...I told myself I wouldn't...I promised myself in fact. I told myself that I have too many novel length fics already and I shouldn't be starting yet another one...but you know what...I have to.

So here it is...my PMD fic. Yeah, I know I didn't say that in the description or title, but be honest...would you have clicked on it if I did? PMD fics tend to have a really bad rep, so I thought I'd save that until I've actually caught some form of your interest.

Don't run for cover just yet, i promise I'll keep it interesting. and this is in no way a rehash of the video games.

Anyways, let's get started.

ADALANTE!

Prologue: Closed Eyes Look Forward

"When you know that you've finally made it,

can you make your way back?

Make your way back home.

You're on your own,

you're all alone out here

...find your way back home"

(Chiodos, Illuminaudio, Closed Eyes Look Forward)

cold...now there's something I haven't felt in a long time. I thought to myself as I lay motionless on the ground.

That shouldn't have been the most forefront thing on my mind at the moment, but when a feeling has been made so foreign to you, it tends to draw your attention. I haven't ever been cold for...how long has it been now...two...three years? Has it really taken that long for the end of the world to happen?

Ever since I've had this thick, bushy pelt of fur, temperature has never been an issue for me, but I can't believe it's really been that long. I can only imagine what people are going through back home...then again, do i really care anymore. I let out a depressed sigh as I came to terms with the sad truth...no I didn't.

For all my big talk about finding a way to get back, I really don't give a fuck anymore. I'm happy here...well...was happy here. Now there really wasn't a here to be happy about.

...everything is gone...everyone is gone...I'm alone.

(You idiot...since when have you ever been alone?)

...Nate?

My ears pricked up at the familiar voice of my friend, but I had to fight to keep my eyes from opening. ...I couldn't do it...I couldn't handle it, opening my eyes and seeing the same blackness as if they were still shut. This was all in my head...there was nothing there. It was just an empty void...all that's left of the world...has been swallowed by nothing.

(Well, you're still here, aren't ya.)

yeah...I am...but you're not. None of this is real. Or hell, maybe it is...I don't exactly know what to believe any more.

(Reality is just a series of perceptions, whether they be true or not.)

...Stop trying to sound deep, it doesn't suit you.

All of the sudden, I felt different. There was a warmth on my back, as if someone had placed a hand on my shoulder.

I turned up my head and finally opened my eyes.

...nothing. No one was there, the comforting warmth I thought I felt was gone, and I was once again staring into the black. I cringed and clenched my eyes shut again.

It was a lie...I knew it was a lie and I still let myself believe it. For a split second, I believed that I hadn't failed. That there was still a chance for us to win and that everything could be saved.

...I shouldn't have built my hopes up...I knew better than that. In a hopeless situation, hope can bring nothing but pain.

(Oh would you just stop whining already?)

I smirked at that despite myself. It was a new voice this time, a deep, resonating bass, but still one I knew very well.

We lost...I think that's more than enough of a reason to complain.

(So what? We screw things up all the time and I've never heard you bitching like this.)

The stakes were never this high. I retorted. We've failed...it's over.

(No we haven't, you're just deciding to quit. So stop acting like a little girl and get up.)

...Jayne is a girl's name. I quipped, but instead of my regular grin, i kept a straight face. I was too busy wallowing to take any sort of joy out of our usual banter.

(Really...you're gonna go there again?)

I'll go wherever I damn well please, now leave me alone! I snarled.

(No, not until you get up.)

(For once, he's right.)

OK...now I knew this wasn't real. Alex? How many people are in my fucking head?

(As many as it takes.) Yet another voice made itself known.

All of you guys just leave me alone and get out of my head!

My response was...rather unpleasant. A chorus of pep talks filled my ears, each one telling me to get up and try again in their own way. Everyone I knew was there...well...almost everyone. Nate. Jayne. Alex. Terrine. Jack. Haku. Even fucking Selena was taunting me into getting up, and that wasn't even everyone. So many voices...nearly everyone I've met since I got here...all of them egging me to get up and keep going even though there was nothing to go to. It was too much pressure, too much noise, it was driving me insane.

"Shut up!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. It was odd...screaming in an empty vacuum. It was loud but there was no resonance to it and my words seemed to disappear as soon as they left my mouth...just like everything else.

It did the trick though...silence. No more voices. Now I could lay down and die in-

(...Nico?)

I cringed. The one voice that I hadn't heard yet, that soft, gentle, feminine voice with the thick, oddly Australian sounding accent.

...Sasha?

(Do you remember your promise, Nico?)

I sighed and slumped even lower...if that wasn't even possible. I did, in fact, remember that promise. It was a commitment I had the full intention of keeping, but I couldn't hold up my end of it.

I'm sorry...I couldn't do it.

(Nico...you still can. It's not over yet...but you have to get up...you have to keep moving.)

For the first time...I tried. I struggled to move my limbs and gave a legitimate effort to get up, but nothing happened.

...I can't.

(Yes you can, after all you've been through you're telling me that you can't find the strength to keep going?)

I'm only human Sasha...well...pokemon anyway. I'm not a damn hero, I'm just one guy.

(But you are a hero, you just don't see it.)

Well then I wish I could see what you see.

I slumped my head against the floor again...or whatever I was leaning against in this black abyss. I wasn't going to try and make sense of things.

It was true though. I wasn't a hero. I wasn't smart, I wasn't strong, I couldn't handle pressure, I had minimal experience, hell, I wasn't even a good guy. Granted, I wasn't a bad guy either, but I do enough bad things to be considered...neutral.

Neutral...that actually describes it perfectly. I was neutral. Just your average joe thrown into an increasingly more abnormal situation. I wasn't the savior everyone was looking for...I was just the only guy who was stupid enough to step up. Oddly enough, that's how all of this shit started.

...just another stupid mistake.

So, yeah, it was short, but it's a prologue. The next chapter will be out tomorrow, but other than that, updates may be sporadic.

As it so happens, it seems to be a growing theme for people of this genre to send shout-outs to other well written PMD fics, and these guys have more than earned their free advertisement. however, so I don't overload you, I'll do them one a chapter. the first one.

PMD: Ripples of Consequence
by ArchShadow24

-so far this fic has a good mix of everything. It's funny, but can be serious when it needs to be, and the characters are likable without falling into any of your overused fanfiction cliches. Definitely my favorite PMD fic so far, and the author just so kindly happened to create two of the characters mentioned in this chapter who will also be appearing through out the fic. I'll be sure to accredit him when they make an appearance.

anyway, that's all for now.

-morris