Thanks everybody for being so patient! "I hope you'll forgive me," as Mewtwo says in this chapter, because I have TWO chapters for you today! I wrote the second one soon after finishing this one, it just came out easier once this one was done.

I hope you enjoy :^)

Chapter 46

"Mewtwo, I think I've eaten enough for both of us, for the entire trip," I groaned.

"Three days' worth of food? I sincerely doubt that."

I was flat on my back, sprawled out among several empty plates on the plush duvet. My belly felt like it was about to burst from all the food Mewtwo had summoned to the room, probably to the confusion of the chefs preparing it for other guests. I was starving, but I had definitely eaten too much. The plates were suddenly gone, and I rolled over to my front, enjoying the size of the queen-sized bed that took up about a quarter of the cabin.

"Too full for dessert, I take it?" Mewtwo asked. I hesitated for a moment, but ultimately shook my head 'yes,' which made him laugh.

Thanks to Mewtwo, we arrived on the ship without any problems despite not having a dollar to my name or any sort of ID. As soon as we walked into the cabin, he revealed that he purposely had not selected one of the suites ("We could draw attention that way"), but I was just impressed that it had its own bathroom, a TV, and a massive bed. I'm told that I threw myself onto the bed and fell asleep without so much as a "good night."

That morning I woke up alone, but he had pulled the blankets over me sometime after I fell asleep. The bed was so comfortable that I pulled the covers over my head and pressed into the mattress, only coming out when Mewtwo reappeared with breakfast. I had not eaten since lunch the previous day, so I quickly ate it.

When I expressed wanting to go above deck, it was then that Mewtwo instructed me not to leave the cabin for any reason. I had protested at first, but he was adamant, and I did not want to worry him. He soon left again with the promise of returning with good news later. When I tried to ask where he had gone the night before and when he was going to go check on my Aunt and Pokémon, he said he would explain once he was back.

I was left with no choice but to think back on what Arceus said the previous day. When that became too overwhelming, I tried to find something on TV that would keep me from my thoughts.

Mewtwo came back that night, apologized for missing lunch, and started summoning all kinds of food from the kitchen before I could ask him where he had been. I had not really moved since breakfast that morning, but I was starving and ate whatever he summoned.

Once dinner was over and I was full of regret, I laid there half wishing to die and desperately wanting to do something other than pace around the room or watch TV. "Please let me go above deck for a little bit," I begged. "I've been stuck in here all day. I'm gonna die of boredom!"

To my surprise, Mewtwo did not say 'no' right away. "It is for the best that you stay hidden in here," he replied, though not as decisively as he had said it earlier. I sensed that he was beginning to crack and did not let up on asking.

"Pretty please?" I asked again, looking at him hopefully. When he looked away, I added, "It's almost dark out, nobody's going to care about little old me walking around."

"Team Rocket will if they happened to send a spy on board," Mewtwo muttered in reply.

"But spies can be anywhere!" I huffed, resting my head against the bed again, "are you going to keep me locked up in Sinnoh, too?"

Though I was not looking at him, I could sense that he felt bad. "Thirty minutes," I heard him say, "and I'm coming with you."

"Yay!" I was excited but still had to sit up slowly, as I was still very full. I grabbed his hand as I walked past him and slipped on my sneakers. "C'mon, let's go!"

He took his hand out of mine before vanishing. "Remember, you are alone on this ship."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," I said impatiently, "can I open the door now?"

Yes, go ahead.

The sky was overcast as I stood peering over the edge of the ship and into the dark, churning waters below. My hair was whipping all around and I quickly tied it up with the band on my wrist. "The last time I was this far out at sea was when I was leaving Hoenn," I loudly remarked over the noise.

Inside voice, Mewtwo reminded me.

"But no one's here," I said, gesturing at the empty deck behind me, "Who's gonna hear me with this wind, anyway?" I heard him sigh audibly next to me, but he did not seem to disagree. "I know you're just trying to keep me safe, and you're doing a great job. But keeping guard and staying hidden all the time is gonna get tiring for both of us."

We'll have more freedom in Sinnoh, Mewtwo said, though I still will not appear in public with you for the time being.

"Is that where you've been going? To Sinnoh?" I asked.

Yes. I've been making preparations for our arrival.

"What kind of preparations?" I asked, turning toward where I knew he was standing.

Well, I had to explore the town where we shall live and the surrounding area, and alert your uncle—

I gasped. "Wait, you went to meet my uncle?! Don't you think . . . isn't that a bit much?"

There was a moment of silence, then Mewtwo understood what I was asking. You thought I appeared in front of him? I have more foresight than that, Lilly, Mewtwo half laughed to himself.

"You didn't meet him in person, then?" I asked, confused.

I found other ways to communicate. A note here, a dream there. It seems to be working so far.

Oh no. I put a hand to my face. "Mewtwo, that's worse. I would have just written him a note myself, he's gonna think he's going crazy, or that . . . you're a Ghost—!"

Don't worry, I was very clear that I was not a Ghost Pokémon in my second note, Mewtwo said.

I turned and started walking along the ship's deck, looking out at the sea. "Let me write a note if you go again," I said, "I think it'll be more believable if it's coming from me."

Very well. I will return once more tomorrow.

A heavy fog was beginning to settle over the ocean as nightfall approached, and I felt a chill in the air. Are you not curious about him?

Admittedly, I had been. "What's he like?" I asked, stopping near the very front and resting my arms on the edge. "Does he have a family? Does he know why we're coming?"

A husband, and a child of two years old.

My heart sank at the last few words, I knew Mewtwo had sensed it when I felt his hand on my shoulder. It will be alright, he reassured me, no harm will come to them.

"We don't know for sure," I murmured back, "Do they know why we're coming? Or what they're risking by letting us in?"

I acknowledge that my intentions are selfish, but we are taking all the precautions necessary to avoid what happened at your aunt's house. I was away for so long because I was busy scouring Sinnoh for any sign of Team Rocket, and I have yet to find a single one. There's not a chance they tracked us onto this ship, but I'm still being cautious and keeping you inside as much as possible for these three days.

I knew he was right. But I also knew that if Team Rocket came to that house, I would never forgive myself. "How long do we have to stay there?" I asked.

Mewtwo was silent for a moment. However long it takes to make sure we are ready for another encounter with Team Rocket, he said finally.

I knew he would say something like that. I looked back out at the ocean. "I won't be ready for them without a team," I said quietly, "and to have a team, I need to train Pokémon."

Under no circumstances, at least not right away, Mewtwo warned. That's just asking for trouble.

"Mewtwo, I've been able to win against Team Rocket every single time I've had my team with me."

And what if they are not with you again next time? He took his hand off my shoulder, probably to gesture with his question. I need to . . . I mean, we need to figure out what you're—

"I know, I know, it's time to figure out my powers or whatever. But who knows how long that's gonna take! Having a team will be an extra defense, it's not something to be afraid of!"

They will find us much faster if you become famous in Sinnoh, and . . . I need to be ready this time.

"I promise I'll keep to myself and just train against wild Pokémon," I pleaded.

You and I both know that battling exclusively with wild Pokémon does not make for a strong team. I was out of arguments, but I was absolutely not ready to give up having Pokémon in my life. There's no need to decide how to proceed with this right now. That time, I felt both of his hands on my shoulders. We should go back inside, you're shivering. I brought you some stuff from your aunt that you might like to have.

"Seriously?" I yelped. I startled him so much that his hands flew off my shoulders. "When were you going to tell me that you went back?!"

I waited for a reason. I hope you'll forgive me, he said sheepishly.

"Let's hurry back!"

I turned to run down to our room again but stopped in my tracks. Through the dense mist ahead shone two glowing blue lights, and I could just make out a dark figure behind them. I would have thought the lights to be Mewtwo's eyes, but these were the color of the shallow waters surrounding Kanto's Sevii Islands; light blue tinged with a hint of green. Still, who else could they belong to?

I felt something bump me from behind and gasped. "Why did you stop running?" I heard Mewtwo ask aloud.

I whipped around and saw that he was visible, then back to the blue lights that were still in front of us. "Can't you see them?" I whispered, looking back at him.

"See what, Lilly?"

I pointed before turning back around. "Those lights right there!"

" . . . The emergency phone light?"

"What?" I turned back around to see that the figure had vanished, but there was a single blue light piercing through the fog that I had to assume was the device that Mewtwo was referring to. "No, there were two of them, like . . . like eyes!" I insisted, looking back at him.

"The fog is heavy, I'm sure it looked like two lights for a moment," Mewtwo said gently. "Come, let's get you into some warmer clothes."

He moved in front of me before disappearing again, and I followed behind. He was invisible but his body parted the fog where he moved through it as if he was carving a path for me.

After we passed it, the light of the emergency phone turned red, its original color.

Once we were back inside, Mewtwo had me sit down on the bed and lifted my bag up onto it. It looked as if it was about to burst at the seams; I was impressed that anybody had gotten it to close at all. "Your aunt wanted to send me back with . . . some things," Mewtwo had said in response to my wide eyes, "I told her I could only take what she could fit into this bag."

He then went on to explain that whoever had followed Silver to my house was apprehended before they even set foot inside, according to my aunt. She said she came home to find three officers and the boy engaged in battle with six members, all of whom were arrested when additional reinforcements showed up. After they were taken away, Silver had approached my aunt to tell her that I was safe somewhere with Mewtwo. But just as he was about to leave, she inquired his name. "I'm a friend," was all he had said.

"So, everybody's fine, then?" I asked.

"Yes, all is well. Team Rocket will know that we're no longer there, they won't come bothering her again."

"That's a relief," I said with a sigh.

"Go on, open the bag," Mewtwo insisted, sitting on the dresser across from the bed.

I tugged gently at the zipper, which seemed to slide open itself from the sheer volume of its contents. After a moment of rummaging, I realized that Aunt Charlotte had stuffed as many clothes as she could fit. That was a bit of a waste, as I knew I was starting to outgrow most of them a little. Well, they'll fit for a little longer, I said to myself.

Among the clothes were some other essentials that I had left behind, and a couple of my favorite energy bars. I was a little disappointed that my new Pokénav was not inside; not only were all the photos I took of my Pokémon on there, but I also had hoped to contact some close friends to let them know where I was headed.

Something fell out of one of the sweatshirts and onto the bed, and I realized it was the photo of my parents and I from when I was practically a newborn. "I thought you might want to have that with you," Mewtwo said as I picked it up.

Seeing their faces reminded me of the vision Arceus had shared with me earlier, but I did not want to think about it at the moment. "Yeah," I said, placing it beside me, "thank you for grabbing it for me."

The bag was basically empty by that point, and that was when Mewtwo said, "I may have lied. There's one thing that couldn't fit inside."

"Huh?" Mewtwo held out a cardboard cylinder and took off the lid, allowing me to reach inside. I pulled out a piece of paper that quickly unfurled, revealing a photograph of five Pokémon.

"She thought you would want to have that with you as well," Mewtwo said, coming to sit next to me. "Look, even Gyarados posed."

I lifted one hand to cover my mouth as I half-laughed, half-sobbed at the thought of her listening to my Aunt. Mewtwo reached out and held the other corner in his hand before it fell into my lap. "They wanted to make sure you knew that they still love you, very much." I nodded and leaned against his shoulder, wiping my eyes with my sleeve.

"Where . . . where will they—"

"Ash's mother took them to Professor Oak," Mewtwo answered for me, "they'll live well at his lab until we can come back and get them."

I was fine after a few minutes but had to put the photo back in the tube before I started crying again. "Thank you," I said, "for going back."

"It was no trouble, I had assumed they were gone by then," Mewtwo replied.

I stood up and stretched, the discomfort of being full finally starting to fade away. "Now that I have some clothes, I'm going to go shower," I said, placing the tube on the dresser and grabbing some lounge clothes from the pile on my bed.

"Before you go in, write a note to your uncle for me to bring," Mewtwo said, grabbing a small notebook from another part of the pile and a pen from the dresser.

I had already thought about what I was going to say earlier, so I was nearly done in under a minute. "Where are we docking again?" I asked as I was wrapping up.

"This ship will dock at Hotel Grand Lake," he replied, "but your uncle knows that already."

I finished the message and signed my name at the end. "Are you heading back over already?" I asked, handing the notebook back to him.

"Yes, I'll be gone for tonight as well," he said, "but this should be the last night."

"Okay, good luck," I said, heading toward the bathroom with my clothes. "See you in the morning."

"Yes, tomorrow . . . we ought to address what we saw in the vision."

I stopped in the doorway to the bathroom. "Okay," I said, looking back at him, "I'll be ready."

Mewtwo left while I was in the shower. I dried my hair and threw on the pajamas Aunt Charlotte had packed, then shut the light and curled up beneath the thick blankets.

I was almost asleep when another light seemed to flick on from the doorway, but this one was blue. Only half-awake and facing toward the window, I mumbled, "You're back already?"

There was no response, and I wondered if he had not heard me. I turned from the window as I repeated, "You're back al—?"

I gasped and sat up in bed.

Whatever was in the room, it was not Mewtwo.