Family Matters

by Vaporeon Lugia Krabby

Mewblade, the Mewthree, the Decider of Fate, is out of commission, while her fellows; Swadeaqua, Harddense and Demisewan are in cahoots with Team Rocket, conspiring to capture one of the most elusive Legendary Pokemon in the world. It's matters of family.

1. First Half

Family Matters

By: Vaporeon Lugia Krabby

"How is she?" inquired Mewtwo as he appeared at the entranceway to the sleeping quarters. A small, pink Pokémon hovered over the sprawling bed, looking worriedly at the bed's occupant that lay beneath the purple sheets.

"Mew mew, mew," (No changes, Mewtwo,) Mew said somberly in response. "Mew mew," (I'm worried,) she paused, constructing her thoughts. "Mew mew mew mew. Mew mew mew mew. Mew mew mew mew, mew mew mew mew." (Her mind isn't active. Her soul energy is ill. We kept her alive, but that was it.) Mewtwo walked forward, bending his upper body over the bed to take a look for himself.

"Sad to say, Mew, but you are right. She has been in that same exact state for the last two months."

"Mew, mew mew mew mew mew mew mew," (Yeah, but the first was the worst,) commented Mew as she faced away. "Mew mew mew mew! Mew!" (Mewblade will never wake up! Never!) Mew shouted. There was evident frustration from the state that Mewblade was in, bringing her to cry in grief. Mewtwo gave Mew a glance then returned his eyes to Mewblade. The expression on her face never changed. It was the same expressionless look it had been for weeks. Mewtwo reached out with his paw and passively stroked Mewblade's cheek to reaffirm that she was indeed alive. The short black fur was rough, but still a bit silky if caressed in the right direction. He wanted her to be okay, yet no change had come to pass with Mewblade's condition. Mewtwo withdrew his paw.

"If her condition doesn't improve, I will bring the end of this existence. It will be better for us all," muttered Mewtwo in a solemn tone, seeing that any hopes were becoming more bleak with each passing day. Mew nodded in response, weighed down by the helplessness of the situation. "We will discuss about this at a later date." Mew watched quietly as Mewtwo wrapped his blue energy around his form. A moment later he left with a Teleport, leaving Mew behind to contemplate.

"I'm scared," a voice whimpered.

"Sweetie. My little boo," cooed another. "You must be strong. The quicker you can overcome your fears, the faster you can leave and come back home to us."

"But . . . but it's dark and I have a terrible feeling about this place . . ." the first voice sounded shaky. "Please, can I go home now?" it continued to whimper. Noises were made as it sunk to what sounded like a hard floor. The second sighed, while patient it realized that there was at least some sense of urgency involved.

"We're here to guide you. Now stand up." There was a quiet shuffling as the first rose to their feet. "Good. Walk over to the door, and don't be scared. You've done this many times before. Everything is okay," the second voice counseled the first. The voice was soft, melodic although authoritative and oddly convincing. "You're doing just fine, hun," and then there was an abrupt halt as the second voice lost its focus, turning to the front of the room.

The room was full of large computer modules, people, and all sorts of peripherals for monitoring and observing the goings of everything around. A man in the company issued medical technician uniform had entered in a flustered panic. While he feigned a high level of panic, it was obvious to the owner of the second voice that his worry was greatly over exaggerated.

"Izabelle, take over," the voice instructed, disgruntled. "Such disturbances do not aid us in progression." This was said to the general air of the room. With the first being in such a dismal state and then being abandoned, it did not prove helpful. Izabelle reclaimed her seat, knowing that it was up to her to calm her current charge down. It was a skill that only the one who's position she replaced was good at.

"Monsieur Clarkson, what is going on?" the tone of voice dripped. Clarkson was beyond speaking, already in a stutter. Technically he was the superior in some regards, but the cold gaze pierced his mind, made him numb and helpless. "Either answer or I shall implement harsher motivation."

"Sorry!" he blurted suddenly. The outburst was a sign of weakness, and he quickly tried to reign in his nervousness. "Your master instructed me to get you when you weren't busy. He needs your help with a business thing of sorts."

"He wouldn't send you normally," was the bland reply, not willing to humor the insolence. An audible gulp emitted from Clarkson's throat. He had some explaining to do.

"I went to him to tell him about 004.b. He mentioned he wanted to see you about those matters and ones connected with 001." There was some hesitation as he spoke, regretting his choice of words.

"As he airily told you that he would like to consult with me on such matters, you assumed that he meant now. Anything of such urgency he pages me or sends the appropriate messengers, not one so hapless and pathetic."

"Sorry," Clarkson muttered, eyes downcast. The one whom he was talking to strolled past him. His eyes briefly left their shameful gaze to catch the sight of such an assured being. The curve of her body drew his gaze up across her smooth skin, lush lips, to her exotic aquamarine eyes. She saw him sneak the peak. Her voice was perfectly pitched, silky soft yet easily wielded to intimidate and damage those within range.

"Frankly one such as yourself will not last long in this business, and I will have your ignorance escalated to the boss." She swayed her hips as she headed out the door. Every male, and the odd woman in the room directed their eyes between her hips. "Give me a call if anything alarming happens with DW," added the effeminate beauty as she left.

She took to her right down the hallway, keeping an even stride. At the intersection a hand reached out to her shoulder, drawing her attention. "Yes, Stanford?" she sighed, demonstrating playful boredom and then continued walking. "What is the current situation?" Stanford matched his gate to hers, keeping in stride. He was tall, well-educated though he masked his assertiveness with deceptive good looks and snappy dressing. Appearance was key to intimidation, and if one could look better then they would feel better, thus making everyone feel worse and more easy to control. He flipped his shades onto the top of his head, knowing that the blank expression it offered would never fool the female.

"I figured that the Clarkson fellow was a nuisance enough to get you outside of that black box the 'spies' faun over. Also, it helps that I am aware of what the boss is in need of," stated Stanford, having chosen the word 'spies' over the more obvious hacker skills that the one group possessed. His female associate branched many collective groups, and when anyone needed her skills, she was there; of course, their boss always had the rights over everyone else. "As you know, we are investigating the video footage of the fight between 001 and 002. There have been several reports prior to that battle of the location of 001. 001 has been identified as a roamer based on what we have observed from various unexplained incidents across the region."

"Namely we have identified her as a killer," she added quietly.

"Yes. We've been linking those incidents to reports collected from the autopsy on 002. Those injuries on what is believed to be 001's victims are consistent with those seen on the videos and during the autopsy," Stanford continued with a nod. The pair stopped at a door leading into one of the smaller conference rooms. "001 has not been spotted in the last three months, and while this is a relief to the members of our group, it adds to the concern of what did happen during those final minutes. It is believed that 001 is either hiding, adopted some sort of stealth or . . ."

". . . is dead," she finished.

"Exactly. We wish to do a full-out inquest into the matter to verify whether or not 001 is indeed alive or not. If possible, we would like to pursue incarceration."

"Ah, so I was right. What he wouldn't do to have that one captured," she said with a wry smile, wrapping her arms around Stanford's shoulders. "Maybe you should consider giving up that cushy executive job of yours and be my little running boy. You would be better than any of the fools around here." Stanford laughed in response.

"Enough flattery. I like my desk job, since it does not involve being under yours." The remark was on equal terms between the pair, small payback for being considered a messenger. Stanford reached his hand to the gold colored doorknob, checking down the hallway as two people walked by, chatting about the superiority of their Pokémon. For a moment their heads turned, catching the alluring form before continuing on their way. As expected, Stanford's companion was not phased from the stares.

"Oh," she pouted, playing on disappointment. "I am always willing to return the favor," she winked, kissing Stanford on the cheek. Stanford chuckled, then opened the door. The two of them resumed a more professional work attitude as they entered the room, Stanford quietly closing the door behind. At the far end of the table was Stanford's boss, the female's master. Her master looked at the pair.

"You're here early, Swadeaqua. Even so, let's get to business."

The Viridian Gym floor. It was a dark place with hard-packed ground, marble support columns, earthy colored walls, and an imposing balcony. The skylight above was the only true source of illumination. Atop the balcony was a human female dressed in uniform. In her left hand was a remote control which sole function involved the Pokémon below. The Pokémon looked up at the woman in subordinateness but its shoulders sagged in defeat.

"Are you going to train or what?" the female, who was named Nichole said with a giddily sadistic tone. The eyes of the Pokémon narrowed more so.

"I hate fighting, ya dig?" the Pokémon was not only male but spoke a diluted version of inner city English. Nichole leaned over the rail, smiling. She was responsible for disciplining 004.b. His name was 'Harddense' but to her he was just another defiant Pokémon in need of breaking. To why she smiled was obvious to anyone who had even minimal exposure to the woman, Nichole enjoyed punishing disobedience.

"Yeah, I do 'dig', but boss' rules." Her finger pressed a button on the remote. A shock collar attached snuggly around Harddense's neck responded to the button with a jolt. Harddense shouted in pain, collapsing to the floor as his limbs convulsed from the shock. Nichole continued to watch with little remorse. She knew Harddense would get up; after all, he always did.

"Get up before I decide to have you watch that sweet, little twin of yours deal with her own punishment," threatened Nichole. Of all the things Harddense valued more than the wellbeing of others it was that of his fraternal twin sister.

There had been ideas spreading throughout the facility about the pair. They had an insatiable bond connected on a level both physically and presumably spiritually. To what degree was only apparent to those who worked closely with them. The female was possessive to the extent that at times if she feared even marginally for her brother she would fly into fits of uncontrollable anger. Her fighting skills would become phenomenal at that point; otherwise, she had no fighting abilities whatsoever. Because of her possessive nature she was no longer allowed to be within visible or audible range of Harddense's training and battling.

Harddense on the other hand was docile with a passivist's approach to life. Unlike his sister he took to being protective, often carrying his twin around when she needed it. When his sister was present he would be fearless, strengthened by their bond and willing to guard her if she was scared. Together, the twins would make every effort to spend time with one another, reaffirming their connection as twins.

The more perverse of the staff could easily see the potential of such a nurturing relationship. While the trainers could abuse the power of the female if properly controlled, the breeders of the group saw the potential in possible offspring. Anyone close and more intimately involved with the twins knew that neither option was wise and quickly put an end to such thoughts.

"Get up!" roared Nichole, bending over the balcony rail to vent her anger. Harddense shifted, looking at the gym floor shamefully. While he could not bring himself to hate Nichole, he definitely did not like her. "Well, well, well. He finally moved," sneered Nichole, still leaned over the rail.

"Why bother moving more?" he questioned, shifting to his heels so that way he would be more comfortable. His softly shaped, rust colored eyes met those of Nichole. Harddense's saddened frustration received a look of detest from his trainer.

"We're going to get you moving so we can work on getting some motion into that lead weight frame of yours," Nichole cited the problem with Harddense's lack of agility; this one issue a vice for her. Harddense nodded somberly, not disagreeing.

"Will you leave my sister alone if I do train?"

"Duh. You fight and train, and your sister remains unharmed. You should know that by now, metal head." Nichole paused from her insults, trying to come up with some moves. "Let's begin with a few punches to get you started. A good warm up."

"Okay, but you know I only do this for Demisewan."

"I am not doing 'just fine', Swadeaqua!" yelled the voice that was originally speaking to Swadeaqua. It was completely oblivious to the fact that Swadeaqua had left. The voice realized that the expected reassuring response did not come through. "Are you there?" it whimpered before sniffling for upwards of a minute.

"Sorry about the pause, Demisewan," Izabelle said, as the sounds of her adjusting the headset were caught over her microphone. Demisewan knew Izabelle and welcomed her presence.

Demisewan was considered the plain one in contrast to Swadeaqua's lavish looks. She stood at a comfortable 5'10" but was far more petite in stature, making her come across as cute and innocent. Harddense was her fraternal twin but both lacked physical similarities and even the same parents. Demisewan's appearance came from her combination of Mew, Mewtwo and Haunter genes. Her colors consisted of a muted purple, with a richer purple for her tail and eyes. Of the things that made her stand-out was her affliction for wildly colored stylizing, which she displayed with hot pink lipstick. At least to Demisewan that was what she believed made her shocking. As Demisewan was only a ghost type she demonstrated one perturbed feature, three digit, disembodied paws. The ability to move them as if they were both connected and not from her wrist was often considered spooky. With her height defined by the tips of her long devil horns she looked short, the paws often losing their effect to every other feature. Combined with her adorable Mew feet as well as the large amount of fur, Demisewan was hardly a threat in appearance. The bang-like fur and partial cheek mane mixed with her large, round cat eyes made her more believable to be of her right, young age.

Harddense on the other hand only shared one parent with Demisewan, which was Mewtwo. The other two genetic contributors included Steelix and Scisor, making him the single type of steel. Harddense was an inch taller than Demisewan, though his height was defined by his ears as only the females of the species possessed horns. His body was encased in steel, while his Steelix tail was oxidized iron. At his shoulders two curled spikes furled from them, as well as solitary ones from the back of his heels. His two Mewtwo toes were molded into claws, where as his paws were nothing like that of a Mewtwo. Instead of paws, Harddense had talons that were made up of two clawed fingers and the clawed thumb that would rest comfortably between the middle. The pair were bonded on the notion that they were created and awoken at the same time, agreeing to be considered twins and in turn complimenting each other perfectly.

Demisewan was not as brave as her brother unless he was threatened in which case she became controlling and a danger to anyone who came within range of him. It was arguable that her intelligence rivaled Harddense's wisdom as neither overemphasized either such trait. Bravery was a trait to Harddense, and while being a ghost could make Demisewan creepy, she herself scared easily.

"Swadeaqua has to deal with some important things," Izabelle apologized, trying to soothe Demisewan's shaken nerves. She was clearly not as good as Swadeaqua when it came to being encouraging. Despite the fact her skills paled in comparison to those of Swadeaqua, her job demanded that she should be able to do some coaching.

"See the panel in front of you?" Because of the monitoring equipment back at the headquarters Izabelle was able to observe what Demisewan saw through a well-equipped headset mounted on Demisewan's head. Demisewan kept her head steady as the camera on her headset focused on the panel, confirming what Izabelle was referencing on the blueprints before her. A small visor covered the Pokémon's eye, also displaying the blueprints. Despite being so far away from the source of information, Demisewan always had access to footage, as well as live two-way voice communication so that way she would never be alone.

"Is this it?" Demisewan's right paw touched the panel, fingers roving over the raised numbers. Izabelle confirmed with what she saw captured from Demisewan's camera.

"Yes that is. We need a code entered so the terminal inside boots." Izabelle flipped through her binder, locating the code that was required. "Enter 8 . . . 5 . . . 5 . . . 2 . . . 4 . . . 9 . . ." With a bit of caution, Demisewan entered in the numbers. A light above the keys changed from red to green, signifying that access was granted. "That was easy." Demisewan was pessimistic.

The female maneuvered to the computer terminal situated at the far side of the room, speedily shoving a diskette into the A/ of the console. Izabelle was surprised as Demisewan usually waited for commands before executing them. The Pokémon knew the procedure and was anxious to leave.

"Okay. That's good," Izabelle muttered. She took a moment to flip to another page within the binder so she could retrieve various command codes. Clacking sounds could be heard as she looked up at her screen to see that Demisewan had already passed one screen and was currently attempting to bypass a series of secured zones. Despite having only four fingers and two thumbs collectively, she made quick work of her hacking and entered the desired screen. White text screamed down the monitor with the secrets of the company exposed to the offending source. Waiting was not an option for Demisewan since her fears were controlling her and relying on Izabelle's knowledge, while safe, was slow.

"I am in, I think," Demisewan said uncertainly. Izabelle gave a quick glance to confirm what Demisewan was seeing.

"You are in. Run the debugpro.exe and we can get all of that data," instructed Izabelle as she began checking over the rest of the procedures outlined for the current mission. Demisewan whipped through more screens, having little use for the mouse. Her fast fingers prompted the exchange of several files, uploading malware onto the terminal in turn. "Remove the disk."

"Got it," Demisewan announced as she removed the diskette, depositing it in a carrying pouch around her tiny waist. As she walked away the terminal issued a security breach protocol, startling both Demisewan and Izabelle.

"Turn around!" Izabelle shouted to Demisewan in a panic, though the ghost type was fast thinking and had faced the screen. More computer jargon flew across the monitor as the system began initiating its intruder responses. Eyes wide, Demisewan stared on as the monitor explained in great detail of the offense she caused and the following actions.

"Get out of there!" Izabelle yelled, bracing her hands to the desk in front of her as the words 'lockdown' appeared on the screen. Demisewan faced away but stopped as she heard a low hissing noise coming from ceiling. Her eyes turned up, briefly catching a green mist coming from the vents before the lights went out.

"Was that chlorine?" asked someone else in the room as everyone's attention drew to the emergency.

"I don't know," Izabelle said frantically. The emergency lights came on and Demisewan was able to see the fast settling gas flow down the walls and stream from the ceiling.

"Tell her to move!"

"You heard. That stuff can kill you!" Izabelle ordered. Demisewan was completely shaken unable to think straight with the blare from the emergency alarms. "Drop a floor!"

Demisewan started coughing as she said, "Okay." With minimal effort on her part, Demisewan faded through the floor beneath her. She dropped through the spacers between the two floors of the building, landing unharmed on the cold floor below. Phasing was an ability that came naturally to her despite not actually being deceased in any way. Such a trait made quick escapes easy, the reason why Demisewan had been selected for espionage work. The Pokémon paused to cough.

"We'll be lucky if she doesn't die at this rate," one of the people from the tiny crowd commented arrogantly. Izabelle ignored him and focused on getting Demisewan out of there.

"Demisewan, go down seven floors." Demisewan was coughing heavily now, the chlorine gas having seared the soft tissue of her lungs. "You have to keep moving. Any longer and those coughs could become really serious." The view on the monitor shook as Demisewan bobbed her head. She proceeded to perform her phasing technique through the floors. "Justin, we have an emergency."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm already on it," said the 34 year old male from his seat. Izabelle could hear him make the arrangements to have the recovery team prepare for a quick pick-up. "Parkade, okay?"

"Do it." Izabelle was making mental notes to herself of where she was trying to get Demisewan to. "Three rooms forward, one room left," she said to Demisewan, who had lightened her weight considerably to ease her landing. Another trick of phasing. Taking to her feet, Demisewan went through the rooms.

"Where . . ." Demisewan could not speak as she coughed fitfully, ". . . now?"

"Straight ahead." Demisewan charged ahead, unaware of where she was but placing her faith in Izabelle. The heedless move sent her straight into an open elevator shaft. Quick-witted as expected in such a situation, Demisewan lunged at the pulley cables and wrapped herself around the closest guideline.

They always do this to me, thought Demisewan. The emergency lights spun in a dizzying cycle of red, reflecting off of Demisewan's metallic accessories. Everywhere she looked it brought her little comfort.

"Shimmy to the bottom," sighed Izabelle as she felt a sense of relief. Most of the problems had to be over.

"I hear something," Demisewan whispered, stopping her descent. A hush filled the room so everyone could hear. In the background of Demisewan's microphone metal noises and heavy thuds sounded.

"Oh no!" Izabelle clenched her white knuckles into a fist as she listened. Demisewan too came to the realization that she was in more trouble. "Someone, get Swadeaqua!" A person near the back of the crowd ran out of the door. Realizing that the situation was completely out-of-control, Izabelle hoped to turn to the only one who knew how to remain calm at such times. "Demisewan, listen. Turn invisible and be very quiet." The camera and gear remained functional as Demisewan used her ghostly powers to force the matter within her body and directly connected to her to become invisible. "Good girl." Izabelle was tense, praying to herself that Demisewan would not betray her position with a cough.

A thin red beam of light traced its way up the walls of the elevator shaft from its source several floors below. It drifted past Demisewan, the scope unable to catch sight of anything amiss. Demisewan was desperately trying to hold back a cough, stifling it with little sniffle but her agitated lungs gave. The sound of her coughing echoed through the silence.

"Someone is up there," said a voice.

"Shoot it!" yelled the leading figure of the group. The crowd flinched as they heard several guns chamber via the speakers that someone evidently turned on. Three of the weapons unloaded their casings, the earsplitting sounds amplified in the narrow space. An even more painful sound came from Demisewan.

"Aaahhh!" Demisewan shrieked in pain, her left arm going numb. She had never been hurt before and the feeling ripped through every nerve. Still, Demisewan managed to keep a hold with her paws since they kept their strength no matter the circumstance.

"I heard it. Why isn't anyone getting a visual?!"

"Now, drop!" hollered Izabelle, bouncing from her chair.

"'Kay!" Demisewan pulled back from the cable, throwing her arms and paws back. Aside the invisibility, Demisewan avoided using any other of her ghostly tricks. Demisewan let her full 125 lbs take her down the shaft. Two stories from slapping concrete, she used her failing awareness to phase her weight. Her control stopped a foot above the pavement, followed by her crumpling to the parkade's floor in meager heap of purple fur.

People dressed in uniform piled out from several unmarked vehicles. Demisewan could identify them as part of Justin's recovery team, letting herself pass out knowing that they would take her back home. One of the men scooped the small frame into his arms, the bullet wound staining his jacket.

"How does a ghost type get a bullet wound?" one of the men asked as he pointed out the injury.

"We can ask about that later after we get her in the SUV and have a tourniquet put on it," said another as he waved the men back to the vehicles. The group understood that soon there would be a swarm of all levels of security and law enforcement converging on their location. They had to leave while the opportunity presented itself. Any other time left stalling would possibly cost Demisewan her life.

Someone barged through the conference room doors in a state of disarray. He panted heavily from a lack of physical fitness. "Demisewan is in serious trouble!" he gasped, taking a chance to see the stern expression of his employer. Swadeaqua quietly looked at her master for his thoughts on the matter.

"Swadeaqua, go with Mr. Matthews and deal with this untimely interruption."

"Right away, sir," Swadeaqua lowered her head towards him followed by rising from her seat. She resented serving under that man. Swadeaqua was a sophisticated, intelligent leader with strong reasoning skills. If it were not for the fact that everyone's fear towards her master was so strong, then it would be easy for her to claim dominance. Her master returned to talking to Stanford as Swadeaqua walked out the door, Matthews following behind her.

Swadeaqua could practically feel the panic from Matthews, it was so intense. While she was naturally calm in any situation she was worried for what could have possibly happened. "Is this as serious as I assume?"

"Definitely!" Matthews piped. Any time wasted was now of utmost concern. Swadeaqua took off down the hallway in long strides, carrying her quickly to the monitoring room. She slid a keycard out from a sleeve on her belt and swiped it impatiently through the slot. The door unlocked and Swadeaqua slammed the door open. The crowd scattered to let Swadeaqua pass as she stormed up to Izabelle's station. She had arrived late, the recovery squad was already at Demisewan's location and retrieving her. The generally ignored vital monitors all displayed lower signs of life. Swadeaqua raised her voice shrilly.

"What has happened?!"

"The software we downloaded onto their system tripped a highly advanced security system. We did manage to upload some of their data to a diskette and it should be brought back with Demisewan shortly," was Izabelle's nervous and weary reply.

"Demisewan does not come out of her assignments unconscious," Swadeaqua hissed. She had no need to raise her voice to show that she was infuriated.

"We encountered chlorine gas. It was seeping from the air vents." Swadeaqua was paying more attention to what Izabelle was expressing physically rather than verbally. There was a retention of information from the way she drew herself in at the end of the statement.

"Continue." Izabelle looked up but felt unable to appease the flat, opaque face of Swadeaqua. There was no way to bluff her, so she proceeded on nervously.

"Everything went dark and the emergency lights came on. Of course there were alarms and the gas. We brought Demisewan to the elevator and the gas was just too much for her," lied Izabelle as she whipped through the last few words.

"What screw up are you hiding from me?" Swadeaqua's eyes looked down at Izabelle, forcing the woman into a further state of inferiority and powerlessness.

"A special ops unit found Demisewan," exasperated Izabelle in defeat. "We tried to get her out but they shot into the shaft and struck her arm. We managed to get her out of there without any further discovery." With her head hung Izabelle fully expected to be made an example of. Swadeaqua took a step back and turned to the general direction of the assembly.

"I am appalled at your reactions, lack of conscience thought, lack of any intelligent reasoning. You were presented with a change of plans and froze. Now I am not putting the blame on all of you, but definitely for some." Heads remained down. "A discussion time will be arranged so that way you will all be prepared in case another incident as such should occur." There was little else to add thus Swadeaqua took her leave. A whispered bit of undermining carried to her ears.

"For a Pokémon, we should be mastering her." It took minimal effort for Swadeaqua to recognize the voice and place it to one of the young men. Her body pivoted to face him, and he knew he was in trouble.

"So, Mr. Lewis," she began, the words hardly passing across her lips and already Lewis was in shivers. "You believe a sentient Pocket Monster can not so as much as share the same opportunities or career as you do?" The man was quiet, unsure of what to say since Swadeaqua had the capacity to warp words. "Well?"

"It just came out. I didn't mean it," Lewis murmured with his head to the floor.

"If it happens again I will have you sent to the disciplinary officer. And I do mean it." Swadeaqua haughtily left the room knowing that time was short and the meeting needed to be postponed. Despite the rush she still had the time to dash into the bathroom.

Swadeaqua slammed the door behind her and braced her paws over the counter. What Lewis said had really bit into her. She knew she was a Pokémon and hated to be reminded of it despite the fact her reflection was unable to fib. Her eyes gazed at the mirror, briefly seeing if her aquamarine lipstick was smeared. It matched her pale aquamarine skin, where her eyes and tail were identical to her lipstick in color. On her back were two sets of fins with membranes of the darker color. This same detail was added to a single row of fins on the back of her second neck. At the top of her head she had long horns that curled forward. Swadeaqua's appearance lived up to her dragon and psychic types, even her 8'3" height was because of the dragon within her. While her large breasts and entire lack of a nose are traits to which humans prefer, she could not escape facts. There was no ability for her to be in both worlds with the way she thought contrasting the ways in which she looked. She could be anywhere she wanted with anyone but truly alone in the same regard.

Swadeaqua sighed quietly to herself then returning her mind to her duties. There was a meeting to cancel and an injured Demisewan to see to.

Mewblade lay in the bed in a unchanging vegetable state. No one was around, at least no one that should have been there. An eight year old girl with blonde hair peered in through the archway, scoping the area for any security. In her arms she cradled an Abra and on her head rested an Eevee. The coast was clear and she moved her way into the room.

"She is still in a coma," spoke the Abra in a widespread telepathy.

"I know," murmured the girl in a soft voice.

"Do you want to stay?" asked the Pokémon, looking up through slitted eyes.

The girl nodded saying, "Yes, Abbott" in her continuing soft voice.

"Eeeveee eve evee eeve, eee eee eve." (Every time we come here you act so sad.) The Eevee bounced onto the bed, turning around to face her owner. She could empathize with the girl's bitterness yet always avoided expressing in preference for her natural cynicism. "Eevee, eee evee eevve eeve eve. Eveee eve eevee evvve evee?" (Coline, you really didn't know her. So why do you keep coming back?) Her eyes darted away then she returned her gaze to Coline's face. "Eeveee eeeve eee eve evve eve eee eee." (You shouldn't invest so much time into this.) The Eevee looked behind her to what might as well be a corpse. Mewblade did not move, she did not breath. The fact that she had a pulse was about the only reason anyone could even assume she was alive.

"She's not dead! Mewblade is not dead!" Coline bawled. The Abra was not entirely startled by the outburst. It would have been more predictable to him but he did not know what went through Coline's mind, just as he did not know what would go on in Eevee's. Despite the innate skill of mind reading that came naturally to his species, their minds were relatively impenetrable. He Teleported to the bed to have an easy vantage.

"Eevee did not mean to use past tense, Coline," he said from the edge of the bed. Eevee sat next to him as they both looked up at Coline in worry.

"It's not that. She just, Eevee . . . She just shouldn't be acting like Mewblade's dead." Eevee drooped her ears at the sight of Coline's tears. She was arrogant but did not aim to make Coline cry. Eevee just simply lacked the spirit of Coline, by now being defeated by the lack of response from the Mewthree. Abbott casually watched Coline walk past, having an idea what was going to transpire. He shuffled closer to Coline as she grabbed onto Mewblade's shoulder.

"Mewblade, I want you to wake up!" Coline ordered stubbornly. "Please, wake up!" Her hands shook Mewblade's shoulder.

"Stop it!" Abbott had gripped his tiny claws into Coline's arm, urging her to quit her actions. Abras are normally sedate creatures but as Abbott was special then he tended to break the rules of his fellows.

"She's done sleeping," Coline retorted.

"Mewtwo explained this to you before and it seems like you have already forgotten."

"Eee, eevee evve eee?" (Oh, what did he say?) Eevee said with a big roll of her eyes. Abbott was less receptive to Eevee's emotions than Coline and did not gather that it was sarcasm.

"If you wake someone in a coma, they could be severely mentally damaged. You could possibly kill them." Abbott looked up as Coline began a mocking stance, imitating Mewtwo as if he were addressing the three.

"'Mewblade injured her body, mind and soul to the point of death. Breathing on her could kill her. We must take all precautions to ensure her safety and well-being. That includes not going near her.'" Eevee giggled wildly as Coline proceed to flap her hands, lip-syncing them to her speech. Coline proved she knew.

"Eeevee eeeve eeeve eee evve eeve evve eee evvvee eevee," (Mewtwo could bore her to death with what he talks about,) added Eevee. She quickly spilled onto the floor, racing off into the main room. "Evee eevvee eevee eee. Eevee!" (I'm taking the throne chair. Night!) Coline smiled to herself, enjoy the support of her friend. "Eeeeee! Eve eee evvveee!" (Ooh! The cushion is so comfy!) Coline and Abbott laughed at Eevee's joyous idiocy from the other room, content she could make the situation light.

"Pokéball," Abbott requested, preferring to sleep in there rather than the open.

"Here you go," Coline replied, having retrieved the ball from her bag. She recalled Abbott before putting it back into the green backpack. Tiredness was already setting in and a light snooze could not hurt. Effortlessly, Coline fell asleep at the end of the bed, emotionally drained and in need of a nap.

Swadeaqua rapped lightly on the door of the conference room to announce her return before entering. Her master and Stanford were looking over several papers though were fixated on her upon entry.

"Did you manage to take care of the problem?"

"As much of it as possible," she replied to her master's question. "Sir, may I request a postponement of the meeting?" Swadeaqua was naturally reluctant to voice her emotional needs and often used a whimsical air when approaching it. Such a request had to be further explained. "004.a was injured during the reconnaissance at the Biotech Research Facility. While I have been told her injuries are not serious, Demisewan is still my sister and as family I should be there. It would help for me to have a personal scope of the damage to assess how to avoid such incidents in the future."

"Giovanni, sir," Stanford addressed Swadeaqua's master by his first name, a privilege that was not allowed for Swadeaqua. "004.b is in training and it is unnecessary punishment to have him barred from visiting 004.a."

"Fine, fine. Go!" Giovanni snarled, irritated with the whole organization. "We will continue this when there are no disturbances." Swadeaqua and Stanford waited on instructions for their dismissal. "You can leave." Stanford made a nod of his head but Swadeaqua was made to do more as she was no equal in Giovanni's eyes.

"Thank you, master," she bowed her head, lowering her eyes. Giovanni did not even hide his pride. The sneer plastered across his face made Swadeaqua scream inside. One day, she vowed, she would be the one grinding his face into the floor.

Swadeaqua repressed her emotions and appeared calm as she opened the door and walked into the hall. A small click from behind queued that Stanford had left the room as well.

"Since you suggested to relieve Harddense of his training, you may as well gather him," Swadeaqua spoke with an unwavering voice; though, on the inside she was furious, feeling alone with no one to talk to. Stanford glanced over the rim of his shades, unable to see anything past the reassured visage of Swadeaqua' demeanor. Best way for her to voice her needs was to ask.

"Anything else?" he smirked, hinting to a nature of Swadeaqua that everyone knew but dare not address to her personally. It was a need she constantly expressed but somehow it seemed so easily misplaced. Her eyes playfully gazed at the ceiling before flashing a seductive smile in Stanford's direction. To some she was more ready to play games with, and they with her. Stanford made the offer and she figured she would humor it in one way or another.

"If you're so willing to please me, then would you mind grabbing the level sixty-three Arcanine that is in Shane Docks' care? I would like him in his Pokéball, on my dresser, sometime before this evening. Think you can manage?" she leaned in, her lips teasing around Standford's ear.

"I think I can manage," Stanford smirked smugly. "Just as long as I don't have to explain why Docks' Arcanine is so tired tomorrow morning," he added with a chuckle, walking away. Swadeaqua returned to business, something that actually involved her family for once.

Harddense collapsed to the gym floor in a muted heap. His day had consisted of intense amounts of training and seemingly endless battles against throngs of Pokémon trainers. It was not that he was too exhausted by the fighting. Physically he had great stamina, but mentally he was drained.

"Get up!" Nichole roared from on high, looking ever more authoritative in her sharp gym representative outfit. Giovanni rarely battled his opponents over the Earth Badge and instead chose those who were training the most elite of Pokémon. The Viridian Gym was renowned for powerful Pokémon and many trainers often saved the gym for when they were more prepared. Being able to fight against experienced trainers was a privilege that was taken very seriously. Harddense had little appreciation for it since he was doing all the fighting while Nichole was doing all the barking.

"I feel like a train wreck," Harddense huffed as he shifted his body, moving it into a weak stance. With his hung head he barely could see the horrified expression of the trainer at the other end of the gym. The boy had never heard an English speaking Pokémon, let alone witness a Pokémon that could take such a heavy barrage of attacks. On the field with Harddense was an exhausted Typhlosion. It too could not understand why the steel type was even standing after what was being thrown at him.

"Typhlosion, use Fire Spin then jump and hit it with a Flamethrower!" ordered the boy, his index finger pointed at Harddense.

"Ty!" (Okay!) Typhlosion pepped, lacking its necessary enthusiasm.

"Uh-oh," gasped Nichole as she winced at the thought. The reality was that Harddense was slow and incapable of dodging. If the Fire Spin hit then he would overheat, possibly passing out and facing dangerous injury.

Harddense's eyes were wide, practically paralyzed as he heard the commands. In a stressful situation involving himself he often froze. What do I do? Nichole was not psychic but she provided her guidance.

"Sand Attack, you dummy!"

"Way up," Harddense responded, curling his tail up on the ground. The dogged running of the Typhlosion made it easy to predict its next move. His tail brought up the grit from the floor, sweeping the debris into the Typhlosion's eyes.

"Ty! Typhlosion," (Ow! My eyes,) wailed the fire type as it shook its head back and forth. The stinging forced its red eyes shut, tearing up painfully.

"Typhlosion, move away!" the trainer shouted. He was wary with the increasing sneer on Nichole's face making him nervous. "Use Flamethrower!"

Harddense gasped as the Typhlosion faced his general direction, followed by even more of a correction because of Harddense's noise.

"Duck!" Nichole called out clearly, refusing to let Harddense or any Pokémon she trained, to lose. Harddense dropped his body to the floor, the Flamethrower only catching the slight raise of his tail. He peeked through his talons as the heat overhead waned. "Take it out with a Slash." Nichole was calmer with her instructions this time. The Sand Attack had seriously impaired the Typhlosion's ability to see.

Stanford walked up behind Nichole, tapping her lightly on the shoulder. She glanced behind herself, uttering a few words of displeasure to his visit. "Get lost," she growled. Stanford kept a straight face. Nichole was a trainer, not an executive and had no authority to insult him. To some their passions overrode things such as common courtesy.

"How's he doing?" Stanford looked over the woman's shoulder to watch as Harddense returned to his feet.

"Fine. Go!" Nichole hissed back at Stanford. The trainer on the floor was puzzled but knew he had to help his Pokémon win.

"Run towards my voice," he said, aware that a Slash would win Nichole the match. The Typhlosion started to jog towards its master.

"I'm busy." Nichole shoved Stanford in the chest, making him step aside. "Tackle, Slash!" she called, leaning over the balcony and glowering at Harddense. Harddense nodded his head before running after the Typhlosion. He was at the right distance to lunge and threw his body forward, knocking the Typhlosion down with his heavy weight. The nearly flameless back hardly caused Harddense to flinch as he proceeded with the Slash, leaning his upper body back and swiping his two talons across its spine. The Typhlosion screamed, terrified and unable to understand how much damage it just suffered from.

"My Typhlosion!" wailed the trainer as he watched his Pokémon collapse to the ground, still trying to squirm its way towards the human. He disregarded that Harddense was close and ran to the Typhlosion's aid. Harddense stayed beside it, biting his bottom lip in mental anguish.

"I win!" Nichole cried out in glee as she jumped about in celebration.

"I'm calling it a day for 004.b," Stanford spoke quietly. Nichole stopped her victory performance.

"Why?" She briefly glanced at the field. Harddense was staring at the Typhlosion, unable to take his eyes off of it. She could hardly believe his shock was any reason to take him out of battling. Harddense was sympathetic to his opponents and found that hurting them, especially critically, would leave him emotionally numb. He was still fighting fit and only needed a bit of rest. Nichole needed an actual reason from Stanford.

Harddense on the other hand badly wanted to be away from the gym floor. He could not believe what he had done. The Typhlosion was almost dead, the Slash had to have cut more than just muscle. With all the blood he could not see why the Pokémon was still alive, taking the blame for it.

"Please," he whispered. The boy looked at him mixed between hating Nichole for calling such a move, and for Harddense executing it. "You have to take your Typhlo away from here. I don't want it to die. Please . . ." Harddense was distraught, unable to tear his eyes from the gash.

Nichole heard Harddense's voice, calmly raising the remote in her hand. "He's not suppose to be talking." Stanford raised his eyebrow, not knowing what the remote was for. He looked over the rail curiously. A gentle compress of the button cleared any misconceptions of the remote's functionality.

"Ahh!" Harddense cried, sliding himself back so he would not accidentally catch the duo in the shock. Doubts about who to blame all went to Nichole upon witnessing the treatment.

"You cruel woman! How could you do that to your own Pokémon?!" The boy stood up, recalling his Pokémon. Pokémon bled less while they were stored in Pokéballs and were easier to transport without further injury.

"That Pokémon should know better not to associate with the opposition," she snorted. Harddense glared up at her bitterly, resenting her.

"Just go . . ." Harddense muttered, not even facing the boy. The trainer looked down at the steel type, unable to do a thing for the demoralized creature. "I'm sorry," Harddense furthered his apology.

"I should be the one who's sorry," the trainer said, packing his Pokéball away. He was unable to leave, wanting to do something for Harddense.

"No talking," Nichole barked, her giddy trigger finger slamming down on the button. Harddense did not scream.

"You can't do anything. Go." Harddense told the trainer. The kid nodded, packing up his stuff. He ran out of the large double doors devastated this his Typhlosion was so badly injured and that he could do nothing for the abuse of the Pokémon he had fought.

"Give me that," Stanford ordered and ripped the remote control from Nichole's grasp, thus stopping the painful spasms that ravaged Harddense's body. He gave in to the convulsions once the slam of the door finished echoing throughout the gym.

"Fine then," Nichole snarled at Stanford, treating him just as badly as if he were Harddense. "Harddense will listen to me, remote or not." She leaned over the rail to give her orders. "Stand up!" Harddense tried his best but did not even make it to the fetal position.

Stanford sidled up next to Nichole, looking at the same display. Team Rocket Pokémon trainers were callous people who's jobs had them dealing with raising and training. The lack of nurturing emotions they had returned equally emotionless and hardened behaviors from their Pokémon. The process was harsh and Harddense was considered fortunate since his training involved less abuse than most.

Stanford did not train Pokémon. His position made him responsible for the organization of Pokémon capture events. Then again, Swadeaqua stated blandly at one point that Stanford's position was to boss everyone else. An executive's job. In their conversations she went further to explain how his job affected large collectives of the organization. It showed some sign from her that she was thankful she was sentient and domesticated enough not to be put in the same place.

Executives held a big influence when it came to the Pokémon training since they consistently demanded better Pokémon; Giovanni being the most demanding. If it were not for him and his constant spending, there would not be some of the cruel innovations that existed today. 'Break them, train them,' was a common quote and in turn the Pokémon that Stanford had planned for capture would be starved, beaten, trained to the brink of exhaustion. If they could find no use out on the field, or on the gym floor, then those Pokémon would be used for scientific experimentation. The list of atrocities that the organization would perform on Pokémon was so lengthy that it was a wonder of how anyone could come up with all of them. The shock collar around Harddense's neck was one example of the technical advances of torture that was designed to control the unruly monsters. It was somewhat disheartening that these innocent creatures became the broken, bloodthirsty machines because of Stanford's own actions. But seeing as it was his job, he had little care beyond wondering how he would feel if he was the one wearing the collar.

"004.b is done battling for today," Stanford announced while watching Harddense struggle to his feet for who knows what time that day. "I'm keeping this," Stanford added as he waved the remote before depositing it in his breast pocket.

"I have a responsibility to train him for Giovanni!" Nichole protested, her hand to her chest in sincerity.

"Boss' orders."

Nichole stuttered, trying to deny the statement. For her, Harddense's training was of the utmost importance, but if what Stanford was saying was true, then she could not deny the order and had to accept it. "You owe me," she snarled, turning away in a huff.

"I owe you nothing," Stanford said. His gaze fell on Harddense who was standing. Either Nichole scared him that much, or Harddense was that much of a challenge to keep down. The brown eyes were uncertain of what was going on. Having scientists and executives around was not uncommon but they rarely arrived unannounced as Stanford had.

"Whatcha' doin'?" Harddense asked wearily. Nichole balled her fist and without any word took off out the balcony entrance. This display bothered Harddense.

"You get the rest of the day off," Stanford said, finding it a bit weird to be talking to the Pokémon in the first place.

"Really?" Harddense perked up then started to wonder why he was being awarded such a freedom. "Why?" He watched as Stanford made his way down the step ladder on the side of the balcony. Only once he was within arm's length did he answer the question.

"It was Swadeaqua's suggestion." Harddense knew that meant he was not being assigned to some sort of special training. Swadeaqua would never do that to him.

"You mean . . .?" Harddense started off in a tangent, not letting Stanford get in the real reason. "I'm on dat! She's da bomb. A rockin' piece o' phat shiat." Stanford had to admit, sometimes it helped not to understand Pokémon. Then again, not like he could really understand him anyway. "Shez pimpin' hawt 'n . . . Oww!" Harddense finished with a yelp, Stanford removing his finger from the remote control. In the end, it still had its uses. Harddense returned quickly to reality, dislodged from his strange fantasies. He acknowledged that Swadeaqua was his sister but idolized her to great lengths at times. To some, his expressions were only mild compared to others.

"Are you done romanticizing over your incest fantasies?" Stanford asked with a dry tone in his voice. Harddense stared at him blankly, not knowing what one of the words meant. Somehow it figured that while one of the Mewthrees was over-strung sexually, the other two had no idea what the word entailed. "Nevermind what I said. 004.a . . ." Harddense's face dropped, his heart apparently shattered. Any news was never good news for him, and his devastation brought out his desperate side.

"Demisewan!" he grabbed at Stanford's suit jacket. "What happened to my twin?!" Harddense hollered, his face streaked with tears. He covered them with his talons, expecting the worst. Stanford rolled his eyes, having forgotten that the pair were inseparable and even the mildest sign of trouble would send them into either rage or despair.

"She just took a small injury, or so I've heard. Nothing to get worked up about," Stanford said with a brush of his jacket.

"How does a ghost type get an injury?" Apparently Nichole had never really left and was looming over the edge of the balcony.

"I wouldn't know the answer to that," Stanford replied, irritated with just about everything by now. "She should be in the usual room," Stanford told Harddense. He knew the room, it was the medical room that was used to do check-ups on the Mewthrees specifically.

"Oh! That room!" Harddense exclaimed. "Thanks S-man," he waved then hurtled down the nearest hallway. Nichole could not help by think she had never seen him move that fast. Stanford put that past him. He had to go and collect an Arcanine for Swadeaqua, and after seeing Harddense, he could easily understand why she would need it.

It was dark and warm. A rhythmic beep was heard in the background. A figure lied upon one of the several beds in a light sleep, starting to come aware to its surroundings.

"Mmm," Demisewan groaned as her eyes opened slowly. Harddense and Swadeaqua were hovering by her bedside. The scientists that administered care had left all but one. Doctor West leaned forward removing the oxygen mask from Demisewan's face before retreating to the back of the medical room. Demisewan looked at her family with a weary smile. Swadeaqua showed relief in return. Harddense on the other hand was much more emotional.

"You're okay!" he cried, hugging his sister tightly in his arms. Demisewan gasped, Harddense relaxed his grip. "Sorry," he apologized as he moved his right talon away from the Demisewan's bandaged injury. "What up?" he asked playfully.

"Drop the slang," Demisewan spoke although rather quietly.

"Okay," Harddense muttered, his vocal patterns very plain now that he was not speaking like some human from the ghetto. Harddense continued to cuddle his sister.

"Doctor West says you'll be fine. I'll keep you from being sent out on missions for a couple days to allow you to recuperate," informed Swadeaqua with a warm smile. She had a fondness for very few things and Demisewan just happened to be one exception. As for Harddense, he was her brother but she could not stand how he acted towards her. Currently he was civil because of the need to guard and protect his twin.

"I'm glad you're okay. I was so scared," Harddense mumbled, starting to nuzzle Demisewan's cheek. Swadeaqua briefly fixed the bang-like fur on the top of Demisewan's head before standing back. Harddense began to tickle his twin.

"Eee. Heeheehee. Stop!" Demisewan laughed helplessly, her lungs aching from the inconsistency in breath. Harddense did as he was told, going back to cuddling.

Neither Demisewan or Harddense noticed Swadeaqua's scrutinizing stare. She was envious of their intimacy, something Swadeaqua would never likely possess. That was the reason she wanted the Arcanine, it was obedient and not yet derived of feeling. At that moment she needed the closeness, a false sense of bonding; otherwise, she would have chosen a Pokémon or a human with better stamina.

"They are so cruel to put you through all those missions," Harddense spoke quietly to his twin, his voice snapping Swadeaqua out of her thinking. She was a piteously jealous creature, trying to do absolutely everything to slate her need for something more. Because of her lack of wisdom, Swadeaqua did not have the ability to find her true emotional needs, all she knew was what could keep her sane. She had very little spare time to devote to her thoughts. Harddense had no idea he had disturbed the small oasis of Swadeaqua's mind.

"So what happened?" Demisewan kept a straight face, but was already crying. She owed Harddense the answer.

"Alarms went off when I tripped their system." Harddense's attention was undivided. "And the gas came from the vents, burning my lungs. I was told to run into the elevator . . ." She stopped as broken sobs escaped her.

"Shh, it's okay," Harddense cooed, warmly taking his sister to his chest. "You're safe now." Swadeaqua was touched by Harddense's loyalty.

". . . And they . . . These humans . . . they . . . they shot me!" Demisewan wailed and then broke down into full-blown sobbing. Harddense took a seat on the bed and began to rock Demisewan back and forth.

"You poor thing," Swadeaqua said, being sincere but coming across as little cold. Harddense and Demisewan looked up at the much taller dragon type Mewthree. Both were a little confused as Swadeaqua leaned forward to hug them.

"Let her rest," Swadeaqua advised Harddense, he nodded dumbly. Demisewan was brushing the tears away from her eyes. "And you, my dear, get some sleep." Demisewan would have protested, the dull ache from her lungs hushing her. Swadeaqua used a Sweet Kiss with tender care, instantly sending Demisewan into deep slumber. She eased her little sister to the mattress. Harddense blinked at Swadeaqua, wondering what to do. "You can stay with Demisewan or go to your room." She stood tall, arms folded beneath her breasts.

"I'll stay," Harddense then completely ignored Swadeaqua altogether, his focus on his beloved twin. Swadeaqua looked into the back of the room, peering into the darkness. She spoke nothing as her body summoned Doctor West to her. It was a commanding summons, not a flirtatious summons. Doctor West was not paying attention to the Mewthrees until he found himself subconsciously stepping into Swadeaqua's reach.

"Yes, Swadeaqua?" Doctor West looked about curiously, glancing at the sleeping Demisewan, the concerned Harddense, then fixating his eyes back on the sexy Swadeaqua. Doctor West was the leading mind for the Project 10.a Intensity team and created the three Mewthrees present in the room, as well as two others. He had a fondness for all five members of the species when given the opportunity to interact with them. In a way they were like his children. Doctor West and his team grew them with loving care and wished the best for them. They were to be the perfect team, if Giovanni had had his way, if 001 was not so grossly independent. So much waste.

Swadeaqua, Harddense, and Demisewan were told everything about their 'psychopathic' sister; although, Swadeaqua knew what was true. The team of scientists had very little influence outside of the laboratories. They tested, did checkups, nursed their injuries and designed many of the devices meant for the Mewthrees. Most of the time the Mewthrees were influenced by nonfactual people. If 001's creation had gone as planned, nothing bad would be said of her. Now there were rumors about her whereabouts, if she was really alive. Swadeaqua was gradually being assigned the task of dealing with 001 and at that moment she was taking charge.

"Make certain she receives the best medical attention," Swadeaqua told Doctor West. He nodded towards her humbly.

"You all will always receive the very best," he assured her, he had a slight smile of pride in his eyes. In his mind he was judging their characteristics, comparing the dreams to the realities. Swadeaqua was as pretty, seductive, whimsical, linguistic, formal, informative and guiding as she was designed to be. The faults as Doctor West could only speculate were Swadeaqua's vain, lustful, spiteful, jealous nature. Those were as skeptical as Swadeaqua's possible self-esteem issues. Harddense was protective, kind, honest, and obedient up to a point. Despite his good physical state and ability to use attacks, he lacked aggression and assertiveness in his fighting. Demisewan was basically flawless except for two things, her crazed revenge sprees and the fact that she could only harness attacks while in that state. These were the current Mewthrees that Doctor West and his team were working with. The other two, Doctor West had little exposure to.

Vicebane was known as 002 to the scientists, and to the Mewthrees, 'that brother of ours that lost his life to our sister'. The scientists had preferred Vicebane to be a dominant ghost type rather than a dominant poison type, but they could not complain. Vicebane's behavior was everything Giovanni wanted. It was a shame that all the money and effort that went into creating 002 was an utter waste. He lived out of his tank for two weeks before he was cleaved in half. Complete waste. All the money that went into his now useless armor, into the protective coating for his exposed skeleton was gone. If she had not killed him . . . 001, Mewblade.

Rumored to be possessed by demons, a monster that defied death, the advocate of the devil. The Team Rocket members throughout the organization had numerous stories to tell and titles to give, Hell Spawn, Lady Death, Shadow Mew. If the scientists never had let Mewblade live past the early stages of her creation there would be no problems. Mewblade was as deadly, powerful, and skilled as she was suppose to be; yet, she still managed to surpass the expectations of Doctor West's team. Her personality was a massive failure; stubborn, reckless, emotionally unstable, hostile and non-submissive, and she was a bigger bane than Vicebane. And to keep Mewblade alive as she grew . . . Was it four or five times she had to have open-heart surgery? Was it three weeks with Mewblade on a ventilator? His team flat-out struggled to give Mewblade the precious gift of life, yet Swadeaqua still assumed that Doctor West and his team would not do their very best to aid the Mewthrees. He was rather insulted.

"Demisewan will be up about and singing her R&B by tomorrow morning," reassured Doctor West for the second time. Swadeaqua believed his statement and left for the door with some resolute sense of determination.

Mewtwo appeared in the dimly lit front room of Mewblade's home. There were foreign presences in the bedroom and Mewtwo was nearly in a cold sweat of dread as he treaded slowly towards the it. There could be harmful Pokémon in the room. Wait, a human and Pokémon, even worse. He cautiously peered into the room, ready to disable some arrogant trainer.

"Coline and Eevee," remarked Mewtwo, no longer fearful for his daughter's safety. He sighed lightly as he walked up to the bed and looked at the pair. Eevee had gone over to Coline after she fell into a slumber; that, Mewtwo did not know but could see the pair, near collapsed next to Mewblade. Their breathing was deep and peaceful. This was not the first time they had been caught snoozing next to the incapacitated Mewblade, or the first time Mewtwo would have to wake them up.

Mewtwo gently clasped the shoulders of Mewblade's Chosen, shaking Coline just as gently. "Come on, Coline, you have to go back to that brother of yours." Mewtwo was trying to be compassionate, but it was hard. The first time he yelled at Coline, making her cry.

"Eee, evee," (Hi, Mewtwo,) Eevee muttered dryly as she stood up, shaking her mane. "Eeve eeevvvee eevee eeve eevve?" (Has Mewblade gotten any better?) she inquired then suddenly leapt on Coline's still sleeping head. "Eeve eve!" (Get up!) Eevee yelled. Coline sat up with a start, Eevee falling off and rolling to the foot of the bed.

"What?" Coline looked around, seeing Mewtwo. "How's Mewblade?" Her legs swung around to dangle over the edge of the bed. There was eagerness in her eyes, although the way Mewtwo shifted with her gaze nearly brought fourth her tears. "Oh . . . so she isn't better . . ."

"Evee eeevee evee eeeve eeve, eevve, eevee?" (It means she isn't any worse, right, Mewtwo?)

Mewtwo's expression lacked the clenched jaw, meaning the news was no different. "There has been no changes," was his monotone response. He adapted the air of seriousness that he usually had. Coline knew what was coming. "You shouldn't be here disrupting Mewblade. Mewblade injured her body, mind and soul to the point of near death. Breathing on her could kill her." Coline was right, the same old, same old. She showed little interest but Mewtwo continued to press the matter. "She needs to be kept stable so she doesn't get any worse. You being here makes it very hard to do that." Mewtwo saw how Coline was making an effort to avoid listening to him. "Listen to me," Mewtwo ordered, using Psychic to force Coline to at least face him. Coline was a little alarmed but not afraid of the psychic Legendary Pokémon who could effortlessly emancipate her if he chose to do so. "Mewblade means a lot to both of us. We both want what is best for her, so please try for her."

"Okay," Coline mumbled. Mewtwo released the girl from the Psychic hold. "I just miss her." Eevee licked Coline's hand reassuringly.

"I know, Mew and myself do too," Mewtwo glanced at the skylight. That was when he heard whimpering, he looked at Eevee inquisitively.

"Evee? Eevee eeevve," (What? It isn't me,) Eevee looked back at Mewtwo with an injured expression. She was quiet and there were still the strange whimpering noises. Coline crawled over to the head of the bed to look at Mewblade.

"Eevee, Mewtwo!" Coline exclaimed unable to contain her excitement. "I think Mewblade's waking up!" Mewtwo looked over not quite believing.

"Evvee eve," (No way,) Eevee said, equally dismissive. The two Pokémon peered at Mewblade though not for very long since she sat upright with a jerk before they could have a close examination. With the sitting up came a bone chilling shriek which turned into an agonizing scream.

Coline covered her ears and started to say, "Mewblade, it's okay," and would have said more if she was not so confused. Mewblade's eyes were closed, which was odd. "Mewblade!" Coline yelled very loudly, her voice barely cresting that of her friend. She looked at Mewtwo helplessly, realizing Mewblade was not responsive to her.

Mewblade! Mewtwo roared right into his daughter's head. She made no response to him either, still screaming at a blood-curdling pitch. Mewtwo motioned for Coline to follow him to the outside of Mewblade's cave. Her and Eevee followed without question.

Outside in the stillness of the evening sky they could communicate, not to mention hear themselves think. Eevee was shivering from fright and Coline seemed lost and scared. Even Mewtwo was shaken.

"What happened?" Coline begged Mewtwo for some insight. Eevee was so startled that she could hardly care for an answer just so long as Mewblade's screaming stopped. "We didn't hurt her, did we?"

"No." When Mewtwo spoke into Mewblade's mind it was comparable to talking into a vacuum. The reason why sound did not register in space was because there were no particles for the sound waves to bounce of. While a person's thoughts were not the same; if there was nothing there to pick up the sound then no one in turn would hear it. Mewblade's mind was absent from her brain. The screaming might have been an expulsion from wherever Mewblade's mind was. Mewtwo shuddered causing Coline to worry more. If Mewblade was screaming that badly, then what was really going on? She described the resurrection process to be beyond comprehension. Coline could see Mewtwo's shoulders visibly sag, he felt that helpless. The stretches of his imagination were not helping as to why Mewblade was so vocal. It was his fault for stabilizing her after the incident with Moltres. Any suffering caused would be coincidently on his part.

"Eevee?" (Mewtwo?) Eevee ventured, causing him to look down at the furball.

"I was thinking. Sorry."

"Evve eee," (It's okay,) Eevee said with a frown.

"What were you thinking about?" Coline of course was concerned, although Mewtwo seemed to always worry a lot. Mewtwo gave a mental sigh as he tried to think of how to explain his thoughts.

"When I shouted into Mewblade's head it was like shouting into air. There was no response besides emptiness." Mewtwo was gesticulating vaguely with his paws, trying to get his point across to Coline and Eevee. Eevee showed the greater understanding, nodding as she listened. Coline was puzzled.

"Eve eeevvee eevve eeeve eevee," (I understand what you mean,) Eevee muttered quietly.

"But I don't!" Coline protested. "Are you saying Mewblade's mind is dead?!" Awkward choice of words.

"Not quite like that. She's in a coma but no coma patient alive has had a reaction like hers," Mewtwo nodded his head towards the entrance. "For now I can't do anything but hope that Mewblade's screaming doesn't cause her any harm." Eevee looked up with an appalled expression.

"Eevvee? Eevvee eeevvee eee evee evvee?" (Her? What about me and my ears?) demanded the furry Pokémon.

"Eevee!" Coline scolded her friend.

"Your ears are not what is important at the moment." Eevee's ears sagged in response.

It had been about an hour that Coline, Eevee and Mewtwo had spent outside. Coline and Eevee were seated, Eevee sprawled in Coline's arms. Both were tired and depressed. Mewtwo stood over them, arms crossed in front of his chest as he stargazed. He was thinking, something not uncommon until the usual culprit disturbed his thoughts.

"Mew, mew," (Hello, Mewtwo,) Mew chirped as she approached Mewtwo from behind. Coline and Eevee glanced up, blinking at Mew. "Hello, Coline and Eevee," she continued her greeting in telepathy. Mew's expression became drastically grave, she knew what was wrong inside the cave and in need of knowing. "Mew mew mew mew mew mew, mew?" (What happened to her, Mewtwo?) Her eyes showed years, the six hundred of her Legendary life as she demanded with teary blue eyes for answers. "Mew mew mew," (Please tell me,) she pleaded, shaking her head slightly. Coline had learned to understand Mew but did not go through the effort of translating, she was too glum to try. Mewtwo took Mew's plea as a mother's plea, the need to know what was wrong with her young. Then again, Mew was the only Legendary whose duties centered around love and protection. Mewtwo understood, he was concerned too.

"I wish I knew. She just sat up and started screaming. If it doesn't stop soon, this screaming could cause problems." Coline gave a coughing sob. "For now all we can do is wait," Mewtwo said in a weary tone as Mew nodded her head solemnly. The quiet of the evening became predominant as the Pokémon and the human contemplated unseemly horrors and disastrous results for Mewblade.

Coline finally nodded off with Eevee a close second as fatigue gripped them. Neither Mew or Mewtwo needed sleep, sleep being more or less a mechanism to avoid boredom. In Mewblade's case, sleep or to be specific, comatose, was a survival mechanism. It was used for some stability to allow recovery. Mew made a bubble, flopping on it. Herself and Mewtwo exchanged glances, something happened, they could feel it.

Mew's bubble popped, and she flew towards the entranceway in alarm. "Mew!" (Mewblade!) Mew hollered, this jarred Coline and Eevee awake from their short nap. Eevee was up, tugging on the hem of Coline's pant leg.

"Eevveee evvvee. Eeevee!" (Something's wrong. Move!") growled Eevee as she paused to see if Coline would do anything; she did. Coline jumped with a start, running in after Mew with Eevee in her arms. Mewtwo followed close after them.

The group piled into the bedroom prepared for the worst and almost ironically surprised by the sight. Mewblade was slouched, tears going unchecked down her face as she whimpered.

"Eevveee?" (Mewblade?) questioned Eevee. She squirmed from Coline's arms and leapt onto the bed. "Eeve eevve?" (You okay?) Mewblade made no response. Out of curiosity Mew floated up to look into Mewblade eyes. Lights on, but nobody home.

"She's still out," Mew muttered in telepathy.

"At least it's better than screaming," said Mewtwo with a dry tone. Coline's shoulders sagged as she listened then without warning hopped onto the bed.

"Mewblade, it's okay now," Coline began, barely understandable with her grief. Mewblade continued to be oblivious to the outside world. "Stop crying, please? You're safe now . . ." Coline's bottom lip quivered as she continued to receive the oppressive silence from her friend. By now Coline was crying freely. "Oh Mewblade!" she wailed, flinging herself into Mewblade's chest, clutching tightly. The Pokémon watched sympathetically at Coline's display. "Mewblade . . ." Mewtwo was about to reach forward for Coline when he heard a small whimpering reply.

"I'm . . . awake, Coline . . . the nightmare, it's over."

"Good morning, sir," Swadeaqua bowed her head to Giovanni, ignoring the other executives at she took her seat in the conference room. After her late night rendezvous, Swadeaqua seemed quite refreshed and serene. She had spent the better part of the morning 'talking' to the espionage team. The group was very demoralized by Swadeaqua's battering, how she prodded every small flaw. She possessed the ability to make people shake in terror, break down in tears, everyone except Giovanni. Swadeaqua delivered a cold gaze across the table at her master. He noticed and before even opening the meeting, he would assert his dominance over the rowdy Mewthree.

"You are to greet me properly," he smiled poisonously at Swadeaqua. The various eleven executives watched with interest as Swadeaqua narrowed her aqua eyes, rising from her seat. This was incredibly humiliating. Swadeaqua pulled a humbled smile, even though Giovanni knew she was faking.

"Yes, master. I am truly sorry for addressing you inaccurately." Swadeaqua had made the most perfect bow before standing upright. She waited patiently to be given a seat. It fooled everyone else in the room, making them believe that Swadeaqua was genuine with her feelings.

"You may sit," Giovanni gestured. As Swadeaqua sat he gave a smug smile to his assembled executives. "Never undermine my authority or you will be humiliated just as this self proclaimed human over here." Swadeaqua's good mood was gone. She would have lunged at the arrogant male with her nails if it were not for the fire arms and powerful Pokémon present in the room. Stanford offered no comfort for Swadeaqua, making the poor thing feel alone, again. "Now on to the day's agenda," began Giovanni, as if Swadeaqua's integrity meant nothing. She stared at the cherry stained oak table, burning with anger.

If I were alone in the same room with him I would cause him every imaginable torment that he would beg for death, then I will be the superior. Swadeaqua kept her thoughts to herself as she continued to sulk. The debating had begun without much contribution from Swadeaqua; besides, it was primarily budget information at the moment. She listened placidly as monsieur Dublaire discussed the Team Rocket black market and the net value of goods traded with other illicit organizations. The, 'tenfold increase since the second quarter,' went over Swadeaqua's head. All this financial mumbo-jumbo was not in Swadeaqua's department until Project 10.a Intensity came up in the conversation. It was more financial information, but this time it involved the Mewthrees.

"We would have to reclaim Mewblade to make up for the loss of Vicebane," assessed Dublaire, his eyes wandering to Swadeaqua, everyone followed. Swadeaqua knew what was coming, knowing that she could restore her pride and dignity. "Any ideas?" This was more to Swadeaqua.

"Obvious exploitation and capture," she stated matter-of-factly, dismissing the fact that they were almost blaming the Mewthrees as a collective when it was Vicebane's own faults that lead to his death.

"Capture?! Are you mad?!" Mr. Ali rose from his seat. "She's likely the deadliest Pokémon in existence." His words were emphasized with the beating of his fist at every syllable. He specialized in resources. Stanford, who sat diagonally from Ali, was not as convinced. Undermining Swadeaqua's intelligence was a poor idea, and he believed something could be made of her statement.

"It's called 'strategy'. We knew how to bait her the first time, the second should be even easier since we could execute a better course of action."

"It's not the bait, it's her," Ali continued his protest. Felisha Datona, the woman responsible for the human aspect of Team Rocket training was nodding gravely in agreement. Conrad, likely the most cruelest person there, also was in agreement with Ali and Datona. He controlled how the Pokémon were treated, his appearances were that of his position, hard and cold.

"Mewblade is an untrained killing machine. Numbers can not overwhelm her, and Datona can agree with me, nothing is adequate in facing her combatively." As it stood, the main speakers were divided on the issue and the pro-capture group had no strong argument. Giovanni listened to his executives as they assaulted one another with even harsher verbal comebacks. Swadeaqua knew of an idea, calmly presenting it.

"Then how about considering a Mewthree arsenal?" she suggested, head resting on her clasped paws. Conrad immediately scoffed at the thought.

"Demisewan and Harddense can't fight. You've seen them in battle. I'd have better luck with a Magikarp." The response was instantaneous for Swadeaqua.

"Oh, really? I have a proposal that you all may find intriguing." A catty smile swept across her face. There was a dramatic pause.

"Goddamn it, Swadeaqua. Tell us!" demanded one of the executives. Swadeaqua had her audience.

"Having me coordinate my siblings in a battle against my sister." Somehow that came across as a joke to the others. Swadeaqua specifically loathed demoting herself to a fighting role. The humans were skeptical, questioning the concept.

"You're not thinking of fighting yourself, eh, Swade?" Stanford had an anxious smile, trying not to imagine what Swadeaqua said. She gave no reply because she knew she had said all that was needed. Stanford clutched the table in anger, shouting at the Mewthree. "What in hell are you thinking?! You aren't a fighting Pokémon!"

"Have you gone mad like . . . her?" dripped the voice of Datona. The bantering continued until Giovanni raised his hand for silence. He was aware of Swadeaqua's nature and capabilities.

"Quit your bickering, all of you." Everyone silenced themselves. "Swadeaqua, you got the reaction you wanted, now inform us further." Swadeaqua smirked then addressed the small assembly.

"004.a and 004.b listen to me completely without question. It is too complicated to have a trainer on the field since Mewblade would go for that weakness."

"What makes you better?" interrupted Conrad with a snarl.

"I don't freeze in intense situations. I can resist what would be fatal damage to a human; as well, I can defend myself. I may not be a fighter of the norm, but I do have my abilities. You all should know very well of how effective those are." Swadeaqua had a knowing smile. Conrad and Stamford exchanged glances.

"But you act too human," Conrad said with a dismissive wave.

"See the thing is, so does Mewblade. If you watched the footage it is obvious. That Pokémon is easily manipulated by pride. She does everything alone. In fact, the only reason why 002 lost was his homicidal spree; he had no focus. 001 has an incredible list of weaknesses. A blind fighter, limited strategist, easily manipulated, compulsive, objective driven, emotional. Mewblade does not relate on a mental level to Pokémon. She also does not fight with or against groups. With little effort I could beat down Mewblade mentally, keep Harddense as the defense, and Demisewan as a light offense. She can't win because of her fighting nature."

Jaws were opened in wonderment of how Swadeaqua knew, most anyway. Stanford was distressed about the whole idea, he never thought she would agree. Giovanni was relatively pleased. Despite Swadeaqua's own sense of humanity she was recognizing herself as a prominent Pokémon.

"Any objections that are not based on personal quarrels?" Giovanni asked. There was a shake of heads. "Good. Now that we have our attacking volunteers we will have to find 001 and bring her to us." Giovanni jabbed his finger at the desk. Everything was going as planned. By the end of the year he would have 001 in his grasp.

Harddense was face down on his bed, spared from training for the day because of Swadeaqua's demand. He had barely slept a wink all night. All the thoughts that ran through his head were of his sister. There was a tiny click at the door, Harddense glanced up from his pillow. He expected someone like Nicole to barge in, but the slow creak of the door was that of only one being.

"Demisewan?" Harddense sat upright, facing the door as Demisewan shuffled in.

"Hey, bro," she smiled slightly, whispering a bit.

"Demisewan!" Harddense jumped from the bed with surprising agility for a steel Pokémon. "I'm so glad to see you," he nearly wept after gingerly clasping his twin to his chest. "I couldn't sleep, kept thinking about what it would be like to lose you," Harddense spoke quietly, head nuzzled in Demisewan's bangs. "I'm so glad to see you," he repeated. Demisewan was passively listening to her brother's heartbeat. He had been petrified that he might have lost her. The fact was simple to Demisewan, she was a ghost type and would not be dying anytime soon.

"Calm down," Demisewan chided lightly. Harddense's heartbeat was faster than usual but quickly returned to normal. "I missed you too, but I'm not getting worried sick over it," scolded Demisewan, stepping back from Harddense. She was smiling a white smile, showing off her small, sharp teeth. Harddense returned the smile, hugging his twin and giving her nuzzles and Eskimo kisses. The two stopped after several minutes of comforting each other. Demisewan piped in. "Want to find Swadeaqua?"

"Yes!" Harddense said excitedly, grabbing Demisewan's right paw and dragging her towards the door.

"Hehe, slow down!" Demisewan giggled. Harddense was not going to slow down but improvised by picking up his twin and carrying her.

"Hello, child." Ho-oh trotted into Mewblade's bedroom, managing to maintain an amazing amount of grace despite having small legs. It stopped at the foot of the bed looking at Mewblade curiously. The Mewthree was propped up in bed, eyes open and glaring at Ho-oh. "You have a duty to do," it told her which received an alarmingly negative response.

"Go to hell, buzzard," she snapped loudly at the bird. Mewblade did not move besides her gradually narrowing eyes. There was a look of surprise from Ho-oh. Swearing was not a Legendary trait. Zapdos would curse on occasion, but for Mewblade to do it was completely out-of-character. And for Mewblade to be so vocally hostile, it was shockingly abnormal. Ho-oh said nothing, staring back at Mewblade with hurt, concerned eyes.

"You set me up!" Mewblade hollered at Ho-oh, then clutched her paws to her head, wrenching. Her face showed the transpire of anger, sorrow and abandonment. Before long Mewblade launched back in to anger, screaming, "You knew what it would do to me! You deceptive, manipulative, bird! How could you do that?! I wish I never agreed with you. I wish I died!!" Mewblade whimpered then immediately threw her arms and head into her lap. Ho-oh was unmoving, waiting for Mewblade to unload all of her grief on it. It was unresponsive, letting Mewblade run the course of her sorrows.

Mewblade sat up slowly, back to her conspiring mood. "I left the gym, because I knew I would be used, then you came and I am still used," she spoke darkly, her tone never rising or dropping. Confrontational still, Mewblade returned to yelling at Ho-oh. "That is it! I'm done! I will not be used anymore!" Mewblade's tail came out from under the sheets, the longest tail blade pressed firmly against her neck. "Let's see what you would do without me." Her face was wet with tears, yet her eyes were stern as she tested Ho-oh for a response.

"Is it really worth it?" Ho-oh asked with a calm voice. It was keeping an even pitch since any sudden movements or sounds could be the final push for Mewblade.

"Am I worth it at all for you to give me respect? This . . . it is better than being here with you, your lies, and everything else I have to deal with," Mewblade murmured, her blade unwavering.

"You likely know how death treats you. Life, for you, is always more concrete than death."

"I would not hurt anymore . . ." Mewblade's eyes lowered.

"But then you would lose what you already have."

"Such as?" Mewblade growled, the blade cutting skin. Ho-oh cringed and quickly tried the only reason worth trying.

"You have family and friends. A little girl who's your Chosen. Every spare moment she had, she was by your side. Coline was wishing and hoping. She spent evenings talking to you despite the fact that you could not hear. You're living for that little girl. Don't you remember last night how she was pleading for you to be okay? Are you that selfish that you would kill yourself despite having someone as special as her?" Mewblade listened, not a muscle twitching. Ho-oh could not tell if it was getting through to her. Mewblade lowered her blade and Recovered the small injury. She swiftly moved out of the bed, psychically making it. Mewblade remained quiet and expressionless for some time. Ho-oh inquisitively tilted its head.

"No, I am not that selfish," she paused, looking at Ho-oh. "I am not looking forward to resurrecting the dead again." Her eyes wandered to the wall where she stared off into the distance. Resurrecting was generally not that bad except in the last instance, in which case Mewblade was afraid she may repeat. What had truly happened was distant, the memories of it were quite blurry.

Mewblade was pacing around lightly, her body unaffected by the months of inactivity. She was very solemn as far as Ho-oh could tell. The outburst earlier would probably be forgotten by Mewblade as she would be redefining herself. At the present time she would have to learn to deal with whatever it was that had happened to her, only if she could remember past the final stages of the resurrection with Moltres. Trying to remember and not were bothering her just as much as the thought of being so misinformed by her guardian. The thoughts of resurrecting made her wary of their consequences. The truth of the matter was that she had agreed to Ho-oh, unwittingly volunteering to her duties. Blame could be given to Ho-oh for evading the obvious; though, it was not fairly placed.

"You do have an innocent to help, child," Ho-oh said quietly. It walked over and brushed a feather across her cheek. "I'm sorry I can't make the transition easy for you. It's your duty and it can't be avoided." Mewblade nodded bitterly in agreement. This was her life, for however long it would be. "Come on, I shall take you to the innocent," Ho-oh said, then used Teleport on its self and Mewblade.

"We're here," announced Ho-oh. Its wing was around Mewblade's back. Mewblade looked sickened and nearly passed out. She stumbled forward, her paw bracing against cold steel as she desperately tried to stop her breathing. "Mewblade?"

"Remind me to never allow you to Teleport me," gasped Mewblade. She finally stopped breathing, much to her relief. Mewblade took sight of where she was and jumped away from her support. She had to admit that she was gradually adapting her awareness, by late afternoon Mewblade would know all that was going on. Currently she had braced her paw against a morgue body cabinet and just found out.

The room was brightly lit with fluorescent lights that shone down on a white linoleum floor, and upon a white ceiling. There was one bare wall, evidently the shortest wall, which had a windowless door. Along the other walls were metal doors, part of a large string of cabinetry. There were lots of them, each with tiny slots for paper cards.

Mirdoff Astle, Chris Collsen, Irena Slovaski, Mewblade read absently. Usaku Hoshi, Kathline Natterson, Michael Fernando . . .

"You'll be wanting Michael," Ho-oh said as it looked over Mewblade's shoulder. Mewblade shrugged lightly, the name being rather meaningless to her.

"I'll get to him in a bit," Mewblade muttered as she looked down the row. Ching Wu . . .

"Mewblade, stop stalling." Mewblade sighed reluctantly and opened the cabinet, pulling out the body. The body was about three days dead, very cold and gray in color. She really did not want to deal with it, and her disgruntled look towards Ho-oh made it obvious.

Michael was it was in his mid-thirties, which surprised Mewblade. Purity became near to impossible to attain during adult hood. Many factors attributed to this, the most common one being that most humans lost their naivety when they aged. Another common factor was that most humans had a tendency to stray from their common morals, unlike Pokémon, which had a harder time at being negatively influenced. For a human to remain pure was admirable, but also questionable to whether or not they enjoyed their lives.

Mewblade removed the sheet and was being quite professional about her duties. Most bodies placed in a morgue were removed of all articles, including clothes. The fact that he was human and naked did not bother Mewblade, especially considering this would be the first human she would resurrect. Humans are different than Pokémon, and in turn she did not know how much different the process would be. Ho-oh observed Mewblade as she touched the corpse and recovered a long gash across the abdomen. Once done, Mewblade froze. She was visibly fearful of going through the rest of the process. Ho-oh butted its plumed head against Mewblade's shoulder.

"Try to relax. I'll meet you in the trance." Ho-oh continued to watch Mewblade as she persisted to hesitate. "Child, before someone comes."

"Fine, fine!" Mewblade snarled and dropped right into the trance.

Ho-oh was beside Mewblade in an instant and with Mewblade's awareness still lacking she took the opportunity to ask, "Why was there such a diversity of dead people in the morgue?" Mewblade could not ignore why people died and knew something went terribly wrong recently.

"You're a good observer," commented Ho-oh as it looked out into the darkness of the trance. It proceeded to answer Mewblade. "It was an international archaeologist expedition in Hoenn." Hoenn was the continent alienated from Kanto and Johto. Mewblade knew of it but cared little for that particular continent. Sometimes her duties did take her there but all the other Legendaries preferred to avoid it, saying how bizarre the other Hoenn Legendaries were. "They were excavating some ruins when an accident occurred. It may have been caused by an outside force as the humans have found nothing to justify it. As you can judge, Michael was the only one with qualities that could be saved . . ." Mewblade looked down at the blackness beneath her feet.

"Because fate says it is not his time and he is destined for more," Mewblade spoke, her voice heavy. "There is just no logic behind all of this," she snarled as she stomped off to look for the human in the darkness.

Michael was easy to find. He was standing, looking around in a white golf shirt and beige khakis, seemingly a little lost. Mewblade approached him from behind with Ho-oh at her side. She stepped into Michael's range timidly, he quickly noticing the Mewthree.

"Hey!" he greeted her. His native language was not English, but that was what Mewblade was hearing and she was fine with it. "You're quite an interesting Pokémon. Come here, I won't hurt you."

Ho-oh was just out of Michael's sensory range and was smiling broadly. It very well knew Mewblade disliked being treated like a stupid animal. Mewblade approached the human and stopped beside him, glancing at him over her shoulder. "You are dead, Michael." Proving that she was not stupid and far more aware than he was.

"I . . . I . . . m-m . . . dead?!" he stammered, looking in bewilderment at his hands. The bluntness was astoundingly harsh from Mewblade, making it obvious that the place he was lost in was out of Michael's understanding. He stared pleadingly at the talking Pokémon, wanting answers. Ho-oh was appalled that Mewblade told him that.

Don't tell him that! Ho-oh thought to Mewblade privately to avoid discovery. The human was thoroughly grieved by the news, choosing to stare at his hands, his dead, shaking hands.

"No . . . I had too much to live for!" he broke down and wept into his palms. Mewblade looked down, almost marveled at how distressed Michael was, a smirk showing. Ho-oh had enough and risked its presence as it stepped within the range of Michael.

"Little one, you're pushing my tolerance level," Ho-oh warned. Michael looked up in surprise, wondering what was happening now. "Stop stalling by playing with his emotions." Ho-oh was standing over Michael, nearly glaring down at Mewblade. Mewblade glared back, then turned her head towards Michael.

"You know I do not want to," Mewblade said this to Ho-oh. With that she blatantly disrespected Michael. The resurrection process caused Mewblade a great deal of anxiety and she would do anything not to do it at the moment. Ho-oh brought its head down so Michael would not have to strain his neck to face it.

"I am sorry, Michael. Mewblade is here to give you life but has had a bad experience." Not all that comforting.

"Bad as in . . .?" asked Michael warily.

"As in everything goes dandy for the being I am resurrecting but I nearly get killed in the process." Michael blinked at Mewblade.

"Then why are you here?"

"I have to do this, no other reason. Now stand up, I may as well get this over with." Mewblade crossed her arms disdainfully. Michael rose to his feet, waiting for further instruction. Mewblade grabbed his hand and barked, "Do not move," at him. There was a timid nod from the human. Ho-oh stepped back as Mewblade brought her blue and purple auras out for her to use at her disposal. Ho-oh proceeded to move further away until it was lost in the blackness. Mewblade had little appreciation for spectators.

"Do not do a thing," Mewblade added to her additional warning, this received a dumb nod from Michael. She reluctantly began the resurrection, sinking deep into the trance.

Last phase, Mewblade gasped mentally.

Why do you continue this torment when your aggressor is so close?

There is no worth in the human.

Chaos was being particularly cruel this time, trying to throw Mewblade back into her nightmares. Mewblade was enraged towards the energy, nearly stopping the resurrection process just to shout at it. It tantalized her with things she seemed to have forgotten, Mewblade somehow realized that they were meant to be that way. In turn Mewblade felt both tempted and distressed by the energy as it closed its grip around her mind and soul. Shrugging off the energy was proving to be quite tasking. Chaos was being a particular nuisance, but there also happened to be another problem; humans were far more observant than Pokémon.

Michael was looking at Mewblade critically. He could see the brief flicks of emotion that passed across her face. "Why don't you stop? Rest a bit," Michael urged.

"Huh?" Mewblade turned her face towards Michael. She was not in the atrocious pain that she had feared, it was Chaos that was inhibiting.

"Looks like you need rest," Michael repeated. Mewblade shook her head, she would finish this.

Yes, give in to the inevitable, Chaos jibbed in thousands of voices.

"Shut up!" Mewblade yelled aloud at the energy, causing it to back away. Michael blinked in surprise rather hesitant to hold Mewblade's paw. "Sorry, something was talking to me," Mewblade apologized, leaving Michael to think that the bird he saw earlier was bothering Mewblade. "I am nearly done." Mewblade regained her focus, progressing to the last stage. With a burst of energy Mewblade finished the resurrection.

Mewblade came to in the whitewashed morgue, hissing at first at the brightness, then because of the pain and the lingering Chaos. There were images left behind in her head that she did not understand, that made her wonder if what she had seen was real. They were presented as fact. As she had no recollection of her coma, she could not really tell if it was the truth. Whether real or not, the very thought that they might be disturbed her. Chaos had a strange way of working and left the very mystery for Mewblade to discover on her own. The fact that Mewblade had very little to base her thoughts on made Mewblade presume that it was most likely a lie.

Ho-oh witnessed Mewblade dropping to the floor in a heap, crying to herself. It spoke nothing to her and focused on Michael instead. Michael had sat upright, wondering why he was only sporting a sheet and a tag around his big toe. He scrambled out of the body drawer, making use of the linen for a sarong. Once done, he was at Mewblade's side, rubbing her back and gently hushing her.

"Shh. It's okay, it's okay," he coaxed her. His accent was quite noticeable and noticeably Italian. Mewblade detested the human's general fondness but had little concentration to shove him away. She uttered a low growl, causing Michael to cease his acts of concern. His eyes wandered to the metal doors, he saw the labels. Mewblade heard him say something in his native tongue, followed by the list of names she read earlier. He wept quietly to himself, distracting Mewblade from her own grief. She lacked the state to stand but spoke to him anyway.

"You all died in a cave in incident." Ho-oh bobbed its plumed head in agreement. "You were the only one that death would let me bring back." She was speaking the truth but not highlighting the other information available. The human was the only pure hearted member of the team worth saving. On a given whim Mewblade could probably bring back the others; though it was neither necessary or functional.

"I knew them. We worked together . . . It's not fair that I'm the one who survived."

"Life is never fair," Mewblade snapped suddenly. "Good things fail, the bad ones win. Consider yourself lucky. You have a greater purpose and can live it." Mewblade stood up stiffly, brushing her eyes. Michael was quiet and grieving. Ho-oh continued to stand there, ready to berate Mewblade if she behaved wrongly. Mewblade timidly hugged the man in order to comfort him. The loss of a loved one, a friend, or the reality that life had made a cruel judgment was very hard to deal with for anyone. A little comfort was a great way to brighten a person's spirit. "I'm going to brainwash you so you forget our encounter," Mewblade spoke quietly.

"But why?" Michael protested. He had met such a marvelous Pokémon and she was going to erase the memory. Mewblade made a gesture to Ho-oh who left in a brief flash. Mewblade knocked Michael out with her mind, picking him up and placing him on the table just as she heard footsteps heading towards the room. Mewblade swiftly swiped Michael's memory then jarred him awake. With speedy responsiveness, Mewblade concealed herself with a Barrier so that way she could not be seen in the room. Michael sat up, looking around in puzzlement.

You're a man of great things, Michael. Live life, whispered Mewblade directly into his head to give him the deception that his survival was of heavenly divination. The coroner walked in and yelped, crashing into the door.

"What in the name of sweet Jesus!?" he hollered. Michael shrugged, equally confused. Mewblade smirked then left without a trace.

Swadeaqua was highly aggravated to put it bluntly. Every aspect of herself had been humiliated, leaving her to stew in her own thoughts. Her paw grabbed at the door of her room, a key card ready to be swiped so she could enter.

"Hi!" The voice causing Swadeaqua to nearly jump. She calmly turned around to face Harddense with Demisewan in his arms. Adaptable as ever, Swadeaqua showed a look of pleasant surprise.

"Oh, Demisewan, Harddense. It's great to see you both. You're looking better," Swadeaqua smiled, patting her sister on the head. Harddense shifted his load, allowing for Demisewan to stand on her own.

"Can we hang out with you?" Harddense asked eagerly, Swadeaqua immediately delivering her glare. The eagerness he exuded quite bothered her.

"I do need to talk to you both, but I'd rather in some place other than my facilities." Swadeaqua was unwilling to let anyone in her private quarters unless on one issue. The first time her siblings were invited they spent most of it questioning every possible item in the room. The armoire drew the most attention. In the end though, Swadeaqua's room was always left undisturbed, so it gave the opportunity for her brother and sister to join her in a long, uninterrupted conversation; just as long as the twins were not distracted by the things Swadeaqua owned.

Swadeaqua let out a sigh, the twins looked up at her for her insight. "Fine, come in but don't touch anything," Swadeaqua said while opening the door. She led the twins into her humble abode.

The Viridian Gym had several levels allowing everything from offices, to training facilities, to housing accommodations. Most of these areas were underground and off-limits, secretly constructed without the knowledge of any Pokémon officiates. Swadeaqua was privy to having such posh accommodations; with an open floor plan and a postmodern industrial design. Whatever she asked for she got, in which case Swadeaqua's room was decked out with large leather furniture, a mass of electronics, all in cool colors of white, ice blue, and steel. Demisewan and Harddense had the basic Team Rocket accommodations, which made them a tinge jealous of the treatment Swadeaqua received.

Demisewan went straight for one of the kitchen table chairs where as Harddense went straight for the armoire, much to Swadeaqua's annoyance. Harddense peered at the strange display case, curious of its contents.

"What are these?"

"Things you wouldn't understand." Swadeaqua had stepped between Harddense and the armoire. "Now go sit down," she ordered, her body still blocking the view. Swadeaqua was in no mood to explain the uses for the various sexual paraphernalia she kept on display. Because Harddense and Demisewan were so ignorant it was even more daunting considering that she would also have to explain the embarrassing 'birds and the bees' topic to them. In the end, it was better to keep them guessing.

Harddense took his place at the table, a little disappointed. He shrugged towards Demisewan since she had asked the last time they were in the room and received no answer as well. Swadeaqua was milling about in the kitchen.

"I had a meeting with the executives today." She retrieved several drinks from the fridge. "We came up with an idea to capture Mewblade." Swadeaqua placed a glass of root beer in front of Harddense and a cherry soda in front of Demisewan. She kept a chilled cappuccino for herself, although the drinks were really intended as a distraction for the pair. Demisewan sipped at her beverage while Harddense gave an empty look to his full glass. Both of them were anxious to hear the apparent news of their infamous older sister. "We discussed about plans to capture Mewblade and whether she exists or not. It is easier for me to tell you the guidelines to the plan first. We select a date for the capture, which at the moment is undisclosed and to be further discussed. The more concrete part of the plan is how to entice Mewblade to come to us. This will be done in several steps, the first by baiting a Legendary Pokémon like Zapdos or Suicune, but more preferably Moltres. Moltres is associated with Indigo Plateau, the flame of the bird is used to light the giant chalice. One of the Rockets will tamper with the flame causing Moltres to arrive at the stadium in Indigo Plateau. Moltres will then be attacked." Harddense finished his root beer, gazing over the rim of his glass in need of an explanation. Demisewan too was puzzled. "Mewblade attacks and kills anyone who harms or outwardly inflicts some sort of discomfort to a Legendary Pokémon. Vicebane used a similar plan to attract the Legendary Birds and Mewblade during his encounter with them. It is guaranteed to work. Mewblade will arrive at the stadium to aid Moltres andwe will be there to take out Mewblade."

"Question," Demisewan raised her paw. "Is it we, as in Team Rocket, or we, as in us?" she signaled to the Mewthrees at the table.

"We, as in us three," Swadeaqua mimicked Demisewan's signal. Harddense dropped his glass to the floor, the glass shards strewn across.

"We're facing her!?" Harddense jumped out of his seat, horrified at the thought. Demisewan reached out towards her twin, taking his talon in her paw then gave him a comforting smile. She whipped her face over to challenge the apparent idiot who thought of such a stunt.

"Who came up with that idea?"

"Actually, I did," Swadeaqua spoke with high confidence. Harddense and Demisewan stared at Swadeaqua, disbelieving. "I know, it seems crazy, but I have a plan and it should work. Sit down," she gestured to Harddense who shakily took his seat. "I have studied the tapes and files of Mewblade. The plan for us is to focus entirely on weakening Mewblade to the point of unconsciousness. This will be done by having Demisewan work as a light offense, as well as a distraction. Harddense, you are a defensive type and will be used for my protection against blows from Mewblade." The doubting look from Harddense made him quizzical about such a decision. As expected, Swadeaqua was willing to enlighten him since the concept of being struck by Mewblade seemed like a death sentence. "Your defensive potential should be able to take mild damage from the equivalent of a fatal strike. While you may think that is dangerous, rest assured your defensive potential is extremely high just as much as her damage grade. You two should be matched. You will also be effective at restraining," then with a little smirk she added, "so you'll actually be useful, for once."

"And if you are there then what will you be doing?" asked Demisewan.

"Acting as your trainer and as an inhibitor for Mewblade. I will be picking shots at Mewblade, but not too much because we can't risk killing her. For such a fight I will be using my voice as a weapon, to both intimidate and demoralize in a ruse to win her to our side. From this day forward, most of our time will be devoted towards the moment in which we face our sister. We will be training together while other parties will be seeing that Mewblade is still alive and active. Yes, Harddense?" Harddense had a talon raised.

"Uh, can't she like still kill us, ya know?" he gesticulated vaguely in hopes to get his point across. Demisewan bobbed her head.

"Yeah, she's dangerous!"

"You two are very unlikely to die because of Mewblade's blades or energy attacks. I can resist her energy attacks but the physical ones I can not, that is why I want to enlist you," she looked at Harddense, "as my bodyguard when I need it. We can practice our coordination against different types of attacks and strategies. Even groups in case Mewblade creates an alliance with Moltres or Mewtwo for instance."

Demisewan shifted uneasily in her seat, briefly touching her injury as it twanged from imaginary pain. She was safe as long as she kept focused. The real fear was for Swadeaqua who had never fought a real battle in her life. Demisewan brought this thought forward. "We saw her die twice in those tapes. She just has to be dead."

"How did you get those?" Swadeaqua asked cordially, hiding her surprise.

"Doctor West did," supplemented Harddense in place of his twin.

So they might possibly know more than just the rumors the Team Rockets have been circulating. Swadeaqua was one of the few who studied the tapes that were used to collect data on the fight between Mewblade and Vicebane. The problem with the tapes was that some cameras had been blown during the battle. The rest of the cameras were affected by a great deal of static that until recently had been challenging to visually decipher. What annoyed Swadeaqua the most was the obvious use of widespread telepathy amongst the Legendary Pokémon. Widespread telepathy was comparable to audible speech, where general, direct telepathy was only heard in a person's thoughts and thus was not recordable. While it was convenient that they were using widespread telepathy; it was not like the Legendaries were shouting. At best Swadeaqua could catch jumbled whispers of conversation. Most often she was forced to read lips and expressions. The human, Coline, was her best outlet with her strong emotional displays in addition to a loud voice. It was unfortunate that she appeared during the return of Mewblade and not before, but without her the whole incident following the battle would be absolutely senseless. Everything seemed to be going that way when it came to Mewblade.

Something about the way the general assembly responded to Mewblade's apparent death was misplaced. The trainer named Ash gave rise to the theory that all was not a complete loss, that in fact Mewblade was more likely to have been critically injured, even comatose, but not dead. Many a researcher had made similar assumptions that Mewblade was not truly gone; yet none were too sure. For Swadeaqua she had a tendency to drift away from the blatancy in the tapes, humoring her own curiosities. Of the most curious to her was an instance where Mewblade was giving an explanation to Coline. The question poised by Coline was, 'What's so funny?' after the Legendaries began laughing. Mewblade was whispering and her head was half turned in the video, but the best way to know one's enemies was to have them tell so themselves. Swadeaqua was so focused at this point trying to figure out what was said that she ignored Demisewan and Harddense completely.

Something odd about having a friend . . . Swadeaqua puzzled.

"Swadeaqua?" Demisewan screwed up her face in concern.

"Wow, she's really thinking," added Harddense.

I think I have the words. Who is she speaking for? Come on. I can do this. I've seen that video a million times, I know what I've seen. Her mind began to piece together the rest of the video. No way . . . It explains what startled Vicebane earlier. Swadeaqua realized Mewblade's response to Coline's question, being, 'It is rather odd for a Legendary Pokémon to have a friend,' while speaking for herself.

"Swadeaqua!" Demisewan yelled impatiently.

"Yes, sorry," Swadeaqua gave her head a shake.

"You really zoned out," remarked Harddense, worried about his idol.

"Have they been working you too hard? Not enough sleep, maybe?" Demisewan frowned, her head tilted to the right.

"I have a feeling our dear sister is alive and well. I was thinking of ways to justify it." Inside her devious brain Swadeaqua was doing back flips about her discovery. A Legendary in our ranks, right under our very noses! Not even Giovanni realizes what he let get away. Being that she is what she is, then she may pose a greater threat than those stupid rumors that have been circulating. Indeed that now I know, I shall not make light of this. Swadeaqua was fascinated with the concept, almost awed. With such a simple statement it easily explained every strange happening that had been witnessed during the taping. What would it be like to be around something that can wield such power, knowledge and divine beauty? Such a delicate balance between a fragile spirit and a being of insurmountable greatness. To be merely in the presence of must be breathtaking, Swadeaqua mused, daydreaming to herself, trying not to make it obvious as Harddense casually offered his thoughts.

"Then I guess that means our training won't be worthless," Harddense pointed out optimistically. Swadeaqua nodded her head to the side, ready to enjoy her next remark.

"You sound too happy for someone who will be doing hard battling for several weeks," sneered the dragon type Mewthree.

"Ohh . . ." Harddense groaned, now exceedingly miserable. One thing was wrong, and then when it is presumed to be better, another thing goes wrong. Demisewan gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

"I'll have training schedule set up, making use of the small practice gym and the actual gym during the evenings. You two can be off to your rooms," Swadeaqua dismissed the pair. As the door closed Swadeaqua leaned over the table to check her glassware. "My poor glass . . ."

"Hello, Mewblade."

Mewblade was slumped in her throne chair, not willing to turn her head to address her guest. "Hello, Mewtwo," was her toneless response to her father. "What do you want?" Mewtwo walked to the left of the throne chair. Mewblade shifted her head, her face unable to mask her humor. "What are you wearing?" Mewtwo was wearing a short, brown poncho with either a very bulky turtleneck or a folded hood. It looked rather ridiculous on him.

"This?" Mewtwo asked innocently, tugging gently on his poncho. "It's to keep me warm as I wander."

He just thinks it looks good, Mewblade mused, having seen through the lame excuse. "I may have been in a coma, but that does not mean my IQ has dropped. With your psychic energy, mind over matter should be easy. When you get a chill it will be when the whole world freezes over. Take that stupid outfit off."

Mewtwo crossed his arms indignantly, saying, "No."

"It is coming off," Mewblade threatened, adding to her threat as she rose to her feet. Mewtwo stepped back slightly. He knew Mewblade was up to something as she approached him.

"I won't let you. You can't intimidate me into doing what you want." Mewtwo continued to keep his arms crossed, glaring back at Mewblade. She chuckled then pounced on him with surprising agility, knocking him to the ground. Using two Metal Claws she proceeded to rip the poncho to shreds. Mewblade grinned victoriously, happy to have ruined Mewtwo's only possession.

"You should consider getting yourself something like a territory or a treasure that represents you better. You are a powerful, Legendary Pokémon and do not need a piece of fabric to make yourself look or act mysterious," advised Mewblade as she continued to keep Mewtwo pinned beneath her. Mewtwo was so flabbergasted that Mewblade had actually done that. The fact that she had moved so quickly ended up drawing his attention first.

"Wait, how were you able to move like that?" He watched as Mewblade took herself off of him. For a moment she was considering her answer, feeling somewhat playful.

"I am very resilient; besides, a Legendary Pokémon can handle hundreds of years of hibernation. And in addition, I am better than you are," Mewblade smirked down towards Mewtwo, artfully removing the Metal Claws from her paws. "Knocking you over is not very challenging. You forgot after all that time with me being in a coma that I am not that slow." Calling Mewtwo powerful then bowling him over did not exactly instill the fact that he was indeed powerful. "Why are you here?" And then as predictable as expected it was straight to business. Mewtwo delayed his answer until he was fully standing. He had to face the reality that his poncho was beyond repair. While he thought of getting another one, there also posed the risk that Mewblade may rip him apart along with. Mewtwo brushed his upper body to remove any stray fibers. The delay was bound to irritate Mewblade at some point.

"I came to see how you were doing." Mewblade pursed her lips, trying not to lash out at Mewtwo for initiating small talk. Mewtwo seemed to be on Mewblade's foul side today, quickly hurrying his observation. "It is a relief to see that you are in good physical health. I assume that mentally you are okay since you have been somewhat . . . energetic." Mewtwo could not think of a better word for 'destructive' without insulting her more. Considering Mewblade's general purpose of existence, destructive was exactly how she should be. Mewblade eyes became downcast, as if acknowledging what Mewtwo felt.

"I do not think I am okay," Mewblade spoke slowly, hesitant to divulge sensitive information to Mewtwo. While she trusted him to a greater degree than some, she was still unwilling to place her faith in others but figured since Mewtwo was there for her whenever she seemed to need it, she would offer the information to him anyway. "When Ho-oh appeared I could not help but displace my misery on it for everything it put me through. I was mad at Ho-oh for letting me know what I am and placing me in a position that I find to be so compromising. I am used and it hurts me to be this tool for whatever purpose I can not understand." Mewblade motioned her arms, signing to the vastness around her. Mewtwo had heard this before from a time when Mewblade was explaining how much the resurrection harmed her. "I did not want to go through another resurrection and wanted to make my escape. I thought, 'what if I could die? Then I would see how Ho-oh would do without me,' and threatened to kill myself." This is when destructive came back into the conversation, not a force used by Mewblade for the purpose of harming others, but one on herself. Mewtwo was stunned and caught unprepared by another one of Mewblade's catastrophic emotional outbursts. He was her father and tried to be reasonable but his disappointment in how unappreciative she was towards her own life brought out his own anger.

"How could you think such a thing?! After all you put us through to keep you alive. And the first thing you think to do is kill yourself!?" Mewtwo snarled down at Mewblade, appalled, angry and disappointed in his daughter's reasoning. He could not think of where he went wrong, all the advise he had given. She was loved. What more could Mewblade need than that?

"I'm sorry!" Mewblade hollered at him, expecting support from Mewtwo. "I just don't want to do this anymore!" Every word was spoken with a torrent of bitter emotion. Mewtwo was still. The coma meant nothing when it came to time, offering no distance between the present and Moltres' resurrection. To go through a seemingly endless cycle of suffering, instructed to do so on the apparent whim of the universe is a life without motivation.

"I'm sorry . . ." whimpered Mewblade, slumping to the floor. Mewtwo was staring at the sight beneath his feet.

"What stopped you from doing it?" he ventured, unsure of the reason that kept Mewblade alive. She was still here, and usually quite hard to detour once her mind was set. Mewblade gave a weak smirk to Mewtwo.

"It would be selfish of me to take myself away from Coline. She is my strength, my heart, my soul, my very reason for living. Ho-oh could probably care less about whether I die or not, Coline would be heartbroken." Mewblade had a distant smile. "As a Decider of Fate I am presented with the meaning to my life. I fear that kind of knowledge, thus I choose to reject that knowledge. Coline is my Chosen, thus my meaning to life." Mewblade scoffed at the thought that Mewtwo believed that she would die that easy. "I will not give up that easily," she smirked. "After all, who else would keep you from wearing those awful things." Mewblade got up, trying to be optimistic but still rather sullen. Mewtwo could see that the coma had taken a psychological toll on Mewblade. He worried and wanted her to stay safe. Such a thought was merely a fleeting wish as Mewblade and her title carried the most grief out of anything alive. The most he could offer was to be there for her, yet not so long ago he had betrayed her with stern words.

"I know. For what I said, I am sorry. You ask for support, and I want you to know that I am willing to be that support for you, just as much as your mother, Coline, Eevee and really any other Legendary. It takes a lot of strength to be who you are, and I realize it is a struggle for you. Come to us if you need it. We can not take losing you again." Mewtwo kept a steady gaze with Mewblade, reinstating the fact that he did appreciate her existence just as much as Mewblade did not appreciate her own. Mewblade broke the gaze, her head turned to her shoulder.

"I just hate all this nonsense. I can not get out of this while I am still alive," exasperated Mewblade. At this point she was figuring some of it had to involve karma. Then again, Mewtwo killed many an innocent himself and was left to wander about aimlessly. There is simply no logic in the universe.

"I'm certain Coline will be a great coping mechanism for you now that you have her." Mewblade tilted her head in agreement to Mewtwo's suggestion. "By the way, you woke up screaming terribly. Was that caused by anything?" This was given some thought by Mewblade before she responded.

"Yes and no. I think I remember some things but they are too vague for me to grasp." Mewblade was not aware that she woke up shrieking. Since Mewtwo could not lie very easily then she was not going to question his statement. For all she knew it could be a preference for her to wake up in such a manner. "So after you barged into my personal life, made me breakdown and make a fool of myself, you were supposed to inform me of the reason why you were here." Mewblade rested her paws on her hips, taking a demanding stance. Mewtwo had to agree that he had done enough damage and owed Mewblade some sort of explanation as to why he was there in the first place. As he began to explain Mewblade walked over to one of her couches, lounging across it. It allowed her an excusable reason to disengage from Mewtwo's eye contact.

"The point of my visit, aside checking up on you, was to tell you that Mew or Moltres will be coming to talk to you later today or tomorrow about a ceremony at Indigo Plateau."

"Ceremony?" Being Decider of Fate did not offer Mewblade much insight into the rituals among the Legendary Pokémon.

"I'm almost as lost as you are," Mewtwo confessed. "Both you and I are going to be introduced so that way the Legendaries familiarize themselves with us. It involves a certain procedure but Mew did not go into details." Mewblade rolled over onto her side so that way she could see Mewtwo more clearly.

"They are probably reworking the laws to accommodate us," Mewblade voiced her idea.

"Don't you do that?"

"I just enforce them." The pair were silent for a moment before Mewblade gave a growl. "I am hoping this is not a social event. I can hardly stand your questions." Mewtwo did not even want to imagine.

"Actually," Mewtwo began almost with a warning tone, "Mew mentioned about you bringing Coline." Mewblade looked intrigued, shifting her position for the second time.

"So why my Chosen?"

"I would assume your insatiable bond." Mewtwo had a knowing smirk, which was received placidly. "I was told it was just Coline. Mew explained that your Chosen should be present as she is very involved with you and supportive of the Legendary cause. These humans that the others have interacted with do not hold as special a place as Coline does with you." Such a bond was obvious, even so early on in their relationship. Mewblade and Coline were polar dependent on each other, making one another.

"Then what about Moltres? Why is she being involved?" After the less than warm reception from Moltres during the resurrection, Mewblade was convinced that Moltres was still harboring a dislike towards her.

"She likes you," shrugged Mewtwo passively. "Whether Mew or Moltres, one of the two will also take you to the ceremony that is within one week, at noon on Indigo Plateau."

"At this point I would almost not be surprised if we would have to do a dance or wear ridiculous outfits." The details of what was needed and who would be present at the ceremony made even some things seem plausible.

"I would have worn my cloak if you hadn't destroyed it," grumbled Mewtwo, arms folded across his chest pointedly. Mewblade grinned cheekily.

"I spared you from your fashionable indignity. You should be thankful." Of course Mewtwo was far from appreciative. He was ready to depart, no longer in the need of Mewblade's snarky remarks.

"I shouldn't spend any more time with Mewblade, The Legendary Clothing Destroyer," he muttered, while readying a Teleport. Mewblade gave him a wave with her paw, a smirk on her face. Once alone, she sat upright to think over what she was told.

Everyone had expected Mewblade to change although she was as predictable as she had been before she was incapacitated. Minus the exception of Mewblade's reluctance to resurrect, she felt she had changed very little. Around her everyone else had, whether building friendships or embracing freedom, they seemed different to her. Then again, maybe it was she herself that had changed the most.

"That is why I believe Mewblade is still alive," Swadeaqua finished, having outlined her observations to Giovanni, the executives, and the recent inclusion of Doctor West. They unanimously supported the given facts and the plan that was to follow. The chosen course of action that was given by Swadeaqua to Harddense and Demisewan would be followed-through by the executives of Team Rocket. Mewblade was alive and would have to be drawn out, making the reality of fighting her quite a probability. Swadeaqua had made it clear that she and her siblings would be capable to handle the battle with their older sister, as long as the executives were willing to offer the support and the training necessary to deal with her.

"I'll have Harddense's training schedule altered to work with yours. If you really want to go through with this he will need a lot of training to catch up." Conrad entered the information into his mobile device, briefly glancing at Datona's to make sure that their schedules were not clashing. "You do realize this will put a great strain on our resources, don't you?" Datona pursed her lips as she too realized that this would put a strain on the grunts that would be participating.

"You will make the necessary accommodations for this capture," Giovanni instructed as he was more than willing to put the money into the capture event. There would be no objections towards his decision, thus the changes were made.

"This fiscal year will be taking quite a hit from this," grumbled Dublaire who took to writing it down in a traditional notebook.

"Stanford, we are talking about Moltres here. Do our Rockets have the right Pokémon to deal with such a thing?" Conrad addressed Stanford, noting that most capture events were indeed Stanford's responsibility. Ali knew that the necessary Pokémon and equipment was not prepared for a Legendary Pokémon, but gave no comment.

With a smug smile Stanford shot back with his answer. "Yes, in fact I already came up with a strategy that will work excellently against Moltres. I have it under control. Ali knows the Pokémon we need and the traps."

Meanwhile, when all this was going on, Doctor West was praying that the executives were cowardly enough to reconsider going after 001. While Mewblade was hopelessly flawed, she was also the least studied amongst the five Mewthrees. Capturing her would be a challenge in of itself, where actually restraining her would take a considerable amount of effort. Most of Team Rocket assumed that the current measures to hold ordinary Pokémon would be acceptable, although Mewblade was not ordinary and far more dangerous. Doctor West did have the blueprints for Mewtwo's original armor and Vicebane's armor, both of which were effective at focusing and suppressing auras. At least his team had some excuse to be busy for the next couple of months, though he would rather see Mewblade free from the clutches of Team Rocket. His feelings were not shared by the executives, who were enticed by the idea of a challenge.

"Then it is settled," spoke Giovanni as he interrupted the conversations. The room became quiet at Giovanni's address. "You have until late November to prepare. Commence 001-Mewblade Recapture. You're dismissed." Based on discussions, Moltres would be weaker during the fall and winter seasons in the Kanto region. One less struggle was always good for Team Rocket, whose motto was to do anything to gain the upper hand. The executives understood the substantiality of the task at hand, leaving in single file to conspire.

Giovanni could catch the glimpse of Swadeaqua as she closed the door behind herself, her eyes displaying her pride before betraying a look of unease that came with her inability to master the man she so despised. She did well this time, knowing that Giovanni's silence was grand praise. With a poker face he stared back, Swadeaqua giving her small, almost non-existent smile of gratitude, then left the conference room.

Stanford was waiting for her outside the door, hands in his pockets. He quietly watched her as she pressed her paws against the door to close it. "That's probably the happiest you'll ever see him."

"When we actually capture Mewblade I swear it would break his face," Swadeaqua smirked at the thought, remaining confident in herself. Mewblade was not such a thing to fear anymore now that she knew at least one of her sister's secrets.

"That would be a sight," commented Stanford. "What are you doing?" Swadeaqua's expression had turned to an inviting lustiness. Her paws teased with the smart tie so neatly pressed against Stanford's chest. It was devious of her not to answer.

"Are you busy?" she said, still using her clumsy fingers to play with the knot. Stanford clasped Swadeaqua's paws in his hands then guided her down another hallway. Although it was frowned upon to have any romantic involvement in Team Rocket, Swadeaqua openly showed her affections, often breaching protocol. Once she was set on something, changing her mind was difficult. Stanford figured it was best not to have it done right in front of the room in which the boss was situated.

"Then would you mind keeping me company for a little while?" It was not an unusual request from Swadeaqua, one she had asked from Stanford on more than an occasion. There was not a hint of manipulation in her voice since she knew Stanford liked her and was willing to help her out with most of her needs; whether business, emergencies, or carnal pleasures.

Relationships between Pokémon and people was strictly taboo in all walks of society. Being that Swadeaqua thought she was neither made it all the more difficult for her to find someone to bond with. Morals never hindered her selection because she rarely used them to begin with. All she wanted was support and praise for her recent achievement. Stanford was willing to share in the joys and pains of her life, but unable to express it to Swadeaqua. It was not as if she would comprehend it anyway. Despite having such an extensive vocabulary and a refined, empathetic mind, Swadeaqua did not understand the meaning of love.

"Well?" asked Swadeaqua, barely giving Stanford any time to respond as she forced her lips on his. The answer was 'Yes'. She pulled away with a glorious smile. Stanford's expression was a little dazed.

"If you knew my answer already you shouldn't have asked," he spoke, still dazed. Even though Swadeaqua was practically on the verge of reading minds with her empathy alone, she still enjoyed in her games.

"Stop fussing with the tie and come with me." Swadeaqua grabbed his arm and yanked him towards her facilities. "It would help if you took it off for me instead." Stanford shook his head with a smile.

"Any other requests I should fulfill before we get there?"

"None of them are appropriate to do in the hallway."

"Mew! Mew!" (Hello! Hello!) Mew called aloud, entering Mewblade's domain; a hyper ball of energy disturbing the oppressive atmosphere. She paused in the main room hovering, looking about. Her greeting was going unanswered. "Mew!" (Mewblade!) Mew squeaked loudly.

"I am younger than you and I have more patience," Mewblade commented, walking out of the master bedroom. "Hard to believe you are my mother." She stopped in front of Mew with her trademark smirk. Mew only giggled, somehow immune to the insult. A playful somersault supported the fact that she let the insult pass her by.

"Mew mew mew mew mew mew." (It's so nice to see you up.) Mew rose to meet Mewblade's nose, giving a gentle tap of affection. The inane giggling continued on as Mewblade attempted to ignore it.

"It is nice to see you too. Mewtwo said you were supposed to talk to me about the ceremony?" Mewblade made sure to get right to the point, otherwise Mew would start inquiring about how she was feeling. Mew realized that Mewblade was purposely directing the conversation. She knew better than to pry, since Mewblade would likely withdraw.

"Mew mew?" (The ceremony?) Mew tilted her head. "Mew mew mew," (It's pretty basic,) she started. "Mew mew mew mew mew mew mew mew, mew mew. Mew mew mew mew mew mew. Mew mew mew mew. Mew mew mew mew. Mew mew mew mew mew mew mew mew mew mew," (You will be introduced to the other Legendary Pokémon, them to you. Together we will undergo an aura cleansing. It allows the Legendaries to harmonize. We all definitely need it. Then we make an agreement to accept you among us as a new Legendary,) she pulled away with another giggle. "Mew, mew?" (Easy, huh?)

"It is on Indigo Plateau at noon, correct?" Mewblade asked, shifting her weight slightly. Mew displayed her disappointment prior to answering. The evasiveness was bothersome, though she still tried to respect Mewblade's need for privacy.

"Mew mew mew," (Yes it is,) replied the pink Pokémon. Again Mewblade got in another question. If she continued drilling Mew for answers then she would never have any way of asking her for personal insight.

"Why is it so important that I bring Coline?" Mewblade did not want to compromise Coline's safety, finding that to be of the utmost importance. Even though Mewblade hardly knew Coline, the girl was still her Chosen and she meant almost everything to her, especially now that her life was valued by it.

"Mew mew mew mew mew mew mew mew." (Because we believe it would be important for you to have Coline there to support you.) Mew opened her mouth and was swiftly silenced as Mewblade raised her paw with a smirk. "Mew?" (Yes?)

"Should I bring anything?"

"Mew, mew mew mew," (Nope, just yourself and Coline,) Mew said with a frown.

"Does the cleansing hurt?" She was not afraid of the other Legendaries. Her concern was based on the grounds that she was very sensitive to auras, especially Ho-oh's. Mew did not understand Mewblade's question entirely as she did not really comprehend the problem. Ho-oh was conscientious about Mewblade's aura condition, where highly positive auras conflicted with Mewblade's rather dark nature. It was not type that defined this, where many a dark type are positive individuals; it was based on the fact that Mewblade's soul itself held some negative aspects.

"Mew mew mew mew mew. Mew, mew mew mew. Mew mew mew mew." (Every new Legendary goes through this. I did, so will Mewtwo and you. It shouldn't hurt at all.) Mew gave a reassuring pat on Mewblade's shoulder, adding a smile afterwards.

"Well, I am going back to the bedroom. I will see you at the ceremony," Mewblade announced, dismissing Mew as she turned away. Mew could hardly take the airy dismissal, she fiddled with her tiny fingers, moping over how quickly Mewblade had wanted to get rid of her. With cheerful optimism, Mew knew that Mewblade would be more open to talking after a bit of recuperation.

"Mew mew mew mew!" (See you next week!) Mew squeaked as she made her way out. "Mew mew mew, mew mew mew mew mew." (Almost forgot, Moltres will be picking you up.)

Mewblade was inside her bedroom, head blade resting dully against the wall. She scowled as she sensed Mew leave in a Teleport. It was easier to say, harder to do. There was only so much Mewblade could ask of herself, and getting better, whatever that may have meant, just did not seem to be one of them.

"Sometimes doing things that distracts you helps you forget about the things that bother you." It was the day of the Cleansing Ceremony. Coline and Eevee had arrived at Mewblade's home early, all three waiting for Moltres' arrival. Currently, Mewblade was more nervous about the microphone she was holding in her paw than the thought of Moltres and the ceremony. She cast a doubting eye at her Chosen, not believing that the choice of distraction was any better than being miserable.

Mewblade had made some rather unnecessary accommodations to bring the family karaoke machine into her home. Things like running water and electricity were not applicable to Mewblade until the recent addition of several mortals in her space. Since Mewblade was often bored, renovating her cave was not an entirely unwelcome idea; however, she had not expected to do adjustments. With Coline and Eevee likely to visit as often as they could get away with, such changes would have to be made. So far Mewblade had done minimal solar paneling and wiring. Coline began tuning the karaoke system to the right settings. An annoying speaker noise sounded, dissipating within a couple seconds, proving that the old heap was still working.

Coline and Eevee talked very little about their home life. As Mewblade ended up unwittingly finding out, no one would notice the absence of the large accessory, showing how little the family cared. Dan was Coline's only true support. Her older brother chose to more or less run away from home in pursuit of the trainer dream, dragging Coline along with. Sadly such a decision was better for Coline than staying with her alcoholic, emotionally distant mother, or her father who was nowhere to be seen. Eevee was not much older than Coline, having been the family pet. Eevee's tongue-in-cheek sense of humor and confrontational wit proved that she was not immune to the effects of a broken home. Coline had developed a wise mind and deep understanding of the human psyche. Dan's involvement in her life allowed her some education, though Coline was a naturally smart girl and caught on quickly to anything. She was not harmed by her family's strife, learning patience where most would have given up.

With everything changing around her, Mewblade had a hard time grasping what was going on. For her, trying to figure out how Coline and Eevee remained positive individuals was too complicated to place into a thought. After a while it was easier for her brain to shut down rather than attempt to solve anything. She could not stay focused, her mind constantly wandering into the nightmarish realm. There were so many of them and every one just out of reach. Trying to find meaning in them was useless.

"Eeevee eeve eevve eee eve eve eeevee," (Looks like someone took a walk in la-la land again,) observed Eevee from her post on the bed. Coline looked back over her shoulder, also catching the rather empty expression on Mewblade's visage. Mewblade attempted to feign awareness but was caught in the act.

"I am sorry about that," Mewblade muttered, sounding almost as distant as she had looked. Coline quickly finished with her adjustments then made her way over to Mewblade. She patted Mewblade's free paw comfortingly, knowing exactly where Mewblade's mind had been.

"You shouldn't apologize for something you didn't do," Coline said with a sympathetic smile. Eevee nodded her head in agreement and tapped her microphone on.

"Eeeve eevveeee eeve eevve evve evvvee eee eevvvee eevee," (Unless you back out on this then you have a lot of apologizing to do,) Eevee gave her playful warning as she rolled her microphone back and forth between her paws.

"I will give it a try . . . but don't blame me for sounding awful." Mewblade turned on her microphone, dreading what she was about to go through. Mewblade's voice was true to her gender, only sounding slightly female over that of an androgynous voice. A harsh, butch voice such as Mewblade's did not resonate pleasantly. The pair of Chosen would not hold her make against her. They understood that the beauty that defined Mewblade would never be that of a melodic songstress.

"But you will sound awful if you don't know the lyrics," Coline pointed out the obvious lack Mewblade's pop-culture knowledge. "You said you could mind read." Having Mewblade clumsily recite lyrics off a screen was going to make her feel incompetent. Giving her a little confidence was never a bad idea. Somehow Mewblade expected to be reading off the screen in a haphazard, imbecilic fashion, taking to Coline's statement with additional confusion.

". . .Yes?" came Mewblade's hesitant reply, afraid of where this conversation was going.

"Eeveeee! Eevee evvee eevve eeeeve eeeve eeve evvee eve eeevvee eevveee!" (Oh yeah! All she would have to do is read our minds and then she would instantly know the song!) exclaimed Eevee at the notion that Mewblade would not be excluded. The two of them looked at Mewblade for approval, both expecting Mewblade to be keen about the idea. Neither of them were concerned about the invasion of privacy that Mewblade was more than unwilling to perform. She respected Coline and Eevee as individuals, finding that she could trust them more than enough not to read their minds. With that notion, she made up an excuse.

"Still, it would be better if I learned like everyone else rather than having them learn for me," muttered the Mewthree.

"It's only a song." Coline was trying to offer a compromise. "Nothing wrong with that. Besides, I won't mind if you poke around," she added with a smile. Mewblade realized that she would obviously have to do this at some point, otherwise stalling would award her with two pleading children who would not let up. It was a losing situation for her.

"Okay, but only because you offered," Mewblade spoke quietly having accepted the defeat. Her mind ventured into that of Coline's, snatching several songs for use. Coline was open to her, allowing her mental defenses to be passable. If Coline was less than assured in Mewblade's presence, there would have been some sort of block. Mewblade did not realize this as she normally would gauge a person's mental capacity based on any headaches she may have received. "Got them," announced Mewblade, having only taken the songs specifically. Coline was surprised that she did not notice a thing and could not help remarking on it.

"Wow, I didn't even notice. You must be really good at it!" she said in awe.

"Eee eevvee evveee eeve eeevvveee eevee evee eee evve eee." (I thought it would feel like fingers clawing at my brain,) remarked the little, brown Pokémon. Mewblade gave her head a shake, disagreeing.

"Mind reading is my strongest skill. I am basically omnipotent because of it," Mewblade smirked, practically bragging as she spoke. She also quickly made it known that her vocabulary was far higher than that of the eight year old.

"Omnipotent?" Coline blinked, head tilted to the side. Eevee did not even bother speaking, she just stared.

"Omnipotent. It means a god-like way of understanding everything that goes on. Mind you, I can not track everything about the billions of lives on this planet. I know who lives, dies and breaks laws because that is the most mental capacity I can afford." It was still impressive to Coline, who remained silently awed.

"Eevve eeveee," (I knew that,) Eevee said smugly. Mewblade smirked, the furthest she would go with sarcasm.

"The only time anyone notices my mind reading is if they are noticeably psychic. Both the person I am mind reading and I develop headaches if they are particularly powerful." Mewblade glanced down at her microphone, smiling lightly. "Speaking of headaches, care to listen to my awful attempt at singing?" Mewblade reached over and patted Coline on the head, almost thankful that she was about to be put through the sick torture that was karaoke.

"Totally!" Coline giggled, pressing 'play' on the system. She ran over to the bed, bounding onto it. Mewblade was a little nervous but felt supported by her friends in this strange endeavor. All three of them inhaled, anticipating the first line and breaking out into a catchy pop tune. Mewblade had to admit that despite sounding as awful as she did, she was having fun. There was something free and spirited about the activity, Mewblade unable to hide her smile.

"Evee eee eevvee!" (Look at that!) Eevee exclaimed giddily during a break in the song. "Eve eeevve evvee!" (She actually smiled!) She received a playful yet dirty glare from Mewblade. Coline, Eevee, and Mewblade looked at each other critically then burst out howling in laughter.

Moltres landed on the cliff outside Mewblade's home. She folded her wings against her back, observing the view of the Ellix Forest below. As Mewblade's purpose did not clash with the resident Legendary of Ellix Forest, both could remain in close proximity of each other. Celebi predominantly guarded the forest, nurturing all the plant life that was present. While her title claimed that she was the 'Guardian of Forests and Time' she was considerably weak, often escaping into the timeline and manipulating it so that way the problem could be rectified in a safer period. Mewblade had little reason to associate with her, finding that the runaway mentality made them less than acquaintances. Celebi's timid nature kept her from visiting at all, whereas Mewtwo, Mew and Moltres made large, and often risky sacrifices to visit from afar.

The Titan of Fire poked her head into the doorway, having come to retrieve Mewblade and her Chosen. She had been informed by Mewtwo and Mew individually that Mewblade was in a foul mood, also that her profound amnesia left Mewblade believing that Moltres still held a grudge towards her. The audible singing drifted to her ears, allowing her to make out the voice of Mewblade clearly. It was hard to convince her that singing represented an upset Pokémon, giving Moltres a greater feeling of ease. The way in which her and Mewblade parted in the resurrection still left her shaken, making Moltres feel that she was the one to take blame for putting Mewblade into the coma. She made her way towards the back room with quiet treading.

Upon getting closer Moltres could clearly distinguish the three voices in the musical uproar. Moltres peered into the room, somehow unnoticed by Mewblade especially. Mewblade's mind was wired to hone in on any Legendary present in the world; yet, she did not seem to notice the Legendary standing in her halls. It was not hard to imagine why as Moltres continued to observe. On the bed with Eevee was Coline and Mewblade, with Mewblade hoisting Coline in her arms. At this point Moltres was wondering if Mew and Mewtwo had made her believe an incredible ruse. There with her Chosen, Mewblade was laughing and singing, happier than anyone could imagine. It was getting late and Moltres knew she would have to interrupt them, feeling a tinge guilty that she would be disrupting Mewblade's good time.

"Errkreee ahhreeee?" (Can I join too?) she caroled, presenting herself in the archway. This completely startled Mewblade, almost making her lose her grip on Coline. The music continued to run though the singing had stopped. Coline and Eevee were only slightly unnerved by Moltres' abrupt appearance, having expected the bird. Those two aside, Mewblade was almost murderous with her gaze. Moltres decided to use her telepathy, making use of the aura print that she had left behind.

"Or not, either or," she said with a shrug and a smile, trying to avoid the killer stare. Coline could tell that Mewblade was embarrassed for being caught, her heavy blushing only slightly visible beneath the black fur. With all the pressure of trying to prove that she was responsible, the discovery felt like a major setback. There was a subtle click as the karaoke machine turned off, showing that Mewblade was hardly convinced.

"Mewblade," Coline whispered to her friend. Mewblade diverted her gaze, no longer displaying the frustration but the shame instead. It was at that moment that Mewblade wished she could disassociate from the world. She gently stepped off of the bed, placing Coline on the edge of it. There was no point in her addressing her superior with a girl in her hold. "There is nothing to be ashamed about. You were having fun." Coline reassuringly touched Mewblade's paw, smiling as she did. Having fun or acting silly was excusable as long as no one suffered or felt left out. Mewblade could not see it that way.

"How much did you witness?" Mewblade mumbled to Moltres, head lowered in what had been a drawn-out display of personal catastrophe. Moltres was aware that Mewblade had a lot of pride, finding that her participation in a karaoke to only add to her integrity, not diminish it.

"Not that much; besides, it didn't look that bad!" she exclaimed with a flap of her wings. "As your Chosen said, it is really nothing to be ashamed about. It is such a great relief to see you in good spirits, far better than the coma you were in, and the state you were in before that." Mewblade gave an exasperated look over her shoulder, realizing that the only person who was making a big deal about it was her. Everyone wanted her to be happy, and if it involved her caterwauling to pointless songs by long gone icons, then no one would oppose.

"It is better," Mewblade winced, still finding the concept painful to own up to.

"Eveee evvvee eee!" (Of course it is!) reaffirmed Eevee, defending the right for everyone to have fun. A happy Mewblade, while a strange sight was a welcomed one.

"It's nice to know you can be something other than a miserable Gloom," Moltres chirped spiritedly, embracing Mewblade in the friendly fire of her wings. Like Mewblade's blades, Moltres' fire would not burn those she trusted. Mewblade was in a state of shock, unable to understand why Moltres would hug her in the first place. While Moltres was adamant about Mewblade being her friend, the feelings were not mutual.

"What are you doing?!" she hissed, trying to stay calm so her blades would not cerate Moltres' flesh. The seething from Mewblade was not expected, making Moltres assume that Mewblade either literally did not know what a hug was, or her Legendary instincts were that high.

"It's a hug, a sign of camaraderie." Moltres went on her first theory because she knew that Mewblade was very young. She removed her wings from Mewblade to make her feel comfortable.

"I know what a hug is!" growled Mewblade. "Stop acting like you know me." From Moltres there came the most exaggerated pout Mewblade had ever witnessed. The bird definitely had a sense of wit to her, adding a pathetically sad twitter along with. Moltres had been with Mewblade in her less than shining resurrection and in her home when Mewblade was unaware of it, thus the reason why Moltres' aura was so well established. Evidently Moltres knew a lot more about her than Mewblade was really willing to think about.

"I'm sorry. It is very new to me and I need time to think about it," apologized Mewblade. The goofy creature instantly became herself again, momentarily sharing a wink with Coline and Eevee. They stifled their giggles.

"And because I know you then I will escort you and your Chosen," Moltres smiled at the two, "since somebody doesn't know how to talk to people." Mewblade was not even going to argue that statement, she knew her social skills were lacking. Considering Moltres was as talkative as she was, it would save Mewblade from reintroducing herself.

"I had something planned but it looks like we might be late," Mewblade turned her head to Coline and Eevee, making a few steps past Moltres. "Let's go," she commanded. Moltres, we will be flying, she told the Pokémon privately. Moltres gave a brief nod, doing a hop before starting into a trot and flapping out of the entranceway.

"I'll see you in the skies!" she called as the others stopped on the outcropping to Mewblade's home, it acting a natural balcony above the hundred foot drop. Mewblade smirked as she watched Moltres spin and dive nearby. She walked towards the edge, pausing for a moment to speak to Coline and Eevee.

"Wait there," she instructed, then walked off the edge.

"Mewblade!" Coline screamed in horror, dropping to her knees.

"Eee evvee evvvee eee . . ." (I can't believe she did that . . .) Eevee muttered in absolute disbelief.

"You really think I would do that?" Coline and Eevee's heads shot up, surprised and delighted. There was Mewblade, hovering several feet from the edge with a playful smirk on her face, her blue aura lightly flickering. Moltres did not share in the fear that Coline and Eevee had experienced since she had witnessed the planned act. "I would never want to leave you, Coline, Eevee."

"Never do that again!" Coline yelled, crying tears of joy but not liking that she was tricked in such a terrible way. Mewblade was still smirking as she listened to her Chosen express how much she truly loved her. "I hate you!"

"I love you too," was Mewblade's playfully loving reply. Coline sniffled, brushing her eyes with the back of her hand. "Come here," Mewblade gestured to the air in front of her body.

"Eevee evvee evve?!" (Are you mad?!) Eevee questioned shrilly.

"No," Mewblade smirked, finding that she was enjoying this game. "Come here," she repeated for a second time. Coline and Eevee exchanged hesitant glances with Coline responding sheepishly.

"But we can't fly," Coline mumbled, her gaze falling on the edge of the outcrop.

"I can bring back the dead. Do you honestly believe that something as simple as overcoming gravity is beyond my abilities?" Mewblade added with a chuckle afterwards.

"Eve evvee eeve eevvee eeevvvee," (You could have fooled me earlier,) muttered Eevee with a dry tone, reflecting on Mewblade's previous stunt. Mewblade was still smirking, waiting patiently for the pair to take the leap of faith. Moltres observed curiously, intrigued by Mewblade's way of encouraging her Chosen to trust her.

Coline rose to her feet, shoulders back, taking in a deep breath before throwing herself forward. After a moment her eyes opened to witness that she had not fallen but was flying! Mewblade had placed some of her aura around Coline enabling the girl to have unrestricted mobility. Coline turned to Eevee gaily.

"I'm flying, Eevee. I'm flying!" she giggled ecstatically. Coline did a somersault, dazzled by the feeling. "You have to try it!" In the short span of a day Eevee had insulted Mewblade multiple times. There were not many reasons why Mewblade should not drop her.

"Evve eevve evvve, evvee. Eeeevvve eevvee." (I'm fine here, thanks. I like my ground.) Eevee looked at the space hesitantly then took painfully delicate steps forward. Time was running out and Mewblade no longer had the patience to deal with the unwilling Eevee. Using her energy, Mewblade wrapped it around the Pokémon and moved her as she saw fit.

"Eee!" (Hey!) Eevee screamed in terror as she found herself over the edge with nothing but a long drop beneath. She proceeded to shriek, briefly quieting herself to give herself a breather before starting up again. The other girls were laughing at the hysterical Eevee, enjoying this whole situation immensely.

"Just follow Moltres and I and we will lead you to Indigo Plateau. And try to keep up," she said as Eevee quickly grasped flight and shot ahead. "But don't speed ahead!" Mewblade shouted, Eevee instantly stopping herself. The speed in which Mewblade flew was entirely based on her aura, which meant that since Coline and Eevee were tapped into her power source they could perform her mach 3 speeds.

"Eevee," (Sorry,) Eevee's voice came from a distance. Moltres led the troupe, setting the pace as they were limited by her flight speed. Mewblade was entertained by Coline and Eevee's own delight when it came to the flying, making the travel time seem short-lived. Flying was such a cheap way to keep them entertained that she was considering trying it more often. Despite the fact it was a fun and a worthy distraction, the flying was a time waster since Coline and Eevee were rookies with their sense of aerial direction and constant urge to play around. It was without fail that Mewblade was late for everything.

"And here is the star of the show." There was no need to introduce Mewblade, everyone knew who she was.

"Moltres, can you flap any slower?"

"Sorry, but we had a couple fledglings learning to leave the nest for the first time," Moltres apologized as she stepped down from the sky. She gave a low hiss to Zapdos, emphasizing that insulting her was not a good idea. She trotted over to stand between Lugia and Zapdos. Mewblade glanced down, not liking to set up already. All the Legendaries from Johto and Kanto were in attendance, Celebi and Lugia being the only two she had not met. They were standing in a wide circle, ready to begin. Raikou moved his head up to look at Mewblade.

"Care to join us?" he said with an encouraging smile. Mewblade nodded her head, landing in the center, her arms spread out.

"Down you go," she smirked as Coline and Eevee dropped from the sky and into her arms.

"Omph!" Coline exhaled then fussed with Eevee in her arms. Coline looked around at the Legendaries, seemingly unfazed. Eevee was equally calm, which perplexed Mewblade. Because of Coline's serene air about herself, Mewblade was rather unwilling to put Coline down due to the security.

"You can put me down." Many a thing made Mewblade anxious, especially when it involved a conjunction between her pride and presentation. "Are you okay?" frowned Coline, having felt Mewblade's tension. Moltres returned her eyes to Mewblade after a private discussion with Lugia. A small headshake from Eevee signaled that the pair had everything taken care of.

"It is the anxiety again," Mewblade whispered quietly into Coline's ear. Telepathy always made for private conversation, but the intimacy of a whispering voice in the ear of another was far more personal.

"Don't worry. No one is here to hurt you," Coline assured Mewblade, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before parting Mewblade's company. The other Legendaries, with the exception of Zapdos, had fond smiles for Mewblade and her Chosen. The little girl assumed that she should make her way to circle, the grasp of Mewblade's paw on her shoulder halting her. Ho-oh had left its spot between Lugia and Entei, standing before Mewblade. The great bird rarely ever appeared to others, Mewblade being one of the few in whose presence it graced frequently.

"Greetings, Mewblade." As it addressed Mewblade it too would address her Chosen. Mewblade could not help with the scornful remark in her head, since Ho-oh consistently greeted her as 'little one' or 'child'. While it was common courtesy to acknowledge one's elders with favor, Mewblade hardly bat an eyelash. "Greetings, Chosen Coline and Chosen Eevee," it spoke to them in hopes that they would be a little bit more responsive than their role model.

"Hello," Coline smiled with a deep and gracious curtsy. This behavior pleased the bird, it turning to Eevee to watch her.

"Eeve!" (Hi!) Eevee squeaked, nervous by the sheer size of Ho-oh. Her bow was jumpy yet humbled. Following Ho-oh's welcome there was a procession of greetings from the rest of Legendaries. Zapdos and Mewblade were caught in a staring competition, naturally spiteful towards one another. Despite the hostility Zapdos managed to welcome the Mewthree, following an icy slap from Articuno.

"We must keep things on schedule as we all have responsibilities that we must attend to," stated Ho-oh, highlighting that Mewblade's lateness had put them all behind. A Legendary could remain from their territory for quite some time, though a mass exodus could cause a quicker upset. Mewblade proceeded to ignore Ho-oh, shifting her gaze to meet Mewtwo's. Neither of them were looking forward to this, whatever the Cleansing Ceremony may be. Ho-oh's ability to perceive all allowed it to answer their question without having to be asked. "The Cleansing Ceremony is done to create a balance between the Legendaries. Upon the introduction of a new member, whether a replacement or a new species, the Cleansing Ceremony must be performed. Doing so allows us to harmonize as a whole rather than just as a single entity. Through this there is equality as we represent the key elements of existence. Whether life," Ho-oh subtly gestured in Mew's direction, "or death," Ho-oh summed with a finishing gesture towards Mewblade. Stating that Mewblade was associated with the negative aspect of the spectrum brought shame to her. "Please join Mew," Ho-oh instructed Coline and Eevee, adding a gentle nudge with its feathers.

"Okay," Coline said, accepting the instruction. "See you, Mewblade," added Coline with a farewell wave. Mewblade hated to be alone in the center with Ho-oh, giving a timid raise of her paw as a farewell. Coline bounded over to Mew, Eevee having been placed on the ground and chasing afterwards.

"Mewtwo, please join the company of Mewblade." Mewtwo did as he was told by Ho-oh, approaching the center where Mewblade and Ho-oh stood. They both remained in mild confusion, not liking to be called out.

Nervous? Mewtwo asked with a casual tone upon joining his daughter.

Somewhat. Mewblade caught a glimpse of Mewtwo, seeing that he was indeed uncomfortable. I do not know what to expect. Ho-oh left the middle and returned to its place among the Legendaries, standing to strict attention. Everyone listened for the details about the cleansing.

"We are to let our auras mingle, our unity between our power. All of our auras with yours," with this Ho-oh's golden aura of intense purity came alight.

What's wrong with you? Mewtwo could see Mewblade's upper lip rise at the edges. He did not understand what was said or done that might have aggravated her.

Ho-oh's aura hurts me. Mewblade clenched her jaw, forcing herself to keep a straight face. Her eyes briefly darted to see Mewtwo's face, and to see if he understood what she was about to go through.

We have to do this. The process should not be that long, surmised Mewtwo as he let his aura flare. The other Legendaries imitated, the spectacular colors of their varied auras a dazzling display. Mewblade was the last to bring forth her aura. As she carried three auras then it was more challenging to bring all of them forward in a controlled manner; especially when her purple aura was the most volatile. Indigo was the combination between her controlled blue aura and her powerful purple aura, being the choice she selected for the cleansing.

The process of cleansing was very simple; Mewtwo and Mewtwo would bring the energies of their auras to the other Legendaries, and they in turn would bring theirs to the pair of clones. Any filth that came with their lack of innocence for not being true to the Legendary directive, would be removed with the aid of the auras. The other aspects of the cleansing included the ability for the other Legendaries to find one another easily, and it also included a rather spiritual understand of one another's purpose.

Ho-oh's aura stung as expected but Mewblade was determined to not let it get to her. She could handle pain and the purity of the aura was not the worst Mewblade had known. Already she was starting to hallucinate, the blobby apparitions of the Legendaries' forms appearing in her vision. Seeing things she did not understand bothered her, since she did not grasp the meaning or the reason to why they happened. Shutting her eyes to the sight was her best solution.

Something isn't right about this, Mewblade grimaced, frustrated that none of them knew what she saw. Coline and Eevee were quite entertained with the sight until Eevee looked up at her trainer with worry.

"Eeeveee eevvvee. Eevee eeevvveee eveee eve." (Mewblade's unhappy. That shouldn't be happening.) She looked on for an opinion from Coline who was wondering if she should break formation.

Mewblade was struggling, the only two noticing were her Chosen. Stop, Mewblade whimpered in her mind. Stop . . . Her eyes snapped wide open, staring down at the grass in terror. Her mind was going. She could feel the edges of her sanity being torn away with this process. Eevee risked breaking formation, making a run for it.

"Eevee!" Coline yelled, tackling her own Pokémon onto the ground. Mewtwo became aware of the scuffle, his view blocked by . . .

Mewblade . . .? Mewtwo gawked, seeing his daughter wide-eyed and shaking, her paws pressed tightly against her temples. He watched her silently mouth the words 'stop' over and over, oblivious to what she was actually doing. This was not right. The cleansing was not suppose to hurt her.

Stop. Please. Don't do this to me. Not here. Please not here! Mewblade was pleading with her mind to offer her some grace, anything to stop what she most dread. Mewtwo could understand why no one else noticed aside Coline and Eevee, they had their eyes closed, intently focused. Mewblade had not kept her aura back to mask her own distress but at this point the ones who knew wanted this process to end. None of them had a clue about what to do and stared helplessly as Mewblade's turmoil mounted.

Mewblade stopped focusing on the cleansing, her aura dropping from detection. There was no way to force it back now. No matter how much she wanted to pretend, her memories were surfacing and the floodgates holding them back would not last much longer. Her body wrenched, a cacophony of sounds racing through her mind in the endless squabble that was only discernable from worse to worst.

Ho-oh was quick to notice the lack of Mewblade's participation, with the assorted psychics second to realize it. They watched, seeing Mewblade in a state of disarray, tears flowing down her face unimpeded.

It was useless fighting her nightmares. Mewblade could not erase her own mind nor could she deny it any longer. The amnesia she had was for her own convenience, something her sub-conscience had made to protect her. Whatever protection Mewblade's forgetfulness had given her was swiftly gone as the last strand of her ignorance shred itself.

Mewtwo, Coline and Eevee had just relived Mewblade's awakening with a shriek so catastrophically anguished it momentarily deafened them. None of them could even bring themselves to move or watch as Mewblade became emotionally crippled, falling onto her knees, face hard against the earth as she let it hear exactly how terrible her nightmares were.

"Mew mew mew mew!?" (What have I done!?) Mew howled, her cries nowhere near matching Mewblade's.

"Mewblade!!" Moltres called to alarm, fire fast in speed as she stood over her friend of ill fate.

"This is the best cleansing ever!" Zapdos cackled in sinister delight. Articuno whapped her icy wings at him, knocking the Zapdos onto his front, with Moltres scorching his beak with a blast of heated scorn upon hitting dirt. The bird did not hide her affections, grieving tears staying on her warm feathers.

"Don't you even start!" she snarled at Zapdos with little care if she had to kill him for it if he did. Celebi and the Legendary Dogs hardly made a comment, and were completely unable to as the continuing chaos brought out an unlikely reaction from Lugia.

"Gggrrrreeee?!" he screeched at Ho-oh, the silver bird snapping his fanged beak at the bird of gold. As it translated, "How could you?!" He continued to hammer across his opinion, using his large body to be confrontational. "She's not like us!" Ho-oh was keeping itself engaged with Lugia, obviously using private telepathy since it found that the topic about Mewblade should be kept between themselves. Lugia growled, still using his native mix of bird and porpoise to communicate. "Do not shut them out of this again, Ho-oh!" he warned.

Moltres was infuriated with Ho-oh, her body shivering with anger. It was useless to oppose Ho-oh's standpoint. She clenched her jaw, head jerking away. "Lugia, it's pointless to argue with it," she said aloud, upturning her beak from Ho-oh, snubbing it.

"What's going on?" Entei pleaded for some insight from anyone. The sagest of them were too preoccupied with each other. Lugia, the one and half million year old Titan of the Sea and the presumably four and a half billion year old Ho-oh were engaged in a private conversation, with Ho-oh trying to ease Lugia's temperament. Articuno was keeping Zapdos' mouth shut, mostly trying to save his life from the fire-headed Moltres. Zapdos had a type advantage over Articuno but the position he was in did not allow him to use it well. Those loyal to Mewblade were busy and the other two Legendary Dogs were of no help.

Is this normal? Celebi inquired with a blink of her blue eyes. Entei, Raikou and Suicune mulled over for a moment before Raikou answered.

With Mewblade, I'm starting to think it's a guarantee.

"Mewblade, calm down," Mewtwo said, trying to console his daughter. Coline and Eevee were standing over her, with Moltres standing guard over the situation. Mewblade's mother was living in her own night terror, blaming herself endlessly for what was going on.

"Grr!" Mewblade snarled at him. "Keep your claws off of me!!"

"Don't!" Coline cried out in a panic, yanking Mewtwo's paw away as Mewblade nearly dismembered him.

"Eevee eevvvee eevee evve . . ." (She almost took your arm off . . .) Eevee stated, watching Mewblade go into an even more defensive fetal position. There was a lot of sharp diamond faces staring back at her. Mewblade made it clear with her body that she did not want to be touched, not like anyone was willing to at this point anyway.

"Why did it have to be me . . .?" Moltres mourned, the flames flying off her head as she shook it back and forth. Mewtwo was too fixated with the thought that he was a second away from having no paw. He had no claws, so why would Mewblade make such a remark? Eevee looked over at Moltres, thinking the bird had forgotten who was suffering at the moment.

"Eevve eeve," (You're fine,) she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Yes, I know," Moltres began candidly. "But don't any of you see what happened?" She looked around to the assembly to test if anyone was catching on to her observation. Mew immediately transitioned from crying to bawling.

"Poor Mewblade," frowned Coline with an equally heavy heart. Mewtwo had a knot in his throat, he too understanding what Moltres was hinting on.

"What happened," Moltres went on, fighting through her sadness, "was that Mewblade was tortured, and she only remembers now."

"Mew, mew mew mew mew." (No, you can't be right.) Mew adamantly denied any construct of the sort. The Legendary Dogs were attentive, trying to gather as much information as possible, listening to snippets of the conversation as it went. Lugia stopped berating Ho-oh, looking on with an ageless weary. Moltres shared in his pain, their little secret between each other, their shared failure for promises they could not keep.

"My life was not worth fighting for," she cried, the fire of her wings evaporating her sorrows as she covered her face with them.

"Nonsense!" Suicune barked at Moltres forcefully. "All of it is nonsense."

"Do you think she hurts for nothing?!" screeched Moltres, her flames intense around her body. Lugia had a knowledge of the process of resurrection and offered his wisdom to the water type.

"Life and death hurt on equal levels. There is nothing that can hurt a living being more than either. Soul to the living has something to do with this otherwise she would not be stricken so." Mewtwo agreed with Lugia, he remembered everything Mewblade told him, adding to Lugia's thoughts.

"The third part, Mewblade faces the after life," Mewtwo stated matter-of-factly. "But that could mean anything, any time. She takes a minute to resurrect, during the process who knows . . . hours?" Instantly the Legendary Birds and Eevee began recollecting the time frame of how long it took. "It could have been forever, it could have been a minute. We don't know how long or what exactly goes on." Mewtwo was about to continue further with his thesis when a sinister laugh caused him to lose his train of thought. Mewblade was laughing.

There was a distinct perversion to the laughter, as if something in Mewblade was completely gone. None of them truly understood fear though the Mewthree had them believing. The laugh was hardly normal, even less so as Mewblade spoke in a vile yet sickeningly whimsical voice.

"Almost three months," she twittered, raising her head. Coline, who was wholly supportive of Mewblade, found herself staring into the eyes of madness. "Really? Do you all live in your damn little fantasy world?" Mewblade chortled, finding it funny. Not a single Legendary was secure at the moment, all for the exception of Ho-oh. "Oh, do not act so appalled. You are all a bunch of prudes to find a bit of bad language to be so wrong," Mewblade continued to go on, her voice a delightful coo. She uncurled her body, lying with her legs sprawled out behind her and her paws resting beneath her chin. A fiendish grin was plastered across her muzzle, not making light of the fact that this Pokémon was so dangerous. Every passing moment of the deranged behavior brought an even greater unease to the group as a whole. The serial killer of them had lost her mind.

"It does not matter how long, or how often," continued the Mewthree, seemingly still entertained. "It becomes routine. Like waking up in the morning only with searing pain and missing intestine," she said with a sickly sweet smile. Coline and Eevee were very receptive to Mewblade's feelings but currently they could not make heads or tails as Mewblade continued to ramble on. "I know none of you understand what it feels like to have a soul. You are not aware of it. It is just this thing. Just a little hourglass that marks when your life gets yanked out from under your feet. The soul is so precious. If any of you were smart enough you would know that." Mewblade had a passive, dreamy smile. "How someone can hurt that is really fascinating . . . Heh, soul to the living," she snorted with quiet reflection, "rips one soul from the dead and places me as the stand-in." Her voice shot into an ear piercing roar. "And leaves me there for the mortal time of three fucking months!!" There was dead silence in the air, just waiting for her to start up again. "A soul, the true defining aspect of who you are, everything you ever dreamed of being; and one of you god damn shit heads thought it would be a great idea to have my essence, my existence violated, tortured, desecrated." Mewblade had started crying, her bottom lip quivering. "I can take the pain, the crap load of no appreciation, the scorn of being whatever the hell I am to you. Chaos, death, I can handle that. What I can not handle . . . What I can not handle," she muttered, "is one of you would be so arrogant to place me through that!" she threw back her body, a sob escaping from between her fingers as she came to grips with what had happened to her. All she did then was cry.

The Legendaries could not even use words to describe how stunned they were. Crying Mewblade was more predictable than screaming Mewblade, and a lot nicer than raving Mewblade, giving Coline the confidence to be close to her. Eevee was more reluctant but came to Mewblade once Coline's hug was accepted. Most amnesia suffers who recover with a sudden flood of information generally respond as Mewblade did, though not as viciously hostile. For Mewblade and everyone else around, they had to accept that what she remembered would now be a constant reality.

Coline tried to hug Mewblade as tightly as possible to stop her from shaking. The child was in tears herself, devastated for what Mewblade must have felt. Behind her, Moltres was casting a blaming eye on Mew. While Coline had wished for Mewblade to be okay, Mew was the one who provided the solution. Mew had not expected that her intervention had unwittingly trapped Mewblade in what she could only presume was a terrible limbo. Mew and Mewtwo combined had only successfully stabilized the body, where are all of Mewblade's mind and almost the entirety of her soul had remained disconnected. Together it ended up somewhere, and that somewhere had not been pleasant.

"Mew . . ." (Mewblade . . .) Mewblade glanced to her mother after being addressed by name. "Mew mew mew." (I did it.) Mewblade's face had fallen unbelieving that it was her genetic mother that did that her. Of all the kindness in the world it was hard to imagine that the source could do something so painful.

"Why?" Mewblade spoke with heavy sorrow, her world already distraught without having to believe that the fault was that of her mother's. "Do you not understand that death works differently than life . . .?" She took a deep breath, the prelude to more yelling. "I thought you were suppose to be wise!" Mewblade bellowed, the tears becoming fresh. "I told you not to do anything! And you disobeyed me? What is it that you don't get?! Your wisdom does not work in death. You are life! What drove you to think that what you were doing was okay!?"

"Me," Coline remarked meekly. Mewtwo's aura was already charged, ready to protect Coline from the Legendary she loved. There was a long stare towards Coline. Here Mewblade was, being told by Ho-oh and telling it that Coline was her life, and now she was regretting the very life she had. This was too much for Mewblade. She did not want to be there.

"Coline . . ." Mewblade sobbed, so struck down by devastation. Even the very thing she cared for had betrayed her. Considering Mewblade had almost hurt him, it made Mewtwo unwilling to admit that he had done any wrong. Mew had asked for his help, dragging him into the mess in the first place. This was something he would stay out of.

Mewblade pulled her body away from her Chosen, Coline feeling her fingers slip away from the warm fur. Coline slumped back onto her heels, wracked with her own feelings of guilt. Mewblade made no eye contact with the human, disassociating from everything that caused her pain. Celebi covered her eyes, shaking her head while the Legendary Dogs could only offer their sympathy to Coline. A Chosen, even one so mistakingly intentioned should not be blamed for caring efforts.

"Bii bii bii bii bii bii bii bii bii bii bii bii bii!" (You can't be mad at them because they wanted you to be okay!) Celebi protested, buzzing about angrily not understanding why this Legendary in particular was so irrational. Mewblade hung her head, shoulders sagging. She detested Mew for letting herself be swayed by an eight year old. Coline was her Chosen and merely a child, so she could not put the same blame on someone so naïve. It brought the pair a high level of misunderstanding, especially where the gift that Coline had offered had accidentally been a tainted prize. Right now a gift as such was overshadowed by what it took to keep it.

"And this will be the last time, any time you threaten to kill yourself," Mewtwo warned, his aura still on active display. It seemed like one of those moments in which she would mention it. Mewblade chuckled out of hidden irony.

"Mewtwo," she frowned sadly, finally willing to view the face of another. "I am afraid of death." Mewblade brought her aura to the open, the flickering of it was disjointed. "I want to get this over with as soon as possible," she snarled at the Legendaries, most unwilling to accept her now.

"Then we shall continue," Ho-oh announced breezily, caring little for what had transpired. Moltres and Lugia drew their beaks back, a low hiss uttering from the depths of their throats, a sign of displeasure towards Ho-oh. They made their way to their places, leaving Mewtwo alone with the erratic Mewblade in the center of the circle.

The rest of the Cleansing Ceremony proceeded without conflict. Mewblade had become silenced and numb, too lost in thought to make any comment. Mewblade's loyalists dwelled in their own way, primarily remorseful. Most of the Legendaries offered their own comfort to Mewblade, using private telepathy. Getting something more than, 'It's okay,' was a proven challenge. Zapdos downright praised her for being such an upset to the rest although the response was still relatively the same. No one could make her talk.

Moltres and I are sorry that we could not protect you, Lugia said quietly, a random statement given all that had happened. She hardly listened to what he said, the response unchanged.

It's okay, she muttered, there being no virility in her telepathy.

As soon as Ho-oh announced the finale of the Cleansing Ceremony Mewblade left, barely letting it finish the closing sentence. There was no one there that could help but wonder what it took to bring her down. Mewblade was well aware of the means, her reward for helping the innocent regain a second chance. Being alive meant she escaped, proving she had fear and a will but the inability to tell anyone how much she suffered. It could have been pride; but frankly, even she herself wish she did not know.