The computer systems hummed around Seth. Even with the indescribably massive amount of memory within these biocomputers, even they were working hard completing the program he was working on. Seth wondered if the computer would fry if he put on some music. Deciding to test Fate, Seth called to the computer system.
"Computer. Upload Napster file 'all.m3u'."
/File uploaded. Request track start./
"Start track on song 4." Seth replied. Instantly the song "Freak on a Leash" by Korn started to blare on the massive speakers linked to his lab's computer network. Seth smiled and sang along with the music while he worked.
/Sattelite network Pheta has picked up a surge of teleportive energy in the New Island II area./
"What's Mewtwo doing?" Seth mused. "Computer, scan for human biological signs on New Island II."
/Scan shows 14 human life signs. Dimensional ID shows that 11 of the 14 come from Timeline Delta./
"The digi-destined?!" Seth said. "Well, at least he can't use my evolution technology without my DNA code. But still...that makes things difficult. And the other three are probably Ash and the gang. Why he brought them is beyond me. In a fight against my mega-digimon, they'll be fairly useless."
/Digimon program complete./
Seth smiled. "Good. Activate the program."
/Activating file "Bahamon"./
The computers hummed to life, and in the room's center, a small light formed. Seth walked over and carefully watched the formation of the digimon. The light was blinding, forcing Seth to shade his glasses with his hands.
/Bahamon has been activated./
"All right." Seth said. Slowly he approached the digimon, who remained in the center of the room. The small, red, dragon-like creature slowly opened its eyes and looked around nervously. Sensing the approach of Seth, the creature whipped around and growled at the human.
Seth did nothing, but simply allowed the creature to get a good look at him. Slowly, Bahamon approached Seth and took a deep sniff of the boy. Seth slowly moved his hand into his pocket and pulled out a soft, juicy pear. The fresh fruit made Bahamon drool.
"Can...I have that please?" Bahamon said in a soft, soothing whisper that reminded Seth of a Disney cartoon character. "I'm...so hungry."
"Of course Bahamon." Seth said, handing the pear to the newborn digimon, who happily took the food and ate it. The dragon digimon smiled when the pear was all gone, and happily looked around the room. Noticing the obvious lack of other people, Bahamon wondered where he was.
"What is this place?" the little dragon said.
"This? This is my lab. We're inside my Construct."
"Con...Construct?" he asked.
"You've never heard of the Matrix movie, but this is basically a computer program where virtual reality can be digitally programmed and used. I enter here with a special device on my wrist watch." he said, showing Bahamon his watch. "This is where I made you, using the energy stored in my internet uplink, and these copies of my home computer in the real world."
"You made me? Then does that mean...you're my father?" the newborn asked.
"Well...I guess so. But I'm not a digimon. I'm human. And I'm going to let you have fun with your life, rather than boss you around."
Bahamon still wasn't sure what Seth was thinking, or why he made him, but he felt comfort in his heart when Seth said he would have a happy life. "So are we going to be friends forever?"
Seth frowned and pushed his glasses back up. "...I'm sorry, but I'm not exactly a friendly person. If I were your friend, nobody would like you, because nobody likes me." Bahamon frowned when Seth said that, thinking it was somehow his fault, but Seth quickly destroyed that idea. "I'm thinking for your benefit. After we finish my experiment, I want you to have fun and make lots of friends. You are such a nice, strong, and beautiful digimon that you'll have lots of friends. I'm sure of it."
Bahamon still felt sad that Seth was so...lonely, but he smiled to try and cheer him up. "If I make lots of friends, I'll introduce them to you, and you can be friends too!"
Seth frowned again, and turned to a nearby computer. As he typed away, he answered. "We'll see if they like me later on (although I doubt it...). For now, I need your help Bahamon."
"Really? What's wrong?" he said in an innocent voice.
Seth finished punching commands on his computer, and a small, flying robot that was basically a camera floated near Bahamon and shined a light on him. Bahamon blinked and shielded his eyes from the light. The Cambot whirred and clicked, and the main computer screen began displaying data.
/Bahamon. A dragon digimon. LEVEL: Champion. ATTACKS: Fire Breath [fire]. TYPE: Vaccine. FURTHER EVOLUTIONS: Tiamon (ultimate; Turtle Wave [psychic]), Neuromon (mega; Dreams of God [psychic])./
"When I built your program, I made sure you were very strong, because I need you to help me with my experiment." Little Bahamon nodded in limited understanding. Seth continued. "The experiment involves battling between Pokemon and Digimon, and I really need your help in fighting some people that don't want me to do the experiment. Since I didn't want to use the test subjects to do that, since it would mess up the data, I need you to defend the lab for me."
Bahamon nodded and hopped onto a nearby table, knocking over some notes and pens from the tabletop. "Who am I trying to protect you from?"
"Lots of people will try to get in, but in particular I want you to fight a guy named Mewtwo." said Seth, punching a command on his keyboard. On the screen, Mewtwo's image appeared, revolving around and showing his basic anatomy.
/Mewtwo. An experimental pokemon. LEVEL: equivalent Mega. ATTACKS: unlimited variations [psychic]. TYPE: indeterminate. FURTHER EVOLUTIONS: unknown. ELEMENT AFFILIATION: Psychic. ELEMENT WEAKNESS: unknown. Believed to be psychic./
"That...is Mewtwo. He's very dangerous. Even though he won't be able to go into the Construct, I can't fight him when I'm watching the battle between the two worlds." Seth turned to Bahamon. "That's why I need you to protect me. If you do this one thing for me, then I'll do anything you want for the rest of your life. I want you to be happy."
"I just want you to be happy too, Seth." Bahamon answered. "I want to be your friend and help you make friends, so we can both be happy."
Seth made a little smile. "It's refreshing to meet such an optomistic personality such as yourself." Seth turned to the computer and started to punch on the keyboards, while Bahamon sat next to him and watched his newest 'friend' work.
****
"So that's the story?" Agumon asked Tai, who had just finished explaining why the digimon had launched into the sky and fell on the floor of some strange house in another universe, where they could still remain at their rookie levels.
"Yeah, that's basically the whole story." Tai answered. "We try to help Mewtwo save the world, and at the same time he wants us to do some tests for him so that he can continue his research."
"What kind of tests?" Gabumon asked, still rubbing his butt where he landed.
"He gave me a small list of things he'll ask us to do." Izzy said, handing the list to Tai. Everyone tried to read over his shoulder, which made Tai feel a little closed in. After scooting away several inches, he started to read the top of the list out loud.
"IQ exams...endurance and strength courses...stress management skills...man, this sounds like something you take to get in the military."
"Just keep reading it." Brock said, trying to get a better look at the list from his spot in the back of the others.
Tai sighed and resumed reading the list. "EQ exams...wait a minute, what's EQ?"
"It means Emotional Quotient." said Joe. "It's supposed to tell if your very open or very reserved emotionally. It's good for finding out who's good for what kinds of jobs."
"Oh, okay. *sigh* let's see....EQ exams...human to nonhuman relationship...natural level of psychic and magical power...is he serious?!"
"Just finish the list!" Everyone yelled. Tai cringed a little and resumed his reading.
"Acting skills (what the...), response to emergency situations, physical skills, and psychological health. There, that's all."
"That's a lot of tests." Mimi said. "And I haven't studied one bit."
"What is the deal with acting skills? What does that have to do with anything?" Davis said. "Besides, I'm not acting in front of anybody!"
"It's a display of your skill with communication and on-the-fly decision making. Plus it will show how much modesty and embaressment you have. It's all part of my mental tests." Mewtwo said, walking into the room with a handful of devices.
"So we're going to save the world while taking all your tests?! How are we supposed to do that, and why?!" Ash complained.
"If I complete the research, then there's a chance that Seth will stop his experiment and resume the status quo between the two worlds. I'm trying to stop this before any fighting is needed." Mewtwo said.
"So how will this work then?" Gatomon asked. "Nonhumans go fight, while the humans go act on stage?" she asked.
"Of course not. That would be counter-productive to my experiments if I divide the nonhumans and the humans."
"Then what's the plan?" Veemon asked.
"I'll pick a few of you to stop Seth's attempts to make the digimon and pokemon fight, while the rest stay here and do my tests. Not all of you will do every test, but that is alright, since the data generated in each test will overlap with other tests."
"So we work in shifts? Do we get paid or something?" Davis joked.
"I'm for that!" Ash added.
"Pi-Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed.
"What'd he say?" Veemon asked.
"Don't ask me." Hawkmon said.
"Not a clue." Armadillomon replied.
"Me neither." Patomon said.
"Ditto." Gatomon said.
Mewtwo nodded. "So none of the digimon can speak with pokemon. Hmm...interesting. I guess the language isn't as compatible with digital minds as I thought."
"What are you talking about?" Palmon said, being just as lost as Mimi was.
Mewtwo handed a small collar to Pikachu, who growled and said, "Pi Pika! Chu....."
"Such language is unnecessary, but you have nothing to worry about Pikachu." Mewtwo answered. "This Marco Collar will allow the others to understand you. It won't hurt you or your abilities at all. It runs off of your body's natural electric current, and stretches or shrinks to fit comfortably around your body."
"Go ahead Pikachu." Ash said. "We can take it off if any time, so don't worry."
Pikachu nodded half-heartedly, and carefully walked into the ring.
"That looks just like a dark ring." TK said as the pokemon walked in.
"Now that you mention it..." Kari said. Davis leaped at the yellow pokemon just as the ring constricted around him and hummed to life. Davis practically tackled Pikachu and began to claw at the black band.
"Pika Pi Chu!!!..*zchzxx* What are you doing you crazy kid?!" Pikachu yelled. Everyone looked in amazement at the little yellow pokemon, who stood up and stared at himself in amazement. "Wow...I'm talking in Japanese!" he said.
Mewtwo smiled. "The band takes your thoughts and converts them to the Japanese language, then says them with a preset audio system. It's a very advanced piece of machinery that Seth made using the Pokedex systems and microtechnology. It will allow you to serve as the translator for the other pokemon, since you'll always be outside your pokeball."
Davis stood up with an embarrased grin. "Eh heh heh...sorry about that."
"No problem Davis!" Pikachu said, giving a peace sign. Everyone (except Mewtwo) laughed, while the purple pokemon handed some little devices to Ash, Misty, and Brock.
"Hey, that looks like our D3's!" Yolei said.
"They're only for communication." Mewtwo said. "They will allow you all to send e-mail to each other when you're out in the field. It will be useful in the long run."
"Wow....thanks Mewtwo." Ash said.
"Yeah, thanks." Misty added.
"We'll be real careful with them." Brock said.
"Very well. Now I suggest you get some rest. It's almost nightfall, and tomorrow we will start the experimentation. I've double-checked the rooms that were built for this place, and they have been furnished for you all. Boys' room, girls' room. Each can hold about a dozen kids, or a dozen digimon, or any combination there of."
"What about Pikachu? Don't pokemon have to sleep somewhere?" Davis asked.
"He can sleep with us!" Yolei said, smiling and rubbing Pikachu's head.
"I'm for that!" Pikachu cheered, making all the guys sweatdrop.
"And little Togepi will sleep with me, right Togepi?" Misty asked.
"Toge, toge!" the little pokemon said.
"He said "Yes, of course!"." Pikachu said.
"Pokemon sleep in their pokeballs." Cody said. "Brock explained to us that Pikachu is claustrophobic, and won't willingly enter a pokeball."
"Awww...poor little guy." Biyomon said. "If you get scared, we'll comfort you."
"Yeah, we'll make you REALLY comfortable." Palmon said, smiling and giggling with Mimi, Yolei, and Kari.
Ash groaned. "Why do all the girls like Pikachu."
"It's gotta be the hair." Pikachu said jokingly. More laughter from the kids echoed through the halls. Mewtwo made a sound like he was clearing his throat, even though he doesn't need his throat to speak.
"Cody is correct. The pokemon belonging to Ash, Misty, and Brock will sleep in their pokeballs, except for Pikachu, who will sleep in the boys room."
The girls sighed, except for Sora, who asked "What about you?"
"...I will find somewhere to sleep. I also refuse to sleep in a pokeball." Mewtwo said simply, walking down the hallway and looking over his shoulder at their surprised faces. "Come with me, and I'll show you where the rooms are."
All the kids walked with Mewtwo, with some chatting during the short trip (particulary Ash and Davis, who were plotting all kinds of pranks to do on the girls when they went to sleep). After a short trip down the hallway exiting the main lab, Mewtwo stopped before a room labeled with a red flower on the doorway.
"This is the girls' bedrooms. It holds three bunk beds, which should be enough for you and your digimon, as well as Togepi." Mewtwo continued down the hall, passing two doors. As they passed, he said "Girls' bathroom, Boys' bathroom...separated, of course."
"D'oh!" Brock said. Izzy and Joe sighed, and the three guys laughed.
"(I think Brock is a bad influence on your friends there.)" Misty whispered to Sora and Mimi, which made them giggle a little.
"(Joe and Izzy need some bad influence. They could enjoy some relaxation from their normal, boring lives at school.)" Sora said.
Mewtwo stopped in front of a door marked with a blue flower. "Boys' room. It has five bunk beds." Turning around, he continued. "If any of you need something vital, then call on my Dragonite, and he'll fly off to get it. I won't have any abuse of his services though."
"Ooh...grouchy." Yolei said.
"All the Who's down in Whoville enjoyed Christmas a lot, but Mewtwo, who just lived north of Whoville...did not." TK said in his best inpersonation of the classic narrator. The kids suppressed giggles and laughs, but Mewtwo simply glared at TK, who stopped laughing soon enough.
"If I have need of you, I'll call you telepathically. My Dragonite has set up a vegetarian dinner for you. Cheese, grapes, sliced apples and peaches, and some water. Nothing fancy, but it should be enough. Don't stay up to late, because tomorrow will be rough."
"Yes, dad." Davis joked. Mewtwo didn't respond to it, but rather walked back down the hall towards his lab. The kids watched him walk away in silence.
"That wasn't very nice guys." Sora said. "He's trying his best."
"Oh come on Sora. It's all in fun." Tai said. "He knows that. Besides, if he really got mad at us, he could just toss out the window...literally."
"Well *yawn*, I'm ready to get some shut eye. I haven't been sleeping well, so this change of pace should be good for me." Matt said. "It's like going to summer camp!"
"Hey, you're right!" Tai added. "Heh heh. I wonder if he'll let us use that 'gym' of his for soccer."
"I bet Ash, TA, and I can take you old guys on!" Davis challenged.
"You're on!" Tai replied. "Matt and I can take you guys with our eyes closed!"
"We'll see about that!" Ash said, laughing.
"Let's just get to bed, guys." Tentomon said. "It's going to be a long day tomorrow."
"He's right." Pikachu replied.
"Well, good night ladies." Gomamon said, walking off to the room with the blue flower on it. The males followed him in, with Davis and Tai still challenging each other to soccer.
"I guess we should do the same." Gatomon said, opening the door with the red flower on it."
"You're right. I'm beat." Kari said. The girls walked into the room, except for Sora, who looked down the hall where Mewtwo's lab was. Biyomon was about to walk into the room with the others, but when she noticed Sora wasn't following, she stopped and turned around.
"What is it, Sora?" the little bird asked. "Aren't you coming in?"
"....Not yet, Biyomon. I have to go check something out really quick. You go on ahead."
"Are you sure? I can come with you, if you want." Biyomon replied.
"No that's okay. I'll be alright. It won't take too long. I'll be back before you know it." Sora said, slowly walking down the large hallway back towards the lab.
"Um...whatever you say, Sora." Biyomon said, closing the door as the girls chattered away about how cute and sweet Ash was, and how lucky Misty was (while Misty insisted that her and Ash were not going out, much to the amusement of the others).
Sora slowly walked down the hall, hearing the echo of her shoes on the marble floor in her ears. She wondered how anyone could live in such a huge place by themselves without getting lonely. She didn't like being alone herself, so she could only imagine what others felt like when they were all alone.
A large orange thing bumped into Sora as she thought, which startled her enough to make her scream a little. She looked at the stranger, and saw what looked like a six-foot-tall dragon with small wings, a round nose and mouth, and a confused expression on its face when Sora's fear became apparent.
"Uh....sorry. *^_^* ", she said. The creature bowed and continued on its way, while Sora watched it carefully. When it became obvious that it wasn't concerned about her, Sora continued on her walk. Upon entering the lab again, Sora looked around for Mewtwo. She quietly walked towards where the holographs were displayed earlier, and looked around.
"Hmm...where could you be?" she whispered to herself. A glimpse of light caught her eye at the window, and Sora walked over to find out what it was. Looking out the large window, Sora saw a balcony overlooking the massive gym that the others were talking about. The sky was filled with beautiful stars as far as the eye could see. Covering a large portion of the sky was the massive blue portal that Seth had made, which swirled silently, unlike its initial opening, when it was roaring like an earthquake.
Sora allowed herself a moment to admire the beautiful sky, then decided to resume her search. As she turned away, Sora saw something walking onto the gym below. A light wind blew outside, but Sora could still hear the sound of footsteps on the gym surface. After careful inspection, Sora could make out Mewtwo's tail and ears, as well as his other characteristics. The pokemon seemed to be thinking about something that made him sag his head, as if he were depressed. Sora felt a wave of pity fly through her, and she looked around for a way to get down to the gym floor.
After a quick search, Sora found the door that led to the gym outside. A quick turn of the knob, and the digi-destined was outside in the chill, sea air. Sora was glad her mother insisted on her wearing thick clothes for the winter weather, even though it would be warm inside the theater. Sora slowly walked out towards where Mewtwo stood, carefully trying not to startle him or alert him to her presence. Carefully, she tried to listen to him thinking aloud...
****
Mewtwo looked up at the massive, blue whirlpool of light that filled up a good portion of the western night sky. The pokemon sighed deeply as thoughts raced through his mind at a-mile-a-minute.
"It's been a while since I've had people in my home." the pokemon said aloud. "Seth was as much a person as I am, so he didn't disturb me like this. He was so quiet and reserved, that we never bothered saying anything outside of our studies. It was easy that way. These kids...aren't like that."
Mewtwo waved his hand, and before him an image of the kids and their digimon talking in their rooms appeared. The girls were making ponytails out of each others' hair, as well as talking about themselves and their pasts. Meanwhile, the boys were doing the same, but were also holding a little wrestling tournament, in which Davis was leaping at Matt in an attempt to knock him down. Veemon and Patomon waited in their corners, waiting to be tagged, while the other guys laughed and cheered for who they thought would win.
"They lead such happy lives, despite the fact that they each face challenges on almost a daily basis, and have faced death time and time again." Mewtwo waved his hand, and the images disappeared. "It reminds me of when I lived without a care in the world... my memories as Mew."
Mewtwo blinked his eyes, and the images of his life as Mew flashed before him. Sleeping in the pure lake of the most secluded mountains...flying through the sky and frollicking amongst the clouds...living in perfect harmony with nature and the other pokemon that lived nearby. It was heaven compared to his life now.
A single tear managed to escape from Mewtwo's cold gaze, which fell to the gym floor below. Mewtwo growled in frustration, and cried out in anger. His hand shot up, and a blast of psychic power destroyed the ground in front of him where the images were. The gym floor shattered there, and an image of Mew's reflection in a pool of water slowly flickered away. When the last of his images faded away, he clenched his fists and tried to calm himself down, forcing the anger in his heart to return to the deep recesses of his mind.
"Are you okay?" a soft, soothing voice said from behind him. Mewtwo spun around, instinctively powering up his abilities. Sora cringed and covered herself with her arms, as if that would protect her from his powers. When Mewtwo realized that it was just her, he calmed himself down and released his hold on his power. Sora peaked to see if he was still going to hurt her, but when Mewtwo's eyes had stopped glowing bright blue, she let her arms fall to her sides.
"...I'm sorry, Sora." Mewtwo said calmly. "I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings. I must be more careful, now that you all are going to stay here for a little while."
Sora smiled, which surprised Mewtwo, who wasn't used to being smiled at. "No harm done." she replied, stepping a little closer to the pokemon. "I saw you crying, and I wanted to help."
Mewtwo's gaze showed his disbelief, but soon turned to concern when he noticed a slight wetness around her eyes. "Were you crying as well?"
Sora wiped her eyes a little and laughed unconvincingly. "Well, um...no, something got stuck in my eye. Eh heh heh."
Mewtwo said nothing in response, but obviously didn't believe her.
Sora finally relented. "Yes, yes... I'm sorry, but I cry when I hear a sad story... That's why I don't go to a lot of movies" she said, hoping to make him laugh. Mewtwo did nothing of the kind, and instead turned around to look out over the ocean around his island, as if to ignore her.
For a while neither of them spoke. Finally, Mewtwo turned his head towards her and said, "Is there something else that you want?".
Sora tried to think of some excuse for being out here, but nothing came. "Um...no, no there's nothing else. I just wanted to say good night, and sweet dreams." she said, bowing respectfully our of habit. She instantly regretted saying that, after seeing what kind of memories he dreams about.
Mewtwo's gaze fell back to the ocean, and Sora thought he was done talking. Slowly turning, she walked towards the gym door.
"Good night, Sora." Mewtwo said quietly. Sora whipped around, amazed at what she just heard. She looked at Mewtwo's back for a while, but he didn't turn, nor did he say anything else. Sora simply smiled and walked indoors to rejoin the others.
"Sweet dreams..." Mewtwo thought. The pokemon silently watched the waves crash on the shore below, and listened as the waters washed on shore and returned to the sea, like they've done for countless millenia.
"Computer. Upload Napster file 'all.m3u'."
/File uploaded. Request track start./
"Start track on song 4." Seth replied. Instantly the song "Freak on a Leash" by Korn started to blare on the massive speakers linked to his lab's computer network. Seth smiled and sang along with the music while he worked.
/Sattelite network Pheta has picked up a surge of teleportive energy in the New Island II area./
"What's Mewtwo doing?" Seth mused. "Computer, scan for human biological signs on New Island II."
/Scan shows 14 human life signs. Dimensional ID shows that 11 of the 14 come from Timeline Delta./
"The digi-destined?!" Seth said. "Well, at least he can't use my evolution technology without my DNA code. But still...that makes things difficult. And the other three are probably Ash and the gang. Why he brought them is beyond me. In a fight against my mega-digimon, they'll be fairly useless."
/Digimon program complete./
Seth smiled. "Good. Activate the program."
/Activating file "Bahamon"./
The computers hummed to life, and in the room's center, a small light formed. Seth walked over and carefully watched the formation of the digimon. The light was blinding, forcing Seth to shade his glasses with his hands.
/Bahamon has been activated./
"All right." Seth said. Slowly he approached the digimon, who remained in the center of the room. The small, red, dragon-like creature slowly opened its eyes and looked around nervously. Sensing the approach of Seth, the creature whipped around and growled at the human.
Seth did nothing, but simply allowed the creature to get a good look at him. Slowly, Bahamon approached Seth and took a deep sniff of the boy. Seth slowly moved his hand into his pocket and pulled out a soft, juicy pear. The fresh fruit made Bahamon drool.
"Can...I have that please?" Bahamon said in a soft, soothing whisper that reminded Seth of a Disney cartoon character. "I'm...so hungry."
"Of course Bahamon." Seth said, handing the pear to the newborn digimon, who happily took the food and ate it. The dragon digimon smiled when the pear was all gone, and happily looked around the room. Noticing the obvious lack of other people, Bahamon wondered where he was.
"What is this place?" the little dragon said.
"This? This is my lab. We're inside my Construct."
"Con...Construct?" he asked.
"You've never heard of the Matrix movie, but this is basically a computer program where virtual reality can be digitally programmed and used. I enter here with a special device on my wrist watch." he said, showing Bahamon his watch. "This is where I made you, using the energy stored in my internet uplink, and these copies of my home computer in the real world."
"You made me? Then does that mean...you're my father?" the newborn asked.
"Well...I guess so. But I'm not a digimon. I'm human. And I'm going to let you have fun with your life, rather than boss you around."
Bahamon still wasn't sure what Seth was thinking, or why he made him, but he felt comfort in his heart when Seth said he would have a happy life. "So are we going to be friends forever?"
Seth frowned and pushed his glasses back up. "...I'm sorry, but I'm not exactly a friendly person. If I were your friend, nobody would like you, because nobody likes me." Bahamon frowned when Seth said that, thinking it was somehow his fault, but Seth quickly destroyed that idea. "I'm thinking for your benefit. After we finish my experiment, I want you to have fun and make lots of friends. You are such a nice, strong, and beautiful digimon that you'll have lots of friends. I'm sure of it."
Bahamon still felt sad that Seth was so...lonely, but he smiled to try and cheer him up. "If I make lots of friends, I'll introduce them to you, and you can be friends too!"
Seth frowned again, and turned to a nearby computer. As he typed away, he answered. "We'll see if they like me later on (although I doubt it...). For now, I need your help Bahamon."
"Really? What's wrong?" he said in an innocent voice.
Seth finished punching commands on his computer, and a small, flying robot that was basically a camera floated near Bahamon and shined a light on him. Bahamon blinked and shielded his eyes from the light. The Cambot whirred and clicked, and the main computer screen began displaying data.
/Bahamon. A dragon digimon. LEVEL: Champion. ATTACKS: Fire Breath [fire]. TYPE: Vaccine. FURTHER EVOLUTIONS: Tiamon (ultimate; Turtle Wave [psychic]), Neuromon (mega; Dreams of God [psychic])./
"When I built your program, I made sure you were very strong, because I need you to help me with my experiment." Little Bahamon nodded in limited understanding. Seth continued. "The experiment involves battling between Pokemon and Digimon, and I really need your help in fighting some people that don't want me to do the experiment. Since I didn't want to use the test subjects to do that, since it would mess up the data, I need you to defend the lab for me."
Bahamon nodded and hopped onto a nearby table, knocking over some notes and pens from the tabletop. "Who am I trying to protect you from?"
"Lots of people will try to get in, but in particular I want you to fight a guy named Mewtwo." said Seth, punching a command on his keyboard. On the screen, Mewtwo's image appeared, revolving around and showing his basic anatomy.
/Mewtwo. An experimental pokemon. LEVEL: equivalent Mega. ATTACKS: unlimited variations [psychic]. TYPE: indeterminate. FURTHER EVOLUTIONS: unknown. ELEMENT AFFILIATION: Psychic. ELEMENT WEAKNESS: unknown. Believed to be psychic./
"That...is Mewtwo. He's very dangerous. Even though he won't be able to go into the Construct, I can't fight him when I'm watching the battle between the two worlds." Seth turned to Bahamon. "That's why I need you to protect me. If you do this one thing for me, then I'll do anything you want for the rest of your life. I want you to be happy."
"I just want you to be happy too, Seth." Bahamon answered. "I want to be your friend and help you make friends, so we can both be happy."
Seth made a little smile. "It's refreshing to meet such an optomistic personality such as yourself." Seth turned to the computer and started to punch on the keyboards, while Bahamon sat next to him and watched his newest 'friend' work.
****
"So that's the story?" Agumon asked Tai, who had just finished explaining why the digimon had launched into the sky and fell on the floor of some strange house in another universe, where they could still remain at their rookie levels.
"Yeah, that's basically the whole story." Tai answered. "We try to help Mewtwo save the world, and at the same time he wants us to do some tests for him so that he can continue his research."
"What kind of tests?" Gabumon asked, still rubbing his butt where he landed.
"He gave me a small list of things he'll ask us to do." Izzy said, handing the list to Tai. Everyone tried to read over his shoulder, which made Tai feel a little closed in. After scooting away several inches, he started to read the top of the list out loud.
"IQ exams...endurance and strength courses...stress management skills...man, this sounds like something you take to get in the military."
"Just keep reading it." Brock said, trying to get a better look at the list from his spot in the back of the others.
Tai sighed and resumed reading the list. "EQ exams...wait a minute, what's EQ?"
"It means Emotional Quotient." said Joe. "It's supposed to tell if your very open or very reserved emotionally. It's good for finding out who's good for what kinds of jobs."
"Oh, okay. *sigh* let's see....EQ exams...human to nonhuman relationship...natural level of psychic and magical power...is he serious?!"
"Just finish the list!" Everyone yelled. Tai cringed a little and resumed his reading.
"Acting skills (what the...), response to emergency situations, physical skills, and psychological health. There, that's all."
"That's a lot of tests." Mimi said. "And I haven't studied one bit."
"What is the deal with acting skills? What does that have to do with anything?" Davis said. "Besides, I'm not acting in front of anybody!"
"It's a display of your skill with communication and on-the-fly decision making. Plus it will show how much modesty and embaressment you have. It's all part of my mental tests." Mewtwo said, walking into the room with a handful of devices.
"So we're going to save the world while taking all your tests?! How are we supposed to do that, and why?!" Ash complained.
"If I complete the research, then there's a chance that Seth will stop his experiment and resume the status quo between the two worlds. I'm trying to stop this before any fighting is needed." Mewtwo said.
"So how will this work then?" Gatomon asked. "Nonhumans go fight, while the humans go act on stage?" she asked.
"Of course not. That would be counter-productive to my experiments if I divide the nonhumans and the humans."
"Then what's the plan?" Veemon asked.
"I'll pick a few of you to stop Seth's attempts to make the digimon and pokemon fight, while the rest stay here and do my tests. Not all of you will do every test, but that is alright, since the data generated in each test will overlap with other tests."
"So we work in shifts? Do we get paid or something?" Davis joked.
"I'm for that!" Ash added.
"Pi-Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed.
"What'd he say?" Veemon asked.
"Don't ask me." Hawkmon said.
"Not a clue." Armadillomon replied.
"Me neither." Patomon said.
"Ditto." Gatomon said.
Mewtwo nodded. "So none of the digimon can speak with pokemon. Hmm...interesting. I guess the language isn't as compatible with digital minds as I thought."
"What are you talking about?" Palmon said, being just as lost as Mimi was.
Mewtwo handed a small collar to Pikachu, who growled and said, "Pi Pika! Chu....."
"Such language is unnecessary, but you have nothing to worry about Pikachu." Mewtwo answered. "This Marco Collar will allow the others to understand you. It won't hurt you or your abilities at all. It runs off of your body's natural electric current, and stretches or shrinks to fit comfortably around your body."
"Go ahead Pikachu." Ash said. "We can take it off if any time, so don't worry."
Pikachu nodded half-heartedly, and carefully walked into the ring.
"That looks just like a dark ring." TK said as the pokemon walked in.
"Now that you mention it..." Kari said. Davis leaped at the yellow pokemon just as the ring constricted around him and hummed to life. Davis practically tackled Pikachu and began to claw at the black band.
"Pika Pi Chu!!!..*zchzxx* What are you doing you crazy kid?!" Pikachu yelled. Everyone looked in amazement at the little yellow pokemon, who stood up and stared at himself in amazement. "Wow...I'm talking in Japanese!" he said.
Mewtwo smiled. "The band takes your thoughts and converts them to the Japanese language, then says them with a preset audio system. It's a very advanced piece of machinery that Seth made using the Pokedex systems and microtechnology. It will allow you to serve as the translator for the other pokemon, since you'll always be outside your pokeball."
Davis stood up with an embarrased grin. "Eh heh heh...sorry about that."
"No problem Davis!" Pikachu said, giving a peace sign. Everyone (except Mewtwo) laughed, while the purple pokemon handed some little devices to Ash, Misty, and Brock.
"Hey, that looks like our D3's!" Yolei said.
"They're only for communication." Mewtwo said. "They will allow you all to send e-mail to each other when you're out in the field. It will be useful in the long run."
"Wow....thanks Mewtwo." Ash said.
"Yeah, thanks." Misty added.
"We'll be real careful with them." Brock said.
"Very well. Now I suggest you get some rest. It's almost nightfall, and tomorrow we will start the experimentation. I've double-checked the rooms that were built for this place, and they have been furnished for you all. Boys' room, girls' room. Each can hold about a dozen kids, or a dozen digimon, or any combination there of."
"What about Pikachu? Don't pokemon have to sleep somewhere?" Davis asked.
"He can sleep with us!" Yolei said, smiling and rubbing Pikachu's head.
"I'm for that!" Pikachu cheered, making all the guys sweatdrop.
"And little Togepi will sleep with me, right Togepi?" Misty asked.
"Toge, toge!" the little pokemon said.
"He said "Yes, of course!"." Pikachu said.
"Pokemon sleep in their pokeballs." Cody said. "Brock explained to us that Pikachu is claustrophobic, and won't willingly enter a pokeball."
"Awww...poor little guy." Biyomon said. "If you get scared, we'll comfort you."
"Yeah, we'll make you REALLY comfortable." Palmon said, smiling and giggling with Mimi, Yolei, and Kari.
Ash groaned. "Why do all the girls like Pikachu."
"It's gotta be the hair." Pikachu said jokingly. More laughter from the kids echoed through the halls. Mewtwo made a sound like he was clearing his throat, even though he doesn't need his throat to speak.
"Cody is correct. The pokemon belonging to Ash, Misty, and Brock will sleep in their pokeballs, except for Pikachu, who will sleep in the boys room."
The girls sighed, except for Sora, who asked "What about you?"
"...I will find somewhere to sleep. I also refuse to sleep in a pokeball." Mewtwo said simply, walking down the hallway and looking over his shoulder at their surprised faces. "Come with me, and I'll show you where the rooms are."
All the kids walked with Mewtwo, with some chatting during the short trip (particulary Ash and Davis, who were plotting all kinds of pranks to do on the girls when they went to sleep). After a short trip down the hallway exiting the main lab, Mewtwo stopped before a room labeled with a red flower on the doorway.
"This is the girls' bedrooms. It holds three bunk beds, which should be enough for you and your digimon, as well as Togepi." Mewtwo continued down the hall, passing two doors. As they passed, he said "Girls' bathroom, Boys' bathroom...separated, of course."
"D'oh!" Brock said. Izzy and Joe sighed, and the three guys laughed.
"(I think Brock is a bad influence on your friends there.)" Misty whispered to Sora and Mimi, which made them giggle a little.
"(Joe and Izzy need some bad influence. They could enjoy some relaxation from their normal, boring lives at school.)" Sora said.
Mewtwo stopped in front of a door marked with a blue flower. "Boys' room. It has five bunk beds." Turning around, he continued. "If any of you need something vital, then call on my Dragonite, and he'll fly off to get it. I won't have any abuse of his services though."
"Ooh...grouchy." Yolei said.
"All the Who's down in Whoville enjoyed Christmas a lot, but Mewtwo, who just lived north of Whoville...did not." TK said in his best inpersonation of the classic narrator. The kids suppressed giggles and laughs, but Mewtwo simply glared at TK, who stopped laughing soon enough.
"If I have need of you, I'll call you telepathically. My Dragonite has set up a vegetarian dinner for you. Cheese, grapes, sliced apples and peaches, and some water. Nothing fancy, but it should be enough. Don't stay up to late, because tomorrow will be rough."
"Yes, dad." Davis joked. Mewtwo didn't respond to it, but rather walked back down the hall towards his lab. The kids watched him walk away in silence.
"That wasn't very nice guys." Sora said. "He's trying his best."
"Oh come on Sora. It's all in fun." Tai said. "He knows that. Besides, if he really got mad at us, he could just toss out the window...literally."
"Well *yawn*, I'm ready to get some shut eye. I haven't been sleeping well, so this change of pace should be good for me." Matt said. "It's like going to summer camp!"
"Hey, you're right!" Tai added. "Heh heh. I wonder if he'll let us use that 'gym' of his for soccer."
"I bet Ash, TA, and I can take you old guys on!" Davis challenged.
"You're on!" Tai replied. "Matt and I can take you guys with our eyes closed!"
"We'll see about that!" Ash said, laughing.
"Let's just get to bed, guys." Tentomon said. "It's going to be a long day tomorrow."
"He's right." Pikachu replied.
"Well, good night ladies." Gomamon said, walking off to the room with the blue flower on it. The males followed him in, with Davis and Tai still challenging each other to soccer.
"I guess we should do the same." Gatomon said, opening the door with the red flower on it."
"You're right. I'm beat." Kari said. The girls walked into the room, except for Sora, who looked down the hall where Mewtwo's lab was. Biyomon was about to walk into the room with the others, but when she noticed Sora wasn't following, she stopped and turned around.
"What is it, Sora?" the little bird asked. "Aren't you coming in?"
"....Not yet, Biyomon. I have to go check something out really quick. You go on ahead."
"Are you sure? I can come with you, if you want." Biyomon replied.
"No that's okay. I'll be alright. It won't take too long. I'll be back before you know it." Sora said, slowly walking down the large hallway back towards the lab.
"Um...whatever you say, Sora." Biyomon said, closing the door as the girls chattered away about how cute and sweet Ash was, and how lucky Misty was (while Misty insisted that her and Ash were not going out, much to the amusement of the others).
Sora slowly walked down the hall, hearing the echo of her shoes on the marble floor in her ears. She wondered how anyone could live in such a huge place by themselves without getting lonely. She didn't like being alone herself, so she could only imagine what others felt like when they were all alone.
A large orange thing bumped into Sora as she thought, which startled her enough to make her scream a little. She looked at the stranger, and saw what looked like a six-foot-tall dragon with small wings, a round nose and mouth, and a confused expression on its face when Sora's fear became apparent.
"Uh....sorry. *^_^* ", she said. The creature bowed and continued on its way, while Sora watched it carefully. When it became obvious that it wasn't concerned about her, Sora continued on her walk. Upon entering the lab again, Sora looked around for Mewtwo. She quietly walked towards where the holographs were displayed earlier, and looked around.
"Hmm...where could you be?" she whispered to herself. A glimpse of light caught her eye at the window, and Sora walked over to find out what it was. Looking out the large window, Sora saw a balcony overlooking the massive gym that the others were talking about. The sky was filled with beautiful stars as far as the eye could see. Covering a large portion of the sky was the massive blue portal that Seth had made, which swirled silently, unlike its initial opening, when it was roaring like an earthquake.
Sora allowed herself a moment to admire the beautiful sky, then decided to resume her search. As she turned away, Sora saw something walking onto the gym below. A light wind blew outside, but Sora could still hear the sound of footsteps on the gym surface. After careful inspection, Sora could make out Mewtwo's tail and ears, as well as his other characteristics. The pokemon seemed to be thinking about something that made him sag his head, as if he were depressed. Sora felt a wave of pity fly through her, and she looked around for a way to get down to the gym floor.
After a quick search, Sora found the door that led to the gym outside. A quick turn of the knob, and the digi-destined was outside in the chill, sea air. Sora was glad her mother insisted on her wearing thick clothes for the winter weather, even though it would be warm inside the theater. Sora slowly walked out towards where Mewtwo stood, carefully trying not to startle him or alert him to her presence. Carefully, she tried to listen to him thinking aloud...
****
Mewtwo looked up at the massive, blue whirlpool of light that filled up a good portion of the western night sky. The pokemon sighed deeply as thoughts raced through his mind at a-mile-a-minute.
"It's been a while since I've had people in my home." the pokemon said aloud. "Seth was as much a person as I am, so he didn't disturb me like this. He was so quiet and reserved, that we never bothered saying anything outside of our studies. It was easy that way. These kids...aren't like that."
Mewtwo waved his hand, and before him an image of the kids and their digimon talking in their rooms appeared. The girls were making ponytails out of each others' hair, as well as talking about themselves and their pasts. Meanwhile, the boys were doing the same, but were also holding a little wrestling tournament, in which Davis was leaping at Matt in an attempt to knock him down. Veemon and Patomon waited in their corners, waiting to be tagged, while the other guys laughed and cheered for who they thought would win.
"They lead such happy lives, despite the fact that they each face challenges on almost a daily basis, and have faced death time and time again." Mewtwo waved his hand, and the images disappeared. "It reminds me of when I lived without a care in the world... my memories as Mew."
Mewtwo blinked his eyes, and the images of his life as Mew flashed before him. Sleeping in the pure lake of the most secluded mountains...flying through the sky and frollicking amongst the clouds...living in perfect harmony with nature and the other pokemon that lived nearby. It was heaven compared to his life now.
A single tear managed to escape from Mewtwo's cold gaze, which fell to the gym floor below. Mewtwo growled in frustration, and cried out in anger. His hand shot up, and a blast of psychic power destroyed the ground in front of him where the images were. The gym floor shattered there, and an image of Mew's reflection in a pool of water slowly flickered away. When the last of his images faded away, he clenched his fists and tried to calm himself down, forcing the anger in his heart to return to the deep recesses of his mind.
"Are you okay?" a soft, soothing voice said from behind him. Mewtwo spun around, instinctively powering up his abilities. Sora cringed and covered herself with her arms, as if that would protect her from his powers. When Mewtwo realized that it was just her, he calmed himself down and released his hold on his power. Sora peaked to see if he was still going to hurt her, but when Mewtwo's eyes had stopped glowing bright blue, she let her arms fall to her sides.
"...I'm sorry, Sora." Mewtwo said calmly. "I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings. I must be more careful, now that you all are going to stay here for a little while."
Sora smiled, which surprised Mewtwo, who wasn't used to being smiled at. "No harm done." she replied, stepping a little closer to the pokemon. "I saw you crying, and I wanted to help."
Mewtwo's gaze showed his disbelief, but soon turned to concern when he noticed a slight wetness around her eyes. "Were you crying as well?"
Sora wiped her eyes a little and laughed unconvincingly. "Well, um...no, something got stuck in my eye. Eh heh heh."
Mewtwo said nothing in response, but obviously didn't believe her.
Sora finally relented. "Yes, yes... I'm sorry, but I cry when I hear a sad story... That's why I don't go to a lot of movies" she said, hoping to make him laugh. Mewtwo did nothing of the kind, and instead turned around to look out over the ocean around his island, as if to ignore her.
For a while neither of them spoke. Finally, Mewtwo turned his head towards her and said, "Is there something else that you want?".
Sora tried to think of some excuse for being out here, but nothing came. "Um...no, no there's nothing else. I just wanted to say good night, and sweet dreams." she said, bowing respectfully our of habit. She instantly regretted saying that, after seeing what kind of memories he dreams about.
Mewtwo's gaze fell back to the ocean, and Sora thought he was done talking. Slowly turning, she walked towards the gym door.
"Good night, Sora." Mewtwo said quietly. Sora whipped around, amazed at what she just heard. She looked at Mewtwo's back for a while, but he didn't turn, nor did he say anything else. Sora simply smiled and walked indoors to rejoin the others.
"Sweet dreams..." Mewtwo thought. The pokemon silently watched the waves crash on the shore below, and listened as the waters washed on shore and returned to the sea, like they've done for countless millenia.