The next morning, Mewtwo was found unconscious inside the courtyard, with a strange, pulsing bite on his foot. Lucario, concerned for his fellow Pokemon, went over to see what happened.

"Stay a-back," Dr. Mario cautioned. "We-a don't know what-a happened to a-him."

"He's unconscious," Lucario said. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"A lot of things could happen," commented Jigglypuff in the Pokemon language. She had tagged along with Lucario. "He could wake up and attack us!"

"Exactly," Dr. Mario agreed. The other Smashers had to learn how to communicate with the Pokemon fighters when they first arrived, and thus, with years of practice, they were able to understand what they were saying… mostly. Mistranslations occurred occasionally, although with Mewtwo's and later Lucario's presence, translating became much easier.

All of a sudden, a weak moan came out of Mewtwo's mouth. His foot started twitching, and Roy, who came with Dr. Mario just in case something went wrong, leaned over him to get a closer look.

"He seems okay," he concluded.

"I don't a-think so." The doctor started to stroke his mustache. "Remember, I'm-a medical expert a-here."

I don't think so, the Aura Pokemon said silently in regards to his comment. Out loud, he said, "If I had a Heart Scale, I could teach myself Heal Pulse."

"A what?" the red-haired swordsman asked.

"A Heart Scale," Lucario replied. "It comes from Luvdisc."

"Luvdisc?"

"Another Pokemon. They don't have any here, last time I checked."

"Also, what's Heal Pulse?"

Lucario could almost slap Roy right now. He really was quite uneducated in terms of Pokemon knowledge. "It's a move I can learn. It heals Pokemon."

"Oh, okay," he said, giving a small nod.

Dr. Mario poked Mewtwo, causing him to stir some more.

"I think he's waking up," said Jigglypuff in the Pokemon language. Lucario picked her up. "What are you doing?"

"Just in case," he muttered to the Balloon Pokemon. "We all know how fragile you are."

"Hey!" She puffed her cheeks out, offended, and made a small sound.

"Let's take him back," Roy suggested, "before he wakes up."

"Right." The two humans gently picked up the Genetic Pokemon, and then they started to carry him back inside the Smash Mansion while the other two Pokemon present followed him. Lucario could feel Jigglypuff's aura in his paws, burning intensely as her passion for singing.

"I can always sing if he wakes back up!" Jigglypuff called to the duo.

"Or I can knock him out," Lucario smugly remarked.

Turquoise eyes glanced up at the canine creature. "That isn't nice."

A smirk came across his face. "Hey, it's an option."

As soon as the group got to the infirmary, the men immediately threw Mewtwo onto the hospital bed. He let out a grunt as his body slammed against the cold cushion. Dr. Mario went to grab masks while the others stood guard. When he came back, one already over his mouth and nose, he gave it to them.

"Why do we need these?" Lucario asked.

"We don't a-know what he a-has. It could a-be a deadly disease," the doctor replied, his voice muffled from the surgeon's mask. "And if it's a deadly a-disease, it could be-a transmitted a-through the air."

"He has a point," commented Roy as the swordsmen put it on. His sword was in its sheath at the moment, but it looked like he was ready to pull it out at any moment. "Though, if there was a priest, or at least someone with a staff, here, that bite would be gone in an instant…"

"We have Dark Pit's staff," the Balloon Pokemon said in regards to the red-haired boy's ramblings.

"Not that kind of staff!" the Aura Pokemon barked. "One that heals! Not hurts!" Roy nodded his head in confirmation.

"Enough, enough," demanded Dr. Mario. "Stop fighting and put your masks on."

Without any further complaints, they did so. The doctor had to help Jigglypuff with hers, since her small hands limited her ability to put on such accessories. Lucario pulled up a chair to sit in, and with the puffball still in his arms, he glanced down at the unconscious Pokemon. A little drool fell out of his mouth while Dr. Mario extracted his blood with a syringe.

"I'm taking this to the lab," he announced, holding up the vial of red liquid to showcase it. "You three better stay here, just in case."

"Will do," Lucario grumbled. He really wanted to fight right now, but instead, he was stuck here, babysitting Mewtwo.

Oh well, he better kill time.

"You know, Roy," Lucario started, "you were a douchebag last fanfiction. I expected some witty remark to come out of you."

"Well, the Robins and I have a little… rivalry," he replied.

"How so?"

"They stole my thunder with Arcfire. I'm supposed to be the fire-wielding Fire Emblem character, not them!"

"You sound jealous," Jigglypuff pointed out.

"Am not!"

"Dude, your blade is just fiery. They actually wield fire," Lucario snarled.

Roy groaned, and hunched over with a look of dismay. "Ugh, I can't deal with you two today…"

"Too bad you have to wait until Dr. Mario comes back," the Aura Pokemon grumbled, and slouched. The rest of the time they spent waiting was in silence, with the occasion moan from Mewtwo. Somehow, the bite on his foot had become even uglier, becoming a deep purple, with pus oozing out of the wound. The red-haired swordsman noticed this too, and his expression turned from annoyance to disgust.

"Eww…" Jigglypuff muttered under her breath. "That's gross."

Shortly thereafter, the mustached physician came back with the results. "We-a… might a-have a problem. The results came up with an unknown virus."

"Unknown?!" Lucario blurted out in surprise. Quickly regaining his normal composure, he said, "Why, of course, that's helpful."

"Dr. Mario?" the pink Pokemon called, raising her hand. "Mewtwo's gotten worse…"

The human's blue eyes drifted over to the bite mark, and they quickly widened. "Oh no…"

"Well, what now?" Roy asked.

"The best thing I could a-do is to a-give him some medicine-a," he answered. "…Though, I-a would have to-a clean that a-wound up first. And a-bandage it."

"Do we have to stay in here longer?" Lucario grumbled. "I want to improve my skills."

"It would-a be for the best-a to a-stay," Dr. Mario started, "…but I think-a you could a-leave."

"Are you sure?" the red-haired teen asked warily. "What if something bad happened?"

"Don't a-worry, I'm a certified a-doctor," the doctor boasted.

"You know, I'm staying here, just in case," he cautioned.

"Well, you got Roy." Lucario stood up, and he took himself and Jigglypuff towards the door. "So, I'm leaving."

"And I'm staying." Jigglypuff deflated, allowing her to slip out of his arms, and she ran over to the red-haired swordsmen, jumping into his lap. He threw his arms out and straightened, surprised at the sudden decision. "I need to be here."

The Aura Pokemon's ears flattened ever-so-slightly. "Jigglypuff…"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine!" she assured. "I can hold my own!"

Without saying another word, Lucario gave one last look at his friend, and left to go to the training area.

Please, Arceus, let Mewtwo and Jigglypuff be alright.


A/N: This chapter took... much longer than I expected it to take. It was probably because I was focusing on other stories, but it's also due to once again, procrastination. Anyways, might as well get this chapter out before the year ends! I plan to upload chapter 3 tomorrow as well. I got Ultimate for Christmas, and I've been playing it almost non-stop over the past week. I have yet to finish World of Light, but I have unlocked all the characters. Regarding characters revealed since E3, I don't expect them to play a central role in the story (though who knows, maybe I'll throw a time-skip in there...). Anyways, Branchwing, out!