Mewtwo and the Mysteries of Life

Chapter 7: A Kangaskhan Rescue (Part 1 of 2)


"Give it another shot of the enzyme serum," an aide researcher said, the both of them taking their turn in monitoring Mewtwo in the tank back at the lab. "Make it a more moderate dosage than usual. An order from the Boss."

"Why another? Its synthetic defenses already grow stronger every day, but it still hasn't woken up," another one said to its partner as the two looked over some notes. "If anything, it's actually grown."

"By its vitals, that may be true. However, it's only a matter of time before it does awake. The drug they gave it only sedated its emotions, but it also made it forget, when they brought it under control. It'll want answers, but it's power will be sought as the key to control." Noticing the other's captivation in the subject, he changed the subject by saying, "Don't ask too many questions, and just do your job."

"A creature this complex formed by science alone and special gene mutation, though? Fascinating. Absolutely incredible, indeed. Was this secrecy really necessary, though? Pokémon are already mysterious enough, but with human DNA involved, too? Or, was that last bit just rumored?"

"Why not? That last bit is a bit of rumor, I've heard, but the boss wanted the most powerful life form we could stabilize, a creature that has proved to live up to some already high trivial emotional measures. Equipped with the strongest psychic abilities that genetics can provide, who knows what else it will possess when it shows its true power. The other clones weren't stable enough to survive. Or, it could have been that they weren't strong enough to fight or live on. Who knows?"

Remembering something that that they had seen back from my time on the island, the second aide said, "Right! In fact, remember when the Professor's daughter saw the originals? She saw them in a weakened state, right after the extraction where …"

"Don't mention her here!" the first researcher said, in a hushed tone, as he looked around to make sure that no one overheard them, and finally to the one in particular who was in that very room who didn't show any sign, yet, that He was aware of everything they were thinking, only subtly dreaming of things that crossed his memory in mystery. "Giovanni had the girl removed as soon as she knew too much and right after she got cared for. That was the bargaining chip to getting Dr. Fuji here in the first place, although the latter didn't take much convincing otherwise with his own cloning experiment in the works. Now, there's nothing to remind him of what he lost. So, come on, we have to get this data to the Professor. He's still got a job to do and we all have to play along to make sure he does his part."

"Right," the second one chortled, suddenly snickering. "Does he still think he's doing all this for science?"

"If he does, just let him think that," the first aide said, returning the smirk. "We are so close to seeing the fruits of our labors emerge right before our eyes. In the meantime, our objective is still to capture as many Pokémon as possible, but we're stuck here. Why do the elites get to have all of the fun?" Twitching a bit in his sleep at their sarcasm, Mewtwo's eyes glowed purple under his eyelids as his inner self responded faintly with a protective stir, responding to a faint memory that laid dormant only and was consistent with a familiar feeling, as an image of my sister and I both appeared in his mind along with a scene of Ambertwo's memories with all of us together. Not lasting long, it was too brief for him to contemplate on as another dream started to fill his mindscape with another one. Before he let it, though, one thought made it through and straight towards the small connection that He and I shared, a small return to the comfort that he always felt was there.


"Mewtwo?!" I whispered, suddenly whipping my head up at the sudden thought of foreboding. Looking around, I had jump right out of my hiding spot in shock and all in amidst the game of hide and seek we were playing. Seeing the others, that included a couple of Oddish and Nidorina, poking their heads out of the bush curiously out at me, I lowered myself back down towards where Nari remained at my hip, sitting instead of hunching down low and out of knowing. 'What did he mean? It felt like He was saying something about Father or something, but … I couldn't quite make it out.' However, sitting there in the bush, the foreboding premonition that I was feeling didn't go away. 'And, what is this feeling? It's not normal."

"Five … Four … Three …" I heard Kimi count down nearby, remembering the game. Ducking back down, I didn't see a familiar pair of salmon eyes come up behind us as Kimi called out, "Two … One … Ready or not, here I come!"

"Pika-chu, pi. Pika!" ('You guys better stay down. Here she comes!') Hearing Kimiko's partner giggle up above in the trees, I looked up in time to see his little electric tail wave up like a little flag as I saw him let off a few accidental sparks. Giggling from a plump of leaves that stuck out and tickled up against his side, he couldn't stop giggling as the wind moved the wispy branch and made it worse. Laughing, his shaking only made the leaves fall all away, exposing his hiding spot to Kimi as she appeared from behind the tree.

"Gotcha. Come down, buddy," Kimi said, jumping up to grab ahold of a couple of low-hanging branches to reach up her upper right arm, to which Zap happily jumped down from the highest branch to his trainer. "You can help me find the others."

Knowing that Zap wouldn't give up our location, I looked down to the others to signal that they should hide further into the brush, but before Nari or I could move, I felt a tug on my blue kimono top sleeve as I looked over my shoulder to see Flasho as he had a loose grip of the material in his mouth, trying to get my attention. "Flasho, what is it?" I asked him, his eyes connecting with mine as the both of us caught the sound of a small cry in the woods not too far away.

"You know you can't hide from me for long," Kimi warned, suddenly looking at the brush for a brief moment. Shutting her eyes, she stood silent for a second as the layout of the brush entered her mind, listening for any movement. Hearing something else, though, she turned towards us, but she didn't just see Nari and me as we stood. "Who's there?! Show yourself!"

"Kitsune, hush," Another person said, appearing just behind the tree as a familiar person emerged from just barely from behind a tree, aware of our game.

"Uncle Koga," Kimi said, not surprised that he was standing nearby, as he or Aya had done for the last few months to keep an eye on her, Janine, or me when we often played back here in the woods with the wild Pokémon when they were not too busy. "I saw someone run past those trees over there. He was booking so fast that I didn't recognize him … or her, maybe. They didn't look like a wayward trainer."

"Exactly, and you shouldn't be calling after them blindly," he said, thinking of her safety. "After all, it could spell …"

"Trouble," I said, revealing Flasho at my side as he and Nari ran over to them, too, with me. Hearing a rustling in the bushes to his east, Koga signaled for us to get down as he looked up into a tree to see where he could climb to get a better view. Trying to climb up, though, he slipped on the first foothold as Flasho said something else to me as I interpreted, "There are some people chasing a big Pokémon in the woods."

"You're not wrong, I saw a group enter the woods on the north side early this morning," Koga said, watching Zap climb up to where he couldn't, perking up as his ears went up and pointed out the direction where we all heard the commotion coming from. Bending down, Koga then snapped off a piece of trap twine off of his boot, revealing why he wasn't able to climb the tree as he only shook the loose fibers off of his ankles. Suddenly looking at me, he arced an eyebrow as he then said, "By the way, how did you know that?"

Sharing a look with Kimi, who shook her head, I only stood there silent as Kimi answered for me and said, "Uh, Lucky guess? Can we help in any way, Uncle Koga, please?"

"No," he said, looking up and hearing a roar up ahead instead. "I'm going to go check it out. You two stay here. This is not a responsibility for children." Pulling up his mask, Koga raced into the woods before we could utter a word out of protest. Passing in front of Flasho, the two of them shared a glance that seemed to have a distinct and unspoken connection between them, but it didn't last long before Koga broke off their gaze with a sigh and just raced off in silence.

"Uncle Koga!" Kimi called, growling a bit under her breath as Zap tried his best to comfort her with a small, "Pika … Pika-chu."

'Flasho?' I internally asked him as he only looked up at me with a small twitch of his nine tails. Looking directly into my eyes, he only relayed, 'It's a story for another time. Right now, you two need to follow me.'

"Uhh, I hate it when he calls us kids!" Kimi said, interrupting our thoughts. Feeling our eyes on her, Kimi looked up to see that I had got up to my feet, Flasho walking ahead into the woods and stopping short, again, to wait for us. "What is it?"

"Kids or not, there is something we can do to help. Come on, Flasho found something he wants us to see," I said, holding out my hand for Kimi to follow us. Confused, she listened as I said, "He says it's important."

Nodding her head, Kimi followed from behind as she then said, "Alright. Let's go." Following Flasho deeper into the woods and past the brush, where the other Pokémon from the game stayed behind and out of unease, they watched us veer off the marked path that led to the gym and only deeper into the woods. "Seriously, though. Why does he have to still call us kids when we're almost one year away from becoming full-fledged Pokémon Trainers? Zap and I are ready for some real experience."

'Pi-Pikachu!' Zap said, affirming the possibility of agreeing with Kimi, a trait I smiled at in him as he joined Kimi at the top of her shoulder.

"It sounds like you can't wait to grow up," I said, kidding her as she and I pushed some more of the more stubborn branches out of the way. 'Eevee!' Nari added, pushing herself through the brambles after us. After a moment, though, I paused just enough to wait on her and picked her up, continuing on as we made it through the rest of the brush in our way.

"It's just … I can't wait until we can actually go explore the world on our own. What about you?" Kimi asked, seeing the look on my face as I thought about it. "I mean, I know the past year or two you went through a lot, but you've also grown from it, too. I don't know anyone else who can communicate with Pokémon the way you can, and I can understand why you don't want a lot of people to know."

"I still don't really know why I have this ability, but still, it's a reminder of the promise I made to a friend. Based on you went through, though, you've grown a lot, too," I said, hoping to encourage her when we heard a scream that stopped us in our tracks.

"Khaaaaannnnn!" The cry echoed loud in our ears as we covered them just enough to bear it, but only just enough where we could pinpoint its location. Another small cry joined right after it, too, but it grew muted and scared as it suddenly stopped.

"Pi? Pika!" Zap shouted, pointing a paw up the path, suddenly jumping from Kimi's shoulder in a rush as Kimi shouted, "Zap! What's wrong?" Looking at me as she ran faster, she said, "Follow him!"

"Right!" I said, already doing so as Kimi took off after her partner, somehow already having a sense of where he was heading while I paused a bit behind. Hearing that small cry, again, I pushed my way through the last couple of bushes that led to the edge of a murky shallow marsh. Looking up, I saw the backside of the gym a short distance away, but I also realized that I lost sight of the others. Continuing on, though, I paused as Nari leapt out of my arms and onto the dry bank, noticing the small curtain of vines in front of us. "Nari, do you think you can cut through these vines? That cry is just past this overhang."

"Eevee!" ('You got it!') Nari shouted, lowering herself into a jump position and flicked up her tail, a silver hue coating over it as her tail started to glow. "EE-Vey!" Nari screamed, springing up and curling up into a twist as her tail cut like a scythe and straight through the thick vines like they were just thin wisps of twine.

Running past them as they fell, I ran over just in time to catch her as she dizzily tried to right herself and the power ebbed away from her tail, exhausted. "Sorry, we got to work on that one, don't we?" I asked her, seeing her slowly open her brown eyes and just shake her head, a smile donning her features as she looked at me in excitement. "Here, get your strength back," I told her, sitting her down with a single oran berry I had pulled from the couple I had in my pocket, hearing a rustle. "I have a feeling we're not alone."

"Eevee, Ee-vey," ('Be careful, Akira.') she murmured, accepting it as she shakily got to her feet, still a little dizzy but strong and watching me as I picked up on the sound of small whimpers just underneath the roots of a tall tree we had backed up into. Looking up to see that Flasho had joined us, I didn't let his presence deter me from seeing what was underneath the moss of the roots of the biggest tree. Pulling the moss up, my heart filled with compassion as a small little purple baby Kangaskhan poked its head out from the moss with a whimper.

Staying completely still, I didn't startle it or make any sudden movement, remembering what Koga had once told us about Mothers always being nearby if they thought their babies were in danger. Waiting for it to come out on its own, I could see immediately that it was too frightened to want to move completely out. Looking up to see the way Flasho was looking around hesitantly for any sign of the mother around the nearby trees, I whispered, 'Something happened, didn't it?' Looking at me closer, our eyes connected as I read the tears in her eyes in compassion. Crying, it launched itself at my arms with a cry that was almost like a wail, as the word, 'Mama', crossed my understanding. Letting her clutch me, I almost didn't hear someone call out, "There it is! We got it this time."
And then another says at the same time, "Weezing, use Sludge!"

"Ee-vey!" Nari called out, seeing them, a little too late as a shot of purple ooze hit the side of the tree, sending us hurling back.

"Akira!" I heard Koga's voice call out as I felt a pair of hands catch me as I caught the baby Kanga closer to my chest in our tumble. Looking up, I saw Koga's gaze slightly change as his stout reserve melted partly into a relief. Seeing the little Kangaskhan in my arms, he sat me down carefully and to where Nari came running over, giving Koga a thankful look. Hearing them come closer, we all three looked over to see two guys dressed all in black and white. Seeing the R-emblem on their chests, I had the sinking suspicion that I had come across the meaning of the name before.

"Yo, Koga!" the second one of them said, coming out from behind the shadow of a smaller tree. "Heard you were a gym leader now. You just saved us a lot of trouble. Now, why don't you do us a favor and tell your little charge there to just drop the Pokémon?"

"Al?" Koga asked, recognizing the lad just beneath the hat, as he only shrugged in affirm as a Hypno appeared at his side.

"Oh, so you do recognize your old charge?" the third one laughed, his Weezing making the circle around us, watching out every move. "Al didn't think you would. After the events of Cerise Island, I was told that when our Boss tried to contact you, you were already declared missing in action while our other two bosses were dismissed with the new base taking over after the old organization was shut down. And, you never came back. So, look who now has to feel your shoes, Sir." Hearing him mention his past, Koga only narrowed his eyes at his outburst as the argument among them continued.

"Hey, at least your superior even said your name," the first one called, calling his partner out as a Jynx appeared in front of us both, cutting off our escape attempt, Nari growling at it as Koga put me down and stood in front of me and the baby Kangaskhan. "Mine was too busy signing autographs to even pay attention when I scooped up a couple of his Voltorb last week."

"Yeah, and he sure let you and us have it with that Thunderbolt when you kept trying to antagonize him during our escape, Ken!" A third grunt called out, joining them in their argument.

"Words hurt, Harry!" Ken said, revealing the third guy's name as a fourth yelled, "Enough!", to which a sudden series of air slashes plowed into the ground, making an indention in the ground that surrounded us on all sides. Looking up, I saw a Pokémon I had never seen before, one that was called a Scyther, look down at us from further up the hill as a lady stepped out behind it, wearing the same black garb attire that they were. Recognizing her, I backed up a bit, letting the baby climb up to hide somewhat under my hair as she held onto my side braid and me with one trepid paw just behind my neck.

"Akira," I heard Kimi whisper, letting my eyes find her up in one of the nearby trees as she made a shushing gesture at me. Seeing Zap already charging up for something big, we both watched as Koga pulled out a Poke ball in one smooth gesture, ready to fight. "Get ready to run. I'll be right behind you," she pantomimed, pointing to the path just to the right.

"Honestly, of all the grunts, I was the one you got assigned to. You three can't do anything but argue," she said, seeing Koga eyeing them all in anticipation. "Well, this is interesting. So, you're Koga. It's a mere convenience that you're here at all. I believe that you and … your friend there … I think you have something that belongs to us."

"Team Rocket," was all Koga said, barring the intensity that a Gym Leader was known for. "It doesn't matter what you think or what you have come here to claim. Your time here is done. Voltorb, come out!" With a burst of light, Voltorb appeared out of the sphere right as Koga called it out. "Now, make your move. What will it be?"

"Seriously? Alright, I'll play your game," Ken said, raising a hand to command his Jynx, who looked around the field with a nervous eye. "Jynx, use Psybeam before it can attack, and …"

"Zap, now! Use Quick Attack to launch Voltorb like Uncle Koga told us to do," Kimi said, jumping down from the tree as Zap took off like a like a charged-up missile down the tree, zigzagging and jumping across the stones and roots in his path to give him the exact push he needed to make the impact truly count.

"It's a setup!" Harry tried to warn his other arguing comrades and their admins before a slap of tails made him plow right into his Weezing, who had turned too slow to see what Flasho had done to give them some time, his salmon eyes glowing and making him freeze.

"Pi-ka-Pi-ka-Pika-chuuu!" Zap screamed, hitting Voltorb full throttle straight in the back and sending him towards the others, ricocheting back from the shock of electric strain he had put right into it. Tumbling over head over heels, Nari rushed over to catch Zap as she caught him on her back just enough to slow his roll as he came to and shook off any dizziness.

"You said you wanted some action," I said, seeing Kimi just laugh and relieved that he was alright. Coming over to me, that's when we heard the both of them really start to run as the Self-Destruct from Voltorb finally went off, surprising the grunts who had just stood and watched, stunned. Hit hard with the electricity, Voltorb had taken the brunt and plowed right into Jynx, tumbling it over to land on both its trainer and Al as they then crashed into his Hypno, who looked up just enough to see them plowing through right towards it.

"You two, get away from here," Koga said, recalling back his Voltorb as he looked back at us. "I'll keep them at bay here as long as I can. Go! Flasho, get them out of here."

"Nine. Tales!" Flasho called, headbutting the third grunt aside and looking head-on straight at Kago, as he only nodded his head. Torn between worry and honor, Flasho started to make his way over to us before I shook my head at him to stop, sensing more than a distress for us.

'Flasho, we'll be fine,' I thought to him, looking him straight into his salmon eyes as Kago looked on with a curious eye. 'Go help him. He needs you!"

"Why did you tell him to do that?" Kimi asked, knowing exactly what I had done, pulling me with her in a run as I had peeked back to see Flasho battling by Koga's side.

'A story for another time,' I remembered him saying right before all of this. Seeing a scene in my head that I kept to myself from before, I asked Kimi as we ran with our partners at our side, "Flasho used to be Koga's partner, didn't he?" Surprised that I knew that, Kimi didn't get a chance to give me an answer as I felt a sudden rush incoming right behind us as I said, "Look out!"

Pushing Kimi to the side, I barely jumped to the side in time to see an 'X-shaped' cut right between us and land right where we would have been. "That was just a warning. I thought that was you, twerp," I heard a familiar voice say as I turned from where I got up from my knees, still holding onto the baby Kangaskhan, who had slid down my back in the jump back a bit and was still clutching my side in fright. "So, you ended up here of all places? Interesting move your Father made, sending you away when all he was supposed to do was something so simple. You've always had someone protecting you, even when you stuck your nose where it never belonged. Still though, it doesn't change the fact that I came here to do a job, just like I did with you, twerp."

"Gina," I said out loud, to Kimi's irritation as she growled and connected the clues to the story she heard me tell her.

"You do remember? I'm flattered," Gina said, looking at her Scyther as it waved its scythe-like arms in an eager-to-battle way. "Even Giovanni admitted you were special, someone worth it to watch. During those months, I actually felt pity for you. I do admit it, though, you sparked our interest when the experiment affected you as well. How about this? Defeat me, and I'll leave the little one alone. We already have what we came for. How about it?"

"Kira?" Kimi asked me, as I only looked at the little Kangaskhan as it barked and growled at Gina, who only laughed as she waited for my answer.

"She knows where Amma's mother is, Kimi," I said, letting my eyes say the message loud and clear, to which Kimi read it loud and clear with a formative nod and determination. Facing Gina, I could only say one thing, "You already know my answer, and I am not running away."


Sorry if this chapter is a little later than normal, but I hope it made it well worth the wait. Next up: Part Two of this chapter, which will contain a rescue and a reunion. I chose Kangaskhan for these two chapters originally, totally inspired by the first episode of Pokémon Journeys. The three grunts - Ken, Al, and Harry - they are mentioned in the Pokemon Adventure manga series, and after doing some research, I just felt inspired to add a touch of their story in this one (whether how much it relates to Koga's actual history is totally speculative, but I hope it's a good plot point to guess on). And, in case you were wondering what became Gina in the previous chapters, here's the reveal.

Thanks for reading, and I'll bring the next chapter as soon as it's done. Enjoy!