AN: Hey guys! This is my first fanfic. A friend of mine started playing Pokemon GO and has never seen the show or played the games. Apparently she heard the background story of how Hypno likes to hypnotize humans and feast on their dreams and is now terrified. I stated how epic a book would be that actually showcased all of the tragic and terrifying abilities that Pokemon have since the anime shows basically no violence whatsoever. And here I am! This will be rated M for multiple reasons (my mind is a dark place). Enjoy!

Summary: Military AU. Pallet Town is in flames, leaving two young boys orphaned. Raised by the military as soldiers, they seek revenge against those that destroyed their home. Trained to be killing perfections in order to uncover the whereabouts of their enemy and the mystery of those they want revenge against: The Dragon Riders.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or any of the characters. Just the random plot bunnies that my mind creates.

Chapter Warnings: Language, blood, violence

Chapter 1 – Prologue

Red.

Burning.

The sky is awash with darkness and flames. The moon and stars hidden from sight. Prisoners of the late night.

Their jailers: heavy black clouds of ash.

A small, brown haired boy, no older than four, trips over his large nightshirt in the middle of the street. He fearfully looks around for someone. Anyone he recognizes.

Screaming.

Tears.

He can barely see through the smoke. Can barely hear over the cries of those he can't seem to find.

The ground shakes as his house collapses nearby. A plume of fire rising where it once stood.

He stumbles. Struggles to stand back up, but his balance is off. The ground seems to move under him again.

Small arms reach out to steady shaky legs. He rushes aimlessly calling out for help.

He trips again. His feet hurt. He hadn't been able to find his shoes in the confusion. Sharp pieces of wood and chunks of rock litter the ground.

He jumps aside as a blazing beam falls onto where he was just lying.

He scrambles backward. Ducking behind a nearby crate. Curling into a ball as tears roll down his cheeks. Terrified, confused and alone.

His eyes burn from the smoke as he calls out for his mother. 'Where is she? Where is his father? His sister? Grandpa? Where did they go? They wouldn't just leave me.'

'Would they?'

Tucking his head in towards his chest, he wraps his arms around his legs and sobs.

Why is this happening? It seemed like just a few minutes ago that he was tucked into bed for the night with his favorite toy Squirtle.

He sobs again as he realizes that Squirtle is gone too.

He just wants someone to find him. To take him away from this scary place that is too loud, too hot, too frightening.

The ground shakes as pounding feet rush right by the child's hiding spot. He stiffens in fright. Over the sound of screams, he begins to hear a low rumbling.

'What is that?'

Dark green eyes widen when he sees a long tail slither next to the crate and into the alley.

'A pokemon? Maybe it Grandpa's!'

The boy darts out from his hiding spot with a hopeful smile adorning his face.

'It has to be Grandpa's pokemon! Not many people nearby had a trained pokemon. Not a town as little and remote as theirs. So it must be from his Grandpa's lab.'

The boy turns and sees nothing. He tries to peer through the smoke but it's so thick and his eyes hurt so bad.

Confused, he turns back around looking for the owner of the tail he saw. In the depths of the dark alley, a pair of eyes glow red in the firelight from across the street.

He takes a small step forward as he softly calls out for his Grandpa. The eyes narrow in response.

This makes no sense to the child. 'Pokemon are his friends right? He played with them all the time at his Grandpa's lab. Why was this pokemon hiding from him? Is it just as scared as he is?'

A soft drizzle begins to fall as he slowly reaching his arm forward. He calls out again to the strange pair of eyes. "Don't be afraid. We can go together. We can find the other pokemon and save everyone. I won't hurt you."

The boy shuffles forward. Just as he sees the eyes glow bright, a bolt of energy slams into his chest. Hurling him back across the street and into the crate that was once his shield.

The small child moans pitifully as he tries to keep his eyes open.

Everything hurts.

His mind is a jumble of thoughts. 'How did I get over here? What happened to the pokemon?'

He slowly lifts his head to look back into the alley. Smoke pours out as a large shadow emerges.

Giant claws scrape against the stone. A thick tail swings behind. Knocking over the wall of a crumbling building. A broken fire hydrant hurls water into the air nearby. But the liquid itself seems to avoid the creature as it burns off into steam near its skin.

It looks down on the pitiful child at its feet. It rears up on its hind legs as it unleashes a terrible roar from its maw.

The boy slumps as the edge of his vision becomes tinted with black. He doesn't want to die. Not yet. Not by this monster.

Not alone.

He can't feel anything anymore. Neither the water splashing onto his face nor the pain in his limbs. He hears his name being called in the distance. He tries to call for help but the only sound that comes is a weak gurgle.

A flash of lightning illuminates a set of powerful wings that are slowly spreading out from the shadow. A figure hunches over the beast. Curling over the massive form to keep its balance on the demon's back.

The boy only has one last thought before the darkness swallows him whole.

'Who would ride on top of a dragon?'

xxx-War of the Dragon Riders-xxx

With a muffled scream, a young man jerks awake. Flailing in panic when he realizes that something warm is covering his mouth and nose.

He can't breathe.

Thin sheets wrap tight around his tapered waist and twisting around his muscular legs.

He's trapped.

"Gary!" A harsh whisper breaks through his panic. "Calm down! It's just me. You were having another nightmare. Just relax already. You're gonna wake the squad leader at this rate."

Gary rips the callused hand from his face. He turns and glares at the teen, his partner he realizes, sitting next to him on his bed.

"Ash?! What the fuck?!" He growls out harshly. The raven next to him looks at him slightly concerned.

"Weren't you listening? You were having a nightmare. You woke me up so I figured I'd help you out before we got in trouble again." Ash shrugs and blinks at the brunet, as if in confusion at the sudden anger thrown at him.

Mouth hanging open in incredulity, Gary just stares at the raven-haired man. "So you decided to smother me?!" He whispers sharply.

Ash crosses his arms over his chest and scoffs in response. "Well I tried shaking you and I called your name a few times, but you wouldn't wake up so I covered your mouth instead. I figured you'd wake up when you started running low on oxygen."

Who in their right mind would wake someone up like that?

Gary huffs in annoyance. It's way too early to deal with his partner and his oddness. As he flops back down onto the mattress, the brunet refuses to reward his partner with eye contact and stares at the ceiling. He runs his large hand through sweaty brown hair and scratches the lengthy white scar that stretches across his torso.

A slight prickling sensation alerts him that he's being watched. He glances to the side to see sad, brown eyes locked on his chest. His scar. His battle wound. His reminder to never give up on his revenge.

Huffing in annoyance for being blatantly stared at (since it is clearly not his fault that his shirt is probably somewhere on the floor), Gary glances at the clock next to the wall.

6:13 AM.

Fan-fucking-tastic. I could have slept for another 15 minutes if it wasn't for that damn dream again.

He returns his gaze to the ceiling and revels in the quiet, early hours on the morning next to his closest friend. No screaming. No tears. Just the light snores of the other cadets around him.

Ash begins to fidget next to him after a few minutes. Gary scoffs quietly. Figures. Ash never could sit still for very long. Even on stealth missions.

Gary jolts from his inner musings when Ash quietly gets his attention. "Was it the attack?"

He didn't need to clarify. Gary knew which attack he was asking about.

Gary remains silent for a while. Flashes of his dream trickle back into this mind to haunt him.

Fire. Screaming. Tears.

Pain.

He turns away from the raven before mumbling a soft affirmative.

It's been almost 14 years since the day that the dragons came and destroyed everything they held dear. 14 years of horrifying nightmares haunting their unconscious minds.

Ash remains quiet for a little while longer. Gary glances over to see those large, brown eyes glazed over. Most likely revisiting the past that Gary himself just escaped from.

Gary closes his eyes in an attempt to squeeze in a few more precious minutes of sleep before the morning bell goes off.

It seems as if no more than a few seconds have gone by when he feels a poke in his side. "Come on then," Ash whispers. "Might as well shower and go get some breakfast since we are awake anyway. We don't want to wake anyone else up and I know you won't fall back asleep after that dream."

Gary opens his eyes as his partner quietly stands up and walks over to his own bed to Gary's left. Ash grabs his training uniform before leaning against the wall, waiting for him. Partners have to travel together in the compound after all.

Gary groans as he slowly rolls off his bed. He arches his back and stretches. He feels disgusting. All covered in sweat from that nightmare and of course his stomach is growling.

Stupid human needs.

After grabbing his black uniform, he falls into step with Ash on the way to the showers. Glancing out the window, he sees the horizon slowing brightening as the rising October sun battles against the night.

Darkness. Flames. Burning.

Just a few more days. Just a few more days until he finally graduates. Then, he will be an official League soldier and will be able to carry weapons and a pokemon team of his own.

He will hunt them down for what they have done. He will destroy those that took away everything precious to him. Every last one of them will die at his hands. He will obliterate them.

Those so-called Dragon Riders.

xxx-War of the Dragon Riders-xxx

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Next up: Chapter 2 - Resolve