A/N: Hello to everyone enjoying the story so far! I'm glad to see in the reviews that people are really liking what I am writing! So please, write more reviews, I really enjoy reading them! What are your favorite parts in the story? What to you like about certain characters so far? Don't hesitate to Private Message me if you do have a question related to the story. Yes there are some things in Mewtwo's past that I have hinted towards, but am yet to explain. That's purposeful and I will get to it, I promise!
Also, I have created a poll about chapter length, I believe anyone who has a profile on the fanfic site can vote on it, but you can find it in my profile. Sorry I haven't put anything else in my profile, but I will try to get around to it if I figure out what to say.
Hope you enjoy Chapter 8 of Mortal Legends!
Chapter 8
It was 9:00pm by the time Mewtwo, now back in his human form, returned to his house. As soon as he entered, he stomped the snow from his boots before taking them off and putting them in the boot tray.
Misty entered from the living room as he was hanging his cloak, "How'd it go?"
Trapped in his thoughts, it took a moment for Mewtwo to answer, "It went alright," he said as neutrally as possible.
Misty crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, and putting on her was her best 'I'm not buying it' look. "You'd think with news like that, 'He' would not be taking it as smoothly as you make it sound." The "He" in question was obviously Arceus. She cocked her eyebrow expectantly, "Going to tell me the truth this time?"
"I am telling you the truth, Misty." Mewtwo said, more defensiveness in his voice than he would've preferred, "What people seem to do these days, compared to centuries ago, no longer astonishes him."
Before Misty could keep interrogating Mewtwo, he walked past her into the living room to see Vesta sitting on the couch—now turned around facing the opposite wall. Now that she was away from the fireplace, she was practically cocooned in blankets. She was currently watching a program on the TV mounted on the wall.
"How are you feeling?" Mewtwo asked her.
Vesta reached for the remote and turned the TV off, "I'm feeling better, thank you. Need I ask the same about you?"
Mewtwo could hear the note of suspicion in her voice, "I suppose from your point of view, you telling me a secret like that and my sudden disappearance afterwards would leave you feeling apprehensive. I apologize for that."
Vesta nodded, "Where did you go?" she asked.
"To someone that I report to," Mewtwo answered, Vesta stiffened, "he wants to hear your story personally, and he can provide a safe place for you while you tell it. With the information you give us, we will be better prepared for potential threats related to your situation and I will feel much better equipped when I go to rescue your friends."
"You?" she asked disbelievingly.
"Kinda jumped the gun on that one, Matthew," Misty says, walking over to the couch and sitting next to Vesta. She looks up at Mewtwo and continues, "I'm relieved to hear that they are going to hear her out, but you're not exactly giving her reason to believe that you alone could rescue her friends."
"Yeah, and how do I know you actually intend to rescue them and not just capture them to bring us all for your superior to use at his will?" Vesta added, scowling. She was obviously scared for her friends, but didn't want to feel responsible for taking them "out of the frying pan and into the fire".
Mewtwo winced. He did get ahead of himself. In order to prepare Vesta for facing the Council, Mewtwo had planned to start by just showing her who he really was, and then mentioning his intention to rescue her friends. He hasn't been this unfocused in a long time, and now it's beginning to create quite a mess.
Mewtwo sighed, and went over to sit on the floor in front of Misty and Vesta. There was no subtle way he could think of to begin this conversation, but anything was better than transforming without giving any context, right? "Vesta, what Team Rocket has done to you, are you aware that it may not have been their first attempt."
The anger seemed to melt from Vesta's face, though her body still remained tense and on guard as she nodded sadly, "I know that we were their first success, of countless failures," she began, "but I also heard whispers from some of them, about a different experiment they had performed nearly ten years ago, with a different legendary pokemon; one believed to be extinct."
"Mew." Mewtwo and Misty both said quietly.
"I—Yeah… they called it Project Mewtwo. How did you know?" Vesta asked, wide-eyed, looking back and forth between the two.
"I'll tell you in a moment," Mewtwo said, "just keep going, please."
Vesta nodded confusedly, "They were very secretive about it. And according to the people in Team Rocket, Mewtwo is very reclusive; his distrust of humans leaves him isolated and vulnerable. That's why Team Rocket is confident that they will be able to recapture him again."
Mewtwo visibly grimaced at that.
"Do they know where he is?" Misty asked quickly, the fear obvious in her voice.
"No, ever since the incident in Unova, where a Mewtwo was caught on security cameras battling the Genesect, there hasn't been one seen since." Vesta answered. Misty relaxed, but Mewtwo could feel the blood rush to his face as she continued, "It couldn't have been the same Mewtwo though. From what Team Rocket was saying about 'their' Mewtwo, it sounded like that one was male," she explained, to Mewtwo's growing discomfort; the girls probably couldn't hear it, but with Mewtwo's sensitive hearing, something was rattling in the kitchen—he had to calm down, "but the one on the security cameras seemed a bit more…feminine. I've even seen various different pictures to compare—."
"Alright, stop." Mewtwo interrupted, he couldn't handle it anymore. He looked over at Vesta, she seemed hurt, and slightly offended. And despite what knowledge she does have about Unova—pertaining to the Genesect incident—Misty too, was stunned by Mewtwo's sudden outburst, "Forgive me, I couldn't—." This wasn't going well either; it was too much too soon. And thanks to Arceus, Mewtwo felt like he was going to snap at any second. He took a deep breath and continued, "Despite the differences in the photos, that is the same Mewtwo; a Mew's transformation ability allows them to change even their sex."
"I was going to say, it was probably a different Mewtwo altogether," Vesta said, "I mean, considering the fact that all these criminal organizations spy on each other, it wouldn't be too surprising if Team Plasma attempted to create a Mewtwo of their own, right?" She stayed silent for a minute, and then looked thoughtful, "How do you know your theory is correct, do you two actually know this Mewtwo personally?"
Misty's patience ran out, "It's not a theory, it's a fact. I know Mewtwo personally, and he is tiptoeing around the bush trying to break this to you slowly."
Thanks Misty, Mewtwo said sarcastically. Purposefully though, he had projected the telepathy to Vesta as well.
"We'd have been here all night if I didn't jump in." Misty retorted.
Mewtwo locked eyes with Vesta when he realized she was staring at him, the disbelief growing more and more apparent on her face, "…No…" she said skeptically.
Mewtwo transformed into his true form and stored his clothes in his pokeball—all while holding eye contact with Vesta, almost like he was daring her to say that again.
The transformation didn't stop Vesta's staring, but it did summon a variety of expressions to her face: shock, fear, disbelief, awe, and even traces of hope. "Of all the people, and pokemon, in Cerulean City alone, you—. How—?"
Mewtwo held up his hand to stop her, "Take a few breaths and collect yourself while I do the talking," he said, this was the expected reaction, but it wasn't reassuring considering she was to face the Council of Legends tomorrow, "I am Mewtwo; the very one that Giovanni ordered the creation of and attempted to enslave before my escape. Because Team Rocket and their scientists were my only impression of the human race, I assumed that the rest of the world would be no different. And because cruelty was my only influence, I acted no better than Giovanni after my escape. It took some remarkable humans—who I can now call friends—and nothing short of a miracle to change my outlook on this world." Mewtwo took a moment to piece together the rest of his introduction to Vesta, "With that said, I am still wary of the human race in general, but I now maintain what true friendships I do gain as they have proven to be scarce, in my opinion, and invaluable. However,"—Vesta looked up when she heard his tone darken—"Unova has always been a sensitive subject for me. I hold nothing against you for bringing it up, as you did not know, but I would appreciate it if the topic about my presence in Unova were few and far between."
Misty, noticeably, cocked an eyebrow, and Mewtwo knew she was going to bring up Unova again before the night was up—whether she knew it or not. His conversation with her in the entryway was already decidedly, in her mind, far from over.
