Chapter 61 – Madness from the Shadows
Blessing awakened in a room that was decorated with photos and homemade figurines and dolls of herself as well as a lot of pillows and blankets with her likeness on it. Said blanket was draped over her, which she tossed off of herself upon awakening. She was quite freaked out when she saw all the immortalizations of herself. Her times in jail had taught her exactly what this meant, and so her desire to get out of the weird room skyrocketed. She ran to the door and tried to open it only to find it was locked from the outside. She tried breaking it down, first with her feet, then with her shoulder, then with any heavy object in the room she could lift. Nothing worked. She had similarly futile results with the window.
"Now, now, no need to fatigue yourself."
Out of Blessing's shadow came Cardinal Vinilli, who was unusually well-groomed and smelled of cologne.
"Let me out of here!" Blessing demanded. "What do you want with me?! And… *sniff sniff* are you… getting ready for a date or something?"
"You could say that."
"Who with? Because let me tell you right now: if it's me you're thinking of wooing, just give up now, because you have absolutely zero change with me."
"Oh, let me guess: it's because I'm male and you're female, and you're only interested in other females."
"That, and the fact that I'd never ever fall in love with a total scumbag like you! I mean, really, how can I possibly fall in love with someone who's participated in multiple Church raids and even ordered a few himself?!"
"In time, you'll learn to. Besides, you only think you can love outside of your own Type. Well, I hope to educate you that only a fellow Dark-type like me is meant for you. Pokémon dating outside their own Types is a truly abominable crime against existence."
"Oh, you mean the thing your 'goddess' wants erased?"
"SILENCE!" Vinilli stomped the ground, knocking Blessing over with the energy wave released. "You will NOT disrespect the Prophet! Her will is the one true destiny for the world, and it WILL be shown respect!" He took a deep breath and composed himself. "You get a warning this time for that little transgression. I won't be able to pardon a repeat offense so easily."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it. But WOW are you stupid for decrying my choice of date as being the worst thing in the world while condoning ACTUAL EVIL. Just a part of the Church's job description, huh: blatant hypocrisy."
"You'd best not tempt me. It's only because I love you that I'm giving you this chance to live. But I see you need some adjustment. I have things to do right now, so you just stay here and pay attention to the video I'll be leaving on for you. And don't think you'll be leaving, because you won't."
Vinilli immobilized Blessing in a large block of ice that froze everything except every part of her head above her mouth, effectively muffling her but allowing her to breathe. He then set the TV back up.
"You couldn't even break this thing when using it to try to escape?"
As soon as it was functional again, he loaded a disc with a video on it, placing it on repeat.
"I'll be back as soon as I can, my little Blessing."
Vinilli entered a shadow cast by Blessing's mostly-frozen body and left the room.
"Okay, Mori, I promise you'll like this next one," Tastebud said. "It's an ability you can use to track other Shadow-types."
"Sounds nice," Mori replied dismissively.
"You doing okay, buddy?"
"I'm fine. I just need a break today."
"From training? From me? What from?"
"Just…everything. I want to be left alone today."
"Oh…all right, then. But just know you can talk to anyone in the house if you have any problems. We're all here for you, pal."
Tastebud left Mori's room to let his pupil have his break. Upon gaining privacy, Mori simply sat there and reflected on what had transpired in his dream the previous night.
"Pelame… please don't give up."
"Morikain, please don't give up," Cléo thought as Vand drove her to school.
"Cléo, you awake?" Vand asked.
"Uh…what? Huh?" Cléo jolted awake at Vand's call. Once Vand pulled into the parking lot, he had to rouse Cléo awake again.
Over the course of the day, Cléo's lethargy caused her to nod off lots of times. She never did enter complete sleep, keeping her from seeing Mori again in a dream conversation. Such a subject remained on her mind all day, keeping her virtually unfocused on anything else. As a result…
"OOOF!" she said once a kickball came careening from her left and hit her nose.
"Sorry, Cléo," shouted Margeaux who hadn't been able to catch the ball in time once Vand had passed it to her.
"It's okay."
"Pay attention, Cléo!" Vand scolded. "This is the sixth time you've let the ball hit you."
"Sorry, Roshy."
"Are you doing okay?" Margeaux asked.
"Yeah. My nose is throbbing a bit, though. I think I'll be fine if nothing else hits it."
Cléo passed the ball back to Vand and Margeaux, having to use her tail instead of her nose being as it had been freshly damaged.
"Any sign of her?" Treasure frantically asked.
"Not yet," Torquemagi answered. "Vinilli's hidden her well. He's off on a Church mission, so she's thankfully free from him for the time being. I can only hope we find her before he returns."
Torquemagi resumed his search through the shadows for Blessing. His search was very close to coming up empty, but then he suddenly caught the faintest trace of her presence. It soon faded, but in the short time it was active, he caught a glimpse of where she was. He saw the room she was in and all the items in her image strewn around, but the point of most interest was the window, out of which he saw icy mountains.
"He used to use that place for his private vacations." Torquemagi thought to himself. He turned to Treasure to let her know the news.
"I know where she is now. She's being kept in Vinilli's vacation residence in the mountains just south of here. We'd better get there quick. There's no telling when Vinilli will be back."
"But you'll be able to tell, right?"
"Yes, just as I did with Blessing just now. She was trying to merge into a shadow to escape, but she's currently mostly frozen in a block of ice, so she couldn't do it. And, frankly, she's not experienced enough with Shadow Power to merge into them. I'd be willing to teach her, though."
"Then do so once we save her!"
The two went on their way to the mountains to the south, encountering a fair bit of difficulty on the trip. Ultra Beasts barred their path, though they fell quickly to Torquemagi.
"Is it just me, or do all Ultra Beasts make that exact same sound when they die?" Treasure asked upon hearing the Ultra Beasts' dying screech. The same dying sound made by a Nihilego came out of a Pheremosa, prompting Treasure's question.
"They do," Torquemagi answered. "It translates to something I'm not certain of, but I'm guessing it's a call for backup, as every time that sound is made, more Ultra Beasts appear nearby."
"So then, should we just evade these ones to keep a low profile?"
"That's really not easy to do."
The two continued their climb, finding it impossible to spare any Ultra Beasts. As Treasure suspected, this worked against them quite a lot, as one final Ultra Beast she hadn't seen before blocked the driveway to the cabin. It had a large head and a very colorful body.
"Oh dear… this isn't good," Torquemagi whispered to Treasure. "Watch out for Blacephalon's fire attacks."
"It's a Fire-type?"
"Yes, and a Ghost-type, too. It can't take many hits, but it's a chore to even land any considering its erratic movements. If it finds us, we're going to be in for quite a struggle. So, just follow my lead, and we'll… hmm? Where did it go?" The cabin was suddenly unguarded. The ground Treasure was standing on heated up quick, making her jump in surprise, clutching her feet in pain and planting them in the snow. Where she formerly stood was a shadow portal out of which suddenly shot out a Fire Blast whose five corners disconnected and landed around Treasure, burning her.
"Get down!" Torquemagi ordered as he scooped up an armful of snow. He tossed it at Treasure, extinguishing the flames and cooling her down.
"Thanks!" she said as she climbed out of the show.
"Don't thank me yet. We have a Blacephalon to deal with. It's right under you!"
Treasure quickly jumped out of the way, but the cinders of the fire geyser that had just erupted still landed on her and Torquemagi, inflicting burns on them both. The creature then materialized in front of Treasure and snared her with threads that were on fire, burning the section of her torso the threads were tied around. It bent its glowing head down to Treasure's face. Acting quickly, Torquemagi wrestled Treasure free from the Ultra Beast's grip and tossed the creature at the cabin's front door. Once it exploded, a giant hole was left in the cabin's front side, allowing Treasure and Torquemagi in.
"She's in the basement floor. Let's find her and leave before Vinilli gets back."
"All right. Let's do it."
Though it didn't take long to find the way downstairs, Treasure couldn't help but admire the cabin's décor. It was all done with ice; meticulously crafted ice sculptures in the images of certain landmarks and certain Pokémon lined the walls and shelves. As soon as they got to the basement, her admiration ended and was replaced with overwhelming disgust and apprehension. All along the walls, ceiling, and floor were pictures of Blessing. Right along with them were pictures of Treasure with targets and the words "KILL THE HOMEWRECKER" scrawled on them.
"Who's the homewrecker, Vinilli?!" Treasure thought to herself as she kept searching the rooms in the basement. As soon as she reached a door covered in ice, she knew where her girlfriend was. "Torquemagi, she's in here," she called back, shivering as she did so.
"All right. Stand back." With just one swing of a Hammer Arm, Torquemagi had the frozen door and the wall of ice behind it broken down. Within the guarded room dwelled Blessing, still mostly frozen. As soon as she saw Treasure and Torquemagi coming to the rescue, she resumed her struggle to escape.
"Hold still, Blessing dear," Treasure said. Turning back to Torquemagi, she told him, "Be careful with her. She's part Dark-type, you could really hurt her if you do this wrong."
"Don't worry. She'll be fine." And with one more swing of a Hammer Arm, she was freed. She and Treasure immediately embraced. It felt nice to Treasure, as her body temperature was dropping quickly.
"Now let's go before Torquemagi returns, dearie," Treasure said.
"Cléo, you really have to get this sleeping problem of yours under control," Vand advised. "Miss Cheremie's noticing you nodding off in class, and worse, so has Senso. What time did you go to bed last night?"
"9:00 PM, like always. Well, that was when I went to bed… it took longer to fall asleep. I think it was around 12:09AM that I finally did. I just wish I could re-*yawn* remember what the dream was about."
"I agree it's awful that the Prophet keeps swiping your very dreams from you, but dwell on this issue over the weekend, okay? This distraction's making you fall behind in school."
"Okay, Roshy."
Vand pulled the car into the school's parking lot, parked, and let themselves out. They entered the class and waited patiently for the teacher along with the rest of the students. Miss Cheremie entered, her presence eliciting a "good morning, Miss Cheremie" from all the students. Then when it came time to hand in the previous day's homework, Cléo became apprehensive and apologetic. Being the honest girl she was, she lined up as if to turn in homework. She placed herself last in line so as to not cause anyone to have to wait much too long to hand in completed work. Then, her turn came.
"Where's your homework, Cléo?" Miss Cheremie asked.
"I'm really sorry, Miss Cheremie," Cléo answered sadly. "I'll just go to the corner for time-out."
"*sigh* Not this time. You'll have to see me after school."
"Okay…"
"Just take your seat for now."
And so Cléo did.
After school ended, Cléo stayed in the classroom as she was told to.
"Vand, you don't need to be here. You're in no trouble," Miss Cheremie said.
"I know, but I'm Cléo's ride home," Vand answered.
"I can take her home. You go on ahead."
"Okay. And Cléo, let me know how this went." Vand left for home, leaving Cléo and the teacher to their conversation.
"Now Cléo, let me make clear that although you are in a bit of trouble, I'm not mad at you," Miss Cheremie began. "But I am concerned and a little disappointed. You were once one of the top students of the class, truly a role model to the other students. But you're starting to drift from that. I was reluctantly willing to overlook your falling asleep in class, but I can't so easily ignore you not doing your homework. Are you doing okay?"
"Well, lately… no." Cléo took a deep breath and explained everything that had been happening to her.
"I see. That's very concerning. I may be a Light-type, but this unnerves me. All the Shadow-types need to know about this. Light-types, too, because it wouldn't surprise me if the Prophet started being able to do this to Light-types. As we get closer to Genesis Day, it might happen."
"I think so, too. Please stay safe, Miss Cheremie."
"Thanks for your concern. I'll speed your warning to everyone I can. Now, just try to keep focused on school, too. As serious as this whole situation is, don't let it keep you from your studies, okay?"
"Okay-kay!"
"You can always talk to me about this if it still concerns you. Now, let's get you home. I think your brother's expecting you."
"Yep. Roshy doesn't like it when I'm out of the house for more than an hour. It hasn't been that long yet, but he's still gonna be a bit sore…"
Tastebud breathed a sigh of relief upon observing Blessing, Treasure, and Torquemagi's escape without being noticed by Vinilli. He'd have to keep a close eye on these events since he too was interested in training Blessing in the ways of Shadow Power. That reminded him…
"Hey Mori, good news!"
"You're going to finally stop bouncing on my rear?!" Mori responded in irritation.
"Of course not! This is fun! But anyway, the news is you might be gaining a training partner!"
"Oh goody, someone else for you to pick on. Tell me, what fun cartoony antics do you have in store for this new pupil? Anything like what you're doing to me?"
"Well obviously. It's part of the program, you know. I know that's hard to believe—"
"IMPOSSIBLE to believe." Mori still couldn't get out of the ground despite his struggling.
"Look, I can understand your frustration, believe me. But you're just gonna have to trust me on this; putting you through these frustrating (for you; to me, it's impossibly hilarious) spots in-between your training is really going to help you."
"HOW?! No more dodging the question! HOW WILL IT HELP!"
"…I can't say. Really, I can't. Just trust me, all right? It's going to all make sense eventually."
"No, it isn't!" Mori finally managed to pull himself out of the ground.
"Mori…why do you keep forgetting you can enter the shadows—"
"SHUT UP! I've had enough of this! You keep saying all this stuff is going to 'help me in the long run,' 'prepare me for what's to come' and other platitudes like that, but you never say why! You know what? I don't think you're trying to help me anymore. You just want to humiliate me in the most over-the-top way you can! And when it's not that, you're 'playfully' fawning over my hindquarters! I'm nothing more than a cartoony entertainment piece to you!"
"Mori, that isn't true—"
"And how is it not?! You've LITERALLY confessed to finding me such things as 'adorable,' 'gorgeous,' and all kinds of other adjectives you've attributed exclusively to my rear, which you've taken numerous chances to point out the color of! Many of your 'kee-yuuuuute' little nicknames for me have to do with the color of my butt! You find me attractive and may Arceus strike me down if I'm wrong!"
To that, Tastebud could say nothing.
"Exactly. I've had enough of this, and I've had enough of you. Goodbye."
"Wait, don't go! That's suicide!"
"Yeah, sure it is! Don't try to stop me!"
Mori stormed up to his room and got all his supplies together, ready to restart his quest to find Pelame. His food, drink, Alpha Water, and medicine supply replenished, he strapped his backpack on and left the mansion. As soon as he reached the edge of the Alpha Field…
"Mori, wait."
"What do you want now? One last male gaze?"
Tastebud said nothing to that. He simply approached Mori and hugged him.
"Good luck out there, pal. Tell Pelame I said hi when you find her. And also, thanks for being a great student."
"Yeah. Take care of yourself, Tastebud."
The two broke off from the hug, waved at one another, and Mori's quest continued from there.
"Mori's patience with Tastebud finally ran out. He's fair game for us again. My Ultra Beasts, my Church servants, put an immediate end to him. As soon as he uses his newly-taught Shadow Power, kill."