Pokémon: Mewtwo and the Mysteries of Life

Chapter Three: Between Amber and Mewtwo (Part 2 of 2)


Beep. Beep. Beep. The solitary sound of the machine attached to me filled my dreams as I felt the familiarity of covers around me as I turned and tossed a bit, feeling a nudge at my right side as I somehow felt Nari burrow closer to me in comfort. Feeling the fluff around her neck nestle closer to cover my clenched hand, I found her paw as she pulled it in with her other front paw and licked it.

"Dr. Fuji sent to me to ask. Has she awakened yet?" Someone whispered in the room as I only moaned a bit, making them both look at the screen of my vitals as I heard something entirely separate in the room. Someone familiar, to be exact, but I was too unresponsive to say anything but a sigh.

"No, she hasn't," Irwin said, measuring some of the other vitals of the computer separately as they looked closer at some of the other readings. "It could be from the serum itself. It was a pretty strong dose but look here. It's working. I think Dr. Fuji will be relieved to hear that her condition is gaining more significant strength than what she had before, 'but there is something else I'm reading here, too.'" Keeping that last part private to himself, I heard it inside my own head as I concentrated on the other voice, too.

Opening my eyes in my mind, I heard that same familiar laugh as I found myself very much aware of everything going on around me, only somehow like sensing everything from a dream. Looking around, though, I found myself in an empty blue and black atmosphere where the laugh continued to giggle and change in frequency, almost like it was at play.

'Akira, you are fine,' the voice said, where I focused to hear it closer as I reached a hand out in curiosity right as a bright light suddenly appeared and another hand materialized to grip my own as a little girl suddenly appeared in front of me.

'You … look like …' I found myself shocked to say, right as she smiled in understanding.

'You were going to say Amber, right? Silly, it is me, as least in a way,' She said with a laugh, right as she noticed something else that made her stop. 'You're crying.'

'I can't help it,' I sniffled, feeling her suddenly hug me as I cried and clutched her, the tears from my eyes hovering between us both like tiny shimmering stars. 'I've just missed you so much.'

'You're alive, Akira,' She then said with a gentle contentment. 'Please don't cry. You should be happy.'

"What's going on? Look at that," Irwin suddenly exclaimed, seeing an odd wave of activity appear on my brain scanner at the same time as they got a call on their speaker to come down to the lab, which they did after some hesitation.
"I don't know, but that was the boss. They need our help with the clones. Let's go."

'Clones? Something's going on,' I thought to myself, as I suddenly felt my sister's hand grab my own in hers as she suddenly pulled me along with her. 'What is it?'

'Come on,' She said, pulling me into a bit more of the mysterious reverie that was our world as we suddenly saw a Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur appear in front of us, playing together without a care. Seeing us, they came floating over and smiled, seeing me as if they recognized me, too. Curious, Amber then said, 'They seem to know you.'

'I do. I saw them before they were taken into the lab,' I told her, not surprised to see her nod in understanding. Dawning on me, I asked, 'They're clones, aren't they?'

'Each one of us here is, a copy,' She said, still smiling at me as I only grinned in acknowledgement. 'I did wonder if you were doing alright, though. I think about you guys a lot, actually, especially in my special place. Would you like to see it?'

Nodding my head, I followed my sister's subconscious memories into everywhere she wanted to go – to our old neighborhood, and even into our treehouse that was known as our secret spot – even when it was just us and the other clones disappeared for a while. Seeing our mother, again, even just for a moment was enough for me to almost start crying, again, but I couldn't stop one from escaping as she saw it and smiled.

'Don't be afraid to cry. I miss her, too,' Amber said, remembering something else, too, as I kind of had a sense of exactly what she was going to say. 'Even Pokémon cry. Tears are the purest signs of life, that's what Dad always said in that story. Do you remember?'

'Yeah, I do,' I said, letting a few more flow down my cheek as I looked up to see my sister only continue to smile softly in reply. Something was obvious about the way of just how much my sister listened as I then told her everything that's happened so far to Dad and I, but I kept it light and hopeful seeing something specific she didn't say – She no tears. 'I also remember what Mama said before she left. She told me that "life was a gift", and it was something special "meant to be shared, no matter how long or short it was to last."'

Nodding her head in agreement, Amber suddenly closed her eyes as she felt someone else appear elsewhere, a feeling that I strangely got a sense of, too, as we looked at each other than in wonder. 'He's alive,' She said, sensing it.

'Who?' I asked at the same moment we both heard something new. Immediately, my father's words echoed across my memory as I slightly recalled him saying the other day, "With enough of Mew's genetic code, we'll be truly then able to attempt and make a copy of the most powerful Pokémon known in existence."

'Where am I? Who am I? What am I?'

Meanwhile down in the lab, Dad, or Dr. Fuji as the others were calling him, was looking at their latest accomplishment with zeal, "Well, there's no going back now. The cloning process is complete. How is it?"

"It's just like the other clones, Doctor. It hasn't gained consciousness, even in the last few hours," one of the scientists said as he stared into the Mew clone's capsule with my Father in skepticism. Apparently, it didn't take long for them to replicate Mew's DNA, because what was now before them was a creation they dubbed, Mewtwo. Despite their efforts, it continued to stay asleep no matter how long it remained hooked up to the machines in the tank, still and quiet in its state of incubation.

"I just don't understand, its other vitals are strong," Father said, heavy on the impatience.
"We're measuring brain activity …"

'I sense others near me,' it said, opening its eyes inside of his mind as it became aware of the world outside of it. 'But what are those strange sounds they make?'

'Those are words. They're talking,' my sister answered, both of us materializing back to him as he looked up in curiosity to see who had answered him.

'Huh?' He asked, seeing us suddenly appear. 'What are you?'

'What do you mean? I'm a girl. A person,' She said, introducing what she was to him as he approached her, not seeing me right away.

'A person? Am I a person?' He asked, looking straight at my sister.

'Well,' She said, making the distance between them both even smaller. 'You look like a Pokémon, but you talk. I didn't know a Pokémon could talk like a person.'

'I didn't either,' I said, gaining Mewtwo's attention, too, as he then stared at both of us for a moment.

'Are you a person?' He asked me, to which I nodded to by saying, 'I am.'

Even more confused, he asked, 'Pokémon? Person? What are those? Which one am I?'

Looking at each other in wonder, my sister only turned to him with a smile to say, 'Maybe it makes a difference to you if you're a Pokémon or a person, but not to me.'

Watching his eyes connect with mine as well for but a moment, I knew that she was right, and I was just as shocked that we were understanding him in this place. He was the only other one that was talking here, unlike the others who simultaneously appeared after my sister then said, 'If you're in this place, I guess you must be the same as all of us are.'

On the other side of consciousness, Father and the others continued to study the brain patterns and monitor the vital signs of the clones in the lab, to which they saw the same harmonic pattern come across on all the other screens as well in wonder.

"What's that?" One of them asked.
"I'm not sure, but Mewtwo and Ambertwo seem to be communicating with the other clones."
"But how?"
"They could be using telepathy."

Keeping his attention on my sister's tube, Father whispered, "Soon."

Back in our consciousness night, my sister went on to explain to Mewtwo, 'Except for Akira, everyone here's a copy. That's why there's a two after all our names.'

'I don't understand,' Mewtwo said, watching us all as we all started swirling around like we were all on a carousel.

'They call me Ambertwo, but I'm still really Amber,' She said, with a giggle.

As the other Pokémon said their own names in their own way, Mewtwo then looked at me as I only continued to listen despite my curiosity, too. He then asked me, 'Are you a clone, too?'

'No, I'm a girl like Amber, but I'm not a copy,' I said, not sure of what else to say as he only looked at me in a more inquisitive way.

'Akira is my sister, Mewtwo,' Amber revealed, introducing me with no hesitancy. 'She's alive.'

"Please. Please let my theories be true. I must see my little girl smile again," Father said, staring into Amber's tube with a sadness, a wish against hope for even a small opportunity to see her again.

"Uh, Doctor?" Irwin said, trying to get his attention.

"Please, unless it's important. Go stay with the girl like you're supposed to," one of the other researchers said, shushing him away from my Dad as he slightly looked up. "He assigned you to monitor whether or not she's receiving good treatment from the serum."

"She is, but …" Irwin tried to say before he was interrupted, this time by my Father, who was focused on other manners.

"Then if Akira is doing alright, that's all I need to know until she wakes up," he said, not moving from my sister's tube. "Prepare another dose by nightfall if she needs it. With her condition to consider, the strength that we've seen this serum reflect in the other clones will only help instead of hinder."

Physically opening my eyes back in my room, I rose up out of bed and stretched comfortably, a sign to which Nari was happy to see. Nudging an oran berry to me, I didn't want to admit it but I was a little peckish. Eating it slowly, I wasn't even aware of Irwin and Gina coming back up the stairs until I heard the door jiggle a bit. Shushing Nari, I laid back down and closed my eyes loosely, just to see why they were in the room. Reading my intention, Nari took the berry from my hand and into her mouth, running with it to hide under the bed.

'Akira, where did you go?' I heard Mewtwo's voice loud and clear in my head, almost with the same kind of presence that came from my sister.

Not sure why I was hearing him outside of my mind, I only stayed silent as I turned onto my other side, facing away from them to make them think I was asleep, right as they both came into the room and looked at the screen.

"Hmm, her readings seem normal, but there's that spike again," Irwin said, looking at Gina, who looked at him with an impatience.

"I'm sure whatever it is, it's fine," Gina said, looking straight to where I laid still on the bed. "I still don't see why Giovanni agreed for her to come here for treatment. She's just a spoiled little kid. Now, let's get out of here. The real deal is downstairs, and Giovanni wants us to report on how things go with Mewtwo. Let's go!"

'Akira, is everything alright?' Mewtwo said, again, when I didn't answer. 'You're shaking.'

'Yes, Mewtwo, I'm fine,' I thought to myself, surprised that he could even tell I was scared. 'Why are you scared?'

'You disappeared,' He said simply. 'I didn't know what happened, but I keep hearing someone say that they want to see their little girl smile again. Amber said that you were alive. Is that true?'

'I am alive, Mewtwo,' I said, feeling him listen closely. 'You were probably hearing my Father.'

'Father?' He asked innocently.

'He is one of my parents, Mewtwo,' I told him truthfully, falling asleep back onto the pillow. Over the course of the night, Mewtwo wanted to know more about me, Amber and our family. So, I did, I told him everything, even what happened, not even thinking about how much he would remember.

'Do I have a parent?' He asked me once, but I was too drained to answer as I started to dream during one part of the night, to which I didn't internally hear Mewtwo until morning or the next day. Getting myself out of bed the next morning after that, I felt something different. I couldn't explain it, but I had a strength that I didn't have since before the accident. Standing on my feet, I stamped and jumped with enough of a loud enough thump that it stirred Nari awake from off of the bed.

'Ee-vey?' She asked in astonishment, as I turned to look at her in mild puzzlement but with a smile, as she jumped, too, in joy. 'Vee-ve, Eevee!'

"Wait, what did you say?" I asked, hearing her squeal, again. 'Ee-vey!' She had said my name distinctly, I just somehow knew it, but I didn't get to reflect on how I could possibly before my door opened and I turned to see Gina looking at me with a bit of shock but no surprise.

"Well, you're certainly up and about," She said, strangely impressed at my jubilation. Coming over to look at my vitals, she clicked the needle they had in my arm that I guess was there after they gave me that shot two days ago. Funny, I didn't know when they had stuck it in. "Sorry for the IV, but you were out for a little over a day after they gave you that second dose, but you do seem a lot stronger than before. Your father came in yesterday to see you, but you were asleep."

'Second dose?' I thought internally, to which I felt a familiar set of eyes open briefly to hear. Hearing my thoughts, I heard Mewtwo start calling for me, again.

"Your Father thinks it'd be best for you to rest one more day before we test your strength, so just take it easy and … Hmm," Gina said, picking up the tablet to look it more closely. Stopping for a second, she looked at me with a particular expression as she looked at the readings of my neural vitals. "This is odd. Have you been feeling any different?"

Not hearing her last question, I held a hand to my head as I felt the others calling for me, too, but something was definitely different. I couldn't explain it, but I could just tell.

Looking at the tablet, again, Gina narrowed her eyes in suspicion as I then looked at her, sensing something in her that scared me. "I'll let your Father know you're awake. Excuse me," she said, taking the tablet.

Settling back against my pillows, I closed my eyes with a sense of trepidation. Being careful of the IV, I tucked in my blanket around me as Nari came closer to look into my face as I felt tears flow into my eyes and down my cheeks.

'Ee-vey,' Nari said, licking me and putting a paw on my lap as I found myself strangely able to hear what was being said downstairs. Grabbing my head, I heard the clones' voices, too, but some of them were fading.

"So, how are they today?" I heard my Father say from somewhere below, no doubt in speculation.
"You should be very pleased, Doctor. The Pokémon clones are in stable condition and Mewtwo's getting stronger every day. One of them is bound to survive. It looks like all our hard work is finally paying off," one of the other scientists said in excitement.
"Yes, Giovanni will be very happy. I'm sure. He may soon have the most powerful Pokémon in the world. But I'll get something much more precious. The knowledge of how to re-create life. Then, I'll use that to bring her back."

'Mewtwo! Amber,' I called, somehow diving back into my subconscious and finding myself back into the darkness for a second. Thinking about where Amber could be, I somehow felt myself pulled back to Amber's remembering place, but I was too late. By the time I saw them, they were all looking at a night full of stars before I saw them turn to where Charmandertwo started to shimmer. He and the others were fading … fast.

"What is it? What's going on?"
"We're losing all readings from Charmandertwo!"
"No! Not again!"
"Bulbasaurtwo and Squirtletwo are disappearing the same way!"
"It looks like another failure."

Finally materializing near them, I could only take a breath as Ambertwo somehow sensed me there watching, unable to do anything to stop was going to happen next. Looking around for the others, Mewtwo asked internally, 'Where did they go?'

"Doctor, we're losing her too."
I recognized my Father's voice as he only sighed, "Amber."

'Mewtwo,' I said, calling out to him as he saw me hover over and saw my tears, following my gaze as He and I looked to see where Amber was starting to shimmer and fade, too, smiling at us both.

'What's wrong, Amber?' He asked, completely lost. 'What's happening?'

'It feels, like it's time, to say goodbye,' my sister said, her teal hair blowing slowly in the still lingering wind as she and this special place both started to dematerialize.

'Goodbye?' Mewtwo said, suddenly feeling something real as I saw it closer in quiet awe. Seeing tears appear in his eyes, too, we both tearfully watched everything disappear, until only Amber was still faintly there, her essence and memories materializing up like evaporated tears that never had a chance to fall. There were so many crystalized tears that it could have painted her night sky over and over, again. 'I feel, something.' Wiping at his face, he found his freshly fallen tears a mystery as his innocency made him wonder why he was feeling sad. 'What are, these?'

'They're tears. You're crying," Amber said, clearly to him for a moment.

'Crying?'

'Our daddy used to tell us a bedtime story,' She said, indicating me as for that time as well, as she saw me shed a tear, too. 'That when Pokémon are sad, and they cry, their tears are filled with life.'

'I'm so, sad,' Mewtwo said, stating true the reflection I could see in his heart. He had learned about the simple treasures of life through Amber and what she had left to share, even when she shared it with me. And in him, I also saw how much he wanted to live.

'I have to go,' Amber finally said, fading even more.

'Why?' Mewtwo said, looking right at her as he emotionally shed more tears.

'I don't know," Amber said, looking at both of us before she spoke once more. 'But it's alright, thank you for caring about me. And don't cry, Mewtwo. You should be happy. You're alive, and life is wonderful.'

Her last words wavered in the stillness of my consciousness, finally opening my eyes to see that I was still in my room. Sensing his distress, though, I could somehow still hear Mewtwo as his thoughts continued in anxious frustration, 'These tears. What good are they? Please, Amber! Come back! Don't go, please! Amber!'

"Mewtwo!" I called out, not even caring if my voice was heard. Getting to my feet, I started to run, only thinking about the action to comfort him somehow. Before I could, thought, I tripped to the floor, the IV popped out of my arm in a sharp pain. Diving below me, Nari tried to soften my landing as I rolled, only clutching the spot with my free hand. Hearing me cry, Irwin and Gina came rushing in to see me in a state on the floor.

'Akira?' I heard Mewtwo ask in response before I felt his voice go quiet once more, but not in the way the others had.

"Doctor, Mewtwo's brainwaves are out of control!"
'Father!'
I thought out loud, right as I heard him say, 'It's getting too upset. It mustn't remember this. Administer the serum! Do it, quickly!"

More upset than anything, I didn't even register what Gina and Irwin were trying to say to get me to calm down, Gina only running out to get my Father. Understanding I was upset, Irwin remained silent as he only wrapped up the spot on my arm securely with gauze as he watched me clutch my arms, as I internally said, 'Mewtwo, what are they doing to you?'

"What's happening? Is it working?"
"Its brainwaves are going back to normal. Everything seems okay, Doctor."
"Nothing is okay! My Amber is gone forever. Only Mewtwo survives."


Part 2 of Chapter 2: The Encounter Begins. I hope I played justice to this scene, because these few moments that Mewtwo spent with Amber is what truly inspired this story. Hope you like it, enjoy!