Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.
Chapter 5: Research Notes
The weeks that followed on Dr. Fuji's island had gone by slowly for Dawn. She did her best to avoid Dr. Fuji, Amber and Zwei as much as she could after that night in the lab when Amber demonstrated her powers. Dawn spent some of her afternoons on the island going on more hunting expeditions with Muldoon, though the former gamekeeper wasn't the most pleasant of company. In fact, Dawn was fairly certain that the Chatot that kept landing outside her window in the mornings to wake her up had learned much of its profanity from Muldoon. Much of Dawn's time on the island though was spent with her Pokemon perfecting new routines for future contests.
As all this was going on, Dr. Fuji's little experiment with Amber and Zwei was continuing. Dawn had no idea what had been going on in her host's lab since the night she interfered with his attempt to bring out Amber's psychic abilities, she didn't want to know. What Dawn did know though was that Amber and Zwei had continued to take on Muldoon in more Pokemon battles on a regular basis. Dawn had seen a few of those battles and could tell that Zwei was getting much stronger. Zwei had yet to Mega Evolve like Dr. Fuji wanted, which was probably a good thing, but it was quickly becoming effortless for Mewtwo to defeat Muldoon's Pokemon. Dawn had also noticed a change in Amber as well. The green-haired clone was becoming much colder and more ruthless in battle.
It was the morning of the day before the supply ship was due to arrive at the island, and Dawn was out behind the house wrapping up a new routine with Dedenne and Typhlosion. At almost the same moment as Dawn called Typhlosion back to his pokeball, Muldoon emerged from his shack.
"Ya might wanna make yerself scarce, missy." Muldoon suggested upon noticing Dawn. "The doc and 'is li'l science project are comin' back 'ere for another battle."
"Come now, Muldoon." Dr. Fuji spoke as he emerged from the house with Amber. "There's no need for Ms. Berlitz to leave just because she and I have had a few… disagreements. She's more than welcome to watch this next test of Amber and Zwei's power."
After a moment, Dawn decided to stay and watch Amber's battle. Dawn took a spot by the house with Piplup and Dedenne where they could avoid getting caught in the crossfire of the battle and at the same time stay as far away from Dr. Fuji as possible. As Amber took her position on the battlefield, she momentarily gave Dawn a cold stare.
"Right then. Let's get this started." Muldoon decided as he pulled out a pokeball. "Go Krookodile!"
Bursting out of the thrown ball was a large red crocodile-like creature with black stripes and a white underside. It stood on its hind legs and had well developed arms. Around its eyes was a black mask-like shape that gave one the impression that it was wearing sunglasses.
"Go Zwei!" Amber called as she threw her own pokeball.
The psychic feline burst from her ball and looked at Muldoon and Krookodile with indifference. "These opponents are starting to bore me."
"Me as well." Amber admitted. "Father, don't you have anyone stronger than this oaf?"
"I'm sorry, Amber. But Muldoon is the only available opponent for you right now." Dr. Fuji told her. "Until I can make other arrangements, you'll both just have to make due."
"You and that beastie a yours may 'ave beaten' me a few times, girlie! But I ain't no pushover!" Muldoon declared. "Krookodile! Use Crunch!"
"Ice Beam." Amber calmly commanded.
Krookodile charged towards Zwei with his jaws wide open. Before the desert croc could get half way across the battlefield though, Zwei brought her hands together, and from between her palms she fired bolts of white electricity that hit Krookodile in the chest and covered his torso in ice. The attack ended and Krookodile fell forward onto his chest, causing the ice covering him to shatter. Krookodile was out like a light.
"How pathetic." Zwei coldly remarked as Muldoon called back Krookodile. "Your attacks aren't even subtle."
"Smart mouthed li'l…" Muldoon grumbled as he pulled out his next pokeball. "Let's see how ya like this! Come on out, Golem!"
Emerging from Muldoon's thrown pokeball was a large creature with a round body covered in flat dark-brown rocks. It had a light-brown almost reptilian head on the front of its body and thick light-brown stone-like arms and legs.
"Use Earthquake!" Muldoon commanded.
"Dodge it." Amber ordered. "Then use Psychic."
Golem roared and the entire area began to shake, causing Dawn to hold onto the corner of the house and Piplup to hold onto Dawn's leg. Zwei merely hovered up into the air to avoid the attack. When the quake finally ended, Zwei's eyes glowed blue and Golem's body gave off a blue aura. With a wave of Zwei's arm, Golem was hurled into a tree next to the battlefield.
"Shadow Ball." Amber commanded.
Before Golem could completely recover from the last attack, a crackling black ball of energy formed over Zwei's hand. The psychic feline threw the ball down at Golem just as the rock creature had gotten up. Golem was hit in the face and was knocked out. Muldoon scowled as he called his second Pokemon back.
"Are you even trying anymore?" Amber asked Muldoon. "This is starting to become a waste of our time."
"Go… Rhyperior!" Muldoon called as he threw out his third pokeball.
The stone rhino creature burst from his ball with a roar. Amber merely rolled her eyes while Zwei looked on with indifference.
"Okay Rhyperior! Hit that beastie with Horn Drill!" Muldoon commanded.
"Ice Beam." Amber ordered.
As Rhyperior began to charge across the field towards Zwei, the metal horn on his snout began to spin like a drill. Before the rhino creature could get very far though, Zwei fired another blast of white electrical energy that hit Rhyperior in the chest and encased his torso in ice. Rhyperior hit the ground face first, causing the ice encasing him to shatter. Seeing that Rhyperior was totally unconscious, Muldoon called him back to his pokeball.
"I've 'ad just about enough o you!" Muldoon declared as he threw his finally pokeball. "Go Aggron!"
Aggron burst out of his ball with a roar. The armored titan glared across the field at Zwei upon seeing her.
"Okay Aggron! Use Heavy Slam!" Muldoon commanded as he raised his wrist.
The keystone in Muldoon's Mega Ring began to glow, causing Aggron's Mega Stone to react. Aggron let out another roar as he became enveloped in a grey light and changed shape. The light faded and the multicolored DNA symbol appeared above the armored beast's head momentarily as his transformation finished. Aggron charged across the field at Zwei and leapt into the air as his body gave off a white glow. Moments later, the armored titan crashed down onto Zwei like a bomb.
"Now we're getting' somewhere!" Muldoon declared. "Aggron! Hit 'er with Iron Tail!"
As soon as Aggron got off of Zwei, he slammed his glowing white tail into her, hurling into a tree behind Amber. It was the same combination that Muldoon had used in his first battle with Amber and Zwei, but unlike in that battle, Amber didn't seem to show one bit of concern.
Muldoon let out a deep hearty laugh. "Not so tough now, are ya?"
"Recover." Amber commanded.
Zwei got up as her body glowed with a blue light. In seconds, all the damage that Aggron had inflicted was gone.
"Now use Ice Beam." Amber ordered.
Zwei rose up high into the air and fired another beam of white electricity down at Aggron. The armored beast was completely frozen in a solid block of ice upon being hit.
"Finish this." Amber ordered with a bored sigh. "Psychic."
Zwei's eyes glowed blue again, and with a wave of her arm Aggron was lifted high into the air. The feline swung her arm down and slammed the frozen Aggron hard into the ground. The block of ice encasing the armored beast shattered on impact. Aggron reverted to his original form and was out cold. Zwei floated back down to the ground as Muldoon called back his fallen Pokemon.
"Father, are we done here?" Amber asked.
Dr. Fuji sighed. "Yes, you and Zwei can go back into the house."
Amber turned on her heel and headed into the house with Zwei floating behind her. Meanwhile, Muldoon grumbled to himself as he went back into his shack.
"We're certainly not going to trigger Zwei's Mega Evolution this way." Dr. Fuji spoke as he stroked his chin. "Clearly she and Amber have outgrown Muldoon as an opponent." An idea suddenly popped into the scientist's mind. "Ms. Berlitz, since you're here, perhaps you could…"
"Forget it!" Dawn told him before he could finish. "I'm not getting involved in these sick experiments of yours!"
Dr. Fuji sighed then nodded. "It's probably just as well. As a coordinator, your Pokemon probably aren't trained for extreme combat. Perhaps I could convince my benefactor to lend me that boy with the Charizard he has working for him as a bodyguard. From what I've heard, he's supposed to be quite powerful."
"Do whatever you want." Dawn told him. "When that supply ship gets here, I'm getting on it."
"Of course." Dr. Fuji replied. "I do ask though that you keep everything you've seen during your stay here to yourself. For the time being, I prefer my work to remain anonymous."
"…Fine." Dawn agreed. "To be honest, I'd like to forget about this whole thing anyway."
A gentle rain had started to come down outside as Amber ate lunch at the dining room table. Zwei was standing next to her eating an apple that she had levitated out of the bowl in the middle of the table towards her mouth. The past few weeks had been fairly exhausting for Amber. While she no longer had to be subjected to the helmet device that her father had been using to stimulate her psychic abilities, Dr. Fuji had since put her through a series of tests meant to train her how to use her new abilities and to measure the strength of her powers. The whole process of learning to master her powers had been very draining on Amber, but it was quickly becoming easy for her to use them. It was sort of like how one's body gets used to hard work an exercise. In the beginning it took every ounce of concentration Amber had just to bend a spoon with her thoughts, but as she was now she could easily do the task in a split second.
As Amber finished her meal, Muldoon suddenly staggered into the dining room. Amber could smell the liquor on his breath all the way across the room.
Muldoon looked at Amber and chuckled. "Well ain't this a quaint li'l sight? Crazy ol' Doc Fuji's freaky science project is 'aven' 'er lunch."
"I'll thank you not to talk about Zwei that way, Mr. Muldoon." Amber told him.
"Wasn't talkin' 'bout 'er, girlie." Muldoon told her as he staggered over and sat in one of the chairs at the table. "But I guess I shoulda said 'is two freaky science projects. Tell me somethin', what'd the two o' yew eat before yew came outa those tubes o' yours?"
"What are you talking about?" Amber asked.
"Yew know! Those tubes o' liquid that the doc grew yew in." Muldoon explained as if the answer were obvious.
"That is where I came from." Zwei admitted. "But that is because I was cloned from the DNA of another Pokemon. Amber was not created the same way I was."
"That's right." Amber told him. "You must be confused, Mr. Muldoon. But then since you're obviously drunk, I'm hardly surprised."
Muldoon suddenly burst out laughing. "She don't know! She don't even know what she is! Well ain't this a riot!"
"I think you should leave!" Amber suggested.
Muldoon leaned forward in his chair. "I might 'as well let ya in on the joke, girlie. You're a clone too. Ol' Doc Fuji used the DNA of his original daughter to make ya. Explained it to me when I took a li'l tour of his lab durin' my first day 'ere."
"That's a lie!" Amber declared. "There's a picture of me on the wall behind me from when I was little!"
"That picture there is of the original Amber Fuji." Muldoon told her. "Yew really think you're 'er, huh? I don't know what the ol' doc did to ya in that tube, but 'e certainly has you fooled good."
"I have clear memories of my childhood." Amber told him. "This claim that I'm a clone of someone else is ridiculous!"
"Oh is it now?" Muldoon asked as he took another swig from his flask. "Tell me somethin', girlie. Yew said that you and yer pet clone there 'ave known each other a long time. Well when exactly did yew meet? Just when did ya start talking to each other mind to mind? An' how could yew both 'ave known each other for so long if ol' Zwei over there is only a few weeks old?"
Amber found that she didn't have a good answer to that question. She and Zwei seemed to know each other ever since she had been born; yet she also knew that Zwei had indeed only emerged from her tank in Dr. Fuji's lab only a few short weeks ago.
"Tell me somthin' else." Muldoon continued with a triumphant smirk on his face. "Yew say ya got memories o' yer childhood. Well what about high school? Yer in yer twenties, ain't ye? Well what was yer life between then an' now? Did ya ever try goin' on a Pokemon journey like a proper trainer? Just what sorta life did yew 'ave?"
Once again, Amber was at a total loss as to how to answer Muldoon's question. She looked to Zwei, but the psychic feline seemed just as confused as she was. Muldoon was obviously drunk, yet he had asked some incredibly good questions.
"Ya can't answer me, can ya girlie?" Muldoon deduced. "That's 'cause yew an' that Pokemon o' yers are the same age. You're both clones."
"It… it can't be true." Amber insisted. "It can't be!"
"Oh, it's true enough alright." Muldoon assured her. "An' it's hilarious 'ow yew never realized it."
With that, Muldoon started to laugh as though he had heard the funniest joke in the world. With her rage boiling over, Amber's eyes glowed and Muldoon was hurled into the wall behind him by an invisible force. The gamekeeper slid down the side of the wall unconscious, leaving a dent in the spot where he had hit the wall.
"Zwei… none of what Mr. Muldoon is true… is it?" Amber asked. "Am I really… am I really a clone?"
"…We could ask your father." Zwei suggested.
Amber calmly rose from her chair. "That's what we'll do then. He should be able to tell us one way or the other."
With that, the duo headed for the house's small library and entered Dr. Fuji's secret lab. Amber and Zwei found that the larger chamber that held the tank that Zwei had been grown in to be completely empty. When Amber noticed the second tank that was next to Zwei's she walked towards it to take a look. On the front of the broken tank's base was a copper plate with the word, Drei written on it. Amber knew that drei was another word used for the number three, just as Zwei's name was another word for the number two.
After a few moments, Amber went with Zwei to the smaller room of the lab that Dr. Fuji had been using to try and develop her psychic abilities. They opened the door and found that room to be completely empty as well. Sighing, Amber closed the door and walked over to the corner of the lab with all the computer equipment.
"Where is he?" Amber asked as she turned and leaned back against one of the terminals.
"Perhaps he is in his room." Zwei suggested.
"Zwei… do you think that what Mr. Muldoon said is true?" Amber asked. "Am I… a clone?"
Zwei looked over at the remains of the two tanks. "Everything we see does seem to fit with Muldoon's story."
Amber's finger absently tapped one of the buttons on the computer terminal she was leaning by. Suddenly the screen of the terminal turned on and an image of Dr. Fuji appeared. Amber and Zwei turned their full attention to the terminal.
"Project Zwei, log entry 001." The image of Dr. Fuji spoke. "I have finally finished setting up the lab. Very shortly I will be commencing the experiment. After everything that happened years ago, I never thought I'd be doing one of these experiments again. But the thing about an obsession is that it never goes away. Even after everything that happened with the first Mewtwo, I've tried to figure out exactly what went wrong with my original clone of Amber… and now I think I have an answer. This time around I should successfully be able to clone a human being!
"I had told my father back in Lavender Town about everything that happened with my original experiment… and about why I even attempted it in the first place. He told me that cloning is not a way to bring back the dead. He's probably right. My daughter Amber may be lost to me forever, but I can at least honor her by using her DNA to create the perfect human being!"
The video ended, and a message appeared on the screen asking if they wanted to play the next log entry. Reluctantly, Amber pressed the button for yes. Another video loaded on the screen and the image of Dr. Fuji reappeared.
"Log entry 002." Dr. Fuji spoke. "The embryos for Mewtwo Zwei and Amber Drei have been successfully created. It was fairly simple for me to recreate Mewtwo thanks to my research notes, but the true masterpiece is my newest clone of Amber. In preparation for this experiment, I used small robots to secretly obtain genetic samples from Sabrina, the leader of the Saffron City Gym in the Kanto Region, and from Caitlin of the Unova Region's Elite Four. I was able to isolate the genes for psychic powers in both samples and spliced them into Amber's base DNA. If my efforts are successful, I will have not only created a human being powerful enough to survive the cloning process, but I will have also created a superior life form."
Dr. Fuji's second video log ended and a message appeared on the screen to ask Amber and Zwei if they wanted to see the next one. This time Amber immediately entered the command for yes. The next video loaded in a matter of seconds.
"Log entry 003." Dr. Fuji's image began. "Both clones are now fully developed with no traces of abnormalities. Of course I've kept a close eye on their development during this entire process. The current brainwave patters for both the Amber clone and Mewtwo Zwei seem to indicate that they are already communicating telepathically, though there's no way to tell which of them initiated contact. The same thing happened during my original experiment with the first Mewtwo and the original Amber clone.
"The person funding my current experiment would probably frown on what I'm doing, but I believe that this will ultimately benefit his goals concerning the project. He asked me to create a second Mewtwo because he wanted to see if his synthetic Mega Stone would work on it. But Mega Evolution seems to require a close bond between trainer and Pokemon in order to work. It is my hope that the bond Amber Drei and Mewtwo Zwei will have from birth will serve as the key to trigger the Mega Evolution."
The third video ended and the computer asked if the fourth video wished to be played. Amber quickly hit yes and the next recording of Dr. Fuji's logs loaded up.
"Log entry 004." Dr. Fuji began on the screen. "I have fitted Amber Drei with a device that will feed information directly into her brain as a means to educate her. She will after all be fully grown when she finally exits the tank in a matter of weeks, so a normal education will be out of the question. In addition to teaching Amber Drei basic skills such as language, the computers will also be programing her with data on every known Pokemon to exist. I'm also going to include old videos of the original Amber's life. This should teach her about me and hopefully make her somehow believe that she is the original. The next phases of the experiment will go much smoother if she actually believes that I am her father."
The video came to an end and the screen asked its viewers if they wanted to view the next entry. As the message blinked on the screen, a tear rolled down Amber's cheek.
"Everything I've thought about my life… it's all been one big lie." Amber spoke. "Those memories I have of my father when I was little… they were of him with someone else… of the one I was cloned from."
"Amber, we don't have to keep watching this." Zwei told her.
Amber wiped her face with her sleeve. "No. I want to see the rest. I want to find out what my father… what Dr. Fuji has been trying to accomplish with all this."
With that, Amber told the computer to play the next log recording. It only took a few seconds for the video to load.
"Log entry 005." Dr. Fuji began. "Despite the unexpected arrival of a young Pokemon Coordinator to the island, the experiment continues to go smoothly. Amber Drei and Mewtwo Zwei have finally reached maturity. I imagine that it won't be long before they finally awaken."
The fifth video ended and the computer again asked the duo if they wanted to see the next video. Amber quickly pressed the command for yes and the sixth log entry of Dr. Fuji loaded up.
"Log entry 006." The recording of Dr. Fuji began. "The coordinator I mentioned before, a Ms. Dawn Berlitz, unfortunately stumbled upon my lab this evening. However, her intrusion seems to have been a benefit to the experiment. Our conversation in the lab had caused Mewtwo Zwei to awaken and break free from her tank. I used the Master Ball I had prepared for this event to capture her. Mewtwo Zwei's absence from her tank also caused Amber Drei to awaken. Now that both clones have awakened, I can finally take the experiment to its next phase."
Once again the computer asked Amber and Zwei if they wanted to play the next log recording after the video ended. Amber told the computer to run the next recording and the video loaded.
"Log entry 007." Dr. Fuji began on the screen. "Amber and Zwei have just had their first battle with Muldoon. They successfully defeated Muldoon, but Amber was unable to trigger Zwei's synthetic Mega Stone. Perhaps the stone simply does not work, or perhaps I have simply underestimated the strength of Amber and Zwei's bond. Either way, more testing is needed. One benefit that Amber's bond with Zwei has had in this experiment though is that it's made Zwei far more cooperative than the original Mewtwo. I can't help but wonder how different things might have been if my original clone of Amber had survived. In a few moments I'm going to begin using a device on Amber that I believe will stimulate her psychic abilities."
When the video ended, the computer asked Amber if she wanted to play the next entry. Amber had the computer run through each of Dr. Fuji's remaining log recordings. Each one talked about Dr. Fuji's efforts to activate and test Amber's powers, as well as the results of her and Zwei's subsequent battles with Muldoon. As Amber watched each recording, her anger started to grow. It was becoming increasingly clear that her so-called father didn't seem to see her as his child. When the final log recording ended, Amber's anger reached its boiling point and she used her powers to cause the computer to explode.
As the hole in the wall where the computer terminal was burned, Amber backed against the adjoining wall and slid to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. After a few moments, Zwei came closer to her to see if she was okay. The psychic feline could see tears streaming down Amber's cheeks.
"…What are we to him, Zwei?" Amber finally asked. "What are we to that man who claimed to be my father?"
"…It seems that we have been nothing more to him than an experiment." Zwei answered. "I don't think he's ever seen us as anything more than that."
"Is that so?" Amber replied as she finally got back up. "I think it's time you and I had a little talk with Dr. Fuji."
Author's Note: A large part of the inspiration behind the character of Amber Drei comes from a conversation that I had with this one friend of mine once. We talked about what might've happened in the Pokemon anime if Mewtwo had encountered Sabrina before Ash challenged her with Haunter and unlocked her emotions. Needless to say, we thought it would mean an apocalypse in the Pokemon universe. So for this story, I thought it would be interesting for the second Mewtwo (i.e. Zwei) to be partnered with a similar character.
Please review and let me know what you think.