Of Mews and Men

Prologue:

He hated the dark. He had ever since he'd first gained consciousness and opened his eyes to see that he was enclosed in a tube with fluid pressing against his newly developed body. The lanky human scientists had stood just outside his enclosure and gawked at him in awe. They had called him "Mewtwo" and explained that the DNA within his cells was derived from an ancient and powerful Pokemon. When Mewtwo had further probed these humans' minds, he saw that the creature his essence was based on was a being that many of them deified. He had seen images of several humans kneeling at alters before a statue of this creature—this Mew—and reciting prayers and psalms in her name.

Mewtwo quickly learned that while the scientists were in awe that they could semi-replicate this deity, they were disgusted with Mewtwo himself. He was a deformed, weaker version of the goddess they worshipped. His name itself denoted that he was of lesser importance compared to her. Still, the human creatures tolerated Mewtwo's existence seeing as he was strong enough to serve their purposes.

Mewtwo shuddered slightly and tried to wrap his gangly arms around his wrongly proportioned body as the lights continued to shut down casting long shadows in the lab. He shifted uncomfortably and pulled at the many wires that restrained his body. He hated it here. He wished he could see sunlight and plants like he had seen in the humans' memories. All he could see in the physical environment around him were tubes similar to his filled with liquid and wires where small fetuses of cloned Pokemon were growing. Mewtwo wished he could see living, breathing Pokemon. Pokemon that formed thoughts and moved their bodies rather than these half-formed creatures.

Another light flickered off. Mewtwo huddled his body into a ball bracing himself for the chilling darkness, but before that happened, Mewtwo sensed a human fast approaching. Mewtwo excitedly looked up as he saw a familiar human hurrying down the lab—his feet clattering against the marble floor as he ran past the eerie floating fetuses. Mewtwo bumped his nose against the cold glass and made a garbled sound from within the liquid as a greeting to the newly arrived human. The man laughed and readjusted his white lab coat and half-moon glasses as he said, "You didn't think I'd ever forget about you did you, Mewtwo?"

Well maybe a little. It had been getting so dark in the lab after all. Unfortunately, Mewtwo had not as of yet mastered telekinesis so he could say nothing to the man aside from bobbing his head and flicking his large purple tail.

The man pulled out a book and said, "The story I have for you today is Little Red Riding Hood. It's Amber's favorite. Would you like me to read it?" Immediately Mewtwo bobbed his head in excited agreement which elicited another laugh from the man, Dr. Fuji.

Mewtwo watched as the man calmly sat in front of him and opened the book. Mewtwo instantly began probing Dr. Fuji's mind as he began to read; Mewtwo loved the images of a girl in a vibrant red cape that popped into the man's mind as the story progressed. It was as if there was a continual display of images that Dr. Fuji conjured in his mind to match the words he was reading. Images of the girl, which resembled Dr. Fuji's daughter, Amber, as she skipped through the woods, terrifying roars and carnages from the dreaded Houndoom who had tried to convince the human girl he was good, the frightened face of an elderly woman, and the heroics of a woodsman all flashed across Dr. Fuji's mind as he read the story. It wasn't Mewtwo's favorite story, he had preferred the one about a wooden boy named Pinocchio, but any time spent with Dr. Fuji was well worth it.

Mewtwo adored Dr. Fuji. He loved the man's scientific mind and how it categorized the world into numbers and equations. He loved that the human was so passionate about discovering new things, going against established human beliefs, and formulating theories that left other humans in a daze. Yet what Mewtwo loved more was the affectionate and tender emotions that resided in the human whenever he thought about his wife, daughter, and… Mewtwo himself. The other humans treated Mewtwo coldly or viewed him as a prized possession. An object to be controlled or used. A being incapable of reason, emotion, or free will. Dr. Fuji didn't see him like that. Dr. Fuji knew how much Mewtwo loved it when the violin was played or when he told stories of exotic places around the world.

Dr. Fuji placed his hand against the glass once he had finished the story and Mewtwo immediately put his own deformed hand over it on the opposite side. The man smiled before worry began creeping into his voice, "Mewtwo… I… I'm so sorry for what I did to you. I… I was like the others at first. You were just an experiment. I hadn't even thought that I was literally creating life and that you… you're a living creature." Flashes of the humans and their schemes raced across Fuji's mind—things about politics and power. Things that Mewtwo couldn't currently comprehend. Dr. Fuji continued, "I have to get you out of here while I can. Before they-"

"Yosuke, you really shouldn't be here," a voice drawled from the far end of the lab. Mewtwo shifted his gaze away from Dr. Fuji and saw the head scientist, a Dr. Jamie, standing at the far side of the lab with her arms crossed.

Dr. Fuji slowly turned to face the other human and said, "I saw what you plan to do with him… I won't let you do it."

"'Him?' That thing is just another clone," Mewtwo recoiled at the harsh words and a previous memory in her mind that depicted Mewtwo as nothing more than a clump of embryonic cells slowly growing. "Besides, it's not like it's even a real Mew. Just a biological anomaly that happens to be powerful."

"If you just spent time with him, you'd know that isn't true," Dr. Fuji snapped. "This 'thing' you're talking about has emotions and thoughts. You can't keep him like this. Besides… besides… his DNA… it's based on a goddess. What if she finds out? What if-"

"Oh Arceus please don't tell me you've become a religious zealot," Dr. Jamie laughed, "Mew's just an old Pokemon that neolithic people told stories about. You thought so too in the beginning, remember Yosuke."

"Yes… but," Dr. Fuji glanced back at Mewtwo, "I-I'm not so sure anymore."

Dr. Jamie sighed impatiently, "Look we don't have time for your personal existential crises. I told you already that I want you to go home while we fit the suit onto Mewtwo. Now go."

As she said this, Mewtwo noticed that dozens of humans had begun pouring into the darkened lab carrying metal pieces. Mewtwo was startled when they began draining the liquid in his tube and he inhaled nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and traces of carbon dioxide for the first time in his existence. His small confinement was opened up and the humans began aggressively ripping the cords from his body and replacing it with metal machinery that went along his arms, back, and head.

Mewtwo was startled when Dr. Fuji gave a guttural cry as he yelled, "No! You can't do this to him. The things you bastards will make him do! I won't let you-" Dr. Fuji was silenced by a bigger human ramming his fist along the side of Fuji's jaw. Mewtwo gave a cry as Fuji crumpled to the floor.

Mewtwo tried to resist, but as the humans shoved a helmet over his head, he felt electrical pulses redirecting his normal neurological pathways so that he no longer controlled his movements or actions. Mewtwo felt fear for the first time as he desperately tried to wriggle his hands, flick his tail, or make a sound to absolutely no avail.

Dr. Fuji scrambled to his feet and ran over to Mewtwo and desperately tried to yank the helmet off of Mewtwo's head. All the while Dr. Fuji was pleading to Dr. Jamie to not go through with this. He asked her to be reasonable and to know that this could only end badly. Mewtwo felt a tug at his helmet from Dr. Fuji's hands, but the other humans quickly pulled Dr. Fuji away and threw him to the floor once more.

"Let's test Mewtwo's powers shall we," Dr. Jamie said as she stepped briskly forward, "You care so much about this thing Yosuke. Well, let's see if it cares about you. Mewtwo, kill Dr. Fuji."

At first Mewtwo didn't comprehend what the word "kill" meant. He saw that it was associated with death and he understood that death occurred when an organism's cells ceased replicating. Mewtwo knew that destroying a person's basic body structure would effectively cause this death phenomenon. Once Mewtwo comprehended what the human wanted, his body moved against his own volition. He lifted his hand toward Dr. Fuji and with Mewtwo's mind alone, he snapped and twisted every bone in the human's body.

It was only then that Mewtwo understood what death truly meant. As he stared at Dr. Fuji's now contorted body, Mewtwo realized that he could no longer sense the man's thoughts. There were no more images of wife and daughter. There were no more cheerful memories of the family baking together around Arceus' Day nor mathematical inquisitions of how the world worked. All that was and all that would be of Dr. Fuji was gone. There was nothing of Dr. Fuji… only silence and darkness.

A sick, twisted feeling wrenched at Mewtwo's gut as he looked down at the human… no not human. Human denotated a species—a word without affection. No… friend. Gone. Forever. Because of what he and these other humans did. The twisted feeling became more violent, more wrenching until it surged through him in raw pain.

The other humans were talking. Something about "cleaning up the mess" and leading "the creature" to their employers. Hatred and power Mewtwo hadn't realized he had surged through his veins as he sensed the dismissive way the humans treated one of their own. How none of them seemed to understand that this extinguished life had been someone good, someone loved, someone who loved.

They were leading him away from the lab when Mewtwo roared in agony and with a burst of energy he disintegrated the metal pieces that held him prisoner. He continued to howl and hiss as he slaughtered the humans surrounding him and shot energy in streams of purple light towards the building walls causing them to crumble. He continued his rampage by destroying the countless test tubes, ripping apart the foundation of the structure, and killing all the remaining human scientists who resided in the lab. However, his rage couldn't be quenched even after he leveled the entire facility until there was nothing more than rubble and ashes. Mewtwo began uncontrollably obliterating the wildlife and vegetation outside the human structure. He didn't stop until the entire island they had been on was nothing more than a desolate wasteland.

Only then did Mewtwo return to the ruined lab where there was a single spot where Mewtwo had purposely put up a psychic purple forcefield. Mewtwo let the forcefield drop to reveal the still dead figure of Dr. Fuji. Mewtwo dropped to the ruined ground beside his friend and cradled the man in his arms. The man's skin was cold and hard… not warm like it should be.

"I'm sorry," Mewtwo said to Dr. Fuji. Mewtwo couldn't leave his friend in this wretched place… he couldn't. Not where he had… not where he… no. Mewtwo quickly pulled apart his and Dr. Fuji's molecules and projected them across time and space—he believed the humans had called this "teleportation." He gathered together the molecules and reformed their bodies when he sensed he was in Dr. Fuji's hometown.

Mewtwo sniffed the air that smelled heavily of incense and stared up at the looming tower silhouetted by the full moon. From Dr. Fuji's memories, he knew that this was Lavender Town and that the tower was known as Pokemon Tower. Dr. Fuji had believed that this was a resting place for the bodies of deceased humans and Pokemon. It seemed fitting that… Mewtwo shook his head. It was hard to think of Dr. Fuji in a place like this… rotting… and… no.

Mewtwo flew to the top of the tower and entered it reverently. There were no tombstones here aside from a large statue of Mew in the middle. Mewtwo glided inside and tenderly placed Fuji's body at the base of the statue. He straightened the man's bones and body so that it more closely resembled the Fuji Mewtwo had known. When he was finished, Mewtwo psychically formed a sheet of crystal to encompass the body creating a transparent tomb.

Mewtwo placed a hand on the crystal—wishing against all hope that Fuji would return the gesture. Fuji remained silent and dead, but at least… at least Mewtwo could still see him. Time would not desecrate Fuji's body like it did the other humans and Pokemon.

Mewtwo collapsed at the side of the crystal tomb and finally let the emotions of grief and sorrow consume him. The pain was unbearable. He not only had lost his friend, but he was also completely alone in this new world. A freak of nature. Despised by all those who worshipped Mew, a tool for humans in power, and an anomaly and a terror to all Pokemon. He was utterly alone and without meaning in this world. He was scared—so scared. Help. "Help," he whispered. "Help."

A/N: Hey guys! This is a darker story that takes a lot of inspiration from the Red/Blue/Yellow games. I say inspiration because I'll be taking a lot of artistic liberties and while I'll include most of the events of the games, there will be a lot of differences in this story. While I love Gen 1 and Pokemon in general, it doesn't have much going for it in terms of story or darker themes. Hopefully I can give you guys something like that, but keep in mind that I'm an amateur writer who's not that good at writing or grammar so any feedback or advice would be much appreciated!