hunters? Why do they want you?" Ori asked Aaron.

"They want to kill me and sell my fur for to get rich." Aaron replied in a saddened tone.

"What?! Why would they-"

"Come on! We need to get going!" Dante shouted with urgency. Aaron used his powers to bring both Ori and himself down to where Dante was. Once they got down, Aaron noticed how exhausted the mighty typhlosion was.

"You okay dad?" the concerned psychic asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get going." Dante replied still trying to control his breathing.

"No you're not. Let me teleport us home. It'll be a lot easier and faster." Dante was too tired to really argue, so he agreed for Aaron to be troop leader. Aaron dropped off Ori at her home first, much to the liking of her parents, and then went home. As soon as they arrived, they hurried inside and told Flora what was going on. They all went to the chamber in the back of the cave, an extra room for guest, and hid there. Dante stood watch just outside so he could scare off any poachers that came in.

During the time they stayed in that room, Aaron couldn't help feeling responsible for this happening to everyone. Because he was here, the poachers were back searching for him again. As to how they found out that he was here, he doesn't know. What he does know, is that this wouldn't have happened if he didn't decide to stay with his adoptive parents. Flora was worried about the poachers finding them. The thought of them taking her only child filled her heart with grief and rage. She wasn't going to let them take him away no matter what. As Dante stood watch, his anger was constantly kept in check so he wouldn't dull the senses he needed to combat any poacher that even so much as stepped in front of his home. If the poachers ever find where they're hiding, he wasn't going to let them take Aaron away without puttng up a fight.

"Mom, dad... I'm sorry." Aaron said getting teary eyed because of the guilt he felt.

"What do have to be sorry for?" Flora asked with a look of concern.

"It's because of me they're back. I put everyone in danger."

"Oh baby, it's not your fault." she cooed as she nuzzled his cheek.

"Yes it is!" Aaron shouted as he flew away from Flora's affection startling both her and Dante. "They're out there looking for ME! You all are hiding from them because I'M here! If I wasn't HERE, than you wouldn't be going through this! I don't want to see anyone get hurt because if me. Why don't I just let them find me so they can kill me and they never have to-" Aaron didn't finish his sentence because Flora used a vine to slap him across his face. Aaron held a paw at his sore cheek and stared at Flora in disbelief at what she did, as did Dante. He had never seen her use physical force to stop anyone from speaking, especially not a child. Flora stared at Aaron feeling nothing but pain in heart from what she heard. Her eyes were watering and she was struggling to keep herself composed.

"Aaron... you... are not old enough to be talking like that. Even if you were... You're not to talk like that in front of me!!!" she shouted with a crackly voice. "We... do this because... we love you. When we... took you in... It was because you needed help. We love you too much to see you throw your life away, much less consider it! Whatever happens as a result of you living with us, we'll gladly accept it without any regrets. You are going to stay here and stop talking nonsense until this blows over! Do I make myself clear?!" Aaron looked down at the ground, afraid to speak. "Do I make myself clear?!" she repeated much louder this time.

"Yes ma'am!" Aaron replied quickly in fear of getting hit again.

"Come here." she commanded. Aaron cried softly as he slowly approached Flora. As soon as he was close enough, she pulled him down in a sitting position and started softly licking his sore cheek. "I'm sorry I hit you." she whispered. "I love you too nuch for you to be talking like that." Aaron slowed his crying down to sniffling.

"I love you too mom."

Dante looked on as his two most loved pokemon in the world made up. Unfortunately, he didn't get to absorb the moment. He heard several footsteps approaching his home and immediately went to check it out. Once outside, he saw the two humans from earlier and a two houndoom in front of his home.

"Well lookie what we got here. It's the same typhlosion from last year." the red capped man said with a huge grin.

"Looks like it. Let's see if boss was right about that mew." The brown hatted man replied. Both men cocked their guns and pressed forward. Dante ignited the flames on his back and roared, intimidating both men a little.

"You know what, I'm getting sick of you. Chomper, Jaws, get him." the red capped man commanded the houndoom. Both fire dogs charged Dante at the same time. Dante jumped back a little and widened his stance to prepare for his counterattack. Chomper took the lead and leaped at Dante. As soon as the fire was close enough, Dante closed the distance between them with a quick dash and delivered a fierce focus punch uppercut to the airborne fire dog. Chomper was sent flying high in the air toward the poachers and landed right at their feet with a loud thud. Jaws leapt right after Dante finished his attack with his maw open wide. Dante didn't have enough time to react before the fire dog sunk his teeth into his other arm and tackled him to the ground. He grunted in pain, but quickly got over it and used focus punch on the fire dogs' head. It took a couple hits for Jaws to release the fire weasels' arm and black out. The two poachers took the chance to run past the downed typhlosion but they weren't quick enough. Dante quickly grabbed both their legs and tripped them up. They lost their grip on the guns and the two rifles made a loud bang as they made contact with the cave floor. Flora and Aaron jumped in surprise.

"Dante?! Are you alright?!" Flora shouted in distress. She ran out of the chamber to check on her beloved mate. Aaron, fearing the worst has happened, followed closely behind Flora. They got into the main area of the cave and were shocked to see the mighty typhlosion holding the poachers in place by their feet as they tried to reach for their guns. The poacher with the red hat made eye contact with Aaron.

"Look! Look! It's the mew we've been lookin' for!" he exclaimed. The other poacher saw that his partner was right.

"Looks like boss was right to put a tracker in this typhlosion." the brown hatted man replied. Dante didn't know what they were talking about, but from the sound of it, it seems like they somehow put something in him so they could follow him. He slowly got up with the poachers' legs still in his paws and with great effort, threw the brown hatted man to the side. He landed at an awkward position and he shouted and while holding his leg in pain.

"You two get out of here!" Dante shouted.

"What about you?!" Flora exclaimed.

"I can't! They found a way to track me somehow!

"I'm not going to leave you!"

"Flora, take Aaron and get out of of here!! !"

"But..." Flora was at a loss of words. She really didn't want to leave her mate to deal with the poachers by himself.

"You don't have to do that! Just let me teleport us someplace else!" Aaron pleaded.

"No! I'll only be leading them to where we are! It doesn't make sense to keep on running for the rest of our lives, so just go!" Dante was now having trouble restraining the red capped poacher, who was still trying to grab his gun. Although neither of them wanted to, they knew he was right and they had to do what's nessesary, even if they had to leave him behind.

"I love you." Flora said with watering eyes.

"I love you too."

"Let's go Aaron. We have to hurry." Aaron reluctantly nodded and began to follow. Before they could even got two feet from their home, three things happened in an instant. Two loud bangs rang throught the air, blood sprayed on Aarons' face and body, and Flora fell onto the ground. Both Dante and Aaron watched as she fell, unable to process what just happened. The red capped poacher took this oportunity to free himself of the distracted typhlosions' grip and reach for his gun.

"Flora? Are you... What..." Dante couldn't even get his thoughts straight. His lifelong loving mate was on the ground in front of him, not moving and bleeding out from the hole in her head and her large neck. His heart had sunk so deep in his body, he felt sick to his stomach, but that feeling was quickly replaced with grief and extreme rage. Aaron stared at the body of the one he called mother in total shock. She was just there in front of him about to lead them to safety, but now she was lying on the ground completely lifeless and unmoving. He looked down at the blood that covered his face and body and almost vomited on the spot. He started hyperventilating and was hit with the the strong smell and taste of blood that stained his pink fur. All thoughts were thrown completely out the window. Just trying to come up with something to focus on other than the blood and lifeless body of his mother was too much for the psychic.

Dante came back to his senses when he heard a small click and realized too late that the poacher he was holding had the gun and was pointing it at him. The poacher fired the gun in the middle of the typhlosions' chest. Dante staggered backwards, but regained his balance. His adrenalene was pumping madly and the pain of the gunshot wound quickly dulled. He glared at the armed poacher with hate-filled eyes and unleashed a powerful flamethrower. The poacher panicked and fired a blind shot at Dante's shoulder as the hot flames engulfed his body.

"Aaaahh!!! Somebody put me out!!!" he screamed as he ran in circles patting down his body. His partner had already disappeared, leaving him to suffer.

"Aaron, get out of here! You have leave now!" Dante barked. Aaron was crying uncontrollably.

"No! I don't wanna leave you!" he shouted back. Dante limped his way to the sobbing psychic and grabbed him by the throat, taking care not to apply any pressure. The fire weasel was bleeding out quite a bit from his chest wound and his vision was getting blurry. As much as it pained him, he knew he wasn't going to live much longer than this.

"I'm NOT giving you a choice! You either get going or we both die!" Aaron couldn't look at Dante in the face anymore. Due to the fact that his mother died before his eyes and he was covered in her blood, leaving his wounded father behind just to die was something he couldn't wrap his mind around. A rustling in the bushes tore their attention away from each other. A man with jet black hair and deep green eyes emerged from the shadows of the forest. He had two guns with him. One was nearly as long as his body with a smaller attachment on it strapped to his back and the other was the same gun the other two pochers were carrying. Mew had no idea who this other man was, but Dante knew who he was and growled at him.

"You know, when I saw you on that day a year ago, I knew something was up with you. The thing was, I didn't want those morons to take credit for the find and I wasn't exactly sure if you were hiding that little creature. So after a year of sharpening my hunting skills and taking over as leader of these morons, I hear from a grateful little girl that she and her vaporeon was saved by a mew and a phanpy from a pack of houndoom. She was even nice enough to tell us where she was rescued. So here we are, all together again... Well, almost everyone. Was she your mate or just a quick fuck for you to relieve yourself? Shame I had to waste such a female. I haven't had a good fuck in a while and I'm a little on edge right now. I could've shown her how a real man can please a female while you watch on your dying breath." The man sneered. It was at this point, Dante had snapped. No one talks about his mate like that gets away with it. He released Aaron from his tightening grip, as he balled up his paws into fists. Aaron could feel the pure, intense rage coming from the wounded typhlosion. The flames on Dante's back rose higher and burned with more intensity than Aaron thought was possible.

"... Aaron... I'm gonna tell you one... More... Time. Get the fuck away from here. Either that... Or I'll kill you myself!" Dante said with sideways stare at the sniffling psychic. Aaron went wide eyed at what Dante had said to him.

"He's gonna kill me if I don't leave?" he thought. He looked into his fathers eyes for the first time since this whole thing started. Behind the deadly serious look the typhlosion had, Aaron saw something else in those rage filled eyes. He saw the fear and acceptance of someone who knows they're going to die and the sorrow for not being able to see his only son again.

"I love you Aaron. Please live on and find a wonderful mate to love." Dante whispered just before he charged forward to the green eyed man.

"Dad, no!!!" Aaron shouted, but it was too late. The poacher had already pointed his gun at Dante and fired two shots, one in the heart and one in his head. The mighty typhlosion Aaron knew and loved with all his being fell before his eyes. Aaron felt his heart explode in his chest and his mind went blank. The last thing he saw was the man pointing the gun at him before everything turned black.

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