Ash left the G-Men headquarters shortly after.
He took a one way flight to Orre, conducting a fast, yet thorough investigation of his longtime friend.
The results being what he had hoped for.
So he shut her out.
Shut everything out.
Everything except Giovanni.
To Ash, there were only two people who mattered in this world.
Himself and the Boss.
The man who dragged him down into the depths of hell and sent him on this never ending roller coaster of violence and pain.
He would kill him.
Kill him and then...
Then...
He didn't know.
But he would cross that bridge when he came to it.
Following his investigation of Alyssa, he annihilated the compound in the old Team Cipher research facility he had infiltrated once before.
He released the Pokemon, killed everyone inside, and then left.
To the destination he knew Giovanni had under lock and key.
Cerulean City, on the western corner of the city, across the river into the side of Mt. Moon.
To be precise, Cerulean Cave.
While with the G-Men, during his searches through documentation with Misty and Alyssa, one item kept showing itself.
Cerulean City.
Hidden deep in the files they had scavenged, and scattered across dozens of documents, research showed that Giovanni was pouring endless funds into construction around the base of the famous cavern.
So that could mean only one thing was there.
Mewtwo.
And at the moment, Ash, dressed in black Rocket attire, solely walked across the rocky terrain.
It was like a military compound which was going under heavy construction.
Watchtowers and Barracks on one side.
Bulldozers, cranes, and drills on the other.
All fenced in by a chain link fence, barbed wire running along the top.
He had broken into the base fairly easily, using the uniform he had pulled off a grunt while in Orre, and had cut his way through the chain links.
He couldn't climb anymore.
Since this had all begun, he had thought himself to be invincible, or... Invulnerable.
After years and years of taking injury after injury, he had always come out unscathed.
Bruised.
Cut.
Stabbed.
Shot.
Broken.
He had recovered each and every time, just with a new scar added to the bunch.
Ash shook his head irritated, and looked up the mountain side, where the terrain had been blown into a pathway which led towards a sealed off portion of the mountain, only accessible by elites and scientists.
This is where he would have to go, because this more or less is where Team Rocket had drilled an opening into the cave.
He walked calmly up the rocky path, passing grunts without a glance, and a look of purpose set on his face.
'If you look like you have something to do, odds are, you won't have to answer any questions,' This he remembered was one of the very first lessons he had learned while at the Academy.
So to add to the effect, he carried a toolbox with his right hand, making it look as if he were sent to deliver or preform maintenance on something.
Which ever worked.
He rounded a bend and his eyes landed on a checkpoint, where two armed grunts blocked the path.
His eyes narrowed and he found the temptation to pull out the hand gun concealed in his waist band and beneath his sweater unbearable.
He had no qualms about killing.
Not anymore.
Any remorse, or guilt he built up over the act had vanished years ago.
He just didn't care anymore.
'Go left at the next exit,'
He reacted automatically as the low voice boomed inside of his head.
The toolbox fell from his hand scatter the tools across the path, and he had drawn the gun from his waistband in a flash.
Ahead the Grunts who were stationed noticed the action and had shouted at him, raising their assault rifles towards him.
"Go you fool!" The voice shouted at him angrily.
He would have to question it later, but he believed he understood already.
Ash ran to his left, into a tight ravine as gunfire erupted behind him.
Screams and curses were thrown at him, and then the sound of a siren blared through the mountain side.
He ignored it though, face set in a stern grimace as he brushed against the jagged sides of the ravine, being poked and cut at from all sides.
He flinched when the wall where he had had his hand placed exploded into small fragments as a bullet hit.
'Which way!?' He thought grimly,'I'm not going to fit much further!'
The ravine was slowly narrowing with each step, and soon he would be stuck if he wasn't lucky.
'Continue, you are almost here,'
Growling, he squeezed through a curve, and cursed aloud at what lay in front of him.
The ravine ended, leaving him trapped in an enclosure which rose at least ten meters on all sides. Ash ran up to one, looking desperately for hand holds.
Behind him, the voices of Rockets grew louder and he knew they were seconds away from reaching him.
'Mewtwo! Where the hell am I supposed to go!?'
'Be calm,'
Ash scowled and turned back to face the entrance to the ravine, raising the handgun with his free hand.
He was running on limited ammo, most of which he had used while still in Orre.
He had a little under three magazines remaining, not including the one currently loaded.
The footsteps of the Rockets grew louder, and when the first came into view, he dropped him, bullet sending him folding over backwards.
He figured he could by time by creating a pile to clog up the ravine, but even if that was the case, he didn't have the ability to climb out-
'Brace yourself,'
It happened instantly, overhead he heard the thundering of rocks bouldering down the mountainside. When the first massive rock came into view, he felt his feet leave the ground.
The ground caved in beneath him, vanishing under him, dropping him into a dark abyss.
He fell down a shaft, sliding and tumbling in every direction.
He slammed into walls, rolling in the dark further and further into the Earth, until for a split second he saw light.
Ash tried to stick his leg out to brace himself, but his momentum was far to strong. He rolled out of the shaft, and his eyes snapped wide open as he fell down a massive chasm.
Stalagmites the size of buildings burst from the ceiling, pillars started from the roof and ended in what looked like an indoor ocean beneath.
He fell end over end, fascinated at the crystal clear water, where the dark silhouette of Pokemon moved about.
From top to bottom there must have been a few hundred meters in distance.
And as he neared the water, he realized he would not survive the impact against the calm waters.
Ash looked around quickly for land to release Espeon on so that she could stop his fall, but he saw none.
He shut his eyes, air screaming against his ears, and braced himself for impact.
Seconds ticked by, and right when he expected the crash, his body jerked, and he felt his insides press uncomfortably against his ribs.
He opened his eyes, centimetres from the water, and saw that he was levitating, the eery purple which outlined his body dimly glowing.
He exhaled thankfully, and then looked around the cavern, looking for the source of which stopped him.
And then it appeared.
Like someone had flicked a switch, it suddenly materialized in front of him.
A small island of stone, where on it stood- no floated, the tall white bi-pedial Pokemon he had run into once before.
"Long time no see," Ash said as he was righted, and dropped lightly onto his feet.
Mewtwo stared at him, looking menacing against the black of the cavern behind him... Or it...
Which ever it is.
'It has been,' Mewtwo replied hovering towards him, 'Ash Ketchum,'
Ash smiled dryly, "I'm going out on a limb to say that you know why I'm here..."
There was a short not, 'Your past... Has darkened since we last met. By the same human which has hunted me since my birth.'
Ash sat down, and lay back on the ground, "We're both hunted by the same guy, Giovanni. Team Rocket... He want's to use you as a weapon, and I could say the very same for myself."
Mewtwo landed silently and walked past him towards the water,'I was created for that very purpose,'
"So was I,"
The cloned Pokemon looked at him sharply at the comment, 'A weapon who's sole purpose is for destruction, to instill fear, and insecurity in the populace.'
"I know it well."
'To do it's Master's bidding with a snap of his fingers,'
As they continued speak, Mewtwo had slowly approached him, and begun looking at him from overhead, "To do whatever he asks, whether we want to or not. A simple case of do or do not, kill or be killed. You and I were controlled by this psychopath, someone who want's to take over the world by using us as his pawns," Ash said standing and looking straight into the intense eyes of the legendary Pokemon.
"But I refuse... I refuse to continue being used by Giovanni. I've been hunting him, searching for him. And when I do, I will kill him," He paused, "But to do that, I need him to show himself. He will hide like the coward he is until he sees something worth getting over excited about."
'You're referring to myself,'
Ash nodded, "He wants you more then the world itself Mewtwo. And I have no doubt that you want nothing to do with him, you just want to live your life without... Without Team Rocket."
'Since we left our home on Mt. Quena, the clones have all gone off on their own. Found mates, or even Trainers who look after them. I am still searching for my purpose,'
"But you're progress has been hindered. Hasn't it, being forced to run over and over again as Team Rocket draws near to you,"
'You are correct,'
"Then help me destroy them. Completely. I want to wipe Team Rocket off of the face of the earth."
The Legendary hovered around him once, "and how do you propose we do that?"
He knew how.
It would take time.
Quite a bit.
But they could lure Giovanni out, or if not, uncover his location.
It would take months, and an extreme amount of effort.
But he knew how to wipe them from the face of the earth.
"One by one, bases by base, elite by elite. We eradicate them. We purge the world of the knowledge of Team Rocket."
'To kill them?'
Ash nodded, no remorse or guilt on his face, "With Team Rocket, it's kill or be killed. I have no love for them or the organization. They've ruined my life, I have nothing left on this planet which I care to live for. Nothing except for killing Giovanni. But to do that, I have to keep up what I've been doing. And if I have your help, it would be faster than ever before,"
Silence sat between them, and then Mewtwo said, 'you and I would finally be free from the chains he has held us by.'
"And that is all that I want from this world," He replied quietly, "to be free from Team Rocket forever."