Chapter 12

Sal stalked into the depths of Ilex Forest, her mind still reeling with her encounter with Damien. What had Mewtwo gotten so worked up over? she wondered. It was just a necklace. She fingered the gem subconsciously. Did he really think that she was that shallow, that she was the kind of girl to be swayed so easily? Mewtwo wanted her to distrust him so quickly, and yet the psychic Pokémon had even more darkness in his aura than Damien did. Was she putting her trust in the wrong being? Sal wondered. If she was giving Mewtwo the benefit of the doubt, didn't Damien deserve the same? The Master Ball clipped to her bag strap began to vibrate and thrash upon its magnetic clasp, but Sal ignored it.

"No, I'm not letting you out," Sal said to the empty air - knowing that by his own admission, Mewtwo couldn't hear her, but not caring at the moment. Sal found that she was actually enjoying the quiet of the forest, and strangely enough, the absence of Mewtwo's scrutinizing gaze. Now that she was alone, she realized how tense she was around him. She thought about it a bit and realized that at every turn, Mewtwo had always been ready to make a comment about something she was doing incorrectly and now that he was safely in his Ball…it was an odd feeling, this quiet that had enveloped her. The trees overshadowed the sun, they grew so tall and close together, and it was only by the absence of the lattice patterns that the trees and sun cast on the soft earth beneath her feet that Sal knew night had fallen.

Sal paused in her walking for a moment as she came to a clearing, and as she did so, Mewtwo burst from his Ball in a flash of white light, startling his Trainer.

-What is the matter with you? Why did you imprison me in that damnable machine? – The psychic Pokémon's tail twisted and thrashed behind him.

"Because I didn't feel like listening to your crap," Sal said bluntly, and Mewtwo looked like he wanted to hit her. He looked away instead, taking a breath to calm himself. He hated the Ball, and now that he was free from it, he was ravenous – he hadn't eaten anything since this morning. "Doesn't Damien deserve the same benefit of the doubt you do?" she said, her tone less harsh.

Perhaps there was truth to her words, the psychic relented as hunger coiled within him, threatening to make itself audibly known. Mewtwo lapsed into silence, deciding that it was better to speak only when he had control of himself.

"So, what, you're giving me the silent treatment now?" Sal said bitterly. "If the only words you care to hear from me are battle commands, then here-" She thrust the purple and silver sphere at him again, and only now did Mewtwo realize that the Ball had a similar coloration to himself. With a deft twist of his tail, he struck the Ball from her grasp, halting its fall with his telekinesis and drawing it to him.

-Few things on this earth are worse than Poké Balls, especially when one is within them for any length of time, – he said, his tone careful as he spoke slowly, returning the sphere that bound him to her. He had no desire to verbally spar with her, as he could see her discomfort as it became evident in her aura. –I was not silent out of malice, but out of caution. - He sighed, and at that moment his stomach vied for his attention. Mewtwo's brows knitted together in annoyance.

Sal's expression however couldn't have been more astonished, and she mentally berated herself for being so careless as to let a Pokémon in his condition go without food for that long as she hastily scraped together a meal of rice and canned veggies. "I really can't stand canned foods, they're not very good for you," she said, trying to fill the silence. " But we'll have to make do, I guess." Mewtwo gazed at the flames of her small cooking fire intently, and when the food was finally ready he attacked it viciously, barely caring when he scalded his tongue in the process.

Sal remarked jokingly that the food wasn't going anywhere, and as she finished, she sat calmly and watched him eat. To the Trainer's surprise there was actually at least a bowlful left over.

"Are you going to eat that?" she asked, pointing a fork at the remains of their dinner.

-I can eat no more, - Mewtwo answered her, settling back on his haunches, his tail curling around over the tops of his toes to keep out the evening chill. Sal drew closer to the fire to take the pot off, and yelped, recoiling from the flames. Mewtwo's head jerked up with the sound and his tail swept behind him as he stood in alarm. –What happened? –

"I got too close to the fire," Sal answered with a grimace, holding her heat-burned hand close to her body.

As Mewtwo made to move towards her, a shape moved in the darkness, catching the feline's attention. A tall Bug type Pokémon emerged hesitantly from the foliage, exposing herself to the pair. The firelight danced across the surface of her shiny red exoskeleton, and her rose pink aura pulsed. In the light, Sal could see that there was something odd about this female Scizor – spider web-thin strands of deep crimson wound themselves about her form, giving her a richer, darker hue than the screaming fire truck red that was the norm, and Sal decided that she preferred the imperfection. Her gossamer wings fluttered, betraying the nervousness her deep umber eyes attempted to hide.

"Mewtwo?" her voice was a low alto, as was common for her race. She spoke in a hushed tone, as if he were a trick of the forest's gloom and might vanish on her in an instant.

-Come, join us, - Mewtwo bade the newcomer, and the female came over to huddle around the small fire on Mewtwo's left. Sal offered her what remained of their food, and the female Pokémon took it gratefully. -You need not fear myself, nor the human. It has been a long time, - Mewtwo replied, turning towards her. -I have missed you, - he said slowly, as if the confession was a difficult thing for him to express.

"I missed you as well, guardian," the Scizor said softly.

"Guardian?" Sal asked. "What does she mean Mewtwo?"

- Years ago, I lived among a small group of Pokémon in the harsh mountain ranges north of Johto, acting as their guardian from that which would harm them. This Scizor was among the group, although she was a Scyther at the time. But tell us,- Mewtwo addressed the Scizor, -What became of you afterwards? –

"Well," the Scizor began "For a time, I found acceptance into one of the swarms near Mt. Quena, but I was captured by a human named Anthony. At first, I was afraid of him – humans can be cruel, I knew and from all that I had heard and witnessed, Pokémon Trainers doubly so – but Anthony seemed to somehow understand my fear and was always kind to me, no matter how I lashed out at him during our early days," she closed her eyes, remembering. "We grew fond of one another, this human and I, but Anthony always worried that he didn't have the strength as a Trainer to allow me to reach my full potential, until the day he found a Metal Coat. He happened across an old friend of his, another Trainer named Brutus, and believing him to be 'of a decent sort' as he put it, he traded me to Brutus in exchange for the Trainer's Onix, who also held a Metal Coat. However instead of trading me back to my beloved Trainer as they had agreed, Brutus fled with my Ball."

Sal and Mewtwo eyes held duplicate expressions of fury, and although a similar look flashed across the storyteller's face, it was one that had lost its potency as time healed that dreadful wound shut.

"I soon found that Brutus was the opposite of Anthony in every way, and I despised him for every injustice done to me, be it by him or by the other members of his Pokémon party. I could not break free of him; I was bound by the ball that held me. But Clara, a sister of Brutus, shattered my Ball and freed me."

Opening her right pincer fully, the Scizor allowed the red Cherish Ball she had been holding onto to slip forward into view. "This Ball was Clara's prized possession, and she told me to present it to Anthony, should I find him, or to any other Trainer who I found worthy." The pair was silent for a while as their guest's words sank in.

"It seems," the Scizor said slowly, uncertain as to whether or not the male Pokémon would take offense, " That the years after we parted ways have been kinder to me than to you. "

Noting his starved form for a moment, Mewtwo was inclined to agree with her. –I suppose there is truth in your words, - he said

"But tell me, how is it that you, of all Pokémon on this earth, find yourself owned by a human?"

- The girl does not own me, she has stated so herself. – He flicked his tail in annoyance. – She does not hold me against my will. She is unique among humans, in more ways than simply in her way of thinking. - The prompted the telling of the story of Sal, and of her Pokémon journey thus far.

The Scizor frowned. Like all Pokémon, she could gauge the strength of another, and her former guardian's abilities seemed lacking. She voiced her concern, and Mewtwo gazed at the fire for a long while before answering.

- Suffice it to say that an encounter with Mew resulted in the loss of my power, - Mewtwo said tersely as the Scizor formerly known as Scythertwo gazed at Sal, her expression thoughtful.

"I hope that you find Anthony," Sal said. "He sounds like one of the good Trainers, and it's people like Brutus that make all of the others look bad." Her tone was weary from fatigue, but her eyes burned with the passion of her true feelings on the matter.

At Mewtwo's urging, Sal and the Scizor slept, and Sal awoke the next morning to the familiar smell of cinnamon and maple sugar oatmeal. However it was not Mewtwo who sat preparing breakfast as was normal, but Scizor.

"Sal?" The Scizor addressed her directly for the first time as the girl sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Mewtwo was slumped against a nearby tree, fast asleep.

"Yeah?"

"If you aren't against the idea…I would like to join you and Mewtwo on your journey," she said, and Sal blinked, her mind still in a sleep induced haze.

"But what about Anthony?"

"I have no way of knowing if I will ever find him again, and even so, it has been quite some time since I was wild," she replied, and since Sal had no reason to refuse, she grasped the offered Cherish Ball. In moments, the deed was done, and as Sal released Scizor from the Ball, she looked over at the sleeping Mewtwo. "I awoke in the earliest hours of the morning, and we talked for a long time," she said. "We rarely spoke before when he served as our guardian – when he wasn't actively protecting us, he wandered the area, and all but two of us dared to approach him, out of uncertainty, but for years after we parted ways, I regretted not becoming better acquainted with him. There came a time shortly before we all left that mountain that he nearly left this world in his attempt to keep us safe." Scizor closed her eyes. "You must understand, among my kind, that is the highest sacrifice and form of honor that one can give to another. I am forever in his debt. " The Scizor lapsed into silence again as Sal made to pack up their things.

"I have a request of you," the bug type said suddenly.

"What is it?" The Trainer returned quizzically, hoisting her bag onto her shoulder, ensuring that Mewtwo's cape was rolled tightly and wouldn't fall from the pack.

"Would you…give me a name? Anthony always thought that I deserved a proper name, but he said that he could never find one that suited me properly."

Sal thought for a long time. Across from her, Mewtwo awoke, stretching himself out in a decidedly feline manner before sitting back on his haunches to observe the other two. "I think," she said, gazing at the Scizor, observing her pale aura, "that we will call you…"

It was Mewtwo who finished - speaking a single word, as the tiniest of smiles graced his muzzle.

-Rose.-