Alright, Welcome to my first Pokémon FanFic! Being a huge Pokégeek, I finally decided to try my hand at it when the idea hit me one night. This will be a tale of the adventures of a pair of Aura Guardians and their friends, hopefully filled with action, adventure, friendship, and possibly a ship or two! As this is my first Fic, Reviews and Comments are greatly appreciated. Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, setting, ect. Just one OC to be added in later.

'Thoughts'

"Telepathy"

"Speaking"

Chapter One

The Kingdom of Rota. A once peaceful kingdom of the Pokémon World, now the latest battlefield in the massive war engulfing the lands of Kanto, Johto, and Unova. The Unovans were a warlike group from across the seas to the east, made up of various small tribes of warriors. When the Unovans learned of the Kanto and Johto regions across the seas, they began a brutal invasion, decimating most of Kanto in their push inland. By the time they made it beyond Mt. Moon, the Johteans had finally mobilized a defense, moving north from Mt. Silver to engage the invading armies. Unfortunately, this put the peaceful Kingdom of Rota directly in the middle of the two rival armies. While Rota was far from defenseless, the bulk of the Unovan hoard and the Indigo League armies outnumbered the small standing army Rota could field, even with their legendary Aura Guardians.

'Must find Sir Aaron...' was the singular thought running the mind of one of those very same Aura Guardians as he ran through the foggy mountains near the Tree of Beginning, the massive rock formation that dominated Rota, desperately searching for the crystals that were indigenous to the area. He was much shorter than most people assumed of an Aura Guardian, barely four feet tall, covered in black and blue fur on his limbs with a cream-colored torso. Protruding from the back of his hands and his chest were silver spikes, and his head was decidedly jackal-like, with a pair of large ears, red eyes, and four small appendages hanging from the back of his head. His powerful legs carried him across the rough terrain as the sounds of impending battle echoed through the canyons and cliffs, occasionally leaping from rock to rock.

Turning back down the path he came from, he closed his eyes and began focusing, the appendages on his head beginning to rise slightly.

'Aura is with me,' he thought as his vision was replaced with a rather ghostly landscape, focusing his Aura to the west, moving through canyons and hills, eventually coming to overlook a massive valley filled with humans and Pokémon of every shape, from Charizard to Steelix, Aggron to Skarmory. The Johtean Army.

Grunting, he opened his eyes to scan his surroundings quickly before focusing to the east with his Aura. On the far side of the mountain marched Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Onix, Tyranitar, Blastoise, and countless other types of Pokémon, along with their human allies. Seeing that both armies were nearly within fighting distance, he growled slightly as he returned to his body.

Just as he was about to continue his journey, he heard something on the wing flying towards him. Glancing up to scan the foggy skies, he spotted the silhouette of a massive red and white Flying-Type Pokémon fly over his head, above the cliffs towards the Tree of Beginning. Before he could even think about what it meant, however, a large hound-like Pokémon bounded down the same cliff at him, causing him to backflip away. Pale horns on his head standing out from his black body and red armor.

'Houndoom. Wonderful...' he thought as he turned tail and continued climbing the rough territory, sensing as the Houndoom gave chase along with a second and third at his back. Climbing to the top of the small mesa, he finally spotted what he was searching for, a small collection of blue crystals protruding from the ground. Skidding to a stop in front of them, he knelt down and placed his paw on the surface of the crystal, causing it to begin lightly glowing blue.

"Hear me, Sir Aaron…"

Meanwhile, back at Cameran Palace, the Capital of Rota, it's beautiful leader, Queen Rin stared out into the foggy forests between the Palace and the Tree of Beginning from one of the balconies. Her otherwise noble features were marred with worry, nervous of the impending conflict in Rota. Long golden hair fell to nearly her knees, and her light blue and white dress complimented it perfectly. To her right, standing half a head taller than her was one of her oldest companions, Sir Aaron Arlon, head of the Aura Guardians of Rota. Dressed in his typical garb, a simple pair of dark grey pants and shirt, his long blue vest, dark blue cloak and signature hat, he was a handsome figure, sporting his perpetually messy dark blue hair and sapphire eyes. He and his wife Delia had been friends of Queen Rin and her husband, King Able, since the were all children. And while King Able led the Rotan army to defend the city, Aaron was placed in charge of security for the palace.

Left with only a token force of guards and a few Aura Guardians, Aaron was just as worried as Rin was, staring out into the veil of fog and mist that held over the valley between Cameran Palace and the Tree of Beginning.

'Where is Lucario?' he thought to himself. He had sent his apprentice into the mountains to scout hours ago, and was growing more worried by the moment. 'I taught him everything I could, so why hasn't he sent word yet?'

As if on cue, he heard a light tone behind him, causing him to turn. Spotting the light glow from the crystal formation on the balcony, he hurried over towards it, staff in hand, causing his Queen to turn and watch as he did so. Kneeling and placing his hand upon the formation, he was able to sense Lucario, roughly halfway up the mountain.

"Sir Aaron, please…" he heard in his mind.

"What's the matter, Lucario?" he asked aloud in a worried tone.

"The two armies are about to clash, master, and our Kingdom is caught between them! Once the fighting starts, we will all be destroyed!'

Hearing this caused Rin to turn back towards the mountain, a look of despair taking hold. "When the armies reach this palace, our Kingdom will fall…"

Hearing growls behind him, Lucario flipped away from the crystal to see the three Houndoom leap onto the mesa, glaring at him with their dark red eyes. Darting forward between them, Lucario managed to barely dodge a Flamethrower attack from one before charging back towards the edge he came up from, leaping off.

Dodging another Flamethrower as he landed, he tried to climb the opposite cliff wall, hoping to gain some ground. Unfortunately, one of the Houndoom saw this and attacked the cliff he was clinging to with an Iron Tail attack, blasting part of the cliff apart with explosive force. Dust and debris were hurled into his eyes as a result, causing him to flip away and attempt to clean his eyes, to no avail. Hearing another growl, he leap up, barely missing another Flamethrower that tore through the space he just inhabited.

Landing on his feet uneasily, he utilized his Aura abilities and saw all three Houndoom in front of him, cornering him into the box canyon, each growling and preparing a Flamethrower. Time seemed to slow as his ingrained instincts and training kicked in, leaping high into the air as the attacks hit. As he fell, he prepared attacks of his own, a pair of blue Aura spheres, one in each hand. He landed between two of the Dark and Fire types, unleashing one into each of their heads, before raising his arms above his own head and forming a third sphere, firing it at the ground in front of the third one. As he sensed the final Houndoom fall, the appendages on the back of his head returned to their normal place of hanging.

"I will not flee the palace when the armies attack. My fate will be the same as the rest of my kingdom," she said simply, causing mild annoyance in her companion.

Aaron's mind raced, thinking of how he could convince Rin to leave. "But your highness, there will be no survivors…" Even as he said it, he hung his head, realizing it would be futile. He had known Rin for the past twenty years, and he knew she would sooner die than abandon her people. She was very much like her father in that respect. Aaron had no desire to abandon his people either, but he realized that this war would likely be the end of Rota. He thought of the countless people he had protected in the Kingdom over the years.

He thought of Rin and Able's new daughter, Ilene. He thought of his family. His pregnant wife Delia, his son Riley, and his coming child. 'The only thing that can save us now is a miracle… Wait, that's it!' he thought.

Glancing back to the sky for a moment, he scanned the fog. "Hmm." Raising his staff into the air, a cry from a giant tan bird, a Pidgeot, was heard as the massive bird swooped by the balcony. And Queen Rin watched in shock as her bodyguard lept off the balcony onto the bird's back and began heading away from the palace towards the Tree of Beginning. 'He can't be abandoning us...' she thought in disbelief.

As Pidgeot raced over the forests of Rota, Aaron's mind raced. 'Delia, Riley. Please forgive me. What I go to do, I do for you...' Sparing a glance down to his right, he saw the majority of the Johtean army, armored in red, marching around the base of the mountain to their right, and the forest to their left. To his left, he saw another army, the Unovan horde, barely making out their pale green armor in the fog.

But what alarmed him were the three Skarmory breaking off towards Pidgeot and himself. Aaron could simply hold on for dear life as the three tore by, Pidgeot expertly dodging them as he continued on towards his goal, the Tree of Beginning. Unfortunately, this meant it's attention was elsewhere, allowing one of the Unovan Skarmory to fire off a powerful Flash Cannon attack at the Pokémon's back, nearly hurling Sir Aaron off it's back in the process.

Pidgeot managed to regain control briefly, returning to his original course, but the Skarmory weren't finished yet, not wishing to have any Rotans or Johteans retreat from their conquest. Coming in quickly with a strong Steel Wing attack, Pidgeot was struck hard and was sent plummeting towards the rough mountain side. It struggled to regain control as it rapidly approached the ground.

Aaron briefly wondered if his quest to save Rota would be cut short, if Rota was destined to fall in this unwanted conflict. Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind, he focused on the mountainside, as Pidgeot managed to give a final burst of energy to stave off a direct crash.

Leaping off, the Aura Guardian decided he was close enough, hoping that the decreased weight would allow Pidgeot to land safely. Pidgeot, however, continued it's unsteady course directly into series of bushes nearby with a cry. Aaron stood and was about to continue on his way when he felt a familiar Aura approaching quickly.

Sprinting up the mountainside at breakneck speeds was his near constant companion and apprentice, Lucario.

"Sir Aaron!" he heard in his mind, realizing Lucario was close enough to use Telepathy. "I knew you'd come!" he said as he reached the bottom of the mesa Aaron was standing on.

What bothered the human, however, was the fact that Lucario had yet to open his eyes since arriving, appearing to only be using his Aura to navigate. "Lucario, what happened to your eyes?" he asked the blue jackal.

"Don't worry about me, Master," was his only response. The final word though, master, had struck a nerve with Aaron, causing him to turn away.

"Don't call me that. I'm no longer your master. I have abandoned the Queen and the Kingdom. I'll never return…"

Lucario froze in disbelief, shock pinning him in place. "But… That's impossible…"

Aaron took off running, towards his original goal; The Tree of Beginning. Lucario finally managed to regain his motor skills and took off after his companion and master.

"Master, wait!" he called as he ran up the slopes after him. He didn't even feel his foot graze the Time Flower on the slopes as he ran.

Hearing Lucario following him, Aaron turned and hurled his staff into the ground, landing just in front of the Pokémon causing him to stop. Suddenly the staff began to glow bright blue and white. Clenching his teeth, Lucario stared up, eyes still closed at the other Aura Guardian.

"Sir Aaron!" he cried out. The staff continued to glow brighter as a blue beam shot into the Pokémon's chest, causing him to also turn the color and begins to fade from sight. He felt as he was drawn into the fist-sized crystal at the top of the staff, his vision shifting as the fractal shape of the crystal began distorting it. He was pulled further away from the surface. "Why, master?! Why…?"

Rin stared out from the ramparts of Cameran Palace towards the faint outline of the Tree, feeling as if her whole world were falling apart. On the wind, she heard a strange note begin to pick up, a low, mournful wail barely on the edge of hearing.

"That wail. It's coming from the Tree of Beginning… It's crying," she realized. The fog began to break, and in the massive valley between the Palace and the Tree of Beginning, she saw the two armies break upon each other.

'Why did he leave us?' she thought to herself. 'Did he truly abandon everything he's ever known due to fear?'

Hearing the cry of a Pidgeot, her heart leapt as she scanned the skies, hoping that Aaron had returned. As the massive Bird Pokémon landed upon the railing of the balcony, Rin's heart fell again as she noticed two things; The lack of Aaron upon Pidgeot's back, and his staff being held in Pidgeot's beak.

'He's had this for years...' she thought, glancing sadly at the short staff.

Roughly two-thirds her height, it consisted of a wooden shaft, a series of black steel rings, one circular that expanded from the shaft, and a large half-sphere that connected around the top of the first ring, similar to an equator. In the center of this was a large crystal from the Tree of Beginning, expertly cut into a twenty-six sided rhombicuboctahedron. Completing the design were a pair of large, teardrop shaped weights where the two rings connected, reminiscent of the appendages on Lucario's head.

She remembered when he built it, years back when he still dreamed of completing his Aura Guardian training. He was so excited when he showed her and Able the crystal that Delia had cut for him. Back when the four of them were all just friends. Back before he found Lucario, still a young Riolu.

Taking the staff from Pidgeot, he returned to the skies as quick as he came, leaving Rin with the staff and her thoughts. She saw her reflection in the light blue crystal surface, and questions with no answers appeared. "Aaron…"

Just as she was about to give up hope and resign herself and her kingdom to it's fate, she took one last look at the Tree of Beginning. And right before she accepted that all was lost, the Tree of Beginning lit up with a strange bluish-green light. As the Tree continued to glow, the crystal formations began spouting the same green light into the air in powerful shafts, burning away the fog. She looked around rapidly in wonderment as the crystals that the palace was built around began to glow and release shafts of light.

'Could this be what Aaron went to do?' she thought to herself. 'Maybe he didn't abandon us after all...'

As the light continued to grow, a massive green energy pulse worked it's way from the Tree of Beginning, covering the valley in waves of green energy.

Below, the entire battlefield froze, looking up at the shining peak. Silence spread across the land, from the peak to Cameran Palace. Humans and Pokémon alike stood in awe as the morning fog melted away from the valley and forests.

'He did it,' she thought to herself as she felt her eyes grow misty. 'He really did it. He saved us.'

As tears began to fall, she realized that Sir Aaron had gone to the Tree of Beginning to ask Mew to help her kingdom and people. She looked down on the field, and saw that the battle was over, with people and Pokémon alike laying down their arms. And she silently hoped that her friend had managed to survive to see the miracle he'd brought his country.

Delia days were normally quiet, taking care of Riley and seeing to her own well being and the well being of her unborn child, and hoping that the rumored war wouldn't come to pass.

This morning, however, she awoke to a strange green light, burning away the early morning fog. And in her gut, she felt two things. The first feeling was one of terror, rapidly searching her house for her husband and fearing the worst. The second feeling, which soon overcame the first, was due to two things. The first was a fragment of the dream she had while she was asleep.

'Delia, Riley. Please forgive me. What I go to do, I do for you...' She couldn't recall why she heard that, but hearing it gave her a sense of… She couldn't quite describe it. She felt both loved and numb. She slowly came to terms in her heart, that Aaron was gone. She didn't know how she knew, she just… knew.

And her fragile peace, this calm in the eye of the storm lasted until little three-year old Riley woke up.

"Where is papa, mama?" he asked innocently. Delia did her best to stave off the tears that threatened to break free.

"Your father had to leave, Riley," she stated with every last bit of her strength.

"Why?" And with that one word, one word from a heartbroken little three-year old, that last bit of strength shattered.

So, rather sad, (And more or less a direct written version of the first eight minutes of Lucario and the Mystery of Mew), but it'll pick up a bit. Next chapter is eighteen years later, and the start of Ash and Riley's adventures. So, Review, Comment, and thank you for reading the past eight or so hours of my time!