Chapter 8: Chapter 7: Manifestations of the Mind.

Costello looked at the Meowstic standing before him. He really did look at him. He saw fur that was trimmed and groomed in an almost obsessive sense. He saw something in his eyes that he attributed to worry. Why was he seeing this?  Costello had no idea. No. He had an idea but it was underneath something that he couldn't get a mental grasp on. He could only see the shadows of understanding and the darkness he was left with was starting to infuriate him.  Alzbell continued his explanation.

"Ok. I might understand what you're going through and I might have a way to get a different perspective on the matter."

"And that is?"

"Simple! Using the Psychic type method of mental projection, we should be able to morph your unconscious in a way that's more.. easy to understand. In more simple terms, I'll be going inside your head."

Costello calmly sat up in the therapy chair.

"No."

"Look. I understand that you may have some hang ups-"

"I have quite a lot of hang ups. I'm not going to let some non-professional punk mess around in my head."

"Look, we can argue about my professional experience, but if you wanna get on the path of finding out what's causing your lack of memories, then you're going to have let me do my work."

"Explain the process then."

"What?"

"Have you done this before, what are the side effects, what do I need to do?"

A sigh from the Meowstic. "Ok look. What might be happening to you is something I've seen before. Certain Psychic types have the ability to mess with people's heads. Mental blocks, changing memories, etcetera . So if I go inside your head, I can get a better gist of what may be troubling you. "

There it was again. That damned burning sensation in the side of his head.

"Got it. What do I need to do?"

With a slow stretch,Alzbell extended his ears outwards.

"Simply just relax and picture a room. A simple room, you can add flowers and chairs and the like but what I need in your head is to think for your brain and just put that into a room format."

Costello lied back down in his chair. His head was racing. Thoughts moving in a pattern of shooting stars across the large dark expanse. It was big but everything moved in order. It was all under his control. His body melted over as his breath slowed.  From the leather to it stretching out over the chair. It was an ever growing sphere of events. A part of that sphere replicated into a smaller piece and moved on to think about the leather and its moral quandaries and the idea of pleather. That and the question on how he even knew what pleather was. The main sphere remained intact and slowly started morphing itself.  Unseen hands laid its fingerprints on the slowly growing sphere. Flattening it out into an infinite plain. Bit by bit, walls grew and moved to force dimensions on the space until it is no more but corridors within 2 walls, a floor, and a roof. Within those confines grows blue energy, it is a sudden expansion until it takes the form of the Meowstic. Alzbell.

"Wow. Your process is a lot more abstract than I was expecting." said Alzbell. The cat stretched each of his limbs, raising his arms up and down.

"Alot less floaty than the usual brainscape and the lighting is a bit brighter than I expected but so far so normal." 

"Great." said Costello. His voice came from.. well even the Treecko didn't know exactly where it was coming from. Everything felt like him, an extension of what he was. 

"Ok, next up is getting you in a physical form." Alzbell pointed to himself.  "Your first attempt is gonna be a bit hard, everything here is kinda-

"Done."

Alzbell turned behind himself to see Costello.  A bit darker green but still the same Costello.

 Alzbell chuckled. "Usually it takes longer for Pokemon to form themselves."

"I know exactly what I am. It wouldn't take me so long to pull myself together."

"So it would just be Mind over Matter? Heh."

"What?"

"Nothing nothing." The cat waved away the matter. "Just brain jokes."

Costello shrugged." So what are we looking for? And where are we?"

"We're currently in the empty parts of your brain. The space between where your thoughts form and where they become active. We're going to find the source of your thoughts and maybe find out why you're missing your memories."

"Aren't they gone?"

"Depends. Sometimes it's cut off, sometimes the right Neuron pattern hasn't been engaged. Other times it's a mental block. Very rarely are memories just gone. It's like putting something on a higher shelf. Doesn't mean it's gone, just out of reach."

"Which one applies to me?"

"From what you've told me, it seems to be an inorganic Mental block. You're missing memories but not in a natural way.  Head trauma wasn't apparent according to what I've heard and the fact you've been able to form your head-space like this tells me you're not suffering from brain trauma.  That and the fact that you've been able to form and retain new memories with no problem shows me that you're not a normal amnesiac. It could also be you repressing traumatic memories but I'm not that kind of professional. "

"What are you leaving out then? You didn't take me into my own head because of something that could be fixed with therapy."

There was a pause from Alzbell. 

"As far as I know, this is an extreme case of mental tampering. The kaleidoscope simile works when someone has been messed with in a way that goes beyond a simple repression of memories. Whoever did this, executed it in a way that nearly demolished your brain." 

Alzbell looked to his left and right. The walls pulsed in unidentifiable patterns, each glow bundled in what looked like millions of tiny spotlights.

"Though with what you've described, it's odd that someone would put a suggestion in your head."

He turned around to Costello.

"If you don't mind, can you make a room with your memories. Let's think of it as more of a...gallery if you know what it is."

The gecko closed his eyes. "Paintings, fancy, hanging on the wall. Understood."

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The room melted around them, leaving them in a pool of charcoal gray. The room reformed as the gray moved into shapes of statues and paintings. The two Pokemon stood in the middle of this exhibit of memories made permanent in the image of marble and copper.  They found themselves facing one such painting detailing what appeared to be a dramatic retelling of Alzbell and Costello's encounter with Alzbell being covered in what appeared to be a psychic energy, behind his desk in an intimidating light. The features of this pigment based Meowstic didn't match the overall features of the Meowstic standing next to him, who for some reason was now wearing a suit. A side eye was given by Costello.

"What? This is a sophisticated event. It would be an offense to the curator to not show proper respect to the occasion."

The polite grin of an art critic manifested itself on Alzbell's face and the look of it simply annoyed the Treecko.

"Let us explore what hangs on these very tasteful walls. By the way, nice job on my facial features. I had no idea I was so "intimidating" to you. 

"It wasn't like that."

"Yes I know. It happens. The brain tends to represent new memories in a much more exaggerated light in order to remember them. Though I would describe my aura as a lot more.... wait."

The feline turned to look at a part of the mental gallery that had just formed. Along with something guarding the door . It stood on two frontal talons with one in the back for support. A scarlet red covered its underbelly with only a green horizontal line to interrupt it. Two claws to make up its hand with 3 leafy blades sprouting out its forearm. Its head had one lone but long leaf coming out in a sort of pony tail while its face showed some genetic disposition towards a quiet confidence. 

"Well," said Alzbell. "I presume you're the manifestation that has infected the mind of this young one.

 There was only silence in response and a look of disinterest.

"No answer?"

Grovyle looked at Costello, then looked at Alzbell. 

"Well, if you're not one for conversation, then I would have to ask you to move aside from that door."

The only response to be found

"It's longer. Longer than usual. We're usually done by now."

"I'm sorry what-"

A cough echoed from the mouth of Costello. He felt his throat tighten as he fell to his knees. 

"See, that's late."

The room melted around them. The copper bubbling and boiling as though fire had taken the place of its soul and its body started to reject it.

"No, no no!" The ears of the cat sprout up to attention, the entire room covers itself in that same psychic glow. The room itself is past the point of recognizing. The statues and painting have pooled into the floor around the three as Costello laid gasping. The glow intensifies as it tries to reform the hallway but to no avail. All that is left is an expansive Ocean of thoughts. Memories of Costello meeting Liam scatter its surface. Memories of fighting the Dewott. Darkness covered the surface as it was replaced by the memory of a Riolu staring at the sunset with a Totodile. A memory of simpler times before. And yet those times were far away, and happened at the same time. The body parts came together as the darkness overtook it. One sliver remained and within that sliver was an eye. Desperation filled the iris as finally, the darkness swallowed it whole.

The glow starts to fade, and a wild look enters Alzbell's eyes as the pool starts to envelop him. " Arc damn it, who are you?!"

That same look of disinterest remained on his face ,on the face of the Grovyle as the cat was swallowed and melted away into the liquid infinite.

Costello blinked once. He was  back in the hallways. Alzbell was gone leaving him and that tightening sensation as he gasped for air. It was strangling him. It hurts. Why did it hurt? Get the talons off my neck!

Costello blinked for a second time. It didn't hurt anymore. There was nothing to hurt. It was simply him. Simply existence.  And then there was something... something forced into him. It was in a hurry, improperly placed and it hadn't fully taken form. 

A Rush job on all sides.

 Before him stood the Grovyle.

"Do you know how hard it is to organize things to make sure he doesn't figure it out? Alzbell is good at this stuff. Very good. He's actually still fighting to get back in here."

"What... are you?"

"I'm you."

"Are.. you going to hurt me?"

"There's no reason to hurt myself."

"Why...?"

"Self flagellation is not in our interest. "

For a third time. Costello was on his back and wet. There was a mushroomed thing on two legs holding a bucket. Behind him stood Liam and Braviary, the latter of which was chewing the feline out for going into Costello's head, and Alzbell was directing his fury at the Breloom for "interrupting his work and "getting water on his one good therapy couch." Behind them stood... the eyes. Looking down on him with annoyance. Thea.

Liam rushed over to Costello, trying to pull him up out of his puddle.

"Oi, you alright Cos?"

"It's...Costello."

A smile grew on the rabbit's face.

"Knew you were. Was getting a bit worried there mate. Mr. Braviary was near knocking the door down to get at you. What was happening in there?"

"Just... a lot of stuff. Why are you here?"

The Corviknight spoke from the back.

"He's here because it's time to get you two into basic training."

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