A few days had passed since Harrison Arkham had awakened, and had been reunited with his daughter. After filling Dante in on the details of his absence, Dante told Harrison that he could take command of the Orre region chapter of the Balancers if he wished.
Harrison, much to Dante's surprise, told him that Dante had earned the position, and was managing the chapter well from what Mary had been telling him. Dante took it in stride though, and quickly adapted. Arkham did agree to stay onboard as an advisor, as well as a member of the chapter. After all, he did not want to be separated from his daughter again, and he still needed to make up for lost time with her.
Dante watched with Takuya as the bandages were finally removed from Arkham's eyes. Once Arkham opened his eyes, everyone saw them glow a slight mystical blue, with dots of white. It looked like his eyes were a window into the cosmos itself.
After passing some sight and eye tests, Oak gave Arkham a clean bill of health. "I must say, you are in good shape considering how long you were on the run from Team Midnight's goons according to Leonidas."
"Indeed. My survival training helped, as well as my abundance of faith. I also admit, praying to Arceus for guidance I feel helped ease our burden as well."
Takuya then tapped Dante on the shoulder. "Dante, could we talk in private for a bit?"
"Sure." Dante said. They both excused themselves from the room, and walked into a vacant office in the Oore Pokemon Lab. "What did you need to talk about, Tak?" Dante said as he sat in an office chair.
Takuya sighed, and sat down on a couch. "Dante, you said you are familiar with the Shadow Pokemon research, correct? Can some of the procedures to create Shadow Pokemon breed things like… Split Personalities, or even a separate conscious mind?"
Dante raised an eyebrow. "...Yes, that is not unheard of. I've communed with Celebi myself at his shrine with a close friend who stopped Cipher five years ago, who had first-hand experience with Shadow Pokemon. The procedures Cipher used to close off the victims' emotions and feelings to make them into Shadow Pokemon could even end up breeding in entirely separate personalities that I ended up calling Shadow Personas. Wes himself had to work hard to help the Shadow Pokemon he rescued from Cipher, and even had to call upon Celebi to help open and purify their hearts of this darkness. Even Michael has had experience with Shadow Pokemon on the same scale as Wes, due to him having to help purify an untamed legendary that Cipher tried to corrupt. Why do you ask?"
Takuya finally rested his head in his palms. "...Because I think that I have one of those Personas in me, now. When I surrendered myself to Team Midnight to keep Avery and Kasi safe, they took me to their base and did… Procedures on me. They hooked me up to machines, injected me with drugs… I can't remember everything they did, but what I do remember was bad enough. Then, after Reaper injected Avery with his venom and I saw him in intensive care… That persona manifested itself to me. It showed me it's form, spoke to me with it's voice. It calls itself, 'Aries,' and he says that he was born from this…" Takuya motioned to the cross-shaped scar on his chest. "...This was a parting gift from Reaper when I was in Team Midnight's captivity. Aries says that this scar allowed him to embed himself into me. Then he fed off of all the pain I went through while I was in Team Midnight's custody. He's now fighting me for control of my body. At first, it only happened once or twice a day, but now… Now, it's a constant battle just to keep him contained, to keep his presence at bay. Dante, I need help with this, and I don't know who else to turn to. We already have enough to deal with, and I can't fight Aries on my own..."
"Then don't." Dante's words were simple, yet blunt. Takuya raised his head, looking at Dante as he stood up from his chair, and walked over to a window, looking at his reflection. "You shouldn't try to fight with your persona for control. That only will leave you tired and venerable. You need to learn to commune with Aries, and coexist with him. I know it's not as easy as I am making it sound, but it's the only way. That is what I have had to do with my persona, Lucifer. I'm not going to lie, he is a real bastard to get along with… But I was able to learn a lot from my fellow balancers, as well as others who had connections. I can teach you these things, Takuya, and I will need to. Especially with your powers from Entei. We will start immediately, here and now." Dante turned back to face Takuya. "First, let me speak with Aries for a moment. Allow him enough control to speak to me…"