As late as it was into the autumn season, with the threat of the coming winter crisp in the air, the sun dropped early and quickly. It was dusk by the time E, no, Adren, reached his destination. A vivid red sun sat low in the sky, and while sunsets have always been romanticized as things of great beauty, its light leached the colour out of the world and repainted it in dull greys and shadows.

A rather large crowd was gathered on the fringes of the town, loudly and impatiently waiting for entrance into a single large building with a very basic two headed Murkrow painted above the door. It hadn't taken long for Eevee to realize where Adren had been leading him was feeling a strong mix of excitement and dread that came with doing something he knew he shouldn't be. Mom was going to be so mad.

Adren paused and considered the crowd of older, rundown regulars of the Split Krow and younger Pokemon who knew that a few extra coins would make the bouncers "forget" about underage drinking laws. Instead of joining the line to get inside, the Flareon looped around to the back of the establishment. Eevee followed close behind. He had been here before, but never this late in the day. His father didn't have many rules, but even he had reserves about his sons hanging around this place, especially when the evening crowds arrived. Eevee didn't fully understand why. His stories always made the bar sound like the coolest place in Pokemon Square.

Adren approached the back door and tested the handle. It was locked, of course. Adren huffed and knocked instead. A minute passed and nothing happened. He knocked again, louder this time. Still nothing. Adren hissed a slew of words that would have had Eevee dragged home by his ear and grounded for a month if he were to ever repeat them. The Flareon then proceeded to bang on the door without stopping until the door finally cracked open.

"Get lost," a voice barked. Then the door slammed shut once more.

Adren made a strangled sound of frustration and rage. He slammed on the door once more, then circled back around to the front. "Who do they think they are? Damn idiots," he muttered to himself before trying to push his way to the front of the crowd. He was immediately pushed back and cursed out by everyone around him.

"Wait your bloody turn!"

"Must think he's so special..."

More words and angry rants followed that Eevee would never be allowed to repeat. Adren was getting angrier and angrier as each moment passed in which the world wasn't bending to his will. Eevee really didn't want to be here anymore.

It took two hours of waiting to get close to the door. Eevee was liking this less and less. People were giving him odd looks, Adren's mood was quickly souring, it was dark outside and his mom would be worrying about him. When the finally did get to the front, the Blaziken bouncer simply stared at the two brothers with a mixture of amusement and a tiny dash of curiousity.

"He's with me," Adren said, as if that made either of them any less underaged. The Blaziken raised an eyebrow and smirked. Adren huffed, reached into the pouch carried around his neck and pulled out a small sum of money. He passed it to the bouncer, who took it and laughed before waving them through. Adren was fuming at the reaction. He didn't like to be taken as a joke.

The bar was quite crowded inside, especially around the bar. Eevee tried to stick close to his brother who had somewhat of an easier time of pushing his way through the crowd of Pokémon. Eevee was much too small and could only weave through the patrons' legs and hope not get to kicked or stepped on. All of Eevee's previous excitement had vanished. He wanted nothing more than to leave but dreaded asking Adren to quit whatever this was so they could go and also didn't have the nerve to leave by himself.

Adren made his way to the bar, shouldering his way through the wall Pokémon that blocked his way. There was no way Eevee would be able to push through that and join him. The noise of many Pokémon talking over each other, many of the voices bearing some level of intoxication, made it hard for Eevee to pick up exactly what Adren was saying to the man behind the bar. Blocked from his view, it took some time for Eevee to recognize the voice of who Adren was talking to. He didn't realize that dad was working tonight! That would explain why Adren had been so focused on getting in here. He wanted to show off his new evolution! But from what little of the conversation Eevee was able to pick up, from Adren's rising voice and tensing stance, he was not getting the reaction he had expected.

Eevee's ears flattened against his head and he involuntarily backed away. Adren was getting really worked up. Eevee still couldn't pick up whatever his dad was saying but Adren was making himself heard loud and clear.

"To Hell with you then!" he yelled and stormed away. For the brief moment he left behind an empty space at the bar through which Eevee caught a glimpse of his father. When the Umbreon saw his younger son his eyes widened before the gap was filled by another patron loudly demanding a drink.

Eevee stuck close behind his brother.

"What happened?" he asked.

Adren stopped moving and glowered at no one in particular. "He's just mad that I'm evolved and he won't be able to tell me what to do anymore."

Anything Eevee might have said was cut off by the arrival of the absolute last person Eevew would have wanted to find him here.

"Eevee!" his mother exclaimed, voice filled with concern. Of course his mother would come looking for him. The Absol's concern turned to anger when she confirmed that Eevee was indeed unharmed. Her eyes narrowed. Eevee's stomach dropped. Her eyes turned to Adren and it took her a moment to recognize the Flareon as her son's half-brother. She glared at him with equal parts rage and disgust.

"We'll discuss this later," she finally said before picking him up by the nape of his neck.

Eevee wasn't sure how he expected this night to end, but really this wasn't all that surprising. His mom always seemed to know when he was getting into trouble and exactly where to find him. That had never stopped him from continuing to do it, however.

Crash!

The sudden noise caused Eevee's mom to jump and spin to face its source, the bar. It was suddenly very quiet in the Split Krow, and the patrons around the bar's counter were quickly deciding it would be much safer to move somewhere else. A group of three Pokémon now stood at the bar, two Pinsirs and a Scizor. The Scizor was leaning over the bar, staring down coldly at the Umbreon bartender. Very slowly and precisely, he pushed a glass over the edge of the counter and it shattered on the floor in another loud crash. Eevee's dad flinched and seemed to wither under the stares of the much larger Pokémon.

"You wouldn't be trying to cheat me?" The Scizor asked, easily heard in the overwhelming silence. Another glass shattered on the ground. The Umbreon flinched and said nothing. "We had a good think going, and you wouldn't really have done anything to spoil that, would you?"

"I-" the Umbreon stuttered but stopped when a metal claw swiped down onto the bar, cutting half way through the counter.

"None of your damned excuses!" the Scizor bellowed.

"Leave my dad alone!" Eevee screamed.

Every eye turned to him. Eevee froze. His father's eyes widened further and he looked like his world had just been shattered.

"What's this here?" The Scizor laughed. "What a cute kid you've got here. Maybe you can convince your daddy to be straight with us."

One of the Pinsirs took a step toward Eevee. His mother quickly put him down and put herself between them.

"Honey, you're going to want to stay out of this."

She growled and lowered her stance, clearly ready for a fight. "Keep back," she spat.

The Scizor laughed and with a twitch of his claw signaled his lackeys. Chaos erupted in the bar when the two Pinsirs attacked. The other patrons, Adren included, streamed to the exits. Eevee was too scared to do anything except back up until hit a wall. He didn't even realize he was screaming. His father was yelling at them to stop, he'd give them anything they wanted. The Scizor was laughing.

Eevee's mom was a single mother. She worked two jobs and spent the rest of what little free time she had raising her son. She was a remarkable, hard working woman who never gave up, but she did not know how to fight. She never had to before. And the Pinsirs were merciless.

Sorry about the long wait! The next chapter will be out in a week at most, I promise!