Chapter 38
"To Viridian City"
"Ah-!…Ash?"
…Someone…Huh?
I blinked my eyes open slowly, letting my eyes adjust to the light.
"Ash! Are you okay?"
I turned my head to see who was talking to me.
…Misty?
"Are you okay, Ash?" she asked again.
Uh…I think so…
I groaned and looked down at my hands…but they weren't hands anymore…They were paws.
…What!?
I glanced backwards in confusion and saw my tail curling around behind me.
"…What's the matter, Ash?"
I thought I…But……I……I thought for sure that I……Was I dreaming?
"……And that means…?"
…Last night, I came in here, and I…I Transformed…
"……Um…I could ask you why you were Transforming in the bathroom in the middle of the night, but, instead…I think I'll ask……What's your point?"
Misty, I…I Transformed into myself.
She stared at me. I think I completely confused her, because both her face and her emotions were completely unreadable.
"…Um…Aren't you already……you?"
No! I mean…I…became human.
I watched as her jaw slowly dropped. It took a few seconds, but she recovered and stood up.
"Ash, you're not just pulling my leg, are you!?" she demanded.
No…
"Urr…How can you sound so honest? That can't be real…"
…It sure seemed real…
"……Did you change back and fall asleep or something?"
Huh? Oh……
…It didn't last very long, because I didn't even get to stand up before I blacked out…
"What!?"
……Unless I changed back while I was unconscious……
"Ash, I thought you had finally broken that habit," said a voice from the hall.
Misty and I glanced out the doorway to see Billie smirking at us.
What…habit? I asked.
"You know…blacking out constantly…It can't be good for your health, you know. You keep it up, and you might get a concussion…if you haven't already…"
"Billie, I think we would know if he had a concussion," Misty replied.
"Well…Maybe the symptoms are different…for Mews…"
Wh…at? Th…at…
I laughed loudly.
That can't be true! Ha…We're not so……different……
I stopped and stared at the floor. It was a blue color, kind of dark…It wasn't really hard, but it wasn't really soft either…All in all, a nice carpet for a hallway……but I couldn't help noticing how much my feet contrasted with it…I glanced at Misty's, and then at Billie's. Our feet were almost the same size, but they were a lot bigger than I was…
"…You okay, Ash?" Billie asked.
…Yeah…
"Well……Breakfast is ready…You coming?" said Misty.
Um…Not really hungry…
They both stared at me as if I was possessed. I glanced up at them.
…What? I asked.
"Uhh…Are you sure?" Misty asked.
Yeah…Why?
"Well, um……uhh…" Billie added, helpfully.
…If that's all you've got to say, I'm going outside, I said.
Mewtwo's gonna be waiting for me…I know it…
"Hey, wait!" Misty said, "Where are you going?"
Um…Outside…
"Just…outside?"
Uh…Yeah……I might not be back for a while…but don't worry, okay? I'll come back…
"…That's what you said last time…" Billie said softly.
Don't worry…I promise I'll be back.
She didn't say anything and looked down, but I knew what she was thinking…Our little agreement on how promises were cheap…
I grinned.
See ya.
I floated to the front door, and this time, I opened it before going through.
…You're late.
I glanced up and saw a familiarly-shaped shadow in the forest.
Good to see you too, I replied.
Come on, we have to get moving…Follow me.
With that, it turned around and started to fade into the woods.
Uh…Hey! Wait up!
I floated after Mewtwo.
……You know what I did last night? I asked.
No, and I don't really care.
……I think you should.
It gave me a cool glance.
Oh really? Why is that, Mew?
Because…Because I Transformed into…um…a human.
It stopped walking.
…Now why would you do a silly thing like that?
Wha…It's not silly!
Of course it is, Mewtwo said with a shrug, Humans are very silly creatures. Turning into one when you have a choice not to is even sillier.
But Mewtwo! I am a human!!
…No…You're a Mew…
But…But I can turn into a human! Uh…Watch…
I dropped to the ground and tried it one more time.
Humanhumanhumanhuman…
I felt Mewtwo's surprise as it watched me.
Mew, what are you doing?
…Transforming… I answered.
…That looks painful…
The flashes of darkness were back…Mewtwo was right…
It…is…
…Then why are you doing it?
…Because……I want to prove…that I…am…a human……
The black knives came and ran right through me. One flew through my head, then another came and went right through my ribcage. More and more came, and they started tearing me apart…but I couldn't let that stop me…I had to do this…one more time…
…Mew! Stop it! You're hurting yourself!
It's not…that……bad………
Mew, stop it right now!!
From out of nowhere, a white fist appeared and hit me with the force of a truck. The knives blinked out and I was sent head over heels until I finally rolled to a stop.
I groaned and opened my eyes. It looked like someone had made the forest into a jigsaw puzzle, but put the pieces in the wrong place. I blinked several times and the pieces moved into the right slots, but something was still strange…
I saw Mewtwo's legs walk towards me, but it looked like it was walking on the trees…
"…Mew?"
'…Huh?'
…I hope that you don't try that again… Mewtwo said.
I shook my head and toppled over. Everything looked normal all of a sudden.
What the…?
Hm? Oh…You must have lost your equilibrium…You were on your head just a moment ago…
Oh…Now you tell me…
I stood up shakily and looked up a Mewtwo.
…Why did you hit me?
I did you a favor, Mew. If I hadn't broken you out of that trance, you would've ended up hurting yourself a lot more that I just did.
But…but I was Transforming! It didn't hurt when I Transformed into Pikachu!
That's probably because you had Pikachu right in front of you when you did…If you try it again now, you'll probably hurt yourself again.
…Should I try it? I asked.
No. We don't want to be any later than we already are. Come on.
I sighed.
Whatever ya say…
* * *
It didn't take too long to get to the HQ…I did get a little restless though…I tried perching on several different places on Mewtwo, its shoulder, its head, even it tail…It kept swatting me off though, said something about dignity, whatever that means.
When we got to the HQ, the boss was already waiting for us.
"…You're late," he said.
I literally felt Mewtwo's anger go sky-high. I glanced at it in alarm. Its eyes were already starting to shine.
Mewtwo……Please calm down…You're making me nervous……
Mewtwo didn't say anything, but the glint in its eyes lessened. Its anger only receded a little though, and it didn't stop staring at the boss. It had its fists clenched, and its tail was twitching dangerously.
"…I see you've brought a friend this time…Hoping to outnumber me?"
With that last comment, he laughed long and loud.
…He's got a point… I said.
I came back…to give you everything that you've given to me… Mewtwo said darkly.
Uh…
"Really? I've given you so much…I don't think you can repay me so easily."
I wouldn't bet on that…Humans are very fragile creatures…
…Mewtwo?
Its eyes burned blue and a small ball of energy appeared between its paws.
What are you doing!? I exclaimed.
Let's begin…Shall we?
Uh, I don't think that's a good-
"Mr. Mime, go! Barrier."
Giovanni let a Mr. Mime out of a Pokéball, and it quickly created a glass-like wall. Mewtwo released its energy ball, and it paused for only a split second before smashing the Barrier and sending Mr. Mime flying. Giovanni had stepped aside, and he smiled at Mewtwo.
"Not bad. I trained you well."
You were never my master.
Giovanni chuckled to himself.
"We'll see……"
He glanced at me.
"And…since you brought along such an……incredible specimen, it would only be fair if I captured the both of you…With the two of you at my side, Team Rocket will be unstoppable!"
No…
…That will never happen…You cannot capture us, Mewtwo said.
Giovanni only smiled.
"…We'll see…"
He took a small machine out of his pocket. He pressed a button, and a Pokéball appeared and let out a Tentacruel. Immediately after Tentacruel was out, another Pokémon came out. It was a Poliwrath. After six Pokémon had come out, he pressed the button again, and six more Pokémon came out. After it seemed like he had at least one of every Pokémon in the world, he reached in his jacket and let out five more Pokémon. Kingler, Golem, Machamp, Rhydon, and…Charizard…
I floated to the ground and stared Giovanni's army…particularly Charizard…There was something different about it……The flame on its tail seemed…darker somehow……There wasn't any yellow anymore, just orange and red…and its eyes……I could sense a sadness coming from it……Actually…when I looked from Pokémon to Pokémon, I could feel the same sadness in each of them…
What did he do to them…? And…do I really want to find out…?
"Well now, Mewtwo…Still confident?"
Mewtwo, I hate to break it to you, but he's got us seriously outnumbered.
We can't back down now…If we are to lose, then let us go down fighting…
I didn't like the way it said that…