Pokegeddon Phase II
Pokeclysm
A continuation of the alternate-reality retelling of the Pokemon world. Based on The Pokepurge, by James Griffith.
By Chris Cook
The sun glistened resolutely on the shimmering water far below. The waves rolled peacefully along their way, uninterrupted by land for miles in any direction. The only sound was that of the ocean itself breathing in and out, deeply and slowly. It was a glorious day that held great promise for all those living things dwelling within it.
A single, triangular object broke the water's surface, racing through the waves and leaving a straight white line of turbulence behind itself. The dark blue fin cut through the ocean with ease, streamlined for just this purpose.
Without warning, the rest of the entity breached the surface, indigo skin glinting with moisture as the creature sailed through the air, backwards. Flailing about frantically, the massive, whale-like, blue and white animal struggled to regain control of its body as it descended. Tail-fins rippling behind it like streamers, the beast slammed back into the ocean with a tremendous smack of water, bounding once, twice, before disappearing back into the waves with a thunderous explosion of water droplets.
Racing after it, a yellow-tinted figure skimmed the water as it flew, violet eyes fixated on the spot where the beast had disappeared. Slowing to a sudden halt, the creature righted itself, machinery on its back humming as it scanned the ocean below with both eyes and mind.
Stretching his three-fingered hand forward, the being grasped at empty air tightly, then ripped his arm backwards, as if yanking a line back towards himself. Immediately, the whale-like beast broke the water again, tumbling through the air against its will as it flapped its fins helplessly. The being watched the animal as it arced overhead and followed its progress as it splashed down once more.
As the leviathan disappeared again, the figure's body spawned jagged black stripes and it spread its arms wide. Sporadic tendrils of electrical energy whipped off of its body, then were directed into the water itself at a much greater volume, the transmission of the energy causing a deep green-blue glow to flicker from below. The light show continued as the electricity pulsed into the water, sparks flying from the surf in all directions as the massive voltage was forced into an environment where it did not belong.
The whale surfaced once more, crying out as its assailant flew straight at it, crackling fist catching the beast hard in the jaw and knocking it airborne once more. The attacker watched with a calm, resolute expression as the animal struggled to withstand the punishment it found itself facing. He flew after the floundering creature and grasped onto one of its streamers as it ascended, holding the animal still as he carried it high up in the air.
The being's face did not change at all as it forced more electricity into the organism it held, the creature shuddering and twitching as the energy raced through its helpless body. The marine animal cried out once more as the torture continued, struggling as much as it could to liberate itself.
Finally, wrenching free of the aggressor's grasp, the animal nose-dived back into the ocean, making for the bottom as fast as it could. Mewtwo remained in the air, glaring down with unseeing eyes at the spot where his quarry had vanished. His skin returned to normal as he felt the creature's mind fade away into the deep.
Far below the sunlit skies, the beast raced along the bottom of the ocean, narrowing its yellow eyes in a rage. Where once it had known but one rival that could match its power, this new opponent marked an unexpected challenge. And he threatened to defeat it here, where its strength was meant to be unmatched. This was wrong, this was unnatural. This would not stand.
Kyogre focused its energies, awakening power it had not used in a long while. Swimming amidst the ruined and eroded buildings that littered the seafloor, it made for deep, cold water, forming a current around itself.
Upon the surface, the sea began to grow angry as Mewtwo watched. The surf bulged and rose, large waves rising up and slamming into one another as the water grew dark. Strange currents and eddies manifested from nowhere, causing the ocean to churn and undulate as its very essence was pushed and pulled in multiple directions at once.
Small blue protrusions popped out of Mewtwo's back as he glared at the water below. Reaching out, he attempted to wrestle control of the sea below from his opponent, trying to return the surface to its calmer facade.
But he found no success. The sea only fought harder, pulled back tighter, and continued to grow in violence. As he struggled to make the water his to command, it swirled below him, a great spiral of motion whirling faster and faster. The water began to fall away, a bowl appearing as the sides of the vortex rose above its center.
Without warning, the vortex ascended, a great tendril of spinning liquid shooting into the sky towards Mewtwo. He released his hold on the water and tried to fly out of its path, but it was too fast, too unexpected. The cold water ensnared him and tossed him about.
Thinking fast, Mewtwo shifted into some Water-type, not even recognizing which as he struggled to breathe in the suffocating maelstrom he found himself trapped inside. He spun in place as the water ripped at his body, throwing him one way, then another, but always pulling him towards the center, never letting him get away.
He manifested fins and wings at once, attempting to paddle his way to freedom, but always intercepted by another current that would pull him in once again. And so, he began to swim with them, flying about the whirlwind's axis as it added even more momentum to his thrusts. One rotation, two, three, around and around he arrowed, gathering speed.
Finally, he diverted off course, soaring off into the outer reaches of the storm. As he punched back out of the spout, the water pressing against him altered his course, leaving him off-kilter and dizzied as he returned to the air. A prime target for the lightning bolts spitting off the water column's sides.
The unexpected electrical assault caught the flying, water-breathing Mewtwo off-guard, and as such, he was stunned into stillness by the attack's ferocity. His body returned to normal against his conscious will and he plummeted towards the angry sea as the waterspout ceased its spinning, devolving into a brief rain that peppered the undulating waves below.
Mewtwo splashed down and awoke, struggling to stay upon the surface as he frantically tried to remember where he was and what was going on. But he had little time to collect himself as the sea became a wall, standing tall and imposing before him.
As it rose ever higher, he glimpsed the yellow eyes and bright red markings of a dark shape nestled within it, just before the sea dove onto him.
The sheer amount of fury and liquid pressing down on him sent him caterwauling to the sea's bottom, carried by a cloud of foam and rage that flung him before itself. He blacked out again as he felt himself dragged perhaps miles away from where he'd been, the ocean itself seeking to evict or exterminate him. He knew not where he was any more when he finally felt himself come to a stop, pinned against rock as the unseen force of tons of sea water pressed hard against him.
Kyogre allowed its domain to begin the process of settling down, wary, but certain the intruder had been dealt with. It descended back into the sunlit waters of its home and waited, ready in case this fight was not yet over.
High above, the ocean grew still, reflecting the bright light of the day back up into the sky. The short, but tumultuous, storm had passed. For the briefest of moments, in the end.
In an explosion of water and foam, visible from up to a mile away, Mewtwo returned to the skies, eyes glowing bright green as his skin shifted to match their hue. The insect-like wings upon his back hummed, too fast to be seen as he sped across the sky. In moments he had reached his destination and without wasting another second, he pulled his arms towards himself.
Far below him, the sea erupted. A forest of kelp and vines burst into existence, acres of greenery spiraling into the sky and branching off in multiple directions. The makeshift jungle grew incredibly dense in seconds and soon surpassed Mewtwo's own position in the air as it reached up for the nourishing star overhead.
Amidst the slimy and crackling sounds of the growth before him, the cries of Kyogre could be heard, muffled, but audible within the close vegetation of the new island of life. Omewga system humming loudly, Mewtwo wasted no time in thrusting his long, yellow arms into the foliage and unleashed his power.
Pumping even more electricity into the conflict, the forest came alive with light as the energy leapt from wet frond to wet leaf and finally, to the legendary Pokemon within. The beast writhed in pain and cried out in torture as the current increased in intensity, rare pockets of air bursting amidst the plants and starting a makeshift wildfire as the heat and oxygen combined.
In a few seconds, the grove had caught aflame and the jungle became a towering inferno. Black smoke belched into the sky as the flames grew angry and red, the sea weeds turning pale before they ruptured into flame. Ash and burning leaves began to plummet towards the sea as the forest began to crumble apart, its foundation consumed by the flickering embers.
With them fell Kyogre, the lacerated, scorched, and fried animal tumbling through the air without grace or dignity. Unconscious, it dropped in silence, mercifully aimed for the cold waters of its home. Soon enough, it would be back within the comfortable grasp of the realm it had always been a part of.
But then Mewtwo snatched it out of the air once more, and as he grasped the Pokemon with his cybernetic arm, he gazed at it for a few brief moments, cold green eyes taking in the beaten legend's battered form. And then, it was a part of him.
The rest of the vegetation burned away and collapsed into the sea, and Mewtwo drifted alone in the air once more. His body again resumed its normal shape, the Omewga system grew quiet, and his eyes regained their normal, violet hue. He gazed around at the blue all around him, pieced together the puzzle he found himself confronted with, and bowed his head.
As the sun rose on another would-be beautiful day, Mewtwo soared across a world he was in awe of. He had forgotten what good could look like in the months of darkness all had been living through. Even if that good was a reflection of such macabre shadows.
The land before him was pristine, glorious, untouched by war, hatred, or malice of any kind. This land was in a word, perfect. Or at least close to it.
Bordered on all sides by a cold, unforgiving sea that methodically lapped at its shores, the region once known as Hoenn was now effectively an enormous preserve, a grand mass of nature with no human presence remaining. Or Pokemon, for that matter.
It seemed that in the wake of the Pokepurge and its escalation, the balance of this region had been upset, and the Weather Trio had reacted the only way it knew how. Kyogre rolled in the sea, forcing the outer reaches of the region to vanish beneath the waves in moments. Groudon had unleashed powerful quakes to wipe the slate clean, pulling out new earth to bury the old and leaving the fresh rock and soil piled up, ample bedding for rogue seeds to begin their new lives. And Rayquaza kept a current of air flowing about the region, keeping all, or at least most, unwanted air traffic away.
In this way, this newly created region was reborn anew, its former state brushed aside in a series of cataclysmic changes, and replaced with a serene, albeit lifeless, environment. Here, the few survivors amongst the Weather Trio waited, eagerly looking forward to the day when things could be normal once more.
Mewtwo, now able to masquerade as Kyogre after ripping the legend from its home and taking its form, had managed to penetrate the mysterious island's would-be defenses and was now free to observe it at his leisure. What he saw was almost tempting to him. Here, he could start anew, settle in, rebuild what he chose to create, and watch the world start over again.
But he knew no peaceful rest would find him so long as this monstrous system remained upon his back, a despicable reminder of all that he had done and allowed to happen. And he dared not attempt to remove the device himself, lest Cypress had left some nasty surprise in case of just such an event. There would be no peace for him, or much of the world, until his quest was complete and his journey over.
And at the moment, that meant just one thing. Focusing his senses on the world below him, Mewtwo continued his hunt, probing tendrils of awareness spreading far and digging deep in search of his next quarry. It didn't take him long to zero in on the isolated, powerful, and unmistakable source coming from far, far below.
"Sir!"
The Rocket Shadow commander turned to the man seated at a computer nearby, eager to hear the news he dreaded.
"We've got seismic readings coming from area designate Neo-Hoenn. Massive ones," the soldier confirmed.
"Depth?" the commander asked.
"Three hundred and eighty-three meters," came the reply.
"Magnitude?" he asked another technician.
"Four point nine on the Richter scale," was the answer. "But it's steadily rising."
"Same with the depth," added the first soldier. "This thing's coming topside."
The commander grit his teeth in thought. First the ocean, then this. That rogue 'last hope' was making another move, and it was gonna cause some big waves, again. He missed the days when the network was about putting the right pieces in place, making sure things went to plan, cleaning up the messes the others left behind.
Reduced to a glorified personal news station. There were better ways to use these men, these skills, these assets.
"Sir?" questioned one of the soldiers under his command. The leader snapped out of his reverie to notice the room at large gazing at him.
"One-fifty degrees to port," he shouted without hesitation. "Last time this thing woke up, every coastline on the continent felt it. We're bugging out while we still can."
He turned back to a pair of technicians behind him, pointing hard at them to make himself perfectly clear. "Boost those arrays with whatever power you can find that isn't being used. We may be getting out of the blast radius, but we're still doing our job, dammit."
"Sir!" the men replied with conviction.
The submersible ship banked hard into the waves, steering away from the island beyond sight over the horizon. It's engines kicked on with a loud rumble as it plowed through the surf, putting as much distance between itself and the land as it could.
It started as a minuscule tremor, imperceptible to all but the most sensitive of detection devices. But the ripples grew in severity and rate swiftly. Pebbles began to dance across the ground. Lakes appeared to boil. Trees swayed without the help of the wind.
Awakened from an all too short slumber, the dozing behemoth below strove for the surface, already enraged by the foreign presence on its land. It had taken a lot of work and energy to produce this new home for itself. It was in no mood to have that paradise disturbed so soon.
As it bored through the rock and earth before itself, the landscape changed even more drastically. A mountain began to sprout above it, punching up into the sky, as the island itself fractured into valleys and canyons, torn apart as more rock and soil were gathered into the growing monument to the legend's power.
Seething with the heat of rage, the rocks around the beast began to glow, radiating with energy as it rose faster and faster. As the pressure eased and it felt the surface just above, the beast gave in to its anger and burst forth. The peak of the mountain exploded, liquid rock cascading across the island as Groudon bellowed into the darkening sky, the small new landmass quivering to its foundation from the reverberating sound.
Perched far from the newly arisen volcano that dominated the horizon before him, Mewtwo stared wide-eyed at the island that had been so different only moments ago. He felt an unfamiliar sensation down his back, like a piece of ice dropped along his spine. This was more than he'd anticipated.
Even at this distance, the intensity of those tiny yellow eyes could be felt. Mewtwo knew he was being watched, despite the fact that he could not yet even see his opponent. Perhaps in his eagerness to do the deed, he'd overlooked a competent strategy for such a threat. He wasn't entirely sure what to do now.
Groudon gave him no time to decide. With another bellowing roar, the pinnacle of rock Mewtwo stood atop suddenly shuddered, beginning to topple over. Mewtwo abandoned the spire, holding himself aloft in the air as the ground he didn't need fell out from under him...only to rise again as a quintet of towers, spearing upwards past him on all sides.
He gazed up at the sudden outcrops all about him as they grew. Then, they began to converge, slipping towards each other as gravity dragged them down.
Soaring for one of the gaps between two of the towers, Mewtwo squeezed through like a shot, coming face to face with a rock wall rising before himself. He flew to one side, attempting to either dart around or over it, whichever came first. But the rock seemed to go on forever.
It then began to 'fire' at him, branches of rock launching out of the otherwise smooth surface beside him, attempting to swat him out of the air. This was going to be a challenge. At least with water, he could move through it with ease.
With a hum, Mewtwo adapted the great white wings he had technically stolen and tried his best to outpace what should have been a slow, lethargic obstacle. In response, the newborn wall shattered explosively, seemingly of its own volition. The rocky debris and shrapnel filled the air, forcing Mewtwo to dodge and weave around the falling pieces until he remembered his bubble shield.
Calling it into existence, the rocks were dispersed, but still fell in great numbers, forcing him down, towards the ground. A ground which eagerly reached for him, growing to embrace him in its dark, close confines.
Channeling his energy into his hands, he hurled a blast of energy at the rock face beside himself. It detonated, the force of the blast ricocheting him off into the empty air away from his enemy's weapons. He poured the rest of his energy and focus into gaining altitude and distance, two things he'd need when fighting the land itself.
He glanced at the now crumbling obstacle course that had tried to stop him as he darted out of its range. Slowing to a near stop, he turned to again reassess the problem he now faced. He paused just in time to watch the bright, yellow beam of energy sail towards him, tracing a straight line from himself to the top of the smoldering volcano so far away.
Caught unawares, the attack hit Mewtwo full on, blasting him out of the sky. He fell back towards the sea below, a new island already arising beneath him as it stretched and grew, eager to capture him. Mewtwo struggled to focus, trying to regain his composure and halt his descent before it was too late. He gazed at the dark fissures that awaited him, jagged lines scattered across the land by the harsh forces at work below. And that gave him an idea.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he focused hard on flying. Gradually he slowed to a stop, opening his eyes just in time to see the new island drawing within reach below him. He took off once more at high speed, but this time towards the island of Hoenn.
Expectedly, the shore of the island rose to meet him, a new cliff firing into the air in an attempt to reach his altitude. Mewtwo flew just out of its reach, leading it higher and higher into the sky, then darted off laterally. The rock and soil beneath him followed, a bridge of stone forming behind him as the land attempted to pluck him from the air.
He followed the island's coastline in this fashion at a breakneck pace. As he did so, he observed the island's interior, steadily sinking into the ground as its main mass was redirected into the attack. Before long, the once towering volcano at the island's center was a brilliant crater far below his current altitude. But Mewtwo continued his flight.
He stuck to the island's coast as closely as he could, the island ever trying to keep up as his skin began to shift to a dark blue hue. Gossamer wings sprouting from his back, Mewtwo completed his circuit of the landmass and observed its new form as he shot off into the air far too fast for the rock below him to keep up.
The island had been redesigned into a massive crater, a bowl with high walls, but a floor sunk far down into the ground. And it was this floor that Mewtwo now darted towards, the burning circle of molten rock at its center his target.
As expected, the island continued its attempts to squash him, the walls he had helped make curling in on themselves to follow him down. He erected his bubble shield once more and kept his now grass-green fists before him, focused on the legendary beast directly below him.
Groudon roared his challenge at the intruder as Mewtwo merely plummeted downwards. He was going to fly straight down this beast's throat, and he was bringing backup.
The crumbling island soaring down with him, the fracturing walls offered no resistance to the furious sea that Mewtwo had summoned after himself. The torrents of water rushed into the vacuum well below sea level.
Groudon ceased its bellowing just long enough for Mewtwo to slam into its head, followed immediately by the ocean itself. Eradicating the island in a massive burst of air like a ruptured bubble, the last breath of the shattered landmass as the sea descended upon it threw boulders and sea foam alike high into the air. The tumultuous waves marked the last sight of the region of Hoenn.
Far below, in the endless darkness of the deep ocean, Mewtwo held his quarry, knocked senseless, out of its element and far from where it was meant to be. He wanted nothing more than to let the poor creature resume its slumber, but knew better than that. He had come here for a very specific reason, and that reason needed to be fulfilled.
Another burst of air raced for the surface as the space once occupied by the legendary Pokemon of the land was vacated, and Mewtwo was one step closer to achieving the one thing he wanted more than anything. Despite this, the victory brought him no joy whatsoever. He allowed himself time to drift in the cold, dark silence, reflecting on his own.
"I don't like it," Sabrina said darkly.
"What a shocker," Bill murmured, hint of a smirk on his face. She glared back at him. "Shall we have the whole argument over again, or skip straight to the end we already know?" he added.
She said nothing.
Bill sighed. Oak and Blaine watched closely from their seats at the table, brows heavy with worry and exhaustion. "We knew this could happen when we agreed to this plan..." Bill started.
"Some of us knew," Sabrina corrected, still furious.
"We really should have seen it coming," Oak admitted sorrowfully. "Celebi isn't, and never was, the time Pokemon. We were just so eager to be right and have a solution to this whole problem that we conveniently overlooked the facts." He slumped back in his chair. "Once again, we jumped in head first without stopping to really think what we were doing."
"Fine," Sabrina agreed, in a very disagreeable tone. "Then why Hoenn? If what you're saying is right, there's no reason for Mewtwo to be doing what he's doing now."
Bill gazed at the other men in the room, weighing his options carefully. There was silence in the dark room for a moment. Then, finally, he spoke. "Well, there is this legend..."
"Oh my Pokegods," Sabrina groaned. "A legend?! Are you kidding me right now? We're wasting time and resources on one giant if?"
"It's called contingency," Bill grimaced, his voice rising against his will. "Being ready for anything. Anything," he repeated. "And where we're going, that encompasses a very broad range of possibilities. If there's a chance it'll help us, we're taking it."
"And if it all ends up being for naught?" Sabrina asked coldly. "You can have all this death and despair on your own head, William. I won't stand for it." She rose from her seat, strolling away from the table and those gathered around it.
"And go where?" Bill asked after her.
She said nothing, only leaving the room, door closed behind her.
Bill sat back in his chair and sighed. The room grew quiet and still again, lit only by the dim lights far overhead.
"Word came in from the Shadows," Oak said glumly. "Hoenn appears to have vanished again. Just a few small islands left now, all of them wiped bare." He glanced at the door. "Probably best we didn't mention that bit yet."
"She probably already knows," Bill admitted sadly. "Her gifts aren't mere parlor tricks, you know."
Oak nodded in agreement, then resolved himself to silence once more.
"Anything else from the Shadows?" Bill asked.
Oak shook his head.
Blaine smirked with a brief chuckle. The others looked at him. He gazed back sadly. "Anyone else miss the days when we were the ones who had to keep tabs on them, making sure they weren't up to no good?"
Alone in his cell, Cypress rocked side to side to a tune only he could hear. In his hands, a jury-rigged tablet computer glowed, lighting up the dark chamber. He hummed to himself as he gleefully thumbed the controls and gazed down at the display before himself.
"Hm hm hmmm, ho ho ho ho hee ho, ha ha!"
He laughed aloud. "Oh, what sweet, sweet irony. Cypress the Savior." He licked his lips and stared up at the ceiling. "How interesting the history books will be tomorrow. I'd better prepare a speech." He began to cackle once again, before turning his attention back to the work at hand.
Seated upon one of the many rocky outcrops protruding from the sea, Mewtwo gazed at the once more sunny day before himself. Reflecting back at him from the countless waves rippling across the endless ocean, the sunlight seemed almost cruel, mocking his situation and his despair. That such brightness and purity could exist in such a world seemed unfair and unbelievable. He wondered why such pain had been forced onto his shoulders.
Created against his will, all he'd ever wanted was his own life, a life to himself and devoid of the pain and hardships brought about by 'others'. Those who wanted to own him, to own his power, to own his favor. He wanted none of it. And yet here he was, running an errand for those very beings he sought so long to elude. Why had he agreed to it?
If he truly had no need for others, why agree to help? Why not let the world spiral away into darkness on its own, leaving him with the solitude he'd always sought? Was he afraid it would drag him down with it? Or was it the isolation he feared? Had he grown used to the idea of the world existing around him, and was he now afraid of losing that which he had grown accustomed to?
He shook his head. He held in his hands, in his heart, and sadly, on his back, enough power to fly away again. To take off in a random direction and never be seen again. Disappear from the grid and leave the world to its own devices. Sever his ties and focus on making his own life the best it could be. Forget the rest.
But that was just it. How could he forget? How could he ever stop caring? Especially with his sins literally a burden upon him at all times. Anywhere he went, he would carry those cruel things he had done with him. And no matter how hard he'd try to convince himself he didn't care about those he'd ended, he knew he'd never forget the pain, or the fear, they'd felt as he removed them from the world. Those were feelings he'd carry with him to his final day, and there was nothing he could do about that.
He climbed to his feet. Like a mantra, he repeated to himself the same thoughts he reflected on day after day. There was no going back. Only moving forward. As painful and difficult as it would be, it was what he had to do. All he had to do. All there was to do.
Bill wheeled himself across the grass, struggling over the uneven terrain with a determined look on his face. His chair wasn't built for such places, but he was not one to give up easily. He forced his way forward, under the beauty of the blue sky overhead as he fixed his gaze on his goal.
After a short, but laborious journey, he finally came to a rest.
"You know you shouldn't be out here," Sabrina said, seated in the shade of a large tree and gazing out at the natural landscape before her.
"No one should be," Bill answered.
"Be hard to make it back in time if any rogue mutations come this way," Sabrina reminded him.
"Well, while they're eating me, it'll give you time to get away," Bill quipped.
"Ha ha," Sabrina said evenly. "It's a tempting offer, though."
Bill allowed himself a small smile. "I mean every word of it."
Sabrina sighed. "Noble words for an ignoble man."
"It was a secret kept from every one," Bill said plainly. "Me, Cypress, and the Champion. That was the way things had to be. Technically, I still shouldn't have told any of you."
"Anything else I shouldn't know about?" she asked simply.
"Will it make a difference?" he replied, voice firm with honesty. "You've been against the entire plan from day one. Knowing more details won't make you hate it any less, and if anything, will bring you more pain."
"You do this to shield me from pain?" Sabrina asked, finally turning to look at the man.
"Of course," Bill said enthusiastically.
Her gaze hardened. "Then remember this: If you ignore pain too much, you eventually fail to recognize the damage is even happening. Like growing used to the heat of a stove on your hand. You might feel nothing, but the flesh is still scorched."
Bill held his tongue, looking away for a moment. "I see your point," he conceded. "But I wish you'd see mine. I see no one else offering up any other paths to take."
He began to turn in place, rotating to face the way he had come from. "And more than that, I wish you'd stop lashing out at me whenever something new arises. It's bad enough I've been forced to make the compromises I have, to see the fallout of my own potentially misguided decisions. But to be reprimanded for it by one of the few people I have left in this world? That's the worst part of it all."
He pushed himself away, rolling back across the bumpy ground towards their hidden bunker under the mountain. Silently, Sabrina watched him go, wanting to call out, but forcing herself to let him go. She had said enough for one day.
As Mewtwo soared over the remains of Hoenn slowly, he gazed at the water far below in silent tranquility. Maybe he could just rest here for a few days. Enjoy the solitude. Relish in the isolation. Try to take a few days to clear his head and prepare himself for the difficulties to come. It's not as though anyone would know if he were to do such a thing.
As he considered this, movement caught his eye. Snapping his head to the side, he was surprised to see a Wingull soaring nearby. He hadn't seen something so normal in so long, he was mesmerized by it.
He watched as it soared on unseen air currents, rarely flapping its wings as the creature let the wind do the work for it. It banked and turned, rose and fell in silence, as if totally unaware of those darker things going on in the world around it. This pitiable creature was ignorant to it all, and so, lived in a state of relative bliss, focused only on those immediate concerns that faced it and no more.
Mewtwo watched the tiny bird carve a great circle in the air, spiraling down to land on one of the larger rocks protruding from the sea. He came to a halt to watch as it perched upon a dark ledge, tucking its wings in and getting its footing against the breeze that would otherwise push it back over the water. It awkwardly began to waddle across the ledge, making for a crevice in the rock face nearby.
As it neared, a pair of small white shapes appeared before it. As Mewtwo watched, family was reunited, children greeting their mother as she set about feeding them some of her catch for the day. Even at this distance, their desperate chirps and cries could be heard, begging for food, and more importantly, affection.
Here, at the epicenter of destruction and misery, life and love continued to strive ahead. Even here, life could be sustained and celebrated. So long as there were those to care about and those to be cared for, life could be good. Mewtwo felt privileged to see such a thing. Perhaps there was hope after all. He just had to find a way to grasp it, and to share it with the rest.
The white-hot blast of energy threw Mewtwo far beneath the waves, a trail of steam and bubbles following him all the way to the rocky seabed that he was smashed against. He saw stars before him as he slammed into the stone without warning.
Shaking his head, he focused his energy and took off for the surface, readying his defenses already, shield popping into place around his body. He burst from the waves, prepared for a fight, but not for the shock he faced.
Physically slammed back by something too fast to track, he was thrown across the water. Like the projectile he was, he skimmed across the waves, energy shield bouncing across the water as he flew just feet above it.
Once more, he pulled himself to a stop through sheer will, and again he was set upon by a foe he could scarcely make out. This time pinned to the creature itself, he was carried through the air at an even greater velocity, losing his vision against the speed he found himself being forced to travel at. All went dark as the sound of the air rushing past him became his only clue to his surroundings.
Finally, he came to a rough, bone-shattering stop, embedded into a large rock protruding from the ocean. Stuck a few feet into the hard stone, the material above his head crumbled from the impact, falling away into the water below. He groggily raised his eyes to regard the great, serpentine, emerald dragon that bellowed at him, small yellow eyes burning with ferocious rage.
Mewtwo began to push himself into a standing position, but the dragon bellowed again and released a blinding blast of blue energy from its maw, enshrouding the entire outcrop in the intensely hot attack. The rest of the island burned away as Mewtwo attempted to withstand the assault. The attack lasted only a few moments, but it left him drained, and just as he began to lower his guard, the beast slapped its tail into him hard.
Mewtwo again felt himself soaring faster than he'd ever gone before and knew only air until he landed on warm, hard ground once more. Skidding across the bed rock he'd found, he finally went still, unwilling or unable to rise back to his feet. He lay there, silent and motionless.
With a roar and flash of green, the dragon threw itself high into the air, arrowed down, and bodily smashed itself into Mewtwo. The impact buckled the ground around them both, forming a crater as the rock immediately around the silent psychic vaporized into dust. The cloud didn't even have a moment to clear before the beast grasped Mewtwo in its claws and carried him back into the air.
Rayquaza took off across the vast plateau of exposed land, racing at top speed as it broke the sound barrier with ease. Extending its arm down, it dragged Mewtwo behind it, carving a line in the stone with the once legendary Pokemon's body. They raced for miles in this fashion, zigzagging this way and that. Finally, with a roar of apparent appeasement, the dragon threw its limp opponent away.
For the fourth time in half as many minutes, Mewtwo was flying through the air against his will, and again came to a destructive halt against a very hard surface. Slipping out of the crater dug into the wall by his launched body, his limp form collapsed onto the hard, uneven ground. He was down for the count. High above, Rayquaza roared in victory.
It was impossible to say how long he'd been out, but gradually, Mewtwo's consciousness returned. He was none too happy about it either, for the pain and agony that came with it were more than he was used to. He had no desire to open his eyes and discover what had become of himself, for it surely could not look good.
But he had to do it, for every reason one could imagine. He did open his eyes and he did hoist himself from the hard rock that he slept upon. His bones were not broken. Not yet anyway. He could stand, probably, with some effort. Squinting through one eye, he observed his surroundings first.
Broken rocks all around, nothing else to see but clear blue sky. And one angry, flying dragon.
Mewtwo swallowed back a pang of fear as he glimpsed the beast. Even though he never blinked, he may as well have. The creature covered the distance between them in the same amount of time. With another terrifying roar, Mewtwo was lifted off the ground by the dragon's clawed hands.
Limp within the monster's grasp, Mewtwo struggled to stay conscious as the creature screamed into his face. Much like a temperamental child, the dragon slammed the enemy in its claws against rock and ground repeatedly, slinging Mewtwo's beaten form like a much despised rag doll.
Mewtwo could only shut his eyes and wait for it to stop, and when it did, he struggled to open them again. The beast still glared at him, full of hate. Mewtwo unconsciously raised his arm before himself, begging for help or mercy against his own knowledge.
Rayquaza did not like that. It grasped the offending limb harshly and tore the cybernetic structure from its host. Mewtwo's eyes went wide with shock and pain as his left arm was thrown aside like an unwanted shard of scrap. The dragon slammed the near comatose body in its other hand to the ground, declaring itself done with this bother. Launching itself into the air, Mewtwo was left alone on the ground, soaking in his own blood as it gushed from where his arm had once been.
So this would be it, then? This was how the mighty Mewtwo would end his days? He wouldn't have, couldn't have seen this coming. He had let his guard down for but a moment, and that was all it would take. He was no more immortal than a mere Caterpie, it would seem. And with him, the hopes of those few left went as well. They had been foolish to entrust so much in one entity, one being. For as he saw now, all that was needed was for that one being to fail, and the rest of the world would fail with it.
For the first time in his life, Mewtwo truly felt like a failure. He had regretted some decisions, made some mistakes, but never doubted his power or will to rectify them. But now he knew better. He could be defeated if he allowed it to happen, through ignorance or apathy.
And, now he thought, he could survive if he allowed it to happen, through conviction and effort. He could win, if he demanded it. He may die trying, but he was dead already if he didn't. His instinct to dominate kicked in.
Eyes burning blue, Mewtwo lifted himself to his feet, back into the air, slowly rising from the ground where he lay. Feeling about for his foe, he detected the dragon's mind far above, and the beast reacted instantly.
Wheeling back around, it spotted the figure far below, back upright and staring it down. Unacceptable.
With a screeching roar, Rayquaza dive-bombed its enemy once more. But Mewtwo was ready for it this time, and reflexively, he nudged the creature's mind subtly. Directed to one side, the animal shot straight past Mewtwo, who remained unmoving, and drove itself into the rock and stone, piling atop itself as its supersonic body came to a sudden and sharp halt.
Wasting no time against his quick opponent, Mewtwo grasped the dragon's tail with his own powers, his original psychic strength. Directing it with his remaining arm, Mewtwo slung the beast around like it had him just moments ago. Whirling it over his head, smacking it against the ground, beating it against rocks and boulders, Mewtwo whipped the creature around like a toy without ever laying a finger upon it.
Only when it was broken and bloodied did Mewtwo relent, slinging the legend aside to drive it headfirst into a massive rock face nearby. He drifted over towards its still form as it twitched and groaned. The beast struggled to open its eyes, and when it did, it glowered at him menacingly.
Splattering itself with blood, the creature forced its mouth open and issued one last weak challenge. Mewtwo said nothing, merely manifesting a sphere of dark energy, which he wordlessly hurled down the beast's throat. With a dull, concussive blast, the creature's body jerked once, then it's eyes rolled over, going dark as it collapsed to the ground, utterly still.
Mewtwo gazed down at the once impressive monster before him with contempt, and just a touch of satisfaction. He had nearly forgotten that he had been a powerful and oppressive force himself long before Cypress had ever weighed him down with his supplementary abilities. Necessary as they might have been for the plan, Mewtwo had never truly needed the crutch. He was good enough as he was, and this proved it.
He was about twelve feet underground before he realized he might not be entirely right.
It took a few moments for the pain to register in his mind, but when it did, he again felt his body at its limits, worried that he was growing too low on energy to keep this up for much longer. With a grunt and an exertion of his psychic powers, Mewtwo flung the rocks that buried him away, once more rising up into the sunlight.
There, across from him, stood a strange figure, red and teal with black markings. Its four whip-like arms undulated in their own private breeze as its stark white eyes glared at Mewtwo.
At last, the newcomer intoned gravely. A worthy challenge.
Mewtwo only glared at his foe. He could already tell that talking with this being would get him nowhere.
I've been waiting, the other continued. Eager to see if anyone could penetrate this region's defenses and make their way in. And you more than succeeded at that.
He turned his spiked head to take in the defeated form of Rayquaza. Most impressive.
Do you seek to challenge me for any real reason? Mewtwo asked.
To prove, and know, that I am the best, his challenger replied. One never knows what one is capable of until one tries.
Mewtwo looked over the fallen dragon as well. So I've come to understand, he said.
And if you can topple all three of these beasts with such relative ease, then to defeat you is to stand unchallenged across much of the world. I must know if I am worthy of such a position.
If you must, Mewtwo replied. Then I suppose I can not talk you out of it.
Not a chance, came the answer.
They flew at each other in a flash, arcing past each other and releasing energy blasts as they spun to attack at the same time. Mewtwo's shield narrowly deflected the attack flying his way, while his own projectile caught his opponent in the shoulder, blasting off the creature's left arms and putting them technically on even ground in no time flat. Mewtwo couldn't help but smirk.
Not bad, the challenger conceded. His flesh then emitted a brilliant white glow that glistened with light. It projected from his shoulder, fading only once his body was done producing a new pair of arms for its owner. Not bad at all.
Mewtwo threw himself into the air, frowning as his enemy pursued him. Mewtwo needed to gather his energy, recover from his most recent bout before he could engage this opportunistic boaster in an even fight. When he glanced back, the enemy had become blacker, now only had two arms, and fewer spikes atop its head. It rocketed after him, gaining on him in no time.
Mewtwo tried to evade his pursuer, but the fighter was too fast, and in no time flat, Mewtwo found his enemy before himself. Rather than evading, Mewtwo channeled his psychic energy into a powerful punch, trying to deliver as much force with one blow as he could. But his enemy easily slipped aside, the strike going wide.
The creature slapped Mewtwo aside, knocking him back towards the ground. Mewtwo didn't fall far, but was already growing exhausted, having spent too much time today locked in combat. Missing an arm wasn't helping much either. But once more, he had to try.
Spinning in place he grasped his opponent with the power of his mind and hurled him toward the ground. The enemy slammed into the rock with explosive force, and Mewtwo wasted no time unleashing a swift volley of energy attacks against the fallen foe. Mewtwo kept up the assault until he felt himself growing weary, then allowed the dust to clear.
There lay the still body of his opponent, battered into submission. Mewtwo smirked to himself at the easy win, but then the body began to glow. It disappeared into a cloud of sparkling particles and left nothing behind.
Confused, Mewtwo did not anticipate the attack as it struck him from behind, knocking him to the ground once more. He glared up at his surviving opponent, all three of them.
With a cohort identical in shape on each side, the fighter shook its head as it regarded Mewtwo. You should be more open-minded as to what your opponent is capable of, it goaded. It wouldn't have been as interesting if you fell to such a simple ploy.
Then why not resort to merely using your power to win, rather than cheap tricks? Mewtwo demanded, rising to his feet. Surely that would be the mark of a real champion fighter.
The cunning warrior uses all that is available to him, the challenger quoted. If you've got it, use it. And I suggest you start using it if you hope to live this day.
Mewtwo said nothing in reply. This fight should have been quick and easy, but he was exhausted, physically and emotionally. He felt the well of his spirit running dry. He was running low on options, as well. He stood there, contemplating what he had left to use.
Nothing? his opponent eventually asked. Because that's what I'm seeing from you now. And here I thought you'd be a challenge worthy of your legendary feats. Oh well.
Mewtwo barely had time to muster his defenses as the attack came, the two duplicates barreling into him as he struggled to hold them at bay. All three of them unleashed waves of psychic attacks upon his defenses, beating him down and causing him to bend at the knee as he struggled to keep himself standing.
In no time at all, the attacker deigned to allow its cohorts do the fighting. That was all it took to keep Mewtwo subdued and weakening. It folded its tendril-like arms into an intricate pattern of rest as it gazed serenely at the assault happening just below.
Such a disappointment, it reflected. I suppose there really are none out there who can challenge me in equal combat.
Below, Mewtwo gave the fight his all. Engaged in an elegant dance with the dual fighters, he unleashed scant psychic blasts at them, focusing more on keeping their whipping tendrils and energy attacks at bay. Routinely, he blasted them apart, sending parts of their bodies scattering across the rubble around them, but always they simply rebuilt themselves. He was getting nowhere, and wasting all of his reserves on the journey there.
Desperately, he reached out with his mind once more, grasped one of the fighters with his thoughts and hurled it into the other. As they were entangled, he lent them his own energy shield, enclosing them within the sphere of energy. Then, he shrank it, focused it down smaller and smaller, watching as their bodies tried desperately to adapt to the ever-shrinking prison they found themselves within. Mewtwo smirked to himself as the orb began to vanish, too small to see any longer.
He came face-to-face with the rocks around him once more, the real opponent perched upon his back after diving into him with a high-speed kick. Pathetic, it intoned. I tire of this.
Curling its tentacles before itself, it manifested a multi-colored ball of energy at the end of their tips, then slammed it against Mewtwo's back. The orb detonated in a dark red flash, disintegrating rock, heating up the air, and causing the ground beneath them to cave it on itself. Within moments, yet another new crater dominated the landscape, opening up the sky to the underground cavern below.
As he lay upon the floor deep underground, Mewtwo struggled to open his eyes. He felt everything fading, all that he had left draining away. Allowing his head to fall back onto the stone, he gazed at the upside-down world around him. He took in the cavern and its caves leading off in multiple directions and the dark stone walls, only somewhat illuminated by the sun overhead.
But then a glimmer of light caught his eye. Nearby, a cluster of amethyst crystals sprouted, glinting purple and vibrant in the sunlight. Slightly larger than most Poke-eggs, Mewtwo thought it a fitting and pleasant last sight.
Deoxys descended into the hole it had created, resting its pointed feet upon the motionless torso of the beaten Mewtwo. With an expression empty of thought or feeling, it looked over its fallen opponent. It had won. It had only to decide what to do now that it was victorious.
Suddenly, Mewtwo's remaining hand grasped his enemy's leg, gripping hard. Deoxy's expression remained unchanged, even as Mewtwo's head snapped forward, eyes blazing an intense yellow as he fixed his gaze on his opponent.
And here I thought you done, Deoxys admitted, a tone of amusement in its voice.
Mewtwo only sat up in reply, never taking his gaze off of his target. Deoxys faltered minutely, trying to step back slightly, but unable to escape from Mewtwo's grasp. The legendary psychic continued to rise to his feet, body now radiating the same golden light as his eyes. He released his hold on Deoxys and the attacker backed off.
Very well, it continued. If you wish to continue the fight, then let's.
Mewtwo did or said nothing.
Whipping its tendrils about, Deoxys lashed out at its opponent, but Mewtwo blocked the attack by unseen means. As Deoxys watched, eyes wide with fear, its enemy manifested a new left arm, wires and panels growing from the Pokemon's back to reconstruct a new arm for himself. And it didn't stop there.
The wires continued to grow and multiply, wrapping their way around Deoxy's own limbs and digging into its flesh. They scaled up its arms, towards its body, Deoxys struggling to pull itself free desperately.
Finally, short on options, it severed its own arms, leaping away as it abandoned them and swiftly growing new ones. But still the wires came, screaming through the air, impossibly long as they arced toward the virus Pokemon.
Taking to the air, Deoxys tried to elude them, but they spiraled after it, following its every move and evasion. Desperately, it manifested new copies of itself as decoys, a veritable fleet of them appearing in a burst of rippling lights across the sky. They soared every which way in confusing and distracting patterns, but the wires pursued every one of them.
Standing firm in his place on the ground, Mewtwo bristled with technological tendrils that filled the air around him, snatching up imitators and devouring them as they disintegrated into more of the glistening white dust. He decimated them without effort, tearing them all down and taking them all out until only one remained.
Surrounded on all sides, the cords descended on the true Deoxys, latching on to every surface of its body. No matter how it tried to wrench itself free, slip out of their grasp, even rebuild itself, the wires worked faster than it could. Slowly, but surely, it was being torn apart.
It wondered where this hidden well of power had sprung from. It wondered why it hadn't been able to anticipate such a reaction. Every other opponent it had faced, it had adapted to, emulated, overtaken, and ultimately, destroyed. But this one appeared unstoppable, inexhaustible, irreplaceable.
Deoxys knew now what death meant, that it could touch even one such as itself. There was no escape from this, no next time or tomorrow. And it had brought it on itself. Thwarted by an ego too big to check, it was only in its final moments that it could even begin to understand the concept of humility. And so, it was sorry. It would never know what for, only that it felt consumed by the regret weighing upon its vast mind.
The wires pulled their target apart cell by cell until they had consumed all that had ever existed of the strange Pokemon from beyond. And when it was done, they returned to their owner, reforming into a new left arm for him as he stood unchanged and unmoving upon the broken ground all about him.
Turning his glowing gaze skywards, Mewtwo lifted up into the air, slowly ascending towards the bright blue overhead. Sporadic bursts of energy flickered across his body, but he paid them no mind, keeping his eyes locked on something overhead that only he could see. Raising his hands upwards, he grabbed onto the air over his head and began to pull, hard.
"Someone give me some answers," the Shadow commander shouted, rushing from monitor to monitor as all of his displays went crazy. "I mean now!"
"Target M2 came into contact with XE-386," one of his soldiers started, barely believing what he was reporting as he said it. "And it appears the XE was assimilated."
"I thought 386 wasn't one of our targets," the commander replied angrily.
"It wasn't," the soldier answered.
The commander appeared lost for words. He scanned the room, trying to figure out who could give him the answers he needed. "If this wasn't the plan, then why is it happening? I want to know what in the hell this thing's doing now! Search everything we can pick up! If anything's occurring on this planet as a result of this, I want to know about it!"
His men reacted instantly, hurrying to calibrate and direct their instruments, trying to get him the information he demanded. He glared at the main screen, idling on its normal settings for now as he tried to figure it out himself. There had to be an obvious answer. All he needed was a clue.
"No seismic activity out of the normal," came one of the replies.
"Weather patterns seem nominal," answered another.
"The sea's quiet as ever," said a third.
This didn't make any sense. They had the weather trio and then some, and that Pokemon was putting out more psychic energy than he'd ever thought possible. What was he using it for?
"Uh, sir?"
The call was quiet, hesitant, unsure, but it sent a chill down the commander's spine nonetheless. He wasted no time in giving the woman who'd uttered it his full attention. "What is it, Ayuki?" he asked. "And where on earth is it happening?" he added, recalling the silent readings across the board.
"That's just it, sir," she said. "It's not on earth."
The commander narrowed his eyes, confused. "What's going on, Ayuki?" he asked again, quieter.
"It's the Millennium Comet, sir," she said, fear in her wide, blue eyes. "It's been detected reentering the solar system by our observers back home."
"Isn't that what comets do?" he replied, somewhat confused.
"Yes," she answered, "But it's nine hundred and seven years ahead of schedule, and heading straight for us. Fast."
It took a few moments for this to sink in. The bridge was silent, even the equipment seeming to go quiet in the gravity of the moment. Then, the commander reacted, vehemently.
"I want you hailing every contact we've still got! The word is get to shelter and get there now! I don't know what that freak is up to, but I'm not taking any chances here. We're digging in hard and deep in case this goes south fast."
"Sir," Ayuki continued softly. "Something that big and that fast won't-"
His hard eyes silenced her. She turned back to her station and began issuing the message to those contacts she had access to, eager to avoid the captain's gaze.
He focused again on his main screen, now flashing red with alert warnings as he cursed fate's cruelty. As if the world hadn't gone through enough already.
Hurtling through space, the massive chunk of rock and ice made an unusually straight path for the Earth, venting cold gas into the vacuum behind it. Yanked from far beyond the reaches of the solar system, the comet had never moved with such speed and conviction before and was steadily growing faster. Within minutes, Saturn and Jupiter were behind it, Earth not far away.
Upon said planet, Mewtwo continued his tug of war with the object so distant from himself. Unconsciously, his frustration manifested all about him, dark clouds gathering, bringing with them the harsh winds of a storm as the ground far below him began to quake. The sea grew angry for the third time in fewer days, white foam spitting into the air as towering waves slammed into one another. And through it all, Mewtwo remained singularly focused on his goal.
He pulled the comet closer and closer, the object already appearing as a bright pinprick of light on the darkening horizon. Resolutely, he showed no reaction as it grew in size and brightness, its tail gradually becoming visible stretching out for miles behind it. While all those lifeforms conscious enough to sense the coming entity scurried for whatever cover they could find, Mewtwo remained, silent and still.
The comet flew past Mars, overtook the moon, and soared for the Earth. It arced across the sky, then slammed against the atmosphere, hot friction mixing with the frigid body of the comet and causing it to shatter, explosively. The southern continents were irradiated in moments, the heat of the blast mostly directed out back into space while the fragments of the massive rock scattered, soaring about the earth in countless descending orbits.
As many such shards rained down overhead, burning as they fell, Mewtwo finally lowered his arms and turned, gazing into the cavernous crater opened during his fight with Deoxys. There, the small bunch of purple crystals once hidden deep underground was beginning to glow. He watched, unaffected, as the glow grew brighter and brighter.
Finally, a polyp of energy bulged out of them and rose into the air, manifesting into a blue-white blob that gradually accumulated shape and definition. It uncurled itself into a little white body, with a star-shaped head and tiny yellow wings. Opening its small black eyes with an adorable yawn, it took in its dark surroundings and cautiously queried, "Chi?"
In a flash of golden light, Mewtwo's metallic hand was around the tiny creature's neck, squeezing tight. Eyes going wide, the creature struggled to free itself, but it may as well have been held by a statue.
Realizing physical effort would get it nowhere, the little legend focused its powers and got mad. Throwing psychic energy and projectile attacks from its tiny body, it unleashed a barrage of power on Mewtwo, the larger Pokemon disappearing amidst the smoke emitted from the attacks.
The little animal broke free and backed away, but Mewtwo strolled towards it, making no move to attack or charge. His prey continued to back away, focusing its psychic powers on forcing Mewtwo to halt his assault, but he just kept walking forward, glowing eyes betraying nothing.
Taking to the air, the small beast gathered power into a small white ball of light, and hurled it at Mewtwo. The tiny star struck Mewtwo full in the chest, blasting through him like a small supernova. But he just kept walking forward, energy filling in the cavity where his chest had been until there was no longer even the hint of a mark.
Eyes wide with fear, the helpless victim could only back away as Mewtwo purposefully marched on. With a cry of terror, the small creature flew off, attempting to escape, but it was less than a moment before it was snagged, again within the grasp of Mewtwo's metal hand, and being slung back into the rock of the cavern around them.
Struggling and whimpering for freedom, the little legend could do nothing else as Mewtwo slowly strode over to join it. Gazing down at it, he grasped it in both hands and focused intently on the little creature. It shrieked with pain and horror as it began to burn, flames of an unknown energy tracing their way from Mewtwo's fingers and up its body. They consumed it wholly, yet slowly, the Pokemon's cries going on for what seemed like forever.
As the strange fire eclipsed its head, the shriek suddenly went silent, and soon all that remained of the once legendary creature were the three blue ribbons that adorned its head, held tightly in Mewtwo's artificial palm before they, too, disappeared.
Amidst the golden flames enshrouding his strangely distorted body, sparks of blue penetrated through, tracing distinct marks across his forehead and cheeks. Burning black against the light of his energy emissions, Mewtwo spread his arms, directing the fire outwards. Stretching up into the sky, the tendrils of energy branched out and spread further, a great mass of heat and light that formed a strange pattern against the dark sky, streaked already with lines of smoke and flame. The image towered over the devastated and desolate landscape for a moment, then vanished, taking Mewtwo with it and leaving only a few flickering 'cinders' in the air before they burned out as well.