"Alright, hopefully this works." I remarked with Mew floating besides my head as I pulled my black sleeve up to my elbow.
I stood in front of the door and placed my hand on the strange hand shaped pad, which seemed to flash and glow green for a second, before the door seemed to unlock.
Hell yeah.
I pushed the door open and Mew followed just behind me as I began to make my way through the base, trying to be as stealthy as possible, I started to gather my thoughts and figure out what I can do once I leave this place.
Okay, so I'm the main character of Pokemon Insurgence. Not ideal in terms of pokemon games, since I was always a bigger fan of the main series, but I still loved that game. I have an abundance of metaknowledge on where to catch basically any pokemon that I want, plus I know the future. Maybe I could even change the plot of what's going on to suit my needs.
Okay Leo, remember the plot. Okay, so assuming that everything I know is correct, the first Augur is in my head, the dream realm more like, and that Gengar was trying to kill him by eating my mind. That explains the massive headache I was getting before. But, dear old dad had other plans and he managed to send Mew to save me. I can only access my dream realm with the help of Darkrai, so until then the first Augur isn't going to be able to help me.
I took a moment to steal a glance at Mew. Mew didn't battle besides you in the game, he decided that until you were powerful enough to stand against the cultists on your own, he wasn't going to let you lean on him. Going by that logic, until I'm stronger than Mew he won't battle with me. So, I probably won't be able to rely on the legendary.
I made sure to keep my feet light as I traversed the weirdly well-made base.
"And isn't that putting it lightly." I whispered to myself as my free hand grazed the smooth surface of the hideout walls. How exactly did they build this place anyway? It must have cost quite the pretty penny, and I doubt that Persephone just had that much in her back pocket waiting to be used. Then again, I have no idea how this worlds economy actually worked, so maybe it was just really easy to get rich here or something?
My footsteps echoed at an uncomfortably high volume as I made my way down the hall, Mew trailing just behind me as I peaked around a corner, only to curse when I saw two Darkrai cultists with their backs turned to me.
"Well shit, you don't happen to know Teleport or something do you?" I asked Mew, hoping that the answer was yes, that would save me a lot of trouble. But, all I got was a cutesy head tilt. That isn't helping me!
"Goddammit. It's okay Leo, you can do this, just walk up to them and act natural. They all where pyjamas anyway, they won't tell the difference." I whispered to myself, trying to cool my nerves.
Then again, Mew is helping me escape, so he could probably just kill em for me if push came to shove.
I forced myself to relax, and stepped around the corner, Mew camouflaging into the surroundings to hide himself, whilst my heart pounded like crazy.
"Hey guys, how's it hanging?" I internally cringe at my own words. Jesus Christ, this is a cult, not a fucking birthday party!
My utterly terrible greeting got the attention of the two masked fuckers, and in response they just looked at each other for a second like 'is this guy for real?' and then said." Er, fine I guess, though Miss Persephone is taking her time with preparing the summoning ritual."
The other guy surprised me by asking." Hey just how exactly are they gonna summon a legendary pokemon to begin with? We were never really given specifics"
For a moment after they talked I was genuinely a bit surprised. They were... weirdly normal sounding. I expected them to be malicious or... something. But, they just sound like regular old goons.
That makes this easier.
I allowed myself to completely relax finally, I'd lost track of Mew but they were probably around here somewhere, as I placed my back onto a wall and I paused slightly, but answered the other guy vaguely." Who knows, but I have this weird feeling that it won't be pretty."
The shorter of the two heard me and asked curiously." What do you mean by that?"
In response I just shrugged, deciding to run my mouth and warm up to them." I just have a feeling is all. Darkrai isn't exactly known for being the most friendly of pokemon, so maybe summoning him will require some... less than savoury methods."
I didn't need to fake the shiver that ran through me at that moment. In the games Persephone summoned Darkrai by sacrificing a cultist, though apparently Darkrai saved them, but when they were summoned the legendary almost instantly fled.
Then there's fighting Persephone herself... yeah no. Even if Mew's a legendary, there's no way he'd beating her. The last time you battled her in the games, she had a team of pokemon that could, at least together, pummel a psychic-type into nothing.
What team did she have again? Houndoom, Alakazam, Metagross, Spiritomb, Hydreigon, and Gengar? Even assuming that Gengar was the one Mew just beat up, there's really no way for Mew to kick all their asses.
"Well... I really wouldn't put that past Miss Persephone, but I doubt that anything terrible would really be necessary to summon a legendary pokemon. It's not like they're-"
A third Darkrai cultist suddenly cut the corner and, after walking hastily over to our location, he spoke to us." Hey you guys need to move, the ritual is starting. Mrs Persephone wants us to watch, and we don't get paid if we don't do what she says."
Wait, these grunts get paid for their work? I mean, that sort of makes sense, since nobody works for free, and nobody is just going to be evil just for the sake of being evil, this isn't a cartoon afterall, but that still kind of surprised me.
"Sure, lets go guys."
The three of them began to make their way around the base, and I just followed them, cos the exit to this dump is just by the ritual room. So, by that logic, if I follow them and just wait for an opportunity then I'd be fine. Probably.
Walking around I occasionally made small talk, because me staying completely silent would have been weird, and subtly glanced around to get a general idea of what this base is actually like, I may find myself here again in the future and memorising the layout of this place could be important.
The base itself was actually pretty well kept, there was the occasional crack in a wall but nothing more than that, and a brief glance through an open door revealed a barracks with bunk beds.
There were people staying here.
What did the Darkrai Cult even do? I understood that they worshipped Darkrai, but that can't really be all that they want. Are they like Team Rocket? Do they seek to profit off pokemon in some way?
Questions for later.
I felt my eyes suddenly become drawn to, what looked like, a sealed door with a few steps leading up to it, in the games that little thing was the exit, it looked like that was my way out.
But, I couldn't be too hasty. If I broke off right now, the guys I'm with would notice that something was wrong with me, and then the fess is up. I'll need to wait for an opportunity before I make a break for sweet freedom.
We entered what looked like a big hall, and a crowd of cultists were silently standing in an unorganised crowd with a stage being present at the front, I could see steps leading up to the stage, and yet nobody dared to follow where they led.
Because, standing at the top of the stage, Persephone stood with a face of total stoicism.
The others broke off from me, and we split up, but my eyes never left the white haired woman on stage. She... was a lot different than I was expecting. #
Pokemon Insurgence was a game full of sprites, not even 3D art, so it's only expected that characters would look far more real when everything was in real life. However, looking at Persephone now, it was hard to picture her as a cold-hearted murderer.
For a starter, she wasn't nearly as intimidating in that moment, at least in my eyes. She was wearing a mostly black dress that ended unevenly, her right leg above the knee and her left leg just below the knee, with some black fabric attached to her dress drifting around her ominously, whilst the area around her chest and neck was pink, almost trying to show off her rather generous cleavage, whilst her shoulders were lets free and her biceps were draped with black fabric, much like her followers, and she also had knee-high white socks to go with pink shoes that matched her eyes. Her white hair also flowed down to her shoulders, framing her face and the prominent eyebags she'd clearly gotten from a lack of sleep.
I could also tell that she was definitely on the shorter side, she looked about 5'3, but she very well might have been smaller.
Huh, she's actually really pretty now that I'm looking at her. Then again, she's also someone who wants to kill me, so maybe I should quit checking her out. I might be an actual teenager for all I know!
"My loyal followers, today we are here to witness the capture of Darkrai itself. Today we shall capture the legendary pokemon we worship and bring Torren under out heel." She didn't even need to raise her voice, everyone in the room simply heard her, she had a real way of projecting herself, I'll give her that.
Though, I wouldn't go so far as to call these guys loyal exactly. They might be hidden by robes and masks, but that isn't stopping me from seeing their true colours. I highly doubt that any of these guys are willing to die for this cause.
The, admittedly, very attractive woman at the top of the stage then addressed us all with dead seriousness." Today we will make history, and Torren will be ours." She raised her hand and, likely for dramatic effect, snapped her fingers.
At that moment an pokemon that I recognised as Alakazam suddenly appeared behind Persephone, presumably this was the one she had in the games, and in his telekinetic grasp there was a fat man gagged and restrained by binds!
The crowd stirred slightly at the sight, many people feeling surprised at the appearance of a random looking man in the hands of such a ruthless woman, but she silenced them all with the raising of her right hand.
"This man is named Jason Cormac, he is someone that's been accused with three different cases of sexual assault, however, a lack of evidence prevented him from being charged with these crimes. This piece of scum will finally do something with his worthless life, and be our sacrifice to summon Darkrai." Persephone spoke coldly and rationally, she was almost casual about the fact fact she was about to sacrifice a man in a ritual, if a bad one.
I honestly don't know why I was even surprised by this. In the games it was stated that you had to sacrifice someone to perform this fucked up ritual, but it's never stated that the person sacrificed had to be loyal to you. By doing this Persephone was saving herself a grunt, and her cultists might be, at least a little, assured with the fact that the person being sacrificed is a bad guy. Then again, she could easily just be lying.
I felt nauseous at the idea of this guy dying. Killing isn't something I'm used to, and I hope that I don't get used to it. But... what can I even do?! Do I even want to do anything?! It's every man for himself, and I'm not even a pokemon trainer!
I have one Mew, and that just won't cut it in this situation. I just have to sit back and do nothing.
Persephone, after a moments pause, turned her back to all of us, staring directly into the green ritual circle which her Alakazam had dropped the obese man into.
He squirmed slightly, but couldn't really do much to move because of the manner in which he'd been bound, but he still gave some suppressed pleas for mercy, or I'm assuming that they were, I really couldn't tell because of his gagged mouth.
Persephone suddenly spoke, namely to a group of grunts in one corner of the room." Activate the ritual circle!"
At that moment the air in the room got that little bit thicker and breathing became harder, at least for me, though with the way others were panting I doubt that I was the only one struggling.
Persephone then began to chant, obviously doing so to summon Darkrai." Darkrai, lord of darkness! I call upon you to enter our world! In return I offer you the life of this sinner to be bound to your world of nightmares forever!"
The ritual circle turned blood red, and a mist of crimson started to cloud the air, but it all thickened when Persephone called out her final words-
"VOCO VIRTUTEM UMBRARUM DOMINUM!"
The misty air suddenly became suffocating as the man in the circle became enveloped in violet flames that swallowed him whole, his screams being silence forever as he seemingly burned into ash.
Several cultists around me stiffened up, but I was just trying not to suffocate, ignoring the smell of burnt flesh that lingered in their after the demise of that man.
However, the flames did start to die down and give way to something else, and a chill ran up my spine and goosebumps travelled through my arms as a figure emerged from the inferno of sacrifice.
No, not a figure. Darkrai.
The games couldn't possibly do justice to what I was seeing right now. He was a cloud of gray, black, and white smoke. His body was nearly see through, with the red surrounding his neck being the only slightly solid thing on his body. He appeared fragile, as though a simple gust of wind would carry him away, yet he also oozed with an aura of strength that let you instantly know something.
He was not to be messed with.
A single neon blue eyes shined like the clear ocean, in direct contrast to the dark and edgy colours which comprised the rest of his body, and locked directly onto Persephone as the violet flames died down.
Just being in the same room as him was suffocating. I felt as though breathing was only happening because air was drifting into my lungs rather than me willing it inside. Yet, my observant eyes couldn't help but notice something odd.
Darkrai wasn't looking at Persephone with malice or distain. In fact, he almost looked... sad? Piteous? Guilty? Either way he didn't look mad, not really anyway.
Persephone addressed Darkrai with an unknown emotion in her voice, seemingly not the dialogue in game." It's been a whole year Darkrai, but you remember me, don't you?"
Much to my surprise, the legendary merely gave a nod of his head. Persephone smiled softly at that, as though she was remembering something fondly." I see. Then you remember what we accomplished that day together, what incredible things we can do together. You saved my life back then, all those years ago, and I'm eternally grateful for that. But, why will you not join me? You've seen what we can do together, we can change the world if we combined our might, Nobody would ever need to suffer like I have ever again. So, what are your reasons for rejecting me?"
Hearing her words I frowned slightly. In the games Persephone was on bad terms with Darkrai basically the entire story, yet the legendary doesn't seem to hate her at all. If anything, he looks like he feels bad for her.
Darkrai floated for a moment, silent as the wind, before he surprised me and spoke very audibly.
"I am sorry, but I will not help you."
Persephone gritted her teeth, openly expressing rage at his words, no longer seeming fond or happy to see the legendary." And why the hell not?! We could do anything together?! The Gym Leaders, the Elite Four, the Champion himself?! They'd all fall under our wrath, so why not use your power to change the world?!"
Darkrai was silent at this, his eye almost bleeding with regret and sympathy. It was weird, they almost seemed like friends in a weird way, but why wouldn't he help her if they knew each other so well.
"Your heart is tainted with rage and hatred. You cannot do good with a tainted heart."
In the face of such words, Persephone visibly lost it." AND WHAT AM I MEANT TO FEEL FOR THE WORLD THEN?! WHY SHOULD THE WORLD GET TO TRAMPLE ON ME AND I CAN'T DO ANYTHING BACK TO THEM JUST BECAUSE THEY HAPPEN TO HAVE A FEW INNOCENT PEOPLE SHIELDING THEM?! WHY SHOULD I FEEL PAIN AT ALL, WHY CAN'T I JUST DESTROY THEM?! WHY WON'T YOU SEE MY WAY DARKRAI?! WHY WON'T YOU AND DIANA JUST SEE MY WAY?! "
In the face of such overwhelming emotion, I felt stunned silent as I viewed what was happening on stage. Persephone was shaking with rage, and Darkrai's lone blue iris was staring at the ground, a shadow cast over it.
Okay, I clearly lacked context for what was going on here.
Everything was utterly silent, the tension in the air hardly even noticeable under the intense pressure that the legendary was exerting. But, the smoky legendary eventually broke the ice.
"You must learn to let go, only then will you be ready. Goodbye."
A void of darkness appeared under Darkrai, which he instantly slipped through, and within seconds the ominous atmosphere brought from the ritual dissipated. Leaving the entire room silent.
What the fuck just happened?
Persephone shook slightly on stage, and I could have sworn that I saw tears on her cheeks, yet those easily could have been my imagination, since her Alakazam instantly teleported the two of them away in a flash of pink. Not even giving the other cultists a chance to explain their failure.
I felt an immense amount of confusion when the words of Persephone replayed in my mind, and when I compared them with those of the in-game dialogue... well they just didn't match. Like at all.
What is going on?
"Mew." A slight whisper in my ear alerted me to one fact. I was still trapped in the Darkrai Cult base, and everyone was distracted.
So, I should really take this opportunity and skedaddle.
The cultists murmured themselves up, with the cultists on stage seemingly chatting intensely with each other, and I made a stealthy, yet quick, jog for the corner. I'd be free soon enough.
After making that short distance, I walked down the hall and told Mew." Thanks for that, we need to get out of here."
In response all I got was a giggle from the tiny psychic weirdo. I'm gonna start getting annoyed by that really quick.
I turned into that corner and, lucky for me, I remembered where that stairway was.
I climbed the steps at a rapid pace, before pulling up my sleeve and placing my hand on a panel, and in just a second the screen above the hand print flashed green and the doors unlocked.
Perfect.
I turned to Mew, just remembering that I should probably show some gratitude." Thanks for helping me out, your a cool guy- cat psychic dude whatever the hell you are anyway, and if it wasn't for you then I'd probably have mashed potatoes for brains. You've been a massive help."
He seriously nodded at me in response, and I could just smile back before I started to climb the stairway to sweet freedom.
It's time to leave.