When entering Mauville City I was expecting a busy metropolis. Urban sprawl as far as the eye could see. It's the biggest population center in Hoenn after all. What I didn't expect is what actually awaited me, a city built like a mall. Buildings like stores, homes, and even police and fire stations were built into the megastructure's many floors, all connected by a series of elevators, stairs and ramps. As a result the city takes up much less space than it otherwise would. There's even a massive open air courtyard in the city center. The architects and engineers who designed this place must be proud indeed. They should be. Creating something like this that actually works is a feat worth celebrating.
Based on his contact information that Dr. Fuji put online I had send an email asking if they'd be interested in talking. I got back the go-ahead to come to their place along with the address to their apartment. It took a little while to find the building. Getting the lay of the land is a lot harder when dealing with a multi-level city. In the end we found our destination and went straight to room number 45.
Mewtwo had said that they still needed some time to recoup from the big revelation yesterday so it's only Thunder and I. He looks to me with a hopeful glance.
"Here's hoping we get somewhere with this." He says.
"Here's hoping." I reply. I knock on the door. A few seconds later a woman in her early thirties opens it.
"You the guy from the email?" She asks, quickly glancing over us.
"I am. The name's Alex Russet."
"Hurry inside." She ushers us in quickly and leads us to the living room. Sitting on the sofa is a Mightyena who looks at us with a scowl. "You better not try anything else Betty here will gladly rip out your throat."
"I'm watching you, human..." Betty growls. The threat catches me by surprise. The last thing I expected was being told that the pokemon would kill me if the need arose. That's assuming that it wasn't hyperbole, but that's not something I'm willing to try and discern.
"Okay..." I take a moment to regain my composure. "Is Mr. Fuji here?"
"First prove that I can trust you." She sits down next to Betty. I take a seat across from them on a small chair, trying not to make eye contact with the Mightynea. "Too much has been going on lately for me to give you the benefit of the doubt." Wait a second. She invited me here, and now she wants me to prove I'm trustworthy? Why did she invite us over in the first place if she's not sure she can trust us? We can't afford to lose this lead however, so I keep that to myself.
"If I wanted to hurt you, I'd be doing something far quicker than what's happening here. For one, I'd bring a weapon. And I would've probably used it the moment you closed the door. Seeing how that hasn't happened yet It's not likely to happen at all."
"You could just be holding off to trick me."
"To what end? What would I gain? It's so many extra steps to do what I would've supposedly come to do." I let out a sigh. My patience is starting to wear thin. "Look, I'm only here to see Dr. Yosuke Fuji and ask some questions. That's it."
"You don't know?" She asks. Hearing that is rarely a good sign...
"Know what?"
"He's been missing for weeks. Not long after he got involved with Devon. I keep asking them where he is and they say nothing. Something is very wrong." That explains her paranoia. Shame that it's not even misplaced.
"That's actually what I was hoping to talk to him about. You are right. There is something going on here. Team Rocket and Devon Corp are collaborating on some massive project. And if Rocket's involved, it can't be anything good."
"You think Fuji would've knowingly gotten involved?!" She glares at me accusingly.
"Maybe not knowingly. But he's connected. Why did he start working with Devon?"
She is silent for a minute before she speaks up again. "They contacted us about six months ago. They tried to draw him into some big bio-engineering project because they needed scientists. I remember him saying that it had something to do with cloning and genetic modification. He refused due to ethical concerns. Then..." She goes silent again, the telltale glint of sorrow in her eyes.
"Go ahead." I urge softly. "Keep going."
"...Amber... our daughter... There was a hit an run. She... " She fights against the tears begging to fall. I wait patiently, not wanting to push her. "It hit us both hard. But Yosuke... Something changed. He'd lock himself in his office and bury himself in his work. Eventually he asked Devon if the opening in the project was still there."
"He wanted to bring Amber back."
"I think so. It didn't sit right with me. I tried to talk him out of it but he was desperate. I could see it in his eyes."
Pieces of the puzzle are falling into place at last. Amber's death pushed Fuji into Devon's waiting arms and he started working, either knowingly or unknowingly, on a "Project Mewtwo" which was almost certainly tied to the kidnappings on Pokemar. Something happened and Mewtwo escaped around the time Thunder and I were brought into this world. Unfortunately some key information is still missing. Namely where they're storing the Mew and conducting their operations. Guess Jackson is going to need to do some digging.
A sudden knock on the door pulls my attention away.
"Hello? Mrs. Fuji? You got a minute?" A chill runs down my spine like ice down my back. I recognize that voice. The voice of one of the Rocket thugs that raided the tournament.
"Don't answer." I warn. "Don't say a word."
"What?" She asks. "I don-"
"It's Rocket. They're here." She looks like she's about to scream, but fortunately she controls herself, clasping her hands tightly around her mouth. "Is there another way out?"
"Come on, we know you're in there. We just need to have a moment." The thug says from the door. We need to hurry. We have no idea how patient they'll be.
"T-the balcony. That way." She points down a hall towards a sliding door. "There's a-a fire escape built into it."
"Good. Now come on. It's time to go." I rush over and pull her up quickly. "Thunder, it's Rocket. I whisper to him. "Watch our backs."
"Rocket?! Yeah, I got you." He quickly replies. The three of us rush to the balcony. This must be on the outer wall of the city as I can see the landscape stretched out before me like a painting. I glance downwards to check where our decent will take us. Bellow us is a group of people standing in front of a truck; all looking directly at the balcony, all wearing Rocket outfits. A split second before I turn away I catch a glimpse of them reaching for their guns and pokeballs.
"Get back!" I yell, pushing us all back into the apartment. "They've got the balcony covered. We're trapped."
"Trapped?!" She exclaims. "w-what do we do!?"
Before I have a chance to respond my attention is pulled towards the sound of splintering wood at the door. A large pair of jaws has just eaten the doorknob and punched straight through the door. A Mawile. I'd recognize that mouth anywhere.
The Mawile's jaws spit the doorknob and several large splinters out before it retracts back through the hole just in time for the door to violently swing open. Hoping to take them by surprise I charge them as they step inside, slamming them against the wall. Taking advantage of their stunned state I snatch the gun they held in their hand and turn it on them. I finally get a good look at our attacker. I instantly recognize them as the same one that saw us in the tent during our raid. And the same one who's gun exploded when Thunder shocked it. I can still see the burn scars on his face and hand.
"Walk out of here. Now." I say firmly, keeping the weapon trained on the intruder. While I have no intention of pulling the trigger, I'm not about to let them know that. "Thunder, keep that Mawile from trying anything." I mutter to my friend. He nods and plants his attention firmly on the Deceiver Pokemon. Betty, the Mightyena, appears to be doing the same. "I mean it! Go right back out that door. I won't tell you again!"
The Rocket grunt just smiles. "You won't do it. You don't have the stomach for it." Crap, he's calling my bluff...
"You willing to put your life on the line for that claim?"
"I've been around killers before. They all carry themselves a certain way. Nonchalantly like they simply don't care. Or afraid like a cornered pokemon, liable to lash out. You don't strike me as either."
"Don't test me." I put more aggression in my voice and take a step forward. I need to sell this. Much to my dismay he advances towards me until he's in point blank range.
"Well then do it. Shoot me. Because I ain't leaving. Not after what you pulled back at the camp." The seconds pass as if they were hours. This standoff can't last. Something's gotta give. And if that something is me they might wrestle the weapon from my grip and we'll be in deep trouble. But there doesn't seem like a way to avoid it...