Chapter Nine: Tim
"Now thisis interesting," Tim's Dad said through a full mouth, dripping noodle broth over his laptop keyboard. "Apparently Dr. Alexis, Dr. Drew, and Dr. Richard allgraduated from the same school as Dr. Laurent. They failed to mention that." Harry swirled his fork around in his bowl thoughtfully. "But it doesn't look like they were particularly close there…"
"Do you want to go back and take a closer look?" Tim asked as casually as he could manage.
"That's not enough reason to accuse them." His Dad sat back a little, wiping off the broth with his finger. Pikachu, despite having his own Pokéfood drizzled with broth, eyed the keyboard gluttonously. "It's the largest college in Ryme City. Thousands of students graduate there every year, and many of them stay near the city. Over half the researchers around here must have graduated there."
"They still didn't tell us," Tim pointed out.
"Maybe they didn't know," Harry shot back. "Big school, hard studies, limited social lives. They all should have been there with her for at least a year, but that still doesn't mean they interacted with her. Dr. Richard was two years ahead of her, Dr. Alexis and Dr. Drew were both three years behind."
Tim forced himself to swallow down another bite of his noodles. After last night's messy meal disaster, he and his Dad had decided to have microwave noodles for dinner tonight. And while he normally found them delicious, his twisting stomach simply was not agreeing. Tim was too nervous about what he had to do tonight; go back to the laboratory, alone, without telling his Dad the truth, somehow getting inside, and find R without running into the scientists who may or may not be tied in with Dr. Laurent's atrocities. Of course, Mewtwo had vowed to intervene should anything go wrong.
It's odd that I find the help of a Pokémon who's threatened me twice to be comforting, Tim thought miserably. Despite his rocky relationship with Mewtwo, he felt that they were both determined to find the cells, and willing to trust each other to do so.
Except the part of involving Harry. Tim shot a glance at his Dad, who was engrossed into his laptop. Tim really hated lying to his father, and knew that his Dad could help with this hunt if only given the chance. Pokémon or not, Harry was Tim's partner, and it felt wrong to work a case without him. But Mewtwo was mistrustful of his Harry, and…had a fair reason to be so. But it still hurt Tim to think about it.
Whyhad his father kidnapped Mewtwo? And then dragged the reclusive, abused, solitary Pokémon to a psychotic millionaire and mad scientist?
Tim set down his fork. The clingof it made both Harry and Pikachu look up questioningly. Tim took a deep breath, and then blurted out, "Dad, why did you catch Mewtwo?"
Harry blinked in surprise. "What?"
Tim grit his teeth and spoke slower, through his clenched jaw. "Why—did—you—catch—Mew—two?"
Harry lowered his eyes slowly, setting down his fork with much more gentleness. Pikachu's ears fell back, and the little Mouse Pokémon leaned over and put a paw on Harry's hand.
"I regret it a lot, Tim," his Dad said finally. "Looking back, all the signs and warnings are clear to me, but they weren't then. It all made sense when Howard and his team first explained it to me."
"What did they tell you?" Tim asked, wondering what could lead his father to do such a thing. What lie had Howard Clifford told him?
"All kinds of things." His Dad lifted a hand and waving it carelessly before dropping it back on the table. "They told me Mewtwo was the most powerful Pokémon alive, a manmade clone of Mew. Howard—I mean, Mr. Clifford—said Mewtwo was dangerous, and capable of destroying the whole world with its power. But that it was also a tremendous opportunity for science, as it was the last remnant of Mew."
Harry slouched back in his chair. "According to legend, Mew is the ancestor of all Pokémon. Any sliver of its DNA has limitless scientific value." Tim thought back to how Mewtwo was so adamant that his cells be kept outof the hands of humans. Apparently, Mewtwo thought 'limitless' was more than they could handle. Or maybe, Mewtwo just didn't want to give it. "I thought we were restraining a Pokémon too dangerous to be free, and using it to helpthe world."
Tim was quiet for a moment. He could see his father's choice from that perspective, but Mewtwo still hadn't been treated right. The clone had been stuffed into a vat that he could barely move in, for what seemed to be weeks, as far as Tim could tell. Helpless as scientists tested his body and stole his cells that he was now fixated on getting back.
"When did you begin to doubt them?" Tim asked.
Harry response was immediate. "From the moment I first saw Mewtwo." He stared off into space as Pikachu crawled into his lap and curled up there. Harry dully placed a hand on the Pokémon's back. "When I found him, I expected him to attack me immediately, like the aggressive wild creature they told me he was. But he didn't. He just stared at me, wary, but not hostile." Harry ran a hand along his face. "And even when I activated the machines I had been given to catch Mewtwo, he still didn't attack. He fought against the machines, sure, but it was obvious he was trying to escape rather than destroy. Thatwas when I began to doubt what they told me."
Tim noticed his Dad begin to tap his fingers on the table as he spoke, even if Harry didn't seem to. "After I turned Mewtwo over, I was supposed to go on my way and have nothing else to do with it. But I didn't—couldn't—move on. I kept asking Mr. Clifford about him, but he kept deflecting my questions. Then the R started showing up in the arenas. Finally I started poking around myself…I wish I had done so sooner."
"And that's when you found out what they were doing to Mewtwo?" Tim asked gently.
Harry nodded. "I snuck into Dr. Laurent's lab and saw that what they reallywanted was to control him, not contain him. I still wasn't sure Mewtwo was good,but nobody deserved that. So I had Pikachu release him. But some Greninja saw us and chased us on our way out." Harry turned to look out the window; it was almost dark now. The sun was setting, and the lights of the city were beginning to come on. "I'm still amazed Mewtwo came to my rescue. It proves he's not the monster I thought he was. He saved me."
Pikachu shuffled uneasily in Harry's lap. "Pi, Pikachu," he grumbled.
Harry smiled down at his partner. "Yes, and you did, too. I wouldn't be here without you, Pikachu."
Tim thought about his father's story as they cleared the table and did the dishes. He wondered if Mewtwo saw how Harry regretted his actions, maybe the clone would be willing to trust him. But why would Mewtwo even be willing to give Harry a chance?
When Tim put away the last dish, he knew it was time. "Hey…Dad?"
"Yeah, Tim?"
"Can I borrow the car tonight? There are some things I want to check out."
"Oh? Like what?"
Tim turned away and leaned against the counter. "Just take a look at some parts of the city, and maybe go visit Lucy, if she's available." His lips felt numb with the lies.
"Sure thing," and just like that, Tim's Dad tossed him the keys. Easily. Trustingly. "Don't stay out too late."
"I won't."
OOO
When Tim knew he was getting close to the laboratory, he turned off the car's headlights and drove slower. It wasn't long before he could see its glow up the road. He pulled to a stop, knowing he wouldn't be able to park near it without being noticed. But he hesitated to get out. It would be so easy to get caught, and how would he possibly explain?
Are you certain you can do this alone, human?
Tim jumped at the voice in his head, still slightly unfamiliar with the sensation of feeling a voice insidehis head rather than hear it through his ears. It wasn't a physical sound, but a sonorous rumble in his very mind. He looked side and to side and saw Mewtwo, tall and imposing, standing just by the side of the road, watching him. It was hard to see in the dark, but the glitter of light that came from Mewtwo's huge, observant eyes was impossible to miss.
Tim rolled down his window awkwardly. "None of the scientists will be expecting anyone this late. If I can find the R, I can find exactly who's keeping it, and we can use them to track the rest of it down." And, hopefully, get my Dad involved.
That is not what I asked. Tim could feel the pressure of Mewtwo's gaze.
Tim tightened his grip on the wheel. "When did you start caring?" he asked through his suddenly dry throat.
There was a brief pause, one Tim almost labeled as hesitation, before Mewtwo said, I can sense your anxiousness.
Mewtwo can smell fear, a corner of Tim's mind whispered. He tried to keep that thought quiet, in case Mewtwo could hear thoughts as well.
"This is the best way to do it," Tim said instead of giving an actual response. His mind was unhelpfully picturing all sorts of terrible outcomes; him getting caught, the scientists turning out to be ruthless criminals, keeping him hostage, or worse… Tim shook his head, and searched for some kind of distraction to say to Mewtwo. Humor might ease his fear. "If I die, you can wreck the place."
Tim thought, for a fraction of a second, that he saw Mewtwo's mouth twitch upwards in a smile. But no, it must have just been a trick of the darkness. At least Mewtwo didn't get defensive and lecture him on how he didn't need Tim's permissionfor anything.
If that should happen, they will indeed regret it. Mewtwo's telepathic voice was slightly amused, but then it turned serious. Do not worry, human. If I sense you are in danger, I will come after you.
Tim glanced at Mewtwo, annoyed he was still being called 'human.' "Alright. I'll see you when I come back out."
Mewtwo dipped his head, and then returned back into the shadows. Not by a rustle of wind did the legendary signal his departure. Perhaps Tim waswrong about Mewtwo being stealthy.
Tim sighed and then inched the car forward a little, slowly getting closer to the laboratory. When he felt he was at a safe distance, he turned the car off and got out, and began to walk on foot towards the lab.
Now, if things were the same as when he had arrived earlier, Lurantis would be in the front room. Unless Tim wanted it to alert the other scientists he was there, he had to get past it without it knowing. The best way to do that was with a distraction. But what would be a good way to do that?
Tim reached the parking lot, but kept down in the brush at the edge of the asphalt. To his surprise, he saw a wild Gloom twirling outside the parking lot. The drooling Weed Pokémon was bouncing on its heels, swooning around and around as if practicing some imaginary dance. As it was wild, it would probably flee if it noticed Tim. But then he realized this might just be the distraction he was looking for.
But how? He couldn't let the Gloom see him. If Lurantis came out, the Gloom would be able to tell the other Pokémon that it had seen a human.
While Tim was deliberating, something else caught his eye. A group of Phantump were drifting overhead, their ghostly eyes glowing faintly pink as they flew by.
An idea popped into his head, and without thinking, Tim swiped up a rock by his feet and threw it at one of the Phantump. Years of practicing throwing Pokéballs, even so long ago when he had still wanted to be a trainer, gave him dead aim. He hit a Phantump right on its wooden head. It bonkedand the Phantump swung to a stop.
The Pokémon whirled its head around, searching for whoever had thrown a stone at it. Tim ducked down, fearing that he was about to be revealed. For a moment he only thought about how dumb an idea that had been, but then it worked.The Phantump's eyes went right over him and instead landed on the Gloom. With an offended high-pitched cry that sounded both like a scream and creaking wood, the Phantump dived down into the parking lot's asphalt and completely disappeared. Only a second later, it reappeared behind the Gloom and slashed at it from behind.
Phantom Force,Tim recognized the move dully. He felt bad for framing the Gloom. He wondered if Mewtwo could still see him from this distance, and was still watching.
The Gloom stumbled, and then shook its leafy head. When it looked back to its attacker, it hissed reproachfully. The Phantump bristled in return. With its own lower, musical cry, the Gloom twirled around and then used Petal Blizzard. Glowing leaves sprouted out of the flower on its head and then shot like arrows at the Phantump. Phantump tried to dodge but most of the leaves hit it. Now even more angry, it struck back by charging forward with Horn Leech.
And just like that, there was a wild Pokémon battle. The two of them wrestled and snarled and roared, and it wasn't long before Lurantis hurried out to see what the commotion was. Its bug-like red eyes widened, and it pointedly cried out to the two battling wild Pokémon.
"Lurantis!" But neither Phantump nor Gloom even noticed.
The moment Lurantis stepped outside, Tim began creeping towards the door. But he didn't take his eyes off it for a second. The pink Pokémon stood in frustration, before its two huge claws began to glow green. Then, with incredible speed, Lurantis leapt at both of the other Pokémon. With sophisticated sword work, Lurantis split the two wild Pokémon apart. Both the Gloom and the Phantrump cowered before it, eyes wide at the powerful new foe that had easily put an end to their scuffle.
Lurantis flicked its antennae back with a huff and put its oversized claws on its hips. "Lur—an—tis,"it annunciated. Then, in a very motherlike way, it leaned over the Gloom and Phantump, clearly demanding an explanation.
Tim had already snuck onto the parking lot and towards the lab's door. The Gloom's and Phantump's complicated, one-worded explanations and finger-pointing had the Lurantis's full attention. Shuffling the last couple of feet, Tim managed to slip inside. Just in case the Lurantis heard the door open, he sped right through the entry way and to the main hall.
He staggered to a halt one there and froze, listening in case someone happened to be in the hall at that very moment. But it was quiet.
He let loose a held breath in relief; he was inside. Now he just needed to find the R. It would probably be in some chemical lab or a personal office. The Pokémon in the outside enclosures were all asleep, and the hall at night was a little dimmer so as not to disturb them. Tim walked down it slowly, listening for any doors that might open. He passed the Morelull enclosure and saw that they were all awake, drifting peacefully in the air.
Tim stopped at the first door he reached; 'Dr. Alexis's Office'read its label. He held his ear up to it for a moment, listening if she was inside. When he heard nothing, he decided to risk it and opened it up. To his tremendous relief, it was empty and dark. He closed the door behind him and flicked on the light.
Dr. Alexis's office was neat and orderly. There was a large bookcase stuffed with both books and potted plants, a wooden desk, and a floor lamp designed to look like a Lileep. Along the walls hung degrees, pressed plants, and photographs of Pokémon.
Tim quickly got to searching the place. He checked all the drawers in the desk, flittered through the books in the bookcase to make sure none of them were hollow, and checked beneath the picture frames for any kind of hole in the walls. He left everything exactly how he found it, and after several minutes, he stood in the center of the room, trying to think of any more hiding places. He gently stomped around the green carpet and listened for any sound of a secret passage, and even peered into the air conditioning system for anything there.
Tim felt like he was missing something, but he knew he was on a timetable. Mewtwo's patience wouldn't last forever, his Dad was expecting him to get home eventually, and the longer he stayed in the laboratory, the more likely he was to get caught. Besides, Dr. Alexis seemed the least likely suspect to him. He had to move on, so Tim listened at the door before sneaking back into the hallway to the next room.
Who was most likely to have the R? Tim could focus his search better that way. Dr. Alexis was the one in charge of the facility, so it would be easy for her to hide something from the other two. But she was more interested in helping Pokémon than powering them up with dangerous chemicals. Tim had also just searched her office and hadn't found anything. Dr. Drew didn't seem to like his job very much. That could be reason enough for him to turn to dabbling with R. Dr. Richard was unfriendly and serious, and obviously think little of his coworkers. Perhaps he had struck out on his own and was now experimenting with R? Or perhaps more than one had something to do with it?
The next room was just a storage room for supplies. It was packed with all kinds of food for specific Pokémon, and other gathered resources. Tim looked through all the tubs, filled with seeds and food pellets, but there was still no sign of R.
Tim froze when he heard a noise outside, heart pounding, but there was nothing else. Perhaps it had just been one of the Pokémon living here. He sighed in relief and wondered if Mewtwo could sense his fear even from here. Maybe the legendary was already considering coming after him. Tim pictured that for a moment—Mewtwo barging into the labs to save him. For the first time, Tim realized that wouldn't be such a great scenario. Tim had been joking when he had said, 'you can wreck the place,'but if Mewtwo diddecide to go on the offensive…well, there'd be no way to stop him.
Tim would just have to stay safe and find the R on his own.
The next room was more promising. Its label read 'Lab One,'yet it was a different lab from the one Dr. Alexis had shown them earlier. This would be a good place to keep a dangerous chemical like R, right?
Tim cracked the door open slowly, flicked on the light, and gaped. The room was filledwith vials and bottles. Every wall of the room held vials, and then the tables in the center had vials. There were all different colors, some of them glowed, some of them fizzled, some of them just looked like normal water.
Tim was snapped out of his stupor when he heard something in the hall, and he quickly closed the door behind him. He began searching through the vials, skimming through their labels. R was purple, but was there a way to change its hue to disguise it? What if it was disguised, and then its label was coded? How would Tim tell the difference?
Once had gone through all the purple chemicals, none of which glowed or churned like R did, Tim began to double-check them. Liquified Sleep Powder, gaseous poison from Bellsprout, drool from Gloom—why would anyone want that?
Then the door began to open.
Tim dived underneath one of the tables instinctively. It was a poor hiding place, but perhaps one of the scientists was just poking their head in. Tim stayed completely still, not making a sound. He heard footsteps as someone walked in. He held his breath.
"Don't bother hiding, I saw you dive under the table. Come out."
Tim gulped, and then stood up slowly, turning towards whoever had caught him. It was Dr. Richard, with his arms crossed and a disapproving frown on his pale face.
Did Dr. Richard suspect Tim of searching for R? Or was the serious researcher involved with the chemical at all?
Dr. Richard stared at Tim for a moment, and then impatiently asked, "What are you doing here?"
Tim swallowed, forced a smile, and decided to play it safe. "Sorry for intruding. I just—I forgot something when I came here earlier today, so I was just looking for it."
Dr. Richard didn't miss a beat. "You never came into this room."
"I don't think you were with us when Dr. Alexis showed us it," Tim responded quickly. It was so much easier for Tim to lie to this man than to his Dad.
"She wouldn't have. It's not part of the tour."
"Well, she knew we were detectives, so let us have a look," Tim countered.
Dr. Richard narrowed his eyes. Tim held his gaze.
After a moment, Dr. Richard stood to the side. "I think I should escort you out. If I find something that doesn't belong here, I will give it to Lurantis. You can come back and check tomorrow—during the day,"he emphasized irritably.
"Right," Tim nodded, grateful that he wasn't being threatened and, instead, offered a way out. Mewtwo wouldn't be happy that Tim had been caught, but right now Tim just wanted to get out of the lab, before something worse happened.
Tim hurried past Dr. Richard and through the door, and then stayed innocently at the man's side as he walked Tim down the hall. When they reached the entry room, Lurantis was back at the desk. It blinked at him in surprise, clearly wondering how Tim had gotten in without its notice. Tim avoided its gaze.
However, it wasn't just Lurantis in the entry room. Dr. Drew was there as well.
Dr. Richard was apparently just as surprised to see the other doctor as Tim was. "Dr. Drew. What are you doing?"
Dr. Drew had his keys in one hand and a dark briefcase in the other. His Amoonguss stood next to him, tipping its large head questionably. "I could ask you the same thing," Dr. Drew responded, glancing at Tim curiously.
Tim glanced down at the briefcase, wondering what was inside. Why was Dr. Drew leaving? This place was far enough from the city that it was probably a difficult commute to make every day. And the Pokémon that lived here probably needed at least onehuman nearby at all times in case something went wrong. It was a big enough building that Tim thought there could easily be some rooms here for the researchers to spend the night, if they wanted.
Dr. Richard nodded towards Tim. "I just found this boy in the mixing lab. Said he left something here earlier today. I was just escorting him out."
"Huh," said Dr. Drew, now peering at Tim closely. Tim stared right back, his suspicion growing by the second.
"…And you?" Dr. Richard prodded again.
"Ah, right, sorry," Dr. Drew smiled apologetically and ran a hand through his blond hair. "I was just going to make a run to the city. I have to drop off some medicine."
"May I see?" Tim asked suddenly.
Dr. Drew's smile held, but didn't reach his eyes.
I'm certain it's him, Tim decided. Which means the R is in that case. I just need to see to make sure.
"I'm afraid I have to get going," Dr. Drew took a half-step towards the door. "It's already late."
To Tim's surprise, Dr. Richard spoke up to support him. "Letting him see will only take a moment," the paler doctor said. He seemed just as suspicious of Dr. Drew as Tim was. "And I don't remember any more medicines to be delivered since last transport." His eyes narrowed. "Why don't you let me take a look as well."
Well, looks like Tim's captor had just become his ally. Tim tried to squash his growing smile; the Swanna was as good as caught—
"Amoonguss, Rage Powder!"
With a surprisingly high cry for such a rough-looking Pokémon, powdery red dust blew out of Amoonguss's Pokéball-shaped hands, enveloping the whole room.
Tim jumped back and lifted his arms to protect his face; the powder was dry and thick, sticking to him like he was covered in glue and getting everywhere. It was as dense as a sandstorm, and spread like one, too. As Tim gasped, it got sucked up right into his lungs, burning and itching within, and he quickly lifted his sleeve to his mouth and coughed into it. His eyes watered and his vision became blurry.
But the dust didn't last long—it seemed to dissolve within moments. Blinking his puffy eyes, Tim looked back up. Dr. Drew was gone, the door was swinging closed, and Amoonguss was standing right before it, guarding it. Tim struggled up and Amoonguss lifted its arms threateningly.
I need a Pokémon to get past it,Tim thought dully. He was a human, he couldn't fight a Pokémon. He needed a partner—
Just then, Lurantis leapt out of the smog with glowing talons, slicing Amoonguss aside with X-Scissor. With the power of both its scythe-like hands, it easily knocked the Amoonguss back.
"Good work, Lurantis!" Dr. Alexis ran up to the side of her partner, before turning to look at Tim and Dr. Richard. She must have heard the commotion and hurried to the entry room. "What happened?" she demanded the two of them as they struggled up. Her eyes through her glasses were pink, somewhat affected by the remains of the powder.
"Dr. Drew—" Dr. Richard coughed in a dry, hoarse, barely understandable voice. "He just attackedus and ran out." Horror, shock, and confusion crossed over Dr. Alexis's face. "He had some briefcase, and ran off with it. But I have no idea what could have been in it—"
"I have a guess," Tim muttered. He glanced back at the researchers. "I have to go after him." His voice was barely working, throat still clogged with powder.
Dr. Alexis and Dr. Richard both swung their heads to look at each other, but Tim was already out the door. Once he was outside, he skittered to a halt as he heard the screech of tires. The darkness was lit up as headlights turned on. Tim flinched as the bright lights scalded his eyeballs, and instinctively backed up. He heard the car's roaring motor and skirting tires drive off and held his hands to his eyes, still watering from the dust and now filled with bright spots. By the time his vision cleared, he could see the lights up the road—not the path headed to the city, but the one leading away from it.
Mewtwo suddenly landed beside him, though carefully angled away from the view of the door. Human,he said, intense and commanding. I sensed your fear—I almost came after you. Mewtwo's large purple eyes looked over Tim, seeing his flustered and powdered state. What happened?
"It was Dr. Drew," Tim wheezed. "He's the one with the R."
I can barely understand you, Mewtwo said, clearly frustrated. The psychic Pokémon waved a hand, and then Tim felt like he had been surrounded with a great gust of wind. The magnetic dust was blown off, it even seemed to lift itself from his lungs. Tim stared at his arms, and saw much less powder on him. Instead, it was scattered about the parking lot.
Mewtwo didn't give Tim time to recover. What did you find? he boomed, his tone demanding.
"One of the doctors just left with a briefcase," Tim pointed after the car. "He wouldn't show us what was in it, which means it's almost certainly—"
I sense my cells. And just like that, it was like Tim didn't even exist. In a glowing blue streak, Mewtwo was gone, off after the car.
Tim only juststopped himself from shouting after the legendary Pokémon. The doctors were still inside, and would probably wonder why Tim had shouted a legendry's name into the empty night. But Mewtwo had justlefthim without any communication or agreement.
Cursing, Tim ran back to the car in the woods. He jammed in the keys in and immediately slammed on the gas, heading right after Dr. Drew.