Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Hands of Creation

Chapter 114 - Despair Flame

The most irritating sound had returned. Sloshing, wet footsteps. Dark Matter squeezed his own fists and spitefully changed his form to that of a Charizard; he needed some practice to intimidate Owen later anyway. His flame, however, was black.

"I'm so proud of you, Mister Matter," Anam said.

"Go away."

"No, I really am! Not only did you agree to wait, but you actually listened!"

"I have no choice. I cannot forcibly go within the perimeter of the new Tree of Life yet. I need more power. Any less and I am at risk of shattering."

"Well, I don't really know what the old Tree looked like. But I'm still glad! You could have threatened so many different things!"

Why was Anam bothering to feel so positive when Dark Matter could not feel any of it? Did Anam realize this? Or was he so hopelessly lost without his guidance that he now thought everyone was happy with him?

Anam sat next to Dark Matter, leaning forward to play with his slimy toes. "I like this new you."

"There is nothing that changed about me."

"I think something has! Compared to when we first met, you never would have done any of this. You would have been totally dedicated to destruction and suffering! Instead, you're here looking for other ways to solve problems!"

"Enough..."

"In the past, just think back! You were beating me into the ground for hours and hours until you got tired of it! Now I can sit right next to you like buddies!"

"Will you... just stop?"

"A-and, well, and I really do think that if you put your all into it, and I was there to vouch for you, maybe we can work together after all! We can still make you happy! That's why you're doing all of this, right? Because he'll—"

"ENOUGH, ANAM!" A shadowy fist slammed into the Goodra's side, blowing a clean hole through him and spattering purple slime into the tree opposite to them. Anam was silenced, looking at Dark Matter, stunned, betrayed, and then he saw it. That very brief look of disappointment.

Why did that hurt so much?

Dark Matter pulled his hand away and stood up. He took a few paces away and slammed it into a tree next, disintegrating it into a fine ash. He then leaned against a nearby boulder and went back down to the ground, ignoring his small, black flame. Anam, by now, had rubbed the wound back to normal.

"I don't understand," Dark Matter growled. "You know I cannot feel these... positive emotions you keep asking for. I only feel fewer negative emotions. The greatest I can hope for is nothingness. No"—he raised his hand immediately to halt Anam's protest—"I won't hear it. Not only can I not feel the hope you are trying to send me... but it only teases me with what I will never have. Enough. Do not try to convince me."

But he saw that stubborn look in the Goodra's green eyes. He wished nothing more than to...

It was tiring to even think of what he wanted to do with Anam. Maybe it didn't matter.

"Then why?" Anam asked. "Why do you want to get to Owen so much? He's... all he wants to do is save everyone. He won't cooperate with you to kill them instead."

"Perhaps he will cooperate long enough that it would be beneficial to both of us."

"Are you sure?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you sure that's why you want to work with him?" Anam leaned forward, even though it barely made a difference with how far apart they were. "You say that you hate him, that his power is a nuisance, but..."