This story is dedicated to Dana, Nicola and especially Blank7 for encouragement, feedback and help with tricky things like plots. If you hadn't wanted it first, this story wouldn't have happened.

It was dark, past midnight. The sky was lightless, without even a single star showing to give me away. Just like the scroll called for. I smiled in satisfaction as I turned away from the window . . . I'd been waiting months for this night . . . it was now approximately fourteen months since Sasaki's death. Fourteen months of putting up with that insufferable idiot, Kojiro . . . and paying tribute to the stinking storm clan . . . all that was about to come to an end tonight if all went well . . .

I pulled up the parchment smirking to myself. I had learned from Sasaki's mistakes . . . not to disregard legends. So at night, after finishing my demeaning work as a kitchen assistant-which fortunately allowed me plenty of time in which to plan a way to remedy the situation I found myself in-I went through the libraries, searching for any hint of legendary Pokémon that might be made to fit my plans. And finally . . . I found the perfect one.

A Pokémon created by sorcerers . . . I wasn't exactly sure how. But created by men to be the perfect weapon . . . then imprisoned for years and years and forgotten . . .

"In the depths of night complete letting not even the light of one star fall on your work stand in the courtyard before the tower of the poison lord. Look long towards the resting place of the daystar and you will find what many will wish you had not." I read the instructions written on the parchment again then frown. I would like to take the writer of this manuscript by the throat and ask him how exactly one finds the direction of the daystar on a cloudy night . . .

Then it hit me. Of course, you'd have to be as dense as Kojiro not to realise that the daystar means the sun. Which would mean I should be facing West . . . over here, by the old flag pole.

Look long . . . I do, so long in fact I'm beginning to wish I'd brought my Pokémon or informed Kosaburo of this just so I'd have someone to talk to. I didn't want to share this power with anyone . . . why should I? I'm strong enough to handle this on my own . . . and at least I know that I won't mess it up. And why should I share power with anyone? I alone will rule Indigo, I alone will --

I stop staring at the courtyard in front of me.

It is a starless, lightless night. There is no illumination of any kind.

And yet . . .

There is a speck of light over there between those stones.

Faint of course, so very faint that only someone standing in the darkness for as long as I have been would notice it . . .

I walk over to it softly. As I approach I realise that it forms an outline to a paving stone--whatever is causing the light is coming from beneath . . .

Then you will find what many will wish you had not . . .

I smiled, even though in the darkness there were none to see me.

They would wish in vain.

Two nights later I stood in the courtyard with a crowbar and a lantern. I had marked the stone, and left it, I didn't want to attempt anything when the guards might be returning at any time. I'd spent last night concocting a special sleeping potion and slipped it into the guards food at tea time--there were advantages to working in the kitchen.

"Let's see . . .I think this is the one I want," I set the lantern down and wrenched the crowbar into the stone. With all my strength on it, it didn't give an inch. Fortunately I'd expected this.

"Machoke. Come over here."

The Machoke stepped slowly out of the shadows, moving like one drugged. He was of course. I'd been lucky --a deputation from the fighting clan had been visiting Kojiro on some clan related matter. All I'd needed to do was give his trainer another sleeping draft and bingo! Machoke was mine for the taking.

"Lift this stone for me."

Machoke obeyed. Moving sluggishly, like a zombie, he put all his strength on the rock. Finally, with a crunch like a Snorlax on gravel, the stone shifted. Machoke placed it on the ground by the hole, panting hard.

I frowned. That rock was bigger than I'd expected. It looked as though someone had gone to a lot of trouble to make sure no one let the weapon free . . . it was safe to assume there would be more guards in place. With that in mind I edged myself cautiously into the hole left by the stone's removal.

I dropped into a room lit by an eerie blue glow . . . frowning, I looked for it's source. I stared.

The only thing besides me in the room was a Pokémon. It stood with it's eyes closed, at the centre of what looked like an enormous ball of light . . . I stretched out a tentative hand to it, but found that about a metre from the creature my hand was stopped by an invisible barrier of some sort. . . probably the reason for that light.

Interesting . . . but unfortunately not the sort of interesting I was hoping for. I ordered Machoke to use his punching attacks on the shield but to no avail . . . they just bounced right off. I climbed out the hole thoughtfully . . . this might take time. As Machoke slid the stone back into place I decided that mere force was not likely to be able to force the strange field. I would be back to the library to learn more about this . . .

A month later I stood again in the underground room. This time I had a companion.

"Psy?"

The Psyduck had been hard to come by. I'd had to kill it's trainer-- I told it that the girl had abandoned it. I didn't think it quite believed me . . . still it was obeying me. "You know what to do," I said. "Now get to work."

"Psy."

It concentrated. This Psyduck had allowed me to heighten it's powers by use of special potions and such-- being a poison trainer prone to experimentation has definite benefits. As it concentrated the white glow surrounding the creature flickered--I was encouraged. I had calculated on Psychic attacks being the key to freeing the weapon. It looked as if I was right . . .

However . . .

the shield soon flickered back into it's full strength . . .

This would obviously take a while . . .

I leaned back against the wall letting my thoughts wander as I pondered what I would do first once I freed the weapon. Getting rid of Kojiro would make a great start . . . followed by Musashi . . . I snickered as I wondered how to make the most of my power . . . maybe Musashi would like a crew cut . . . or a neck cut . . . maybe I should let her live but give her only sack cloth to wear . . . I wanted her to be as miserable as possible and killing her too quickly would cut back on my fun . . . .

Suddenly the light in the room turned pink.

Holding my breath I turned around.

The creature was there encircled by the white glowing light but . . . it's eyes were opened.

I took a step backwards. They were glowing with a red light . . . nothing looked like that.

"You appear to have weakened the dome imprisoning me," it said. "I believe I can take it from here. Recall your Psyduck."

"Psyduck?"

"You heard him. Get over here," I said. I had an uneasy feeling . . . this was not going as I would have wished . . .

"Psy."

The thing stretched out a hand to the shield. It frowned.

"Having trouble?" I couldn't resist a smirk.

The thing gave me a cool glance. And then it shattered the globe. I was flung back against the wall by the sheer force of the explosion.

"Ah!"

"It appears," the thing said. "That you are the one having . . . trouble."

"Oh great," I said. "None of the parchments mentioned you were a smart--"

"Parchments?" The thing said sharply. "Oh I see. You found the scrolls those tepid fools who created me wrote to warn others of their failure. Yet another botch up I see. Well I should have expected that--couldn't let anyone find out about me but couldn't bear to destroy to me. Still writing the instructions for finding me cryptically and stuffing the manuscript into a library seemed to work-- you're the second person to disturb my rest in three hundred and fourteen years."

"Three hundred and fourteen . . ." I repeated. "Hang on a second, who was the first?"

"Two hundred years into my imprisonment," the thing said, stretching. "A psychic clan member came to strengthen the bonds that kept me here."

"Wait a minute--psychic clan?" I said. "They know about you?"

"Of course. The poison clan could not have created me on their own."

"So how were you created?"

"You really have not been reading those scrolls very thoroughly, have you Yamato?"

"It's Yamato-san to you," I said. "Wait a minute--you knew the scrolls--and my name?"

"I just said I was created by the psychic clan."

I didn't like it's tone.

"Well come on then. I suppose you'd like to get out of this hole. I'll take you out and you can get rid of Kojiro and then--"

"You can get me out of this hole. And then I will do whatever I like."

This was definitely not going how I wanted.

"May I point out that I am a human and that you are a Pokémon? I think that would mean that you would obey--"

I was slammed against the wall again, so hard my breath was knocked out of me. I choked. I felt as if a hand was clasped around my throat, slowly choking me.

It grinned. "I think we understand each other now, yes? You do as I say --if you want to live."

I managed to nod. It let me go.

"Although I would not normally even consider associating with a human, particularly not one on your level I must admit that I need someone to use as a screen. For me to reveal myself prematurely would be unwise . . ."

"Sure," I said. "Good plan."

It gave me a look that I can only describe as disgusted. "So what do you want from this?"

"What?"

"You're going to help me. If you don't I'll kill you. If you do I'll reward you. Isn't that normal procedure in these circumstances?"

"Yes . . ."

"So what do you want? Leadership of the Poison clan?"

I suddenly felt we were going to get on just fine. "That'll do perfectly," I purred. "Now what can I do for you first?"

"Psy . . . Psyduck, Psy! Psyduck!"

"Oh no you don't!" I ducked as the creature's eyes flared red in anger. "Don't you dare inform anyone of this, you pathetic human-loving creature!"

"Psyduck!" The Psyduck squawked something defiant.

"Very well," the creature hissed, raising its paw. "Then prepare to face the wrath of Mewtwo!"

"Psssyyi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi!"

Psyduck screeched then blinked. "Psy?"

"What did you do to it?" I asked. "It sounds as vapid as . . . " I racked my brains trying to think of an equivalent. "Kojiro."

"Merely erased it's memory. It will not be able to tell anyone what happened . . . because it does not know what has happened . . . " Mewtwo lowered his hand and looked at me. "Now . . . tell me about the Psychic clan."

"Psychic clan?"

"We have unfinished business."

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