CHAPTER THREE: STRUGGLE
Only hours after the explosion on Cinnabar Island, the police department of Cerulean City noticed an alarming amount of extremely high-level Pokémon swarming around a cave on the outskirts of town. A guard was placed there to make sure only Champions or Elite Four members could get in, but the mysterious Pokémon sightings became a source of intrigue for conspiracy theorists everywhere. For one thing, how was it possible that a group of Electrode or Dodrio could live in that cave?
What they didn't know was that deep underground, Mewtwo had carved itself a chamber to a distant part of the cave, only accessible via the underground river. Alone, it sat in the darkness, unaware that its psychic powers had drawn in hundreds of curious Pokémon.
"You couldn't have chosen anywhere less damp to be in?"
Mewtwo recoiled when a deep, booming voice suddenly echoed in the chamber. It wasn't alone anymore – a large, human man appeared from the shadows, and even though Mewtwo had never seen him, he still instantly recognized the pale, waxy skin, the slick, black hair and the cold, lifeless eyes.
"You!"
But before Mewtwo's Shadow Ball attack could hit Giovanni, he disappeared from sight. He reappeared on a cliff above Mewtwo, sneering malevolently.
"Oh no," Giovanni said and raised his hand as Mewtwo was about to attack him again. "I assure you, appearing in this human form is merely a necessary evil. The real Giovanni is currently organizing a nationwide search for you. But he won't find you… not unless you want to be found…"
"You're not a human?" Mewtwo inquired. "How did you find me, then?"
"Traveling in this form is necessary during these insecure times," Giovanni declared and snapped his large fingers. "But my friends will help me show you my true identity."
As Giovanni snapped his fingers, the cave was filled by dozens of small, eye-shaped Pokémon with black, letter-shaped appendages. Mewtwo stumbled as it tried to get away from them, but they just floated around the cave harmlessly. Strange, hissing whispers filled the cave and Mewtwo could hear some sort of high-pitched cry:
"Uuuuuuunowwwwwn~"
But the voice didn't seem to come from the Pokémon – Mewtwo could hear it inside its head. It was unable to block the sound, no matter how hard it tried. Eventually, the sound caused it to fall on its knees, its eyes tightly shut in agony.
"They're sort of my eyes on this world," Giovanni explained calmly, his eyes fixed on Mewtwo and its suffering. "But enough of these pleasantries. I wish to make you an offer, and to do so, I need to show myself to you in my proper form…"
Giovanni snapped his fingers again, and the little floating Pokémon disappeared instantly. Mewtwo opened its eyes and raised its head to see Giovanni – but he wasn't there anymore.
In his place stood a Pokémon that Mewtwo did not recognize from any of Blaine's books. It stood fifteen feet tall, with a humongous, gray centipede-like body with two black, gaseous wings extending from its back. The Pokémon had six thick feet, six golden claws around its chest forming a ribcage of sorts and six red claws in its wings, three in each. It had a large, gray tail and a golden ring surrounded its head. Two red eyes gleamed from the holes in the ring, but they seemed lifeless and disproportionally small, like they had been taken from a different Pokémon.
Mewtwo could only gape at the beast for a few seconds before it disappeared again, leaving behind a cloud of black smoke. The smoke itself started circling above Mewtwo, who could hear another voice, a deep, thunderous one, echoing in its head:
"I am the ruler of the Distortion World," the voice explained, and Mewtwo had to stay still and listen to every word, unable to block the voice. "For now, me and my followers are mostly confined to my dimension… but the time for my ascension is at hand… everyone, humans and Pokémon alike, can sense it, whether they realize it or not. Sooner or later, we all have to choose a side."
"Go away!" Mewtwo snarled and closed its eyes again, but knew it couldn't use any attack against the beast. "I don't care who you are! I stand alone!"
"I understand your pain," the voice said relentlessly as the black smoke descended to the level of Mewtwo's head, circling around it. "I know what it feels like to be created and cast aside. Imagine what we could accomplish together… you could actually become the most powerful Pokémon in the world… that is what you wish for, don't you? A way to create your own destiny…"
Mewtwo opened its eyes. The black smoke had transformed again. It was no a pink Pokémon with big blue eyes and a long tail that floated in the air and stared Mewtwo.
"Mew!"
But before Mewtwo could launch an attack, Mew disappeared and turned into black smoke yet again. The voice returned as well.
"I could help you find the reason for your existence," the voice said smoothly. "I could teach you how to be even more powerful than Mew… why waste your tremendous power in this cave, when the Pokémon of the world need a leader… a leader to purge this world from humans… that's what we Pokémon were born to do…"
"I was not born a Pokémon, I was created!" Mewtwo objected and stood up – abstract smoke or enormous ghostly Pokémon, Mewtwo didn't care. It needed to fight, to defeat something, and this creature had willingly wandered to it. "And my creators-"
"Have used and betrayed you," the voice cut in. "I don't need explanations. I can see into your soul, Mewtwo. I am offering you a place in my army. After all, there's nowhere else you can go... you've already murdered many humans…"
"I didn't… I…"
But Mewtwo remembered it clearly. It had acted by its own free will, and still remembered the face of every scientist that was now burning in the remnants of the lab.
But they deserved it… after what they did…
"I know they did," the voice said, startling Mewtwo – it hadn't said that last part out loud, and yet…
"There are… there could be good humans, too!"
"Really?"
And the black smoke seemed to become solid again, forming the body of an aging, bald scientist with a thick moustache and sunglasses. But Blaine didn't look at Mewtwo as warmly as it remembered. His arms were folded and he glared at Mewtwo in utter contempt.
"Did you really think I cared about you?" Blaine asked. It was undeniably him, right down to the rough, gravely voice. "I just wanted to see my name in the history books… Blaine, creator of the most powerful Pokémon in the world. Who cares what Giovanni would have done with you? You're just an experiment, no more important to me than a Rattata in a maze…"
"No!"
Mewtwo couldn't believe it… Blaine would never say these things…
I should have killed him when I had the chance…
Hearing Blaine's voice again made it feel something again. It was the same, painful feeling that had consumed him when… when she had died…
"I see," Blaine said and smiled maliciously. "So that's what you meant…"
Briefly, Blaine turned into a cloud of black smoke again, but as it developed a human form again, Mewtwo almost fell on its knees again in shock. There she was again… Mewtwo had never seen her before in person, and yet it had always known what she looked like: a smiling little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. And as she spoke, her voice was just as soft and gentle as Mewtwo remembered.
"They let me die, Mewtwo," Amber said, smiling sadly. "Can't you see they cared nothing for me? They planned to use you as a weapon and then do the same to you."
And just as before, her voice started to fade slowly as she began to turn into a cloud of black smoke again.
"Amber… you can't leave me again…"
"You cannot bring her back," the voice inside Mewtwo's head said harshly. "But you can get your revenge on those who allowed her to die. Those humans and their Pokémon…"
Mewtwo stared at the spot where Amber had just been seconds ago.
Is that what I've been looking for? Could that be my purpose? I've already killed humans… what does it matter if I kill another one? Or two?
"Or hundreds," the voice said sinisterly. "Or millions. The choice is yours. Just remember that you have nowhere else to go. You're artificial, a human creation… the Pokémon will never accept you as one of them. And as for humans… they won't care if you have their blood in your veins if you have it on your hands, too. You're nothing more than a murderer to them…"
No! Not a murderer…
"But not to me," the voice said. "Your strength is unlike anything I have seen before. It needs to be put in good use… and what better way to fulfill your destiny, than to assume a role in the world that we're shaping?"
Destiny…
"Think about it…"
The black smoke disappeared, but the voice still echoed in Mewtwo's head. It closed its eyes again, trying not to remember. But it couldn't stop the memories. Flying over Faraway Island, free of everything… trapped in a tube, alone in the dark… Amber's voice fading away… the horrified screams of the scientists it had slaughtered…
Life is wonderful... but why?
A/N: Whew, a tad melodramatic at times, but I think it turned out quite well. Let me know what you think in a review, if you like. I took inspiration from three sources: the first movie, the manga and the games themselves. Also, big thanks to FFN user "Ardtornismyname" for giving me great ideas