Chapter 8

Ash was seated at the town's nicest restaurant, the Full Moon. Taking a sip of his drink (it was his third of the evening already), he sighed impatiently and glanced at his watch for the umpteenth time, praying that it was simply fast, and that Misty wasn't over an hour late. Did she completely forget about their anniversary? Did he really mean that little to her? Don't think so negatively, Ash, he thought to himself, maybe she has a good reason. He hoped so, but Misty had certainly been preoccupied a lot lately… and with what? Or even… who?

Ash was so consumed by his thoughts that he failed to notice his surroundings, so when he heard a soft, melodic voice, he jumped in surprise.

"Ash?"

He looked up to see a tall brunette quickly approaching his table. She looked so familiar… could it be? Was it really… May?

"Ash! Oh, my goodness, I haven't seen you in years! This is so exciting!" May certainly looked excited; her shiny, shoulder length ash-brown hair bounced and her eyes sparkled. She was much taller than Misty, at least five foot seven, and she sported a bright smile across her tanned face.

"May…" Ash said, dazed, "what are you doing here?"

"I'm in town visiting a friend," she said, "we were at the bar chatting when I spotted you sitting here all by yourself, and I decided to say hello!" May pointed out her friend, who was a petite, cute blond. The girl waved at Ash. "What are you doing here?" she said to Ash.

"Well, I was supposed to meet someone here, but… they didn't show up," he said, a little bitterly.

"Do you want to join us?" May asked. May's friend, who was eavesdropping, nodded eagerly and gestured for Ash to come sit next to her.

"Umm…" Ash thought about Misty for a moment. She wouldn't be happy if she found out he was hanging out at the bar with two other women.

But, then again, he wasn't very happy that she hadn't bothered to show up for their anniversary dinner either.

"Sure," Ash said, taking off his formal jacket (it was hot in there) and leaving it on the back of the seat as he stood up.

Due to a sudden lapse of judgment, and, perhaps, the alcohol he had already consumed, Ash's right hand stealthily slid his wedding ring off his finger, leaving it in his jacket pocket.

With his cell phone.

Ash and May headed over to the bar together, oblivious to the soft ringing emanating from the abandoned jacket.

Evening came, and Mewtwo still felt weak. If anything, he felt even worse than the night before, when he'd stopped the train. His head pain was incessant, and it made it difficult to think. He hadn't tried again since the train incident, but he guessed that using his power would be excruciating.

All day, Mewtwo had been slowly making his way back to the city from the site of the train accident on foot. He felt so awful that he was starting to wonder if his earlier speculations about his being at the end of his life were wrong after all; it certainly felt like he could be dying.

The sun began to set as he approached the city limits, and the tall buildings cast dark, ominous shadows.

He paused before entering the city. I must not be seen like this, he thought reluctantly. It might take all of his strength, but he had to transform back into human form if he was going to be walking around at street level.

He remembered hastily discarding the suit he had been wearing the night before, when he had hurriedly changed back to his original form. He had not wanted to waste any time, so he had not been careful where he left it, and now he regretted that.

I must have dropped it somewhere nearby, he thought, and began looking around.

Surely enough, after a few minutes he saw the pants, wrinkled and covered in leaves and dirt, and, about a hundred feet away, the shirt and jacket lay crumpled on the ground. Now I will never be able to return it, he thought, marveling at how much that bothered him. Maybe shape shifting really had made him more human.

Mewtwo braced himself. Now for the difficult part, he thought. Was he even strong enough to transform? He guessed he'd find out. Closing his eyes, he invoked his psychic energy and began manipulating the DNA sequences inside his cells.

If the headache was agonizing, this was almost unbearable. It took over twice as long as it normally would, and it was nearly impossible to ignore the splitting pain between his eyes. However, when he finally ceased transforming and felt his body with his hands, he determined it had become human. Unfortunately, the pain had also escalated, and Mewtwo was unsure he'd be able to change back without passing out.

Abruptly, Mewtwo sensed something very disturbing. He faintly recognized his own psychic signature emanating from another location, and embedded within it was apprehension, and then panic.

It is Misty's daughter… our daughter, he realized, and something is terrifying her. Then, he heard Misty's voice scream.

He took off running as fast as he could towards the source of the turmoil. He knew the city very well by now and soon realized he was headed in the direction of Pokemon Tech.

The psychic energy he sensed was fading. She's moving farther away, he thought, and tried to run faster. If only I was at full strength!

Finally, he arrived at the front of the building, drenched in sweat, to see a red and black helicopter rising up into the sky. He recognized it immediately; it was the same type of helicopter Giovanni had used to transport Mewtwo to the Viridian City gym all those years ago. There was no doubt in Mewtwo's mind that Team Rocket had abducted Misty and her daughter.

I have to do something, Mewtwo thought urgently, they must be stopped!

With a running start, Mewtwo used the remainder of his power to fly up toward the helicopter, careful to stay out of the pilot's view. He ignored the screaming nerves in his brain as he focused all his energy on keeping up with the flying vehicle. I may be dying, thought Mewtwo, but first I must insure the safety of Misty and our daughter. He just hoped he wouldn't collapse before the helicopter reached its destination.

Cameron had something slippery under her foot.

She had noticed it a few minutes ago when she had been squirming around, trying to get more comfortable in her restrained position.

The thing was flat and glossy, and she could slide it back and forth across the carpet of the helicopter's floor easily.

Because she was tied to her chair with her hands behind her back, she couldn't pick it up physically, but…

Cameron's blindfold hid her glowing blue eyes. The thing on the floor slowly floated upward until it landed in her bound hand. She felt it, trying to determine what it could be.

It's a card, she thought, like a hotel key. She didn't know what it was for, but she decided to keep it anyway. Using her telekinesis, she hid the card in her pocket with her drawings.

Soon, Cameron felt her stomach turn as the helicopter began moving downwards.

"I think we're landing," her mother whispered to her nervously. Slowly, the vehicle slowed its progress until Cameron felt a slight bump, and heard the propellers stop turning. They had reached the ground.

Cameron heard the footsteps of the two Rockets approaching.

"You two were such good girls the rest of the way that we're gonna give you a break and take the blindfolds off," said one of the men patronizingly.

Cameron felt her blindfold being removed, and then she and her mother were escorted to the door. A mechanical step ladder descended from the floor of the helicopter to the ground to make their exit more manageable.

The man holding Cameron pushed and prodded her roughly, forcing her down the stairs. I don't like these men very much, she thought, irritated. As soon as the party reached the ground, Cameron looked around her and didn't recognize her surroundings. The group was standing in front of a large building with an engraved stone monument in front of it that read, "Cinnabar Island Research Laboratory. Founded in 1950, rebuilt in 2001". In the distance, Cameron could hear the waves of the ocean and wished she could escape to go play at the beach.

Suddenly, Cameron heard a noise behind her that sounded like a man's grunt. She whirled around to see a tall man with black hair standing behind the helicopter, appearing exhausted and run down. He fell to his knees, then collapsed.

"Mewtwo!" Misty yelled and struggled to get away from the man who was holding her. Cameron frowned. Mewtwo? Isn't that the pokemon I drew? She thought curiously. The man restraining Cameron reached for his walkie talkie, and, holding her with one arm, he pressed a button down and said, "We're here, boss. We need back up— send a team outside."

A few seconds later, five Rockets ran out of the building, armed with tranquilizer guns. However, there was no need to use them; together they lifted the tall man's already limp form and carried him inside the building.

"No! Let him go!" Cameron's mother protested, but the men ignored her. Cameron listened to her mother's thoughts for a moment. They weren't clear and concise like sometimes; there were no words or pictures, only emotions. Cameron was surprised to sense her mother's intense feelings of fear, anger, and… love.