Archive of Our Own

“Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man. Pat it and prick it, and mark it with B, put it in the oven for Baby and me!”

The sounds of hands clapping echoed throughout the cold, metal room, cheery, childish voices sang, and two little cat-like creatures sat in the middle of the open space. One of these Pokemon was a light red with deeper splotches of a tart shade of red was splattered on it and dusty pink spots at the end of its ears and on its chest. The other was a light pink, with lighter pink rings on its legs, arms, and tail, with an odd symbol on its sides and on the flat sides at the end of its tail, bearing sky blue eyes.

The two children smiled and laughed, as they clapped their hands together and high fived the other, playing their silly little game of Patty Cake. It was rather boring when their creators were busy with work, but they were often able to find things to do to entertain themselves. The two usually played with each other, but they didn’t mind! It was fun to play with their sibling!

Though, they had been playing Patty Cake for a while. They should really get some new toys soon.

“𝙷-𝚑-𝚑𝚒 𝚃𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚘𝚔𝚞 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙼𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚋𝚎𝚕! 𝙸 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚗𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚜𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚎 𝚏-𝚏-𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚐𝚢!” A robotic yet joyful voice filled the air as the two Mews looked at the door, it having caught their attention. In the doorway, a metallic hedgehog-like creature stood there with a tray on its head. The robot had a green piece of metal on its back that resembled a bush, meanwhile on both sides of its head, there were pink flower-like pieces pinned to it. The creature walked towards the Mew twins on its four stubby legs, as they got up from the floor and floated above the ground.

“Oooooh! What do we get today, Shaya!?” The red Mew, Tengoku, exclaimed, rubbing their hands together, feeling rather peckish. Shaya giggled, extending their head a bit forward, showing the twins what was on the tray. “𝚆𝚎𝚕𝚕! 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚎𝚎, 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚜! 𝙸𝚝'𝚜-”

“MALASADAS!” The Mews cheered. The reaction caused the robot to giggle as Tengoku and Malabel took a malasada from the tray, quickly taking a bite from their favorite treat. “𝙾-𝚘-𝚘𝚑! 𝙱𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢, 𝚃𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚘𝚔𝚞, 𝙼𝚜.𝙻𝚎𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚊 𝚋𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝙳𝚛𝚢 𝙼𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚊𝚍𝚊! 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚜 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚍𝚛𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑 𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚗𝚎!” Malabel giggled as Tengoku rolled his eyes at Shaya’s alert. “I don’t need a bottle of water! I’m fine without it!” Malabel smirked at his brother’s attitude. “Oh really? Because every time after you eat one, you start complaining how your mouth feels like the Sandaconda Desert!”
Tengoku turned his head and crossed his arms as Shaya laughed at Malabel’s teasing. Tengoku smirked as he had one eye directed at Malabel. “Oh yeah? The first time you tried a Sweet Malasada, you kept on whining about your stomachache and how it felt like your teeth were rotting!” Malabel puffed his cheeks up and furrowed his eyes. “Like you handled trying a Spicy Malasada well! Fire was literally coming out of your mouth, so, HA!” After finishing his sassy comment, Malabel stuck his tongue out at his twin brother, causing Tengoku to gasp in fake disbelief.

“𝙰𝚕𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝, 𝚊-𝚊-𝚊𝚕𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝! 𝙲'𝚖𝚘𝚗! 𝙵𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚊𝚍𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚘 𝚠𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢, 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢 𝚙-𝚙-𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢!” Shaya set the tray down and gently headbutted the twins, who giggled and went back to taking bites out of their malasadas. As the brothers finished their food while Shaya tapped one of their small feetsies, humming a melody, a tall, yellow figure walked into the room. They appeared to be holding a box in their…hands? Stubs? Eh, well they were holding it somehow.

“Surpriiise~ I got a little something for you!” An Ampharos with a lab coat called out into the room, causing the three small Pokemon to turn their heads towards them. “A surprise!?” Tengoku was the first to rush up to the scientist, clapping their hands and their smile widening. The Ampharos nodded. “Yes! A surprise!” Malabel’s eyes sparked as he slowly approached the two and floated beside Tengoku. “What is it?”
…The Ampharos frowned.

“Oh, sorry, uuuh…” Shaya walked over and whispered something to the tall Ampharos. “M-Malabel! Yes! Of course! Sorry, Malabel, it’s only for Tengoku!” All excitement from Malabel’s face disintegrated as his ears lowered and smile dropped. He stared at the Ampharos for a bit, before slowly lowering his head, fixating his eyes on the ground. Tengoku looked at his twin, concern having spread across his face.. “Come along, Tengoku! You should open it to see what it is!” The Ampharos grabbed the red Mew’s hand, leading him out the room, before he could protest. As he was taken out of the room, Tengoku looked back at Malabel, who had sat on the floor, one hand gripping his arm and a saddened yet angry expression on his face. Suddenly, he was no longer excited about the surprise.

“𝙷-𝙷-𝙷𝚎𝚢! 𝙳𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚜𝚘 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗! 𝙼𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚎 𝚠𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢 𝚊 𝚐𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝙸 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚋𝚓𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚒𝚗 𝚌𝚞𝚙𝚜! 𝙸𝚝'𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚎! 𝙲-𝙲-𝙲'𝚖𝚘𝚗! 𝙻𝚎𝚝'𝚜 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢!” Shaya jumped around the upset Mew, bowing down in a playful manner. However, Malabel only gently pushed the robot aside with his hand as he got up and floated off to the same doorway his brother and the Ampharos had left through. “I don’t feel like playing anymore.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Explosions rang throughout the building, dust and debris were flung across rooms and halls, and screams called out from everywhere. The once stable, clean, and organized lab was slowly turning into a field of destruction and ruins. Everything was falling apart bit by bit. Many had already fallen to the chaos caused by the unknown attacker, but Tengoku was determined to get out of there with Shaya, who didn’t understand the sights before them.

“Hurry up, Shaya! We’re almost there!” Tengoku called back at the robot, who was trying their best to keep up with the fast Mew. They had to get out of there. Tengoku could easily fly out of the crumbling lab, but Shaya was far too heavy to carry and they didn’t want to leave them behind. Especially when they were possibly the only thing he had left.

Earlier, when the first few explosions appeared, he tried to look for his twin brother. They were usually always together, but he couldn’t find Malabel anywhere today. And now that there was a Pokemon hunting down everyone, it only worried Tengoku more. What if he had already been found by the infiltrator? What if he had already been caught in an explosion? What if he was alive but alone and scared? What if he was being held captive for some twisted purpose?

Whatever it was, Tengoku would have to find him as soon as possible.

As the two rushed through the halls, they reached a point that was split up into 3 separate corridors, each one with little light and looking like complete copies of each other. “God damn it, which one is it!? Um, Shaya! Do you know which way to go?” Tengoku turned back to the robot, who only shaked their head with a frown. “𝚂𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢, 𝚃𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚘𝚔𝚞! 𝙸 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚗! 𝙸 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚢 𝚗𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚙𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢 𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚜!” Tengoku groaned and placed his hands on the sides of his head, gripping it tightly. Shaya sat down and stared up at the red Mew, who turned his head back towards the halls and sighed. “T-that’s okay! We’ll just choose this way! Hopefully it can get us to the exit so we can-”

“𝕊𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕒𝕨𝕒𝕪 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕞𝕖, 𝕙𝕦𝕙?”

The interruption caused Tengoku to jump and look around, body trembling and tension rising. “Who’s there!? S-Show yourself!” Tengoku’s command was met with silence. He looked everywhere, trying desperately to find this mysterious voice, as Shaya stayed where they were, worrying what may happen if they moved. For some reason, it felt like it had gotten darker. Cool air pushed into the area, as if the hot waves of chaos hadn’t ever existed. Even with the change in temperature, Tengoku’s hands were sweaty. He found himself holding his breath and gritting his teeth, anxiety slowly building up the longer the stranger kept quiet.

Then he heard laughter.

“𝙾𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎!” Shaya pointed at one of the dark hallways, which caused Tengoku to snap his head towards said direction. Two glowing eyes, one sky blue and the other a hot pink, glared at the two lost beings. Slowly, they grew bigger and bigger as a demonic smile began to shimmer in the dark. Tengoku bared his teeth more and more the closer the creature got. It just kept moving. Until it stepped into the light. The light finally allowed Tengoku and Shaya to see who the mysterious voice was. The attacker was half pink, half green-black. Two short ears, 3 fingered hands, paw-like feet, long tail, and the most unique stripes and symbol markings. It looked so familiar.

“...Malabel?” All the anxiety and fear left Tengoku’s body and was replaced with shock and confusion. Malabel was alive, but he wasn’t scared nor crying or even a tad bit concerned. What was more strange was that half his body was now covered in this weird, dark goop. Malabel just grinned and giggled, paying no mind to the wreckage that was happening. He slowly floated up to the duo, arms crossed with a smug expression. “𝕆𝕗 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕖 𝕚𝕥'𝕤 𝕞𝕖, 𝕋𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕠𝕜𝕦! 𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥? 𝔻𝕚𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕘𝕠 𝕓𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕕 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕒 𝕗𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕙 𝕓𝕒𝕟𝕘 𝕠𝕣 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘?” The Mew laughed at his own comment as Tengoku’s mouth hung open. Shaya, on the other hand, seemed excited and relieved. “𝙾𝚑! 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎, 𝙼𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚋𝚎𝚕! 𝙷𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘, 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘!” Neither twin paid them any attention though. “M-Malabel! What happened to you a-and what are you doing here!? We have to get out!”

“ℍ𝕞... ℕ𝕠, 𝕀 𝕕𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜 𝕤𝕠.” Malabel checked his claws’ sharpness as Tengoku’s eyes widened at the comment. “N-no!? What do you mean no?! Don’t you see how dangerous it is!?” He only received chuckling from his twin, who smiled at him. “𝔽𝕠𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦, 𝕚𝕥 𝕚𝕤. 𝔽𝕠𝕣 𝕞𝕖, 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕝𝕝.” The more Malabel talked, the more things made less sense. The list of questions in Tengoku’s head kept piling up until all other emotions from his body had evaporated. Nothing that was happening nor Malabel’s behavior made sense. “What does that mean!? Why is it dangerous for me but not you!? Why are you acting so calmly!? Where even were you!? Why haven’t you escaped yet!? NOBODY IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD STAY IN THE MIDDLE OF DESTRUCTION UNLESS THEY-......”

Then something clicked.

“𝔽𝕚𝕘𝕦𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕥 𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕪𝕖𝕥, 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕣 𝕓𝕣𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣?”

………There was no way. No way he could do this. Not after everything. Not after all the memories they created. Not after all the fun times they had. Not after all that time they had called this place home.

“M-Malabel…you did this, didn’t you?......Y-you…You’re destroying the lab. You’re killing everyone.” A wicked grin grew on Malabel’s face… and that was the only answer he needed.

Tengoku’s confusion disappeared as a newfound feeling of rage and betrayal overtook him. He bared his teeth, a low growl emitting from his mouth, with his hands curled into fists. Shaya reached a paw out to Tengoku, confusion and worry tinted in their tone of voice. “𝚃-𝚃𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚘𝚔𝚞...?” The red mew shoved Shaya away, emotions completely taking over as he screamed his lungs out. “HOW COULD YOU!? HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?!” He snarled at Malabel, who didn’t flinch nor jump. He only smiled. “𝕀𝕥'𝕤 𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕥𝕖 𝕤𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕝𝕖, 𝕋𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕠𝕜𝕦. 𝕀'𝕞 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥'𝕤 𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕗𝕦𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕖.” His statement only deepened Tengoku’s anger towards him. “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! WHAT IS “RIGHTFULLY YOURS”?”

Malabel tsk’ed as he began to float around the angry Mew and confused Shaymin. “𝔻𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕒𝕔𝕥 𝕤𝕠 𝕠𝕓𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕚𝕠𝕦𝕤! 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕀 𝕞𝕖𝕒𝕟! 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕝𝕨𝕒𝕪𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕒𝕧𝕠𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕠𝕟𝕖. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕕 𝕠𝕟𝕖. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝔹𝔼𝕋𝕋𝔼ℝ 𝕠𝕟𝕖. 𝕀𝕗 𝕀 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕞𝕪 𝕤𝕡𝕠𝕥 𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕨𝕚𝕟, 𝕀 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕣𝕚𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕨𝕙𝕠'𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕦𝕝 𝕠𝕟𝕖! 𝕀𝕥'𝕤 𝕒 𝕗𝕝𝕒𝕨𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕟, 𝕚𝕗 𝕀 𝕞𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕤𝕒𝕪!” Malabel said nonchalantly, almost as if he was planning a walk in the park. No matter how twisted the things he said kept getting, he played it off. No matter what was happening, he kept calm. No matter how aware he was of the brutality of his actions, he just. Kept. Smiling.

And that’s what kept pissing off Tengoku. “WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!? THAT’S THE MOST MORALLY WRONG THING I’VE EVER HEARD! WHY WOULD YOU THINK KILLING THE SCIENTISTS WOULD SOLVE ANYTHING!? WHY WOULD YOU THINK KILLING ME WOULD SOLVE ANYTHING?! WE’RE BROTHERS, GODDAMN IT! WE. ARE. TWINS! WE’RE SUPPOSED TO DO EVERYTHING TOGETHER! WE’RE SUPPOSED TO BE THERE FOR EACH OTHER! IT WAS ALWAYS US! WHAT HAPPENED TO US?!” And finally, after all that was happening, this was the first time Malabel frowned. His expression became an exact replica of Tengoku’s.

“𝕌𝕤? 𝕌𝕊?! ℕ𝕆! 𝕋ℍ𝔼ℝ𝔼 𝕎𝔸𝕊 ℕ𝔼𝕍𝔼ℝ 𝔸ℕ "𝕌𝕊", 𝕊𝕆 𝔻𝕆ℕ'𝕋 𝕊𝕋𝔸ℝ𝕋 𝕎𝕀𝕋ℍ 𝕋ℍ𝔸𝕋 𝔹𝕌𝕃𝕃𝕊ℍ𝕀𝕋! 𝕀𝕋 𝕎𝔸𝕊 𝔸𝕃𝕎𝔸𝕐𝕊 "𝕆𝕆𝕆ℍ, 𝕋𝔼ℕ𝔾𝕆𝕂𝕌, 𝕃𝕆𝕆𝕂 𝔸𝕋 𝕋ℍ𝕀𝕊 ℕ𝔼𝕎 𝕋ℍ𝕀ℕ𝔾 𝕀 𝕄𝔸𝔻𝔼!", "𝕋𝔼ℕ𝔾𝕆𝕂𝕌, 𝕀 𝔾𝕆𝕋 𝔸 𝔾𝕀𝔽𝕋 𝔽𝕆ℝ 𝕐𝕆𝕌!", "𝕋𝔼ℕ𝔾𝕆𝕂𝕌, 𝕐𝕆𝕌'ℝ𝔼 𝕋ℍ𝔼 𝔹𝔼𝕊𝕋 𝔽𝕌ℂ𝕂𝕀ℕ𝔾 𝕋ℍ𝕀ℕ𝔾 𝕀ℕ 𝕋ℍ𝕀𝕊 𝔼ℕ𝕋𝕀ℝ𝔼 𝔾𝕆𝔻𝔻𝔸𝕄ℕ 𝔾𝕆𝔻 𝔽𝕆ℝ𝕊𝔸𝕂𝔼ℕ ℙ𝕃𝔸ℂ𝔼!". 𝔼𝕍𝔼ℝ𝕐𝔹𝕆𝔻𝕐 𝕃𝕆𝕍𝔼𝔻 𝕐𝕆𝕌 𝔸ℕ𝔻 𝕐𝕆𝕌 𝔻𝕀𝔻ℕ'𝕋 𝔼𝕍𝔼ℕ ℕ𝔼𝔼𝔻 𝕋𝕆 𝔻𝕆 𝔸ℕ𝕐𝕋ℍ𝕀ℕ𝔾! 𝕄𝔼? ℕ𝕆𝔹𝕆𝔻𝕐 𝔼𝕍𝔼ℕ 𝔽𝕌ℂ𝕂𝕀ℕ𝔾 ℝ𝔼𝕄𝔼𝕄𝔹𝔼ℝ𝔼𝔻 𝕄𝕐 ℕ𝔸𝕄𝔼 𝕆ℝ 𝔼𝕍𝔼ℕ ℝ𝔼𝕄𝔼𝕄𝔹𝔼ℝ𝔼𝔻 𝕀 𝔼𝕏𝕀𝕊𝕋𝔼𝔻! 𝕀𝕋 𝔻𝕆𝔼𝕊ℕ'𝕋 𝕄𝔸𝕋𝕋𝔼ℝ 𝕀𝔽 𝕎𝔼 𝕎𝔼ℝ𝔼 𝕋𝕆𝔾𝔼𝕋ℍ𝔼ℝ 𝔸𝕃𝕃 𝕋ℍ𝔼 𝕋𝕀𝕄𝔼! 𝕀𝕋 𝔻𝕆𝔼𝕊ℕ'𝕋 𝕄𝔸𝕋𝕋𝔼ℝ 𝕀𝔽 𝕎𝔼 𝔸𝕃𝕎𝔸𝕐𝕊 ℙ𝕃𝔸𝕐𝔼𝔻 𝕋𝕆𝔾𝔼𝕋ℍ𝔼ℝ! 𝕐𝕆𝕌 𝕎𝔼ℝ𝔼 𝔸𝕃𝕎𝔸𝕐𝕊 𝕋ℍ𝔼 𝔹𝔼𝕋𝕋𝔼ℝ 𝕆ℕ𝔼! 𝕋ℍ𝔼ℝ𝔼 𝕀𝕊 ℕ𝕆 𝕌𝕊 𝕀ℕ 𝕋ℍ𝔸𝕋, 𝕊𝕆 𝔽𝕌ℂ𝕂. 𝕐𝕆𝕌!”

Malabel’s sudden shift in attitude caught Tengoku off-guard, who only stared in shock at his twisted twin, albeit, still furious at him. The two stared at each other, neither even making one move. They had their eyes locked on one another. However, one small thing they had forgotten had snapped them both out of their daze. A small white paw reached out towards Malabel as it slowly got closer to him. “𝙷𝚎𝚢! 𝙽𝚘 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚜𝚘 𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚛𝚢, 𝙼𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚋𝚎𝚕! 𝙲𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚗! 𝙸 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚕𝚕 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚞𝚙! 𝙷𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚔! 𝙸 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚐𝚊𝚖𝚎-” But before the small robot could finish their sentence, a set of claws came slashing down on their face.

Then a piece of Shaya’s face fell onto the floor with a loud bang. Nuts and Bolts spilled, wires became loose, and sparks flew out of the hole Malabel had created.

“SHAYA!” Tengoku screamed at the sight of Shaya’s injury. Malabel growled at the innocent creature in front of him. Shaya had a look of shock, which then morphed into a sympathetic smile. “𝙾-𝙾-𝙾-𝙾-𝙾𝚑! 𝚈-𝚈-𝚈-𝚈-𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 Ｔ－Ｔ－Ｔ－Ｔ－Ｔ－ＴＨＡ－ｔ𝚐𝚊𝚖𝚎, M̵̲͖̓͋͗̓̀̌̇̕̚͝A̶͓̖̝͖̝̝̫̺̪͛̅̓̀͒̓̚L̴̡̲̖͈̺̞̯͙̿̔͛̐ͅA̸̢̭̖̍͑̃̆̒̎̚B̸̨̛̤̜͔̘̙̳̰̄͑̽̓͊ͅȨ̵̛̜̪̘̦̩͇̑͊̆̐̾̎̕̚̕ͅL̷̛͚̙̰̏̔̄̈!” They had been attacked. A piece of them torn off. They were broken. And yet they had no care for it. “𝙸-𝙸-𝙸-𝙸-𝙸'𝚖 𝚜𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢! 𝙸 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚗 𝚐𝚊𝚖𝚎! 𝙷𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚜? 𝙸-𝙸-𝙸-𝙸-𝙸-𝙸 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚌𝚝-”

And they were cut off again. Instead of one slash, however, they were met by several punches, bashes, and tearing.

“MALABEL STOP IT!” Tengoku rushed over and tackled the monstrous Mew, who was ferally destroying their playmate. He pinned them down, trying to restrain them from causing anymore destruction. Malabel scratched their twin’s face and quickly knocked him off, kicking Tengoku right in the stomach, before rushing over to Shaya’s broken body and continuing his rampage. Tengoku stayed down for a while, trying to recover from the blow that was dealt, and once he got back up, he wrapped his arms around Malabel’s neck, pulling him away from the remains. He tightened his grip, making sure that the pink Mew couldn’t breathe. However, he was stopped when one of Malabel’s claws began to tear into his skin, causing him to retract his arms and throw Malabel away from him. Malabel made contact with a wall, hitting his head and causing him to struggle breathing for a while. As he tried to catch his breath, Tengoku hurried to check up on Shaya… or what was left of them.

“S-Shaya…? Oh dear Arceus, Please… PLEASE, tell me y-you’re still alive…”

Several of Shaya’s wires were exposed, chunks were broken off, and oil spilled out of their mouth. Despite all the damage, Shaya smiled with a tint of guilt on their face. “𝙼-𝙼-𝙼-𝙼-𝙼𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗. 𝙷𝙴-𝙷𝙴-𝙷𝙴-𝙷𝙴-𝙷𝚎𝚑𝚎𝚑𝚊! 𝙼𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚐𝚘 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚊 𝚑𝚞𝚐, 𝚃𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚘𝚔𝚞! 𝙸𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚖𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚜 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚠!” Tears spilled out of Tengoku’s eyes, hands clenching his ears. He didn’t understand what Shaya was saying. “H-he just hurt you, Shaya! He HURT you! Can’t you see that!? Why are you worrying about how he feels when you’re broken!? You’re going to die and you’re focused on him, even though he just tore you apart! WHY DO YOU STILL CARE ABOUT HIM?!”

No sadness on the Shaymin’s face. No anger. No disgust. Just a smile plastered on as the oil spilled out of its body, as if it was perfectly fine. As if all these injuries were just scratches. They just kept smiling. “Bₑcₐᵤₛₑ ᵢ ₗₒᵥₑ yₒₒₒₒₒₒₒᵤ bₒₒₒₒₒₒₒₜₕ...”

Then their eyes turned black and their smile disappeared. No more words were spoken from them. No more hints of life in them. No more power. They had shut off.

He stared. He stared at the robot’s remains. It was the only thing he could see. He no longer cared if the lab was falling apart. He no longer cared if the maniac behind him was recollecting himself. He no longer cared if he could die right now if he stayed any longer. He was right there. He was right in front of them. And yet he didn’t stop them from breaking. He could have. He could have so easily. And he didn’t. He wasn’t fast enough.

Groaning, Malabel got back up. His eyes locked onto Tengoku, who was just sitting there. The twisted Mew’s anger had not faded. Snarling, he growled at Tengoku. “𝕎ℍ𝕐 𝕐𝕆𝕌 𝕃𝕀𝕋𝕋𝕃𝔼- 𝔾𝔼𝕋 𝕋ℍ𝔼 𝔽𝕌ℂ𝕂 𝕆𝕍𝔼ℝ ℍ𝔼ℝ𝔼!”

He didn’t want to deal with him right now. He didn’t want to deal with the monster his brother had become. And so with one push of his tail, Tengoku jetted into one of the hallways. Malabel followed him, anger and vengeance making his blood boil. He picked up speed, trying to keep up with him. With every twist and turn, Malabel grew angrier. He wanted to rip his brother to pieces. And he reached a point where there was a hole in the wall. Tengoku must have flown off. Of course he did. The coward never stuck around for a fight.

But Malabel was still angry. He needed something to tear apart. Something to release his anger onto. And luckily for him, some of the laboratory was still in tact. Perfect for him to destroy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was all ruins by now. Every single wall, every single floor tile, every single inch of this cursed lab was destroyed. He was sure of it. After all, he was the one to cause all this in the first place. He made sure nothing was left untouched. Especially every single reminder of the lie he had believed for so long. That he was an equal to him. That he mattered just as much as he did. That there was a “them”.

Looking around, there was nothing but dust and rubble going on for yards or so. It was a remote area, so there was nothing else but trees around. It was almost like a wasteland. The air seemed heavy. Rightfully so, considering several Pokemon must have died here at the hands of the Mew. Might as well call it a ghost town now, heh.

Malabel searched through his thoughts, trying to recall a certain detail in a specific event. He floated upwards a bit, examining the sight he created, to see if it was able to jog his memory. As his eyes scanned the area, he was able to fully take in what he had done. He had blown the laboratory that was his “home” to pieces, killing the Pokemon in it, destroyed his relationship with his “twin”, and tore apart their playmate. Had he……had he gone too far?

No, he hadn’t. They had it coming to them. They all deserved it. Every single last one of them.

Well, perhaps, maybe, except…

Malabel spotted out the area he was looking for and quickly flew over to it. Softly landing on broken bricks, he began to dig. He shoved pieces of concrete to the side, flung small bits of rock out of his way, and scratched dust that had built up from the explosions. It had to be somewhere around here. He was sure of it. Piles of stones began to build up next to him the further he dug. Each layer was more difficult than the last with the surrounding rubble falling into the hole that he dug. Even so, he continued his search. He ascended further into the remains of the lab, until he shoved a piece of concrete aside to reveal a familiar Pokemon.

Upon finding what he was looking for, he dug out the object and quickly pulled it out, examining the damage that had been done. The eyes were pitch black, their broken body was covered in the dust that the rubble had generated, and oil was dripping out of holes in their body. Malabel dusted it off, trying to get a clear look at them. Their main source of power, a solar panel on their back, was cracked and several wires were snapped and bent. Only one of their legs remained and half of their face was completely torn off.The body was ruined and unsalvageable. Damaged beyond repair.

He wanted to have his revenge on everyone here.

He wanted to show he was powerful.

That he was just as good, maybe even better, than Tengoku.

Everyone had it coming.

Everyone had it coming, except Shaya.

If that was the case, why did he break them?

Why did he tear them apart?

He was enraged, he was annoyed, he was furious… but out of everyone here, the one he shouldn’t have hurt was Shaya. He shouldn’t have done that.

The Shaymin had never done anything wrong to him. It never got angry or annoyed at him. It never ignored him. It always made him happy and feel at least a bit appreciated. He didn’t have to be constantly reminded that his twin was the favored one. He didn’t have to be constantly reminded that barely anybody gave a damn about him. They never hurt him. They never made him upset. They NEVER lied to him.

So why did he hurt them?

Why?

As all these questions ran through the Mew’s head, he held the robot’s body close, gripping tightly onto it. Malabel quivered, gritting his teeth with his ears drooping low behind his head. He hugged Shaya’s remains tightly for what seemed like an eternity to him. Not a single noise nor movement was made in the entire ruined area. Until suddenly… he screamed loudly.

He screamed as loud as he could as he hunched over, tears pouring out of his eyes and staining the robot’s metal. His claws scratched Shaya’s remains as his emotions took over. Malabel slowly dropped Shaya as he fell to the ground. He felt weak. He couldn’t keep himself up amidst all the yelling and crying. He hung his head low, letting his tears soak into the remains of the laboratory, before clenching his fist and pounding at the Earth. This was all his fault, and he knew it. Letting out one more blood curdling scream, tiring out his lungs and vocal cords, he looked up at the sky, as if Arceus was looking upon him and taking pity on him for his misery. What a joke.

He gazed at the clouds as any remaining tears made their way down his cheeks. A few more sobs escaped his mouth before he looked down at the ground again. What was he going to do now? He had destroyed everything. Killed everyone. And he despised Tengoku now. What was his purpose now? Did he even have one anymore? Did he even have one to begin with? Slightly lifting up his paws, he examined them while trying to look for an answer in his naive head. He didn’t take his eyes off them as he pondered.

Until, a few coughs and the sound of rubble moving caught his attention.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“ℍ𝔸ℍ𝔸ℍ𝔸! 𝔸𝕤 𝕖𝕩𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕕, 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕕𝕦𝕞𝕓 'ℂ𝕠𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖 𝕍𝕠𝕪𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕣𝕤' 𝕕𝕚𝕕𝕟'𝕥 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕒 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖! 𝔾𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜, ℤ𝕠𝕣𝕠!”

Malabel floated into a room, laughing with a cocky smile on his face, as a dark gray and red fox with blue eyes followed him in. The fox sheepishly smiled at the Mew’s comment. “Thanks, sir! I-I say we did pretty good out there!” Malabel rolled his eyes as he swiftly sat down in a chair, hands behind his head with his legs crossed. “𝕆𝕗 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕖 𝕨𝕖 𝕕𝕚𝕕! 𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕕𝕚𝕡𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕨𝕖𝕒𝕜 𝕒𝕤 𝕙𝕖𝕝𝕝! 𝕀𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕪!” Zoro nodded as he sat down next to Malabel, who was slowly swaying his tail left to right as if to entertain himself. “H-hey, Malabel.” The Mew raised an eyebrow as his eyes shot over to Zoro.

“Don’t you think we should perhaps… get some new recruits soon? Those Eeveelution’s group seems to be expanding.” Malabel tapped one of his fingers against his cheek as he hummed, with Zoro looking on waiting for an answer. “ℕ𝕒𝕙! 𝕀 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜 𝕨𝕖'𝕣𝕖 𝕘𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕟𝕠𝕨! 𝕀 𝕞𝕖𝕒𝕟... 𝕔'𝕞𝕠𝕟, 𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕜 𝕒𝕥 𝕦𝕤! 𝕀'𝕞 𝕒 𝕄𝕖𝕨! 𝔸 𝕄𝕪𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝 ℙ𝕠𝕜𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕟 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕒𝕓𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕥𝕠 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕞𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕤𝕥𝕦𝕗𝕗 𝕠𝕟 𝕞𝕖, 𝕀 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕤𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕖𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕗𝕥 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕒𝕟𝕪 ℙ𝕠𝕜𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕠𝕠! ℙ𝕝𝕦𝕤, 𝕪𝕠𝕦'𝕣𝕖 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕥𝕠𝕠 𝕤𝕙𝕒𝕓𝕓𝕪 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕗! ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕪 𝕘𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕒𝕥 𝕗𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕪 𝕤𝕞𝕒𝕣𝕥, 𝕤𝕠 𝕀 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜 𝕪𝕠𝕦'𝕝𝕝 𝕤𝕦𝕗𝕗𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕟𝕠𝕨!” As the Mew explained, Zoro’s ears rose up as a smile appeared on his face. “Y-yeah! I guess so! We make a pretty good team! … However, there is another thing I am curious about.”

“𝕎𝕖𝕝𝕝? 𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕤𝕡𝕚𝕥 𝕚𝕥 𝕠𝕦𝕥, 𝕕𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕒𝕤𝕤!” Malabel said with a smug tone. Zoro’s ears lowered as he scratched the back of his head. “S-so… why do you want to destroy everything and everyone? Is there any reason or is it just because?” Malabel’s ears suddenly dropped as a slight look of panic spread across his face. Zoro caught slight wind of this detail and his confusion showed it. “𝕀𝕥'𝕤, 𝕦𝕙... 𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕠𝕟𝕤! 𝕐𝕖𝕒𝕙! 𝕊𝕠, 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕘𝕠𝕟𝕟𝕒 𝕥𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕪𝕠𝕦! 𝕁𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕘𝕠𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕗 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠, '𝕜𝕒𝕪?” Malabel quickly shrugged off the sudden change in his attitude, his smile returning. Zoro stared at him for a bit before nodding and turning his head. “I am completely aware, sir.”

Malabel just rolled his eyes as he stared at the wall. The two sat in silence for a moment, neither knowing what to say. Until, suddenly, Zoro perked up and reached into his fur. “Oh! I just remembered! I saw one of those Eeveelutions drop this when we went to fight them! Seems fresh too, so we should be good!” The fox dropped a bag onto a table as a scent emitted from it. Malabel seemed to sit up from the smell, recognizing it. Zoro opened the bag and reached a paw into it, pulling out a treat from it. “Hey! It’s Malasadas! Can’t remember the last time I’ve seen these! Would you like one, sir?”

Malabel stared at the bag with a conflicted expression on his face. “𝕌𝕙... 𝕟𝕠, 𝕀'𝕞 𝕘𝕠𝕠𝕕. 𝕀 𝕕𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕄𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕒𝕕𝕒𝕤.” The Mew slowly sat back in chair, crossing his arms and turning his head in the opposite direction. He quietly muttered “𝔸𝕥 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕪𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖.” Zoro tilted his head with a hint of concern on his face. He stared at the Malasada in his paws. “I guess more for me then..” He took a bite of the pastry as Malabel resisted taking a single glance at the bag at the table. Silence made its way into the room once again. It was a bit irritating and awkward. Malabel eventually gave in and stared at the bag. He was tempted to take one, but… for some reason he couldn’t bring himself to even reach out for one. Slowly, his expression grew irritated as he let out a big sigh, causing Zoro to turn his head towards him.

“ℤ𝕠𝕣𝕠.”

The fox tilted his head as he set his malasada down onto the table, his ears perking up from the sound of his name. “Yes, Malabel?”

Malabel kept staring at the bag. He remained still as he seemed to be lost in his thoughts. His hands trembled as he finally took his gaze away from the bag and looked at Zoro with a deadly glare on his face.

“𝔻𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕪 𝕠𝕣 𝕝𝕚𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕞𝕖.”

The two Pokemon stared at each other, neither breaking eye contact. Zoro shivered at the stare Malabel was giving him. The Mew’s gaze was dark and serious, as if his expression by itself was threatening to kill the fox where he stood.

“...I won’t, sir.”