Why us? (Pokemon fanfic)

52- It will be okay

~Kathrine's pov~

I watched the security monitor with dull eyes, hiding my inner emotions from my underlings as I watched my daughter sleep. Though she was seemingly peaceful, I knew she wouldn't last long, her mental statuses showed her anxiety had spiked and her amygdala- that is, the centre of emotion (especially fear) in a human brain- was working in overtime causing both her fight and flight responses to try and trigger, both of which Emma had to constantly fight off. The Audino who had served as Emma's nurse over the past few weeks was milling around the room, sending off reports of Emma condition which would be filed with the data gathered from when Cyrus had gotten into her cell.

Although that was an accident, it had provided excellent data. Her powers actually work in the opposite way as expected. Normally, the core of her powers was full of life, burning brightly at the centre of Emma's being - pure and untouched by the temptations of evil. Normally when Emma felt threatened, the fire would burn brighter within her, ready for her to defend herself if she needed, last night however, it had dulled down the near embers, practically nonexistent. It was clear that Cyrus caused Emma's emotions to react abnormally when threatened, most likely from the lingering trauma of her childhood which would confuse and hurt her mental scape.

Sighing deeply, I considered putting the Audino back in it's cage until it was further needed but quickly decided against it. I doubted Emma would sleep on her own and the Audino did provide some kind of support for her as Emma had grown close to her over the past few weeks. I'd restrained myself from ever threatening the Audino while around Emma, she already had her friends and Pokémon to worry about, doing the same to her 'nurse' may cause Emma to push her away and refuse medical treatment when she needed it, such as now. Emma was to guarded to let those she didn't trust or was was concerned for near her, let alone tend to her needs.

I sighed, tapping my pen against my clipboard, reading over the notes I'd taken. There was no way Emma could continue with any more tests so I'd have to use the previously accumulated data to figure out how to best maximise her potential without over doing it and risk killing her in the end. The whole thing was an exhausting process, for more then just Emma, and had required a lot of money but pulling a few strings and brainwashing a few hundred people into my grunts had given the results I'd needed within a manageable budget--

"So, how's my little nemesis doing?"

Again I sighed, glancing at Shadow out the corner of my eye. "She'll live." I replied, looking back down at my 15 year old daughter through the monitor. "Several fractures and breaks in her rib cage but that's about the worst of it..."

"I see..." His tone gave away nothing he was feeling, though that was common for the Voice of Darkness. "I would be correct in assuming Cyrus has been dealt with?"

"That is none of your concern." I replied sharply, hoping to discourage further questioning in that area but knowing that Shadow was possibly the only person I could fail to intimidate - though Emma would be fairly close to the same point if it wasn't for the fact I had her brother and friend to use against her rebellious nature.

Shadow smirked, amusement cleaning in his sharp blue eyes. "Isn't it? I do remind you, within a few weeks - days even - Emma is mine and I would like her in one piece."

Raising an eyebrow, I didn't question what he wanted Emma for, simply accepting the fact that Shadow wouldn't tell me anything on the matter. Though I wouldn't argue my concern on the matter, Shadow was the darkest being in the universe and had thousands of years of experience doing justice to his name. Emma on the other hand, while the purest bing in the universe, had trouble simply keeping herself together at this point. "Cyrus has been locked out of any area Emma is in and prohibited from being in the same room as her without proper supervision."