Author's Notes

Hello everyone! I am coming to you from the future! After the release of the chapter: Judgement. After looking at these first few chapters, I released how short they were, and decided to reorganize the chapters. I've combined them to the best of my ability to hopeful make a reading experience more seamless. As always, I hope you enjoy reading. Comments are always appreciated and thank you for reading!

The Guardian: The Beginning

"No, you don't understand!" I yelled, furious at not just my friend who stood before me but the world in general.

"Then help me understand!" He pleaded, tears threatening to spill out of his emerald green eyes. I feel terrible doing this to him. Out of all of my friends, he always stayed by my side, but I had to do this. I wanted to be alone. I NEEDED to be alone.

"What's the point when you'd see me just like the rest of them do! A sad fucking mess up!"

"You know I would never look at you that way."

I sighed, "Alan, just go. As much as you hate to admit it, you know you can't do anything that I've already tried for myself, but you can't save everyone. Live with that and just go home."

He looked hurt by what I had to say, and I will admit, it tore something inside of me apart. He had been my friend since childhood, and now I was kicking him out of my life. This hurt me much more than I liked to admit.

"You know what? You can go fuck yourself, Nate! I've done so fucking much for you. I'm supposed to be on a date with Lisa, but I left to try to help you!" I was shocked at how quickly his whole demeanor changed.

"Call me an asshole. Call me pretentious. But remember, I never made you come out here."

He scoffed and stomped off to his car, his form fading into shadow as he left the orange hue of the streetlamp. Shortly after, he sped off, leaving me alone. This had been what I wanted, and I realized it was a bittersweet victory. Part of me even regretted it. I had thrown away everything that meant at least something to me just so I can savor the few moments I have under a streetlamp on a Friday night.

I looked up at the sky. It was a partly cloudy night. Only a few stars lit up the night sky, the light pollution blocking out the rest of them. I fixed my gaze upon the full moon and cursed at myself. I wish someone up there would make their presence known. I've been trying my entire life to reach whatever was watching over us. Twenty years of living should've taught me that I still wouldn't hear anything, but it still bummed me out.

I shrugged and went to go back home. I lived on the third floor of an apartment. The whole building was made of brick and looked relatively modern, but the interior was completely different. It looked like some abandoned hotel that was last used in the Forties. The cheap wallpaper was peeling and marked with stains; I didn't even want to know its origin. The red-carpeted floors did not do the walls any favors as parts of them were stained black.

My room was just as shitty; the only difference was the added addition bugs. Many, many bugs. Now that I think about it, it was the perfect place to carry out my plan. There was a reason I wanted to distance myself from all my friends. I didn't want them to be hurt when I made the decision to end it all.

It was a long and arduous process coming to this decision. Still, after exhausting all the other options that involved me living, I decided this was the best course of action for every party involved: my friends, family, me. Well, I use family loosely. For whatever reason, they tossed me out when I was very young. I lived life as an orphan and was deemed too problematic for any foster parent because I was "unruly" and "too determined" with some things, so the staff raised me, and when I was old enough, I left.

My life since that point has been Hell. Struggles with jobs, money, and, more importantly, people. It all became too much. The thing that pushed me over the edge was my ex. She cheated on me as a way of saying we're over and then spent every other time afterward reminding me that I am such a shitty human being, and I deserve nothing. I trusted her, and she destroyed me.

In my bedroom, I had set up a noose using my belt attached to the ceiling fan. It hung above where my bed used to be, which I had pushed against the window so that no one could see me or what I was doing. In the place of the bed was a single stool that could be used to reach the belt.

I stood before the scene I had set up for myself, and I began to cry. I sat back against the wall and wept. What had become of me? Why am I doing this? I must've cried for an hour before I stopped, a new sense of clarity washing over me. I just threw away all my friends, the last thing standing between Death and me. Even if I wanted to live, I'd have lost everything, so what's the point?

I stood up from my place against the wall and walked over to the noose. I stepped up on the stool and sighed before sticking my head in the noose. With one swift movement, I kicked the stool out from underneath me and began to choke. At that moment, I saw every mistake that I had ever made, and for one last time, I tear escaped my eye.

(? POV)

"He is the one you want?" A bright Ball of Light spoke as we hovered around a young human male who was in the process of dying. It is unfortunate that life takes such a tool on people like him, but surviving something like this only makes them stronger.

"Indeed he is," I replied, glancing over at the human. "What is his name?"

"His name is Nathan Miller," Such a gentle name for someone who is going through such pain. "What I don't understand is what you want with him. He is but a broken soul. For the task you described, wouldn't you need someone of... a stronger soul?"

"He is the perfect one for what I need him for. I don't expect you to understand that you have never seen any value in the things you deem as mistakes. Had you paid attention to the suffering of the world at large and not just the plight of those who are within your sect, people like him wouldn't be suffering. If that answer does not satiate your curiosity, I am calling in the favor you owe me from the creation of this world." I spoke, glaring daggers at the Ball of Light.

"Fine. Take him and go, but do not lecture me on my own creation." I nodded and turned my attention back on Nathan. I opened a gateway back to my home, the Hall of Origin, and took the human with me.

Upon entering the Hall of Origin, I was greeted by each of my children. All of them served some purpose and helping caretake for the world I had created.

"Is he the one?" My child, Mew, asked. I nodded and placed him on a stone table that made up much of the temple I spent most of my time in.

They all carefully examined the human. Some poking him, others contempt with just staring. It was an amusing sight to see them all so inquisitive. Although Mewtwo showed no interest in the human and instead only looked at him with scorn.

"He's waking!" Mew cried out as all of them backed up. The human groaned as he began to stir. His eyes flew up, and he shot up.

"Hello Nathan, my name is Arceus," I said as he stared at me, his mouth agape.

(Nathan POV)

I stared at the creature that had just spoken to me. It stood a few feet above me and was bipedal. It had white fur... skin? I couldn't tell the difference. It had a golden crest in the middle of its body that looked jagged with green jewels near the point of the protrusions. It had red eyes with a dim red glow and a flowing white man at the end of its head. It seemed familiar for some reason.

I peeled my eyes away from it and glanced around the room. More creatures were huddled around me. Each was unique in nearly every way. Like with the first creature, they all seemed familiar.

The room was made out of the whitest, what I assumed to be marble. There were pillars around the place that held up nothing but light. It all seemed very divine.

"You brought a broken human?" One vaguely humanoid one spat.

"Stay your tongue, Mewtwo. The human is in shock." Said the smaller version of it, which was also less humanoid.

Mewtwo? Wait! Mewtwo! I remember now where I've seen these creatures from! My childhood! Pokemon was my favorite game for a while.

"So, you recognize us?" Said the one before that I now recognized as Arceus.

I nodded, looking back over the crowd gathered around me with childlike excitement. It was almost a dream to be here, after everything that was my life, but then again, why would the adult me be here? I mean, it is weird, but I can't really criticize death or where it takes me.

"So, this is what death is like, huh?" I said out loud. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw a few confused glances.

"You aren't dead, Nathan. I saved you before you died." Arceus responded. I fell backward onto the stone slab I was on and groaned.

"That means that I was saved, and this is some kind of lucid dream."

Arceus chuckled, "I assure you, you are not dead, but you'll figure that out in due time." She glanced up at everyone else in the room, and with a few unspoken words, the crowd dispersed. "Now, allow me to explain a few things."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Such as where you are and a few more educational matters. For starters, you are in the place that I call the Hall of Origin. It is the home of my many children and me, and it is here where I watch over the world." It explained.

"So, you are God?"

"In a sense, yes. I created the world and Pokemon, but humans are not of my own creation. They are your God's creation. We made a deal, and we traded creations. The downside to that deal is that I have no control over humanity, which was problematic for a time." Arceus said, pacing around the room.

"What changed?" The room's scenery shifted, and I was floating in the air, staring down at a colossal landmass. On it, three countries were carved into the continent. Far off from the mainland were other much smaller landmasses. Compared to the giant one, they looked like islands.

"When humans first arrived, they formed three tribes. The first was Hyatia, the second was Maul, and the third was Kanto. The continent they were on was named Hyatia, as they were the first group. They each had peaceful relations until they grew. Hyatia grew into the Kingdom of Hyatia, Maul had become the Empire of Maul, and Kanto became the Kingdom of Kanto." I watched as the borders of each kingdom grow until they met each other.

"Hyatia and Maul went to war and battled for 1,000 years. All the while, Kanto supplied each side with new technology to make a profit. Towards the end of the war, one King of Kanto hatched an ambitious plan. Theorizing that another landmass gathered the kingdom's funds and built a massive armada of ships. The entire nation set sail for the chain of islands that was far away from the Hyatia."

"Did they make it? I asked.

"They did. They named the island Kanto and split off into separate groups and cultures, but they aren't crucial to this story." It explained. "Back in Hyatia, war raged on. It would've lasted had I not stepped. The scenery shifted yet again, and I was standing in the center of a round table. Under my feet was the same little circle that Arceus had on it.

"What is this?" I glanced around the room, studying the stone room that accompanied the round table.

"My solution," It replied simply. "In support of Hyatia, I choose a human to form something called the Order of the Golden Crown. I taught them how to tap into an element that was embued with power and gave them a code to live by: Defend the life of every innocent being and bring light to those in darkness. With my lessons, they went and forged their own weapons and armor and went to help Hyatia fight. Within the century, the war ended, and Hyatia annexed a lot of the border territory." The scene shifted again, and I was back in the sky, looking down at the much larger Hyatia. It was now just known as Hyatia. Maul had evolved to become an empire.

"Hundreds of years had passed since the war ended, and the world had become more modern. Hyatia had become a democracy, and Maul had become an Empire. Tensions were once again rising between the two powers, and the Order of the Golden was called into action. The introduction of guns, planes, and mechanized vehicles made warfare more complicated. In the first few hours of the war, many of the knights were killed. In response, the Order developed a bulletproof armor design. Combined with modern-day weapons, it made for a fearsome warrior. The honor of wearing the only set ever produced fell upon William Gray, as he was their most accomplished warrior and had the company of three Pokemon."

"You gave him a name; I assume he's important?"

"You assumed correctly. He fought in the war alongside his Pokemon partners. Eventually, he entered a relationship with a Delphox. In the waning hours of the battle, the helicopter he was in was shot down, and the Delphox he loved was killed. That even changed him. He showed no mercy during the final battle. Afterward, he returned and demanded he is made the Headmaster of the Order. Those who didn't bow down to him were slaughtered. He reformed the Order into the Order of the Black Hand and joined a secretive underground organization known as the Ascendency. Another organization that is backed by Hyatia rose to fight them and the Red Dragons. They are known as the Pokemon Liberation Front. That is all you need to know."

"A human dating a Pokemon?" I said, my voice laced with disgust.

"Yes, that is relatively common in this world. I understand that this may be uncomfortable for you, but I assure you that they have an intelligence on par with most humans."

"Right," I shrugged. "So, where do I fall into this?"

"You are to be the Guardian of everything that the Order used to stand for. In a few moments, you will be sent down to Hyatia. You will wake up in the company of some P.L.F agents who are aware of who you are within their headquarters. From there, you will discover your own path."

"What, that's all? No guidance? No direction? Nothing at all?" I cried, throwing my hands in the air.

Arceus chuckled, "Do not fret. You will find your way, Guardian."

Everything immediately went black. When I opened my eyes, I was staring at a rather bare ceiling. I sat up and glanced at the room. The walls were made of concrete, and so was the floor. Chipped green paint adorned the walls, which seemed to add a feeling of desolation.

"You're finally awake." Said a feminine voice.

I jumped at the sound of her voice. She was in the corner, leaned up against the wall with her arms crossed. She wore a dark greyish hoodie along with some dreams. Her hair was jet black with red highlights at the end of each strand. Her skin was pale, but it seemed to compliment her violet-colored eyes. One of the most peculiar things about her was that she had slightly pointy ears, and her teeth were more canine than usual.

I stared blankly at her, which apparently amused her.

"Man of few words, huh? Well, anyway, I need to go fetch someone. Don't go anywhere." She promptly left the room. I looked around the room. It was mostly unimpressive, aside from the pictures on the wall that I could barely make sense of. They featured a symbol I didn't recognize, along with a stock image of some Pokemon.

The door shot open and in entered a serpent I recognized as a Serperior, flanked by two humans.

Hello, human. I am happy to see that you are finally awake," The Serperior smiled. "My name is Basilisk. What's yours?"

"I, uh, my name is Nathan, but I preferred to be called Nate." I stuttered. It still seemed jarring to me that all of this could technically be real.

"Ah, it's great to see the translator is working." Basilisk said.

"The what now?" I asked.

"I hope you don't mind, but while you were out, we installed a translator within both of your ears. It's something that allows you to understand Pokemon." She explained.

"Well, thanks, I think. Wait, in my ears?"

"Yes. The whole procedure was manufactured at the beginning of the Great War. It was developed by the Hyatian Armed Forces for Pokemon integrated squads to better coordinate in the field. After the capitulation of the Empire of Maul, it was made commercially available. The procedure itself involves inserting a chip behind the earlobe that allows you to understand the Pokemon language."

"Thanks for the little history lesson, I guess. Where am I?"

"You're are in the Medical Wing of the Pokemon Liberation Front H.Q. Can you walk?"

I slowly rose from the bed and stumbled to the wall. I pushed off the wall and stood freely as I regained my composure.

"Yeah, I can... kinda walk. How long was I out for?"

"About three days, give or take. Anyway, follow me. Our leader wants to speak with you." Basilisk said, beckoning me to come with her. The two men behind her served as our escort as we walked towards wherever their leader was. The hallways were organized, albeit crowded, as we pushed past a plethora of people and Pokemon.

They had signs up in the hallways to point people in the right direction; otherwise, no one would end up where they needed to be. This place was built like a labyrinth.

We stopped at a set of two wooden doors. It was jarring to see something that had life instead of the concrete walls, ceilings, and floors, plus the metal doors that adorned the place.

"This is it." Basilisk said. Without another word, our escort lined opposite to each other against the corridor. Basilisk opened the door with a vine; I don't even want to know where it came from and beckoned me to enter.

I shrugged, seeing as I had no other choice, and followed her in. The room was build like a comfortable apartment. There was an average kitchen set, an almost living room area devoid of any furniture a human can enjoy, and a bed set. It was spacious enough to accommodate one person, maybe two, if they weren't afraid of being close together.

It was what was on the bed that caught my attention—a bipedal animal with a scythe-shaped horn that I recognized almost immediately as an Absol.

"Hello, Guardian," the Absol spoke. Her voice was soft and had an almost calming aspect to it, almost like a grandma's voice. "It's so nice to see a little ray of hope come to us in these dire times."

I stay silent as I stared into her eyes. They had a certain edge to them. One you'd expect a withered war veteran to have.

"Not one for talking, are you?" Basilisk remarked, which received a quick glare from the Absol.

"I haven't been told much about you, besides your status as the Guardian. That and the fact that you are from a different universe. I believe your home was Earth?"

The mention of it. My home. Earth. It set something off inside me. Any wall that I had quickly built after learning of my survival crumbled. All the anger that I had bubbled to the surface, and I just wanted to scream.

"Yes, I am from Earth, and it didn't ask if I wanted to be whatever the fuck this Guardian is. I mean, how am I expected to save people when I couldn't even save myself!" I roared. Every single emotion I suppressed came to the surface, and I collapsed to my knees, slowly breaking down. I could see Basilisk's unsure gaze through my blurry eyes, but I couldn't quite make out the Absol's face.

The Absol came over to me and sat down. She placed a paw on my shoulder and spoke to me in the softest voice possible voice. "That is why Arceus choose you. You've felt pain. You know loss. You are hardened by your hardships, and in turn, you are prepared to face the darkest corners of the world." She managed to worm her way around every single barricade I had up. She did the one thing no one I used to know was able to do. She managed to get me to speak.

"But... I'm broken." I choked.

"Perhaps, but everything that can be broken can be fixed. You will meet people who will help you along the journey of self-repair."

"How... how do you know."

"I was given the gift of seeing into the future of others from Arceus. All of us who accompanied the Order's Knight. In your future, I see no disaster."

"What... do you see?"

She smiled. "That is for you to discover, Nathan. Remember, you are the beacon of hope for many—their strength relies on yours. When the night is at its darkest, dawn is near."

For the next five minutes, I wept like a newborn baby. Eventually, Basilisk joined in, comforting me. I felt a vine on my back as I continued. When I stopped, I stood and nodded at the Absol, who nodded back.

"Before I forget, my name is Mystic." The Absol said with a smile. I mustered the best half-smile I could before being ushered out of the room by Basilisk.

"Now, the reason I brought you here was to discuss your job here," Basilisk began. "You have been assigned to my squad, Alpha Squad. We deal in combat operations, mainly. We rarely stray from this. Have you had any fighting experience? Have you ever shot a gun?"

I shook my head, and Basilisk looked dumbfounded at me.

"Well, that's definitely something that we are going to have to work on," She sighed. "Regardless of that, you will meet your squadmates after this discussion. In our squad, excluding you and me, we have Violet, Ghost, Hailfire, Lucia, Lucas, Richard, Will, and Steel. You will all be bunking together with all your male squadmates. As for the rules, they can all be summed up to be respectful, disciplined, and decent. I will spare you a more in-depth explanation.

"And if any of the rules are broken?" I asked.

"You will be punished based on the severity of what you did—the lowest on the punishment scale being cleaning the Cafeteria. The worst one is expulsion from the P.L.F. and incarceration by the Hyatian Government. Is that understood?"

I nodded. These guys really don't mess around here.

"Now, as a member of this squad, you will have specific duties. After you are properly acclimatized to the environment, you will be included in the weekly responsibilities rotation. These duties are just basic chores around our section of the rooms. Now, I think it's time you met your squadmates."

I said my goodbyes to Mystic and followed her back into the crowded hallways of the H.Q. Unfortunately, the escort that we had before didn't accompany us.

It wasn't long before we stopped in front of a set of double doors labeled Alpha Squad. I pushed through the doors and found a decently long hallway with three doors on each side.

Basilisk lead me to the second one on the left, which opened to a room with one of those oval tables and a whiteboard. There were several people and Pokemon gathered around the oval table. There was a man within his thirties who had slicked-back hair and a greying beard. Next to him was a younger man with jet back hair that was unkempt. He had this pompous judgemental aura to him. Beside him was that woman who was watching me in the infirmary. Following her were two Lucarios and a Grovyle. Finally, leaned up against the corner of the room was a Blaziken and another woman with blonde hair who was probably in her early twenties.

"This is the briefing room. Here is where we assemble before any operations to go over the details of it. As you can see, I've gathered all your squadmates in the room," She gestured to the two men at the start of the lineup. "This is Richard and Tommy, Richard being our resident military expert who served in the final war against the Empire of Maul. Tommy is a recruit that was picked up after the Order of the Black Hand took his parents. You've already met Violet. Next to her are Lucas and Aurora. Both of them were orphaned after their pack of Lucario was killed in an illegal hunting accident. Behind them is Ghost. She joined on her own free will. Finally, we have Hailfire and Charlotte. Both of them were survivors from an illegal trafficking camp owned by a gang called the Red Dragons. You will be briefed on both organizations by Richard tomorrow."

There was a chorus of greetings as they all seemed to accept me, except for Charlotte. She scoffed at me and left the room, slamming the door behind her.

"Sorry about that. She's having a hard time with you being here," Said Violet, to whom I gave a dumbfounded expression. "Don't worry, it isn't because of you. She's grieving the loss of her lover. You are taking his position in the squad."

"We've all suffered loss before. Even the new lad here. I don't blame anyone in the squad for the things that happened, nor do I freak out about it." Richard said. The way he spoke was something akin to a grizzled grandpa.

"You wouldn't know what it's like to lose someone close to you." Hailfire scoffed back. Before a verbal fight broke out, Basilisk silenced both of them.

"If I hear another word out of any of you, you will be on cleaning duty for the rest of the week. Am I understood?" Basilisk hissed. Richard saluted, and Hailfire nodded.

Basilisk then led me out of the briefing room and showed me an "armory" that doubled as a mini mess hall.

"This room is where we keep our equipment and eat, but that is a rarity. We usually eat in the larger mess hall."

She led me to the final four doors at the end of the hallway.

"The side of the right is for all male members of the squad. One is the room you will be sharing with Richard, Tommy, and Lucas. The final door at the end of the hall is your bathroom. On the other side is the female room and bathroom," She then turned to look at me. "That concludes your tour of our section of the room and your introduction to your squadmates. Enjoy the day to yourself, but please stay within this section of rooms. Tomorrow, you begin the P.L.F. Basic Training." Basilisk then slithered off, leaving me in the hallway.

I sighed and went into the bunkroom. There were three beds on the left and right sides of the wall. Adjacent to the door was this little lounge area equipped with a couch, a coffee table, and the oldest box TV I've ever seen.

Walking through the room, I noticed that each bed had a nametag. I found my bed, as well as a duffle bag of gear, next to Lucas's. I plopped myself down on my bed and stared up at the ceiling, wondering how everyone back home was doing.

My thoughts danced on a dangerous line. No matter where I was, I guess I'll always be haunted by the same stupid train of thought that made me guilty to be alive, although I have a valid reason this time. I survived where no one else would've. I shouldn't have survived. A single tear fell down my cheek as I drifted off to sleep.