Chapter 5 – Attitude Adjustment
With Mewtwo now traveling with the group, Sarah, Cade and Darman soon discover that Mewtwo is, even after so long, not a team player. It could prove difficult, even impossible to get him to fully cooperate, the latter of which is the belief of Cade and Darman. Despite this, Sarah seems to see something else, and hopes to eventually understand why Mewtwo was who he was in the present, so that she could find a way to enable him to trust his teammates.
"I'm telling you, we should go this way!" Cade shouted, pointing off behind him, trying to convince a particular teammate to follow his directions. "Well I say that's the wrong direction, we should go this way!" Mewtwo shouted back, pointing in the opposite direction. "Can I suggest something?" Darman asked. "No!" Mewtwo and Cade replied in unison, both of them turning away from each other to face the opposite direction. Sarah watched the two of them squabble and shook her head in disappointment. C'mon you two, if you don't cooperate, this will never work out! Sarah thought in dismay when she heard Cade mutter, "Somebody needs an attitude adjustment…" Sarah's eyes widened in horror, because if she could hear it, that meant Mewtwo could as well. "I heard that!" Mewtwo shouted angrily as he lifted Cade into the air with Psychic. "Put me down Mewtwo!" Cade exclaimed in surprise when he suddenly remembered what had happened the last time Mewtwo had been asked to put someone down over fifteen years ago; Mewtwo smirked slightly and tossed Cade into a tree. "Not like that!" Cade shouted angrily. Sarah was about to intervene when she noticed that Cade and Mewtwo have been arguing for so long it was already too late to get moving. "Boys, we'll make camp here and decide on a direction in morning…" Sarah said wearily.
Later that night, Cade and Darman were fast asleep, lying on makeshift hammocks hanging from a tree, whilst Sarah sat wide awake by the fire and Mewtwo sat opposite her, as far away from the others as possible. Sarah's gaze was fixed upon Mewtwo, as she wondered of a way to get him to cooperate with the others when she had an idea. Maybe there's something holding him back, something that makes it next to impossible for him to trust others she thought, But what could it be? Sarah soon dismissed these thoughts, convinced Mewtwo would never open up to her, or anyone for that matter. However, she noticed something about her new ally, not something that would help her understand, but something nonetheless; he was shivering from the cold, which told her that he wasn't truly unfeeling. What could be going on his mind? Sarah thought. Mewtwo, meanwhile, was deep in thought, remembering one of his most cherished memories, the day he had met the closest thing he ever had to a father.
A young pokemon slowly opened his eyes for the first time, taking his very first breath. His vision was somewhat blurry, but within minutes it had cleared to reveal someone, an Alakazam, looking down at him. The pokemon was confused as to who this Alakazam was, but something about him was warm, comforting, and inviting. The Alakazam lifted him up in his arms and held him close before saying to him, "Welcome to the World, my son…Mewtwo." The pokemon heard the name mentioned and thought about it for a few seconds. Mewtwo…is that…is that my name? he thought, It must be my name, there's no doubt about it. Mewtwo looked at himself and noticed he looked nothing like the one who held him now, but that didn't change the fact that in his arms, Mewtwo felt safe, and knew that no one could harm him; this Alakazam was the one who would protect him, and if necessary, give his life for him…
As Mewtwo thought of this memory, he smiled slightly, and tears welled up in his eyes, which he quickly fought back upon realizing Sarah's eyes were upon him. "You know it's impolite to stare" Mewtwo said coldly, in sharp contrast to the state of mind he was in just a few seconds prior, causing Sarah to flinch noticeably from surprise. "I'm sorry" Sarah replied, "It's just that…you look like you're cold." "Cold, hah! As if!" Mewtwo replied arrogantly, "I am not affected by heat or cold, you should know that." "If that were true, you wouldn't be shivering, now would you?" Sarah replied. Mewtwo was about to argue when he realized she was right. He was shivering, and even he admitted to himself it was a bit cold. "I can take it; I've been through worse…" Mewtwo replied, still shivering despite his efforts not to do so. "There's a few blankets in Darman's bag" Sarah replied, "You could have one if you like." "No, I don't need it" Mewtwo replied when he suddenly noticed that Sarah had already wrapped one around him. "That okay?" Sarah asked as she sat back down beside him. "…Yes…it is…" Mewtwo replied somewhat hesitantly, perhaps a bit confused by Sarah's kindness, "But why are you being so nice to me?" "It's because that's what friends do, they look out for each other" Sarah replied, suddenly starting to understand that Mewtwo wasn't use to receiving any type of help from others. "Friends? You consider me your friend?" Mewtwo asked with a somewhat surprised expression. "Yeah" Sarah replied, "I'll be there for you whenever you need help, because I know you'd do for the same for me." Mewtwo didn't know what to say in reply, being confused as to what to say back. "Mewtwo…" Sarah said as she leaned against him slightly, falling asleep, "You have a good heart, but you need to give others a chance. Try and open up a little, and you may be surprised what you'll find…" As Sarah fell asleep against him, Mewtwo turned his gaze skywards as he became lost in thought once again. She thinks I'm her friend…but…what does friendship mean? Mewtwo thought, and what if that friendship becomes especially…close? Mewtwo shook his head slightly, snapping himself out of his daze as he began to fall asleep himself. These are things I don't have time to ponder he thought, I'll have to think about this another day…