Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Heroes of Courage and Peace

Disclaimer: This is merely a work of fiction. Anything related to real life is coincidence (?) and the author owns nothing except for the plot and her own characters. Everything else belongs to its respective owners.

Author's Note (Please read before continuing)

Okay, so I'm still into PMD and I got pretty used to Generation V so… Anyways, this idea has been forming in my mind for a while now and I hope this story will have enough potential to not only attract readers, but also to get you guys reviewing it. I'd really appreciate if you could leave a word or two. Just for clarifications, not spoilers, the main character is Will, a Dewott. You'll get to reading more about him in the later chapters. This is just the beginning. Hope you enjoy And yes, I know, the title sucks.

Prologue

It's funny, how we humans think. About heroes, I mean. When someone says 'hero', admit it, the first image that comes to your mind is probably some super-powered fictional character, like Superman or Captain America. Maybe some of us even think of our everyday heroes, like policemen or teachers. Heck, I'd like to say I could think of Fin and Jake from the ever so wonderful cartoon, Adventure Time. But come to admit, do we really have any idea of what a hero really is?

I leaned back on the cold, mossy wall of my cell room, sighing as these thoughts circulated my mind. My eyes wandered around the small and stuffy room, taking in the smallest of details out of boredom. There were marks and scratches on the brick wall, implying that this cell had been used to keep some other Pokemon before. Moss grew up to my sitting height, indicating the age of this cell. I inwardly groaned. I've known this since the first week I was locked up.

Deciding to just watch my chains shackle again, I lazily lifted my hands, or paws, considering I was an otter, moving them left and right. I kept my gaze on the rusty metal chain that bound my hands together as it swung back and forth, and if some idiot just happened to pass by, he'd probably think I was hypnotized or something.

I heard shuffling from outside my cell door, an aging wooden door with a rather small window-ish hole, and then banging. Probably pissed off the guard again. My cell guard, the one and only Zeke, was a Zoroark whom I had trusted. Key word: had.

After what he did to Lianne, I could never forgive that fox faced Dark type. I felt a faint swell of anger as I remembered what he had done, but I took deep breaths and pushed the memories away.

"Keep quiet in there, will'ya?" I heard him complain, his voice laced with annoyance. I smirked.

"Well, I'm sorry, Mr. I'm-too-badass-to-be-your-friend-that-I-broke-the-heart-of-my-true-love. Forgive me?" I mocked, sitting up straight as I awaited his reply.

What I heard was not what I was expecting. "…Will… please…" the Zoroark answered softly.

My eyes widened as he continued, "…Don't… just don't bring up the topic of her. Please?" His voice was honest, I could tell, and …hurt? Why was he hurt? Out of all the things he could have said, why did he say something that made him sound so guilty and hurt?

I frowned slightly in confusion and indignation, "How can I?" I replied, my voice strong and sure despite my swirling emotions. I heard Zeke sigh, but I still continued, feeling my anger rise with every word I spoke. "How can I just NOT bring her up when she's one of the reasons why I'm here, of why you're here? I thought you loved her, Zeke. And she loved you. She still does, assuming that she's still alive!" I nearly yelled, clenching my fist to quell my temper.

"Shut up!" he yelled, and hit the wall beside the door so hard I thought I saw a dent on the wall. "You… you don't understand!"

I opened my mouth to retort when he continued, his words stinging like needles into my heart, "How would you understand when you've never been in love? !" he questioned angrily, his voice rising up to a yell.

I bit my lip, and lowered my gaze onto the stone floor. I pondered on whether I should tell him or not. After all, I've never told anyone else. Finally, I made my choice.

"You're wrong." I said, trying to keep my voice as neutral and calm as I could. I got up, my chains making noise as I walked, or rather limped, towards the door. I sat down, my back to the wooden entrance, and leaned on it. When I heard nothing from the other side, I took it as a sign to go on.

"You're wrong, Zeke, very wrong. Being in love… It's a funny feeling, isn't it?" I chuckled, although somewhat sarcastically. "It's actually what caused me to get this far." My eyes stung with tears that threatened to fall, and my voice became hoarse as I tried to continue, "Love… that's what made me go forward when I was lost, when I remembered nothing about myself and knew nothing about being a Pokemon. It was the first thing I felt when I woke up in Arbor Inn."

I stopped. I had to. I was near to choking on my tears as I buried my face into my paws, the liquid from my eyes pouring heavily. I tried not to sob, and ended up hiccupping instead.

A long silence engulfed us both, Zeke doing who-knows-what, and me trying to stop crying and steel myself. For a while, you could hear nothing but my soft and quiet sobs, and the gentle rattling of my chains as I shook. Soon, I began to quiet, sniffling instead of sobbing as I wiped the tears out of my furry face, then I heard the Zoroark speak from outside.

"Will…" Zeke called softly, "…what… what really happened to you?"

I took a deep breath and sighed, "I guess I should start from the very beginning, shouldn't I? How I experienced hell and back… before I felt heaven."