Into the Unown (Pokemon Fanfiction OC)

Chapter 258.5: Fifty Shades of Silver

Warning:This chapter contains depiction of self-harm.

For those who might be adversed, please be aware.

The contents of this chapter follows Giovanni's POV. It is semi-plot relevant but entirely optional. There is little to be missed in skipping it.

You have been warned.

***

Giovanni stepped out of the shower and onto a mat, moisture dripping off his scarred and muscular body as he divested some time to towel his hair.

Once done, he stepped in front of the mirror obscured by fog where a quick tap of a button melted the blur away to unveil his freshly cleaned and dishevelled appearance.

The man scowled and pushed his hair back to restore a semblance of order. Next, he meticulously engaged in his normal routine, applying foam to his face and unsheathing a razor sharp blade which he then used to shave away the stubbles around his cheeks — the Pokemon League had been too paranoid to afford him the luxury of human decency.

Once his face was smooth, he decanted a bottle of aftershave and gently massaged it onto his skin — cedarwood and juniper. No doubt, Ariana’s doing. The woman kept obsessive track over his tastes.

Giovanni took some time to examine his features in the mirror, those hollow eyes and square jaw. It all felt so alien, like he was staring at a stranger. The air hummed and his vision blurred, that sense of discordant chaos which had been getting worse by the day.

He trembled. 

And in a fit of rage, Giovanni grabbed hold of the razor blade and gave it a quick rinse under the tap, knuckles clenched white from force, his hands trembling.

Then, he breathed. “I am Giovanni D’Argento…” With that familiar chant, the man steadied and pressed the blade against his forearm. Slowly and deliberately, he dragged, savouring the way the edge parted his skin and drew blood from his flesh, that invigorating sting from the inside of his elbow all the way to his wrist. And in that brief moment of time, he felt alive and present, that incessant feeling of wrongness drowned out by the pain.

Blood dripped into the porcelain sink, that mesmerizing magenta hue swirling down the drain. The tremors returned and he clenched tight once more.

“My will is my own…” Another cut, deeper and slower this time.

“I will not be cowed…!” And another.

“I… will break this world!” And again.

“I exist… here and now!” His vision cleared and the ringing stopped, arms feeling weak from strain. Then, finally…

“I… am the master of my own fate.” One final cut and he felt himself return in full. Giovanni looked back into the mirror to see a condescending smirk staring right back at him — his usual mask.

Giovanni breathed then paused to take in his mangled arm, the bloodied sink and the tainted razor blade. He scowled and reached behind the mirror to grab a Potion — the pure and undiluted kind used on Pokemon. 

A liberal spritz of it on his wounds demonstrated why that was the case, as a shot of pain pierced through his nerves. His flesh was healing, but too rapidly. Under normal circumstances, such recklessness would result in unsightly scars and damaged nerves. But with a flare of his Aura, Giovanni forced his body’s rampant cells to calm and behave, further amplifying the pain as the wound knit back together at a more deliberate pace.

All the while, the man just continued staring into the mirror with an indifferent gaze. Until finally, the pain subsided and his bloodstained forearm was as good as new, like nothing had ever happened.

A quick rinse under the tap later and Giovanni proceeded to meticulously clean the blood in his bathroom, ensuring that not a single stain remained. However, looking back into the mirror once he was done, he found a little fleck of red had caked onto the glass. He would have to deal with that later. For now, he needed to get on with his day, having wasted enough time already.

Giovanni pried open his wardrobe to reveal quite a rich selection, not as diverse as his collection back at the estate but everything in his home had likely been seized by the authorities after all this time. 

“Time…” The man frowned and made his selection. He was feeling casual today, so a loose fitting turtleneck, just half a size too large, silk boxers, cotton pants and a lightweight jacket would do nicely.

Once dressed, Giovanni took his place behind an ornate wooden desk, where a Persian was warming the seat of his chair, shooed the feline down onto the plush carpet and sat down just in time for a knock on his door.

“Come in.” He intoned, the crime boss’s deep and velvety voice transmitting effortlessly across the room.

The one who entered was, predictably, Ariana. The red-haired woman was wearing just a touch too much makeup to cover up the wrinkles of her age which, now that Giovanni thought about it, made her just a couple of years his senior. An amusing thought…

“Good morning, boss.” The woman cooed, breath reeking of desperation. He did not mind. Desperate was good — desperate was manipulable. 

“Good morning, Ariana.” He replied with an almost genial smile, causing his subordinate’s gait to tighten ever so slightly.

“It’s so good to have you back, boss. I’ve taken the liberty of compiling everything pertinent in your absence.” The woman bent over the table with a tablet in hand, perhaps just a bit too deeply, to flaunt the generous cleavage of her low-cut dress before sitting down in front of him.

Giovanni smirked at the ploy but really, all he could think about was how insufferably pungent the woman’s perfume was. He would have much preferred a companion who understood restraint. “But then again, Ariana never does things by halves.” It was the reason why he vested so much trust in her to begin with. Better an overzealous sycophant than a lazy fool. Though, both had their uses.

He picked up the tablet and did a cursory flick of its contents before setting it back down — he would look at it in more detail later on. “So? How is Archer’s condition?” Giovanni asked as he gently caressed the fur of his now-aged Persian.

Ariana leaned back in her seat, crossing her legs in a very deliberate manner. “Still unconscious. Dr Namba said that with sufficient cyberization, he should regain function of his limbs. The question remains about his psyche.”

“What about it?”

The woman frowned. “The Doctor was wondering if you’d like to restore his mind in full, albeit in a slightly deranged state — not that Archer was all that sane to begin with, mind. Or, he proposed an experiment to… neuter his emotions and convert him into becoming the ultimate soldier.”

She further explained that such a radical conversion would allow the man to have better compatibility with the lobotomized Pokemon subjects and allow him to activate the Mega Crown for longer and more frequently without needing to contend with the side effects.

Giovanni smirked. “As expected of the good doctor, pragmatic as ever.” The proposal was a rhetorical one, Namba did whatever it took to advance his science. He had long learned that it was impossible to control the madman and to simply find ways to take advantage of his work in whatever ways he could. Even the requests that Giovanni made had to be worded in such a way to appeal to Namba’s interests.

Understanding this, Ariana just nodded and mentally marked the matter as settled. “About Proton and the other members captured during the assault…” The woman sneered. “It is unfortunate, but we’ve burned all of our cards in your rescue. If we were to try and stage another so soon, I’m afraid we’d be liable to lose more members than the ones that were detained.”

They were especially shorthanded now that the Yamaguchi Group’s operations were busted by those brats. And this time around, one of those very same brats even had the audacity to bamboozle her. Ariana twitched, just the thought of that Gyarados spawn was enough to make her veins pop.

“What about legal avenues?” Giovanni asked.

“Without the Yamaguchi Group to facilitate matters, it might prove challenging. Not to mention, the League isn’t exactly playing it straight here. Our best bet would be to wait until they’re done parading them through their Kangaskhan court. But even then, it’s likely that they would be scattered across different holding facilities as they are now.”

“Find a way to get a message across, maybe through our criminal associates. Assure them that we will endeavour to secure their freedom as soon as feasible.” Because loyalty needed to be tempered and rewarded on occasion. “Are any of them privy to our current whereabouts?”

“No, Proton and a handful of his lieutenants maybe. But we’ve wiped all associated memories before dispatch.”

“Good. What else needs my attention?”

Ariana squirmed a little and with a slight pucker to her lips leaned her body towards Giovanni, the woman’s arms pressed against her bosom in such a way that punctuated their form. “I had the morning cleared for you, boss — figured you might want to take a little time to unwind and… catch up.”

Giovanni chuckled, then got up and approached Ariana, fingers raking through her voluminous red strands and gently caressing her cheeks until they settled on her chin, his thumb gently rubbing against her plump and supple lips.

Ariana moaned, her eyes glazing over in desire as she playfully bit down on Giovanni’s meaty thumb, before proceeding to suckle on it like a hungry babe.

Giovanni held his mirth, simply leaning his hips lightly against his desk while allowing Ariana the privilege of his affection, her breathing getting deeper and raspier by the second.

However, when Ariana reached over to unbuckle his belt, Giovanni abruptly broke away, denying the woman her deliverance.

He turned his back on her and resettled into his seat, looking back up to see the brief flash of a dissatisfied scowl. “Send word to Dr Namba that I would like a tour of his ongoing endeavours. In particular, Project Rainbow. As a matter of fact, tell him to drop everything and focus on getting it up and running as soon as possible.” Giovanni commanded, not even bothering to address his subordinate’s grief.

“That might take some time to prepare. As you know, the Doctor can be a little disorganised with his work.” Ariana responded, her face stiff as stone.

Giovanni smiled. “Good. As you said, I need some time to catch up. Just have everything be ready for my inspection by late afternoon. You may leave now.” The man waved as he swivelled his chair away to face his computer screen.”

Ariana frowned, teeth biting her lip in agitation but ultimately, still abided by the order with a bow and left the room in a huff.

Allowing himself another amused chuckle, Giovanni turned on his computer and began browsing the Pokenet. The first thing he searched was Ash Ketchum. And the moment that he did, he felt the world shudder and, perplexingly, memories began flooding his brain. Or rather, memories that were hidden away started unlocking one by one.

His face twisted in displeasure but pushed through regardless. “Would you look at that? The boy wasn’t lying after all… Pokemon World Champion…” He scoffed and cleared his browser for another search. This time, Melina Jones.

The world quaked, as if space itself was torn asunder. That sense of disconnect he was battling earlier returned in full and for the briefest of moments, he could see; a sea of threads flowing all around him, roiling and churning endlessly. And his very existence, a fierce ember burning brighter and brighter, setting fire to everything he touched.

“Haha! HAHAHAHA!!! Yes… I see now. So that’s how it is! HAHAHAHA!!!” Madness stirred within the man’s abyssal eyes as they gazed out into the unknown.