Poke-Factor 3: The Wrath Of MewTwo


He walked calmly through the forest, the pale moon overhead the only thing lighting his path, not that he needed light. He could feel every pokemon on his island, hear their thoughts and feelings as clearly as his own. He had no place to call his home, but here, he had a place he could make himself and the other pokemon created in his lab as happy as he'd never thought. All thanks to his own genetic match.

MewTwo liked living here on his island, away from the humans who had created him. The only living creatures he saw were pokemon, and MewTwo himself created all those. Little happened on the island that he didn't know about. If any pokemon on the island knew about it, he knew about it. His psychic link with his creations was strong enough to span countless miles, but none stronger than the link he shared with Mew.

He always considered it a great irony that he was so far superior in every way, but still Mew seemed to know more about just about everything. He could only guess that Mews age gave him experiences he couldn't hope to match.

He was content here, in his own little world outside of the influence of the humans. It was actually a small island as yet undiscovered by the humans, but if he had his way, they never would discover it...

Suddenly his body convulsed slightly, the only external evidence of this being a slight twitch in his eyebrow. His psychic link was activating fiercely, something was happening with Mew, he was crying for him.

Immediately blue energy surrounded MewTwo as he raced through the forest towards Mews psychic cries, throwing trees and pokemon alike out of his way in his hurry to come to Mews aid. Suddenly the cries stopped, the link going completely silent. This could mean Mew was unconscious or...

MewTwo continued towards the last place he'd felt Mew, only to find nothing there. No trace of him remained except a faint residue of his power being used. A more thorough and speedy search of the whole island wielded similar results, Mew was gone without a trace.

MewTwos furious cry rang silently throughout the entire planet, every pokemon hearing it clearly, and every one of them curling in upon itself at the unbridled anger in that voice.
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Ash walked along the narrow dirt path that wound its way through Professor Oaks pokemon preserve. The professor had asked Ash and the others to make sure everything was in order, but Brock and Duplica had immediately made themselves scarce, sticking Ash and Misty with the job. Ash couldn't help but smirk at this, and they had the nerve to call HIM lazy.

Aw well might as well enjoy it, he thought as he walked along under the slowly fading light of the almost velvet sunset. It was looking to be a beautiful night tonight, and he would still be home in time for a nice long sleep before the morning.

He hoped so anyway, he hadn't been getting much sleep recently with Pikachu frantically running around the room and clawing at everything. If Ash didn't know better he'd almost think Pikachu had gone wild, but he still stayed beside Ash during the day, albeit nervously.

Actually, Misty told him she had been having the same problem with Togepi. The little egg pokemon had kept wailing non-stop throughout the night and would not be quiet no matter what she did. It was only semi-silent when it was in Misty's arms and she was awake. Something was going on with all the pokemon... But what?

"You look like you're pretty deep in thought." Misty commented beside him, startling him out of his little bout of musing he probably wouldn't be able to start again.

"I was." Ash said a bit bitingly, probably more so than he'd intended.

"Jeese sorry. I didn't know you'd be so testy if I just tried to start a conversation." Misty said, smirking at him a bit angrily.

"Sorry..." Ash grumbled, not really wanting to admit defeat, but knowing from long traveling hours of experience that arguing was useless.

"What? Did I just hear an apology? Oh happy day!" Misty yelled, jumping girlishly into the air repeatedly. "I finally got you trained!" She said, grinning at him widely.

Ash just smirked back at her, not really all that amused. "Please Misty, I'm just trying to figure out what's wrong with the pokemon." He said just before a Mankey swung down in front of them, slamming one fist right into Ash's face. "ARGH!"

"Ash!" Misty exclaimed in surprise as the pokemon darted back into the trees, already long gone. "Are you okay? That looked like a hard punch."

"I'm fine..." He grumbled just as the little gadget on his belt started beeping. "Hm?"

"It's Bill." Misty said as her own little thing started beeping. They really had to ask Bill to give it a name eventually. For now though they were just supposed to head to Professor Oaks whenever it went off.

So the turned back on the path and headed along quickly to Professor Oaks laboratory, Pikachu seeming to get more and more frantic as they walked, urging them to speed up until finally it took off ahead of them, leaving them behind totally.

"Wait up Pikachu!" Ash yelled, running after the little mouse. Misty ran faster as well and they shortly reached the main laboratory. Inside they found Bill, Professor Oak, Brock and Duplica already waiting for them.

"Well look who has energy after all." Misty said, smirking as she saw the last two.

"This is no time for squabbling." Professor Oak chided her, gesturing to the videophone on his wall. The little screen depicted a ruined wall with a gaping hole in it, revealing the outside of that building to be no different. Buildings were demolished and there were lifeless human and pokemon bodies scattered around the area.

"Oh no..." Misty breathed, almost inaudible even though everyone in the room was deathly silent as the image on the little screen remained unchanging, as still as the little figures showing through on it.

"What happened?" Ash asked, speaking softly. The horror of the things on the screen almost overwhelmed him.

"We received a call from Officer Jenny of Pewter City ten minutes ago." Bill explained. "She was frantic about some kind of pokemon attack, then something blocked the transmission, after that the image finally came back as you now see it."

"That's Pewter City!?" Brock exclaimed in shock. His entire family had been living there.

"I don't think you need to be told what you're supposed to do here." Bill said gravely, no smile cracking his face at his own joke.

"Right, we're going right away." Ash said without hesitation, Misty and Duplica nodding beside him determinedly. Brock looked the most adamant as he simply turned and left the room, heading outside of the laboratory. The other three followed behind him, catching up with him out front.

"We need to move fast." Ash said, reaching for a pokeball. "Charizard, we need your wings." He shouted, throwing the ball. The dragon like pokemon appeared in a brilliant flash of light, letting out a tremendous roar as it stretched out its wings to their fullest extent.

"Ditto, transform." Duplica said to the little purple puddle beside her. Ditto's body began to shift immediately, rearranging itself into a solid configuration, that of Ash's Charizard. They all climbed on the two winged pokemon, Ash and Misty on Ash's Charizard, Duplica and Brock on Ditto.

They took off at the same time, flying across the now fully night sky steadily, the soft glow of the moon the only way they could really see anything below them. Ash watched below him as all of the mountain tops and lakes seemed to glow from the light. The view was spectacular, but they couldn't afford to gawk right now, this was urgent.

They soared over Viridian City, passing it by almost instantly in their rush to make it to the next town over. Ash couldn't help but glance over at Brock, who was simply looking ahead trying to spot any sign of his hometown.

"There it is!" Misty yelled from right behind Ash, pointing ahead of them. Out of the darkness they could see several raging fires illuminating the rubble surrounding them, as they'd seen on the video phone, Pewter City was in ruins.

The two Charizards circled above the town as they slowly descended to the ground, landing with soft thuds just outside the city boundaries. Ditto reverted back to its natural form as Ash called Charizard back into its pokeball.

"What could have possible done this?" Duplica asked in awe as they headed into the town, Brock looking downright anxious about everything. What little light they had was the moonlight that didn't really help too much.

"Ash! Look!" Misty yelled, pointing at the darkness frantically. Two deep blue flashes seemed to illuminate a whitish face that looked almost human, but not quite. The flashes seemed to be coming from its eyes.

Before anyone else could say anything a deep voice rang through their minds. [Ash] It said, causing all of them to look around in confusion.

"What was that?" Duplica asked, looking around suspiciously.

"I think it's that thing." Brock said, facing the figure in the darkness.

"How do you know my name?" Ash demanded, stepping forward with courage he certainly didn't feel. "Why are you doing this?"

[I am MewTwo] The voice in their minds said, ringing clear as a bell. [I am looking for someone]

"Looking for someone!?" Ash exclaimed angrily. "Why is all this necessary!? All you had to do was ask someone for help!"

The voice in their minds burst suddenly into a mirthful chuckle, the figure in the shadows seeming to chuckle as well. [If it's beyond me to find him, it's far beyond a human] It said. [You helped me once, so you will be spared. But until I find Mew nothing will be safe]

"Mew..." Ash said thoughtfully, something coming back to him, as though some veil were being lifted out of his mind. Finally he remembered everything that had happened. "Mew's missing?" He asked curiously. How could someone not only steal something, but hide something from the world strongest pokemon? "This isn't the way... You're only going to get yourself destroyed like this!"

[No humans could destroy me] MewTwo retorted, its eyes narrowing dangerously.

"You're not invincible, they will find a way if you keep this up! Give me a chance at least! I'll find Mew no matter what it takes! You have nothing to lose and a friend to gain." Ash said sensibly, staring MewTwo down as solidly as he could possibly manage.

[Very well, you have two days time to find Mew. After that, I will find him myself] MewTwo said, raising one hand as a dark blue glow surrounded it. Misty was suddenly hefted into the air, shrieking in surprise.

"Misty!" Ash cried, leaping after her, but he was suddenly stopped in thin air like he'd run right into an invisible wall. "You don't have to do this MewTwo! I'll fine Mew! I want to help you!" Ash yelled, still trying to make his body move.

[If you cannot find Mew in two days, she will be the first to feel my wrath] MewTwo replied, looking up at Misty still suspended above the ground. Slowly a blue light seemed to surround both of them.

"Ash! Get me out of here!" Misty shrieked fearfully just before both her and MewTwo vanished in a surge of pure psychic energy.

"MISTY!" Ash screamed at the top of his lungs, lunging forward finally, but he was far too late. He sunk slowly to his knees as he looked around at the destruction around him. Togepi just looked around confusedly, not quite getting what had happened to its master. "Misty..." Ash said. How was he supposed to find something a creature with so much power couldn't even find?

"Ash..." Duplica said softly, walking up behind him and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, you always do what you set out to do, it's one thing nobody can not admire you for."

"I don't even know where to begin..." Ash said, practically growing frantic. "I don't have anything to go on except my promise... I can't even try to keep it..." He dropped to his hand and knees, tears stinging his eyes. "I can't do anything..."

"You already have done something Ash, you gave people time to prepare at least... You were right, he's not invincible, nothing is." Duplica said comfortingly.

"But Misty..." He said as the tears slipped through his clenched eyelids. "He's gonna... Kill her first." He couldn't help but start sobbing a bit.

"Well then you just have to save her by finding Mew." Duplica said simply, as though he just had to find a needle in a haystack. That would be easy compared to this.

"I CAN'T" Ash shrieked angrily, whirling on her furiously. "If I could I'd be gone already but..." Pikachu, who started chattering and pulling at his belt frantically, interrupted him suddenly. "What?" He watched curiously as Pikachu yanked a pokeball off his belt and opened it, summoning Charizard.

"What's Pikachu doing?" Duplica asked, watching this in total confusion.

"The pokemon... They've been acting strange for days..." Ash said, coming to a sudden realization. "Your strange behavior and Mews kidnapping are related aren't they Pikachu?" Pikachu warbled affirmatively. "You know where I can find Mew!?" Ash exclaimed hopefully. Pikachu simply stroked its chin and shrugged its shoulders at that, but indicated Charizard anyway. "What?"

"I think he wants you to go with them." Duplica said, evoking another affirmative squeak from Pikachu.

"Well if there's the slightest chance, I'll do it!" Ash exclaimed, walking up to Charizard, who was already knelt on the ground and waiting for him. "Duplica, you and Brock coming?" He aid, suddenly realizing Brock's not anywhere in sight. "Where is Brock?"

"He went to find his house..." Duplica said, looking down slightly. "Good luck Ash, I'll expect to see Misty back safe and sound by morning."

"Right." Ash said, trying to stay atop Charizard, who was shuffling and twitching with pent up energy and anxiety. "Let's go Charizard! Take me where you will!" Charizard let out a mighty roar as he shoved off of the ground, flapping its wings mightily, carrying them into the sky rapidly. The dark night didn't seem to bother the winged lizard, who flew as straight as an arrow to their destination across the ocean.

Ash watched almost in awe as an island hove into view, nearly three times bigger than Cinnabar Island, yet he'd never known it'd existed. Either nobody had ever bothered to come up this way before, or MewTwo had literally raised and cloaked this island on his own.

A loud chattering from Pikachu told Ash they were nearing their destination, a small clearing right near the shore of the island. He watched a bit in awe as they neared, the island seeming to grow even bigger the nearer they got, and not just by getting closer either. The entire place seemed to be shifting with power.

"Where is this?" Ash asked as Charizard made a perfect landing in the middle of the clearing. He climbed off slowly and looked around. It was just a moderately sized clearing, nothing special about it.

"This is where the Mew disappeared" Ash whirled in surprise, thinking MewTwo had followed him. Instead all he saw was a little greenish glow flitting quickly through the darkness, a tiny figure illuminated by the light of Charizards tail flame. It floated above the ground at Ash's head level.

"Who are you?" Ash asked.

"I am the keeper of time." The tiny, almost squeaky voice said. "Also known as Celebi"

"Keeper of time?" Ash asked, staring at the little thing doubtfully. "You look like a fairy."

The tiny thing chuckled merrily at this, grinning at Ash almost bashfully. "I do don't I? But there's no time for me to convince you of this, time is of the essence."

"That was corny." Ash remarked dryly. "Listen, I have to find where Mew is now not where he disappeared from."

"What makes you think the question is where?" The fairy asked, smiling at him slyly. "If it was simply a matter of where, MewTwo would have found him by now."

"What are you getting at?" Ash demanded irritably.

"Allow me to explain..." The tiny thing said. "I was here looking for something to do when I was jumped by Mew. He thought I was a bug or something and wanted to play. So we played until he got caught in a time ripple caused by my very presence."

"Mew was sent through time?" Ash asked incredulously. This was just too much.

"He was sent to the future." She finished.

"Wait, why don't you just wait however far ahead he went and send him back here when you get there?"

"It doesn't work like that." She said, smirking. "I exist in all points of time simultaneously, I can't overlap myself by going through time to when I'm already there." Upon noting Ash's thoroughly confused look she gave up on the explanation. "I'll put it this way, I can send you, but I can't go personally under the current circumstances."

"Okay... So how do I get back when I find Mew?"

"Find me." Celebi said matter of factly. "I exist in all points of time simultaneously, while I'm here, there's another Celebi two weeks from now."

Ash nodded a bit, looking over at Charizard idly. "Do you have any idea where he'd be?"

"Celebi should be able to help you when you get there... Well not I Celebi but the Celebi then..." She smirked at his thoroughly lost look. "Just go!" She said in exasperation, raising her hands as they begin to glow with a pure green energy.

Ash gasped a bit in shock as the world around him began to twist and turn, warping and reshaping itself. When it finally ended he was standing in the same field, but it was now brighter than it had been, like he'd arrived on a very cloudy day.

Indeed, looking up, he saw that's exactly what had happened. The entire sky was covered in clouds, letting hardly any sun at all through the thick blanket.

"Did we really go two weeks into the future?" Ash asked curiously, looking around him. Pikachu just chattered a bit in response beside him, Charizard just lying down on the ground for a nap. Ash looked down to see Pikachu huddling near his leg worriedly, chattering softly almost in fear.

After a few moments he finally decided hanging around here wasn't doing them any good. If they'd made it to the future, all they had to do now was find Celebi and Mew, which they wouldn't do by sitting in one place. So he took off in a pretty much random direction, hoping maybe Mew had decided to hang around here instead of flitting off to some corner of the world.

Ash just walked along, Pikachu at his side and Charizard still tailing behind him through the forest, careful not to let his tail flame ignite any foliage around him. Suddenly Pikachu let out a small shriek and took off in another direction.

"Pikachu! Wait up!" Ash yelled as he took off after the mouse. He could hear Charizard rushing after them as he broke into another clearing, this one much larger than the first. There in the center of the clearing was a small wood pile with something lying on top of it. Pikachu ran up to the pile and stood on its hind legs, crooning softly.

"What did you find?" Ash asked his pokemon as he approached the pile, looking at the form on top of it curiously. He recognized it almost instantly, but couldn't make himself believe his own eyes as she just lied on the pile of wood, her arms strapped to it with a length of rope. She just lied there limply, her eyes closed.

"Misty..." Ash said softly as he walked up to the wood pile, staring in horror at her unmoving body lying on the pile of wood. Her skin when he touched her arm was pale and cold to the touch. "Misty no..." He sunk to his knees slowly beside the pile, feeling the tears stinging his eyes again as he just stared at her pale face. "I'm sorry..."

"It's not too late..." Ash whirled in surprise when he heard a familiar squeaky voice from behind him. Celebi floated through the air toward him, gazing down at Misty a bit pityingly. "You can undo this."

Ash just sniffled a bit, not bothering to try to hide his tears. "What did he do to her?" He asked.

"He left her here." The little fairy said simply, not bothering to try to sugar-coat it or hide it from him. "He tied her down and left her here."

Ash was silent for a long time, just staring at Misty with moist eyes. He had no time to waste... This was what would happen to Misty if he didn't find Mew. Despite what he'd said before, he wasn't sure he really wanted to help MewTwo anymore, but he would, for Misty's sake.

"Where's Mew?" He asked, his shaky voice becoming somewhat more steady as he stood up.

"I can take you to him, but time is of the essence. If MewTwo finds him first then all is lost. He is more powerful than I am, and he can block me from sending you back to the past." Celebi said.

"Okay..." Ash said softly, turning away from the wood pile and walking away with his head down a bit. He stopped for a moment to look up at Charizard as he passed, then continued on his way. Behind him he heard a small growl, accompanied by a slight puff. He could hear the fire igniting the wood pile as he just kept walking, not wanting to look back at the burning funeral pyre.

The three pokemon just turned to follow behind him as he walked away, not really caring where he was going for the time being, just wanting to get away from that clearing. Seeing Misty lying so still had just... Hurt him more than he thought anything ever could...

He finally emerged into what he recognized as the first clearing he'd appeared in. Celebi came out of the forest behind him quickly.

"Mew's found his way to the mainland, we need to fly to get there." The fairy pokemon said, hovering near Ash's head. He looked over to see Charizard already waiting for Ash to get on his back.

Ash walked over and climbed on his back numbly, Pikachu hopping on between his legs. Celebi landed on Charizards head so she could give directions during flight.

At that Charizard took off from the ground, lifting into the air with flaps of its mighty wings. Ash looked down at the ocean as they flew towards the mainland. Even the ocean looked different than it had on the way to the island, two weeks ago. The clouds overhead not only blocked out the sun, but also seemed to drain everything of its color, a grayish haze hung over everything.

Pikachu gave a startled cry as Charizard veered violently, a dark ball of energy whizzing past them by barely an inch. Ash looked down to see a figure flying toward them fast, glowing brightly with psychic energy.

"It's MewTwo!" Celebi cried, taking flight and heading down to the forest to take cover. Ash wanted to fight him, no matter what he'd promised he just wanted to wipe that little smirk off of the clones face.

"Wha!?" Ash exclaimed as Charizard suddenly started plunging downwards, right towards a nearby lake. "Charizard pull up!" He received a furious roar in response as Charizard continued its decent, the air around it glowing slightly with psychic energy.

"Hold on Charizard!" Ash yanked out his pokeball and recalled Charizard just before he hit the water. He tried to swim back to the surface, but he was shoved downward by the force of MewTwo's powers, getting shoved deeper into the lake.

He hit the lake bottom hard, knocking the wind out of him, which escaped to the surface in little bubbles. Ash tried desperately to move, but his arms and legs seemed to be pinned to the lake bed, trapping him there under water. He could feel his strength giving way as he struggled to lift his arms, everything already beginning to go dark to him.

He could feel the lakebed beneath him give way under the pressure of MewTwo's hold. He fell through the crack falling into a huge cavern underneath the ground where he slammed down hard, clutching his side. He greedily gulped in the musty air as he struggled to a sitting position, watching as the mud surrounding the crack sealed the hole moments after it had been forced open.

His legs and arms still felt weak from being without air for so long, but he assumed he'd be fine eventually. He got to his feet unsteadily, leaning heavily against the wall of the cavern. "Where am I..." He asked himself softly, looking around wearily. It was just a moderately sized cavern, probably been shut off from everything for a long time.

Weakly he stumbled toward the lone exit to the cave, randomly choosing passages and paths to go through, hoping he'd find his way out eventually. He had no idea what had happened to Pikachu, but if his guess was right, anything that happened here would be undone if he could just find Mew and get him back into the past. Though for that, he needed Celebi, the little coward.

Ash couldn't help but shiver slightly from the cold and his own soaked clothing. He wished he were back home, in his own comfy house with his pokemon training and Misty...

He wouldn't let her be dead. He wouldn't let her die so horribly just because MewTwo decided to go on a rampage. He would save her, and he would not let her go without...

First though, he felt himself falling against the wall from the cold and his own weakness, blacking out almost instantly.
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Celebi flew through the air above the lake where she'd seen Ash fall frantically, scanning the watery depths for any sign of him. "Ash!" She yelled worriedly, hovering more frantically than ever. If Ash drowned, all hope of restoring the timeline was lost.

So after taking a moment to gather her courage and her air supply she plunged into the water head first, moving through it as easily as she'd moved through the air. She searched for Ash as quickly as she could, not finding any trace of him anywhere in the lake.

Finally she thrust herself out of the water, shaking herself dry and looking back at the water wistfully. That was it, with Ash gone, all hope was gone with him. They'd been so close to Mew too. A few more minutes and they would have had him, and Ash would be back on his way home to restore the timeline.

She gave a small start as she heard a high-pitched shrieking from the edge of the lake on one of the small islands that floated inside it. Upon closer inspection, she found Ash's Pikachu resting tiredly on the island, panting furiously, its fur soaked.

"Where's Ash?" Pikachu asked her in its own squeaky way. She, being a pokemon, could understand him perfectly.

"I'm sorry... I think he's..." She stopped, not wanting to upset the little mouse. Though Pikachu was probably about the same size she was.

"No, he's alive!" Pikachu insisted, climbing to its hind legs with much difficulty. "He has to be..."

She caught him as he stumbled a bit faintly. He wasn't dangerously weak, but he still wouldn't be battling anything for a good while. "Come on, let's get you to a nice soft bed..." Celebi said, putting her arms around his furry yellow waist and taking off across the water, Pikachu just hanging limply in her arms.

She heard Pikachu's faint gasp as they approached the nearest town, Vermilion City. She knew Mew was in there somewhere, but without someone to convince him to go back, there was no point in seeking him out. The city itself though was in ruins, buildings were beginning to crumble both from disuse and MewTwo's attack.

"What happened here?" Pikachu asked in awe as she flew without hesitation into the inn. They would be safe enough in here, MewTwo never attacked wild pokemon. Gently she set him in the bed and covered him up with the blanket.

"MewTwo went on a rampage when Ash didn't return. He swore to find Mew by any means necessary and began his impossible search. He demolished anything that got in his path, which was everything." She replied, landing on the bed beside him, as it was easily big enough to comfortably fit five pokemon their size.

"Why can't you send Mew back without Ash?" Pikachu asked curiously.

"Because Mew's too powerful, if he doesn't want to go he won't go. His coming here was accidental and because of that accident Mew fears me. I need someone to convince him he should go back." She said, sighing a bit in resignation. "The reason I chose Ash was because Mew knows him and trusts him, but nobody else is left now. I guess all we can do is live the best we can in this timeline."

"Wait, I thought you were a different Celebi?" Pikachu asked confusedly.

"Don't even try to grasp it, you'll give yourself a headache." She said, smiling at him slightly. Well all hope of restoring the supposed timeline was gone, might as well try to enjoy this timeline as much as she could.
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Ash woke up slowly, blinking against the soft glow of a campfire beside the sleeping bag he was wrapped up in. He could tell he was still in a cavern, but it wasn't the same one he had been in before, someone had moved him. He also saw all of his clothing set out beside the fire to dry.

"You awake now?" He turned his head weakly to see Duplica kneeling over him, looking down at him worriedly. "Good, I was afraid you were already dead..."

"What... Happened?" Ash asked, pulling one hand out of the sleeping bag to hold his head.

"I found you in the cavern passed out... Now you tell me. Where have you been all this time?" Duplica demanded, looking as stern now as she had worried a few moments ago.

"It's a long story..." Ash said as he tried to sit up, but Duplica calmly shoved him back down without effort, so he decided to lie back again. "I have to find Mew..."

"It's a little late for that isn't it?" Duplica asked bitterly, her words stinging him like acid. "MewTwo's already destroyed everything, almost everyone's already gone."

"No... I can make everything right..." Ash said weakly. "I just have to find Mew and Celebi..."

"What's a Celebi?"

"It's a long story... Help me up..." He tried to sit up again, this time managing to throw the covers off of him and start getting dressed, not really caring that she was still right beside him. "How long have I been here?"

"A few hours." Duplica answered, politely looking away while he got dressed.

"Where are we?" He asked as he slid his denim jacket back on. It wasn't totally dry yet, but it was enough to not freeze him to death down here.

"This is the Diglett Tunnel. MewTwo doesn't really go below ground, so we're safer than anywhere else we could be, though that's not saying much." Duplica answered.

"Diglet Tunnel?" Ash said, looking around him. "So one way leads to Viridian City, the other way leads to Vermilion City." He mused to himself, looking around. "I was thrown down in the lake around Vermilion, so let's go there."

"Wait Ash, didn't you hear me? MewTwo attacks any humans who show up above ground, you don't stand a chance!" Duplica shouted, running after him as he started stalking down the tunnel towards Vermilion City.

"If there's any chance I can keep all of this from happening I'm gonna do it." Ash said, ignoring her as he kept on down the tunnel. Suddenly he heard a slight rumbling sound echo through the tunnel. "What's that?"

"It's just the Diglet." Duplica responded, stepping to the side as a chunk of dirt landed right beside her, the rumbling growing even louder.

"JUST the Diglet huh?" Ash asked as he went into a sprint, Duplica right behind him. By now the entire cavern was beginning to vibrate violently, throwing them off balance more than once.

"Light! Up ahead!" Duplica shouted as they continued down the tunnel, an entire section collapsing just before they got clear of that section, but they weren't out of the tunnel yet. Ash hears a loud shout from directly behind him, causing him to turn and see what's going on.

Duplica's legs were caught under the collapse of the section they'd just left, trying desperately to free herself. "Go Ash!"

"I can't leave you here!" Ash yelled, looking up as the section directly above him began to give way.

"If you're right, and you can stop all this from happening, I'll be alive again! But only if you get going right now!" She shouted forcefully.

Ash just stared at her for a moment before responding. "I won't let you down this time." She nodded gravely before he turned and sprinted out of the tunnel just as the rest of it collapsed with a thunderous roar, sending up a thick cloud of dirt.

He stopped just outside to catch his breath, leaning against the wall. Suddenly it occurred to him that he hadn't seen Ditto anywhere down there. It'd probably gone before... He wouldn't let this all be his future. He would change all of this. Pikachu and Celebi had to be around here somewhere.

Wearily he pushed himself away from the wall and headed into town, passing by a few ruined buildings as he made his way to the center of town. It looked like Pewter City had when he'd been there. Were all of the towns like this?

He was more than a little embarrassed when he heard his stomach growling viciously. What a time to be hungry. Well he hadn't eaten anything since two weeks ago, he really did deserve a quick something. Besides, he had no idea where to look, maybe he'd find something in the pokemart?

Slowly he made his way to the pokemart and went inside, looking around at all of the fully stocked shelves. It was primarily for pokemon stomachs, but it had been the closest shop and did have some small treats for the trainers that came in.

He walked up to the counter and grabbed a wrapped up candy bar, but it was totally rotted from sitting there too long. Discouraged he hopped over the counter to dig around behind it, looking for anything edible. Finally he found some rice cakes that appeared to be in fairly decent condition, but he wasn't quite THAT hungry, so he decided to pass on lunch.

Upon standing up and hopping back over the counter he was surprised to see Pikachu and Celebi digging into a bag of pokemon food in one of the isles. "Pikachu!" Ash yelled running over. Pikachu looked up, seeing him. Then with a joyous shout leapt into Ash's arms.

"Ash you're alive!" Celebi exclaimed, floating happily into the air. "Now we can find Mew, get you guys back to your own time, and stop all of this from happening!"

"Let's do it." Ash said gravely, still holding Pikachu in his arms as they headed out of the building. "Do we need to fly again?"

"No, Mew's hiding out in this town. Since he arrived here Mew's been nothing but confused about everything, and he's even afraid of MewTwo." Celebi responded.

"In this town?" Ash asked. "Then let's find him and take him home."

"Follow me." The little fairy said as she floated along the street, Ash and Pikachu following behind her. She led them to a small house in the dead center of town with nothing in it seemingly. She stopped outside, turning to Ash. "You go in."

"Are you sure Mew's in there?" Ash asked.

"Yes, I can sense him. If I can sense him, MewTwo can too so hurry it up."

"Right." Ash went inside the building. It was a normal house with no special stand out features or anything, but something felt off about the room, like he wasn't alone. "Mew? It's me, Ash."

A little white figure suddenly appeared in front of him, crooning softly. "There you are." Ash said, reaching one hand up to take a tiny paw, but Mew ducked away from him quickly, mewing in alarm. "It's okay, I want to take you home."

Suddenly the entire roof of the building began to shake violently, tearing off of its moorings and flying off the top of the building. MewTwo floated silently into the building, landing between Ash and Mew, facing Ash.

[Thank you for helping me find Mew, but you're far too late]

Ash growled a bit, his fists clenching tightly as he glared angrily at MewTwo. "You didn't have to do any of this..." He said, his voice raising to a shout. "None of this was necessary!"

MewTwo simply ignored him and turned around to look at Mew, who was cowering behind the bookshelf. [Come with me. We can go home now] Mew yowled a bit in fear and streaked across the room, burying itself under Ash's denim jacket. [What]

"He's afraid of you MewTwo! After everything you've done, all this destruction you've caused, Mew's afraid of you!" Ash yelled as Mew stuck one head out, shaking a bit.

[No. You've done something to him] MewTwo proclaimed, his psychic powers engulfing the entire house. [I won't let you turn him against me] The entire building started moving itself, what's left falling right towards Mew and Ash.

"Time to go home!" Celebi shouted, flinging herself right in front of the building, surprising MewTwo.

Suddenly everything shifted and warped itself again, settling back into a similar, but different configuration. Ash found himself standing in front of a woman who was getting dressed for the day, Pikachu beside him and Mew still stuffed in his jacket.

"I'm so sorry!" Ash screamed, dashing out of the house as the woman started flinging things at him randomly. He jumped to the side just in time to avoid the kitchen sink as it flew by him. He panted a bit, trying to calm himself down. He was back in his own time, all he had to do was find MewTwo in this time and give Mew back and he'd be done.

"Wait a minute..." Ash said, looking around. Hadn't it been just past midnight when he'd left his time? How much time had passed since he'd left? If it was more than two days...

"Charizard! Come on!" He quickly whipped out the pokeball with Charizard, who appeared in a brilliant flash of light. "Take me back to MewTwo's island where we found Misty!" The winged pokemon gave a small roar of affirmation before letting them hop on and taking off, flying quickly through the air. Ash looked up at the sun worriedly as they flew, he hoped they weren't too late...

A harried exclamation from Pikachu called Ash's attention to Viridian City as they passed by it, shouts of panic and scream of horror ringing from it. Great, what should he do first, go after Misty or deliver Mew? After a few moments of painstaking indecision, he finally forced himself to make a choice

"Charizard..." Ash said, closing his eyes and frowning a bit. "Go... Take us to... Viridian City..." He said finally, causing his ride to veer abruptly towards the town.

As they neared the town Ash could hear dozens of screams of terror and pain, rising above all of them was MewTwo's mental cry of fury as he steadily demolished buildings and people alike.

Ash could feel Mew shifting under his jacket in response to MewTwo's presence. All at once the little cat streaked out of Ash's jacket toward the town, finding MewTwo without difficulty.

[Mew] The mental voice said, resounding through the minds of everyone present. Mews responding croon was enough to calm the clone down. [So there you are]

"I found your pokemon MewTwo, now go back to your island and stay there forever!" Ash screamed furiously as Charizard landed in front of the two cat-like pokemon.

MewTwo actually seemed to smile slightly as Mew circled around him energetically, excited to be back home again. [As promised, I will return to my island] He said, looking up. [And as promised, I will return the girl] Ash looked up as Misty appeared in a flash of blue light, looking a bit haggard, but otherwise unharmed.

"Misty!" Ash exclaimed as she slowly floated to the ground.

"Ash, there you are, what took so long? It was boring being tied up and stuff." Misty said as her feet hit the ground. She was more than a little shocked when Ash flung himself into her, hugging her fiercely. "Ash?" She asked confused.

"I was... Scared..." Ash managed to push out through his tears falling lightly on her neck. He couldn't help it, he never really thought about not having her around. The thought of her dying without him being able to do anything about it had just killed him inside.

"Ash..." She said softly, a bit puzzled but not complaining in the slightest. "Come on Ash I'm okay, see?" She waved her arms a bit to demonstrate that she was indeed very much alive.

Ash sniffled slightly, trying to compose himself, but quickly gave up and just held onto her, burying his head in her shoulder.

Misty sighed and noticed Duplica walking up to them and grinning, Ditto trailing behind her.

"Knew you'd find her Ash, like a knight in shining armor." Duplica quipped as she walked up.

"Oh..." Ash quickly pulled away from Misty slightly, desperately trying to dry his eyes, thoroughly embarrassed. "I was just... Uh... Saying hi..."

"Sure you were." Duplica said with a sly smile.

"Where's Brock?" Misty asked curiously.

"He decided to stay in Pewter City and help rebuild..." Duplica said, not really needing to say more.

"Well let's get home, I'm tired and hungry." Misty said, leaning slightly on Ash as they turned and headed back to Pallet town. Though whether she needed to lean on him to walk or not, she would never tell.

THE END