Chapter One: Foregathering
Malgam found himself back in his room, the collection of cardboard boxes, still standing with the grandeur of juvenile accomplishment and pride. The eevee was confused once again on how he ended up where he was. The last time he could remember, he was admiring all of the interesting trinkets in that assortment of chambers and suites. Those rooms were the birthplace of the mewtwo residing with him for sure; the decor and all the inventions dedicated to understanding and moderating her power made that evident. When he was in those chambers, he managed to gather up all of the inventions that he could muster, putting them into one big pile. The eevee lord figured that he could present them to Malice and get her to remember something—perhaps, she could even use some of them to her advantage, though he was not entirely sure that was the wisest idea considering the last thing he needed was for her to have unquestionable power over him.
The little lord suddenly became overwhelmed with realization, whirling around to check. "Ah, damn! The gadgets and whatnot!" he sighed with relief finding all the devices he gathered sitting in the room with him, though messily scattered beside his fort. Then he realized something else—how in the world did he manage to get them out? He didn't even recall how he left the chambers. It likely was the same way he got in, but, of course, he did not even know, much less understand how that happened either.
Feeling a headache coming on, the eevee shook his head, concluding that it wasn't in his best interest to worry about it. He felt rested and vigorous, ready to take on yet another day of getting on Malice's nerves. Now that he knew what was behind the vault, if those rooms were actually behind the vault door, he could finally get the mutant pokémon away from the stress of finding a way inside. He had all that he needed. Now it was time to have his friend put at ease. Maybe she would not give him horrifying death glares anymore, or speak with such a harsh, uncaring tone!
The eevee gathered up the trinkets, shoved them all in a burlap potato sack nearby, and went on his way to where Malice normally stood sulking her days away. The sack shuffled against the ground noisily as Malgam floated down the corridor towards the destroyed room. Upon arriving, lo and behold, the psychic pokémon stood—no—she was sitting this time! Malgam stared in awe, her form elegant and her back straight. She looked like she was meditating in such a position.
Even with the shuffling noise of the burlap sack Malgam dragged behind him, Malice did not even bother to turn her neck an inch to see him. Malgam guessed that she was in great concentration or was just lost in thought on how much she hated his presence currently. After how upset she was the last time they met each other, the eevee lord thought she would have immediately acted uppity, spouting out expletives and doing whatever she could to ward him away from her vicinity.
Malgam cautiously circled around Malice, viewing her front and sensing a thick aura in the air just by being near her. Her eyes were closed and her form was so relaxed that Malgam thought he himself might recline right then and there. The mewtwo's muzzle was no longer caked in blood; in fact, she was as clean as the sterile hallways of the facility, the undestroyed ones at least. Malgam just remained floating a good distance away from her, eying her admirably. Maybe she calmed down after all.
"She just needed a nap. That usually works," Malgam thought to himself with a smirk. He softly landed his padded feet on the cold ground and began rummaging through his bag of goodies, occasionally looking back to see if Malice was towering over him like an angry mother. As he laid out the inventions in a neat line, he reminded himself of the nightmares he had, and then realized that, after arriving at the shrines of mew, he did not have another night terror like the ones he was having ever since finding Malice in those caves. Granted, it was only one night thus far, but he had a good feeling that maybe the plague of vivid, bad dreams has gone away for good.
After laying out all the rest of the devices from his potato sack, Malgam gazed back at Malice and his heart froze—she was staring directly at him with the usual horrifying, soul-piercing glare, her violet eyes unblinking. It took more than several seconds for Malgam to say something.
"Err, hello," he greeted her with a nervous laugh. "Good to see you so relaxed—well, you were relaxed, I mean." After another brief staring contest, Malice's eyes finally wavered, directing their vision towards the floor behind Malgam. The eevee turned to see she was staring at the inventions, but then again, what else would be there? Maybe she was fond of the sack, wanting to use it to asphyxiate him.
"What the hell are those?" the mewtwo asked with a flick of her muzzle, her deep, dreadful tone giving the eevee goosebumps. The inventions Malgam gathered included the silvery gauntlets he found first in the shrine, the golden tiara, the devolution device, a glistening purple orb radiating with a haunting energy, a collection of potions, and a large assortment of other strange accessories like a stunning band and riveting sash. Malgam figured only a few of these were made specifically for the mewtwo and that the other items could be used by anyone.
Malgam smiled and answered, "Only the most precious of offerings for you, my queen." He bowed lazily and moved aside so she could see them all. Malice just continued to stare at the instruments, then back at Malgam.
"What do you expect me to do with these?" she asked with stark contempt for the eevee. Malgam beamed at the question and scurried over to pick up the silvery gauntlets, decorated with purple gem-like attachments with various shapes. They were surprisingly light and seemed like they would make a perfect fit considering the cushioning inside of them, just tight enough to hold firmly on even Malice's skinny arms.
Malgam presented the mewtwo with these gauntlets with a grin.
"They'll look good on you!" he tried to assure her, but, unsurprisingly, it was not enough to sway the psychic pokémon. She huffed through her nostrils with indifference and turned her gaze back towards the massive vault door as if it were more interesting. The eevee's heart sank, but he was still determined. If he read the plaque correctly, these bracers were meant to control Malice's power. Even though the inventions would cause her to be slightly weakened, she would no longer have moments of lunacy arising from an intense, sudden fluctuation of emotions; she would have increased control of her mind, basically.
Malgam thought of what to say next. He could not mention the part about her power being weakened—that would most certainly be a deal breaker.
"You know, there's a plus to wearing these," he said quietly, emphasizing the gain in an attempt to goad her. "You'll be able to control yourself more easily when you have those moments."
"What moments?" Malice replied without looking over at him, her pupils narrowing.
"Well, ah, you know." Malgam was suddenly afraid that we would say the wrong thing to set her off. He was already standing on thin ice with the mewtwo. "Like, you get really angry sometimes and start throwing around these beams and explosions and stuff."
"And you are saying I have no control over myself?" she muttered with icy contempt, causing Malgam to shiver.
"Let's just say that it could help you better focus your energy," he stated, trying to sound smart and slightly puffing his chest out, "When you let loose that psychic blast yesterday, you were pretty exhausted afterwards. You don't want to let your guard down like that."
"I figured you would see that as an advantage," Malice responded, her eyes darting over to him.
"Ah, come on," the eevee said, scratching the back of his neck. "I'm not trying to take advantage of you, at least not intentionally. I mean, you and I can do some pretty great things! I'm just trying to condition you, if that makes any sense." Malgam was not entirely sure what he said himself, but he did not want to come off like he was sucking up to the mewtwo either. If there was one thing he wanted to avoid, it was looking weak in front of her, and he for sure had his plans set in motion for something greater; Malice just had to cooperate with him. "So, you wanna put those on?"
"No," she said bluntly, her voice reverberating across the chamber. Malgam bit his lip and stepped back.
"Alright," he acknowledged, Malice's eyes moving back to the door. As brusque as that reply was, the eevee lord was not going to back off just yet. His little feet lifted off the floor as he began to hover once again. He floated over towards Malice and set the gauntlets down a few paces away towards her side as gently as he could. He then backed away slowly, seeing if she had taken notice, though she most likely had. It was obvious that she was still steaming over his meddling last night. Perhaps he would have to distance himself so that she could take interest in the tools.
Malgam left Malice to her meditation for at least half an hour before coming back to check on her. He made sure to find some cover a good distance away from the mewtwo, wondering just how far her vision reached. He recalled that unpleasant moment when she whisked him over to her from afar with her impressive psychic powers. His own psychic abilities within his espeon form were not nearly as powerful, let alone the telekinetic powers that remained even in his normal form as an eevee.
Once Malgam found himself a nice wall to huddle up against, he peeked around the corner to see that Malice was indeed still there. Shockingly, she was standing up and staring at the instruments. From that far away, Malgam was not sure what exactly she was up to, but she appeared fascinated, as still as a hibernating boldore. The gauntlets were still sitting where the eevee had placed them last, and none of the items seemed to have been tampered with, so how long had she been standing there gazing at the things?
As if on sensing Malgam had laid eyes on her, Malice lifted up the gauntlets with her telekinesis. She kept them hovering in front of her for several seconds before bringing them towards her, grasping them gently with her bulbous hands. She continued to stare in wonder as she attempted to figure out how the invention worked, twisting it around and scrutinizing every single little detail on the surfaces.
Malgam grew impatient as he watched the mewtwo take her time in cross-examining the bracers. He ground his teeth together, screaming in his head, "Your arms! Shove your arms into the top! Please, for the love of arceus, just wear the stupid things!" The mewtwo started to tap on the purple gem-like protrusions of the bracers and then gazed into them, looking like she was finally beginning to understand what their purpose was. Slowly and carefully, Malice slipped her right arm into one of the gauntlets. Malgam grinned from ear to ear, his jaw locking as he watched, feeling as proud as a father watching his child walking for the first time.
With her new equipment attached, Malice raised her arm and then extended it in front of her, the mewtwo appearing to admire the bulky silver object. She proceeded to put on the other bracer and then performed some arm twists, gauging the comfort levels of these new accessories. When she was finally satisfied, she relaxed herself, lifting her head as if taking in the air.
Suddenly, the gauntlets crackled and sparked, a bright pink electricity coursing across their surfaces. Malice looked back down at them in confusion and started trying to remove them from her body, but they would not budge. The sparks were getting larger and more intimidating, a loud droning sound emanating from the bracers. The electricity started coursing around Malice's body, though she seemed unharmed by them. The mewtwo started to panic, bashing the equipment against the ground.
Malgam shot out of his hiding spot, hovering over to Malice as speedily as he could. The eevee fixated himself on the gauntlets and then grabbed onto one, trying to remove it with her.
"Stop! Don't break them! Let me help!" he shouted over the cacophony spewing out from the machinery. Malice suddenly lashed out, bashing the eevee across the face and sending him flying. He avoided a hard impact with the floor by twirling himself and hovering, the blow from Malice dazing him completely for a second. He balanced himself and rubbed his forehead, watching as the mewtwo continued desperately to pull off the stubborn instruments.
"What the hell are these? What did you do to me!?" she screeched angrily. Malgam swallowed anxiously, not sure what to tell her. The gauntlets were not supposed to be like this, at least not as excessive with the whole sparking thing. They could be malfunctioning and he would have no choice but to get rid of them now.
Malgam transformed into his flareon form in mere seconds and hovered over to her again.
"Stretch out your arms!" he ordered her. Malice had a look of pure ferocity on her face, her eyes bloodshot and her teeth bared. It almost appeared the bracers made the problem worse rather than quelling her emotions. Despite her rage, she surprisingly did what she was told, extending her arms which were trembling violently with the energy coursing across her being. The flamethrower would hurt a bit, but not enough that it would discourage the mewtwo. Malgam proceeded to expel a stream of potent flames from his mouth, engulfing the gauntlets in the hot fire. He did this for several seconds before stopping to catch his breath. Both he and Malice were shocked to find that the gauntlets were unscathed. Not only that, but they stopped emitting the horrible noises and the electricity was no longer being discharged.
Malice's heavy breathing filled the chamber as the two stared at the bracers in bewilderment, trying to digest all of what just happened. Malice asked again with a bitter tone, "What did you do to me?" Malgam just gazed at her dumbly, still not entirely sure.
"Those were supposed to do what I told you they'd do," he explained with a shrug. "Did you get hurt?"
"What did it look like?" she hissed. Malgam recoiled and then sighed, rubbing his head, deep in thought.
"Well, do you feel anymore 'in control'?" he asked, accenting the last two words. Malice just glared at him, clearly not understanding what that meant. "I mean, okay, let me rephrase that. Do you feel any different?"
"Aside from the annoying tingling under my skin? Not at all," she replied sarcastically, turning to walk back to her usual spot. Malgam huffed in concern. Perhaps it would take a while before any real results showed. "And I appreciate you giving me these. I'm glad that they are stuck to me now, their durability almost as strong as this damn door," the mewtwo finished angrily. She sat down and attempted to take the gauntlets off once again but failed.
"They seem to be stable now, at least," Malgam chimed in, trying to add some positivity amongst her apathy. Malice was not amused at this and then started to focus her psychic energy on one of the bracers, concentrating on the object intensely. Malgam watched as the gauntlet began to gradually shake, Malice's fingers twitching as they emitted some sort of aura onto the instrument. The flareon thought he could see bits of pieces of the gauntlet slowly displace and then realized what Malice was attempting—she was trying to teleport the thing away from her. He spoke up again, "I'm not sure you should do that. You don't want to accidentally teleport your forearm off of your body."
"Shut up!" she shouted, her throat choked up with the high amount of energy she was investing in this attempt. Then the mewtwo stopped, exhausted and breathing hard. She did not even leave a dent on the bracer—it looked like every iota was still in its place. Malgam sighed and reverted back to his eevee form. The pessimism of the mewtwo was starting to affect even him. He went over to pick up the golden tiara, trying to get her mind off the gauntlets for now.
"Here," he said with childish excitement, presenting Malice the piece of jewelry. "It's nothing crazy like those things. Just a nice, pretty thing for a very special lady," he said cheerfully. The mewtwo eyed it as her head faced away from him.
"Are you serious?" she asked bluntly. Malgam understood she was probably not in the best of moods to be accepting anything else right now, but he could tell she was transfixed on the golden crown, shining beautifully underneath the fluorescent light above. The longer Malice stared at it, the more grim her expression became, something that caught Malgam off guard. Her eyes were glued on the thing, like a starving wild pokémon staring at a snack bar from beyond a glass wall. Malgam thought about tucking away the tiara, nervous at the mewtwo's fixation, but then she lunged.
Flashes of gold started to paint her mind's eye as she felt her body whirling and spinning out of control, as if in a free fall. Malice thought that she could see blinding sparkles whiz across her vision as she was carried through the golden sea that engulfed her. The bright swirl of colors began to fade and part ways to reveal a scene bathed in soothing sepia. Malice felt like she was lying on her back. All around her was some sort of trough-shaped platform, the area outside a solid, washed out brown.
Suddenly a bright ball of light exploded into view from above and gradually decreased in intensity as two sets of human arms began to reach into the trough, their thin fingers grabbing hold of sharp-looking tools, menacing as they glistened underneath the strong light. Malice tried to scream and wriggle, but it was no use—her voice was silenced and her struggling did nothing for her. Her body felt light and her muscles felt almost completely unresponsive.
Just as fast as she was thrust into the trough was she ejected out of the scene by an unknown force. The hypnotic convolution of gold filled her mind once again as her lightness rendered her completely submissive to the undulating expanse carrying her away to her next destination. The shroud parted again to reveal another scene with the same sepia hue as before. This time, Malice felt her bottom seated against a pedestal and she quickly whirled around to see her surroundings. Even though she was in a different position, she was not able to remove her rear from the seat as if her entire lower body had lost responsiveness. She was in a large, familiar chamber, and all around her were humans, some gazing in wonder at her and some actually bowing in, what she assumed to be, worship.
Once again Malice found herself sucked up back into a portal of gold. She hated being this useless, not having any control over her body that once felt powerful enough to erase the world. The golden curtains smothering her gave way and rippled, morphing into a spherical shape while still surrounding the mewtwo. She sensed something from below and looked downward. Malice could see three figures below completely covered in an angelic, radiant glow, the shining so powerful the mewtwo could not fully make out what they were. They floated upwards until they were several paces in front of her. Malice could feel invisible eyes looming over her, judging.
One of the creatures was of a very small size and its shape almost resembled that of the mew she devoured. The second was about two times the size and height of the first figure, Malice only able to notice a strange, long tendril resembling her own tail that extended out of the back of its head. The last figure looked to be about the same height as Malice herself, with more of a brawny, irregular shape. Together, the three creatures of light shone even brighter than before, the golden swirl around Malice being swallowed up by the intense, white radiance. Eventually, whiteness was all she knew.
Malgam watched in awe as Malice stood before him, staring wide-eyed at the tiara she was holding in front of her face, the sparkling reflecting in her eyes. For the last few minutes, Malice was frozen on the spot, hypnotized. Malgam did not expect this to have carried out this way, him having bent the mewtwo towards his will twice in a single day. Still, he wondered what the mewtwo was seeing and thinking, whether there was something that triggered in her mind or if she was just completely and hopelessly lost within a trance. Regardless, the eevee continued to observe with bated breath.
Suddenly, Malice chucked the tiara aside, the golden crown clanging against the wall. Malgam's heart stopped at the sudden action and he saw that the tiara was still in one piece despite how hard the mewtwo hurled it away. He floated over to the piece of jewelry and picked it up, inspecting it to find no chips or cracks, admiring the fortitude of the object.
Malgam gazed back to see Malice was on her knees, staring at the floor. He took the tiara and floated back over to her. She did not take notice. He waved a paw in front of her wide eyes and still she did not flinch or make a single movement. Malgam held out the tiara this time, and, to his surprise, it still did not cause her to waver. He scratched his chin, puzzled at how much this affected her. He chuckled at the next possible course of action that found its way into his mind.
"Hey, stupid!" he said to the entranced psychic pokémon, giggling to himself like a small child would if they were to whisper something naughty. Seeing that Malice was still not affected, Malgam proceeded to lift a paw. He smirked devilishly as he said, "You've been a very bad girl," and swing his paw at her face, hitting it with a resounding SLAP that echoed in the room, causing the eevee to cringe. Malice's neck twisted a bit to the side, and yet she continued to stare brainlessly. Malgam threw his head back and laughed uproariously, delighted at what he just accomplished. "Well, I dunno what in arceus' name happened back there, but it seems to me like a few bolts came loose in there," he said as he shook the mewtwo's head with a single paw. Malgam floated off a pace away and turned his back to the mewtwo. "But what about some piece of gold would trigger that? Maybe I've found the key to control her! Maybe that was—HRK!"
Malgam wriggled hopelessly, dropping the tiara as Malice lifted him up, her grasp tight around his neck. He choked and hacked, tightening his grip on Malice's bulbous fingers. Despite the horrible sensation of his neck being crushed, Malgam tried to focus his energy on activating the necklace device. Finally, he successfully morphed into an umbreon, Malice's grip loosening as his body changed in a split second. Malgam released a powerful pulse of dark energy that further warded off the mewtwo, distancing the two pokémon.
The umbreon coughed hard, a paw massaging his tensed neck as he gazed at Malice, who stared back at him with what looked like slight confusion mixed with annoyance. From an act like that, he expected the psychic pokémon to be fuming with rage, but this was quite unexpected, as if she lashed out in the midst of her dream or whatever she was going through.
"Guess I kinda deserved that," the umbreon said with a hoarse voice, feeling ashamed and grateful that he was able to keep his life. The mewtwo stared at him for a little longer, then ambled back to her spot, sitting her rump down hard. There was not a more awkward night than this.
Malgam perused the kitchen and cafeteria quarters of the facility, which was still packed with all sorts of food. There was even a snack bar nearby that would prove as sufficient backup for when they run out. The eevee was rummaging through every drawer, cabinet, and refrigerator in the vicinity. While there were plenteous meals that would satisfy even a starving snorlax, he was searching for something special. Despite having been nearly strangled to death, he considered all this a celebration, and knew of something that may even cheer up the brooding mewtwo.
He could say comfortably that this was his main base of operations at the moment, and he felt there was no reason to go out looking for another. As crazy as Malice was, he also had to keep an eye on her; her power would prove to be incredibly useful for him, and now that she had those gauntlets attached to her, it should be an even easier time getting through to her and gaining her cooperation. If they were to run out of food, Malgam would have to figure out how to possibly get to another facility. Maybe there were even living quarters nearby—what crazy human would build some remote building in the middle of nowhere anyway? He tried not to focus on that right now, either way.
Malgam finally found what he was searching for. He opened a lone cupboard to find a plastic tray that was filled with all sorts of cupcake-like treats he heard the humans call "Pokepuffs." He was delighted to see all the colorful foods, almost tempted to gulp them all down himself. Malgam picked up the tray, covered in a plastic wrap, and took a big whiff of the cakes. The scent caused a wonderful tingling to course across his body, making his fur stand on end. His stomach growled, demanding the cakes, but Malgam shook his head, resisting the urge to chow down. He chuckled to himself as he floated back to Malice.
The eevee lord saw that the tiara was still where he had dropped it. He did not figure that Malice would touch it after that episode of entrancement. What exactly happened there anyway? What about the jewelry made her lose her mind like that? Malgam figured from this that the tiara must have some huge significance in the span of the mewtwo's life—in other words, it would be important to keep it.
Malgam approached Malice, who was still in her spot, looking very pensive. The eevee sensed that she knew he floated into the room, some kind of creeping feeling running down his spine upon first sight of the mewtwo. He slowed his pace as he get closer to her. This time, he strangely did not feel the unnerving aura that seemed to pour out of her body; she seemed calm this time around. Once the eevee got a few paces close, her eyes pivoted to meet his. They shot to the plastic tray he was holding as well.
Malgam smiled wide, holding up the tray in such a manner as if he were a waitress of a fancy restaurant, the tray level with his hypnotic, rainbow eyes. He did a trick with the tray of Pokepuffs, twirling it around with a single paw, and then gently placing it on the ground between them. Malice gazed at the food before her while Malgam hovered down to the floor onto his rump.
"These are treats," he said excitedly, tearing off the plastic wrapping like he was opening a present, "ones that people made for pokémon. As you might expect, they're really good!"
"So you already had some yourself," the mewtwo deduced. Malgam took one of the Pokepuffs, laced with an appealing green icing with a moon-shaped candy piece on top, and stuffed it into his maw, chewing with utter glee as crumbs flew out of his lips.
He swallowed it within seconds and replied, "Yes, actually. They fed me well." He took another and stuffed his face.
Malice scoffed, looking away. "That's nice. They always fed me through tubes," she said bitterly. Malgam looked at Malice, feeling pity for her. They had never done anything like that to him, which made him think at first that maybe he was a more special project, but then cast that idea aside immediately upon realizing Malice had chambers dedicated to worshipping her.
"Well, uh, did you taste it, at least?" the eevee said, fully aware of how idiotic his question was.
"What?" Malice muttered, eying him in puzzlement.
"I mean, we taste things with our tongue, but maybe you could still taste it as it went through your...uh—"
"One tube was on my head," Malice pointed out the circular depression on her forehead, "and the other was on my belly," she pointed to the similar marking on her stomach. Malgam gazed at them and grimaced, not able to imagine what that would be like.
"So you couldn't taste it then?" he asked, his lips quivering as he anticipated her frustration.
"NO, you imbecile, I did not taste the food with my skin!" Malice shouted, Malgam recoiling so hard that he had to catch himself from falling back, balancing with his paws on the ground behind him.
"Well," he started, getting back his bearing while taking yet another Pokepuff, this time just holding it out in front of him and staring at the treat, "at least you can eat for real now. Here, try this." He motioned the cake towards Malice, the mewtwo taking reluctant glances back at it.
"I'm not hungry," she said. As if on cue, a little growl sounded from her belly, causing Malgam to beam and stifle his laughter. He could tell that the sweet aroma was getting to her and that eventually, not even she would be able to resist such a powerful scent. Soon enough, Malice slowly and slightly curved her head around, her magenta eyes focusing on the treat like she was staring down her unaware prey.
Quickly, she snatched the cake from Malgam, holding it in front of her muzzle and giving it a small sniff. Suddenly, her sniff turned into a full-on inhalation, her chest expanding with the aroma of the vibrant cupcake. Malice creaked open her small mouth and took a hesitant bite out of the Pokepuff. She chewed slowly with intense concentration as if she were studying every bit of the texture and the taste. Her jaw was still for a few seconds, and then she swallowed in a weirdly graceful manner with nary a sound. She sat there for a minute, her indifferent expression unchanging.
Then, all of sudden, she began to messily feast on the cupcake with both hands, bits of icing and crumbs flying everywhere. Malgam had to shield his face to avoid one of the projectiles from hitting his eyeballs. In seconds she downed the Pokepuff, her jaw hanging agape and her expression looking like she just had an epiphany. Slowly, she licked off the contents of the cake that hung onto her lips and closed her mouth. Malice reached over for the tray and pulled it towards her.
Malgam was frightened at how Malice ate the treat, vividly imagining it being live prey. The mewtwo looked like she went into full predator mode for a moment there. He observed as she continued stuffing more Pokepuffs into her mouth, devouring them with such fervor. He was scared to interrupt her meal.
"So, uh, I had something I wanted your input on," he stated timidly. Malice's attention was not averted. "I've been thinking on it for a while. It's not like I really had a goal all this time. I know you want to get in that vault, but maybe you should not push yourself." The mewtwo still continued her feasting without a word. "You see, I want to be on top of the world." He stood up and puffed out his chest, smiling with determination. "I want to be an evil warlock or something. The king of all things nefarious and vile! I want to rule the world with an iron paw!" Malgam exclaimed with the exuberance of a giddy child.
It was not much longer before Malice downed the last of the cupcakes, a little belch escaping her mouth as she put a hand on her belly with a content huff. She pushed the plastic bin that now only carried tiny Pokepuff crumbs towards Malgam curtly, diminishing his gallant stance.
"More," she demanded. Malgam was taken aback by her disinterest, but still expressed his excitement.
"So you really like those, huh?" he asked presumptuously. He picked up the tray and hovered into the air, giving her an ornate bow and raising the pitch of his voice to imitate a more feminine tone, "Then I will fetch you some more, my queen."
There were surprisingly a lot more of these Pokepuffs than Malgam once thought, and he was glad that he could satisfy the mewtwo and, in turn, improve her mood. He continued to indulge her in the cakes as well as his fantasies for acquiring world domination. Malice's stomach seemed like a bottomless pit as she proceeded to devour all the cakes he presented to her. Malgam started to worry about what he was going to do once they all ran out.
"So, this plan of mine, while it is pretty ambitious as I'm sure you'd agree...it's actually going to be put into motion a little later on," he explained to the mewtwo.
"Is that right?" she replied with feigned interest.
"Yes! The first thing I want to do is find a way to get the missing piece to my necklace," he said, grasping the device around his neck proudly.
Malice stared at the device for several seconds before stating, "How are you going to fit another stone on there?" Malgam looked utterly stumped and angled the necklace toward his face, examining it in dismay.
He huffed and said, "Well, I'll find a way. Maybe it doesn't have to be attached to it. Maybe I don't even need a stone! I'll figure it out either way."
"Sure," Malice said sarcastically, swallowing the last of the cakes. She seemed to be full now, relaxing her body. After a brief pause, she turned to Malgam and continued. "If you want to build an army, then go for it. There are plenty of wayward souls out there who'd love your protection, not that I think you'd do a good job at it." Malgam blew soundly in an expression of exasperation.
"That hurt," he muttered. He thought he could hear a chuckle come from the mewtwo.
"Well, I'm not stopping you. Do what you please. I'm only after one thing."
"Y'know, one time or another you're going to have to move on," Malgam pointed out.
"Are you jesting? I can sense something in there. It's something that will help me."
"What are you trying to do exactly?" the eevee inquired. "What's your goal?" Malice was speechless at this, suddenly becoming frustrated. She huffed in resentment and looked away from him. "You should be my right hand."
"Not a damn chance," she growled. "Go away now."
"I'll let you think about it," Malgam said, starting to float away back to his room. He turned to her and called out, "Make sure you think about it! You can be my first recruit!"
"You have a better chance of having followers that will put up with your childishness. Now shut up and get lost!" she shouted back.
"Huh, I'll show her," Malgam grumbled as he exited the scene. "At least I don't sit around all day."
The eevee hovered around his room, thinking madly about how he was going to go about his recruitment drive. With so many pokémon out there, at least one of them had to know the sylveon form, whether it was from rumors they heard or knowing a sylveon upfront! Malgam's brainstorming led him to a pile of poster-size papers. He stared at the papers, his mind swirling with inspiration and fantasy. He had left a large box of crayons sitting somewhere along his box fort. He could see the images in his head now, vibrant and clear. He was going to create a true work of art—one that not a single pokémon would dare resist!