HALLOWED BE THY NAME
When Mewtwo decides to destroy the world, he brings Sabrina to his island for safekeeping. Sabrina immediately realizes she's in a horror movie and searches for a way out. But is there anywhere left to go? Features an evil Mewtwo. A horror fic.
CHAPTER 1: THE END [OF HER WORLD] AND THE BEGINNING [OF HIS]
Natsume, the heir of the Kurosawa Clan, had been praying for three days. Her knees were bruised from kneeling for hour before the shrine; her head ached and whirled from hunger, and if it weren't for the tea she allowed herself to have, she would have fainted from thirst. She'd placed several offerings at the altars of each of the gods, burned pack upon pack of incense sticks, and murmured every prayer and song she knew. Yet the god didn't seem to care. Around her the temple Shook as the howling winds and rain and hail battered it. Thunder drowned out her words and lightning illuminated the face of the statues around her. The forecasters were calling this storm the worse see in a hundred years, if not longer. Her fellow priests even whispered of a prophecy come true – that the legendary winds of water had returned to wash the world clean of corruption.
That the storm had spread across the world, with the death toll climbing high and high each day, only made that belief more feasible.
There was no explanation for it – nothing nature, in any case. Had there been, she would have joined the others in sandbagging the rivers and reinforcing homes. She probably would, if another night passed and the gods did not answer. Yet she was a shrine maiden, consecrated and blessed with holy power, so she would do what she could here. She'd ask them to quiet their fury. She'd bed them if need be.
Another bolt of lightning struck outside, close enough to shake the temple. She whispered, over and over, "Please, please, cease this. Please."
She became aware of movement near her, then. She looked towards it, relaxing when she saw it was only the tree branches moving in the windowsill. But then there was another lightning flash, and a shadow fell over her. The figure was tall and dressed in a hooded clock. As it – no, he – knelt in front of her, she stared, feeling the urge to bolt but frozen by his eye. The lightning illuminated a feline face and those eyes, a deep shade of violet, gleamed.
She found herself shaking. Psychic power rolled off him like waves, making hers look no more impressive than ripples in a pond. "Who are you?"
His teeth were white and pointed as he smiled. He reached towards her, a paw tracing the line of her jaw, and whispered into her mind, "I am the god who will save you."
She couldn't move, paralyzed by that stare, by those words, and she only managed to whispered, "What-?"
Then a stinging pain flared on the back of her neck and darkness swept over her.
She was no longer in the temple when she awoke.
She immediately noticed that there was something around her neck, tight enough to cause momentary panic, but not enough to strangle her. She reached up, feeling at it: it was cold and smooth, like a band of metal, hugging her skin like a collar. She searched find a latch to undo it and found none. She tried to steady her breathing, but it was difficult.
She stared up at an unfamiliar ceiling and, with a pounding head, looked around herself. She was in a large, canopied bed, covered in pale, silk covers. She sat up, swaying when she did, and saw there was a massive wardrobe and vanity to one wall, a writing desk and stationary to another, and a bookshelf lined with – with what looked like her books. Actually, the set-up was not unlike that of her own room, but the furniture was even finer and the space much large. She looked at the nightstand – there was a glass of water and aspirin tablets there. She contemplated them for a moment and then downed them. It took a while for the headache and dizziness to ease, but when they did, she struggled to her feet. Her legs shook and nausea clutched at her stomach, but she managed to keep the bile down. She was still in her miko uniform, though it was no thoroughly wrinkled and creased, as if she'd been sleeping in it for a long time. She made her way over to the bay window. There wasn't any rain or wind battering it. In fact, there was moonlight on the glass. Had the storm faded? She leaned against the windowsill and look out.
She was high above the sea, which, even from this distance, she could tell was churning and foaming and the color of steel. On the horizon, dark clouds circled, pouring down rain and lightning with continued fury. It took her a moment to understand what she was seeing. Then she realized: "I'm on an island. An island in the eye of the storm."
And then she remembered: I am the god who will save you.
Belatedly, she wondered where he was and where he'd taken her.
A door – a door she hadn't noticed before – opened behind her. She turned away from the window, her hand trembling on the glass, and saw a woman there. She was in a burgundy, long-sleeved, and high-collared dress, her hair entirely hidden by a new with pearls glinting in it. Her eyes – blue – were strangely glazed as they peered at her. She had a candle in her hand, which she set down so she could bow to Natsume.
"Lady Natsume," she greeted – which was odd, because no one call her lady, despite her noble bloodline. "You are awake. He thought you would be. If it pleases you, dinner is ready to be served."
What? Natsume stared, not knowing what to say to that. For one thing, the voice the women had – it was perfectly monotonous, without a hint of inflection in it. Natsume, on some instinct, found that incredibly unsettling. She wondered if this was what people felt when facing particularly advanced robots – what did scientists call it, the uncanny valley? Yes, that was it. The woman was uncanny. Natsume shivered and felt her stomach rumble insistently. She'd been fasting for three days and dinner certainly sounded good. Even if the entire situation was becoming more and more confusing as it went on.
The woman looked her up and down as she stepped forward. "Oh. You should get dressed."
Natsume blinked. "I am dressed."
The woman smiled at her. It looked more like she was baring her teeth. "Your clothes are soiled. You should dress in something fresh. Do not worry – these clothes will be returned to you."
There wasn't much to do in response to that except change. The woman went over to the wardrobe. Inside of it were what looked like dozens of kimonos and yukatas and a few other, assorted clothes. The woman picked out a white kimono with red bird on it, the plumes and tails of the birds long and elegant. Phoenixes, she thought. White sandals went with it, and the woman insisted on helping her dress. She glanced at the vanity, considered the jewelry box there, but Natsume touched her arm and said, "Dinner?" She wanted to eat – and besides, she needed to know what was going on.
The woman nodded. "Of course, my lady. Follow me."
It occurred to Natsume, as they were walking down the halls – cavern-like and golden-plated – that this woman knew her name, but she didn't know hers. "Who are you?" she asked.
The woman didn't even glance back at her. "I am the servant of you and my master, Mewtwo."
"Mewtwo? Wait, servant? I don't understand."
"The master will explain everything. Come this way, Lady Natsume."
Natsume still didn't know the woman's name. She couldn't bring herself to ask again, though. She continued to follow, eventually descending a long staircase. The farther she went, the sicker with nervousness she felt. Whatever the case might be, the creature – Mewtwo – had brought her here against her will. Why – well, why he'd done so, she'd have to find out.
They soon reached the bottom of the stairs. The woman opened the doorway and gestured for her to come through – and Natsume found herself in what looked like a large ballroom. A winding stairway went up to the high ceiling, while Gothic style arches surrounded the room. To one side were great doors big enough to admit a parade of rhydon through with ease, and to another was a wall of glass, which looked out onto the southern face of the island. Gardens grew into forests – she imagined these were many trails through it, given how everything seemed to be carefully pruned and shaped.
In the center of the room was a long table with two chairs on either end. She noticed the bowls of fruit and salad, the dishes of rice and what looked like fish, and the pitchers of water and something that looked like wine. She stared at the creature at the other end of the table, who stood as the woman and she entered. He was no long in his cloak, and for a moment, she studied him. Her impression of him was that of a large cat – except that the cat stood on two legs, balancing himself with a thick, long tail. The fur of that tail and his midriff was a dusky purple, with the rest of his fur being an off-white color, just tinged with lavender. From the waist up, he resembled a human man, albeit one with a bony looking plate of armor over his upper chest, shoulders, and back, and arms which ended in paws. He drummed his claws on the table as she approached. He had ears that looked like horns and a tubular protrusion that connected the back of his skull to his back, like a second neck. His face, though – that was entirely unsettling. He had a short muzzle and protruding brows and fierce, angular eyes. Those eyes were a clear amethyst and the pupils narrowed into slits as she grabbed the back of the chair to steady herself.
His voice, a low baritone, filled her head. "That kimono suits you. I thought it might. Please, sit."
He gestured a paw and the chair jumped in her hands, making her jump back. When she saw his expectant look, she sat in the chair and felt him slid it into place. She wondered why she couldn't feel him use his psychic powers to do that – for the recognized the blue glow in his eyes as that.
A dozen questions burst in her mind, then, but her stomach grumbled insistently. The creature appeared to hear it. "We will eat first, before we discuss anything. Tell Joy what you wish to be served and she will bring it to you."
Joy? As in-? She looked at the woman as she approached and suddenly saw the resemblance. The arched brows, the small nose, the round chin – like so many others in that clan. What was she doing here, though? Before she could ask, Joy posed her own question, asking her what she wanted. After staring a moment, Natsume replied, "Ri – rice and fish would be fine. Maybe an apple." She was hungry, but her stomach was still churning and she didn't know what she could keep down. So she focused on the light foods, flushing as Joy brought it to her. She was not unused to this treatment – formal family dinners went like this – but something about all of this felt off. Felt wrong. Not the least of which was been in her shrine, in her life one minute and gone the next. She was worried.
"I need to go home," she heard herself saying as she stared at her half-finished plate.
At the other end of the table, she saw the creature pause in lifting a bite of fish to his mouth. He set his chopsticks down and said, "That is not possible. Until the storm has passed, you will be staying on this island, where you will be safe."
He said that calmly enough, but fear – and anger – licked in her at his words. "And when will that be?"
"When it has accomplished what it was created for. When it has washed the corruption in this world away."
Her appetite abruptly withered and died. "No. My parents – my students – my friends. If this storm keeps going, they might be hurt or killed. I have to go back and help them!"
"That is where you are mistaken," he said in that same, calm voice. "There will be nothing for you to return to. Like the rest of your kind, this storm will be their ruin. You need not fret over their lives. Their fates are already sealed."
She got to her feet. His words rang in her ears, scalding in what they conveyed. No. She couldn't let that happen. She couldn't let everyone she knew and loved die! "I'm going back to them. You can't stop me."
His eyes narrowed. "Actually, I can. Sit." A weight settled on her shoulders, forcing her down, even as she tried to push back and resist. "You do not realize the precariousness of your situation. Allow me to enlighten you. You are on an island in the middle of the southern sea, hundreds of kilometers from the mainland. Even if you wished to do so, you could neither fly nor teleport that distance. Moreover, there are no shores to this island – its borders are marked by sheer cliffs, whose faces cannot be scaled. Even if you managed to somehow make it to the waters, the distance would be too far for you to swim. You might reach the edge of the storm before drowning – I will not underestimate your stamina," and something in how he said that made her shiver, "but then the storm would take your life as well. There is no escape for you, Natsume Kurosawa. No boats will brave these waters to find you – as far as anyone knows, you have vanished into the night – nor will any boats carry you away. This will be your home until the storm ends – and my hope is that you will come to like it."
She felt like a block of ice had been dropped into her stomach. That couldn't be true. She couldn't be trapped her, forced to wait around while everyone she loved died! She was shaking her head and was holding onto the table's edge too tightly. The collar around her neck felt like it was constricting. She was going to be sick.
She barely heard him when he went on. "You will find that all of your needs have been provided for. Three meals will be served a day – if you have a craving for any particular dish, simply let Joy know. As you saw, you have a selection of clothes that will suit you nicely. Hygiene-wise, Joy will attend to the washing and will provide you with whatever…feminine…products you require. There is a hot spring chamber for bathing purposes, which Joy will also show you to. As for something to keep you occupied in the days to follow, you may explore the castle as you wish. There is an observatory at its highest point, though you must go through my rooms to reach it. There is also a considerable library in this castle, which you may frequent whenever you wish. There are rooms where you may view films your kind has made, pursue the arts, or enjoy music. The grounds are also open to you. The gardens are extensive – there is a shrine at their center to meet your spiritual needs – as well as forests and meadows beyond them, which you are free to wander at will. I assure you, they are perfectly safe. Nothing will harm you here."
She felt short of breath. The collar felt like it was squeezing her throat. She fumbled at it, wanting to pry it off and growling in frustration. "I don't care. I don't belong here! Let me go and – take this – thing – off of me!"
He sighed, as if he was talking to a petulant child. "Regardless of what you think, this is your home now. And no, I will not remove that device. It will prevent you from behaving rashly, as you are currently threatening to do."
She couldn't help the whimper that escaped her when she asked, "What does it do? What did you put on me?"
"Without going into specifics about the technology or how it functions, suffice to say it suppresses your psychic abilities. Had I not been concerned about how you would react to this new, I would not have placed it on you. However, my concern remains. I apologize for the necessity of it, Natsume."
She couldn't use her psychic abilities? No wonder she hadn't sense Joy or this creature. No wonder she felt so weak and disorientated. She'd lost her sixth sense. He'd taken away her power. He'd cut her off from a part of her soul and this – on top of her loss and imprisonment – left her breathless. Her throat closed up and tears stung in her eyes. She shook, feeling like she was going to throw up what little dinner she'd allowed herself to have. She heard a chair scraping back on the stone floor and saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Then he was next to her, turning her to face him and lifting her chin up with a paw. He took a napkin from the table and dabbed at the tear, his eyes seeming soft with concern.
"Why?" she managed to croak out. "Why me?" Out of all the people in the world he could have chosen, why pick her? Why not let the storm take her? Why not let her die will all those she loved? How could he do this…?
His paw brushed her cheek. "Because you are the only one in this world I thought worth saving."
She stepped back, withdrawing from his touch. Her voice shook as she whispered, "What do you want with me?"
He sighed again and, with a flick of his wrist, gather some portion of his meal onto his plate and teleport it away. "What do I want? To put it into a word: companionship. That is all." Yet that was a heavy word, and seeing her uncertain look, he added, "I will not ask much of you. I only require that you join me for dinner each night. Tell me about your day. Let me know if there is anything you want. I will provide you with anything you desire – within reason, of course."
He levitated a covered, silver dish to her side of the table. "You will not see me much during the day. I have a number of projects I am attending to, and despite trying to adjust my sleep schedule, I fear I am more nocturnal than not. We will dine around this this normally due to that."
He began walking to the spiral staircase, passing by Joy. The woman bowed to him and, for a second, Natsume though she saw him smirk. His voice contained no hint of mirth, though, when he said, "Please, sit down and finish your meal. At the very least, have some of the dessert. It was prepared especially for you, after all."
She sat more because she felt weak than at his request. When he had gone, Joy came over and took the lid off the dish. She looked inside and saw a dark brown, almost black pudding, with swirls of a crimson sauce in it. The silver was icy and the smells of chocolate and cherries filled her nose. She realized, with a heave of nausea, what it was:
Cioccolato fondente extra noir con amarena. Dark chocolate gelato with a cherry cream sauce. Her favorite dessert.
She stumbled out of her chair and threw up on the polished marble floor.
Joy stared down at her and said nothing.