"Morai!" Morai called. She had appeared in the Realm of Dreams once again. With a bit over a day left remaining until she left for Alola, she had to get some things in order.
Past Morai appeared, stumbling down the walkway from what Morai assumed to be the Outlands. She was all beaten up and relied on her staff to walk with what looked like an injured leg.
"It seems you can't win over there, hm?" Morai asked.
"You usually don't care to see me," Past Morai answered, ignoring her comment.
Morai didn't answer, but instead lunged at her counterpart as soon as she was within range. There wasn't much Past Morai could do to stop it in her state. Her nearly-broken mask flew off of her head as she hit the ground. Morai sat on top of her, pinning her arms to the ground. Her eyes glowed red as she tried to take hold of her mind.
"I need you to show me a memory," she said, digging her claws into Past Morai's skin.
"By your action I'm guessing it's not one I'd like you to see," Past Morai replied.
"Show me the day I was arrested."
"You want to see how the serum works," Past Morai said with rattling breath, "so that you can falsely replicate its effects and pretend to be under its influence. Then you'll go to Alola and make your escape, psychic powers intact."
"Precisely," Morai replied with a grin, feeling her hypnosis slowly taking hold as her counterpart fought back.
"It's not a bad plan, if you can fool everyone."
"Well? Are you going to comply, or am I going to have to force it out of you?"
Past Morai sighed and closed her eyes.
"I suppose it is my duty to take you to the past," she said. The world around them faded and a new one took its place. They were right by this memory's Morai. The real Morai got up and circled this version of herself curiously.
"This is what is feels like to be alive," the memory said. This Morai, fueled by the red serum, had pure cruelty in her eyes. She didn't care whether she lived or died in this fight against Looker if it meant she died doing what she loved. Perhaps it was because her choices had closed off any sort of future, blurring the past and making the path ahead so foggy that she was simply doomed to exist in the present, bending to any impulse and living as the strange creature she had become.
She continued to fight and exchanged a few words with Looker, planning to knock him out, until she was shot by Ingo. The current Morai saw the look of utter shock and agony in her memory's eyes as she screamed out in pain. She thrashed around as handcuffs were placed around her wrists, refusing to accept that what was happening was her true reality. Mewtwo appeared and left the scene. Ingo walked to stand before her and watched with sorrow as the life seemed to drain from her frightening form until she looked blankly ahead, her mouth hanging slightly open. A black tear formed in her eye and rolled down her deathly pale face.
Everything paused, and Morai was left to stare into the face of her memory. It was a sight out of a horror movie. She felt her heart beating within her chest, the feeling of something wrapping around her throat so tightly that she couldn't breathe. Her legs had grown weak.
"Can you replicate that, Morai?" Past Morai asked.
"It's...not supposed to be this painful this time around," Morai said, without looking away from her memory.
"This is the day we met," Past Morai continued. "I read you the letter I had written the day I first took the serum. Do you remember that?"
"I do," Morai said. It had been the last bit of comfort she had experienced that day.
The environment changed again and the pair were back in the Garden of Dreams.
"Things went well with Maria, it seems," Past Morai said, intentionally changing the subject in hopes of convincing her counterpart to take a different path.
"That was a mistake," Morai repeated. "It would be a cruelty to both of us to continue down a path that would inevitably lead to pain. Friends are tricky things, anyway."
"Haven't you wanted to learn archery for a while?" her counterpart argued. "What better time than tomorrow, with her?"
"Well...I guess I could do that. I do want to learn...but after that I'm done! It'll be the last time I ever see her anyway, assuming everything goes according to plan," Morai insisted.
"At this point, I suppose trying to change your mind would be beating a dead Rapidash."
"Yes, and now that I got what I wanted, I'm taking my leave. You'd better get some rest for those nasty injuries of yours. I want to fight what you're fighting down there sometime."
Morai managed to wake herself up, leaving the Realm of Dreams.
"I'm fighting you, Morai," Past Morai sighed with a frown, eyeing Shadow Morai's statue. "For every tiny step you take forward towards humanity, your innate fear of becoming weak drives you back. I'm trying to fight the nightmares that haunt you so that you can grow without being poisoned by your own internal terror and need for power, but I can only do so much."
The dream trainer completed her daily ritual of eating her last meal of the day beside Light Morai. She treated herself to a memory of her lost friend every other day. Besides her Pokémon and the Pokémon her original counterparts left behind, those were the remaining sources of comfort and connection she had.
Morai fell back into a dreamless slumber, leading her into the final full day until she left for Alola.
"I have more on my agenda today than I've had since I got here," Morai said. Maria had joined her for breakfast, sharing in the huge batch of pancakes that Mrs. Lochlynn has prepared for the entire building. It was a special—or at least different—occasion, Morai supposed.
Everyone is growing more tense as time goes on, she thought, looking around at the guards who all had their eyes not-so-subtly fixed on her. The Aether employees made furtive glances at her as they talked quietly amongst themselves. When Morai saw Pollie going to join them at their table, she intercepted her. Pollie stepped back when she realized both of her hands were holding onto her tray of food and unable to reach for her gun. Maria got up and called Morai's name, trying to stop her.
"Something seems to be bubbling under the surface," Morai said in a low voice, leaning in as if she and Pollie were two friends sharing a secret. "But I haven't the slightest notion of what it could be. Any idea?"
"Everyone's bets on how long you'd last without breaking your deal with Sheridan are coming to a close. Most of them lost on the first day," Pollie replied, staring ahead into the distance and refusing to look at the prisoner. "Now the bets are centered around what will happen in Alola."
Morai could sense the silent rise of fear in Pollie's mind. It always made her smile when people's minds gave away their stoic exterior.
"Oh?" she asked with a grin. "And what are you betting on, Pollie?"
"You're going to stay in line, because if you don't it'll be my job to make you wish you had never stepped foot outside of these walls," the woman replied, her words sharp with what could be very well called hatred. She began to walk off, but Morai stepped in front of her again.
Strike one, she thought.
"Morai, I don't think you should—"
"And how about we make a bet of our own?" she whispered, leaning in uncomfortably close beside Pollie's ear and placing a hand on her shoulder.
Strike two.
"I can't guess what you'd want from me, but I know what I'd want upon my victory. Can you guess?"
Pollie didn't answer. She stood stock still, holding no expression on her face as she still stared ahead. Morai licked her teeth with a grin and reached for the scar that she had given the nurse.
"I'd like to taste that decadent blood of yours and—"
"Morai!"
Morai found herself in a wrist lock on her knees. Pollie had shoved her tray into Maria in hopes that she'd take it, grabbed Morai's reaching wrist, ducked under the same arm and kicked her in the back of the knee. She was now standing behind her, applying enough pressure to the lock to cause pain.
"Strike three," she said with a frown. "Talk like that wouldn't fly in Alola, would it?" Pollie said, leaning next to Morai's ear. "Maybe I should let Sheridan know that your violent aberrations have gotten the best of you again. For the good citizens of Alola's sake, you know...unless you'd like to backtrack on what you've said."
"Lying is an equally bad sin, no?" Morai said through gritted teeth. "Besides, I mean no harm. You don't see me resisting your poorly executed move, do you? I'm letting you twist my arm—literally—to give you that sense of power over me which you so crave."
Pollie huffed and let go.
"If that serum does its job," she said, "we'll see if you can even find the line in Alola, let alone cross it."
The nurse took her tray from Maria and walked to the table with the Aether employees, a slight smile on her face.
I'll take the line and strangle you with it, Morai thought. When she got up to resume her breakfast, she found Maria looking up at her with a frown.
"You shouldn't talk to people that way," she said.
"I know...that's the fun of it," Morai said with a grin. She sat down and finished off her pancakes. "What good of a puppet master would I be if I couldn't influence people's minds without hypnosis, too?"
"Are you worried about the serum?" Maria asked.
"No," Morai flatly and quickly answered. "I have many other means with which to demonstrate my power. Pokémon battles chief among them, which is why we should get a move on."
"That wasn't bad for your first ever time shooting a bow and arrow," Maria said. She had been teaching Morai in the courtyard that lied outside of the garden, the one the prisoner had first seen in her escape attempt.
"It sounds like you're trying to make me feel better about my poor performance," Morai sighed.
"I imagine you weren't good at fighting when you first started, nor was I good at archery. Both of us had to start our journeys as Pokémon trainers and taste the bitter defeat at the hands of a Gym Leader, only to come back and beat them later."
"Speaking of which," a guard said, "you're due in the arena now, Morai."
The pair headed to the door leading back into the cathedral, but the guard stopped Morai.
"Where is it?"
"What?"
"The arrow," the guard frowned. "I counted them. You've got one somewhere on you and if you don't want your trip canceled, I'd turn it in now. Not sure what you'd do with it anyway between now and then besides trying to stab someone with it, which would surely keep you here."
Morai sighed and pulled out the arrow from inside her jumpsuit, reluctantly handing it over to the guard, who handcuffed her.
"Are you excited to see your Pokémon again?" Maria asked after Morai caught up with her.
"I suppose so," Morai answered. They passed the pot of flowers that Maria had given her in the hall, still unplanted.
Maybe we should do that before I leave.
When they walked into the arena—or what had been made into a makeshift arena—Morai was surprised to see so many people there. It seemed many of the guards had gathered to either battle or keep watch, Sheridan and Arthur standing among them. Colress was there, too, talking to the doctor. She wondered if he knew of her foul play. Pollie was among what she assumed to be the audience. Morai shot her a malicious smile and winked.
"Morai," Sheridan greeted. "We must have some ground rules. You've been separated from most Pokémon because of your hypnosis, and that still stands. As I'm sure you've guessed, the hypnotization of any person or Pokémon will result in an immediate cancelled trip. Since battling for the most part does not require your hands, you will remain handcuffed, but will still have access to your Mega Stone. Thanks to Colress we were able to establish a temporary PC, giving you access to every Pokémon you've stored. I would advise you not to use the legendary Pokémon you've obtained, as I will view them as a potential means to escape. Should you try anything, we have the black serum, and though it's supposed to be administered later, we could certainly test it out now. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Mrs. Sheridan," Morai groaned. She was led to the PC, where over a thousand Pokémon waited at the tips of her fingers. When she was an acting Champion and hero, she had spent her free time catching every Pokémon in every stage of its evolution. She also had an array of shiny Pokémon, including the Espurr that had accompanied her as The Mask Maker.
"Espurr," she said, withdrawing the Pokémon and letting it out. "Do you recognize me?"
Espurr excitedly jumped from its ball, only to stop and stare at its trainer with its huge round eyes. Morai shared its gaze, and it finally approached her with a purr, floating up to nest on her curled hair. A small smile formed across the prisoner's face, but she quickly shook it off. Next, she withdrew Lucario, Hydreigon, Garchomp, Greninja, and Bisharp.
As Morai expected, many of her battles were over before they began. Despite being rusty at the sport, her Pokémon were extremely high leveled and well-trained, especially those trained for the Battle Subway. The boredom with her unchallenging opponents, however, was interrupted by one of her own Pokémon. As she sent Lucario out it refused to battle for her. It refused to dodge and took attacks from the opponent without dishing anything out in return. Even when Morai tried to Mega Evolve it, her stone only faintly shone before dying out in a pitiful show of a broken bond.
"Lucario! What's gotten into you?"
Morai knew. The Pokémon only fights for those with very righteous hearts, and that was something Morai had lost. It stood on the battlefield, looking back at her with narrowed blue eyes. She approached it and it got angry, charging and striking her with its spiked paw. She dodged and returned a kick, but not without receiving a gash on her handcuffed arm that cut through her clothes. She seemed to be the only one to have noticed.
"What will you do now?" she growled. "Your old trainer is gone, and I took her place! Should I permanently sever our bond so that you no longer serve a master you don't want to have?"
Morai took the Pokéball and tossed it as best she could with her handcuffed hands in front of the Pokémon.
"Go on," she hissed. "Destroy it. Free yourself from me."
Lucario looked from it to her several times before destroying its own ball. It seemed to have a sense of grief as it did so. It walked towards the exit, turning back to look at her one more time.
"Good luck finding Korrina from this retched place," she said, her disgruntled voice echoing throughout the large empty room. "Give her my regards. I enjoyed our reunion at her Gym mere months ago. I'll never forget the taste of her bl—"
"Morai!" Sheridan scolded. She had risen from her seat the moment Morai kicked her own Pokémon.
"Maybe I should standby right here," she said. "Is there anyone who can help that Lucario get back to Kalos?"
"I can take it on my return trip," someone from the crowd said. The source of the voice stepped out, and Morai was a bit surprised to see that it was Looker. She hadn't seen him since that day, the day she had just observed in her dreams.
"Fine, fine," Morai said with a flippant wave of her hands. "Is there anyone who will present an actual challenge? I'm fighting for the Champion's Title, after all. "
"I'll challenge you," Ingo said, rising from his own seat. Morai smiled.
"That's more like it," she said, licking her teeth. "In that case, I need to change my team."
"Oh! Maybe you should take care of that first," Sheridan said, pointing to her now bleeding wound.
"Eh," Morai shrugged. "My shirt and jumpsuit took the brunt of it. It just looks bad, is all."
"No no, you need to fix that," she said with a frown. "I insist."
Morai frowned back at her, wiping some of the blood off with her hand and having a taste. She got the reaction she wanted from the crowd.
"See? All better."
"I'll do it," the doctor said, rising from his seat. It was the first time Morai had seen him since she ruined the formula he had painstakingly created. Colress rose with him, and Morai got a sinking feeling in her stomach.
They know.
Once they arrived at Colress's lab, Morai sat down and Colress began to tend to her wound. The other doctor, however, drew his own blood and placed it in a glass.
"I thought you could use a bit of a pick-me-up," he said. Morai reached her free hand out to take it, albeit reluctantly, but he quickly drew it back before she grasped it.
"After you tell us what you've done, of course," he said with a smile.
"What do you mean?" Morai asked. Colress scoffed.
"There's a rather peculiar gap in my memory, beginning with you here in my lab and ending with me waking up on the floor with a headache. I also don't remember doing this to my own arm," he said, drawing his sleeves up to reveal where Morai had gotten him to draw his blood. "Care to refresh my memory?"
"The serum worked as you expected," Morai said flatly, an unconcerned look on her face. "That was all you needed, and I didn't care to stay any longer."
There was a standoff that lasted several minutes between the three of them, Morai's words remaining calm and matter-of-fact.
"It's not unlike you to tamper with others' work," the doctor said, crossing his arms.
"Go ahead and see for yourself, then," Morai retorted. "The black serum is right there. Test it again."
Morai, still seemingly unbothered, sat perfectly still with her arms on the armrests of her chair. Colress drew her blood again and tested it with the fake serum. Morai had backed herself into a corner, it seemed, but there was still a chance that there would be no discernible change from the real thing. Morai hoped as much, anyway.
Colress and the doctor looked it over in silence, and Colress finally sighed.
"Well, it seems you've got me beat," he said. "There doesn't seem to be a difference."
"I thought so. Might I get back to battling now?" Morai said, rising from her chair. "I've got an important day tomorrow, you know."
The two scientists nodded, and Morai headed towards the door.
"Do you really think I'm that stupid?" Colress laughed. "I'm offended!"
Morai turned on her heel and lunged at the man. She had been ready to react, knowing that the chances of her plan going this smoothly were slim. The prisoner knew that neither of them had looked her in the eye, which meant that her work was cut out for her. If she exacted too much physical violence upon either of them, it would disqualify her from her trip. Instead, all she had to do was touch them on the forehead, sending pain surging through their body. She accomplished this with Colress, covering his mouth so that his cry of pain didn't alert anyone outside. After he lost consciousness, the other doctor—whose name Morai still didn't know—grabbed the back of her collar and pulled her backwards. He wrapped an arm around her neck and grabbed one of her wrists with the other.
"Think about what you're doing, Morai!" he pleaded. "You've already more than broken your deal."
Morai abandoned her previous plan and dug her claws deep into her now opponent's skin, dragging them downwards in several quick and slicing motions. This caused the doctor to let go and she took a few steps back.
"Once I get to Alola, I'm not coming back," she said matter-of-factly, panting, her hand-wraps now soaked with blood. "Perhaps we can make a deal. I have much power, both inside and out of here. If your loyalties lie with whoever can give you the most scientific opportunity, then ditch the International Police and come with me. I might need you, after all."
The doctor, now trying to treat his nearly shredded forearm, looked at Morai pensively for a while as he wrapped his bandages.
"Let me test it," he finally said. "The blue serum. I just recreated it. Let me test it now and I won't say a word."
"I thought you'd insist on something like that," Morai sighed, "but I was hoping you wouldn't."
She walked forward and offered her own bloody hand, and the doctor took it with his good one.
"And you'll deliver on your word?" he said, not letting go of her hand and pulling her in slightly.
"I may terrorize, beat, and bite, but I keep my word," Morai replied, licking some of the blood off of her other hand. "I went nearly an entire week holding to Sheridan's deal, which was nearly impossible to begin with. Otherwise, I've honored my word, even as a fallen angel."
The doctor nodded, a smile forming on his face as he walked away towards the giant wall of steel refrigerated compartments. He retrieved a syringe full of a liquid Morai didn't recognize, causing her to step back with apprehension.
"It's not for you," he said, administering it to Colress instead. "This will knock him out for a while longer. If you'll help me move him to his sleeping quarters, I'll see what I can tell him later."
After the pair moved Colress to his private room, they started off toward the doctor's own lab—not before Morai grabbed the glass of blood that had been set onto the counter, of course. They went a way Morai didn't recognize, which was devoid of guards. It seemed to be a small hallway that led from one area to the other. A pit of apprehension began to grow in her stomach. Truthfully, she had come to hate needles and serums and labs, though she had them to thank for who she was now. At the core, she just didn't like putting her fate in the hands of anyone else, but she tried to think of it in a different way.
A necessary means to an end, she thought. This is for my freedom, like many actions before it.
The metal door to the doctor's lab swung open, cold air flowing from the dim room. Morai flexed her clawed fingers and swallowed, scanning the room for all its hidden oddities.
"Have a seat," the doctor said, gesturing to a leather chair. The prisoner gulped the last of her drink down and set it on a nearby counter before slowly sitting herself down in the cool chair. Sweat had begun to form on her brow despite the temperature of the room. The man, whose hands now donned gloves, reached for the strap on one of the armrests.
"Is that necessary?" Morai asked with a frown, pulling her arm away.
"Your neck serves as a testament to what you can do with those nails when subjected to serum. I can't promise this one won't be painful," he shrugged. His subject sighed, putting her arms back onto the armrests. He had this new and slightly disconcerting air about him now, as if strange science was his own personal addictive serum. Morai watched as the he pulled the plunger of the syringe up, bringing that shining blue liquid with it. She twitched a little in her seat.
"Look on the bright side," the doctor said, now wearing a mask, which only added to the unsettling aura of the whole situation. "I can guarantee this won't kill you, and your psychic abilities shouldn't be lost for too long, if at all. You're good at handling pain, so there's not much to fear."
"Will this interact with the black serum tomorrow?" Morai asked as he stepped forward, stopping him in his tracks. The serum glistened as he held it up in his hand, the lights from behind shining through it.
"It's unlikely," he replied, continuing his steps.
Morai frowned, subconsciously moving the rest of her body away as the man stepped right next to her.
"Take a deep breath and unclench your fist."
"For what I'm doing, you'd better—agh!"
The doctor didn't give warning before sticking the needle in her arm.
"Tell me everything you feel from now on," he said.
Morai closed her eyes and shook her head, beginning to regret her decision.
"Its...it's like ice," she said, shivering in her chair. "Like icicles stabbing my insides! What is this?"
She lurched forward, trying to break free from the straps holding her arms.
"Let me go!" she growled, her eyes instinctively flaring red.
"What is it? What does it feel like?" the doctor excitedly asked.
"It feels like if you don't let me go right now, I'm going to rip out your...your..."
Morai fell backwards into her chair, gritting her sharp teeth. Her eyelids became unbearably heavy until she couldn't keep them up anymore.
"Morai?" the doctor asked, leaning in and raising one of her eyelids to reveal her normal-colored eye looking around in different directions. Her mouth hung slightly open, her chest heaving under her prison uniform. He checked her pulse to find a racing heart.
"Fascinating. Are you dreaming?"
Morai opened her eyes to find herself in a restaurant. Someone's name was being called, but that didn't matter to her. The restaurant was familiar. She inhaled through her nose, finding the scent of vanilla and warm butter wafting through the building. She could almost taste the fresh tropical fruit.
She was in the pancake house in Alola. A voice appeared right behind her, snapping her out of her wondering and causing her to whip around with bared teeth and outstretched claws.
"Where have you been, silly? We've been waiting on you!" Mallow said with a smile, repeating the name that had been called earlier. Her Tsareena stood by her side.
Oh, it's my old name...
Morai looked down at her wrapped hands, which were covered in blood. She was in her suit, mask hanging at her side, but she looked like a wild Pokémon that had been on some midnight frenzy, stalking alongside trails at night and scaring everyone that crossed her. She ran her tongue along the edges of her mouth to find the almost overwhelming scent and taste of blood, but the warm stack of fluffy pancakes sitting at her spot on the table invited her to have a seat. Her body ached for some reason, but it didn't feel particularly bad.
Don't they see me, what I look like? she wondered.
"I—I should go to the bathroom and get cleaned up," Morai stammered. Before waiting for an answer, she rushed off to the other side of the building. She got blood on the faucet when she went to turn it on, and the cold water that was meant to wash it from her hands and arms turned red as soon as it hit her skin. The trainer looked up to see an image that even seemed to frighten her. She looked crazed and deranged, her already wild hair matted with dirt and blood. She had injuries, too, as if something had attacked her...or at least tried to defend itself against her. The more she tried to wash and rub her face, the worse it seemed to get. Admitting defeat, Morai returned to the table of her old friends. Mallow, Lana, Mina, Acerola, and Hapu the Kahuna were there, as was Lillie. Even Zossie, the member of the Ultra Recon Squad, was happily conversing with Lillie about her home in Ultra Space. Caitlin the Unova Elite Four member was also seated at the table, though half asleep. Morai assumed that she was on one of her vacations. They all welcomed her with smiles and a cheerful "Alola!".
Morai took her place at the table. She hesitantly picked her fork up and began to silently join in the feast around her. She listened to the conversation among friends, tending to her own stack of pancakes, but nothing seemed to drown out the overwhelming taste of blood in her mouth or the strange soreness she felt. The warm syrupy mangos, her old favorite pancake topping at this restaurant, fought for dominance over her taste buds. The sounds faded around her as she took bite after bite, hoping to fully taste the vanilla pancakes soaked with warm butter and fruit juice.
"Hey, where's Cynthia?" Lillie asked with a frown. "She was supposed to be here a while ago. It's the second Tuesday of the month, isn't it?"
Morai looked up and dropped her fork.
"I don't know," Mallow replied with a sigh. "She's a Champion after all, so I guess she's super busy. Maybe two Champions at the table is too much!" she joked. Everyone looked at Morai and she gave a nervous laugh. She felt terribly out of place, like a Lycanroc amongst a group of Wooloo. Her old friends' apparent unawareness of her monstrousness formed a lurching pit in her stomach.
"You didn't get rid of the competition, did you?" Lana chuckled.
Morai looked at her clawed hands again. She swept her tongue around her mouth, tasting the blood of whoever she had apparently attacked.
This taste...I can remember the tastes of everyone's blood, but this one is new...
Everyone went about their laughter until Caitlin received a call. After listening to whoever was on the other line, her fork also fell to the table.
"O-oh my," she said. "That...that can't be! She's so strong! Where is she?"
Hushed whispers fell around the entire group, all except for Morai. She knew what had happened, even without the memory. She picked up her fork and continued to eat.
"This is all a dream," she said with a sigh, letting the murmurings of fear that surrounded her fade away. "There's no need to be tense, Morai. I might as well enjoy it. Maybe I can get these pancakes when I go back to Alola."
"They're taking her to a hospital somewhere on Akala," Caitlin said. "She was attacked by...well, no one knows. It seemed human-like, whatever or whoever it was. They somehow overpowered her."
"Who would do such a thing?" Lillie exclaimed.
"We have to find them," Hapu insisted. "My Mudsdale will stomp them flat into the ground."
"We should go to the hospital first," Lana replied.
Energetic discussion over what to do held everyone's attention and bounced around Morai's head until she couldn't take it anymore.
"I did it," she said, forcefully pushing herself away from the table and standing up.
"Now isn't the time for jokes," Lillie said, calling her by her old name.
"That's not my name!" she growled.
"What do you mean it's not your—"
"I did it, don't you understand?" Morai yelled again, her voice so loud and guttural that everyone went silent. She grabbed Lillie's shoulders and shook her, her claws digging into the trainer's skin as she loomed over her. As soon they touched, Lillie seemed to awaken to Morai's true appearance. Morai felt every muscle of hers tense up under her hands, reaching her wide, horror-filled eyes. Lillie opened her mouth to scream, but it produced no sound. She saw it all. Morai's sharp red-stained teeth, her crazed red eyes, her blood-red and black suit. She felt the claws digging into her skin, Cynthia's blood staining her white dress.
"Hey, don't shake people like that. What's gotten into you?" Mallow asked, putting a hand on Morai's arm. She, too, seemed to awaken.
"You see it too, now, don't you?" she said, her pupils nearly pinpoint. One by one, she went by and touched each of her old friends, opening their eyes to her appearance until she stood in the middle of them all. Morai felt like some sort of trapped animal, but a dangrous one all the same.
"Well?" someone asked from the corner. It was Shadow Morai, or at least it appeared to be. There was a small difference between her and the Morai that stalked the Outlands. Shadow Morai was missing the neck scar that Morai and Nightmare Morai had. The version of Morai standing before her now was also missing that scar. She was leaning against the wall, arms folded across her chest.
"S-Shadow Morai?" the real Morai asked, stepping forward. "Is it really you? Have you returned?"
Shadow Morai shrugged.
"This is some intense drug-induced dream, happening outside the realm of your psychic power. You hope every night that I will return, so I've returned here, but I won't be in the Dream Realm. Neither will she," she replied, nodding her head toward Light Morai, who had appeared in the other corner of the same wall.
"You are struggling with internal conflict, Morai," Light Morai said. "It has unfolded here in this place. What will you do?"
