Kutie Pie
"It is my destiny."
Mewtwo finally let loose when the memory faded, breaking into sobs and allowing himself to cry. "I-I am so stupid," he croaked. "I did not think it through... but it felt so right at the time! A-And I did not want to disturb the peace... the peace that she was feeling then... She had not felt peace in so long..." His voice cracked, and he gave up speaking, resorting to tears.
Despite her attempts to forget it ever happened, he knew it was bothering her, they were growing mad from it. He admitted it to himself he couldn't get her off his mind, couldn't bring himself to blot out that spark of innocence he brought back to life. Whatever had happened between then and his return to Mirage Island had only caused more dismay. The look in her eyes when they made first emotional contact in a long while was heartbreaking. She didn't mean it, it wasn't even her that bit him. Something else had made her, whether it was from her madness or another side of her brought to the surface. He had been meaning to verbally forgive her for it, her accusation just hit a nerve that kept him silent about it. Touching the area on his arm where he knew the wound had been, Mewtwo secretly cursed Arceus for taking it away from him. Indeed, he wouldn't deny he had become more of a human than he wished to be.
What happened the previous week was so different from their first kiss. He had tried for tenderness, but it was too passionate when all he did was miss and graze her jaw. His much-hated human side had then taken over, replacing the comfort of love with carnal desires. Because of his actions, she came close to losing every virtue she held dear just because he wanted her that night. It had taken all of his willpower then to keep from thrusting her against the tree, even after he had felt it rising inside of her as well. Because he obeyed his heart, he suffered a whole day and night's worth of withdrawal from her body like a drug addict breaking a habit. There was no doubt she had gone through the same ordeal. The more he thought on it, the more Mewtwo's heart bled.
Ho-oh, the whole time, silently watched him break down at his feet like a sinner confessing to the Father. It wasn't like him to weep about it, let alone show any other strong emotion besides rage. The situation, sentimental as it was, made him uncomfortable. He didn't know what to do. It just felt wrong for him to know what was going on in Mewtwo's head the whole week. This was too personal, too intimate for everything to be poured out to anyone but Mew.
Gingerly, he gave his insight, "Mewtwo, you should not be saying all of this to me. I'm not Mew."
"She will not let me near her," the clone barely breathed out through his tears. "Not after what I did."
"You don't know that."
"I do know that! Have you seen what happens when I walk by without even saying a word to her?! She is afraid of me!"
The phoenix bowed his head a little. "Well, maybe she doesn't know what to say."
Mewtwo let out a dry laugh. "Of course! Why did I not see that before? Mew has grown shy around me, and thus she cannot find the words to tell me her feelings and must only resort to body language. How romantic! It is true that actions speak louder than words!"
"Mewtwo, I have never seen you act this way before, and quite frankly, it frightens me." He reached forward, and with a little effort forced him to stand. "You are an intelligent being, how can you lower yourself to this?"
"Oh, like many intelligent beings, human and non-human, have not gone through what I am going through," he snorted, swiping the tears away and sending an accused glare at Ho-oh.
Feathers bristling a little, he reasoned, "Of course they have, it's a part of life! We have been made to be attracted to one another in the idea that one day we may have children! What are you looking at me like that for, did I word it wrong or something?"
Mewtwo's face had cringed sourly at his statement, but he refused to answer. Rolling his eyes, Ho-oh resumed, "Look, the point I'm making is that we all find love at some point in our lives. But unfortunately for some people, they think they may feel for someone only for it to be nothing more than a farce. They use this person to quench their thirst for a body, then move on to something else. They may claim this is love when in reality it's lust. This is more apparent in some more than others, but it happens in everyone. It's up to the person to judge themselves and question why it is they're in love with this someone, what their motivation is for staying together. A relationship can only remain strong if the couple supports one another, to equalize and have good communication with each other. And they must recognize what it is that attracted them together, and hold true to that. Am I getting off topic?"
The psycat shrugged. "You went from love and lust to good relationship advice. You tell me."
"Oh, for God's sake, Mewtwo, just..." He sighed. "Just go talk to Mew, and don't give me that same emo crap about her not wanting anything to do with you."
"Why, Ho-oh, did I hear some common slang from you? I thought you were above that."
The Sky Guardian stood there frowning unhappily at a smirking Mewtwo. "You're a smart-ass," he grumbled, turning around and heading further into the wood. Then he looked back and pointed at the campsite's direction, "Go make yourself useful and prepare breakfast, or find Mew and talk to her. And that's an order."
The moment he disappeared into the trees, the clone returned to the site to find only a few other Legendaries had stirred themselves awake. He noticed Mew wasn't to be found, presumably gone to prepare herself for the day. A sigh subconsciously escaped him, which caught the attention of a passing Darkrai.
"What's the matter with you?" he wondered, looking Mewtwo up and down.
He made himself unsure of it all. "I do not know. I suppose I did not sleep well last night."
The phantom chortled. "Mewtwo, I would have known if you tossed and turned. You've slept better last night than you did two nights ago."
Mewtwo had almost forgotten that even as a mortal Darkrai still had the capability to feel uneasiness pulsing in the air. He stared back, trying to picture his days with Cresselia and wondering if he could trust telling him about his thoughts. Who better to ask for advice than someone who had been through it all?
But he held back those questions to try brushing him off. "I am all right. I just... had a feeling today was not going to be a good day."
"Yeah, I felt that, too. The spirits have been a bit restless the past couple of weeks, so I figured something was coming up."
The feline blinked. "You can still see them?"
Darkrai half-shrugged. "Eh, sometimes. I suppose I lost some of it, but every now and then I'll see them wandering around. Same with Giratina, but since he's been around spirits longer than I have, he sees them more frequently. But most of the time, I just feel their presences." He then leaned forward, his voice almost dropping to a whisper. "You have been noticing that, right? The world's quieter and less distracting now, surely you've felt them."
"Why? Has everyone else reported that?"
"Pretty much, but only Mew has personally told me that she's been seeing glimpses, though she thinks she's only just seeing their auras. And I can see that. After all, when one's learned to control the Tree of Beginning and thus quite often involved with aura, it would make sense to see them that way. It doesn't make her a channeler, because honestly, those people creep me out, but it makes her more unique." A small grin jutted out from behind the spiked collar. "Maybe with a little bit of exposure and training, she might be able to communicate with them. I think she might help save some souls that way." Without another word, he drifted into the wood.
Mewtwo shivered from the somewhat-chilling impression Darkrai still would leave behind and hurried more into the campground, dodging Lugia's tail when it twitched (he swore he was working on controlling it). The longer he glanced around, the more his insides writhed in his anxiety—wait, since when did he become nervous?—to speak with Mew. He was thinking he would confess to her, but suggest they remain friends, and hopefully this inward battle with their emotions would end. He couldn't bear to see her waste away again over it.
Latias suddenly bolted him from his thoughts when she clung onto his arm. "Mewtwo, Mewtwo, come quick!" she gasped.
He turned to her, frowning at her spilling tears. "What is it?"
"Latios is acting funny! I've never seen him like that before!"
The Eon dragon was one of the few who was up, Mewtwo just figured he went to wash himself. It was the urgent tone, however, that gave him second thoughts. "Where is he?"
"He followed Mew somewhere over there," and she pointed north of Cherrygrove. "He kept muttering to himself, and he was all... I don't know, I think he just wanted to talk to her. But from what little I saw, he was trying to catch her, so she ran off and—Mewtwo?" She paused in her hurried explanation to find the clone was already disappearing into the trees.
It was never a good thing to have a sibling report unusual behavior. It would have been one thing had Suicune said out of the blue Entei or Raikou ran off, maybe even Moltres saying the same thing about Zapdos. To have a well-composed Pokémon like Latios just turn tail like that was a bad sign. And as he was following Mew, no doubt there was something going on. His heart skipped when he heard her yell in fright to the side, and he cut through to a shocking sight.
There was no way to tell how long he had been pursuing her, or why it was no one heard a scuffle. The trees were damaged, many with bark or branches torn off. One had a hole blown through the trunk, and there were scattered chunks of boulder. He arrived in time to watch Latios shove Mew into a tree as she fought back, clawing and kicking to throw him off.
"Latios, what's gotten into you?!" she shouted the moment she freed herself.
A chilling, sinister chuckle escaped from Latios as he turned to grin maniacally at her. "Why, nothing is wrong with me, my dear," he purred. "I am only partaking in my duty."
"What duty?" she hissed, slowly backing away. Mewtwo could tell from where he stood she was visibly trembling. "We all have a duty here. What, just because you say yours is the most 'important' that it gives you permission to go ahead and do it?"
"And should I not? If you have a dream, you go for it."
"But what does this have to do with anything?!"
"I am preserving the species."
Her back hit a tree and she swung around behind when he swiped for her. "And you think by raping me you'll preserve it?"
"It is not rape, you are just playing hard to get," he feigned a complaint.
"Latios, I know you better than this! I mean... you have a sister!"
Latios raised a brow. "Your point is?"
Mew clenched her teeth. "Why are you acting this way?" she bitterly whispered. She quickly dodged another jump for her. "Don't make me hurt you, Latios!"
Laughing, the dragon just spread out his arms in welcome. "Go ahead. It will make it easier on the both of us."
"What is that supposed to mean?!"
He canted his head in her direction, the grin splitting his face. "One must use extreme measures to get what they want." In a flash, he disappeared. She gave a gasp, barely feeling the breeze behind her before she was slammed hard into a nearby tree, crushed between bough and body. A cry was let out until a hand silenced her, and her chin tipped up when the other brushed the claws down her throat and collarbone, throwing her into shudders and a pitiful whine. He then leaned forward, and as he glanced over to where the clone was, darkly jested into her ear, "The difficult, the better."
As chilling as it was to meet the dragon's sharp gaze, something inside of Mewtwo had snapped when he pinned her. He couldn't figure out what the motivation was, nor the emotion that was there. Barely was he able to contain himself when he sprinted forward, snatched Latios by the neck, and ripped him off her to shove him against another tree.
The Eon Legendary at the same time gave a shout of pain, raising a hand for his head and staring wide-eyed at his attacker. "Mewtwo! What are you doing? Where's the campsite?"
"You keep your hands off her!" he snarled, bashing him again.
"Gah, what are you talki—" Silenced once more with another blow.
"You cannot fool me, I saw the whole thing!"
"I-I swear I don't know what you're talking about!"
"You sick bastards are all the same!"
"Mewtwo, will you let me—!" He was cut off by a squeeze to the throat, Mewtwo's eyes flashing blue.
"Mewtwo, what is wrong with you?!" Mew shrieked from behind, rushing up to pry him away.
Enraged, he spun around and seized her by the shoulders before she touched him. "Why did you not fight him off?!" he hollered, shaking her. "Do you realize what he could have done?!"
Having been caught off-guard, she temporarily lost her words, dreadfully gaping at his darkened face. His hard eyes dangerously pulsed color in time with his rapid breathing. Her only involuntary movement was a vigorous shake of the head, meaning one thing, but mistaken for another.
Mewtwo resumed his outcry, "He could have raped you, Mew! Why would you allow him to do that?!"
"H-How was I supposed to know he'd follow me?!" the tiny feline wailed, struggling in his possessive hold. "But I swear, Mewtwo, he wasn't himself!"
"Why, of course, Mew, how observant of you!" he jeered, his grip tightening, causing her to painfully gasp. "All hormonally-stricken males become aroused at the mere sight of a pretty young female and seek out pleasure with her. And a pretty female plus an empty clearing equals a moment of intimacy. They are all the same, are they not?!"
"It takes one to know one!"
He barked a laugh. "Oh, how clever of you! He was set on murdering you if he had the chance!"
"So were you! Mewtwo, ever since we had that one moment together, you've become different!"
"You need to be more specific, Mew. We have had more than one intimate moment together," he encouraged in agitation, pressing his fingers into her arms at the word.
She shivered under the touch and sharp gaze. "Our first kiss started this mess! At least I did—yes, Mewtwo, I'm admitting I screwed up, I admit to everything! A woman needs to be honest to everyone including herself, and since I was the cause of it all, I'll be the one to end it." Mew solemnly hung her head, arms trembling when his hands loosened. Her voice then lowered with a sigh, "You didn't mean it, Mewtwo... I believe you. I believe all of it." Slowly, a paw reached up to touch her throat, inhaling deeply. "I wish I could... believe myself." Then her eyes locked onto his, watching the light inside return.
The two stared at each other as the tension dropped, the witness of Latios all but forgotten from their minds. Mewtwo dropped his hold on her, his frown deepening as he raised a lone hand to lay upon her cheek. She quivered at the sensitive contact, averting her gaze as a slight blush warmed under his fingertips, taking sudden, uneven breaths. Then she backed away.
"I need to be alone. Please don't follow me. I-I don't know when I'll be back." She forcibly swallowed any reasons for her demand. Turning her back to him, Mew brought herself to whisper, "You tell Ho-oh he had every right to hear it. He needed to know."
He barely nodded before she headed off further into the wood. Somehow, he figured he would be stunned she had eavesdropped, but he strangely found comfort in it. Her reaction was different from what he imagined, almost the polar opposite. She had accepted it so easily that he couldn't help wondering if it was bothering her a little, like something was holding her back.
Mewtwo flinched when a small headache stung through, and he turned to Latios, who had remained patiently silent the entire time. He cringed at the bloody welt developing on his forehead, surprised he had gone that far. Pointing for the campsite, he said in an apologetic tone, "Let us get that taken care of before your sister sees you like this."
Without another word, they left as the Eon dragon patted him on the back in forgiveness.
*~*~*
Why did you not spill out everything, hmm? Balance him out.
I couldn't.
Was it because Latios was there? If you were alone with him like you were last week, then would you have told him?
Latios has nothing to do with this.
Answer me!
"What do you want from me?" Mew whimpered out loud, clutching her head as she listlessly traveled through the forest.
The truth.
"Mewtwo doesn't need to know."
Liar. You forget I know everything about you.
"Then you tell me the truth!" she hissed.
Why should I? There was a malicious smile portrayed in the voice. If I said you were insane, you would not believe me.
Her small body shuddered as she spun around, searching for the source. For the past week, she had tried to keep the disembodied voice at bay until she made the mistake of addressing it when it disturbed her dreams. It accompanied her since, and it had taken all her willpower to keep from physically talking to it, and even more energy to continue looking normal. Mew couldn't remember when she last slept—well she did, her body had just never felt like it was getting rest during this torment.
"Who are you?" she murmured. "You're not... me, a-are you?"
Oh no, you are not this cruel, it drawled on as though it was enjoying harassing her.
She felt sick. "Why are you here?"
For the same reason you are.
"You're not haunting me, are you?"
Such a mortal term. But you could say that.
A frightened intake of breath caused her to collapse against a tree, clutching herself and struggling to hold back sobs. An icy wave attacked her on both sides as her chest ached hollowly. Her fur stood on end upon realizing it felt like something reached in to stroke her heart. Almost immediately, a mental image of Mewtwo caressing her breast as he breathed over her neck burst in on its own, which in turn started to numb her.
She shook her head strenuously in disbelief, knowing she didn't envision it. "This has nothing to do with Mewtwo!" she gasped out, staring wide-eyed above her.
So why bring him up? the voice chuckled.
"I didn't, something's putting these images in my head!" The more she shivered, the more passionate and realistic the touches felt against her skin. A moan escaped her lips, head thrown back as his fingertips massaged sensitive flesh.
You do not remember conjuring these up in your dreams? At what you imagined would have happened had you two stayed?
How could she forget? A pitiful, muffled cry escaped her lips when the dream Mewtwo pressed a deep kiss against her mouth, feeling the skim of his tongue slipping in. She twitched against the tree trunk, begging for an end.
You never stayed asleep long enough to see the end, the whispered taunt continued as mouthed through him, hot breath causing her to shiver in arousal. And you have since refused to. But now that you are alone, would you like to resume where you left off?
The farthest she had gotten before she resisted sleep... his lips had been massaging her body while he slowly guided her to the ground below him. He had fondled her tail tantalizingly, causing her to moan and plead for more. And then, trailing the length, his hand moved upward and brushed her inner thigh...
Her eyes widened and her breath quickened, yanking her paws away to push off against the trunk. "I can't!" she exclaimed, speeding down a random direction.
Mew couldn't shake off the belief she was being hunted down, she could feel the spindly fingers stretching to snatch her. They followed her every move, easily slipping through trees, bushes, abandoned tunnels and solid rock, inching ever closer. Her mind screamed for peace when her voice refused to, body tiring from being beaten around by vain escape routes and hunger. She started slowing down, about to submit to capture.
Then it abruptly paused its chase, lifting away from her.
She flew on several more feet before coming to a complete stop, crashing to the ground hard. Choking on her sobs and dust with tears stinging her eyes, Mew shakily crawled into the safety of a brown hedge, heaving painful breaths. She curled up there for rest (or death, whichever came first), adrenaline continuing to throb throughout her veins in an agonizing manner. Then as quickly as it came, she suddenly perked up and wriggled out of the brush, staring at the ivy-coated crumbling building before her. Her jaw unhinged, eyes scanning about the occupied space. It wasn't the only artifact of ruin still standing, there was another identical one further away. The graying yellow of the bricks gave it a bland appearance, though the eerie, mysterious atmosphere about it made it more interesting and intriguing. And for some odd reason, she felt like it was calling her.
Slowly but hesitantly, she lifted herself up and approached the front building, delicately placing a hand on the wall. It was gritty from age, yet still sturdy. With the palm still pressed on the rough surface, she allowed her fingers to skim along when she floated down to the end. Looking around the corner, she gasped lightly at the entrance. The sunlight peeking through the clouds richly enhanced the shadows that spilled inside. More ivy vines tangled around and hung down from their stations, purple buds developing at the entryway. She inched for the mouth of the building only to feel a strong pull emerge from her the moment she froze beneath the arch. Breath caught in her throat, her eyes widened at the long hallway stretching to a grayed end.
Mew tried to back away, but whatever invisible force was drawing her in had already ensnared her. She locked into her teleportation only to receive a sharp headache from it. Having no choice, she flew inside. The slow descent into the ruin was tolerable only because of the curious hieroglyphics carved into the walls—shaped like tablets, she noted—almost like they were guiding her through with their patterns. Though oddly enough, they looked like alphabets with eyes watching her every move—
She gasped and pulled away her hand before she could touch it. "Ruins of Alph," she fearfully whispered, glancing around nervously like there was a curse somewhere in the tunnel. "My God... how is this still standing?"
Then again, how was it all the ruins consecrated to the Unown were able to survive this long, to avoid being torn down for human development? Mew remembered reports and rumors about the ruins being bewitched or haunted, however, none of them proved to be true. While the occasional person did find themselves lost in the labyrinths of these unique chambers, they all had been led to an exit by unknown sources, a few even claiming Pokémon much like the ancient writing helped them out. So scientists and archaeologists had flocked to these sites for fervent studies and hopes to catch a glimpse of an Unown, and channelers and so-called psychics were called in to communicate with them or open a pathway to where they reside. In time, public demand allowed them to become national parks, and it raked the tourists in. A few greedy people had attempted to make a business out of it, they just somehow all failed to in various unexplained ways (though there was a report one tycoon went insane because of "one-eyed devils"). As much as they liked the behind-the-scenes attention, the Unown would sometimes grow bored of scaring and chasing them away, so they would hide away and come back out after every few decades or so.
Then, one day, they mysteriously vanished. Palkia had brought it up the moment he noticed an unbalance in space; slight, but miraculously still harmless. He had visited their home dimension only to find it became nonexistent. A guess was they moved to another dimension or created a new room, but it continued to remain a mystery until their ruins slowly began to deteriorate and fall to dust. One by one, they all became nothing more than a myth, lost with the older, dying generation. The Unown were no more.
Yet somehow, the famous Ruins of Alph proved itself to be resilient to their absence and even eluded human activity. Mew couldn't see how something this large could have gone unnoticed. She knew that once a ruin was excavated, it was doomed to inevitable destruction. So it was virtually impossible for a decimated artifact such as this to remain standing even through the end of the world. Unless...
She had seen the Unown only once, but they were mysteriously incredible. Alone, a Magikarp could easily turn out victorious. Together, they had a form of ancient power that was stronger than her or any of the other Legendaries. It was believed they were the ones keeping the world in order inside their own dimension. Could it be possible they were still around, taking refuge and hiding away the last of the ruins? The latter thought made her uneasy as she turned and flew for the exit.
An invisible power surge from deep in the heart of the ruins constricted her before she could escape, then proceeded to pull her further inside. Mew struggled to free herself, feeling as though her life was squeezing out of her the more she fought. "No, no! What do you want from me?!" she screamed into the tunnel, half-expecting to get an answer.
Her breath then choked in her lungs, sending her body into icy shock. As she began to sink to the floor, she was wrenched further into the dark ruins. How far along, she couldn't tell, her involuntary asphyxiation drawing her closer to unconsciousness. It was a blessed relief when she was thrown onto the tiled floor, the pressure on her chest lifting. She lay there gulping down trembling breaths, hardly aware of the throbbing pain to her head. Slowly, her strength recovered enough to allow her movement without the dizzying effect. Mew cast her eyes about the room she found herself in, jaw dropping.
There was little sunlight spilling into the vast chamber through crevices in the ceiling, but whatever it illuminated brought a quaint amount of color to the room. The inside did not match the outside walls when it came to age and hue, if at all. Everything looked like no one had stepped foot here in many years, but it did it too well, like it had time to renovate itself. From what she could see beneath the ivy, the walls were a golden orange, every square inch covered in Unown hieroglyphics. Stone statues of Pokémon from ancient times were pushed up available wall, their petrified gazes pointed upward. She brought herself to rise to look at them, marveling at the perfect detail and at how there were no cracks or specks of dust on them. In fact, she questioned if they were really sculptures, they looked like they had once been actual living creatures, the poses were so life-like.
As she traveled further into the empty room, the more she noticed it was a simple zigzag labyrinth—if it could still even be called that. Rounding a corner, she found herself in another room. And once inside, Mew held back a gasp, staring at statues of the Hoenn Legendaries. They held reverent poses (even that of Kyogre in mid-jump), all still looking up toward heaven like the lower prehistoric class. The detail was exceedingly fine, like the sculptors took their time to carve out every single scale on Rayquaza and Groudon, every dent and space between rock limbs for Regirock, the perfect smoothness of Jirachi. What surprised her the most was a single pedestal at a corner that held the four forms of Deoxys. Even more-so, it looked as old as its surrounding sculptures.
She shivered, hurrying into the other room where the Sinnoh Legends awaited her there. Brow furrowing, she peeked back at the statue. "It must have been added on some time ago," she tried to convince herself. "The humans were always trying to appeal to the younger generation."
Mew sighed softly, then turned back to the other carved images. They were all there, set up against a wall or in the middle. It didn't take much scanning to know every single one was made to direct their frozen gazes to the skies. Even the Arceus statue with one front leg up had its eyes upward, to show even the Legend it impersonated wasn't above the others. After finding there wasn't another entrance, she left, quickly finding herself into the prehistoric room. There was a strange atmosphere in the ruins that was leaving her shaken up since she saw the Deoxys statue. She desperately wanted to leave and return to camp. Taking deep breaths, she flew for the exit.
Instead, it was the entrance to another room filled with more statues of the Legends. Gasping, she backed up, looking around frantically for another opening. The rays of light were still bright and numerous enough she found no other rooms except for those she had already visited. Whimpering fearfully, she hesitantly inched into the hall of the Johto Legends. It had to be the oldest room, covered in thick layers of vine and filled with the most light. One beam in particular was bathing a Ho-oh statue in the golden rays, bringing out the realism in it. The one of Lugia was kept in darkness, the sight sending shivers down her spine. Mew noticed the Celebi statue looked to have been the cause of the thick growth, fitting as it was by the wall. The three Legendary Beasts were present in all their beauty, almost the opposite of what they were now. She began to sense a subtle pattern as she moved for the other room.
Not surprisingly, it held the Kanto Legends.
But Mewtwo was among them.
Something was wrong here. Deoxys she could somewhat understand, he had brought worldwide attention to himself that made scientists pursue him for studies. Suicune, Entei and Raikou were part of Johto's history, even though they didn't come to being until after the Ruins were deserted, but it still made sense they were added on. Mewtwo, on the other hand, was only known to a very select few, and they had all taken their knowledge of him to their graves. He may have accidentally made an urban legend in a city or two, but that was it. No one had gotten a good glimpse of him, so how was it a perfect sculpture of him was placed in a ruin? Maybe she was just imaging it. She had him on the brain for so long, she projected a stone image of him in the middle of the room, infinitely gazing into heaven like the others in all their godly forms.
Wait. There was one that stood out. Her eyes locked onto where it rested in the dark corner, being irresistibly drawn to the oddity of it.
It was her—an ancestor, maybe, or some other Mew, she couldn't tell nor care less at the moment. The stone bust's detail was still there, the only difference was the head was limp, eyes facing the wall with a blank stare to them. She squinted, leaning forward for a better look. Unlike the other statues, there were no irises carved in, giving it a dead appearance. The pose was still life-like, no doubt the sculptor was talented like that; still, Mew wondered how intentional it was supposed to be. Why would every other sculpture (even that of Mewtwo's) look so hopeful, but this one so downcast? They were all formed to be like gods, yet this was as low as those of the prehistoric Pokémon? It wasn't implied to be her, so why would it appeal to her so well?
She happened to look at the wall the statue was focusing on and noticed what looked to be a paragraph, the only writing on the entire wall. The language of ancients peered at her, as though asking her to read them; they knew she could. With the strangest feeling she was trapped unless she read them, Mew scanned through them, frowning the entire time. It was the most curious thing she had ever read, it wasn't clicking in. Slowly, she phrased it out loud, fleshing out the words:
"Our words shall remain here for the ages, thus we shall erect a Pokémon statue outside. They possess great insight and refuse the outside world. We humans must learn to walk in harmony with them. We depart for their sakes."
At once, the hieroglyphics glowed a venomous green, and a stone tail tightly twined around her, cutting off any air for a scream. She barely caught a glimpse of the Mew statue glaring at her with glowing irises before she was tossed down through a hole beneath her. The moment she hit the floor, it quickly closed shut, torches blazing to life. Biting down on her lip, the feline shakily lifted herself up, looking about the fire-lit room as she rubbed at her arms. The temperature was the first thing she noticed, a deathly chill was in the air (as was dust she determined when she sneezed). The entire area was enclosed in, though a dark hallway behind her suggested there was a way in and out. High above her was the ceiling, the outline she could barely make out in the darkness. On the walls were the tablet-bordered lettering with additional pictures she couldn't make sense of, but thought they were familiar-looking.
Mew froze in place when her eyes grew transfixed on the mural before her, a slow intake of breath finding itself into her lungs. She hadn't seen it in many years, not since she fled her beloved home. They all had to be copies compared to it, this must be the original. It covered the majority of the far wall where the most light shone upon, and thus it was the most detailed. She approached it humbly, having found the source of the pull, the fulfillment of a destiny she herself must perform. When she was as near as she dared, she knelt down on a cold altar, her gaze never once leaving the picture.
It was of a great ancestor, the first known Mew that started it all. The people who once worshiped her species held a deep admiration for her, for without her, there couldn't be a broad variety of species. She was the Eve of all Pokémon, respected and revered.
That could have been the reason the one tablet was taken away by the scientists when they had then journeyed into the Amazon. At least one of them had a degree in archeology and knew the importance of it, so they agreed to take it as inspiration to remind them that she, a normal Mew entrusted with a daunting task, started it all. The Mother of all Pokémon.
But what about the Father of all Pokémon? Where was he? He arguably was, had been, or is in heaven, however, stories of him were twisted over time. She was never taught about him as a child, she had to glean it from passing and her own guesses. But as she knelt there, she had that sinking feeling she knew where he was.
Who he was.
And who she was meant to be. What they were meant to be. That ability was in their DNA.
I'm not ready.
A hand strayed across the altar's surface and bumped up against a smooth wooden object, fingers readily curling around it. She raised it to her line of vision, slightly wincing at the gleam the curved rusted steel gave off. Calmly, she glanced down upon where she rested, taking notice of the dried bloodstains spattered across the surface.
...even though it's my duty.
The paw holding the knife lightly placed it against her throat, almost on its own accord. You will not have to, came a gentle breezing whisper at her ear. You can end it. Someone else will take your place.
Her eyes closed shut as she swallowed. All the Legendaries came to mind, one individual at a time, watching her worriedly. Some shook their heads, others looked away. She recognized those images as memories, some from months back. Mew leaned away from the blade a little as she looked back up at the mural.
Who will take my place?
Any one of them can. They will move on without you. It inched back to the skin, lightly cutting it.
She repeated her action, though not without a struggle. They don't have the ability to alter genes like I do.
That is why they have Mewtwo.
Her breath caught as he appeared in her thoughts, the sight of sorrowful amethyst eyes warming her soul, wanting to comfort her... to love her. He had tried a few times, but it turned out for the worse. It wasn't his fault. As intelligent and powerful as he was, Mewtwo had no experience except from her. She was the one who reached out to him so many times, it was she who managed to open his heart to more emotions, more opportunities to belong to the world. While he didn't show it, he considered her a close friend. He could never really say no to her for very long. There was no doubt that if she had ever gotten into danger, he would be there to help.
Mew slowly lowered the knife, staring up at the ceiling. Could it be he was trying to return the favor, his way of showing his gratitude to her? Or... had he really fallen for her during that time? Was it possible that underneath all that irritation, he had silently looked forward to her visits? Was she the true source of his peace, the beat of his heart? When did he realize this? Why did she not see the signs?
"Oh, Mewtwo," escaped her lips in a sad sigh, eyes gently closing. "How long have you loved me?"
You do not need him, and he does not need you, hissed the voice as her hands began to twitch against the handle. End it! Slit your throat, pierce your breast! End it all!
She shook her head, her arms trembling. "No... I can't..."
He has never loved you, it is all pretend!
The memory of their first kiss flashed in her mind's eye. "He would never do that," she insisted, blearily staring at the ceiling. "He would not play with my heart like that."
There is a difference between love and possession.
"He loves me!" she gasped out when an arm shot out, the other raising the knife. She fought to regain control of her body, the strain bringing hot tears to her eyes. "When he asked me about love, he wanted to know if he was capable of it!"
Wrong! To corrupt emotion, you must know of it first!
Mew's pulse quickened when the edge skimmed her wrist, and she wailed, "What's going on?!"
This is how much a broken heart bleeds!
She screamed out in heartfelt agony when the blade deeply sliced down to her elbow, the dark liquid gushing onto the altar and floor. A fire seared throughout her arm, shivering in regret. She dropped the cursed weapon to apply pressure to the gash, only for her whole body to tremble in a cold wave of fear. The faster her heart pounded, the more blood poured out.
"What did you do to me!?" she shrilled out, doubling over in pain.
A chilling laugh sounded in the darkness, causing her to weep harder. What gives you the right to know? No matter, you belong to me now.
"I-I what?" she gulped out in a whimper, and she glanced up through her tears.
On the mural suspended a shadow that held no steady base, but had a hint of what looked to be a humanoid outline. The tendrils shaped to be arms stretched for her, curling around her limbs. When they made contact, she let out another scream, struggling to pry herself away. The freezing touch burned down to her soul, nearly stopping her heart. Another cruel cackle sounded as it dove into her chest, spreading the evil vibes throughout as it started to take over. Out of an impulse, Mew shot up from where she cowered, now having forgotten her mortal wound, and clutched her head as she lurched and spasmed.
"No! NO! Get out of my body!" she cried out. "Release me, demon!"
Too little, too late, she realized in horror she had let her guard down for too long. The icy hands grabbed hold of her spirit and forced it down an abyss to give the entity room to fill her body. The shock of losing control of her physical state left her fully paralyzed from the agonizing pain, feeling as though she was being ripped in two. With one last blood-curdling scream, Mew collapsed to the floor.
The room went silent for a long minute with exception of the occasional rasp from the feline. Then, slowly, she stirred and lifted the slashed arm to the light of the fire, eyeing the thick running streams of crimson. Gingerly, she leaned forward and savoringly lapped up the blood, flexing her fingers. A grin flashed across her face as her narrowed optics flared a deep blue.
From deep within her chest, a guttural, victorious laugh echoed throughout the sacrificial chamber.
Despite her attempts to forget it ever happened, he knew it was bothering her, they were growing mad from it. He admitted it to himself he couldn't get her off his mind, couldn't bring himself to blot out that spark of innocence he brought back to life. Whatever had happened between then and his return to Mirage Island had only caused more dismay. The look in her eyes when they made first emotional contact in a long while was heartbreaking. She didn't mean it, it wasn't even her that bit him. Something else had made her, whether it was from her madness or another side of her brought to the surface. He had been meaning to verbally forgive her for it, her accusation just hit a nerve that kept him silent about it. Touching the area on his arm where he knew the wound had been, Mewtwo secretly cursed Arceus for taking it away from him. Indeed, he wouldn't deny he had become more of a human than he wished to be.
What happened the previous week was so different from their first kiss. He had tried for tenderness, but it was too passionate when all he did was miss and graze her jaw. His much-hated human side had then taken over, replacing the comfort of love with carnal desires. Because of his actions, she came close to losing every virtue she held dear just because he wanted her that night. It had taken all of his willpower then to keep from thrusting her against the tree, even after he had felt it rising inside of her as well. Because he obeyed his heart, he suffered a whole day and night's worth of withdrawal from her body like a drug addict breaking a habit. There was no doubt she had gone through the same ordeal. The more he thought on it, the more Mewtwo's heart bled.
Ho-oh, the whole time, silently watched him break down at his feet like a sinner confessing to the Father. It wasn't like him to weep about it, let alone show any other strong emotion besides rage. The situation, sentimental as it was, made him uncomfortable. He didn't know what to do. It just felt wrong for him to know what was going on in Mewtwo's head the whole week. This was too personal, too intimate for everything to be poured out to anyone but Mew.
Gingerly, he gave his insight, "Mewtwo, you should not be saying all of this to me. I'm not Mew."
"She will not let me near her," the clone barely breathed out through his tears. "Not after what I did."
"You don't know that."
"I do know that! Have you seen what happens when I walk by without even saying a word to her?! She is afraid of me!"
The phoenix bowed his head a little. "Well, maybe she doesn't know what to say."
Mewtwo let out a dry laugh. "Of course! Why did I not see that before? Mew has grown shy around me, and thus she cannot find the words to tell me her feelings and must only resort to body language. How romantic! It is true that actions speak louder than words!"
"Mewtwo, I have never seen you act this way before, and quite frankly, it frightens me." He reached forward, and with a little effort forced him to stand. "You are an intelligent being, how can you lower yourself to this?"
"Oh, like many intelligent beings, human and non-human, have not gone through what I am going through," he snorted, swiping the tears away and sending an accused glare at Ho-oh.
Feathers bristling a little, he reasoned, "Of course they have, it's a part of life! We have been made to be attracted to one another in the idea that one day we may have children! What are you looking at me like that for, did I word it wrong or something?"
Mewtwo's face had cringed sourly at his statement, but he refused to answer. Rolling his eyes, Ho-oh resumed, "Look, the point I'm making is that we all find love at some point in our lives. But unfortunately for some people, they think they may feel for someone only for it to be nothing more than a farce. They use this person to quench their thirst for a body, then move on to something else. They may claim this is love when in reality it's lust. This is more apparent in some more than others, but it happens in everyone. It's up to the person to judge themselves and question why it is they're in love with this someone, what their motivation is for staying together. A relationship can only remain strong if the couple supports one another, to equalize and have good communication with each other. And they must recognize what it is that attracted them together, and hold true to that. Am I getting off topic?"
The psycat shrugged. "You went from love and lust to good relationship advice. You tell me."
"Oh, for God's sake, Mewtwo, just..." He sighed. "Just go talk to Mew, and don't give me that same emo crap about her not wanting anything to do with you."
"Why, Ho-oh, did I hear some common slang from you? I thought you were above that."
The Sky Guardian stood there frowning unhappily at a smirking Mewtwo. "You're a smart-ass," he grumbled, turning around and heading further into the wood. Then he looked back and pointed at the campsite's direction, "Go make yourself useful and prepare breakfast, or find Mew and talk to her. And that's an order."
The moment he disappeared into the trees, the clone returned to the site to find only a few other Legendaries had stirred themselves awake. He noticed Mew wasn't to be found, presumably gone to prepare herself for the day. A sigh subconsciously escaped him, which caught the attention of a passing Darkrai.
"What's the matter with you?" he wondered, looking Mewtwo up and down.
He made himself unsure of it all. "I do not know. I suppose I did not sleep well last night."
The phantom chortled. "Mewtwo, I would have known if you tossed and turned. You've slept better last night than you did two nights ago."
Mewtwo had almost forgotten that even as a mortal Darkrai still had the capability to feel uneasiness pulsing in the air. He stared back, trying to picture his days with Cresselia and wondering if he could trust telling him about his thoughts. Who better to ask for advice than someone who had been through it all?
But he held back those questions to try brushing him off. "I am all right. I just... had a feeling today was not going to be a good day."
"Yeah, I felt that, too. The spirits have been a bit restless the past couple of weeks, so I figured something was coming up."
The feline blinked. "You can still see them?"
Darkrai half-shrugged. "Eh, sometimes. I suppose I lost some of it, but every now and then I'll see them wandering around. Same with Giratina, but since he's been around spirits longer than I have, he sees them more frequently. But most of the time, I just feel their presences." He then leaned forward, his voice almost dropping to a whisper. "You have been noticing that, right? The world's quieter and less distracting now, surely you've felt them."
"Why? Has everyone else reported that?"
"Pretty much, but only Mew has personally told me that she's been seeing glimpses, though she thinks she's only just seeing their auras. And I can see that. After all, when one's learned to control the Tree of Beginning and thus quite often involved with aura, it would make sense to see them that way. It doesn't make her a channeler, because honestly, those people creep me out, but it makes her more unique." A small grin jutted out from behind the spiked collar. "Maybe with a little bit of exposure and training, she might be able to communicate with them. I think she might help save some souls that way." Without another word, he drifted into the wood.
Mewtwo shivered from the somewhat-chilling impression Darkrai still would leave behind and hurried more into the campground, dodging Lugia's tail when it twitched (he swore he was working on controlling it). The longer he glanced around, the more his insides writhed in his anxiety—wait, since when did he become nervous?—to speak with Mew. He was thinking he would confess to her, but suggest they remain friends, and hopefully this inward battle with their emotions would end. He couldn't bear to see her waste away again over it.
Latias suddenly bolted him from his thoughts when she clung onto his arm. "Mewtwo, Mewtwo, come quick!" she gasped.
He turned to her, frowning at her spilling tears. "What is it?"
"Latios is acting funny! I've never seen him like that before!"
The Eon dragon was one of the few who was up, Mewtwo just figured he went to wash himself. It was the urgent tone, however, that gave him second thoughts. "Where is he?"
"He followed Mew somewhere over there," and she pointed north of Cherrygrove. "He kept muttering to himself, and he was all... I don't know, I think he just wanted to talk to her. But from what little I saw, he was trying to catch her, so she ran off and—Mewtwo?" She paused in her hurried explanation to find the clone was already disappearing into the trees.
It was never a good thing to have a sibling report unusual behavior. It would have been one thing had Suicune said out of the blue Entei or Raikou ran off, maybe even Moltres saying the same thing about Zapdos. To have a well-composed Pokémon like Latios just turn tail like that was a bad sign. And as he was following Mew, no doubt there was something going on. His heart skipped when he heard her yell in fright to the side, and he cut through to a shocking sight.
There was no way to tell how long he had been pursuing her, or why it was no one heard a scuffle. The trees were damaged, many with bark or branches torn off. One had a hole blown through the trunk, and there were scattered chunks of boulder. He arrived in time to watch Latios shove Mew into a tree as she fought back, clawing and kicking to throw him off.
"Latios, what's gotten into you?!" she shouted the moment she freed herself.
A chilling, sinister chuckle escaped from Latios as he turned to grin maniacally at her. "Why, nothing is wrong with me, my dear," he purred. "I am only partaking in my duty."
"What duty?" she hissed, slowly backing away. Mewtwo could tell from where he stood she was visibly trembling. "We all have a duty here. What, just because you say yours is the most 'important' that it gives you permission to go ahead and do it?"
"And should I not? If you have a dream, you go for it."
"But what does this have to do with anything?!"
"I am preserving the species."
Her back hit a tree and she swung around behind when he swiped for her. "And you think by raping me you'll preserve it?"
"It is not rape, you are just playing hard to get," he feigned a complaint.
"Latios, I know you better than this! I mean... you have a sister!"
Latios raised a brow. "Your point is?"
Mew clenched her teeth. "Why are you acting this way?" she bitterly whispered. She quickly dodged another jump for her. "Don't make me hurt you, Latios!"
Laughing, the dragon just spread out his arms in welcome. "Go ahead. It will make it easier on the both of us."
"What is that supposed to mean?!"
He canted his head in her direction, the grin splitting his face. "One must use extreme measures to get what they want." In a flash, he disappeared. She gave a gasp, barely feeling the breeze behind her before she was slammed hard into a nearby tree, crushed between bough and body. A cry was let out until a hand silenced her, and her chin tipped up when the other brushed the claws down her throat and collarbone, throwing her into shudders and a pitiful whine. He then leaned forward, and as he glanced over to where the clone was, darkly jested into her ear, "The difficult, the better."
As chilling as it was to meet the dragon's sharp gaze, something inside of Mewtwo had snapped when he pinned her. He couldn't figure out what the motivation was, nor the emotion that was there. Barely was he able to contain himself when he sprinted forward, snatched Latios by the neck, and ripped him off her to shove him against another tree.
The Eon Legendary at the same time gave a shout of pain, raising a hand for his head and staring wide-eyed at his attacker. "Mewtwo! What are you doing? Where's the campsite?"
"You keep your hands off her!" he snarled, bashing him again.
"Gah, what are you talki—" Silenced once more with another blow.
"You cannot fool me, I saw the whole thing!"
"I-I swear I don't know what you're talking about!"
"You sick bastards are all the same!"
"Mewtwo, will you let me—!" He was cut off by a squeeze to the throat, Mewtwo's eyes flashing blue.
"Mewtwo, what is wrong with you?!" Mew shrieked from behind, rushing up to pry him away.
Enraged, he spun around and seized her by the shoulders before she touched him. "Why did you not fight him off?!" he hollered, shaking her. "Do you realize what he could have done?!"
Having been caught off-guard, she temporarily lost her words, dreadfully gaping at his darkened face. His hard eyes dangerously pulsed color in time with his rapid breathing. Her only involuntary movement was a vigorous shake of the head, meaning one thing, but mistaken for another.
Mewtwo resumed his outcry, "He could have raped you, Mew! Why would you allow him to do that?!"
"H-How was I supposed to know he'd follow me?!" the tiny feline wailed, struggling in his possessive hold. "But I swear, Mewtwo, he wasn't himself!"
"Why, of course, Mew, how observant of you!" he jeered, his grip tightening, causing her to painfully gasp. "All hormonally-stricken males become aroused at the mere sight of a pretty young female and seek out pleasure with her. And a pretty female plus an empty clearing equals a moment of intimacy. They are all the same, are they not?!"
"It takes one to know one!"
He barked a laugh. "Oh, how clever of you! He was set on murdering you if he had the chance!"
"So were you! Mewtwo, ever since we had that one moment together, you've become different!"
"You need to be more specific, Mew. We have had more than one intimate moment together," he encouraged in agitation, pressing his fingers into her arms at the word.
She shivered under the touch and sharp gaze. "Our first kiss started this mess! At least I did—yes, Mewtwo, I'm admitting I screwed up, I admit to everything! A woman needs to be honest to everyone including herself, and since I was the cause of it all, I'll be the one to end it." Mew solemnly hung her head, arms trembling when his hands loosened. Her voice then lowered with a sigh, "You didn't mean it, Mewtwo... I believe you. I believe all of it." Slowly, a paw reached up to touch her throat, inhaling deeply. "I wish I could... believe myself." Then her eyes locked onto his, watching the light inside return.
The two stared at each other as the tension dropped, the witness of Latios all but forgotten from their minds. Mewtwo dropped his hold on her, his frown deepening as he raised a lone hand to lay upon her cheek. She quivered at the sensitive contact, averting her gaze as a slight blush warmed under his fingertips, taking sudden, uneven breaths. Then she backed away.
"I need to be alone. Please don't follow me. I-I don't know when I'll be back." She forcibly swallowed any reasons for her demand. Turning her back to him, Mew brought herself to whisper, "You tell Ho-oh he had every right to hear it. He needed to know."
He barely nodded before she headed off further into the wood. Somehow, he figured he would be stunned she had eavesdropped, but he strangely found comfort in it. Her reaction was different from what he imagined, almost the polar opposite. She had accepted it so easily that he couldn't help wondering if it was bothering her a little, like something was holding her back.
Mewtwo flinched when a small headache stung through, and he turned to Latios, who had remained patiently silent the entire time. He cringed at the bloody welt developing on his forehead, surprised he had gone that far. Pointing for the campsite, he said in an apologetic tone, "Let us get that taken care of before your sister sees you like this."
Without another word, they left as the Eon dragon patted him on the back in forgiveness.
*~*~*
Why did you not spill out everything, hmm? Balance him out.
I couldn't.
Was it because Latios was there? If you were alone with him like you were last week, then would you have told him?
Latios has nothing to do with this.
Answer me!
"What do you want from me?" Mew whimpered out loud, clutching her head as she listlessly traveled through the forest.
The truth.
"Mewtwo doesn't need to know."
Liar. You forget I know everything about you.
"Then you tell me the truth!" she hissed.
Why should I? There was a malicious smile portrayed in the voice. If I said you were insane, you would not believe me.
Her small body shuddered as she spun around, searching for the source. For the past week, she had tried to keep the disembodied voice at bay until she made the mistake of addressing it when it disturbed her dreams. It accompanied her since, and it had taken all her willpower to keep from physically talking to it, and even more energy to continue looking normal. Mew couldn't remember when she last slept—well she did, her body had just never felt like it was getting rest during this torment.
"Who are you?" she murmured. "You're not... me, a-are you?"
Oh no, you are not this cruel, it drawled on as though it was enjoying harassing her.
She felt sick. "Why are you here?"
For the same reason you are.
"You're not haunting me, are you?"
Such a mortal term. But you could say that.
A frightened intake of breath caused her to collapse against a tree, clutching herself and struggling to hold back sobs. An icy wave attacked her on both sides as her chest ached hollowly. Her fur stood on end upon realizing it felt like something reached in to stroke her heart. Almost immediately, a mental image of Mewtwo caressing her breast as he breathed over her neck burst in on its own, which in turn started to numb her.
She shook her head strenuously in disbelief, knowing she didn't envision it. "This has nothing to do with Mewtwo!" she gasped out, staring wide-eyed above her.
So why bring him up? the voice chuckled.
"I didn't, something's putting these images in my head!" The more she shivered, the more passionate and realistic the touches felt against her skin. A moan escaped her lips, head thrown back as his fingertips massaged sensitive flesh.
You do not remember conjuring these up in your dreams? At what you imagined would have happened had you two stayed?
How could she forget? A pitiful, muffled cry escaped her lips when the dream Mewtwo pressed a deep kiss against her mouth, feeling the skim of his tongue slipping in. She twitched against the tree trunk, begging for an end.
You never stayed asleep long enough to see the end, the whispered taunt continued as mouthed through him, hot breath causing her to shiver in arousal. And you have since refused to. But now that you are alone, would you like to resume where you left off?
The farthest she had gotten before she resisted sleep... his lips had been massaging her body while he slowly guided her to the ground below him. He had fondled her tail tantalizingly, causing her to moan and plead for more. And then, trailing the length, his hand moved upward and brushed her inner thigh...
Her eyes widened and her breath quickened, yanking her paws away to push off against the trunk. "I can't!" she exclaimed, speeding down a random direction.
Mew couldn't shake off the belief she was being hunted down, she could feel the spindly fingers stretching to snatch her. They followed her every move, easily slipping through trees, bushes, abandoned tunnels and solid rock, inching ever closer. Her mind screamed for peace when her voice refused to, body tiring from being beaten around by vain escape routes and hunger. She started slowing down, about to submit to capture.
Then it abruptly paused its chase, lifting away from her.
She flew on several more feet before coming to a complete stop, crashing to the ground hard. Choking on her sobs and dust with tears stinging her eyes, Mew shakily crawled into the safety of a brown hedge, heaving painful breaths. She curled up there for rest (or death, whichever came first), adrenaline continuing to throb throughout her veins in an agonizing manner. Then as quickly as it came, she suddenly perked up and wriggled out of the brush, staring at the ivy-coated crumbling building before her. Her jaw unhinged, eyes scanning about the occupied space. It wasn't the only artifact of ruin still standing, there was another identical one further away. The graying yellow of the bricks gave it a bland appearance, though the eerie, mysterious atmosphere about it made it more interesting and intriguing. And for some odd reason, she felt like it was calling her.
Slowly but hesitantly, she lifted herself up and approached the front building, delicately placing a hand on the wall. It was gritty from age, yet still sturdy. With the palm still pressed on the rough surface, she allowed her fingers to skim along when she floated down to the end. Looking around the corner, she gasped lightly at the entrance. The sunlight peeking through the clouds richly enhanced the shadows that spilled inside. More ivy vines tangled around and hung down from their stations, purple buds developing at the entryway. She inched for the mouth of the building only to feel a strong pull emerge from her the moment she froze beneath the arch. Breath caught in her throat, her eyes widened at the long hallway stretching to a grayed end.
Mew tried to back away, but whatever invisible force was drawing her in had already ensnared her. She locked into her teleportation only to receive a sharp headache from it. Having no choice, she flew inside. The slow descent into the ruin was tolerable only because of the curious hieroglyphics carved into the walls—shaped like tablets, she noted—almost like they were guiding her through with their patterns. Though oddly enough, they looked like alphabets with eyes watching her every move—
She gasped and pulled away her hand before she could touch it. "Ruins of Alph," she fearfully whispered, glancing around nervously like there was a curse somewhere in the tunnel. "My God... how is this still standing?"
Then again, how was it all the ruins consecrated to the Unown were able to survive this long, to avoid being torn down for human development? Mew remembered reports and rumors about the ruins being bewitched or haunted, however, none of them proved to be true. While the occasional person did find themselves lost in the labyrinths of these unique chambers, they all had been led to an exit by unknown sources, a few even claiming Pokémon much like the ancient writing helped them out. So scientists and archaeologists had flocked to these sites for fervent studies and hopes to catch a glimpse of an Unown, and channelers and so-called psychics were called in to communicate with them or open a pathway to where they reside. In time, public demand allowed them to become national parks, and it raked the tourists in. A few greedy people had attempted to make a business out of it, they just somehow all failed to in various unexplained ways (though there was a report one tycoon went insane because of "one-eyed devils"). As much as they liked the behind-the-scenes attention, the Unown would sometimes grow bored of scaring and chasing them away, so they would hide away and come back out after every few decades or so.
Then, one day, they mysteriously vanished. Palkia had brought it up the moment he noticed an unbalance in space; slight, but miraculously still harmless. He had visited their home dimension only to find it became nonexistent. A guess was they moved to another dimension or created a new room, but it continued to remain a mystery until their ruins slowly began to deteriorate and fall to dust. One by one, they all became nothing more than a myth, lost with the older, dying generation. The Unown were no more.
Yet somehow, the famous Ruins of Alph proved itself to be resilient to their absence and even eluded human activity. Mew couldn't see how something this large could have gone unnoticed. She knew that once a ruin was excavated, it was doomed to inevitable destruction. So it was virtually impossible for a decimated artifact such as this to remain standing even through the end of the world. Unless...
She had seen the Unown only once, but they were mysteriously incredible. Alone, a Magikarp could easily turn out victorious. Together, they had a form of ancient power that was stronger than her or any of the other Legendaries. It was believed they were the ones keeping the world in order inside their own dimension. Could it be possible they were still around, taking refuge and hiding away the last of the ruins? The latter thought made her uneasy as she turned and flew for the exit.
An invisible power surge from deep in the heart of the ruins constricted her before she could escape, then proceeded to pull her further inside. Mew struggled to free herself, feeling as though her life was squeezing out of her the more she fought. "No, no! What do you want from me?!" she screamed into the tunnel, half-expecting to get an answer.
Her breath then choked in her lungs, sending her body into icy shock. As she began to sink to the floor, she was wrenched further into the dark ruins. How far along, she couldn't tell, her involuntary asphyxiation drawing her closer to unconsciousness. It was a blessed relief when she was thrown onto the tiled floor, the pressure on her chest lifting. She lay there gulping down trembling breaths, hardly aware of the throbbing pain to her head. Slowly, her strength recovered enough to allow her movement without the dizzying effect. Mew cast her eyes about the room she found herself in, jaw dropping.
There was little sunlight spilling into the vast chamber through crevices in the ceiling, but whatever it illuminated brought a quaint amount of color to the room. The inside did not match the outside walls when it came to age and hue, if at all. Everything looked like no one had stepped foot here in many years, but it did it too well, like it had time to renovate itself. From what she could see beneath the ivy, the walls were a golden orange, every square inch covered in Unown hieroglyphics. Stone statues of Pokémon from ancient times were pushed up available wall, their petrified gazes pointed upward. She brought herself to rise to look at them, marveling at the perfect detail and at how there were no cracks or specks of dust on them. In fact, she questioned if they were really sculptures, they looked like they had once been actual living creatures, the poses were so life-like.
As she traveled further into the empty room, the more she noticed it was a simple zigzag labyrinth—if it could still even be called that. Rounding a corner, she found herself in another room. And once inside, Mew held back a gasp, staring at statues of the Hoenn Legendaries. They held reverent poses (even that of Kyogre in mid-jump), all still looking up toward heaven like the lower prehistoric class. The detail was exceedingly fine, like the sculptors took their time to carve out every single scale on Rayquaza and Groudon, every dent and space between rock limbs for Regirock, the perfect smoothness of Jirachi. What surprised her the most was a single pedestal at a corner that held the four forms of Deoxys. Even more-so, it looked as old as its surrounding sculptures.
She shivered, hurrying into the other room where the Sinnoh Legends awaited her there. Brow furrowing, she peeked back at the statue. "It must have been added on some time ago," she tried to convince herself. "The humans were always trying to appeal to the younger generation."
Mew sighed softly, then turned back to the other carved images. They were all there, set up against a wall or in the middle. It didn't take much scanning to know every single one was made to direct their frozen gazes to the skies. Even the Arceus statue with one front leg up had its eyes upward, to show even the Legend it impersonated wasn't above the others. After finding there wasn't another entrance, she left, quickly finding herself into the prehistoric room. There was a strange atmosphere in the ruins that was leaving her shaken up since she saw the Deoxys statue. She desperately wanted to leave and return to camp. Taking deep breaths, she flew for the exit.
Instead, it was the entrance to another room filled with more statues of the Legends. Gasping, she backed up, looking around frantically for another opening. The rays of light were still bright and numerous enough she found no other rooms except for those she had already visited. Whimpering fearfully, she hesitantly inched into the hall of the Johto Legends. It had to be the oldest room, covered in thick layers of vine and filled with the most light. One beam in particular was bathing a Ho-oh statue in the golden rays, bringing out the realism in it. The one of Lugia was kept in darkness, the sight sending shivers down her spine. Mew noticed the Celebi statue looked to have been the cause of the thick growth, fitting as it was by the wall. The three Legendary Beasts were present in all their beauty, almost the opposite of what they were now. She began to sense a subtle pattern as she moved for the other room.
Not surprisingly, it held the Kanto Legends.
But Mewtwo was among them.
Something was wrong here. Deoxys she could somewhat understand, he had brought worldwide attention to himself that made scientists pursue him for studies. Suicune, Entei and Raikou were part of Johto's history, even though they didn't come to being until after the Ruins were deserted, but it still made sense they were added on. Mewtwo, on the other hand, was only known to a very select few, and they had all taken their knowledge of him to their graves. He may have accidentally made an urban legend in a city or two, but that was it. No one had gotten a good glimpse of him, so how was it a perfect sculpture of him was placed in a ruin? Maybe she was just imaging it. She had him on the brain for so long, she projected a stone image of him in the middle of the room, infinitely gazing into heaven like the others in all their godly forms.
Wait. There was one that stood out. Her eyes locked onto where it rested in the dark corner, being irresistibly drawn to the oddity of it.
It was her—an ancestor, maybe, or some other Mew, she couldn't tell nor care less at the moment. The stone bust's detail was still there, the only difference was the head was limp, eyes facing the wall with a blank stare to them. She squinted, leaning forward for a better look. Unlike the other statues, there were no irises carved in, giving it a dead appearance. The pose was still life-like, no doubt the sculptor was talented like that; still, Mew wondered how intentional it was supposed to be. Why would every other sculpture (even that of Mewtwo's) look so hopeful, but this one so downcast? They were all formed to be like gods, yet this was as low as those of the prehistoric Pokémon? It wasn't implied to be her, so why would it appeal to her so well?
She happened to look at the wall the statue was focusing on and noticed what looked to be a paragraph, the only writing on the entire wall. The language of ancients peered at her, as though asking her to read them; they knew she could. With the strangest feeling she was trapped unless she read them, Mew scanned through them, frowning the entire time. It was the most curious thing she had ever read, it wasn't clicking in. Slowly, she phrased it out loud, fleshing out the words:
"Our words shall remain here for the ages, thus we shall erect a Pokémon statue outside. They possess great insight and refuse the outside world. We humans must learn to walk in harmony with them. We depart for their sakes."
At once, the hieroglyphics glowed a venomous green, and a stone tail tightly twined around her, cutting off any air for a scream. She barely caught a glimpse of the Mew statue glaring at her with glowing irises before she was tossed down through a hole beneath her. The moment she hit the floor, it quickly closed shut, torches blazing to life. Biting down on her lip, the feline shakily lifted herself up, looking about the fire-lit room as she rubbed at her arms. The temperature was the first thing she noticed, a deathly chill was in the air (as was dust she determined when she sneezed). The entire area was enclosed in, though a dark hallway behind her suggested there was a way in and out. High above her was the ceiling, the outline she could barely make out in the darkness. On the walls were the tablet-bordered lettering with additional pictures she couldn't make sense of, but thought they were familiar-looking.
Mew froze in place when her eyes grew transfixed on the mural before her, a slow intake of breath finding itself into her lungs. She hadn't seen it in many years, not since she fled her beloved home. They all had to be copies compared to it, this must be the original. It covered the majority of the far wall where the most light shone upon, and thus it was the most detailed. She approached it humbly, having found the source of the pull, the fulfillment of a destiny she herself must perform. When she was as near as she dared, she knelt down on a cold altar, her gaze never once leaving the picture.
It was of a great ancestor, the first known Mew that started it all. The people who once worshiped her species held a deep admiration for her, for without her, there couldn't be a broad variety of species. She was the Eve of all Pokémon, respected and revered.
That could have been the reason the one tablet was taken away by the scientists when they had then journeyed into the Amazon. At least one of them had a degree in archeology and knew the importance of it, so they agreed to take it as inspiration to remind them that she, a normal Mew entrusted with a daunting task, started it all. The Mother of all Pokémon.
But what about the Father of all Pokémon? Where was he? He arguably was, had been, or is in heaven, however, stories of him were twisted over time. She was never taught about him as a child, she had to glean it from passing and her own guesses. But as she knelt there, she had that sinking feeling she knew where he was.
Who he was.
And who she was meant to be. What they were meant to be. That ability was in their DNA.
I'm not ready.
A hand strayed across the altar's surface and bumped up against a smooth wooden object, fingers readily curling around it. She raised it to her line of vision, slightly wincing at the gleam the curved rusted steel gave off. Calmly, she glanced down upon where she rested, taking notice of the dried bloodstains spattered across the surface.
...even though it's my duty.
The paw holding the knife lightly placed it against her throat, almost on its own accord. You will not have to, came a gentle breezing whisper at her ear. You can end it. Someone else will take your place.
Her eyes closed shut as she swallowed. All the Legendaries came to mind, one individual at a time, watching her worriedly. Some shook their heads, others looked away. She recognized those images as memories, some from months back. Mew leaned away from the blade a little as she looked back up at the mural.
Who will take my place?
Any one of them can. They will move on without you. It inched back to the skin, lightly cutting it.
She repeated her action, though not without a struggle. They don't have the ability to alter genes like I do.
That is why they have Mewtwo.
Her breath caught as he appeared in her thoughts, the sight of sorrowful amethyst eyes warming her soul, wanting to comfort her... to love her. He had tried a few times, but it turned out for the worse. It wasn't his fault. As intelligent and powerful as he was, Mewtwo had no experience except from her. She was the one who reached out to him so many times, it was she who managed to open his heart to more emotions, more opportunities to belong to the world. While he didn't show it, he considered her a close friend. He could never really say no to her for very long. There was no doubt that if she had ever gotten into danger, he would be there to help.
Mew slowly lowered the knife, staring up at the ceiling. Could it be he was trying to return the favor, his way of showing his gratitude to her? Or... had he really fallen for her during that time? Was it possible that underneath all that irritation, he had silently looked forward to her visits? Was she the true source of his peace, the beat of his heart? When did he realize this? Why did she not see the signs?
"Oh, Mewtwo," escaped her lips in a sad sigh, eyes gently closing. "How long have you loved me?"
You do not need him, and he does not need you, hissed the voice as her hands began to twitch against the handle. End it! Slit your throat, pierce your breast! End it all!
She shook her head, her arms trembling. "No... I can't..."
He has never loved you, it is all pretend!
The memory of their first kiss flashed in her mind's eye. "He would never do that," she insisted, blearily staring at the ceiling. "He would not play with my heart like that."
There is a difference between love and possession.
"He loves me!" she gasped out when an arm shot out, the other raising the knife. She fought to regain control of her body, the strain bringing hot tears to her eyes. "When he asked me about love, he wanted to know if he was capable of it!"
Wrong! To corrupt emotion, you must know of it first!
Mew's pulse quickened when the edge skimmed her wrist, and she wailed, "What's going on?!"
This is how much a broken heart bleeds!
She screamed out in heartfelt agony when the blade deeply sliced down to her elbow, the dark liquid gushing onto the altar and floor. A fire seared throughout her arm, shivering in regret. She dropped the cursed weapon to apply pressure to the gash, only for her whole body to tremble in a cold wave of fear. The faster her heart pounded, the more blood poured out.
"What did you do to me!?" she shrilled out, doubling over in pain.
A chilling laugh sounded in the darkness, causing her to weep harder. What gives you the right to know? No matter, you belong to me now.
"I-I what?" she gulped out in a whimper, and she glanced up through her tears.
On the mural suspended a shadow that held no steady base, but had a hint of what looked to be a humanoid outline. The tendrils shaped to be arms stretched for her, curling around her limbs. When they made contact, she let out another scream, struggling to pry herself away. The freezing touch burned down to her soul, nearly stopping her heart. Another cruel cackle sounded as it dove into her chest, spreading the evil vibes throughout as it started to take over. Out of an impulse, Mew shot up from where she cowered, now having forgotten her mortal wound, and clutched her head as she lurched and spasmed.
"No! NO! Get out of my body!" she cried out. "Release me, demon!"
Too little, too late, she realized in horror she had let her guard down for too long. The icy hands grabbed hold of her spirit and forced it down an abyss to give the entity room to fill her body. The shock of losing control of her physical state left her fully paralyzed from the agonizing pain, feeling as though she was being ripped in two. With one last blood-curdling scream, Mew collapsed to the floor.
The room went silent for a long minute with exception of the occasional rasp from the feline. Then, slowly, she stirred and lifted the slashed arm to the light of the fire, eyeing the thick running streams of crimson. Gingerly, she leaned forward and savoringly lapped up the blood, flexing her fingers. A grin flashed across her face as her narrowed optics flared a deep blue.
From deep within her chest, a guttural, victorious laugh echoed throughout the sacrificial chamber.
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