The summer had passed with little of note. Days spent training and learning as each sunset came a little sooner. The leaves had started to turn shades of crimson and gold. Fog and clouds had become a more constant companion yet again.

In the grotto a thick fog blanketed the area dropping iridescent dew on everything it touched. Avalon stood in the front yard, stock still like an alabaster statue as droplets clung to her thin fur. Her hand outstretched towards a boulder that hovered in the air rotating slowly. The glow from her eyes and around her body made her almost spectral, shimmery, like a thing that wasn't real.

Several more giant stones stood around the clearing having been moved and rearranged by her telekinesis in today's practice. Merlin sheltered in the eves of the front porch a blanket around his shoulders and a mug of tea in his claws as he watched her work.

Avalon rotated the stone a few more times before placing it with its brothers. Lowering her hand she took a deep breath before she raised both palms to the sky. All the giant stones lifted after a moment of stillness floating back one by one to their original homes and settling in with groans of stone on stone.

The door creaked open and Aspen sat down beside Merlin, a blanket and mug of tea of her own as she settled into watch.

"How's she doing?"

"Phenomenal… I've never seen such power…"

Aspen nodded sipping at her tea. She wasn't surprised at all. "What do you have her doing?"

"Practicing control and diversion and focus.. seeing if she can split her attention between multiple objects of varying weights and fine tune her control of her telekinesis"

Avalon lifted her hand starting the process over levitating a stone and rotating it in the air.

"God.. that has to weigh as much as my truck…"

Merlin shook his head "Try three of your truck…"

"damn…" Aspen shook her head and looked down.

The Alakazam lifted a brow and looked at his trainer "Something troubling you Morgan?"

She sighed "yes but nothing you need to worry about…"

Merlin turned towards her slowly and just stared at her.

Aspen met his gaze and huffed "ok ok … yes I know.. we.. just are running out of money.."

"Ah… yes.. money.."

"I know you think its stupid, but the human world revolves around it... and while I'm getting a separation stipend from the company its not enough to keep us going forever…"

Merlin looked away to watch his student who still practiced out in the fog, but had one ear turned back to listen. "you have a plan" he remarked.

"I do… but… I worry about taking it because it means leaving her up here alone all the time…."

There was a heavy thunk as Ava set down a stone and turned towards them. "What are you talking about?"

"I need to take a job.. there's one down in Bayside.. a good one but I would need to move down there proper and likely leave you behind up here. I don't like that prospect.. having you close would be too risky" Aspen hunched her shoulders.

"If you need to do it…. I would understand." Avalon slumped her shoulders.

"I could come back up on weekends…"

"Why couldn't I come with you?"

"Because its a city… how long do you think you could escape detection there?"

"I could be invisible?"

"All the time?"

Avalon looked at the ground and frowned "no.. maybe not.. but.. there has to be something I can do" Avalon climbed up on the porch and sat with the pair of them making a line as they all looked out into the fog.

"You would need to blend in kiddo… there would be too many situations where even being unseen isn't hidden enough. Psy detectors? People visiting the house? Hell even people coming to the door could be an issue.. plus you would be trapped in the house unless you explored invisible all the time."

"I could throw off psy detectors at least" Merlin tried to add helpfully.

"And then who am I buying all this food for…"

"I'm sorry if I'm a burden…" Avalon rested her chin on the railing and sighed.

Aspen blinked "Noo.. no that's not on you at all… if moving down there even on the edge of town isn't an option I will just have to think of something else." she smiled and reached over to pat Avalon's shoulder before getting up "You two go ahead and practice.. I will think of something" the door swung closed with a creak leaving Avalon and Merlin to share a long look.

"I will think of something" Avalon states before looking back out over the foggy yard.

R ays of sun lanc ed through layers of foliage that reached up to touch the sky. Massive trees like the pillars of a grand cathedral stood silent. Distant birdsong echoed, but none dared come close. Wisps of fog rose from the damp ground where the sun touched. In the center Avalon stood. Something felt strange. The songs were not right, the trees, the plants, everything felt old and out of time, out of place. As she stood there taking in the majesty of this place she felt a presence coming closer.

A pink ball of light floated out of the woods towards her. Bobbing and weaving along the underbrush like a willow-the-wisp. Avalon watched it tilting her head as it came closer. Just beyond arms reach it changed direction and started to circle her as if to inspect her. When she reached for it it bobbed back waiting for her to put her hand down.

After a few passes it paused in front of her and the pink started to morph and change shape resolving into the all too familiar shape of an Alakazam. Merlin with his pale graying whiskers and ears. He floated there cross-legged regarding her a few moments before his form changed again growing taller, human. Aspen took shape in front of her shaking out her long fading blonde hair and an unfamiliar twinkle in her blue eyes.

"Mother?"

The woman held a finger in front of her lips before she started to shift again the pink glow returning as the shape morphed and flowed into a smaller body hovering in the air in front of her. Long tail like a whip out behind its round little body, tiny paws, and bright blue eyes.

"Mew!" it squeaked out at her.

"you… must be.. you are my origin… if you were Merlin and Aspen that means you are the rest of me.. aren't you?" Avalon could feel everything going sideways. Something wasn't right. She reached out to touch the Mew, but it floated back giggling at her before it turned tail and flew off into the woods.

"WAIT!" Avalon lifted off and flew after it keeping pace having to dodge the trees and underbrush that the little cat could just slip through.

They raced through the woods, Avalon flying higher over the underbrush as she tried to keep an eye on the Mew below her. Eventually the trees gave way and Avalon found herself flying over a lake.

Slowing down she marveled at the crystal clear waters and their perfect mirror reflection below till a ripple broke the waters surface. She looked out to the center of the water where Mew had apparently dove into the lake. Slowly she approached tail swishing in anticipation. The pink glow brightened under the waters surface ri sing back out into view. A white mew with lavender eyes took shape before her for a heartbeat before it morphed again into a white and lavender furred Alakazam. It watched her a moment before changing form again, a human. A small thin girl stood on the surface of the water, long strait hair pale as a cloud. When she opened her eyes Avalon found she was staring into her own soul and with as gasp, she woke up.

Morning found Aspen curled up in her bed, back to the windows as she tried to squeeze out a few more minutes of sleep. Dozing like that she felt a gentle nudge on her shoulder.

"Avalon please… I will get breakfast going in a minute…" she murmured.

Another nudge.

"Ava.. honey please…"

Another one this one with more force and insistence.

"Alright damn OK" Aspen rolled over and sat up. "OK you are hungry… I… get.. it"

She stared, her pulse seeming to slow as her sleep addled brain tried to process what she was seeing. A girl stood beside the bed. Late teens early twenties maybe it was hard to guess. Long lanky white hair and pale skin. A blanket wrapped over her narrow shoulders to cover her nudity. She trembled either out of cold or fear she couldn't guess. Her large eyes wide but unmistakably purple.

"Avalon?"

The girl nodded slowly "Mother… I had.. a weird dream." the mental voice clearly belonged to her creation.

Aspen gently touched her shoulders as if this phantasm might vanish, but no she stayed put when she laid her hands on her. "Weird dream? That doesn't explain this.. MERLIN GET UP HERE! Kiddo what happened? How?"

She shook her head "I don't know.. I followed a Mew in the forest and it changed shapes.. and then it turned into a girl and I woke up and when I woke up I was like this…"

There was a soft pop in the air next to them as Merlin teleported up to them spoons out ready for a fight. He froze and his whiskers bristled looking at the girl.

"I…. Avalon I didn't know you could do this…"

She got a look of mild panic as she looked around "am I trapped like this? I feel so.. small"

Merlin floated over and sat on the foot of the bed. "Transform perhaps?" he dissipated his spoons and leaned on his hand looking at her "Tell me about your dream"

The girl nodded and gulped "I was in a forest.. it was very old I think.. and this pink ball of light came up to me and started turning into things. First you Merlin then you Mother before it turned into a mew and flew off. I followed it to a lake where it came out and turned into a pale white mew, then a white alakazam, and finally… ummm…" she looked down over herself "Into this.. and then I woke up and I was.. well like this" she shrugged.

Merlin nodded and stroked his whiskers. "Perhaps a limited transform.. based on genetic memory?"

Aspen tilted her head "I've heard of genetic memory, memories passed down in bloodlines, echos of the past, but what are you getting at Merlin?"

He tilted his head in mimic of her "Mew can transform so they say.. because it has the linage of all pokemon in its genes… and the dittos you created could ONLY transform…" he nodded seeming to think hes onto a solid theory here. "The Mewtwo genome is primarily mew… but not all.. she has traded versatility for strength.. and as such.. perhaps she can also transform, but is limited to her own direct bloodline… A mew, an Alakazam, and a Human who all share her traits and coloration in her natural form. What you might be looking at here.. is.. a reflection of Avalon's human traits… yours Morgan"

Aspen looked at this girl and touched her face to brush a lock of pale hair away from her eyes "you do kinda look like one of my cousins when she was younger.. just a lot paler. Like.. a daughter" she smiled softly at her.

"Am I stuck like this?" She glanced down and away.

"Hardly…" Merlin smiled "Mew and Ditto both have a natural form and you do as well.. if nothing else it will probably revert you next time you sleep… Again remember.." he held up a claw "Holding a power is like flexing a muscle. Try relaxing. Take slow breaths like I taught you and let yourself Be."

Avalon nodded and closed her eyes taking deep breaths. After a few moments of this her form glowed bright blue and she started to morph and shift, growing in height as a tail uncoiled from her. When the light faded Avalon looked down over herself "I never thought I would be glad to be in this body and yet here we are…" her tail flicked and she sighed.

Merlin nodded "A very useful skill.. even if it might be limited like I theorize."

Avalon pulled the blanket around her shoulders and shivered "I felt so small.. so fragile"

" You still had access to all of your power however.. your signature didn't change."

She nodded and looked to Aspen who had cupped her chin in thought.

" Mother?"

Aspen looked up "hmm? Oh.. I was just thinking.. maybe I CAN take that job. We train you how to talk out loud if possible.. I contact a friend of mine and get some documents arranged. People who knew me before I took the job with Nuvo knew I wanted a kid. And you look about the right age for that…" she bobbed her head.

" what are you saying?"

"I'm saying you could actually masquerade as my daughter like that… human psychics exist.. not anywhere near as powerful as you are but they DO exist and they often have strange coloration from the rest of us. It's not THAT far fetched. If anyone asks who your father is I can just say I got a donor after the divorce… fertility drugs.. fixed the hell out of my sterility issues yup.."

" You mean we could move down to the edge of the city?" a wary hope crossed her feline face.

"we could.. I would still say don't do any training down there.. and maybe make sure you always sleep somewhere safe… but yes that could make it doable. You could maybe even go to classes. Learn things if you wanted. Things I cant teach you."

Avalon's eyes lit up "Classes?"

Aspen nodded "that's right!" she held up her hands "but let me see if I even get accepted for that job and lets see if we can fine tune your abilities a bit more. Get you some clothes maybe… well yes..." she gave her head a shake "There's a few moving pieces to put in place to make this work.. but I think it could!"

Avalon nodded "I will train very hard. I can do this."

Aspen looked up at her daughter, her strange and beautiful daughter, and grinned.