This is my newest fanfiction series, set in an alternate universe inhabited only by Pokemon. Please read it through and tell me what you think of it at the end! This will be a multi-chapter story, no set amount of chapters as of yet, but I will let you know if I've decided on a limit some time in the hopefully near future. Anyways, I hope you like this story, enjoy!

The foggy night air felt cold and damp upon the Shadow Warrior's face as he looked down at the clearing below him, watching and waiting atop one of the highest towers in the complex for any potential attackers to come after the one he's vowed to protect, Duchess Selina of Ugana. She was a Gorebyss, and Ugana was the name of the land of which the duchess had a high amount of political power over.

Soon, spotting a couple potential threats to his primary, the Shadow Warrior hid himself in the shadows, jumping down from his high perch to the ground below silently and stealthily. He stood in complete silence, watching the one he believes to be his primary's hunter to make sure if they are trustworthy or not.

"So, you think the duchess in somewhere in this complex?" said one of the two Pokemon being watched by the Shadow Warrior.

"Don't worry," his companion replied. "She'll get what's coming to her soon enough. Just you wait."

Seeing these remarks as a direct threat, the Shadow Warrior swiftly and silently leaps into action, sinking into the shadows. He sought out his first target, hopping from his shadowy cloak before striking his victim with a direct Water Shuriken to the face, the eye more specifically, leaving the Pokemon screaming in pain The victim holds his hand over the new wound, blood seeping through his fingers quickly. The Shadow Warrior, rather than finish off his bleeding adversary, instead kicks him over, grabbing his companion by the neck in the same swift movement as he used to kick over his friend. Out of instinct, he holds a water kunai up to the remaining enemy's neck.

"Talk." the Shadow Warrior ordered sternly. "You said that duchess would get what's coming to her. What is it that you have planned for her? Are you another assassin? I've dealt with assassins before, and I can handle you too, asshole." Scared out of his mind, the victim loses grip on what seems to be a parcel addressed to the duchess. The Shadow Warrior picks it up, curious as to what it was as well as its origin. His eyes going wide as he realizes it's a parcel warning the duchess of an impending attack. Looking to the Pokemon whose eye he'd thrown a Water Shuriken in, the Shadow Warrior drops the companion messenger, grabbing the parcel and rushing towards the conference hall, where the one he swore to protect should be waiting. The messengers still writhing in fear and pain.

Meanwhile, in the conference hall, the duchess and her executives gather in the conference hall, awaiting the arrival of the duke of an allied land.

"Don't worry duchess." one of her executives reassures. "The duke is probably running late is all."

"I do sincerely hope so." said the duchess. Hours had passed prior to this moment as they'd waited for the duke to show up. The duchess was close to falling asleep. Closing her eyes for a mere second, she began to hear scuffling near her. She opened her eyes as she heard the sounds, only to find that her two executives had somehow disappeared without a warning or a trace.

"Malcom? Vernon?" She called out to her executives who didn't bother to harbor a response. The duchess, standing up cautiously, began walking towards the door in an effort to escape. She had a strong feeling in her gut that somehow, something was going horribly wrong, and she wasn't going to stick around to find out what that something was. She reached for the door, grabbing it by the handle and attempting to pull it open. To her surprise, the door was locked from the outside, leaving her trapped like a rat in a cage. The duchess, now stuck in an enclosed room, started to panic, praying to Arceus to protect her. Suddenly, she was grabbed from behind, one of the assailant's arms wrapped around her neck, the other hand covering her mouth so she wouldn't scream and alert anyone nearby.

"I wouldn't struggle if I were you duchess." said the assailant, keeping his identity secret. "After all, your executives did." The intruder tilts her head up so her face is towards the ceiling. What she saw shocked her, pure terror filling her eyes and thoughts. Bodies. The limp lifeless bodies of her ex-executives hung from the conference room ceiling, their clothes and skin coated with their own blood, some of the blood dripping onto the duchess' face. She shivered in fear and wanted to scream, but she wasn't able to due to the murderer covering her mouth.

"Just be still, duchess." the assailant told her as he held his razor sharp claws to her bare neck.

Outside the complex, the Shadow Warrior dashed from building to building trying to find the conference room where he knew his primary to be, hoping that if the parcel he had confiscated was true to its word, that he wasn't too late to save her. Soon enough, he had finally reached the conference hall, silently finding a way to slip into the room undetected. The room was quiet, almost deafening in its silence. Taking a couple looks around the empty space, the Shadow Warrior examines the dark room.

"Duchess Selina? Where are you?" he quietly asks the darkness in hopes that she's still there and can hear his words. As his question is aired, he hears a chuckle from out of nowhere.

"Who's there?" he asks. "Show yourself!"

The voice doesn't respond to his question; it just keeps on laughing. The Shadow Warrior can hear the laughter move, he follows with his ears and eyes until the sound dissipates. The laughter, now gone, had lead his eyes to the limp body of the duchess.

"Duchess Selina!" he exclaimed, rushing to her side. "No no no, I can't lose another primary, I just can't!" He examined the body, finding on her neck a huge gaping slash mark. It was a surprise to him that the duchess wasn't cut completely decapitated due to how deep the wound was. all the Shadow Warrior could think of was how he had failed to protect another client. In his sadness, he picks up the duchess' limp blood-soaked corpse, carrying her outside the complex where other members of the Shadow Warrior clan gathered to meet him, all of them seeing the lifeless body of Duchess Selina in his arms. The Shadow Warrior fell to his knees, looking up, away from the carcass of Duchess Selina. Soon enough, he and the body of the deceased duchess were being brought back to the rest of the Shadow Warrior clan for not only her final send off, but for his sentencing for failure to protect her from harm.

The ceremony was simple, the Shadow Warriors all laying her body on a bed of thorns. Once on the bed of thorns, the duchess' body was then lit ablaze as a way of honoring her death in a literal blaze of glory and to dispose of the body in a way that doesn't leave holes in the earth below. Her protector just sat there, somber in the fact that somehow his suspicious nature led to her demise. If it hadn't been for him, the parcel would have gotten to the duchess, and she would have still been alive. The true killer would have been thwarted if he hadn't been so hasty in accusing the messengers of plotting the duchess' murder. As Duchess Selina's body burned away into ashes, the Shadow Warrior couldn't help but dread his own fate for breaking his vow to defend her life. Hours later, the body and thorns were but mere ashes sat on the ground, and everyone had left except for the lone warrior. His mind racing, filled with questions. Who killed her? Who could have wanted to murder someone so innocent? Why could nobody see it coming? All the questions rushed through his brain in a scattered mess of unanswered inquiries, but only one could come out spoken.

"Why couldn't I protect her?"

A couple of his fellow Shadow Warriors came by to take him to the clan leader for his punishment; he slowly got up, following them without resistance as they led him to the central chamber of their hidden fortress. One of them looked at him.

"Don't be fearful, brother Kage," his fellow clansman assured him. "our clan leader is merciful and should grant you your life."

Kage could only hang his head low, in shame for what he had done, or rather what he had failed to do. Kage then spoke to him in a solemn, near emotionless tone. "That's what you said the last few times, Algar, when my missions came out as failures, miserable failures might I add. My honor has been tainted, and no amount of begging or convincing that anyone could ever do in a thousand lifetimes can change that, my brother. Grandmaster Athos won't be so merciful this time around, I guarantee it."

Melancholy, they arrived in the chamber of Grandmaster Athos, an Alakazam with great power over the mental arts. He looked at Kage the Greninja, as if staring directly into his brain.

"Brother Kage," said Athos in a powerful yet calm voice. "you have failed this clan once again by allowing the Duchess Selina of Ugana to be slain."

Kage nodded in response, fully aware of what his actions have led to. "I understand Grandmaster."

"Athos, Kage's actions were pure. He only meant to protect the duchess," Algar the Bisharp interjected. "so when he spotted two individuals speaking of the duchess, he could only assume they were a threat to Selina and proceeded to take them both down as we have all been trained to do for every threat made to our primaries. Surely you can't punish him for-"

"Silence Algar!" Athos bellowed. "Might I remind you, Algar, that assisting someone who has dishonored themselves makes you just as dishonorable and thus worthy of the same exact fate?" Athos' words quickly silencing Algar, soon turning his attention back to Kage. "Your actions, Kage, have lead to the death of yet another client, and for this dishonor, you should be sentenced to immediate termination." Kage knew that 'immediate termination' meant that he was to be put to death by beheading publically in front of the entire clan, a ceremony only performed on those who are deemed to be the most dishonorable in the clan. Despite his fear of the fate which awaited him, he closed his eyes in acceptance, welcoming whatever punishment Athos ordered upon him. Athos kept staring at Kage, who he could tell had already accepted his fate as a dishonored warrior. The elderly Grandmaster then lifted his head to speak "On the contrary, you have proven over your time in this clan that you are unique and a valuable fighter amongst us, and you would be near impossible to replace if you were to be terminated." Athos stood up, using Psychic to bring his cane to his hand so he would be able to walk without falling over. "This is why I have decided to grant you one final chance to prove yourself worthy to be in this clan."

Shocked Athos' response, the dishonored Shadow Warrior raised his head to look at his Grandmaster. "Are you serious, Grandmaster Athos? Are you truly granting me a pardon?"

"Not a pardon Kage, an opportunity." Athos corrected. "If you are able to serve as one more client's escort from here to the Palace of Ceirife, the palace that lies between the lands of fire and ice, then your honor and title shall be restored to its once former glory, your slate wiped clean of failure. However, if you are to fail this journey such as the last, then without hesitation, you will be stripped of your rank and immediately terminated either on the spot or back here in full view of the clan. Do I make myself clear, Kage?"

Kage, relieved and happy to have been given this one last chance to prove himself, stands up, bowing to his Grandmaster before speaking. "Clear as crystal, sir. I promise I won't let you down." His Grandmaster smiles.

"Your mission starts the morning after tomorrow, Kage." Athos informed the Greninja warrior as he returned to his seat. "I suggest that you spend your remaining day of free time wisely." Kage nodded as he left the chamber without another word, followed closely by Algar. "You see, Kage? I told you he was forgiving." said Algar as they headed to the outside.

Kage, tired and relieved, decided to head immediately to his tent along with Algar for some much needed rest before his final chance in 24 hour's time. Entering the tent, the Shadow Warrior silently laid his head on his pillow, staring blankly up at the top of the tent, still deeply unsettled at Duchess Selina's untimely end, the morbid image of her lifeless bloody corpse still bombarding his every thought. Algar entered their tent soon after Kage, laying himself on his own sleeping mat on the other side of the tent. Both of the weary warriors remained silent, both staring at their empty ceiling for a good half an hour before finally speaking to one another.

"Thank you, Algar," Kage opened. "you know, for standing up for me back there. You didn't need to, but still, thanks."

"No problem, Kage." Algar replied. "After all, what are clan brothers for if they don't stand up for each other?"

Kage smiled, responding with his own statement. "So, my life is basically in limbo right now, right?"

"From what I heard back there, yes."

"That means I should give everything I've got for this, right?"

"As you should with every mission you go on, Kage." Algar explained. "Not a single one of us should take what we have for granted, because none of us are guaranteed the privilege of being a clansman, let alone our lives." Kage, knowing this statement to be true, had always had trouble putting it into action on missions. His neglect of conduct has always been his downfall, which is why he has failed so many missions, including the most recent one ending in Duchess Selina's gruesome death. Algar laid back once more. "I can't always be there to pull your ass out of every fire, Kage. You have to put your primary's life above your own, but at the same time keep them close enough that you can see them. I've noticed you tend to stray away from your primary on missions." Algar added. "It's not good to do that. That's why Duchess Selina-"

"I get it, Algar!" Kage exclaimed. "You don't have to remind me about Selina! I get it; she's dead because of my recklessness and inaction." Kage turned away from Algar. "I'm going to get some sleep now. Goodnight Algar."

"Goodnight, Kage." Algar replied apologetically.

As Kage lay still, he couldn't convince his body to relax, after all, he wanted so desperately to find whoever brutally murdered the duchess of Ugana and bring him to justice for his unspeakable actions.

So anyways, that's Chapter 1! Please leave a review, telling what you liked, disliked, loved, despised, or think could be better. That's all for now, see you all in the next chapter.