Well, after much fan demand, the psychobabble is back. I'm not sure why you guys are so fond of it... it's just the stray thoughts that wind through my mind when I'm stargazing. Or listening to music. Which reminds me, why is it that every song I hear that reminds me of my two main characters ends up being by Linkin Park? I've been listening to Breaking the Habit, Numb, and Faint for Eve's PoV and What I've Done and Somewhere I Belong for Mewtwo an awful lot lately... Anyway, Buwaro named this chapter, not me... blame him...

Okay, Aerie's whine time now. Buwaro's getting a big head because he gets fanart. How come I don't get fanart? Oh, wait. My characters are hard to draw. I should know, I've done it before. Oh, well, I'll make due with my Eve plushie. Still not sure why I made that. It was either from an intense desire to actually have one... or an equally intense desire to bastardize a Mewtwo plushie with markers and felt. Her smirk scares me.

Thank you to all of you who read and reviewed Refractions! The prequel to Anomaly went over huge, and I'm very pleased with the responces. I love you guys... all of you. Even the ones who make mean suggestions that make Eve hide under the desk crying at the trauma. Speaking of which, I think you're all in for a treat as we not only have a guest appearance this chapter from the ToF end, but one very, very requested occurence as far as Mewtwo is concerned. I'm sure you'll all have a good, hearty laugh at his expence. So let's go!

We all have our positions in life.Everything is divided into ranks and sects. Sometimes, they are clear to see. In our places of work, there is the management, the sub-management, the staff, the seasonally hired help. In government there are even more levels than these, endless cross-secting ladders of titles and positions. Even in our schools, the students, the teachers, the vice-principal and principal all have those set roles that determine who they are. Most of the time, you can climb the ladders and make your way to the top. Other positions, however, are only dreams for those of us looking up from the ground. We are locked down, forced to admire from below what sits at the top of these ladders with no rungs. So what happens to those brave souls who dare to climb anyway, and enter another world... of legend?

How much longer were they going to fly before they stopped?

Eve watched the trees pass by beneath them wearily. The two clones had headed off through the storm, finally breaking free of the clouds just as night fell. The waves below had been choppy, white-capped in their rage at the weather, offering no rest. It had been impossible to stop until they had reached the mainland, and even then Mewtwo seemed determined to press on. They could have landed any time in the last hour, but they just kept going. It was starting to wear her down.

With a sigh, Eve looked up to find Mewtwo stopped again, waiting for her. She scowled lightly and sped up a little, closing the gap that had sprung up between them without her noticing. She hadn't even bothered trying to speak to him this time, instead focusing on organizing the memories in her head as best as she could. This went here, that went there, like a puzzle, on she dearly wanted to solve. If only she knew what the picture was, she thought ruefully. Ahead, Mewtwo was studying her carefully. She slowed down just a little bit. "What?"

"You are getting slower," he said in his usual no-nonsense tone. "I will find somewhere for us to stop soon."

She nodded vaguely and continued her mid-air trek behind him. Of course it would only matter because she was slowing him down. Eve adjusted the backpack straps on her shoulders, wishing they could just get where they were going and be done with it. She was tired, cold, and hungry. She wanted to stop somewhere and have a bit to eat, and then she wanted to curl up under her quilt and sleep. The barrier she had managed to maintain through the rain had protected the fabric, which she had been unable to fit fully in the bag- not that she hadn't tried. She had struggled to fit all of her things into the backpack for some time before she was forced to admit that it just wasn't all going to go in there. Finally she had opted to string the bright cloth construct through the bottom of the straps and let it trail behind her, a waist-high cape fluttering in the wind. It made the straps slip just a little bit, but at least she got to keep the thing. Maybe she should try tying it around her neck like Mewtwo's cloak...

Up ahead, her cloned brethren was slowing again. Eve looked towards him with hopeful eyes, so close to pleading with him to finally stop but knowing that he'd probably just keep going anyway. Damn it, why did he have to be so unfair all the time? She grunted slightly to herself as he turned back towards her once more. "This way." Eve just nodded and let him lead her slightly off the course they had been flying. To her surprise, he took her down to the ground. As much as Eve wanted to cheer, she knew she'd probably better keep her mouth shut. Besides, her whole body wanted to sag into the earth as she landed, but she stubbornly kept her feet. Avoiding an argument seemed like the best idea at the time. She was too tired to fight with him right now. Mewtwo nodded, and finally, she was able to sit down and rest her body. "We will spend the day here. If we make good time tonight, we will make our next destination well before daybreak tomorrow."

Eve shuffled her backpack open, pulling out the filched loaf of bread. It was getting hard, but she could still eat it. She tore it in half, ignoring Mewtwo's disapproving glance at the food, and proceeded to further rip it apart with her teeth. It was good! Pale memories of the past could never do justice to tastes and smells and sounds that were real right now. Slowing so she wouldn't choke, Eve wondered if maybe her senses weren't sharper this time around. It made sense, actually. Everything else had been changed. So maybe it wasn't just that her memory was pale. Maybe things were just clearer now. But what did that mean? Did that mean that the very way she was looking at things had been warped, too? Would all of this appear different to her if she were still human?

Suddenly the bread didn't taste so good any more. Eve frowned, putting it back in her bag. She was just tired. Nothing tasted good any more when one was so close to exhaustion they could just close their eyes and sleep sitting up. She'd have some more to eat after she'd slept a bit, and it would taste good again then. Yeah, that sounded right. Sighing softly, Evetwo pulled her quilt off of her bag and curled up, tucking the fabric around her and resting her tail over her nose. A good long nap should have her feeling better... If she could even get to sleep with Mewtwo watching her.

Eve stared across at the other clone. Leaning against a tree, he was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, studying her in the most unnerving manner. She sank further back under the quilt. Mewtwo almost seemed to frown. "You will make yourself ill if you hide under that during the heat of the day."

"It's not that warm here," Eve protested softly. Mewtwo's gaze sharpened just a tiny bit.

"Suit yourself. But do not say I did not warn you."

She nodded, hoping he would go away, but Mewtwo didn't move. She frowned, not quite wanting to break eye contact with him. Did he have to stand there like that? Eve held still, ruby red eyes locked with amethyst purple, silently willing him to just go away. Mewtwo didn't move. Finally, she sighed. Sitting here in silence was too much. She had to talk! She shifted her head slightly. "So, what's the plan, anyway?"

Mewtwo regarded her thoughtfully for a moment before speaking. "We are going to a city called Viridian. It houses one of Team Rocket's main bases of operations. I plan to destroy this base and gather what information I can about their standings."

"How are you going to do that?"

Mewtwo's eyes narrowed slightly. "That is something you do not need to know," he said finally. "I do not believe you would fully appreciate my methods."

Her blood chilled. "You're not going to... you're not going to kill anyone, are you?"

There was a long silence as Mewtwo regarded her. Eve shrank back under the cold scrutiny of his gaze. He could do it, she was sure of it. He could kill a human easily. But after a moment, Mewtwo shook his head. "The only human I seek to kill is Giovanni. Otherwise I am no better than they. I will spare the lives of those I come across."

Somewhere deep inside, she knew he was lying. If a human posed a threat, he would kill them. Even so, Eve found that she could finally tear her eyes away from his and rest her head. Sleep didn't take long to come that morning.

This was going too slowly.

Mewtwo frowned to himself as he checked over his shoulder to be sure the female was following along behind him. It was still too early to take to the air, barely twilight, in fact. Flying meant that they could be spotted, but there was a group of humans that had been approaching too closely, and movement had become imperative. Waking Evetwo had been a chore, but it was a necessary act, and now she trudged behind him without even the dimmest mental veils to hide her annoyance. There was a dull sound as she kicked a rock in a typical show of childish temper. "Can we please stop? I'm hungry."

"You are fully capable of eating while we walk." Mewtwo stared skyward a moment before closing his eyes. There was a large signature coming from the northwest, a conglomeration of human minds that could only be Viridian. It was half a night away if they kept walking, a few hours if they flew. He adjusted their course slightly. If they took to flying after darkness had fallen completely, they would make their destination in approximately four hours, less if Evetwo actually moved quickly for a change. But he would not count on it.

"I have to set down my backpack to get the food out of it, though, and that means I have to stop." There was a tracery of whining in her voice now. It seemed that he could push her past the need to sleep and she would remain silent, but she was still stubbornly adamant about her hunger. Mewtwo gritted his teeth.

"You are telekinetic. Use that to open your bag." He marched forward, resolutely ignoring her persistent protestations, until a sudden tickle on his consciousness drew him to stop. The sensation was not the same as the one that drew his attention when Mew was nearby, but it did remind him somewhat of his progenitor's phantom counterpart- unnatural and almost eerie. He glanced backwards. Evetwo was staring at him again.

"Can I open my backpack now?"

Sometimes the absolute deadness of the female's psychic senses amazed him, really it did. He shook his head sharply. "Something is coming this way. Be quiet."

She was not quiet. "Can I at least get food?" He clenched his teeth again, the only show of annoyance he would allow himself. Of course she would remain oblivious to their surroundings. She had no instinct to speak of save the ones natural to humans, and as such would never notice the small wisp of a presence he had felt. He could accept that if only she would just remain silent, but no, she could not heed his words. Behind him, there was the sound of the backpack unzipping as she rooted around for something to eat. "I'm getting food. You stand there and do whatever."

"Evetwo," he whispered angrily as he turned and tried to find the hollow presence again, "Be silent."

She raised her eyes. "What for? It's not like we're actually talking. No one can hear us if we don't want them to."

"You do not know that." Mewtwo narrowed his eyes slightly, but the little female was not intimidated. She just rooted through her backpack some more, drowning out any noises that would have alerted him to another presence.

"You know, you're pretty paranoid. There's nothing out there." Was there nothing short of suppressing her powers that would silence her? Mewtwo turned back to stare at her. If only she had inherited the same instincts he had, mayhap she would be a little more aware. But no, the little female's thought processes were purely human, and she reacted as one of them would.

Actually, that gave him an idea...

He did it as she raised her head to ask him some inane question or another. Seizing the female by the shoulder, he spun her about and pulled her against his chest, clamping one hand tight over her mouth while the other arm wrapped around her middle, pinning her arms firmly to her sides. Sure enough, Evetwo fell silent after one initial yelp of surprise. Eyes wide, the female struggled against him, but he held her still and hoped the physical shock would be enough. "Be silent and stop moving. I am trying to listen."

It seemed to work. Her entire body went still in his arms, her voice finally silent. He tightened his grip and listened, searching for any sign at all of what it was he had sensed. There was nothing there. He frowned slightly. There had been something, he was certain of it, and as there had been no energy fluctuations, as with teleportation, there had to be something there now. Maybe it could hide from her, with her duller senses and all-around lack of awareness, but it could not evade him.

She was starting to struggle again. Mewtwo glanced downwards, wondering vaguely why the little female did not try to call out mentally as she dug a vicious elbow into his side. He tightened his arms, eyes narrowing, as her head lashed to the side. "Be still," he ordered sharply. She twisted her neck enough to glare up at hum, anger and what seemed to be a bit of raw panic radiating from those damned red eyes of hers. Her head jerked again, and he saw what the problem was; in his effort to clamp his hand down over her mouth firmly enough, he had accidentally covered her nose as well. For a moment he was tempted to leave his hand as it was until she passed out and gain the quiet he sought that way, but she was liable to be even more of a hindrance unconscious if they were attacked. He slipped his palm downward a fraction of an inch, until he could hear her inhale sharply, and went back to his silent watching. Nothing happened. The forest remained silent. He clenched his jaw, noting with dismay how common the gesture was becoming. Oh, he had always done it, a silent testament to negative emotion, but it had not become a frequent habit until she had shown up. Forcing the stray thoughts out of his head, he scanned the trees around them once more, searching for any signs of life. Still nothing.

And then Evetwo tried to bite him.

Truth be told, Mewtwo was not sure what was more amusing, the audacity of the attempted attack or the sheer futility of it. The strength of his grip and positioning of his hand made it impossible for her to open her mouth enough to actually harm him. Still, it seemed wise to hold on to her that much tighter. He shifted the arm around her middle just as she tried to lash at his sides with her tail. He scowled and ignored her struggling, focusing once more on scanning the forests around them. For just the briefest of moments when she had been trying to bite him he thought he had felt it again, but now it was gone, as though it sought to taunt him.

In his arms, the female was starting to whimper. He told himself to just ignore it, but even if he closed his ears against the sound he could not deny the moisture on his hand. Damn her! Of all the times for her to start crying! Mewtwo's scowl deepened as he glanced downwards again. Sure enough, tears were seeping out from her now-closed eyes. Something seemed to squeeze in his chest as he released her from his hold. Back on the island, too, her crying had made it hard for him to breathe, like memories of pain long forgotten- and other memories remembered all too well. Why did her tears always bother him this way? Evetwo shoved herself forward, before turning sharply to face him. Her arm arched through the air, and before he could really bring himself to believe that it was happening, she had slapped him. Mewtwo stepped back, stunned by the stinging on his cheek and the hand still raised in the air that had caused it. Her mouth was distorted in a vicious snarl as she glared up at him with tear-shined eyes, her breath coming in ragged, panting gasps.

"Don't you ever do that to me again!"

Funny. She almost managed to look intimidating.

Gasping for air, Eve glared up at her 'brother.' Her own anger was virtually choking her. How dare he? What the hell gave him the right to grab her like that? She lowered her hand, fist clenching. What the hell...

"Oh, come on, now, you can hit harder than that! Here, you're supposed to do it this way!"

The feeling was caught somewhere between an electric shock and the sensation of being plunged into ice water. Maybe some of the rippling sensation was her fur standing on end, maybe not. Either way, the feeling of the phantom ripping through her midsection to punch Mewtwo in the face was not a pleasant one. She staggered back several steps before falling hard on her tail. Mewtwo, for his part, seemed just as stunned as she was as he reeled backwards. Between them, the see-through Pokémon crowed, his fist still clenched in triumph. "And that's how you smack a fuckwit!"

It sounded, and even looked, a little bit like Flame. For one thing, Flame was the only Pokémon she knew with a scar quite like that, a near-glowing streak on the figure's face. But Flame didn't have wings, large, wicked looking things, and he was not see-through! This wasn't Flame at all, then. It was another phantom! The figure grinned as he looked first at Mewtwo and then at Eve. "Man, that was easy. I thought psychics were supposed to be smart!"

That cinched it. "Flame?"

The phantom's leathery wings drooped for a moment. "I don't go by that name any more, kid. It's Ryuu now." He grinned. "Hey, nice horn. Funny, it looks so familiar."

There was a sharp crack of energy, and the phantom barely managed to evade the shadow ball that ripped through the dirt where he had been standing seconds before. Mewtwo glowered down at the ghostly Charmander. "I am growing tired of you apparitions. You do not belong here, especially not around us."

"It's always the psychics," The spirit muttered before speaking up fully. "It doesn't work, you fucktard, I'm already dead!"

"It works just fine if you cannot absorb the energy."

"That's only if we want to absorb it. We can just let it pass right on through. And telekinesis doesn't work on me either, so you're totally useless!"

"I could find a way to destroy you if I tried."

Eve wasn't sure if Mewtwo's words were a threat or a promise, but either way the conversation had to end now. "Um..." Neither one looked at her. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Punching him in the face, what's it look like?"

Mewtwo's jaw was twitching as Eve shifted so she wasn't sitting on her tail. "And you had to do that why?"

"I dunno. Because he's an ass? Because I'm bored? The bastard died before I could pop him one back home. I figure this is as good a payback as any."

Mewtwo was flexing his hands as though ready to attack again. Eve scrambled mentally for something, anything at all to say. "So, is that the only reason you came here, or is there something else?"

The phantom frowned. "There was something else. I seem to have forgotten it. Can't have been too important... no wait, hang on. Someone was trying to kill you. But, yeah, the main reason was punching Mewtwo."

Eve just stared and, surprisingly, it was Mewtwo who broke the silence. "And what surprise should it be that someone wants us dead? Team Rocket sees us as a threat now. Of course they will try to destroy us."

Ryuu rolled his eyes. "Oh, it's bad, must be Team Rocket." The phantom snorted. Do you honestly believe that they're the source of all your problems? Boy, you're dumber than I though."

Mewtwo almost seemed to snarl. "Who else is there, then, who knows of our existence?"

"Almost all the Legendaries, us phantoms, several Humans, around thirty or so ex-acquaintances of yours. You're not as hidden as you seem to think."

Mewtwo's tail lashed once. "The humans who know of my existence by my own allowance are harmless, you phantoms are of no threat to me, and my ex-acquaintances, as you put it, would not turn on me. That leaves the Legendaries."

"Surprisingly intelligent deduction. Maybe there is a brain in there after all."

The larger clone's eyes narrowed, but he just continued on his current train of thought. "Obviously it is not Mew. He is too caught up in his own childish concepts to ever attempt to harm me, let alone Evetwo. Nor would it be any of the Legendaries of a lesser standing than Mew, because their respect and fear of him would be too great to risk it. That means that the threat would come from a Legendary of Mew's ranking or greater, and there is only one who would try such a thing in the first place. Celebi."

"You forgot Ho-Oh and Lugia, they out-power Mew. But, then again, they're too busy with their own affairs right now. So, yeah, Celebi. Well, he'll be trying when he gets my claw marks off of his rear end."

This was getting way, way, way too confusing. Eve flailed one arm in the air, trying to catch the attention of the two males. "Hold it!" Mewtwo barely glanced at her, but the phantom turned towards her. She gulped a moment. This was going to sound so lame. "Ah... well, first of all..." Oh, where to start? She blurted the first question that came to mind. "What's a Legendary?"

"A legendary is a Pokémon of great power who only appears before normal mortals in times of great need, where they use said power to save the world and whatnot. In other words, the biggest fucking jerks ever. So, by all rights, Mewtwo counts as one."

Mewtwo almost seemed to snort, and Eve tried to gauge how close he was to attacking the phantom again. "Most of them would be offended to hear you say that."

Ryuu grinned, an eerily mischievous spark in his eyes- or maybe that was just the sunlight shining through them. "Articuno agreed with me, you could easily be head-jerk."

"Years of living in a frozen wasteland have made Articuno eccentric. One cannot take her opinions on their own."

"True, Moltres didn't seem to appreciate the idea."

Mewtwo actually smirked slightly. "Moltres is none too fond of me. I believe it has to do with Mew implying that I am far more powerful than he is."

Eve wasn't sure if it was the sheer rudeness of them having this discussion without her or the intrigue as to what the smirk meant, but she felt compelled to speak up. Mewtwo was showing far too many reactions to not intrigue her. "Who in the world are you guys talking about?"

Ryuu looked at her with disbelief evident in his expression. "You mean to tell me he hasn't told you about the Legendaries?" Eve shook her head. "Any of them?" She shook it again, and the phantom turned to stare at Mewtwo. "Bloody hell, are you trying to keep the kid stupid?"

The larger clone shifted his weight, almost appearing offended. "I saw no reason to fill her mind with petty stories about Pokémon she would be far better off never meeting. The only reason I have ever had anything to with any of them is because of Mew, and I can hardly see him letting Evetwo become a toy in their twisted games."

Ryuu sighed. "Okay, kid. Here's how it goes. The legendaries have this weird ranking system, they all fit into this predetermined slot. You have the Demi-legendaries at the bottom, they're the least powerful and they only look after a small area and rarely leave it. The three Regis are a good example of Demis. Then you get the Regional ones, that explains itself- they can be of varying power levels, but they reside in one area only. Take Groudon and Kyogre, they never leave that Hoenn place. Then you get the Higher Powers, Mew, Celebi and Jirachi. They essentially look after specific people that have a large impact on those around them, and that in turn keeps the planet safe. Finally you get the Guardians. Lugia, that white thing Mew borrowed the form of back in Sevii, Ho-oh, Rayquaza, Palkia, and Dialga. Guardians of the land, the sea, the heavens above, the endless space and the fabric of time. You don't want to pick a pick a fight with those guys, one could level a city as easy as you can blink. Oh, and there are a few more that don't really fit any categories anyway, but if you come across them it doesn't really matter because it pretty much means you're either dead or about to die anyway."

Eve stared. "And you said Mewtwo fits into this?"

"Somewhere near the top, both in power and big-headedness. One problem is, the only thing stopping him gaining their respect, he doesn't do saving the planet. All he cares about is himself. Himself and a teensy little bit of him cares, slightly, about you. But he isn't going to admit that, ever."

Eve would have commented to the contrary if Mewtwo didn't do more than enough with the murderous glare he gave the phantom. She cringed backwards, silently hoping he wouldn't feel the need to disprove Ryuu's statement with any more than his eyes. Even the ghostly Charmander seemed to be fighting the urge to flinch away- especially when he spoke. "If you are quite finished warning us," the psychic almost growled with a very persuasive lash of his tail, "Then I suggest you go back to the afterlife where you belong. I am more than capable of dealing with Celebi on my own, for all the ineffectivity of his cowardly methods."

The phantom shook himself and managed to regain his composure. "Fine," he quipped casually. "Just don't get yourself killed by being an overly-confident git and we're good. Anti and I'd never let you un-live it down anyway."

The spirit turned away, and Eve found herself calling out again. "Hold on!" Ryuu turned, looking at her curiously. "Did... Did you ever meet me, where you come from?"

There was the trademark toothy grin she knew from Flame. "Briefly. You were very territorial. It was the last time I ever went into the spooky old house in the middle of the creepy, dark forest that all the humans stayed away from because they swore it was haunted."

She blinked. "Did I have short hair?"

The grin broadened. "You did after I burned it off!"

And then, as if he had never been there at all, the phantom Charmander was gone.

Eve looked away when he disappeared. She didn't know if she could look at Mewtwo right now. The phantoms taunting words had been meant to enrage him, and now that Ryuu had left that anger could easily come down on her instead. Was he really that powerful? What about Mew, what had the spirit called him? A Higher Power? Eve shivered to herself. Legends, stronger than any others.

No wonder Mewtwo thought she was weak.

The larger clone stood with his back to her now, staring off into the distance. Finally he seemed to nod to himself, the barest inclination of his head, and turned slightly to his right. He glanced over his shoulder at her once; his eyes were icy cold. And then he started walking. Eve scrambled to her feet, scooping up her backpack and the nearly forgotten bread she'd been fishing for. Brushing the food off slightly, she tore a chunk off with her teeth as she followed Mewtwo in silence. She could still feel the horrible way he'd seized hold of her, pinning her against him until she thought she would smother, her voice just gone the entire time. She had known he could hold her psychically, but she'd never even imagined that he could hold her back so completely physically, too. Where had he gotten that strength? Legends... Eve clenched her hand and stared down at it as she swallowed her bread. Well, then, why couldn't she be strong, too? Why couldn't she learn to use her powers the way they could, to reach the same levels they did? She was younger and weaker, but that didn't mean she had to accept it. Eve flexed her hand before clenching it again. So that's what she would do, then. She would get stronger and take control of her powers.

And then Mewtwo would have to respect her!