"No."
"But…"
"NO."
Futakh wasn't even halfway through his presentation before Baron Kat was scowling and shaking his head. The dressed-up Meowth sighed audibly. Dis the Dewott that gave Kachu a headache? I believe it.
Kat and the Dewott were sitting inside the Baron's office in Castelia City. The building had once been the headquarters of a video game company, before the Revolution turned it to rubble that still stood on it's foundations. When the New Era came, the wrecked skyscraper was repurposed as a Pokemon office building, with Kat as the CEO. While Kachu was instrumental in passing laws with King Mewtwo, the Meowth found that his savvy was better applied to the businesses that would sustain this New Era.
The office itself was very functional. There was a desk, a computer, and enough room for visitors to bring and present their proposals. Several awards and photographs of past achievements were framed on the wall. A large window offered an excellent view of the rebuilt Castelia City. This was where Kat did his business, evaluating proposals for entertainment, dining, advertisements, news, finances, recreation, employment and other assorted necessities and luxuries. This particular proposal, however, was where he drew a line.
Futakh, a Dewott with glasses and a preppy suit, regained his composure and posed a question. "Why not? The Pokemon Voice Box was origionally commissioned by…"
"Nido. I know. I 'elped build it, remember?"
Futakh cursed himself for forgetting that, before resuming his proposal. "Yes, and as such, he should be properly credited. As I've stated before, he helped usher this age in."
Meowth gently shook his head. "No, he ushered the Revolution in."
"…yes, but the fact remains that we wouldn't be where we are now if it wasn't for him. Furthermore, the fact that he had this built was instrumental in aiding the King and Lord Kachu in bringing the new era to fruition."
"Dat's right."
"Then why are you rejecting this proposal?"
Meowth took a deep breath. "You're askin' me to use Nido's face to endorse this voicebox. I can't do dat."
"And why not?" Futakh asked, hiding genuine frustration at his superior. "Nido gave us all this! Whether you like it or not, he's responsible for our new positions! If it wasn't for him, we'd still be toiling under the humans!" Futakh stopped and took another deep breath, trying not to yell at one of the most influential Pokemon in the world. "I realize you disagree with some of his methods, but he should still be credited with building this. This device was the thing that brought us peace and stability."
Meowth blinked, before calmly responding. "Do ya know WHY he had it built in the first place?"
"Um…no, sir."
Meowth took a deep breath and poured himself something to drink. "Well, have a seat. I'm gonna tell ya, and it ain't a pretty story..."
The first thing Meowth noticed was that he couldn't see. His first thought was that Arceus had struck him with blindness for what he and Pikachu had done with their friends, but he registered something over his eyes and realized he'd just been blindfolded. And gagged, he quickly noticed when he tried to speak.
What's going on? Where am I? What happened? He asked those questions in his head, but nobody answered. He tried to move, but his paws had been bound. He struggled for a second, but a painful electric shock stopped him.
"Sit still." an Electivire told him in Pokespeak, the native language of Pokemon. "Boss is almost here."
Boss? More questions entered his head, but before he could come up with any answers, he heard powerful footsteps approach him. Meowth shivered. What did this 'boss' want with him?
The footsteps, far too heavy to belong to the Electivire, came right up to him. Meowth tried to make himself as small as possible, but he knew he hadn't escaped anyone's notice. The footfalls stopped, their owner just in front and above him.
"So this is the famous Meowth of Team Rocket. I went to a lot of trouble to find you."
Meowth would've gasped if he hadn't been gagged. He knew that voice all too well. He'd heard it a month ago, when this nightmare had started. But he'd heard it over a TV connection, far away. The thought of the voice's owner right next to him sent a winter's worth of ice down his back.
A careful claw cut off the blindfold, and Meowth's fears were confirmed. A hulking, scarred, bloodied purple dragon.
Nido the Great. The Pokemon revolutionary leader.
Two long and jagged scars went over his piercing eyes, making the mad glint in the Nidoking's pupils all the more pronounced. His tough hide was marred with more scars and wounds, with some hints of red around the deeper cuts. Nido's claws and horns were damaged, but still very sharp. One of his tusks was broken, giving him an unnatural smirk. Then again, maybe that was how he usually smiled.
"So this is the Pokemon who took after the humans. Cannot imagine why. Still, you will be very useful." The revolutionary sneered before cutting Meowth's gag. "Speak."
Meowth, in a panic, somehow came to the conclusion that it'd be a good idea to pretend he wasn't who he was. "Meowth Meowth meowth! Meow!" He yelled desperately.
That quickly proved to be a bad idea. Nido scowled for a moment before digging his claw right into Meowth's shoulder, drawing several drops of blood. The cat Pokemon couldn't take the pain. "EAAAAUGH IT HURTS!" He screamed in English.
Nido chuckled. "I knew it." The Nidoking removed his claw, causing a river of red to dribble out of a hole in Meowth's shoulder. The revolutionary leader growled right in Meowth's face. "Know this. No-one deceives Nido the Great. UNDERSTOOD?" he suddenly bellowed.
Meowth nodded quickly. This didn't completely satisfy Nido, but the hulking dinosaur Pokemon relaxed. Smiling a less-than-calming smile at the tiny cat before him, Nido spoke again.
"I need your help."
Mere moments later, Nido had picked up the bound cat and was walking him through several dark hallways. Meowth managed to look around to see several white doors and broken fluorescent lights around him, but Nido was moving too fast for him to get a read of the place.
"I have a project in the works, one that will make our conquest of the humans more…efficient. Since we're in the final stages of our grand design, I have special plans. Unfortunately, the project can't get off the ground due a certain problem…" Nido glanced down at the terrified cat and smirked. "A problem I think you will fix."
A question came to Meowth's mind, but even in his frightened state the cat knew what the revolutionary meant. It was pretty obvious, and this certainly wasn't the first time his skills were needed. What exactly this 'project' was, though, he didn't know and he wasn't eager to ask.
Nido kept pushing him down more and more hallways, eventually coming up to a small metal door with 'NO POKEMON ALLOWED ENTRY UNLESS ALLOWED BY NIDO' scratched into it. The doorknob had been replaced with one Nido's claws could grasp, and the poison Pokemon opened the door and pushed Meowth in.
It took Meowth's eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness, but he eventually made out a fairly large room strewn with circuitry, sound systems, and other assorted technology. Four figures were sitting in the middle of the room, shivering despite it being fairly warm. Two humans and two Pokemon, a Beeheeyem and an Alakazam. They all looked up with varying degrees of fright at Nido's appearance. Meowth squinted and recognized the humans as Professor Elm and Professor Oak, both of them dishevelled and nervous.
Not that Meowth would blame them, considering what Nido's soldiers did to their hometowns. Meowth still smelled the smoke streaming from Pallet Town at night.
Once both Pokemon were inside the room, Nido shut the door tightNido shoved the cat beside him, and issued a very blunt order. "Translate. And don't do anything funny, or I will break you."
Meowth sensed that he wasn't joking, so he translated Nido's words to English, explaining this project to all of them.
"My apologies for the long wait. This translator was very hard to find. But now that my forces have found him, we can begin. You have been brought here because you are the most brilliant minds on this planet…" Nido chuckled softly. "At least, of the minds that are still alive. I can assure you, you will not be killed or harmed, as long as you do what I want.
What I want is a proper translator. Not this little one here…I have no intention of having my words communicated through this little cat." Meowth had tensed at those words, but continued his translation. "My request is simple. I want some form of device that will translate the words from my mouth into humanspeak without any difficulty. Clearly translated, and with the appropriate tone and voice. It will damage my purposes if I spoke in a mechanical monotone…I imagine I'm damaging my credibility speaking through this annoying voice." Meowth tensed even further after he translated that.
Professor Oak spoke up. "But that's…how can you expect us to make that? No-one has come close, and … why should we help you?" he demanded.
Nido merely smirked. "You have the resources…" he broadly gestured to the room around them. "…and if you require more, money is no longer a concern. Call it a side benefit of this revolution." Nido laughed again. "Besides, you have the collective intellect of four 'geniuses', a focus for your project…and as for incentive?"
Nido's smirk vanished. "You work on this project, or you don't eat. You make it to specifications, or I will make you suffer. And if you try anything, I will kill you and what remains of your families and friends. Understood?" he bellowed.
All present nodded. Having seen and heard what Nido was capable of, no-one would defy him. Especially here, his home base that was crawling with his supporters and fellow revolutionaries.
Nido turned to Meowth. "And don't think you're safe either, translator. I know which camp your humans live. Jessie, James, and those children you loyalists drugged. I have eyes and ears everywhere. All I have to do is send my arsonists down there if I hear so much as a whisper of rebellion."
Meowth had been translating that before he realized it was directed at him and him alone. "Aw no…" the cat gasped. They had done so much to keep their friends alive in this war, and now they were threatened all over again.
"I want this ready in four weeks time." he began again. Meowth hesitated a moment before realizing the revolutionary wanted him to keep translated. "There's a special occasion need this translator for. This little cat will ensure you work together smoothly. Now, if you'll excuse me. I have a world to finish conquering."
With that, Nido stepped out of the room, locking Meowth and the scientists inside to work.
"So we worked. Too scared to do nothin' else." Meowth continued.
"I see…" Futakh had never imagined Nido as being that intimidating. Hearing Nido's words through the Baron sent a shiver down his spine, but Futakh suppressed it. Nido had to be harsh. Revolutionaries couldn't be soft. They had to get things done. "I imagine with you as a translator, things progressed well between the Pokemon and the Humans."
"Ya could say dat. I spent so much time sayin' other people's words I forgot my own voice. It was exhaustin'. But yeah, we worked a lot faster den I'd thought we would. Nido would come by every few days, sometimes' just t' boast about how the revolution was goin' and other times bringing tech we needed. Some of machines an' papers had bloodstains and burn marks on 'em…we tried not t' think about how Nido got 'em.
Nido seemed happy t' see us work, but the weeks rolled by and we got closer an' closer to the deadline. The revolutionary got more an' more impatient, started threatening to kill us if we didn't hurry. Described what'd happen to our friends if we couldn't pull through. You can bet that got us movin'.
The visit's stopped fer a week or so, I guess cause Nido was busy with somethin' else. That was the week we managed to actually get the thing built, but we had a bit of a problem. Then…"
Nido's face was marred with an impatient fury when he ripped open the door. "Three days to the anniversary. You worms better have SOMETHING for me or I will set every single one of the camps ablaze and hang the charred skeletons of your friends on the walls before I rip you apart!" he roared.
Meowth nearly translated that, but a hurried headshake told him the professors had gotten the gist.
Professor Elm swallowed hard before speaking. "We…do have something for you."
Nido stared hard at the small scientist, who had to look away before he continued. Elm gestured to a metal box in the centre of the room. It looked like a PA speaker had been ripped open and filled with various sharp points. The entire thing had been hooked up to a large computer splattered with blood, which was whirring constantly.
"In f-fact we're…almost…well, it's ready…but…but…"
"BUT?" Another sharp demand Meowth didn't need to translate.
"Well…in order do whuh-what you wanted with the uh…er…tone, we figured that it would need to be …attached to the vocal chords. D-directly."
Nido's eyebrow rose, but he still stared intensely at Elm. Proffessor Oak quickly decided to intervene and take some of the heat off his colleague. "We…haven't been able to test the device. None of us are surgeons, and since you haven't…"
"Enough." Nido silenced the professor before looking down at the machine. He stared at the machine, thinking to himself. Nobody spoke for several minutes.
"All you need is a test subject to be certain?" Nido finally asked.
The Alakazam nodded 'yes'.
"And a surgeon to perform the procedure."
Meowth and the two psychics nodded. The two professors stayed quiet, hoping Nido was sated.
Nido abruptly smiled, scaring everyone else in the room. "I can provide you with both."
Only the human professors and the translator were allowed to accompany Nido to the operating theatre. The fact that an operating theatre existed within walking distance told Meowth that this building was a hospital once. Nido pushed the three into a viewing theatre, where they had a clear view of the surgery. A bright light shone on the specialized operating table, almost everything else hidden in darkness. A Chansey and a few scared looking human doctors were holding the completed voice box.
Nido pointed to a Samurott lying on a table in the middle of the room. His eye was gone, and there was a metal plate where his left ear used to be. The helmet Samurotts usually had was gone, and there was a long, straight cut going through his throat.
"That's Riptide." Nido explained and Meowth translated. "One of my best soldiers. He lost both his eye and his voice to a loyalist attack. I've informed him of the procedure. He's the perfect candidate to test your little device."
As the Samurott fell under the anesthetic, Nido grabbed Oak by the collar and growled into his ear heedless of the translation. "It had better work, human. Your life depends on it."
Oak got the message.
The procedure was tense for all involved. Nido never took his eyes off the Samurott, while Oak never took his eyes off the voicebox. That little metal box was his both his magnum opus and his greatest risk. It had to work. It had to.
Soon the small metal box was inserted in Riptide's neck. The surgeons finished the procedure as calmly as they could, sewing up the holes and filling in the gaps. Everyone took many deep breaths as they waited for the Samurott to wake up. Nido scraped the window in front of him, creating two long and jagged scars in the window. Oak and Elm both shivered despite the heat. Meowth began biting his nails.
Eventually, Riptide blinked himself awake. The wounded soldier got off the table and got to his feet. He gently touched the metal box that was now attached to his throat, not sure what to make of it. The surgeons were all nervous, not knowing what question to ask or if they should say anything at all. Oak and Elm just stared, not sure if they should be excited or scared. Meowth shared that sentiment. There a numb silence, no-one sure what to do or what to say.
Nido grew impatient with the silence, and hit the intercom. "Riptide. Speak to me. What was the loyalist who took your eye?"
"*-zt-#-ile." The box buzzed for a second, like an electronic speaker warming up. A nervous chill went down the professor's spine and a growl rose in Nido's throat. However, a confused Riptide just tried again. "Ma – a- wile." His expression became very surprised. "Mawile." He finally spoke clearly.
Everyone's eyes went wide.
Nido continued his inquiry, trying to hide the eagerness in his voice. "What did the loyalist's trainer say?"
Riptide blinked, not sure he believed what he was hearing. The voice was coming out of the box, and he barely needed to open his mouth. The sound came out in an apparent monotone. "C***ome o~n…zzzC;;ome onnn, buUddy we have to jog, I can't not think you did that… oh me…" Riptide's expression was both happy and confused.
Nido glanced at Professor Elm. The small doctor stammered nervously. "A…a puh-problem with the, uh… translation programming. It can be fuh-fixed easy…"
"It better be." Nido growled before turning back to Riptide. "Can you sound threatening, Riptide? Tell Professor Elm that he will die if this issue isn't fixed."
Riptide tapped the small box again. "Alright." Riptide glared up at Professor Elm. "This had improved be repaired soon, or you expire." Despite the synonym and translation issue, the low tone of voice still managed to be intimidating.
That made Nido smile. "That will do. Translator?"
Meowth suddenly remembered he was in the room with them. What was proceeding below them was so surreal he nearly lost himself. "Er…yeah?"
"Tell him I want these issues fixed tomorrow. I'm speaking with someone very special in a few days, and I don't want my message to be lost."
Meowth did so, and Elm nodded his head fitfully. Both of the humans took a deep breath of relief. A few manageable problems to fix, and they and their families would live. Even though Nido's smile was anything but calming, it was clear he was very pleased.
Riptide glanced up at the two professors and his leader, a thoughtful expression on his face. "You know, professor…" he touched the device at his neck to indicate it. "If you build this instead of latest Pokeballs…you could have stopped all this."
Meowth didn't catch Oak and Elm's reaction, but he noticed Nido's face when Riptide spoke. His smile suddenly faded, and his eyes went wide.
"'E looked…scared. Never thought someone like 'im could look scared."
Futakh blinked. "I…I don't understand. Why would he be scared? What was it Riptide said?"
Kat took a deep breath in. "He was scared of it bein' over. The war, the revolution, everthin'. Guy like Nido, 'e lived for th' fight. And the voicebox was gonna bring it to an end." Kat looked away for a moment. "I tink 'e only realized that when Riptide mentioned it."
Futakh was confused. "Well...yes, the voicebox opened the way for diplomatic negotiations and helped you and the king pass the new laws and get this era on it's feet...yeah, it was the beginning of the end of the fight. But then...if he didn't have it built for that...why did he...?"
"So 'e could gloat."
Futakh's eyebrows shot up. "What? To who?"
Meowth rubbed the back of his neck, glancing out the window. The sun was much lower in the sky than it had been when Futakh had started his proposal. Still, there was enough time to finish the story.
"Paul. 'is name was Paul."
The young man being marched through the hospital corridors seemed too calm to be real. Two of Nido's lieutenants, an Infernape and an Electivire, were shoving him forward with little struggle or difficulty. His hands were bound, but he didn't seem unduly troubled by that matter. He occasionally cast a glare at his two guards, but otherwise he had no expression on his face.
Paul had been training in the Battle Frontier when the Revolution struck. He had thought the Nidoking ranting on the televisions was just some sort of hoax. He was caught off guard when the Frontier came under attack. But he was strong, stronger than any of the cowards that had surrendered. He would fight. If he had to take down this Nidoking himself, that's what he would do. And every trainer would respect him, even that annoying little prat from Pallet Town. When the army finally came down on the frontier, he was waiting for them.
Unfortunately, the second he sent his Pokemon out for battle, they turned around and knocked him down. One of them nearly killed him, but his compatriots stopped her. But it wasn't out of loyalty. The contemptuous, hateful looks they gave him as they tied him up and carried him away told him that.
The trainer was unceremoniously dumped in one of the camps, surrounded by mewling children crying about how this could happen. Pathetic, all of them. If they had shown discipline to their Pokemon in the first place, made it clear who the masters were, none of this would've happened. Still, Paul kept his mouth shut and waited.
His first instinct was to escape the camps, but it seemed he was under heavier watch than anyone else. There was always several Pokemon watching him closely, watching and waiting for something. He didn't understand why they were keeping him under such scrutiny.
One day a crazy old man who said he could understand the Pokemon 'language' told him they were saving him for 'something special'. Paul had scoffed at the old coot, but now here he was, being brought before the Nidoking leader himself.
He tried to suppress a smile as he was marched past the room holding Meowth and the scientists. The cat pokemon recognized the trainer through the window. "What's 'e doin' here?" he asked the two psychics with him.
The two lieutenants had been ordered to leave Nido alone with this trainer. They weren't sure why, but they knew better than to argue with the revolutionary. Especially with the way he was now. They just shoved Paul through the door to Nido's room and shut it behind him.
Paul looked around the room. The first thing he saw was the view out the window. A smoldering city, reduced to rubble and corpses by Nido's army. Skyscrapers with huge holes burned into them, the Pokemon center eaten away by acid, the rest of the buildings levelled and spat upon. The boy had to suppress a shiver, trying to stay composed as he turned to face the leader.
Nido sneered down at the youth from his makeshift throne. An executive chair strained to hold up the Pokemon's bulk, and tattered red banners decorated the otherwise spartan room. The revolutionary sat on his throne like a barbarian king, emanating his power to intimidate his measly little captive.
No. He's just a Pokemon. Paul reassured himself. Nothing more.
"Hello, Paul."
Paul couldn't hide his shock this time, jumping back in surprise. The boy stared wide-eyed at the Pokemon who just spoke in a deep, powerful voice. And how did he know his name?
Nido chuckled slightly at the boy's dumbfounded expression. The revolutionary tapped the device fused to his neck. A small metal box with a speaker and several buttons attached. "Impressive, is it not? I had it built just for this occasion."
The youth tensed, but tried to maintain his cool. Discreetly as he could, he moved his bound hands towards a pocket in his coat. This will work, he kept telling himself. This will work, and I will be champion.
The huge Nidoking got up and stepped towards the boy, smiling a friendly smile. "Would you like to know where we are right now?" he asked.
"No. I don't need to know." Paul responded sharply. Nido was taken aback by the boy's nerve, but he laughed it off.
"You have not changed. How refreshing."
What is he talking about? Paul waited for the creature to come just a bit closer...
"Veilstone Hospital." Nido spoke again, smirking.
Paul's eyes went wide. "WHAT?" The boy whirled around to the window. This smoldering ruin was Veilstone City? This was his hometown? Now that he was really looking, he saw Maylene's gym and the Game Corner amongst the rubble. The sick feeling in his stomach only doubled.
"Tell me, are you impressed by my work?" Nido asked, staring intensely at Paul. He was almost right next to the trainer.
Paul gritted his teeth and managed to keep his voice level. "Nuh-no...it ends...it ends now!" Whirling around, Paul threw what he was hiding in his pocket at Nido. The thing that would stop this animal and make everything go back to normal...
Without blinking, Nido grabbed the orb in midair. Turning it around in his claws, Nido casually glanced at Paul's secret weapon. An Ultra Ball. How he managed to smuggle this in, Nido was unsure. No matter.
Paul gasped as he watched the ball, the only one he could hide, get crushed to tiny pieces in Nido's hand. It suddenly sunk in just how helpless he was here. The trainer tried desperately to stay calm and in control, but his mask of aloofness was cracking very visibly. I'm a trainer, he's a Pokemon. As long as I don't show fear...
"Did you really think you could make all this go away, just like that?" Nido chuckled, casually tossing the fragments away. The Pokemon shook his head, before resuming his original dialogue like nothing had happened. "You should be impressed.
This is all for you."
WHAT? Paul couldn't believe his ears. For me? No, there's no way, he's trying to get under my skin. I can't show him I'm weak. I'm not weak.
Nido tapped the boy's chest with his claw.
"I have to thank you. You see, YOU were my inspiration. You taught me that only the strong prevail. That they are meant to command the weak. That there's no room for sentiment or kindness for those meant for greatness. You taught me that if I would ever be anything other than just another Nidorino, I would have to defeat everything in my path and be the strongest there was."
Paul just stood there, listening but not believing what he was hearing. He reeled back when Nido suddenly snarled in his face.
"But I was never strong enough for you, was I? No matter how hard I tried, no matter how I trained, no matter how powerful I got, it was NEVER ENOUGH! You just kept kicking and mocking and forcing the others on me, telling me that I had to be better in order to get you into the League! I had to suffer for YOUR glory!" Nido's voice became more and more furious, losing the calm veneer he had earlier.
"And then, when we battled that woman and her Metang brought me down, what did you say to me? I was worthless, you did not need me, I was not strong enough! Well, look around Master, and tell me, am I strong enough NOW?"
Nido's bellow echoed around the room, and Paul wished that he could cover his ears to block out the noise.
"I hated you that moment, boy. I wished I could kill you. I knew I could, all it could take was one prick, one claw in the right place, one attack…" Nido's enraged expression vanished, and his cold smile returned. "And that is when it hit me. I did not have to answer to you. Why should I or any others have to answer to children like you? We could crush you, we just never allowed ourselves to! And that is when I began seeding the Revolution." Nido gestured outwards. "And now here we are. The age of humanity is coming to an end."
Nido looked Paul in the eye. "You see? You started all this. You lit the spark that set your world on fire. I just wanted you to know that."
Paul shook his head. This creature was insane. "No…no, you must be…"
"And I wanted you to know today. March 9th. A day I will never forget. Do you remember what happened that day, two years ago?"
"No, I don't."
Nido blinked. "What?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know you."
"What? You do not remember? You do not remember abandoning a Nidorino on the side of Route 206, two years ago today? You do not remember me?" Nido demanded, shocked.
"There were many Pokemon who didn't live up to my expectations, I can't remember all of…"
"YOU HAD BETTER BEEEEEEEEP REMEMBER!"
Both of them were caught off guard by the bleep noise coming from Nido's voicebox. It sounded like a TV censor, and the suddenness of the noise was almost comical. Paul very nearly laughed aloud at how ridiculous it sounded. Nido touched the voicebox, quivering with suppressed rage.
He saw the smile on Paul's lips. That contemptuous smirk he had hoped to crush once and for all…
Nido grabbed the back of the boy's head and forced his face into the window. Paul's eyes were forced to look at the broken wreck of his old home.
The Pokemon revolutionary leader growled into Paul's ear. "Take a good look, boy. Take a good look at what you started. This is your legacy, boy.
This is the last thing you'll ever see."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!" The Alakazam in the scientist's room screamed in agony, holding it's head in it's hands. The Psychic Pokemon collapsed in pain and shock. Meowth and the two professors kneeled down beside it, checking it's pulse.
"What happened?" Professor Elm asked.
He got his answer when Nido suddenly ripped open the door. The revolutionary's face and chest were covered in crimson blood. Meowth covered his mouth to keep himself from retching.
Nido breathed hard for a few moments, but gradually calmed down. The bloodstained murderer glanced around the room. "Who inputted the dictionary for this?" he asked, pointing to the voicebox.
Nobody spoke for a second, too afraid to even move. They just stared at the blood, still warm on the Pokemon's face. Nido's expression became harsher. "Who did it?"
Professor Elm gulped. "It was…it was me." He mumbled, knowing that this would not end well. "Wuh-was it…enough f-for you?"
"Almost."
Before anyone could react, a cascade of flames poured from Nido's mouth and onto the hapless young professor. Elm screamed in pain as the fire ate at his skin, his hands desperately trying to put out the flames with his bare hands. Professor Oak quickly tried to snuff the flames with his own lab coat, while Meowth ran to the fire extinguisher in the room.
Nido didn't care what was happening to the professor. "Get the schematics for this ready." He told the Beheeyem, who was just staring numbly at the revolutionary leader. "I think this will be very useful mass produced. Do you not agree?"
Nido closed the door again, leaving the scientists alone once again.
"We put out the fire, but Elm died of th' burns a few days later. The rest of us was left t' rot until Mewtwo got us free." Baron Kat rubbed his shoulder, shivering at the memory. "You 'ave no idea how happy I was t' be outta dat room. Even if it was to a completely diffr'nt world." Kat sighed and slumped into his seat, his story over.
Futakh's eyes were wide with shock and horror. The Dewott sat down, shaking his head numbly. "I…Nido actually did that?"
"Yeah."
Dewott tried to bring himself to say That's impossible, that's propaganda, you're lying, but he could tell every word Kat had said was true. He glanced back at his proposal, now feeling very ashamed to have made it in the first place. The Pokemon swallowed a rising sickness and looked out the window. It was almost nightfall over Castelia city, the sunset illuminating the rebuilt city. It looked beautiful.
Eventually, he spoke again. "What became of Veilstone?"
"Th' revolutionaries insisted it stay destroyed. Nido's orders, I guess. They say it's a 'monument an' a warning t' anyone who will challenge the Pokemon's rule'. I saw it a couple weeks ago. Th' place is startin' to rot now."
Futakh nodded numbly. "I…see." The preppy Pokemon calmly stood up and brushed himself off. "I should get going, now. Sorry for taking up your time, Baron."
"No worries. T' be honest, I've been wantin' to get that story off my chest fer a while now."
Futakh smiled wanly, packing up his proposal for the garbage. Just as he was leaving the office, a thought struck him. "Elm…would it be tasteless to bring him up? Not as endorsement, but…well…you know…"
"Depends on 'ow you do it."
"I'll…give it some thought. Thank you for your time, sir."
"Welcome." The Baron nodded before waving Futakh goodnight.
Meowth sighed as he got up to head to his home. The thought of those weeks in Nido's clutches still made him shiver. That sadistic monster still haunted his nightmares, Paul and Elm's death replaying over and over. Meowth hadn't liked the kid, but he didn't deserve what happened to him. And Elm…Nido had killed him because of something so stupid and petty. How Pokemon saw him as a hero perplexed the cat. Nido forced four innocents to build this box just so he could taunt his old trainer. He hadn't intended for it to end the war. He just wanted to be powerful.
It didn't matter now. Nido was gone, and the worst of the war was over. That voicebox had helped bring peace, regardless of what Nido had origionally intended. That had to count for something. Was there any point in dwelling on it further?
Meowth sighed as he stepped into his car. Whether there was a point to it, he'd be dwelling on that until his dying day.
