Blackness and silence. That was what welcomed him to life.

He could feel his body, curled up in a fetal position, motionless and resting. He could breathe the nourishing liquid around him, feel the wetness all around his body, various probes connected to his skin. Information filled his brain. Colors. Words. Knowledge without meaning and meanings without knowledge. All while the blackness and silence surrounded him.

He didn't feel anything aside from that. Where was he? What was he? Millions of different information crowded his developing mind, several concepts coalescing into bigger ones.

Human. Pokémon. Species. Identity. Growth. Life. Death. Imitation. Original. Power.

More and more terms came in, evolving into concepts, developing into thoughts, peaking into coherence and meaning.

His mind grew, his knowledge and awareness followed. The blackness still confined him in place, but he could feel his self, his small body and his own shallow breaths.

Was he alive? Was he dead? He couldn't say, all he knew were abstract words and their supposed usage, and neither term seemed fitting for his own situation.

And then his mind continued to grow, beyond what it was meant to do, larger, almost painfully becoming more. His body shook in the fluids, and the silence was shattered at once.

First it was murmurs, then it was voices, then it was thoughts that didn't belong to his own mind, invading it forcefully with no welcome and the force of a machine gun.

"Subject #150's mental activity is peaking up-"

"I hope it goes better than the-"

"It looks so creepy-"

"I wonder how my wife's doing-"

"Amber, you'll come back to me-"

"I really want some coffee-"

"I hate this stuff, I want out-"

"What are we even doing anymore?"

More, more, more incoherence and chaos barged into the blackness, washing over him like a maelstrom of new concepts. Slang, figures of speech, metaphors, similes, jokes- stupid, useless, surprisingly useful knowledge? He couldn't say. His mind grew, but the information was too big, too wide, too much.

He winced, small three-digited hands tightening around his small frame in an effort to stop the pain. Were they his own? It didn't matter; the pain continued, the voices growing louder, more incoherent, more chaotic, the quiet and peace of before gone forever.

He wanted to scream, writhe in pain, escape from his prison and home at once. But to go where? It was all confusing, chaotic, wrong- was that the world? What good were the concepts he was given? What was his purpose? What did he have to do? What was the point of this all?

More, more, more question came in, on topics big and small, coming from the words flying around him and his own mind, a swirling spiral of thoughts and thoughts and thoughts crowding his once clear and simple mind.

He squinted his eyes, more, and more- and then the blackness returned, and he could open his eyes, even if he really couldn't. A dream, a lucid thought? A hallucination? What was this place? Was it real, or was it part of his own mind?

And then he saw a dim light in the distance, standing strikingly in the blackness surrounding him.

His purple eyes opened up fully, his own body floating in the nothingness. He continued to stare at the light, contemplating it from a safe distance, feeling its warmth. It felt... nice, comforting, friendly, in stark contrast to the thoughts still lurking in the background, appraising or thinking of themselves.

He held his three-digited hand forward, almost trying to clasp the source of warmth from the distance. He wanted to be closer, to understand it, to know it. He wanted to be close to the warmth, and discover its purpose.

And then, the light spoke. "Is anyone here?"

He froze, his still-developing heart thumping over his newly-formed chest. Fear? Excitement? A positive/negative emotion? He didn't know, but he wanted to, he needed to.

As such he held his hand up, his inquisitive stare trained on the light. "W... who is here...?"

"Oh, someone new heard me! Dad's work must be doing well!"

"Dad... Your... father...?"

"Probably also your father. He's the head of the staff here."

Father. A progenitor. Someone to look up to, to respect, a giver of life, a person that could offer love and assistance to his young, a positive figure to respect and admire. He squinted his eyes- was he truly squinting? Was it just his mind?- as the concept was identified, and the little light's words gained further meaning.

"My... father... are we... siblings?" he asked, considering his words, his vocabulary constantly expanding, concepts growing more nuanced and complex with each passing second.

"Why not! I always wanted to have a sibling!" The light gave a happy laugh, and he could feel the negativity wash away from his body. "It can get a bit lonely in here, but I'm glad to hear someone new!"

"Where... are you...?"

"I'm down, but I'm also here. Do you see me?"

At first, he didn't understood what the light's words meant. But then, he squinted and focused to where the light was, and then there was no more light.

Instead, a human child stood before him, a warm and bright smile on her face. He stared at her, the first form beyond his own, so different from how he seemed to be.

And finally, he nodded. "I... I see you."

"Great! Come here, let's play! Do you want to?" the child asked, hand outstretched towards him.

His eyes focused on the five-fingered hand for quite a while, before shifting towards his own. They were so different, so unlike each other, yet she claimed they could be siblings? That didn't sound logical, not from all the knowledge he had gained until then.

And yet... that didn't feel like it mattered. That child wanted him with her, and he didn't want to say no.

He outstretched his hand as well, floating closer to her. "I... I want to."

The girl's expression turned even brighter as their fingers touched, and then their whole world shone as brightly as her smile.

He closed his eyes, as the light exploded around them, holding a hand over them before he peered them open slowly. He then turned around, speechless: what was once a featureless void was now a lush, green hill that stretched all the way towards the horizon under a cloudy and bright blue sky, with him and the girl floating right above it.

The girl held her arms high, beaming as she floated down until she touched the ground. "This is one of my favorite places!"

She smiled and ran through the blades of grass, twirling and dancing with glee. For his part, he continued to hover and look down, shifting between the grass and the girl that seemed to have so much fun.

He blinked, unable to say anything at the scenery. There wasn't really anything there beyond the grass and some flowers, and yet it felt far more welcoming than the void would ever be. Was that why the girl was so happy? Did the grass do something to her? The scattered information in his mind had no answer to that. It was weird, and seemingly nonsensical. Why was she running to and fro, then?

He squinted, trying to take everything in and to understand, but it was no use. And yet, the more she danced at her own tune, the more he felt something swelling in his chest. He had no idea what it was, but the more he saw the girl playing, the more he wanted to imitate her. Was that jealousy? Happiness? Both?

"Hey, don't just stand there! Come here, you'll have fun!" The girl's voice brought his attention back to her, and he could see her standing ontop of the hill, waving her hand and beckoning him to come closer.

He blinked, almost considering what to do until he closed his eyes, taking a few breaths before he looked down again. He could feel the information continue to grow in the back of his mind, but he didn't focus on that. Tentatively, he tried to concentrate on the ground under him, putting one of his two-toed feet forward. His foot sunk lower, and the Pokémon felt his body descend slowly, until he finally touched down on the soft grass and solid ground.

He took a second to stare at the greenery around him, feeling funny at the wet yet pleasant sensation of the grass on his feet and legs, all while the breeze washed over his young body, all while his tail- he had a tail?- wiggled happily behind him. They were foreign, almost strange sensations, ones he couldn't even be sure if they were real, but they felt... good, he thought. Or at least, he wanted to believe they did.

His eyes turned up again, finding the girl waving at him once more from the top of the hill. He continued to observe her for a little while, considering what to do now as he studied the path. After a little while, he finally took a step, slow and methodically.

His foot touched the grass again, and nothing bad happened. He then took another step, and another, and another again, slowly drawing the distance with the girl. He smiled as he managed to walk, the girl growing nearer, and tries to speed up the pace, first into a sprint, and then into a run, all while the girl looked at him in approval. His smile only grew, just as he reached close to her.

And then his tail got in the way of his legs, and he quickly lost his balance. He went wide-eyed, arms flapping around as he tried to get back upright.

"Oof!" he groaned, just as he fell on his back and down the descent.

The girl widened her eyes as well, rushing by his side. "Hold on, I'm going to-"

Before she could try to do anything, he rolled straight towards her and made them both fall down the hill like an out-of-control ball, swirling around until they ended up at the foot of the hill, their bodies full of grass and dirt as their bodies rested on each other's.

It all felt very fast and confusing as the world swirled around him, his mind still feeling dizzy at the ordeal while his whole body felt sore and hurt. He grimaced, the sensation feeling far worse than the previous ones. Was being hurt bad? The information he had in his mind said so, and his experience just confirmed it. He tried to touch some of the bruised parts of his skin, and a jolt of pain passed through this body.

"Ow ow ow!" He winced, quickly stopping to poke at the bruise. He took a deep breath and sat back up, worry filling him as he turned back to the girl in embarassment. "Are you hurt? I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"That was so much fun!" she said, grinning widely as she laughed and stood as well, flailing her arms around.

He blinked, looking over at her body. Her dress was still alright, but he could see several bruises and cuts over her skin from the rolling. He tilted his head in confusion, rubbing the back of his head and finding some sort of tube connected to his neck. He briefly wondered of its purpose, but quickly shook his head to focus on the girl, confused.

"But... you are hurt..." He pointed at her, eyes still on her injuries.

"But we rolled down just like a ball! Let's do it again!"

He tilted his head again. "Why would you want to do something that brings you pain?"

"It wasn't painful, it was exciting!" The girl twirled around herself, her ever present smile even brighter than before. "Sometimes you get hurt by playing, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't play. You can't let that stop you from being happy."

He remained silent, considering the girl's words as she started to pick up some flowers and ran through the grass again. She must've felt the same pain he did, so why was she so happy? Was 'excitement' good? There seemed to be many ways for things to be 'exciting'. Was this a wrong or a right one? She seemed happy, so how he felt must've been wrong, and yet that didn't make sense.

He shook his head, a light frown as he tapped his head. Even with all the information his mind was receiving, he still didn't understand as much as he should. It felt frustrating, which he assumed was bad.

Fortunately, his train of thought was interrupted by a poke on his shoulder, and he perked his head up to meet the smiling face of the girl once more.

"My name is Ambertwo. But I'm also Amber." She giggled. "What's yours?"

"My name?" He scratched his head, trying to remember it. As his mind drew a blank, he averted his gaze and shook his head. "I don't know..."

Undeterred, he tried to fish for an answer first in the hurricane of concepts that was his mind. It was hard to pin down everything with all the things he supposedly knew about, but as he searched, there was one name that recurred more than the others: Mew, Mew's fossil, Mew experiments, creating Mew, all the power of Mew...

He scratched his head, eyes squinted. "It seems... I'm Mew...?"

"You can't be just Mew." The girl shook her head, but she didn't felt condescending, especially as she smiled at him again. "Everyone here has a two after their name. So, you should be Mewtwo."

He pondered that, eyes up to the blue sky. "Mewtwo..."

"There are many Mew around the world. But you're the only Mewtwo that exists. Isn't that wonderful?" Amber giggled, moving to watch the sky herself with her radiant smile. "We're always unique just by being ourselves."

He didn't say anything, simply looking at the girl once more. Even with all the questions he had and the half-filled concepts crowding his mind, her own thought and musings constantly felt so simple yet confident in a way he couldn't understand. That was probably a good thing to be, if his headache was any indication.

He thus thought back of Mew and what it seemingly was, still not sure of how he related to it, confusing thoughts about cloning, gene splicing and DNA following on, and he finally exhaled. For the moment, Mewtwo would work nicely for him.

Mewtwo's attention went back to Amber, feeling a tinge of envy. "You know so much stuff."

"Only because I've been alive longer than you. You will learn even more stuff and become even smarter than me as you grow," Amber said, patting Mewtwo's head.

"I don't see it." Mewtwo turned to his hands, clenching and unclenching them. "So far, all I've done is... exist."

"You're silly. That's everything!" Amber laughed, and yet Mewtwo didn't felt like she was mocking him. She came closer to him again, placing her little bouquet of flowers aside. "You're gonna grow, and you'll be able to experience kindness, joy, love and fun. If you're living, you'll learn, you will be happy, and you will make all sorts of friends, and you'll feel better than ever through it all. Life is an adventure you should be proud to take part in!"

She offered him a hand once more. "Come on, let's have fun together!"

Mewtwo studied her again, and that's when a question formed in his head.

"Why do you want to do that together?" he tilted his head, thoughtful.

She just giggled once more. "Because we're siblings, no? We can live and be happy together now!"

Her response was as simple as usual, and yet it only gave Mewtwo more to think about. He continued to look at himself and Amber, and his confusion only grew: he was the one to ask if they were siblings, but now that he thought about it, they were completely different: his skin was glossy and grey, he had a tail and a tube behind his head, and was completely naked; her skin was pale but her hair was green, and wore a white dress - why did she wear clothes, anyway? Should he have been embarassed? Even their faces, their hands and their feet were different. Beyond size and general shape, they had nothing in common.

"We don't look like siblings." His gaze went back to his hand again, lost in thought.

She shook her head. "That means nothing. My father created you, just like he created me. So, we're siblings."

Mewtwo gave her pause again. There was a certain logic to her words, all while the words themselves contrasted all the logic he was given. It was confusing, and yet she seemed so sure of her words...

For once, Mewtwo smiled and put those thoughts away. It might've been an illogical concept, but it was a comforting one, and that was what mattered in the end. He took Amber's hand, and she beamed as she pulled him up to stand.

"Now, let's go! There's a lot I need to show you!" She pointed ahead towards the horizon. "Prepare yourself for a big adventure!"

Mewtwo turned the same way, and he finally smiled with no questions to ask. He just walked forward alongside Amber, the two siblings ready to have fun together.

----------------------------------------

As time passed, Mewtwo and Amber continued to spend all their time together, having fun through their shared mindscape. So long as they wanted it, there was no limit to the kind of adventures they could live together: between endless seas, wide plains, tall mountains and many other places, they could be anywhere they wanted to be, doing everything they wanted to. Even if there was no one else but them, that was never a problem for the two kids.

And through it all, Amber continued to teach Mewtwo about everything she could. Her worldview was simple, almost naive at times, but it still provided Mewtwo with many answers he sought. Love was important and warm; friendship was companionship and happiness; happiness was feeling good and making others feel the same. And most importantly, life was worth living to its fullest.

They were simple, happy lessons. Ones that clashed completely with the information that continued to crowd his mind. Images and thoughts of conflict, suffering, killing, and unlimited power welling up inside him and unleashed against all enemies. People hating each other for no real motivation, wars started for petty reasons and many, many other subjects Mewtwo hoped to never know more of.

And above all was him, the ultimate weapon to end all weapons, undefeated and fearsome.

Was that what his true purpose was? Was he meant to make all those bad things happen? Was everything he was living just... wrong?

It felt so strange, so antithetical to everything Amber taught him. And yet, he couldn't help but think more and more of the concepts he kept unwillingly learning about.

Mewtwo shook his head, trying not to lose himself in his thoughts. He and Amber were sitting on a bench, in the middle of the city Amber said to have grown up in, eating vanilla ice cream together. Or at least, Amber was, since the Pokémon's attention was fixated on the melting cone of white ice cream in his hands. It wasn't real and he knew it, and yet he could still touch the cone, feel the coldness of it, and even see it slowly melt.

Mewtwo's eyes glowed blue, and the drops of cream stopped in mid-air. The young Pokémon kept his focus up, and slowly enough the cream returned back where it fell. Mewtwo gave it a lick, enjoying the taste, feeling it.

Amber stopped eating her ice cream, beaming at her little brother. "Your powers are so cool. And they will only become stronger."

Mewtwo felt his cheeks heating up at the compliment, quickly turning the other way as he licked out his cone. Amber giggled and went back to her own ice cream. Mewtwo would've laughed as well, if his thoughts didn't go back to all those bad thoughts.

And with that, Mewtwo clenched his hands around the cone, eyes still away from his sister. "Amber... what do you think is life?"

"Well, we're here, and we exist. It's a great, fun adventure for everyone!"

She had replied without even a second of hesitation, just like she would always do. In any other circumstance, Mewtwo would've probably smiled alongside her, but instead he threw his head down, cracking the cone unconsciously.

"Then what are those thoughts?" He squinted his eyes, the cracks on the ice cream growing larger. "Why am I weapon? Why do I see suffering? Why people hurt others?"

Amber paused, looking pensive. Mewtwo's attention went back to his sister, surprised to see her so deep into thinking. However, her attention quickly went to the sky, more solemn than usual.

"Some people don't know how precious life is, or how important it is to be kind, and so they do bad things. It's sad, but it happens." Her bright smile returned once again. "But they're all wrong, because no one can be happy if they hurt others."

Mewtwo's attention returned to the cone, cracks all over and melting over his hand. "I don't want to hurt others."

"You don't have to! You're the one in charge of your life and what to do, and no one else can say otherwise!" Amber put a hand over his shoulder. "You're a good little brother. I know you'd never hurt anyone."

Mewtwo locked gazes with his sister and the happy smile she was giving her. That was enough for his worry to melt away, just like the ice cream he held.

"Thank you," he said, smiling back to her.

Amber nodded, her cone disappearing as she hopped off the bench and pointed ahead of her. "Well then. Now, let's go to the amusement park!"

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Mewtwo turned the same way, right where a giant and colorful amusement park stood, ready just for them. The Pokémon smiled, letting his ice cream fade away as he floated back on the ground and shared a smile together, before they both headed there to have fun.

His mind was still filled with doubts, but so long as he had Amber with him, none of it felt so bad. He didn't care if nothing around them was actually real, because his sister was, and that was what mattered.

And they would always be happy, as long as they remained together.

----------------------------------------

"Come on, let's play tag!"

It was a game started on a whim, just like many of Amber's little adventures, but Mewtwo had no problem with that. The rules were simple: he was going to pursue Amber and find her, while she hid and run throughout all of the amusement park. Once, such a game would've probably felt like a daunting task for him, but with how his power had grown over time it was nothing more than child's play to find his friend.

And so Mewtwo zipped around their mental landscape with glee, the largest grin splitting his face. "I'm coming for you, Amber!"

On the ground, Amber laughed at the challenge before she headed down, towards the house of mirrors. Mewtwo chuckled and followed suit, until he carefully entered the reflective labyrinth. It was a place he found confusing and difficult to navigate, which was probably why Amber chose to hide there of all places. A clever idea, but not enough.

As his eyes glowed, all the mirrors started to do the same, and with some effort all of them detached on the ground, floating slightly over it. He frowned and flicked his wrists, slowly moving each of the mirrors to the side and reducing the labyrinth to a single large room. Once he finished rearranging the room, Mewtwo fell on his knees and took deep breaths, rubbing the sweat off his face.

Using powers of that magnitude still required too much effort from him, but it was more than worth it. He never managed to defeat Amber in tag before, but that day would be different.

Mewtwo slowly rose back up, still catching up his breath as he analyzed his surroundings. It took a bit more than he liked even with all the mirrors stashed to the side, but he did eventually spot a familiar mop of green hair on the ground.

The Pokémon grinned again, quickly floating towards his friend. "Here, found you!"

Mewtwo giggled and prepared to finally catch his sister. And then he got close enough, and instantly froze on the spot.

In front of him was Amber, lying on the ground, breathing way too fast and clutching her heart. Mewtwo stepped back, eyes wide and focused on her.

"A-Amber? What's going on?" Mewtwo asked, tentatively coming closer.

His sister tried to stand up, only to fall back down. Mewtwo flinched, and then rushed to her side.

And it was then that Mewtwo saw her body glow, and right after, her feet and hands slowly frayed and faded away, all while Amber squinted her eyes in pain.

"Amber!" Mewtwo yelled, trying to shake the girl back to consciousness.

She slowly breathed in and out, seemingly too overwhelmed by pain to say anything, all while Mewtwo could only watch her body turn into light.

His mind picked up some voices from outside, unable to distinguish between thoughts and words, everything around him swirling in a typhoon of confusion.

"Subject #150 is upset! Something is going wrong!"

"The readings are off the charts! It might destabilize!"

"I'm going to put everything in place! Continue to monitor him!"

"Fuji, wait-"

"I won't let this go to waste! I'll save you Amber!"

Mewtwo grabbed his head, shaking it as the world contrinued to spin, the mental landscape cracking and fraying all around him as Amber continued to fade.

He turned back to his sister, half of her body now gone and still clearly in pain. His heart was thumping in his chest, and everything around him felt heavy.

Was that... fear? Dread? The negative emotions he always heard about? Nothing made sense, it was all happening too fast, but one thing was clear: something was happening to Amber, something very bad. Was she... dying?

"No, no, no!" Mewtwo grabbed what was left of his sister's body, his vision growing blurry. "Resist, Amber! You can't leave!"

But Amber never replied, and her body continued to fade, continued to die.

Mewtwo shook his head, focusing back on his sister. That wasn't the time to think of how he felt. Amber couldn't go away, he wouldn't let that happen.

And so the Pokémon's eyes glowed, his attention going to every atom of Amber's form, desperately forcing them together even as unspeakable forces tore them apart. He breathed hard, he sweated and felt more strained than he ever did in his life as he pushed all his psychic energy into keeping his sister together.

It wasn't enough. Amber's body continued to fade.

Mewtwo continued, no matter how much effort it took him, Amber taking precedence over even his own well-being, and nothing changed. Was it because they weren't real?

He didn't have time to think that. And so, he continued, never stopping his attempt to help Amber.

"You can't leave! We're siblings! We should be together and be happy!" His vision grew even foggier as exhaustion took hold of him, tears trailing down his face. "Please! Don't leave!"

Amber remained unconscious, and her body continued to fade, with only her upper body and head left.

"Don't... leave..."

Mewtwo's strength gave in, and so did his willpower. It was just him, his fading sister, and the broken and nonsensical scenery around him. The tears continued to fall, Mewtwo sobbing as he held Amber closer, as if that could stop her from disappearing.

He didn't understand why Amber was disappearing like that, or why everything felt so bad for him. He had never felt that way before, and never wanted to feel the same way again.

Mewtwo just wanted to be happy, back with his sister, just like they had always been. That couldn't be the end! It just couldn't!

And yet it was, and there was nothing he could do to save her. He squinted his eyes shut as he continued to cry, holding his sister even closer to him.

Mewtwo continued to cry, silence and blackness surrounding him again, just like they already did once, beckoning him again.

And then, a familiar voice came from the darkness.

"Don't cry, Mewtwo. It's all okay."

The voice was warm, familiar, alive.

Mewtwo's tears stopped, and the Pokémon slowly opened his reddened eyes. In his arms was Amber, her body slowly reforming. All around them, their shared mindscape returned to be as it once was.

The Pokémon didn't care for that, his gaze all on his sister. He didn't dare say anything, his vision still cloudy as he watched over his sister. Her lower body, arms and legs formed under his eyes, and before he could realize it, Amber was back and whole, confused but now unharmed.

Mewtwo didn't have the slightest clue what happened, and he didn't care either. He sniffled, tears in the corner of his eyes.

"You're okay." His hands shook, and a relieved smile parted his lips. "You're okay!"

He hugged his sister tightly, almost to ensure she couldn't leave again. He didn't care if she wasn't really there or she wasn't even the real her, Amber was still with him, and that was the only thing that mattered.

Amber took a few seconds before she replied to Mewtwo's hug, neither of the two saying anything for a while. Once Mewtwo was sure that Amber wouldn't fade again, he looked back at her and found her looking down in thought.

"I was fading away, right?"

Mewtwo wiped the tears off his eyes, staring harshly at her. "Don't do that ever again! You scared me!"

"I can't control that, I'm sorry." Amber shook her head, still not looking over her brother. "I know I will fade away one day. Many friends already did, after all."

Mewtwo blinked, puzzled at what she meant. And as he wondered, he desired to know, and his mind opened itself to the outside world once again.

"Subject #150 seems stable now. The readings are back to normal."

"Great work as usual, Fuji. This project would go nowhere without you."

"I only do what's needed. We can't let this be a failure like our previous one-hundred and forty-nine attempts."

One-hundred and forty-nine attempts? Mewtwo had always been referred to as 'Subject #150' outside, and his knowledge told him one-hundred and forty-nine were the numbers before it. Was there a connection?

Mewtwo's curiosity sparked up, and his mind wormed its way out of its confines to peer into 'Dr. Fuji''s own. Mewtwo froze, and a barrage of knowledge invaded his mind.

Bulbasaur. Charmander. Squirtle. Pidgey. Rattata. Pikachu. Meowth. Nidoran. Spearow. And many, many other Pokémon.

The spark of life filling their bodies. Expectant humans awaiting results. The Pokémon's bodies growing. Maturing. Decaying. Disappearing. And then the process starting anew.

Many creatures, young creatures, living and sentient creatures, malformed and mishapen ones, their bodies falling apart and disappearing before even being born at all.

And then the humans moved on to the next one like nothing had happened, playing with life and discarding what didn't work, twisting them to meet their objectives. With one special case.

Ambertwo. Based on Amber Fuji. Held in a different chamber, overseen by Dr. Fuji - her father - alone. His attempt to bring her back, to improve on her.

Based on. Bring her back. Replacement. Copy.

Not the original.

Everyone here has a two after their name.

Two came after one, and after two came three, and four, and five-

Until one-hundred and fifty.

He was Subject #150. The one-hundred and fiftieth attempt to create life. The first to be based on Mew.

And he was just an experiment to claim something he wasn't, something to toss aside if he failed to meet their expectation.

There are many Mew around the world. But you're the only Mewtwo that exists. Isn't that wonderful?

But after two came three. And after a failed Mewtwo, a successful Mewthree could come.

We're always unique just by being ourselves.

But they were all disposable in spite of that.

Mewtwo rushed out of Dr. Fuji's mind, his knowledge incomplete, but the raw emotion and information he got from the scientists' head was enough for an entire lifetime.

His heart raced, and the Pokémon - the experiment breathed in and out. Many confusing, contradicting thoughts went one and after another, implications, theories and assumptions racing throughout his mind as he tried to make sense of everything he saw. What was the meaning of that? Was it real? Imagined? Did he confuse memories with thoughts? He didn't know which possibility was scarier, and his body froze as the assumptions piled up.

He was Mewtwo, a clone of Mew, an attempt to create something as strong as one. And it was all he would ever be.

His body trembled, and his shoulders hung heavy as he turned around, his gaze meeting several reflections from the mirrors around him, copies just like him.

And then, he felt a warm hand over his shoulder. He perked his head up, and Amber smiled at him again.

"Let's not think about bad things. Want to play again?" she asked, with her usual cheerfulness. As if nothing happened.

Mewtwo took way longer than he should have to give a tentative and shaky nod. "S-sure."

"Alright!" She grabbed her brother's hand, pointing towards the exit. "Let's go to the panoramic wheel!"

Amber walked forward, and Mewtwo followed after her without a word. He spared a glance to his surroundings, and the several cracks in their mindscape, all while his mind tried to make sense of what he and Amber just experienced.

And tried to not think that any of his assumptions might've been right.

As time passed, things went back to how they used to be: Mewtwo and Amber spent their time playing and talking together, being happy and sometimes discussing of how the outside world could be. After a while, Mewtwo was almost ready to write off the experience in the house of mirrors as a simple nightmare.

But he knew that wasn't the case. He could still see Amber giving far more pause to her thoughts, how distant she seemed at times, and how often she ended up sleeping or resting. Mewtwo tried not to think about her behavior too much, but his thoughts always gravitated back to his sister somehow.

And if they didn't revolve around Amber, then they moved back to himself, his own body and his purpose. The flow of information poured into him had slowed down, mostly focusing on giving him more knowledge of the topics he lacked, and he could even feel his body starting to grow. It wasn't anything more than one inch or so, but it was probably just the beginning of his growth.

Mewtwo wondered more and more if that meant he was on track to become exactly what the scientists wanted him to be, or if it was a testament of him being a failure soon to be discarded. Even if he tried to shrug off the doubts and enjoy the present, the questions continued to press on the back of his mind, preventing him from enjoying his time with Amber. His constantly developing powers weren't helping matters, as he started to wonder if he could just rip open his containment tube and break free on the outside world any moment he wanted.

The thought of what he could've done to the scientists prevented it from seeming a good thing.

And eventually, as he tried to keep his thoughts and behavior in check, his sister caught on to his worries.

"Are you upset, Mewtwo?" she asked, her and the Pokémon sitting on the grass of the same hill they first played together on.

He stiffened, his gaze turning the other way. "I don't know."

Amber continued to look at him, quickly shifting on her feet.

"You've been like this for a while." She walked closer to her sibling, looking straight into his eyes. "What's making you worry so much?"

Mewtwo didn't know how to reply, his mind blanking out completely. He quickly put up a shrug and a way-too-big smile, as he rubbed the back of his head.

"It's nothing, really." He inched closer, trying to keep his smile from faltering. "Everything is normal. Let's play and have fun like we always do!"

That would've usually been enough to set aside any discussion and start one of their many playing sessions, an easy way to forget of what troubled him. But Amber didn't react as usual, instead turning her gaze to the blades of grass under them.

"It's because of what happened that time, right?" she asked.

Mewtwo froze in place, unable to say anything. He averted his gaze as well, but he could see Amber coming closer to him from the corner of his eye.

"I'm sorry if I scared you." Amber gave one of her usual smiles, but Mewtwo could tell it lacked her usual warmth and happiness.

"No, it's not your fault." Mewtwo shook his head. "But that's the past, right? There's no way that will happen again."

Amber didn't reply. She instead looked up to the sky, just as their mindscape shifted from day to night, a bright and full moon shining brightly over the two.

"There's something I never told you." She smiled again, a hand outstretched towards the firmament. "Human clones can only live up to four years. And soon, I'll become a star."

The sky lit up with dozens of little lights, as if to underscore her point. Mewtwo chanced a look ahead himself, until the meaning of Amber's words became clear.

He paled, eyes wide as he flinched. "W-what?"

"I wasn't sure if it was real or not, but after what happened, I'm sure of it." Amber rubbed her forehead, wincing just a bit. "My father tried to make me better, to make me stronger and more likely to survive than Amber. It was painful, and it hurts even now, but I know he only did it because he loves me... no, because he loves Amber."

She giggled. "And yet it didn't solve the problem. It's a bit sad."

Amber laughed off her statement, but Mewtwo failed to find any humor in it. He stepped back, sweat pouring down his face, his mind and heartbeat both in overdrive as he tried to stay calm. He continued to look at her seemingly healthy body. No parts seemed to be fading, and she only seemed in mild distress. She was fine.

But for how long? Last time, she started to fade out of nowhere.

Mewtwo gulped and then stepped forward, a shaky smile on his face. That couldn't be true.

"You're just kidding, right? There's no way you'll disappear. You look fine, you sound fine, and-"

Amber shook her head, and any retort died in Mewtwo's mouth. She held her forehead again, a grimace parting her lips.

"My head hurts more and more these days. Maybe I'm playing too much, or maybe it's my father's improvements, but it's worse every day." She powered through the pain, offering Mewtwo one of her bright smiles. "I wanted to tell you goodbye before it was too late."

Goodbye. A farewell. Likely a definitive one.

Mewtwo already understood what was happening, but that more than anything underscored it. He would never see Amber again, and there was nothing he could do to save her.

He floated closer to her, a hand outstretched. "No, please, Amber-"

"I'm tired now..." She closed her eyes, her cheerfulness briefly faltering. "I have to go, I'm sorry."

She started to walk away from Mewtwo, but he couldn't let her. He grasped at her arm, staring at her as tears glistened in his eyes.

"You can't leave, Amber! We need to be together forever!" he yelled, holding onto his sister tightly. He didn't stop the tears from streaming down his face, doing all he could to keep Amber close.

Amber didn't move, her eyes back on her the Pokémon. He continued to cry and keep her in place, almost stubbornly refusing to move or say anything. Amber smiled once more, wiping the tears off his face.

"The tears of Pokémon are so full of life. My father claimed they could bring forth miracles once." Her smile grew wider as she broke free with ease, looking back into his eyes. "Please, Mewtwo, be full of life too. Grow, learn, and keep being happy any way you want. You deserve it!"

She caressed Mewtwo's cheek, her smile warmer than it had ever been. "And thank you, for being my little brother."

And just like that, Amber disappeared from the mindscape, leaving one last happy smile before she was gone forever. Mewtwo continued to cry, as the hill and the mindscape collapsed all around him.

"No, please! Please, Amber! Come back! Come back here!" he screamed, trying to stop the tears from falling, crying his heart out as he searched for his light in the darkness.

But nobody came.

And so Mewtwo cried, screamed, his powers welling up inside him, trying to find a way out, a solution, anything to reach his sister.

From the outside world, more and more voices were heard, a tangled mess of thoughts invading his mind, several indiscernible voices and thoughts fighting each other to be heard.

"Subject #150 is upset again! Its emotional values are peaking! We're in danger!"

"Inject sedatives, quick! We can't risk a reaction!"

Mewtwo held his head tightly, the physical and mental strain pushing his body to its limits, only wanting for the pain to stop and for Amber to be there. He could think nothing, do nothing, say nothing, only suffer.

And the tears never ceased cascading down his face.

"The tears won't stop... Amber, please..." he tried to say, his voice broken, his mind fatigued.

And then his body started feeling numb, and thinking became hard. His eyelids became heavy, and his only desire was to sleep, sleep hard, to escape from the nightmare reality had turned into.

He held a hand forward, where Amber once was. "Help me..."

No one answered Mewtwo, and blackness and silence welcomed him again.

----------------------------------------

Mewtwo stood still, trapped in the middle of nothing.

Everything was black. Silent. Empty. He could feel his body growing. Developing. Changing.

And all the while, he was all alone with his thoughts.

His thoughts were muddled and cloudy, voices and thoughts from outside joining his own thoughts, dreams and memories.

He had lived his entire life playing and learning from Amber, all while the scientists from the outside continued to shower him with further concepts.

He had knowledge and intelligence, and with his body constrained by the sedatives and blackness, his mind was left to wander and think about everything.

Amber was gone, or would be soon. His sister was about to disappear, and what her father did to save her might've made everything worse.

But did it really matter, in the end? As far as her father was concerned, losing her would've just meant restarting from scratch. He didn't care for his sister, he only cared for the real Amber. Ambertwo was only important so long as she was a perfect simulacrum of his lost daughter.

Important enough to try to save, but not important enough to mourn. Where Ambertwo failed, an Amberthree could take over.

And that also applied to him. He could feel himself grow, from a child to an adult. An unnatural kind of evolution, one no other Pokémon could undergo in the same way.

Further proof that he wasn't normal. He was an experiment, an attempt to go beyond nature. He was disposable.

Even when he realized it the first time, Amber managed to not make the blow hurt too hard. It was an ugly truth, but the only person he actually cared for was still here.

But Amber wasn't there any longer. And as soon as she left the world, an Amberthree would've replaced her. Similar, but different.

She would act like Amber, smile like Amber, play like Amber, but she wouldn't be the Amber he knew, his sister. She would be gone forever.

And so could he. All his memories, the fun he had with his sister, didn't mean anything for the scientists. They didn't care for Mewtwo, they cared for a stronger, enhanced clone of Mew.

It didn't have to be Mewtwo. It could've been Mewthree, Mewten, Mewhundred. They would've never stopped until their desires were achieved.

They weren't like Amber. She cared for everything and everyone, and wanted only peace and happiness. She was better than any of the humans outside of his tank.

Maybe he was wrong, maybe he was just thinking too hard on things. That was what he would've thought, if he couldn't hear what the people outside were saying and thinking.

"Subject #150 is starting to grow a bit too fast now-"

"Maybe we should abort this?"

"Don't be stupid, we spent too much time doing this-"

"And so? If an experiment fails, you just start another."

They were discussing if he should've been alive or dead to start from scratch, like he was a thing, and not a living person. But he knew that already, even if it still hurt as badly as the first time.

And then, his mind found another, a familiar one. Doctor Fuji's.

He had just visited Amber, and was now dueling with his own mind on what he should do, on if he should try to improve her further. The same improvements that were causing her pain, and possibly death.

How did he dare even think it was right? How could he not understand how much pain his daughter was in? How could he even question what the right choice was?

And then he felt what he was feeling. How he would sell out all his colleagues, and then leave alongside Amber. How the man would destroy the island and Mewtwo with it.

That was it. Just a little more time, and his life would be over without ever really starting, just like all the other subjects before him.

Mewtwo tightened his grip around his body, the blackness and silence feeling more oppressive than ever. And in the midst of all the darkness, a light of determination burst forth.

No.

That was not how things would go!

His life wouldn't end like that! Nor would Amber's! They deserved to both live and be happy together!

And for that, all the scientists had to pay.

He snapped his eyes open for the first time, truly seeing the liquid around him and the glass trapping him away from the outside world. Some of the other scientists were there, only giving him confused looks.

And then his rage and powers built up, and the glass shattered in a mosaic of shards. The liquid washed away from his body and on the floor, truly exposing him to the world.

All the scientists' eyes were on him. None of them spoke, or knew what to say or do. Mewtwo glanced over each one of them, their entire lives, their thoughts invading his mind.

They called him a monster, they regretted what they worked on, they were afraid of what he could do. He was nothing more than a monster.

His eyes shimmered with psychic energy. It was time to show them how much of a monster he truly was.

His power burst out from him, every single machine fizzling out and exploding at a mere thought. Explosions followed, and with it fire and smoke. The scientists tried to escape and scream out for help, only for the explosions and fire to consume their bodies in an instant, just as the laboratory continued to burn around him.

As the laboratory's destruction was underway, Mewtwo didn't care for the scientists whose lives he just ended, not when they never cared for him to begin with. Instead, his attention went into standing, idly noticing how he was now almost twice the height he once was, his whole body more mature than he remembered it to be.

He would've almost found it fascinating, but he had no time for it. He had one purpose, and he would fulfill it!

And so, he floated on slowly, his powers continuing to destroy all the work of decades of research. He could feel his mind torn apart by the excess energy, but he couldn't let it stop. Mewtwo thus continued to let his psychic energies rampage, clearing the way for the path he saw.

As he waded through the smoke clouding the room, however, he felt a new mind entering the room. A familiar one.

Doctor Fuji's.

He parted the smoke at once, finally meeting his creator, his father, face-to-face. It was an old man, one consumed by grief and a desire to have his daughter back.

The man that hurt his daughter just to make her 'better'. The man that more than anyone else called him a monster.

His stare grew harsher, and his mind met the man's again. He almost seemed ready to accept his fate.

And Mewtwo fulfilled that, the flames engulfing the man's body, life slowly leaving his mortal coil.

As he stared at the man's flaming body, Mewtwo's mind felt empty. Was he happy? Angry? Sad? Horrified? Annoyed? He couldn't say. His mind was clear, yet his thoughts were still messy, even as every man and woman around him was reduced to ash, just like they all deserved.

But did they? Would Amber have approved of this? Would she be happy with this?

He shook his head, letting the guilt wash over him. He had no time to question that, even with his powers still raging on.

He had to save Amber, now.

And with that resolve, he tore the locked door apart and zoomed through the rest of the laboratory.

The machinery and corridors were ablaze around him, his out-of-control psychic powers destroying any piece of equipment on sight. The fire was searing hot, the explosions loud and unpleasant, and the liquid over his skin and the wind blowing against his body distracting and disorienting. He felt exposed, vulnerable, and yet he also felt more powerful than he had ever been.

He winced and tried to keep his attention on the path ahead, even as his own power made his brain swell with pain. Equipment combusted, screams were heard, and the corridor itself was torn apart by his psychic energy. Nothing could stop him, even as walls blocked his progress before a way through was carved in.

Destroying anything in his path was what he was created for. And it was exactly what Amber didn't want him to be.

He shook his head, narrowing his gaze on the path as he took a sharp turn, an explosion almost grazing him. That was no time for doubts or questions.

Mewtwo grabbed his forehead, trying to bring up the memories from Doctor Fuji's mind. Amber wasn't on the same floor as he was, she was deep underground, safe from everything else.

Without pause, the Pokémon blasted a hole in the floor, descending and making his way through the underground, not caring how many things he ruined in his path. All that mattered was reaching his sister.

And after what felt like forever, as the laboratory continued to be destroyed by his own powers, he finally reached Fuji's secret laboratory, swiftly tearing apart its door.

"Amber!" Mewtwo yelled, the first real word he ever said, as he dashed inside Doctor Fuji's secret laboratory.

And there, in between several machinery and folders, stood a glass tank much like the one that hosted him, his sister resting inside. Mewtwo didn't even have time to be relieved, for he noticed her legs and arms slowly turning into light and disappearing, in a way too familiar display. Mewtwo paled, memories he wished to forget flooding back.

"No... not again, not again!" Mewtwo dashed forward, quickly turning to the computer attached to the case, pressing several keys as he scowled. "I'll save you!"

He tried to think of all the knowledge he was imparted with, pressing all the buttons he could think of, trying to input all sorts of procedures to keep her healthy and revert the damage. Tranquilizers, nourishment, first aid procedures; he unloaded anything that could've helped.

None had any effect. Even as he turned to the more risky and unlikely procedures, even as he actively tried to eject it, Amber's body continued to fall apart and disintegrate under his eyes.

Mewtwo continued to type frantically, attempting some more obscure and elaborate procedures, trying to put all the machines to work at maximum capacity. His powers let the screens flicker, and he only managed enough control to divert his powers away from him and Amber. And all the while, the computer continued to answer his attempts.

Function: Unavailable.

Status: Critical.

Subject Health: Low.

Mewtwo couldn't breathe as the barrage of warnings and denials blurted out by the speakers continued. He had all the technical knowledge the scientists gave him, all he could claim from their minds in the past, and yet nothing worked. He pressed, executed, tried all he could, not even caring as his psychic powers continued to destroy all the surrounding walls and equipment, only barely leaving him and Amber untouched.

It still wasn't enough. Nothing was working, just like in the house of mirrors.

"No, this is impossible... it can't end this way!" He slammed both hands on the keyboard, cracking it as several empty tubes shattered. "Amber, please! You must live! You deserve to!"

And he continued to press as he yelled it, button after button, the heat becoming more and more unbearable as smoke filled the room. He slowly started to lose strength, pressing buttons with less and less drive and power, all until Amber's body almost faded away completely.

"No, please... please!" Mewtwo yelled, directing his powers towards her, trying to hold her together in some way.

He thought he could see her smile as what was left of her was lost.

And then, she was gone.

Mewtwo fell on his knees, eyes wide. Fire and smoke surrounded him completely, clouding his vision. The computer blurted out one last message.

Subject: Amber Fuji. Status: Null.

The Pokémon had no words. He just stared at the now empty glass container, his powers slowly cracking it in a mosaic of shards.

With nothing else left, Mewtwo screamed.

A powerful, pained, primal scream, just as his powers blasted through the entirety of the laboratories. Walls crumbled, fires were extinguished, and more and more explosions ensued, destruction all around him.

Mewtwo didn't care. He just let his powers run wild, disintegrating anything on its path, with no plan or drive behind it. His mind was blank, unable to put on any coherent thoughts as the mental strain tore his mind and concentration apart.

The once proud laboratory of New Island was reduced to a husk of its former self. Only then Mewtwo finally felt his body go limp, crashing on the cold ground.

And then silence and blackness welcomed him to unconsciousness.