Morai opened her eyes and saw nothing. She assumed she had been blindfolded. She tried to move her arms and legs but they couldn't go very far, as they had been strapped down. She grimaced. She could feel something cold running through her forearm, and she realized that she was hooked up to monitors.
"Morai? You awake?" a familiar voice asked.
"I don't know, maybe you could tell if I weren't blindfolded," she retorted. Her post-unconscious quips obviously weren't the best. She felt her arms and legs being freed, and she took the blindfold off herself to see Giovanni, his executives, and a couple of nurses standing around her. Morai hardly remembered what had landed her here in the first place.
She stretched and wiggled her extremities. It felt like they had been locked in place for hours, and they had grown stiff. The trainer began to unhook herself from some of the machines, and when the nurses stepped forward to stop her, she snarled at them and gave them a red-eyed stare that made them stop in their tracks. She looked at Giovanni with a flat expression, and he shifted his gaze to look everywhere but her eyes.
"Heart rate's rising again," one of the nurses acknowledged.
Morai didn't say anything herself before lunging at the man like she had before. It took three out of the four executives to hold her back, and they were still struggling. Giovanni simply stood there with an unperturbed look. Then, as if cued by Morai's outburst, another man walked in. He took one look at the situation and smiled big.
"It really did work!" he exclaimed with excitement.
"Not quite the way we hoped this time!" Petrel grunted while struggling to hold Morai back. The doctor didn't seem to view what was happening as a failure.
"Her heart rate's getting dangerously high again," one of the nurses said.
"Hold her still," he commanded as he pulled out a vial filled with blue liquid from his white coat pocket. He inserted it into a syringe and approached the group, remembering to look above Morai's eyes. She got even more restless as he got closer, but he didn't hesitate before administering the dose of the mystery liquid.
"You can let her go," he said. As soon as the executives released their hold, Morai quickly turned, grabbed the doctor's coat collar, and slammed him into the wall behind them before putting her hands on his throat. Before she could finish the move, however, her mind cleared just a little, and the adrenaline rushing through her veins seemed to slow. Morai let go and stumbled back to sit on the bed as she adjusted to the changes.
"It's simple, at least as simple as such an ambitious scientific endeavor can be," the doctor started. "Your amateurs made a miscalculation when trying to recreate my formula."
"...That's it?" Proton asked. "She almost died because someone messed up the numbers?"
The doctor nodded. "Not unintentionally, however. I know exactly who did it, which is why I'd like Morai to come with me."
Morai sat at the edge of the bed, staring ahead at nothing in particular.
"So that's what changed in me," she said in almost somber tone. "That's why my memory has been foggier than usual, and why I don't remember being any other person than who I am now. I really am a science experiment."
"Well, I wouldn't put it that way," the doctor answered. "But...you didn't know this? What did you think happened to you?"
"I don't know," Morai replied. "It wouldn't have been the first time that I just changed out of the blue."
Everyone stood silently for a couple of minutes. Morai seemed bothered by what she had learned, but as the doctor had suggested, she hadn't thought of any other cause for the sudden change in her behavior. She had been so caught up in her new life that she had forgotten to consider her old one—or that she had an old life in the first place. Every second gone past seemed like a dream of some sort, and she tried not to dwell on the past too much anyway. But hidden amidst all the fog was a life she had forgotten. Did she want to remember it?
"Let's take a walk, Morai," the doctor finally said again. The trainer was hesitant—the doctor was just a strange man whom she didn't even know the name of, after all, but Morai figured she could hold her own quite well against anyone. Everyone else said their goodbyes and left, while Morai changed clothes and joined the doctor waiting outside.
"So, you're Dr. Frankenstein, I suppose," Morai said as they started walking down the cold, empty hallway. Most of the people had cleared out, but the few Team Rocket members left roaming the halls looked away awkwardly as Morai approached them.
"Well, if I were to compare myself to a classic storybook scientist, I'd more closely relate to Dr. Jek—never mind that. If I may ask, why that choice in clothing?"
"I dressed differently before, which is why you're asking, I'm sure. The short and impersonal answer is that it's fairly easy to fight in while still looking good. Also, I find that the blood red color of my shirt matches my complexion...and, well, actual blood doesn't show up as easily," Morai answered matter of factly.
"I'll take it," the doctor answered. "You seem bothered," he then added as they entered an elevator.
"I have a dilemma," Morai said. "I am who I am because of chemicals you mixed together and injected into my veins."
"Chemicals are the basis for all of our actions, and I can assure you that nothing has been added, but only amplified. Everything you are now was already inside of you. I simply brought it out."
"So I was a monster before this...serum, then."
"If you insist on referring to yourself in that way, then...yes."
"But this is false strength," Morai argued. "This is amplifying powers I know I couldn't use effectively before. It's like cheating."
"It simply amplified a way of thinking that you had pushed down deep, and gave selective abilities room to flourish. Half of your psychic abilities got stronger, yes, but the other half of them are now missing from your arsenal. That violent energy and thirst you feel was there before, and it is now at the forefront of your mind, while other things have vanished. It seems a perfectly reasonable change to me. Besides, you like who you are now, yes?"
Morai searched her mind again for the missing pieces the doctor was talking about, but the fog was too thick. "I do," she answered. She was telling the truth.
"I have to admit at the risk of sounding creepy that I've done extensive research on you, Morai," the man started again. "I believe you developed that 'monstrous' part of you as a result of an adverse experience you had years ago, though in your case it's hard to tell because you developed psychic powers at the same time. Do you remember that?"
Morai hesitated. It was one thing she did remember, though only very vaguely. She remembered how she felt most of all, and that was enough. "Yes," she said curtly.
"You were, ahem, 'accused of a crime you didn't commit', as you put it. Of course, that was an analogy for—" The doctor was cut off by Morai doing the same thing she did when they had first met a mere hour ago. She held the doctor in a two-handed front choke against the wall, teeth bared, and he raised his hands in a calming gesture. He resorted to desperately tapping her arm when she didn't let go the first time. Finally, when he began to lose consciousness, she released him, and he slumped to the ground coughing.
"Note taken," he said. The effort of speaking two words made him cough more. "Though, my point was that this serum also guarantees the result you've wanted to accomplish ever since then. You've become something people fear, and you've just proved it."
The pair arrived at the empty lab, and the doctor grabbed another small red vial from his lockbox and offered it to Morai.
"I thought too much of this is what landed me in a hospital bed," Morai said.
"There's a certain acceptable range. The serum you were given was very well above that range, and you're about to have the opportunity to make things right." The man, whose name Morai still didn't know, called two familiar names down to the lab.
"If you're going to take that, do it now," he suggested. Morai held it in her hand and considered it a moment, then remembered what the doctor had said earlier. If he was playing some sort of mind game, it worked. The Mask Maker took the cap off with her teeth, spit it out, and downed the small amount of serum.
The familiar feeling of heat surging throughout her body returned, and Morai gritted her teeth and dropped the empty vial. Her eyes glowed red for a brief moment again, and the strange feeling of thirst grew almost unbearable. Her breathing became heavier, and the doctor watched closely and wrote down what he witnessed.
Finally, two familiar faces walked through the door. It was the two scientists with whom Morai had had dealings before. She had hardly ever gotten through a visit to any Team Rocket location without them showing up to ask her questions or begging her to let them run some sort of test. It clicked in her mind then that they were responsible for almost killing her.
"If it isn't Morai!" one of them said, chuckling nervously. She walked in front of the door they had just come through, invading the personal space of both of them and causing them to back away. They made quick glances to their colleague, but he did nothing but watch and write.
Battling the Unovian Elite Four didn't daunt Morai, as she didn't plan to battle at all. She had done it years ago before Grimsley, the former Dark-type member, stepped down. Cheren held the interim spot while a permanent member was decided upon. It wasn't the title of Champion that had drawn Morai back to the revered castle-like structure, however, but the psychic member of the Elite Four, Caitlin. Thus, with her mask covering her face, she entered the chambers of the sleeping young woman first.
Caitlin looked like a princess from a fairy tail, with long, flowing blonde hair and sleepy blue eyes. She was cloaked in a white and pink gown that was apparently comfortable enough to sleep in. When Morai reached the top of the long staircase leading up to her flowery bed, she yawned and stretched, her eyes still closed.
"It's me who appeared when the flower opened up. You who have been waiting...you...oh? Oh dear. I recognize that mask, though I thought I remembered seeing another side to it. You're The Mask Maker."
Morai nodded. "You can call me Morai."
"I suppose it's my duty to stop you here and have you arrested, then. But, I do wonder, why did you come here to interrupt my sleep? There are 3 other members in this castle."
"None of them are psychic. I didn't come to cause trouble, but to simply speak to another psychic trainer in hopes of understanding my own powers," Morai replied—rather calmly despite the fact that she had violently taken down several police agents and had come close to death a day before.
"Oh, I see...surely someone saw you come in," Caitlin said in a sleepy voice.
"If they did, they won't be capable of calling for help now," Morai replied. Caitlin understood the implication and nodded.
"Come have a seat, then, I suppose," she said, as if she had no other choice. The only place to sit was her flower bed, which put Morai awkwardly close to the Elite Four member.
"You were born with your abilities, yes?"
Caitlin nodded again. "At least, I've had them for as long as I remember. When I was old enough to battle, I began to realize their true power. When I lost a match, they would spiral terribly out of control due to the negative emotions I felt. I was even forbidden from battling for a while. Eventually, with the help of Darach as well as my own Pokémon, I learned to control my powers and keep my emotions in check."
"I see," Morai said.
"Your abilities aren't very common, you know," Caitlin continued.
"So I've discovered. I've had to train myself to use them, for the most part, which brings me to a different question."
"Do ask."
"You certainly sleep a lot. Do your dreams involve your powers?"
Caitlin put her hands up and shrugged. "If they involve me, they might involve my powers. I've had dreams of them spiraling out of control like they did in the real world."
"But in your dreams, there is only one you, correct?"
Caitlin tilted her head. "Of course. Are there multiple of you in your dreams?"
Morai put her head down in thought. "Well, I don't seem to remember. I feel as if there were, at some point, but I haven't dreamt in weeks. Not since...well, never mind."
"Since the Battle Subway?" Caitlin suggested. The abrupt question made Morai squirm a little. The incident that everyone kept referring to at the Battle Subway might as well have been a distant dream to her, and she didn't understand why everyone kept bringing it up. It was clearly not her who had done whatever had been done.
"I came to get information from you," Morai said, trying to steer the course of the conversation back to Caitlin. The young woman shrugged.
"There's not much more to say," Caitlin stated. "Our abilities aren't the same. I don't think I can help you any further. If that's all, then I'd like to get back to sleep. Let's have our battle and I'll hold you until the authorities arrive."
"There is one more thing," Morai said, ignoring Caitlins last suggestion. "I don't ask people before I hypnotize them, but you have my respect. You've already made the mistake of looking into my eyes, and I'd like to see if I can hypnotize another psychic—especially one with as much power as you. May I borrow your mind for a few seconds?"
Caitlin considered the request for a long time. "You're a violent criminal. I've let you stay for this long because I knew I could hold my own, but it would seem unwise to completely give my mind over to someone like you."
"Then I'll have to take it from you," The Mask Maker replied, standing to face the young woman. Less than a second later, something came flying through the air toward her, and the next thing she knew, she was on the ground, and her mask lay beside her. A Gallade stood between her and Caitlin.
"Musharna! Use Hypnosis!" Caitlin ordered as she released her other Pokémon from it's ball. Most of Morai's own Pokémon were Psychic type and wouldn't be very effective against Caitlin's, but she also had a couple of Dark types on her belt.
"Hydreigon, use Crunch! Bisharp, Sucker Punch!"
Morai let her Pokémon attack while she put her mask on, stood up, and ran to Caitlin.
"If I make you fear for your life, will it cause your powers to spiral?" she asked. It was more of a threat than a question. Her hold on the trainer had been broken, but Caitlin wouldn't look her in the eyes again. Morai was going to have to force her to.
"I just want one thing," Morai said, grabbing Caitlin's head and forcing it to face her. "Look me in the eyes and I'll leave,"
"No!" she protested, squeezing her eyes shut. "You need to be locked away!"
"You leave me no choice, then," Morai said, pressing her finger to Caitlin's forehead and covering her mouth with the other. The young woman winced in pain, opening her eyes for a split second. Morai's own eyes glowed red behind her mask, and she took control of Caitlin's mind.
I can do it. That's all I wanted to know.
Morai called her Pokémon back, and Caitlin's rushed to their trainer's side. Morai still had her under control in case she needed leverage to get out of the area undisturbed.
"You what?" Looker asked, putting a harsh enunciation on the T.
"I...let her go," Chief Landon said, holding Morai's overcoat. "She had defeated all of my men, and I actually got her to talk a little. At least until Team Rocket shot her with something that made her lose control. Whatever it was, something went wrong, and she began to fade quickly. Had I not let them take her, she would've died. Though, I'm not sure that would've been entirely bad..."
"That's alright, Horace," Looker replied with a sigh. "I'd like her alive. We do need to figure out what they've got running through her veins and turning her mind, however. We need a sample of it. We can try and steal it from Team Rocket, but that might take a while, and more people will get hurt. In the meantime, maybe we can try to get it from the science project herself."
"...You mean a blood sample?" Horace asked. Looker nodded.
"I...don't know how to pull that off, to be honest. That would take as much effort as arresting her, and so far no one's been able to do that."
Looker ran his fingers through his hair in thought. "I'd have to double check and make sure it'll work, but I don't think we'd need much of it. We need to find someone that could get close to her. Someone she trusts," he said, mostly talking out loud to himself instead of the chief.
"It's not like we know her actual identity, and no one gets close to that beast without getting punched, clawed, or hypnotized," Chief Landon said as he gestured to his face. Looker eyed him with an expression of near pity. Then he thought of something.
"The subway twins!" he exclaimed.
"My point still stands. I don't think she recognizes anyone anymore."
"They're our best shot. Surely seeing them would jar her memory of the event that made her who she is now," Looker suggested.
"Look, even if we were to get that stuff out of her system...I don't think she'd just change back," Horace said. Looker didn't answer for a few seconds.
"The longer we wait, the less of a chance we have," he finally said.