Chapter Three
Book Thief and Shadow Mewtwo

Landing on the rooftop of Cameran Palace, a blonde spy skillfully crept into one of the castle's larger dressing halls. Tons of costumes, props, accessories, and the like were organized around the room. Quick as a flash, the woman took some clothes, disguised herself as a peasant maid, and exited the room. Simply and inconspicuously, she walked around the long hallways of the large palace with the goal of locating a particular room.

One of the most beautiful courtrooms was in the southeast wing of the palace. There was a small yet intricately designed marble fountain in the centre of a large pond. Variety of flora grew bountifully and winsomely around it, and most of the smaller wild Pokémon would visit often. By the courtroom was a large wooden door. It was believed that centuries ago, this door led to the chambers of the kingdom's most noble and talented knight. Nevertheless, years have passed, and this room now was renovated and transformed into a museum where most of the ancient treasures were secured. An armoured guard stood by the doors, watching over the courtroom and the treasures locked away.

"Oh. This is just too easy," the spy smirked to herself. From her sleeve, she withdrew a black tulip and threw it just a few inches from the foot of the guard. The end of the stem perfectly punctured the ground, making the flower stand upright. Thick smoke dispersed from the flower and the guard began to cough aggressively, eventually kneeling in desperation for clean air. Just as the guard had fainted from the poisonous fumes, the spy made an agile leap into the room's entrance.

Entering the museum, she marvelled at the shiny jewels and golden artefacts that were kept for over a hundred decades. "Wow, these look veeery pretty. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to take a few." Materializing a crystal blade that she hid under her dress, she drew a small circle over the thick glass displaying colourful, rare gems and golden relics. With light gloved fingers, she stole pocket watches, jewellery, and other valuable accessories. Satisfied with her work, she walked deeper into the darker areas of the room. Pausing midway, she tapped into an earpiece-like device which allowed her to communicate to her boss and Team Rocket headquarters.

"Double 09 to Giovanni, do you copy?"

"Yes. What is it?"

"I'm inside the castle's artefact museum by the southeast courtroom. What are your further directions?" she inquired quietly, holding two fingers on her earpiece as she continued to walk around the room.

"Excellent. There must be some sort of small secret library there. Figure out where then contact me again."

"Copy. Over and out."

The blonde spy walked by the room walls, tapping the surface in random patterns to check for any hidden doors. "Hmm… if I were to be a secret library, where would I hide?" Turning about, she immediately noticed a large full-size portrait of the noble knight of Cameran standing proudly with a Lucario. Her eyes narrowed as her lips curved into a sly smirk.

Walking over to the portrait, she slowly tilted her head as she thoroughly studied the picture from bottom to top. "Boy, now, aren't you handsome..." she remarked, keeping her focus on the knight's face. "But then again..." She took out another black tulip. Aiming at the ropes that hung the large framed picture, she threw the flower's stem as how one would a dart. The sharp end cut off the ropes, and as the massive frame began to fall, she took one calm step to the side, narrowly avoiding the picture to drop over her. Glancing down at the now broken picture, she gave a notorious smile. "You may be too old for me."

As if she knew the secret beforehand, she hurriedly approached a small blue door camouflaged by the room's walls. Giving it one strong kick, she made her entrance into the dark and dusty room. She then headed over to light a fire on the candle placed in the centre of a small rusty chandelier. After the room had been sufficiently lit, she sat on the dusty chair behind the wooden desk. "This must be that handsome knight's secret study room. Wow, what a total loner," she muttered to herself. Reminded of why she was there in the first place, she gave her boss another call.

"I found the library, now what?"

She could feel Giovanni's satisfied grin over the line. "All right. Now, you must find an ancient book there that tells about the history of the place. I believe that should be our key to locating the most powerful Pokémon. This should be a simple trip to the library for you, and you should be smart enough to know which one it is. Do not fail me now that we are this close to our goals!"

"Noted," she replied nonchalantly, ending the contact. With a grouch, she complained to herself, "Gee, what a total hot-head!" She walked over to a shelf, grumbling as she looked for the book. While the space for the study room was small, it was no help that each corner had nine-foot-tall shelves containing all kinds of historical books. "How in the world am I supposed to find such a dumb book?!"

After about several minutes of searching, Double 09 heard footsteps come from outside. The other guards must have heard the fall from the painting and went to investigate. Hurrying her search, and trying not to panic, she rummaged through the shelves and threw the dusty books that did not match Giovanni's description.

"ARGH! Where is that damn book?!" she cried out, throwing her hands in the air and slamming them onto the wooden desk. Just then, her violet eyes then widened. Lying on the dusty desk was a seemingly old thick book with an intricate design of a large tree-like figure on the cover. Rapidly, she flipped through the pages and her eyes shimmered as if she dug up some treasure. "Jackpot!" she beamed in the cue of her known success. "This is definitely it!"

"Hey, is anybody there?!" called out a voice from the entrance. Noticing the missing jewellery and artefacts, the man called for two more guards to rush in.

"Oh no!"

"The treasure! Someone's stolen it!"

Dispensing of her disguise, the blonde spy grabbed the book and left a black tulip behind. She then shot her way up to the higher areas of the room and hid by the corner above a shelf.

Running to the dimmer areas of the room, the guards then saw the broken picture and the opened wall. "Sir Aaron's portrait!" They entered the opening in the wall and found themselves inside the small study hall. "Look," one of the guards called out to his comrades. "Is this a—?"

The blonde spy backflipped from the higher area of the wall she hid, making her presence known to the three guards. "I wouldn't be holding that if I were you," she said placing a hand on her hip. "It could be… dangerous."

"Hey, you! You were the one who stole all those treasures!" yelled a guard, pointing her a reproachful finger.

"Aw, why the accusation? You barely know me. What makes you think I did that?" she purred, taking small steps back. She then held out a small pen-like device with a red button on top.

"Stop moving!"

"Hold it right there!"

"I don't think you should be ordering me around!" she roared, pressing the button on her device. The black tulip then discharged a strong electric shock, jolting all three guards. A few seconds from the electroshock, each one fell to the ground, completely unconscious.

Released from the grip of the guard who held it, the black tulip lay gracefully on the ground. Slowly, Double 09 walked to where the guards had fallen, bent her knees, and retrieved the deadly flower. She then ran outside to make her escape; activating her backpack rockets, she flew far from the castle.

Tapping on her earpiece while in mid-air, she reported to the boss of her success. "I've got the book. Send me in your coordinates and I should be there in a while."

"Excellent, Double 09. I'll have it sent in immediately."

"All right. Over and out." Activating the nitro on her rockets, Team Rocket's elite agent, Double 09—a.k.a. Domino—raced through the air.

Inside his sleek black jet plane, Giovanni ceremoniously relaxed his back against the large chair. Persian was asleep on the seat adjacent to him. Even through the shadows, one could still discern the evil sneer he wore. "This is a new milestone for me. Just a few more steps closer to attaining my goal."

Exhausted from the events that had happened earlier, Mew rested before she would tell her dreams to her new friends. Brock had prepared for her a woven basket with a pillow and a soft blanket for a bed, and placed it by the end of Misty's bed. As she curdled herself into a ball, it did not take long for her to float into a dream…

When Mew opened her eyes, it was because of the blinding ray of light that flashed through thick clouds. She looked around and realised she was up in the skies, levitating over an open space above the Tree of Beginning. The crystals emitted sparkles of vibrant colours upon the gentle touch of the sun rays. "Amazing," Mew said to herself, captivated by such untouched beauty.

As the sun began to rise, the bright rays of light intensified, and Mew shaded her eyes with a paw. Peculiarly, an image in the form of a human person emerged from the horizon. Mew narrowed her eyes and flew over to investigate what it could be. Flying closer to the source of light, the image before her became clearer—a large black cloud holding up a silhouette of an unfamiliar man.

"What… Who?" she mumbled.

The man gestured with a finger for her to come closer. Curious as to what the man wanted, Mew simply tilted her head. Apparently, the figure's gesture conjured the black clouds beneath him to swirl up and transfigure into another shadowy figure. Mew felt her body tense up, and she took a step back. In its full form, the shadowy figure that had transfigured from the clouds manifested into a pitch-black Mewtwo with glowing crimson eyes.

"Mewtwo?"

"Now… DESTROY!" commanded the silhouette on the cloud.

Instinctively, Mew used Protect and summoned a barrier just as the shadow Mewtwo threw a powerful shadow ball. It then lunged itself directly towards her and with a powerful whip of its tail, slammed Mew to the ground. Fortunately, she gained control and hovered herself before she could hit the ground hard. After recovering from a fall that would leave her open to more attacks, she countered with Confusion. But the shadow Mewtwo was too quick. It teleported behind her and with a charged-up shadow ball against her cheek, forced her to the ground.

Mew coughed after the dust had cleared, laying weakly in the middle of the crater on the ground. Several trees were cut in half and thrown aside due to the power and offence of the attack. "Finish it," she heard the man bellow, demanding the shadow Mewtwo to kill her.

Mew began to stir in her sleep as she continued to dream. Could one perish in their sleep?

Raising a paw, the shadow Mewtwo unleashed a Thundershock attack to paralyze her. Mew struggled to move—even more so, to wake up. Any minuscule attempt to move sent jolts throughout her body. She closed her eyes and whimpered, bracing herself for an even deadlier attack.

Satisfied with the fully-charged shadow ball, the shadow Mewtwo mightily threw it towards Mew. Mew shut her eyes even tighter, praying that she would wake up.

Total silence. Then, a deafening explosion.

The breeze around her seemed to calm. Where was the pain? Mew could have sworn that the impact would bring her great agony. Yet, nothing felt as if it collided. Slowly opening her eyes, she looked up to see what had just happened. The thick smoke from the explosion seemed to hinder her view, but eventually, it gradually dispersed and what Mew witnessed with her vivid cerulean eyes stole her breath all the more.

Shielded within a blue barrier was none other than the original Mewtwo.

"Are you all right, Mew?" he asked sincerely, giving her a quick glance before dispelling the barrier. "Get up. I know you can."

Mew nodded before building in energy to use Recover. "Mewtwo…" she whispered. Seeing that the shadow Mewtwo behind summon another shadow ball, Mew used Transform and changed into a Lugia. With Dragon Pulse, she countered the Shadow Ball and used Aeroblast to drive their enemy into the distance, giving her a chance to attack.

"Mewtwo! But why? And how did you get here?" she asked him through telepathy.

Her inquiry, however, was met with silence. She transformed back into her real form, and narrowing her eyes, demanded an answer. "Again with the silent treatment. Tell me!"

A violent Psystrike then blasted through the air, coming from where the shadow was blown off to. Mewtwo and Mew dodged the attack just by inches. "Focus Mew," Mewtwo said sternly. "We shall discuss this later. Right now, we have bigger problems to deal with."

Mew flew closer to Mewtwo's side. "Is this not just a dream? What is the sense of all this battling? Can I not just wake up?"

"I do not think you can, as of this present moment."

Mew's sapphire eyes widened in utter bewilderment. "What do you mean I cannot wake up? Have I perished in my sleep?"

"No, you are still amongst the living. Yet as of now, you are not the one who is in control of this dream." Before Mew could respond to her companion's words, the shadow Mewtwo emerged from the grounds and floated on par with them. "But before anything else, we have to defeat this mockery of me!"

Mewtwo summoned a shadow ball of his own, and Mew prepared to use Energy Ball. On Mewtwo's cue, the Psychic legendaries each sent their attacks towards their common nemesis. The immense power from both attacks caused a massive explosion, breaking the barrier that protected the shadow. Mew then soared higher towards the sky and transformed into a Zapdos. Using Thunder, she struck and paralyzed the weakened shadow. Considering this as an opportunity for a powerful attack, Mewtwo used Psystrike to finish it off.

The shadow Mewtwo let out a cry of pain before dispersing into black smoke. Mew transformed back into her real self, and gleefully looped in mid-air, elated with their victory.

"Yay! Boy, did we show that thing who's boss!"

Mewtwo remained his serious demeanour. "Have you no other concerns, Mew? Are you not forgetting anything else?" he asked his bubbly companion.

"Huh? What do you mean—oh yes! You have an explanation for me."

Mewtwo shook his head. "That is not what I meant." He then pointed upwards where the silhouetted man on the black cloud. "The source of what created such a destructive manifestation of me—you have yet to deal with him."

Mew was a bit confused with Mewtwo's "destructive manifestation" remark. Look who's talking. As if he was not a destructive manifestation per se, she thought to herself. Then, she realized what Mewtwo meant with his latter statement. "I have to deal with him? By myself?!" she shrieked.

Mewtwo nodded. "Yes. I will not interfere this time."

"No one told me that! You cannot make me fight him alone!"

"What power does he have over yours?"

"Oh, I don't know? He had the power to create an intimidating image of you!"

"Which was quite flattering."

"Stop joking around with me! This is serious!"

"I too am being serious, Mew. Remember, as we speak, he may already be coming up with strategies to conquer you," Mewtwo reminded her.

Mew sighed. This just might be the chance to face and stand up to her nightmares—to her fears. Bravely, she flew towards the man on the black clouds. Would I find the answers I seek if I defeat this man? What purpose does Mewtwo have in all this? He better tell me what is going on or I shall—!

Just then, seconds before left, she heard a painful cry from behind. Mewtwo was engulfed in a blue sphere which shot numerous shocks of electricity throughout his body. His limbs were all stretched outwards and twisted in abnormal forms.

"Mewtwo? Mewtwo! What—what is going on?!" Panicked, Mew returned to her companion.

"No… not this… not this again!" Mewtwo gritted through his teeth. The pain he felt from before seemed to have intensified. With every might he could muster, he looked towards Mew's direction, and called out to her, "Mew! Please… you have… wake up!"

Tears began to swell in the little Pokemon's eyes. "But… but you told me I could not as I am not in control! What is truly going on?! Mewtwo, please tell me! You're getting hurt."

"Argh!" Mewtwo seethed in pain. "This is your dream! Yet I… I have intervened… Now wake up and set us both free! You can… and you must! ARGH!" he bellowed painfully. "Everything will be clearer… soon… just… please, wake up!"

The cerulean eyes that brimmed with tears now swelled with fear. She has never seen Mewtwo in such agony. But she could not be afraid now. No. Not when the new friend she cared for the most is in danger. Concentrating, she forced herself up to rouse from her slumber. Wake up, Mew! Wake up!

She shook herself, slapped her face, and yet, it was all for naught. "Mewtwo, I… I can't… I cannot do it! I cannot wake up!"

Mewtwo gazed into her eyes. "Oh yes, you can!" Piercing amethyst eyes suddenly glowing blue, Mewtwo seized Mew's own and with a psychic command, sent acute electro-convulsion throughout her body, reawakening her senses and forcing her back into reality.

"Mewtwo!"

Panting and her heart palpitating, Mew glanced around the room. Everything seemed dark yet small rays from the sun were already visible. Speculating it was almost dawn, Mew rose out of her little bed and floated over to wake the others up. She made her way towards Ash first, and repeatedly tugged on his shirt. "Ash? Ash, please wake up. I sense something bad might have just happened."

Pikachu seemed to have woken up before the others. "Pika? Pika-pika pi?"

"Pikachu, quick! Please, help me wake Ash up. I need to speak with him, Misty, and Brock," Mew requested, putting her paws together.

"Pikachu (At this hour)...?"

Mew nodded. Having seemed obliged, Pikachu jumped onto Ash and shook him violently. "Pika! Pika-pika Pikachu (Wake up sleepyhead)!" he exclaimed. His efforts appeared futile as the Trainer had not even stirred a single muscle. They all were dead tired after all.

Mew, already feeling tense, knew what she had to do. Transforming into Ash's Pikachu, she used Thunderbolt and sent a massive jolt that woke everyone from their peaceful slumbers. It was more effective than any noisy alarm clock. Misty screamed her lungs out, Brock jumped out of his covers, and Ash fell off the bed.

"Ow! Whaaa!" Ash rubbed his bruised bottom. "Pikachu! You didn't have to—! Huh?" Wiping the sleep off his eyes, he noticed two Pikachus staring at him. "Hey, Pikachu, who's your friend?"

The second Pikachu giggled. "I would say my plan has worked!"

"Pikachu can talk?!" Brock screamed, his voice breaking a pitch higher.

Mew transformed into her normal self and chortled even more. "No, it's just me! You all slept so heavily. I could not have awakened any of you by a mere yell or tug!"

Misty gave her body a stretch. "Well then, why did you wake us all up, Mew?"

The cheery expression of the Pokémon transitioned into a sincere, worried one. Mew levitated down and sat on top of a dresser. "I had another nightmare. This time, it felt all too real… I dread that Mewtwo could be in grave danger."

"HUH?" chorused the three.

"Please Mew, you have to tell us about your dreams! Tell us everything!" pleaded Ash.

"Yeah, they could mean something really important," added Brock.

Mew tilted her head down. The angry fires, being paralyzed and engulfed in darkness, Mewtwo in great agony—she would have to recall them all. Her childlike, bubbly, and hopeful nature always kept her composed, and that any affect she displayed made those around her feel and think that life was safe, simple, ingenuous. But ideals are not reality. Evil exists at an equidistant to good. The long-dormant fiery courage in her was awakening, and she knew there was only one way to go through this.

"It all began not very long ago… In my home—the Tree of Beginning…"

Mewtwo slowly opened his eyes. Sitting up, he felt his head throb as sweat trickled down his temples. He looked around to see where he was, and to his relief, he was back safely in the Cerulean Cave. Mew has awoken in time, allowing him to escape the illusionary world as well. This was the first time he had used his psychic powers to intervene and place himself inside another individual's dream. His course of control, however, was assuaged as his own nightmares seemed to overlap Mew's. But what could have triggered his own nightmare?

"That man… The man on the black cloud..." he spoke to himself, tightening his gaze. "I know that man. The evil that surrounds him is all too familiar." He stood from his resting position and walked towards the mouth of the cave. The rising sun coloured the hidden valley into magnificent shades of gold and auburn. He sped towards the sky, and watched as the brilliant dawn sky covered the city in the distance.

"Mew… But why was he in Mew's dream?" he brooded. "Perhaps this may mean… No. Yet, it cannot be helped. I believe it is time… that we shall meet one another again."