Forsaken

[Kutie Pie]

Encyclopika: Thank! Lol, I don't see how it was intense, but in further chapters it pretty much does. (In fact, I'm going to have to PM you part of a chapter to make sure it really didn't get too out of hand for the rating.) And I just enjoy writing out Deoxys' dialogue. I do not have his mindset, but for whatever reason, while writing out his character it... makes me feel dirty xD. But he's so enjoyable I can't help it...

Anyhoo...

The last part of this chapter gets a bit... I wouldn't say disturbing, but it's a bit unnerving, I think it is. A little heads-up there.

Enjoy! Everything becomes more serious and dark from here-on out.

(Lol, this first post ends weird xD. Presumably my fault.)

*~*~*~*

Chapter Seven: The Fall of Mew

“As faith for the future faded fast
He grows strong with their displeasure
It sets him free”
-- “Deceiver of Fools”, Within Temptation, “Mother Earth”

*~*~*

When did he begin to love her, the first heartbeat of unadulterated emotion? It was so long ago, he can no longer remember the date or month. Not even the time of day, though he suspected it was the nighttime, he got that feeling of déjà vu when she was under the moonlight—she glowed with familiar beauty. All he remembered of it was she was there, just there with him.

She was always with him. They contemplated a few times to travel together, but something would always come up to cancel it. The biggest issue was her being the Tree of Beginnings' guardian. She wasn't allowed to stay away from it for very long, a few days at most. It would call her back after so many hours until she grew ill from withdrawal and had to leave. While she welcomed him, the Tree didn't. He had a feeling it never liked him. Mew tried to convince (even trick) the Tree he was a harmless visitor, yet he was rejected every time, sometimes through physical force. When it was apparent he wasn't allowed inside, they had no choice but to accept that little fact the Tree was off-limits. Mewtwo brushed it off when it was final, he was used to it. She verbally apologized about it, but he let it go, even requesting that she'd forget it and move on. So she did without a complaint.

Though when he once asked her why she was so bound to the Tree, she quickly corrected, “I'm not bound to it, it's not like I'm a prisoner. We just have a special connection is all.”

He knew she was lying, he was good at picking out the lies from the truth. She was never excited about answering any questions about the Tree, and it always seemed to upset her in some way. But it was in her nature to answer anything that came her way no matter how sensitive the question. It was how he knew only Pokémon were allowed within miles of it. Humans only knew about it from legends as very few had actually seen it, or even stepped foot on it. But according to Mew, a drop of human blood or aura within its territory (how she once defined it) would make it defensive and its white blood cells rampaged until the intruder was disposed of. How, she didn't know, and Mewtwo felt it was best they didn't know. He doubted it tossed them out like he was. The topic was eventually dropped.

It was on one night he brought up a question he wasn't sure about. He heard of it in many cities he visited, but there were so many versions of it, he wasn't sure what the right one was. Even the signs of it were different. Some were more subtle than others, and then there were those that did not deserve to be mentioned of whatsoever. It was a curious topic he was sure she would know about. “Mew,” he inquired of her, “what is love, exactly?”

His suspicions were correct. Her smiles were usually very big and toothy, giving her the impression of innocence. The smile she gave when he asked was soft and dreamy, it matured her appearance greatly; a side of her he never saw before. “Love has many meanings,” she replied rather happily, a hint of a sigh in her voice (which threw Mewtwo off even more). “Over time, though, people abused it so much, it lost its value and became just another word to throw around. But every now and then, I'd hear it used correctly.” Her eyes closed, the smile unfaltering. He could have sworn she became pinker. “But in general, it means to show affection, or that you care for them very much. You would do anything for that person. The three common categories love falls in is with family, friends, and couple relationships, unless I'm forgetting something.” Her lips pursed at the thought, and she frowned briefly.

“Friendship is love?”

“A type of it, yes, but most people don't think about it that way. Possibly because it makes things awkward or something.” She shrugged, giggling. “I don't see a problem with it. I always tell my friends I love them, some more than others.” Mew then looked over at him, and he flustered a little at the gaze. “Even my guy friends.”

He felt what might have been a blush, one that she duly noted, “Pink looks good on you, Mewtwo.” Quickly, he created space between them, turning his back on her. She only laughed. “I'm just teasing you, get back here!”

“No.”

It only made her more giddy. “Aw, come on, you know I don't bite! Much.” (His eye twitched at the memory.) “I was only making a compliment, it really was about time some color came to your face.”

“I have color.”

“But not that much.” He felt her scoot closer when he refused to budge. When her tail accidentally brushed with his, it involuntarily flicked away. She didn't seem to notice. “Grays I don't see as technically color.”

“Lavender.”

She blinked up at him with those wide eyes he promised himself he would never fall for (unless she got them teary-eyed and sparkling, it always worked somehow). “Is it really? You're always in the dark, how was I supposed to know?”

“You were not supposed to. I myself do not see it as a 'technical' color.” He raised a brow when he glanced over at her, fighting a smirk.

Mew got the joke, but decided to make a big deal out of it. “Hallelujah, the wall made a funny!”

“...what?”

She just shrugged. “Did you want me to call you a gargoyle, or a vampire or something?”

Sometimes, he wondered what really went through her head, if her way of speaking ever made sense to her. It always did bother him for some odd reason, so most of the time he chose to ignore it. When he remained silent, she turned her attention back to the city. For a time, the two sat there on the roof of the skyscraper, enjoying the view. Mewtwo would lose interest easily and look elsewhere, usually at the stars if they were visible, though there were some clouds moving in, making it worthless. The lights were too garish here compared to the last city he visited. That was the thing he didn't like about large cities, they were too bright or fancy for his tastes, if not the occasional sound of violence. Mew managed to talk him into sightseeing this particular one. She claimed something interesting happened over the city at midnight, but time came and went, and nothing happened. He would have left had she not clung onto him and pleaded with him to wait a little while longer.

He hated it when she got her way.

His thoughts wandered again, and he went back to the whole “love” topic. Her answers made sense, but one still wasn't felt like it was ever answered. “So... if love means to truly care for someone, then what is the meaning of 'true love'?”

Mewtwo swore she sat straighter than she normally did and froze up. Her tail lay limp behind her, and her eyes looked like they glazed over. She began to wring her hands in a nervous way. “Well,” she started off slowly, “it usually ties in with fairy tales when it comes to a princess being freed from a spell of sorts because a prince kissed her, though I think it's the original way to say 'soul mate'. Personally, I don't see it that way. It's more like a... uh... gosh, I don't know.” She chewed on her lip thoughtfully. “I had the answer when I was young, I just never reflected on it a lot. From what I can remember, it's what you feel in your heart. It probably differs from person to person, but... A lot of these stories always tell you to listen to your heart, that it's always right. And some people have said it as well. So I suppose when you find someone you truly care about, that you'd do anything for, and you truthfully feel you want a future with that person, and you know the two of you will be happy... I guess that's true love.” A flush of embarrassment came on her cheeks when she gazed up at him. “Sorry I didn't have the answer. I'm not really a big romantic.”

He just shook his head assuringly. “If it makes sense, you had the answer.”

A weak chuckle escaped her, and she rubbed the back of her head. “That's true. Thanks.”

He couldn't help smiling a little.

Suddenly, the city blacked out beneath them, and a buzz of clamor reached their ears, as well as a few honking and screeching of tires. Mew relaxed when she didn't hear a crash. “Ahh, something must have happened at the power plant,” she sighed heavily. “I swear, this wasn't what I kept you here for.”

“Actually, to be honest, I prefer it this way.”

“You're on a roll, Mewtwo, cracking jokes and whatnot! You and me, we'd go places.”

“I have a better chance of becoming popular with the other Legendaries.”

“Whatever, you know I'm always ri—oh my gosh, look at that moon!”

Mewtwo rolled his eyes at her short attention span before looking over to the silver orb above them. It was a favorite pastime of his, one of his many reasons why he chose to wander the shadows. He found sanctity in its gentle light, a familiarity with it. He understood its decision to rise after the sun, the important purpose it held with the world. There was a pleasant beauty to it that couldn't be captured any other way but with sight. It was a shame very few people chose to look at it, and then only a small handful favored it. That was one of the things he wanted Mew to understand about in the early days of their acquaintanceship. She accepted it well, and as time went on, found herself falling in love with it. There were nights they didn't speak at all and just gazed up at the moon. Those were really the only times he tolerated having her around. Any other time he wished her gone, or just refused to speak to her.

But somehow, Mew understood all of that, and they became friends. He would just never admit it.

And the thought made him remember her comment minutes earlier, making him redden once more. Why'd she have to say that?

He tilted his stare down at her, and he paused in wonderment. There was something different about her that he couldn't put his finger on. Was it the way she looked up at it with a far-away gaze to her eyes, envisioning herself in a fantasy she would always blabber on about? What about her posture? She looked reverent, more mature being in the presence of such majesty. Or was it the way the lunar rays hit her at an angle where it was like she was the one letting off the light from her halo of moonlight?

Like she was Lady Luna herself.

Mewtwo was finding himself lost in her eyes, the newfound beauty he never knew existed within her. She was far from the naïve being he knew her as. It was like she grew up, a woman if he dared call her that. He wanted to reach out and touch her, to know if her fur felt like the warmth of moonlight, or if she was ethereal as such and only slipped out of his fingers. A part of him was afraid to do so.

But it wasn't afraid to look at her. In a way, it felt like it was the right thing to do.

She looked over at him, her eyes matching the color of the night sky with the moon as her highlights. He lost the ability to breathe. And when she spoke, he drowned in her words. They weren't in a language he understood, yet it spoke to his heart. She drew closer, raising a delicate hand to his face...

She surprisingly punched like the dickens.

“Sorry, Mewtwo, but you were in a trance, I didn't think anything else could get your attention!” he heard the apology. “You need your ears checked or something?”

He groaned, rubbing his face and blinking down at her. The figure was gone, it was only Mew raising a questionable brow at him, backing up a ways to give him space. In a way, he felt disappointed. “I think you broke my nose,” was his response when it throbbed.

“Trust me, I punched hard enough to give you a bruise. What happened to you? You wouldn't stop staring, and then you started... closing in on me.” She frowned, taking in a slow breath. “Was there something you needed to say?”

Mewtwo didn't remember ever moving a muscle. He only shook his head as he leaned back, barely noticing the lights had returned to the city. “I think I just need more sleep,” he bluntly remarked. “I have not been able to for a while, actually. I should go to Cresselia about that.”

Mew looked a little uncomfortable, searching him carefully. He was pretty sure she knew he wasn't telling the truth. Even then, she didn't show it, and only let out a small, quiet breath she had been holding, turning away. “You probably should,” she softly gave her agreement. “Since you mentioned it, I might as well turn in for the night. I'll get cranky if I don't.” She lifted herself from the roof, avoiding his eyes. “Sorry I kept you here longer than needed. I guess it only happens on weekends or something.” With a small wave, she flew off. It was a gesture not like hers, but Mewtwo dismissed it as her being tired.

Secretly though, as he watched her leave, he wished she stayed long enough for him to explain his reasoning. But something in his heart told him she wasn't yet ready, that he needed to give her time.

For how long, he didn't know. He was just willing to wait for her.

*~*~*

He took his time to wake up, slowly pushing himself off the ground. He massaged his temples when a slight headache thumped. There was something strange about the way Mewtwo recalled that memory. For the past week, he dreamed about Mew either through memories or fantasies. Honestly, he was a bit grateful it wasn't a continuation of the other dreams he refused to reflect on, though he knew it was something like a prequel or prologue to what it would eventually become. He had heard somewhere dreams were a representation of desires, fears, memories, or even warnings. Maybe his recollection of the past was trying to tell him something?

But what about the others? Ever since Mew began to reject him, he's had rather vivid dreams about that day and beyond. Then he started to forget the touch and scent of her until a week ago. She had made no attempt to push him away, even when she shivered beneath him as he kissed her. If he wasn't mistaken, she waited for him, nevertheless it was possible she was still in denial about it all, so she moved at the last second. Or maybe he did, he couldn't remember. Even then, he could have tried again when he had the chance had her rapid heartbeat not stopped him.

As did his.

The very moment they touched, his bodily instincts readied themselves, sensing, smelling her own desirous want enticing him. The passionate, erotic exhilarations were present: to feel all her touches, to savor each gasp of breath, moan and cry of pleasure, and to memorize every inch of skin as they cleaved together. Every virginal taste of her body would have belonged to him, to be his forbidden fruit. She would have forever been his under the moonlight.

His heart knew that when their flesh made contact. The intimate closeness still proved too much for the both of them. He never wished to ever force himself on her, he didn't know why he would want to. It was just when he breathed her in, his mind went wild as his mouth watered, and he licked his lips, which only aroused him more. So hesitantly, he regained composure and walked away. She gave him her breath and a salty kiss, it was lasting enough.

He left her alone, wondering if she ate the Lum he handed to her. She had not eaten all that day, and she was thin enough as it was. Another reason he threw away his chance (as minor as it was). She wasn't in good condition for such a thing. The possessive lust that ran through his veins didn't catch that, nor bothered to. It was so strong and rekindled with every thought, he wouldn't look at her for over twenty-four hours as a precaution. He didn't want to find himself latched onto her in front of everyone, or anywhere in particular. He couldn't remember if he ever slept that night trying to keep her out of his thoughts. As the fires of passion ached with every throb, he was glad to rid himself of it. Never again did he want to feel that impression, it almost took over him.

The two hadn't spoken again nor sat by each other since, though now and then through the week he'd steal a glimpse of her. From what he was able to see, Mew wasn't looking too good. No one was, in general, but in comparison to her, everyone was doing well. He wondered if she was skipping meals again, or was losing sleep. There was also that possibility she was putting a strain on herself to forget that night. He couldn't blame her for wanting to, he felt hints of sexual urge rush throughout her body. It was an unnatural emotion he knew she would never feel in her life. Mew would never lust after anyone when all she knew was love.

Thinking about it further, Mewtwo wondered if he was responsible for putting those thoughts into her head. After all, a being whose heart never felt a pure emotion could only have the corrupted version. There was always an opposition to all things, and there was no such thing as a fence-sitter when it came to emotions. If he didn't know love and compassion, then he must have known lust and hate. Two powerful notions that if fed could overthrow their opposites. After hanging around human societies long enough, it was all he was exposed to. And when Mew began spending time with him, her innocent being was a magnet to his dark heart. Slowly, he sapped from her until there was space enough to transfer his qualities over. Being new to them, she tried to fight them off, but grew weaker from resistance. It wouldn't be long now before she would submit her will to them.

It disturbed him. He hoped—prayed that wasn't the case. Such dark emotions couldn't have affected her, she was so pure. Always she said “Love is stronger than hate”, and he believed that. How is it then his hate was stronger than her? And wasn't he positively sure he expelled it from himself after finding peace?

Something painfully twanged inside, but Mewtwo wasn't sure if it was his heart or stomach. However, a sharp, quick pain stung through his head, convincing him he should stop thinking about such horrid things. What was passed was past, there was no room for brooding over it.

Ho-oh had eventually stirred awake and was heading for the forest to do his morning schedule. “Hey, Mewtwo,” he mumbled groggily as he walked by. “Sleep well?”

He made himself shrug, ignoring the headache. “Somewhat.”

“Good, good...” And he disappeared into the trees.

Suddenly, something sparked to life in his mind, remembering he had been wanting to ask him a question for a while now. And what better time than now? Stumbling to his feet, he hurried after the phoenix, reaching out a hand to tap his wing. “Ho-oh, before the day goes on any further, I have a thing or two to ask.”

Raising his brows questionably, the Sky Guardian craned his neck to look behind. “What is it you need?”

Mewtwo couldn't lie to himself they weren't rather embarrassing, maybe personal questions. It took him a few minutes to figure out how to word the first one. “How... long do you estimate before we... start the first, ahem, procreation process?”

Judging the peeved-off look in his eye, it was possible he was asked that dumb question a lot. “I keep telling you lot that it will depend on how well the planet recovers,” he growled softly. “I roughly estimate ten years or more. Don't ask me again.”

“I apologize that you have been hearing it lately, I honestly do not pay enough attention to anything anyone ever says to you.”

Ho-oh grunted. “'Pology accepted, what's your other question?”

Biting his lip, the psycat rubbed at his arm. Had he been more awake, the phoenix would have been concerned about his behavior. “It... it is about Mew.”

“What about her?” he nonchalantly said, not meaning to in the least bit. They stopped by the lake, and he bent down for a drink and to wash his face.

How to word it... there were many questions he wanted to know about Mew he would ask himself, but with her keeping as far away from him as possible, it seemed unlikely she would answer anything. Mainly, he wanted to learn a little bit more about the species he was based off from. He felt there was something about it he was quite positive Mew wouldn't like to talk about anyway. So he went with the thought that had been bothering him for a long while. “Well... okay, this is more about her—our specie, but... are they, I mean the Mew specie, naturally so innocent?”

Shaking the water from his facial feathers and wiping it from his eyes, Ho-oh immediately replied, “Everyone is naturally innocent, that's what being a child is all about.” (Now that he was awake a little more, he could answer faster and better.) “But there are some who are so sheltered from the general world, they remain in that state of mind longer than others. The Mew specie just so happens to be one of them. At least they used to be, at one point. It was when the people who revered them so loyally started learning more about the world and became part of it that they were influenced by it.”

“People worshiped them?” Why hadn't Mew mentioned it before?

“Every Legendary at some point or another was worshiped, that was really the only reason we were even called Legendaries.”

“I figured it was our strength and special attack.”

“That too, but humans are fickle when it comes to that. Anyway, the Mew specie are carefree enough they take after a lot of customs of their admirers into their lives, interestingly enough. It's a weird topic, I don't understand it much myself, but that's what they've always done. So when their beloved human neighbors were assimilated into the world, so did they. And many of them learned more about human nature than they were supposed to know. It scarred them, and thus every generation was exposed to more and more as the years went by.”

Mewtwo frowned. “Did they... take in the world's customs eventually?”

“Some, but not all. As naturally naïve as they can be, they all are very intelligent, and can tell the difference between good and evil. Sometimes.” A slow, grave sigh puffed out of his beak. “Then the boundaries between the two got grayed. Before long, they had to do something really terrible before they knew they had been going in the wrong direction. By this time, though, the people who respected them took on the idea of sacrifice, and thought for a time blood of a native human or Pokémon would please a Mew. Those ruins in the Amazon used to be beautiful places until the main room became the sacrificial chamber. There's an altar there where'd they lay the person or Pokémon on and kill them, sometimes in front of a live Mew. When it was apparent it wasn't appealing to them, they went ahead and tried other Mew in hopes the bloodshed of their own kind was better.”

Sick flutters grew in the psycat's stomach. He knew humans were cruel to kill Pokémon, but to sacrifice them as such, even those that were beloved, was treacherous. “What did the Mew specie do?”

“They scattered themselves across the world, of course.” Ho-oh shrugged. “It was a mistake they'd soon regret, as they steadily inched closer and closer to extinction. Mew—the one we all know—was one of the last known to survive childhood, or to even be conceived. She was born a little over a millennium ago, which was when it was believed her specie finally went extinct. I suppose to help preserve her kind, she was granted immortality so she wouldn't die so easily. A Mew can live to be about a hundred or so years, by the way,” he added to the side. “Her mother was probably only ten years into her sexual maturity when she died. It devastated her to be left alone like that, but by that time, she had learned enough to survive on her own. The year or two when she reached the maturity age, can't remember, Arceus gave her the opportunity and she took it.”

“It does not explain her natural innocence.”

He let out a solemn sigh, shaking his head. “Mew lost that when she was originally mortal, her childhood wasn't a very good one in the first place. She just saw immortality as a way to 'get away' from cares of the world and decided to be happy... okay childish, in a way, but she eventually became happy once she went around helping people. But every now and then, she chose to be serious. You already know about that.” Mewtwo nodded. “Everyone has secrets, Mewtwo, secrets they try to hide by being someone or something they're not. With the goal in mind to make the world a better place, Mew figured all she had to do was be happy and be a beacon of hope to those she aided. It worked for a while, but everyone's past haunts them from time to time, and it eventually caught up to her. She tried to sleep it away, but...” He waved his wings around slowly, side-glancing over at the clone. He had an idea what he was referring to. “...yeah, you get the idea.”

“How do you know all this, Ho-oh?”

In a gesture that bodily said “My God, Mewtwo, you're killing me with these questions”, he simply stated, “She came to talk to me about it no more than a few centuries ago, I suppose. She needed someone to spill her guts out at without going insane, so she chose me. Needless to say, it took off a lot of weight on her shoulders.”

“Until now.”

Ho-oh just nodded, then placed his wings on either side of his hipbone. “Tell me, Mewtwo, why are you so concerned about her? Ever since you agreed to take care of her some months back, it's like you've developed a closeness with her.”

Mewtwo couldn't help snorting, brusquely crossing his arms. “I screwed it up trying to make amends with her, and now she wants nothing to do with me.”

“You want to tell me what happened?”

“Why should I?”

“Because I told you about Mew's background. Might as well cough it up right now.” He then leaned forward, smiling teasingly. “Denial is always the first sign you're hiding something.”

He dropped his arms with a scoff. “Then tell me what it is I am hiding,” he challenged, “because maybe I do not know what it is.”

“Oh, I think you do, Mewtwo. I've seen the way you look at her.”

“Great, now you are starting to sound like Scyther. What is it with everyone getting on my case?”

“What Scyther?”

“From Mount Quena. That is where Mew and I stayed at for two months, and he said the same damn thing you just said. Just worded differently, mind you, but it was the same concept!”

The smile of the bird's looked creepier the broader it became. “And? What did he suspect?”

Mewtwo gawked at him like he had gone demented, in which case he might have some time ago. “This is pointless,” he huffed, turning around to leave. “Why did I even bother?”

Ho-oh stepped in the way, staring him down. “Mewtwo, I don't care if you Teleport away every time I come up to you, I will keep asking you the same damn thing he said until you answer me. What happened?”

For the first time in a long while, he felt uneasy in another's presence. It was one thing to be forced to express a form of emotion, or to at least say everything. He looked back in the phoenix' eyes like a child would look at his mother after being caught doing a wrong. His throat sealed up when he tried to speak, making him wish he could just tell him telepathically and get it over with. And Ho-oh was always true to his word, he was going to keep pestering him about it if he walked away. Breathing deeply and standing straight, he quietly, but boldly as he dared, responded, “I committed a forbidden act.”

It caused the brows on the Sky Guardian to rise, but no other signs of movement were seen. “What forbidden act?”

The empty feeling inside pounded against him, desperately telling him to keep his mouth shut, that he didn't need to know. But his heart pressured him on since he said it. There was no turning back now. “I told Scyther... that I am a hybrid of sorts, half-Mew, half-human.” Ho-oh briefly nodded. “I said man manipulates other living beings to fulfill their own desires. And as I am not a native-born of this world, I feel there are certain... qualities given to God's creations that are kept from me, because I am of man.” The words were finding themselves easier to come out, it was keeping himself calm that was difficult. He was consciously aware he was trembling in place.

Ho-oh lowered his head a little. “Continue. What did you do to cause this separation?”

Closing his eyes, Mewtwo bit his lip before whispering, “I kissed her.”

“Speak up, Mewtwo.”

He looked up at him, emotion steadily growing in his voice. “I kissed her, Ho-oh. I may have started it, and she finished it, but the fact of the matter is we kissed. As short-lived as it was, we felt something there. I looked at her, and she looked back at me, and in that moment, something happened between us. It was like I could look into her heart, her soul, and see who she was. And she was broken, there was nothing left of her that I could recognize. But i-it just... it was begging. What was left of the innocence that was there, it was dying... dying with her. She was... she would have died had I not... I-It needed me. She needed me. I... I could see it in her eyes... that sadness I just cannot forget. It was so beautiful... I do not want to forget...” His body shook so hard, he dropped to his knees, tears blurring his vision. “Everything... e-even after what she had nearly become, sh-she was still beautiful. I still continued to watch with the space between us, and then... I realized she had changed...”

What was wrong with him? What happened to degrade him like this? The pride that kept his emotions at bay, to feel when he wanted to feel, was it destroying him? Maybe he just went insane at long last, or was so drunken off his many words, he didn't know when to end. But it felt good. His only regret is not revealing this to Mew, to see her reaction to it all. It would have been delicious.

He shot his gaze back at Ho-oh, now so delirious with his emotions, he didn't care or even realize he was spilling his heart out, every word that was piercing him greatly. “She is no longer that childish being, Ho-oh! Do believe me when I say that she went through many changes, that she has become a woman! Human concept, I know, but her mindset now is the maturity of a woman's! I see it in her, I have seen it in her, a-and it is the most heavenly thing I have ever seen God give to a creation! And you know me, why are you giving me that look like I went mad?! I am being serious here! You know I have questioned God for so many years, asked Him what purpose I have, why it is He allowed me to live, an abomination that is to forever be a constant reminder of man's sin. So what have I done to deserve looking into her soul like that when it was not my right? That right belongs to the mate who will take her as his own, and I violated it! She is not my mate, she has never belonged to me, and never will! Yet why do I suffer a lovesick heart where every thought of her sends a coarse amount of emotion through my veins? Why can I not be happy for her—which is ridiculous, what should she be happy about?”

Mewtwo took in slow, shuddering breaths, massaging his temples, and not feeling relief from it. “Even now... I tremble because of her, especially... after what I nearly did to her. Oh, Ho-oh... had I not been selfless, we would have—no, I would have committed a terrible transgression, it would have been all my doing. Had we gone through with it, it would be possible she would be with child, though I should know better than to think that, I have no such ability. B-But she would have been mine, I could feel it. And she felt it, too.” His head then ducked, fists clenching as he attempted to choke back his sobs. “...I love her... so I left her a virgin. That much I can give her. I will love her... but she will not love me... because of what I am...”

[Kutie Pie]

She did not deserve it. So why...?

The more he gazed upon her, the more he fought with himself. What possessed him to even feel sorry for Mew? Better yet, what did he do while she was depressed besides visiting and hoping she would respond to his presence? She had not spoken a word the entire time then, all she did was stare lifelessly. He would have exposed her to bright light and she wouldn't have blinked. A few times he moved her around, even dragged her outside the Tree. Same reaction. Desperate attempts to bring out some form of response were all in vain, and Mewtwo had eventually given up and left. He would then wonder why he even cared in the first place, and tried not to think of her well-being.

Almost an entire year passed by, and there wasn't a single day she did not cross his mind. As much as he was pressured by some unseen force to see her, he refused, trusting that others would do it for him. As revealed at the conference, only a few of her closest friends were anxious enough to, and they did little for her. The hand supporting her head slightly curled.

So... out of self-conscious guilt I agreed...

Mewtwo snorted a little at the thought, studying her tense posture. The more he stared, the more he realized she was more than a shell of her former self. It was like she had lost her soul, but her body remained alive. The body was deceiving, the healing lake water only mended the physical being, not those of emotional and spiritual scarring. And all of a sudden, he couldn't blame her. Something had happened some time ago. As much as he wanted to find out just by easily probing her thoughts, he respected her privacy too much. When she's ready to tell him, she'll come to him.

...since when was he this concerned about her? Was it their friendship over the years, her acts of kindness finally paying off? Was his view on her different now than it was a year ago? Did she change into a completely different person? Why was he seeing her as broken, now that her innocence had been stripped from her?

He flinched inwardly at the swarm of questions muddling up, realizing he himself had a change of heart. All that time he denied her friendship was him trying to hide his true feelings. The idea of him, a heartless clone, being friends with her was almost laughable. But the thought of almost losing her because of his pride and negligence disturbed him. Time probably wouldn't be as merciful the second time. If there was a way to have peace with her, he needed to do it now.

Mewtwo suddenly noticed he had leaned forward, and was paused inches away from contact of flesh. A curious thought had stopped him, asking what he saw in her. What was making this moment different from before? It could be her breath was warm, her lips pinker than normal. It was an accomplishment. Her complexion was returning, looking healthier. She was in a state of relaxation, slowly releasing her tension.

“She is a woman.”

There was something natural about the way he answered it, like the title was meant for her. And in an odd way, she was one. She no longer had a hint of childlike qualities to her, neither in physique or her aura. She's stronger, but with weaknesses. She's not a goddess, but a woman. And she was beautiful.

Almost hesitantly, he closed space between them in a chaste kiss.

Mewtwo finally let loose, breaking into sobs and allowing himself to cry. “I-I am so stupid,” he croaked. “I did not think it through... but it felt so right at the time! A-And I did not want to disturb the peace... the peace that she was feeling with words... she had not felt peace in so long...” His voice cracked, and he gave up speaking, resorting to tears.

Despite her attempts to forget it ever happened, he knew it was bothering her, they were growing mad from it. He admitted it to himself he couldn't get her off his mind, couldn't bring himself to blot out that spark of innocence he brought back to life. But he had to blame something, and he blamed the other half of himself he knew would most likely have played a part. Correction, he hated it, and it only grew. When he snapped at her, right then and there, he wanted to confess his reasons, to tell her that he had a purpose in the world, and it was to be with her. He would have kissed her again, not caring that everyone was watching or if she would have mauled him for it. Whatever had happened between then and his return to Mirage Island had only caused more dismay, and she bit him out of self-defense. (He touched the area on his arm where he knew the wound was, secretly cursing Arceus for taking it away from him.) The look in her eyes when they made first emotional contact in a while was heartbreaking. She didn't mean it, it wasn't even her that bit him. Something else had made her, whether it was from her madness or another side of her brought to the surface. He had been meaning to verbally forgive her for it, her accusation just hit a nerve that kept him silent about it. Indeed, he became more of a human than he wished to be.

The previous week... it was so different from their first kiss. He tried for tenderness, and instead upped it a notch. It was too passionate, even when he missed and grazed her jaw. He would have tried again, but it had already made its mark. His much-hated human side had taken over, replacing the comfort of love with carnal desires. Had he gone ahead and kissed her again like it wanted him to, she would have lost every virtue she held dear just because he wanted her that night. It took all his willpower to keep himself from thrusting her against the tree, even more so when he felt it rising inside of her as well, the strong scent of pheromones from her body, almost on purpose, crying out to him. His heart knew best, and he obeyed it, angering his lust. He suffered a whole day and night's worth of withdrawal from her body heat like a drug addict breaking a habit. There was no doubt she went through the same ordeal. The more he thought on it, the more Mewtwo's heart bled.

Ho-oh, the whole time, silently watched him break down at his feet like a sinner confessing to the Father. It wasn't like him to weep about it, let alone show any other strong emotion besides rage. The situation, sentimental as it was, made him uncomfortable. He didn't know what to do, for one thing, the second being it just felt... wrong for him to know what was going on in Mewtwo's head the whole week. This was personal, more intimate, Mew should be the one in his place. Everything being poured out at that moment was to be hers to hear. So gingerly, he gave his insight, “Mewtwo, you should not be saying all of this to me. I'm not Mew.”

“She will not let me near her,” the psycat barely breathed out through his tears. “Not after what I did.”

“You don't know that.”

“I do know that! You have seen what happens when I walk by without saying a word to her! She is afraid of me!”

The phoenix bowed his head a little. “Well, maybe she doesn't know what to say.”

Mewtwo let out a dry laugh. “Of course, why did I not see that before? Mew has grown shy around me, and thus she cannot find the words to tell me her feelings and must only resort to body language. How romantic! It is true actions speak louder than words!”

“Mewtwo, I have never seen you act this way before, and quite frankly, it frightens me.” He reached forward, and with a little effort forced him to stand. “You are an intelligent being, how can you lower yourself to this?”

“Oh, like many intelligent beings, human and non-human, have not gone through what I am going through,” he snorted, swiping the tears away, and sending an accused glare at Ho-oh.

Feathers bristling a little, he reasoned, “Of course they have, it's a part of life! We have been made to be attracted to one another in the idea that one day we may have children! What are you looking at me like that for, what, did I word it wrong or something?”

Mewtwo's face had cringed sourly at his statement, then refused to answer his question. Rolling his eyes, Ho-oh resumed. “Look, the point I'm making is that we all find love at some point in our lives. But unfortunately for some people, and they don't recognize this until it's too late, this love they may feel for someone turns out to be nothing more than a farce. They use this person to quench their thirst for a body, then move on to something else. They may claim this is love when in reality it's lust. This is more apparent in some more than others, but it happens in everyone. It's up to the person to judge themselves and question why it is they're in love with this someone, what their motivation is for staying together. A relationship can only remain strong if the couple supports one another, to equalize, and have good communication with each other. And they must recognize what is it that attracted them together, and hold true to that, unless it's something entirely bogus and must attempt to figure out what it really is that's keeping them together. Am I getting off topic?”

The psycat shrugged. “You went from love and lust to good relationship advice. You tell me.”

“Oh, for God's sake, Mewtwo, just... just go talk to Mew, and don't give me that same emo crap about her not wanting anything to do with you.”

“Why, Ho-oh, did I hear some common slang from you? I thought you were above that.”

The Sky Guardian stood there frowning unhappily at a smirking Mewtwo. “You're a smart-ass,” he grumbled, turning around and heading further into the wood. Then he looked back and pointed at the campsite's direction, “Go make yourself useful and prepare breakfast, or find Mew and talk to her. And that's an order.”

The moment he disappeared into the trees, the clone did as he was told, returning to find only a few other Legendaries had stirred themselves awake. It was disappointing. He noticed Mew wasn't to be found, presumably gone to prepare herself for the day. An unconscious sigh escaped him, which caught the attention of a passing Darkrai. “What's the matter with you?” he wondered, looking him up and down.

He made himself unsure of it all. “I do not know. I suppose I did not sleep well last night.”

The phantom chortled. “Mewtwo, I would have known if you tossed and turned. Something's bothering you.”

Mewtwo had almost forgotten that even as a mortal, Darkrai still had the capability to feel uneasiness pulsing in the air. He stared back, trying to picture his days with Cresselia and wondering if he could trust telling him about his thoughts. Who better to ask for advice than someone who had been through it all? But he held back those questions to try brushing him off. “No, really, I am all right. I just... had that feeling today was not going to be a good day.”

“Yeah, I felt that, too. The spirits have been a bit restless the past couple of weeks, so I figured something was coming up.”

The psycat blinked. “You can still see them?”

Darkrai half-shrugged. “Eh, sometimes. I suppose I lost some of it, but every now and then I'll see them wandering around. Same with Giratina, but since he's been around spirits longer than I have, he sees them more frequently. But most of the time, I just feel their presences.” He then leaned forward, his voice almost dropping to a whisper. “You have been noticing that, right? The world's quieter and less distracting now, surely you've felt them.”

“Why, has everyone else reported that?”

“Pretty much, but only Mew verbally brought it up that she's been seeing glimpses. If I didn't know better, I'd say she has only just seen their auras. After all, when one's learned to control the Tree of Beginnings and thus quite often involved with aura, it would make sense she'd see them. But I do know better, and I can say truthfully that she's been developing that gift. It doesn't make her a chandler, because honestly, those people creep me out, but it makes her more unique.” A small grin jutted out from behind the spiked collar. “Maybe with a little bit of experience, she might be able to talk to them. I think she might help save some souls that way.” Without another word, he drifted into the wood.

Mewtwo shivered from the somewhat-awkward impression Darkrai still would leave behind and hurried more into the campground, dodging Lugia's tail when it twitched (he swore he was working on controlling it). The longer he glanced around, the more his insides writhed in his nervousness—wait, since when did he become nervous?—to speak with Mew. He was thinking he would confess to her, but suggest they remain friends, and hopefully this inward battle with their emotions would end. He couldn't bear to see her waste away again over it.

Latias suddenly bolted him from his thoughts when she clung onto his arm. “Mewtwo, Mewtwo, come quick!” she gasped.

He turned to her, frowning at her spilling tears. “What is it?”

“Latios is acting funny! I've never seen him like that before!”

The Eon dragon was one of the few who was up, he figured he went to wash himself up. It was the urgency tone, however, that gave him second thoughts. “Where is he?”

“He followed Mew somewhere over there,” and she pointed north of Cherrygrove. “He kept muttering to himself, and he was all... I don't know, I think he just wanted to talk to her, but from what little I saw, he was trying to catch her, so she ran off and—Mewtwo?” She paused in her hurried explanation to see the clone swiftly disappear into the trees.

It was never a good thing to have a sibling report unusual behavior. It would have been one thing had Suicune said out of the blue Entei ran off, maybe even Moltres saying the same thing about Zapdos. To have a well-composed Pokémon like Latios just turn tail like that was a bad sign. And as he was following Mew, no doubt there was something going on. His heart skipped when he heard her scream in fright to the side, and he cut through to a shocking sight.

There was no way to tell how long he had been pursuing her. The trees were damaged, usually with bark or branches torn off though one had a hole blown through it, and there were scattered boulder chunks, the cause being their struggle. He arrived in time to watch Latios shove Mew into a tree as she fought back, clawing and kicking to throw him off. “Latios, what's gotten into you?!” she shouted the moment she freed herself.

A chilling, sinister chuckle escaped from Latios as he turned to grin maniacally at her. “Why, nothing's wrong with me, my dear,” he purred. “I'm partaking in my duty.”

“What duty?” she hissed, slowly backing away. Mewtwo could tell from where he hid she was visibly trembling. “We all have a duty here. What, just because you say yours is the most 'important' gives you permission to go ahead and do it?”

“And shouldn't I? If you have a dream, you go for it.”

“But what does this have to do with anything?!”

“I'm preserving the species.”

Her back hit a tree and she swung around behind when he swiped for her. “And you think by raping me you'll preserve it?”

“It's not rape, you're just playing hard to get,” he feigned a complaint.

“Latios, I know you better than that! I mean... you have a sister!”

Latios raised a brow. “Your point is?”

Mew clenched her teeth. “Why are you acting this way?” she bitterly whispered. She quickly dodged another jump for her. “Don't make me hurt you, Latios!”

Laughing, the dragon just spread out his arms in welcome. “Go ahead, it'll make it easier on the both of us.”

“What is that supposed to mean?!”

He tilted his head in her direction, the grin splitting his face. “One must use extreme measures to get what they want.” In a flash, he disappeared. She gave a gasp, barely feeling the breeze behind her before she was slammed hard into a nearby tree, crushed between bough and body. A cry was let out until a hand silenced her, and her chin tipped up when the other brushed the claws down her throat and collarbone, throwing her into shudders and a pitiful whine. He then leaned forward, and darkly jested into her ear, “The difficult, the better.”

Something inside of Mewtwo snapped when he had her pinned. He couldn't figure out what the motivation was, the emotion was there, he just couldn't pinpoint it out. Barely was he able to contain himself when he sprinted forward, snatched Latios by the neck, and ripped him off her to shove him against another tree. The Eon Legendary at the same time gave a shout of pain, raising a hand for his head and staring wide-eyed at his attacker. “Mewtwo! What are you doing? Where's the campsite?”

“Do not question me!” he snarled, bashing him again. “You keep your hands off her!”

“Gah, what are you talki—” Silenced once more with another blow.

“You cannot fool me, I saw the whole thing!”

“I-I swear I don't know what you're talking about!”

“You sick bastards are all the same!”

“Mewtwo, will you let me—ow!”

“Mewtwo, what are you doing?!” Mew shrieked from behind, rushing up to pry him away.

Enraged, he spun around and seized her by the shoulders before she touched him. “Why did you not fight him off?!” he hollered, shaking her. “You realize what he could have done?!”

Having been caught off-guard, she temporarily lost her words, dreadfully gaping at his darkened face. She spotted the familiar azure flash in his hard eyes, pulsing dangerously in time with his rapid breathing. Her only involuntary movement was a vigorous shake of the head, meaning one thing, but mistaken for another. Mewtwo resumed his outcry. “He could have raped you, Mew! Why would you allow him to do that?!” From behind, Latios' stomach clenched. Why couldn't he remember that? Then again, when did he wake up?

“H-How was I supposed to know he'd follow me?!” the tiny feline wailed, struggling in his possessive hold. “But I swear, Mewtwo, he wasn't himself!”

“Why, of course, Mew, how observant of you!” he jeered, his grip tightening, causing her to painfully gasp. “All hormonally-stricken males become aroused at the mere sight of a pretty young female and seek out pleasure with her. And a pretty female plus an empty clearing equals a moment of intimacy. They are all the same, are they not?!”

“It takes one to know one!”

He barked a laugh. “Oh, how clever of you! He was set on murdering you if he had the chance!”

“So were you! Mewtwo, ever since we had that one moment together, you've become different!”

“You need to be more specific, Mew, we have had more than one intimate moment together,” he encouraged in agitation, pressing his fingers into her arms at the word.

She shivered under the touch and sharp gaze. “Our first kiss started this mess! At least I did—yes, Mewtwo, I'm admitting I screwed up, I admit to everything! A woman needs to be honest to everyone including herself, and since I was the cause of it all, I'll be the one to end it.” Mew solemnly hung her head, arms trembling when his hands loosened. Her voice then lowered with a sigh. “You didn't mean it, Mewtwo... I believe you. I believe all of it.” Slowly, a paw reached up to touch her throat, inhaling deeply. “I wish I could... believe myself.” Then her eyes chose to lock onto his, watching the light inside return.

The two stared at each other as the tension dropped, the witness of Latios all but forgotten from their minds. Mewtwo dropped his hold on her, his frown deepening as he raised a lone hand to lay upon her cheek. She quivered at the sensitive contact, averting her gaze as a slight blush warmed under his fingertips, taking sudden, uneven breaths. Then she backed away. “I need to be alone. Please don't follow me. I-I don't know when I'll be back.” She forcibly swallowed any reasons for her demand. Turning her back to him, Mew brought herself to whisper, “You tell Ho-oh he had every right to hear it. He needed to know.”

He barely nodded before she headed off further into the wood. Somehow, he figured he would be stunned she heard his heart-wrenching confession, but he strangely found comfort in it. Her reaction was different from what he imagined, almost a polar opposite. She had accepted it so easily, he couldn't help wondering if it was bothering her a little, like something was holding her back. Mewtwo flinched when a small headache stung through, and he turned to Latios, who had remained patiently silent the entire time. He cringed at the swelling and bloody welt developing on his forehead, surprised he had gone that far. Pointing for the campsite, he said in an apologetic tone, “Let us get that taken care of before your sister sees you like this.”

Without another word, they left after the Eon dragon patted him on the back in forgiveness.

*~*~*

Why did you not spill out everything, huh? Balance him out.

I couldn't.

Was it because Latios was there? If you were alone with him, like last week, then would you have told him?

Latios has nothing to do with this.

Answer me!

“What do you want from me?” Mew whimpered out-loud, clutching her head as she unconsciously traveled through the forest.

The truth.

“Mewtwo doesn't need to know.”

Liar. You forget I know everything about you.

“Then you tell me the truth!” she hissed.

Why should I? There was a malicious smile portrayed in the genderless voice. If I said you were insane, you wouldn't believe me.

Her small body shuddered as she spun around, searching for the source. For the past week, she had tried to keep the disembodied voice at bay until she made the mistake of addressing to it when it disturbed her dreams. Since then, it accompanied her. It took all her willpower to keep from physically talking to it, and even more energy to continue looking normal. Mew couldn't remember when she last slept—well she did, her body just never felt like she was getting rest during this torment. “Who are you?” she murmured. “You're not... me, a-are you?”

Oh no, you're not this cruel, it drawled on as though it was enjoying harassing her.

She felt sick. “Why are you here?”

Same reason you are.

“You're not haunting me, are you?”

Such a mortal term. But you could say that.

A frightened intake of breath caused her to collapse against a tree, clutching herself and struggling to hold back sobs. An icy wave attacked her on both sides as her chest ached hollowly. Her fur stood on end upon realizing it felt like something reached in to stroke her heart. Almost immediately, a mental image of Mewtwo with his hand caressing her chest as he breathed over her neck burst in on its own, which in turn started to numb her. She shook her head strenuously in unbelief, knowing she didn't envision it. “This has nothing to do with Mewtwo!” she gasped out, staring wide-eyed above her.

So why bring him up? the voice chuckled.

“I didn't, something's putting these images in my head!” The more she shivered, the more passionate and realistic the touches felt against her skin.

You don't remember conjuring these up in your dreams? What you imagined would have happened had you two stayed?

How could she forget? A pitiful, muffled cry escaped her lips when the dream Mewtwo pressed a deep kiss against her mouth. She twitched against the tree trunk, begging for an end.

You never stayed asleep long enough to see the end, the whispered taunt continued as mouthed through him, hot breath causing her to shiver in arousal, and you refused to since. But now that you are alone, would you like to resume where you left off?

The farthest she had gotten before she resisted sleep... his lips had been massaging her body while he slowly guided her to the ground below him. He had fondled her tail tantalizingly, causing her to moan and plead for more. And then...

Her eyes widened and her breath quickened. “I can't!” she exclaimed, finally tearing herself away and speeding down a random direction hoping to leave them behind.

Mew had that unmistakable sense she was being hunted down, she could feel the spindly fingers stretching to snatch her. They followed her every move, easily slipping through trees, bushes, abandoned tunnels and solid rock, inching ever closer. Her mind screamed for peace when her voice refused to, body tiring from being beaten around in vain escape routes and hunger. She started slowing down, ready to admit submission and capture.

Then it abruptly paused its chase, lifting away from her.

She flew on several more feet before coming to a complete stop, crashing to the ground hard. Choking on her sobs and dust with tears stinging her eyes, Mew shakily crawled into the safety of a brown hedge, painfully heaving breaths. She lay there for rest (or death, whichever came first), adrenaline continuing to throb throughout her veins in an agonizing manner. Then as quickly as it came, she suddenly sat up and wriggled out of the brush, staring at the ivy-coated crumbling building appearing before her. Her jaw unhinged, eyes scanning about the occupied space. It wasn't the only artifact of ruin still standing, there was another identical one further away. The graying yellow of the bricks gave it a bland appearance, though the eerie, mysterious atmosphere about it made it more interesting and intriguing. And for some odd reason, she felt like it was calling her.

Slowly, but hesitantly, she lifted herself up and approached the front building, delicately placing a hand on the wall. It was gritty from age, yet still sturdy. Whatever architect designed it must have been a genius to find a way to keep their foundation strong, even in powerful earthquakes. With the palm still pressed on the rough surface, she allowed her fingers to skim along when she floated down to the end. Looking around the corner, she gasped lightly at the entrance. The sunlight peeking through the clouds was bright, richly enhancing the shadows that spilled inside. More ivy vines tangled around and hung down from their stations, purple buds developing on the entranceway. She inched for the mouth of the building only to feel a strong pull emerge from her the moment she stood beneath the arch. Breath caught in her throat, her eyes widened at the long hallway stretching to a grayed end.

Mew tried to back away, but whatever invisible force was drawing her in had already ensnared her. She then locked into her teleportation only to receive a sharp headache from it. Having no choice, she stepped inside. The slow descent into the ruin was tolerable only because of the curious hieroglyphics carved into the walls—shaped like tablets, she noted—almost like they were guiding her through with their patterns. Though oddly enough, they looked like alphabets with eyes watching her every move—

She gasped and pulled away her hand before she could touch it. “Ruins of Alph,” she fearfully whispered, glancing around nervously like there was a curse somewhere in the tunnel. “My God... how is this still standing?”

Then again, how was it all the ruins consecrated to the Unown were able to survive this long, to avoid being torn down for human development? Mew couldn't blame them if they had just bulldozed through the sacred lands, these were rather unnerving sites, though it most likely had been fabricated to scare people. There had been reports and rumors about ruins containing these ancient writings being bewitched or haunted, however, none of them proved to be true. While the occasional person did find themselves lost in the labyrinths of these unique chambers, they all had been led to an exit by unknown sources, a few even claiming Pokémon much like the writing helped them out. So scientists and archaeologists flocked to these ruins for fervent studies and hopes to catch a glimpse of an Unown, and chandlers and so-called psychics were called in to communicate with them or open a pathway to where they reside. In time, public demand allowed them to become national parks, and it raked the tourists in. A few greedy people had attempted to make a business out of it, they just somehow all failed to in various unexplained ways (though there was a report one tycoon went insane because of “one-eyed devils”). As much as they liked the behind-the-scenes attention, the Unown would sometimes grow bored of scaring and chasing them away, so they would hide away and come back out after every few decades or so.

Then, one day, they mysteriously vanished. Palkia had brought it up the moment he noticed an unbalance in space; slight, but miraculously still harmless. He visited their home dimension only to find it became nonexistent. A guess was they moved to another dimension or created a new room, but it continued to remain a mystery until their ruins slowly began to deteriorate and fall to dust. One by one, they all became nothing more than a myth, lost with the older, dying generation. The Unown were no more.

Yet somehow, the famous Ruins of Alph proved itself to be resilient to their absence and even eluded human activity. Mew couldn't see how something this large could have gone unnoticed. She knew that once a ruin was excavated, it was doomed to inevitable destruction. So it was virtually impossible for a decimated artifact such as this to remain standing even through the end of the world. Unless...

She only saw the Unown once in her whole life, but they were mysteriously incredible. Alone, a Magikarp could easily turn out victorious. Together, they had a form of ancient power that was stronger than her or any of the other Legendaries. It was believed amongst themselves they were the ones keeping the world in order inside their own dimension. Could it be possible they were still around, taking refuge and hiding away the last of the ruins? The latter thought made her uneasy as she turned and flew for the exit.

An invisible power surge from deep in the heart of the ruins constricted her before she could escape, then proceeded to pull her further inside. Mew struggled to free herself, feeling as though her life was squeezing out of her the more she fought. “No, no! What do you want from me?!” she screamed into the tunnel, half-expecting to get an answer.

Her breath then choked in her lungs, sending her body into icy shock and losing control of her well-being. As she began to sink to the floor, she was wrenched further into the dark ruins. How far along she couldn't tell, her involuntary asphyxiation drawing her closer to unconsciousness. It was a blessed relief when she was thrown into the tiled floor, the pressure on her chest lifting. She lay there gulping down trembling breaths, hardly aware of the throbbing pain to her head. Slowly, her strength recovered enough to allow her movement without the dizzying effect. Mew cast her eyes about the room she found herself in, jaw dropping.

There was little sunlight spilling into the vastness through crevices in the ceiling, but whatever it illuminated brought a quaint amount of color to the room. The inside did not match the outside walls when it came to age and hue, if at all. Everything looked like no one had stepped foot here in many years, but it did it well, like it had time to renovate itself. From what she could see beneath the ivy, the walls were a golden orange, every square inch covered in Unown hieroglyphics. Stone statues of Pokémon from ancient times were pushed up available wall, their petrified gazes pointed upward. She brought herself to levitate around to look at them, marveling at the perfect detail and at how there were no cracks or specks of dust on them. In fact, she questioned if they were really sculptures, they looked like they had once been actual living creatures, the poses were so life-like.

As she traveled further into the empty room, the more she noticed it was a simple zigzag labyrinth—if it could still even be called that. Rounding a corner, she found herself in another room. And inside, the statues had become more majestic. Mew held back a gasp, staring at statues of the Hoenn Legendaries. They held reverent poses (even that of Kyogre in mid-jump), all still looking up toward heaven like the lower prehistoric class. The detail was exceedingly fine, like the sculptors took their time to carve out every single scale on Rayquaza and Groudon, every dent and space between rock limbs for Regirock, the perfect smoothness of Jirachi. What surprised her the most was a single pedestal at a corner that held the four forms of Deoxys. Even more-so, it looked as old as its surrounding sculptures. She shivered, hurrying into the other room. The Sinnoh Legends awaited her there. Brow furrowing, she peeked back at the statue. “It must have been added on some time ago,” she tried to convince herself. “The humans were always trying to appeal to the younger generation.”

Mew sighed softly, then turned back to the other carved images. They were all there, set up against a wall or in the middle. It didn't take much scanning to know every single one was made to direct their frozen gazes to the skies. Even the Arceus statue with one front leg up had its eyes upward, to show even the Legend it impersonated wasn't above the others. After finding there wasn't another entrance, she left, quickly finding herself into the prehistoric room. There was a strange atmosphere in the ruins that was leaving her shaken up since she saw the Deoxys statue. She desperately wanted to leave, to return to camp. Taking deep breaths, she flew for the exit.

Instead, it was the entranceway to another room filled with more statues of the Legends. Gasping, she backed up, looking around frantically for another opening. The rays of light were still bright and numerous enough she found no other rooms except for those she had already visited. Whimpering fearfully, she hesitantly inched into the hall of the Johto Legends. It had to be the oldest room, covered in thick layers of vine and filled with the most light. One beam in particular was bathing a Ho-oh statue in the golden rays, bringing out the realism in it. The one of Lugia was kept in darkness, the sight sending shivers down her spine. Mew noticed the Legendary Beasts were present in all their beauty. She began to sense a subtle pattern as she moved for the other room.

Not surprisingly, it held the Kanto Legends.

But Mewtwo was among them.

Something was wrong here. Deoxys she could understand, he had brought world-wide attention to himself that made scientists pursue him for studies. Suicune, Entei, and Raikou were part of Johto's history, even though they didn't come to being until after the Ruins were deserted, it made sense they were added on. Mewtwo, on the other hand, was only known to a very select few, but they had all taken their knowledge of him to their graves. He may have accidentally made an urban legend in a city or two, but that was it. No one had gotten a good glimpse of him, so how was it a perfect sculpture of him was placed in a ruin? Maybe she was just imaging it. She had him on the brain for so long, she projected a stone image of him in the middle of the room, infinitely gazing into heaven like the others in all their godly forms.

Wait. There was one that stood out. Her eyes locked onto it, being irresistibly drawn to the oddity of it.

It was her—an ancestor, maybe, or some other Mew, she couldn't tell nor care less at the moment—the stone bust in a dark corner of the room. The detail was still there, the only difference was the head was limp, eyes facing the wall with a blank stare to them. She squinted, leaning forward for a better look. Unlike the other statues, there were no irises carved in, giving it a dead appearance. The pose was still life-like, no doubt the sculptor was talented like that, still, Mew wondered how intentional it was supposed to be. Why would every other sculpture (even that of Mewtwo's) look so hopeful, but this one so cast down? They were all formed to be like gods, yet this was as low as those of the prehistoric Pokémon? It wasn't implied to be her, so why would it appeal to her so well?

She happened to look at the wall the statue was focusing on and notice what looked to be a paragraph, the only writing on the entire wall. The language of ancients peered at her, as though asking her to read them; they knew she could. With the strangest feeling she was trapped here unless she read them, Mew didn't have a choice. She scanned through them, frowning the entire time. It was the most curious thing she had ever read, it wasn't clicking in. Slowly, she phrased it out-loud, fleshing out the words:

“Our words shall remain here for the ages, thus we shall erect a Pokémon statue outside. They possess great insight and refuse the outside world. We humans must learn to walk in harmony with them. We depart for their sakes.”

At once, the hieroglyphics glowed a venomous green, and a tail tightly twined around her, cutting off any air for a scream. She barely caught a glimpse of the Mew statue glaring at her with glowing eyes before she was tossed down through a hole beneath her. The moment she hit the floor, it quickly closed shut, torches blazing to life. Biting down on her lip, the feline shakily lifted herself up, looking about the fire-lit room as she rubbed at her arms. The temperature was the first thing she noticed, a deathly chill was in the air (as was dust she determined when she sneezed). The entire area was enclosed in, though a dark hallway behind her suggested there was a way in and out. High above her was the ceiling, the outline she could barely point out in the darkness. On the walls were the tablet-bordered lettering with additional pictures she couldn't make sense of, but thought they were familiar-looking.

Mew froze in place when her eyes grew transfixed on the mural before her, a slow intake of breath finding itself into her lungs. She hadn't seen it in many years, the last one was destroyed along with her beloved home. They all had to be copies compared to it, this must be the original. It covered the majority of the far wall where the most light shone upon, and thus it was the most detailed. She approached it humbly, having found the source of the pull, the fulfillment of a destiny she herself must perform. When she was as near as she dared, she knelt down on a cold altar, her gaze never once leaving the picture.

It was of a great ancestor, the first known Mew that started it all. The people who once worshiped her specie held a deep admiration for her, for without her, there couldn't be a broad variety of species. She was the Eve of all Pokémon, she was respected.

That could have been the reason the one tablet was taken away by the scientists when they journeyed into the Amazon. At least one of them had a degree in archeology and knew the importance of it, so they agreed to take it as inspiration, to remind them that she, a normal Mew entrusted with a daunting task, started it all. The Mother of all Pokémon. But what about the Father of all Pokémon? Where was he? Arguably, he was/had been/is in heaven, however, stories of him were twisted over time, so she was never taught about him. But as she knelt there, she had that feeling she knew where he was.

Who he was.

And who she was meant to be. What they were meant to be. It's in their DNA, they have that ability.

I'm not ready.

A hand strayed across the altar's surface and bumped up against a smooth, wooden object, fingers readily curling around it. She raised it to her line of vision, slightly wincing at the gleam the curved rusted steel gave off. Calmly, she glanced down upon where she rested, taking notice of the dried bloodstains spattered across the surface.

...even though it's my duty.

The paw holding the knife lightly placed it against her throat, almost on its own accord. You don't have to, came a gentle breezing whisper at her ear. You can end it. Someone else will take your place.

Her eyes closed shut as she swallowed. All the Legendaries came to mind, one individual at a time, watching her worriedly (even Deoxys looked concerned). Some shook their heads, others looked away. She recognized the images as memories, some from months back. Mew leaned away from the blade a little. Who will take my place?

Any one of them can, they'll move on without you. It inched back to the skin.

She repeated her action. They don't have the ability to alter genes like I do.

That's why they have Mewtwo.

Her breath caught as he appeared in her thoughts, the sight of sorrowful amethyst eyes warming her soul, wanting to comfort her... to love her. He had tried a few times, but they turned out for the worse. It wasn't his fault. As intelligent and powerful as he was, Mewtwo had no experience except from her. She reached out to him so many times, she had managed to open his heart to more emotions, more opportunities to belong to the world. While he didn't show it, he considered her a close friend. He could never really say no to her for very long. There was no doubt that if she had ever gotten into danger, he would be there to help.

Mew slowly lowered the knife, staring up at the ceiling. Could it be he was trying to return the favor, his way of showing his gratitude to her? Or... had he really fallen for her during that time? Was it possible that underneath all that irritation, he had silently looked forward to her visits? Was she the true source of his peace, the beat of his heart? When did he realize this? Why did she not see the signs?

“Mewtwo...” escaped her lips in a sad sigh, eyes gently closing. “...how long have you loved me?”

You don't need him, and he doesn't need you, hissed the voice as her hands began to twitch against the handle. End it!

She shook her head. “No... I can't...”

He's never loved you, it's all pretend!

“He would never do that...”

There's a difference between love and possessiveness.

“He loves me!” she gasped out when an arm shot out, the other raising the knife. She fought to regain control of her body, the strain bringing hot tears to her eyes. “When he asked me about love, he wanted to know if he was capable of it!”

Wrong! To corrupt emotion, you must know of it first!

Mew's pulse quickened when the edge skimmed her wrist, and she wailed, “What's going on?!”

This is how much a broken heart bleeds!

She screamed out in heartfelt agony when the blade sliced through, the dark liquid gushing onto the altar and floor. A fire seared throughout her arm, shivering in regret. She dropped the cursed weapon to apply pressure to the deep cut, only for her whole body to tremble in a cold wave of fear. The faster her heart pounded, the more blood poured out. “What did you do to me?!” she shrilled out, doubling over in pain.

A chilling laugh sounded in the darkness, causing her to weep harder. What gives you the right to know? No matter, you belong to me now.

“I-I what?” she gulped out in a whimper, and she glanced up through her tears.

On the wall suspended a shadow that had no steady base, but had a hint of what looked to be a humanoid outline. The tendrils shaped to be arms stretched for her, curling around her limbs. When they made contact, she let out another scream, struggling to pry herself away. The freezing touch burned down to her soul, nearly stopping her heart. Another cruel cackle sounded as it dove into her chest, spreading the evil vibes throughout as it started to take over. Out of an impulse, Mew shot up from where she cowered, now having forgot her mortal wound, and clutched her head as she lurched and spasmed. “No! NO! Get out of my body!” she cried out. “Release me, demon!”

Too little, too late, she realized in horror she had let her guard down too long over the previous week. The icy hands grabbed a strong hold of her spirit and forced it down an abyss to give the entity room to fill her body. The shock of losing control of her physical wellbeing left her fully paralyzed from the agonizing pain, feeling as though she was being ripped in two. With one last blood-curdling scream, Mew collapsed to the floor.

The room went silent for minutes with the occasional rasp from the feline. Then, slowly, she stirred and lifted the slashed arm to the light of the fire, eying the thick running streams of crimson. Gingerly, she leaned forward and savoringly lapped up the blood, flexing her fingers. A grin flashed across her face as her narrowed optics flared a deep blue.

From deep within her chest, a guttural, victorious laugh echoed throughout the sacrificial chamber.

[Kutie Pie]

Do take note that I have never seen a Ouija board in my life, nor do I plan to, not after the freaky stories I've heard. Some of you may have experimented with one. This is my intake on them, though I did take inspiration from a friend who once was around a Ouija board, and she said scary stuff happened. I'm not rewriting her experience, I'm just putting down my own intake for these guys. I had a good idea what Ouija boards did even when I read about them, but feel free to correct me where needed.

Hints of religious discussion ahoy! If you squint, that is.

*~*~*

Chapter Eight: Apocrypha

“Glory shows up, exposes us
I'm naked here
Forsaken here, by the dark, by the dark”
-- “In the Dark”, Flyleaf, “Memento Mori”

*~*~*

“Something's not right here.”

“Damn straight. I can see all.”

“That's because you're freakin' tall.”

“Which makes me question why we let him in anyway.”

“No, I'm not talking about that,” Darkrai scowled, looking behind into the wood. “There's something wrong elsewhere.”

Lugia “tch”ed. “You're just jealous because I kicked all your a—”

“Read and weep, pansies.”

The two dragons angrily threw down their cards, glaring at Deoxys who sat there with a calm, smug smirk. “What the hell?! This is the third time you won!” Rayquaza roared. “You're cheating!”

“I don't see how you can cheat at Hearts.”

“But somehow you did! There's no way you can shoot the moon three in a row!”

Without warning, the cards caught fire and quickly burned to ashes. The males turned to face Moltres who stood there with wings on hips, Articuno at her side. “I can't believe you guys, arguing over a stupid card game when you're supposed to be working!” she harshly exclaimed, gesturing to the remains. “Just how low can you get?”

“Damn it, woman, that was our only deck!” the Air Titan growled in a threatening tone. “You owe us!”

She scoffed, snapping her head to the side. “I owe you? What makes you think I do?”

“Because you burned up our cards!”

“Well, we're still pissed about that 'whore' comment. And we still haven't gotten an apology from you.”

“And I keep telling you, I was poking fun of this poor bastard here, it had nothing to do with anyone!”

“Can you two shut up?” Lugia grumbled, huffing away the ashes. “Honestly, we don't need another Cresselia and Deoxys rivalry here.”

“You're no better,” the Freeze Pokémon snapped, sneering at him. “If I'm not wholly mistaken, I'd say you've been trying to capture attention yourself.”

“I haven't!”

“I suppose that's what happens when you float around in trenches all your life.”

“Look who's talking, you spend your days in the mountains!”

“My reason's better than yours!”

He held up his wings to help back himself up. “You see these guns? Yeah, they don't look like much, but I can blow all your feathers and more away with one flap, honey. You'd be lucky to even be alive when I take wing all of a sudden.”

“Is that a threat?”

Deoxys let out a laugh, elbowing Darkrai in the ribs. “Oh, and you think I'm an attention-seeker,” he guffawed, shaking his head.

“That's because you are,” he frankly stated before looking back to the forest.

“Am not!” He immediately followed the phantom's gaze, tilting his head a few different angles and scowling. “Okay, what are you looking at? I mean, really, I'm seeing nothing.”

Everyone looked over as well, mirroring the alien's reaction. Rayquaza rolled his eyes. “You guys are crazy, I'm not seeing anything besides trees. Unless there's something else going on I should know about?”

“Celebi and Mesprit are doing it,” Lugia whispered to the side.

“Nuh uh, you liar, where?! I was expecting him with Mew, maybe even Shaymin, but Mesprit? God, what a pimp!”

“There's nothing there, Ray,” Articuno grunted, glaring at the water dragon.

“Dammit, Lugia, you're on my list!” Deoxys lost it and collapsed to the ground, clutching his sides.

Darkrai bit his tongue to keep from barking out something he would regret later on. Instead, he got up and floated away, heading further for the shadows close to the wood. After a quick glance to see if anyone followed suit or noticed his sudden absence, he sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Please tell me you can sense it, Giratina,” he muttered. “I don't want to say anything without some backup.”

The Renegade Legendary only remained silent, eyes concentrated further beyond the trees. He had hardly spoken a word at all that day, not since he noticed something was terribly wrong that morning. There had been an unknown presence lurking around the campsite that was keeping the spirits away from the area, but while he couldn't see it, it couldn't hide away the negative vibes it was letting off. It was up to something sinister, and he hoped to find it for eradication. Unfortunately (or maybe it was fortunate of them), he lost track of it just before Latias had made it known Latios had been acting strangely. Giratina had seen Mewtwo hurry off into the forest, and he remained vigilant at the edge, waiting for them to return. The two males eventually did—he had caught a glimpse of what looked to be a goose egg on the Eon Legendary's head—then it was noted Mew wasn't to be found. The psycat reported she needed to be left alone for a while, which only convinced him further something wasn't right. He remained in place, counting down the minutes and keeping an eye out for her.

With the exception of the occasional yell at the campsite, everything was quiet.

Even the spirits.

Having not received a response after a minute, the phantom sighed again. “What do they know that we don't? They know we can see them—somewhat. Why haven't they said anything?”

The ghostly dragon slightly shifted weight before quietly stating, “Mostly because they were selfish bastards in their mortal life, and/or they're jealous we're still alive.” A soft snort from deep within his throat sounded. “You've noticed that the only spirits still here are the ignorant and self-absorbed, right? All the good ones are long gone.”

“Yeah... but are there others?”

Giratina raised a brow, glancing over. “Other what?”

“You know... other spirits?”

A wing twitched, and he inwardly trembled when a chill went up his spine. “I'm afraid so... they've been waiting, actually.”

“For what, do you know?” Darkrai was afraid of the answer he was going to get. He hadn't felt their presences for so long, it was a wonder none of them had been a victim the whole time they've lived there.

“An opportunity.”

“What kind?”

A harsh breath blew from his snout as he turned to the cloaked specter. “They're not picky, you know that.”

Tipping his chin down, Darkrai turned his head back. “Then you might already know of my concern.”

“What concern?”

He just shrugged, but gestured behind him. Giratina raised an eye-ridge before taking a look, spotting the group of conversing (and arguing) Legendaries. At first, he saw nothing wrong and was going to choose to ignore him the rest of the day for wasting his time, until he looked again. He frowned, then counted once, twice. There were a few unaccounted for: Celebi because it was his turn with Cresselia to go across the world, Mew was on her walk, and Mewtwo...

...he was there, just further away, not talking and staring out at the trees.

“Have you noticed he's changed?”

Indeed he had. Whoever hadn't obviously never knew him. “To be honest, I prefer his moody, broody self,” he grunted out with a smirk.

“What? No, I'm not talking about that. Sorta...” Darkrai scratched the back of his head. “He seemed a bit anxious this morning.”

“About what, you reckon?”

“I dunno. I figured he could feel the change in atmosphere like we have. Did I ever mention Mew said she can see them?”

The dragon scowled. “Did I ever mention this whole time she's been gone a while?”

“No, but I already knew that.”

“Then that's my answer.”

Glad his collar concealed his lower face, he allowed a sheepish grin to spread. Oh yeah, he can sense stuff like that. “Well, uh... what do you think is taking her so long?”

Intentional or not, Giratina huffed out a disgruntled sigh. “You want to know? Whether you felt it or not, there was something here not long ago.”

“What kind of something?”

His eye glinted when it slid its vision back to the trees. “Something evil.” The word sent a chill up Darkrai's spine. “I tried to pinpoint its location, but I lost track of it. It was around the time Latias told Mewtwo her brother was acting strange.”

The Pitch-Black Legendary laid a clawed hand against his cheek in a thoughtful manner. “I found that suspicious he would follow Mew. I saw what happened, she came back to the site just to have him start harassing her for no apparent reason. I don't know why you didn't stick around long enough to see it, it was so... out-of-line for Latios to do that. Then she left, and I went about my morning business. Ran into Mewtwo, but never told him what happened, got so engrossed in wondering why he looked so worried. At least Latias told him, but who knows what happened. They won't talk about it.”

Taking another look behind them, Giratina furrowed his brows upon seeing the Eon dragon laugh, his arm around his sister's shoulders. “Hmm... that is so unlike Latios to go after Mew...” He fell silent for a few moments, deciphering information in his head. With a stern “Wait here”, he slipped away through the shadows toward the psycat's direction. Amused, the phantom watched as the renegade got close enough to Mewtwo he melted into his shadow, and snatched his legs, forcing him (but not without a fight) to stride precariously into the trees. Letting out a quiet chuckle, he followed him, arriving in time to see Giratina materialize from the ground and glaring down at the clone.

“What the hell did you do that for, Giratina?!” he snapped, returning the leer.

“Interrogation.” It was so straight-to-the-point and blandly said, Darkrai clung to a tree to keep from barreling over.

Disregarding the laugh, Mewtwo crossed his arms. “You could have asked. I would have gladly gone with you instead of making me look like a jackass in front of the others.”

“They weren't paying attention. And besides, if what Lugia said was true, it wouldn't have been the first time.” After seeing the warning flash, he immediately expressed, “We're questioning you on what happened to Latios.”

He didn't even blink. “Is that it?”

Giratina's wings twitched in a shrugging motion. “What's with the look? Did I miss something?”

“No one else has confronted us on it.”

“Well, we are now, and we want the truth.”

“Not that we won't be able to tell if you aren't,” Darkrai added. He flinched when he saw what looked to be a movement that hinted he was going to be smacked.

Raising his brows and inhaling deeply, Mewtwo replied smoothly, “Latios was attacking Mew. So I intervened.”

“Why was he attacking her?”

“From what I heard, he claimed he was fulfilling his duty of repopulating the earth.” The two Legendaries glanced over at each other in disarray. “Mew, of course, did not want a part in it, but he was persistent. She did not want to hurt him, so it was basically a cat-mouse chase.”

“Since when did Latios get it into his head he was meant to procreate, and with Mew, no doubt?” Giratina mused, frowning deeply.

“Uh... because Arceus said so?” Darkrai manifested. “Besides, Ho-oh said himself that until the planet is positively sure to heal, there isn't a need to reproduce at the moment. What makes this odd is that Latios is more of a brotherly type. He's the last person to do this sort of thing.”

Mewtwo solemnly nodded. “However, according to Mew, Latios was not himself at the time.” Much to the surprise of the two, his eyes softened and he hung his head. “I did not notice for whatever reason, I just stepped in without thinking. But I am sure that had I taken the time to...” He swiftly shook his head when the image of Mew crushed against the tree came to mind, ignoring the slight shiver running through his spine. “He was latching onto her when I snapped. He did not look like he was going to give her up without a fight, so why I easily pulled him off escapes me.”

Slowly, they both gave a motion of understanding. “You must have been enraged to cause him to get that nasty bump on his head,” the phantom said quietly.

“I was... I am surprised he did not get a skull fracture from it, or even a hemorrhage...” His grimace darkened. “I wonder if he was under some form of trance at the time.”

“A trance? What makes you say that?”

“The moment I hit him, he immediately began questioning where he was, and what was going on.” Mewtwo closed his eyes with a slow sigh. “I would have killed him had Mew not stopped me.”

Giratina then leaned forward. “Speaking of Mew, did she say where she was going?”

“GET THAT THING AWAY FROM HERE!”

The abrupt yell made the three jump and look at each other in concern. It was never a good sign when someone, particularly Ho-oh, yelled for the removal of anything. As they momentarily hurried out into the clearing, they saw nearly everyone had distanced themselves from Deoxys, who was standing in the middle carrying what looked to be a game board in his hands. From the way all eyes were gawking at it and a few shivered in place, it was not a good sign. “What's going on?” the renegade demanded.

“I just found something in town and thought it'd be fun,” the alien scoffed. “But everyone's freaking out over it.”

“That's because you're holding something dangerous in your hands!” Palkia shouted, pointing menacingly at it. “It's of the devil!”

Deoxys took a quick, perplexed glance at it, skimming the fancy font of the lettering and stenciled art that reminded him of tarot cards. “Uh... how?”

“Don't you know what a Ouija board is?!”

“Oh, is that what this is?”

“It says it right there!” Rayquaza growled. “God, are you so stupid, you're illiterate too?”

“No! I just can't read human language... Can you?”

The Air Titan “tch”ed. “Of course not, but everyone knows the name is on the board.”

“Who cares, just get rid of it, Deoxys!”

With a huff, he released his hold on the board to fold his arms. Shocked murmurs and more cringes intensified at the sight of the levitating items; Mesprit let out a frightened cry before she fell into Azelf's hold. “Oh, what's wrong with you people, I'm just using my all-mighty telekinesis.” He glanced down at the wooden heart-shaped coaster with a magnifying glass in the middle. “You know, they use these to communicate with the dead.”

“No, really?” Dialga spat, forcing a crooked smile. “I thought it was a spelling game.”

Ignoring his sarcasm, Deoxys gently laid it in the middle, “hmm”ing in thought. “If I remember correctly, when humans did it, they placed their hands on it and asked a question—hey, where are you going?” he called out to a few fleeing Legendaries.

“Far away!” answered back Zapdos, waving a wing.

“Whatever. I need a second person in order to make this work.” The responses ranged from commanding him to throw it away to obscenities. He easily shrugged them off. “You're all a bunch of wimps. You just don't want to have fun.”

“Deoxys, there is nothing fun about a Ouija board,” Ho-oh coolly expressed. “There are stories of people experiencing terrifying paranormal activity that only results in frightening or injuring the other spectators. It invites unwanted spirits in their vain attempt to 'communicate' with us, to give us false answers.”

He waved a hand with a “pfft”. “You're no fun. Besides, I was only going to ask a question or two, no biggie. What's the worst that could happen? Don't answer that.” Cracking his knuckles, he laid his hands on the coaster, ignoring a tingling sensation that immediately shot through his arms. “All right, board, I want a perfectly logical answer from you. We'll start off simple. First off, what am I thinking of right now?”

“God, Deoxys, did you have to ask that?” Suicune snorted, cautiously backing away some more. Her brothers remained in place, stupidly fascinated.

He shushed her, gaze remaining on the board as he waited, concentration etched on his face. Half a minute passed without any activity, which brought a few skeptical Legendaries to lightly laugh it off and lessen the tension. Ho-oh sucked it up to step forward calmly as he could, brows raising. “Well, Deoxys, thanks to your example, I'm torn between saying the spirits aren't responding and that we have nothing to fear because it's a hoax.”

“Oh, did you volunteer to be the second person?” he piped up with a smile. “It won't work with just one person.”

“Give me the damn board,” the phoenix demanded snappily with a scowl. Letting out a scoff, he psychically swerved it before him. Ho-oh went to tug the board out from his hold. “Let go of it, Deoxys.”

With wide eyes, the alien flailed around to remove his hands from the coaster. He went as far as to comically lift a leg to shove it away. “Um... I don't think it's letting me.” Immediately, the Sky Guardian drew his hands away like it burned him, stumbling back. “Hey, what's with you?”

Rayquaza huffed and positioned himself to smack the alien. He raised his arms to defend himself, bringing up the coaster and board with him. “I think he super-glued himself to it,” he grumbled, dropping his tail. “Nice try, Dorkxys, you didn't have us fooled with that trick.”

Deoxys grew nervous, waving his limbs around wildly again. “Wh... what's going on, guys? Why can't I let this go?”

Uxie pulled away from his siblings to take a closer look. He started to shiver the moment he was near it. “Darkrai, Giratina, are there any spirits nearby?” When they didn't answer, he glanced up to see them nod, staring wide-eyed at the Ouija board. The pixie felt sick inside and distanced himself from the Legendary. “It can't be... is it possible there are spirits wanting to contact us?”

“Deoxys, damn it, we told you to get rid of it!” Groudon growled, inching further away. “I've always known you were a catalyst for disaster!”

“How was I supposed to know my hands would stick like this?!” he cried out defensively. “Screw it, someone cut off my arms!”

No one said a word for a few moments as they stared horrifically at the stiffened hands. Mewtwo cast his vision about the group before he took a breath and went forward, paws lighting up in blue flames. “I suppose I will. It is not entirely a 'pay back', just letting you know.”

“Yeah, yeah, I don't care about that, just cut them off!”

Shrugging, the psycat raised his arms and swiped them down. From the flames came a single, curved blade that automatically sliced through the limbs with ease. The alien barely held back a cry of pain, stumbling away from the dropped Ouija. The severed hands remained glued to the coaster, grayed blood pooling beneath it. (A thump sounded in the background from where Latias fainted.) Slightly disturbed, Mewtwo averted his eyes to the now-satisfied Deoxys. He concernedly glimpsed at the bleeding stumps. “You can still regenerate, right?”

“Oh yeah, this is nothing,” he grinned, slowly rising to his feet. “The other day Giratina got pissed at me, so he poked an eye out. I got it back after a few hours.”

“Liar, I did nothing to you this whole week,” the spectral dragon sneered.

He surprisingly shrugged in agreement. “Okay, well, it happened to fast, I assumed it was him.”

Raising a brow, the feline questioned further, “Why did it take you that long?”

“I dunno. S'pose it's because I'm mortal now, so it takes lo—” He paused in mid-sentence when a scream came from Moltres. He glanced in horror at the amputated hands to see viscous tentacles crawling out of them. They rose and bolted, stretching great lengths to attach to the stumps of his arms. He let out a shout as they reeled themselves in to an appropriate length and thickened into skin. He sprouted out a hiss of curses falling back to his knees, trembling from the pain as he tried to regain control. “Oh, God, why is it so painful?!”

“I thought you regenerate painlessly!” Ho-oh exclaimed, unable to tear his vision away from the developing arms.

“That's different! I hadn't regrown COMPLETE body parts in years!”

“Do you have a skeleton?”

“...I have one... but i-it's different from yours. At least... it should be...” Deoxys gasped out when he flinched. The limbs had finished taking form, though judging from his cringing, the regeneration wasn't finished yet.

Mewtwo quaked the entire time, sensing a dark presence enveloping them, the strongest point being where he stood. For the first in a long time—if not ever—he was terrified. He didn't know what it was. All he knew was it was an individual evil being, it put his late arch-nemesis to shame, and he was the most wicked man he had known at the time. Standing there long as he did, he felt the fear from the others, though not like how Deoxys was feeling. He was suffering a mortal pain he himself had a taste of centuries ago. Will manipulation was one thing when it was through machinery, unseen entities were another, if it was trying to possess him. Darting his vision down to the board still glued to the alien's hands, he quickly knelt down and pressed his own to the coaster. Gasps were heard throughout the crowd, but not as noticeable as Deoxys'. “Y-You insane, Mewtwo?!” he choked out, heaving breaths.

He briefly met his stare. “It must be that desperate to talk to us if it is keeping you from walking away,” he coolly answered. “We have no other choice.”

Beneath their hands, they felt the coaster quiver and slide across the board. Taking a look, Mewtwo just caught the letter “H” before it moved to the “U”. The two had a hard time keeping up with it, and Deoxys ended up whimpering out, “What's going on? Mewtwo, you can read human language. What's it saying?”

Once it came to a halt, he muttered, “'Hurts'.”

“Sorry, Mewtwo, I don't have control over it.”

“No, that is what it spells.” His gaze lifted to Ho-oh. “Deoxys had asked a question about what was on his mind, correct?” The phoenix slowly nodded, unable to tear himself away from where he stood.

“Okay, yeah, it hurts now, but when I asked, I was thinking about getting one of you guys to join me.”

“Who cares, you just proved to us this game's messed up!” Rayquaza snarled, backing away for the wood. “I'm leaving before it gets even more screwed up.” Nodding roughly, he shot off over the treetops. A few others immediately followed.

Mewtwo closed his eyes and took in deep breaths. “Let us get this over with quickly as possible,” he whispered. Then out-loud, he inquired, “What do you want with us?”

With bated breath, the rest of the group watched at the two were jerked around on the board, fighting for stability. It ended abruptly, and he translated, “'Nothing'.”

“Bloody hell, is it messing with our minds?!” the alien swore. The coaster swerved to the “no” on one side of the board. “The hell?!”

“It says no.”

“Perhaps it's a poltergeist?” Entei suggested, stupidly braving himself to step closer.

“It's not,” Darkrai said, shaking his head. “It's a something, but it doesn't seem to have a physical form to be able to even move it. It can only control animate objects, that being Mewtwo and Deoxys. Their hands, anyway.”

“Well, what does it want?”

Almost immediately, a new word was being spelled as “talk”, to which the psycat announced. “About what?” Giratina grumbled, strangely planted in place.

Deoxys barked more swears and complaints trying to keep up with the sporadic coaster. Mewtwo remained silent, tensing up when it paused on the “W”. After an uncomfortable moment, it continued its whiplash reaction for a few seconds more. Once it was confirmed it answered, he scowled and questioned, “What about me?”

It slid back-and-forth once more, during which those who heard his remark began murmuring to themselves. Ho-oh, horrified and mesmerized, felt his breath catch as he mentally cursed himself for not burning the board first chance he got, and for knowing the language. Many thoughts ran through his head about what the Ouija would spell out to the feline. He knew not what a spirit was truly capable of, if predicting the future and revealing the true self of a living person didn't count. All he knew was that he didn't trust it. He saw what happened, it was going to talk about Mew before suddenly changing its mind. No good would come out of it.

Whether predictable or not, both he and Mewtwo silently strung the letters together: “You and her.”

“You leave her out of this,” the clone snarled through his teeth.

“What, what's it talking about?” Regice spoke up in full interest. “Enlighten us, Mewtwo.”

“Who did it mention?” Lugia gasped.

“Damn it, I wish I took the time to learn the stupid language,” the alien grumbled, strangely beginning to feel left out. “Come on, Mewtwo, let me ask a question.”

The coaster went to “no” in a flash. Mewtwo, in the meantime, was hardly aware of it and the growing protests as he continued to make contact. “Do not dare bring her into this. Just tell us what needs to be said and release us.” Like it had ignored him, the wooden heart spelled out “Mew”, angering him further to the point his arms shook. “I do not want her involved!”

“Uh... Mewtwo?” Deoxys timidly whispered.

“Not now, Deoxys,” he gritted through his teeth.

“Really, Mewtwo... I think you need to calm down.”

“This is pissing me off, and you are telling me to calm down?”.

“Mewtwo, negative emotions are dangerous here!” Giratina hissed, stepping quickly to his side. “Whatever it's telling you, just ignore it!”

“Yeah, ignore it and it'll go away!” Entei tried his hand on encouragement. Since Suicune had left with Rayquaza, Heatran slapped him in her place—lightly so he wouldn't cut his head open.

Growling in irritation, Groudon stomped over. “I've had enough! I'm breaking this damn thing!”

“You buffoon, you'll crush our hands!”

“Stupid, I'm going to take the board away then step on it.”

“Don't you think we already tried?”

Darkrai stepped in. “Then let's try again. I'll do it.” He reached down to pick up the Ouija board.

Azelf's eyes widened when a pricking thought suddenly materialized, and he pulled himself away from his sister to hurry over. “Don't touch it!” he yelled.

The cloaked phantom had grabbed it anyway, and a strong icy current flowed into his arms felt by Mewtwo and Deoxys. He let out a startled cry, then one of such agony that others shivered in terror. Those who were close stumbled away, unsure what to do for him. Like the two, Darkrai's hands were cemented onto the board. The coaster trembled for a moment, then ceased when the screams faded. With his head tilted back, his mouth was now easily shown as an eerie Cheshire grin. A quiet, steadily-growing chuckle started deep in his sternum, projecting itself triumphantly. “Fools, you think you can get rid of me just by breaking a worthless, but helpful instrument?”

Voices were caught in throats, and hearts skipped beats. None of them could register the soft-spoken tone of Darkai's within the naturally gruff vocals. And when he opened his eyes, they carried a look of dark malice in their depths. He was more frightening than normal. He cackled, pleased he struck them with fear. Mewtwo felt an icy sting in his chest when they locked eyes. “At last, Mewtwo, you can now speak to me face-to-face.”

“What do you want?” he croaked out, forcing himself to breathe.

“I want many things, things that were denied to me thousands of years ago because of what I am.”

“And what are you?”

“The epiphany of man. Though ironically, we convinced man we don't exist.”

“Who are you referring to?”

“You ask too many questions that I am not interested in answering,” he plainly said with a scoff, flicking his head back. “Like it is said, 'All things will be revealed in due time.' Luckily for you, this time has just arrived. Any minute now, you shall be subjected to things beyond your control. It is too late to change Fate when it had already been destined before your birth.”

A deep frown creased his brows as did many other of the Legendaries. “What are you talking about, Darkrai?” Ho-oh spoke up in suspicion.

“Silence!” the ghoul snapped, his head swerving around a full one-eighty and eyes flashing. The phoenix momentarily found his tongue bound, his vision blacked out, and hearing snuffed. Everyone else were too spooked by the sudden and nightmarish sight to notice his distress automatically. It was only when he began flailing around and bumping into Groudon they realized something was wrong.

“Hey, Ho-oh, you okay there?” Lugia worriedly asked. “What happened?”

Darkrai evilly laughed before twisting his head back in place. “He will return to normal when I am done here.”

“You monster, what have you done to him?!” Giratina roared. “Both Ho-oh and Darkrai!”

He ignored him turning his attention to an enraged Mewtwo. “Your reaction is predictable, not many mortals handle the truth very well.”

“What do you want?!” he barked. “Tell us so you can release Darkrai and Ho-oh quickly!”

“Everything that defines you, every single emotion and strength you possess, each breath you take were God-given rights all living beings are freely given. Every spirit is special in their own way. What makes yours so unique is the body it occupies, a body that goes against nature and everything sacred. God did not create your body, man did. As imperfect as you are, you have a purpose in this life, otherwise you would not be here.”

Deoxys felt energy gathering into the clone's hands, and he glanced down to see the ignition of aura around his wrists. “Mewtwo, don't listen to him. Darkrai would never say such a thing. Mewtwo, watch your temper,” he hissed out, tensing in anxiety.

He hardly heard him, too transfixed in the glare to care for anything else. Whoever or whatever it was that was inside Darkrai's body knew him frighteningly well. He began to fear the worst, but his wanting to know more got the better of him. “What is my purpose?” he inquired, the all-too-familiar words bitter in his mouth.

The smile grew smug. “You still have not figured it out? Typical, you have been denying it for so long, I find it surprising you have not gone completely insane from it.”

“Get to the point.”

“Why should I? You refuse to embrace it. What gives you the right to know? But if you insist, I will only say this: it's what you hold dear, Mewtwo. The sole essence of your existence. Without it, you will have ceased to exist in your artificial womb. But had you, you would be a whole different person. You would have become just like us.”

In a flash of pink, the Ouija board broke in pieces, cracking the coaster. The impact flung Mewtwo, Deoxys, and Darkai away, liberated from hostage. Ho-oh was returned to normal in the blink of an eye, scaring himself silly until he remembered what happened. Then he and everyone else looked up when Cresselia paused before them, sneering at the remains as she dropped a small hoard of food where she levitated. Turning to the alien, her gaze was of accusation. “What'd you do this time?”

“Oh, thank God you came, Cresselia!” he uncharacteristically sobbed, throwing himself around her neck. “I thought we were gonna die!”

She tossed him off. “Tell me without the drama, please.”

“Fine, I won't tell you,” he gruffed, dusting himself off and popping his knuckles.

The swan rounded her attention to her counterpart, confused by his actions. He kept feeling his face and flailing his arms around, blinking wildly. When he finally acknowledged her, he tightly pulled her into a hug as he gratefully kissed her cheeks. “Oh, Cress, thank you, you arrived just in time!” he wailed. “I don't know how you did it, but you did it!”

Blushing a little, she pulled herself away. “Okay, someone tell me what's going on. All I can get from this is that there was something very wrong here, I could feel it out in Violet City.” Cresselia craned her neck when she noticed Mewtwo hadn't been responsive since she arrived. “Hey, you okay?”

He silently picked himself up, shaking his head the entire time. His body couldn't stop shaking, whether it was because of his building anger or the effect the entity left behind. Whatever it was, no matter what he was going to do, he wouldn't be able to brush it off in a long time. It could see straight into his heart, knowing his every secret fears, secret desires, anything he may have buried long time ago in his attempt to start anew. To top it off, it hinted at more hidden memories, sources, whatever it was he wasn't aware of. What bothered him the most, though, was it claimed would have happened to him had things not gone differently in his past—or in events surrounding his birth. He could barely recall the first minutes of his awakening now, and he knew little to none at what had been occurring in the lab during his creation.

A hand touched his shoulder lightly, startling him back to reality. Deoxys jumped back in alarm, almost regretting his action. Blinking once, he cast his eyes about the crowd, taking in their worrisome looks. The moon swan especially, even though she most likely didn't hear a single word. He folded his arms, frowning at them all. “Why are you all so concerned about me?”

Like a wave, they all more-or-less shifted in place, unsure what to say about the situation. He couldn't blame them. To break the silence, he asked the first thought that came to his head. “Where is Celebi?”

She raised a puzzled brow, then remembered. “Oh, he needed to stop by the Ilex Forest for a little bit. Why, what's wrong?”

“Nothing really, but... did you also happen to see Mew on your way here?”

She shook her head. “She go somewhere?”

“Said she went to take a walk,” Latios recalled, a small frown on his features. “That was from this morning.”

“Maybe she's sight-seeing?”

“What's there to see?” Lugia grumbled, rolling his eyes. “Besides those creepy ruins, what'd the humans call them? Ruins of Arts?”

“It's 'Alph',” Registeel gruffly corrected. “It's where the Unown live. At least, they did.”

Then deep in the forest, they heard an indecipherable, but familiar scream.

*~*~*

Celebi paused in mid-flight to let out a sneeze. “Oh, great,” he grumbled, shaking his head. “Thanks, Groudon, you sure spread germs more effectively than the others.” He could just imagine the gargantuan saying some smart-aleck comment while proclaiming it wasn't his fault. And it probably wasn't. There had been a few Legendaries catching colds the past month, though they all knew it was bound to happen. He decided to let it drop now that he had his share of sickness. If he was getting sick, he and the others still weren't completely sure about flu symptoms. Once he steps foot in the campsite, he was going to rest and drink fluids, and he'd get better in a week. No big deal.

But were these chills a sign of the actual flu? Strange how he suddenly developed them when he was nearing the remains of Violet City. Tempted to eat some berries he had found with Cresselia, he went around the area to scavenge for himself. He only managed to find a few small ones, though he wasn't one to complain. A berry was a berry, he shrugged it off as he slowly ate them. They weren't Miracle Berries, but they were at least something for his empty stomach. Still, they couldn't slow down the shivering. However, if he wasn't mistaken, it seemed to be getting worse.

Suddenly getting the notion he wasn't alone, Celebi spun around, nearly dropping the food when he crossed visions with Mew. “Oh, Mew! Don't do that!” he sighed, massaging his temples. “Almost scared me to death. What are you doing out this far? Gathering food? Sight-seeing?”

No response came from her. He looked up, blinked a few times, then shrunk back a little as his eyes slowly widened. Her levitation was strangely tense, no part of her body was moving a twitch. She only stared darkly at him, a stare that drilled a deep hole in him with slitted pupils penetrating her blue irises. The moment he saw them, his chills consumed him completely. “M-Mew...?” Celebi glanced down, spotting the sinister appearance of blood flowing down her arm. “Mew, what happened?!” he breathed, reaching for her hand.

She remained unresponsive as he held up her cool arm for a better look. The gash was still fresh and bleeding profusely, her entire forearm a ghostly white from loss of blood. Beneath his fingers, the pulse was faint. “My God, how did this happen?! How are you even standing?! Say something, Mew!”

Her hand then twitched as claws extracted. He barely released her when she swiped at his face, slashing a deep wound into his cheekbone. The Forest Guardian cried out in surprise, stumbling away and loosening his telepathic hold on his findings. Clutching the stinging area, he made the mistake to glance back up, just catching the glimpse of a menacing grin before her tail harshly smacked him head-on. The impact sent him crashing into a tree, embedding into the trunk. He pulled himself free just as she sent a strong psychic attack, blowing him further away. Beating his wings to keep him afloat, he shot a glare her way. “Mew! What are you doing?!” he yelled, getting into a defensive pose. “I don't want to hurt you!”

A deep chuckle rumbled from inside her, her maniacal grin broadening. “That is what they all say,” Mew purred, rushing forward.

Celebi flitted to the side, spinning behind to hold her back. She immediately delivered a hard kick into his gut, then slashed the other side of his face. She shoved him to the base of a boulder, pinned him with her knees, and smashed his head against it. Black spots popped in his dizzying vision, just barely feeling the throbs of his flattened skull. She then thrust her fist beneath his ribs, causing him to cough hard enough to spew blood. Barking out a cruel laugh, she said in an odd matter-of-fact tone, “This is my first time inflicting physical pain. I have done my shares of emotional scarring, which I say is better than scarring a mortal body.” He flinched from the agonizing vibes, but went ahead to throw a punch at her face. She caught it easily, then delivered a blow squarely in the jaw, knocking loose a tooth. “But I suppose I can kill two birds with one stone. Some emotional scars do come from physical scars.”

A scream of fright sounded from the side, distracting Mew. Taking a breath, Celebi spat out a single seed pod that stuck onto her fur. Vines sprouted and stuck to her flesh as it tightly constricted, sapping her energy. She had little reaction to it, preferring to keep her eyes locked on the gathering Legendaries stopping in place to stare. Mesprit, who had let out the shriek, was pulled back by her siblings when she saw the injured pixie against the bloodied rock. Mewtwo found his way to the front, breath catching in his throat upon meeting eyes with her. A fanged smirk slowly distributed itself, and she handily spun in tight circles to fling the vines off (taking care to smack the victim with her tail each time around). “Wonderful timing. I was debating whether to slowly torture him, or kill him on the spot.”

“Mew... wh-what is going on?” the clone sputtered out as he stepped forward. “Where have you been?”

A frown quickly creased her brows. “I nearly maul someone, and all you have to say is 'where have you been'?” She scoffed. “And after all that effort I put into it, too.”

He only shook his head. “Mew, what has gotten into you?”

“I should be the one to ask that question,” she snapped out, floating away from Celebi. Her head tilted in her clone's direction. “You are not the same Mew I have had my eye on for years, are you?”

A few held back snarky comments, knowing it wasn't the time for teasing. Mewtwo didn't notice, all his attention on a neutral Mew since her statement. “What are you talking about? You know I am not of your specie.”

“Oh, my dear Mewtwo, of course you are,” she tsked, inching closer as a twisted smile manifested itself. “You just have so much to learn about your origins.”

Ho-oh then came forward in worry, ready to step between the two. “Mew, come back to camp with us, I fear you are becoming ill—” A sudden psychic wave knocked him off his feet, sending him flying back into the group. Giratina and Lugia caught him when he was passing through.

“Do not interrupt me!” she thundered, eyes flashing dangerously. “Do not take me lightly! I have the knowledge of all your weaknesses and how to use them against you! I know how to break through mental walls with ease to scramble bodily instincts or memories! With the snap of the fingers, I can stop a heart from miles away! Do not pretend you have not an inkling of what I am talking about!” was the snarl when more than one showed signs of bewilderment. “Do not even pretend you do not know who I am, I can feel your very souls cower before me!” She pointed her glare at Mewtwo. “You are no exception, clone. The only difference between you and them are your unnatural strengths. Humans made your mind and body more powerful than expected. It is a wonder you even have a soul, you mainly thrive on energy.”

He froze where he stood, feeling exposed (for the second time) before Mew. More than exposed, he amended, it was like she could actually see into him. The eyes were those of another being living in her body and speaking with her voice, it was similar to how Darkrai was affected. It was looking more reasonable when he noticed a still-bleeding deep cut along her wrist. And the closer she got, the more his inner self protested, sensing the same darkness that had surrounded them minutes earlier. Yards behind her, he noticed Celebi supporting himself against a tree, slowly approaching her. In the hopes it would distract her long enough, he brought himself to speak out. “What have you done with her?”

She paused a few feet away, intentionally or not, in shadow, giving the eyes the sense of intimidation as they glowed. The group of Legendaries impatiently held their breaths, some secretly powering up. Mew took her time to complete a nasty smile. “I slowly convinced her to will her own life away.” The smile turned into a toothy grin. “In other words, I traumatized and tortured her soul.”

Her tail tightly wrapped around Celebi before he could touch her, sending an electric shock through the appendage. He screamed in pain until paralysis kicked in, and she tossed him over Mewtwo to the startled group. When he spun back around, she had closed space, pressing her open mouth to his. She deeply inhaled, and just as quickly, the psycat could feel his energy being sucked away. He struggled to push her away to no avail, losing conscious with each passing second. Once he fell limp, she supported him with her telekinesis.

During the draining, the few Legendaries who prepared fired their attacks at the distracted feline in the hopes to knock her out in the process. They collided with the target, or so they thought, watching in disbelief as they were absorbed by an unseen shield. The moment she had finished off Mewtwo, she shot them a victorious grin, and blinded them with a flash of light.

When their eyesights returned, they gazed in horror at the empty space the two had just occupied.

*~*~*
Crappy cliffhanger is crap.

“Apocrypha” in this case means “those having been hidden away” in Greek, but generally means “hidden”, though other meanings are used as well, especially if you are Christian.

[Encyclopika]

Okay, so I read only chapter 7 so far, and will get to 8 asap. In the meantime...I'm really confused. I'm unsure what exactly happened to Mew, though I think she's possessed now? By what, I'm unsure, and I'm unsure what I think about it right now.
However, I do enjoy Mew and Mewtwo's thoughts of one another...it sounds so...lemony, you've got me hoping. :P I guess you've just got me really into this ship. XD Your emotional detail is the #1 reason I'm reading, though I love everything else about it. :3 I shall review chapter 8 soon...hopefully I won't have to edit this post. (I'd rather give you another review post).

[midnightjewelz]

Ahhh, i missed out on so much and i just finish reading the other half i didn't get to finish earlier.

Anyway to the review. i competely adore the first half of chapter seven, with Mewtwo and Mew getting closer to each other under the moonlight. it felt like i was reading a advanceshipping fic for a few paragraphs. lol.

I like the personailty of Mew and Mewtwo, im trying to imgine them getting all lovey dovey and such, but its hard since all i read is peoplexpeople fanfics. but i think i'll get a image soon enough. rofl. anyway its getting good. now im going to finish the rest, hopefully in one sitting. lol.

Keep up the fantasic job Kutie pie, the way you describe in this fic is truley amazing. *w*

[Kutie Pie]

Encyclopika: Don't worry, you weren't the only one who was confused ^_^. To answer the question, yes she is, by what/who will be explained in chapter nine. *looks over again at the other sentence, does double-take* LOL lemony xDD? This isn't even rated R, I didn't mean to go that far. I got so into it, I didn't know where to draw the line or not. I don't think I'll ever stop smiling now, you made my morning. And no, you don't have to edit the post, I probably wouldn't even catch it for a while, lol.

midnightjewelz: Lol, it's okay. I mainly read peoplexpeople fics as well, but I've always seen them in the same way as humans. *shrugs* Each to their own, it's understandable. And do take your time, it's not like I'm there breathing down your neck like I do with my brothers. (Wow, what a strange analogy xD.)

Thanks for the reviews. And I just know it was you two who rated this thread (don't deny it), so you get extra thanks! *tosses cookies* Fresh from the oven!

[midnightjewelz]

midnightjewelz: Lol, it's okay. I mainly read peoplexpeople fics as well, but I've always seen them in the same way as humans. *shrugs* Each to their own, it's understandable. And do take your time, it's not like I'm there breathing down your neck like I do with my brothers. (Wow, what a strange analogy xD.)

Thanks for the reviews. And I just know it was you two who rated this thread (don't deny it), so you get extra thanks! *tosses cookies* Fresh from the oven!

Shhhhh, it was my twinn, midnightmoon LOL. jks. Yayy cookie. =) but now that you say that, i could imagine them as ginjikas to make it more easier for me read it. lol. Anyway read some more, its a little confusing but now that you explained it. it makes it easier to understand.

[Encyclopika]

Okay just finished chapter 8. Basically a continuation of chapter 7, though, I am glad you had someone else become possessed before the group encountered Mew. It made it easier to believe.
But I forgot to ask this before - what was the point of cutting herself? o.o; I know it looks and sounds creepy, but I don't get the real purpose in it. The literary purpose, I guess you could say.

[Kutie Pie]

midnightjewelz: The cookie's got "extra" protein in it. ^_^ If it helps, go for it.

Encyclopika: Okay, how to explain why she ended up cutting herself... (I had the answer back then, but I can't seem to recall my reasons now xD, so bear with me.) Well for one thing, she didn't do it willingly. She was in such a state she was vulnerable to any outside source. Also, that was a sacrificial chamber, so if it wasn't the evil spirit that took over her, it was the lingering spirit of another that still had a thirst for sacrifice, but that's debatable. But what I was going for here was spiritual death, which means not living in the presence of God. Ever. There are sins that aren't forgiven of very easily, murder being one of them. Suicide is considered murder because you're taking a life--your own life. So... *lightbulb moment* Ah, now I remember! This WILL actually be explained later on in the story. So I'm not going to give anything away as to WHY she did this . Not yet, anyway. Thanks for pointing it out, though.

Okay, I'm in a good mood today, so I'm updating.

Huzzah, we are finally going to learn our antagonist's name! We're like, about half-way through with this story and we are FINALLY given the name. It's really about time. But that's not the point, really.

If you haven't already guessed from the chapter heading, this chapter is pretty much chock-full of religious philosophies/doctrines. And quick apologies beforehand to all Catholics, Lutherans and others who respect and/or revere Archangel Michael for calling him a pretty-boy. Actually, I didn't call him that. If I was to say anything about Archangel Michael, I'd call him a very courageous, beautiful person. But yeah, just felt like I should have an apology. Also keep in mind that this is from the mind of an unholy being, and I'm pretty sure they like to bash the holy a LOT. It was rather strange, uncomfortable, and yet interesting to do this in that perspective. Now I really wish I read C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters while writing this. But again, I think I wanted to try to be as original—and accurate in a way—as much as possible, even though I'm pretty sure Lewis was the most accurate. But one day I'll read it.

If things get confusing, please, please let me know, then point out what's been confusing, and please, please give me suggestions how to fix it. I was very unsure how to write this chapter, and I don't want to write future chapters thinking I've been confusing people.

*~*~*~*

Chapter Nine: Thirty Pieces of Silver

“You refuse to see
You're denying me
The cross I bear, but you don't seem to care
Even Judas knew he had lied”
--”The Cross”, Within Temptation, “The Heart of Everything”

*~*~*

A droning hum was the first identifiable sound to reach into Mewtwo's subconscious, stirring him to alertness. It was strangely soothing, quickly becoming unfocused as natural, background noise. It was for this reason he did not want to wake up. He felt he could sleep for a long time, his thoughts would be clear enough he wouldn't have to worry about being plagued by restless dreams—he would if he kept thinking about it. Immediately, his mind switched back to the humming and he relaxed. And yet, there was that small part of him that wanted to know what the source of it was. He was hopeless like that. Since he was already gaining conscious, he might as well take a peek.

The lighting was very dim; in fact, the only source seemed to come from the center of the room, pulsating in a steady rhythm in faint colors of pink, blue, and red. Squinting, he could barely make out the shape of a pedestal, possibly half the size of the room. Upon tilting his head back, Mewtwo made a guess the ceiling was way too high. Apart from it all, it looked like he was no where in general, but far from the forest he remembered being in last.

His eyes widened the moment his mind clicked in place, flooding with numerous questions: Where is he? How did he get to be there? What happened? How long was he out? Where is Mew? Why can't he move?

Now that he was thinking of it, he tried to shake his arms free from their out-stretched position. He could only twitched his fingers, everything else was stiffened in place. So he moved on to test lifting his legs. It was the same thing, like he was nailed to the floor. Or in his arms' case, and his body, pinned to the brick wall. He couldn't even flick his tail, almost his entire body was immobilized. All he was capable of doing was slouching, straightening up and turning his head. Closer inspection revealed he wasn't shackled with any physical objects. Looking at his background, only psychokinesis, powerful machinery, or a high-leveled Dark type could hold him down.

It helped narrow down to the one responsible for it.

“I was hoping you would be awake.”

Mewtwo glanced up, shivering under the glow of Mew's eyes staring him down. The flashing grin made him shrink. With the light behind her, she looked more sinister than normal, the Grim Reaper with his scythe as his teeth. She uttered a quiet chuckle, using the tip of her tail to raise his chin. “Did you rest well? I would be surprised if you did, it is awfully cold in here.”

“I have lived in many cold places,” he muttered casually, tilting away from her touch.

She was persistent on keeping bodily contact. “Ah yes, you did. Mount Quena was cold, was it not?”

“Not in the summer time.”

“If there was no wind, probably not.” He trembled when she slowly caressed, nearing his throat. “But I trust you kept warm during the night.”

He disguised his attempt at pushing her away as a nod. “I did.”

Mew rested a hand under her chin when she crossed her arms. “A type of cloak, was it not? Because I doubt you are the one who handles the sharing of body warmth well.”

A tingle dispersed throughout his body when her tail encircled to the back of his neck. He fought to control himself when it skimmed alongside his cord. “You guessed right,” he nearly gasped out from gritted teeth.

Her eyes brightened when her brows raised, and the bulbous end traced it, covering every inch and sending him into faint convulsions. “Is it really that sensitive, Mewtwo?” she purred, curling the appendage around the external organ.

A hiss expelled before he formed his words. “Mew, you are making a big mistake.”

She just laughed, a little harsh for someone of her size. “You need to explain why, there are quiet a few other 'mistakes' I could be making.”

Mewtwo merely shook his head about in a vain attempt to throw her off. “Mew, please stop this act and let us return to camp.”

“You just do not want the two of us alone together,” she whined, smirking all the meanwhile. She closed the space by throwing her arms around his neck. “You are afraid of what will happen when we are.”

The psycat struggled against her hold, flinching when she tilted his head down so they pressed noses. His gaze gradually became that of fear, unable to escape the haunting stare of her new-found pupils. The longer he stared, the more unrecognizable she was becoming. He recalled the last words she said just seconds prior to his passing out.

“I slowly convinced her to will her own life away. In other words, I traumatized and tortured her soul.”

There was a soul in the eyes, but it wasn't hers. It froze his blood the second they made eye-contact, sending his heart into such a frenzy he was sure to drop dead at any second. As frightening as they were, he couldn't tear away from them. Forcing himself to breathe, he panted out, “What have you done with her?”

She grinned wildly, digging her fingers into his cheeks when she hoisted herself higher to look directly into his face. (Mewtwo winced when his neck cricked.) “Repetition is irksome, but I shall answer anyway. After all, it is just you and me. Alone... in the dark...” She bent her neck to lick his nose teasingly, bringing out a quiet gasp from his throat. “... we have nothing to hide.”

He turned his face away, clenching his hands tightly. “Where is Mew?!” he snarled.

There was a laugh before she released her hold on him and gave him space. “Fine, no use in stalling, you figured it out early anyway. This may still be the body of your beloved, but I am a different being altogether.” She bowed in a formal way, peering at him beneath her brows. “The name is Legion. I am a demon lord, one of many, if that is how you want to address me.”

He snapped his attention back to her, eyes wide. “D...Demon lord?”

“Okay, it technically is a misleading term,” she admitted with a shrug, “but I am a demon.” A fanged smirk quirked on her lips. “I am a being trapped as a spirit for eternity because I rebelled against God along with a third of heaven. I have visited many worlds, witnessed many wonders... even caused most of those wonders. Amazing how one motivated person can change the world, you agree?” She laughed quietly, her tail uncurling from Mewtwo. Glancing over at him, she took notice of his perplexed stare. “You do not believe me, do you? Not many do at first. It is hard to wrap your brain around something as complex as my background, especially if you are a skeptic. But well, since I have time to kill, literally and figuratively,” she let out as a mutter, “I suppose I will at least explain why I am here on this world when I could be elsewhere with other people.”

Taking a moment to stretch and move about, Mew's captive flashed him another malicious smile. “I may be a spirit, but I have a personality of my own, so I prefer a few things compared to some of my other associates,” she started in the middle of a twirl. “I happen to enjoy traveling, and since I have no body, I am free to go wherever I please in the universe. I take advantage of it the best I can, visiting other worlds and wrecking havoc one temptation at a time. Humans are fickle as mortals, it is how they are naturally made. You see, when a spirit is far away from home long enough, they 'forget' what it is like being in God's presence. Quite quickly, I may add. By the time they enter childhood, or sometimes mid-childhood, unless they are regularly taught about Christ's Gospel, they become a rather rebellious spirit. Sometimes. Some people are just born good, others are just born rebellious, depends on the spirit.

“As demons, it is our duty to keep them away from the goodness that is Christ. Through small temptations, we slowly but surely stray them away. The best thing about it is that you do it once, and they will explore it further on their own. Sometimes you have to remind them about it, but often they remember that little thought we place in their heads, and they get curious. Thus, curiosity kills the cat.” Mew let out a cruel chuckle. “What makes this job easier is that we know their weaknesses very, very well. Most of the time, they are unaware of it. But in all honesty, our main goal is to keep people away from their heritage so they do not get the privilege of being gods themselves. They will be shunned forever like we were when we were cast out.”

“I do not get it,” the clone interrupted, slowly shaking his head. “How can you enjoy being this miserable?”

She abruptly slapped him with her tail. “Do not interrupt me, and I do not enjoy my misery! But I cheer whenever God loses a son or daughter to us. My hatred for Father inspires me to go out and damn as many siblings as possible, knowing that if we get our fair share, we will be seen as equals. Lucifer has power, and he has given us shares of it to help him conquer worlds. And he has been successful. He even claimed an earth as his own, and within a thousand years, it became the most wicked world above all others. It was so wicked, surviving records say it even made the earth weep. And though God wiped out that generation with the Great Flood, Lucifer renewed his power back to its glory days. Believe me when I say even other worlds bore record of a world so wicked they killed their Savior.”

Mew paused, her face darkening in a way Mewtwo had never seen it before. “That was the only battle my master ever lost... he was unable to conquer death... It was then my other associates and I realized we had forgotten about the plan that was made in heaven. God had made a perfect plan, but only death and sin were the flaws. He asked for a volunteer to be the Savior of the universe, a sacred duty that was preserved for someone willing to keep such great a responsibility, and has an undying love for his fellow man... just like his father...” She then growled and took her anger out on her counterpart by smacking him again. “But no matter, we may have lost the power over death, but we still have sin on our side! No unclean thing can be in God's presence, and one blot of sin can keep someone from living in heaven. How simple is that?

“So we took it over, that one world Christ Himself walked on. We demolished it to a beautiful wreck, and we were just getting started. From that one earth, Lucifer commanded many other worlds. They were only half as wicked as it, though, but we still got our good share. Every day, and I am just guessing here, we got an average of about a thousand million souls in Spirit Prison, some more damned than others. Powerful worldly leaders were a delectable treat to get. You think some of the leaders here were bad, you should meet these ones. Some of them were worse. Way worse. Oh, it made Lucifer smile gleefully. They had godly potential, they did, foreordained to do good for the world, and we just snagged them,” she snapped her fingers, “like that. Others we tried to get, but by then they already had their mind set on being God-fearing. Lucifer made sure the toughest of us went after them. A few he went after himself. These were people he hated the most, he really wanted to destroy them before they could ruin his plans for good. He managed to get a couple, but that was it. In the long-run, though, they were on our side. Watching perfectly good angels fall makes him giddy, why did I use that word? Bah, whatever.

“Anyway, I told you enough history, back to my reasons being here. It is the usual objection of gathering more souls to join our ever-growing side, blah blah blah. But what makes this more rewarding are the guardians God had foreordained them to be. These spirits are among the most courageous in heaven. Not as courageous as Archangel Michael—stupid pretty-boy—but they are up there. I am certain you can name these guardians off the top of your head.”

Mewtwo slowly nodded, feeling the hints of cold sweat on his brow. “The Legendaries.”

She raised a brow, but did no more than shrug. “In a way. Some of them were teachers, teaching the newborn spirits basic things like emotions, their willpower, knowledge, to name a few. They continue to remain teachers on Earth. Others had a part in planning what the earth's creations would look like. They were set apart to these respected creations. In the cases of Dialga and Palkia, they understood well enough the fabrics of time and space, and were given the calling. Same with Giratina before his rebellion. Darkrai's was an accident. He was originally supposed to spread good dreams and heal the nightmares, but he grew addicted to the bad dreams to the point they became a part of him. So to balance him out, Cresselia became the new dream keeper. Everyone else had to earn it in, though at least a few were born into it.”

“Like Mew,” the clone breathed out, dropping his eyes. “And the Beasts.”

“And you, believe it or not.” Her lips twitched into a small smirk at his astonished expression. “Thanks to the Mew genes, you are fully capable of having the same abilities as your beloved.”

“I have no such abilities,” he quickly defended himself, shivering in fear. He didn't know if he was lying or not, and only this Legion demon knew.

Much to his horror, the smirk widened to a wicked grin. “For three centuries, you have brooded over your existence, at what your purpose is,” she quietly drawled, tracing his jawline with a claw. “Slowly, but surely, you found your place in the world, and you quietly lived out your life. However, you have always known you could never belong, for you are too different, too unique to be a true Pokémon. So you lived life in solitude, studying humans from afar, while slowly forgetting your origins.” She leisurely flew around behind him, trailing her fingers tantalizingly down his neck and shoulders doing so. “Somehow, you never seemed to forget who you were exactly, always being reminded of it by the mentioning of your name, or through the presence of Mew herself. At first, you were tormented to the brink of insanity at the mere thought of her.” Mew then took him by the chin to twist his head in her direction, noses brushing. “But as time passed, and when you accepted her as a close friend, you realized just how lonely you were. Your clones were half-way around the world starting families, able to have offspring. Everywhere you turned, a human couple intrigued you whenever they displayed affection in the open or behind closed doors. Children, even when being complete monsters, struck a nerve inside you, a twinge of sadness. You were alone.”

The cold perspiration on his brows trickled down when she almost met him in a kiss, hot breath slowly tracing over his parted lips. Her claws lightly raked along his jawbone, triggering tremors up and down his spine. When she spoke again, her voice lowered to a seductive, articulated purr. “And then, you called her a woman without knowing why. You did not know of its reasoning then like you do now. You realize now that you were ready to receive her into you, to forever be one. You were ready... for a mate.” Mew licked his chin suggestively.

Fighting back the sudden tears, he finally snapped out, “Release Mew to her body! She is undeserving of this torture!”

She paused, staring at him with a rather far-off look for demonic eyes. Withdrawing her tongue, she mused in fake innocence, “What torture are you implying?”

“The loss her virginity without her consent. It is all she has left.”

A quiet laugh escaped her. “Is that it? That is your reason? What, you think the loss of a virtue is torturous enough to kill her?” It evolved into a cruel chuckle. “I did not possess her body so she could lose her virginity, there is nothing to worry about.” Her brows then quirked a little. “Well, she will eventually, but she will lose a lot more when I am through with her.”

Mewtwo's eyes widened, and he once more fought against his invisible restraints. “What!”

Waving her hands around, she added calmly, “I do not wish to give a whole lot away as to what I plan to do while in Mew's body. But you will be a big part in making sure it happens.”

“What are you talking about?!” he whispered hoarsely.

Mew's eyes glinted dangerously. “As you may well know, the world has died. No one was spared in the mass extinction. You also know well enough that God is merciful, He gives everyone chances whether or not they deserve it. He gave this planet many chances, and more often than not they spat in His face. And of course as a demon, I laugh and celebrate whenever that happens, but whatever. Case in point, the world screwed themselves over, and God lost a great many of His children to us.”

“What does this have to do with me?”

“And the other surviving Legendaries? Lots!” She pushed herself away to turn her back on him. “You all were commanded to 'be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth.' Well, quite a few months has passed, and there are no babies ready to be born yet. Which is understandable, the world is not yet ready for them.” Her head tilted so she could take a sinister peek at the clone. “However, we all know that this body holds the task of splicing DNA to form other species. Because of that, Mew is highly valuable amongst you all. This is where you come in. In order for there to be children, there must be a male and a female.” With a pleasing sigh, Mew spun back around, clasping her hands and smiling. “And how fortunate of us to have a male and a female Mew on hand.”

Mewtwo scowled, hurriedly correcting her, “I do not have that power to alter DNA like Mew does. I am not a natural pure-blood Mew.”

“A half-blooded Mew such as yourself can still perform this sacred task with a pure-blooded Mew.” She floated closer.

He quickly shrunk back the best he could. “But I am not of this world. I am a product of science, thus my body is not perfect. I do not believe I have the capacity to have children.”

“Cannot hurt to try.”

“I will not violate her body for such a task. She is not even my mate.”

The tiny Legendary halted before his face, and crossed her arms. A brow slowly rose. “Really? You still have no idea what the Mew specie did?”

He slouched a little, briefly glancing away. “Ho-oh explained a little to me,” he muttered, not meaning to.

“What does he know? Unless he was a Mew in a past life, he has little knowledge of them. Yes, the worships were true, they were revered as sacred. The humans living by Mew colonies saw them as gods—and goddesses in respect to the females.” Rolling her eyes, she continued onward, “This might have come to being due to them being one of the oldest living Pokémon species and the most powerful. It is also a possibility they saw other species being created from them. Or perhaps they were just as human as they were. It is hard to tell, the records have been lazily or poorly translated, and many others were lost. But the one thing we can all agree on is that they worshiped the Mew.

“And then the world changed. Being rather naïve people, they easily adopted any traditions they may have come across, deciding they should assimilate. Around this time, sacrificial rituals to their revered gods were growing in popularity—you can say—so they followed along without another thought. Ho-oh may not have been off when it came to the sacrifices, but he forgot some details. The people sacrificed so many Pokémon, populations were low. Luckily for them, there were explorers, traders, other tribes and the like that were regularly traveling through. They traded luxuries for Pokémon, some they had never seen before. But until then, they were resorting with their own people. Then someone got a brilliant idea: 'Why not sacrifice a Mew to another Mew? Are they not Pokémon too?' A rat race started almost immediately.

“The Mew caught on very quickly, and they fled for their lives. They began to start small populations in corners of the world, but they underestimated humans. Within months, they were hunted down for more than a sacrifice. They were prized for their fur, as exotic pets or just for show, as food even. Anything you can think of, they did it to the Mew specie. Humans paid extensively through the nose to see one alive while others took desperate measures just to own one. You know what the average price for a Mew, alive and well, was?”

Already sick to his stomach, Mewtwo only hesitantly shook his head, wanting to keep his mouth shut. A demented, fanged grin spread before she slowly enunciated the answer. “Thirty. Silver. Coins.” She licked her lips, reaching out to lift his chin. “Guess where they got that number from. Go on.”

He jerked himself free to turn away in refusal, scrunching his eyes shut to trap the rapidly-forming tears. He harshly bit down on his lip, breaking the skin. Enough, no more! he inwardly begged, body trembling in growing sorrow.

“'And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; so they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver,'” she recited as though from memory, smirking while doing so. “Fitting, is it not? Want to take a guess who the present-day Judas is?”

Holding back a sob, Mewtwo gasped out, “Please... enough is enough. I-I do not want to hear anymore of it.”

“Why should you care? You did not have to suffer through it. If anyone should be begging for a stop to it, it should be Mew. She went through this herself as a child, and again in adulthood. Besides, look on the bright side, you get to at least know of her hidden traumas.”

“She would have told me if I was meant to hear it!”

“Well, maybe she did not trust you enough. You would not want to trust someone either if they betrayed you, would you?”

He gritted his teeth. “You lie, I would never betray her.”

She abruptly let out a long, heartless cackle that echoed hauntingly in the chamber. “How hypocritical. You cannot deny it, it continues to eat away at you. Just admit it, you could not help Mew in her time of need.”

“I tried!” he shouted, straining to break free, feeling the urge to harm the demon. He fought it down only because it was inhabiting Mew's body. It smiled cruelly upon seeing him back down. “I did more than anyone during that time, I stayed the longest.”

“By only a few days,” Legion reminded him.

His heart painfully twinged. “I did not know how to help her, I was powerless. I was finally convinced the Tree would eventually snap her out of it, so... It was a stupid mistake to leave!” he barked out, anger growing inside him. “No one bothered to help her, so she nearly died! How she even lived that long is a miracle within itself, but she should have! Had she died, none of this would have happened!”

“Say that again,” she challenged, smirking evilly. “Slower this time so she can take it in better.”

Too enraged to catch himself, he rephrased, “None of us would be in this mess had she just given up! Her death would not have affected the world catastrophically as everyone made it seem. Because if that was true, then why did no one bother to help her? She was not important then, and she is not important now!”

Then suddenly, his heart once again constricted as a strong wave of negative emotion enveloped him. It was one he hadn't felt in a long time, shrouding his thoughts in a familiar cold cloud. His breath was nearly restrained upon its recognition. Blankly staring ahead, he could have sworn he saw heartbreak in large, blue eyes. “...Mew?”

A clawed hand snatched him by the throat and wrenched him forward. His lips were hungrily locked with the smaller feline's, her tongue swiftly lapping up the trail of blood before she pulled away with a wet smack. “It has been said close friends, siblings, and lovers develop a type of sixth sense when it comes to feeling the other's emotions. Do you believe that?” She didn't wait for an answer. “I have been on this world long enough to know that some Pokémon have a strong connection with their mates, quite common with Psychics. It develops over time, and the strength of it depends on how they connect with one another. The closer they are emotionally, and physically in a way, the stronger it is.”

“Y...Your point is?” Mewtwo mumbled, struggling to pay attention. His mind still reeled with the confusion and from the sudden burst of emotion. He was sure he caught a glimpse of Mew, the real Mew. But her eyes... he hadn't been expecting what he saw, what he felt.

“Well, from what I can glean from this strained relationship, close friends, or lovers. Maybe both.”

“So what if we are?”

The dark smile faltered a little in thought. “Are you aware of what the Mew specie did to show affection? Though judging by your numerous reactions the past few months, you do not. I am a bit surprised Mew did not make mention of it whatsoever. The only male of her specie, the hope for the future, and she leaves you in the dark. Shocking.”

Before he could speak up again, the petite feline resumed matter-of-factly. “Few know of a Mew's mating habits, but surviving records—from other people—say a Mew mates for life. But how do they choose this life-mate? They always had their own tradition, but it was lost in time when they adopted a common human trait that you may know as 'kissing'.” Mewtwo's stomach twisted, and he shuddered. “Two Mew kiss to make a commitment one to another that they shall be loyal to each other even unto death. It is equivalent to a human marriage, and though other Pokémon may have life-mates themselves, the Mew specie is the only specie behind humans to practice this as a pair.” She paused, her grin slowly returning to view. “You two have kissed, right?”

He was aware his gut remained in a painful knot, preventing him from speaking out immediately. “Y-Yes... but she—”

“You two have kissed, am I right?” she pressured, clearly not wanting to hear excuses.

“Yes!”

“Did she kiss you back?”

“...she did... she admitted it herself...”

“Then why are you hesitant? Are you afraid you are 'sterile' as you claim to be?” He shifted in discomfort. “It does not mean you cannot do it for fun.”

“I shall not!” Mewtwo exclaimed, startling Legion slightly. “I respect her, for one thing, and she does not wish to be near me. I cannot take away what is rightfully hers.”

“What is rightfully yours,” she amended with a smirk. “You have the right to enjoy it when you want to. She will follow. She has no other choice.”

He became locked in a frozen stare, reviewing all that had happened the past few months. If what Legion said was true, he and Mew were mates for life. His heart leapt at the knowledge. She was his now. He could get away with not sharing her. They were free to do whatever they want with one another. The law of chastity could now be...

“...no... I cannot... It was a mistake, I do not know what came over me that day, I-I just...”

“She is yours, Mewtwo,” came the insistent repeat. She placed her hands against his face, pulling herself toward him until their noses touched. “And you can love her all you want, however you want.”

He took another long look at what was Mew. The contours of her thin figure contrasting against the faint lights gave the misleading appearance of a devil, though he could now make an exception. It didn't help her eyes were briefly pulsing as well in the dim light except for the pupils. The aura of evil around her with the dark look continued to send his body into seemingly endless quivers.

This was not her. She looked nothing like the imposter before him. Her smiles were always pleasing to the eyes, the sunshine of the soul. Her tiny body was the smoothest feature of any other creature, never to age in fear of corruption. The eyes... they were her trademark, her appearance of innocence. The cruelest she had ever been was when it came to her mischievous pranks, and even then she would apologize and everyone would laugh it off. Oh, how could he forget her laugh, it had been so long since she did.

And then there was her modesty, her virtuous heart. She would never throw herself at him, nor ever announce her willingness to be loved in whatever sees him fit. Except for the rare hug (since he couldn't stand them), she was always no less than a few feet away. He respected her for it, understanding where she was coming from. For all he knew, she may not know a thing about sex and the works except it dealt with procreation. She was so innocent, he wouldn't have been the least bit surprised if that was true. Love was pure to her, having no trace of any lustful desires.

How was it, then, this deceitful being could easily take over her, to pass off as Mew just to make her impure?

Mewtwo could feel a power surge coursing through his veins at the demon, replacing the cold emptiness with hot rage. “How dare you,” he snarled, glaring directly into the harsh stare. “How dare you try to fool me into having sex with Mew's body. You know as well as I do that I respect her personal wellbeing. The kiss was accidental, I wanted nothing to do with her then. But I can no longer deny that I love her, I have for a long time. Please, let her go, she has not done anyone any harm, she is undeserving of this. I will never touch her again when you do. If needs be, I will never look at her and think of her. But until it gets to that point, I will do all that it takes to protect her virtue from any and all outside influences, even if it means killing myself in the process. To take it further, I will do anything if it means keeping her pure her whole life, and to keep her heart from being broken into anymore pieces. Release her, Legion, and never tempt us again!”

The echoes faded, leaving them in a long-term silence, both too taken aback for an immediate reaction. Their crossed visions never once wavered, bodies remaining vigilant the entire time. The heated passion slowly cooled inside the clone, who was now showing no signs of fear for the first time since being in the evil presence.

Eventually, after studying Mewtwo long enough, the demon regained his authoritative state to muse, “You honestly mean all that...” A pleasing smirk slowly spread, giving him his space. “You mean to tell me that you love her so much, as a last resort towards keeping her safe you will either never want to see her again or die. Well, you forgot to list that to forever keep her virtuous, you would kill her. But I take it that is not an option, and that is why you would rather die.” The response was a hardened scowl. “Whatever, your loss. It is a tempting offer, considering there is a lot at stake here—and that I always keep promises—but I am going to need more time to think about it. I may have to pull an all-nighter, not that I mind. You, on the other hand, are too stubborn at the moment. Why not sleep on it? You will be less cranky in the morning.”

“I will never rest until Mew is safe,” the clone growled.

Her smirk cracked into a toothy grin. “I do not blame you for not believing me. Well, good luck with that, mortal. First thing in the morning, I will have my answer. Be warned, we demons may come with a proposition. Unless your tired mind can pick it out, I honestly recommend sleeping. Especially in your current exhausted state.”

Mewtwo watched her melt into the darkness, feeling the beginnings of a drained body. He found himself wondering how long he was there for, both being unconscious and conversing with the demon lord. It was a random thought, probably meant as a distraction to keep his mind off Mew. The longer he struggled to think of her, the more the demand for sleep. So he gave up trying to hold himself straight against the invisible restraints, and tried to meditate.

He couldn't remember anything else afterwards except for the faint knowledge he was still worried about his counterpart's wellbeing.

*~*~*

Please, please let me know if anything was confusing, and I'll try and clear things up the best I can. It was never an intention of mine to make this confusing. Though I have the strangest feeling something else beyond my way of thinking is putting this story together.

[Encyclopika]

Okay, finished chap 9. I am confused, but I think it's mostly because I'm not religious, and so don't understand the "thirty silver coins" thing. You explained things well enough that i got the gist of what Legion is and how much of an ******* he is.
However, for the life of me, I don't understand exactly what his plans/motives are. If you could just summarize that (unless it's been kept secret on purpose) that'd be great. XD I'm sure if you wrote in there, it's there plain and simple, I just can't remember or am afraid I'm getting it wrong. :P I don't want to think that because of the chat we had, I'm getting confused trying to put two and two together. XD;; Crap.
Anyway, your writing is still amazing stuff and I can't wait for the next chapter.

[Kutie Pie]

Encyclopika: Thirty silver pieces of silver was the amount of money paid for the blood of the Savior. It was what Judas was paid to betray Jesus. However, he felt guilty for it, and after the betrayal, he went back to the Pharisees, gave them back the money, and left to hang himself. I talked to the seminary teacher about it when we were discussing the New Testament that year, unfortunately I can't remember if he said that because Judas was remorseful he would be saved, but since he killed himself... I don't know.

The whole idea around this chapter was to have Legion explain to Mewtwo why Mew was the way she was. It wasn't really mentioned here (except for the present-day Judas, sorta), but the reason Mew had been so deprived of who she originally was was because of the Legendaries--thirty of them to be precise, and thus a symbolism of the thirty pieces of silver. The three who were exempt from it were Shaymin, Latias, and Mew herself. However, when I thought about it, I felt it didn't... satisfy. So I had Legion mention Mew's backstory (or at least the Mew specie in general), which will play out throughout the rest of the story.

It's okay, you haven't gotten off the path, so you're fine. You are always free to ask questions ^_^, I never expected anyone to get this, honestly. As for Legion's plan, that will be explained more, a little bit of a mention next chapter, and then in its entirety(?) in chapter twelve. So yeah, I'm keeping it a secret xD. He DID give something away in this chapter, however, even though Mewtwo thought it meant something else. And that's only one part of his plan.

Lol, so I suppose all demons are jerkasses, then XD? I didn't see Legion as one, I thought I was making him evil because... well he works for the devil, so he'd be evil! And being a demon lord... I guess he's pretty prideful...

And I noticed you said Legion was male. I don't believe I ever gave the impression in this chapter that Legion ever was. (Though I suppose the name's masculine enough.) Bonus cookie! Wait... um... yeah, I'll give you a bonus. Bonus brownie.

Fun Facts I Didn't Bother to Mention For Whatever Reason:

Fun Fact 1: Legion was an actual demon in the Bible. Mentioned in the Gospel of Mark, a man was possessed by a demon who said "My name is Legion; for we are many." This is where the known scripture about the herd of swine who cast themselves into the sea came from, because Christ cast out the legion of evil spirits when they requested to go into the herd. The man had been possessed for a long while, as he was living in a cave and cutting himself (probably for rituals). As for this story, it's just a demon lord named Legion, and not literally thousands possessing Mew.

Fun Fact 2: Legion was quoting from Zechariah 11: 12. (Yes, even demons can quote scripture, they know it very well.)

    Spoiler:- Fun Fact 3:

Show Spoiler

 
And yes, he was talking about our earth.
 

[Kutie Pie]

Was going to update tomorrow (or at least on midnight), but meh.

This chapter contains a limey scene, or at least a near-limey scene, I still can never tell where to consider it lime or not. Thus the rating is now upped to its R-rating from this point on. Many thanks to Encyclopika for clearing it up.

Next chapter will be good, I promise. You'll just have to wait a week--hopefully it'll be done next week. I'm aiming for Valentine's Day as the next update, but college/life is pretty evil at times, so we'll see.

Enjoy!

*~*~*~*

Chapter Ten: Mewtwo's Seduction

“...how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
-- Genesis 39:9

*~*~*

Sunlight was the first thing he noticed upon waking up, followed by an itchy feeling on his back. Urging his stiff body to roll over, his hand flopped onto a rough, pointed surface, and immediately his eyes snapped open. Grimacing, he shot up, staring at the palm that had been stuck with a sharp rock, which he flicked away. Yawning and stretching, Mewtwo blinked away the sleep and took a look at his surroundings. He glanced down at the bed of leaves and then really looked around.

He was under a large, recovering tree, the time he guessed being noontime. Before him was a rather empty area except for what were recognizable buildings, or what remained of them, and some piles of junk from said-buildings. Patches of green hues were scattered among the desolation, a few dotted with shades of red and pink. All that remained of Cherrygrove, and how clean it has been getting—

Wait, what was he doing in Cherrygrove?

Standing up, he leaned against the trunk, feeling a little vertigo from what remained of the sleep and some confusion. When did that happen? He didn't remember ever stepping foot in the town, or even thinking about doing anything there. The last he could recall was waiting for Mew to return from her walk. And everyone was talking about something pointless such as Rayquaza's short-lived eating spree or something like that. He only remembered thinking about her, hoping she'd return safe.

Mewtwo frowned. There was something more to it, wasn't there? There was a rather blank spot in his memory. He could hope it wasn't from a drinking game—not that he would participate in one. Watching the others pass out was more entertaining in his opinion, and Mew would have killed him for drinking anyway.

Wait... since when did they do drinking games?

Getting a little freaked out over it all, the psycat hurried for the campsite's direction, catching indecipherable dialogue from what may have been an arguing Deoxys. Getting closer, he groaned at hearing he was fighting with Cresselia again. On second thought, there were still a few things left to do in Cherrygrove's ruins. He should go ahead and do that while he was thinking about it. He spun back around.

“Hey, Mewtwo!” Entei greeted loudly, popping out from behind a bush. “About time you got u—”

He punched him in the face.

“OW, WHAT'D I DO?!” the beast wailed, covering his nose—or the lack of it.

Realizing what he just did, the clone quickly apologized. “You caught me off guard,” he added, helping him up. “What were you doing in there?”

“The usual.” Mewtwo winced. “I'm berry-gathering for lunch. One rolled in there somewhere. It's like a black hole or something.” His face twitched and scrunched. “What about you?”

“I just got up—”

“Ah, good afternoon, Mewtwo!” Ho-oh called out, walking over to him and Entei, followed by the other Legendaries. “It's a relief to see you're up and walking about. We were growing a bit concerned.”

Blinking several times in puzzlement, the feline couldn't help but stare. It wasn't normal for everyone to show up just to see him. Even though it did make a little sense with the word “concerned” involved. Though what they were concerned about was what was throwing him off. Raising a hand to his temple, he asked, “Uh... what are you talking about?”

“Figures you wouldn't know,” the phoenix said with a smile. “You must've had the twenty-four-hour bug or something, though why you would pass out from it is beyond us.”

He tilted his head. “What?”

“Though Celebi suspected it was the flu, but since you're up and about, guess it wasn't,” the Sky Guardian continued liked he didn't hear Mewtwo. “Well anyway, Mew brought you back and stayed by your side the rest of the day. Speaking of which, where did she go?”

“Said something about a Miracle Berry or along the lines of it,” Latios replied. “She was sure one was growing not far from Ecruteak City.”

Mewtwo hardly heard his comment. His heart skipped at the mention of her name, and he hurried off, disappearing into the wood and ignoring the weird stares he was being given. He couldn't care at the moment, all that was mattering to him was his counterpart being well and safe. Despite not knowing what Ho-oh had been talking about, he didn't deny that it may have been true. Perhaps Mew had been gone for too long, so he had gone to look for her, but had turned out to be a little ill that day. Who knows, and who really cared?

...he slowed down, pondering about it all. Since when did he not care about it? No, better yet, why was he so distracted? Once Mew's name was mentioned, it clicked into place, and she was all he could care about at that moment. And since he hadn't seen her in a whole day—according to them—he was a little more determined to see her again, wanting to know her thoughts from yesterday. It was a bit harsh yesterday, he suddenly remembered. Though why it was still escaped him. He figured it was a big deal for her to be gone for that long.

“Mewtwo?”

His head snapped up at his name, meeting her eyes yards away. It was like she hadn't been expecting to see him here, but she only stared back in small surprise. She was empty-handed; she must have not found anything for him. His chest lightened up at the thought, his facial features relaxing. For him. She cared after all.

“Good afternoon, Mew,” he addressed, giving her a smile.

She fidgeted in place, a faint blush apparent on her cheeks. “Afternoon,” she muttered, quickly glancing away. “Glad to see you're up.”

They shared an awkward silence for a moment, Mew refusing to meet his gaze. His smile only broadened the longer the moment stretched on. A light breeze whipped by, giving the tiny feline a small push. As though it told her to move, she floated up to her clone, pausing a few feet away. While she still averted from his eyes, she noticed his smile. “That's new,” she whispered, tilting her chin in. “But then again, I can't remember the last time you smiled.”

“I feel this is a special occasion,” Mewtwo replied quietly.

She blinked up at him. “Why?”

“I have no idea.”

Slowly but surely, a small beam appeared on her lips. Then hesitantly, she reached out and gently wrapped her arms around his chest, ear pressed to his heart. She let out a soft sigh when he laid a hand on her back. “I'm just glad you're okay. You've never passed out before... and so close to the Ruins, too...”

He glanced down. “What ruins?”

“The Ruins of Alph.” She tilted her eyes up at him. “Were you visiting them?”

He frowned, not recalling ever going near them, let alone leaving the campsite. The blank spot was getting annoying. “To be honest, I have no idea what happened. I last remember being with the others, and then suddenly I am waking up a day later in Cherrygrove. Meanwhile, everyone is claiming I got sick while out walking or looking for you... though I think it was the latter.”

“You 'think'?” she repeated in amazement. “Mewtwo, you rarely if not ever say 'think' in that concept. Something must have happened.”

“I know, I just do not know what that 'something' was.”

Chewing on her lip, Mew reached behind to curl her fingers around his hand, and spun herself around. “Come on, let's go somewhere private.” Though tempted to say where they were was private enough, Mewtwo obeyed without question, letting her lead.

She was obviously in no hurry to get where she wanted them to be. It was a straight walk, the two quiet the entire time. He made note of the trees that were still standing or were dead, finding it almost hard to believe a forest that was once prosperous had been reduced to few survivors within a long day of disasters. Many Pokémon, he imagined, lived in these parts, living their instinctive lives while humans waited in the background, ready to snap at any given moment. It was almost a wonder the town never did grow. Most towns became cities within decades, clearing habitats for new suburbs or skyscrapers. Not that he couldn't blame the humans for wanting to migrate, it was just natural for them. And he could relate rather well, if only to a certain point. Being a nomad was different than migration.

Within time, Mewtwo noticed the landscape was becoming unfamiliar with different tree species and a rugged ground, rent from earthquakes. He felt Mew give a squeeze and murmur an “Almost there” without a glance back.

“Do you know the location, Mew?”

“Yeah... just outside Mahogany Town.”

His eyes widened a little. “Why out this far?”

She fell silent, and quickened her pace, prompting him to as well. They passed through another gray forest before there was a small clearing and a lake with a still functioning waterfall. She then paused, released his hand, and leaned down to feel the grass. “Soft enough,” she breathed out before sitting down. She gestured an invitation to him, and he obliged.

“So... what is this place?” he wondered, staring at the waterfall.

“I don't know, but I think people called it Pryce Falls or something, seeing as he liked to meditate under the waterfall.” She shrugged. “You want to name it later?”

In slight discomfort, he only responded with an “I will think about it” before the silence returned. It didn't take long for them to loosen up when the waterfall faded to a faint hiss in the background. The two took care to avoid each other's gaze, growing more awkward the longer time passed. Mewtwo noted there was only a few feet of space separating them, the way it was always meant to be. Not that he didn't mind it, he was just feeling some concern for her unusual behavior despite it being so minor. She probably was still a little hurt from the past week to move on, though now the more he looked at her, the more he noticed she was looking insomniac...

A light brush against his tail made him jolt, swerving over to see her limp appendage laying out-stretched where his own was a second ago. “Mewtwo...” she sighed, “...I've been bothered... for a while about this...”

“About what?”

She tilted her sad gaze over to her counterpart. “Why... did you volunteer to heal me?”

He recalled the afternoon where he made the promise to Ho-oh and Shaymin she was in good hands. As much as they were willing to take her, they were happy to know he would bring her back from her depression. What he kept from them were his actual reasons for it. They never bothered to figure out his intentions, to learn he had unsuccessfully tried nearly a year earlier. She was so close to death, why would they entrust her to him, the clone who once was after her blood? Couldn't they bother to be suspicious of him for that one moment? He could have lied to them and murdered her behind their backs. Then who would really be to blame?

The longer he stared into her deep eyes, the easier it was to personally admit it was for a second chance. The stakes were high, the odds of her recovering being against him, but he tried one last try. Had she died, she would have at least been under his care, and thus he'd take the punishment without a fight as his heart would have been shattered for good.

With a slow, puff of breath, he broke the gaze, turning his attention to the serene lake. Mew leaned forward in anticipation, speaking up again. “You had a choice, didn't you?”

He nodded, biting his tongue.

“So why did you agree to it? Did Ho-oh give you a pep-talk or what?”

A shake of the head. “No, nothing of the sort. Are you feeling well?” he attempted to change the topic.

His counterpart blinked. “Why? Am I asking too many questions at once?”

“No, it has nothing to do with that.” He respectfully pointed to one of his eyes. “You look like you have not slept in a long while.”

She immediately turned away, trying to hide the obvious. “It's nothing,” she murmured. “I just don't feel like dreaming anymore...”

“Are your dreams bothering you?”

Mew avoided answering when she scooted closer, gently laying a paw on his knee to which he involuntarily retracted. Her voice smoothed out, and he had to strain his ears to hear her. “How long have you loved me?”

His insides froze, cricking his neck swiftly wheeling his head back. She stared unblinkingly, meaning her inquiry well. Mewtwo, though aware that she knew of his feelings, was taken aback to answer first thing because of how she approached it. It wasn't demanding, but she wanted answers. Taking in some breaths to calm himself, he honestly stated, “It is hard to pinpoint a certain day... many days have passed before I could recognize the feeling as love. I roughly estimate it was three centuries ago.”

She pressed her hands against her heart, scrunching her eyes shut for a few moments. “Amazing... only a confident, determined heart can hold love as long as you did. Did it hurt?”

“Why do you want to know?” he suspiciously wondered. And why did you skip my previous question for this?

“The love must have been growing inside of you,” she continued, her head remaining hung, “pressing into you. It wanted out, to manifest itself. But you wouldn't let it. So it was a little uncomfortable at least, right?”

He thought a little bit on it, remembering the early days of the love's existence when he'd snap at her because it was such an unknown emotion. As he continued to hang around her and the humans, he began to recognize it as a pure feeling, so he asked Mew about it. When she left, it was when he realized he was falling in love with her, but he couldn't tell her. Not at the time, it was still too soon to positively confirm it. But the more he grew annoyed with her, the more he looked forward to her company. Her giggles used to make him want to kill himself at times, then he found himself enjoying it, even cracking a small smile every now and then. When she dragged him across the globe against his will, he had the desire to always be with her. In fact, he made the effort to get to know her better, to learn her likes and dislikes, listening to her many stories... even trying to make her laugh at least once per visit.

Little by little, his heart was opened enough he was holding her dear unknownst to her. When she was gone, he faced inner turmoil and unrest from his many emotions. With her at his side, he was at peace, everything had been—temporarily—resolved. He became happy for those short moments, and he wanted to repay it back. But what could he give her that was more than hers? He wanted to love her, he just didn't know how. It haunted him ever since he thought it, searching for the perfect payment to cover the debt. And for that, his heart, the heart he never thought could feel, ached.

Gazing deep into her eyes, Mewtwo solemnly answered, “It was... at first. Then it began to hurt, swelling my heart in such a way I thought I could burst. But as time passed, and the more I got to know you... it was then I realized I can feel love. A love for a creature I could not despise any longer... now that everything has worked out. It is similar to the type of familial love I had for my fellow clones, just stronger... a burning flame that thawed my heart and made me bleed. Loving you for all these years... has been painful.”

Staring back, Mew switched to sitting on her knees, then grasped his hand. “If you've loved me this long, why did you deny it for as long as you have?”

“I... I was confused, for one thing... it was a new take on emotions I only heard about. I did not think I would ever experience it.”

“Why?”

He closed his eyes, letting out a sigh that sounded grievous. “That was the other reason. I feared it as well... knowing this natural emotion was being given to someone as unnatural as I am. God never gave me emotions... man did. And man corrupts emotions.” His hands loosely clenched, though the one Mew held curled around hers. “I did not want to love. I was not made to love, I was made to fight, to hate. If I fell in love, it was only a matter of time before I could destroy that love. That would have only made me more human.”

“I'm sure there is a reason you have not yet destroyed your love—”

“What do you know, Mew?” he snapped, glaring down at her. “You know of my origins, I was to be a killing machine, not a living being. I cannot have emotions. I am not God's creation, when will you get it?”

“Mewtwo...”

“My name is proof of it, you cannot deny it!” he shouted, crushing her small paw. Her eyes only widened from the pain, mouth frozen open. “I am a hideous abomination! I have numerous flaws despite them saying that I am 'perfect' because they 'claim' to know my body! They may have created it, but they do not know it! They did not have to use wild psychic abilities in a fight! Hell, I had trouble controlling them until I wore that damn armor! But even then, Giovanni did not have to deal with everything I had to go through. No, I have had my shares of injuries during those days that he never knew about, nor bothered to care about! I have gone through mental torment over you and the world, then experienced bodily torture months later! Then as the years passed by, I continued to be haunted by the blood of the scientists that I am covered with. Knowing you have murdered does not rest well with your mind!”

“Mewtwo, please,” she pleaded, feeling a little uncomfortable in his presence. “Those days are over now.”

“No, they are not! Now that I fell in love with you, I am now constantly reminded about how much of a fake I am! As an original imperfect clone, I should not have these emotions, the desire to love and be loved!”

“The other clones did—”

“I CREATED THEM!” Mewtwo roared, grasping her shoulders and shaking her. “I made them perfect, I made sure they could have offspring! God had nothing to do with them, it was all my doing! I did not want them to be as miserable as I am, I made sure of it. While building the lab, I put in chemical compounds into the fluids that can be absorbed into the body to act as substitutes for natural hormones. I made it myself from scratch, this was long before any other scientist could make it in their labs. Thanks to my handiwork, they were able to be abnormal in strength, but normal hormonal-wise. Something I was denied!”

“Mewtwo, if you would listen to me—”

“Shut up, I do not want to hear anymore of this! I do not give a damn about emotions, and I could care less what God has to say about this! Not that He talks to anyone down here anyway, I should know. I have asked numerous questions that I know only He could answer, and I am left in the dark with even more questions. In my time of loneliness, He does not comfort me when I needed Him most. When cities cried out for help, for mercy in their time of need, who did He spare? Who did He protect from a gruesome death? For someone who loves all of His children, He sure does let them suffer a lot. So tell me, Mew, what has God done for me that He is deserving of my respect?”

She hung her head sadly, eyes welling up to dangerous levels. “He allowed you to live,” she meekly whispered out, wringing her hands. “A body is one of the greatest gifts He gives to all His children... even if they're undeserving.” She lifted herself off the ground, slipping from his grasp, then glanced up at his steeled look before averting her gaze again. “And... He gave you friends through your clones, mainly Pikatwo and Meowtwo... and He sent me to you to show you... the beauty of life... of the values of friendship and of... love.” Her mouth closed shut, unsure how else to respond to his bitter interrogation.

After she grew silent, his hardened stare fell upon a single tear rolling down the side of her face. Breathing heavily, he seized her back, leaned forward, and firmly grazed his lips onto her cheek, licking it away. Mew shuddered in his hold, choking back a sob as more teardrops followed. He once again greedily kissed them away, his rough tongue watering at the salty taste the more it brushed against her. “Why must you taste so alive, Mew?” he moaned into her. “Why must you tease me like this? Do you enjoy my anguish?” He leaned to the side to lick her neck, pressing her into him.

The smaller Legendary only continued to quiver beneath him, eyes closing tightly. She ran her hands against his arms, trailing to the wrists when he reached up to cup her head. He fiercely kissed her jaw, nipping in frustration. “Answer me, Mew,” he growled, pulling her closer. “Was I meant to love you... only for you to refuse me?”

Hesitantly, she let out a light sigh, almost in a moan. “Maybe your body was made for me.”

Mewtwo pried himself away to look into her face. “What?”

She opened her eyes half-way, her gaze in a dream-like state. Her voice was soft, still breathless from his actions. “Mewtwo... you worried so much about not being able to love you became blind to it. You think your purpose is to love just so you are denied it? Whatever gave you that impression just by looking at me?” Mew reached up to caress alongside his jawbone, skimming along the rough feature. She watched as his eyes lightened up. “Kiss me.”

He moved to perform said action, only to freeze above her open mouth, uncertain. “Mew...”

“Kiss me, Mewtwo,” she pressed on, gulping in his breath. He planted a peck on her, still hesitant. “Harder.” They were pressed together, then separated with a smack. “Don't be afraid, Mewtwo,” she assured him. “This is our first. We're in this together.” Then her lips were devoured without another word.

It was a hard kiss, they gave it their all, beginning to cleave unto each other. They would only separate for a gasp of breath, widening their mouths further. With one hand, Mewtwo massaged her cheek while the other supported her neck as he bowed forward. She let out a short-lived whimper, throwing her arms over his shoulders. He proceeded to pepper kisses across her face, Mew doing the same along his chin and throat. Reaching her ear, he nibbled the tip, bringing out a modest giggle from her. She ran a hand down his shoulder blade, tracing the bony structure. Ducking her head, she slid down to his chest, marveling at the firmness of his sternum. She moved to plant her lips to his collar bone, then leaned upward for his neck.

Her eyes watered at the pulse against her mouth, pressing her hands where his heart lay beating. Mewtwo copied when she pulled away for room, then sadly mumbled, “I never would have guessed all hearts beat the same way.”

She smiled, resting against his head. “They don't. It's only when two start bonding... that they do.”

“I want to bond with you,” he promptly declared, nuzzling into the crook of her neck. “I want this forever... within my grasp.”

“Whatever you want, Mewtwo... just say the word.”

“Love me,” came the purr.

She gripped for his shoulders when he clamped to her skin and started sucking. His hands fell to stroke down her hips and thighs. An irregular shudder rippled throughout her middle when he skimmed across her abdomen. When she attempted to tilt her head, he nipped, intentionally or not. “Oh, Mewtwo... i-is there a specific way you want me to...?”

“No.” He licked the area where a bruise had formed. “Just love me.”

She swallowed. “How am I going to hide that?”

“We will stay out here if you want to.” He tipped her head back to bite underneath her chin. “They will go away in a few days.”

“But that was only the one.”

Mewtwo chewed and sucked once more. “You forgot about that one.”

Mew quietly laughed. “Mmm, Mewtwo... I need to lie down,” she simpered.

A playful growl erupted in his throat and he pounced onto her lips, pushing her down to the grass, pinning her arms and tail. Being bigger than her, he was able to hold her mouth open and run his tongue inside. She let out a muffled gasp and tensed, then squirmed upon feeling stray saliva dribbling from the gap between their mouths. Her hand involuntarily twitched against her counterpart's larger paw, to which he grasped in response. He remained locked to her for a full minute, exploring her cavity desirably while she writhed against his torso, fighting back unwanted whimpers. When he finally withdrew, causing a spit trail to drip, she gasped for relief, slowly opening her watery eyes. Mewtwo grinned down at her, lips moist. “You liked it,” he whispered gleefully.

She gave him a lop-sided smile of her own. “You didn't give me a chance to,” she accused, wiping part of her chin on her shoulder.

“Need help?” Without her consent, he leaned down and kissed the rest of the drool away, then slid over for a second round. She joined in, reveling in the carnal waltz inside her mouth. He released her arms, allowing her to twine them around his neck while he resumed his travels along her body. His tail fondled Mew's steadily, inducing her pelvis to thrust up sensually into his ribs. She let loose indecipherable mumbles against his lips, but nothing else. He wrapped his arms around her tiny body, then flipped over, tilting his head back until he felt no more sensitive tingles running through the back of his neck. Mew broke the deep kiss to stare down at him, feeling his rapid heartbeat underneath. He only smiled up at her, petting her silky back. “Is there something wrong, dear?” he asked quietly, using a term of endearment. “Was that the wrong move?”

Her eyes softened when she frowned. “Something's not right here.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean... well...” She chewed on her lip. “...should we be doing this?”

His brows slightly rose. “Why do you ask? Are we not in love?”

“Yeah, but—”

“Then there is no reason not to continue.” Mewtwo pushed himself up with an arm to kiss her full on the mouth.

Mew pushed him back. “Mewtwo, we need to consider things first.”

“Like what?” he let out a grumble.

“Like the world, for instance,” she pointed out, gesturing to their grim surroundings. “This might be a nicer area, but everything's a mess. We can't raise children in this kind of filth.”

The clone deeply frowned at her statement. “Who says we will have children?”

A blush burned on her cheeks. “W-Well... our actions are implying that procreation is bound to take place... sooner or later.” She trailed off, a little embarrassed at the thought.

Sitting up, the psycat held her by the shoulders firmly. “Who says this will lead to children?” he inquired in a strangely calm tone.

Her head sagged in place, slight shivers running up her spine. Her hands nonchalantly gestured around in tight shapes. “You know... when the... sperm reaches the egg—”

“I am not asking for a lecture on how children are made, Mew,” Mewtwo gruffly interrupted, scowling. “I want to know what makes you think children will come from this.”

“B-Because... it was bound to happen...”

She squealed slightly when he squeezed her shoulders in a hard grip. “Mew, I may have reproductive organs, but it does not mean I have the capability to give you children,” he explained harshly. “Stop worrying.”

Mew looked away, tensing up and holding herself. “Mewtwo, we're life-mates now. I hope you realize that.”

Something prickled in the back of his mind, a sense of incrimination that he knew about it before. It disappeared when he thought back to the previous week where he had tried to kiss her. The emotions that had sprouted up at that moment they were experiencing now. Still, he had not heard about this announcement. “Since when?”

The petite feline glanced at him for a few moments. “When two Mew kiss, they make the commitment to be forever loyal to each other. We sealed it at Mount Quena... several months ago.”

Mewtwo was surprised with himself he had no other concerns about the ordeal, like it was more of a reminiscence than an actual explanation. Though it still didn't justify why she was avoiding him the entire time if they were life-mates for that long. But for now, he was content with it. He pressed his lips against her cheek, and she let out a quiet mewl. “Mew, there is no need to worry now,” he said gently to lull her. “Everything will be all right.” He turned her head to properly kiss her, though she didn't return it. Her eyes were still cast down, ears drooped and a frown on her lips. “Are you upset that we will not have children?”

She barely shook her head, refusing to look him in the eye. “It's not that...”

“Then what are you worrying about?”

A hand rose to grasp a finger. “Your actions, Mewtwo,” she sighed. “I don't think you're showing love.”

“I am, Mew.”

“No, Mewtwo.” She finally brought herself to meet his vision, holding back stray tears threatening to form. “You were taking your anger out on me in a rather suggestive manner. You couldn't hurt me, so you went ahead to seduce me. You...” She slowly inhaled. “...you were taunting me... asking if I was to refuse you whenever you loved me.” Mew ran her fingers along the bruise on her neck. “I don't know why you would ask me that, I would never refuse you. You're my closest friend, Mewtwo... I love you.” A small teardrop escaped only to be caught up by her clone's knobbed finger and licked off. She watched somberly. “Do you love me, Mewtwo?”

“I do, have I not expressed it enough times?”

“Then if you love me, Mewtwo, I want you to do me a favor.”

“What is it?”

She clasped her hands in front of her, eyes closing for a few seconds before gazing back up at him. “When I'm ready... I'll give you my virginity. But for now... I-I just don't... oh, just promise me that, okay?”

Mewtwo took her by the chin and held her in place to bestow a passionate kiss to her parted lips. “I promise.” He fastened to her neck for a tender love bite.

Mew pushed him off. “Mewtwo, what are you doing?” she gasped.

“I promised not to take your virginity, not for other intimacies.” He licked her cheek with a smile. “Is it a crime now to kiss your mate?”

“N-No, but...”

“Ssh...” His next kiss was soft. “Please do not refuse me, Mew. I have been so devoid of love...” He steadily deepened it. “...if you are so worried... then teach me.”

She whined when he used the tip of his tongue to tease her bottom lip, and quickly pulled back. “Mewtwo, I didn't bring us here for this,” was her pitiful cry. “I just wanted to apologize to you.”

“For breaking my heart?” he murmured.

“For everything.” He clamped down to suck her lips. She wriggled free. “Mewtwo, please stop!”

“Kiss me back and I will forgive you.”

“Mewtwo, please, you don't know what you're getting into!” Mew wailed, gripping the sides of his face in attempt to hold him back. Out-sized and out-powered, Mewtwo easily immobilized her to the ground and crushed a forceful, biting kiss to her mouth. She screamed into him, vainly shaking her head around to throw him off. He pressed himself to her body, running a hand up and down her thigh the same time his tail was stroking hers feverishly. Acting against her own accord, her pelvic area once again drove into him, elevating at an angle. Then his hand repositioned itself.

She was thrown into shudders, moaning uncontrollably into his lips and feeling like she could melt. Tears streamed down as did leaked saliva, and without detaching himself, Mewtwo lapped up all the fluids within range. The heavy petting below roughed, and she tried to call for his attention, but her jaw was now deemed temporarily jammed the more he delved. She sobbed, her heart bleeding profusely from the lack of pure affection. She feared he was going to break his promise and end up taking her precious virginity without a hint of love in his actions. Regretting taking him far away from the edges of the camp, Mew fell into despair as she painfully waited, mentally saying farewell to the last of her chastity.

...but somehow, she must have grown numb or at least used to her clone's body, managing to relax in the midst of her being violated; or possibly she had fallen asleep without any warning. Whatever was the case, she could no longer feel his hard, wet kisses, or a trace of his fingers trailing across her flesh. If anything, there was hardly movement above her. Her head slightly rolled, and a feather-light graze swept across untouched skin, just below her jaw. Air flowing into her mouth felt cool, and her ears picked up tiny sounds of pecks, the sensation following after tickling her neck. She let out a soft sigh, pursing her lips to find them partially moist. A shadow fell over her, a hand sliding into place on her cheekbone. Gingerly, her eyelids fluttered open, her gaze focusing on Mewtwo's star-studded eyes.

Within moments, Mew felt the weight of her beloved on top of her, his heart pumping against his breast to hers. The lingering touch of his other hand was where it last was, barely a twitch to be felt. She opened her mouth to let out any words she wanted to utter, only for them to stick in her throat. Wordlessly, he leaned into her, warmly locking lips. Hesitantly, she welcomed him. The kiss was slow, calming, with no intent to take it deeper; except for when her mouth watered at the thought and she slipped inside his oral cavity briefly.

He broke away after a few minutes, thumb stroking her brow. The two stared at each other unblinkingly until he sat up, removing his hand from her sacred area. “So... this was what Ho-oh meant,” he breathed out, casting his gaze to the bruises on her neck.

“About what?” she wondered quietly, unwilling (or unable) to move from her position.

He scanned further down, taking in her gaunt figure sprawled beneath him. “There is always an opposition to one thing,” he stated, almost in a recitation, “there must be. Everyone in some point in their life feels both, but has to make their own judgment about what it is. Love is the most powerful emotion in the universe, it is only natural. However, lust is just as powerful... maybe even as natural. Some have love control their life, while others live on lust. It takes them over, to the point they are nothing but slaves to it, unable to quench their sexual desires. They continue to go through bodies in the hopes it will, sending them further and further into madness. But love, being the exact opposite, frees the being from heartache and misery, ascending into true happiness, and can be distributed to others. Mew...” The clone reached down to touch the bruises, noticing she barely quivered. “...you are the embodiment of love, the result of two individuals who loved each other and had the desire to have you. I... I am the embodiment of lust, having been created for the sole purpose to fulfill a wicked man's wish to conquer the world. As a result, I have lust coursing through my veins, while you thrive on love. How is it I love you when I am not familiar to it?”

Eyes widening in inner anguish, Mew pushed herself to a sitting position and tightly grasped a hand. “Mewtwo... you aren't suggesting...?”

“I almost raped you, Mew,” he admitted, sending pangs of hurt through her heart, if not more than in his. “I was angry, I was not thinking straight. It did not help that you said we are now life-mates. It only made me...” He took in a shaky breath. “I am a being doomed to desire, but not receive. Hearing that I now have a mate, it gives me hope. But I am undeserving of you, I would only destroy our relationship. You need someone who will love you, who will not get frequent bouts of anger at himself and who will give you children.”

“Mewtwo, don't say that!” she exclaimed, squeezing his paw to her. “You love me, I know you do!”

“Since when is rape considered love?”

“You were making a mistake, yes, but you stopped yourself in time! If you're all lust like you said, you would have taken my virginity by now! But there was some love in there that came through! That love cares for me, I've seen it! I know it exists because you told me... even from a distance...” She fought back her sobs, ducking her head to study his vast hand. She marveled at their size differences, at how the shape was more humanoid compared to her cat-like paws... at how unique it was. Raising it to her lips, she kissed his fingertips one-by-one. “I forgive you, Mewtwo... I forgive you for hurting me back at Mount Quena even though that wasn't you.” She brushed her mouth against his palm. “I forgive you for hurting Latios, you were meaning well protecting me...” She bent her neck to kiss the underside of his wrist. “And I forgive you... for denying me... You didn't mean to... I know you didn't. I knew you were there for me during those difficult days. I was just so scared... when I lost everything... I wanted to tell you then, I just couldn't... Oh, Mewtwo, please forgive me... I don't want you to leave me again.” Her voice gave out, choking on her tears, as she bowed her head onto his forearm, her shaky grip loosening.

The same hand now by her chin tilted her head up, the other wiping away the drops. She hiccuped a little, repositioning her hands to hold his tightly when he leaned down to press a quick kiss onto her quivering lips. Mew wept bittersweetly, remaining clung to him to bury her face into his awaiting hand.

The smell of blood was then more prominent. Looking down, Mewtwo saw a small crimson river dripping from his arm. He noted it wasn't a wound of his. Turning over her own arm, his eyes widened as he horrifically stared at the deep, bloody gash on her wrist. The amount of gushing fluid was great, leaving her entire ghostly-white limb to shake from its loss. Snapping back to her face, he was surprised she was unaffected by it except for her sad expression. “Mew... how long?” he managed to breathe out.

“About twenty-four hours, give or take,” she muttered in a melancholic tone. “Legion won't heal it.”

“What, who?! Wh...who is this Legion?” he sputtered.

“I was going to tell you earlier...”

“Mew, what is going on?!” he gritted, wanting to shake her. “What have you done to yourself?!”

“I don't have enough time, Legion is going to discover I haven't been cast out completely, then that demon is going to kill me.”

“Mew, tell me what is going on!” he hollered, tightly constricting her arms out of an impulse. “Why have you not taken care of this?! Who is this Legion? Who is going to kill you?”

She squirmed under his harsh glare, feeling her injured arm throb painfully. Taking a deep, straining breath, she swiftly started, “Listen, you aren't anywhere near Cherrygrove, heck, this is just an illusion. You were being tricked into thinking nothing had ever happened after my walk. Legion was tempting you, Mewtwo, he wants you to have sex with me—with my body, anyway. I arrived just as you were looking for me, and I got rid of the decoy. Even then...” She shook her head to rid herself of the thought. “You need to fight the temptations off, or he'll win. Legion took over me for a reason.”

“What reason?” he growled, still not making head or tails of it.

“I don't know, there's very little I know. But he had been trying to take over the others, even you. That's why you can't remember attacking Lugia, he had taken you over, you were his original target. But something went wrong, probably me, and he's realized the importance of my specie. Our specie. He was why I couldn't sleep, he was waiting for me to show weakness.” Mew gave a sharp gasp of pain, immediately grasping her head.

He could only watch helplessly as she trembled dangerously in his hands, uttering out agonized shrieks. His heart squeezed out freezing vibes, only able to imagine how painful it must be. “Mew, is it...?”

She nodded vigorously, then peered back up, hurrying her speech. “Mewtwo, you helped slow him down today, but he's going to do everything he can to get what he wants. His plan can't continue if I'm not pregnant... or immortal for one thing... oh, God!” She writhed and twitched in a maddening fit like she was having a seizure. It frightened him until it paused. “H-He can't bring back the Tree of Beginnings, Mewtwo... we're not immune to it anymore.”

“But I thought it was destroyed. Is it possible to get it back?”

“Yes... i-if anything is left of the Tree... it can be brought back. Usually with one of its crystals... if one hasn't been destroyed yet...” She fought back a whimper. “Please, Mewtwo... d-don't give him want he needs. You can't believe everything he says... especially if he tries to pass himself off as me again.”

“Is there a way you can take back control?”

“I-I'm sure...” Mew screamed again for another moment. “...I only managed to get here because you're still asleep... and because my spirit's not as connected to my body anymore—”

“Wait, you are a spirit?” he blurted out incredulously.

“We both are, Mewtwo... whatever happens to our bodies... happens to us and vice versa... because we take the form of them.” She gave a painful smile that only brightened her countenance. “You're so beautiful, Mewtwo... the most unique of all God's spirits... I wish you could see yourself...”

No, you are beautiful, he wanted to amend, but never got the chance. He let out an astonished gasp when she started wavering in and out of focus, his surroundings fading to black. “Mew, hang on, I am going to get you out of here!”

“There's nothing you can do for me now... he already knows.”

He started to panic. “What can I do?”

“Just do what I said... a-and you'll be fine... hopefully. I'll try to contact you through my body... again, hopefully.” She made herself giggle when she faltered a few seconds longer.

“How will I know when it is you speaking to me?”

Holding an intake of breath, she shakily flew up to eye-level and whispered into his ear with the last of her strength. Mewtwo caught her when she fell limp, cradling her protectively close to his chest. He laid a hand against her sternum, wanting to feel her heartbeat once more before she could disappear. Just as they were left in darkness, he saw her eyes open, the azure glow remaining bright in her weak state. They kept their gazes locked on each other, afraid they may fade away into nothingness if they even blinked. It was for that reason the clone allowed himself to cry in front of her, trying to ignore the warning stings of dehydration. “Mew... I honestly never meant to hurt you,” he whispered down to her, fingers curling her fur softly, thankful she wasn't so ethereal. “But I am grateful you forgave me... if only I can forgive myself.” He felt the tips of her tiny digits smooth over his chest in a comforting way. “I was just frustrated with you then, you were so withdrawn I feared for your life. It was the only time I ever saw you so depressed.” His heart nearly stopped when she blinked, then he let out a breath of relief when she hadn't left. “What happened that day, Mew, to make you realize you could not pretend any longer? That you had to accept you could no longer retain your childlike innocence... and that you accepted your womanhood?” He paused for a few moments so he could swallow down the growing lump. “When did you... begin to love me?”

Mew searched inside his eyes during the long silence, her oculars dimming in emotion. Then her arms crawled up his chest as far as they could go, clutching his shoulders. Without breaking the gaze, she lifted her tremulous-self up, using his arm as a ballast for her feet while his hands supported her back. Her breathing was shallow and labored, the strain to stay alive. Leaning forward, she covered his mouth fully, and slowly inhaled.

Mewtwo understood right away what she was trying to do, he had done it once before. Slipping a hand behind her neck, he bent her backward, and breathed down into her lungs. She briefly parted to test out her own respiratory, finding it still irregular, and latched back on. He repeated the step once more, continuing the cycle of resuscitation. Three times it took until the two remained glued together, sharing life. They were willing to accept it was more than a kiss, that it was a soul-to-soul connection the two never dreamed could ever happen. It was more than just a commitment to one another, it was a promise as they exchanged a little part of themselves into the other. A renewed promise only the pair could partake in such a sacred moment as this. Their hearts lifted, and they wept.

Then Mew shoved herself away in a forceful manner.

And they began to fall.

[iCakeify]

The start of the new chapter is pretty confusing... How did Mewtwo get out of that place where he was hold by (the possesed) Mew? Well, the awnser may have existed somewhere, I read it somwhere around 3 AM., so I may have missed something.


But epic whriting so far, the best fanfic I have ever read, even better than the majority of books existing.

And Entei needs more space

[Kutie Pie]

The start of the new chapter is pretty confusing... How did Mewtwo get out of that place where he was hold by (the possesed) Mew? Well, the awnser may have existed somewhere, I read it somwhere around 3 AM., so I may have missed something.

Indeed you did x3. You should have been in bed resting.

Mew said so herself it was all just an illusion created by Legion. She even hinted that Mewtwo's sleeping, and spirits are believed to manifest themselves in dreams. So it's implied that while he was sleeping, Legion went ahead to manipulate his subconsciousness and make him believe nothing has happened. Which is why he didn't recognize the name at first (but felt there was something odd about everything). Make sense now?

And Entei needs more space

XD I'll see what I can do.

Thanks for reviewing. Want me to put you on the PM list?

[Alliance]

YES! ONLY 1 chapter to go!
I've been reading this epic piece of writing for a while, and you are one of the BEST writers I have EVER SEEN! This story is just... OMG!
BTW, I never thought of Mewtwo's help in the second chapter as kissing until Mew reacted. Hehe....
BTW, one of my friends is now a devoted advertiser of this story. Be proud of this awesomeness.

Only problem is it took me an entire day to read the first page. But it was fun to read.

[Qymaen]

Great story! The only gripe I have is that you switch between different POVs all too often without a break in the paragraph. Other than that, GREAT!!!

[midnightjewelz]

Oh, a healthy cookie?! noooo Lol, Another great chapter, well its a little limey but not too much. other than that, its another great chapter.

[Kutie Pie]

...I haven't had an audience like this on Serebii in years... now I wish I am finished with the next chapter, I'd put it up in a heartbeat.

Aslynn♥Pokemon: Why thank you! Do take your time to read this story, I don't want to feel like my readers have to rush through it. That, am I'm not rushing anyone myself, honestly. And who is this friend of yours, I'm curious to know so I can go thank him/her myself.

Qymaen: Muah ha ha, my hanging around the Games section proved successful! What do you mean I've been switching around POVs? I'm not aware of this. You talking about the POVs of Mewtwo and Mew? Wait, wait... the end of chapter six comes to mind. Is that it, as well as a few other places? Huh... even then I still have no idea about it. Can you maybe point out some examples? If this is going to be a problem, I need to know so I can avoid it in future chapters, and even attempt to fix the older chapters. Still, you're enjoying it, so it's probably not that noticeable. Maybe...

midnightjewelz: That protein's for your own benefit*SHOT* Thanks ^_^! Glad to know you're still enjoying the story.

Thank you three for reviewing! You got my blood pumping and brain alert to help me continue with chapter eleven. Even if it means doing research that only results in needing brain bleach. But your support has been keeping me going, so more thanks for this boost.

    Spoiler:- ...:

Show Spoiler

 
Seriously, I'm mentally suffering for you people, I've been running into gruesome pictures for the sake of this chapter. Be happy.
 

[iCakeify]

Yes, I would like to be on the PM list.

Also, you have 2-3 more fans on forum.yugiohcarkmaker.net.

[Kutie Pie]

Yes, I would like to be on the PM list.

Also, you have 2-3 more fans on forum.yugiohcarkmaker.net.

Added.

You happen to be a member on that website by any chance? I doubt they'd be talking about this story on a site where people make Yu-Gi-Oh cards xD, but if you say so -^_^-. Thanks for that information.