Author's Note: Yes, another author's note. Same thing on the disclaimer. And yes, I know, it's not finished... I'm tryin'! Ack... See, this was a short one? Here goes...

In complete darkness, there is nothing. It was as it has been for millions of years.  A state where nothing apparent exists, where nothing visible survives. No noises will penetrate though the black layers, no lights dare shine in.
The darkness is, as always, a beginning. It is always the first and the last. This time it is for the first. It is for creating, for making new.
From the darkness many forms have come. From complete darkness, few have made retained the ability to make it out. Whatever survives from true darkness can never get away from it. The dark will follow them wherever they go, in whatever they do.
The darkness of the ages will surround those who are cursed with living in it.

Chapter One

Bubbles swirling around in the thick liquid lazily floated to the top, tickling the creature into consciousness. “What…?” he thought. Confused, he tried to remember what he was doing, or who he was. Becoming aware of another presence, very near, he opened his eyes. When he did so, the liquid began to flow in, and he winced in pain, immediately shutting his eyes. “Where am I?” he wondered. Suddenly, he became aware of voices, and listened in.
“What did I tell you?!?” an angry voice yelled.
“We didn’t think it would be a problem, sir,” a thinner voice stammered.
“How could it NOT be a problem?!? You remember what happened with the last of his kind!”
“Sir, Mewthree was designed to be controllable…”
“Just like Mewtwo was? You know how THAT turned out!!! How can this be any better? It’s even stronger than the last!”
“So, I am Mewthree,” the creature thought. “But what am I? These men speak in an odd way of me, and I feel their fear.”
“Look, sir, we can find a way to control it! Chain it! Put it in a cage! Find a special test tube!” the first man seemed to be pleading.
“Nothing is going to do anything!” the other man growled. “Except…”
Mewthree strained its ears, and heard a gasp. “Sir… this cost a lot of money!”
“It’s MY money, and I’ll do what I want.”
“But… by KILLING it!”
“Yes, by killing it. Now, step aside…”
“I am meant to be murdered,” Mewthree thought angrily. “This cannot be!”
Concentrating, he found that he was able to focus his powers. The glass shattered, and he felt a rush of air greet him as he rose to float above the men, not even needing the assistance of it wings.  His green, skin glimmered metallically beneath the illuminating bulbs, and his red eyes burned with confusion. His five foot six body levitated off the ground, and his three fingers were clenched together.
“Jesus…” the first whispered. He wore a lab coat, and black glasses, which contrasted with his blond hair and gray eyes. Mewthree could sense fear in him, as well as in the other man, but he could also understand something else. This man didn’t want him dead.
“Oh, damn…” the other man groaned. He wore a red suit, and had jet-black hair and dark eyes. Mewthree saw the hate in this man, as well as something else. This man held a gun at the pokemon’s head.
“Human, you cannot kill me,” Mewthree spoke softly through psychic waves.
“It talks…” the man sounded annoyed, but continued to hold the gun. His finger pulled the trigger, but Mewthree was faster.
Speeding toward the psychic, the bullet suddenly deflected. Mewthree grinned, pleased because he had already figured out how to use his powers. He saw the bullet race back from where it came form, and, much to his surprise, hit the man in the hand.
“Damn it!” the man dropped the gun onto the ground and grabbed his hand.
Mewthree floated over and looked him in the eye. “Human, you cannot kill me,” he repeated.
“Get away from me,” the man stammered, clutching his hand.
Mewthree smiled at the overwhelming fear. “No. I shall do what I please.”
Suddenly, and evil grin spread over the man’s face, and Mewthree noticed that blood was beginning to drip between his fingers, splattering onto the floor. “You? A mistake? I was not aware that an error had a will of his own!”
Mewthree saw rushes of anger. “What? Am I really a mistake?”
“Yes,” the man winced visibly from pain, but continued to smirk.
“This cannot be…” Mewthree murmured.
“It is. You are a clone, merely a clone. A clone that was never meant to be created!” the man continued to grin, although Mewthree could see he was in pain. The blood from his left hand now seemed to be almost pouring onto the floor, hitting his suit and shoes. “A clone,” he repeated.
Mewthree suddenly felt streaks of white rage. “So, I am a clone? I am a mistake?” he bellowed angrily. “Well, I’ll show you the true power of an accidental clone!”
Eyes widening, the man realized his mistake of infuriating the pokemon. Starting to back away, his hands fell to his side. Looking at them, Mewthree gasped. The flesh by the whole left side of the last finger had been torn off by the impact, and blood streamed out through the ragged skin, past bloody muscle, and even the bone, glistening from the red blood.
“What?” the man growled then looked down at his hand. “My God…”
Suddenly, the pokemon heard the door being open and then shut again. Turning, he saw that the scientist had run away. “Cowardly, but smart,” Mewthree thought, still watching the other out of the corner of his eye.
The other growled, “That son of a bitch.”
“He could have killed me when I wasn’t paying attention, but he didn’t. He didn’t want me dead,” Mewthree realized as the scientist left. “I admire him for that, and will spare his life.” Facing the other, he growled, “As for you…”
Turning, the injured human found himself against a wall. Looking back at Mewthree, he sighed angrily. “Just get it over with.”
Mewthree smirked. “I’ll take as long as I please.”
Sensations of horror overcame the man as a bright red aura began to engulf the pokemon. “Yes, human. You shall feel my true power!”
At that moment, Mewthree realized that he should leave. He didn’t know how he knew, he just did. It wasn’t safe to stay, as there were probably more of the people in the building, and they would bring harm upon him.
Raising his hand, he sent the man flying across the room to the wall, and watched in a sort of disgusting joy. “I’ll be back to finish you off, once I know my strength,” the pokemon informed, perfectly aware that the being he spoke too was at that time unconscious.
Breaking open the door, Mewthree flew down the dimly lit halls. Everyone he passed gave a startled cry and jumped back, but no one attempted to stop him. Through the maze he dashed, looking for an exit. When he found one, a sense of freedom filled him, and he broke through the doors.
A rush of cool air met him as he saw the blue sky, puffy white clouds, and the greenery. Beating his wings, Mewthree climbed higher into the air, until he rose above the clouds. There, he stopped for a moment, feeling the comforting warmth of the sun. “You humans have your fun while you can, because I’ll be back for revenge! I must find Mewtwo and Mew,” he remembered the conversation and inferred the second name.
“Together, we shall return, and I will lead them! I’ll show them what a clone can do! They’ll rue the day they created me…” With that, the pokemon took off, beginning his search.

***

Giovanni struggled to stand up, his head spinning. The world was flashing by in speeding colors, and he wondered what was going on. Shaking his head, he managed to regain his senses… and felt a rush of pain.
Looking around, he saw that the lab had been completely devastated. Feeling the sharp pain again, he looked at his left hand and gasped in surprise. It looked worse than it had before. A bit of the blood had dried, forming a reddish crust around the edges of the jagged skin. Near the inside, however, the blood still flowed at a steady pace, almost covering the whiteness of the bone. The pain ebbed mercilessly, and he grabbed his hand in a vain attempt to stop the pain and blood loss.
“DAMNIT!” he yelled. That had only hurt more, and he immediately dropped the other hand.
Turning his head back to reconstruct what had happened, his blood began to boil. He had told the scientists that they were to create a new powerful clone, but to use a pokemon with less will of its own. Under no circumstances were they to make a creature using Mew or Mewtwo, yet they had gone and used both!
Looking around, he remembered that Henry had left while the pokemon was still there. The coward! The scientist had run out on him, leaving him to be killed by the destructive pokemon.
Walking towards the door, he spotted his handgun, still loaded. After picking it up with his right hand, he walked through the shattered door, and into the deserted hall.
Stepping into the darkness, he checked the clock, and found that it was fifteen minutes after midnight. Hardly anyone would be around, which was just fine with him. All he needed to do was reach his office, and he’d be fine. He could take care of the wounded hand, and then get down to work on the damage.
Holding his weapon, he began to wonder if anyone really was around. The hall seemed creepier with every step he took, and he felt as if someone was going to jump out at him at any moment…
He heard a crackling noise, and froze. It was directly in front of him, and through the darkness he could not make out what it was. “Hello?” whispered a frightened voice.
“Henry,” Giovanni thought angrily.
“Who’s there?” Henry lit a match, which shed light all over the long passage. Looking up, he gasped. “Aren’t you dead?”
Giovanni growled. “Dead? Of course not! Unfortunately for you.”
“You don’t have to fire me! I’ll quit, okay? I’m leaving right now, in fact…” Henry raised a foot to leave.
“No, you’re not. Don’t worry, Henry, you’re not fired. Not yet…” he saw the scientist look at his hand, and watched as he held back a gasp of terror.
“I-I’m not afraid of you!” he declared.
“The hell you aren’t,” Giovanni raised the handgun, aiming straight at Henry’s head.
“Don’t shoot…” Henry stammered.
“Why ever not?” Giovanni smirked, amused.
“I’m your head scientist!” Henry declared.
“I can change that. Traitors are easily replaced,” the angry man suddenly pulled the trigger, and watched coldly as the bullet dug into Henry, and the scientist fell over, clutching his chest. The aim had been perfect. The bullet had hit the heart. Blood spilled out of the wound, pouring onto the floor from the dead man.
Uncompassionately, Giovanni put out the match, plunging the hall back into concealing darkness. Not even turning back to look at what he had done, he continued onto the office, which was not far from his location at that moment.

***

Mewthree could sense his counterparts. They were somewhere near… “I must find them,” he thought.
Salty air filled his nostrils, and the sound of crashing waves became apparent. He was by the ocean. Turning around a rock projection, he found himself above sand that glimmered white, even at night.
Turning his head toward the sky, Mewthree saw the bright, shining moon and glittering stars contrasting against a great sheet of blackness. Envisioning himself away from his troubles on earth, up there with the stars and no worries, the pokemon sighed. “Why was I born?”
There was a disturbance in the back of his mind, and he felt the presence of another psychic. “Who are you?” he heard a shaky voice question.
“Mew!!!” came another, weaker voice.
Mewthree turned around, and saw that the creatures looked like him. The first was pink and simple, with soft blue eyes and a long tail. The other was harder, more complicated. It was purple pokemon with a shape like his, only larger. These were his counterparts. His family… “I am Mewthree.”
The two gasped. “Mewthree? Are you…?” the purple one stammered, with a strange tone of anxiety.
“I am a clone of Mew and Mewtwo,” Mewthree stated frankly.
“I am Mewtwo, and this is Mew…” the larger seemed surprised, and not in a good way.
“Mewtwo… a friend…” Mewthree felt a wave of emotions sweep over him, but he didn’t know what.”
Mew seemed to sense this. “You are feeling a sense of belonging,” she explained.
“You mean…”
“You are welcome here!”
Mewtwo looked at Mew in an almost hateful way. “How do we know he won’t betray us?”
Mew squeaked indignantly. “He is family.”
“I won’t harm you. I have come for help…”
Mewtwo whirled around angrily. “We don’t CARE!!! Get out of here! We don’t need another!”
Suddenly, Mewthree sensed the pain in Mewtwo, as well as jealousy. “Why are you jealous?”
Mewtwo seemed startled. “I am not jealous of anyone!”
Mew looked straight into his eyes. “Yes, you are. You are jealous of the fact that he is much stronger than you,” she observed.
“I am NOT!!!” Mewthree watched in horror as the pink pokemon was blown into a cliff by a burst of psychic energy. Rushing over, he stared down, and gasped.
The blast had been sudden, and powered by a dangerous rage. “Oh, no…” Blood trickled through kind little psychic’s fur, and her eyes were shut tightly. The blood was running out of her face, and Mewthree shivered. She was dead. The blast had been so sudden, the rage so great…
Angrily, he rose above Mewtwo’s head, happily watching as the pokemon stood on the ground, frozen in terror. “You KILLED her!”
“I didn’t mean to do it…” fear overflowed from the creature.
“Yet you DID it, and that’s what matters! She was kind towards me, I could tell by reading her thoughts that she even cared for me. You went and killed her! Now, I will kill you!”
“Spare me…” the other clone’s voice was afraid.
A thought began to creep forward in Mewthree’s mind. “I will spare you…” he began, and watched as Mewtwo sighed in relief. “But I will control you. From now on, you have no free will. I am your master.” As he spoke, he shot a ball of white-purple light, and aimed it at Mewtwo.
The purple pokemon watched stupidly as it approached, astounded by its dazzling brilliance. Suddenly, he felt a shock, then… nothing. He lost control of his own mind.
Shaking his head, Mewthree glanced at Mewtwo. “You are under my control. Go back inside of the cave.”
“Yes,” Mewtwo floated back to the cave in an almost robotic fashion.
“Too bad he’ll be useful, or I would have gotten rid of him. I need all the psychics I can get, though.”
A soft, “Mew,” broke his thoughts.  Startled, he saw Mew open one crystal-clear eye.
“Mew…” he choked back tears.
“Why do you feel for me?” the pokemon asked.
It was a good question. Why did he? “I don’t know…”
“I do. You feel the need for family. For someone to care for you. Do not worry, Mewthree. I see that in time, you’ll find someone.” After a brief pause, she continued. “Do not take this against Mewtwo. He needs someone, too…”
“Is there any way I can save you?”
“No, I’m sorry…” Uttering her last words, Mew’s head fell heavily onto the sand, never to lift again.
“Oh…” Mewthree felt the tears drizzle down his face, but didn’t bother to wipe them off.

Chapter Two

Ginger strode over the wet pavement as the rain came pouring down on her head, and the head of her nidorino, Sanchez. Shaking some rain out of her auburn hair, she sighed as more ran onto it. Her emerald green eyes shot glances through the sheets of water, watching for her stop. Viridian City was never busy in the rain, thankfully. No one was around to bump into.
Hearing a snort, she jumped a bit, than realized it was Sanchez, shaking his head in a vain attempt to get rid of the water. She had asked him to get in his pokeball, but he had refused. A tough little guy, the nidorino liked to walk around instead of being cramped up in a pokeball. Most of her pokemon did, but she made it a rule to have one out while walking.
Looking up the sidewalk, she saw the path to the forest to her right, and headed on in. The woodchips lining the bottom were soaked, and a few floated in the water. The leaves of the trees would have normally helped keep out the rain, but on that day there was so much it kept pouring through. The wind was broken a bit, however, and the rain no longer stung with the pounding force.
Reaching a large oak, she turned right into the forest. This was the part of the route she hated when it was wet. The grass stuck to her legs as she walked by, and she wished she had had time to put on pants instead of the shorts she had been wearing. “Of course it had to be an emergency,” she muttered.
Ginger had been sitting in a café, drinking a hot cappuccino, when a fellow Rocket member had entered with a message from Giovanni. She had been instructed to head to headquarters right away. Sighing, she had agreed. Not only was Giovanni her Boss, he was her father.
So here she was, walking through the downpour, already drenched. She and her pokemon were both shivering, trying to keep warm. This was to no avail. “Yeesh… they couldn’t have picked a nicer day,” Ginger grumbled sulkily.
She had arrived back from an assignment at Cinnabar Island only three hours ago, and had been relaxing when called to work. Wondering what this assignment would be, she hoped that she didn’t have to work with a partner, or, if she did, he or she had a brain. Usually, she worked alone, but some assignments were just too big…
The entrance to the Viridian headquarters unit was in sight. Covered by brush, it was hard to spot, since the rest of the building sloped underneath the ground. Running up to the concealed door, she turned to the guard. “Hey, Kelab, let me in, okay? It’s cold out here!”
Stepping back, she watched the door open, and a Rocket looked out. “Hi, Ginger,” he greeted as Sanchez dashed right by him. “Gee… is it wet out there?”
“Shut up,” she walked past him and up to the office, where she would sit and wait to be called on.
“How soon can I get in?” she asked the two guards before sitting down.
“The Boss isn’t here,” Dave informed her, helpful as usual.
“Just great…” the girl sat down in a chair, not even noticing that her pokemon jumped onto her lap and fallen asleep.

***

Relaxing in a beach chair at a sunny, sandy beach on the coast of the Seafoam Islands, a sixteen-year old girl looked over at her vulpix, who was resting peacefully. The warm light shining down on her was comforting, and the crashing of waves added an air of calm, strangely enough. Reaching for a glass of lemonade, she saw a man dressed in black approach.
Sitting up, she squinted her dark blue eyes in the light. “Can I help you?”
Seeing the man closer, the girl spotted the ‘R’ on his shirt. “An assignment,” she thought, pushing her dark blond hair behind her ears.
“Miss Shadow?” he walked up to her.
“Yes, that’s me,” she nodded, standing up.
“You need to report to headquarters right away. The helicopter is waiting,” he informed.
“Do I have time to change, or clean up?” Shadow asked, looking down at her Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts.
“No, you are required to come immediately,” the agent reported. “We will send someone to clean up the area.”
“All right,” Shadow picked up her vulpix, whose eyes opened drowsily.
“Let’s go,” the man led her a bit further down the beach, and to a large black helicopter. “Get in, miss.”
Rolling her eyes, Shadow stepped into the back, and sat down on a cool leather seat. “These men are always so official,” she sighed, watching the ground fall away as the helicopter lifted.
She had joined Team Rocket because her best friend had recommended it, and because she felt a need to let her training methods be known. Normally, all of the other trainers would argue with her; that is, if she had stayed with the league. Now she could use her pokemon all she wanted, and be rewarded. Besides, Giovanni was offering to obtain a gym for her if she kept up the good work. A gym of her own; that would be great!
Watching the ocean fly by underneath, she felt only a bit remorseful about leaving the tropical island. Having been there for a week, she had been almost hoping for a new assignment. Her last had been to catch some rare pokemon at the old Cerulean power plant, and she had accomplished the task easily. The girl wondered if this assignment would be more challenging, and hoped it would.
“Vul?” the little pokemon on her lap tilted its head and stared out the window of the chopper.
“It’s okay, Firestone, we’re just getting assigned a job.”
“Vulp!” the fox yipped happily. She liked working as much as her trainer, and had been bored over their long vacation.
Tenderly stroking the fire pokemon’s back, Shadow wondered if she would be assigned a partner. “I hope not,” she sighed. Normally, the assigned partners were beginners, or total idiots. She was put with them to ‘train’ them, though they merely dragged her down.
“How much longer until we get to Headquarters?” she yelled up to the driver.
“About an hour and a half, Miss!” came the reply.
Groaning at the stiff reaction, she set her head back, drifting off into deep thought…

***

Mewthree stared into the large, stone, misty cavern, and felt a sense of emptiness. He had no real friends in the world. Sure, Mewtwo was a companion, but he was under hypnotism…
Sweeping his eyes over the vast room, the pokemon realized what a big job lie ahead of him. First, he had to collect an army of pokemon. Then came the task of training them. He sighed, thinking about how much time and effort THAT would take. Everything about the procedure was time-consuming and challenging.
“I can put up with all of the toil as long as I get my revenge,” he consoled himself.
“Requesting permission to search for recruits,” a shaky voice spoke from behind.
Whirling around, he came face-to-face with Mewtwo. Staring into the psychic’s face, he felt a lump in his throat. Even through the hypnotism, the anguish that the other had suffered was visible. All the years of being alone and vengeful had left its mark. Sorrow, anger, hate, and regret filled the pokemon’s face, crashing into Mew three. He even sensed regret for killing Mew… “Permission granted,” he got a hold of himself, and watched Mewtwo soar out of the cavern.
“What came over me?” he wondered, shaky with emotion. Somehow, he felt like keeping Mewtwo under this spell was wrong, yet he wondered what would happen if he undid the work.
“These clashing emotions tire my mind,” he thought, holding his head. Circles of color appeared before his eyes, and he fell backwards a short distance.
“Do not take this against Mewtwo. He needs someone too…” Mew’s words echoed in his head.
“Oh, Mew,” he sobbed silently, then looked up. “I know what I must do.” Concentrating on Mewtwo, he declared, “Mewtwo, you are know free of my control! You shall remain free as long as you do not go too far, and obey my rules!” His thought waves traveled quickly to the counterpart, who replied gratefully.
“Thank you, Mewthree. I will do as you say. And some day, I may even make up for Mew…” the waves drifted off, and Mewthree knew the transmission had ended.
“That was the right thing to do,” he realized. “Now I must rest…” Mewthree closed his eyes, and, feeling a small wave of relief, began to drift off to sleep.

Chapter Three

Shadow stepped off of the helicopter, and onto the roof of Team Rocket headquarters. As she exited with her vulpix, the pilot nodded formally, then concentrated on the buttons and levers in front of him. The girl watched as the aircraft took off, probably to another agent.
Pelting down in sheets, the rain tore into her sun-tanned skin, and she shivered. “Let’s get inside, Firestone,” she motioned toward a door, and they rushed over.
Another agent stood at the door. “I suppose you want in, Shadow,” he addressed her with familiarity, unlike the pilot.
“Yeah, that’d be nice, Dan,” she shook from the cold. Spending time at the beach had been nice, but here was the drawback. Rain made her shiver uncontrollably, and would until she got used to the climate once again. Of course she wasn’t dressed for this weather; the shorts and shirt didn’t do much to keep her warm.
“All right. Go on in before you freeze,” he smiled at her as she walked by, and patted vulpix on the head. “You know where you’re wanted.”
“Yeah. The Boss’s office, right?”
“Uh-huh. Oh, and you have a partner,” he informed.
“I do?” she groaned inwardly.
He laughed, knowing that she disliked working with anyone else. “Yep.”
“Oh…” she sighed, not noticing that the rain was blowing through the open doorway and onto her. “Hey, you know about this stuff. Who is it?”
Grinning, he pushed back his soaking wet, mahogany brown hair. Knowledge of certain agents was his job, and she was one of them. “I believe the subject in question is a teenage girl named Ginger.”
“Really?” Shadow seemed to brighten up a bit. “Brown hair, green eyes, has a nidorino with her?”
“Yeah. You know her?”
“We used to be partners,” Shadow replied.
“What happened?”
Staring at him, the girl shrugged. “We just went off and worked by ourselves. Anyway, Id better go.”
Dan seemed to notice that he had kept her too long. “Yeah, sorry.” Shutting the door, he continued to stand under the rain.
Walking down the dim hallway, Shadow looked down at her vulpix. The poor pokemon was shivering. “Firestone, why don’t you warm up in your pokeball?” she suggested, and was met by approval.
Without the fox, she felt lonely. After searching her pockets, she pulled out a pokeball, and called out the inhabitant. Before the creature completely materialized, she had put the object back.
“Ekanssssssssssssssss!!!” the snake pokemon was delighted to be out of the cramped space.
“Hi, Baselton,” she greeted. “You wanna go see the Boss?”
“Ekkkkkkkk!” the ekans was just happy to be free.
Shadow smiled, than fell into thought. Her partner was going to be Ginger… God, she hadn’t seen her friend in a long time. They’d had coffee a few times, gotten together to go somewhere, but they hadn’t seen much of each other since they decided to work alone.
The reason had been simple. Well, initially. Working as a Rocket was much easier to do alone, simple as that. Or so it had seemed. Really, both of them had wanted to do different jobs.
Shadow preferred simply catching rare or valuable pokemon and giving them to the Boss. This was all she wanted to do. The job was fun, provided adventure, and proved to be a great source of income. Not that she was afraid to do something else. Her kind of thrill seeking was different than others’.
Ginger, on the other hand, seemed to prefer a variety of assignments. Sure, she had liked capturing pokemon. However, she had stated that she believed it got old after a while, and wanted a change. So she had gone to an assortment of jobs. Shadow knew that she was still sent to catch pokemon, but she also worked in a lab sometimes, creating stones and working with DNA. Once in a while (at least, she thought it was once in a while) she would be sent to pry information from a hesitant subject. Torture methods were simple enough. Pokemon. That was Shadow’s extent of knowledge of Ginger; for all she knew, the girl did more.
Feeling the scales of her snake, she looked down to see that Baselton was slithering alongside her legs. Looking up, she was that the Boss’s office was straight ahead. The waiting room was around the corner.
“Come on,” she picked up her purple and yellow pokemon, and he curled around her shoulders, positioning his head so he could see what was ahead.
Turning around the corner, she saw Ginger, sitting in a chair with her nidorino. The seventeen-year-old was drenched from the pouring rain, and her golden-brown hair hung in strands. Her green eyes looked strained and tired, and suddenly turned to her. “Shadow?” she stood up, and extended her hand.
“Ginger,” Shadow shook her head, and heard the raindrops fly from her log hair. “Long time, no see!”
Ginger stared across the room at her former partner, and smiled at the ekans around her shoulders. “I see you’ve still got Baselton,” she observed, walking over.
Shadow looked down. “And you’ve still got Sanchez.”
“Yeah,” Ginger shook the younger girl’s hand. “So, why are you here?”
“We’re partners, I believe,” Shadow remembered what Dan had stated.
“Thank God. I was worried I’d get stuck with one of those…”
“Stupid, ignorant, idiots? Me too,” Shadow smiled. It was good to see her friend again. After such a long time at the beach, it was a bit odd to talk; yet it was comforting.
“What were you doing? Lounging on the beach?” Ginger looked at the other’s Hawaiian shirt.
“Actually, I was,” Shadow grinned.
“Lucky, lucky,” Ginger sighed with a mysterious grin. “I just got back from a mission.”
“Are you ready for another?”
“Sure.”
“Hey, you two, the Boss will see you now,” Dave interrupted.
“All right,” Shadow turned to Ginger. “Come on, let’s go.”

***

Peering through the veil of shadows, Ginger searched for the form of her father, and found it. He was in the chair, and, judging by the purring, was stroking his Persian. Shadow stood beside her, her eyes gleaming even in the darkness. Her ekans, Baselton, lay draped around her neck, relaxing. Feeling a brush of air by her leg, she realized that Sanchez had followed her in. Reaching down, she scratched him between the ears before looking up again.
“Hello?” Shadow called beside her, quite familiarly. Ginger knew that the sixteen-year-old had spoken with the Boss many times before.
“Ah, Shadow,” came the reply. The voice was strong and commanding, though Ginger could sense a bit of agony.
“Hello, Giovanni,” she called out.
“Hello, Ginger,” he acknowledged her presence.
“What did you call us here for?” Shadow wondered out loud.
“I am sending you two on a dangerous mission, in search of a pokemon.” He paused for a moment. Ginger could sense a strange pain in his voice as he continued. “We believe he is in a cavernous location. More detail will be specified in the folders you receive as you walk out.”
“Why can’t you tell us?” Shadow asked.
“What’s she trying to do?” Ginger wondered.
“Because I have business to attend too,” came the reply.
“All right,” Shadow sighed, and walked out with Baselton.
Ginger turned around. “What’s going on?”
“What do you mean?” Giovanni had been caught completely off guard, Ginger could tell.
“I mean what’s going on here? You’re more tense than usual…”
Sighing, the Boss stared across the room at his daughter, who remained undaunted. “If you must know… this pokemon is extremely dangerous. I was at the site when he awoke…”
“And?” Ginger watched as the man rose out of his chair and strode across the room. Now he stood only a few feet away, and she could make out his figure quite clearly.
“And he wasn’t too excited,” the head of Team Rocket raised his left hand into the light, and Ginger saw that it was wrapped in a bandage.
“What happened?”
“He attacked in a rage.”
“How bad is it?” Ginger was concerned.
“It’ll be fine…” Giovanni unwrapped the bandage, revealing the injury.
“Oh my God…” Ginger took a step backwards at the bloody site, and shook her head in amazement as her father wrapped the wound back up. “My God…” she repeated, her green eyes open wide.
“Like I said, it will be fine,” Giovanni walked back toward the desk. “Now, it is time for you to attend to the mission at hand.”
Nodding and almost choking from the sight, Ginger backed out, followed by her pokemon.
Closing the large door behind her, Ginger saw Shadow holding two manila folders. “They told me that these hold the information we need,” she handed one over.
Opening the file, the girls saw instructions to fly to a small island off the coast of the Seafoam islands by the name of Mystic Isle. “Mystic Isle?” Shadow twisted her face in confusion, and Ginger saw Baselton recoil from the movement.
“Yeah… I think I’ve heard of it before. Mostly underground caverns,” Ginger recalled.
“Well, we’d better get going,” Shadow slammed her file shut.
“All right,” Ginger sighed, reluctant to return to the rain.
Walking down the hall, the two girls found themselves in silence. Neither could think of anything to say, and an uncomfortable silence filled the hall. Although they had been happy to meet each other, there was something odd…
As Shadow opened the door, the silence was broken. “Hey, Shadow!” called Dan, as the rain began to fly through the open doorway.
Stepping outside, Ginger watched as Shadow grinned. “Hey, Dan. Still hard at work?”
“I guess. Not much to do,” he shrugged.
“Yeah, I guess…”
“So, what are you two doing?” he asked.
“We’re going to Mystic Isle,” Shadow informed, as Ginger watched, slightly amused.
“Oh, really?” Dan raised an eyebrow. “Nice place. Do you know how you’re getting there?”
“Actually, we don’t,” Shadow wiped some of the attacking rain from her face, but was plagued with more.
Looking straight at the girl, Dan replied. “We have an extra helicopter. I was instructed to save it for a mission, so…” He waved his hand through the downpour, toward the aircraft.
Ginger smiled as Shadow stammered, “I-I don’t know how to drive…”
Dan’s face fell. “Oh. Well, I was only trying to…”
“Hey, Dan,” Ginger called, getting the attention of the other two. “I can fly it.”
“Really? Good!” the agent seemed relieved. “It’ll be better than flying through the rain on a pokemon.
“Won’t the sky clear up when we get to another area?” Shadow asked as Baselton curled even tighter around her warm neck.
Dan shook his head. “Oddly enough, no. This rain is falling all over. In fact, it’s supposed to get worse.”
Ginger frowned, picking up nidorino. “Then we’d better get going.”
Dan nodded, and handed her a key. “You’ll need this,” he explained, and turned to Shadow. “Good luck!”
“Thanks,” Shadow followed Ginger to the helicopter as Dan watched.
“All right, this ought to be fun,” Ginger climbed into the pilot’s seat, and nidorino sat in the passenger’s seat. Shadow clambered into the back, and Baselton slid off of her and onto the seat.
“When did you learn to fly these things?” Shadow called through the ruckus of the rainfall.
“A while ago,” Ginger jammed the keys in, and began to concentrate on the storm. “This is going to be a rough flight. It’s not easy to fly in a storm, and this one’s really bad.”
Shadow nodded, understanding. “Okay. I guess we’ll talk again after the flight.”
“Yeah,” Ginger confirmed as the blades began to spin. With concentrating on the controls, the rain pelting down noisily, the engine and blades whirring, and the bumps, this would be no time to carry on a conversation.
Concentrating on the flight, Ginger felt the craft lift off the ground, and into the sky. Pelting down onto the windshield, the rain provided a difficult obstacle to overcome. Sighing, the girl mumbled to her pokemon, “Sanchez, this is not going to be easy…”

Chapter Four

Mewthree was awakened by a disturbance from the doorway. Shaking his head, he turned to see Mewtwo. “What is it…” he stopped when he saw what the dripping wet pokemon had. A small pink ball of light pink fur that could only be… “Mew…” he felt a tear drip down his cheek.
Mewtwo set the dead body on a rock. The artificial light of the cave shone on the fragile pokemon, and Mewtwo explained. “I found her on the beach.”
“Why did you bring her back? You know what loss I feel of her!” Mewthree shouted angrily.
Mewtwo stepped back. “I-I…” he stammered to explain in a manner typical of young children. “I thought that, that with your powers… Well, that you could bring her back to life…”
Mewthree stopped and stared at Mewtwo, his red eyes flashing. Mewtwo backed away, afraid. “I didn’t mean any…”
Turning abruptly, Mewthree faced the small, pink pokemon, ignoring the other. “Mew…” he whispered, and laid his hands on her. In an instant, his mind was spinning.
“How do you bring the dead back to life? Can I even do it?” the thoughts rushed wildly around his head in a turmoil. Closing his eyes, he began to concentrate on the carcass in front of him, and what she had been like alive.
Without warning, he was plunged into a world of darkness. Surrounding him, it tore at his sides, pulling his attention. Not easily altered, Mewthree concentrated harder, attempting to ignore the penetrating darkness. Whirling around him, the black wind seemed to will him to give up. Nothing was happening to Mew. She was still lying there, dead… Swirling upwards, the darkness struggled to seep through his skin, or wash down his throat. However, the psychic had more willpower, and hardly felt the blackness anymore. In fact, a light was beginning to shine, a picture of life. Mewthree began to strive to arrive there, and realized that the more he tried, the closer he got, and the less he felt the pull of death.
Never had he gone through so much strain. His brain was growing weary, and he knew that he would not be able to continue longer. Strength seemed to be flying away from him, like birds from a tree. Only one thing kept him going; the feel of the soft pink fur beneath  his fingers.
Like a miracle, Mewthree broke clear of the shadows, and into bright light. Enveloping him, it provided a sense of calm and brilliance that he had not felt often… Suddenly, there was a prickling sensation in his fingers, and then a wiggle beneath his hands.
Looking down, he saw that the pokemon had begun to move. “Mew…” he whispered.

***

Mewtwo gazed across the room at his counterpart. Ever since he had been granted his mind back, he had shown respect for Mewthree. After all, the pokemon was much stronger than he himself. There was also something about the other pokemon, something strange that kept him from attacking or leaving. Maybe it was will, maybe it was strength; Mewtwo couldn’t tell.
Now, as he stood watching the other, he saw Mewthree falling into an unearthly state. The creature’s eyes were blank, his body shaking. He seemed to sense nothing, yet he was alive, Mewtwo could tell. Was this required for reincarnation?
Turning around, Mewtwo flew out the door of the cave. When Mew awoke, he’d be back, but seeing Mewthree like that sent a chill down his spine, and made him want to leave.
Flying through the mouth of the cave, he found that the rain was still falling hard, tearing into sand and turning it to mud, over-flooding streams, and roaring into his ear. Emerging from the tunnel, he felt the rush of water on his body, but didn’t mind. Cool water almost felt good after that strange experience of watching the psychic inside. Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by the steady beat of propellers. Using his psychic senses, Mewtwo saw a helicopter a few miles away, heading toward the island. “They’re coming here…” he realized, and felt his blood boil. This was supposed to be a secret island. How could they know? Why were they coming? Were they here to bring destruction? Did they want to fight?
“What would Mewthree do?” he wondered, than realized that it didn’t matter. This was his matter. He was standing in the rain. He had sensed the craft. “I shall do what Mewtwo shall do,” he decided, and lifted his head.
Concentrating the whirlwind of his mind, Mewtwo began to nod his head up and down, than side to side. Clouds turned even darker, and more formed. Forbiddingly, they rolled over the sky, dumping rain in torrents now. Thunder began to rumble deeply, and lightning bolts flashed alternately across the sky.
Pleased, Mewtwo looked around. “Wonderful. They will not make it through this storm,” he grinned, knowing that he had prevented a major problem. Humans would only create a hazard. If anyone found out about the island… Hurriedly, he turned tail and headed back into the cavern where Mewthree was attempting to perform a miracle.

***

Ginger’s hand gripped the controls as she struggled to maintain direct the helicopter’s movements. Roaring outside of the craft, the storm seemed to be increasing in power, not decreasing, as she had hoped it would.  As even darker clouds pushed in, she realized in terror that this could be her last flight.
Thinking quickly, and without taking her eyes off the window, she pulled a pokeball out of her jacket and recalled her pokemon, then put it back in and zipped the pocket back up.
She could no longer hear Shadow fidgeting in the back seat, and wondered how the girl was doing. Taking a quick glance at the mirror, she saw that her partner had turned as white as a sheet, and was gripping the seat tightly. Biting her lip, showing the whites of her eyes, and with ekans gripped around her arm, she was quite a sight. Ginger saw no more; the lights went out.
Focusing back on the storm, Ginger reached to switch the lights back on, only to find that they had died out. “Shit. Who takes care of the maintenance, anyway?” she growled to herself. Without a light, it was impossible to se through the darkness. Although she was familiar with the switchboard, this situation only added to the trouble.
Forbiddingly, the sky seemed to be ever blackening, while lightning streaked across the inky clouds, and thunder rumbled. Gulping, Ginger struggled to maintain the control. There was no use in heading back; it was just as bad there, and she could sense that they were close to the destination.  Despite herself, she shuddered at the prospect of meeting the creature in this darkness. Knowing what it had done to her father’s hand…
Forcing herself to concentrate, Ginger realized that something was wrong. A moment of calm had ensued, yet the sky was still black. Yes, the rain was still pelting down, but the thunder and lighting had ceased. “Oh no…” she realized what had happened. It was the calm before…
Almost immediately there was a deafening crash, followed by a flash of light. Ginger’s eyes widened as the bolt illuminated the area, and she saw the violent ocean, as well as a stony island further ahead. Just as quickly as it had appeared, the light went out. However, Ginger felt a shock leap through her body, and she realized what had happened.
Looking up, she saw sparks running along the wires, jumping down and biting at her. At that same instant, she realized that the blades had stopped turning! “My God…” she tried to lift the helicopter, desperately attempted to control it, but to no avail. They were losing altitude, and fast.
“What’s happening, Ginger?” Shadow stammered from the back.
“We’re going down,” Ginger’s eyes widened with terror.
“Oh no…” Shadow gasped. “Noooo!!!”
They began falling more rapidly. Ginger reached for the door handle, but found it jammed. “What the hell…”
“What?” Shadow sounded even more fearful.
“The damn doors are jammed! Whoever took care of this craft sure did a hell of a bad job!”
“Wh…” Shadow was cut off as the impact of the helicopter with the water jarred both girls.
Ginger felt a wave of immense pain as the helicopter hit the water. Her arms hit the controls, her legs hit the bottom of the cockpit, and her head was slammed against the hard back of the seat. Pain shot through her once more, followed by a sense that the whole thing was falling apart, and that as she lost consciousness, she was sinking…

***

Mewthree gasped for air, his chest raising and falling rapidly, as everything in the cave rushed back into place. Rocky formations appeared before his eyes, followed by the dim fluorescent lighting. Scents of damp moss, dirt, and fog entered into his mind, and he regained full sensations. Looking around, he saw that Mewtwo was gasping at something by his hands.
“What are you looking at…?” Mewthree glanced down, and saw that the pink bundle of fur was shaking! “Mew…” he began to back away as the little, fragile body began to shake even more violently.
“Oh my…” Mewtwo’s eyes were widening, as were his clone’s.
“Hello?” the cat-like pokemon rose up from the stone and stared at Mewthree with watery blue eyes. “You saved me!” She looked over at Mewtwo. “And you let him live!”
“Mew… I’m…”
Mew smiled warmly. “Thank you so much, Mewthree!” Turning to Mewtwo, she gazed into his eyes.
“Mew, I…” he seemed to be searching for the right words.
“I forgive you,” Mew had read his thoughts.
Mewthree stood watching as Mew and Mewtwo stared at each other, amazed. He had done it… he had reincarnated Mew! “So I am the most powerful pokemon,” he thought. “If I can bring creatures back from the dead, than think of what my attacks can do! Pretty good for a mere clone,” he thought the word bitterly.
“Oh, Mewtwo, lighten up!” Mew was floating around gleefully now, much to the winged clone’s amazement.
Mew was so happy, so forgiving, and so congenial. How had she forgiven Mewtwo right on the spot? He himself would never have been able to do that. After being dead, she was twirling about happily, as if nothing had gone wrong. As if everything had been fine. Why couldn’t he be like that? Mewthree had often tried to be light and gleeful, but to no avail. There was always something bogging him down. Something rotten. Something evil…
Mew’s pleasant voice broke his thoughts. “Is something wrong, Mewthree?”
Shaking off all of the heavy feelings he could, Mewthree managed a small grin. “No, I’m fine. I’m just so amazed…” A feeling of delight began to fill him, observing the fragile pokemon, and he was quite glad that he had agreed to help.

Chapter Five

Giggling, Mew flew happily around the cavern. She was alive! Mewthree had actually done it! She had not misjudged his powers; she had been completely correct. Jealousy had not invaded her mind yet; she knew that she could do something Mewthree couldn’t. While he could revive the dead, she could heal any physical wounds, mortal or not. Mewthree had to wait until death to help, which, if she was in that situation, would be extremely stressful.
Turning to Mewthree once again, the pink pokemon smiled. “I’m so glad to be back! What have you guys been up to?”
Her clones looked at each other, than Mewthree told. “We’ve been creating an army of powerful pokemon to attack the humans.”
Shock ran through Mew’s little body; she hadn’t expected that. “What did they do…” she asked, dazed.
“They have tried to control or kill us both,” Mewtwo explained in his tired voice.
Mew’s eyes widened. “But… not all humans are bad…”
“True,” Mewthree nodded. “That’s why we plan to attack Team Rocket first.”
At the mention of the criminals, Mew shuddered, then faced the other two. “You mean Team Rocket created you?” Both nodded, and she suddenly realized what they must have gone through. “Oh, my... now I see why…” She trailed off.
“Will you help us?” Mewthree asked anxiously, pleading with his eyes.
“Yes,” Mew whispered. Not that she approved of violence, but these were the Rockets they were talking about, so it didn’t matter much. “Now to get back to…” she began, and suddenly froze.
“Mew, are you okay…” Mewtwo ventured.
Mew’s mind was whirling, sensing something, or someone, rather, on the island. Her mind was able to detect anyone she would care about (it was some kind of instinct), and this being was obviously injured… “I must check this out,” she squeaked, getting stares from Mewtwo and Mewthree. Turning abruptly, Mew flew through the tunnels of the cave. Without looking back, she could sense that both Mewtwo and Mewthree were following close behind.
Dimly, she saw the light at the end of the tunnel, and raced toward it. Breaking into the rain, she saw the dark clouds, as well as the angry sea raging, and was immediately gripped by fear for the lost soul. “I hope I’m not too late…” she wondered if the individual was a pokemon or a person, then decided it didn’t matter. “We’re all living beings,” she had often reminded all creatures.
It was then that she saw the body, washed up onto the muddy beach. Gulping, she approached it, forgetting about the two behind her. Eyeing the body, Mew saw immediately that she was a young woman, about sixteen years old. Her blond-brown hair was plastered to her head, and her garments were tattered. Cuts and scratches covered her body; several were quite deep. However, the worst injuries were a dislocated shoulder, which Mew could judge by the angle at which the girl’s body was positioned, and a large bump on the back of her head.
Nearing the girl, Mew was able to see the head injury more clearly, and she gasped. Gashing over the lump, the split skin poured out blood, and threatened to kill the girl if serious attention was not brought to the wound.
“Is she… dead,” Mew was startled to hear Mewthree.
“Not quite,” Mew watched as the girl’s chest rose irregularly, struggling for air.
“Can you…” Mewtwo began, but Mew was already getting to work.
Wrapping her tail around the girl’s waist, Mew began to pull and concentrate at the same time. Images of ghosts, blood, and bones filled her head, clashing with outrageous colors. She wanted to scream out loud, but had enough self-control to keep from doing so.
Spinning, her mind threatened to turn against her, it seemed, throwing objects of hatred and fear out like obstacles. However, she was somehow able to keep control. Murmurs from Mewtwo and Mewthree slipped in the strange reality, soothing her soul to an extent.
Just as suddenly as it began, the rush stopped. Mew stood once again on the beach, dripping from the rain, surrounded by her genetic copies. They were staring at something; it must have been the girl. Hearing a sputtering noise, Mew looked down and saw that the girl had opened her eyes.
To the pokemon’s delight, the sores were gone! Every one of them had vanished, leaving the girl looking fine, except for the torn clothing and wet condition. “Hello, what’s your name?” She gazed intently into the girl’s eyes.
Without warning, the girl’s eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she fainted.

***

Ginger was aware of a sickening feeling, and a sharp pain as she lifted her head. She was surrounded by foam-crested waves, which were tossing her up and down, nauseating her further. Looking down, she saw that she was floating on an air-filled seat from the helicopter. The crash!
Frantically, she looked around for Shadow, but saw no sign of the girl. “Shadow!” she called, and immediately choked, as a pain rammed straight into her. “Oh God…” she groaned, looking at herself. She was covered with scratches and burns from the accident, and most of them were open and bleeding, leaking her life into the angry water.
Twisting her head, she found that her neck was sore and cramped, as well as painfully burnt on the back. When she moved her head, Ginger caught a glimpse of her side, and gasped hoarsely.
A large huge, open gash was apparent from her left rib cage to her hip. Bleeding incessantly, the wound exposed excessive amounts of muscle and some chalk-colored bone. Throbbing, the wound threatened to bleed non-stop.
Ginger closed her eyes, gulping for air. She knew what an injury like that could do, if not given immediate attention. Reaching into her jacket pocket painfully, she found that she still had her pokemon. By some miracle, they hadn’t been ripped away! Fingering through them, Ginger found the one she wanted, and threw the pokemon. “Fearrrrrrrrrrr…” the fearow called, beating its wings in the downpour.
“Kilafer, come here,” Ginger pointed to the platform she was near, wincing.
“Fearrr?” the bird landed lightly, sensing something was wrong.
Ginger attempted to crawl over to her pokemon, but fell. The chair swayed violently, threatening to tip at any minute, and the bird saw that she was injured dangerously. Immediately, the fearow jumped into the water, swimming right up to its master.
Ginger smiled at the bravery. Normally, a fearow wouldn’t swim. She’d taught hers too, but it was still a bit squeamish. “Thank you,” she managed, as she climbed on. “Hospital in Aqua City, please,” she murmured as fearow took off at a speed excelling all he had succeeded in before.
Clutching the bird’s back, Ginger struggled to stay conscious. If she fainted, she would fall off, possibly to her doom. If she hung on, there was the slightest chance she would survive. That is, if she could arrive at the hospital in time…

***

Shadow sat up and looked around, feeling a bit odd. Her surroundings included rock, rock, more rock, and some fluorescent lighting. She was met with a damp, rocky cave smell that calmed her a little. Straining to hear something, she became aware of a dripping sound, as well as some quite rustlings. “Where am I?” she wondered out loud. “How did I get here? How did I get away from the crash?”
Suddenly, she was plunged back into frames from the accident. The lights going out. Thunder and lightning crashing and flashing right outside of the window. Ginger cursing about something, struggling to maintain control over the aircraft. Calling Baselton back. Checking to make sure she had her pokeballs.
Which reminded her of her pokemon. Reaching into her pocket, she found the little pokeballs were still there. “Ekans, vulpix, abra, vaporeon, growlithe, and… one more. Who was it again? Oh, well,” she remembered, startled that she had been able to keep them. For a second she thought about letting them out, but then decided against it, discarding the idea because she was uncertain of where she was, and didn’t want to endanger her pokemon should something happen, like water running through onto her vulpix and growlithe. It just wouldn’t work.
It was then that she realized she was fine. After a crash like that, she should’ve had some kind of injury… She distinctly remembered whacking her head on a piece of metal before blacking out. On inspection, however, she realized that she had no scratches, cuts, anything! “What happened?” she wondered.
“You have been healed,” a deep, metallic voice stated, and a pokemon floated into the room. Shadow gasped at the appearance of the fierce creature. His eyes glowed red, and he floated above the floor.
“What are you…”Shadow gasped.
She was even more surprised when a similar, purple pokemon floated in. “Mewtwo?” Ginger had shown her a few pictures of the pokemon, as a pink pokemon floated in. “Mew?!?” She almost fainted. Three powerful pokemon, all psychics, and she was defenseless…
“Do not be afraid,” the bigger one spoke.
“Oh, God…” Shadow backed up, frightened.
“Hush, Mewthree,” Mew floated up to her and grinned. “We fixed you up, and I healed your wounds. Do not worry, you are safe!”
Somehow, Mew’s voice left her feeling calmer. “You healed me? Thanks…”
“Don’t mention it,” Mew winked.
“But… what do I do now?” Shadow asked, her mind whirling in confusion.
“Help us,” Mewthree looked into her eyes, sending a chill down the girl’s spine.

***

Mewthree watched as Mewtwo floated back into the room, having led the girl to a room and locked her in. “She was scared, but she didn’t try to escape,” he explained.
This surprised Mewthree, and struck a bit of jealousy into his mind. How could the girl just let them lead her somewhere without a struggle? Was it some belief? Was she a fatalist? Or was she just naturally calm in hectic situations?
Mew seemed to read his thoughts. “She is naturally calm,” the pokemon squeaked. “Which is why I found her perfect for us.”
“What?” Mewthree and Mewtwo asked in unison.
Mew laughed at them cheerfully. “You see, a human could be very helpful to our cause, and she fit perfectly.”
“What?!?” Mewtwo asked, obviously astounded.
“How do we know she won’t betray us?” Mewthree shared the doubt.
“Oh, I’ll make sure she doesn’t,” mew smiled mysteriously. “I’ll train her before she leaves…”
“You’re letting her out!?!” Mewtwo gasped, and Mewthree twisted his face in confusion.
“Of course,” Mew nodded matter-of-factly. “How else is she supposed to accomplish anything.” Getting skeptical looks, she grinned. “Come on, guys. It’ll work, I promise.”
Mewthree wasn’t sure, but the pokemon seemed to have more up her sleeve, so he inquired, “What else are you planning on doing with her?”
“Well…” Mew seemed playfully hesitant. “I’m going to make her a psychic.”
“Huh!?!” her counterparts were aghast.
“Yes,” she nodded. “It’s quite easy, really. Not only will it enable her to teleport, but it will strengthen her.”
“How…”
She held up a small hand. “Don’t comment. I will do this, guys. If anything goes wrong, you can hold me responsible!”
The two looked at each other. “Okay,” Mewthree sighed after a moment’s hesitation.
“Yeah, all right,” Mewtwo nodded.
“Thanks!” Mew twirled around in joy. “Now I just have to wait until she falls asleep…”
“She is asleep,” Mewtwo notified. “She fell asleep the moment I left, in fact.”
“Great!” Mew squealed gleefully, and turned toward the room, opening the door and zooming in.
Mewthree looked over at Mewtwo and followed, just in time to see Mew place her tail on the girl’s forehead. “What are you…” Mewthree began, but Mew silenced him.
Silently, the winged psychic watched as the little pokemon’s blue eyes began to glow vividly, and grow wider. As this happened, he was amazed to se the girl begin to raise off the bed, glowing in the aura. Levitated over the bed, the girl seemed in a momentarily unbreakable sleep, her facial features and limbs frozen still. Gasping, he saw a shudder and a dark blue burst of energy flow through the body, and suddenly, she was lowered onto the bed.
Mew dragged out the door, obviously tired. After shutting the door, Mewthree and Mewtwo followed.
“What did I just see?” Mewthree wondered.
“You just saw me converting energy to her, so she may have psychic powers,” Mew exclaimed, panting.
“Mew, you’re tired. You should lie down…”
“Maybe I should…” the little pink creature floated over to a flat rock, and curled up. “Wake me when she awakens…” And with that, she was asleep.
Mewthree turned to Mewtwo with a slight grin on his face. “She sure is odd… but cute.”
Mewtwo nodded. “Yes, I believe it would be best for us to do as she asks.”
Mewthree had his doubts. I mean, having a human help them? Weren’t they the enemy? But a psychic human might be helpful… And Mew had wanted it… “All right,” he agreed, and they stood, guarding the chamber.

Chapter Six

Opening her eyes to a soft, fluorescent light, Ginger felt a sense of alarm, and struggled to sit up. As she did so, a stream of pain shot up her side, but she forced her mind to keep her sitting, and the pain subsided.
Upon glancing at her surroundings, she found herself in a white bed, with soft, white sheets. White lights were glowing gently, and a few white tables and chairs decorated the room. A relapse of the situation occurred, and Ginger realized that she was in the Aqua City hospital.
After fearow had managed to somehow fight the storm and arrive at the building, she vaguely remembered being dragged in by the medics, who had taken her bird. If she knew this hospital, which she did, it had been sent to the pokecenter, and then the PC.
Blinking, Ginger glanced down and saw that she was wearing one of those white hospital robes. Disgusted, she lifted herself up and stepped out of bed, ignoring the pain as much as she could. Wincing, she managed to slip her clothes, having slipped out of the robe. Chills swam through her, yet she fought the urge to reconsider. She hated wearing those hospital clothes. She hated hospitals in general, though she had had no choice this time.
Feeling a fresh rush of pain as she pulled her jacket on, Ginger lifted up her shirt, and found that she had been bandaged carefully. How she hadn’t noticed it before was beyond her understanding; most likely she just hadn’t paid attention. Blood was beginning to seep through the bandages, and though the girl was curious, she decided she was better off not knowing how bad the injury was.
Walking over to the window, Ginger found happily that she was on the ground floor. “Thank God,” she thought, painfully opening the window.
Gritting her teeth, she raised herself up, then over the sill, landing unsteadily on her feet. Closing her eyes, Ginger realized that she wouldn’t be able to walk all the way to the Cerulean Forest headquarters, although…
Reaching into the pocket of her black jacket, Ginger pulled out a pokeball, and tossed. “Tauros,” the bull snorted.
“Raoul,” she smiled, petting his head.
“Taur…” he rubbed her hand with his cheek, concerned.
“I’ll be all right,” she grunted at the pain as she climbed on, and Raoul’s eyes shown even more worry. “Can we go to Headquarters?”
“Tauros!!!” the pokemon nodded, and took off down a trail.

***

Shadow awoke feeling a strange sensation in her mind. It was like some sort of a mist floating over her brain, shrouding her thoughts. Struggling to figure out what was happening, she realized that her thoughts were coming back to her, and she recalled where she was. Laying in a room in the cave of Mew, Mewtwo, and Mewthree.
Shivering, Shadow realized that she was scared. Never before in her life had she been this scared, yet she would not let the creatures know. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Mew had seemed awfully nice… She had healed her wounds, after all. And she had come back into the room and given her something…
Shadow’s mind stopped momentarily. How had she known that Mew had been in her room again? She was never told, and had been asleep when it happened. How did she know she had been asleep? Somehow, her brain had simply… known. And then she knew that she was on the island. That the three pokemon were standing outside her door. That she had her pokemon and they were fine.
Something had changed. Shadow didn’t know what, but what with all of this knowledge of what was happening… She knew what it was.
“I’m a psychic,” she gasped, knowing it to be the truth.
Spinning, her mind told her what had happened. How Mew had given her the powers. How she now possessed powers. How she was going to be asked to use them for the pokemon. How she would.
Yes, her mind was instructing her to help the psychics in a plan to destroy humans. But why? Why would she go against her own race? As much as she struggled, her brain still instructed her. Than she began to tell herself how it was right to do. Humans would have left her to die, but the pokemon had saved her. Ginger should have saved her…
Ginger. Was she okay? Her mind told her not to bother worrying, and she found herself straying from those thoughts and back to the plan.
Still her mind persisted, telling her to go along and help the psychics. Still she attempted to struggle. Until she gave in. Somehow, her mind had overpowered every instinct, silencing the doubt. Shadow felt like she was trapped, unable to get out. “Trapped by my own mind. That’s something new,” she thought.
The scary part of it was that she believed it to be true. Her mind was controlling her in a way she disliked. In a strange, new way. In a psychic method…

***

Mew awoke, twitching her ears. The girl, Shadow, was awake, and her mind was twisting through a confusion of thoughts. She sensed a fear of what was happening, of what was going to happen.
Oh, Mew didn’t blame the girl. Psychic powers were frightening when you first acquired them, especially to a human who didn’t know what was happening.
Maybe she had been wrong to expose the girl to the powers so fast, but she couldn’t wait. Besides, Mewthree and Mewtwo were getting impatient, and she had to show why she had wanted to save the girl.
Having a psychic human who would work with them could turn out for the best. A human could walk around in the streets and not be noticed. A human could enter a building and blend in. Pokemon could do none of these. Being so different and considered an inferior race definitely stunk.
Mew’s tail swatted at the air as she sensed the psychic powers in the girl’s mind beginning to win over. As soon as she was ready, it would be safe to enter and talk with her. Then the girl could be sent back to the populated area to begin ‘Infiltration and Domination’ as Mewthree had stated.
Smiling, Mew floated toward the door. She couldn’t wait… The time was drawing near. Something snapped in the girl’s mind, and Mew knew that she would now accept what she would say, and do what she instructed. After all, it was she, Mew, who had supplied the powers.
Pushing open the door, she peered in and squeaked a small, “Hello!”
The girl looked up, squinting. “Hello,” she sounded tired and confused.
Mew floated over to her. “I know you feel confused, but don’t worry. You’re going to be fine, trust me!”
Shadow looked at her, and Mew felt her heart melt. “I know what you want me to do.”
“And…?” Mew looked into the girl’s dark blue eyes.
“I’ll do it,” Shadow nodded. Mew smiled happily. “Then we’ve got a few instructions to go over…”

Chapter Seven

Ginger managed to slip off of Raoul’s back carefully, and rub the bull on the sweaty nose. “Good job,” she smiled weakly, holding her side as the pokemon snorted, happy to have accomplished his task.
Tauros had made it to Cerulean City in record time, and she was proud of him. Raoul had sensed the urgency in her voice and ran faster than usual.
A few feet away, the door to Headquarters stood covered with vines for disguise. Limping over, she called tauros back and pushed open the door. Immediately, a guard stopped her. “Halt!”
“Shut up, Kaleb,” she wasn’t in the mood to deal with this.
Kaleb obviously wasn’t, either. “Why you…”
“Kaleb, hello, it’s Ginger, me, okay?”
He looked at her and immediately said, “Oh, go on in, than.”
Holding her side, Ginger passed the tall blond man. “At least he does his job,” she thought weakly as he closed the door.
Walking towards the office, she knew there were agents staring at her. Normally, a person wouldn’t walk with a limp, and she certainly was. Ginger was also fully aware that the blood was beginning to seep through her clothing.
Knocking on the big, solid oak doors, and ignoring the guards, Ginger attempted to get her father’s attention. No answer. “Damn,” she thought.
“He’s on the phone,” Dave sneered at her.
God, she hated him. Standing by the Boss’s door, he seemed to think he was so high and mighty, and that everyone else were merely bystanders. Bystanders who couldn’t get a job done right.
Sitting at the desk, Lana looked up from filing papers. “Go on in,” she smiled.
“Thanks,” Ginger pushed open the door painfully, and Dave twisted his face.
“What’d you do now? Try to catch a pokemon?”
“Shut up,” she growled, entering the office.
Immediately she knew that Giovanni was working on the computer files. Clicking sounds filled the room, and she saw Persian cover its ears with its furry paws. It would’ve been comical if she’d felt at all good. “Yes?”
“Hey, I’ve, uh… got some bad news…” Ginger didn’t quite know how to put this. Bad was an understatement.
“What?” Giovanni looked up from the computer, and straight at her. “Ginger? What are you doing back here?”
“Great,” Ginger thought. Giovanni was definitely not in a good mood.
“We had some problems…”
“What kind of problems?” he was now paying full attention to the report she gave, and Ginger wished he wasn’t.
“You know how there was a really bad storm yesterday?” Ginger began, and Giovanni nodded. “Well… we went out in a helicopter…”
“As you should have.”
“Right. Anyhow, the storm got worse a few miles from where we were going to land. Since we were close to the island, and far from the Base, we couldn’t head back. Our only alternative was to keep going…” she was dragging this out, even though she knew Giovanni hated having something explained in this manner. “Anyway, the lights went out, and there was no way to turn them back on. I kept flying the chopper, but…” Hesitating for a split second, Ginger realized that she didn’t want to recall the event. Unfortunately, she had to do it. “A bolt of lightning hit us, and we crashed into the water. When I regained consciousness, I couldn’t find Shadow, and the chopper was completely destroyed. I rode fearow to the Aqua hospital, broke out of there a bit ago, and rode tauros here.” Ginger looked at her father, wondering what he would say.
“Good God…” his eyes were wide. “So, Shadow’s missing, the helicopter is destroyed and you’re injured?”
“Yeah,” Ginger nodded and winced in pain.
Giovanni stood up. “What happened to you, anyway?”
Ginger sighed. “Well, besides the smaller scratches, cuts, and bruises, I have a few small burns, and I think my side was cut with something.”
“Christ,” he shook his head, sitting back down.
“May I be excused?” Ginger asked, wanting nothing more than to lay down.
“Yes,” Giovanni nodded, and watched her limp out.
Ginger walked straight out, not even looking at Dave and Lana. Down a hall, she reached the dorms, and entered hers.
Sitting on the bed, she felt a sense of comfort. Tired as she was, though, she had to know what had happened to her side…
Lifting up her shirt, Ginger painfully peeled of the bandages. Sticking to the blood, the cloth material seemed unwilling to come off, yet she managed to do it. When she did, she gasped.
Running down her left side was a huge gash, gushing with blood. The wound was so deep she could she clear through to the bone, especially that of her ribcages, glistening with the red blood. Crusted blood formed around the edges, but warm, red blood still oozed out of the center.
Holding back the urge to vomit, Ginger quickly wrapped the injury back up as best she could. She’d need to get something done to it later, but now it was time to sleep. Tomorrow she’d be working again. Heck with an injury. Yawning, she closed her eyes slowly…

***

Shadow stood before the psychics, not the least bit nervous. She felt as if she had known these creatures for years, though it had only been a few days. All three were scrutinizing her mind; she could feel the impulses traveling to her.
Mew spoke, and she listened. “We have decided to send you out to the world. Here are some pokemon to add to your collection, and your old pokemon, which we have, ah… spruced up.”
“What do you mean by that?” Shadow asked though she thought she could read the pokemon’s mind.
“Every one of them has psychic abilities,” Mew smiled proudly. “And, wait, we have one more pokemon for you.”
“Who?” Shadow asked, curious. This was going to be a cinch if she had the right pokemon, and she sure did.
Mew floated forward. “I will be traveling with you.”
“What?!?” the two others obviously had not been aware of this.
Shadow was stunned, too. “Really?”
“Yes,” Mew nodded.
For the first time, Shadow felt like she belonged. The pokemon had decided to join her on her own free will! “Wow…”
“All right,” Shadow watched as Mew turned to Mewtwo and Mewthree. “You two take care of yourselves, and get that army together.”
“The pokemon army,” Shadow thought. “They’ll all be psychic.”
“We will,” Mewthree waved, seeming a bit forlorn that the little pokemon was leaving.
“The army is started, and we know just where to go,” Mewtwo reminded.
“Bye!” Mew waved, and turned to Shadow. “I am, for now, your pokemon,” she smiled broadly.
“All right!” the girl had never thought she would have a Mew! “Mew, return!” she held out a pokeball and watched as Mew was sucked into it.
“Teleport to Cinnabar,” she heard Mew’s thought waves.
“We can still communicate,” she realized, then began to concentrate.
Her eyes closed, Shadow felt a strange, rushing sensation. Was this teleport? She had never preformed it before. If so, was it supposed to be like this? She felt as if her body was in a hurricane. Strange though it was, the experience was almost a relief…
Opening her eyes, Shadow found that she had, indeed, teleported to Cinnabar Island. “Whoa,” she thought.
“Lemme out!” Mew squeaked, and Shadow obliged. “Won’t people think it’s strange that I have a Mew?” she inquired quizzically.
“Nope,” Mew explained. “Just say you got lucky. People these days are so gullible. So trustworthy. They’ll believe you.”
Shadow heard the rest of the pokemon’s thoughts. “People here are so trustworthy, we’ll win them over and capture them.”
“Even most of the Rockets,” Shadow added, and Mew looked startled.
“You’re getting good at reading minds,” she complimented.
Shadow nodded. “So, what do we do next?”
“Go to the gym,” Mew grinned, “And kick out the leader.”
Shadow smirked. “I’ve always wanted to do this,” the two headed towards the large gym in the volcano.

***

Giovanni held his head in his hands, trying to fight off the biting headache that was provoking him. The last few days had been incredibly trying on his nerves, and his hand still throbbed whenever he moved it.
Mewthree was gone; escaped from the lab. Giovanni had seen the work for creating the creature. He had gone into the lab after the incident to find it. The project startled him worse than it had when he first saw it. Mewthree was super intelligent, with an IQ higher than nearly all humans.
The leader of Team Rocket shuddered at the very thought. Who knew what Mewthree was cooking up at that very moment? Was he planning to destroy them? Giovanni knew these thoughts, and feared them. He feared Mewthree, because there was no way to stop the pokemon. Not with how powerful it had been created…
And now he had lost Shadow, one of his best agents. She had been very valuable in catching pokemon, as well as just being an all around good worker. Presumably, she was dead… “Why couldn’t it have been someone more incompetent,” Giovanni thought tiredly.
Everything seemed to be falling apart. Many of the agents were turning away, he could see it. They would help someone they found on the street. They would go against fellow members, and work with the police.
Many agents were useless, too; unable to both catch and steal pokemon. Most wouldn’t even go near the torture area of it. Slacking off, the agents were proving less and less effective. Now, the few good ones were becoming injured.
Sighing, he subconsciously stroked the ivory-colored fur of his persian.  If something didn’t start going right soon, there might be a problem. A very big problem…
Looking down at his desk, he saw several packets of information for several missions. Many were simple. A pokemon to be stolen, a small store to be broken in too… But there was one that caught his eye. He read the note attached to the file over…
“Request that you send an agent skilled in torture over too Cinnabar Island. There is a man in the old mansion who seems to know something but will not talk. No more details.”
It wasn’t quite like him to go on impulse, but this was the most interesting report as of yet. Besides, if it wasn’t true, there’d be no problem… right? They really did need a break.
Giovanni knew who he wanted to send. Not sure that she would go, he decided to try a shot in the dark anyway. If this man really did have the needed information, then Team Rocket might get a lucky break…

Chapter Eight

Slamming the large, iron door behind her, Shadow peered around the hot room. At first glance, she saw no one, and wondered what was going on, than somehow detected that there was someone else. “Who did I do that?” she wondered, and, yet again, her mind answered for her. It was the psychic powers again. “Strange,” she thought, and watched as an old, white-haired man hastily slipped on a wig as he walked out. Recognizing him right away, she walked in further, followed by Mew.
“Hello. What can I do for you?” Blaine walked towards her, a fiery magmar at his side.
Knowing what she had to do, Shadow decided to cut right to the point. There was no sense in wasting time, since the results would undoubtedly be the same whether she waited or not. “Let me have command of this gym.”
Blaine looked startled, than laughed. “Good on! You had me fooled for a minute!”
“I’m not joking,” Shadow kept her face straight, though she felt like laughing in the man’s face.
Darkening his expression, the elderly leader lowered his voice. “I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
“You old fool!” Shadow spat. “Of course you can!” Her sapphire blue eyes bore into him, and she motioned with her hand towards Mew, who floated closer. “You see, we must have it.”
“A mew…” Blaine gasped, amazed. “But how…”
“This is obviously beyond you,” Shadow remained calm.
“Shall I?” Mew’s telepathic waves met Shadow’s easily, and the girl was surprised at the clarity.
“Go ahead,” she sent back, noticing that Blaine, standing clueless, hadn’t heard a word she and the pokemon had exchanged.
Shadow stood back as Mew advanced, knowing full well what was about to progress. “Stay away…” Blaine was backing up, nervous.
“Marrrrr!!!” the pokemon suddenly stepped forward, taking in a deep breath.
“Watch out!” Shadow advised telepathically, and Mew nodded, turning toward the pokemon.
“Mag!” the fiery duck spat fire in Mew’s direction, barely missing the pokemon’s light fur.
“Meww!!!” she angrily let out a blast of unearthly energy, aiming straight at magmar.
Glancing towards Blaine, Shadow saw him heading towards the door. “Abandoning his pokemon?” she thought bitterly. “Well…”
“Hey, old man, what’s the hurry?” she yelled across the room, walking towards him.
“Stay away…” Blaine stammered.
“Is that all you can say?” Shadow sounded amused as her eyes began to glow a fluorescent blue.
“Goodness…” Blaine’s eyes widened as the girl began to glow strangely.
“I told you I wanted this gym, old man, and I’m going to have it,” Shadow concentrated, feeling a strange pressure behind her eyes.
Suddenly, the pressure was released, and she watched as a beam of light hit the man, knocking him over flat. Amazed, she walked over. He was dead. She had killed him with psychic powers. There was no blood to be seen, only a frozen expression of pure terror on his face. A chill went down the girl’s spine at the sight of what she could do.
“Good job, you have learned your powers,” Mew floated over, and Shadow saw magmar laying in a crumpled heap on the floor.
“What did I… How did I…” Shadow gasped, still in disbelief. How had she done it? She hadn’t known?
Mew had heard her mind. “Your brain is a mysterious thing. It figured out how to work the powers on it’s own. You are now a true psychic.”
“Oh…” the girl looked down, than brought her head back up, smiling. “Good. Now we can get the job done.”
“Exactly,” Mew nodded. “Now, let’s get to work.”
“Of course,” Shadow grinned, beginning to realize that she was glad to have been chosen. “Let’s go.”

“Yes?” Shadow lifted her head quickly as the door opened, not worried at all. A young boy stood in the door.
“A pokemon trainer,” her newfound senses spoke, and she knew that she could completely trust in them.
“I have come…” the boy began in a loud voice before Shadow cut him off.
“To challenge the gym leader,” she stared across at him, a kid who appeared to be about thirteen at most with big eyes and a confident expression.
“Yeah,” he nodded, surprised but trying not to show it.
“Knew it,” she nearly laughed, and could hear Mew laughing in her mind from behind a huge chunk of obsidian.
“Where is he?” the kid asked, his eyes darting around.
“He?” Shadow acted surprised, though she knew fully well who he was referring too.
“I thought the leader of this gym was a man named Blaine…” for the first time since he had entered, the trainer looked uncertain.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I just took his place earlier this morning. He had a little… fall,” she grinned inside, but remained serious outside. She knew better than to blow her cover.
“Oh… is he okay?”
“Yeah,” Shadow could tell the kid was anxious to fight. “You ready?”
“Yeah, sure. Go…”
“Mew, get him!” Shadow barked suddenly, cutting off the boy sharply as Mew zipped past her.
“What…?” the pokemon trainer began, but didn’t finish. He was knocked flat on the ground by a speeding pink bullet, it seemed, one that slammed him to the floor.
“You picked the wrong time to visit this gym, kid,” Shadow laughed from across the room. “Sorry for the inconvenience.”
“Noooooo!” the kid screamed, than suddenly fell silent. Shadow knew what had happened.
Mew looked up. “I have done what you wanted,” she smiled slightly, and Shadow nodded.
“Thanks, Mew, I’m sure Mewtwo and Mewthree’ll be glad,” Shadow nodded.
“Good job.”
“Always glad to help you,” Mew replied, and Shadow suddenly felt a strange, happy shudder pass through her body as she realized it was the truth. She had a true friend.

***

Mew watched after Shadow as the girl took the little boy’s body out back to dispose of it. “There has to be a better way…” she thought silently. These deaths were making her feel slightly nauseous. Mew felt something was wrong, and knew that there had to be a better way. What it was, she didn’t know for sure.
“But I’ll find out, and everything will be better,” she assured herself, and somehow felt a little better because of it.” Once she did find the answer, she knew everything would turn out right. She just knew it.

Chapter Nine

Ginger looked out the glassy window of the helicopter as she approached her destination. Below her lay a stretch of deep, blue, ocean, dotted with waves that had been crested with white foam. The water was fairly calm compared to what it had been after the accident, though…
Shuddering, she remembered the biting iciness of the deep water, the shock she had experienced, the pain she had felt from the wounds, and the pain she had felt from losing one of her best friends. She felt that pain from losing Shadow strongly, and could sense that it was biting hard at her.
What had happened to the girl? She didn’t know, and she almost didn’t want too. There had been a search for her, and nothing had been turned up. Not a trace of the girl had been found. Ginger hated to think what could’ve happened in that storm…
She was surprised she could still get into a helicopter without convulsing multiple times or shaking. Her mind had screamed against it at first, but then gone along, because she knew there was nothing she could do about what happened, and besides, the model she had had during the storm was the oldest the Rockets had maintained, a fact she hadn’t known during the flight.
Then there was that storm; that freak storm. Looking out the window, she saw that the sun was shining in a clear blue sky and began to feel sick again. That storm had turned many things upside-down for her, yet nothing in the sky reflected it.
That green sky and that bolt of lightening that had hit had been strong. In fact, she was surprised the helicopter hadn’t exploded right then and there. Something had been wrong about that storm, something had been very wrong…
At that time, she realized that she had reached the island, and immediately spotted the landing pad on top of the old mansion. Supposedly, anyone could use it, and she decided that she might as well test that theory.
Carefully, she maneuvered the aircraft onto the building, landing without even the slightest bump. When she had power the thing down, Ginger jumped out the door and closed it, than allowed Dario to follow her. After all, there was no harm in being careful.
As they walked toward the door they led into the building, Ginger felt as if there was a knife in her side, and wished that she had been able to do something about it. It bit lit some sort of mangy arcanine, and she couldn’t stop it.
However, she didn’t want to fail the mission, and had to carry it out. Therefore, she kept going. When she reached the door, she found that it opened easily and grinned slightly for the first time in days.
Entering, she felt unnatural warmth, and it took her a minute to realize that the heat was given off by the many fire pokemon in the area. A magmar plodded along a wall, nearly completely hidden by shrouds of smoke. A growlithe yipped playfully at a vulpix, chasing it into the next room.
Dario hissed under his breath, and Ginger waved her hand. “Leave them alone, Dar, they aren’t important right now.”
“Scy…” he nodded, relaxing slightly.
“Now, the man’s supposed to be in here…” she muttered, looking around. “C’mon, Dar, let’s find him!”
“Scyyyyther!” the overgrown insect nodded in approval.
“Good boy,” she nodded appreciatively, and stepped over a burning ember. “Let’s go that way,” she motioned towards the doorway to another room. The actual door had fallen to the floor and been burnt black, as many of the others in the vicinity had.
Stepping over the charcoal-encrusted door, she looked into the room, and immediately smelled burning flesh. Immediately, she guessed where it came from. “No…” she groaned as her eyes fell upon something that had once been human.
Once was definitely the word Ginger’s mind flashed brilliantly. There was a head, though it had been crushed and the greasy-looking brains were oozing out. The body was severely burnt, and the flesh had sizzled noticeably, leaving hardened bubbles. His limbs were strewn about randomly, and she couldn’t see his left leg anywhere.
There were deep scratch marks on every part of his body, and Ginger guessed right away that they had been made by an arcanine. At first, she thought it had been an arcanine with a trainer, and than she saw a note on the man’s detached right arm.
“Foolish human, we knew you would come. So, you cannot have the information now. Don’t worry, soon you shall not need anything at all. See what my soldiers can do? Tell Giovanni that I’m coming! Signed, the master,” Ginger muttered, reading over the note.
Angrily, she shoved it in her pocket. Something told her that she was in over her head, but she didn’t care. “Goddamnit!” she screamed, startling a grimer that had been sliding by.
Dario tilted his head and growled at the remains, knowing what was going on. He raised a scythe in anger, cutting through the air cleanly. Ginger stroked his head once, and the pokemon snorted, than stopped. It listened readily, despite what it felt.
“Getting angry won’t do us any good,” Ginger explained, “Whatever killed this guy isn’t here anyway,” she looked around slowly. “But my dad’s going to be pissed…”
Dario nodded in  agreement, and Ginger looked around. Her mind spun rapidly, and had one location on its mind.
The Cinnabar Island Gym.
It was some sort of force that told her, she felt, and decided to follow it. Why not? There was no harm in trying.
“C’mon, Dario…” she waved her hand, and they started toward the stairs.

***

“I sense something… something on this island,” Shadow looked at Mew in a questioning way. “Do you?”
Mew shook her head, “No, I don’t.”
Shadow sighed heavily. “Maybe it’s just me,” she thought.
“No, it isn’t just you,” Mew startled her for a second before she remember that reading thoughts was a normal practice with the pokemon. “Well, I don’t sense it, but I believe your senses tell you the truth.”
Shadow nodded. “I guess…” she searched her mind for a clue, any clue that would lead to an answer. What came was a mental feeling, just a feeling that someone was looking for her, maybe without knowing it.
What came next was a feeling that the person was a Rocket, and that the person wanted to end Mewthree’s control. It came with a flash of fury, and Shadow realized with surprised that she felt fully dedicated to the cause of the psychic pokemon, and would do what was needed to help him.
She didn’t realize it then, but she had fallen under a sort of control by Mewthree. It wasn’t forced, the pokemon had never even tried to do anything, but it was there. Subtle, but there.
What she did know was that she would kill for what Mewthree wanted. She would kill readily, even if it meant taking on someone she had once known and worked with.
“Shadow…” Mew spoke from behind her.
“Yeah?”
“I hear your thoughts, and they bother me,” the look on Mew’s face supported she had said.
Shadow had thought they would. She liked Mew, and knew that there was a brilliantly kind creature in her, one that shown when she wanted it too. The only problem was that what they were doing required a sort of hardness. She hoped Mew had it.
“I do, Shadow, I can be strong,” Mew surprised her once more, and she looked at the pokemon’s big blue eyes. They had shown with something that hurt Shadow inside, though she didn’t admit it even to herself.
“I’m sorry,” she wasn’t quite sure why she said it, but those were the words she spoke. Mew simply shook her head, confusing the girl momentarily.
“I don’t need an apology, you didn’t do anything. I do have a question, though,” there was a gravity in her voice Shadow hadn’t yet heard from the little pokemon.
“Yes?” she suddenly wanted to know what was to be asked, wanted to know what the pokemon had been thinking. She knew her powers were strong, but she hadn’t been able to dig into the deep thoughts. It was simply beyond the reach of her.
“Would you kill a friend?”
Shadow felt a jolt fly through her at this question and immediately wanted to dash away, as if to hide form it. Knowing it was stupid made her feel bad, but knowing that Mew had heard her thought made it worse.
The worst, though, was in what Mew had said. Could she kill someone she had known? What if she had worked together with whoever she would run into? Then what would she do…
In her mind, she was convinced she could take care of the job. In her body, the depths of her soul, she wasn’t as sure.
“I don’t know,” she heard herself, but found her mind wandering.
Mew nodded. “We shall see… I feel a presence now, too. And she is coming near.”
Shadow looked at Mew with shining eyes. “Stay here, please,” for some reason she felt the pokemon was about to leave her.
“I cannot do that,” Mew’s voice retained the gravity, as well as what Shadow had thought. “You must go through this alone. I’m sorry, but it is as it is.”
Shadow nodded slowly. “I understand,” she felt her throat grow dry as Mew flew swiftly out of the room.
At first she couldn’t believe what was happening, couldn’t comprehend. Than, as her mind cleared, she began to understand. It was a test to see what she would do, how she would perform. A test to see if she herself was strong enough.
There was something else in it too, though. Something that Mew had wanted to see, something Mewthree and Mewtwo hadn’t contended with. Mew wanted to see if she could kill her own.
She was curious to know herself, though when she thought of it that way she felt sick inside.
The door suddenly burst open, revealing the figure of another young woman and a scyther. “I know you’re here…” the voice sounded enraged at something.
“Oh God no…” Shadow thought, her mind feeling as if it were exploding inside of itself.
It was Ginger. God, she didn’t know if she could kill Ginger, didn’t think she could. Now that she was faced with the task, she didn’t believe she could carry it all the way through, didn’t think she’d be able to accomplish it…
“Will you cave in, forget all that we’ve given you, for one human?” the voice of Mewthree was clear, ringing in her head cleanly, driving into her with a force that seemed both emotional and physical.
She didn’t know if it really was Mewthree, couldn’t tell, but was shaken back to reality. It was time to get to business, time to get serious. Time to forget the past and move on into the future.
It was time to kill.

Chapter Ten

Ginger stared in amazement across the floor of the gym. Standing in the center of the floor was Shadow, looking as if she had never been in a crash. For a moment she thought there was a strange glow surrounding the girl, than dismissed it as a trick of her own eyes.
In most cases Ginger had been cautious, had always taken steps to be sure she didn’t make a mistake or take a wrong step because of a poor foresight. At that time, however, she forgot all about that. She simply saw Shadow, who she had been convinced was dead, and nearly blanked out.
“Shadow!” she called out. “No way!”
“Hello, Ginger,” Shadow’s voice had taken on a quality that was foreign to Ginger. She had never heard the girl use it or anything like it before. The voice was suave, conning, and slightly cold…
For a moment Ginger wondered if Shadow was angry with her. Was she upset about the crash? Had she tried to ask for help?
She pushed these away, though, against the twitches she was feeling in her instincts. It was Shadow, of course nothing was wrong. Something else was the problem, had to be…
“Shadow, there’s something in here… Have you seen it?” her voice was slightly jittery, and she felt angry with herself for it. The air of the gym held a chill, and though she wanted to ignore it, it kept hitting her hard.
“Something? Like what?” there was a laughter beneath Shadow’s voice that further conveyed the coldness, and Ginger felt herself becoming slightly more on guard.
Shadow didn’t seem right. Didn’t look right. Didn’t sound right. Ginger wondered if there was something wrong, and what it possibly could have been.
“Something powerful,” they were the first words she came up with.
“Powerful?” Shadow smiled broadly, and immediately what was left of the base of Ginger’s trust vanished. The smile was wrong, very wrong.
“Shadow, what’ wrong with…”
“What’s wrong with me?” she was cut of abruptly by her former partner. “Nothing. In fact, I feel better now.”
She had begun to rub her hands together, and Ginger once again saw the glowing aura, only this time it was only around the girl’s hand, and she was sure she wasn’t seeing anything.
With a bite of fear, she realized that something WAS wrong. Terribly wrong… In an instant, Ginger had recalled Dario, sensing that he would only be hurt fatally if anything happened.
Shadow laughed loudly, with an open coldness that made Ginger shiver. “Ginger!” she raised her voice with a sort of glee. “You’ve missed quite a few things while I’ve been gone, including my new power. Now I can show you, though, isn’t that nice?”
“Shadow, no!” Ginger yelped subconsciously, reaching for a pokeball and then taking her hand off of it, realizing once again that it would do no good, and that she couldn’t hurt Shadow. Something stopped her, holding her back. “Too late, Ginger,” Shadow laughed, opening her hands swiftly.
A beam of bright blue light shot forcefully at Ginger, slamming her into the walls. Blooms of pain burst in front of her eyes, and she felt herself being squeezed against the wall.
The pain didn’t subside, only rose, as the beam continued to wrap around her, holding her to the wall. It felt as though she were being wrapped by bars of steel, and she felt her air supply running out as red spots began to dance randomly in front of her eyes.
Through the bursts of pain and shorts breaths of air, she saw Shadow walking over to her, her hands still held in the position they had released the beam in. “How do you like it, Ginger?”
“You bitch,” Ginger heard her mind scream in anguish. “How could you do this?” She was unable to speak but found that it was unnecessary anyway.
“Easily. I do it for the Master of Power, Mewthree,” Shadow laughed coldly again. “It was Mew who gave me the powers, and Mewthree who took me in. I will help to reach his goals, as his purpose is viable.”
Ginger’s eyes rolled madly. Mewthree? Mew? Oh Christ, what had Shadow gotten herself into? Why did she like it? How could she? She had never done anything like this, never in her life.
“I took a new turn,” Shadow grinned again, than suddenly slammed her palms together.
Ginger felt a fresh jolt of pain, almost like electricity. She remembered thinking, “Was Mewtwo there, too? Did they have a family reunion or what?” After that, there was nothing but a fuzzy darkness.

***

Mew’s blue eyes shifted towards the hallway towards the gym, but she held back. Let Shadow do what she had to. Let Shadow figure out what she needed. It was the best way to do things most often, and she didn’t think that this would be an exception.
She was beginning to have serious doubts of her own about Mewthree and his plans. Before it had only been a little trickle, nothing that she couldn’t ignore. Now, however… Now it was a full-blown stream.
How could it possibly be right to hurt people? To kill them, and without mercy. To let them die slowly, painfully, under powers that not many understood. Could it possibly be right? Could it come to any good?
The more she thought about it, the more Mew thought it was wrong, that it certainly wouldn’t come to any good. She hadn’t ever liked the idea of murder, it wasn’t her ‘thing’. And now that she had experienced it, she liked the idea even less.
The whole ordeal had left her feeling sick. It all felt so WRONG. That was it, wrong. It wasn’t natural, either. Not something that she would’ve done if left alone.
In fact, Mew preferred to help, to be kind. That had been why she’d confronted Mewtwo in the first place. He had been cruel, she had shown him the way. SO why had she been pulled into Mewthree’s plan?
The answer, she realized, was actually quite obvious. He was powerful. Very powerful. The influence he had over minds that had begun to trust him was incredible. It could make them listen to him, make them do his will, to carry out his bidding.
She had never felt anything as strong as him, and now she realized how she had been fooled. He may be family, but he was a murderer. Nothing but a murderer bent on world domination, when you got down to it.
The thought made her shiver, racking her body visibly. Because she hadn’t been the only one bought into it. Mewtwo and Shadow… “Oh no,” she murmured. Was there a way to make them see? To have them understand?
Though she didn’t know the answer to that, she did know that she had to keep her thoughts to herself. It would require working hard to enclose her mind, but maybe it would be better… hopefully.
“Mew, we are coming,” the cold, hard voice of Mewthree entered her mind.
She wanted to tell him to stay away, to leave her alone. But no, she couldn’t do that. Because he wouldn’t stay, he’d come, and then she’d be in trouble. “All right…” she paused momentarily, considering the girl in the other room. Was there time to save her? Maybe. “Shadow has something… someone, for you.”
When the voice came again, it sounded like it was smiling. Not a warm smile, the kind that makes you happy. It was a cold smile, hardened by anger and need for revenge. “Good. We’ll be there soon.”
Following that was the sense, thankfully, that the presence was gone. She wanted to avoid this, but maybe she could help. She headed over to tell Shadow what she needed to say.

***

Shadow looked at the young woman who lay on the floor, collapsed from the power. The power of the psychic. She felt a sense of pride in what she had done, what she could do.
And yet… yet she didn’t want to kill Ginger. She didn’t even know if she could, in fact. Maybe Mewthree would be angry, maybe not.  Still, it was better to be safe than sorry…
She had raised her left hand when Mew floated into the room, her blue eyes glowing with a strange light. Shadow immediately dropped her hand, glad to see the pokemon. Maybe there’d be a way out of it after all… Judging by what she heard of Mew’s thoughts, this was a way.
“Mewthree and Mewtwo are coming,” Mew began, and Shadow realized she was unsure of herself. Something had happened… but what? “I told them you had taken someone down and wanted to show them.”
Shadow smiled at the little pokemon gratefully. She had been spared this after all. At the time, her mind didn’t slip to what Mewthree would do the young woman. She didn’t WANT to think about that.
Had Mew known what she had been thinking? Maybe. “Thank you,” she said, hoping the pokemon understood.
Mew nodded, but there was something distracted about it. “Shadow, before they get here, I need you to know something…” the little pokemon took in a surprisingly deep breathe before continuing. “I think… I’m CONVINCED that what Mewthree is doing is wrong.”
Surprised, Shadow stared at her. “How could you?” It was all she could get out, but there was so much more. Hadn’t Mew gone along with Mewthree all along, supported him, even?
Mew heard all of this and more and nodded. “He has a control over us, Shadow. He’s so powerful…” her voice trailed off momentarily and she stared at the wall behind the girl. “Think about it. Is all of this right?”
Shadow blinked incredulously, shaking her head. It couldn’t be true, could it. Or did he have a control? Did he have something over her…
Suddenly, she realized that he did. She realized why she had nearly killed Ginger, why she had allowed a pokemon to be killed cruelly and would let more be disposed of in a similar manner. He had held power over her, and she had followed. Like a fool, she had followed.
But… so had Mew. Both of them had been fooled, had believed Mewthree. Her realization was like breaking through the surface of water. Of course he had been controlling them. Maybe not on purpose, but he had. Why else would they have gone along with all of it at all?
Looking down at her former partner, she felt a sudden recoil of disgust with herself. How could she have done that? How could she have let herself go back on all she had ever tried to be, tried to do?
She looked up at Mew, her eyes blazing with an intensity. “Can we make them stay away?” She heard Mew’s answer in the pokemon’s mind before it was spoken. “No… of course not. But… can we at least get her out of here?”
If she had been thinking clearly, she probably would’ve realized that there wasn’t time. That the psychic powers were useful beyond belief, not only for mind reading, but for transportation by teleporting. By moving from one place to another simply by thinking of it. She hadn’t been thinking along these lines, however, and was shocked when Mewthree appeared in the center of the room, his eyes blazing with a lively sort of intensity. Mewtwo followed shortly after, though the power in his eyes had been deluded by the presence of the other. “Hello,” she managed shakily. Beside her, Mew nodded. Both of them knew that there was no way around this. They had to face what they had joined.

Chapter Eleven

Mewthree nodded at Shadow, smiling as only he could. It was cold, yet not quite heartless. Somehow, he felt. Deep inside of him, there was feeling. It disgusted him, but not completely. He knew he’d have to be rid of it sometime, probably soon, but for the moment he almost liked it.
It was something warm he could turn too if he had to. He wasn’t foolish enough to believe that nothing would come of completely giving himself up to the darkness. Without emotion, there wasn’t much.
No, that wasn’t quite true. There was power, of course. And power would, in the end, stand above all for him. Right? Of course, it HAD to. Because he had been created to be the most powerful. So it was right for him to crave more power.
Wasn’t it?
Anyway, there was no stopping it. Once the wave started, it would carry him away. But for the moment, he could be alive, could be real, and could feel emotion. Mostly it was a sort of caring for both the mew and the girl in front of him. They’d been so willing to help… and why? He wasn’t sure, but… well, he felt for them because of it.
Love? No. He didn’t think he could honestly experience love. Just as he didn’t think he could experience gratitude, guilt, or anything along those lines. It was something, though. Something…
Something he’d give up in an instant for power. And suddenly, he understood that they knew. They knew, and they were afraid. There was something else, too. Something else that they were thinking.
They didn’t like what he was doing. They didn’t agree with his plans. Didn’t want to go along and help him. They though it was WRONG!
Inside his mind, he could almost see the sparks of rage that were flashing for him. He’d felt for them, actually felt for them, but now it was gone. This was the anger taking over, pushing whatever primal breed of love that had been to the side. This was the pure emotion. Hate.
How could they back out? How could they do this to him? HOW?
“You ingrates,” he snarled, staring directly at the two, not noticing that Mewtwo’s eyes had begun to glaze over strangely. His eyes flamed with a fiery contempt, and he found a new sort of joy when Shadow took a step away from him. “You FOOLS!”
There was no fighting what he had said, no pleading. They understood that he knew, understood how he knew.  In his eyes was the anger of the world, and they had no way to go against it.
“How COULD you?” When he said this, a note struck into his voice that he himself didn’t notice. It was one of terrible sadness, of being let down. If he would’ve known, he would’ve been surprised. He wasn’t quite rid of his emotions after all.
“Mewthree, it isn’t right,” Mew’s voice was a s strong as ever, but her mind said that she was afraid.
There was a momentary hesitation on Mewthree’s part. This was Mew he was angry at. Could he really do anything to her? After she had been kind to him? After he had saved her? Could he really go against one of the few who had ever cared about him?
But no, that was weakness. Weakness, such an ugly word. He wasn’t going to let himself be weakened because of any sort of emotion. With that decision, he tossed the emotions away without looking back, and stared at the two who stood in front of him.

***

Mew watched in horror as Mewthree appeared. She knew it was over. He’d find out, he’d know, he’d know right away, he’d listen to their minds…
And of course, he had. He had found out, and he’d been angry. Angry beyond all reason, in fact. Hadn’t spoken to them of it, hadn’t needed to. All he’d needed to know had been on the top of their minds, as easy to access as a reference book.
The very thought disgusted her. How could he be so angry with them for their private thoughts? He was angry with them for thinking he was wrong, now she was angry with him for having read the thoughts.
What she knew was that if he became uncontrollably angry, there was nothing she could do. There had to be a way out of it, had to be a way to avoid their deaths. If it had to end in Mewthree’s, so be it. She didn’t like the idea, but he was bringing it upon himself, after all.
Maybe, though, maybe there was a chance to help him. Maybe there was a chance to save him before it was too late. How, though? He wouldn’t listen to her, or to Shadow. And Mewtwo couldn’t be counted on.
In a flash, there came a crazy idea. Crazier than anything she’d ever heard, and yet maybe, just maybe, it would work.
Through her mind, Mew sent out a message.

***

Ginger opened her eyes slightly, unable to move and hardly able to breathe. What had happened? The last thing she remembered was walking into the gym, and then… and then…
Shadow. The psychic energy. Being knocked out. It all hit her at once, and she realized why she felt like someone had shoved her into a stampede and left her to die. It was because she almost had been killed.
What had come over Shadow, anyway? She had seemed so… different. Almost as if something had possessed her. Ginger had seen movies about shit like that, and it fit about right.
How else could what Shadow had done be explained? Unless she had decided to just give up on the Rockets. If that was true, Ginger couldn’t let anything come of it. SHE was loyal, that much she knew, and couldn’t let someone get away with anything like that.
If it had been anyone else, she wouldn’t have been in that situation. She knew it, and didn’t doubt that Shadow at least suspected it. She hadn’t been ready, plain and simple. Shadow had caught her off guard, and she hadn’t suspected anything was really wrong.
Now she had paid for her mistake. Christ, had she ever paid for her mistake.
But what was it Shadow had said about Mew? And Mewthree? Mewthree? That name had been in the file…
“Oh damn,” she thought bitterly. “Oh DAMNIT!”
That was what they had been sent after, of course. Their dangerous mission had been to find Mewthree, and oh shit, had Shadow ever found Mewthree. Suddenly, she knew that she had, too.
There was a new voice in the room, one she had never heard. She hadn’t heard anyone enter. Of course, she wouldn’t have heard if someone had entered, but that didn’t matter. She had a feeling that the owner of that voice didn’t need to use doors, anyway.
It was a cold, hard voice, with a metallic edge to it. She forced her eyes to focus, and succeeded, to a degree. She saw a green image, though it was fuzzy. It was a creature that resembled Mewtwo, all right, with wings. Wings, how overrated were wings?
And then she understood that Mewthree was looking at her, though she couldn’t quite see to confirm it. She tried to raise her head, but heard a grunt from the direction of the pokemon.
There was a flash in her mind at that instant. It was like an explosion, almost, though there was no sound. The moment the sound ended, she dropped back into the fuzzy grayness.

***

Mewthree was angry. There was no other way to describe how he felt, at least, not any appropriate way by his standards. He had felt another mind stirring into consciousness, but had only noticed the young woman at that time.
One look at her told him more than he had known. Shadow had been about to kill her, but had refrained from doing so. Why? Because she had been caring. Caring! It had stopped her from murder!
The anger inside of him increased further, and he knocked the girl out with one turn of his head. This finished, he glared at Shadow. “How could you? How could you not do as asked?”
“It’s wrong,” she stated simply. Mewthree was impressed by the tone of voice she managed to retain, and the fact that she had managed to speak at all. That didn’t mean he wasn’t angry, though. Admiration and anger could be felt at the same time, as long as they weren’t mixed. He had no intention of doing such a thing.
“That’s pathetic,” he spat in disgust, shoving aside the admiration. He was finished with it. “It isn’t wrong. Humans may believe so, but humans are going to kill themselves, so what do they know?”
He watched calmly, standing on his toes, as she stared at him for a moment before dropping her eyes slightly. “They know that murder is wrong.”
“You used to do it all the time,” he smiled, speaking casually.
There was a flare in her mind, he could feel it, and he took pleasure in having caused it. She knew what he meant, and she knew that his logic was rational. He could tell. With the stress she was probably under, he was surprised she had even been able to think that far.
“It’s just… wrong,” she lowered her head, and he could her tears choking the back of her voice.
“You said that already,” he smiled again. He was being a painful son-of-a-bitch, and he liked it.

***

Shadow felt a tired sort of anger fill her, and suddenly she wanted to give up. Just sit down and tell Mewthree to kill her. Or maybe go with him. She was sick of trying. What was the use of it anyway?
She looked around, unsure of what to do. Mewthree was still smiling, that angry, sadistic grin. Had she really gotten herself into this? Was it possible that she had?
Of course. She should’ve realized what was happening before it was too late. Unfortunately, too late had been a while ago. Too long ago, in fact. Much too long, in her opinion.
There was no way out. No way to escape the mess she had fallen into, and at the thought she felt a deep pit of despair. It was the point of no return, it was the end. They were at the mercy of a creation of the darkness.

***

Giovanni raised his head out of his hands as he felt something inside his mind. Yes, that was what it was. Something inside his mind, a creeping sensation. What the hell was it?
He raised his hand, as if to bat it away, than set it down and shook his head. What was he thinking, trying to bat away a sensation? And that’s all it was, of course. Just a silly sensation. Nothing to worry about.
It didn’t pass like most sensations, though. It stuck there, itching, and he raised his hand again. This time he actually did brush his fingers against his right temple before he realized that it was a sensation. Nothing more than an illusion.
This time, he couldn’t make himself believe it. The feeling was too powerful. It was something else entirely, though what exactly he didn’t know. And suddenly, a message was playing through his head.
“Help us. It is necessary for your Team that you come at once. Mewthree is out of control. There is nothing we can do. Your agent is at risk. Your daughter is at risk. Please come to the Cinnabar Gym. I implore you. We need your help. It is imperative.”
The voice it entered with was soft and smooth, almost silky. Certainly not unpleasant, but he didn’t like it. Was it just his imagination? At first he was certain that was it, but it began to play itself over again. And again. And again.
There was something to it, something more than a joke of his own mind. There was a truth to it, and even he could feel it. Something compelling, almost.
For a moment he considered sending an agent over to Cinnabar, having someone check out the situation. On second thought, he decided he’d go himself. The Team was of the issue, if the voice was right, and the Team was foremost. The Team, his agent, and, of course, his daughter.
Mewthree, it involved Mewthree, of course it did. But what had the message been? Who from?
“Are you going to believe this?” the back of his mind spoke incredulously. “Are you really going to go along with it?”
“Yes… yes, I am,” he muttered under his breath.
He was tired of not believing. This time, he was going to go on instinct. He picked up the phone, dialed, and barked to the agent on the other end, “Have the helicopter ready and waiting in five minutes. And I MEAN five minutes!”
He hung up and stood. There was no logical reason to believe this, but in his mind he felt a need to. He felt that it was what he was supposed to do. He felt that it was right. Hell, he almost felt that it was destiny.