*Thoughts*

"Speech"

"Telekinesis Talk."

Mewtwo wasn't looking forward to what he had to see next, but he knew he had no choice.

When the bright light faded from his vision, he found himself at the Power Plant on Route 10; he recalled Zapdos mentioning that he lived there, but the clone had never actually stopped in for a visit, merely passed by.

He immediately noticed how much more broken and decrepit the Plant looked; as far as he knew, it didn't have that many broken windows, cracked walls, or a giant hole in the ceiling.

He shuddered as Marshadow brought them closer, casually phasing through the wall and inside.

The inside was even worse than the outside; dirt and debris were everywhere, and a terrible smell emitted from seemingly everything.

Marshadow led him to Zapdos' area; everything became worse the further they went in.

Zapdos was curled up by himself, shaking; he let out a throaty cough every few minutes.

"Zapdos takes care of the electric Pokémon that live here--well, took care would be better, I suppose, since he stopped and kicked them all out as he became more distant and cold-hearted." Marshadow explained.

"Why would he do that?" Mewtwo asked, confused.

"He felt--or at least thought he felt--that they were burdens and only causing him problems. Eating what little food and electricity he could spare, taking up space, not having enough warmth in cold times..." She shook her head. "In reality, he was mad at himself for not being able to take care of them, but lashed out and sent them away instead of finding a better solution. Those that tried to stick around afterward eventually had no choice but to leave."

Mewtwo sighed. *His hotheadedness really took a turn for the worse...*

"Clearly, he can't take care of the place on his own, nor does he want to." She gestured around. "He doesn't see a point, as he'll just die here anyways."

She looked up as the floor rattled.

"Quite sooner than he thinks, actually."

Mewtwo watched as the dirty bird stirred, blinking awake; his eyes were red and dry, and his face was littered with scars.

*Claw marks...Moltrés and Articuno?* Mewtwo wondered.

"Zapdos!!"

The electric type looked up as Lugia descended, landing atop the roof and peering down through the large hole.

Zapdos immediately noticed how sorrowful he looked...and grunted.

"What's the matter, Uncle? Look in the mirror and realize ya got uglier? Ya sure ain't agin' well."

That gruff remark reminded Mewtwo of something...

"He's such a jerk sometimes, I'm tellin' ya!!" Zapdos complained, stretching out on Mewtwo's couch.

"I get why you're mad, but--" Latios attempted, only to be cut off.

"'E thinks 'e's soooooooo great when really he's jus' an ugly prick!!"

"You think he's ugly too?" Mewtwo asked as he poured them all some tea.

"Have ya seen the guy?! 'E looks like a neck transplant gone wrong!!"

"I don't think neck transplants are real--" Latios started but never finished.

Flying out of the cave, Zapdos returned a few minutes later, clutching a picture in his beak.

He slammed it onto the table.

"Jus' look at it!! Disgustang!!"

Latios would've made a remark at the word, but both of the others' attention was drawn to the picture.

It depicted a young trio of birds and their father figure; Moltrés was hiding from the camera, Articuno was attempting to touch her nostrils with her tongue and not paying attention to the camera, Zapdos was screaming for no apparent reason, and Lugia was crouched above them, his neck stretching around them all.

Mewtwo realized that yes, Lugia's neck was at an unholy length for a bird.

"An' don' even get me started on 'is wings--"

Mewtwo couldn't help a snicker at the memory, but quickly turned his attention back to the scene at hand.

"No, Zapdos." Lugia solemnly shook his head. "Your sisters are dead."

For a brief moment, he looked stunned, but that quickly faded into disinterest.

"'Kay. Serves 'em right. Why shoul' I care?"

Lugia frowned, unsure of how to continue.

"Zapdos..."

"If ya ain't got anythin' important t' say, then beat it." Zapdos curled back up, attempting to go back to sleep.

"I do, actually." Lugia barked.

When he'd gained the younger's attention again, he continued.

"Moltrés killed Articuno and destroyed Ice Island," He elaborated. "She no doubt would have come for you next. With both of you out of the way, she would have probably rampaged and taken over Kanto...and who knows what else."

"So...how'd she die, 'xactly?" Zapdos asked, actually a bit intrigued.

Lugia's sorrow took over again as he lowered his head.

"I...I took care of the problem," He murmured sadly.

After a moment, Zapdos' eyes widened as he remembered the meaning of that statement.

"I'm sorry, Zapdos," The elder said, "But this is for the greater good. To rid the world of an evil...forever..."

Closing his eyes, he began to glow brightly with energy.

Zapdos eyes widened as he scrambled back, spreading his wings.

"What the heck, Uncle?! Ya idiot!! Don' kill me, damnit!! I--"

But his please went ignored as Lugia's eyes snapped open, pure white; he spread his wings, sending the untamed energy flying.

Mewtwo uncovered his eyes to find the smoking remains of the Power Plant and no trace of Zapdos.

Lugia hovered over it, forlornly looking down; he closed his eyes as more tears began to fall.

Turning and slowly flying to the sea, he began to sing, but at a much lower pitch than usual.

Mewtwo began to shake.

"That--that's it?! He just kills Zapdos?! He could've helped him!! He could have-- "

"Maybe he could've," Marshadow interjected, "but he didn't."

The clone looked at her as she shook her head.

"After you make a certain number of mistakes, you gradually just start thinking it would be better to erase your problems entirely than to keep trying to fix them the way you are. Lugia saw that as his only option, now."

"Killing his own children was his only option?!" Mewtwo snapped.

"To him, yes."

Mewtwo turned away, taking a moment to compose himself.

*You didn't just watch your best friend get killed by his Uncle. You didn't just watch your best friend get killed by his Uncle. You didn't...*

Unable to shake the image, he came up with a new thought.

*It's not real. It's not real. They're just images of what could happen. None of this is real.*

He glanced at his waiting companion.

*...Right?*

After another teleport, Mewtwo found himself at Bianca's house; it actually looked normal.

Trying not to get lulled into a false sense of security, Mewtwo walked towards the window and looked inside.

Bianca was tending to a sick Latios, who was lying on the ground, looking barely coherent and feverish.

Latias sat to the side, whimpering; Shaymin attempted to comfort her, while also providing Bianca with what herbs he could grow to help.

"Latios isn't particularly good at socializing," Marshadow elaborated. "He didn't go to that ridiculous Guy's Night where you, he, and Zapdos began to truly interact, and thus never gained a bond with him. He would really just hang around here, not really doing anything to keep himself healthy, and eventually slipped into a depression where barely moved, despite Bianca and Latias' efforts. This led to him contracting multiple sicknesses."

Mewtwo's tail flicked anxiously as he watched.

"Latias is lucky she and Shaymin still became friends here, because she'll certainly need the support soon."

"I don't...watch him die?" Mewtwo asked.

"No. He doesn't go tonight. He just suffers endlessly for the next few weeks until eventually..."

She didn't need to continue that thought.

Mewtwo's chest hurt at the sight of Latios' suffering; the way his chest shakily rose and fell, sweat poured down his face, and his fingers twitched aimlessly as his eyes stared into nothing was an image he wouldn't soon forget.

Sadly, that also brought up another memory.

"It's the weirdest thing." Latios shook his head. "I don't get sick."

"Seriously?" Zapdos seemed taken aback.

"Really. Bianca once mentioned that she thinks it's because I'm pretty active and I eat healthy."

"I've always wondered," Mewtwo piped up. "Are you a predator?"

"Not really, but I can eat meat. I just prefer vegetables."

"Ah."

"When ya get sick, Imma come mock ya for it," Zapdos joked, drinking some of the tea Mewtwo had given them.

"Won't happen. I don't get sick."

"I suppose that didn't hold up here," Mewtwo murmured sadly.

Marshadow spoke again.

"We're almost done. Come along."

Despite not wanting to turn away, he did, and Marshadow teleported them off.