Update Note: I would like to thank St Elmo's Fire for bringing to my attention several errors I had been making in my writing that were making this story difficult to read. Most of them should be fixed now, and the story should be much more readable than before. Once again, thank you St Elmo's Fire.
ACT I: New Beginnings
Arc I: Kanto
Chapter 1: Da Capo
Both pokemon are panting in exhaustion, both knew that the next attack would be their last "Pikachu, use volt tackle!" Ash exlaimed.
"Gardevoir use moonblast!" Diantha countered.
Both attacks met but Pikachu was able to overpower Gardevoir's attack and meet her with volt tackle, knocking her out. Everyone was silent in complete and utter shock before the stadium broke out in a massive cheer. Diantha was next to recover, as she sighed and smiled sadly before recalling her gardevoir.
"You did great Gardevoir, take a nice rest," She whispered to the pokeball before walking towards the center of the field.
Ash at this point broke out of his shock and began grinning from ear to ear "We did it Pikachu! We won!" he exclaimed while picking up his giggling and cheering starter.
Diantha came up to Ash and extended her hand to offer him a congratulatory handshake as the announcer yelled "Ladies and gentlemen, the new champion of Kalos, Ash Ketchum!"
"So, why did you bring me here Ash?" Misty asked Ash as they arrived at the beach at Cerulean Cape.
Gathering up his nerves, Ash turned to her "Misty, there's something I've been meaning to tell you for a long time now," Misty looked at him expectantly, before her eyes widened slightly as she realized that he was doing this at Cerulean Cape, one of the most romantic spots in Cerulean City. Was he really going to do what she thought he was going to do? "When I met you all those years ago, I began to feel something for you. I didn't know what it was at the time, but this feeling has only grown stronger since then. Misty, you were there for me from the very start and stuck with me through thick and thin when we were traveling through Kanto, the Orange Islands, and Johto. I missed you every single day after you left, and it took me a while, but I finally realized why it was that I missed you so much," Misty's eyes widened further, he really was going to do this "Misty, it was because I love you from the bottom of my heart."
Misty stood in shock as the waves lightly crashed against the beach. After a few seconds she finally composes herself, and proceeds to glomp Ash onto the sand shouting "I love you too!"
"Are you ready to begin your training?" Riley asked Ash as he put his bag down in the guest bed at Riley's house.
"You bet!" Ash grinned.
"Good, get settled in, we begin tomorrow."
"Do you, Ashton Ketchum, take Misty Waterflower to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you swear to, for better or worse; for richer, or poorer; in sickness and in health; to love and to cherish her from this day forth till death do you part?"
"I do."
"And do you, Misty Waterflower, take Ashton Ketchum to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you swear to, for better or for worse; for richer, or poorer; in sickness and in health; to love and to cherish him from this day forth till death do you part?"
"I do."
"Then you may kiss the bride."
Ash grinned as he dipped Misty and gave her the most passionate kiss they've shared yet.
"By the power vested in me as Queen of Rota, I hereby declare you, Ashton Ketchum, an official Aura Guardian and Knight of Rota."
"Welcome to the G-Men Ash, we're glad to have you here especially after the work that you and Misty did in Alola."
"This is unbelievable, ladies and gentlemen! Sir Ashton Ketchum has just defeated the Pokemon Master and has claimed the title for himself!"
"Ash! It's Team Omni, they're attacking the base!"
"I'm sorry Ash, but when Team Omni attacked the base, they also attacked your home. Your Wife and Daughter did not make it."
"You bastard, you will pay for what you did to them! Pikachu, terrawatt thunder, maximum power!"
On the summit of the tallest mountain in Johto, Mount Silver, sat Ash Ketchum staring off into the distance much like he did every single day. It had been two years since the week long war against Team Omni that had claimed the lives of the two most important people in his life: Misty, his wife, and Aurora, his beloved daughter. The war had also severely and permanently injured his second best human friend Brock, leaving him confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. To say Ash had been devastated by the war, would have been the understatement of the century. He had been completely and utterly broken by it, and on the first chance he got he absconded to the lonely heights of Mount Silver. His only company up on the mountain was his loyal starter, Pikachu.
Pikachu looked over to Ash, and silently sighed for what seems to be the billionth time. He knew that his trainer was still in deep pain over what had happened that week two years ago, but nothing he tried could ever cheer up his best friend. "Pikapi..." Pikachu muttered sadly turning to look back towards the distance.
Much like every day for the past year and a half, Ash kept replaying that week two years ago in his mind. The utter chaos of the G-Men base, that fateful day still vivid in his mind, the look on Lance's face as he delivered the news that Misty and Aurora had been killed by Team Omni, and the utter pain and anger that he felt at that moment. How he would give anything to bring them back.
"Anything?" said a sudden presence, causing Pikachu to jump slightly in surprise.
"Mewtwo, what do you want?" Ash said without turning around.
Mewtwo ignored his question, Ash turned around giving him a questioning look. "You said that you would give anything to bring them back, yes?"
Ash nodded before saying "If I have to, I would give my life to bring Misty and Aurora back."
Mewtwo nodded before offering a sympathetic smile "I believe I can help you with that."
Ash was stunned, he had been grieving for them for years, but he can bring them back somehow? "H-How w-would you help with that?" Ash asked the psychic pokemon.
"Make no mistake, I myself can not bring them back to life, you must save them with your own power. All I would be able to do to help is to send you back."
"Send me back?" Ash asked, confused as to what the psychic pokemon meant.
"Yes, as in send your consciousness back in time."
"You can do that?" Ash asked. Mewtwo merely nodded.
Ash was once again stunned, just how much power did Mewtwo posses? Nevertheless, he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth and was overjoyed at the prospect of being with the love of his life once more. Sure, he would have to work very hard to save his family, but that is a labor which he would gladly do a thousand times over if it meant that they would be saved.
"Can Pikachu come with me as well?"
Mewtwo gave him a soft smile "Yes, your little electric mouse will go back with you as well."
"But, why are you helping me? Ash asked.
"Consider this as me repaying you for all the times you've helped me in the past" Mewtwo stated with a small smile. His expression then turned serious "I must warn you however, that what I'm about to do for you is by no means sanctioned by Dialga, the ruler of time. It is by no means an easy task, and should you make any significant changes to the timeline, like you're intending to, then the keepers of time will begin to pursue you in order to correct the changes and prevent you from making any further changes."
"Keepers of time?"
"Yes, they're extremely powerful beasts charged with maintaining the integrity of the timeline. They will respond to any significant change to the timeline, and will attempt to sanitize it. I must also warn you that they are not considered to be Pokemon, so don't bother trying to catch one as that won't work."
"Significant change to the timeline?" Ash asked.
"Changing the outcome of an important battle, saving someone that isn't meant to be saved, letting someone die that isn't meant to die, a significant enough drift in the altered timeline from the prime timeline, so on and so forth"
"So, when I save my family, I'll not only need to worry about Team Omni but also these keepers?"
"Most likely, yes."
Ash took a moment to collect himself before giving Mewtwo an answer. He knew that if Mewtwo called these keepers of time powerful, then they must be unimaginably strong. He also knew that if he accepted this offer, he would have to do his utmost to preserve the timeline as much as possible, lest he have a premature run in with a keeper of time before he was ready to face one. On the other hand, this could be his only chance to be his family again.
After giving it another moment of thought, Ash turned to look Mewtwo directly in the eyes before giving his answer.
"I'll do it."
"Very well, Prepare yourself," Mewtwo stated as his eyes glowed blue.
What Ash felt next, could only be described as... weird. It was as if everything he felt was reversed. Gravity felt like it was pushing him away from the ground, he felt his vector change as if the Earth suddenly started spinning in reverse, and he felt the blood in his veins and arteries move in reverse yet strangely no harm was done to his veins. He quickly realized that it was only his mind that was experiencing this, and that he was merely perceiving himself traveling backwards through time. That of course did not make the experience any less nauseating, as he felt himself become lightheaded and dizzy before blacking out entirely.
Ash suddenly awoke in a bed that seemed unfamiliar to him for a few seconds before he suddenly realized where he was. He was in his room, back in Pallet town. Climbing out of bed, he grabbed the remote turning on the TV and switched to the weather channel. There he saw it, today's date:
August 16, 1996
Ash began chuckling out of pure joy. He was back. Mewtwo did it. Mewtwo sent him back to the very first day of his journey. He had been given a chance at saving the love of his life and he would be damned if he wasn't going to take it.
Author's Notes: And there you have it, the rewritten first chapter of my unofficial adoption of Back To Protect by "Writing MY Life". I will be loosely following the original text for the first few chapters so expect similarities as well as parallels between the two stories until I finish covering the original material.
A couple of important things I need to inform you about:
1. Until I settle into my stride my updates will be somewhat erratic, so don't expect a steady update schedule from me. I'll basically be updating the story as I please until I can figure out a pace that works well for me. I will inform you of any changes to the update schedule via the Author's notes at the bottom of every chapter.
2. Yes, this story is rated M. There wont be any lemons though, sorry to disappoint, I'm just not much of a smut writer. Of course, they'll be implied, as sex is an integral part of pretty much any relationship, no denying that, just know that it'll happen but off text.
3. As for the length and structure of the story, I'm not really sure how long it'll be in words, but it'll be split up into five acts, with each act having at least two arcs (A grand total of 14 arcs throughout the entire story), and with each Arc having a multitude of chapters. As for the word length of each chapter, it wont be as short as this one; I'll be aiming for 7-15 thousand words each chapter. I also will not be splitting this story up into several stories on this site, labeling each as The Butterfly Effect: Kanto Arc or some nonsense like that. You'll get it all under one story. I don't want you to have to follow my account in order to get notified of when I upload a new chapter, that's what following the story is for, I want you to follow my account because you're genuinely interested in my work and want to see more of it.
With that, I've pretty much said everything that I needed to say. Please let me know what you think of the chapter as well as the story so far. I greatly appreciate praise and constructive criticism, and I will gladly answer any respectful questions that don't involve heavy spoilers.
Until next time,
David