Chapter 26: The intervention

While all the chaos was happening at Johto, a human-like figure with a long, curling tail was floating, meditating as he was doing so. Several Pokémon, which sat around on ledges in the cavern, rested. They all resided within a cave that was nearby Cerulean city.

Suddenly, the eyes of the human-like figure snapped open. The head turned toward a smaller figure, which almost resembled a human-shaped cat. The other figure turned toward the larger pair of eyes, questioning.

You felt it too, Mew? the larger figure asked.

"Mew," Mew said, nodding. "Mew Mew?" he then asked Mewtwo.

I have no idea, Mewtwo said, shaking his head. When he attempted to sense where the evil was, a thought then occurred to him. Wait… That was where Kevin was headed! But was that a month before?

"Mew myumew?" asked.

I am almost afraid to say it, but I think our friend may be the source of this evil, Mewtwo sighed. I do not know what he could have accomplished by then, but it is most likely he has gotten stronger.

{What do you suggest we do, then?} Mew asked.

You continue finding your kin, Mewtwo suggested. As for my plans with Giovanni, they will have to wait. I will go investigate this. What I will do when I arrive, though, is something I do not know yet.

Mewtwo then glowed a bright white and flew towards the ceiling of the cavern. A part of the ceiling, which was completely broken from the rest of the wall, was lifted through Mewtwo's Psychic and moved enough to provide him passage through. Lodging it back in place, Mewtwo took off towards his destination.

*                                  *                                  *

The Three reached their destination by completely leaping over the trees between the main route and the Psychic's home. With a loud thump, they landed between the woods and the fence. The Psychic barrier was gone, and they could clearly see a man diving out of the way from a ball of darkness.

"What's the matter?" They heard a voice yell from a Scyther-human monster also within the fence. "Can't you fight me anymore?"

The man, thrusting his hand in a direction, pulled a tree from its roots and threw it at the monster. With ease, the Scyther-human created another ball of darkness and threw it at the tree. The ball burst and erupted an intensely hot blaze, which immolated and burned the tree to ashes before even a branch could touch the monster.

"Fool!" the monster yelled. "The power I can use is tenfold of yours. Soon I shall take your life and the rest of humanity!"

"Impossible!" Suicune shouted, looking at the monster. "Is that Kevin?"

"It looks like it," Entei said, "except he's different. Notice those markings on him?"

Dark Cevan suddenly turned and looked at the legends. "Ahh, so it is the Three who created me this way… Ha ha ha!" he laughed for a moment before glaring at the Three. "You reveal yourself to this pitiful man there? Very well, then. Arguelles, take a glance at the majestic Three before you perish!"

Arguelles glanced up and looked over at the legends. "Oh great, now legends have come to stop me?!?" Arguelles said, already frustrated.

Suicune quickly dashed over to the man. He was slightly cut and bruised, but no major injuries. "I will not attack you, but I need to know: Is that Kevin?" Suicune asked.

"As far as I know, it was Kevin," Arguelles said, a bit out of breath and his voice shaky from fright. "Now he calls himself 'Cevan' or 'Cevan of Darkness.' My Pokémon and I dubbed him 'Dark Cevan.'"

"What happened to him?" Suicune asked. "Why is he covered with markings?"

"I dunno, but he says he's like something brought from the depths… oh, what did he call himself?" Arguelles rubbed his head to attempt to think faster. "Oh yeah, some sort of curse of insanity."

"I grow tired of this talking," Dark Cevan growled. He charged a sphere of darkness and blasted it at Arguelles and Suicune in the form of a hyper beam.

Suicune quickly picked up Arguelles and pulled him from danger, while moving herself from the beam as well. Arguelles sighed in relief. "I'm certainly glad that you're on my side!" he said.

Suicune didn't say anything in response to that when she put Arguelles down. "Did you say that he called himself a curse of insanity?" Suicune asked.

"Yeah," Arguelles said. He then looked at Suicune questioningly before looking back at Dark Cevan. "You sound as if that's important."

"The curse of insanity is something placed on untrustworthy people who have visited us Legends in Johto," Suicune stated. "It overtakes the mind when they mention the names or descriptions of us to people who do not know of us. Did he—"

"He said nothing of the legends of Johto until after the transformation," Arguelles interrupted. "It's like the curse came when I was taunting him. I think his anger got the best of—Gaahh!!" Arguelles was suddenly encased in a ball of darkness and lifted up in the air.

"Ha ha ha! I got you!" Dark Cevan shouted in triumph. "Thought the legends would protect you forever, eh?"

"Help me!" Arguelles shouted from within the ball like a scared child. "Help, please! This monster has shown me my wrong! I'll never commit an evil act on any living soul if I get out of this alive!"

Raikou and Entei ran up to Suicune. "What information did you get?" they asked.

"Judging from the information Arguelles gave me," Suicune declared, "The curse of insanity has been given life. It now possesses Kevin's body and is on a rampage."

And from what I am seeing, Kevin is of a pure Dark-type, Lugina said, who had been watching the whole ordeal. That means Psychic skills are useless against him.

"Lugina!" Entei shouted, turning toward him. "You have finally arrived. Target his weakness! He may get shaken up enough to drop his target!"

"So, a lesser of Lugia has also arrived," Dark Cevan said, turning to look at Lugina. "A pity you can't talk back to me. But by all means, try to Aeroblast me. In fact, Entei, you can even try to use your Fire Blast. It doesn't matter. I'm no longer the inferior insect you knew me as."

"What manner of being are you?!?" Raikou shouted at Dark Cevan.

"Do I really need to tell you, legends?" Dark Cevan shot back, turning to face Raikou. "I am merely the curse you created. Think it impossible all you want, but I am the shadow of darkness! Kevin has given me life!" he turned back to face Arguelles. "Life… to destroy the plague brought on by this race!"

At that moment, to everyone's surprise, a ball of electricity shot in from nowhere and collided head-on with Dark Cevan. Dark Cevan gave out a loud screech in his pain, and it broke his hold on Arguelles. He fell back to the ground, practically shivering in fear.

"Where did that come from?" Dark Cevan growled, looking up.

Hovering in the air, Mewtwo was already holding another thunderbolt in his hands. What a fool, Mewtwo said to the whole group. Does this monster really think that he is invincible?

We thank you for your intervention, stranger, Lugina said to Mewtwo. Were you drawn by his presence, as well?

More as to curiosity by the disappearance of Kevin's signal, Mewtwo replied, not looking away from Dark Cevan. While my current goals are not involved with him, my revenge will wait.

Revenge?!? Lugina stared in shock. You bear the mark of a legend, yet you think of revenge?

I was merely the creation from Mew, by the meddling of the human race, Mewtwo explained. Assuming that you have knowledge of Kanto, you should know who my relative is. I am known as Mewtwo. Who concerns my revenge is something I shall not divulge in.

Your intent can be questionable, Lugina stated, but your current motives seem reasonable. I am Lugina, a Lesser of Lugia, and I greet you as one legend to another.

"Well, if it isn't the old, 'all-powerful Pokémon,' Mewtwo!" Dark Cevan finally said. "You must've come from out of your hole just to travel here for nothing! So… why don't you say something to me?"

Swieten, who was watching up until now, finally spoke to Mewtwo and Lugia. He can't hear either of you, he informed. Because of his foreign dark-type, he is completely immune to all Psychic activity, including telepathy.

I understood that when he spoke to me, Murkrow, Mewtwo responded. But I did not use a Psychic attack as my first strike, as I know he has broken through it before.

Dark Cevan turned back to face Arguelles. Arguelles, who saw the eyes facing again, gave out a yelp and ripped off a chunk of his fence with his mind, throwing it at Dark Cevan. "What does it take for you to die?" Arguelles shouted at Dark Cevan.

"Nothing will make me die," Dark Cevan shouted back. "You, however, will perish at my hand!" He then proceeded to attack Arguelles with his dark attacks.

Where did he obtain all that power? Mewtwo wondered, feeling the attacks radiating with energy. And what is fueling it?

We had placed curses on him, Lugina explained. The first was a melody, which would drive him to madness, because he had picked up a sacred relic. It had a side effect on him, which every time the melody increased, his energy reserve would rise to overcome it. The second was a maddening curse, which would cause him to become a ravenous creature had he told any other human who did not know us to exist. That is possessing his body as of now.

Then something is wrong, Mewtwo said. If what you said is supposed to cause a blood thirst, it has also taken another side effect, as he has a grudge to one man. That means the curse isn't fueling this rage, but the rage itself is fueling the curse.

How are you so sure? Lugina questioned.

I know how it is to hold a grudge, Mewtwo replied. When Giovanni revealed to me that the only purpose I was created for was to serve humans, I wanted revenge on trainers and their Pokémon. Then Ash, the boy with the Pikachu, showed me my wrong by nearly sacrificing himself, and I realized that I was blinded by my hatred for them.

Suicune had been listening to the whole conversation. "Are you suggesting, Mewtwo, that his rage is the thing that needs to be stopped?" she asked.

Precisely, Mewtwo said. It is in my theory that if we cripple his rage by not fighting, we can stop this monster from destroying his target. However, I do not think that using a Pokémon here will work, as his rage is aimed at humans in general.

This is not like your situation, Mewtwo, Lugina pointed out. Though Dark Cevan also has a hatred for humans, he wants Arguelles dead.

Perhaps a human who is his friend and very persuasive?

Lugina thought for a moment. Kevin does have a friend… but it is far from here, he recalled. A populated island, to the west, labeled Cianwood City. I believe he was called Warles.

Mewtwo stared at Lugina. Warles? He wondered, slightly stunned. The very one that was involved in the creation of Kevin and I?

Raikou pulled Arguelles from being hit with another attack. "Mewtwo!" he shouted. "Since you are the one that recognizes the name, you attempt to find that friend! You know what he looks like!"

I do not, Mewtwo said, shaking his head. However, I will look for him. Attempt to advert Kevin's attacks, but do not attack him directly unless he gets a hold of his target. With all that energy, he draws from it his stamina, as well as his powers.

"How will you recognize him?" Raikou asked.

If my assumption is correct, he will be convinced that he is still meddling in science. I will reveal myself to the first person within a lab coat and, provided he recognizes me, I will know it is he. Otherwise, I will perform tactics to reveal Warles and bring him here.

"And if neither of those work?" Entei asked after rescuing Arguelles from another darkness attack.

Then we will have to combine our powers to stop Kevin, Mewtwo stated coldly. Though I have trained him in the ways of Psychic techniques, I will not be afraid to destroy what I have taught.

*                                  *                                  *

At Cianwood city, Warles was feeling shivers down his spine.

"Whoo!" He said as another shiver ran down his spine. "Ever since that wave of dread, I've been feeling all sorts of shivers down my spine. Almost like an old enemy is coming…"

Something began ringing in his inside coat pocket. Warles pulled out a cell phone from within and flipped it open. "Hello?" He asked.

He listened for a moment. "Flash of light, huh?" he wondered. "Which direction?"

Another pause. "Towards Cianwood City? How fast?"

Warles clenched his fist after hearing the answer. "Did you see if anything was in it?" he listened for a bit, then relaxed a little more.

"Maybe just a hyper beam," Warles commented. "Anyway, just carry on with—"

"Who are you talking to?" Nurse Joy interrupted. "You seem really tense."

Warles raised his hand to signal silence as he listened. He finally spoke. "I see. Perhaps one of them knows about me. Thanks for letting me know while I'm on vacation." Warles then closed the cell phone and put it back in his coat.

"What was that all about?" Nurse Joy asked, inspecting the concerned look on his face.

"I just started my vacation, and my replacement already learned some information," Warles explained. "Kevin is in war with a Psychic, and apparently it's gotten the attention of the Legends."

Joy let out a gasp. "Is it that serious?" she said in horror.

"It may be a huge clash of energy that drew them," Warles suggested. "However, my informant told me that he just saw a flash of light come from the location to here, and it's moving too fast to be a hyper beam. That means it's some Legend moving fast in a time of crisis, and judging from what's happening, they need me now, as I'm probably the only closest one who knows the most of him."

Warles got up from his seat and went out the front door of the Pokémon center. "Looks like my vacation is cut really short," he growled as he pulled out his binoculars. "Good grief, couldn't you pick Tracy?"

Warles scanned the sky and immediately found the white light. After apologizing to a painter for taking his ladder, Warles climbed onto the roof of the Pokécenter and, ignoring his sense of dignity, he began flailing his arms about as the white light moved closer to the island.

Mewtwo quickly noticed the scientist making a big scene on the roof. Has he lost his mind? He wondered. He then realized that the scientist might be trying to catch his attention, as nothing else was in the air with him.

It must be Warles… Mewtwo thought. No doubt about it. Does he know it is I, though? I shall have to be wary with him.

Mewtwo flew down to Warles's height and shook off the light around his own body, revealing himself to the scientist. Warles was not prepared to see Mewtwo, however. He stopped his scene and fell backwards on the roof.

"M-m-mewtwo!!" he stammered. "What do you want with me?"

So, we meet again, finally, Mewtwo said, ignoring Warles's stuttering. I am greatly amazed that you managed to survive two explosions.

"No!" Warles growled. "You are not going to kill me. I won't allow it!"

Fool, I am not here to end your life, Mewtwo said coldly. We have a dilemma, and it is up to you, now, to stop it.

"What kind of dilemma?"

Kevin is winning against his enemy. However, it has taken a turn for the worse. Mewtwo picked up the scientist with Psychic and, carrying him in a ball in front of his own mass, flew off into the sky. I will explain what I know of the situation, and you will have to learn of the rest.

*                                  *                                  *

"Do you really think you can prolong the inevitable?" Dark Cevan shouted. "Legends, you are only making this worse on Arguelles and yourself!"

Suicune used the crest on her head to catapult Arguelles to Raikou before she got hit with a Thunderbolt. Their attempts to keep Arguelles from Dark Cevan's grasp was taking a heavy toll, even to Lugina. Every time Lugina would use Psychic to fling Arguelles from an attack, Dark Cevan would pummel him with dark-type energy balls. As for the others, Kevin would attack them with types according to their weaknesses.

"Was it wise… to listen to Mewtwo?" Suicune wondered, her talking broken by heavy breathing.

We have no other choice, Lugina said. He is correct that a direct attack would not harm him unless we combined them.

"Aaaahh!" Raikou shouted as an earthquake from Kevin caused a pillar of earth to push up from the ground and hit him in the belly. It stopped after pushing Raikou into the air, which caused him to move without control in the blue sky and lose his hold on Arguelles. They both hit the ground with an audible thud.

"Raikou!" Entei shouted. He attempted to distract Dark Cevan with a fire blast, only to have the favor returned as a hydro pump. Entei barely managed to dodge the counterattack.

"I'm through playing games with you, Legends!" Dark Cevan shouted. "Look! Even now I have a hold on my target!" He laughed evilly as he threw a ball of darkness onto Arguelles, encasing him. He then glared at Suicune as she attempted to get close. "Now, I warn you: If you or any other Pokémon attempt to thwart my hold on him this time, I shall take the war to the Legends of the world, and they shall befall the same fate as him!"

That would be suicide! Lugina said.

"Have you gone mad?" Entei shouted. "The only doom that would come from that is yours!"

"Ahh, but if I absorb the powers from my prey here, then not only would I increase it another fold, But his abilities shall be mine as well!" Dark Cevan shouted. "And if I only absorb half of his soul, no one would dare destroy me, as they would destroy him, as well!"

"Except for Mewtwo, of course."

Dark Cevan spun toward the voice. Mewtwo, as well as Warles, were descending from above the trees.

You return, but we have failed, Lugina stated. Kevin has already gained a hold of Arguelles, and if we attack him, he will wage war on all Legends!

Then if this does not work, we will have nothing to lose, Mewtwo said coldly.

"Ahh, so you bring a gift, yes?" Dark Cevan said, an evil twinkle in his eye. "Wonderful! Then I shall spare you, Mewtwo, should these others interfere."

"Who said anything about me being a gift, Cevan?" Warles said. He inspected Dark Cevan. "Hmph! I attempt to make an all-powerful Pokémon and I get an all-powerful blotch of black."

"Hold your tongue, beast!" Kevin shouted. "You have no power over me. All you hold is lies!"

"Wrong, Cevan!" Warles said, clenching his fist. "You only have more power because I created you like that!"

"Fool! A lie!" Dark Cevan shouted. "The Legends made me! You hold no part in me!"

"You're not looking hard enough, Cevan! True, the part in command is because of the curses. However, who granted you your wings? Who gave you metronome and the ability to harness its powers? Not the Legends!"

"You, however, did not give me power such as this!" Dark Cevan said confidently. "Because of them, my power is more than twenty fold of what you granted me! More power to—"

"To what?" Warles interrupted. "Do you think destroying everything will help? If you want to destroy the whole human race, fine. However, you will be destroying yourself, as well."

Arguelles, still in the ball, looked at Mewtwo. He's quite the intellect, he commented. For a new arrival, you certainly provided quite some information.

I told him nothing of Dark Cevan destroying humankind, Mewtwo replied. I have no clue how he learned of it.

"And how do you suppose I would do that?" Dark Cevan inquired.

"Firstly, you would destroy me," Warles said. "I am the closest here, after all, and if you do that, you'll be destroying the only person who knows how the true legend disappeared, so there goes your history. Second, the next target you'll wipe out is Ash. From what I hear, he was the only one who cared for you in your most dire situation. And finally, depending whether you take out Indigo Plateau before or after this, you'll wipe out your family."

Warles hit his mark. Everyone, except for Dark Cevan, saw the ball of darkness fading slightly. "You lie!" Dark Cevan accused. "Lies, all of it! I have no family! Even if I did, they perished a long time ago!"

"Ahh, but you think that, don't you?" Warles sighed. "I know them. They left because they thought you would be better off without them. Indigo Plateau meant more to you than anything else, and without them bothering your every movement, you could focus more on your goal."

Even though the eyes still remained unchanged, Warles noticed a slight change in the expression, as if Dark Cevan were appearing sad. It changed back, however, as he raised a hand toward Warles and begin charging an electric ball on his hand. "Silence, you human! You are more cruel than this other human himself!" he shouted.

"Cruel? On the contrary, Cevan," Warles stated. "The only cruel one I see here is the one who is about to start the chain which I have stated. A friend would only seem to hurt the other like I have in a situation like this because he cares for him."

"No!" Dark Cevan shouted. He gripped his head. "I can't listen to this! I must retain Kevin's hatred! The fool cannot destroy my source!"

Raikou, who had recovered from the attack, glanced over at Suicune. "We must act now! We have to suppress the curse!"

"Indeed, Raikou," Suicune agreed. She looked over at the crippled Dark Cevan. "Now!" she said as she leapt at Dark Cevan.

The three legends dashed forward and pressed against Dark Cevan with their foreheads. Dark Cevan realized what was going on just then a moment too late as they pushed him back into the recesses of Kevin.

"Nooooo!!!" Dark Cevan shouted, a fading scream as an unconscious Kevin regained control of his body. When the Legends stepped back, Kevin slumped to the ground, his colors back to their original form.

Arguelles, who was suspended in the air, dropped to the ground hard as the ball disappeared. Shaking off the fall, he looked up at Warles. "How… How did you know what to say?" he asked. "If Mewtwo did not tell you he was planning on destroying the existence of humans, how did you know he was planning it in the first place?"

Warles looked away into the forest. "I will not explain to you… you wouldn't understand," he said. "However, I will explain to the Legends how I knew."

Yes, I would like to know that, as well, Mewtwo said, looking at him puzzled.

Warles sighed. "Please… I don't want anyone but you Legends to listen," he answered. "Put Arguelles into Memory loss."