Chapter 6
I can't have heard her right, Mewtwo thought.
Talk about denial! he argued with himself.
Moltres!? A legendary!? If they had to choose a strong fire type, couldn't it have been a Charizard? Or even a Talonflame?
Start small; that's rich, coming from you!
While having his internal argument, Mewtwo was trying his best not to physically react and make the girl feel like she'd said the wrong thing. Misty on the other hand, had shock and disbelief written all over her face as she placed her hand over her mouth in a feeble attempt to hide her expression. Vesta kept her eyes fixated on her tea, visibly trembling again whilst attempting to control her new wave of emotions.
Vesta squirmed uncomfortably, "Um…where's your bathroom?"
"Misty," Mewtwo prompted. Misty nodded and helped Vesta up. The moment she was on her feet, Vesta began to tremble again and Misty had to help keep her balanced, and the blanket wrapped firmly around her as she helped her into the bathroom.
Mewtwo got up and headed to his room, he grabbed a sweater and some sweatpants, and headed to the bathroom door. He knocked and Misty cracked the door open, she accepted the clothes for Vesta, and as she closed the door, Mewtwo telepathically told her that he needed to leave to speak with Arceus.
He quickly put on his boots and cloak and left the house, heading to the Cerulean Cave. The air was cold, the sky was gray, and a freezing wind began to blow the snow in Mewtwo's face. None of it affected him though; Mewtwo was numb to the weather's feeble attempt to worsen his mood. Nevertheless, by the time he reached the mouth of the cave, Mewtwo's face was contorted in anger as the reality of what Vesta had said finally sank in.
Following the twists and turns in the cave, Mewtwo walked past a number of wild pokemon who called this place home. They knew what he was guarding at the end so none really bothered him for crossing their territory. Normally he'd have a few approach him wanting to test their strength. But right now, they all seemed to cower around the corner or duck behind rocks, wisely staying as far out of his way as possible.
When Mewtwo reached the wall of rocks at a seemingly dead end tunnel, he stood there frozen for a few minutes, just staring at it, attempting to calm himself—he failed. One Power-Up Punch later and the wall was reduced to rubble at his feet.
"Well, that's a fine way to vent your anger." A voice said sarcastically, "Though I suppose it's better than that stunt you pulled on New Island."
Mewtwo looked up as he telekinetically rebuilt the wall behind him; Mew was hovering just ahead, and the swirling portal to the Hall of Origin just beyond her. "I am not in the mood for your twisted humor Mew," he said irritably. Mewtwo summoned one of his personalized pokeballs, a black one with a red eye in the center, and used his psychic powers to store his clothes in it whilst simultaneously transforming into his true form. "Is Moltres in the Hall?"
"Moltres?" Mew asked, "Yes, I do believe I saw him. If you're headed to report something to Arceus, then we should meet Moltres on the way. Does this report concern him?"
"Yes," Mewtwo said brusquely as he walked through the portal.
Mew followed in silence, knowing first hand what Mewtwo's temper could be like, and right now he seemed to be teetering dangerously on the edge.
The hall was vast and grand. When Mewtwo first saw it, it seemed so peaceful, and so beautiful: the stone columns holding up the arched roof, and the marble floor beneath his feet. Mewtwo could've spent years admiring the amount of care put into every detail, depicting every story, down every corridor in the Hall of Origin.
That was no longer the case today. Ever since Arceus had awakened, and had been calmed of his anger once the Jewel of Life was returned to him, he returned to the Hall as though nothing had changed in the centuries he's spent slumbering.
Now the hall seemed tainted with Arceus' arrogance, and Mewtwo no longer felt like it was a place he could call home, especially after the way Arceus had reacted to how Mewtwo came into this world. Humans are right when they say first impressions count. Mewtwo did his best to be respectful to the pokemon that supposedly created this world and was the beginning to all life on it. But Arceus practically spat at the 'insult' that humans would dare attempt to challenge his power with 'man-made' pokemon. And it wasn't just Mewtwo who had to endure Arceus' rant; poor Magearna was there too! Neither Magearna, nor her guardian, Volcanion, have entered the Hall since.
Arceus' anger was also aimed at a number of once fossilized pokemon who were lucky enough to not have been in his presence at the time. Then hearing of New Island to top it all off, Mewtwo was certain then and there that Arceus was just going to stamp his hoof and phase Mewtwo out of existence, along with every other man-made pokemon. For all Mewtwo knew, Arceus already did, and then undid.
Arceus has since calmed down, explaining to Mewtwo that the events of New Island and attempted destruction of humanity was a path that most legendary pokemon had gone down and returned from—some more recently than others—and that it had become a rite of passage of sorts. Arceus wanted to start over on more peaceful terms with Mewtwo—with Magearna as well, but she was still too afraid. Seemingly to prove his sincerity though, when Team Plasma bought the Genesect back to life, Arceus was significantly more understanding to the fact that none of the man-made pokemon had any real control over their origins. But while Arceus had been more civil to Mewtwo and vise-versa, the damage had been done, and Mewtwo can't help but feel a damper on his mood any time Arceus was so much as in his thoughts.
Mewtwo earned his place in the Hall of Origin, and found purpose in being one of its few gatekeepers. That gave him some relief, but now he couldn't help but feel a spark of annoyance every time he entered the Hall. Mewtwo was physical evidence that the humans had evolved and developed much in the past hundreds of years, and Arceus still hasn't really bothered to learn what had changed. If he did, perhaps Vesta's situation could have been perceived and prevented.
"Mewtwo?" Mew asked, breaking him out of his thoughts, "I'm not going to ask you if you're alright, but we've just about reached the council chamber. Do you feel ready to speak with Arceus, or do you need a minute?"
The council chamber? Moltres! Mewtwo whirled around ready to backtrack and find the phoenix, only to see Moltres waiting right behind him. Mewtwo blinked in surprise.
"You seemed distracted," Moltres explained, "Mew motioned for me to follow."
Mewtwo sighed, "Thank you. I'll explain everything inside."
