Sigh....
Morai laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. It was one of those days again. One of the days where she couldn't put genuine thought behind anything she did. She couldn't think at all, really. It wasn't because she was tired or sad or sore, but simply because it was the price she paid for having the life she had now.
One day, she had been given a gift. She discovered that she had received the tiniest spark of a new ability, the ability to tap into and control the minds of other people, but she had to cultivate and feed that spark until she could do anything of the sort. It took months of meditation and practice just to reach the weak ability she had now, and even still, she receives help from Malamar and the masks Team Rocket made. Not to mention that it gives her painful headaches. One day, theoretically, she would be able to simply look at someone, or even multiple people, and take hold of their minds.
But what exactly caused all of this? Your guess is as good as hers. Imagine discovering you have some sort of psychic ability AND the desire to use it for some newfound purpose.
The trainer dragged herself out of her Alolan hideout bed and got ready. She usually didn't go out as The Mask Maker on these days, because she was more prone to making thoughtless mistakes, but she had agreed to something.
"Well, well, well! It's good to see you again. I can't express how ecstatic we are that you've agreed to our proposition."
I'm starting to think I've made a really, really big mistake.
Morai stood in front of the two scientists that had tried to convince her to take her mask off and let them scan her brain several weeks ago. When she finally decided to, she asked Proton if there was anyone else that could do it.
"No one? At all?"
"No, sorry," Proton said with a shrug. "They're the ones that will do it the best. They're skilled in both science and medicine. They kind of suck, but they know what they're doing."
The Mask Maker hesitantly followed them to one of the lower floors. When the elevator doors opened, an eerie silence fell upon the cold and dim floor. Doors that led to dark rooms lined the halls. She could see a blinking red light faintly illuminating the area on the left. The trainer walked with them out of the elevator, then stopped. Her stomach lurched and the hair on the back of her neck stood up. Things had happened in these labs, and the floors beneath no doubt held darker secrets. Her mask scanned the area and found no life. They were the only breathing things on this floor.
"You know what?" she abruptly said. "I've changed my mind. I'm not doing this today."
She backed up, but ran into one of them.
"No, no! Don't be silly," one of the scientists said with a nervous laugh. "You can't change your mind now! This place does have a little bit of an...unsettling atmosphere to it, but once we get the lights on, it'll be better."
"I said I'm leaving. Now move aside," Morai demanded. She started to reach into her coat for a mask, sending the message that if he didn't move she was going to use it. The scientist behind her clasped his hands together and nodded in anticipation, but she didn't notice. The one blocking her path understood, and stayed in place.
My head is so foggy, I'm not in the mood for this. I thought he'd move.
"Move," she demanded again.
"I'm afraid I can't do that, miss. The potential knowledge to be had is too valuable!"
Oh fine then.
Morai took out her mask and threw it like a frisbee. It found his head and latched on, almost too easily. He had made no effort to get out of the way. The scientist behind her chuckled. Morai wasn't looking to expend much mental effort, so she simply had the doctor run out of the way towards the other one and making him move to avoid getting knocked over. She ran towards the elevator, but an Arbok appeared before her, hissing and threatening to strike. She was already starting to get a headache.
"See, you're already giving us a wealth of information, which brings up so many questions!" the remaining scientist exclaimed.
Between controlling one of the researchers, keeping an eye on the other, and battling Arbok, Morai's foggy brain was spent. Her headache had grown into a throbbing mess and she started to feel ill. She was stubborn, though, and wasn't going to just quit. She called the mask she had thrown back to her to free up some mental space. She reached for Hydreigon's Pokéball, but was too slow. The other researcher had sent his Hypno out. She was surrounded.
"Here's an experiment!" he exclaimed. "Can a Pokémon take control of a mind capable of controlling others? Will your new mask stop you from experiencing Hypno's effects? You were put to sleep by a grunt's Pokémon at one point, but have your own abilities grown enough to stop that from happening now? It usually takes a mere 3 seconds to put someone to sleep with Hypno's pendulum, but can you withstand it? Let's test it, shall we?"
His annoying cackle rang through his gritted teeth. He pointed at her, signaling Hypno to start the attack. Morai threw one of her masks back out as a latch ditch effort, but Arbok caught it. Broken shards fell to the ground as the mask was crushed between its jaws, the red bioluminescent liquid from the gem dripping from its mouth. It flashed ever so faintly, until the light was no more. Morai felt a sort of sadness watching it die, but she didn't have the time to worry about it now. She put her arm across her face, looking out over her elbow with one eye. She looked down and braced herself. Even if she didn't look at the pendulum, there were multiple ways she could fall asleep. She felt something strange in her head, and thought she had lost the battle. But then she heard a voice.
Don't resist. Just trust me, it whispered in her mind.
...Hypno?
No, I'm going to get you out of this place. But you have to let me take control of your mind.
Who are you? And why would I do that?
You have no choice unless you want to be put to sleep and studied like a Pokémon.
Morai didn't know if she was having some sort of dream or auditory hallucination, but she closed her eyes and let whatever was going to happen happen until she wasn't aware of herself anymore. She was vaguely conscious, but had no control of her own actions. She couldn't see, but she felt and heard herself fall. In the present, she could hear vague sounds, but it didn't matter to her. She felt like she was asleep. She could've sworn she heard an echoing yell of dismay before fading into darkness.
When she awoke, she found herself in front of the elevator doors on one of the higher floors, sitting on the ground.
What are you? she asked.
A Pokémon created by these terrible people. There is nothing good to be gained from partnering with them. Leave before you're blinded by lies and ambushed in the darkness by the snake waiting patiently for your demise.
That's way too many words right now for the state my brain is in...hey, I think I remember now. You're Mewt—
Leave. While you still can.
And with a twinge of pain, the voice that had inhabited Morai's mind was gone.
"Hey, Half and Half!"
Proton came walking up to her, but when he saw her grimacing and holding her head, he started to walk faster. She had picked herself up by then.
"Hey, are you okay? I was just coming to check on things. I got caught up with a...situation," he explained.
"Tell your idiot scientists to watch their backs," Morai said, pointing a finger to his chest and walking off, stumbling as she tried to find an exit.
"Hey! What happened? We can work it out...and, uh, if you're trying to leave, you have to take the elevators to a different floor," he called out.
The trainer grunted, turned around, and angrily walked back to the doors. Proton got in the elevator too. Morai pressed the button that would take her to the roof. As the doors shut and classical music started to play, they both stood in silence for a solid few seconds, Morai with her arms crossed.
"It's nice to see you back here, you know. You could stick around and grab dinner with us or something," Proton said.
"I have a headache. I'm going home," Morai responded tersely.
She called Espurr out of its Pokéball and the Pokémon immediately went to rest on her head. They were in silence again, now with a pink cat in their company. The doors opened and she stormed out, Proton lingering behind her.
"See you soon!...or whenever. I'll find out what happened and take care of it!" he called out. The other trainer gave no reply as she hopped on Corviknight and flew off, Espurr still laying over her head.
"Alright then, good talk! Bye!"
I should've stayed home today. I could've just waited this out. I wanted to know about my head though. It's taken a few hits and that can't be good for it. I still want it checked out. I can't go to a normal doctor either. If there's something in my current brain makeup that suggests I have this ability, I'll automatically be outed as The Mask Maker. What am I supposed to do?
Morai was starting to feel ill again. As much as she didn't want to, she had to land. She was over Ula'ula island at this point, so she decided to land in the back corner of the gardens. It was dark now, and there was usually no one in that area this time of night. The trainer landed and hopped onto the cool grass. She took her gloves off, and in a rare show of desperation, she took her mask off just long enough to splash cool water from the lake onto her flushed face.
"Let go!" someone yelled.
Morai almost jumped out of her skin, she crouched down and put her mask back on, staring at the figures across the gardens that were barely illuminated by lamplight. One had their hand locked around the wrist of the other, trying to drag her along.
"I told you, give me everything you have or you're going to regret it!" the man said.
"No! I'm not giving you anything!" the woman insisted. She planted her feet and tried to pry his hand off of her arm.
Sigh...I don't have the energy for this...but I can't just sit by and do nothing.
Morai hopped on Corviknight and flew over the short distance. The bird gave a squawk before starting to land right between the two people, forcing the man to let go.
"Stop trying to rob people, eh? Find an honorable way to earn your way," she said.
"Huh? Hey...you're that freak from the news! I thought you were a fake or something. If I turn you in, I'll get a ton of reward money," the robber replied.
"Yeah, that's not going to happen. Now I'd recommend you leave before you end up in that pond over there."
"No way! And shut up about honorable living! You rob people too!"
"Don't compare what I do to what you're doing," Morai said. "You're just trying to get extra cash and the adrenaline rush that comes from crime. I hate people like you. You're among the weakest."
The trainer knew he wasn't going to just walk away, so she unbuckled her bag to get a Pokéball.
"And what do you steal Pokémon for, huh? You idiot! It's the same thing!" the robber said. He grabbed a Pokéball and sent out a Scrafty.
Before she had called her Pokémon out, Morai's opponent had already ordered his to attack. Her Gyarados jumped out and tackled the Scrafty just in time. She took the opportunity to grab a mask and throw it, while Gyarados quickly defeated the other Pokémon.
"Now, I told you you'd end up in that pond," Morai said.
She pointed to the body of water and the masked robber climbed onto the nearby bridge and cannonballed off. She called the mask back before it hit the water. The man, who was closer to a teenager, thrashed around in the water and scrambled onto the bank, coughing before passing out. Morai walked over to him and returned his Pokémon to its ball. She didn't care enough to take it. The world looked hazy now. Her brain fog was getting worse. She sat down in the grass and closed her eyes. She wanted to take her mask off.
"Um, hey, are you okay...and is he okay?" the woman asked, hesitantly walking over. "I was enjoying a walk and he ambushed me out of nowhere! The nerve of some people..."
"His name is Christopher, if you want to report it. Just leave me out of the story. He's fine. Sometimes I have that effect on people," Morai replied.
"I see. How do you know his name?"
The Mask Maker pointed to the red eye on her mask.
"Speaking of, you are The Mask Maker, right? You don't really seem like the kind of person they said you were on the news...are you some sort of vigilante or are you actually a criminal? Rumor has it you've joined Team Rocket."
"I'm a monster," Morai replied. "I'm not solely one thing or the other. That's the whole point."
"Well, you don't seem like a monster to me. You could help a lot of people."
"I am helping people. Just not in the way you'd think. I think we both should leave before more people show up. Someone had to have heard this whole exchange."
The Mask Maker released Corviknight and slowly stood up. She leaned onto the Pokémon for a second, closing her eyes. It put its wing around her.
"I can't see your face, but you don't seem well," the woman said. "I have some medical background. Can I help you in some way? You just saved me, after all."
"I'll be fine. I just need rest."
Corviknight lifted Morai onto its back and flew off. She arrived at her regular Alolan home, dragged herself inside, and quickly took her mask off, letting out a sigh. She grabbed leftovers and water from her fridge to try and replenish her energy. This was simply her reality some days, even if she didn't do anything too taxing on the mind. It was like trying to run through sand. This feeling is why she wanted to get her brain checked out. But if a problem was found that could be fixed, would she lose her fledgling psychic ability? Did she even still want this power?
She had found herself in an entirely new world, yet the only people she could befriend were criminals. Even still, no one knew how she felt. Torn between two identities. She was kind to everyone when she was without her mask, maybe even a little too kind, but she felt like a cruel monster. When she wears the mask of a monster, is she really unmasking her true identity?
And that Pokémon in Team Rocket labs...ugh! This whole situation is like a maze. Twists and turns everywhere in search of an answer.
Is this the price I'm paying for greatness? Or is this the start of my downfall?