Gengar was staring at the clock that Alder had mentioned. Indeed, it said 7:14; not to mention, he was feeling a bit hungry as well.

"Yeah, let's get some breakfast," Gengar started as he looked around the lobby. "Where—?"

Alder stood up along with Alakazam and answered the unasked question.

"The lobby serves breakfast in the morning, so we can all stay here."

"Ah!" Gengar said, "That's great! So we're eating now?"

Alder nodded. Gengar glanced over to Mewtwo, whom, he just now noticed, had not risen but was instead dozing gently in his chair. His face was relaxed, arms resting comfortably on the armrests. He looked at ease.

Alder followed Gengar's gaze and looked down upon Mewtwo as well.

"Ah, let him be. He needs some sleep anyway."

Gengar acknowledged Alder's comment, and turned away from Mewtwo. He proceeded to follow Alder and Alakazam towards the left side of the lobby, where a small table set for four sat among others like it. As they sat down, Gengar continued to observe the small details around him. The table's wooden structure was carved with rigid patterns along the edge. Below the table, a floor tiled coffee brown stretched across the dining area. Sunlight crept onto the table, rendering each tiny scratch visible to the eye. Placemats were also gently placed in accordance to seating. The design of the placemats unveiled an arrangement of the different types of Pokéballs. Gengar carefully studied each of the Pokéballs' designs, noticing each splash of color.

Alder and Alakazam began to track Gengar's observances. The more they watched Gengar glance about, the more unsettling his actions appeared. His pupils contracted as his eyes darted about the lobby, apprehension becoming more and more pronounced as the seconds passed by.

"Gengar, are you all right?" Alder asked.

Gengar did not respond, but continued to look around almost with a desperate fervor. Faster and faster his eyes roved around the room, paying attention to neither Alder nor Alakazam. Everything he saw was starting to become hazed and blurred. The objects melted together into one mess of color, the rising sun dominating the scene with its intense brightness. Gengar started to panic; what was going on?

Just when the terror mounting in his chest reached a peak, the object stood out in distinct contrast to the mess he saw.

It was a stone, set upon the fireplace mantel. The stone was like a marble, glimmering a beautiful coral as it caught the morning sunshine.

And then his brain disengaged.

Everything went black. The lobby, the tables, everything disappeared. He was falling down through the icy blackness. There was nothing… nothing at all.

"Where did you find them?"

"They were traveling together in the Viridian Forest."

"Did they have anything on them?"

"Just some food and supplies."

"Anything else?"

"Only this, sir."

A pause.

"Very well. Alert me when they have woken up."

"Yes, sir."

His head felt very groggy. The speech he heard was traveling slowly from his ears to his brain. It felt like time was going in slow motion.

"Oh, and sir?"

"Yes?"

"Will you be needing my assistance once the proceedings have begun?"

"Oh yes. I'll be needing some help with these two."

It was all so confusing. His brain felt like somebody had beaten it about in his skull. A dull thudding was persisting on his bruised cheekbone, adding to his already very uncomfortable position. The cold, hard ground beneath him had stiffened his body, making it very hard to move his limbs.

He opened his eyes blearily.

Pikachu was on the ground very close by. There was a large slash mark running down her back, from which blood was still flowing. It had puddled on the ground where she was laying.

Slowly, she rolled over to face him. The first words out of her mouth were, "Where are we, Clefable?"

Clefable looked up at the ceiling. It was unfinished, where steel I-beams crisscrossed across the entire roof for as far as the eye could see. Fluorescent lights spanned in much the same fashion. They seemed to be in some sort of warehouse.

"I don't know," he whispered.

He thought back to what seemed like ages ago. They were traveling, and they had discovered something very odd…

"Hey!" a voice shouted close by. "They seem to be conscious."

Clefable watched as a dark figure approached. The light—or lack thereof—concealed the figure in a burly silhouette. Only its eyes were visible, glowing white and bright. They were narrowed in calculation as the strange figure inspected the two on the ground. For a moment, all was silent.

"You two are coming with me."

Instantly, Clefable was lifted off his feet. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the same thing happen to Pikachu. She didn't seem to have any means of support other than a strange purple glow around her figure.

As they were carried off, Clefable shot Pikachu a glance that said, Just stay calm. They'll have to explain things at some point. Pikachu gave a small nod in response.

They were moved through the warehouse, passing by aisles of worn out boxes. The boxes were marked for shipment to the "Silph Co." Silph Company… that name had been exploding in popularity recently. Their research in Pokémon technology far surpassed that of other companies.

Why were they here? What did they have to do with such an advanced company like Silph?

After a few more minutes of being carried across the warehouse, Clefable and Pikachu were roughly dropped to the ground. They were now in a much smaller area; a room with nothing except a table and chairs.

Clefable's misgivings increased. This room had an extremely foreboding atmosphere. The walls were colored steel gray as was the concrete floor, offering no warmth to the viewer. Only one object relieved the cold walls; a large mirror set the length of the wall adjacent to the door.

Clefable turned quickly to Pikachu. She had a look of pure terror, precisely reflecting how he felt. He knew they were thinking exactly the same thing; this was an interrogation room!

Being deposited on the floor so abruptly, he could not see his captor in time, but he did catch a glimpse of a long, purple tail before the door was slammed with deliberate force.

Pikachu had not gotten up. Clefable rushed to kneel at her side, splattering a little blood in the pool that had already begun to collect. He leaned over and said desperately, "Pikachu! Are you all right?"

She groaned in response and looked up.

"Clefable… I… I can't…"

What was most alarming was that Pikachu spoke in barely more than a whisper. She seemed to be drained of all her strength.

Clefable readjusted her so that she was resting on her back. He took her head into his arm so that they could look into each other's eyes. Pikachu took a hold of Clefable's free hand.

"I can't feel my legs…"

Clefable's heart was thumping madly. He was paralyzed with fear as to what might happen.

"Don't worry, Pikachu," Clefable said in a trembling voice, "We're going to get out of here, okay?"

Pikachu redoubled her grip and stared straight into his eyes.

"I know we will."

Clefable remained by her side, trying to keep her as comfortable as possible. Her breathing was shallow, but surprisingly steady. The bleeding was slowing down as well.

"We're going to get out of here," Clefable repeated, more to reassure himself than anything.

Pikachu nodded slowly, maintaining a firm grip with his hand. The minutes dragged as the two were there on the ground, unable to do anything else out of fear as to what was waiting for them.

The door to the room opened so suddenly and quickly that it ricocheted straight off the wall. Clefable had no time to turn around before being blown away into the opposite wall. Nothing had touched him except an unexplainably powerful force. The contact with the wall was strong enough to temporarily daze and double his vision. Through the confusion, he could see the yellow blur that was Pikachu lay motionless on the ground.

Clefable stumbled his way towards her, only to be taken aback by the same force. Looking towards the direction of the force, that same figure stood before them. Those cold eyes, white as marble, looked straight into Clefable's eyes.

"It's time we bring up the subject at hand."

Clefable cringed at the harsh, crisp words spoken.

"What…" Clefable began, "what do you mean?"

These words were met by yet another intense force, causing Clefable to lose the strength to remain standing. He lay in a crumpled heap as the voice spoke again.

"I'm asking the questions, and for the sake of you and your partner, I hope the answers are favorable."

Clefable watched the figure in silence, at a loss of what to say. The dark figure calmly moved into light's view, revealing a being even more frightening than before that stood at a towering height greater than six feet. He looked like a Pokémon, but by far the strangest he had ever seen; more like a cross between a human and some sort of alien. His skin was white, tinged with just a touch of lavender. Something that looked like armor fused with his chest, connected to the base of his skull with an appendage separate from his neck. His tail was most peculiar, starting on his front and running behind him.

Behind this bizarre being, another person had joined the room. This man was wearing a crisp suit and tie. His black hair was quite close-cropped and an aggressive look was on his face.

"You may be wondering why you two are here. However, you must think about whether you want the true answer. There is an operation of utmost priority taking place; who knows what could happen if all is revealed to those who refuse to cooperate?"

Pikachu and Clefable remained silent, knowing better than to try and respond.

"Now, there are important questions that we are going to ask you. Answer swiftly and honestly, and your injuries will be minimal."

Glancing at each other with a fearful look, Pikachu and Clefable noted the situation they were in, and turned back to the two before them.

"Take a seat."

Clefable made his way over to Pikachu and carried her towards the table. He gingerly deposited her in one of several folding chairs placed nearest them. He then took a seat for himself right next to Pikachu and directed his attention to the strange Pokémon. The second man had joined by his side as both sat down opposite the table.

"First," the Pokémon said, "you will address me as 'Mewtwo' and my colleague as—"

"Excuse me?" the man said in affronted tones, "I believe you're my colleague."

Mewtwo raised his eyebrows in surprise. He gestured towards Clefable and Pikachu, clearly insisting that the man continue.

He leaned forward across the table and spoke directly to Clefable.

"My name is Giovanni."

His words cut as smoothly as a blade, causing Clefable to flinch backwards.

"You two had something very useful to us, recovered only a short time ago. Are you aware of that?"

A confused look filled the faces of Pikachu and Clefable.

"No, sir," Clefable said, trying not to blink as he stared straight into Giovanni's eyes.

He pulled something from inside his suit jacket and held it up to the light. The object caught the light and reflected it in many different directions, causing a dazzling effect. It was a thick bracelet, colored gunmetal gray, with a marble-sized object set in the bracelet. The marble-like object seemed to shimmer dully a rainbow of colors not caused by the light in the room, but as if the object itself was glowing.

"This," he began, "was developed for a very significant reason. It was designed to work in conjunction with that of a natural stone. A stone that pulses with energy, even more powerful than that of thunder, water, or fire. Our sources have led us to the fact that you two had uncovered this stone. Now, let us keep this simple. How did you find it?"

Clefable's jaw dropped with disbelief. A stone with greater power than that of an evolutionary stone? How was that possible?

He thought back to when he and Pikachu were traversing through a dark ravine. They had constantly been exploring new areas; mountains, caves, forests, whatever came across their path. This ravine, however, had mystified them. As they traveled deeper within, their flashlights roaming, sights of crystallized rocks reflected all around them. "A souvenir," Pikachu had mentioned to Clefable, picking up a beautiful coral-colored stone. The stone was breath-taking, yes, but that powerful? At that time, the stone seemed to just be a rock. Nothing more than aesthetically pleasing.

Clefable sat in silence, choosing his words carefully before speaking.

"We were in a cave, surrounded by hundreds of different types of rocks. We just chose one randomly as a souvenir of our adventure. The color was warm and comforting, so we decided on that stone. There was nothing else to it."

Giovanni gave a displeasing glare before he spoke.

"Which cave?"

"There's a ravine near the Seafoam Islands. It's a very isolated area, so we figured it would be an exciting place to explore."

"That stone is not just one of hundreds of rocks. That stone manifests energy that is unimaginable. With the right mind, the world can be reshaped, re-established, and rotated in the right direction. You really expect me to believe that you two just picked up this stone as nothing more than a souvenir?"

This injustice stung Clefable, and he uttered a retort before he could stop what had flared up so suddenly.

"What else do you want other than the truth!?" he yelled.

Instantly, a searing pain raced across his right cheek and knocked him off his chair. He let out a gasp of surprise in response. He touched his hand to his cheek to discover that warm, sticky blood was running down his face.

The being called Mewtwo was upon Clefable before the latter could look up. Mewtwo grabbed Clefable by the back of the neck and slammed him into the vacated chair. Giovanni had not reacted at all to these displays of brutality but instead continued as if nothing had happened.

"Do not play games with us," he said quietly, eyes boring into Clefable's. "There is only the one island with underground caverns, and there have been no recorded observations of these stones."

"It was another island!" Clefable shouted, beginning to panic, "We found another island with underground caverns unconnected to those already discovered!"

"Such lies…" Giovanni hissed.

Clefable was met with yet another blow to the face, this time head on. He went tumbling backwards along with his chair. From the floor, he could see Pikachu's face, whose head was resting against the table. A single tear ran from her eye. Clefable could tell that Pikachu was desperate to intervene, but, given her condition, could only watch her best friend get beaten in response to this interrogation.

"Perhaps you can shed some light, Pikachu," Mewtwo whispered. Clefable's stomach gave a horrible jolt as he watched Pikachu look away from him and towards the questioner. Clefable tried to get up, but the recent blow had impaired his balance and forced him to stay on the ground.

"Give us the truth, and you walk. Fail to do so, and… well…" Giovanni said as his sentence trailed off.

"Consider your position," Mewtwo supplemented.

Pikachu's heavy, ragged breaths were now center attention. Her words stumbling, she answered.

"There's n—nothing more I c—can say... that Clefable hasn't. If y—you do not believe us, y—you are only harm—harming your own g—goals."

Giovanni's face soured in response to these words. He sighed deeply.

"Very well..." he breathed. There was no pity in his gaze.

"On your own head be it."

Mewtwo began to charge a pulse, aimed directly at Pikachu. Unable to move, she hopelessly stared into what would be her demise.

"No… No… Please…" Clefable gasped, struggling desperately to regain some strength.

"It really is a shame," Mewtwo commented. "There was a moment I thought that maybe you two would have been useful to us. But that's what happens when we rely on Pokémon who rummage through this piece of garbage known as this world. Thinking that there is beauty in this corrupt world? What a joke. It'll be a pleasure to eradicate dreamers like you two."

"No… Stop… I—don't want…" Clefable continued to beg. "Don't touch her. Even if you destroy me, just—please… leave Pikachu alone. Let her go free."

Mewtwo's energy pulse grew larger and more powerful. At this point, Giovanni began to take his leave.

"Mewtwo, I leave this situation to you. I have more pressing matters to attend to."

Mewtwo nodded, and faced Pikachu once again.

"Wait your turn, Clefable," Mewtwo noted back to Clefable's previous comment. "It's much easier to do this one at a time."

"S—stop! No… I'll do anything! Just don't… don't do it—please!" Clefable screamed a desperate, horrific cry.

He began to slowly trudge towards Pikachu, ignoring the pain of his injuries. With every step, Clefable continued to open more wounds and lose more blood. None of that mattered. He had to reach for her in time. Pikachu, his best friend, his partner, he couldn't lose her now. After everything they've gone through, he couldn't watch her smiling face vanish before his eyes.

His strength began to pick up.

Almost there, he thought with a spark of hope. Pikachu turned towards Clefable, smiling. Just his attempt to make it to her was enough. Pikachu reached out her shaking hand towards him, her eyes glistening with the same look they've always had. Clefable reached with everything he had to grab her hand; his fingertips were millimeters away from hers. She mouthed three words to him and smiled, only to be hit by the fatal strike of Mewtwo.

Instantly, redness clouded Clefable's vision, and he was blown off his feet. Blindly, Clefable continued to shout for Pikachu. He was so close, his hands almost to hers, he just needed to grab her hand. He threw himself to the area where Pikachu previously lay. Nothing remained except a large pool of blood.

I… I just can't see where she went, Clefable thought to himself. There's too much blood for me to see clearly. She must have just been thrown to the other side of the room.

Clefable began to mentally break down. He manically moved around the room. Mewtwo watched as Clefable scrambled through the pool of blood searching for what was no longer there.

It was time to end it all.

Mewtwo charged up another pulse, just as powerful as before, and hit Clefable. The results were devastating, shattering every piece of his body in the blink of an eye. In his final moments, he thought back to what Pikachu had mouthed to him.

"Life is beautiful."

Gengar was lying flat on the ground. Someone was repeatedly tapping his forehead, trying to get him to wake. But he felt out of reach from any of his surroundings.

He could not believe what he had just gone through. It was just too much to know that the Pokémon who had saved him from certain death doubly acted as his murderer. He felt betrayed, stabbed in the back by the friend he barely knew.

Gengar sat up so quickly that the two individuals kneeling by him took a hasty step backwards. He swiveled to the left in time to see Mewtwo jerk his head out of a doze. Judging from the intense fear on his face, he had just been in the same place as Gengar.

Gengar was not aware of getting to his feet, nor was he aware that he was charging full speed at Mewtwo. Mewtwo could not react, he would not react, and thus remained in his chair, unable to do anything. In next to no time, Gengar was upon him.

He began punching every bit of Mewtwo he could reach. Gengar didn't want to battle. He wanted to attack; to kill. He bruised his knuckles against Mewtwo's jaw, but he didn't care. He wanted to make the murderer pay for his deeds. He wanted him to feel the pain the he had. He wanted to avenge his dearest companion, who could not and would not receive another chance at life. He longed to demolish this pitiful excuse of a Pokémon and make him pay…

"Stop—stop! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"

The cry came not from Mewtwo, but from behind. Gengar felt an invisible force yank him off of Mewtwo and thrust him to the ground. He jumped to his feet and tried to resume his attack, but a second force made him take several steps back. Something had sprung between the two and prevented Gengar from moving any closer.

He turned and saw Alakazam with his hand outstretched and his eyes glowing. Alder stood next to him and was completely beside himself with anger.

"What was that about?" Alder yelled. "What made you act like that, Gengar?"

Mewtwo had not responded at all to these events. His face was bruised from Gengar's punches and his lip was bleeding. His eyes had welled up in tears as his and Gengar's gazes met, but Gengar didn't care. He still wanted to destroy that vile, heinous Pokémon staring back at him.

"This being—" Gengar breathed as he pointed a shaking finger directly at Mewtwo, "he killed me and my best friend fifteen years ago for no good reason. He is the reason I walk this earth as a ghost. He is the reason I've been forced to do atrocious deeds for over a decade!"

Alder and Alakazam stood in shock, but turned back to Mewtwo. Mewtwo only turned his face away, refusing to look them in the eye. Quietly, he mumbled,

"He's… right. Yet again, I've caused others pain. Every time I feel as though I'm making progress, a reminder of the past always slaps its way back into my life. He's absolutely right."

"Let's not forget," Alder began, "You are not the only one with a regrettable past." Alder faced Gengar, "Controlled or not, Gengar, you've committed quite the sins yourself."

"I lost my life because of him!" Gengar seethed, "I never intentionally tried to destroy the innocent, or even harm a single being on my own free will. Any of my sins are marred with guilt and remorse. He could care less about anything other than himself!" Gengar lunged toward Mewtwo once again, but Alakazam's shield stopped him in his tracks.

Enough. You both need to calm yourselves right now, and think.

Gengar gritted his teeth, but took a minute to stop. Mewtwo, still hopelessly turned away, mumbled, "I'm done. I'll see you guys later."

Mewtwo rose from his seat and walked towards the double doors leading to the back halls of the Pokémon Center. His head was hanging, tears still running down his face. He gave a hearty sniff as he disappeared from view.

For a moment, Gengar wasn't much fussed to see Mewtwo go, but he soon caught Alder and Alakazam's faces. They had resumed the look they had right after Gengar attacked Mewtwo. Looking daggers, Alder pointed to where Mewtwo had disappeared, clearly indicating for Gengar to follow. Gengar had opened his mouth angrily, but stopped when he saw Alakazam and remembered what he had said.

Calm yourself… and think.

Gengar gritted his teeth, turned on his heel, and marched out of the lobby after Mewtwo. He knew where he had gone and he didn't need any hints to get there.

Gengar only had to stomp his way a short distance before he turned into the ICU. Sure enough, Mewtwo had drawn up a chair beside Allen's bed and was staring absently into his heavily scarred face. The sight was unexpected and quite jarring. In turn, Gengar felt some of his anger ebb away.

For a moment, there was silence. Then, Gengar began to speak.

"Mewtwo… I need you to listen to me."

Mewtwo turned his head in response, but his eyes still felt aloof.

"There's no getting around that you are a monster. That is just something that needs to be accepted. However, you are a monster who is trying to change, and is changing. Fifteen years have passed. Moving on is difficult... I mean, I still haven't moved on. But, you have taken the steps towards moving on, and you are succeeding. The Mewtwo I witnessed fifteen years ago, as appalling as it is to remember, is not the current you."

Mewtwo silently focused on Gengar, listening more carefully.

"Now," Gengar continued, "I will not forgive you. The future is still untold, but I will never forget the events of our past. I will not forgive the actions that ripped me into pieces, both mentally and physically. And you must not forget, either; you must keep these memories deep within your heart, and shape your new character with these memories in mind. This is necessary not just for your sake, but for Allen's, Alder's, Alakazam's, and everyone you care for."

Mewtwo glanced at Allen's ruined face and, just as quickly, turned back to Gengar.

"So you're going to preach to me about 'moving on' and all that crap while you haven't even accounted for helping to destroy half the town square, nearly killing my friend, and God knows what else you've done? Sounds a bit hypocritical, if you ask me."

Gengar's eyes narrowed in anger as he said, "Did you forget about how I've been brainwashed to do those things already?"

Mewtwo rose to his feet very slowly and turned his attention to Gengar. Given his height, this was quite an impressive move.

"I'm sorry to hear about your woes," he breathed in a voice thick with rage, "I'm sure that your mischief is far more difficult to get over than murder, death, and destruction."

Gengar made a furious step forward as Mewtwo raised his fists, but another voice caused them to stop.

"That's enough."

Alder and Alakazam were standing in the doorway, both looking distinctly cross.

"This is not the time to hold a pity contest. Now is when we forgive each other and start anew with a clean slate. And I'm not asking you guys to forgive each other; I'm making you forgive each other."

Neither Pokémon was stupid enough to pick a fight under Alder's nose, nor were they foolish enough to disobey his order. Gengar looked right into Mewtwo's eyes and expected the absolute worst, but something vanished when their gazes locked.

The anger had evaporated, the resentment was wiped, and the sour memories of the past had gone. Gengar heard Mewtwo's voice, but the latter's mouth had not moved.

Alder's right. There's no point in arguing this topic. Why bother fighting over who had it worse? Besides, I'm sure that if we all work together, our notoriety will be cleared and nobody will think the worst of us.

Now that Gengar's head was no longer clouded by reckless rage, the words he heard made total sense.

Gengar moved forward once again, but extended his hand first. Mewtwo took Gengar's hand into his own and smiled a wide smile.