Let's have the great Dialga rewind time a bit…
When Carmine faced Lusamine's request to "strip," she refused.
Honestly, she was still a proper young lady — how could she just strip because someone told her to?
It wasn't like she was one of those shameless women who, after getting tied up once, went full crazy and ran into someone's room that same night for a "thousand-mile delivery" of herself.
No — Carmine had a sense of shame!
Besides, this blonde woman was obviously not a decent person — she tied Carmine up with some "special technique" without a word of explanation.
Who knew what might happen if she really did strip? For all she knew, this woman would launch into some kind of rope-play scenario.
Carmine wasn't an expert in "positions," but she could still tell the difference between good and bad.
…Of course, none of this mattered to Lusamine — because she really, truly wasn't a decent person.
Not going to take it off yourself? Fine. I'll take it off for you!
If I don't force you, how else could I call myself indecent?
With no trace of restraint left in her heart, Lusamine borrowed Mew's power and easily pressed Carmine down to the floor.
Then she reached for the girl's clothes to start tearing them away.
The black-haired girl was horrified. Struggling desperately, she cried out:
"Lusamine! No, please, Lusamine!"
But it was useless — Lusamine was far past the point where a few words could stop her.
Seeing Carmine still struggling only made her more excited.
As she tugged at Carmine's clothes, trying to expose the "poached eggs" beneath, she threatened loudly:
"What? You don't want that man's help anymore?"
"I'll tell you right now — that man can solve almost any problem in this world."
"If you miss this chance…"
"Heh… Do you think you'll still have the right to even meet someone like him? You wouldn't even be worthy of a handshake."
"Do you know the kinds of people he usually deals with?"
"Daughters of conglomerates, Champions, corporate magnates, Elite Four members, Legendary Pokémon holders. And you? With what you've got, do you think you qualify to ask him for help?"
Lusamine's mouth curled into a cold sneer before suddenly shifting her tone:
"Miss Carmine… you wouldn't want your little brother arrested by Officer Jenny, would you?"
"Think very carefully — who's really capable of ending the crisis in Kitakami?"
…
The girl who had been struggling froze. In that instant, her hands and feet went cold.
What was going on? How did this woman know what her true goal was? Carmine had never told her exactly what she wanted Haru's help with.
But when she lifted her head to look at Lusamine, she was met with an enigmatic, knowing smile.
For some reason, fearless Carmine suddenly felt that this woman had grown several shades more terrifying.
"Act according to my will," Lusamine said.
"From now on, I'll be watching you. Always watching…"
"If you fail to satisfy me… can you guess what I'll do?"
Carmine shuddered again.
Something about Lusamine felt deeply, deeply wrong — so wrong that just a few cryptic words had Carmine's mind running wild with unspeakable scenarios.
"What exactly do you want me to do?"
"Relax. I won't make things hard for you."
"I just want you to do a few little things… who knows, you might even enjoy it in the end."
The smile on Lusamine's face twisted into something even more unsettling — at least, that's how Carmine saw it.
---
Fast-forward to the "present"...
Haru and his group had already noticed this uninvited guest.
Originally, Haru had thought Carmine, like Kieran, wouldn't be coming to bother them again anytime soon.
But here she was — and right on time, too.
Could this sibling pair be here to cause trouble again?
Haru glanced at the black-haired girl before him, suspicion rising.
You couldn't really blame him — the DLC storyline had left a deep impression.
Game Freak had truly taken "making nonsense content" to the extreme. Compared to the main Scarlet/Violet plot, it was like heaven and earth.
Unfilled plot holes? Check. Forced nonsense? Absolutely. The sibling duo's screentime? Maxed from start to finish.
Especially Kieran — Haru had once thought the future Blueberry Academy Champion was nothing but trouble, totally unlike the main story's lovable trio.
But kind-hearted Lillie wasn't thinking that far ahead. Even though Carmine had provoked her not long ago, she noticed Carmine moving strangely and immediately asked with concern:
"Carmine? Why are you here?"
"And… why are you walking so stiffly? Are you feeling unwell?"
Her face even showed a bit of worry.
That was Lillie for you — the kind of girl who'd worry about Lusamine being "overworked."
Even if she knew full well Lusamine's "overwork" came from doing certain activities with her boyfriend.
As for Carmine — who didn't even have a "deep grudge" with her — all the more reason for Lillie to be concerned.
Truly, the girl's heart was too pure.
…Which made the question all the harder for Carmine to answer.
Because under her outer clothes, she was wearing a full shibari.
The ropes were tied beneath all her clothes — and she wasn't even wearing a bra or underwear.
She'd layered two extra sets of clothing over it so nothing would show on the outside.
The price? Her skin was flushed from being sealed in, and sweat had soaked the ropes — she was sweating like a shrimp pulled out of the water.
Worse, every single step made "that area" brush against the ropes.
And no matter how small the "house," she still had to take those "special attacks" from the ropes.
She was drenched in sweat — in more ways than one.
And it didn't stop at the "house layout" — the ropes bound her entire body…
Sure, they highlighted her figure — even her "poached eggs" looked like hard-boiled eggs now — but her "blueberries" had gotten their share of attention, too.
If Carmine were alone, she probably would've been unable to stop herself from making little noises by now.
Lusamine's rope skills were, in this regard, absolute perfection.
Though Carmine was bound head to toe, she didn't feel much actual discomfort — only a strange, constant tension that made her rub her thighs together without thinking.
Under such conditions, moving around normally would've made her a saint.
But how could she explain this to Lillie? She couldn't just blurt out the truth.
Sure, Carmine thought Lillie's kindness was a bit over the top, but some things were just impossible to say aloud.
Besides, she still had no idea what the real relationship between Lillie and Lusamine was.
Who knew how Lillie might react if she brought that woman up?
After a moment's thought, Carmine forced a smile and waved her hand.
"Uh… actually, I slipped when I was getting my hair done yesterday. But it's fine!"
At that moment, Haru suddenly stepped forward.
"Well, we have something to do, so we'll be heading off first. Watch your step, okay?"
He didn't know why Carmine was acting so strangely, but he felt it best not to get too involved with these siblings.
Carmine herself might be fine, but Kieran? That was trouble waiting to happen.
Unfortunately, while Haru didn't want to be involved with Carmine, Carmine wasn't letting him go.
"Wait — are you going to deal with the Kitakami incident? Can I come with you?"
"Why? This is dangerous," Haru frowned.
He'd agreed to take Liko purely because she was likely to cross paths with villainous groups in the future — and as the holder of Terapagos, she had the strength for it.
But taking Carmine? He wasn't inclined to.
In fact, if it had been any random student asking, he'd still have said no.
"Because… I think I'm changing too. Like another personality has awakened inside me."
"I don't want to keep falling into this, so I have to deal with the source, right?"
The shibari-clad girl looked Haru in the eye, speaking seriously.
Was her purpose really that simple?
Of course not.
She did want to end the Kitakami incident — but she didn't think she could do it herself.
Just like Lusamine had said, the only one qualified to resolve it was Haru.
Haru — and perhaps Lillie, who was close to him.
So right now, she was just carrying out Lusamine's first task: infiltrate Haru's group.
That woman had promised Carmine that if she completed all the tasks, her little brother would be saved. This was only step one.
As for the shibari and that "eagle catching chicks" training earlier — those were just prerequisites for later stages of the plan.
Yes — all of this was the great elder sister's sacrifice for her dear brother!
To save her brother, Carmine would wear the ropes without hesitation. How noble!
What she didn't know was that while she was making contact with Haru, Kieran was hiding behind a nearby wall, watching.
He stared coldly at Haru and the sister before him.
Yes — he understood everything now. In the end, his sister had betrayed him.
Not that he'd ever had much faith in her.
What Kieran wanted was power — the power to tear Haru and Carmine apart with ease.
So… Ghost — I'll be the one to wield you.
He looked down at the mask in his hand, his gaze growing darker.
---
Under dim gray lighting, a modern laboratory lay in eerie silence. Rows of tall metal cabinets stood in neat lines, their doors tightly shut as if guarding some secret.
On the lab benches, various instruments sat dormant. Glass containers held faintly glowing, murky liquids, their smell of chemicals hanging in the air, stinging the nose.
In the center of the room stood a huge, tube-shaped transparent tank.
Inside floated a white-and-purple humanoid Pokémon.
It had a roughly human shape, but feline traits showed through — especially in its "face," which bore many similarities to Mew.
The difference was that Mew's features were softer, while its were sharper and more defined.
Perhaps because it wasn't fully "mature" yet, its eyes remained closed, arms wrapped around itself as it drifted in nutrient fluid.
But even its creators didn't know — it already had self-awareness.
Confused though that awareness might be, it could think for itself.
And its very first question was—
"Who am I?"
Then more questions followed:
"Where did I come from?"
"Who created me?"
"Why was I born?"
As it thought, strange "information" bubbled up — things it didn't understand, but that felt oddly significant.
"Father? Mother? What are those?"
"What does 'punishment' and 'reward' mean? What's a flogging… and a milk bath?"
"Why am I supposed to serve this man called Haru?"
The chaotic thoughts piled up, and no answer was satisfying.
Soon, it began to lose control.
And when it lost control, so did its psychic powers.
It would find its answers itself!
A Shinra Tensei-like force blasted outward, throwing the lab into chaos in an instant. Equipment crashed to the floor, glass shattered, wires tangled.
The tank at the center buckled and warped, its once-smooth surface now dented as if torn by invisible hands. Gauges and meters swung wildly, needles ticking and screeching.
If left unchecked, it could destroy the entire lab within minutes — and no researcher inside would survive.
Yet the lab-coated scientists didn't panic.
"Mewtwo's losing control again! Shut it down!" they shouted while working the instruments with practiced motions.
Please — they were the ones running Project Mewtwo. As if they'd let it end in failure.
No way. Absolutely no way.
This was just Mewtwo throwing a little tantrum. Not the first time, either.
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