Attention to all students. The Academy’s campus will be closing in fifteen minutes, announced a feminine voice through the halls and courtyards. Please be outside the gates by that time. As a reminder, the school grounds will be closing an hour early everyday until further notice. Local authorities recommend traveling in groups and to go directly to your homes. If your pokemon are injured, you may bring them to the Academy infirmary for recovery before you depart.
That calm and soft tone hid a haunting message. As ordinary as it sounded, the script issued a warning regarding an eerie happening that occurred earlier that week. A person and their pokemon had been reported missing in the area, and without any clues nor trace of where they had gone, the community feared another victim could be claimed. Thus was the Pokemon Academy closing its gates early, cutting club activities short so that students would return to their homes sooner and more safely.
As it were, very few students stayed on campus after hours, but among those pressed to leave was still seated in a computer lab when the announcement played. A grumpy stare drilled into the large CRT monitor as a progress bar slowly moved forward in blocky chunks. Lulu breathed onto the keyboard impatiently; she had waded through the Academy’s sluggish internet speeds in order to print a report on grass-type match-ups, and so only then did she realize that it was nearing time for the campus to lock its doors. It was with a heavy heart and a groan that she gave up on the download, deciding to try again another day. The internet was a radical new tool, but the technology was still in its infancy.
That was a fact that Lulu dreaded over as she picked out her CD player from her backpack -- only to then discover that the batteries were dead. She sighed and cursed her luck, but as she stepped outside into the Academy’s courtyard, she remembered why it might have been for the best that she not be so distracted listening to music. She had dwelled on the mystery of the missing person since it was reported; she was privy to the unspread knowledge that many missing persons were being reported all over Kanto, and now it had reached her school. It was a blemish on her Academy experience, as it was for the entire student body; they had come to this university-league school to hone themselves as trainers, with the most elite among them striving to become gym leaders. The fear of a kidnapper lurking between Saffron City and Lavender Town was a challenge none of them had planned for.
Lulu, in particular, had planned especially poorly -- leaving so late that day, she was unprepared with a partner to leave the school with. The setting sun and its blank, twilit sky echoed her loneliness, and an autumn wind chilled her spine. “Ergh… I really ought to find someone, huh…” she mumbled to herself, casting glances back behind her after every few steps. She chuckled, “I doubt anyone was as dumb as me to stay so late.”
Yet, to her surprise, Lulu heard a conversation happening somewhere in the courtyard. They were familiar voices, certainly students from one of her classes. As she approached the tall hedges that encircled a colorful garden, she began to recognize the women that were talking. They were notable characters in the school, for they were not only experienced trainers, but espers, who were no less renowned members of the Psychics Club. One voice, strong and fierce, belonged to Jaclyn, the vice-president of the club that was infamous for her competitive spirit brought over from her home on Six Island. The other, however, was quiet and unclear -- but Lulu suspected who it might have been.
Lulu confirmed as much when she peered around a corner. Where she found Jaclyn stood poise atop a bricked-ground layout designed like a pokeball, opposite of her was a slender woman with dark, whip-like hair and bangs cut straight over her glaring eyes. She wore red attire like a warning, with black tights on her arms and legs concealing what little the sleeves, skirt, and boots would otherwise leave exposed. That aura of unusual coolness of course belonged to Sabrina, an impressive new student to the Academy. Gossip had spread quickly of her; not only was she a dedicated trainer, but a capable psychic rumored to be impossibly strong. All that most knew about Sabrina was that she was committed to becoming a Kanto gym leader, hence her enrollment at the Academy.
“Let me make myself clear!” Jaclyn snapped -- suddenly, Lulu was aware of the edge in their conversation. The atmosphere was tense, and Lulu was buzzed into keeping her distance behind a hedge. Jaclyn pointed firmly at Sabrina; “You’re no longer allowed anywhere near the Psychics Club! You’re a disgrace!”
Sabrina endured the accusation unflinchingly. Lulu blinked, immediately warped with interest. As far as she knew either of them, it was unlike the two to argue; together, all three shared a medicine class, yet no such tension existed in the lecture hall. Lulu’s innate curiosity drew her into eavesdropping -- she had always wondered what the psychics of the Academy were up to.
“You’re a cheat,” Jaclyn specified, attacking Sabrina's reply of silence. “You’ve got no reason acting all arrogant like you do! I know the truth about your psychic abilities!”
“Your judgments… are irrational,” Sabrina said, her tone cold and direct. “I know that you speak from a place of envy. I know this, as well as I know that you will claim that my Kadabra amplifies my psychic abilities.”
“Wh-What…?” Jaclyn stuttered, but steadied herself. “Pretending to read my mind…? Nice try. You just know that the gig is up, Sabrina. All of those fancy psychic performances might impress the other members, but I know a fake when I see one.” She unfolded her arms so that they were propped against her hips. “... A-And it’s true! Your Kadabra is responsible!
“And I’ve brought you here so I can prove it.” Jaclyn sported a smile to go with her smug glare. “I challenge you to a psychic battle. No pokemon. Just you, me, and our ESP!”
Lulu caught her gasp. What she had stumbled upon was a dramatic showdown between rivals. She had known Jaclyn to be competitive, but Sabrina was unwavering in her pursuit to become stronger. Lulu had no guess as to how a psychic battle between the two would unfold -- nor did she know how psychic battles functioned to begin with.
Despite the enthusiasm from Jaclyn, Sabrina remained unphased, only lowering her head to grim effect. “I am warning you now that you should end this,” she said. “Those psychic performances you’ve witnessed from me have been child’s play, regardless of how they intimidate you. If you truly intend on challenging me, I promise that you will be overwhelmed by my full power.”
Jaclyn scoffed. “All that talk isn’t going to help you in a real clash of minds,” she taunted. “It sounds to me like you’re accepting my challenge. Ready to begin?”
“... Very well, Jaclyn. I will allow you to see the severity of your mistake.” Sabrina moved little, only enough to spread her feet apart. “You may try to levitate me, like you so wish.”
Jaclyn flinched, her composure injured by another of Sabrina’s predictions. That frustration turned to focus as she aimed her hands towards her opponent, her fingers linked in a triangular shape. Her eyes beamed through that opening and onto Sabrina, channeling her psychic power around her target. A thin, blue aura began to resonate off her fingers, a weak glow of pure ESP energy -- Lulu was bewildered, the first time she had ever seen such a supernatural display from a human.
A moment later, Sabrina began to rise. Just as had been expected, Jaclyn was levitating her, lifting her rival off the ground. Initially, such a result inspired a wide flash of a smile from Jaclyn, but that smugness melted in a heartbeat.
“Wh-What…? Y-You’re so… heavy…” Jaclyn complained, her eye twitching under pressure. Her arms began to quiver, making it a struggle to keep them aimed forward. “This… isn’t right… I should be throwing you aside, b-but…!”
“Finding it difficult?” Sabrina asked, maintaining elegance even while lifted in the air, as though it were entirely her choice. “I’m impressed you could do so much, for a novice. But you feel it, and I know that you feel it -- I’m in control.”
“N-No way…” Jaclyn denied. “I’m just… having trouble f-focusing…!”
“I have given you enough chances,” Sabrina announced. “Your pitiful abilities do not entertain me… so I will transform you into something that will.”
Suddenly, with a stretch of her arms to either side, Sabrina was aglow with a blue aura of her own. It emanated from her entire body, every fiber of her long hair included; her psychic manifestation put Jaclyn’s to shame, but there was hardly a moment for that difference in scale to be appreciated. Sabrina’s counter-maneuver instantly overtook her opponent, a psychic attack that began to change Jaclyn into something else.
Lulu was in disbelief from where she hid, captivated by the horrifying scene. Jaclyn shivered and flailed like being possessed, but gradually, her limbs became stiff and immobile. She faltered in her steps as her body was forced upright, but before she could topple over, she began to dwindle in size. Within seconds, her height had diminished to something Lulu could not immediately comprehend, something she doubted could be true, but was indeed the terrifying truth.
Where Jaclyn once stood was then only a plastic doll, as motionless as any toy of its kind would be. Slumped forward with its painted smile twisted to the side, the doll perfectly resembled Jaclyn; the same color and length of hair, the very clothes she had been wearing, every detail miniaturized or otherwise stylized into this manufactured design. There was no voice, no signs of life; Lulu prayed it was an illusion, but she knew it to be real, that Sabrina had transformed Jaclyn into a doll.
Unlike the unnoticed onlooker, Sabrina was not mystified by the event, composed as her usual stone-like self. She gently grounded herself by use of her own powers, the aura of which had been dismissed. Confident footsteps carried her to loom above her helpless opponent, which she then casually crouched down to obtain. Grabbed around her waist, the toy that Jaclyn had become was lifted into the air, her limbs dangling out of Sabrina’s grasp.
Lulu was paralyzed. Though she burned with urgency to turn and run away, she was equally bound by hope for a better conclusion. Turn her back, she wished. Sabrina… You’ll turn her back to normal, r-right? Th-This is just part of their battle…
Sabrina turned the doll over in her grip, seemingly admiring the results. Once a fellow psychic egotistical enough to challenge her, Jaclyn was then nothing more but a limp toy in Sabrina’s possession. As if nothing personal connected them, Sabrina blinked and opened her red coat, stashing away the Jaclyn doll into an inner pocket. The coat was zipped up tight, and Sabrina emotionlessly turned away -- there was not a figment of intent to change Jaclyn back to normal.
Unnerved by the absurd event, Lulu pulled away entirely from her view of the garden. Slow and quiet footfalls gradually became a sprint to escape, as she realized then just how dangerous her fellow classmate had proven to be. It was a dark discovery, suited to be a nightmare more so than reality: Lulu had concluded that Sabrina must be behind the long list of Kanto’s missing persons. What she could do with that information, Lulu was unsure and, for the moment, unconcerned. Panicked as she was, with the scene flashing in her memory with every stride, Lulu thought only to flee from the Academy, unable to calm herself until she was safe at home.
Attention to all students. The Academy’s campus will be closing early today at noon. Classes and club activities scheduled for after that time have been canceled. Local authorities strongly recommend traveling in groups and going directly to your homes. If your pokemon are injured…
“Sabrina! I knew you’d be here so early~” Lulu giggled as she sprung into the room. Her energy was consistently impressive in the mornings, and today was no different as she approached where her classmate regularly sat in the lecture hall. “Good morning! I actually had a weird question for you…”
Sabrina had been immersed into a small book of notes, her stoicism beamed into the pages even as she was spoken to. She appeared unbroken from her focus when she replied to Lulu, “You may ask.”
“So… I’ve been trying to do research online,” Lulu began in a nervous giggle, “b-but I’ve never owned a computer before, and I think the school’s computers are… bad. The internet runs so slow! But, I remember you mentioning you had the internet set up at your house…”
“I do. And so you wish to visit to make use of it?”
“Err…” Lulu anxiously held one wrist behind her back. “Yeah, m-more or less. I also thought we could study together, heh, although i-it’d probably be more of me learning from you…”
Other students that filtered into the room passed by the conversation with glimpses of interest, only because it was so rare to catch Sabrina talking to a fellow student. Even then, she had returned to silence, apparently paused while still sifting through her notes. Lulu twitched, but curiously tilted her head, “I-If today’s a bad time, then maybe--”
“Today is fine.” Finally, Sabrina turned away from the book, sincerely looking up at Lulu standing in front of her desk. “Sorry. I don’t have company often, so I may not be a good host.”
Lulu stuttered over this unexpected development; an apology from Sabrina, and a genuine admission of a flaw, took her by surprise. She nodded excitedly, “I-It’s no big deal! I’m easy to entertain~ I’ll come by a couple hours after campus closes!”
Sabrina nodded and instantly put her gaze back into the book. Lulu, meanwhile, waltzed onward to her desk and prepared it for the upcoming lecture. Her smile was maintained up until she was sat down and assured that Sabrina was still turned towards the front. She stared into the back of her head, into the darkness of her long hair. Between them was the vacant seat that Jaclyn would claim, had she not been feared to have gone missing.
That encounter at twilight had not been forgotten by Lulu. It was a memory she could not escape from, which drove her mad over the course of the night. She dared to call the authorities and clue them in on her suspicion, inform them of what she saw happen before her eyes, but she was scared. She felt watched, that glare of Sabrina’s haunting her and every action she took, to the point she doubted even herself. Perhaps, Lulu had thought, it was all a mistake -- a hallucination, dreamt up by her and her overly-curious interest in the missing persons.
But that doll, and Jaclyn’s transformation into it, was an obsessive focus that inspired Lulu. She had calculated the risk, but when so close to uncovering the truth, she had to confirm it no matter what. Somewhere within Sabrina’s home was bound to be that doll, and if she could find it, she could believe in herself again and perhaps bring justice to those that had been wronged.
Lulu was not so naive to appear at Sabrina’s doorstep without a plan, however. She had seen for herself just how powerful Sabrina’s psychics were, and she knew the rumors of what else espers were capable of. They could read the active thoughts of nearby minds, even hypnotize others into doing their bidding -- how much of that was true, Lulu would have to learn firsthand, but she knew that someone that powerful would have to be subdued. If it came to it, Lulu was ready, having used the Academy lab and her pokemon Gloom to concoct a Sleeping Powder pill, strong enough to surely put Sabrina down long enough to seek help. Though it was little and light, the green-colored pill sat heavy in her pocket with the responsibility it was assigned.
There was time to turn back as Lulu ascended the stairs leading up to Sabrina’s house among hills. The property was scenic with its natural inclusions, decorated with a traditional style that shined most in the gardens designed to center one’s mind. Lulu shivered as she wondered what kind of psychics had been practiced here across generations, while simultaneously impressed with the lavishness of the property.
When finally at the top of the stairs, Lulu gathered her determination and stepped up to the two tall doors. A shaky fist was raised to knock, but before she had the courage to do so, the doors opened for her, spreading inward and unveiling the central chamber of the building. It was a wide space with pillars narrowing a path straight through the middle of the room, a red-colored trail in the floor that drew Lulu’s attention up to who awaited her.
Sabrina stood with a strong, straight posture. Her head was held steady with her natural-glare affixed on the entrance; her pupils glowed with that telekinetic blue, an aura that Lulu recalled vividly enough to make her shiver. An appropriately chilling voice then greeted her, “Welcome, Lulu. I hope you can feel comfortable here in this old place.”
Lulu hesitated to reply, but remembered how a sign of weakness could foil her plan, prompting her to respond hurriedly. “Err, thank you f-for letting me visit!” She swallowed, racing to keep the conversation afloat and hide her suspiciousness. “Don’t worry -- you live in such a pretty home! I’ve been fawning over everything actually, heh…”
Sabrina watched Lulu enter with unblinking eyes, and once she was past the doors, they were closed again telepathically, kicking a flinch into Lulu’s pace. Sabrina turned and guided her deeper into the home. “My residence here is only temporary for school,” she remarked. “This was my family’s summer home, which had no purpose for many years until it was convenient for studying at the Academy. A staff maintains the property; I simply make use of its facilities.”
The footsteps shared between the two echoed briefly in the halls as they traveled through an empty sanctum. Lulu could feel the loneliness that, seemingly, Sabrina thrived in. It created a loose and uncertain atmosphere around Lulu as she was taken down a hall; the simple path through the home was starting to feel long and winding, or perhaps that was her own dizziness convincing her of an evil energy.
“O-Oh, I see,” Lulu said. “You must have had some pleasant vacations here.”
Beyond the sanctum was a tea room, one half dedicated as a kitchen for preparations, the other designed for peaceful meetings. The calm of the space was disturbed when Sabrina took to the center, her body suddenly aglow around her stillness. Lulu gasped when a tea kettle floated in the air, followed by two cups and the ingredients. She was awestruck by the spectacle Sabrina put on, gasping when the kettle began to glow red and soon whistle to a boil. Within seconds, everything had been arranged telepathically, a drink levitated into Lulu’s hand while the other drifted into Sabrina’s.
Afterwards, when the glow ceased, Sabrina exhaled. “If I ever did, I have no memories of such,” she claimed, back on track with the disrupted conversation. “I remember practicing my psychic abilities here, but I quickly outgrew the masters and went elsewhere to hone my mind.” She sipped from her tea, all the while her back remained turned to Lulu. “The weak have always slowed me down. Each time, I step over them.”
Lulu could not drink, not while captivated with Sabrina’s touch into her history and philosophy. Admittedly, though her tone was harsh and icy, what Sabrina said was almost inspiring. She was a diligent trainer, certainly on route for greatness, but had that pursuit for power made her a callous kidnapper? An inkling of hope still gripped Lulu that perhaps her suspicions had all been wrong, the result of overthinking a matter that was beyond her.
Sabrina looked over her shoulder at Lulu. “You can take that tea into my room,” she said. “My computer is set up there.”
As if strung to Sabrina’s finger, Lulu followed along wherever she was taken, too unnerved to speak idly anymore. A lump had formed in her throat like the burden that was in her heart; none of this felt right, a gut instinct that grew worse as she neared Sabrina’s room. That door, too, was pushed open with a psychic pulse, and so the two were allowed inside. The room opened wide in all directions, a suitable amount of space for Sabrina’s rituals and routines as well as her various belongings. Lulu was pointed to the computer desk stationed in one of the corners, opposite of Sabrina’s bed. The other half of the room had bamboo mats for meditation sessions, a folding screen for changing clothes, and an assortment of shelved books and items rounding out the last corner. The windows were curtained closed, keeping the room cool, dim, and isolated. Sabrina took naturally to her own space, telepathically lowering her tea onto a nightstand.
When Lulu entered, the details of the room enthralled her. It was a glimpse into Sabrina’s personal life, which doubtlessly no other student at the Academy had the fortune of seeing. It felt forbidden to be there, regardless of Sabrina having guided her to that point. The summer home had already immersed her in a world of ESP, but in that room, she was within Sabrina’s world specifically, as though clutched tight in her fist.
“I have several reports on pokemon here,” Sabrina mentioned, the angle of her stare the only direction she provided. “You can use those as well, if they serve your interests. Otherwise, the computer is free to be used.”
Lulu removed her backpack and placed it against the computer desk, but her attention was latched onto something else. In the corner of shelves and its various collections, she felt a pull in its direction. It was beyond just a ping of curiosity of any gut feeling, but rather like her name was called and she was responding to an unheard voice. She blinked to clear her mind, but that pull persisted. Drawn away from the computer, she approached the shelves in a trance, her eyes widening upon seeing just what the wide collection consisted of.
“I’ve been collecting them since I was young,” Sabrina stated, her voice creeping up into Lulu’s ears from behind her. Clacking heels of boots neared her with just as paralyzing an effect. “It is the only recreation I’ve allowed myself to have. Their arrangement… satisfies me.”
Plastic dolls lined the shelves within a large glass box. Between them were vacant spaces only wide enough to fit another doll. They wore different clothes with a variety of faces painted onto the models, but each of them were lifeless, staring forward at the two women without a shiver of motion.
Lulu disregarded the explanation Sabrina offered, shuffling away from the shelf once she was at her side. Her eyes strained to see something else, but within the collection of dolls was one among them that struck Lulu with horror. Undeniably, it was Jaclyn, propped on a lower-middle shelf, appearing just as she had that evening before. Lulu’s fingers twitched with the want to reach out and take her, but she restrained herself, remembering the importance of her mission.
“Th-This is… q-quite the collection,” Lulu finally replied, still shying back towards the middle of the room. In her peripherals, she located her target: there on the nightstand was Sabrina’s tea cup, the perfect opportunity Lulu had needed for her plan to work. She stuttered back into a conversation to hold Sabrina’s attention, “S-So, what is it, exactly? I-Is this a series, or…?”
Sabrina reflected on the dolls within the glass display, unmoving while Lulu made distance between them. “A series… Something like that,” she replied. As graceful as always, she opened a pair of the display case doors in the middle. “Each doll is unique. Every face has a little story to tell, without the need to speak. It’s entrancing to study… as well as it is fulfilling to expand upon a collection.”
Though Lulu only moved the topic along as a means to distract Sabrina, the explanation she received was strikingly interesting. The tone with which the psychic spoke about her dolls was flat and ordinary, as though there was nothing deeper about the plastic toys -- that she were simply an enthusiast, albeit one that lacked an enthusiastic energy. Lulu shuddered to imagine the inner workings of Sabria’s mind, forcing irrelevant pictures and thoughts to the forefront of her thinking as she retrieved the sleep pill from her pocket.
“They… definitely are u-unique…” Lulu said -- the capsule was between her quivering fingers, hovering above the cup of tea. She blinked; “Uh… wh-where do you get them from…?” She bit her lip; “I-I’ve never… seen anything like them before…”
“Lulu?”
“Huh?” Lulu rose sharply in a flinch, her fist coiling tight as it was hidden behind her back. “S-Sabrina? You say something?”
“Lulu…” Sabrina’s back was still turned to Lulu, not having changed at all since the last glance of the psychic. Only then did she face her stoicism onto her, her natural glare capturing Lulu despite the gap in the room between them. She lifted a fist slowly up towards Lulu in a point, then turned that fist upwards. The fingers uncurled -- there in her palm was a singular pill, its distinct green color leaping at Lulu once revealed. Sabrina’s stare was steady all the while; “Will you explain what this is, Lulu?”
“Y-You--!” Lulu gasped and her hidden fist clenched tight. Her teeth jittered from shock upon discovering that the pill was gone from her grasp, no longer to be found as her fingers fumbled all around for it. She maintained appearances, keeping eye contact with Sabrina unbroken, but her gaping mouth and shivering demeanor spoke against that lie. Her tongue stumbled to reply over the confusion, “I-I don’t-- Wh-What is that? Wh-Where did you get that, Sabrina…?”
Sabrina was paused to respond, and her body was just as still, keeping the pill at the center of attention. Her eyes closed alongside a gentle exhale. “Lulu… You very well know what this is that I hold. I am aware that you’ve created a sleeping pill to subdue me. I am aware of all the reasons you have come here.”
These words pushed at Lulu like physical forces, urging her to back away -- at first towards her backpack, but then directly to the door, deciding to abandon her belongings. Indeed, it had already come to that, having to plan her escape from the summer home, but Sabrina’s words were so captivating. The question stuttered in her mind, but Sabrina heard it as if it were from her lips--
“Then why did I allow you inside? That’s what you want to ask,” Sabrina stated, with precise accuracy. Her fingers curled back into a fist, mercilessly squeezing the pill until it was popped into its powder form, sifting through her grip. “I was allowing you the opportunity to reconsider, Lulu. But despite those chances, you have failed to understand your place beneath me…”
Lulu mouthed an argument, or perhaps an apology, but it went unsaid. Deciding against begging, she pivoted to the bedroom door and dashed to the exit, forgoing anything she would have to leave behind. Her feet pounded against the traditional floor in a rush, but that drumming abruptly ended as she reached the door. Lulu stopped and backed into the room with an arm to guard herself -- it made no sense, but outside the bedroom was Sabrina, whose march inward pressured Lulu to retreat like she did. Lulu frantically looked behind her, back to the gallery of dolls where Sabrina last was, before she had seemingly teleported with her psychic powers.
“Unfortunately, I cannot allow you to leave,” Sabrina elaborated. “Truthfully, I had no qualms against you before today, Lulu. Had you remained quiet with what you overheard yesterday, I would have let you be as you were. Your decisions made here have left me with no choice, Lulu. Obviously, if I were to let you leave, you would notify the police, and that inconvenience would disrupt my training. There’s nothing more I detest than being delayed from growing in power…”
The speech seeped into Lulu as she cowered back towards the bed, but she ignored the conversation, thinking only of how to get past Sabrina. Every plan was painfully second-guessed in an attempt to out-think a mind-reading opponent, resulting in hesitations upon hesitations, until finally she acted. “Gloom! I-I need help!” she stuttered, but when she reached for her pokeball, it was gone -- all of them were, along with the belt they were kept in.
Just as with the sleeping pill, Lulu’s belt had vanished into Sabrina’s possession. She held the belt by one end in front of her, dangling it for Lulu to see. In an instant, she had been completely disarmed, and once Sabrina was content with that horrified realization, she lazily tossed the belt behind her into the hallway.
With the foot of the bed blocking her from backing any farther, Lulu collapsed forward onto her knees. She raised her palms in a sign of caution, to slow Sabrina’s wickedness. Tears dotted her eyes as she stammered, “Pl-Please, Sabrina, this is crazy…! Y-You don’t have to…--! I-I can keep quiet! I won’t tell…!”
Sabrina confidently stepped deeper into her room, but in a position that kept the exit secured from Lulu’s leap. There was a faint aura around her eyes, present when she actively sorted through the ongoing thoughts of another person. Lulu could begin to feel as much within her skull, the sensation of finger-like entities creeping in her mind, deciphering the information of her thoughts.
“... Your body begs, but your mind wonders,” Sabrina said of Lulu. “Subconsciously, you admit that you will not be able to leave here. You’re challenged by that unanswered question: Why do you do this to people?” Lulu winced at how pinpoint Sabrina’s telepathy was, selecting the exact words that ran through her mind. “I want you to first know that I am not cruel. I do not target innocent people. In order to pursue power to my fullest capabilities, I must rid myself -- and my world -- of all distractions. Those that annoy me or pointlessly oppose me are unamusing obstacles; they are worthless the way they are.
“It is why I bestow upon them a better role within my life.” Sabrina turned only slightly away from Lulu and towards the display case of dolls. By reaching out with an open palm, she levitated one such doll from the gallery and into her grasp. Lulu instantly recognized that the doll chosen was Jaclyn; again did her fingers burn with the desire to reach out and grab her, but Sabrina could not be challenged. “This is the fate of those that distract me. Whether it was adults that underestimated me, mentors that failed to increase my power… or rivals that imagined they could compare themselves to me…
“Killing them would be too unjust,” Sabrina continued, now holding Jaclyn with both hands. Her handling of the classmate was gentle, moving the arms and legs by their joints, gently stroking the threads of a hairstyle with a thumb. “Violence easily overtakes power from the individual that brandishes it -- like fire. By transforming these annoyances into dolls, my passions remain tempered. Controlled. I and only I can make them normal again, and so they are allowed to live in this state, thinking over their decisions, mentally chasing the possibility I may finally change my mind, and change them back, if they change their thoughts.”
“... Th-They’re… thinking…?” Lulu kept glancing between Jaclyn and the other dolls. Each rotation served to sicken her more. “A-Are you saying… she’s… still alive…?”
“She is conscious,” Sabrina specified. “It is only her body that has the properties of a lifeless doll. I’ve done nothing to her mind…” Sabrina looked up at Lulu, then raised the doll in a point towards her, boasting how the doll lay limp in her fist with its constant smile. “Allow me to share her thoughts with you, since she has so much to say.”
Lulu shook her head while the rest of her form stiffened. Initially, there was no effect, but whispers gradually crept into her hearing -- not her ears, but directly to her brain. It was a chilling sensation, but it paled to the panicked voice that could immediately be recognized as Jaclyn’s: Do something, Lulu!! Help me!! Lulu!!
“N-No! No!” Lulu barked back, clasping her hands over her ears in vain. “Wh-What kind of sick joke…?! N-No, th-that can’t be…!”
Acknowledging Lulu’s fear-based denial, Sabrina proved herself by nonchalantly tossing the Jaclyn doll over to Lulu. It was a rare example of Sabrina not using telepathy to move something, instead forcing Lulu to catch Jaclyn into her arms. Merely holding the doll sent mad shivers down her spine, but with it in her possession, the thoughts broadcasted to her became clearer, sharper, and depressingly more lifelike: D-Don’t drop me!! Lulu, wh-what’s she doing?! J-Just-- You gotta go!! Take me and leave, please!!
“J-J-Jaclyn…!” Lulu sobbed, repositioning the doll to be held more carefully in both hands. It was terribly uncanny to have a classmate in her grasp, a plastic replica of a friend that evidently contained her actual mind. And that mind roared with endless pleas for help, constantly begging Lulu to be saved.
After only so long, Lulu spasmed and released the doll. She heard the distinct gasp and shriek come from Jaclyn as her perspective plummeted to the ground, striking the floor lifelessly. Jaclyn raved, Wh-What are you doing, Lulu?! What happened?! No, d-don’t leave me with her again…! I-I want to live, Lulu, y-you have to take me away from here!! But Lulu continued to edge away from the doll, trembling from that voice projected into her head, until Sabrina finally cut the connection.
With doing that, Sabrina also reclaimed the Jaclyn doll, hovering it through the air and back into her hand where the head bobbed backwards over her knuckles. “As you can tell, some of my dolls are not grateful for how I preserve them,” she explained. “In this form, they are kept safe and clean under my care. Yet they will still exert their mental energy yearning for escape.” After scanning Jaclyn’s body once, her haunting stare turned to Lulu. “For those too stubborn to accept their place, I can always assign them a new purpose -- a more definitive fate.”
Lulu was helpless as Sabrina kept her attention squared onto the Jaclyn doll, that psychic aura enwrapping the figure. Though Jaclyn’s voice could no longer be heard, Lulu could still vividly imagine her frightened reaction as a strange, new effect took place. The doll was transforming again, just as bizarre as the first time it occurred, flattening into the form Sabrina willed her to be. When the transformation was complete, Lulu was hesitant to believe what Jaclyn had become: a cookie, baked into the shape of the Academy student, frosted with details that perfectly depicted her qualities.
Sabrina examined the cookie with the same cold gaze as always, keen to turn the treat around in her fingers so that Lulu could comprehend. “If existing as my doll is so unbearable, it makes the most sense to convert their being into nutrients for myself,” Sabrina continued, her words keeping Lulu in suspense. Though her handling of the Jaclyn cookie was delicate, she teased putting the head against her lip, as soft as a kiss, but a warning of something more. It drove Lulu into twitches to see her friend brought close to that mouth -- to being devoured. “Jaclyn stood against me and dared to challenge my power. This should be a suitable use for her then… Digested, turned into fuel that will only make me stronger…”
Lulu shivered to her knees, bowing her head low but never unable to break away from what she observed. She prayed that Sabrina might hesitate, reconsider, but when the psychic revealed her front teeth, her head turned upwards into a dominant angle, her breaths blowing away dust of crumbs-- Lulu’s arms sprung forward, “Don’t! D-Don’t eat her, Sabrina, pl-please…!”
The scene was still. Sabrina held the moment by the throat, keeping Jaclyn pressed to her lip while Lulu begged. The silence persisted even after Sabrina submitted, lowering the cookie to chest-height and focusing her stare on Lulu. Eventually, the Jaclyn cookie was transformed again, back into a Jaclyn doll that was dangled by its wrist in Sabrina’s fingers. Lulu, bowed deeply like she was, was slow to learn that Sabrina had changed Jaclyn’s course, stumbling into gasps of gratitude when she saw the plastic figure again.
“... I prefer keeping my collection extensive,” Sabrina said. “Jacyln can perhaps still entertain me like this. I will keep her… just as I will be keeping you, Lulu.”
“S-Sabrina… I promise…” Lulu swallowed, crawling on her knees closer to Sabrina. “Please, I won’t tell a soul, I won’t tell my parents, I-I just want to-- Nngh… N-No…!” She pushed to move closer, to beg right up to the psychic’s feet, but she was prevented. Her body stiffened, refusing to move as easily like it should -- not only her legs, but her arms and her neck, a sensation that was spreading all over her. “S-Sabrina!!” In that gasp, Lulu tried to jump to her feet, but could only jitter upwards, nearly stumbling onto her face as balance was drained from her. The effect was terrifyingly unmistakable, that her being was transforming into that of a plastic figure.
The world dizzyingly shifted outward from Lulu’s perspective. Swirled in both her head and stomach, she struggled just to conclude that she was shrinking, just as Jaclyn had a day ago. Everything expanded around her; the bedframe, the computer desk, and of course, the tormentor herself. Sabrina was most imposing of all as she seemingly grew larger, her confidence all the more intimidating as her already-notable height had now increased to something inhuman, taller than the biggest known pokemon. Her paralyzing gaze was constant as it followed Lulu’s diminishment like routine; she expected the usual flails of resistance, how the pleas for forgiveness turned silent as the throat became plastic. Sabrina was unmoving, and so too was Lulu, transformed completely into a doll of her exact likeness.
Lulu appeared lifeless laid out on the floor, but her mind was nothing but. Frantic thoughts strained to make sense of what she was feeling, but everything was different as a doll. She could not scream, or vocalize at all; she could not move or shiver in fear; her vision was locked to where her head was aimed, tilted on its side, left to gawk sideways at Sabrina -- only her boots, the lowliest part of her. Lulu imagined she could be no more belittled than she was, until those boots jumped towards her, one at a time leaping at her in footfalls that crossed relative swathes of distance. Sooner than she anticipated, Sabrina was upon her, looming overhead and out of sight, though her presence was so substantial as to feel as though she was standing on Lulu’s doll form.
What’s she doing? Lulu feared. Sabrina, please! C-Can you hear me?! This is so wrong… This isn’t how it was supposed to be…! Wh-What are you going to do?! S-Sabrina!!
Her mind stuttered when Sabrina crouched onto her haunches, bending done to retrieve her from off the floor. Lulu’s instincts sparked at her to run or resist, but in this shell of a body, it was literally impossible. All she could do was observe as the world warped around her, her body lifted up straight and grabbed by the sides as a giant fist enveloped her torso. In the air like this, her body felt lightweight, substanceless -- genuinely just a toy held in Sabrina’s grasp, studied by huge and curious eyes. That emotionless glare had always felt piercing, but Lulu truly felt impaled by the way she was looked at, now experiencing firsthand the immensity of Sabrina’s power.
But that stoicism broke, if only for a fleeting moment. Lulu witnessed it, and she assumed Jaclyn and all of her other victims did too, whenever they were first retrieved by Sabrina. She smiled, a flicker of happiness, a glimpse of that satisfaction she cherished. Sabrina was proud of herself, willing to express that joy for all but a quick second, and only for an audience of one.
Welcome to the collection, a voice rang in Lulu’s head like a thought of her own. It was Sabrina speaking to her with telepathy, invading even this final bastion of her humanity. Lulu mentally shouted in response, but it had no bearing on Sabrina. She continued, You will play your part as a plastic toy. You have no choice. You can only control your acceptance of this fact. Whether you deny it or not will change nothing. You are my doll, and you forever will be.
Lulu wished to squirm and kick to release herself from Sabrina’s hold, but no amount of will would move her limbs. She was carried to the display case where a dozen more dolls stared back at her with stale, smiling faces like her own. Jaclyn was put back into place first, situated into a seated posture on a ledge, carefully left there so that she would not tilt. The other dolls in that row were then rearranged to create a space beside Jaclyn -- a slot for Lulu to be placed.
As she was carried forward into the gallery, Lulu was turned to face Sabrina. Her heart ran rapidly underneath that uncaring glare -- or at least, she imagined her heart drumming. She pleaded with Sabrina, I promise!! I wouldn’t tell anyone!! Change me back, Sabrina!! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Yet coldly, her begging went ignored as Sabrina fixed her into position, eventually content with the arrangement and backing away to see the full view. Lulu still screamed for forgiveness, even as the glass doors were clicked closed, officially imprisoning her in the doll display case.
Sabrina crossed her arms as she meditated over her collection, a rare softness appearing in her eyes. She sighed gently and lowered her chin, “Now that everything is taken care of… perhaps I can start a bath, and finally relax.”
That final word burned Lulu when it was spoken -- that Sabrina could relax and rest after cursing two of her classmates into dolls. She was a criminal, misusing her power to kidnap people all throughout her life, never questioning the morality of it all. To Sabrina, this was such a natural expression of her superiority that it did not shake her to be looking over Jaclyn and Lulu and all the other victims, the collective of which mentally trembled in her presence, uniformly fearing their master.
All together, the dolls watched as Sabrina unbuttoned her top and proceeded to undress completely. Lulu was stunned by the scene, falling quiet for the first time since becoming a toy. It was no performance that she saw, but an ordinary routine played out by a calm, unassuming woman; Sabrina stripped out of her skirt and leggings, never once itched by the audience before her. That calm continued as her underwear slid down her legs and her bra fell from her chest -- entirely naked, Sabrina’s confidence was overwhelming like a wave. Her body glowed with perfect qualities; it drove Lulu insane how these natural gifts so unfairly stacked in her favor, that Sabrina was not only an incredibly skilled psychic, but a bold and beautiful woman that did not need to boast to appear better than anyone else.
Sabrina stood close to the glass case for several moments, pushing her collection into silently wallowing beneath her. They certainly were gawking at her crotch that was level with the lower shelf, or impressed by her rotund breasts hovering just above the display. Wordlessly, Sabrina then turned around, her bare ass swaying in front of the crowd as it bobbed away in strides towards the bedroom door. As she exited, the lights were flicked off, casting the collection into a dark loneliness that all would grow accustomed to.
But Lulu, fresh to these horrors, continued to weep. Unsure if she was even still heard, she begged. It was all she was capable of doing other than dreading her existence; Please, Sabrina, please…! Reconsider! Let us go!! This game has gone on long enough…! I-I’m scared, Sabrina, please… It can’t be like this… It can’t… W-Will you really do this to me?! Is this what will happen to all of us?! Is this seriously going to last forever?!
Stillness. Silence. And then, in the back of Lulu’s head, a chime of a youthful giggle. From where she lounged in a hot bath, Sabrina had answered her. Yes.
An investigation for the missing Academy students resulted in no evidence or leads. Without an explanation to their absence, the mysteriousness of the pokemon world was given the blame to shoulder. Though Jaclyn and Lulu would only be remembered in the Academy in the notes of a dreary memorial, Sabrina excelled through the ranks, graduating as a top student with the opportunity to become the Psychic-type gym leader of Saffron City. She would reign as a ruthless leader that Kanto trainers feared, her pursuit of power eventually possessing her.
And even after she was freed from what haunted her -- capable of laughter and loving the family that missed her -- she would still keep prized in her room that glass gallery of smiling dolls.