Chapter 2: Make It Double

He stayed crouched on the floor, huddled up as he struggled to open his eyes. "Pikachu? Where are you?" he groaned softly.

A sensation ran through his body, making his nerves jolt as if electricity had been fired against him.

Pikachu hunched on the floor of Professor Oak's Lab, discharging electricity from its cheeks into its new 'trainer'. Ash screamed out in pain, shaking as the voltage ran through him until he collapsed to the floor, smoke rising from his body and the Pikachu laughing at his pain.

He jolted from his crouch, the memory having been so vivid that his body still shook in pain from the mere thought of it. "P-Pikachu. What's…w-what's happening?" he said, struggling to open his eyes, disoriented by the once sterile environment filled with debris around him. His sight was blurry and he rubbed his eyes, looking harder. There was a machine behind him, smoking and even on fire in some places. Screens adorned the machine and the walls but all were blank.

Slowly, the boy stood up and gasped, realizing he was nude. "Wh-what's going on!?" he cried.

"Goodnight Ash." Brock said, taking the top bunk across the room. Ash took his cap off and set it on the table next to the bed and nodded, deep in thought. Tomorrow would be a big day and his battle would start at-

The boy cried out again, his head starting to throb. He already remembered this. Why was it all coming back so vividly?

He shakily walked towards the machine, leaning heavily against the surface. The room was warm, so his lack of clothes was not an immediate worry. "I…I have to find them. Brock...Misty…" Ash winced as he stood on his own. For some reason he felt like his body wasn't entirely under his control, but he brushed that aside, each step becoming steadier.

The machine whirred again, then boomed, a panel flying off and slamming into the back wall. A few mechanical components fell out of the hole and something red and white came with it. "Is that…" Ash started.

"One more stamp on this one, then I'll mail them all in!" Ash called happily. He was seven again, filling out postcards and sticking stamps on eagerly.

"Ash, we have to get going or the mail won't go out until tomorrow!" Delia called, smiling and walking into the room. She helped Ash gather up the postcards and put them in a small bag. She smiled again, causing Ash to do the same.

"This is the last day Mom. We have to send them in now or I won't win my ha-

Mankey jumped up and down in glee, a red and white hat planted firmly on his head. "Give me back my hat!" Ash screamed, rushing after the feisty fighting type. He panted, already having been at this for a while. He was tired, almost to the point of collapse and still the thief avoided his clutches.

Ash gasped and clutched his face, it feeling as if he had just been punched by Mankey like he had that day.

"What's happening to me?" he said, standing straight and snatching his hat out of the air as it fell. He tugged it on over his messed up hair and looked at his reflection in the blank screen of the machine. His face was clean and smooth, but otherwise looked as it always had. He furrowed his brows and leaned closer, feeling as though he was...missing something. He pulled at the skin, blinking a couple times before shrugging in surrender.

The machine whined loud, causing Ash to back away. There were some muted explosions and then all sound stopped, the machine having run its broken components into the ground. "Gotta get out of here." Ash said into the quiet that was left behind the machine. The door opened automatically as Ash left, closing behind him. It was odd, the same material as the tubes inside the room.

Ash put that out of mind and walked down the sterile halls, looking into rooms as he came across them. "Clothes should come first. There's gotta be some around here somewhere." He moved on, working methodically, and within ten minutes found what he was looking for.

The room was unlike the others the hall connected to and was behind a normal door. It was dark, but comfortable looking. Ash ignored the furniture and went straight to the lockers, digging into them and smirking. "Jackpot."

Ash made quick work of going through the lockers. None of the clothes actually fit so he rolled the sleeves and pant legs up, using a stapler from a desk across the room to pin them in place. He spent only a few seconds more before he decided to rip a strip from the bottom of the lab coat he had found and tie it on as a belt.

A mirror in one of the lockers allowed Ash to take a step back and examine the result. It was obvious the clothes were too big to him, but they looked similar to the fashion of a lot of traveling trainers after the changes he had made to them.

A loud explosion made the floor vibrate and Ash looked up, eyes narrowed. Something was happening and his instincts told him that that was where his friends would be. Footsteps echoed on the halls as Ash raced, heart beating harder the closer he got.

"Stairs!" Ash called, seeing an opening. He raced into it and the smoke cloud, breathing the smoke as he tried to get into the clear.

...

"No...STOP!" Ash cried, running into the middle of the arena as Mewtwo and Mew charged up their attacks. He placed himself between them, hoping that the two would come to their senses He had to stop this somehow, all this fighting, he had to-

And that was the last thought that went through him as twin blasts of energy hit him on both sides, and he felt a stillness coming over him...it was almost...calming...

"Ash…no.." Misty said, tears coming to her eyes. She watched as the energy of the two's Pokemon's attacks dissipated, revealing her friend floating in mid-air with a blank expression. Vibrant energy swirled around him, and his skin seemed to pale, becoming grayer.

"Why…why would a human get in the way?" Mewtwo asked himself, watching as the human's Pikachu ran over to the boy, who clanged to the ground.

"Pika-pi… Pika-pi…" Pikachu called, pushing on Ash. The small Pokemon's eyes watered as he continued calling for Ash, starting to zap the statue that had been left in his place. Energies still swirled under his skin, leaving him immobile, looking for all intents and purposes...dead.

"Ash! No!" Misty cried out. Tears started running down Pikachu's face as he eyed what was left of his trainer, his friend...but then, the moment was interrupted by heavy footfalls and coughing from the destroyed entrance inside the citadel.

"Misty, I'm here! Brock! Pikachu!" a familiar voice called. Everyone in the arena turned as a wind blew the smoke away, revealing Ash, hat on his head and wearing brown slacks and a white lab coat and tee. The onlookers stared in shock, Pikachu glancing back and forth between Ash and the statue confusedly, not understanding what he was seeing.

"A clone..." Mewtwo thought, eyes wide as he floated down to the ground and studied this new development. He looked at both of the Ashes, one stone, one alive, and he clenched his fist as he realized what must have happened. Then he relaxed and shook his head. "Maybe...maybe this is for the best…"

The legendary Pokemon gathered everyone's attention to him. "I see now…how wrong I was to think that clones and originals are either better or worse. I see now that we are all equal. I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with that life that determines who you are….who we are."

The Ash still standing stopped in his tracks as he saw what Pikachu kept looking at. He stepped forward apprehensively, really having to study what he was seeing. "Wh-what…" he stammered, reaching the stone version of himself. He blinked in surprise, shaking his head before falling to his knees and pulling Pikachu into a hug. After a minute he looked to Mewtwo. "What's going on?" he asked quietly.

"All you need to know is that you changed me." Mewtwo replied. "We will not meet again, and as my gift to you, you won't remember this day."

The clones glowed with blue energy, all except for Ash, floating upwards. The ground itself took on the hue and a large beam of light filled the sky.

Ash turned and smirked at Misty while Brock went on about Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny. He hadn't raced off after either woman so his ear was safe for now. He straightened his jacket and pulled his trademark cap on more firmly.

"C'mon guys, let's go!" Ash called, racing from the ferry port. "We're not going to get to Indigo Plateau by laying around!" Ash kept his eyes on the path ahead, a sense of purpose filling his heart.

He didn't go out on the docks, and he did not see Mew flying between the clouds, along with a second figure who watched them guiltily. "I'm sure this was the right thing." Mewtwo said to his counterpart. "I can only hope it works out...in the long run."