When Morai woke up, she realized she was in what looked like a hospital room, but it looked very high-end, like just about everything else in the Rocket HQ. The bed was especially comfortable. She had been hooked up to a couple of machines meant to measure and keep track of her vital signs. Her wounds had been cleaned and re-bandaged. What looked like a couple of scientists came in with wide, wry smiles on their faces. She instantly felt uneasy.
"Ah, good, you're awake! How are you feeling?"
"Uh, good, I guess," she muttered.
"Great! As long as you rest and allow yourself to heal, you'll be bouncing back in no time."
"Good. I'll be on my way, then," she answered. She started to get up and unhook herself from whatever machines she was tethered to, but a hand stopped her.
"Wait just a second, if you please, Ms. Maker." the doctor said with a eerie grin. "You seem to have fainting spells quite often, and there's no telling what damage you could have sustained out there. We can't check it out with your mask on your face, though, so if you'd be so kind as to...remove it...perhaps we could help you out?"
Both of them stood hopefully, wringing their hands. It was starting to creep her out.
"Absolutely not," Morai insisted. She struggled to untangle herself from the wires. "I've hit my head before. I would know if something was wrong."
Both of their smiles dropped and were replaced by panicked frowns.
"B-but, wait! You have psychic abilities different than other trainers, and you weren't born with them, correct? You're a scientific anomaly! There's something to be discovered! If we could just take a look inside that head of yours...it won't hurt at all! It would just take some sedatives and an x-ray...and—"
"I. Said. No. Now I would advise you unhook me and get out of here before—"
"Hey! What the heck do you think you're doing? Scram!" Proton said, appearing in the doorway. He pointed to the door and they both gave a "Yessir, our apologies!" before scrambling out.
"Half and Half! Sorry about those guys. Team Rocket hires scientists who are both highly skilled and willing to do illegal experiments. Combine those two and you get...people like that."
"Hm, well I'm glad you came along," Morai said. "Not that I wouldn't mind giving them each a good hit in the nose, but I really should be leaving. I'm eager to get to my own bed."
"Wow, are you serious?! That's awful!" Acerola said. She cut a large stack of fluffy pancakes topped with strawberry glaze and blueberries and put them in her mouth, continuing to talk. "What a jerk!"
"Yeah, that's terrible," Morai added.
Morai sat at a table in a pancake shop, no mask on her face, in a completely ordinary outfit. Her injuries were covered up by a long sleeved summer dress, but she still felt the pain from them. As she listened to Hapu tell her story about how she had attacked her, she felt a pang of guilt. Here she was, sitting with the person she embarrassed and rendered unconscious, at a get-together that she herself had planned. It was a girls' day out, and the large table also sat a few of the Trial Captains, Lillie, and Hapu the Kahuna.
"Look, they're still talking about it on the news," Lana said, pointing to the TV mounted in the corner.
Everyone else watched and gave angry huffs and puffs and gasps, but Morai watched silently. She was watching herself, but it was almost like watching another person. For a brief moment she was overcome by this sick feeling of guilt.
What have I done? I treated a friend of mine terribly, and made a show of it, too. I have to fix this somehow. If they were ever to find out who I really was, they would certainly leave me. I just can't interact with anyone I know while I'm Morai again...or maybe...maybe I should stop this altogether.
After the group finished their pancakes and said their goodbyes on the street outside the restaurant, Lillie turned around.
"Seeing that horrible trainer steal from people like that, i-it makes me so angry! I want this to end...I want to stop her. I've grown a lot, but I can't face her alone...but you can..."
Morai clenched her jaw in anticipation. She knew what was about to come next. Lille reached out and took her hands.
"...Will you help me stop her?"
Lillie looked at her friend with a face of determination, the one she made when she had to stop her own mother from wreaking even more havoc on her life. She was serious. Morai looked at her just as intently, and nodded her head.
"Oh, thank you!" Lillie exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her friend. With the scratches and bites Morai had received just a few days earlier, it hurt, but she didn't mind. Lillie went off with a smile and a skip in her step.
Morai's smile instantly faded the moment Lillie was out of view. She was going to be sick. She broke into a run, called her ride Pokémon, and flew to Malie Garden on Ula'ula Island, going to a secluded area in the back. She sat down by a small pond, breathing heavily. She looked at her reflection in the water.
"A-am I horrible?" She whispered to herself.
Of course you are. You knew that.
Her reflection seemed to change in the water. It changed into something sinister with red eyes and wild hair.
She had thought perhaps that she could split herself into two parts. One of them being her in her normal life, and the other being The Mask Maker. That, to her, justified acting the way she did when she wore the mask, because it wasn't really her. But it was. Those two people are one in the same. She would have to accept that and act accordingly.
But which one of them is true?
She sat and meditated on this question a while. She could've stayed there for hours, trying to solve this complex life equation, but she had somewhere else to be, though now she almost didn't have the mind or stomach to go.
"Thanks for meeting me here. I know this is on short notice, but we need to solve this problem quickly, and I'm fully certain that you can help."
Looker sat across from Morai, taking a Malasada out of its paper wrapping and adding some milk to his coffee. Orange sunlight poured in from the large window beside them as the sun was preparing to sink below the horizon. It looks like he expected to be here a while. "Are you all right? You look a little pale."
"Yes, I'm fine. Tell me about our suspect."
"Well, it's theorized that she possesses actual psychic abilities as opposed to relying solely on the mask, which is what we previously thought," he explained, taking a bite out of his Malasada.
Looker was incredibly perceptive and was definitely highly skilled at his job, as Morai had seen firsthand. Discovering that she in fact was the suspect might not take him very long if she gave him the opportunity.
"How so?"
"Well, if you look here and here..."
He pulled out a tablet and pulled up footage from the incident three days ago.
"It looks like it takes considerable mental effort to do what she does, and if she does it too much she faints, as if her brain has been overworked."
Morai put her hand on her chin in a thinking expression as she looked down at the footage of herself.
"Hmm, that looks to be the case, though it's a bit odd. I've never really seen psychic abilities presented this way from a human, though according to a psychic trainer I know in Unova, apparently skilled psychic trainers can teleport and use telepathy," Morai said.
"It is a little strange that she faints so often, too. Perhaps these aren't psychic abilities but rather some strange technology..." Looker went on talking. Morai did the best she could to pay attention, but she was tired. The past three days had taken its toll on her.
Finally, they parted ways. Looker mainly had gone over theories she of course already knew, and she added her own tidbits of information. No plan was made yet to capture the criminal, because the International Police had very little to go on. The most dangerous assumption Looker had made was that she was now a part of Team Rocket because of the upgrades in her clothing and masks and the fact that she was found with Archer. Still, Morai didn't think he was close to finding her out.
The trainer headed to her Alolan home, deeply troubled but too tired to think about it too much. She just wanted to rest. She changed into some soft pajamas and looked at herself in the mirror. She had scratches and bite marks just about everywhere below the neck. Her muscles ached. She got in the bed and pulled the covers over her as she started to sink into the mattress. The comfort it provided for her aching muscles was immeasurable. She was enveloped in a cocoon of soft warmth and wanted to stay there forever. She closed her eyes and slowly drifted into sleep.
"Thanks for meeting me here. I know this is on short notice, but we need to solve this problem quickly, and I'm sure you can help."
What?
"Are you all right? You look a little pale."
"Um, y-yes, I'm fine. Tell me about our suspect."
"Well, I think we both know her very well."
That's...not the response I was expecting, Morai thought.
"What do you mean?" she asked. She stared at Looker in confusion. He looked at her with a solemn expression, one that wasn't able to fully hide the sorrow underneath. That look shook her to her core.
"...I know you're The Mask Maker. You can't hide it any longer."
"W-what do you mean?" Morai stammered. "I-I—"
"Don't try and deny it. I have to arrest you now. Please just come willingly. There are agents waiting outside. Please don't make this harder than it has to be...don't make me fight you."
"B-but I don't understand! How would you know? How would y—"
Tears started to well up in Morai's eyes and she had a tight feeling in her throat. Looker acted as if she was painful to look at. Tears started to well up in his eyes as well.
"Why? Why did you decide to do this?" He asked. "To become a...a monster? That's not the trainer I know. The trainer I know helped me on missions. She was a hero to everyone, and she—"
"She's gone, alright?!" Morai yelled. "She left! How am I supposed to tell my friends about this weird other side I suddenly have? How am I supposed to tell them that I'm...I'm a monster? Do you think they'd stay by my side? Of course not! Who wants be friends with...who wants to love someone like that?"
At this point, she was just yelling out her frustrations. Her eyes were full of tears
"But I couldn't just get rid of it! I tried to ignore it, but it only got stronger. That vile beast got hungrier, and it became angry because I was shoving it down and trying to lock it there. So what else was I supposed to do? Lock myself away on some secluded island forever? If that would've kept my friends from seeing who I've become, I would do it in a heartbeat..."
She thought of everyone, all of her friends, with the same expression Looker had. She started to sob and fell to her knees. Looker went over to her, and she assumed he was about to arrest her, but she didn't care anymore. He got to his knees and she felt two arms wrap around her. She was surrounded by the cloth of his overcoat. This wasn't what she was expecting, but it wasn't unwelcome.
"I'm sorry. I had no idea...but we can't undo what you've done. You're going to have to face the consequences of your actions."
Morai woke up with a start. She was in a cold sweat and was breathing heavily. She felt her face and felt trails from her eyes where tears had left their mark too.
That's it. I can't do it anymore. I have to ignore it. Just learn to keep it inside and maintain peace. It can't control me, and it's not going to take my friends away from me. I can choose not to be a monster.
And for the next few weeks, she did, but she still found herself being tempted to put the mask back on. She wondered what everyone at Team Rocket thought of her disappearance, and as much as she didn't want to admit it, she kind of missed Proton's murderous over-enthusiasm, and the way Team Rocket felt almost like a family, but she had made a commitment to leave it all behind.
One morning, Morai walked downstairs, still in her pajamas with messy hair, muscles still in need of a good stretch after waking up. She was almost to the last step when she heard a "Hello, Champion." She shrieked and almost fell down the last couple of steps. She gathered herself, leaning on the wall, and looked toward the small living room area.
It was Giovanni.
She was speechless. She obviously wasn't expecting this at all. Regardless of whether she wore the mask or not, dealing with Giovanni comprised of beating him at his own game. You had to remain just as calm and indifferent as he was. It was a silent game of power that was hidden beneath the surface of every social interaction, invisible unless you looked for it. She took a deep breath, composed herself—messy hair and all—and walked towards him. She couldn't show the shock she felt.
"I know you. Giovanni, right?"
"I know you as well. Morai, is it?"
"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about," Morai said, putting a hand to her chest as if offended by such an accusation. "If your business is with her, then the door is over there."
"Are you sure?" Giovanni asked. He held her mask up in his hand. At this point, she wasn't sure whether to admit he was right or hold to her original statement.
"Ah, good! She is working with Team Rocket, then. I'll tell my friends at the International Police. Speaking of, it seems I should give them a call right now," Morai said. She reached for the phone in the pocket of her pajama pants, hands shaking. Giovanni held up a gun in his other hand. What was in it, she didn't know. She froze in place.
"Still denying it, are we? You might come around once you see the evidence I have. Besides, why treat me like an enemy? We've met before and I've supplied you with this and quite a bit of gear" the man said with a smile. He gestured to the mask in his hand. "Come and have a seat and we'll talk this through."
Morai did what he asked. He had a gun, after all. After she sat down, eyeing him the whole time, he put it away.
"I'm going to put this away since we're business partners. I see no reason to push the situation beyond a calm chat between you and I. First off, you do accept that I'm aware of your true identity, right?"
She remained silent. Giovanni, of all people, knowing both of her identities, would put her in a very bad place. Should she get on his bad side, he'd have everything he needed to destroy her life. If she chose to stick to her claim that she wasn't The Mask Maker, she had a feeling that he knew anyway, and the evidence he had was concrete. She knew part of playing the game was adapting to situations like this, but she just didn't know what to do.
"I'm not going to move on until you give an answer, my friend."
"I'm not her," Morai insisted.
"Alright, let's make this quick, I haven't got all day. Do me a favor and lift up your sleeve. Either one will do, since you were bitten by a Krookodile on both of them. Those teeth are nastily sharp and I'm certain the marks are still there."
The trainer still didn't move. She just couldn't make a decision. She had tried to leave that part of her life behind, but it was coming back to bite her in ways you couldn't see.
"Allow me to accelerate the process a bit. Excuse me," Giovanni said. He got up, set her mask beside her and rolled her sleeve up her arm, holding her own arm in front of her so she could see the faded marks. She was frozen. Her brain took longer to process things like this, and it often left her own her own with nothing to do or say.
"Is that evidence enough, or shall I go further?" he asked.
"...Alright. Fine. You got me. I was her, but not anymore. You can have everything you gave me back if you want, but I don't want anything to do with any of this anymore."
"Are you sure? Why is that?"
"I don't have to tell you that. I'm done. Give Proton, Archer, and Petrel my regards. I'm afraid I won't see them again, unless I'm helping the International Police arrest them."
"Ah, but I'm really curious. You were so determined and you seemed content with how things were playing out. What changed?"
"Don't you know who I am? Me, not that monster. I don't do that," Morai said.
"But do you want to?"
"No!"
"I'm afraid you're forgetting something. You and that 'monster' are one and the same," Giovanni started. "If you quit, you're denying that that part of yourself exists. You're repressing the convictions that you hold so strongly because people don't agree with them, but since when did you let other people control how you live your life? I think you'd agree that most people don't agree with me, and most people don't agree with you either, but look at us. We agree with each other, right? And look at me, pulling strings from the shadows, constantly garnering more and more power. But what about you? Are you just going to get left behind? Living your days thinking of what could've been? How you could've improved this world to your liking, only to let it go on destroying itself? You were given your abilities for a reason, and if not for this, then what are they for?"
Morai thought for a moment. He had a point, of course. He always did. His way with words was astounding. But one question stood out in her mind.
"Before you start trying to change the world, you must first master yourself," she said. "I'm controlled by the whims of an insatiable beast. When I repress it, it gets angry. When I indulge it, it only wants more. That is not balance. If I take your little speech to heart and put the mask back on, can you, Giovanni, help me achieve balance?"