An hour later,

Alto Mare

The 2nd phase of Kai's plan was to force the adult Latias to take him to the Secret Garden, where the Soul Dew was lying in the pool of Sacred Water.

The Eon Pokemon were legendary not only in name but also in their moves.

Kai wasn't afraid of them, not more than he was afraid of death. Fear and knowledge of one's capabilities were two different things. He wasn't her (-Latias-) match, Kai knew. Especially not when she had two young Latias and Latios to back her up.

But an even bigger reason was something else entirely.

Why worry about the legendary Pokemon when my mission isn't to fight them? Kai had quipped. Why go after the three legendary Pokemon from the beginning, when we can manipulate them freely?

Yes. Kai's mission was to use the Soul Dew, following the instructions and data given to him by the movie, and use it to get the egg. That's it. Everything else was secondary. That's where Bianca came in.

Kai had seen the special bond she had with the legendary Pokemon in the movie. If he was right, which he knew he was, then he could coerce Latias to do his bidding, using Bianca's life as a bargain.

What a fantastic weakness these creatures have, Kai thought, heavy gusts of wind hitting him across his face. So powerful, and yet weak hearts. Love brings strength, they say. Fools! Love brings nothing but weakness. Let me show the world that though I am not a match for Latias, I can still treat her like my bitch. Heh!

Kai was hovering high in the sky, well above the reach of all eyes.

Even if someone were to squint their eyes to see, they wouldn't have found him. The wind was angry up there, trying to rip his foul tattered robes for no apparent reason. But the wind was bound to fail.

This was the foulest creature, a mass of black, rotten mist, for lack of a better description.

This was Dementor-Kai.

Clutched under his skeletal arms was Bianca, shivering, her pants already wet from peeing several times.

This was a natural response from a normal human. Kai didn't look down on the young girl for this. He had refrained himself from sucking out her happiness too much. Kidnapping her to force the legendary Pokemon was already pushing the things to limit. He won't give the unrealistically powerful magical beasts any reason to attack him.

At least not before approaching the end of Phase 2, Kai amused himself, waiting for Latias to show herself.

So, that's what he was doing, levitating so far up from the city.

Kai had spent the day in the sewers, hiding from the Pokemon. Now that he didn't want to hide anymore, he still needed to prevent Order's Contestants from interfering with his business.

All fights and slaughter will have to wait, Kai reminded himself. He looked up at the stars from under his hood and saw the darkness about them. Suddenly, his mind went to the Pokemon he had recently come to desire, even more than killing and sex.

-Darkrai,- Kai hissed, and Bianca twitched and winced like a half-dead prey. -I will have you.-

It is beyond even thinking, master, Meg had dared to say it to his face. Darkrai is an infamous Dark-type Mythical Pokemon. To even think you can devour it by any means is a suicidal thought. You told me you had met Latias before fleeing from Alto Mare that night, right? What did it feel like? Could you have taken her on, even if you had twice the strength? No. I will strongly advise you against going after Darkrai and its traces, then. That road is better left untrodden for now, master.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Kai had stared at her with unparalleled fury, but Meg hadn't looked away, either.

How could he scorn her, when this was the exact thing he admired about her? For anything related to Kai's plans and path, she was blunt to an unmatched degree.

Meg's next words had made him give up on his thoughts altogether.

Remember what you told me, master? She had asked him, not unkindly. Remember the list? That's our primary goal now. Need I remind you of it every day? As declared by you, we will aim to devour the tales of the most prominent scientists in the Multiverse. Opportunities to gain power will come to us by themselves. It's like clearing the concepts of maths. Once you understand the fundamentals, all problems can be solved by applying them in one way or another.

Selene sent a cold burst, sensing Kai's pulsating emotions.

Meg is right, he concluded, rubbing his chest. I will walk on the path of that list, and whatever comes in that path, I will gobble it up too.

Suddenly, the wind changed colors.

A monstrous amount of life-threatening danger struck him like a chain of lightning bolts.

He felt himself drowning in a quagmire, his feet stuck deep into the concrete-like mud. Even the billowing strips of his dark tattered robes behind him struggled to flap.

Kai felt them then. Their emotions were too strong for him to not notice these presences. For a moment, he doubted if he could even suck out their happiness or not. But he soon buried that doubt within him, and let out a confident, rattling chuckle.

-/Make a move, and she dies,/- he told the invisible legendary Pokemon, letting out his bloodlust. -/I've been waiting for you for a long time, friends. Show yourself./-

The thick, moist wind was now roiling around him like a tornado. Kai got no response.

-Selene.- Kai hissed menacingly.

A mass of silver mist came out of Kai and materialized into Selene's figure. Her dragonish scales shone silver, and her tongue flicked out, matching the intensity of Kai's threats. She lunged at Bianca, coiling herself around her neck, and yawned.

-/Show yourself,/- Kai told them again, chuckling, and sensing the wind losing its power. -/Or she will die. You are fast, I know, but are you faster than death?/-

The silence was deafening.

Then, as if space had given birth to them, the Pokemon appeared around Kai.

He heard their low, strange calls, as he saw their colors. The largest of them was red, and it was also the strongest.

Latias, Kai nodded to himself, before gazing at the other two.

The young red Latias and blue Latios were half of adult Latias' size, but together they were almost as powerful as her.

-/You,/- Kai pointed at the adult Latias. -/Come closer./-

His heart was racing. One moment of recklessness, and he would face certain death, he knew.

Though Kai failed to imagine that the Pokemon might not kill him, it wasn't a matter of discussion for now.

The adult Latias cooed, her call gaining pitch, and then, like a jet, she came at him. Kai couldn't even follow her flight path, let alone keep an eye on her. She stopped in front of him, her head touching Bianca's hair.

Selene hissed at Latias murderously.

Kai could see through Selene's facade, though. She was as nervous as him. But like Kai, she too was keeping her nervousness hidden well behind her sneering hisses. Her fangs, dripping with venom, were just short of entering Bianca's neck.

It was then Kai felt it.

The emotions. It was like a deep well, the depths of which Kai failed to fathom. But they were there. A sea of happiness, floating above an ocean of sorrow. Kai had expected it after seeing the movie, and the fate of her brother, Latios. Yet, the real thing surpassed all his expectations.

Kai's breath rattled, and he sucked deep.

Latias trembled.

A thin trail of happiness and hope left her, as Kai traded it for despair. But he soon faced the problem, too. Latias' emotions were like a thick, pulpy mango shake, and his Advance Emotions Manipulation was a thin straw. There wasn't much he could take out of her, even if he tried.

But when combined with Latias' trauma of losing her brother, this negligible sucking seemed to be enough.

Despair claimed her thoughts little by little, Kai could tell. Her gaze was melting in concern for Bianca, and the idea that Kai would indeed kill her if she did not meet his demands, weakened the highly intelligent Pokemon's reasoning.

The two young Pokemon sensed the adult Latias' odd state, and they stirred their wings to come at Kai.

Selene's fangs touched Bianca's skin then.

The Latias near Kai cried with such intensity that he almost got thrown back. Then he laughed. -/That's right,/- he sneered. -/Keep them off me. Now you know what will happen if you refuse my commands. Take me to the Secret Garden. Now./-

Latias gave him a deep look of loathing and disgust and cooed again, turning around.

The two young Eon Pokemon came to hover on Kai's flanks. Then they all dived, the Pokemon's speed matching Kai's. When they were just about to hit the ground, the adult Latias' eyes flashed blue, opening a big, round portal.

Kai couldn't help but let out an evil, rattling chuckle.