Friday, June 9th, 1978, 1845

"Did you seriously think you stood a chance?" called Adrien as he stalked forward. Gone was the smug arrogance he had displayed so far. Ruthless finality had taken its place, and he looked anything but amused.

I could see why immediately; Sneasel was covered with numerous minor burns, and the Graveler lay in a pile of smoking rocks near the pool. Nana and Geralt must have successfully taken him down while I was dealing with the aftermath of the injury. I relaxed slightly as I realized the dead guard's grieving pokemon, at least, were a threat no longer.

"What a fucking day. I come here on mandatory mental health leave with my favorite coworkers, only to see them brutally murdered in front of me. I wonder what the police would think? Helpless office workers brutally murdered by unhinged teens?" Adrien shook his head dismissively. "Not worth the risk. You see, I have enough of a past that things just might not go my way. Too bad for you. Hypno here has been practicing extensively the last few months without much opportunity to let loose. This serves as a fun trial run to see how much he's grown!"

He smiled viciously. "It's been at least since the last war that I've had this much fun! Riling people up in Saffron just doesn't cut it. Sneasel loves the dark emotions, though. A tasty meal. After experiencing the high of utterly breaking someone, anything else pales in comparison. There's no place for veterans like me. Not right now, at least. Everybody wants someone with the ability to procure information until the war ends. Then, everyone scrambles to shove us under the rug and pretend they never knew us."

We listened with rapt attention, unwilling to interrupt his monologue lest he somehow escalate the situation. He seemed to enjoy the attention.

"Hypno," he commanded, and we watched with growing horror as Eon rose up in the air from somewhere behind him, her small limbs stretched out in a gruesome spread-eagle position, far beyond what should be possible. I could hear her battered body snapping and groaning at the abuse, but she didn't whimper, preferring to glare defiantly down at her captor.

Next to her, Scyther was held up in a similar position. In contrast, however, the Pokemon bucked and flailed in every effort to escape. It was to no avail; Hypno kept an iron grasp on the frantic bug-type.

"You move, and I rip off a limb," threatened Adrien icily. "Or worse," he added, and I didn't doubt him for a second.

"What do you want?" I asked. "I was ready to answer your questions before this whole thing broke out, anyway. We can still resolve this peacefully."

Let's just pretend my friend didn't brutally murder your companions in cold blood. Or that you didn't order your Pokemon to torture me. Everything is perfectly fine; nothing to see here.

We waited with bated breath. Ellie looked utterly lost and confused from her position on the ground. Not that I could blame her; this was a lot to wake up to! Her pokemon were clustered around her fearfully, desperate for consolation.

Dani had yet to lose the cold and distant look she'd worn since her entrance. It worried me but was a problem for when we escaped this mess. I hope Vermilion has a good therapist. We'll bring plenty of business after this.

"Want?" he asked. "I don't really want anything. This is enough. But for curiosity's sake, why don't you tell me who you are and what you're doing here? This place is remarkably difficult to find unless you have an appointment. In retrospect, we may have escalated things too quickly. Gaelan and Sarai are replaceable, though. So, it's not a total loss. Their families will appreciate the life insurance. The 'company' does pay well, after all."

Dani didn't even grimace at the mention of their families. Her lack of response was unnerving and left me feeling like I didn't know her despite our intimate conversations the previous evening.

"We're just traveling to Vermilion for the Gym Challenge. My older sister left a mark on the map she gave me. We just saw it after the storm and decided to stay for a few nights. That's it, I promise. We were tired and cold and figured this was better than another night on the road."

Adrien hummed thoughtfully. "And who might your sister be? As I said before, you don't just stumble into this place accidentally. It's expensive. Very expensive. An arm and a leg, as they say."

Opening my mouth to respond, I tried to think up some Tauros shit answer, but Ellie beat me to the punch.

"Sula! His sister is Sula Seiichi. I'm sure you've heard of her; you wouldn't want to make enemies of the Seiichi! They're the friends in high places people talk about! You should back off now and let us go!"

I groaned, and even Dani looked upset as Ellie single-handedly ruined our chances of getting out of this without further violence.

Ellie spun around in confusion with a perplexed look. "What? What did I say? He should let us go now, right? People are scared of your mom, aren't they?"

"Wrong," cut off Adrien. "Now I definitely have to kill you. I know good ol' Kiriel, the fucking adder of Fuchsia. Served with her in the war. I also know she could care less if she lost a son as long as she's got another ready to take over. She'll probably chalk it up to Mare's inexperience. Am I right, or what, mister 'backup' Seiichi?"

Seeing our surprised looks, he laughed. "What? You think I don't pay attention to the news? Besides the fact that you've been shouting his name all over the place, I know the names of Kiriel's children. You'd have to live underground not to hear Sula's name, and right now, the Seiichi are making the news since they're the only old-blood idiots opposing the new order of things. Well, Kiriel is, anyway. If this continues much longer, they might uh.. how do I say it? Retire her early, if you know what I mean."

"Wait, what happened?" I asked, doing my best to ignore the barbed comments he subtly included.

"Oh?" He held his hand to his face in mock surprise. "You haven't heard? The Fuchsia City government is pressuring your mother-dearest into stepping down so someone with real ambition can take charge. The KFP has blown up in Fuchsia, one of the last holdouts. Things are finally going to change! I'll get to relive the glory days and not have to get my fix killing kids out in the fucking boonies."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

I stifled my curiosity, recognizing the threat in his words. I inadvertently stiffened, knowing he was done humoring us. I whispered to Nana, trying my best to be inconspicuous. "Get ready to attack. I'm afraid he's going to kill Eon. Focus on putting enough damage down on Hypno so he can't maintain the hold."

Giving the slightest of nods, Nana prepared for the inevitable. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dani whispering something to the Venonat clutched in her arms.

"Hypno, time to end this. Rip them apart," Adrien ordered. "Try to keep any blood from splattering me. You know how I hate that."

There was a quiet hum, and I watched in disgust as Scyther's left arm popped off without much effort, ichor spewing weakly down to splatter onto the waiting ground. Although quick, his species was notoriously delicate. The Pokemon writhed in agony, hissing through clenched jaws.

I was relieved to see Dani's face tighten in alarm. At least she was showing the faintest of reactions now. Something is better than nothing.

Turning my attention to Eon, I felt a growing dread but was surprised to see her form erupt in a gentle glow. Her shimmering form wavered back and forth in the air, still held tight by the psychic shackles. Hope rose in my chest at the sight. The strain on her body must have forced an evolution. I knew she had been holding back for a while now and the timing couldn't have been better.

Having never experienced an evolution before, I was shocked to realize that what my tutors said was true; regardless of the situation, everyone stopped for at least an instant to watch.

There was something uniquely fascinating about being privy to the transition of an entire being suddenly becoming something… more? Something more substantial, sometimes hardly reminiscent of its earlier form.

As if Arceus himself had reached down to snip the bonds, Eon dropped, elegantly landing on all fours. She had nearly doubled in size, her head standing well above hip height. Glowing rings of gold displayed prominently on her head and haunches, with wide bands surrounding her ears and tail. Her tan coat was now an inky shade of black, and I even saw drops of caustic acid seeping from her skin to etch incomprehensible patterns on the flagstones.

Without missing a beat, she sprang into the air, sending a pulse of dark tendrils lashing out nearby, severing whatever psychic energy had inundated the space.

The weight lifted, and Dani sprang to her feet, looking to run towards Scyther, who lay whimpering on the ground. With a growl that brooked no argument, Eon, now Umbreon, glared at Dani as if warding her away. Dani halted in her tracks; she looked nearly paralyzed at the Eon's menacing eyes.

The momentary pause the evolution afforded us dissipated, and I gasped as Sneasel tore into Eon, shreds of obsidian fur and blood scattering into the air at the assault.

Or, at least, that's what I expected to happen. In reality, Sneasel's attacks, while brutal, appeared to be unable to penetrate Eon's now far more durable coat. Damage was still being done, but even the razor-sharp claws failed to find purchase.

Sensing an opportunity, Nana sprang into action; a powerful wave of fire emanated from his gaping maw to consume the shocked Sneasel, who looked on in disbelief, even as it redoubled its assault despite the fire.

Not despite the fire, I corrected myself as I watched the powerful attack once again part against an invisible barrier. Nana kept up the attack, though, and I felt my spirits rise as Hypno's brow creased at the strain.

Even Scyther, now one arm short, joined in. He took the Sneasel's surprise as an opportunity to open a wide slash on her back. The vicious pokemon squealed in pain, ending her attack on Eon as she turned to confront the new threat.

Eon jumped on the opportunity; ignoring the Sneasel, her body shone with the glimmer of normal type-energy as she launched a Quick Attack at the focused Hypno. She cracked against the barrier ineffectually but promptly wreathed herself in a cloud of dense shadows that swirled around ominously as if desperate for something to consume.

The wall of psychic force shattered; Eon crashed into the Hypno, sending a shroud of dark-energy pulsing into it. The Hypno appeared momentarily stunned, and she used her newfound power to bite deeply into its shoulder, wrenching it down to the ground with a savage jerk of her now-powerful neck muscles.

As Eon moved forward for the kill, a sense of foreboding settled in, disrupting the ongoing conflict. Everyone seemingly froze as one. The heat from Nana's attack dissipated, and a bone-deep sense of cold enveloped the disorderly mass of pokemon and humans alike, halting them even in the throes of life-or-death conflict.

I see you've damaged the property. Such a shame. The cost of such disrespect is high; how might you pay it, young Seiichi?

I felt, rather than heard, Ona's voice fill my consciousness. Dani's fearful mention of the 'mystery staff of death' rang less hollow now. My body had unconsciously frozen up, and I felt the same paralyzing fear present in the Salamence attack all those years ago.

Since I mostly expected it, I'll let it slide, this time. But not before I take my pound of flesh. Or several, the disembodied voice giggled.

I couldn't move, but neither could Adrien, or any of us, for that matter. We had all frozen in the midst of whatever we were doing at the time. Dani was on her knees, clutching Venonat in her arms. Ellie was lying down entirely, her crew of Pokemon glued to her as if sentiment alone could protect her from the world.

As for me, I was kneeling with an awestruck expression on my face from Eon's evolution. Not that it mattered, now.

A swirling morass of black, tendril-like energy pooled beneath Adrien and his pokemon. Even if he couldn't move, I could see his eyes grow wide with the mounting realization he wouldn't make it out alive. Absently, I noted it looked nearly identical to the substance I had observed leaving Dani the previous night. I couldn't look long, though. Even a few seconds sent stabbing pain to shoot through my eye sockets.

I couldn't tell if it took an instant or an hour, but the pool of energy grew and grew, towering over us in a wave of darkness until it completely subsumed Adrien and his team, slowly drawing their forms into the waiting abyss.

Anticlimactically, the phenomenon ended without much ado. There was no screaming. No cries for mercy. Nothing. One moment, they were there, and the next, it was as if nothing had happened. That wasn't true, of course; bodies abounded in the area, and the pools of blood dispelled any chance I had of pretending we weren't murderers.

"Beautiful," Dani said softly, her expression one of admiration.

Ellie gave her a look of derision. "What the fuck are you on about? That was not beautiful. Also, what the fuck is even going on? I was having a really nice dream before coming out to this hellscape. This is awful!"

YESSSSSS! Delicious! It's been far too long since I've consumed such a delicacy. The forlorn hope, crushed in the last moment, touches me in a way I can't describe. I knew I was in for a treat when you arrived, but this exceeded my wildest expectations.

The thought permeated my being, and I could sense the deep gratitude it contained.

Ellie blanched at the intrusive thought, and I couldn't blame her; the resonant voice in my head was unsettling, at best. Dani, though? She wore an enraptured expression, making me more concerned than I'd care to admit.

"You're welcome?" I offered tentatively, unsure of the correct response.

Ha, the voice laughed, and I cringed at the abrasive sound, full of malice and scorn. Don't get ahead of yourself. Leave now, before I find I'm unsated with your offering. I'm sending one of my staff with you; they were captivated by your companions' rough but effective use of ghost type-energy. Treat them well. Or I'll find you. And now, you know what'll happen. Don't let me down, young Seiichi. Watch your friends closely, else you may lose them to the darkness intrinsic to humankind.

I nodded, my mind spinning with the myriad issues we had to address before getting on the road. Scyther and Geralt's had severe injuries, and the slash to my stomach had yet to stop bleeding, just to name a few. I could see dark spots encroaching on my field of vision for the second time in that last hour.

As I spun around, prepared to find my sewing kit, a ghostly form emerged partway from the floor.

Its head was spiky, with deep purple immaterial flesh and gleaming red eyes. It rose a meter further, and I flinched as I took in its garish leer, a wide mouth filled with too many teeth to count. The maw widened hideously, and the last thing I remembered before collapsing were the haunting words it offered.

Thank you for the meal!

End of Arc 1.