Chapter 12
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or it's affiliates.
A/N: I would like to thank all those reviewers who said that the last chapter was the best one yet. I hope that means my writing is improving as the story progresses and maybe my next story will be even better. I'm not sure if some of you noticed but I hate to do cliffhangers but I have come to realize that they make the story more desirable to readers. Also I get more reviews which is a big plus to me. Thank you.
"I said what are you doing here Mewtwo?" Ash asked, still surprised at seeing the same person who had been in one of his dreams the night before.
"I'm here to stop you from making a big mistake, one that you have stopped others from making before." Mewtwo said seriously while looking at Ash carefully.
"And what mistake would that be?" Having gotten over the initial surprise, Ash was watching Mewtwo through the darkness with his aura sight. Ash had been told before by a different old friend that he was going to stop him and that hadn't gone well. But Mewtwo was far stronger than anything that Paul could dish out, so Ash needed to be on guard.
"You know better than anyone that Legendaries should never be messed with. They keep balance in this world and using them for your own purposes upsets that balance."
"Yeah I remember. But do you know what else I remember Mewtwo? Risking my neck to help those Legendaries and barely even getting a thank you for my help. Heck a lot of the time they were the ones trying to kill me in the first place." Ash said coldly while the black aura was swirling inside of him, all the hatred ready to come out at the Legendary in front of him.
"But you helped them anyway, why? Because it was the right thing to do." Mewtwo spoke confidently.
"Your such a hypocrite!" Ash spat icily. "You talk about doing whats right but that didn't stop you from trying to wipe out humanity once, did it?"
"What are you saying?" Mewtwo said disbelievingly as a worried look crossed his face at what Ash was implying.
"One positive thing that training my aura brought about was that I can protect my mind from psychics. You already know that because you have been trying to break in since you first spoke to me. But my training also allowed me to remove mental barriers that were put there so I wouldn't remember certain events. So guessing from the worried look on your face, I take it you know what I'm talking about." Ash said while gaining a smirk of satisfaction.
"But if you remember I didn't go through with it. You changed my mind." Mewtwo said regretfully.
"Yes after you killed me! Face it Mewtwo, you have no right to come here telling me what to do. In fact none of you Legendary Pokemon do, not after what you did to Pikachu and my mother." Ash said somberly as he turned just his head away from Mewtwo. Old memories were swirling in Ash's mind and he didn't want Mewtwo to see the tears forming in his eyes.
Slightly confused, Mewtwo asked the question he would later come to regret. "What did we do to them?"
Ash's head snapped forward in a blink, the tears still in his eyes but also a burning rage that was directed at Mewtwo. "Its what you didn't do you bastards! I help save the world for you countless times but you Legendaries can't save my best friend and mother one fucking time!" The black aura flames were burning hotly around Ash and his black bat wings were spread wide, giving him a very intimidating look even to someone as powerful as Mewtwo. Something that both Ash and Mewtwo failed to notice was that the cocoon behind ash was siphoning the flames coming off of Ash.
"We can't protect one Pokemon and one human when the rest of the world needs attention." Mewtwo explained, trying to reason with Ash.
"So that's how it is huh?!" Ash yelled. "Well lets see how one Pokemon and one human get a Legendaries attention! Houndoom to battle!"
"Wow! That is an amazing view. That tower looks like it touches the clouds." Cynthia said in amazement while staring at the Tower of Mastery. The group had just arrived in Shalour City and at the urging of Paul were on their way to the tower.
"Yes amazing. Can we keep moving so we can see it up close." Paul spoke dryly, wanting to get to the tower as soon as possible. After reading the reports from Lance, Paul had realized that time was not on their side. If they were going to stop Ash they needed to act fast.
"Okay Paul. Jeez we were just enjoying the view." Misty huffed. "We may be on a mission but none of us have been here before. We just want to take in some of the sights."
"You can see all you want as you walk to the Tower of Mastery." Paul said from about ten feet in front of the girls because of the fast pace he was walking.
"Whats his deal? Hes even more of a grouch than usual." Misty whispered to Cynthia, low enough that Paul couldn't hear.
"Not sure. He was fine yesterday till he had that call with Lance but I think that put all of us in a foul mood." Cynthia said in a sad tone.
"Yeah, I know." Misty replied with a frown as she looked back at Sabrina and Lily, both of which hadn't said a word since they had gotten off the plane. Misty knew that both of them must have taken Lance's orders about Ash just as hard as she had. She had cried herself to sleep last night and judging from the dark circles under Sabrina's eyes and the bloodshot look of Lily's eyes, they had just as bad a go as she did. All they could do for now though was put on a brave face and get through the day.
"His mood just seemed to get worse after he read those reports Lance gave him this morning." Cynthia spoke softly, breaking Misty out of her thoughts.
"Wonder what new information Lance was able to find? Must be pretty bad but why hasn't he told us about it? Maybe its a change in plan or something." Misty whispered as they caught up to Paul who was waiting at the front door of the tower.
"Maybe." Cynthia mouthed as she stood behind Paul at the door. When all the girls had caught up, Paul pushed open the heavy, oak doors and the group entered.
If the girls thought the outside of the tower was amazing, the inside was no disappointment either. There was a stone spiral staircase that wound around the tower, going all the way to the top with rooms here and there along the way. But the thing that caught the groups eye was the giant statue in the middle of the room that reached halfway up the tower. It looked similar to a Lucario but had larger spikes on its hands and more fur on its chest. It also had longer appendages coming from its head, it was a much wilder Lucario than any of them had ever seen.
Spotting an older man with a normal Lucario standing near the statue, Paul went over to talk to him. 'Excuse me sir, I was wondering if you might know where the Mega Evolution Guru is?"
"Yes I know where he is young man. He's me and please, just call me Gurkinn. What can I help you with?"
"Well sir, we were wondering if you would help us learn how to use Mega Evolution" Paul stated plainly.
"Ha." The old man chuckled. "My boy, Mega Evolution isn't like learning a new technique. It requires an extremely strong bond between trainer and Pokemon, a friendship and trust that is unbreakable."
"That's all? But why hasn't my Garchomp Mega evolved before? We have been together since I was a little girl." Cynthia questioned, a little hurt that her and Garchomp's bond was in question.
"A strong bond is only one part of it my dear, albeit an important one. You also need a set of these." Gurkinn said as he brought out two stones, one the size of a marble and the other the size of a poke ball. 'The little one is a key stone that the trainer holds and the big one is for the Pokemon. The one for the Pokemon is different for each Pokemon but the trainer only needs one key stone. With a strong bond between trainer and Pokemon, a key stone and the correct stone for the Pokemon, Mega Evolution is possible."
"So where do we get these stones at?" Paul asked, anxious to keep moving.
"Well you can find them on the ground but extremely rarely. I happen to keep a small supply here but I won't give them to just anyone." Gurkinn said as his Lucario moved forward. Touching the bracelet on his wrist, Lucario began to glow and then in a flash a Lucario that looked just like the statue was standing were Gurkinn's had stood.
'Whoa! So that statue is a Mega Lucario?" Cynthia exclaimed while all the other girls were astounded at seeing Mega Evolution up close.
"Yes it is. The first person to use Mega Evolution did it with a Lucario, so the locals built this tower to honor that evolution and give any who want to learn the history of the evolution a place to go." Gurkinn explained. "Now, I assume that all of you want to be able to use Mega Evolution?"
"Yes, if that is not a problem sir." Misty said politely while trying to hold in her excitement.
"No it's not a problem but I have a condition before I give you this new power. My friend Lucario must check to see that your intentions are pure and not for selfish reasons. Deal?" Gurkinn asked while looking between the four girls and Paul.
Paul turned toward the four girls and as he looked at each of them, they each gave a nod. Turning back to Gurkinn, Paul answered. "Deal."
"Okay, so who wants to go first?"
"Rawr!" Ash yelled as he threw a black aura sphere at Mewtwo. A blue barrier appeared around Mewtwo slowing the sphere but not stopping it. The sphere barely missed Mewtwo and collided with the wall but as Mewtwo dodged Ash's attack, Houndoom's crunch attack landed on Mewtwo's leg.
"Argh!" Mewtwo cried in pain from the strong jaws clamped against his leg.
"Hold him Houndoom!" Ash yelled as he charged an aura sphere in each hand. Just as he was about to throw them, a blue glow went over his arms halting his movement.
"Stop Ash! We don't have to do this!" Mewtwo said in a strained voice from being bitten and trying to hold Ash. With his psychic powers ineffective against Houndoom, Mewtwo had focused on Ash but whatever power Ash was using made it hard to hold him very long.
"You think you can stop me! I won't let anyone or anything stop me, not now or ever again! I have been at the mercy of others for too long, now it's my turn to call the shots!" Ash angrily yelled and broke Mewtwo's hold on him, releasing the two aura spheres. They sped at Mewtwo like a lightening bolt and just before they hit, Houndoom released Mewtwo's leg. Upon contact there was an explosion that seemed to shake the whole mountain and caused some of the reflective surfaces to shatter.
As the dust cleared, Houndoom began to growl at a faint glow that was coming from where Mewtwo was. When the had completely settled it was clear what Mewtwo was doing and Ash gained a cold smirk."Figures a legendary would use recover. Now are you going to leave or am I going to have to feed you to Houndoom? He has a taste for feline." Ash said coldly with his aura still burning around him.
"I'm not going to leave, Ash. But answer me something, if you are in charge then why do you do what Lysandre tells you? What good is Yveltal to you anyway? You told me you hate us Legendaries, so who's the hypocrite now." Mewtwo stated as the glow from recover faded away.
"I do what interests me. If Lysandre asks me to do something I didn't want to do I simply wouldn't do it, pure and simple. And as for Yveltal, that is part of Lysandre's plan so your right its no good to me except for entertainment." Ash said as he crossed his arms smugly. He knew Mewtwo was grasping at straws and would run out of reasons for Ash to stop soon.
"Entertainment? How is using a legendary Pokemon entertaining?" Mewtwo asked disbelievingly. Was there still any of the old Ash left? Or was it a lost cause?
"Simple, things in motion are more fun to watch than things standing still. Everything is standing still right now but Lysandre's plan will put everything in motion." Ash said with a grin that made Mewtwo shiver.
"But if he is going to use Yveltal then innocent people will die! Would that be entertaining enough for you?!" Mewtwo yelled, outraged at Ash's reason.
Losing the humor in his face, Ash glared at Mewtwo. "What do I care! My mother was innocent but that didn't save her! People die, that's just the world we live in and now its your turn!" Just as Ash was about to charge at Mewtwo, a flash of light lite up the room from behind Ash. The light was coming from where the cocoon was.
"No! This can't be happening! How is it even possible?!" Mewtwo yelled.
Ash merely stood and watched as out of the light emerged a large black and red bird with bright blue eyes. It's massive wings looked like they had claws on the end and its tail looked just like it's wings and was almost as long. Yveltal looked at it's surroundings and when it's eyes found Ash, it began to move toward him. Ash didn't move as Yveltal got within arms reach, he merely watched as it absorbed the flames around him. "So that's how you woke up." Ash whispered to himself. "You've been feeding on my aura."
Yveltal nodded at Ash and then turned to look at Mewtwo. Seeing this, Ash returned Houndoom and turned toward Mewtwo as well. "Well, you have failed Mewtwo. Yveltal is awake and I'm still alive, so will you let us leave or are you going to try and stop us?"
"What do you mean you want me to leave?!"
"I mean that I would like you to leave. Lucario sensed foul intention in your heart and I will not give you the power of Mega Evolution. So will you please step outside while I talk to these ladies." Gurkinn said as politely as he could.
"Grr! Fine, I'll be outside." Paul said harshly, irritated that he was being denied Mega Evolution and being asked to leave like a child. "When you girls get done, come get me so we can go. We have a schedule to keep." Then Paul walked out , slamming the door behind him.
While the girls shook their head at what Paul said, Gurkinn continued. "Okay now that he is gone, I'll explain a few things to you nice young ladies. First off, here are your key stones. You will need to keep these on your person at all times. Some people put them on a bracelet or a necklace or whatever you want." Gurkinn said as he handed each of them their key stones from a pouch in one of his pockets.
"Thank you sir. This is very generous of you." Cynthia spoke for the group as the other girls examined their stones.
"Your very welcome. Now on to the Mega Stones, is there any specific Pokemon that you ladies would like to have Mega evolve? Mind you that only a select few species can Mega Evolve, so hopefully we can find one of your Pokemon that will work. So who's first?" Gurkinn asked the group.
Cynthia stepped up. "Like I said before, I have a Garchomp that has been with me for a long time. Would she work?"
"Oh yes my dear, you need a Garchompite. I just so happen to have one in the back but lets wait and see about the other girls first. Who's next?"
Misty spoke up next. "Well sir I have a Gyarados."
"Excellent, you will need a Gyaradosite. You ladies are making this far too easy, not that I'm complaining of course. Well lets hope it stays this easy for the last two." Gurkinn said with a smile as he looked between Sabrina and Lily to see who wanted to go next.
"I'll take an Alakazite if you have one." Sabrina said with her eyes closed.
Gurkinn seemed taken back at Sabrina's comment but shrugged it off. When you get to be his age you have seen a lot of strange things you can't explain. "Yes young lady I do have one of those. Psychic right?"
Sabrina nodded with her eyes still closed, as if she was sensing something.
"Thought so." Gurkinn replied and then turned his attention to Lily. Looks like your the last one miss?"
"My names Lily and thank you again for helping us with this. It really means a lot." Lily said in an almost shy voice.
"Well your very welcome miss Lily. Now, do you have a Pokemon in mind? Your purple haired friend seemed to think that you ladies were on a tight schedule and I don't want to make you late."
"Well that is actually a little bit of a problem sir. I don't think I have any Pokemon that can Mega Evolve." Lily said nervously as the other girls looked at her disbelievingly.
Mewtwo looked at the two imposing figures in front of him with caution and fear in his eyes. Both of them were waiting for his answer, an answer that could have dire consequences. He could let them go and live like a coward as innocents die from their rampage or he could fight and probably die trying to stop them. In the end, there really was no choice at all. "I'll stop you both with all the strength in my body and even if I die, every breath in my body will be spent trying!" Mewtwo cried as shadow balls formed in his hands and were thrown at Ash and Yveltal.
Ash was able to dodge but Yveltal wasn't so lucky. Because of her size she was an easy target in the cramped cave. Ash though was getting tired of the little squabble with Mewtwo and wanted to end it. While Mewtwo was preparing to attack Yveltal again, Ash used his speed to get behind Mewtwo with a aura sphere in each hand. Just as Mewtwo released the shadow balls at Yveltal, Ash wrapped his arms around Mewtwo and drove the aura spheres into Mewtwo's chest. With Ash behind Mewtwo holding him in place, Mewtwo couldn't move backwards to dissipate the blast but instead took the full brunt right in the chest. Needless to say if Mewtwo hadn't used recover, that would have been it but despite the massive damage Mewtwo was still standing.
"Yveltal, Dark Pulse now!" Ash yelled as he repositioned his arms to put Mewtwo in a full nelson to keep him from moving or even defending himself.
As Yveltal charged the attack, all Mewtwo could do was watch as his end was coming. Who would have thought that the one to destroy him would be the same boy that had once saved his life. No this wasn't that boy, this was a monster that the worlds cruelty had created. All that he was before is gone, leaving only a hateful, destructive shell in its place. As the Dark Pulse neared, Mewtwo uttered his last words in the hope that Ash would hear them. "I feel so sorry for you Ash."
Just before the pulse hit, Ash released Mewtwo to see it engulf the psychic and send his body into the rock wall of the mountain. When the pulse stopped, a small cave in occurred in the "tunnel" Mewtwo's body had just made. Ash looked where Mewtwo had gone, thinking of what he had said. "He felt sorry for me? He was the one about to die, why would he feel sorry for me? Whats wrong with what I've become? I just defeated one of the strongest Pokemon in the world! The old me would have never been able to do that. Stupid Mewtwo."
"Yveet!" Yveltal screeched catching Ash's attention. The destruction Pokemon seemed to want out of the cave and was preparing a Hyper Beam to do it. Just as Ash wrapped his wings around himself to protect himself, Yveltal fired the Hyper Beam. The beam destroyed part of the wall, making a path with sunlight at the end. Yveltal then turned to Ash, as if waiting for him.
Getting the message, Ash smirked. "Okay lets get out of here and see what you can really do." Jumping on Yveltal's back the two began down the tunnel and out into the world.
"You were right my dear, you don't have any Pokemon who can Mega Evolve. I'm sorry." Gurkinn said sympathetically to Lily.
"Its okay, power was never the reason I became a trainer anyway." Lily said quietly with sad eyes.
"Hmm well that's good because power should never be the reason to do anything. Just out of curiosity, what was your reason, if you don't mind me asking?" Gurkinn spoke softly.
Looking to Sabrina and Misty for a second and then looking at her feet, Lily answered in a whisper like voice. "I became a trainer to find someone who was very dear to me that left years ago for reasons he couldn't control. Unfortunately, I think I may have lost him for good."
As she finished, tears began to fall from her cerulean eyes and splash off the floor. The three other girls rushed to hug her and Gurkinn began to apologize. 'I'm very sorry, I never meant to bring up something that would upset you my dear. Here use this." Gurkinn handed Lily a handkerchief to dry her eyes.
The three other girls let go of Lily so she could wipe her eyes. 'Thank you sir and don't worry about it."
Suddenly the door burst open and Paul rushed in. "Hey come outside now! Some red and black bird just blew a hole in the side of a mountain near the city!"
"No, it can't be! It shouldn't have woken for a few hundred years yet!" Gurkinn said in a panic as he and his Lucario rushed out the door with the girls right behind him.
"Ah, only out of that cave for a few seconds and already found something to test your power on." Ash said darkly from atop Yveltal's back. Raising his hand and pointing toward the Tower of Mastery, he continued. "Get a little closer to that tower."
Nodding in response, Yveltal sped toward the tower till it was about a football field away and hovered, awaiting Ash's order.
Sizing up the tower, Ash knew just what to do. "Lets make this a good one Yveltal Hyper Beam!" As Yveltal began to charge the destructive attack, Ash began to push his black aura into Yveltal. Doing this had the effect Ash had wanted, Yveltal's Hyper Beam was growing even larger than a normal one and then Yveltal fired it.
For Ash time seemed to slow as the beam streaked toward the tower. Ash was able to look at the whole tower from top to bottom but stopped when a head of pink hair caught his eye near the bottom of the tower. What is she doing here? What are they doing here?
BOOM! The beam collided with the tower causing brick and stone to fall like rain as the top sections were destroyed on impact. The force of the beam caused an instability in the rest of the tower and it began to cave in on it's self. The collapse was stopped about halfway down as the statue in the center supported the falling tower. But it wouldn't last and soon the pressure was too much and the tower began to fall sideways. Ash could only watch as the remains of the tower fell towards Lily and the others. Ash felt a sick sense of joy come over him to see them about to be crushed but that was quickly replaced by a pain in his chest. A heartache that brought him to his knees on the back of the destruction Pokemon. He had done this, not Yveltal, not Team Rocket, no one to blame but himself as the tower fell to the ground in a heap of sand and stone.