Chapter Thirty-Five: Cast Away

"I never took into account that they would have such mental strength." Vela shook her head in disappointment. "I thought that these tests would be enough to break them. I apologise, Master."

Giratina didn't seem to express any anger at the former psychiatrist—instead, a gentle smile curled onto his face, making him look even more daunting than usual—it just wasn't right for the leader of the distortion world to flash such an expression.

"That is fine. Do not worry about it—none of us expected them to be able to do it," he reassured. "I do not blame you. The most important thing was to isolate Celeana all along—and you more than succeeded at that. Do not worry about the other two—Ryou and Quinn are no match."

The woman nodded in relief, but her gaze drifted to the ground—the feline that used to be her ally was laid out in the ground, eyes closed—rhythmic breaths signified that she was alive, that she would be fine, but she showed no sign of waking up soon.

She gestured at the unconscious Meowstic. "What about her?" she queried. "Wasn't she your subordinate? She was the one whom I worked with to form these traps, was she not? If so—what on Earth did you do to her...?"

A sigh rumbled in the Legendary's throat, and the Pokemon made his way over to the crumpled form on the ground before him. "It seems that I have forgotten to tell you this," he mused. "The puppeteer you see here is nothing but a puppet in the end."

Noticing his employee's confused expression, he carried on. "It may not have seemed that way, but that Pokemon was being swayed by my power. I do apologise for this sudden revelation—it was the only way at that time."

"In other words, I influenced every action that she made—if you would like to be harsh, you can call it some form of possession. Now that her role is over, she cannot do anything. I have released her from her pain—and if she chooses to join the opposition, it will not make much difference."

The blonde-haired woman stared down at her hands in disbelief—of course, she'd thought of the Master as someone more cruel than his subordinate, but she hadn't expected the Meowstic to be simply another Pokemon.

"She was acting against her will?" Vela's voice was soft in the face of absolute terror. "Then—then, does that mean that I, too—"

Giratina tilted his head back to face her—something far too unnatural and impossible for any regular Pokemon. His voice was warm; it contained emotion she never thought she'd see. "Who knows?" Shrouding his true intentions on purpose, he continued. "Going against one's intentions to achieve them in the end is sometimes necessary."

He made a proper turn so that there was no need to turn his head. "I try—and will try—my best to be a kind king," he informed. "I am doing all this so that everyone will be happy in the end—and not end up with a fate like mine because of the real world's hierarchy."

What he was doing wasn't as bad as others would make it out to be. Both his coworkers already had these emotions at the bottom of their hearts, no matter how much they wanted to admit they didn't—all he did was use those emotions to his advantage. If they didn't have those desires, then he would have never have been able to use them—and he wouldn't have wanted to taint innocent souls in the first place.

"Miss Enya, I suggest that you do not pay any attention to her." He spoke in a brisk, businesslike tone—as if he was trying to deny his sins and end the conversation as fast as he could. "I am giving her the choice to decide her fate."

The momentary sparkle in her eyes dulled—a sign that the hypnotism was back in place. His mind had gone weak for a second—he couldn't afford to let it happen again. His emotions were making him go soft; emotions that dabbled in his past and Arceus.

Arceus' sins. Everyone regarded that beast as someone perfect; someone that could do no evil to the world. His brother wasn't that—he was just coated in a layer of pretty, edgeless lies that had been disguised so well—and the paint was thus used to cloak the world in a hidden lie.

He didn't blame the Lord, however—Fate was merely using him as a pawn to carry out their duties. Deep down, he was could have been hurting for some reason or other.

This was, however, how their very own fate would play out in this world. For the both of them—and for all the humans and Pokemon in the world whom Fate did injustice to—he would carve another world where everyone wouldn't be hurt.

"Well then, I have to be going," the Legendary remarked, his voice kind. "Thank you for all your hard work—it is certain that Celeana has failed the test you set. To say that she asleep is incorrect—all the anger and fear inside her have consumed her mind. And it is with this—with her emotions going loose—that I will be able harness the power to, in turn, drain emotions."

Behind him, the blonde-haired woman blinked, her statement one of mere observance and not of rebel. "In other words, you're going to posses her, are you not? You're going to possess her just as you did with the Meowstic, right?"

"I told you; I just influenced the Pokemon's actions." A light smile formed on his face. "I admit to this sin, however. Even though using such a dreadful thing like emotions goes against my ultimate goal, it is necessary for the final result. The new world will make up for my mistake."

And, as he said that, he turned around, one of his ghostlike raven streamers—only present in his Origin Form, of course—curled towards the psychiatrist, beckoning her to follow in his steps. A crimson eye flicked backwards, his gaze watching the young, sleeping Meowstic behind him in weary silence.

"Good night, Meowstic." His voice was just like a sad, jaded father's—and, Enya noted—it contained no trace of malice or hidden intentions. He meant every bit of what he said. "I do hope you consider your choices. Have...have a good rest."

With that, he was gone.

• • •

"So, this has been your hideout." Giratina glanced around the galaxy-like dimension, moving through the wide, never-ending realm with ease. "I apologise for not visiting in person—it was all I could do to convey my intentions through Meowstic."

As if she was a robot, the woman nodded, the action crisp and slow as her throat formed a reply. "That is fine," she reassured, her response almost immediate. "I would say that Meowstic had done a good job sealing this off from her world. For such a young Pokemon, her power is certainly impressive."

"Indeed." The Legendary was pleased by how hard the feline had worked to run the base—yet, at the same time, a wave of guilt washed over him like ice-cold water; it numbed him to the bone, knowing that he had been the one who had tweaked every sense—every thought that she might have had.

He shook his head—he had already known that a few sacrifices were needed for this. Besides, he had already decided to leave this final decision up to her; to whatever remainder of the young, untainted child he had managed to protect from the "evil" he'd forced her to commit.

I really do treat her like a daughter sometimes, he thought, good-natured humour creeping into his voice—but he couldn't let that distract him. "I did not come here to sightsee, though—but it is natural that I would know what it already looks like. If I remembered, the Meowstic—"

"—kept children here." Vela finished off his sentence, nodding at another section of the twisted world they were now in. "They are this way; follow me."

Not even her high heels made a noise as they entered—the Legendary expected to hear the click-clack of shoes with every step, but that sound never came and he had no choice to get used to that fact. Instead, he concentrated on what was ahead of him—rapid mumbles of fear and confusion filtered into his ears in an instant.

It was disheartening to see the negativity fostering in the room; the frowns and tearstained cheeks of the hiding children brought the god—at least, a god in his own world—an uncanny feeling of estranged sadness.

"Please, do not cry." He lowered his head, letting the little ones know that he did not mean any harm, and kept his voice as quiet as he could. "I am not here to hurt you, and I do apologise for what Meowstic has done—she is my subordinate, and I should have managed her better."

Suspicion still lingered in their eyes, but the malice and terror in them had dimmed down to a reasonable glow—and the Pokemon thought that it was an acceptable time to start. "I come to offer an escape to this," he smiled. "I am aware of what she has done."

"She will not be higher up on this hierarchy anymore," Giratina told them. "We will all be living in an ideal world together, where we'll all be happy; our lives will all pass smoothly. How does that sound—no more pain in a beautiful new world?"

They were just children, after all—and their hearts had all been seized by his feline coworker. She had done an excellent job on raising them, if he looked at things from his perspective—they were all eager to shed away this useless jacket of emotions in the fiery summer of torment that the cat-like creature had brought upon them.

Of course, they couldn't understand everything he said—they were only mere eight-year-olds, after all—eight-year-olds that hadn't received sufficient education.

They could, however, receive the clear-as-crystal message he was trying to bring across. Children were often more perceptive than adults thought—some even more so than their older counterparts, and he had confidence they could see the meaning in "no pain".

"No...pain..." As if they were one big, hoarse chorus, they chanted the phrase in unison, hollow eyes devoid of any sharp emotion as they stared at him—no longer in fear, but in hungry, eager interest. "No more pain...follow you."

A smile stretched over his pale skin, and he praised them for their intellect—he did mean it from the very bottom of his heart. Do I even have a heart? Did Arceus create me to have a heart? Did Fate tell him not to give me one?

Deciding to brush the matter aside—heart or no heart, it didn't matter—he glanced at them once more, flaming gaze trapping them in a haze of absolute hypnotism that he brought down with an iron fist. Left to float amongst time-enclosed remains of darkness for years—thousands of years—had been painful, but it had sharpened his mind; had honed his skill to as near perfection as he could go.

He was pleased that he did not need to waste much more of his pointless gift on the children—he truly would dislike it if he gained all his followers through this underhanded method. No, these humans were already halfway convinced—all they needed was the tiniest push.

"Yes," he nodded, "you are all such smart children. You have already figured it out, haven't you? Where true happiness lies...this world can only bring eventual sadness. My world will erase that feeling. I do not want anyone to experience that pain."

Silence followed—a grating silence that he hated—despite his demeanour and the fact that he did need time alone—he had times where even he needed noise in his life. I do not want to restrict them from speaking, he frowned to himself. That was never my intention.

Keeping that thought in mind, he paid a brief glance to his audience. He knew they wouldn't disappoint him—now, they wouldn't run away from his life. He supposed that there was a reason he made Meowstic say what she said to Celeana—although worlds apart, their views on life did have some similarities.

They are not going to cast you aside like Arceus did, he mused. And they're not going to have any chance of leaving you because of differing views—what Meowstic might do when she wakes up.

He turned to them, peering into each and every one of their dull optics to make sure that they were under his spell. Satisfied, he spoke again, his voice reverberating around the room in a deep rumble, the words slow and deliberate. "Who are you now?"

"We serve you, Giratina." Their voices were firm, their stand unwavering. The children peered up at him—those youthful irises were hollow, but they were as ravenous as they had been when he'd first entered. Now, however, they were hungry for a different reason—they wanted the world he had promised.

And he would give it to them. He didn't want them to suffer any further. They couldn't survive any longer as they were—Meowstic had turned them into something different. Something slightly different from a human.

Layers of skin peeled off, revealing nothing but shadowy wisps underneath—they had started to change long ago. What remained was murky darkness that resembled the vague silhouettes of what were once young children—a deep indigo that was a trademark of the Distortion World.

"We are now your servants," they chanted, "and we will be your loyal shadows."

• • •

Eh, so I was kind of motivated to finish up a chapter? I just want to finish this book by my birthday (6 more chapters!!) even though it's impossible. I wanna try cx 

Heh. So comps are over and I actually have a proper study schedule now --> more time to write cx Side note, but I bowled near a person called Enya during the first day 0-0 I was internally screaming this is how much love I have for dis book

Also !! This is pure villains angst, isn't it? //sighs At least forgive the Meowstic, OK? xD Giratina wasn't always supposed to be this nice either. It just kinda...happened. Yeah.

Besides that, thank you SO MUCH for 9.5K reads and 1153 votes! That's about a 400+ increase in reads :o My next goal is 1168! (and interjection hOLY SHIT I'M ALMOST AT 10K READS WHAT IS THIS SORCERY)

Critiques are most certainly welcome, and don't forget to read, vote and give your thoughts in the comments! Please be 100% honest!

~ nyxia ☆