Chapter 41

I was gradually pulled to consciousness by a dull pain in my head. "Urgh . . ."

The objects in my room seemed to have a strange fuzziness to them. Even after blinking several times, everything was still slightly blurry. I rubbed my eyes vigorously, but there was no change.

I did not have my Pokénav around to tell me how long I slept, but I was still exhausted. I hadn't shifted at all in my sleep, and I quickly realized this was due to the small mountain of blankets that had been layered on top of me. But even with the extra blankets, I was cold. When I looked out the window, I saw that it was still light outside. Did I sleep at all?

I turned my head in the opposite direction and blinked again in surprise. On my nightstand were the flowers from Hoenn, looking slightly tattered but still no less beautiful than before, neatly placed in a slender vase. As I looked at them, I caught myself smiling a little. You're finally awake, Mewtwo's voice sounded in my head, startling me, come downstairs when you're ready.

I dreaded the thought of getting out from under the blankets, but after a few moments of self-motivation, I pushed them off and forced myself to sit upright. As soon as I sat up, the pain in my head skyrocketed, and there were black spots in my vision. On top of that, there was something else that did not feel right; where was that weight I woke up with every morning?

My hands flew to my neck when I realized my opal was not there.

Panic rose in my throat, my voice cracking when I instinctively called out, "Mewtwo?"

I pulled my legs off the side of the bed and started to get to my feet. "Where's my—?"

The moment I left the bed, the room around me began to spin. I became lightheaded and collapsed onto the floor. "Agh," I groaned.

I tried pushing myself back up, but my body suddenly felt heavy. I was about to call out for him again, but I heard Mewtwo's feet alight on the floorboards nearby. "Are you alright?" he asked, levitating me back onto the bed.

Still lightheaded, I lifted my face to look at his. His eyes were lined with worry. If he wasn't holding me up with his power, I probably would have fallen off the bed again. "You look worse than before. What's happening to you?" he asked, looking me over. "Do I need to . . . should I get the nurse?"

"M . . . my . . . where's—"

"I took it." The opal suddenly appeared next to him, the chain swinging gently in the air. "I didn't want . . . I was worried something else would happen to you."

I wasn't entirely sure what he meant by that, but the curiosity faded as I looked at the stone. I sighed, relieved that it didn't fall off in the woods. "Can I . . . have it back?"

The chain unclasped and wound itself under my hair and around my neck. I heard a tiny click when it locked again. "Thanks," I said, taking a deep breath and resting my hands on my knees. A strange warmth shot down my spine, and my skin tingled for a moment. I felt a little more energized as I stretched my arms before standing up again.

Mewtwo watched me for a moment, his eyes moving from the necklace to my face. "You've really . . . never removed that stone before?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I've worn it for as long as I can remember. My Aunt back in Hoenn used to joke that I came out of the womb with it, but to be honest I'm still not sure where it came from. I think only my parents knew."

He put a hand to his chin. "Well, we'll need to get to the bottom of that soon," he said finally, "but first, come downstairs."

Without giving me a chance to respond, he disappeared from the room. "Hey, you couldn't have taken me—" I was looking at the dining room when the words "with you?" were leaving my mouth. But I didn't turn to look for Mewtwo right away because I was distracted.

At first, I wasn't convinced that he had teleported me into the right house. The room was completely refurnished, as if there was never a Rocket, or a rogue Mewtwo, in the house. There was a new couch, coffee table, dining table, and chairs. A new TV was even mounted to the wall.

"Mewtwo, where did you . . . get all this furniture?" I asked hesitantly.

"From the local furniture store," he said without missing a beat.

"You went into the shop and bought . . . all this?" I turned to ask him, "Where'd you get the money?"

He was standing at the stove with his back to me. I couldn't see what he was doing, nor his expression, from where I was. "I may have taken it in advance of payment, yes," he admitted, "but Ash insisted that you had plenty of money to cover the expenses, he was sure you would be alright with it."

I was surprised. "Ash was okay with this?"

"He volunteered to go and be my eyes, as I obviously could not go in person. But don't worry, we'll pay them today," he reassured me, looking over his shoulder, "we still have to get a door, after all. Now, no more questions!" he added before I could continue asking for details, "just have a seat. I'll be there in a moment."

I had not noticed the doorway, but when he mentioned it, I looked and saw that it was still missing. In its place was a dark blanket securely taped to the frame. Nobody could walk in or out. Why not just leave it open? I thought to myself.

I sighed and turned back toward the table, which was already set with a single plate, cup, fork, knife, a jug of moo-moo milk, a glass spice container with a powder that looked too fine to be salt, and a bottle of maple syrup. Before I could ask about the setup, my jaw practically unhinged in shock as two pieces of bread appeared on the plate.

They were thick, golden-brown, and loaded with cinnamon. I had been so distracted by the sight of the new living room that I had not noticed the smell of French toast earlier. In an instant, I was practically drooling. Not yet, Mewtwo said as I sat down, sensing my impatience.

The shaker levitated, hovering toward the plate before turning over and gently shaking itself. A light, powdery dust fell from it and landed on the toast. Too curious to wait, I put my finger to the powder and stuck it in my mouth. It tasted almost too sweet.

After that, the bottle of syrup lifted and poured a generous amount onto the plate. I laughed when it started inching its way over the toast like several tiny Wurmple. When it settled down, Mewtwo called, "Okay, try it now." I took my knife, cut myself a corner, and popped it into my mouth with the fork. I had hardly closed my mouth over it before Mewtwo's voice sounded from directly behind me, full of anticipation: "Is it good?"

"Lemme taste it first, will you?" I said through a mouthful of bread.

After a moment, I could taste the delightful combination of cinnamon, vanilla, sugar, and syrup. I sighed contentedly, putting a second fluffy piece in my mouth. "It's amazing!" I exclaimed after swallowing, turning to look at him, "but you already knew that."

"Perhaps, but," he sat down in the chair next to me, "I still wanted to hear you say it."

Neither of us spoke for a moment. Not knowing what else to do, I took another bite of the toast. But even before it passed my lips, I realized I was not as hungry as I felt at the hideout. I pushed the plate away after swallowing the third bite. "This is really good," I assured him, "but I'm not very hungry right now. I'll have to finish it later."

He sounded worried again when he said, "But, you're always hungry at this time. When did you last eat?"

"I think it's because I just woke up," I shrugged, "But I'm sure I feel hungry later."

He stared at me a moment longer, and I could tell that he was silently assessing my condition as he sat there with a small frown on his face. "Hey," I said, turning my legs to face him, "when were you going to tell me you knew how to make food? You could barely put tomato sauce in the microwave a few weeks ago."

"Actually, I just learned this morning. I assumed you would be ravenous when you woke up. I . . . read your mind while you slept." At this, he looked sheepish, but only for a moment before continuing, "I found that out of all the traditional breakfast foods, you like French toast the most, so I researched the most popular recipe. I had Ash and Pikachu sample the results and after several attempts, they approved!"

I had been staring at him through this entire explanation, too surprised to speak. I checked the clock on the wall behind myself, then looked back at him again and asked, "How long was I asleep for?"

"A full day," he said, "you were quite exhausted. I was surprised as well, but the nurse said to let you sleep."

"You . . . put the house back together, and learned how to make French toast . . . in a day?"

His face brightened noticeably at my disbelief. "Ash helped with the furniture as well, but, yes!" he affirmed. "Love makes one want to do those things. I can't believe I didn't realize sooner."

I started to say something in response, but the meaning of his words hit me a second later and I ended up blushing instead. I looked out the window, hoping he did not notice. "Well, it's about time you started helping out around the house," I mumbled, still avoiding his gaze. "I expect five-star breakfasts every morning, from now on."

Even I couldn't help but giggle a little bit when I said that. "Actually, I don't mind making breakfast," he said to my surprise, "I really find cooking to be . . . enjoyable."

Picturing Mewtwo cook at all really got me laughing. "You're going to regret saying that!"

"I don't think there are many things you can make me regret saying."

I looked at him again. His mouth was not smiling, but his eyes were alight. They looked exactly as they did earlier when he said, "I love you." I suddenly realized that it was, most likely, the first time in his life he was able to say it. The thought was overwhelming, and I had to look away before I started crying again. But he sensed it and said something.

"Lilly . . . it's okay to cry," he said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "You went through a lot yesterday."

My face was tense. "I don't want to," I said finally, my voice breaking on 'want', "I . . . I want to be happy today."

I wiped my eyes and looked up at him again. "I want to be happy that we're alive."

"Well, you know . . ."

Mewtwo straightened up and rested his elbow on the table, "a friend told me that humans cry when they're happy. I thought it was odd at first, but then it happened to me earlier."

I smiled a little to myself, remembering. "She also said to tell you . . ."

His grip on my shoulder tightened slightly, and I looked up at him, "that your life is a gift. Your life itself is more precious than . . . any purpose you think you're supposed to fulfill. I hope you always remember that, and if you don't . . ."

He actually smiled when he said, "I'll be there to remind you."

I forcefully bit my lip, but the tears started coming out anyway. "Th . . . thank you," I squeaked out, wiping them away.

To my relief, he let struggle to calm down for a few minutes without saying anything, and in time I eventually regained composure. "Did someone . . . really tell you that?" I asked, finally realizing he said "she."

He nodded once. "Yes. I'll explain that later when we discuss . . ."

Words suddenly failed him, but I knew what he wanted to say. "We . . . really died, didn't we?" I asked bluntly.

Mewtwo did not answer right away. "I'm not sure, to be honest. I never felt like I was . . . dead."

I looked back at him, astonished. "Really? How? They shot you three times!"

He looked away for a moment as if he didn't want to answer. "It was actually . . . four times."

I put a hand to my mouth. "But it's not important to discuss these details right now. You should really eat something," he insisted, waving his hand impatiently.

"But I'm still not hungry!" I protested, kicking my legs in frustration. "Just give me the short version, I really want to know what happened."

He shook his head adamantly. "There is no short version. I'll tell you everything I—"

"Hey, Lilly's awake!"

I gasped and looked past Mewtwo. "My team!"

"Really?"

"Lilly!"

The blanket at the doorway was shifting, and I could tell that Ninetails was poking her snout into it. "Leave that alone!" Mewtwo commanded suddenly without turning around, "Team Rocket still does not know where Lilly and I are."

"You didn't tell us that she was awake!" Togekiss exclaimed, sounding injured.

"We want to see her this minute!" Ampharos bleated loudly.

Mewtwo sighed and got up from his chair. "Fine, we'll proceed with the plan, then. Go into the woods, all of you."

"What plan? The woods?" I asked in confusion, getting up as well.

My duffel suddenly appeared on his shoulder. "You'll understand in a moment."

Before I could ask any more questions, he vanished. "Huh?"

Suddenly, I was looking at the ocean.

"What?!"

I looked about frantically before turning around and seeing my entire team behind me. I was still processing the sight of them when Ninetails ran up and knocked me onto the coarse black sand below. "Thank goodness you're alright," she cried, nuzzling my cheek, "we were so worried!"

Her words struck something in me, and I suddenly began to cry again. "Nine . . . tails . . ." I reached up and buried my face in her fur, and she helped me sit up again. I could hear Gyarados and Arbok slide over the sand to meet us, and feel Ampharos' paws rubbing my back. "Everybody . . . I'm sorry . . . I'm sorry I left all of you," I blubbered in between sobs.

"I'm sorry that we weren't there to fight with you," Ampharos said, resting her head on mine.

"We're just happy to ssssssssee you back home! We didn't know what to think," I heard Arbok say nearby.

I could not stop crying enough to respond to them. I never gave myself a moment to think about the possibility of not seeing my Pokémon again, but those thoughts were finally hitting me all at once.

When I calmed down, I stood up and hugged my other Pokémon, noticing that this place was completely deserted and quiet except for the sound of the waves gently lapping the shore. Only after I hugged Gyarados did I realize we were on Cinnabar Island. "Why are we here?" I sniffed, wiping my nose.

"I thought this would be a safe location for a reunion," Mewtwo said in reply, "and it's not too far from Pallet Town."

"Mewtwo," Gyarados said suddenly.

We all started and looked in her direction when she spoke. She began to move around me and toward Mewtwo. I started after her, worried that she was going to get angry with him. But she stopped a few feet away, her body still relaxed. Then, she did something I had never seen her do before; lowering both her head and eyes toward the ground, she bowed deeply towards Mewtwo. I saw his eyes widen; he clearly also did not expect this.

"Thank you," Gyarados said finally, straightening up again, "for bringing our trainer back safely."

Mewtwo was too startled to respond, and Ninetails added, "From this day, you have our gratitude and trust." His expression still did not change, but before I could say anything Togekiss had flown to his side and wrapped a wing around his midsection.

"Thank you, Mewtwo!" he chirped happily, "Lilly is home because of you!"

He was followed by Ampharos, who hugged him from the other side. "I knew we could count on you!"

By then, I finally saw how taut his face was; Togekiss must have sensed what he was feeling before anybody else. Arbok slithered behind the three of them and rested her head on top of Mewtwo's, hissing gratefully. A moment later, I realized that he was upset; he almost failed to accomplish the things they were thanking him for. I wanted to reassure him, but I did not want to say anything that would worry my Pokémon. He managed to compose himself, clearing his throat and saying, "I'm only sorry that I did not help sooner." He looked around at my team and added, "I know that you did not have much of a choice, but . . . thank you, for trusting me."

We stayed there for a little longer, then Mewtwo said we had to go see Ash and his mother. I promised my Pokémon that we would watch contest reruns in a few minutes together before withdrawing them into their Pokéballs. Mewtwo put a hand on my shoulder and asked if I was ready to leave, but I suddenly had something to say.

"I just realized . . ." I said, turning to face him, "I never thanked you for saving me."

He quickly shook his head. "You don't owe me any gratitude. I couldn't have done it if you hadn't—"

"I know."

I interrupted him by wrapping my arms around his middle and pressing my cheek against him. "But in the end, you saved us. And . . . since you haven't heard me say it in person yet . . ."

I looked up at him again, "I also wanted to say . . . I love you!"

He was looking back at me with the same happiness from earlier that morning. At those words, he also wrapped his arms around me. "Even if you never said it to me," he said, his voice shaking a little, "I knew from your actions."

I gasped in surprise. "Really?"

There were tears in his eyes again as he nodded. "Thank you," he said quietly, "for helping me to understand what love is."

I FINALLY put together an appropriate order of events for the end of this fic, and my best guess is that there will be 3-4 chapters left. I didn't want to cram everything into too few chapters, but I'll do my best to keep it concise. Thanks for your patience!