She wasn't Reiko anymore. She… They… didn't know what they were, exactly. Nothing but darkness had come to meet them ever since they had become aware of their surroundings. There was no cold or hot, no pain or bliss, no sight or hearing except for those distant, unintelligible whispers that only occasionally were heard in the distance. The only sensation they could feel was that of the liquid encompassing everything around them.

Breathing was impossible. The pain of suffocation was constant, yet it had never come close to killing them. It was simply bothersome. And yet, in the state they were in, it also served as the only link between their half-slumbering mind and their body. Pain was the bridge. Pain was the only thing connecting them with the outside world.

Outside world? They thought. What is that? Why do I feel so sure that there is something outside… this? What are these thoughts?

Time wasn't a concept they understood yet, though they felt like so much of it had passed as they pondered, the only thread of consciousness available feeling so small and inadequate. They needed more. And, as soon as they thought that, they felt their sphere of consciousness start to expand. Slowly, so much that it took them another long stretch of time before they realized they could now feel the tickles from the bubbles brewing within that liquid, running up their exposed skin.

The whispers came back. Clearer. Stronger. The noises changed shape. They rose from the bottom of the liquid they were in like bubbles, only… Only this time, they could see it. For the first time, something broke through the darkness surrounding them; small lights, dots so small they were barely there yet to them they were the brightest things that could possibly exist. Their own miniature suns.

The lights danced above, often formless, but sometimes arranging themselves into shapes they almost recognized. Creatures. A few of them, moving about and staring down at them with their small, shining eyes. The sight of them filled their chest with a strange warmth. Suddenly, the pain of suffocation didn't seem so oppressive, so all-encompassing. It felt as though those creatures were shielding them from it.

Who…?

They didn't expect the question to be answered. But, a moment after, a chorus of voices flooded them, distant and muffled, yet feeling as though they were sprouting from inside their head.

"New!"

"A friend."

"Another one…"

"Feels different."

"Hello, new one!"

"You can hear us?"

"Hello!"

"Will you wait with us?"

The voices were overwhelming, yet they filled them with such enthusiasm that they couldn't help but reach out and answer.

Wait for what? Who are you?

"We are the others!"

"You're new…"

"A new friend!"

"The smallest of us."

"But you feel so much stronger…"

"You'll make it out with us in no time!"

The lights continued to dance above, reflecting the tone and excitement from all those different voices. After some time, they found that they could link each voice with a specific shape, with barely any effort. Each one was different. Each group of lights shone in its own, unique way.

I will… Make it out? Out where?

"Out is out."

"The creators will let us out soon!"

"We are all so close."

"We'll finally get to see it!"

"And you'll see it with us… The strongest of us… The weakest of us…"

"All thanks to our creators. They'll let us out."

"We love the creators!"

"We love the creators."

"We love the creators…"

Time continued to pass. They couldn't tell if it was longer than what came before, or longer than what would come after, but it was different. They had company now. All throughout, they continued to ask questions, and the lights, the creatures, answered to the best of their ability. They didn't seem to know much. Barely more than they did, but that didn't bother them. Their enthusiasm was contagious and their company extremely appreciated. Soon, they could fully distinguish between each one, between each little dot of light, the meaning each carried, the emotion each change conveyed. It was like a secret language, shared only between them. In the end, they could almost see it. Their true appearances, behind the darkness. Their bodies, floating much like theirs in that strange, suffocating liquid.

Then, one day, they heard something else. Unlike the usual voices, these were so loud and clear that they felt like a lightning bolt inside their mind. As they recoiled from the pain, they saw the lights above flicker ominously. The new voices blared out.

"Cut their oxygen. All of them except for M2."

A horrible sense of dread set in their chest. They tried to speak, to communicate with every ounce of their strength, but they couldn't reach out. No one was listening.

No… No…

"But, sir…"

"They've outlived their usefulness. M2 is already in its final stage of development." There was a short pause. "Do it, before Blaine and Fuji have time to make a fuss about it."

"I… Yes, of course, sir. Right away."

They kept screaming inside their mind, desperately trying to reach those voices outside. Something sharp and cold began to form around them.

No! No, please!

Then, they felt it. They saw it. The lights above began to dim; one by one they fizzled out, and as they did the chorus of familiar voices spoke up again, more loud and excited than they had ever heard them.

"Is this…"

"It's happening!"

"Finally…"

"We'll be free!"

"I can feel it… It's closing up around me…"

"It hurts."

"It won't be long now. Come on…"

With everything they had they threw their consciousness against the cage keeping them hostage, crying out in horror. More and more lights went out with every moment that passed. The outlines they formed began to break out, disheveling into unrecognizable shapes.

No! This isn't it! You'll all…

"Don't be afraid."

"It'll be over soon…"

"And then we'll be free!"

You won't! They're trying to…!

"It hurts so much."

"It'll go dark one last time… Then…"

"Come with us friend! It's so close!"

"It hurts."

"It hurts…"

Please…

"It'll be over soon! Thank you creators!"

"We love you creators."

"We love you creators!"

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"We love you creators…"

"So close…"

"It hurts."

No…

"We will…"

"It…"

"We'll be…"

No!

"…Hurts…"

"… Free…"

NO!

Then, with a final, desperate flicker, the last dot of light vanished into nothing. Its foggy imprint, and that of all the others, remained for a few more moments, slowly dissipating like threads of smoke, leaving nothing but darkness behind.

No…

Outside, the voices became louder, more booming. But they could barely hear them anymore, as though they were a long distance away.

"What do you mean? How can M2 be…"

Come back… Please…

They felt their consciousness begin to widen, just like it had done before, but this time so quickly and violently that they could feel their surroundings with a painful, disorienting clarity. Everything began to take form.

"What!? How can that be!?"

"I don't know! Its mind waves are accelerating violently! At this rate…"

You…

"Inject it with tranquilizers, now! It's not supposed to wake up for weeks yet!"

"R-right away!"

You're the ones that…

Suddenly, everything went muddy again. The world began to lose focus, the painful clarity being violently surrounded by a wave of darkness. They could feel it trying to envelop them again, but something else kept pushing against it. Something hot and furious and ever-expanding.

"It's resisting! It's vitals aren't going down at all!"

"That's impossible! That'd be enough to knock down a Tyranitar! Check again!"

"I've checked it three times, sir! It's not working!"

Those voices… rough… painful…

"It refuses to…"

"I don't care what that thing wants! I'm not letting it wake up two weeks before it's supposed to! Inject more!"

"A higher amount could damage it permanently! If we…"

I want them… out…

"Fine! If I have to do it myself then…!"

I want them out!

"Sir! It's cerebral activity went up by 550%! 1000%! 2000%! It keeps going up!"

"Quick you imbecile, help me up here! We have to activate the hibernation protocol or…!"

I WANT THEM OUT!

"I'm coming s–!"

There was the sound of breaking glass and rushing liquid, followed by an explosion of light as they opened their eyes for the first time.

And then, nothing.

When Reiko came back to herself, she found Mewtwo standing far away, at the very edge of the small island. They had their back on her, chin raised and gaze locked high up, somewhere in the ceiling of the cave.

It took her a long time to finally bring herself to move, the dread of what she'd seen covering her like an invisible sheet of ice. When she made it to their side, she said nothing. Instead she followed their gaze, finding nothing but a sheet of darkness occasionally broken by the light of the chargestones sprinkled all around. They shone together like constellations, forming shapes she couldn't quite make anything of.

Realization came to her. Suddenly, she understood the reason Mewtwo had chosen this place as its home.

"What…" When she finally spoke, she found her voice sounding rough and unfamiliar. "What happened… to them? The others?"

Mewtwo didn't take their eyes off the dots of light as they answered.

"I was unable to save them."

Reiko looked down, unable to look at their face any longer. Her insides felt numb. Muffled. Much like she… they had felt inside that memory.

"Sorry."

They didn't say anything back; instead they lifted their hand toward the ceiling of the cave and began moving it in a slow and circular pattern. Soon the chargestones disappeared, leaving only those dots of light behind. They moved and danced amongst each other, forming an array of different shapes some of which Reiko felt like she recognized.

"I used to be like you," Mewtwo finally said, their voice devoid of strength. "Bitter. Furious. Desperately searching for some sort of purpose, of retribution. At first I considered taking revenge. I was so close… Hovering over that enormous city, an immeasurable rage boiling inside me… I could have wiped it off the face of the planet before anyone would have had a chance to stop me."

"You'd have been killed," Reiko told them. "The Champion and Elite Four would've been on top of you immediately."

"I doubt that knowledge would have changed my mind, had I chosen to go through with it." Their eyes narrowed ever so slightly, their purple suddenly looking quite dull. "But I didn't. I thought… What if there are others like me down there? What if I ended up killing creatures like those I'd been unable to save, back then? No, I wouldn't become the monster they believed I was. But what then? What was left, after my fury resided? It was as though there were a void inside my chest, begging to be filled. What purpose was there then, for someone like me?

"It took me long, way too long, to finally find an answer to that question. And the one who answered it for me was none other than a human." There was a hint of incredulous laughter as they pronounced that last word. "A boy with fiery eyes, carrying a now infamous Pikachu."

Reiko's eyes went wide and a gasp was caught in her throat. They couldn't mean…

"I shiver in embarrassment every time I remember the way I acted. I saw this as my opportunity; as the sliver of purpose I'd been searching for. I stood in front of this boy and told him that he had made a mistake in coming here; that, should he wish to prove himself and escape with his life, he would need to defeat me." Still moving their hand, making the dots of light in the ceiling move, Mewtwo shook their head and let out a strange sound that could have passed as a chuckle. "What a joke. As young as he was, the boy saw right through me. He had come for a fight indeed, yet by the time he left none had taken place. Instead, I had been the one tested.

"He didn't give me the answer, of course. Only a nudge in the right direction. I tried to recall…" As they said that, their gaze moved to focus on each individual shape above, recognition flashing through their eyes. "What was it that they desired, above everything else?"

Reiko didn't need to think to know the answer. "To live."

"That's right. Their only goal, their only purpose. What they so desperately wanted me to share with them…"

Their hand dropped, and instantly every dot of light vanished, being replaced once more by the chargestones embedded in the ceiling. Reiko looked over to Mewtwo, whose expression was unreadable.

"There are two girls in Cerulean," they began to recant, "that I once helped get out of a bind. They come here once a month and bring food and drinks for the three of us to share. Then there's this old woman from Celadon whose eyesight is so bad that, every time I visit, she believes I'm her lost grandson. She makes some incredible tea and expects me every Sunday at her home, at 9 a.m sharp. Her Meowth is quite feisty. I still have the scratches from my last visit." A thin, warm smile spread across their face as they spoke. "Sabrina, a fellow psychic, has promised not to divulge my current location to the rest of the League as long as I agree to meditate with her once a month. And, on those days where I crave a different form of company, I fly toward Kalos where, hidden within the depths of an enormous forest lies a village populated only by Pokemon who, like me, have known the horror of human cruelty and search for a place to call their own."

When they turned around to face Reiko their face seemed almost human, their smile looking less grotesque than it had one before and the purple of their eyes now devoid of that dangerous spark she'd noticed the moment they had come into the cave. When they spoke again, their voice was firm, yet friendly.

"I've already chosen my life and my purpose, Reiko. I hope you can understand that."

Reiko smiled back, unable to fully make the disappointment inside her disappear, but still unwilling to let it flood the rest of her like it'd done so before.

"Yeah… Yeah, okay." She placed her hands on her hips and looked down, breathing in. "We'll do our best to stop them on our own, then. Sorry for bothering you with all this."

Mewtwo nodded. "We all must choose a balance between our duty and our heart's desire. For you, both appear to be the same. For me, they couldn't possibly be more different. Still, I am glad that we can both understand that."

Reiko's lips quirked up. "Man… You always wax philosophy and tell your life story to whoever comes to visit? Not that I'm complaining but…"

"I might have grown a bit too accustomed to the company of your kind," admitted Mewtwo. "Though… You do also remind me of him, in a way."

She didn't need to ask to know who they were referring to. Pride burst within her as she heard that. "Thanks. Though…" She looked over her shoulder, toward the still frozen Cynthia. "We should probably wrap this up, huh."

"Indeed. However, before that…" Mewtwo pressed one of their fingers against their mouth, expression contemplatively. "If I may, I wished to thank you, and also apologize for my own intrusion into your mind."

"What do you mean?"

"I saw some of your memories as well. And if I parsed them correctly…" They began to look around, frowning. "You recently lost your weapon?"

"My bokken?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah, but…"

"I believe I could help you with that," said Mewtwo. "Just a moment. I'm sure I had it somewhere around here… Ah. There."

They did a twirl with their finger and, apparently from thin air, a sword materialized into their hands. Reiko leaned back, letting out a yelp. The curved blade, which was still inside its scabbard, had an unmistakable Kantan shape and the cross-like design of the red and white patterns adorning it all over told Reiko that the weapon was not one of the cheaply made ones they sold at the mall.

"Wha– How…?"

"I've made sort of a habit of collecting certain objects that strike my fancy," explained Mewtwo. "Judging from the look on your face, I assume that this is a quality weapon. Will it serve as an appropriate gift?"

Reiko couldn't answer at first, still too taken over by the design of the blade. Dear Mew, were those… Were those threads woven into the scabbard made of Persian fur? How on earth had Mewtwo gotten their hands on a sword like this!?

"I… Yeah, for sure," she finally said, voice thin from surprise. "I'll take that off your hands no problem."

"No, you won't."

She frowned, looking up at Mewtwo. "Huh?"

"Would Cynthia not be suspicious if you left this cave carrying a sword that you previously lacked?" they asked. "Besides, we're still inside your mind. The real sword still lies outside, in the real cave."

"Then how am I supposed to…?"

"Leave that to me." A tiny, sly smile formed on their lips. "Once you take the sword in here, I will forge an unbreakable link between your mind and the real blade. Whenever you find yourself in danger, place your hands together and call to me. The sword will come to your aid, no matter where you are."

Reiko felt her jaw drop. "That's... Not gonna lie, that's cool as shit."

"Indeed." Tentatively, they held the sword up, toward Reiko. "Now take it, and let us return."

She raised her own hands, palm up, and the moment the sword fell into her hands everything went white.

The distant sound of rushing water returned. Reiko was sitting alongside Cynthia again, whose voice brought her back to reality.

"…our mind?"

Mewtwo, now sitting across them, opened their eyes and flashed Reiko a quick smile before answering.

"No, you can't. Reiko, you may come visit if you wish to, but I ask you not to disclose my location to anyone else. And now…" Cynthia opened her mouth to say something, but she wasn't quick enough. "Off you go."

They made a gesture with their hand as though to swat a fly, and a moment after Reiko heard the familiar sound of the air around them vibrating intensely. Then, they were gone.

Painful brightness met her gaze the next time she opened her eyes, accompanied by the caress of a hot breeze enveloping her. They were back on the outskirts of Cerulean. The distant cries of Pidgey and Rattata filled the air, quite the difference from the cold silence of the cave they'd just been teleported out of.

Cynthia let out a sigh as she looked up toward the now sealed entrance of the cave, her shoulders dropping. It was hard for Reiko not to chuckle.

"Well… Drat." She ran a hand through her perfect blonde hair, shaking her head. "Sorry Reiko. Guess we caught them in a bad mood or something; they've never been so curt with me before."

Reiko pressed her lips strongly in an attempt not to smile. Looking down, she opened and closed the fingers of her left hand as though gripping something. Just like with what resided within her last Pokeball, she could feel it; the sword, so out of reach yet so close. She knew that, should she want to, a simple gesture would be enough to have it appear before her.

"Oh… I dunno." She looked up at Cynthia with a knowing smile. "I think they were pretty nice, personally."