Chapter 24

Mewtwo awoke feeling disoriented and a bit stiff and as he became aware of his surroundings, he realized that the library couch - although comfortable - was not the best place to spend the night, especially with Sal lying on top of him. He carefully extracted himself from the couch, noticing that someone had thrown a light blanket over the both of them. Rose's pink aura was the brightest hue infused in the tan cloth, tipping the psychic off as to who had covered them last night. Mewtwo grabbed a couch cushion and put it under his sleeping Trainer's head, brushing her silvery hair out of her face. He left her to sleep and wandered into the kitchen. He sought out Anaca with his mind, and noted that the girl was just starting to wake up. Perfect. The psychic began to rummage through the kitchen, pulling out what he needed.

" Morning Mewtwo," Xanthos greeted his teammate as he padded through the room and settled himself near the bottom of the stairs as he noticed what the psychic was doing. " Better get that going before Anaca comes down. " The two males chuckled at the thought of their hosts reaction. Mewtwo began preparing breakfast and Xanthos snoozed where he lay.

"Good morning gentlemen," a smooth Pokémon alto greeted them. " I could smell your cooking all over the house."

"Good morning Rose," the pair said almost simultaneously, as Xanthos cracked open a gold and red eye.

" Pancakes and sausage with fruit," she said nodding in approval as she studied what her teammate was preparing.

- Can you set the fruit and everything else I have on that counter there on the table for me please? - Mewtwo asked her. - I ask simply because you are bipedal and have something vaguely resembling hands.-

Rose cautiously grasped the items in her strong pincers and carried them off to the table. At Mewtwo's request, the Scizor went off to go wake Sal, and as the girl came in, Mewtwo had just finished insuring that everything was in its place. She still looked sleepy as she came in, her hair frizzy and disheveled.

"Aww, thanks Mewtwo," Sal said, hugging him as she came over, her voice still hoarse.

.

- You are welcome, - he replied, kissing the top of her head. -Henry is coming now, I just called him. He seemed a bit surprised, but I am unaware if it was because I sought out his mind from an entirely different part of the house, or because I made breakfast. -

" 'Kay," Sal said, and stood up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek, but only managed the underside of his jaw. Mewtwo bowed his head slightly as Sal complained that he was too tall, and Xanthos chuckled. The Luxray's ears twitched as he heard the door open.

" Xanthos!" Several voices cried out at once, and the Luxray mentally and physically braced himself as seven Eevee came charging down the stairs at him, as the others laughed. " Hey Anaca, everybody's up already!" one of the Eevee called out and Anaca's eyes widened as Sal poked her head around the corner to ensure that the little Pokémon was understood.

" Oh my goodness, please don't tell me I've slept that late!" Anaca cried.

" Anaca, it's only a quarter to seven, I'm a Trainer, remember? My team and I are always fed and ready to head out by eight."

"But you aren't going anywhere!" Anaca said. " And I was going to make breakfast," she continued hurrying down the stairs. She suddenly spotted Henry as he came into the kitchen from the other entrance near the dining room. " Oh and even Henry's awake, Sal what on earth are you doing to me?"

- Sal just awoke recently, - Mewtwo defended his Trainer. - I on the other hand, have been up since five thirty with the concept that for one morning while I am here, you will not be slaving away in a hot kitchen. -

" Oh, Mewtwo you didn't-" Anaca began, but Mewtwo cut her off.

- I did. Now you are going to come in here and eat breakfast with us. I can do this the easy way or the hard way. -

Anaca was silent, and she fixed Mewtwo with a glare that seemed to say, "I'm the host and I make the food, dammit."

"She picked the hard way," Sal told Henry, and tsked softly.

No sooner than Sal said it than Mewtwo strode over to Anaca, picked her up, and carried her kicking and screaming over to a pretty looking table arrangement that the psychic had organized for them. He unceremoniously put her firmly in her chair, just as she gathered up the nerve to whack him hard and yell at him to put her down. Sal and Henry were absolutely breathless with laughter, as were Sal's Pokémon, and it took them a few moments to calm down.

" As someone who's known Mewtwo for many years now, let me say that you cannot argue with him Anaca," Rose said. She knew that the girl wouldn't understand her as Sal did, but she still addressed her host nevertheless.

"Interesting how this place has gotten noisier with you and your team around, Sal," Henry said good-naturedly and Sal grinned.

" My friend James and his friend Jessie's Meowth both say that I need to come with him when his parents drag him back to Viridian, " Sal said. "Justa keep things interestin' " Sal said, imitating Meowth's Brooklyn-esque drawl as she sat down. Mewtwo doubled over, laughing so hard that the only laughter they could hear from him was his psychic voice - his actual laughter was silent. " You alright ova there Mewtwo, ya look like you could use some air," Sal said in her Meowth voice. " My friend Jessie's Meowth is from Celadon, so he sounds something like that," she said to Henry and Anaca, who were also grinning.

"Well I don't know your friend, but I can certainly say that your Celadon accent is perfect," Henry said, still grinning.

"Thank you," Sal said.

As their meal drew to a close, they began to go their separate ways and as Henry was leaving the dining room, Sal's PokéGear rang. Realizing who it was, she picked it up on the first ring.

"Hey Sal," James greeted her. " How's it going? "

Sal gave a mile wide grin before answering. " Not too shabby, Jimmy 'ol boy, 'ol pal 'o mine." Sal said in her Meowth voice. " Although Mewtwo ova here is about ta have a coniptipton fit," Sal said, purposely mispronouncing 'conniption.'

" What's so funny, Jimmy?" the real Meowth asked James from in the background as James began to laugh as well

" Nothing, whatdaya you talkin' about? " Sal said in her Meowth voice again, and Meowth tried to protest in between laughing fits.

" Aw c'mon that was good right?" Sal said.

" Okay, ya got talent kid, I'll give ya that," Meowth said. " Where are ya now?"

" Haddelle Pokémon Hatchery on Route 38," Sal said.

" I think I heard about that place from Jessie," James said. " Jess, Sal's on the phone!" he called to the redhead and then turned his attention back to Sal. " You the only houseguest?" he asked, curious.

"No, a friend of the Haddelle's, Henry Winthrop is here too, helping out. "

"Henry Winthrop! I haven't heard of him in ages!" James exclaimed.

"You know him?" Sal asked.

"Henry was just a little boy then, but I know his father, we met during one of those upscale dinner parties that my mother would drag me to," James said. " It was really the only good thing about those parties, but tell young Henry I said hello, will you?"

" Sure, " Sal said. After that, Jessie got ahold of the phone, and after a few minutes, Sal ended the conversation.

As she looked up, she saw Mewtwo in the doorway, seeming somewhat distressed.

- May I talk with you, alone? - Mewtwo asked. - I need…your advice. -

"You, the great Legendary Mewtwo need advice from a mere mortal like me?" Sal said in a joking manner. " Let's go outside. Rose went to go help Anaca right? And Xanthos is keeping an eye on the Eevee?" Mewtwo nodded.

They stepped out into the brisk, cold air. -Henry's story at dinner last night…- Mewtwo began.

" That was you, huh?"

- Yes. - Mewtwo took Sal's hand in his own and guided her hand to his waist, where a thick scar could be felt beneath his fur. - This is one of scars he gave me for failing him in that mission, - he said.

" Where else?" Sal demanded, her eyes dark with fury towards the Rocket boss.

Mewtwo reluctantly showed her the rest of them, over twenty marks in various places. - That was simply from that night…He did not care where his whip hit me, the more it hurt, the more pleasure it gave him, - Mewtwo trembled and Sal pulled him to her, reaching up to stroke his head, not sure how to comfort him other than to keep him close, keep him safe, even from his own demons.

" Why was he after Henry?" Sal said.

- Revenge. - Mewtwo answered. -He was angry at the Winthrops for some reason, and he wanted retribution. He ordered me to kill him. - Mewtwo took a rasping breath. - I had killed people for him before, but they were all power hungry executives who could usurp him. They were all horrible people and many would say that they deserved to die, but not in the way he liked me to kill them, - Mewtwo whispered. He sank to the ground, and Sal moved down with him.

" What did he make you do?" Sal whispered.

- I do not want to tell you. - Mewtwo said, his voice almost a whimper.

" Mewtwo..."

- He, - Mewtwo's mental voice faltered. - He made me destroy their minds. He forced me to leech their memories out of them and take them upon myself, as I destroyed their minds. I saw all their worst nightmares and more through their eyes, all their agony, as I stripped them of themselves, and I felt their pain as if it was my own. Sometimes he would let me leave them as drooling vegetables for a while, just long enough for the police to find, before he made me kill them. Henry was just a boy... He had done nothing to deserve death, especially not that. I am a monster. -

" No, no, no, no, no, shhhhh," Sal held him as tightly as she could, rocking gently, and Mewtwo moved with her, his whole body shaking with emotion. " You didn't kill him, you saved him," she said, " You did what you could then."

-He would bring me people that had been abused, and force me to take on their memories, after that as punishment, or for his own pleasure. So many people with so many horrible experiences, I sometimes forget that they are not mine. Rape, assault, memories of war, executions, destruction and death - nothing but the evil that humans can create. - He took another gasping breath. - And Henry most likely thinks that I believe that he's accusing me. It was I who appeared before him. What do I do? -

" Just go and tell him. Tell him it was you, how you were created into servitude by Team Rocket and were trapped for a long time," she said. "But try to calm down first, okay? I love you and seeing you like this makes me want to kill Giovanni myself." Sal said.

- Love? - Mewtwo shook his head. - I do not understand. -

"Nobody really does," Sal said. She wasn't certain how she could explain it to him in words, because love was such a rare thing for Pokémon. " But maybe I can put this in a way you can understand. C'mon," she said, putting her arm around the middle of his back.

"Hey Anaca, do you have a sec?" Sal asked her as she came in with Mewtwo in tow.

"Sure, what do you need?"

"Well," Sal said nervously " do you have any TM's here?"

"Yes, for the clients," she said slowly, her tone a little guarded.

"I'm not just asking for a powerful TM," Sal said, frustrated. " If I wanted a powerful TM I could go and buy a Hyper Beam TM in Goldenrod, but I don't care, it's just that the one I want is really hard to find now this time of year. I can pay you. "

" Wait, hold on what TM is it?" Anaca asked.

" TM27," Sal answered and Anaca frowned, as did Mewtwo.

- I don't remember a TM27, - Mewtwo said, - But I've only memorized the old TM's. -

" Hang on, let me look it up, " Anaca said. The other two followed her to a large bookcase where hundreds of copies of TM's and even a full set of HM's were stored. Anaca pulled out a large black book out from the shelf that read " Technical and Hidden Machines: A Complete Guide to Moves, 4th Edition by Dr. Al Technia."

Anaca flipped through the book until she found the TM's entry and read it quietly. While most people would only stop after reading simply what the move did, Anaca read for several minutes, but Sal didn't mind. The move she wanted was well known for the positive psychological effect it had on Pokémon, and she couldn't believe that she hadn't thought of using it to help Mewtwo sooner.

" Sorry I got carried away, " Anaca said, snapping the large book shut. She put it away and pulled the TM from a shelf. The case was dusty, but the disk-like TM was in perfect condition and Sal began to rummage through her pockets for her wallet.

"Don't you dare try to pay me for that," Anaca said.

Sal blinked. Anaca really was a true friend. She pulled Anaca into a sudden hug, gritting her teeth and bearing the slight pain that spasmed through her as a result. Even clothes wouldn't protect her from such a strong type of bodily contact. She supposed that her own feelings were being warped and amplified by Mewtwo's own mood - the distinction between what emotions belonged to which one of them was blurred at the moment. "Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome," Anaca said.

Sal led Mewtwo out onto the grass. "TM 27 is a move called Return," Sal said. Mewtwo looked a bit confused so Sal elaborated, knowing that he was only taught about old TM's. " Return is a move that grows more powerful the stronger the bond between the Trainer and their Pokémon. " Sal said. She held out the disk, and Mewtwo bowed his head, letting the disk touch his forehead. It glowed white for a moment before becoming dull and useless as Mewtwo absorbed it's power.

" I'm not a Pokémon, so I don't really know how Pokémon learn completely new moves, but from what I've heard, you're supposed to think about how you feel about me," Sal said, a bit unsure of herself, but Mewtwo nodded. She shivered, and he noticed this.

- Go inside, - he told her. - I will talk to Henry, and I also want to at least get a fundamental idea of how this move works. It is a physical move, so it might not be my best. -

" You might surprise yourself, " Sal said before leaving for the house as he requested. She knew that Mewtwo didn't like to be watched when he was working on a move either, so she left him alone.