Every story must have its hero.
This has always been the first law of a good fable. A hero always stands up to a challenge, proving him or herself against insurmountable odds. Danger lurks around every corner, and even the most routine of tasks can become an unending nightmare. Friends become enemies, dark secrets come to life, and in the end, the hero may even end up alone in their quest.
This is the price the hero must pay. And in the end, this price is always paid in full.
October 3rd, 2007.
Saffron City; 6:57 pm.
With a single kick, the door flew off of its hinges. The police stormed into the room, scanning every corner for any sign of a threat before continuing the raid. Mary watched them closely, maintaining a constant pace directly behind the squad.
I know you're here.
Everything was too obvious. The phone call, the explosion… Even the way the front door was unlocked. This building was supposed to be abandoned, so why was it that she felt so sure it was here that they would finally meet?
That's when Mary heard the gun shot.
"Up ahead!" One officer whispered, signaling the direction with his fingers. A dark corridor led to a set of double doors, concealing the room the gunshot came from. "Move!"
The squad hustled forward, converging on the doors and bursting through. In a flash of red light, dozens of Pokémon filled the room – large, red canines sporting a yellow mane, pink spiders with yellow barbs sticking from their bodies, and blue tortoises with an orange shell covering their back. The Pokémon stood their ground, shielding the officers from the offenders stationed at the other side of the room.
"Well, well, well… You found us," a young woman shouted, her hands held up in the air. Her brown hair cascaded down past her shoulders, and she had a whimsical smile plastered across her face. "Took your sweet time, didn't you?" Several of her accomplices stood behind her, an array of dark-type Pokémon stationed between them and the girl.
Mary stormed to the front, pushing aside the police officers. "Cut the crap, Rachel. You've lost. There's nowhere to run."
The woman chuckled, taking a few steps closer to the demanding blonde.
"I swear, Barbie… You never change. Always barking orders like people actually care."
Rage was taking over. She would have appreciated that sarcasm when they'd first met, but now… Now Rachel had done too much. All that was left was justice. Mary pushed past the Arcanine standing in her way and stormed over to the girl, slapping her across the face.
"Your humor won't save you anymore! You're going to pay for what you've done, Rachel, if it's my last breath." She wiped the sweat off her brow, eyeing the girl down with apparent bloodlust. "You're surrounded, and this time, I promise you're never getting away."
The room was quiet, watching Rachel as her face hung to the side, her cheek bright red. Then she began to laugh. First quietly, then to a feverish pitch that filled the room and made Mary's stomach drop.
"Silly little Mary Sue… Don't you see?"
Rachel pointed to the ceiling with a devious grin, and counted down on her fingers.
Three.
Two.
One.
The ceiling above the police officers exploded into thousands of pieces, knocking all of them to the ground.
Rubble filled the expanse between Mary and the exit, blocking her only hope of a clean getaway as the police officers' shouts were drowned out. She was trapped behind a sea of rubble and cement. Trapped with the most dangerous woman she'd ever met in her life, and now there was no getting away. Her heart sank as she realized how foolish it was to let her anger get the best of her. She never should have approached Rachel from the beginning.
"Don't you see, B? This…" Rachel continued to laugh, clapping her hands as the explosion subsided. "This is exactly where I wanted you from the beginning."
Every story must have its hero.
There must be a source of justice – there must be some sign that there will truly be a happy ending, or why would a reader ever continue past the prologue? The hero must always win, and good must always triumph over evil. But that's just it: there must always be evil. Every story must have its villain.
You will be pleased to hear that Mary Sue will indeed be the hero of our story today. But since the beginning of time, every story has had one unquestionable truth – that there will always be a hero and a villain. And that, my dear reader, is where I come in.
My name is Rachel Summers, and this is the story of how I became Kanto's most wanted.