Pokemon: Destiny Evolved - The Complete First Chapter

Part 4

"Wh-... Where am I?" A dim slit of light opens in Cecilia's peripheral. As she looks up, her vision is blinded in a white haze.

She lays centered on a bed, which takes up most of the meager room around her. The room is composed mostly of stone, dank and rustic. A small desk with a few journals stacked on top of each other sits in the corner of the room. To the side of it there's a white door, closed to the world beyond.

As Cecilia narrows her ears to fully survey her whereabouts, she's able to make out some sort of light commotion outside. But to her dismay, it's too soft to be comprehendible.

Shakily, she places her hand on the side of the bed and pushes up. As she does so, a sharp pain runs through her back.

"Mother fucker!" Her body shakes as she slams her hand down to smack her pillow off her bed. She looks down at her arm, to see it's in a cast.

Cecilia grimaces, trying to recall just what had taken place. But the cycling of her mind appears increasingly more frivolous, as the last thing she can remember is...

Bratty girl, gym battle, Eevee...

Eevee! Where was Eevee?!

She scours the room, but to no avail. Dismayed, Cecilia grits her teeth and aggressively opens the door before her.

"Glad to see you're finally here to join us." Tony immediately greets her from across the room with a cocky smile. "Have a seat."

The room is filled with upwards of ten people, sitting in a circle at the other side of the room. This area is much more expansive, with desks, couches, and white boards littered throughout. In the leftmost corner of the room, there are stairs leading up. But the entryway is blocked off, implying they were in some sort of underground secret base.

"I..." Cecilia trails off, flustered. As her eyes scour the crowd, her gaze is met by that of not only Tony, but Stonia as well. The rest make an appearance as complete strangers.

"Sorry, I'm sure this must be a bit much for you dear!" Stonia looks at Cecilia sympathetically. "I'm so sorry you were dragged into this."

"Wh-what's going on? Where am I? Where's Eevee?" Cecilia's shock and dismay becomes even more apparent as she clenches her fist, feeling her heart thump hard in her chest.

"Eevee is recovering in the other room," Tony points towards a door behind the circular meeting area. "Don't worry, he's recovering nicely. How are you?"
"Recoveri-" Cecilia's voice trails off again, caught off guard as she once again tries to review the events that took place in her mind. "What the hell... Happened?!"

A middle aged man with spiky, silver hair, and a suave purple suit stands up. "Continue the meeting, please. I'd like to briefly discuss things with our young visitor in the other room, if that would be quite alright."

The man walks calmly over to where Cecilia stands, in front of the door she had come from, and gestures for her to walk inside. "Ladies first, of course."

Cecilia timidly walks in, sweating. She finds herself suspicious over the man's exceedingly calm aura, even in the wake of calamity. What if this man's a serial killer? Or a rapist? Or...

The man pulls out a chair from the desk in the corner of the room, and sits in it as he looks into Cecilia's eyes. "I'm Mr. Stone, president of the Devon corporation. Pleased to meet you, your name?"

Cecilia pauses, staring at the suspicious man for a few seconds before plopping her butt onto the bed. "Cecilia..."

"Cecilia, I'm so sorry to say that by a terrible twist of fate, you've been wrapped up in something much greater than yourself." The man shakes his head thoughtfully. "What do you recall from before you woke up?"

"I was... Fighting a gym battle?" Cecilia grimaces, pondering the events yet again. There's something in her memory she's unable to grasp; something she's blocking out...

Mr. Stone nods. "I'm afraid to say that gym no longer exists."
"Wha- What?!" Cecilia's face lights up, her eyebrows furrowed as she tries to understand. "What happened?"

"During your battle, the gym came under attack by a gang known as Team Celestial. they wanted to receive a dangerous, powerful item deep hidden within the gym. It was placed there by us at the Devon Corporation to never be found, but somehow they had some sort of intel. The gym was attacked by a very powerful Pokemon we identify as Latios."
"Latios?" Somehow the name sounds somewhat familiar to Cecilia. "So where... Where are we now?"

Mr. Stone gives her a stern look. "I could tell you, but I'd have to KILL YOU!"
Cecilia jumps up on the bed, arms up as she desperately surveys the room for anything to attack him with. HE REALLY WAS A SERIAL KILLER!

As she jumps up, her back cracks with an insurmountable amount of pain. "Owwwww!" She squeals as she falls back down, face first one the bed.

"I'm sorry, are you okay?" Mr Stone chuckles. "An attempt at comedy."

Cecilia pouts. "You know, I don't fully trust you yet or anything..." She lets out an exasperated sigh.

"I'm sure, I'm sure." Mr. Stone sighs as well. "Once again, my apologies. Currently, we're below my main building of operation, the Devon Corporation. Everyone here we acknowledge as a powerful trainer, or influential leader in the region of Hoenn. We're meeting to decide the best path to take under this new threat."

"Powerful trainers..." Cecilia thinks back to the people in the room, including Tony. "What do you mean by that?"

"Everyone here is either an elite four member, or a gym leader. With the exception of me, you, and my son of course." Mr. Stone chuckles.

Cecilia's eyes widen at the newfound realization of her company. "So even Tony is..."

"Tony?" Mr. Stone smiles dryly. "Yes, it seems you've already made acquaintance with him. Tony is none other than Hoenn's youngest ever champion. My son literally won't shut up about how one day he'll surpass him."

Mr. Stone chuckles, as Cecilia sits, mouth agape.

"So, yes... We're all here to ensure Hoenn is kept safe, and make arrangements in the best interest, keeping in mind this newfound threat. So, I must ask you..." Mr. Stone stands up, reaching out his hand to Cecilia. "I know you were dragged into this. I understand if you want to run away. But now that you know what's going on, Cecilia... Do you want to join us in protecting Hoenn?"

Cecilia feels the endorphins rushing through her brain, pressure exerting itself through her whole body as the decision faces her head on. After all that's happened this past day, all that's changed in her life... No decision thus far has seemed to carry the weight that this one did, right here and now.

Her body and mind tell her to run, to get out and forget none of this happened, again and again. But the gut feeling in her stomach tells her something entirely different; something that as much as she knows she might regret, is sure to be a whole lot more interesting.

She reaches out her hand, meeting Mr. Stone's in a firm handshake. "I'm in."

"So the meteorite's been acquired then?" The man in the ponytail smiles deviously, phone pressed to his face. "I'm glad to hear that. If all has truly gone as well as you say, it's time to enact the next phase; Mauville City."