Mewtwo's Story

by brycep40

Fifteen years have passed since Mewtwo was last heard of. His crimes were legendary, and his name was feared above all others. Now, he has re-awakened in the hidden gem of Ether Valley; the problem is, he doesn't even remember his own tale. Can he pick up the pieces in time to go head-to-head with an organization intent on nothing but domination? (original plot & characters)

23. Persona Non Grata

Strange feeling, this is, thought Mewtwo to himself. He stood—one of the first times he could do so without assistance in countless days—around a table in the Pokémon Center's deserted lobby with everyone else. Maps drawn from scratch on enlarged papers, notes upon notes, and pencils and pens were strewn about on the low tables they shoved together to hold everything. Gengar and Sandslash sat close, murmuring and pointing to various areas of the maps and referencing the loose note sheets. They only just recently set up and were gathering their thoughts before starting to plan with the others.

"All right," Sandslash said aloud to the group. "I think we're ready to begin."

"Aye," said Nidoking, who hovered about on the outskirts. "We all are."

"Right," Sandslash continued, "so we'll start here…"

He pointed to the two-dimensional lines on the paper that signified the front entrance.

"We all know that this is the most dangerous place, right?" he asked, looking to everyone crowded around the table either sitting or standing. Everyone nodded. Obviously, Alakazam's transfer of knowledge had encountered no flaws.

"Knowing that the front entrance is so risky, we clearly need another way to infiltrate the base," said Gengar. "There are multiple alternate methods of ingress, including the rooftops and air vents. Some of us smaller Pokémon will be able to fit in these 'nooks and crannies,' Glaceon in particular."

Gengar gave Glaceon a glance. The latter held her head up a little straighter and prouder at her mention. Steph, sitting behind her Pokémon, smiled slightly as well and gave Glaceon's head a rub.

"I think the best way—or, at least, an optimal way—is to let these candidates go first, infiltrating the base undetected and letting the rest of us get in without raising the alarm. Sandslash will be a big part of this. Because technology and electronics play such a huge role in the base, Sandslash will have no issues toying with them to suit our needs. After that, it'll only be a matter of time until we can get right to the root of the evil."

"Why Sandslash?" asked Tobuscus curiously from beside Nidoking.

"He's a hacker," Mewtwo responded before Sandslash could even begin to open his mouth. "He always has been."

"Exactly," said Gengar, pointing a pencil in his hand to Tobuscus. "He'll be able to get us in with no problem at the right time."

Tobuscus nodded thoughtfully as Sandslash watched on, looking bemused at how the others were so quick to describe him.

"So," Gengar continued, "that's the brains taken care of. Or—well, I won't say all of the brains…"

He glanced to Alakazam and Alder, adding, "You two will be a valuable asset during the battle, so we'll be needing everything you got."

The addressed nodded in unison, understanding their role. Gengar lifted a corner of his mouth, conveying his approval.

"Now for the brawn…"

Everyone knew to whom Gengar referred. Nidoking and Tobuscus, though already looking at Gengar, lifted their chins up a touch in pride. Tobuscus, taller by more than a foot, clapped Nidoking around the shoulder. The latter looked up and, with a smile, gave a single incline of his head. Tobuscus returned the grin with one of his own.

"Yes, the brawn," Sandslash picked up. "You two, along with the rest of us Pokémon and trainers, will be using the normal entrances once we get them opened up. And then—"

"We unleash hell," interrupted Mewtwo, feeling the fire kindle in his heart at the thought.

"Well, yes—but I would have put it more mildly," conceded Sandslash. "We're not going to stoop to Giovanni's level by destroying everything in our path. Some of them there have nothing to do with us right now. The ones that do have something to do with us will likely be grunts and their Pokémon that will sooner or later figure out what we're up to. The closer we get to Giovanni, the tougher the fight. It's likely that we'll see a familiar face or two once we dip into his inner circle. He'll send his best squads out to stop us: Malachai; Tungsten; and even Diamond."

A stillness held everyone's breath at bay.

"Malachai?" Bryce asked suspiciously. "And Tungsten? Who all is in there?"

"Nobody too terrible," responded Sandslash. "Probably the toughest Pokémon from those two is one of Giovanni's old favorites."

"Who is…?"

"A Beedrill. Vicious thing, if I ever saw one, and a temper to match."

"A Bug Pokémon as one of the best fighters…" mumbled Bryce, scratching his chin. "Hmm… Sounds like a job for Nidoking, right? I mean, resistant to its Bug type has to be a slant in your favor."

Sandslash glanced at Nidoking, checking for his reaction.

"Tha'll be no problem at all," said Nidoking confidently. "I know I used t' have trouble with Bug Pokémon a long time ago, but I've worked out th' kinks since then. Leave it t' me, lad."

"Sorted that out quick enough," said Gengar, scratching down a note on a loose sheet of paper. "Is there anyone else that may be a problem, Sandslash?"

"Not that I can think of, other than Diamond Squad," said Sandslash. "And speaking of, I want everyone to know that it'll be a rubbish decision to take on any one of them by yourself. They're called 'the best' for a reason. Giovanni scrounged the globe for six Pokémon, so you better believe they're more than capable of extinguishing your life in a heartbeat. Give them just one centimeter of space, and you'll pay dearly."

More silence succeeded this little speech. Mewtwo glanced around at the others, noticing some strange behaviors: Bryce chewed on his tongue like it was a piece of gum; Tobuscus's teeth clenched so that it looked like he had lockjaw; Nidoking held his hands behind his back, fidgeting with his massive tail; Alakazam's face was stony; and Squirtle looked like he was about to be sent to the gallows.

"We want you guys to be ready for the fight," said Gengar gently. "Just be cautious and aware of your surroundings, use your head, and don't do anything stupid. Okay?"

Most of them nodded mutely.

"I'm not trying to scare any of you," he reiterated. "We want you to be safe and smart when we do this."

Gengar sighed, apparently feeling the gravity of their plans on his own shoulders. Mewtwo actually saw his shoulders slouch, as if the very same weight had just fallen there.

"Hey," Mewtwo said, drawing gazes, "I want to thank everyone here for being so willing to help out. God knows what would happen if we weren't in this together…"

Sandslash nodded, glancing around to see Mewtwo.

"Hit the nail on the head there, you did," he rumbled. "Teamwork and chemistry, guys… teamwork and chemistry. That's what makes the dream work."

"Or in this case," Tobuscus said, his jaw finally unclenched, "it's what stops a madman."

"Yeah," Sandslash said under his breath. "That too…"

Nobody said anything for a time. Mewtwo turned over everything he heard so far in his head. They were in this together; not necessarily because they wanted to, but because they had to. It was the only way to make sure everyone stayed alive.

"How's my suit coming along?" Mewtwo asked, trying to change the subject.

Tim seemed to have pulled himself out a reverie; he shook his head gently, looked up, then realized Mewtwo asked a question.

"Fine, fine," he said distractedly. "We moved it back from the University last night. It's operational again, so… yeah. We made some tweaks to the software and updated the firmware from the data it gathered thus far. We replaced the circuitry with more rugged materials so that it will resist heat and physical abuse much better than before. It's all packed away behind Nurse Joy's front desk; we asked her if she minded that we keep some—ah, 'mail' there."

"Clever," Mewtwo commented with a smirk. "And, if you don't mind me asking, what ever became of the Mega Ring? I haven't heard about that in a while."

"It's right here, actually," Allen said. He slipped a hand into his pocket and withdrew the ring in question, holding it up to the light where its gray color reflected the lobby's artificial light. "We tested it extensively while you recovered, Mewtwo, and learned a whole lot more about it. In fact, we discovered that Tobuscus here is compatible with the Ring, and can Mega Evolve."

Tobuscus lowered his gaze, smiling at the ground.

"That'll come in handy," Mewtwo said. "If you're Mega-Evolved, I doubt there's anything that will slow you down."

Tobuscus smiled even more embarrassedly while absently scratching the back of his head.

"Thank you, Mewtwo," he said. "Your confidence means a lot to me."

Mewtwo gave a tiny bow with his head.

"I have a question," piped up Squirtle, sitting on a chair stacked with books and silent thus far. "What will I be able to do? Tim and I did a lot of training together, and I don't want it to go to waste."

Mewtwo felt like something ruptured in his heart. He looked into Squirtle's wide, brave eyes that refused to be downtrodden. Squirtle proved before now that he's not any average Pokémon, yet his age still cast shadows of doubt, no matter how hard Mewtwo tried to tell himself otherwise. He just didn't want to see Squirtle hurt more than he has already—a feeling reinforced by the sight of the crack's scar on his underside. Yet, the scar proved another point entirely. Squirtle walked through hell and came out alive… he nearly died doing it because he didn't have a choice, but he lived.

Mewtwo sighed, feeling exceedingly conflicted by these thoughts.

"Tell you what, Squirtle," he said quietly, "What if—"

Whatever Mewtwo's suggestion was going to be, however, they never got to hear it.

The familiar sound of a helicopter's beating rotors crept up on them, enough to silence Mewtwo mid-sentence and force him to look up through the lobby's expansive glass ceiling. He saw nothing but the cloudless sky, its brightness fading away with the setting sun.

"What the…?" he muttered, searching the sky.

"You heard that too?" asked Sandslash, clearly worried and likewise staring upward to comb the empty sea of darkening blue.

Mewtwo's and Gengar's gazes darted toward each other. Gengar's face was clouded with fear, and Mewtwo knew his own looked no better. The rapid thwap thwap thwap of the rotors grew closer, and Mewtwo could now pick out at least a half-dozen more of these rotating blades. Gengar stood up so quickly and sidestepped the group surrounding it so nimbly that he was halfway around the table before his chair fell with a loud thud on the tile floor. Mewtwo jumped into step beside Gengar like his feet were electrified, and both dashed to the front windows before anyone, including Sandslash, knew what had happened.

Please don't tell me, Mewtwo pleaded with himself. He pressed his forehead to the glass and cupped his hands around his eyes to block out the reflections of the lobby behind him. Dear God, don't let it be—

And there, set against the sinking sun, was the confirmation of his worst nightmares.

An entourage of helicopters—totaling no less than nine or ten of all different sizes—glided through the air in a formation, bearing down upon Ether Valley. Though still a third of a mile away, Mewtwo could see the occupants; some human, some Pokémon not so much, and others larger than life. The mix of grunts and their Pokémon sitting in the helicopters, ready to deploy, made Mewtwo feel like his insides had vanished.

Still standing dumbfounded at the windows and staring at the welcoming party, Mewtwo tried to size up these opponents from afar. He couldn't see much, but it seemed like the ratio of grunts to Pokémon was about one to one… Figuring in the number of passengers these helicopters carried, Mewtwo estimated that at least fifty people were flying towards them right now—

Something that caught Mewtwo's eye interrupted his thoughts. In the lead helicopter, sitting in the co-pilot's seat, was somebody out of uniform. Mewtwo couldn't figure out why until the sun's glint dissipated from the vehicle's smooth black body work. The ice white suit betrayed the man who wore it from a mile away.

"Oh my God…" Mewtwo whispered in a voice he couldn't recognize as his own. "They're here. I don't know how, but they're here…"

"What did you say?" asked Silver concernedly, but she needn't have asked, given the terrible look of fear on Mewtwo's face.

"Your father…" Mewtwo gasped in the same petrified voice. "He's—he's here… in the Valley… and they're right on our doorstep!"

Everyone mirrored the insane fear Mewtwo felt. Their lives—all of their lives—were in mortal danger. They had to do something.

"That's impossible!" Silver wailed, hands clasped and crossed over her heart. "We still have more than a week of time! It's not even Christmas yet!"

Mewtwo ignored Silver's cries, trying to clear his own brain from the wicked fog that had clouted it.

They had to do something right now.

"There's no time!" Mewtwo shouted so that nobody missed a word. "We need to get ready to fight for our lives! Protect the Valley from Team Rocket!"

"But—how?" Sandslash asked.

"I don't care how you do it, just as long as you do it!" Mewtwo fumed, looking dead into his former squadmate's eyes. Mewtwo sensed some of his skills as a Captain of the most feared combat squad in Japan seep through from the past. "Split up into groups: Sandslash, take Tim and Squirtle with you," he said commandingly, pointing at the various people and Pokémon he mentioned as he moved closer to them, "Gengar, lead Steph, Silver, and Glaceon; Alakazam and Alder, you two are going to stick together, all right? Tobuscus and Bryce, you'll be doing the same thing, but keep Sandslash's group within your reach. Allen, you and Nidoking are with me."

Wide-eyes of surprise flashed all around, but nobody dared question him. Mewtwo found himself breathing heavier than normal and felt his heart pound against his ribcage.

"Trainers, look at me! This is very important; you will be eyes and ears for the Pokémon with you. Help them spot threats, and they'll do the rest. Understand?"

Mute nods responded.

"And one last thing..." Mewtwo said brusquely. "Nobody… and I mean nobody… will fight alone. If you want to live, don't be an idiot."

His message rang clearly within the lobby. Everybody understood what was being asked of them. There was no backing down now, not with Team Rocket turning their plan on its head—or, more accurately, throwing it completely out the window.

"Now go! All of you!" Mewtwo barked. "Protect the Valley in any way you can!"

A flurry of movement greeted the end of his speech. Almost everyone got past him, heading urgently towards the door. However, Mewtwo still needed to take care of some things.

First, he stopped Squirtle by picking him up in the air and giving him a hug that contained all of his deepest emotion. Squirtle returned, grasping Mewtwo around the neck and holding on as if his life depended on it.

"Make your parents proud," Mewtwo whispered in Squirtle's ear, "and make me proud, too. You can do it. I know you can."

Squirtle said no words. He didn't need to.

Mewtwo set him on his feet again, caught sight of Bryce about to follow the rest of the group out the doors, and barked, "Bryce! Stay there."

Bryce froze, turning his head concernedly so he could look over his shoulder. Mewtwo walked over to Allen and held out his hand, mumbling, "Give me the Mega Ring."

Allen obeyed without question. Mewtwo turned around to face Bryce again and lobbed the Ring several yards to where the latter stood. Bryce caught it, eyes wide as he turned the gunmetal gray ring in his hands and apparently unsure of how he could be trusted like this.

"Use it wisely," Mewtwo said firmly. "We only have one."

Bryce nodded frightfully but forcefully. He threw his shoulder into the door beside him, disappearing down the street with Squirtle to catch up to the others.

Mewtwo turned to Nidoking and Allen right near him, both of whom were clearly trying to still wrap their head around the current events.

"Damn…" Allen said softly. "You're a natural at leading people like that…"

"When it's do or die like this," Mewtwo said a bit harshly, "you let your teammates know exactly what they're doing. Act first and ask questions later."

Mewtwo moved swiftly around Nurse Joy's counter, collecting both large boxes marked as parcels for shipment in disguise and brought them to the tables holding their now useless plans.

"Quick, help me with my armor so we can get out there."

They rapidly unpacked the contents, laying each component of carbon fiber armor out on the table. Mewtwo donned the helmet and booted the CPU, ignoring its textual requests to connect all other components. He, Allen, and Nidoking strapped on the armor as fast as they could (the last trying to learn as they went along). They were halfway through when none other than Nurse Joy herself hurried out from the back halls, stopping short of the group with a look of utmost shock and surprise at Mewtwo's transforming figure.

Mewtwo turned and, lifting up the chin of his helmet like a welder, said "Ether Valley is under attack. Get Officer Jenny to raise the alarm and send reinforcements for the trainers and Pokémon I've already sent out there. There's over fifty grunts and their Pokémon laying siege to the Valley—"

"There's WHAT?" Joy gasped disbelievingly. "What—how do you even know—"

"They're after me," Mewtwo said calmly, yet he still felt his heart sink as he said it aloud. "They'll kill anyone they can that gets in their way. They won't stop until they find me."

Joy's eyes grew watery with emotion, but Mewtwo ignored this.

"Listen to me. Go to Officer Jenny. You're only wasting time—"

The Pokémon Center's doors banged open, and in burst the subject of their conversation to draw all eyes.

"What the hell is going on out there, Mewtwo?" Jenny exploded, marching furiously to him. "There's people roping from helicopters, for God's sake!"

"Officer Jenny, shut up for a second," Mewtwo spat, causing her to stop dead in her tracks. "Listen; get as many trainers and Pokémon together as you can to provide support for those from our group already out there. There's too many of them that are coming from the helicopters for our guys to handle all at once. Anyone you can get will help, because this is an emergency. They won't stop until they find me."

Jenny's mouth fell open in disbelief.

"They're— they're here for you?" she breathed.

"Yes," Mewtwo groaned, his patience wearing thin as the tail guard wrapped its carbon fiber ribs around his tail, fully encasing it to finalize Mewtwo's preparation. "The more time you waste by dawdling, the more likely it'll happen."

As if Jenny received an electric shock to get her moving, she sprang into action by darting out of the Pokémon Center again and dashing off to the police station.

"Right," Mewtwo breathed a little heavily, "that's got her sorted out." He turned around and added, "Joy, I need as many healing supplies as you can get. We'll need them out there."

She didn't question his command. From behind the counter, she pulled out bottles upon bottles of various potions, restores, and heals. Mewtwo stuffed them into a backpack that Allen had brought along and handed to him to use. Once the backpack was quite full and somewhat organized to Mewtwo's liking, he zipped it up and returned it to Allen with the instructions to assist anyone that needed anything from the bag.

"Thank you, Joy," Mewtwo said. "I owe you one."

Nurse Joy shook her head and said, "No, Mewtwo, we owe you one. Thank you for protecting the Valley."

He was about to say, "You're welcome," but the words got caught in his throat when his brain processed what he heard. Joy wasn't angry that Mewtwo attracted Team Rocket to this quiet town like a magnet. She wasn't upset that Mewtwo just asked her to clean out the Center's supplies. She didn't even second guess Mewtwo's decision to enter the fray himself, risking his life to protect everyone else's the best he could.

Telling followers what to do is the mark of a superior.

Joining followers is the mark of a true leader.

All Mewtwo could do was nod in response and, tilting the helmet down back over his face, bid Allen and Nidoking to follow him out the doors with a sweep of his hand.

"Watch your other side!" Sandslash bellowed as he grappled with someone on the ground that cried for release. A Raticate came darting up from between two buildings, watched on by a man that hid in the alley's shadows. Squirtle turned just in time to whip a vicious lick of water across the attacker's face and send the Raticate skidding face-first across the pavement. Tim was stanced back a ways, eyes ever watchful for anyone that could sneak up on them.

"There you go, Squirtle!" Tim called out. "Make sure he stays down!"

"Stays down?" Squirtle repeated, his voice quivering slightly.

"Yes—" Sandslash grunted, throwing punches at his captive, "Put his—arse—in the ground—and finish the job!"

"Use Aqua Tail!" Tim shouted. "Do it just like I taught you!"

Squirtle gulped and turned around again to face the struggling Raticate. Running out of time, he built up a casing of spiraling water to surround his tail and dashed up to his target, turning around and almost cartwheeling to meet the Raticate. His tail bashed right into the back of Raticate's skull, making him collapse unconscious on the ground.

"Bloody brilliant!" cheered Sandslash. He straightened up off of the person he held down with his body and, with an unprecedented display of strength, picked the man off of the ground and tossed him to lay next to the unconscious Raticate. Neither stirred.

"Fantastic!" said Tim. "Keep up the good work, the both of you!"

Sandslash, temporarily out of breath, doubled over to regain it. In the lull that followed, during which the man in the building's shadows retreated out of fear, an uproar of noise arose from several streets over. it sounded like a shouting match broke out; the jumbled yet distinctly furious screams carried over the rooftops to their ears. They listened for some amount of time.

"D'you think we should go?" asked Squirtle, glancing concernedly towards the racket of yells and shouts.

Sandslash was about to refute the suggestion—most likely to tell them to hold their ground and defend this end of the village—when an enormous ball of fire mushroomed into the sky, accompanied by a terrifying, bird-like screech and a heart-jolting tremor of the ground. The fire was so bright that it cast a dull orange glow on their faces and surroundings.

"Woah…" Tim breathed. "I've never seen anything like that…"

"In that case," said Sandslash, looking frightfully at the smoky cloud, "let's go. They might need our help."

Tobuscus turned the streets with Bryce at his side, pounding through the unfamiliar roads as fast as possible. Trainer and Pokémon matched each other's lengthy strides, pacing a vast distance in no time at all to meet the Valley's threat head-on. Sandslash's group was two blocks over and within reach—just like Mewtwo instructed. They could already hear shouts issuing from that vicinity, including what sounded like one of Squirtle's moves called out by Tim.

"Think they have it under control?" asked Bryce.

"Sandslash is with them," Tobuscus said dismissively. "If either Squirtle or Tim get in trouble, he'll bail them out."

"Yeah," said Bryce, apparently trying to reassure himself more than anything, "Sandslash knows what they're up against; he'll take care of them…"

They squeezed through a back alley and reemerged on the High Street, facing the fleet of helicopters to their south. The sight of these ten airborne flying machines, coupled with countless attackers advancing up the opposite end of the street, stopped them dead in their tracks on the other side of the town square. The sight sent a bolt of fear through Tobuscus's body. Bryce drew in breath, staring transfixed at the horde, and Tobuscus knew a similar sensation struck his trainer.

"Tobuscus," Bryce said shakily, "if everything's gonna hit the fan, tell me."

The addressed turned curiously, eyes still rounded from the sight of the attackers.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Bryce didn't answer; rather, he fidgeted with something in his one hand, twirling and rotating it around and around. Tobuscus's gaze slid down to the object. He recognized it as the Mega Ring and he gasped.

"Is that—? How did you—?"

"You're one of the strongest, most skilled Pokémon in the United States. Maybe even one of the best in the world," said Bryce. "Nobody said you couldn't get better with a little help."

The sight of his trainer holding the powerful Mega Ring in his hands, coupled with the words he just spoke, sparked a new fire inside Tobuscus. He clenched his talon-like hands and flexed his arm, feeling the sinews tense with anticipation. An unexplainable surge of energy overtook his body just at the mere sight of the Mega Ring, and he sensed an awesome power stream through his nerves… like he could take on the world.

"Stay back," he warned. Tobuscus drew himself up to his full and impressive height and marched closer to the horde. He only stopped after he sidled a little bit to see around the fountain in the square's center and could see the attackers entering from the opposite side.

"HEY!" Tobuscus roared so loudly that his voice echoed off of the building's walls. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING HERE?"

"Like we'd tell you!" shouted an unfamiliar Pokémon in return, but the group nonetheless stopped advancing. "Piss off if you know what's good!"

"Same to you!" Tobuscus shot back, feeling a heat rise in his neck. "Just turn around now if you want to go home in one piece! There's no chance you punks are getting through us!"

"You and what army?" called back the same Pokémon from amongst the throng. He pushed through the crowd, shoving them aside to get to the front. A honey yellow Beedrill, the very same one Sandslash warned them about, burst through, his blood red eyes flashing dangerously in the dying sunlight. "I'd hate to see some skimpy excuse of a chicken and his pinheaded trainer get flattened for no reason. Go back to your coop, little Blaziken; you won't be doing anyone any favors trying to fight us. Whoever evolved you from a Torchic must have been touched in the head to think you could ever fight."

Tobuscus told Beedrill to do something that was quite physically impossible, and generated an unpleasant image in the mind of everyone present.

"Language, little Blaziken," said Beedrill, apparently calmed by the insult rather than riled up by it. "If you're really set on staying, I'll teach you some manners before you die. That way, it won't be completely pointless."

Tobuscus hadn't noticed that almost all of the helicopters landed outside of the village, rendering shouting at the top of his lungs quite useless. But he kept on it, fueled by anger and adrenaline pumping through his veins.

"Then why don't you fight me!" he screamed, beating his chest with a fist. "Face me like a man!"

Beedrill obliged. Before he moved, he called out the commands, "Tungsten, break right in threes! My squad, left in pairs! Dover, sweep center!"

They dispersed, but Tobuscus had eyes only for the insect Pokémon on the other end of the square. Beedrill rolled his neck and flexed his arms and knees, showing off his steel-like drills refined to a point. His wings started up, beating so fast they were nothing more than a blur. He launched in the air, bearing slightly off-center to Tobuscus. The latter primed his stance, ready to beat the crap out of the bug hovering high above him. He raised his fists, both of his eagle eyes trained on Beedrill and tracking his movements.

Beedrill dove hard and fast like a yellow missile, but Tobuscus noticed that he wasn't aiming as expected. The attacker cut behind Tobuscus, catching him off-guard. He sprang into action, but was too late to intervene; Beedrill swiped at Bryce's face, catching the trainer's raised arms instead and slicing a thick, red cut through his shirt sleeves before being walloped by Tobuscus's swinging roundhouse kick.

The damage was done. Bryce stumbled backwards and cried out in pain, now a heap on the ground and cradling his bleeding arms. He curled up tighter in obvious agony, forgetting his surroundings and simply trying to deal with Beedrill's most recent attack. He moaned aloud as Tobuscus whipped around to face Beedrill hovering in the air, dazed by the latest blow. The Blaziken, before now reserving himself just enough to stay in control, completely lost his cool.

"COWARD!" Tobuscus screeched, accompanied with a spit of fire from his mouth and curling smoke from his nostrils. His yellow eyes now burned orange and his body began to radiate a ferocious heat. Only his trainer didn't recoil from the intense temperature. "WHAT DID HE HAVE TO DO WITH THIS?!"

Tobuscus gathered a ball of white-hot fire in both hands and, with the grace and fury of a martial artist, lashed out a jet of fire like a flamethrower at Beedrill. The bug barely escaped, but the heat proved to be too much. He fell to the earth, panting on the tarmac like a Growlithe on a hot summer's day and trying to recover his energy.

Tobuscus took this moment to turn around and check on Bryce. He eased his injured trainer out of the ball he had curled into and supported him up to sit. His arms dripped blood, but something else joined the red seeping out of the cuts. A sickly purple, glutinous fluid leaked through, splattering his clothes as it fell. The cut had turned blue, and when Tobuscus peeled back Bryce's long sleeves, he saw that the affected area was slowly turning purple. The color creeped at a snail's pace, changing his skin to the same purple hue as the fluid. A sweat broke out on Bryce's forehead and his pupils contracted to the size of pinpricks.

"P—P—P—" he stammered, unable to sound out what he knew full well coursed through his body. "T—T—Tobuscus…"

"No…" Tobuscus breathed. Fear that felt like snakes writhed in his stomach. "No… Bryce… Don't—just hold on—"

Bryce's breathing was already growing heavy.

"My pocket…" he gasped, glancing down to his right side. Tobuscus jammed his hand in the pocket and dug around briefly before his hand closed on a large, smooth, bracelet-like object. He yanked it out to gaze at the Mega Ring, its Stone shimmering bright red. Bryce grabbed hold and let it fall onto his thin wrist, where it snapped to fit.

"Ten minutes…" he breathed, struggling to string his words together. "Ten—all I have… Get help—as soon—you can… Please…"

Bryce suddenly grasped Tobuscus's hand with a vice-like grip; a display of strength the latter had never seen before. He stared straight into Tobuscus's eyes—still glittering a dim orange—and choked out one last sentence from his lips glistening with sweat:

"Don't—let—kill—the others…"

Tobuscus shook his head as a lone tear welled up in his eye. It trickled down his scaly nose and quivered on the very end of his beak. He placed his other hand between Bryce's shoulder blades and gently lowered his trainer to lay flat on the ground. There wasn't anything more to do for him now except get help.

"Hey! Get back to fighting, won't you?" called out the Beedrill, now recovered from being temporarily winded and standing upright again. "Are you done there with your boyfriend or what?"

If Tobuscus was angry before, it didn't even compare to what he felt now. Full-blown rage exploded in his chest like dynamite. He relinquished Bryce's hand and straightened himself at a deliberately slow pace. His limbs shook like mad from his unfiltered anger. He turned delicately on the spot, feeling the furor build in his head and blind his common sense. A bright yellow-orange aura flared up around his body, accompanied by a loud hiss and a massive quantity of smoke billowing from his nostrils with each breath. His eyes no longer burned orange. They had progressed past the brightest, most dazzling of whites. Tobuscus's mania of rage turned his eyes sky blue.

The heat pulsing from Tobuscus's body was no longer intense; it was downright deadly. The grass around the square dried and burned; the water in the fountain evaporated faster than anyone thought possible; the tarmac and concrete sidewalks twisted and warped; windowpanes melted; and Team Rocket's attackers rapidly began to withdrawal, throwing up their arms to try and shield against the barrage of heat radiating from Tobuscus at nearly three thousand degrees Fahrenheit. But at this point, only Bryce was safe from the Blaziken's insanely strong hate now burning with the intensity of thermite.

"You—will—pay—" Tobuscus managed to spit out. An incessant whistling, exactly like a teapot left on a burner, issued from deep within his vocal cords. His eyebrows had wrought themselves so that his eyes, glowing hotter than white, were barely visible. He looked damned scary—worse than a trainer's most nightmarishly terrifying opponent.

"Oh, no…" Beedrill gasped, clearly aware of his mistake in provoking Tobuscus. "Fall back on me! I repeat, fall—"

His words were cut short by an awe-inspiring sight; so awe-inspiring, in fact, that everyone in Beedrill's group stood mesmerized to watch the white silhouette across the square.

Tobuscus was Mega-Evolving.

Tobuscus didn't notice his trainer's final action before falling unconscious, which became clear when he felt his legs seize and the sensation of a hundred knives being driven everywhere into his body. Bryce had touched a finger to the Mega Stone, enough to fulfill his and Mewtwo's desires of making Tobuscus the most powerful Pokémon in the world.

He crouched and doubled over in pain, knowing precisely what was happening. Coupled with his temper, the burning that followed the stabbing sensation seemed multiplied twenty-fold. It legitimately felt like he was on fire.

For the second time in his life, Tobuscus sensed his body morph out of its old, familiar form and into a new one. The long, flowing feathers from his head shortened and turned upwards, now looking like wings. The two thin, spike-like features from his beak joined together and shifted to his forehead. The new streamlined horn seemed like a tiny hood ornament from an old-fashioned automobile. Softer down from the side of his torso grew and stiffened into feathers, appearing rather symmetrical to that already on his head and forming something that resembled a disjointed letter X. From his beak, Tobuscus felt the jagged, scaly growths already there below his cheeks elongate by several inches. They grew below his mouth line and past the bottom of his jaw. Long, thin tongues of flame adorned his wrists like ribbons, waving lazily as if in slow motion.

Muscles throughout his body, already well-toned from so much conditioning and training, grew and bulged within his body. He noticed this occurrence in his arms more than his legs. No longer did his arms look skinny; his biceps and forearms strained against their holdings fit to burst. All of these muscles felt like they had been crammed with a thousand hours' weightlifting in a mere ten seconds. The energy in them felt explosive, like he could unleash the deadliest punch or kick at any given time.

That time to unleash was now.

Tobuscus's evolution ceased. Still crouched on the ground and all furor bottled up, his limbs shook again from pure rage and the ground vibrated underneath his feet. A savage desire to attack and kill washed through his brain. Any moment now, he'll be able to rain fire and brimstone on these bastards from Team Rocket and make them wish they were never born. He'll show them what it meant to be truly loyal to a cause, not loyal to a paycheck.

The Mega Evolution's chains holding him at bay broke. The blinding white light that cloaked his figure burst, forcing the onlookers to turn away. Tobuscus leapt upright with vastly improved speed and agility in no time at all. From deep within his lungs, he belted out an ear-splitting screech to the heavens. An enormous cloud of fire shot from his mouth, rising sixty, eighty, one hundred feet into the air. The lazy ribbons of flames on his wrists intensified, burning like wildfire. The ground shook in the square like an earthquake. Through a shimmering haze of incredible heat and untameable fury, Tobuscus's upgraded eyes—still lit as blue as the sky—spotted his targets resuming their escape from the deteriorating square. He wasn't going to let them get away.

Not that easily.