Edward felt a pang of sympathy as he looked at his Q.
Q was his first Pokémon, gifted to him by his father, Joseph, on his tenth birthday. Without hesitation, Joseph had given him a Mimikyu that was a descendant of a Totem Pokémon.
This caliber of Pokémon could be considered at least 3IV, naturally making it stronger than its peers.
However, for reasons unknown, Q's voice was much raspier and harsher than that of a normal Mimikyu.
If a regular Mimikyu's voice could be compared to a first-rate singer, then Q's sounded like an off-key performer at a karaoke session.
This peculiarity made Q less sociable, preferring to cling to Edward most of the time.
It was this very trait that led Edward to cast Q as the lead in a horror film. Knowing that Ghost-type Pokémon derived satisfaction from frightening others, Edward hoped the role might help Q overcome its insecurity.
Q perched nimbly on Edward's head, warily observing the unfamiliar people below.
There was an enticing aroma emanating from them, making Q stir with curiosity.
"A fascinating story!" A balding man suddenly slammed the table, startling the others in the meeting room. Immersed in the script's climax, they were caught off guard and nearly jumped out of their skins.
Amused, Edward noticed one girl instinctively covering her mouth after her scream, faster than anyone else.
Edward smirked. It seemed the character of Mary Shaw was striking a nerve already.
In the script, Mary Shaw's presence wasn't significant in the beginning, with most of the story focusing on the male protagonist and the cursed puppet. The real horror unfolded later, with Mary Shaw's entrance escalating the tension.
"Relax, Mary Shaw won't leap out of the script," Edward shrugged, reassuring his spooked team.
Their reactions bolstered his confidence. If seasoned professionals could be unnerved by just the written script, the final cut might leave audiences too terrified to even scream in theaters.
How much terror value could this movie generate? The thought was exhilarating.
"Boss, there seems to be a second ending in the script?" Gold asked. While reading, he'd noticed faint signs of edits near the conclusion, hinting at another possible ending.
"There is," Edward admitted, lifting Q off his head to rub its little noggin.
In his previous life, Dead Silence was a well-known horror classic directed by James Wan. What many didn't know, however, was that it had two endings.
"Right now, you've seen the first ending: the protagonist returns home, only to discover that his father is a puppet, and his stepmother is Mary Shaw's perfect creation. Realizing this, he screams in horror before meeting his end," Edward explained, petting Q as it eagerly eyed the humans before it.
The aroma grew more tempting.
The room remained silent, partly out of respect for their boss, but also out of curiosity about the alternative ending.
"In the second ending, the protagonist returns home and discovers his father is a puppet, but this time, the stepmother knocks him unconscious," Edward continued.
This version was unique.
In it, the stepmother harbored resentment toward her husband for causing her to fall down the stairs, possibly leading to a miscarriage. Possessed by Mary Shaw after unearthing the puppet, she develops a twisted maternal attachment to the protagonist.
It's not a romantic affection but the yearning of a barren woman longing for a child. She even forces the protagonist, her puppet husband, and his deceased wife into a grotesque family photo.
"At the moment the photo is taken, the protagonist screams while his wife's mouth is stuffed with a cucumber. When the photo develops, the protagonist has become expressionless," Edward elaborated.
"The stepmother then recounts Mary Shaw's tale and how to deal with her, ending with a shushing gesture as the movie fades out," he concluded.
The staff exchanged glances. Compared to the first ending, the second seemed less impactful.
Gold, however, had a different opinion.
"So, the protagonist ends up as a puppet like his father?" he asked.
"Exactly," Edward nodded. The second ending filled some plot holes and added a deeper layer of horror. The seemingly alive protagonist was revealed to be a puppet all along.
Gold nodded thoughtfully. The ambiguity of this ending was haunting in its own right, but it lacked the visceral terror of the first ending.
"Alright, now that you've gone through the script, what are your thoughts on shooting Dead Silence?" Edward clapped his hands. A script was just words; the real impact would come from the film itself.
Edward needed this movie to complete his initial task and unlock his cheat system.
"What's the budget for this project, Boss?" The bald man asked cautiously, rubbing his hands.
Edward scratched his head. While he loved movies, he'd never made one before.
"Would this card be enough?" Edward pulled out the bank card his father had given him.
(End of Chapter)