Chapter 21
She came out of nowhere.
Fin had been battling with his pokemon, who, regrettably, were slowly losing the fight. Executor and Jynx had already fainted, and Poliwrath, Mr. Mime, and Alakazam were struggling to continue. Fin had been communicating with them telepathically, attempting to stop them from taking hits that would surely result in their downfall. Periodically, he had glanced at the sky for signs that the aerial battle was going well for Cameron. She was their only hope; even Ash's pokemon were tiring.
All of a sudden, there had been a huge burst of brilliant light— shades of blue, pink, and violet had merged together to form an intense, white radiance.
A few seconds had passed as Fin, his companions, and even their adversaries had stopped what they had been doing in order to witness the scene unfolding. Then, out of the stillness and silence of the white light had fallen a number of distinct figures— some large, some small, and some in between.
They all plummeted toward the ground so fast that no one had the time to do anything but move out of their way. Fin's heart pounded when he saw that Cameron was one of the falling shapes. For the few seconds he was able to see her face, it appeared she was in a daze; she was facing him, but her eyes seemed to look right through him into some unknown oblivion.
After a few moments, the dust cleared and, forgetting about anything but Cameron, Fin ran towards the center of the clearing.
On the forest's floor were Butterfree, Charizard, two pidgeots, Zubat, Haunter, and two light colored pokemon— Mew, and a pokemon that appeared similar to it that Fin had never seen before. Mewtwo, he figured, but his largest concern was whether Cameron was alright.
Her body was completely motionless, lying in an anatomical position on the ground. Her face held a serene expression, displaying no signs of tension or discomfort. Her dark hair had come out of its ponytail and was now fanned out on the ground around her.
"Wake up," Fin said softly, kneeling beside her and laying a hand on her shoulder. He was terrified that this time wouldn't be like before; that this time, she wouldn't open her eyes. "Cameron," he stated, now raising his voice, "WAKE. UP."
Fin froze as he heard footsteps approaching. Enormous, thunderous footsteps.
He looked over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes at what he saw.
"Blast," stated the leader of the powerful pokemon, who stood proudly in between Venasaur and Pikachu.
Fin looked around, and, to his horror, he realized that there were no pokemon left to oppose them; they had all fainted. That's it, he thought, we did our best, but we just weren't strong enough.
Blastoise and its companions approached Fin slowly and menacingly. Are they really going to kill Cameron? he thought fearfully, using his own body as a feeble shield to protect her.
The pokemon answered with their actions. Fin's pulse raced when he saw Blastoise lowering its canons, readying itself for a Hydro Pump attack; Venasaur unfurling its leaves ominously in preparation for Solar Beam; and Pikachu's cheeks buzzing with pent up electricity.
"Cameron, Fin, no!" Misty yelled. She, Ash, and Brock ran to Fin's side, also without their pokemon and just as vulnerable as he and Cameron were.
"If you want to destroy my daughter, you're going to have to go through us first!" cried Ash.
Your daughter? Fin wondered, though Ash's comment was the least of his worries at the moment.
Apparently, the pokemon were not phased by the idea of destroying more than just Cameron. They continued to charge up their attacks, and Fin closed his eyes, bracing himself…
But instead, he heard something entirely unexpected.
"PUFF!"
Gasping, he opened his eyes to see Jigglypuff and Psyduck standing side by side. Oh yeah, Fin remembered, those two disappeared into the woods a while ago… I'd forgotten about them!
The strange part was, both pokemon were glowing blue.
What the…? Fin thought incredulously, how is a Jigglypuff using psychic attacks?
Psyduck was furrowing its brow and shaking its head in discomfort, as if it had a terrible headache. Jigglypuff's huge eyes narrowed, and a look of concentration came over its face. Fin sensed the psychic energy building up, becoming stronger and stronger, until…
"Psy…"
"Jiggly…"
"DUCK!"
"PUFF!"
A huge wave of blue psychic energy was unleashed, taking Pikachu, Venasaur, and Blastoise completely by surprise. It hit the pokemon like a brick wall, knocking them backwards with incredible force, and Fin, Misty, and the others ducked as the pokemon flew over their heads, landing on the ground at the edge of the clearing.
Fin stood completely immobile, still prepared for the worst. Jigglypuff and Psyduck joined him at his side, also watching their opponents intently.
The pokemon weren't moving… but Psyduck and Jigglypuff couldn't have been strong enough to knock them out, could they? Blastoise, Pikachu, and Venasaur were already tired out from the battle, Fin considered. Maybe… just maybe…
A minute, then two minutes, went by, and the pokemon still remained motionless on the ground.
"That's it," said Brock quietly. "They fainted. It's all over."
But it wasn't over; not for Fin. He turned to Cameron again, and, to his surprise, her body began to glow just as Jigglypuff's and Psyduck's had.
"Look," Misty gasped, "Mew and Mewtwo, too!"
Surely enough, all three were radiating out psychic energy. In his mind, Fin picked up an oddly pleasant sensation in their signatures— a warm, soothing calm.
Slowly, the blue hue faded from Cameron's body, and her eyes opened. Again, Fin knelt down to be closer to her, and Ash, Misty, and Brock did the same. Misty embraced her daughter for a long time, whispering something in her ear and giving her a peck on the cheek before pulling away. Cameron smiled.
"That was… amazing," she said, "I've never felt anything like it before."
"What happened?" inquired Fin, who was completely baffled. "You fell, but now you're… did you heal yourself?"
Fin saw Misty move over to check on Mewtwo, who was lying several feet away.
"I… I think it was the energy," Cameron answered speculatively. "The power of all of us combined… it healed us."
"Mew!" Fin heard, and the small catlike pokemon rose from where it had lain on the ground, joining them.
"Mew," Cameron said genuinely, "thank you for helping me up there." The pokemon nuzzled her, and she sighed and added, "And I'm sorry I've been such a rotten trainer to you."
Apparently, Mew communicated something telepathically to Cameron, and she laughed and hugged her pokemon.
"Puff!" cried Jigglypuff, who Fin had forgotten about. The pokemon ran to its trainer, and Cameron patted its pink head.
"You missed it, but Jigglypuff was pretty amazing a few minutes ago," Fin said, still partly in disbelief of the pokemon's abilities. "I think it's psychic!"
"Really?" Cameron questioned, peering at Jigglypuff skeptically.
"Yeah." Fin looked at the pokemon. "Hey, Jigglypuff, show Cameron your psychic powers! I know… lift me off the ground!"
The pokemon stared at Fin contemplatively. Its eyes narrowed like they had earlier when it had blasted those pokemon back with its awesome power.
"That's it!" Fin encouraged, "Just like you did before!"
Just when the pokemon appeared to be bursting with psychic energy, it looked Fin in the eyes and simply said, "Puff."
Cameron burst out laughing. "Nice try, Fin," she said, "but I know you're just trying to mess with me!"
"No, it's true!" Fin insisted, but he couldn't help laughing with her.
After a moment, Fin looked around at all the fainted pokemon in the clearing. This is a big mess that needs to be cleaned up, he thought, not looking forward to the aftermath of the morning's events. But he, Cameron, Mewtwo, and the others were safe, and, for now, that was enough.
…
For the first time in a long while, Mewtwo's mind was at peace, and he felt rested, relaxed, and comforted. It is over, he remembered, immensely relieved, the battle has ended. He slowly opened his eyes to see Misty kneeling over him with a look of loving concern on her beautiful face.
Mewtwo did not say anything; he just watched her as she caressed his face softly, reminding him of the time, many years ago now, when he had first felt her touch.
She had been so young… and Mewtwo had been so violent, so misdirected. Everything had been complicated back then, and, though Mewtwo realized the same could be said of now, there was a marked difference in how he felt about the world, and about his relationship with Misty.
I feel… happy that you are here, Mewtwo communicated to her.
Misty sniffed, and Mewtwo realized that she had been crying.
"I'm glad that you're safe," she said, pulling her body to his and embracing him. Mewtwo basked in her warmth and softness and was astounded by how much her body differed from his.
Misty pulled away from him, and Mewtwo saw something in her eyes that both frightened and intrigued him. It was something he had suspected had been there for a long time, but, until this moment, he had not felt at liberty to address.
Misty… I require rest. I battled for longer than the others, and, because of that, I believe I am more fatigued. But… when I am recovered… we need to discuss an important matter.
Misty's expression became a little more serious, and she nodded and said, "Yes… I need to talk to you about something, too."
…
Misty heard the sound of a car's engine somewhere in the distance. The noise grew louder and louder until she identified the source— two police cars pulling into the clearing.
The cars' doors opened, and four Officer Jennys got out of one car. In the other car was another Officer Jenny, as well as Sabrina and two other women that Misty didn't recognize. One of them was, apparently, a scientist, as Misty gathered from her clinical-looking outfit.
The new arrivals gasped as they surveyed their surroundings.
"What happened here?" exclaimed one of the officers, walking around and examining all of the fainted pokemon.
"There was a battle," Ash said, standing up and retrieving his own pokemon.
As if that wasn't obvious, Misty thought with a chuckle. Oh, Ash.
Fin, Brock, Cameron, and Misty followed suit, returning their pokemon to their respective pokeballs. Now all that were left lying on the ground were the clones… and Mewtwo.
Uh-oh, Misty fretted, they're going to see Mewtwo in his pokemon form! This could be bad…
Do not fear them, Mewtwo projected to her, slowly rising to his feet with Misty's support. I sense no malice in their thoughts… and, strangely, they seem to be already aware of my existence.
But… how could they be? Misty wondered, almost not believing Mewtwo's words. We've worked so hard for all these years to keep his true identity a secret…
One of the officer Jennys took out a bag of some very unique looking pokeballs. They were blue and silver, with the Pokemon Center's logo printed on them. Officer Jenny threw the balls at the cloned pokemon, capturing them one by one.
"These are special balls," she explained to Misty, who was watching interestedly. "They can temporarily hold a fainted pokemon so that it can be transferred to a pokemon center."
Misty nodded, but she was concerned about something. "What will you do with them after that?" she questioned.
"Dr. Carson has plans for a new home for them," Officer Jenny said, and Misty figured she was referring to the female scientist who had arrived with them. "However, it will take a month or two to construct, so, until then, they will be contained in a laboratory and studied."
Misty didn't like the sound of that. From spending so much time with Mewtwo, Misty knew that running lab experiments on pokemon could be disastrous.
Mewtwo did not look entirely pleased with Officer Jenny either, and she quickly added, "Only observational studies, of course. And, according to Dr. Carson, the pokemon will be living in an artificial biome designed to approximate their natural habitat."
Mewtwo still did not look totally convinced, but he remained silent.
To Misty's surprise, the other unfamiliar woman ran up to Mewtwo as if she knew him.
"Michael," she said as if overjoyed to see him, and Misty raised an eyebrow as the woman, who appeared to be about twenty-five or thirty years old and was quite attractive, embraced Mewtwo.
Mewtwo returned the hug stiffly at first, but then a look of recognition came over his face.
Kay, Misty heard in her mind. Kay? she wondered, who's that?
"I'm sorry," the woman said to Mewtwo, "I know I said I wouldn't tell anyone about you, but then the police called me in for more questioning, and they said they had samples of your DNA, so you weren't exactly a secret anymore anyway."
"What?" Misty shrieked. She was shocked and terrified that the police had discovered Mewtwo's identity, but, strangely, he just stood there calmly, unfazed by the whole situation. "How?"
Sabrina, who had been checking on Cameron and Fin, and another of the Officer Jennys approached Mewtwo and Misty.
So… since you know of my identity, Mewtwo projected to all of them, what will you do with me now? Perhaps this is wishful thinking, but I assume that if you had been planning to destroy me you would have done so already.
"We'll explain everything," Sabrina said, looking at Mewtwo with kindness.
"A few years ago, Mewtwo— or, rather, "Michael Silver"— rescued this woman from a known serial killer," Officer Jenny explained. "At the crime scene, the killer managed to stab Mewtwo with his knife…" Misty gasped, and Officer Jenny added, "Nothing critical, of course; just a little nick on the ankle."
Cameron and Fin had joined the group and were now listening intently.
"Anyway, we looked up "Michael Silver" in our system for verification and couldn't find anyone with that name in Kanto, or anywhere, for that matter, so we started to get suspicious."
"So… you must have looked at the DNA," Fin said, joining the conversation.
"Exactly," Officer Jenny said. "We analyzed the blood we found on the knife… and were shocked by what we saw."
"Pokemon DNA," Misty said softly, shaking her head. It was bound to happen sooner or later, she thought, trying to console herself. It didn't help much, though; she couldn't get over the years she had spent protecting Mewtwo's identity, and, simultaneously, Giovanni, just to find out Mewtwo had already been discovered years ago.
"That was the most interesting part," Officer Jenny continued. "We compared 'Michael''s DNA to all the DNA in the Cinnabar Laboratory archive…"
Mewtwo shuddered visibly at the mention of the laboratory, and Misty laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"…and found that this 'Michael Silver' had pieces of DNA identical to the clone of Mew, Mewtwo, created almost twenty years prior."
I see, Mewtwo commented telepathically, and I imagine you discovered some other "interesting" information about my past as well.
Officer Jenny nodded. "Yes," she admitted, "when we read about you destroying the lab and the scientists within it, we were initially apprehensive, especially since we knew you were living somewhere in Kanto under our radar."
Misty noticed that Fin and Cameron looked taken aback, and she realized regretfully that she had never told Cameron the whole story of her father's birth before. I should have, Misty decided, she's been old enough to hear it for a long time, and she deserves to know.
"But, when we interviewed Kay, she told us that you saved her life, and, over the years, we have received other anonymous reports of this "Michael Silver" putting things right all over Kanto."
Misty turned to Mewtwo and smiled. "You're famous," she teased, and his expression changed ever so slightly, indicating to her his embarrassment.
"That told us that maybe this person— or pokemon— had changed since he was created in that laboratory. However, we still didn't have enough information to be entirely sure, until…"
"I came to visit," Sabrina said, finishing her sentence.
Addressing Cameron and Fin, Sabrina continued, "For being away when you needed me, I apologize. After the meeting at Silph Co, I decided I needed to do some research, and, not realizing you were in danger, I stayed at the police station much longer than I should have. I hope you can forgive me."
Misty frowned. She wasn't happy that Cameron had been endangered, but she was also curious about what Sabrina had to say. "Go on," she encouraged.
"Well, it just so happened that Officer Jenny, who had worked on the case years before, was at the Saffron City police station last night. When I mentioned a shape shifting psychic pokemon, she became very curious, and the two of us began a conversation."
"And they called me in for more questioning," Kay added.
Misty was confused. "Why did you need more information about Mewtwo?" she asked Sabrina.
Sabrina looked at Misty and answered directly. "Actually, it was because of you," she explained. "At the Kanto Gym Leaders Council meeting, your thoughts were quite prominent, probably because of your emotional distress. While I try to respect the privacy of those around me, I couldn't help but pick up that you, the shape shifting pokemon, and Giovanni had had some kind of connection in the past. I was looking for some information that would help me prove to the council that Giovanni was guilty of abusing pokemon in that Cinnabar Island experiment, and I thought that finding out more about Mewtwo would help my case."
Wow, Misty thought, I can't believe she figured all that out just from being around me for a few minutes!
"Which reminds me," Sabrina said, "where is Giovanni? I was a bit worried after the meeting when he got so angry; his thoughts were so intense that they almost felt like they burned me."
Misty, Cameron, and Fin exchanged looks.
"That's… a long story," Fin said. "The main point is, he's dead."
"Dead?" Sabrina's deep crimson eyes widened in shock. "How?"
"Actually, it just happened less than two hours ago," said Brock, who was now standing behind Sabrina. "I tried to call the police station, but the phone just rang and rang…"
"It's because we saw the commotion here, and all of us rushed over," Officer Jenny explained reluctantly. Addressing two of her fellow officers, she asked, "Ladies, will you head over to Silph Co. and see what's going on?"
"We're on it, Jenny," said one of them, and the two got into one of the police cars and drove off.
Turning back to Misty, Mewtwo, and the others, Officer Jenny said, "We need to get the injured pokemon to the pokemon center. I'll be keeping in touch with all of you…" she then spoke specifically to Mewtwo. "Except for you, that is. I need you to come with me… we have some matters to discuss."
Misty looked from Officer Jenny to Mewtwo and back warily. Oh no, she thought, maybe they are going to do something to Mewtwo after all…
What "matters"? Mewtwo projected in their minds. Are these "matters" pertaining to the circumstances of my creation?
"If you're going somewhere with Mewtwo, I'm coming with you!" Misty stated firmly.
"That's… fine, as long as Mewtwo is comfortable," Officer Jenny said, looking at Mewtwo and Misty as if coming to a realization about their relationship. "And… in answer to your question, Mewtwo… no, this has nothing to do with your birth. Actually, I wanted to offer you a job."