He stood outside the strange bulbous doorway, wondering why it had not automatically retreated into the wall as it had done before when he had last been here, creating his clones.
And as he thought about it, more memories flooded his brain...
~~~
He did not know anything about this world where humans and Pokémon lived together, nor understood what Pokémon really were; and the fact concerned him. But how could he know? He was the strongest, and so when he had been under the command of Giovanni, he had only needed to focus his will slightly before the strange assortment of opponents had screamed and started writhing in pain. No time to really study, or even understand what he was going up against - only that they were all so different... and could be captured by humans who used those strange spherical Monsutaa-boru.
The idea of owning his own Pokémon had come to him when he had been resting one night at New Island. At first, it had only been a niggling need - "Wouldn't it be helpful if I could really take the time to study one!" - but had throughout the night grown into a plan to create more clones like himself; super clones, their powers enhanced until they were invincible like him.
But to do that... he needed to create his own laboratory. And to do that...
After attempting to repair a little of the twisted metal and debris that lay scattered all over the earth, he realised there was no way he could possibly fix it on his own. But he needed to rebuild. This island was his now, he owned it, and so could not stand the sight of the ruins, all burnt and charred. And so he found a means to an end. After much thought - and anger at himself for once more bringing them into it - he decided to use humans to build his palace.
Casting his mind so far away to the north was difficult, but he had been trained once to tell when any were thinking of entering Giovanni's Gym, and so it was not hard to differentiate between those humans who could build things to those that could not; and those who could design such a building to do him proud.
Leaving them to their own devices for the moment, he practised teleportation. He started with small things; twisted bits of metal, broken shards of glass. Then, he tried himself. After that, he knew he could do it, so with excitement in his chest, he sought those with the most experience and know-how on that other island he had only known for a few weeks, and, gathering his power and will, surrounded them with psychic energy, grasping them tightly so they would not implode in mid-transfer, and brought them to him.
They had panicked, of course, so he had had to brainwash them quickly, focusing all their attentions to the task at hand. Attending to their various needs by merely moulding their minds to his, he waited for the day when it would be finished.
Till as last... his palace finally was done; all three stories of it. He had put the remaining electronic technology from the destroyed laboratory downstairs in the basement, in preparation for creating more clones. The ground floor was left practically empty save for the enormous dining table in the centre. Upstairs was his domain, with his chair, constructed specifically for those with a tail.
Upon its finish, he had come across a problem with what to do with the architects and builders. Finding no rage in him to kill them, he sought to erase their memories and sent them back with no indication of where they had been for the past few months; and hoped they would not remember their large grey coloured employer...
That night he had gone down to the basement and watched for the first time the only surviving video footage of his past. The crackly voice had filled him with contempt and loathing as he recognised the speaker as the cold-hearted human who had proclaimed Mewtwo's status as nothing but a laboratory experiment.
"I haven't got much time; I pray this record of our experiment survives!"
<Indeed it has, doctor,> Mewtwo had growled.
"A year ago we found the fossilised remains of the ancient Pokémon: Mew! There was sufficient genetic material in the fossilised eyelash to replicate Mew. But Giovanni, who funded our project, insisted we try to design super-clones, more powerful than any living Pokémon. Many attempts failed, but finally; from the gathered components we created a living Pokémon with this machine! We called it Mewtwo. But for some reason the creature's anger is out of control. It is displaying un-measurable violence. With its psychic powers it is destroying our laboratory! Our goal and dream was to create the world's strongest Pokémon with our hands. And we succeeded-"
The video had ended with a flash of static, and with it Mewtwo's interest. The 'world's strongest Pokémon' - what did that matter now he had dreams to be the world's strongest Pokémon trainer? He had already proven his worth as a Pokémon, now it was time to prove his worth as somebody on the same level as a human - and better.
~~~
<What a waste of time.> he said. <I ignored that which was much more important - my history before the memories begin. Because that exists somewhere, and I need to find it.>
He raised a hand and concentrated. With a sound like scraping metal the doorway finally retreated into the wall, grating upon his sensitive ears. Rusted, perhaps, unused for years after all.
How do you know it exists? came a thought. How can you possibly have existence before you have memories of it? The idea made him sag as he stood, staring at the ruin of the cloning machine in despair. <How so...> he said. <Perhaps I am in fact chasing nothing but a dream...>
With nothing else to do, he stepped forward into the room.
"Good evening, Master."
Joy stood close to the dusty conveyor belt, poised for service, her delicate hands folded at her front. Demurely she curtseyed, never lifting her eyes to his own.
<You again.> he grumbled good-naturedly. <I'm here now, as you requested. The memories are pretty damn well weak - just like you said they'd be. A little help?>
"Of course, my Master." Joy paused. "You are right, you have reached as far and as deep as you can manage on your own. You are even having doubts about whether this is a futile task you have set yourself."
<Is it?> he asked desperately. <Am I chasing after a girl who does not exist?>
Joy took a while to answer. "Not exactly." She smiled. "You are on the right track to uncovering everything. You just need time."
Silence fell. In the cavern of the room his breathing seemed unnaturally loud, even though he never took his gaze off Joy he could see no sign of her own respiration.
"How can you possibly have existence before you have memories of it?" Joy asked, echoing his own question of a few moments before. "How indeed?"
Mewtwo felt anger not for the first time with this spectral woman. <If you won't tell me-> he ground out, but was interrupted.
"I cannot tell you, because I do not know myself." said Joy, the pain in her voice obvious. "You are right - I am merely a memory of your own making. I am for the moment your muse, a creature of mere guidance towards resolution of your faded past. I am a part of your subconscious."
She turned her face away and put her hands to her eyes, shaking slightly, her voice unsteady. "It was me who sent you that image of that girl, I did not know it would turn nightmarish-"
Stunned, Mewtwo could say or do nothing in return. He waited until Joy - or at least his subconscious mind in the form of Joy - had recovered from her emotions and was ready to speak again, and did not try to interrupt as the hidden part of his mind worked to impart knowledge to his consciousness.
"She exists." said Joy adamantly. "I know she does. And you have but one fragmented memory of her to go upon... and the words: 'life is wonderful'."
<Is it enough?>
"Yes." said Joy. "Think about it. Life. What a wonderful, amazing thing. As a phenomenon, as a miracle of nature, as a series of experiences documented by memory. We are born, we grow up, we mature, and grow wise with each experience granted to us by life itself. We-"
<Wait.> said Mewtwo. <You once explained to me the miracle of birth...>
"Your knowledge of Pokémon physiology proved useful for my plan." said Joy. "Do you remember saying that?"
<I do now.> admitted Mewtwo with a tinge of guilt at how little he had cared for another living thing. As far as he had been concerned back then, Joy had been his walking, talking encyclopaedia: merely property.
"I also imparted my knowledge of human physiology and cloning techniques." said Joy. "Ne?"
<Soh dess ne.> said Mewtwo. <It was... totemo omoshiroi to say the least. I had not been born naturally - I had been cloned. It was very interesting to know just how the humans had done it, and such an odd feeling to find I could replicate the feat.>
"But only with Pokémon." said Joy, stressing the last word. "Your clones were all Pokémon."
Mewtwo blinked, nonplussed. <Of course they were. Did you expect me to clone humans? Create more of the one species I had sworn to annihilate?>
"So why would humans clone Pokémon?" asked Joy, her voice raised. "Why would they create you?"
The questions resonated deeply in Mewtwo's mind. He knew they were important, that somehow the answer to the missing memories lay in the answer to these. <The- the humans were greedy.> he said, trying to come up with justification. <They created me for money, for vainglory, so they could boast. They created me because they damn well could!, and for no other reason!>
"Really?" asked Joy coolly. "Are you that sure there are no other motives? Are you prepared to dismiss the humans that quickly? Think deeper. Remember, 'there was sufficient genetic material in the fossilised eyelash to replicate Mew. But Giovanni, who funded our project, insisted we try to design super-clones, more powerful than any living Pokémon.' By all means, Giovanni shows his greed and aim for more power here. But does the doctor? It seems to me that the doctor had different ideals for this project."
<I had no idea my subconscious was such a smart-ass sleuth.> Mewtwo said. <So the doctor wanted to clone Mew for another reason. Very well - is there anything else you can surmise from his words?>
"There were others created." Joy said. "You know it's true. Many of the doctor's other clones were failed attempts. You remember the lab. Yours was not the only one tube."
<So clones of the DNA of Mew need some tampering with before they survive, what of it?>
Joy sighed. "It could be possible that not every clone was of Mew." she said testily. "It is a possibility and nothing else. I am just making it clear to you that there was perhaps some other 'two, or 'three - or even 'four - in existence before it died."
Suddenly, Joy's eyes widened, and her hands flew up in reaction. There was a flash of bright light, and she was suddenly gone from the room. Mewtwo jumped in surprise, and felt his vision and hearing fading. <Am I fainting?> he thought.
One, two, three... f-four... five, six-uh, seven... eight, nine... ten!
The counting words reverberated somewhere in his mind, spoken by a very, very young voice, joined by another about the number eight. The voices simultaneously reached the number ten and broke into giddy, joyful laughter together.
Suddenly, Mewtwo felt like he really was about to faint. He stumbled once and then lowered himself carefully onto the floor into a seated position. <Those voices... who are they?> he asked himself, hoping for a bit of solace from his subconscious.
"I remembered something!" Joy said from nowhere. "The counting! I remember it now! You were learning about numbers and counting up to ten!"
<That was me?! Then who was the other voice?> Mewtwo demanded. <Who was with me back then? Why can't I remember?>
There was silence.
<Damn you!> Mewtwo cried. He staggered upright, pacing out of the room and levitating back up onto the floor level to the sea. What he saw there made his heart skip a beat.
An adolescent human female was standing next to the dining room table, looking curiously at him, an unknown device held out in her right hand; blinking and beeping.
Mewtwo's right hand whipped up blindingly fast, creating an invisible barrier between him and the human. He quickly extended the barrier around to enclose the human inside an entire sphere shaped shield, making it so they could not escape.
Slightly more confident now, he lowered his hand, holding the shield with his mind only. <Who are you?> he demanded. <What are you here for?>
"I'm Lovrina." she said with a smile. "I'm a Cipher Admin." Her smile widened, turning into a sickly-sweet beam. "And I'm here to capture you and shut the door to your heart."
Next Chapter
