A/N: Italics indicate Dr Fuji's memories - not quite flashbacks, but remembrances of conversations past.
DISCLAIMER: Pokémon and all related characters belong first and foremost to GAMEFREAK. The rights to these are sublicensed out to several distributors of manga and anime. I am not one of them.
Doctor Fuji sat alone in his house, head in his hands. He didn't know why it was, but this year, he felt his solitude more acutely than he had the previous holiday seasons. He sighed, and looked at the solitary picture on top of the television set, one of the few luxuries he had.
"Ah, my dear," he spoke aloud. "I wonder where you are right now. Hopefully, you don't feel as lonely as I." He sighed again. Considering how circumstances had played out, perhaps he should have stopped when his wife told him to.
"I will do anything…to see your smile again…"
He raised a hand to his brow and rested it there, hoping to stem the flow of tears before they began again. He was getting old, that must be the answer to it. After all, he could feel the chill of the snow outside more keenly this year, too. Still, this year did contain one blessing.
He had seen it on the news, several months ago. That brigand, Giovanni, had been uncovered as the leader of Team Rocket and was now in hiding. On previous years, since Mewtwo had escaped from the facility in Kanto, the former Gym Leader had visited Fuji around this time, nominally to see how he was. However, the scientist suspected that Giovanni was merely testing the waters, so to speak, to see if he could convince Fuji to return to Pokémon cloning.
"Don't try to do what's impossible, OK?"
As he had every year, he had put up the Christmas tree. Amber had always loved Christmas. The tears came then, and he didn't know how to fight them.
"I…am sorry, my child. I…I couldn't…" Fuji managed to say before he began sobbing. His interest in cloning… it had all been for nothing. He hadn't been able to bring his daughter, Amber, back to life. His obsession with trying to bring her back had widened the gulf between his wife and himself that had developed after the accident that had claimed Amber's life.
Giovanni wouldn't let him move on to other projects, after Fuji had helped Mewtwo escape by removing the cumbersome armour that had restrained him.
There was nothing for him now. Nothing.
"I'm probably going to become a star."
"If you're going to be like Haley's Comet, you'll come back."
"No, not anything like that…"
Maybe…maybe that was the answer. Maybe he had been going about it the wrong way from the beginning. If he wanted to reunite himself with Amber, then maybe…he should become a star, too.
The wind howled outside, kicking up a flurry of snow. The sound of the wind had almost smothered the noise of someone knocking hesitantly at his door. Fuji paused, confused and panic-stricken. Could it be…Giovanni after all?! Would he have no peace from that devil?! No…Giovanni, even if he was fleeing the law, would not show such humility. His wife…? No, he should banish that thought immediately. She had no way of knowing he was no longer trying to resurrect Amber, and even if she did, she would have no way of finding him.
The person at his door knocked again, but with even less conviction than before. 'Perhaps,' Fuji mused to himself, 'If I should not answer, they will try elsewhere, and leave me alone to my misery. But, if they are in trouble…' Before he had finished the thought, Fuji found himself almost to the door.
He decided he had no choice in the matter now, not if he wanted to ever be able to look Amber in the eyes again. He unlocked the door and pulled it open, feeling a squall push the frozen air in around his legs and he shivered. A cloaked figure stood in the doorway, making his breath catch in his throat for a moment. Could…could he already be dead, and this was the Reaper come to collect him? He dismissed such superstitious thoughts away.
"C-come in, quickly," he said, stuttering with the cold. "Th-this is no weather to be out in, my friend!"
The figure stayed there motionless for a moment, as if indecisive, and then nodded in agreement and shuffled inside. Fuji pushed the door back closed, fighting against the raging elements. He could feel that his visitor was stood just behind him, watching him. As he managed to get the latch back into its rightful place, holding the door closed, he sensed movement behind him and heard the cloak ruffle.
"Well, my friend, what brings you out in such inclement --?" he began, then gasped as he finished turning around to face the traveller. In an outstretched hand, they held a present, wrapped and with a bow around the box.
He recognised that hand…
"Giovanni wishes to create a…a race, of Mewtwos, and use you all, as his army! There is only one way we can stop him and save your unborn siblings from his enslavement! Mewtwo! You must destroy this facility immediately! …And…and me, with it!"
~No.~
"But…"
~Even if you are human, how could I do something that would harm my own father?~
The hood of the cloak slipped down, revealing Mewtwo's face. ~Merry Christmas… Father,~ he said.
"Mewtwo…that you should consider one such as I, your father…thank you."
"Mewtwo…I…" Fuji tried saying. He felt the tears start running down his face again.
Fuji fell into his son's arms and began sobbing.
A/N: Well, there we go. I know it's a little late, but here's a short and sweet Christmas story. It's also my first published Pokemon fic.
This story was based on a number of sources, including the Dengeki Pikachuu manga adaptation of Mewtwo's origin, and the audio drama "The Birth of Mewtwo". Being unable to understand written and spoken Japanese to the required degree, I learnt of the content of these two versions from KOKOWA DOKODA.
Any errors you find are mine, as I massaged these disparate visions into one background. And I think calling Fuji "John Smith" as per the English version novelisation is just daft, so you've got Amber Fuji. My thanks to KD, AKA PeanutButterMewtwo for her excellent site. Hope you enjoyed. Please R&R.