Flying...Memories...

"Quiet! ...Let us hear its psychic powers...!"

...Water...

"...This armor will not disable your powers, but focus them..."

...Sky...

"He may not have a nickname, but I've still got...Charizard. I choose you!!"

...Land...

"...And this time, we'll both remember..."

...Space...

"...That's the sun..."

...Glass...

"So little time, so much to do...Take your time..."

...Memories...?

Flying...

Mmmm?...A...a dream...?

Bit 0: Nightsky City

A young man walked the streets. He wore an unsmiling face beneath large bangs, with the right side larger than the other. The rest of his hair was traditional spikey anime hair, but shorter than normal, and the spikes mostly pointed down. He had a long, thick rattail hanging out back. His eyes were a peircing violet, and seemed as if they were perpetually slanted into a glare, although somewhat softened coming towards the nose. Around his neck he wore a brown cloak of a single cloth wrapped around it, with the back of it torn short to fall down only to his belt. Otherwise, he had on perfectly normal clothes.

He trudged along the road, hands in pockets. He was bored, going home after getting some brunch at the sub joint down the road. Well, that is, if he actually lived up the road; he lived far away, near the old church with the nearly-abandoned tower. 'So little for to do...I need something to do that will help wake me up,' he thought. He had no real job. He instead got what money he requiered through minor theivery: At night, he went around and took minor bits of money from many houses, enough to pay for food and clothing when needed. It was long and tedious work, but it was how he got by. He'dn't been caught yet, so he'dn't worry a bit. Now, he needed something to do, or else the poor guy would keel over of boredom.

"AAAHHHHH!!"

He looked casually to an alleyway where he heard the scream. It sounded feminine and old. The guy smiled. 'That will do,' he thought, and casually entered the casual alleyway. He heard cries of "Back! Back!" and the sounds of something flailing out to beat something; it sounded like a purse trying to beat a body. No grunts, and no footsteps; the attacker must have cornered her and was closing slowly in on her. The young man frowned annoyedly as he used his psychic abilities to see a stout, round-faced old woman dressed up in a dress that appeared to be skillfully made and a matching hat, all shades of red. Crowding her were three large men with, instead of pokéballs, clubs in their hands. The hysterical old woman was batting with her little purse with all her might. The man thought. 'I wonder if they desire knocking her unconcious, then stripping her and selling that outfit for a high price.' He gauged their strength, eyes wandering his surroundings as he soundlessly crept along the alleyway. They caught on a dirty wooden crate full of lots of old junk from some house. Three articles looked to be in good shape and were availible for easy taking: A shortish steel pipe, the top half of a cane that was missing a gem on top, and a sturdy-looking two-by-four with a bit missing on the bottom.

The man shrugged, approaching it. 'Huh. Fair fight, weapon on weapon, and besides, I want to get better at swordfighting anyway,' he reasoned, looking to see which seemed the most suited, finding they all looked to be able to withstand beating people. 'Hmmm...The pipe would be more painful, I could do technical moves easier with that thin cane, and the board could let me block attacks easier,' he observed. After a second's decision, he decided to take the cane. 'I need no sheild to defend me and no sword to offend; I am confident in my abilities enough to go with this,' he reasoned, putting the cane into his belt. He advanced quickly now, since he had wasted enough time with the weapons.

Just in time, too; the men were almost upon her. "AAAHHHHHHH!!!" she screamed again, cringing.

"HEY!!"

The men turned around, glaring at the little punk in front of them. They were a fair bit taller than him (although the kid was somewhat tall already) and probably were twice his weight in muscle. The one in the middle spoke. "Get outta here, or you're gonna regret it, and don't even think of callin' the cops on us," he threatened.

The man smirked, eyes now like triangles. "The latter," he said, voice deep and powerful despite his scrawniness, "I will agree to. The former, though--" He drew his cane with one hand and got into stance, improvised weapon hanging relaxed at his side. He had his left foot forward, and was standing sideways. His legs were, like a good fighter, bent. His smirk opened a bit. "I must appologize, but running is simply not my battle style."

The three guys blinked, looked at each other, and burst out laughing. "You...are the weirdest...little kid...A little stick?! WHAA-HAHAHA!!" The first guffawed, bending over and having to shut his eyes from laughing. When he managed to open them, he laughed as a skinny stick sailed past his dodged body. "You wanna play? Then come on!!" He swung with his club.

The young man smiled. "Are you sure?" he asked, rolling under the swing. He stopped and jumped up, turning to his target. "Because I play--" THWWAACK!! The man yiped at the kid's strength, the cane stinging his face and causing him to stagger back a bit. The kid landed. "--very rough!"

The other two growled. "You little--" said one, and the fight began. They charged in on him, but the man dodged and went into a combination of swings. His strength was great, despite his skinniness. He ducked, rolled, dived, and evaded attacks while he dealt out swings, thrusts, and strikes to the men. When he was surrounded, he jumped and kicked off one guy's chest, sending him back, and froghopped over another's, making sure to kick his back with both heels as he sailed over. And when one guy tried to attack him with a strong, two-handed blow, he nimbly leapt, higher than any normal human, and grabbed his head. He swung onto the enemy's back, latched on with his legs, and started viciously whailing away at the back of his neck. After a few, before he was thrown, he grabbed the shoulders, unhooked his legs, and then kicked himself off the enemy's back. It was amazing how he fought. And the amazing part was, he didn't use a real fighting style; he just used a self-taught set of moves, and improvized when needed! Barely any discipline!

The woman, on the ground from shock from watching the fight, gaped as the three men, bearing bruises, fell back to one end of the alley. The man was on the other. He pointed his cane at them. "Were I you, I would run," he said simply.

The guys seethed. "GET 'IM!!" the center one commanded, and the three shot towards him at once. The young man simply stood, waiting, pointing out. Then, at the last moment, he spun around in a lightning-fast spin, swinging his cane around to their fronts so fast he cut their shirts, and followed up with a reverse hooking kick, with his heel, kicking all three down. He spun back into stance and breathed. The guys grimaced and then scrambled to get their cowardly asses outta there.

"And stay out," he muttered, smirking while he sheathed his cane. He turned around and his face magically changed to become an honest look of concern. "Are you okay, m'am?" he asked, bending down a bit to the short woman.

She nodded, smiling broadly. "Thank you," she said in an old lady voice, "thank you so much. I don't have the slightest idea why those men would just out and attack a defenseless old lady like that without having any interest in money..."

The man shook his head. "Oh, they were interested in money, all right," he said. Pointing to her hat, he explained, "Your outfit looks so ornate and expensive, they must have thought they could sell it on eBay or something. Is your outfit high quality?" he asked, crossing an arm and resting the other on it, while his chin rested on that arm's hand in a thinking gesture.

The lady nodded and responded in a relieved tone, "Yes, it's made of silk; I'm glad they didn't get to me. Thank you so much again, sir...er, your name, if I may?" she asked.

The man gave a mental shrug. "Sure. It is Maru," he said. "Not Shikamaru, or Ebisumaru, but just Maru."

The woman smiled sweetly, putting a hand on her chest. "Thank you, Mr. Maru, again, for saving an old woman like me. I don't want to ask why you did and will instead be grateful I still am clothed. A naked old lady in the middle of the city..." She shuddered(as did, in his mind, Maru). "How wrong and embarassing!" She shook her head and looked up, smiling. "I absolutly HAVE to give you a reward," she said. She lowered her head to her purse while she rummaged, grey bunned hair visible under the wide brim of her hat.

Maru chuckled and held his hands up, giving a slight smile. "No, but thank you anyway, miss," he said. "You almost lost a great deal of money, and I do not--"

"Nonsense!" The woman withdrew what looked like a round, golden bauble of some sort. "I won't accept 'no' as an answer. You deserve this. It's only fair since you went out of your way to rescue me. And in such an entertaining mannar!" She chuckled and shook her head. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were some sort of Fighting-type in disguise. Or mayhaps you're just very good," she suggested. Maru, who had tried not to show anything when she suggested he was a Pokémon, swore he saw a faint glint in her eyes.

Maru, mouth slanted in an unsure kind of guilt, took the bauble. "No, I am only human," he said. He smiled again. "Thank you for the bauble. It is very beautiful. I will keep it safe." He nodded and turned, saying, "Farewell, and be careful," over his shoulder while he walked off.

The lady gave a giggle. "I will, and thank you again!" she shouted back. "Oh, and don't spend it all in one place!!" she added.

Maru raised an eyebrow at this. 'I do not think I will be pawning this interesting sphere any time soon, and I thought telling her I would keep it safe would suggest that to her,' he mused. He shrugged and looked again at his reward. 'This seems just a little too big to possibly be used as currency...' He shrugged again, pocketed it, and walked off. He noticed he still had his cane with him when he got home, and decided he may as well keep it.

***RECEIVED Bauble***

***OBTAINED Cane***

- - -

Wind blew. Cars honked. The low buzz that is constantly around places where many people are hung low in the air. But it wasn't really there that the largish Pokémon was. He was balancing on the spire of an old church, surveying the city with amazing violet eyes. His full cloak fluttered behind him. After a time, he crouched and shot off through the night to wander.

(Mewtwo, the Genetic Pokémon. Number 150. Height 6' 7". Weight 269. Level an estimated 98. Type(s) Psychic. Created by scientists as a weapon of war, this powerful Pokémon is also known as "The Moonlight Wanderer.")

Mewtwo flew, going wherever he wanted. He decided to have a little fun--who was he kidding, he had a blast whenever he flew--and impress the locals. Every night, the people of Nightsky City kept an eye on the sky for him. He's easy to spot, what with his trademark blue trail and flapping brown cloak. But he went FAST, so all people saw of him when he wasn't standing was a light show. But they loved it.

He looked at the city around him, and mapped out his line in only a few seconds. He shot off. First, he flew straight, then, like a roller coaster already shooting along the track, dived instantly at an almost 90 degree angle (going instead at 85 degrees) towards the ground. At the last second before hitting the people below(scaring the shit out of them), he pulled up and flew at a 45 degree angle from the ground, straight towards a pole sticking out the wall of a building, used for banners. One wasn't on one at the moment, so he grabbed it right as he passed it and, Sonic-style, flipped around it a couple times before slingshotting himself away, spinning a bit. Next, he turned in to some densly-packed buildings, dodging them as he flew along. He ducked under arches, soared over rooftops, and at the top of one building, he grabbed a thick antennae and spun around that, also Sonic-style(and no, he did not see any Sonic footage before he began doing this), and slingshotted off again. And in his mind, he was crying out in joy, 'THANK YOU GOD I CAN FLY!'

He then went over the square of the city and did a few aerial stunts, turning loops and figures in the sky. The psychic residue trail left by his high psychic activity when flying so fast traced his path, and people down below looked up, pointing, and some making ooh's and ahh's, like at a fireworks show. After a time, Mewtwo decided to go on a ride and went for the grand finale. He got into a tight loop, then, turning, another, and another, faster and faster, and so tight that he felt his blood rush all over his body as the centrifigal force generated by his flight, which traced out something like one of those cool orbiting pictures of atoms and the electrons around them. As he did so, he waited until he definitely heard sounds of admiration below, then shot out a loop towards a tall building looming over the square, his trail flaring a bit directly behind him.

He had to shake his head a bit to stop the dizziness, and he did so in time to pull to the side and up a bit of the building, lest he crash into it. He spiraled up the building, going to the top to the huge flagpole, which flew no colors at night. He at first spun around it so tight, it was as if he was shooting up it while holding it. Then he really did, and it was a large difference. He protected his paw against the friction as he spun to the top, at which he hiked his feet up and did an awesome upside-down multi axle, using the force of his speed to go into his spin and not into the upwards direction or anything off-course, the trail ending in a burst as the speed went into spinning. He rose up at least 15 feet, still inverted, the city lights below illuminating his body. Finally, coming down, at the last second, he flipped down and slammed his foot onto the round ball at the top of the pole. He spun around and around in a crouch, slowing down as he slowly stood, and then slammed his other foot down next to the first as the ride finally came to complete stop. He stood and breathed, arms down and paws in fists, chest rising and falling as he panted. Below, he heard the crowd cheer. He looked down and smiled at them all, knowing none could see his face. Always modest, though, he turned and shot off into the night sky, but slower so that he had no trail, but fast enough that he wasn't easily seen.

He panted and actually laughed a little as he sort of lounged, lying on his back mid-flight like how some people lie on their back on an inflatible mattress at a pool. 'That was more fun than I thought it would be!' he thought, smiling. 'Smiling...wow...' Mewtwo sighed. 'I never thought that I would find myself doing this for entertainment that does not involve fighting...wow...' He looked up at the sky, grabbing a roof's edge to sit down. He looked at the moon. '...How calm and humble I have become in these past couple of years, living under the light of the moon,' he mused. 'I now do not look at humans so menacingly, use only psychic attacks--' (he now practiced physical attacks, and in fact recently began perfecting a self-taught style of swordplay) '--or erupt when I am faced with incompetence and such. I am a much more different Pokémon than I was when I awoke in that tube...'

Mewtwo looked at a three-fingered paw. 'I still do not wish to have any companions that I know personally, though, to see every day,' he admitted. 'I still desire to be alone. For that is what I am...' He gazed at El Luna again. 'Alone.' His calm face knitted its eyebrows and sloped its mouth down a smidge. 'I still have not discovered my purpose yet. It annoys me to no end. I am Mewtwo, the world's strongest Pokémon, and yet I know not WHY I am! Other Pokémon [okay, gonna start leaving that uncapitalized were made to live in nature, or to be trained to do battle for their trainers. But me...' His gaze drifted a bit. 'Was I...Was I truly destined to fight for someone...?' The pokémon growled and shook his head vigorously. 'No, I have said it so many times! That cannot be my destiny!!'

'Then what is it?' he asked, almost talking to himself.

'I do not know yet,' he answered begrudgedly, looking away, down at the roof. 'Maybe to wander the skies of this city forever. I am content enough to do that.'

'But do I not feel restless? Feel...empty, somehow?'

'...Perhaps...just a little...'

''Perhaps?' Who am I kidding?! I do. I feel empty.'

'Yes. That place in my heart, where my purpose would fill it.' He put his right paw over his chestplate. 'A heart...Why do I even HAVE one? I was not born!'

'But, then, why did I let myself fall into that trap Giovanni set out for me, at Purity Canyon?'

'...I cared for my clones...but I made them, so I did not wish to see them hurt, my hard work ruined...'

'...Okay, so I can care. But...why? If my purpose was merely to fight, why allow me to CARE?!' He banged his right fist on the roof. ''Dammit!!'' he said aloud. 'What is it that I am meant to do?! A heart is a hinderance for one whose sole purpose is to do battle, and that appears to be the only thing I am good for! I cannot entertain with my psychic abilities for my life, nor would I want to, and my mind can only focus on battle, nothing else. That and flying a complicated course like I did. Flying? Is THAT my purpose?! No! So stupid and useless!! I love to fly, it is my only way to make myself feel good without having to kick someone's ass or blow something up, but that cannot be all I am meant to do!!' ''AAARRGGHH!!!'' He shot off, holding his head while his face mirrored his torture within.

This happened a lot to the poor poké. Mewtwo would fly around, marvel at how he's changed since his "birth," and then go into what his purpose might be, eventually driving himself nuts and causing him to fly around for an hour while he cooled down.

Tonight, though, was different. He was halfway through his cooldown when he heard a cry of pain below. He stopped, crouched over the edge of a building he was on, and saw a young boy with wild black hair being beat up by some bigger kids...and their pokémon. 'They are attacking him!!' Mewtwo thought with alarm and disgust. Oh, he HAD to do something about this. An anger that he only recently had begun to find within him welled up at the sight of this. He growled and set to work.

One of the four bigger kids laughed. "C'mon, Kotetsu, we know you're a coward, so why don't you just let us toughen you up?" he asked. "Rattata, Tackle again!"

Kotetsu yelped again as the little purple rat slammed into his crossed arms again. "Did YOU guys get toughened up by beating up on each other with your pokémon like this?!" he asked incredulously, glaring with fear and hatred at these bullies from his school.

Another kid laughed. "We sure did, scardy-Delcatty!!" he said. "And these don't HURT!! They're just...TACKLES, you know?" His little Jigglypuff (search me) slammed into Kotetsu.

Kotetsu, by the way, was a young boy with dark blue eyes and huge, black, spikey hair that flowed back more than around. He dressed in t-shirt and jeans, and currently bore some cuts and bruises on him. The Jigglypuff was hard to evade or block, since it kept bouncing. It got him under his guard and knocked the wind out of him. "S-stooop..." he whined, getting up slowly. "Please...This hurts..."

A third kid smirked. "What if we say no? Or, better yet, Tackle?!" he asked/commanded.

Somehow, Kotetsu managed to dodge the Zigzagoon, ducking completely. "I'll...I'll..." He couldn't do ANYTHING. He couldn't bring himself to fight the pokémon, they're so small and weak, he knew that! He'd feel HORRIBLE! But...with all the pain he was getting...someTHING inside him wanted to hurt them back, tackle with the force of a steam train.

The fourth kid snapped his fingers. He was bigger than the others, and obviously the leader. The three others recalled their pokémon into their balls and cleared the way. The forth held his ball up. He hadn't gotten his pokémon out yet. "I think that's enough punishment for tonight for being a weak, cowardly, dumbass brat who doesn't know that saying all the answers in every single class just really isn't the smart thing to do," he said. "Wanna rest on something nice and soft and warm?" he asked.

Kotetsu was looking down, panting, but at this, he froze. He was a clever kid when it came to these kinds of riddles. He knew exactly what the bully meant. The sound of the pokéball opening up and its inhabitant materializing came as he slowly raised his head. Two cream-colored, three-clawed feet underneath a deep olive body and cream belly. He looked up into the face of the overweight behemoth almost squeezing against the sides of the back alley.

"Snorlax!!" it growled. It looked so passivly at Kotetsu, the boy gulped. (The Snorlax, of course, didn't give a damn about anything at the moment, and was in fact groggy; hell, those things are ALWAYS groggy, with as much as they sleep.) To make matters worse, the bear-like creature's stomach growled.

The bully, unseen behind the fatso, grinned. "Laxative!" he shouted. "Body Slam!!"

'I hate that name,' Laxative thought, sweatdropping, but did as he was told. Hey, it smelled like there was a few good leftovers in the garbage bags behind the kid, maybe he could get some out...

Kotetsu gazed, frozen on the spot, at the huge load bearing down on him, and screamed. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" He turned his face down and covered it at the last moment, bracing for the pain and hoping for unconciousness to escape it.

It never came.

After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and gasped. A huge pokémon, wearing a brown cloak that covered it down past its feet, stood, holding one strange, ball-tipped-fingered hand out to keep Laxative at bay. With ease. Kotetsu blinked. "What the..."

''How dare you set your pokémon upon another human being, you disgusting excuses for people!!'' a deep, commanding, and very angry voice boomed inside everyone's heads.

Everyone gasped and looked around, Laxative being the only one who actually knew what was going on. He blinked unbelievingly at the sight of this powerful pokémon holding him. "Lax-snorlax? Lax-snor-snoor, snorlax," he said, knowing what was about to happen. "Are you gonna hurt me? I didn't want to hurt the kid, honest."

''And I believe you,'' Mewtwo replied only to the obese one. ''I will not harm you too much, but prepare to land on an uncomfortible bed...''

"Won't be the first time..."

The bullies yelped when Laxative was sent right on top of them, landing on all four. Kotetsu laughed and shouted, "YEAH!!" After a few seconds, Laxative returned (gratefully) to his ball, with four bullies, gasping and painfully getting up, glaring at Kotetsu...then looking up from the feet to the face of Mewtwo, fear and amazement growing on their faces as they did. "What the hell are YOU?!" Laxative's trainer asked.

Mewtwo glared and telekinetically picked the four up, causing them to shout and make noise. He charged an energy ball. ''Someone who would have killed you for what you have done were this two years previous, that is WHO!!'' he shouted, and blew them away. The four boys screamed as they blasted off a la Team Rocket.

Kotetsu gazed in wonder at this pokémon, gaping. "...A...A...Are...Are you...?" he stuttered.

Mewtwo turned and crouched down slightly. ''Are YOU alright, should be what is asked,'' he said. He didn't smile, but looked calm and not dangerous, which is saying something with his intimidating features.

Kotetsu gaped, getting the fact that this thing was talking, then nodded. "Th-thanks," he said.

Mewtwo nodded. ''My pleasure.'' He glared over his shoulder where the boys were. ''I dispise people like that. If they trouble you, shout for help, and I swear I shall come. The sight of me should send them crying for their mothers.'' He stood fully and turned.

"Wait!" Kotetsu said. Mewtwo paused. "What pokémon are you?" he asked.

Mewtwo paused. ''The strongest,'' he decided, and shot off.

Kotetsu watched him go. "The strongest..." he repeated. He found, then, to his surprise, himself saying, "I wish that I was you...powerful enough to scare anyone who got in my way..."

Kingdom Hearts: Puzzle of Truth

Bit 1: Nightsky City

Mewtwo trained daily. Or nightly, more like. He goes to an area of the city not often inhabited by many people. If it is, it's just hobos, and he usually scares the more drunk or stoned ones off(having great fun with the stoners). But he practices a fair bit nowadays with a psychic sword. What got the world's most powerful pokémon to enjoy swordfighting so much? Well, he was human once when he decided to, what the heck, go see a circus. While there, he saw an amazing display of swordsmanship in many different styles. He had, believe it or not, never seen anyone swing anything even remotely swordlike except on what television he let himself see. (He would rather read.) Thinking that it would be an interesting skill to learn, he decided, and so began practicing against psychically-generated foe-like targets using a psychic sword. The sword was in the strain of the lightsabers used in Tenchi Muyo, but more blade-like than Star Wars lightsaber-like. He held it in one paw, and, while he had to get used to being unable to fly, he began to become better on the ground exclusively. He'd been learning paw-to-hand/paw combat, but not as much as swordfighting. He knew a great deal of kicks, and even had invented a sort of Mega Kick that was like getting hit with a cannonball, and therefore titled it Gunshot Kick. He reels back sorta comically, then releases with all his might in one leg straight forward. He can bust down brick walls with it, but that's not his version of one of this writer's personal favorite Fighting moves, Brick Break.[ Dude! That move's animation got so effing STUPID in D/P!!] For that, he hits with his left fist, then his right, then his tail. [A la the COOL GBA animation!! *glares at GAME FREAK*]

Anyway, tonight, the night after he saved Kotetsu and that weird lady, he was practicing again. I will not spoil exactly what he does, but he does some pretty cool moves. Lately, he has been combining his psychic abilities, mainly telekinesis, to sort of play around with his sword by throwing it and bringing it back again through telepathy. Sort of like a psychic yo-yo, if you will. He has even practiced a night or two with two swords. Anywho, he was practicing at the moment.

Mewtwo rolled underneath a target as it charged at him, then leapt right after it upon getting to his feet. He slashed at it in mid-air, the force of his swing sweeping him into the air a little. (Truth be told, he actually helped a little bit when doing his aerial combos by boosting up with telekinesis a little.) After his chasing slash, which caused him to do a barrel roll[resists any net jokes, he rocked into his unique three-hit aerial combination attack. First, a vertical diagonal-down slash, turning him right, then a horizontal going in the opposite direction of his spin (left) that stopped his spinning by cancelling out the forces, then a finishing right-going horizontal that spun him around a bit quicker. As he landed, his psychic opponent burst into bits of colored light, which meant he'd beaten it. Another came behind him and he blocked with a barrier. Spinning around, he attacked his opponent.

''These targets are too simple for my skills,'' he complained, wishing he could have the creativity to create more targets that behaived differently. ''If I only had REAL enemies to fight, new ones, ones whose attack styles I did not know, I would be an extremely happy pokémon.'' The enemy burst apart before his blade.

Just then, he sensed something. Humans. And he sensed the odd energy source that resided within pokéballs with them. He spun around to face the direction they were approaching from. A hobo, lying passivly on a bench and watching fearlessly, as he did some nights, leaned over and looked down the corridor the pokémon was staring at, then leaned back to his position. "Way it looks, I think you've got some," he said in a mellow tone. He settled back, knowing he was about to watch a new soap.

Mewtwo nodded and got into position. ''Good, more sword practice,'' he mumbled. The humans ahead stepped out into the light. Immediatly, Mewtwo narrowed his eyes. Team Rocket members! Soldiers, to be precise. And these ones wern't armed with sticks--they had guns. And pokémon. The humans kept coming, and Mewtwo sensed about fifteen. The humans all got into a half-circle.

"EY! Down in front!" complained the hobo, but knew he wouldn't be listened to and was forced to stand up in his bench to watch over the Rockets' heads. He saw the R's and raised his eyebrows. "Woah. This'll be interesting," he mumbled.

Mewtwo looked at him. ''Are you sure you want to stay there, Ren? It will become dangerous, especially with guns involved,'' he warned only him.

Ren shrugged, his tattered coat shaking a few dust particles off as he did. "Like they'll actually DO anything." He motioned to the Rockets, who were still standing as still as statues, not even pointing their guns. "I mean, they'd've been attacking already, wouldn't they?" he asked.

Mewtwo narrowed his gaze even more. ''Having worked with them, they would...or they are setting up a trap of some sort...'' He warilly looked about. Nothing. And, even when he wasn't looking, the Rockets STILL didn't do a thing! 'What the hell is up with these guys?!' He turned to face them. ''What is your plan, Rocket?'' he asked, broadening his telepathy to project like a voice.

No answer from them, but Ren reacted. He raised his eyebrows and pointed. "Dude! Behind you!" he warned.

''Eh?'' Mewtwo spun around and gasped. He was now completly surrounded by Rocket grunts! And these ones he didn't even sense in the slightest bit!! ''WHAT?! How can this BE?! I did not sense anything behind me...'' And they had obviously ran on in, seeing as the last grunt was getting into place. He did not even HEAR them, nor smell them, as he should have been able to do. He could smell the clean-cut, deoderent-ridden Rockets who had come that he had sensed. But why not these ones?!

Now, the grand total of twenty-nine Rockets pointed their guns at him. Mewtwo noticed they were spaced around so that any strays would hit a space between the two Rockets opposite of one. Mewtwo raised a barrier reflexivly, but remembered that he was practicing swordfighting. 'I will just jump, then fly and raid them from the sky, trying to get them to managible amounts so I do not get shot much,' he planned. He waited for the mental message to the fingers to squeeze.

But it never came.

Frustrated, Mewtwo roared, ''WHAT IS THIS?!'' He growled, baring his teeth, and looked around. ''I have no time for games such as this.'' Truth be told, this was starting to freak him out a little. ''...Fine. Farewell.'' And he crouched to leap into the sky.

As expected, he was shot at. He shot up before a single bullet could hit. Below, he saw Ren crouch behind a member(he knew the arrangement, too, and wished for a human sheild). He raised his sword to cast it down and control its path to hit them all, when suddenly, he was struck from behind by something.

"AAUUGHH!!" he cried(hey, pokémon can cry that without saying their name, right?), cursing himself that he could not sense THAT, either. 'Night Shade!' he grumbled, beginning to fall. 'And a strong one, too...' He looked up as he regained his air-footing. Nobody but the moon. He dodged instinctivly and turned. To his surprise, a completly black creature floated before his eyes. It was in the shape of a Mismagius(however it's spelled), but entirely black. Its eyes were frightening circles of a white that, in the form it was applied to at the moment, seemed unholy...or at least not good. It made NO sounds a Mismagius would. It moved lighting-fast, trying to escape to another point to strike with Night Shade, but Mewtwo followed it with his eyes easilly.

A bullet popped through his cloak. 'Shit! The Rockets!!' He began flying constantly. The Mismagius shot again, and he dashed past and then swung. He hit, but it didn't do much, as the creature gave no sound, only reeled back a bit, then shot around him again.

Another hit, this time a Faint Attack, but from behind AFTER Mewtwo spun to face Mismagius. He grunted, caught off-gaurd, and couldn't avoid the next Night Shade. He turned to see an Absol on top of a building, also completly back with white, demented eyes. ''What?! How could it have hit me?! I cannot sense these things, either!'' Mewtwo wondered aloud. He had to contend now with bullets, Night Shade, and Faint Attack. And the worst part was, his pride would not allow him to simply teleport elsewhere.

A strange sound appeared around him. He looked up to see a shine run across a dome that had appeared around him. The shine was all of pale purpleish hexagons, like an eerie honeycomb around him. He cursed, finally getting a reading on something, this wall. 'I can sense it; I cannot teleport now, anyway,' he thought. And, to his absolute horror, he felt an emotion he had never felt in his life.

Fear.

Fear that this time, if he were caught, there would be no escape. He could do nothing. No psychically kicking ass and escaping, shedding off armor as he flew. No annoying kid with an official Pokémon Leauge hat to bust restraints and chuck him--although he still wondered how--at least 10 feet away into the center of a healing spring. He had to quit holding back, he realized, and fight these things off.

He abandoned his sword and rose an impenetrable barrier. Behind it, he calmly grabbed all 29 Rockets and slammed them inwards, making sure their heads clocked against each others' at the same time. A sickening CRRACK! was heard, as was Ren's laughter. But as Mewtwo tried to grab the two enemy pokémon, both the laughter in his heart and in Ren's throat died. Mewtwo could not grab them!

"THEY'RE UP, DUDE! ...What the...?!"

He glanced down. The fourteen grunts he had not sensed before were struggling up...and they changed. From looking like humans, they turned suddenly into strange, insubstantial silvery-white ghost-like things. And they all looked like their head was open...unzipped.

Ren was paralyzed with fear, and Mewtwo was with shock and confusion. He growled and clenched both fists, clenching everything on his face. ''What...the hell...is GOING ON?!'' he roared, opening his eyes to reveal blue-glowing triangles. He released a blast of energy--making sure that Ren was protected--and slammed it all into every enemy around. They all reeled back, the Rockets slamming up to the walls of buildings or into the mysterious hexagonal wall for those who went down the alleyways. But the white things...totally disappeared. Mewtwo finished, looking around. And then, he heard a soft clapping behind him.

"Well done, Mewtwo. You will certainly do quite nicely."

Seething to get the truth to this all figured out, Mewtwo spun about to meet up with a blast of a kind of energy he had never before encountered. Where it came from, he could not see. But he could see the white energy cord that enveloped him. "''AAUUUGGHHH!!''" he cried, psychically and physically. This pain was worse than when he was parylized by Giovanni.

Ren yelped below. "DUUUUDE!!" he cried. "LOOK OUT!!"

Mewtwo unsqueezed an eye to look down, and saw, to his horror, the supposedly knocked-out Rockets chucking Rocket Balls...at him, this time around, instead of Tauros or other rare pokémon. 'No...' The balls came closer. That energy was disabling all but telepathy. 'No...' Memories of when he was Giovanni's unwitting slave came back. 'NO...'' Capturing those trainers' pokémon, realizing he was no better...''NO!!! I WILL NOT BE CAPTURED!! RRRRRAAAHHH!!!'' he roared, but try as he might, he was screwed. He used all the power he could. It thankfully was working, but not enough. He had to focus his entire being on freeing himself.

The balls struck, almost causing Mewtwo to have a heart attack from the emotions he was feeling at the time...but instead of capturing him, he felt something far more valuable enter those balls. As his body glowed dark blue, not red this time, from fifteen balls capturing, he could feel, instead of his body, his powers being drained away! His skills. Strength, both mental AND physical. His knowledge of moves. And even his memories.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

'NO!! What is HAPPENING to me?! My memories, powers, EVERYTHING!! They're stealing them!! Stealing them away from me!! WHERE?! WHO?! HOW?! WWHHYY??!!'

As he thought this, he could have sworn, though his vision was blurring and his memories flashed past his eyes as they became sucked into the balls floating and capturing, he saw a perfect, cartoon conception: A beautiful, pink, glowing, and let's not forget as big as his head, heart rise from within his chest. As it slowly came out, he felt colder. 'Heart...why...y...I...Ai...'

Suddenly, he felt his body explode. The glowing of the balls stopped. The heart, the balls, all became lost in the white light that burst from his body. Somewhere, he heard a person he knew cry something beginning with 'd.' Someplace, he heard a strange voice curse. But one place he knew where, he heard a familiar, yet new voice...that of a young girl's...

''You...remember me?''

His body felt odd. His chest felt warmer. And all went white.

- - -

"...de? Dude?? Hey, dude? You awake? You okay? Dude???"

"Uuhhnnnn..." Mewtwo groaned and opened his eyes slowly. Blurry at first over him, he saw someone. He blinked a few times, and then rubbed his eyes. Finally, Ren came into view, hunched over his body and looking a bit worried. His face, usually mellow and easygoing, but always covered with a thick red-head beard and adorned with bagged, dark blue eyes, was now worried and amazed at the same time.

"Hey, dude, you okay?" Ren asked, now backing off a bit to sit down on his feet as Mewtwo got up. "You fell a long way...you sure you don't got brain damage or something now?"

Mewtwo groaned and shook his head, closing his eyes. ''No, but I hope not,'' he said.

Ren cocked an eyebrow. "Huh? Did you say something? I thought I heard SOMEthing, but it was, like...I think I imagined hearing something..." he mumbled.

Mewtwo opened his eyes, eyebrows bringing together worriedly. He looked at the hobo. ''I said, 'No, but I hope not,''' he tried again.

Ren blinked. "Dude..." he said after a bit. "Could you speak up? I can't barely hear you."

Mewtwo gasped. He remembered, all in a flash, the scene previous. He looked at his body and froze. 'Since...since when did I...use Transform...?' He was in his human form, complete with his outfit that he always transformed into. He, thankfully, still had his cloak. He patted his body with his five-fingered hands. "What the hell?!" he exclaimed. "I did not use Transform, did I?" he asked, turning to look at the hobo.

Ren shrugged. "I guess you did," he said. "I dunno. I saw a bright light, then you falling like a rock. I caught you, but my arms were just a bed on the ground. I had to dive for you, and it didn't really do jack diddly-squat." He looked down. "Sorry..."

Mewtwo groaned and felt his head. Great, a goose-egg. That would explain the intense pain he felt there. "That is okay, Ren, I am at least alive," he assured. 'I do not know about fine or not, though...' He got up. "I think I shall retire the night," he said. He looked to his side and found he had dropped his cane. It was, miraculously, intact a ways away from him. He took it and then tried Transform.

Here, he froze. Solid.

Ren came over after ten seconds of the Dude not moving. "Dude? What's up?" he asked. "I thought you were gonna get big and purple, but...what's the holdup?" He raised a hand, then let it fall as he saw his sorta-friend's expression.

Mewtwo's eyes were as wide and unblinking as a Venomoth's, and his jaw was open a bit. After a few seconds, he slowly said, croakingly, "...I...I...for..got...Transform..." He slowly turned to face the human. Ren stepped back, greatly startled. He had never seen an expression of pure horror and fear on the pokémon's face, human or otherwise. "...along with...every...thing..."

An akward, age-spanning thirty seconds of silence enveloped them. Finally, Ren spoke. "That's funny," he said, not laughing. "Good one, dude. You? Losing your powers?" He tried laughing half-heartedly, but it didn't really come out much more than a "heh." Ren had seen Mewtwo, without ever learning his name, in his training for a while now. He knew the pokémon's power.

Mewtwo clenched a fist. He turned to a broken piece of brick from the skirmish(the two men were alone, now). He held his hand out and tried hard. REALLY hard. He strained, causing a pain in his brow from squeezing it. Sweat appeared. Finally, a faint flicker of blue energy shone in his eyes and around the brick piece. It was faint. He closed his hand and tried to lift it. And found he couldn't. He let go and fell to one knee, gasping for breath. A cold sweat dripped from him. The horrible realization came to him as he panted. 'I...I cannot...do anything...'

Ren clapped. "Well, at least you can do SOMETHING," he said, reassuringly. He came over and patted Mewtwo's back. "You could at least grab that brick," he said.

Mewtwo panted and stood up, holding his head. "I...know now why I have...such a headache," he panted. "I...have no access...to...my powers...anymore..." He panted and looked at his arms. "Nor...do I feel...as much physical...strength...either," he said. He knew tears were welling up in his eyes, and this frightened Ren the most. He had never seen anyone this proud cry before. Mewtwo clenched his fists and looked down, letting his arms down to his sides. Classic Ash pose. "No..." he breathed. He was shaking. Tears began to run down his face and gather, ticklingly, at the tip of his nose. "This...cannot be..."

"Dude...?" Ren whispered, but didn't come closer. You just don't ruin an anime scene like this.

A tear from tears fell from Mewtwo's nose. "I...am nothing...I remember...what I could do...and how to do a minuscule amount of those things..." Another tear. "Telekinesis, telepathy, and how to check my own level..." Another tear. With a supressed sob, Mewtwo whispered something that scared himself more than it could ever do to Ren.

"As of now...I am only at level 1."

Ren gaped as he saw a pokémon whose pride he made apparant to everyone he met, a pokémon whose heart he tried to keep hidden deep within, begin to cry. Mewtwo first sobbed. Then another. Then he broke down and cried. 'My life...is worthless...'

And it was all Ren could do to come over and put an arm around the young man. He said nothing, for fear it would make things worse. He knew not what to say that wouldn't. So he just stayed, being there for the young man. He half-expected it when Mewtwo, totally distraught, cried into the hobo's lap, like a child to his mother.

(Of course, afterwards, Mewtwo said that if Ren spoke to anyone of this lapse in composure, the hobo would be out of more than just house and home.)

- - -

Fifteen pages...methinks I'll stop here for now. Hope y'all likies!!