New Island, ~10 Kilometres from East Coast of Kanto, December 31st, 1997

It was a silent morning.

Clouds obscured the sky above the sea, shining a soft orange as the rising sun peeked over the horizon. The simmering water, raging mercilessly just minutes before, was tranquil in a way that belied the wrath of the storm around them, encasing them in a small circle of false calm that trembled at their approach.

Red and Salvare led their dinghy beneath the cliffside of the island, stone battlements dipping into the waters around them, spiralling up to the palace above.

They were quiet as they approached the base of the island - a thin sliver of stone holding up a greater landmass - the only sound between them being their breaths, and the low grunts of their pokemon.

They reached land, and after leaving the boat, Red took the rope attached to it, and tied it against a stalagmite.

They would need it, after they were done.

Unlike last time Red had travelled to the eye of a storm, he had no intention to die here.

Red turned to Salvare, giving a nod as his protege let out the rest of his pokemon, and did the same himself.

Frogadier and Charmeleon appeared side by side, and formed rank behind Red, both of them readying their own attacks as they began to ascend a long set of stone stairs.

Pichu gripped Red’s shoulder as they walked upwards, occasionally sending minute glances at Charmeleon and Frogadier’s forms, an unreadable look in his eyes.

Red reached over and scratched him behind the ear, comforting his oldest friend, and refocusing him on the mission ahead.

They had no time for jealousy at this hour.

They had no time for disunity.

They must stand tall for the devastation bound to be ahead.

Red traced a finger on Vee’s pokeball for a moment - now housing the baby creature - before letting go.

Vee had already given so much.

Red fingers aimlessly darted around before finding something else to touch, the bracelet around his left wrist. He tapped a finger against the three stones embedded within, shivering at the twinge of energy he felt within.

Red wondered if he would be forced to activate them.

Red shook his head, locking the thought away under several more immediate concerns.

He couldn’t be sure that they would survive it, and even then, it may not be necessary.

Mewtwo was powerful, yes, but the Conduit was in a league of its own.

…Or was it?

Red considered the storm surrounding them for a moment, before shaking his head. It didn’t matter whether Mewtwo was more powerful than anticipated, Red wouldn’t force the transformation onto his pokemon.

Of course, this didn’t stop the possibility that they would press the matter, should they believe the boost in power to be required for him to survive.

It was always like that between them.

Red fought to protect his pokemon, and they fought to protect him.

It only made it so that when one of them were hurt, the others would fall to an incurable rage.

Red briefly recalled the hellish haze that overtook him at the stadium, and shook off the memory - an action made easier by the other memories sifting through Red’s mind as the architecture around them turned ever more garish, yet distantly familiar.

Red’s memories of New Island were… fractured , to say the least. Vague feelings of sorrow lined the walls, a pervasive sense of desperation and terror spiking with each and every step.

He could see wispy illusions of Brock and Misty standing beside him, could hear the roars, screams, pleas as pokemon fought their clones.

He could hear the chimes of death, as he ran into the path of two Legendaries’ attacks. The chimes only receded by a single shred of life, and Ash always wondered whether he had simply imagined it all.

These memories had only started to drip into his mind after a particularly harrowing day during the first year of the Storm, when the Chariot had deemed fit to break into Ash’s mind, tearing away at it in some haphazard attempt to show him that We don’t need to be enemies, You and I.

We’re not so different, in the end.

Ash had thrown the Chariot out of his mind through sheer force of will, and had yelled some stuff he couldn’t really remember. Now, Red couldn’t help but wonder if the man was right, after everything, but he found that he no longer cared.

However, the Chariot’s mental attack seemed to have unintended consequences, as any psychic barriers within Ash’s mind had been shattered, and spots of memory began to appear where they hadn’t existed before.

It all painted a harrowing picture.

Now, as they began to ascend the final flight of stairs, Red’s memories cracked further, and images of mercy filtered into his mind.

Mewtwo had changed last time.

Mewtwo had been saved.

Red paused, and Salvare paused behind him. Red gazed at the final steps to the glimmering sunlight, eyes unseeing as he clenched his fist.

Ash had stopped at nothing to get everyone to stop shedding blood, even if it came at the cost of him own life.

Red…

Red could no longer say with certainty that he would do the same… or be in the midst of the fight itself, raging as he did during all those years in the Storm.

Red’s eyes flashed crimson, and with a grim face, he stepped forward, raising a hand to block the light of the rising sun from mid-morning sun from blinding him.

Once his eyes acclimated to the light, Red looked at his surroundings, and found themselves to be standing in the middle of a stadium, not unlike that of the Silver Stadium, but smaller, yet much more grand than anything manmade.

After all, there was nothing about this island that was manmade.

Not anymore…

The stone beneath them shifted, and Red whirled to see the passage behind them get encased into the earth.

Red closed his eyes for a moment, sensing the air still around him, and slowly turned, gazing up as Mewtwo hovered over them, arms splayed as if in greeting.

As if Red should be in awe in the presence of a god.

Red pursed his lips, and stared at the newborn legend, tapping a finger against his thigh in a signal for his pokemon to stand vigilant. Beside him, Salvare took a step back, momentary fear flashing on his face, before quickly being replaced by wary determination.

Mewtwo spared a bored glance at Salvare for a moment before refocusing on Red, lowering himself onto the ground as he did so, “So you arrive, Storm-Bringer.”

Red’s eye twitched at the moniker, but he was able to keep the monstrous rasp from seeping into his reply - but only just - “So I have.”

Mewtwo gazed on Red for several seconds - and he couldn’t help but marvel at the lack of crimson within the pokemon’s eyes - before turning his head to the side, watching the distant stormclouds as they lowly rumbled, “Marvellous, isn’t it? The devastation wrought by mere rainfall.”

Red remained silent, using every ounce of control he possessed to keep himself from screaming. Mewtwo flicked his eyes to Red for a moment, and seemed to find his simmering rage to be amusing, “Such anger…” Mewtwo shifted, and it floated an inch off the ground, “I modelled the storm after your memories.” Mewtwo began to hover around them, gazing almost lazily into Red’s eyes, “Does it live up to expectations?”

“Don’t,” Red snarled , eyes flaring as he realised that the storm engulfing the world was nothing more than a petty taunt.

Mewtwo created this storm to get a rise out of Red.

And it was working.

And in the lingering haze of Red’s vision, he could see Mewtwo’s mouth curl upwards, as if he knew what he was doing, and revelled in it, “Such rage, such hatred…” Mewtwo turned away, exposing his back to attack - but Red knew that Mewtwo was aware of this; it was no true advantage - “So much like myself, before I found Purpose.”

Mewtwo turned, and faced Red in what he could only assume was meant to be a look of understanding , “You are a martial being, like myself. You were born in the shadows of Creation, broken by the chains of Destruction, and forged in the flames of war.”

Red’s eye began to twitch uncontrollably at the monologue, unwillingly reminded of the Chariot at his most melodramatic.

He forcibly pushed away the truth of Mewtwo’s words in the back of his mind, along with all the other demons Red carried.

We’re not so different, in the end.

Mewtwo paused for a moment, before slowly rolling his head - as if to crick his neck - looking away from Red as he spoke, “But allow us to parley, if only for a moment.” Mewtwo crossed his arms behind his back as he floated before them, staring off into the storm over the horizon, “After all, I would have your name before waging war against you.”

Red narrowed his eyes - Mewtwo was expecting a fight; how wise - and thought for a moment, before responding with the truth , “My name is Red Satoshi.”

He felt Salvare straighten beside him, and recalled their conversation on the night before the attack. They both used names that were different than those given at birth, but Salvare was no longer Silver in the same way that Red was no longer Ash.

Salvare could appreciate Red’s choice in name, even when others may question it.

Red appreciated that, especially when he questioned it daily.

But not today. Red couldn’t afford to question anything today. His heart thundered in his chest, his mind narrowed into a fine point, and his soul dulled to shades of black and white. There was what needed to happen, and what needed to be avoided.

And Red must answer his call.

Mewtwo hummed, and it was a melodic sound, almost akin to a melody. An orchestra breathed in the creature’s lungs, “Red Satoshi… A deceptively human name.”

Red raised an eyebrow, “I don’t know how it’s deceptive -” - ignoring the fact that it started off as a lie - “-given that I am human.”

Mewtwo titled his head, his eyes poring into Red’s before shining with… sympathy? “You must be deluded, then…” Mewtwo tilted his head to the other side, appearing almost catlike as he prowled in the air around them, “You cannot be human, not like them.”

Mewtwo jerked his head to Salvare, who’s scowl confirmed to Red that he had at least a basic understanding of Mewtwo’s words, or at least the contempt behind them if he couldn’t understand it. Red crossed his arms with a glare as Mewtwo turned away from Salvare in disgust, “You are no mere human, Red Satoshi. You bear too much power.” Mewtwo’s eyes flashed, and he turned once more to the storm outside, watching the clouds slowly spiral around them, “You bear the same power as the Storm within your memory.”

Red sucked in a breath, and in that same instant, the world turned crimson - the same crimson as the Conduit’s eyes - and Red fought against the need to rage, to roar , if only to grit his teeth and ask, “Is that why you call me Storm-Bringer? You thought I brought the Storm?”

Red laughed, and that laugh turned manic - bloody - and hateful crimson blazed through his eyes, “ You’re mistaken, Mewtwo. I didn’t create the Storm. I destroyed it. ”

Salvare tensed beside him - sensing something beautiful in his voice, sensing something terrible in his tone - but did not step away. Red stepped forward in his rage, only held at bay by that final, lingering part of him pleading that, perhaps, Mewtwo could still be reasoned with, could still be saved.

That part of him sounded so much like Ash…

That part of him quickly died as Mewtwo’s eyes flashed a malevolent blue.

Mewtwo remained still in the air, ignoring the growing winds that began to spiral the arena, “You know my name.” Mewtwo’s hands clenched, and his tail twitched in agitation, “I never gave it to you…”

Mewtwo’s eyes began to glow a chilling azure - the opposite of Red’s blazing crimson eyes - and the storm crackled ominously above them, “Who told you?” At Red’s silence, Mewtwo surged forward and bellowed, his words underlined by the rumble of thunder, “WHO TOLD YOU?!”

Red stared at Mewtwo’s enraged visage, and silently apologised to the little boy within his spirit. He resolved to make Mewtwo’s death quick and painless. He could no longer guarantee a satisfactory outcome otherwise. Red stuck two fingers into Pichu’s fur, and rubbed three slow, precise circles into his fur, and ended it with a pinch.

Crack the Sky, at his command.

Red didn’t bother to check whether Pichu understood - he knew he did - and gazed upon Mewtwo’s enraged form with dying embers of remorse, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

After all, it was Mewtwo himself that told Ash, hidden within his shattered memory.

Obviously, the answer only seemed to further enrage the creature, as Mewtwo spat, “Was it Giovanni? I know he lives.” Mewtwo’s arms began to twitch, his movements growing increasingly wrathful - increasingly out of control - “No matter. I care not if you are just another weapon he created to destroy me. I care not if you were sent by Arceus itself,” Mewtwo raised its arms, and they tensed, “You will all fall.”

At once, Mewtwo reached out, and before Red could do anything, Salvare was encased in a psychic bubble, and blasted back. Feraligatr jumped forward in time to cushion Salvare’s impact against the wall of the arena, but Red didn’t focus on that.

No, all of his crimson-hazed focus, all of his blazing rage, focussed on the singular being floating above them.

And at once, the red haze threatening to overtake Red’s vision spilled over, and with a roar , a surge of crackling energy erupted from his heart, condensing into a hellish wave that slammed into Mewtwo’s shields.

Pichu leaped, and through a monstrous combination of instinct and overwhelming power , Red reached with him, and they moved together, flashes of white lightning dancing between them - almost akin to Thunder Pulse - before shooting into the air, and into the storm, before Cracking the Sky with a blast of holy lightning upon Mewtwo’s form.

Yet, in that microsecond before the lightning struck, Mewtwo reacted, reaching up to split the attack, redirecting the two bolts of holy lightning into the ground, quaking the entire island with the impact.

Mewtwo heaved, only to be blasted back by spiralling white Thunder , pulled from the excess electricity of Pichu’s body into Red’s own, surging through his nerves and out all ten of his fingers, sparing Pichu from the crippling recoil of his attack.

For a moment, electricity raced up Red’s spine in a familiar jolt. But with a calm breath, the coming paralysis dissipated, and Red’s eyes crackled with white arcs of lightning.

The ground shook, and a wave of shattered earth rose, crashing towards them in a cascading Stone Edge .

Red shifted - a pulse of pale-blue aura snaking up his arms - Frogadier and Charmeleon stepped forward, and as one, the three of them reached out, and broke against the wave of stone with Rock Smash .

A cloud of dust sprang forth, and with a clap, Frogadier pushed it away with Aerial Ace . With a sharp rasp of, “ Ember ,” the cloud of dust ignited in an explosion of blue flame, smothering Mewtwo’s form.

Red knew his enemy lived, as was proven when Mewtwo parted the burning smoke, hovering within the dusty flames as his skin slowly reknit itself of its wounds, glints of bleeding red quickly hidden behind new skin.

Mewtwo watched Red with glowing blue eyes, and with a low growl, it uttered, “And you claim to be human, Red Satoshi. But I know what you truly are.” Mewtwo’s fists clenched, and the remaining embers around it blazed with golden flame, and began to spiral around his form, “You are like me!”

Mewtwo extended its arms, lifting up columns of stone before chiselling them into massive daggers, pointing them at Red, “We are blights against nature, Red Satoshi, monsters amongst monsters!” Red stepped forward, and with that step, the earth trembled under his feet, “Fight me Red Satoshi, Conduit of such terrible beauty! Fight me, and let the world tremble under the weight of our power!”

…

Ash would be the first to admit that this was not one of his brightest ideas.

“We’re going to capsize!”

“Ah! This was a mistake!”

“I never agreed to this!”

Ash and Misty had spent the past near-week travelling along the southeastern coast of Kanto, dragging Brock along despite his repeated protests.

While Misty wanted to go out into the storm to find some rare Water pokemon that were out and about, Ash didn’t actually care about that. Of course, seeing new pokemon was always cool - I mean, c’mon, it’s pokemon - but Ash wasn't really in it for the same reasons that Misty was.

Ash couldn’t exactly say what it was that drove him towards the storm’s centre, other than that something simply beckoned him to do so. It wasn’t like a voice telling him what to do, or anything silly like that - despite how Gary might like to take a jibe at Ash’s sanity - but it almost felt like a sense of magnetism.

Like a sense of inevitability.

Ash had to go towards the centre of the storm. For what reason, Ash couldn’t say, other than he simply must.

Ash pondered that. Ash pondered a lot of things, despite what Misty might think - though Brock seemed aware of it. He wasn’t stupid, at least, he liked to think he wasn’t stupid. Misty and Gary might claim otherwise, but Ash thought that most of his mistakes came from inexperience. After all, he strived to improve on every failure he faced, even if that only led to another…

Pikachu understood that, at least. While Brock didn’t seem to think Ash unintelligent like Misty seemed to, he did treat him like a kid .

Which, fair , Ash couldn’t argue that. I didn’t mean he was exactly happy about that perception of him, but he learned not to fight it. Playing up that part of himself seemed to keep them from asking questions, and there were some times where Ash was genuinely childlike in what he did. He couldn’t really escape that.

But with Pikachu, well, he was special to Ash. Aside from being his starter pokemon, Pikachu seemed to show the exact same drive as Ash.

To be the very best.

Like no one ever was.

And, sometimes, that drove Ash to, quite frankly, ridiculous situations. Ignoring all of the antics that Team Rocket put them through, Ash and his friends had encountered dozens of wacky people and pokemon, many of which foisted their issues (whether purposely or not) onto them.

And Ash was totally fine with that! He’d met Brock that way (what with the weird disappearing act of his father), and he made a lot of other friends through those escapades, many of which were pokemon. Sure, sometimes, he wasn’t even aware of his presence influencing things until after the fact, but he did notice it.

Not that he ever regretted doing things to help other people. People should help others all the time!

But there was one event, one innocuous day that had started off unremarkable, that stayed with Ash in a way that always caused his hands to stiffen when he thought about it.

A behemoth, chiselled of stone and obsidian, standing over him on the flaming remains of a lighthouse.

Ash had been a child that day, and he remained a child still. But, in that morning, Ash faced death , and it faced him back.

It changed him, that was undeniable.

Ash didn’t know whether that change was for the better, or for the worse.

But, to condense Ash’s mental ramblings into one single point, that had been the only moment of his life thus far that inspired such conflicted thoughts in Ash. I had been the only moment of his life where he made a choice that very nearly ended catastrophically.

Key words: had been.

Flash forward to today, and Ash was hanging on for dear life as the canoe they sat in was slammed back and forth by unforgiving waves.

The sailors paddling them - both dressed in so many layers that Ash wondered how hot it was in there - were yelling out to each other, “We’re going to capsize!”

And as Ash silently wondered why their voices were so familiar, Misty shrieked as a particularly violent wave struck the canoe, and clung to Ash’s arm, “Ah! This was a mistake!”

And across from them, face flushing with a pale green, was Brock, who looked moments away from puking, “I never agreed to this!”

And Ash, who felt oddly calm despite the situation, unclipped a pokeball and released Squirtle, giving out a single, sharp order, “ Surf! ”

The various people around Ash kept screaming , and he couldn’t help but be reminded of Bill, making him purse his lips. Pikachu, burrowed inside of Ash’s shirt, was scowling at the noise, covering his ears with wet paws.

It wasn’t exactly fair to his friends, but Ash couldn’t help but wonder why they were being so dramatic . They were nearing the eye of the storm, after all, and they only had to reach the edge of that to get out of the raging tides.

He couldn’t be the only one who sensed that, right?

Yet, as Squirtle pushed the boat forth with Surf - making Ash thankful that he decided to teach it to Squirtle - it became clear that Ash was the only one who sensed it, as everyone else on the boat seemed surprised - and relieved - at the suddenly clear skies. It was almost as if they had thought that they would die at sea.

Which Ash would have never allowed to happen. He would have let himself drown if it meant everyone else got to land safely.

Ash remained silent, though, hugging Misty as she shook herself from the cold of the rain. It seemed like even Water-type trainers could only take so much of that weather.

Ash ignored Brock’s questioning looks at his own stillness - he couldn’t help if he was warm-blooded; the water evaporated quickly from his skin - and watched as the island ahead drifted closer.

It was a pretty odd sight, and that was about all that Ash had to say about it. He was mainly interested in what awaited them there. However, Brock seemed more interested in the palace’s architecture, a frown marring his face, “That doesn’t look like anything I’ve seen before.”

Misty shivered once more, teeth chattering as she reached into Ash’s shirt to grapple Pikachu into her arms - which, for once, the rat wasn’t content with - “I-it looks almost like an a-alien built it.”

The maybe-sailors only spared a momentary glance at the island before conversing amongst themselves, “How are we supposed to get up there?” The other responded with a very familiar feminine voice, “We can try to paddle around, maybe there’s a place we can dock for us to climb up?”

Ash crossed his arms as he watched the duo - and likely trio - navigate them around the island, eventually finding a spot near the edge of the palace’s walls where they could leave the boat.

Ash stepped out after Brock and Misty, remaining silent as the two of them gave their thanks to the fake-sailors. He did thank Squirtle, and allowed the turtle pokemon to hop onto his back in a piggyback ride as a reward.

Ash’s eyes wandered for a moment at the stone battlements beside them - they looked almost haphazard, almost as if someone with a hazy memory of a fairytale tried to recreate one of its pictures - before noticing the floor crack beneath him.

The island shook; Ash doubted it was a natural occurrence.

Brock asked their tagalongs if there was a way to pay them, after all of their trouble in getting them there, prompting the ‘sailors’ to laugh haughtily, and tear off their disguises, revealing themselves to be none other than Jessie and James, of Team Rocket.

In all honesty, their disguises were impressive. It was their panicked voices that gave them away to Ash.

Naturally, as they always did when they revealed themselves to Ash and his friends, the two of them - oh, actually it’s three now, with Meowth wriggling out of Jessie’s discarded disguise - began to recite their motto, with Jessie taking the lead, “Prepare for trouble!”

James posed dramatically, “And make it double!”

Jessie stepped forward, flexing an arm as she exclaimed, “To protect the world from devastation!”

James brought a hand to his forehead, a sudden breeze swaying his hair in the wind, “To unite all peoples within our nation!”

Jessie reared back, a wild smirk gracing her lips, “To denounce the evils of truth and love!”

James extended a hand, bringing himself back-to-back with Jessie, “To extend our reach to the stars above!”

Jessie stood straight, confidence lining her words, “Jessie!”

James brought a fist to his forehead, leaning against Jessie with a leg splayed out to shape an ‘R’ between them, “James!”

The island began to shake, and Jessie continued, “Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of-”

The wall exploded before they could finish their motto - which was a shame, since Ash found a guilty pleasure in their antics - and they hastily shielded themselves as a wave of heat blasted against all of them.

Ash raised an arm over his eyes, shielding them from the light of an azure inferno. Within the breach of the wall, they could only see silhouettes dancing within the fire, fading in and out as arcs of fire, water, and electricity impacted the inner walls.

And for a single instant, that silhouette took the shape of a man.

Ash began to take a step forward, only for the island to shake once more, and much more violently , as the stone beneath them began to crumble, and fall.

Ash grabbed Misty’s arm as his own was grabbed by Brock, and the three of them ran along the side of the wall, desperately trying the escape the now-collapsing floor below them.

Ash heard Team Rocket yell in fright behind them - “We’re blasting off again!” - but he couldn’t do anything to help them by that point - James voice echoed, “But this time we’re falling!” - so he focussed his efforts to finding a way to safety.

…There!

Ash twisted his arm, breaking Brock’s hold of it, only to grab Brock’s own arm as he led them both to an archway within the stone battlements.

With one final tug, Ash heaved his friends into the safety of the walls, stumbling into a rolling fall. Behind them, the floor collapsed, forming a pit around the wall of the fortress, preventing them from leaving.

Misty helped Ash onto his feet, which he was grateful for, but he only settled for a nod to her before releasing Charmander and Bulbasaur, “There’s some sorta fight going on here! We gotta help!”

“No, we don’t, ” Brock snapped, drawing surprised looks from the other two - he’d never sounded so dire - “We don’t know what’s going on here, but it’s dangerous , Ash! As soon as we got here, the island started falling apart!”

“But we’re safe now!” Ash exclaimed - ignoring the part of him that said a part of the wall was already destroyed - “Besides, there was someone fighting in there! They’re in danger!”

Brock’s scowl deepened - which was hard to see, given his eyes, but Ash could read his friend’s tells - before he sighed, “Fine! But whatever’s causing all of this -” - Brock’s words momentarily interrupted by another quake of the island - “-We’re staying out of it! Alright! ”

“Alright,” Ash agreed, with only a small glare - Brock was just trying to protect him, even if he didn’t need it - and jogged past him, looking down a spiralling hall, “Then we need to find our way forward!”

Ash saw Misty and Brock exchange worried glances before following him, which… well, it wasn’t exactly encouraging . Ash was aware that they thought him reckless - he was aware they thought a lot of things about him - but he wouldn’t risk them getting hurt because of him.

They knew that, right?

Ash shook his head, focussing on the task at hand. The passageways of the fortress winded down and around in ways that obviously wasn’t built by anyone who actually intended to use them. He vaguely recalled that ancient castles were built with confusing layouts to slow down invaders, but having halls that went in circles and stairs that led nowhere seemed nonsensical, even to him.

It didn’t help that it all looked the same, what with the muted colours and rough textures of the walls. At several points, there were protrusions that almost looked like one of the posters Ash saw in elementary-grade science class.

It was almost impressive that he even remembered it, given how he slept through almost every class.

Eventually, though, the three of them, plus their pokemon, reached a large room that seemed to be some sort of great hall, given how high the ceiling was. Ash stopped for a moment to look around, ignoring the gasping breaths of his friends - who always seemed worn out when Ash ran - as he searched for a way forward.

After a few moments, Ash noticed something that seemed promising. There was some sort of platform at the edge of the room, with a panel next to it having a button to go up or down.

Just like the rest of the fortress, it looked alien and unused, but it seemed promising. Ash turned his friends as they trudged forward, picking Pikachu up off of Misty’s arms, “Do you all think we go up or down?”

Ash apparently had the gift of good timing, as another quake shook the island, as something large impacted the ceiling above them, causing cracks to ripple above them.

Misty looked up with a frightened expression, “...I think that answers your question, Ash.” She looked back down to him, “Are you really sure you want to-”

Misty yelped as the platform suddenly shifted upwards, with Ash pressing the topmost button. Ash gave her an apologetic smile as she glared at him, “Sorry, Misty. But you know I can’t let this go on without at least seeing what’s causing it.”

Brock muttered tiredly to himself, too quiet for Ash to hear, but he got the gist of it. He couldn’t help but feel guilty that he was dragging his friends alongside him, but they wouldn’t have to get involved, not if they truly wanted to avoid it.

Ash would respect that much, at least.

As the platform rose, the fortress began to shake more and more. The battle outside became louder and clearer, allowing Ash to catch an individual voice - male, from the sound of it - giving commands to what sounded like multiple pokemon, if the varying types of moves were any consideration.

Finally, the platform peaked outside into what seemed to be a stadium , and they quickly stepped off to avoid any malfunctions with the mechanism holding up the platform.

The island was shaking pretty badly, after all.

And now that Ash could see the source of it, he wasn’t so surprised as to why the island shook.

Waves of blue and golden flame spiralling together with bolts of water, electricity, and ice rippling against the inferno.

Blades of darkness cleaved the air, slicing entire boulders into pieces, the shrapnel surging forward with a psychic push, only to be repelled by a wave of energy that brought chills to Ash’s bones.

Ash took a step towards the fight - the battle of legendary proportions - only to stop himself, remembering his promise to Brock.

Tugging on his will, Ash looked away from the devastating conflict, only to see a flash of red on blue halfway across the stadium.

Another look, and Ash realised that the red he saw was someone’s hair.

Ash rushed forward, Brock yelling behind him as he ran towards the red-haired person. As he got closer, the blue form he saw rose to watch him coming closer, standing over the limp form of the unconscious person with a growl.

Ash stopped, looking up at the pokemon as it stood over the person - its trainer - with protective fury.

Now, Ash would be the first to admit that, sometimes, his priorities were somewhat backwards. Instead of looking at the beastly pokemon’s aggressive stance and backing away like any sane person might, Ash gasped in excitement, and took out his pokedex to scan the unknown pokemon.

“ Feraligatr, ” The device chimed, its digital voice adopting a tone of academic curiosity that Ash often heard in Professor Oak, “ The Big Jaw Pokemon. When it bites with its massive and powerful jaws, it shakes its head and savagely tears its victim up. Yet, underneath their ferocity, they are known to be incredibly loyal to those they consider family, often imprinting upon a few key creatures within its first few months of life. ”

Ash glanced up at the towering pokemon - Feraligatr - with greater understanding, “Oh!” He took a step towards the red-haired trainer, prompting the Feraligatr to block him with bared teeth, “You’re worried about him, aren’t you?”

“Ash!” Brock’s voice reminded Ash that he also had people that worried about him, given how shaky Brock’s voice was, “Step- Step away from the Feraligatr, Ash. I don’t think it wants you near its trainer.”

Ash could see that - and he was about to step away, he wasn’t completely brainless - but the Feraligatr actually seemed to calm down some, trading away its anger for confusion as it regarded Ash.

Then, with slow movements that had Brock and Misty tense, the Big Jaw pokemon leaned over to sniff Ash’s hair, visibly adding to the pokemon’s confusion. Feraligatr cast a look at the battle across from them before looking back at Ash. Finally, after a few moments of staring at him, the Feraligatr snorted, and slunk down beside the red-haired trainer, seemingly deeming Ash trustworthy enough to come closer.

Ignoring Brock’s shaky inhale, Ash crouched down beside the red-haired man, distantly noting the other, smaller pokemon watching over him. While some of them were new to Ash - and he itched to take out his pokedex for them as well - he was a bit more preoccupied with making sure the guy wasn’t dead.

Thankfully, he was breathing, if a bit slowly. Brock - seemingly getting over his wariness of the Feraligatr - crouched down next to Ash and began to check over the man, “...He doesn’t seem to have any major injuries, other than some bruising. I wonder what caused it.”

The Feraligatr grunted angrily, looking over at the battle behind them. Ash nodded to himself, understanding the basics of what the pokemon insinuated, and Misty stepped over to the crocodile’s side, doting on it with soothing tones, “And you’re standing guard over your trainer. I’d be lucky to have a pokemon like you !”

Feraligatr seemed somewhat annoyed by Misty’s enthusiasm for all things Water-type, but allowed her to massage his scales as Brock took out his first aid kit, and began to treat the man for his injuries.

Feeling somewhat useless now, Ash stood up to check on the man’s other pokemon, only to flinch as a particularly loud blast erupted from the battle on the other side of the arena, and a yellow streak came crashing against the ground, before seemingly getting its footing as it skid to a stop next to them.

And as the streak solidified into a single being, Ash and Pikachu watched on in absolute shock as a pint-sized Pichu shook blood off its fur. For a moment, Ash almost thought that the Pichu would faint then and there - what was a Pichu doing here?! - but it only closed its eyes for a moment, before reopening them with renewed vigour as it began to step back towards the fight.

Ash lurched forward, Pikachu hopping off his shoulder in the same movement to step in the Pichu’s way, startled concern lined in Pikachu’s face in a way that Ash hadn’t ever seen before.

And he could understand the concern, given that they both just saw a baby of Pikachu’s species get blasted against the floor next to them.

But, Mew above , based on the state of the baby creature, Ash reckoned that the Pichu lived through a warzone. There were scars lining its body that only he could see through the fur - perks of being used to searching for injuries within Pikachu’s fur - which was nothing compared to its tail , which seemed like a Golbat tore through most of it.

Based on the fierce light Ash had seen in the Pichu’s eyes, he almost expected the baby pokemon to shove Pikachu aside - not that his starter would tolerate that - but the Pichu didn’t. Upon seeing Pikachu, the Pichu froze , staring at Pikachu with a sort of horrified surprise.

Pikachu took the opportunity to sniff the Pichu, mewling lowly at the scent of blood, prompting him to attempt grooming the Pichu’s matted fur - and wasn’t that a sight? Ash never knew that Pikachu had these sort of paternal instincts . This only seemed to further freak out the Pichu, and it pushed Pikachu away with a frantic paw, only to see Ash coming to them.

And if Pichu’s reaction to Pikachu could be categorised as horrified surprise, then the only way to describe Pichu’s reaction to Ash would be terribly vulnerable.

Ash swore he saw tears shine within Pichu’s eyes.

Yet, where Pichu had froze upon Pikachu’s appearance, Ash’s own seemed to remind Pichu of the battle behind it.

Ash and Pikachu both knew what was going to happen before it did, but they were too slow to stop the Pichu as it ducked under Pikachu, hopped over Ash’s outstretched arm, and dashed along the ground, gaining speed as maddening arcs of white lightning trailed behind, coalescing into a spear of light as it leaped back into the inferno with a blinding Volt Tackle.

At once, Ash knew that his promise to Brock was in the bin. One of Pikachu’s own - a baby of its species - just threw itself into suicide . Pikachu was obviously looking to follow the Pichu into the fight, if only to drag it away again, and Ash would be damned if he let Pikachu go into that alone.

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So, with a sharp look to his pokemon to follow, Ash and Pikachu ran towards the raging inferno, ignoring the cried of his friends as he rushed to another deadly situation.

He would have to apologise to them later for worrying them so much.

But right now, he needed to stay with Pikachu.

As they neared the inferno, chunks of stone were ripped away from the ground and thrown into the fire, only to return in pieces that smashed along the stadium.

Ash dove to the side as one of the stones came a bit too close, and he was momentarily reminded of a falling lighthouse amidst a pillar of flame.

Though now the flames were blue rather than white.

Bulbasaur began to use Razor Leaf to split apart the falling stones as they neared the wall of flame, prompting Squirtle and Charmander to do the same with Water Pulse and Ember , to differing degrees of success.

Ash could tell that Charmander, in particular, was getting dismayed at the minimal effect his attacks had on the rocks, and pointed him to the edge of the flames, “ Ember to the flames, beat them back!” He turned to Squirtle, “ Water Gun after Charmander! Keep the flames from spreading further!”

They followed his orders without questioning him, which always made Ash feel grateful in a way that he could barely describe. As always, Charmander threw everything he had at the wall of flame, beating it back with large blasts of flame, with Squirtle soaking the ground to prevent the inferno from engulfing that place once again.

After a few minutes, in which Bulbasaur periodically threw Razor Leaves at debris, the inferno had thinned to the point where Ash could glimpse inside of it.

But with the heat surrounding them, he could barely see inside.

Sensing another wave of heat growing from within the inferno, Ash recalled Charmander and Bulbasaur, shoving Pikachu into his shirt as he called to Squirtle, “Soak me with water!”

Squirtle did so, and was recalled shortly after, as Ash took a heavy breath, ignored the taste of sweat in his mouth, and charged through the inferno, using his drenched clothes to shield him as he passed through the thinned flames and fell into the other side.

Pikachu scrambled out of Ash’s steaming shirt, biting on Ash’s hand, causing him to scramble up.

Ash ignored the small trickle of blood from the wound - though he hissed as sweat trickled into it - picking Pikachu up onto his shoulder before releasing Charmander and Squirtle.

Bulbasaur would burn up in here.

Ash looked up, and for the first time, witnessed the full extent of the battle before him.

A purple pokemon, both catlike and humanoid, dashed through the air, firing waves of psychic energy at blurs of blue and yellow.

Streaks of electricity blurred around them, striking the unknown pokemon at every angle. Yet, in face of what seemed to be overwhelming odds, the purple pokemon simply raised its hand, emitting a resounding blast of noise that shook the island.

Then a flash of light, and an explosion of azure flame, and a mass of shadows carrying blades of ice darted around them, before splitting into several copies with Double Team , stabbing down into the creature with all their might.

The beastly figure roared , its body flashing with electricity to stave off its attacker, coalescing it to its finger tips to strike back at the shadowed figure with Thunderbolt , excited wrath filling its eyes.

Yet, the shadows only retreated a step back, as from the flames, a man reached out and caught the lightning in his fingers, and trailed the electricity around his body before firing it back, now blood-red in colour at the floating monster above them.

Yet the purple pokemon only laughed , catching the lightning in its hand before snuffing it out , blowing out a wave of Icy Wind from the leftover energy, bolstering it into a raging Blizzard with nothing more than a wave of the hand.

Ash stepped back, he and his pokemon slowly creeping towards the man, only to stop as the ground shook, and a Charmeleon with blue flame burst out of the ground and struck the purple pokemon with Dragon Claw.

It grunted and grabbed the Charmeleon in a psychic hold before blasting it away, then quickly erected a polygonal shield to deflect a Thunderbolt sent from the man’s fingertips. It rolled its neck, lowered the shield, and struck twice towards the ground.

The earth shook.

Taking a moment to deflect a Water Pulse , the pokemon then extended its arms, lifting two massive boulders, lifted its arms up, carving the boulders into spikes , and crashing its arms down, launching the stones into the ground, shattering it as Fissures erupted around them, spreading along the entire stadium.

Ash grabbed Charmander, ignored the burn of his tail-flame, and commanded, “ Surf , Squirtle!”

A wave of water rose from the ground, saving them from falling into the depths that cracked below them. As Ash and Squirtle directed the flow of water away from the Fissures , the raging legendary pulled magma up from the earth, shaped it into a wave, and sent it careening towards the man.

Yet, instead of running - which even Ash would’ve done - the man remained calm, moving in synch with the shadowed pokemon beside him, calling blades of pressurised water along their arms as they both solidified the wave of magma into obsidian, before blasting it into pebbles with a joint attack.

And as the man lowered a bleeding fist, Ash wondered whether the man was truly human like himself, or if he was a pokemon in disguise, like Ditto.

…Or Mew.

The man’s eyes had been glowing an absolutely blazing crimson just a moment ago - so much so that Ash couldn’t see the man’s(?) pupils - but he could see them now, locked onto his own as they dilated in horror.

…Oh wait.

The battle had paused, with both the man and pokemons’ attention shifted to Ash. He realised seconds after the fact, stepping over to shield his pokemon as the floating beast emitted a sound that almost seemed like laughter.

A voice pierced Ash’s mind, and he wondered whether he truly heard it, or was simply imagining it - either way, it was a terribly beautiful sound - “Another human, Red Satoshi? Did this one also follow you?” The creature turned to the man - Red Satoshi? - tilting its head in mock shock - its wounds slowly reknit themselves at the battle’s pause - “My, this one even looks like you!”

The creature’s eyes began to glow a chilling blue, and Ash took a step back as it extended a hand towards him, “Let us see if it shares your strength!”

“NO!” Ash shielded his pokemon with closed eyes as the otherworldly roar pierced his eardrums, and he awaited something to strike him, to knock him out, to kill him .

…But nothing came, and Ash opened his eyes to see the terrifying pokemon frozen in midair, hand reaching out as a psychic blade fizzled out of existence, as it turned to the being holding it in place.

And the man - the man who was not a man but looked like one - had an arm outstretched, fist clenched around an invisible chain - white veins crept up his arms - and with a roar , the man’s eyes erupted withing blinding light, and the pokemon was yanked away from Ash with a snarl.

The pokemon crossed its arms and broke the man’s psychic hold, blades of shadow appearing along its arms. It stared at the man - his eyes blinding from its crimson light - and asked a low question, something primal lining its words, “What are you?”

The man - the demon? - only answered with a roar , as billowing winds of esoteric energy began to envelop the man, wrapping along his arms and legs as he began to rise into the air, crackles of energy spiralling in discordant patterns around his eyes and chest.

And as the man’s hat blew into the wind and to the flame, the creature looked level at the pokemon, and with a shout, a wave of visible power shook the entire island, and the sea beyond, as the pokemon surged forward to resume his fight against him.

Ash stood there in shock and awe, only to turn around at the sound of something entering the inferno behind him.

As one, Ash’s pokemon leaped forward and combined attacks, striking the intruder with a mixture of fire, water, and electricity. They quickly regretted it upon seeing who it was that they attacked, given that there was now a very pissed Feraligatr nursing a wound on its scales.

A hand caught Feraligatr’s shoulder before it could retaliate, as the red-haired man from earlier looked at Ash with wary eyes, “Next time, look before you act. ”

Ash began to mumble out an apology, only for the man to completely disregard him as he stared at the fight beyond, eyes widening in both surprise and resignation, “What the hell - Red? ”

Ash turned, and saw Satoshi - who he could no longer confidently say was just a man - spew Flamethrower from his mouth as the Charmeleon did the same.

Ash was beginning to wonder that, if Satoshi was a human, then would Ash be able to learn how to do that?

…That would be kinda awesome!

No, no. There was a time and place for such thoughts, and Ash shook his head to remind himself that this was neither .

The red-haired man, whose expression shifted from incredulity to awe to wariness to resignation, turned to Ash, staring at him in apparent confusion for a moment before rubbing his eyes, “ Mew almighty , what the hell are you doing here, kid! You need to get the hell out! ”

Before Ash could protest - something, something, Pichu - he was yanked by the red-haired trainer and dragged towards Feraligatr as it parted the inferno - much more easily than Ash had - and stepped out of the warzone.

Misty and Brock were waiting directly outside the flames, and immediately descended upon Ash once he and his pokemon were back outside. They alternated between fretting over him and yelling at him for terrible decision-making, which only became louder anytime he tried to defend himself.

The red-haired man unwittingly became Ash’s saviour in this regard, as he pushed Ash’s friends away to speak to them, “I don’t know why the fuck you’re even here, and I don’t even care. You need to-”

Another explosion rocketed the island, and they all watched as the unknown pokemon was blasted into the side of one of the tallest towers of the palace - causing the tower’s foundation to crack - only to leap back into the inferno with enough speed to create a shockwave.

Causing the tower’s foundation to shatter.

And, in that moment, Ash was back in the lighthouse, carrying Bill through pillars of flame. And above them, the tower shook, before falling towards them, its shadow smothering them moments before impact.

So Ash acted.

With a call, his pokemon moved, and with a cry of “ Triple Finish! ” his pokemon attacked, sending forth beams of water, fire, and electricity that spun together into a singular beam of concentrated power, rising alongside Feraligatr’s Hydro Pump to strike the falling tower.

And upon impact, the beam splintered through the stone, and shattered it, scattering rocks to fly above them in every direction.

Feraligatr grabbed everyone around him and covered them, groaning lowly as chunks of stone smashed against its back, cracking into smaller rocks that rolled onto the floor.

Several seconds passed, and Feraligatr let them go, stumbling in pain as it did so. The red-haired man was at its side instantly, and after a moment of arguing between them, the towering beast allowed itself to be recalled into its pokeball, and the man turned back to face them.

The man looked over them and his remaining pokemon, taking stock of it before groaning into his hands, “Fuck. Fuck! Okay…” He took and breath, and forcibly calmed himself, regarding them with violet eyes, “Do you have a way off the island?”

Ash thought back to where they came from, and considered the earthquake that broke across that area. Brock seemed to be thinking the same thing, as he responded with a worried frown, “It was probably destroyed…”

The man clenched his fist, visibly holding off a swear as he glared at the ground - a very specific part of the ground - before turning back to them, “Unfortunately, our own ride is currently unavailable ,” - he did little to hide the bitterness in his words, though it wasn’t directed at them - “So that means I’ll have to keep you safe.” He crossed his arms, eyes flashing for a moment before returning to them, “It’s what he’d want.”

This was the point where Misty - who’d been awfully silent up to this point - lost her composure, “What the heck is going on?!”

The red-haired guy only laughed, rather maniacally at that, and Ash almost joined the man before he sobered, “Hell if I know. But we’re here.” He shrugged, leading them back towards the edge of the arena, which Ash reckoned was safer than where they were currently standing - which was somewhere near the middle - “But since we’re stuck here, I’d at least know your names.” The man flashed a tired grin, making him look much younger than before, “I’m Salvare, and I’m here with a guy named Red.”

Ash recalled the man in the inferno, and wondered whether this guy - Salvare - knew the answers to Ash’s questions about the guy.

Ash shook himself from his thoughts as Brock crossed his arms, hiding his lingering anxiety as he calmly introduce himself, “I’m Brock.”

Misty perked up, having stolen Pikachu once more from Ash - she began to mindlessly comb through Pikachu’s fur with her fingers - “Misty.”

They looked to him - though Salvare’s gaze was decidedly more curious than he was with the other two - so he responded, “Ash Ketchum… And - uh - that guy, Red? Is he gonna be all right?”

Ash wanted to ask more about the guy - like how he could shoot lightning from his fingers and breath fire - but he thought it was probably insensitive to ask something like that at the moment.

Maybe after this is all said and done.

Ash wouldn’t say no to a likely-magical friend, even if he was a Mew in disguise.

Salvare watched Ash for a few moments, squinting at him before shaking his head, muttering something about ‘younger cousins’ before answering, “He’ll live.”

It was said with such surety that Ash couldn’t help but believe him - though, what he saw earlier helped strengthen that belief in Ash’s mind - and the man cracked a grim smile, his eyes taking a dark edge as he added, “Honestly, if you were to ask him yourself, he’d probably tell you some shit about having ‘dealt with worse’.”

…

“Ow…”

That was about all James could say at the moment, laying atop a mound of rubble. Jessie gave her agreement in the form of a groan, “For us to blast off as soon as we got here, that’s got to be - oh, will you stop that! ”

With a burst of energy, she leaned up and swiped Meowth away, who was batting Jessie’s head with a paw. With a small chuckle, Meowth trotted over to James, repeating the same process to his own forehead as he snarked at Jessie, “C’mon now, Jess. You’re overreactin’! Tha’ fall wasn’t so bad.”

“Maybe not for you, ” Jessie cried, stomping her foot down with a pout, “But we didn’t exactly have a graceful landing!”

“What can I say?” Meowth shrugged with a smirk, applying some claw to James’ forehead, “Cats always lan’ on their feet- yow, hey! ”

Now he was dangling by the tail, as James carried him down the pile of rubble to where Jessie was standing, “ That’s for scratching my beautiful forehead!”

James let go of his tail, allowing Meowth to scurry away for a moment before crossing his arms with a huff, “There weren’ no beauty in your head anyway.”

James ignored the cat, dusting himself off before looking around the underground chamber with Jessie. Their eyes adjusted to the darkness, allowing them to see that it wasn’t a cave that they’d fallen into, but something manmade.

Meowth scuttled forward, knocking a paw against a device on the ground, emitting a loud metal bang, “Huh. Seems t’me like we’re in some kind o’ lab.”

“Well its nice that you can see ,” Jessie grumbled, cursing her lack of night-vision, “But if you could do something useful, like Flash , that would be more helpful than your commentary.”

James leaned over and whispered loudly to Jessie, “I’m pretty sure Meowth only knows Scratch and Fury Swipes .”

Meowth squawked in outrage, but Jessie ignored him as she scoffed, “Well that’s not useful. What we really need is some sort of light!”

James scratched his head before turning to the wall. He narrowed his eyes, tracing the outlines along it. After a few moments, he noticed the silhouette of a series of switches, “Ah-ha!”

With a flick, James turned on the first switch… which did nothing. With a frown, he flicked the second switch, which caused some sort of ominous noise of creaking metal ahead of them… it was probably nothing. James then tried the last switch, which thankfully turned on the lights, as they were bathed in a hue of sickly green, which was rather ugly in his opinion, but it did give them decent visibility.

He returned to where Jessie and Meowth were, only to find them gazing upon a row of statues. They were rather ugly caricatures, seemingly based on people, though it was hard to tell with how grotesque they looked.

James was actually rather repulsed by them, which was a sentiment mirrored by Jessie, but Meowth actually seemed rather enraptured with their image, spouting off random nonsense about the duality of man and pokemon, and how man was the real monster.

James didn’t really understand what he was going on about, but he didn’t say as such, allowing Meowth to wax poetic about the hubris of man or something similar. Instead, he noticed a statue at the end of the line, which, unlike the rest, was more than just their head, as it showed the person’s entire body. It was also strikingly normal compared to the others, with its stone faced carved in some mixture of frantic excitement and manic sorrow, almost looking alive as it stared into an endless abyss.

It looked haunted in a way James couldn’t describe.

Jessie walked past James and found a large computer, which the statue faced. James turned his attention to the screen as Jessie activated the computer, which booted up to a file titled ‘ Project: Mewtwo’ .

James watched in silence as Jessie scrolled through the file, idle curiosity turning to wariness as descriptions of cloning and testing and disasters filled the screen.

Jessie also seemed disturbed, if the downward curve of her mouth was any indication, “...What were they doing here?”

Meowth hopped onto the keyboard, stepping around Jessie’s hands to peer at a corner of the document, “...It says the boss authorised it.”

James crossed his arms, eyes creased as he verbally asked, “Why?”

“We dreamed of creating the World’s Strongest Pokemon,” echoed behind them, resonating in a way that was entirely ethereal .

The three of them whirled around, only to stumble backwards as the statue of the man behind them smiled with empty eyes, before blinding them with a radiant pink.

“And We Succeeded.”

Upon blinking away the stars in their vision, they saw that the statue had disappeared, with nary a trace that it had ever existed in the first place.

James reached back to grip the edge of the computer to keep himself standing, and Meowth scampered up onto his shoulder with a mewl, “I don’ want to be here no more.”

Jessie gulped, turning off the computer as she stood up, “Well… we can’t exactly leave the way we came in.” She turned towards the end of the lab, which emitted a soft blue light, “Maybe we can find our way out over there?”

As she said it, the island quaked around them, causing a few of the grotesque statues to fall and crack onto the floor. James turned to Jessie with a strained grin, “G-good idea!”

The three of them began to walk towards the blue light at a healthy pace. They weren’t outright running - given that there was probably a ghost haunting them - but they weren’t exactly strolling either.

Eventually, they reached the source of the blue light, which they were dismayed to find was trapped behind a glass wall.

They stared inside of the small chamber, which housed some sort of glowing blue core, encased in metal and wires. Wisps of radiating energy seeped out of it, and into the walls, and they all shivered as James asked, “Is that a nuke? ”

Jessie turned a sharp eye on James, which, seriously , it was a genuine question. Meowth, however, brought a paw to his chin, and hummed in thought, “I don’ think it’s a bomb , James. There’s no trigger, or timer. A nuke’s gotta have one o’those.” Meowth was too entirely sure of it, “I think it’s some kind o’ nuclear reactor!”

James blinked before narrowing his eyes at the cat - who sweatdropped - “How do you know so much about nuclear bombs? ”

“Do you think we could steal it?” Jessie asked, only for James and Meowth both to stare at her, “...What?”

There was a chuckle beside them, and they turned to see a finely-dressed man walk towards the glass, pressing a pale hand against it, “A nuclear reactor? How… unrefined.”

It was then that James recognised the man, and he stumbled back in shock as Meowth stuttered, stars in his eyes, “Th-th-the boss! ”

Giovanni flashed them a smirk, and for a moment, his violet eyes glinted with a shade of pink, “His only desire is to strengthen his power, to refine it.” He tilted his head at them, his eyes fully pink - fully unnatural - as they turned to the reactor on the other side of the glass, “He considers the splitting of atoms to be the height of control.” He smiled, and teeth lined Giovanni’s neck - but it wasn’t Giovanni, not truly - “How… narrow-minded.”

Jessie stepped forward, determination and fear warring across her face, “You’re… You’re not the boss!”

Not-Giovanni regarded them almost lazily, before his mouth twitched up into a sly smirk, “So I’m not.”

The reactor flared, blinding them with its blue light, and once again the apparition disappeared.

The island shook once more, and one of the tubes connected to the reactor snapped apart, falling to the floor. An audible hiss reached through the glass, and James made the wise decision to drag the other two away.

They found a flight of stairs away from the lab, leading upwards to a dark chamber. James brought his shirt to his nose, eyes watering at the smell. Jessie did the same, reaching into one of her various pockets to pull out perfume.

James rather doubted it would do much against this stench.

Yet, once more proving himself to be the biggest trash-baby amongst them, Meowth wasn’t repulsed by the smell, but enthralled by it, causing him to trot over to the corner of the chamber.

James followed, only to retch into his shirt as Meowth began to bat a ball of human skin.

He heard Jessie do the same beside him, as Meowth’s eyes dilated as he played with the errant hair follicles that were seemingly covering the… thing . Meowth crouched down, preparing himself to pounce, only for Jessie to reach out and snatch him.

She quickly regretted that action, since it required her lowering her shirt from her nose, causing her to drop Meowth as she hurried to block the smell once more. It proved enough to snap Meowth out of his feline instincts, though, as he shook his head with a look of embarrassment.

James coughed into his shirt, tears building up at the edges of his eyes as he asked, “Why is there a ball of skin here? And why is it so hairy? ”

“There are lots of things that he can only dream of, but never remember,” They turned once more to see the apparition, this time taking the form of a young girl.

She glided a phantom hand an inch over the ball of skin, giggling lightly as human hair waved against her touch, “He is haunted by voices, but can never seem to grasp them.” She looked to them, her face slowly decaying with sickness, her eyes remaining a radiant pink, “He is a lost soul, searching for purpose in a purposeless world.”

The girl giggled, bringing her hand to her mouth in a way that was almost dainty. Her next words weren’t, however, as James was surprised at the cruel humour lining her voice, “It’d be funny if it weren’t so pathetic!”

Jessie leaped forward, trying to catch the girl before she disappeared. It was in vain, though, as it became nothing more than a shadow, wreathed in flame, before disappearing with the inferno. All of its heat wisped away as soon as it came, causing their sudden sweat to cool to chilling temperatures.

James would forever claim that his soiled pants was from the rain outside.

Jessie shuddered, choosing to wipe her head of sweat instead of blocking her nose of the smell, “Let’s go. ”

There weren’t any arguments from Meowth or James - they all wanted to get the heck out of here - and they followed her up another set of stairs, and into a labyrinth of endless halls and spiralling rooms.

James was beginning to think that their fall did something to his head, because he was going crazy in here, scrambling around as some sort of phantom tormented them.

However, it seemed that the phantom no longer followed them, as minutes passed without it appearing, allowing them to sigh a breath of relief as they climbed another set of stairs that would hopefully actually lead to someplace.

Thankfully, it seemed that lady luck was in their favour, as they found themselves in some sort of throne room overlooking the entire palace. James wasn’t entirely sure how they ascended so quickly - the labyrinth below really messed with his senses - but he didn’t complain, placing himself by the glass window to look down below.

It was almost as if James had a bird’s eye view of the stadium, or what remained of it. There seemed to be some sort of localised fire storm near the edge of it, with the area surrounding it being littered with stones and magma.

One of the towers on the other side of the palace seemed to have fallen onto the stadium, splitting it into two. He couldn’t help but breath a small sigh of relief upon spotting a group of people hiding behind the fallen tower, next to the battlements, as he noted the twerp and his group among them.

Jessie sighed behind him, making him turn around to see her sinking into the throne with a tired smile, “Ah, finally. A throne befitting of a princess.”

James rolled his eyes, only to snap them back to the throne as Meowth clambered onto it, plucking something from the top, “Oh neat! I’ve always wanted t’add a human skull to my collection!”

James’ eyes widened as he saw that Meowth was correct in identifying it as a human skull, and Jessie fell off the throne as both of them shouted, “ What collection?! ”

Before Meowth could answer, a soft, fluttery sound echoed from behind the throne - it almost sounded like a giggle. James tensed alongside Jessie, expecting the phantom to have returned, only to see a small, female Meowth emerge out of the shadows, her soft pink eyes batting at their Meowth.

James didn’t trust the female feline, but Meowth was enraptured , standing shock-still as the female trotted over to it, and began to nuzzle against him, “H-h-hey there…”

The female meowed - which was a haunting sound, underlined by chimes - and turned her eyes to the skull in Meowth’s hands, batting a paw onto it.

Meowth stammered, “Y-you wan’ the skull?” The female mewled, eyes shining pink, and raked a claw against bone, “Uh- yeah! Y’can have it!”

Meowth handed the skull to the female, who handled it carelessly. Meowth didn’t seem to care about that though, despite his previous excitement for his collection - which brought an unknowable dread to James - clearly besotted with the other cat.

After a few moments of silence - undercut by ethereal giggles echoing around them - Meowth decided to be bold, and puckered up for a kiss.

Yet, the cat’s lips met empty air, as a psychic barrier rose up between the Meowths. The female giggled, and with a kick, floated up into the air with a twirl, the skull hovering lazily by her(?) side.

The Meowth giggled into its paws, and before their eyes, it shifted , limbs shifting to smaller, stockier frames, its fur becoming finer, and as light and pink as the evening sky.

And as Meowth stumbled backwards, shock giving way to fear, the newly formed creature turned to the others, and giggled wildly into its paws.

Jessie gasped, her eyes becoming haunted as she recognised the mythical pokemon, “ Mew… ”

The pokemon - Mew, holy shit, it was Mew! - giggled once more, radiant pink eyes staring to each of them, before zeroing in on Meowth, “Thank you for the gift, but you’re far too young for me.”

The glass behind Mew shattered, the noise causing them all to yelp. Yet, the bits of glass remained floating, splitting into smaller parts before sharpening into thousands of microscopic daggers.

A hiss, and the glass daggers glowed a soft orange, their tips superheated by a mere suggestion from the mythical. Mew tilted its head, turning its eyes to Jessie, only for them to begin twinkling in cruel amusement, “You look familiar…”

Jessie’s breath hitched as Mew floated backwards, enveloping itself in a sphere of rotating daggers, seemingly unaffected by the growing heat, “There was another like you that tried to follow me.” It’s eyes widened, almost appearing like a baby who played their first Pump-Ka-Boo, “A word of advice: run. ”

At once, the room froze over, shards of ice crackling into the walls, the Sheer Cold sucking all of the heat out of the room in a matter of seconds.

James lost his breath at the sudden change in temperature, his eyes blowing wide, his breaths uncontrolled.

Oh, he was going into shock.

But he couldn’t afford to, not with how Jessie seemed to have shut down, if her slowly closing eyes were any indication. So, with the last reserves of his energy, James yanked on Jessie’s arm, snatched Meowth from the ground, and booked it to the room’s exit.

He made it out just in time for his legs to give out under him, and the three of them fell onto the top of the staircase, thankfully keeping themselves from falling all the way.

With a gasp, Jessie’s eyes blew open, and she began to shiver alongside them as they all reeled from their encounter with the cruel deity.

Meowth scrambled onto James’ side, burrowing into his arms to heat himself up, “Th-th-that really sucked. ”

James let out a breathy laugh, and Jessie gave a mix of a chuckle and a sob.

James had to remember what Jessie had told him of her mother, back when they’d first got drunk with each other.

Fighting off his shivers, if only for a moment, James reached over and laid an arm over Jessie, supporting her as she silently weeped.

Jessie would do the same for him, no matter how much they might accost each other about it later.

So James would do the same for her, even if he had to deal with her embarrassed anger afterwards.

…

‘You’re dangerous.’

An Aura Sphere shot into the forest, cleaving a line of destruction.

‘You don’t just do that and walk it off like it’s nothing!’

A red haze, a hateful crimson, let there be light, oh let there be light.

‘I must absolutely ask - both for myself, and, I suspect, for yourself.’

A roar, a blaze of crimson fury, and waves of destruction poured from his heart.

‘What are you?’

Crackles of electricity lining bone, frying nerves… until it didn’t, and lightning surged.

‘You’re a monster.’

Primal instinct, and a wave of a hand became a wave of flame, a font of energy seeped from his veins.

‘Come to New Island, Storm-Bringer.’

And all around him was a terrible - beautiful - Storm, and in the centre, a cocoon hovered, adorned in a crystalline matrix of psychic, dark, and other energies, white veins pulsating in a steady rhythm.

And the creature - the Conduit - within the cocoon opened its eyes, bearing a red haze, a shade of hateful crimson that was the same as Red’s own.

go forth.

Red roared , and another wave of destructive power struck Mewtwo in the chest.

Red grit his teeth in a snarl - a Mad grin - not paying any mind to the taste of blood on his lips.

Not paying any mind to the Mad Mad Mad tremble of his heart.

Red breathed, and with an exhale, a Hurricane erupted within the inferno, drawing the blue flames into its embrace.

Mewtwo bled , wounds lining its skin in jagged streaks, yet moved no slower because of it. With every wave of its hand, the earth shook from its power, and with every kick of its legs, the air quivered from its wrath.

There was no more room for mercy in either of their hearts, for Mewtwo had come here searching for purpose in bloodshed, and Red had come to put down a rabid beast. Any thought or hesitation was lost between them, as they both gave in to the singular thing that drove any living being.

Instinct.

Red lost control, had started losing control at the beginning of their battle, only for its fledgeling remains to shatter at the appearance of his younger self.

Ash.

For all that Red had agonised - continued to agonise - over his identity, he had refrained from keeping up with his alternate’s movements, had refrained from seeing so much as a photo of him, lest it shatter any stability he may have gained in his sense of self.

But he had been certain that Ash wouldn’t be involved in this; it was several months too early for him to be in the right place at the right time.

So why the hell is he here?

A staticky shriek pierced the air around them - sounding miles away, yet so close to them - and the ground rumbled with chimes.

In that distant, smothered part of his mind that remained human - that remained rational - Red couldn’t help but feel like a passenger in his own body. Something other rewired his brain, providing memories of using moves that no human should - ‘you bear too much power’ - providing instinct for abilities he’d only seen in one other creature.

A cocoon, encased in white veins and terrible power.

A Conduit, bearing crimson eyes, and ever so much hate .

Red shifted in the air - the winds carrying his body inches off the ground - and moved alongside his pokemon, all of them synching to combine rippling water, blazing fire, blinding lightning, and uncontrollable power into a beam of energy, condensed at his chest - white veins splintering from his heart - before bursting in an overwhelming light that struck Mewtwo’s form.

Red buckled in the air, using his bond with his pokemon to bolster their strength while absorbing their fatigue. He couldn’t describe how he did it, and he dared not think of why , but the time for questions could wait until later, could wait until after the red haze left his vision, left his sanity alone. The power - the rush - was addicting in a way that Red could barely describe, and he would be more worried about its potential effects, but he needed it, he needed the power, he needed the rage, the hate, the overwhelming urge to destroy.

they had a god to kill, after all.

another to add to the funeral pyre.

watch them burn.

Mewtwo’s skin ignited, as if driven by Red’s desire, and the monster yowled , extending both hands to erect a psychic shield.

A flick of its wrist, and the flames froze over, a noxious gas taking its place. The shield shattered in a flash of lightning - Pichu panted from the impact - allowing Mewtwo to spread the gas towards them.

Yet the cloud ignited - struck with Dragon Pulse - and exploded into shards of ice, which Mewtwo directed towards Red.

With a raised hand, and a burst of blazing power, the ice daggers melted in mid-air, being absorbed by Frogadier as he passed, driving a Water Blade, mottled red with blood, into Mewtwo’s shin.

Mewtwo huffed - his skin torn and burnt with no reprieve - and for a single moment, the azure glow of its eyes dimmed - and for a single moment, Red heard the blast of chimes before a god’s fall .

But Mewtwo’s eyes regained their glow, and it Teleported away from a strike of Thunder mere milliseconds before it struck. And Red’s heart was beating Madly Madly Madly in a rising tempo, white veins spreading beyond what his human body could handle, meeting his limits, exceeding them-

Red choked on blood.

His eyes dimmed.

The flood of Pichu’s electrical recoil finally leaked through his dam of power.

And Pichu flinched.

And through its own fatigue, Mewtwo caught that moment of weakness, and like Red himself, capitalised upon it.

In an instant, Mewtwo Teleported behind Pichu, redirected his Thunderbolt , and blasted him back with Aura Sphere.

And as Red knelt down, his body unresponsive despite his demands to move, he couldn’t help but feel his hate turn inward as his mind began to clear, bruised thoughts filtering into his mind.

Ash had been surgical in his attacks, picking apart the Conduit slowly before delivering a final blow.

Red had been arrogant, relying on overwhelming force in a way that would have gotten him killed in the Storm.

And Mewtwo, who had all the subtlety of a battering ram as the Conduit, endured Red’s rampage, attacking only when necessary, reserving his strength.

And now, he unleashed it, when Red’s own began to waver.

Frogadier and Charmeleon leaped into Mewtwo’s way, water and flame working together to protect their brother. But with Pichu’s strength failing, and Red unable to support them, Mewtwo simply repelled their advances, isolating Pichu for one final Psystrike.

No.

Mewtwo surged forward, wicked glee stretching along its face.

No!

Pichu closed his eyes, succumbing to unconscious, and Mewtwo struck.

NO!

Red’s world burned, and his eyes bled light - let there be light - as a glow enveloped his body, wrapping it in a matrix of white veins before spiking out, and disappearing with a thunder clap.

Red’s body hit the ground, and rock exploded next to him as Mewtwo’s Psystrike hit the earth. Pichu’s body remained limp in Red’s arms, having Teleported to grab the small mouse out of range of the attack.

Any strength Red felt in his veins shattered as quickly as it came, his vision turning red not from a crimson haze, but from blood smearing his vision.

Mewtwo lifted its fist from the ground, slowly turning to Red’s prone form upon the ground, every ounce of energy sapped out of his very being.

For the first time in months, Red’s eyes held no glow.

Mewtwo huffed, rising into the air with a raised hand, psychically blocking Frogadier and Charmeleon from standing between them. Mewtwo rolled its neck, releasing what sounded like a weary sigh as its skin finally began to knit itself together, flakes of charred tissue peeling off as new cells patched over old wounds, “It seems even your power has limits, Red Satoshi, and you have met your end.”

Red glared at Mewtwo, unable to do much else besides recalling Pichu to his pokeball - a paltry measure, and his self-hatred only festered . Mewtwo looked at Red for several moments, and in the light of the inferno surrounding them, they both cut pitiful figures.

Mewtwo waved a hand, and the fires were snuffed away, revealing the ruin of the palace around them, “You are powerful, Red Satoshi. Your power even rivals my own.” It was said as a statement of fact, yet Red found no pride in the words, “But you have no control over that power.”

It was also said as fact, and Red’s glare faltered, memories of only minutes past filtering to his mind of his thoughtless rage, his directionless wrath, his purposeless destruction.

When Red looked back at the one who commanded his pokemon to battle against Mewtwo, he didn’t see himself.

He saw a mindless beast.

and he was ashamed.

Mewtwo seemed to sense his shame, and once more, displayed an infuriating amount of sympathy at it, “I was told that power was like a wildfire, and would destroy everything in its path if uncontrolled. Your powers are the same.” Now Mewtwo’s eyes hardened, and a blue glow enveloped them, “Your blind faith in your abilities may work against lesser beings, but I am the Strongest Pokemon in the World.”

Mewtwo’s fist clenched, and a dozen Shadow Balls surrounded Red, all facing him, “There shall be none that surpass me.”

Red grit his teeth, forcing himself up with every remaining ounce of his strength. He wouldn’t die here, not after everything.

Only a month before, Red may have simply accepted death the same way he did upon Mount Silver.

But now, the faces of Salvare and Karen, the calm warmth of Vee, the determination of Frogadier, the passion of Charmeleon, the vengeful fury of Pichu-

-They all pushed his will forward.

They pushed his will to fight against death.

So Red stood, pushing past numb limbs and shaking bone. So Red stood, ears ringing from his writhing heart and bruised mind.

So Red stood, daring the god before him to strike him down in fear of him.

And in every moment of Red’s defiance, his eyes did not emit even the smallest glow.

Mewtwo watched Red stand, and chuckled to itself, a grim respect lining its words, “Even when you are beaten, you remain standing.” Mewtwo flicked a hand, dispelling the psychic barrier to allow Frogadier and Charmeleon to stand by Red for their final stand - this time with Red keeping his sanity - “You are the first being truly worthy of my respect, but after all of this, you must know this is futile-”

Mewtwo paused - and Red distantly noticed the cry of static creep closer - before turning around, flicking a wrist to launch the Shadow Balls not at Red, but to the sky.

Why?

Then Red saw it: a great wave of glass descending upon them, sharpened into simmering points as thousands of microscopic daggers stabbed down into the earth.

Red tore his voice out of throat, not caring if it came in the worst of rasps - not caring for the spittle of blood that left his mouth - as he commanded his remaining pokemon, “ Get behind me!”

With sharp movements that tore at his arms, Red unclipped a capsule from his belt, and threw it to the ground. Three metal claws sprung from the device and dug into the ground, as a bubble shield grew to just barely cover them all, only to shake as waves of glass struck against it.

Yet, Red felt no worry - these shields could withstand a small mountain falling onto them - and took the opportunity to spray the last of his potions on Frogadier and Charmeleon.

It would be more of a surface-level healing than anything major, but it was better than nothing.

Red looked up, as the impacts against their shield suddenly ended, the waves of glass turning in mid-air to begin targeting Mewtwo, who Red could see was faring far worse than they were from the attack.

Droplets of blood struck the ground, as Mewtwo darted across the sky, blasting groups of glass into dust, only to be struck in the back as another wave rose from below. Mewtwo conjured Psychic domes to trap the glass, only for others to stab through it. Mewtwo blasted the sky with Aura Sphere , Shadow Ball , Fire Blast , Solar Beam , everything it could to fight back against the attack, only for more glass daggers to appear.

Red watched as the glass spiral and dance around Mewtwo, a soft - barely visible - pink radiance emanating in their cores, and felt a presence he only had fragmented memories of.

Mew.

“Who?” Mewtwo snarled, pushing forth a Heatwave to melt oncoming glass, “Who dares attack a god?”

“My, you’re awfully conceited.”

Red blinked at the voice, high-pitched yet low in volume, almost as if it was a whisper. His eyes widened upon noticing a tiny pink dot high in the air, only to bulge as a human skull shot down, and began to grow , its jaw opening up to devour Mewtwo’s head as he was distracted by the glass, wrapping around it in a twisted mockery of a Cubone.

The voice trailed closer, “For being ‘greater than man’, you fall into much of the same hubris.” Mew finally appeared, floating almost lazily towards Mewtwo, who remained still in the air - shocked - as its progenitor giggled into its paws, “So I thought it’d be fitting to have you look around in there!” A sharp note entered Mew’s voice, and Red was taken aback by the cruelty lining its words, “Besides, it’s not as if you ever learned from their mistakes.”

Mewtwo seemed to regain his senses, his eyes glowing blue as the skull he wore exploded into a fine dust, “Mew.”

Mew twirled in the air, entirely uncaring about Mewtwo’s visible wrath, “Clone.”

Red’s pokeball rattled, and Pichu tumbled out and onto the ground, groaning in pain as he stumbled onto his legs. Red immediately knelt beside him - silently cursing Pichu’s stubborn inability to rest - and rubbed Pichu’s fur, pushing Heal Pulses into his skin.

Thankfully, this remained within Red’s ability, despite his eyes remaining entirely dull, powerless.

…Red was grateful for it.

His eyes shot up as Mewtwo growled, entirely forgetting Red’s presence as he stared at his counterpart’s form, “I am no mere clone. I am no mere mortal.” Mewtwo raised his head, and despite the lingering wounds from Mew and Red combined, he cut an imposing figure, “I am Mewtwo, the New God of War, and I am the Strongest Pokemon in the World!”

Red’s eyes narrowed, as without the crimson haze clouding his thoughts with beastly instinct, he could parse the tone of Mewtwo’s voice, the subtle inflection that most would miss.

That he had missed in his rage.

Mewtwo was doubtful , whether of his title as ‘ Strongest ’ or something deeper, Red couldn’t say.

But it struck a cord in Red nonetheless.

Yet, Mew obviously held no sympathy for his clone, as it scoffed derisively, “You believe yourself a god? You believe yourself to be the Strongest Pokemon in the World?” Mew shook, and Red shivered as Mew’s giggles blew over, as it laughed in Mewtwo’s face, “I think you may have misunderstood what I meant when I said the human’s mistake. I was referring to you! ”

Red stared at Mew in miscomprehension, not bearing any clue as to why the mythical was riling up its clone. It was clearly working, based on the visible tremble of the air that surrounded Mewtwo’s glowing form, “You DARE?!”

“You’re pathetic!” Mew spat, clearly daring Mewtwo into attack, and it kept on going , “Born in a glass chamber, all alone, with no-one to love you. You’re nothing more than a pitiful god born in tubes!”

Mewtwo’s patience snapped , as a blinding Shadow Ball rippled towards Mew, only to whizz by as Mew twirled around it, “Surely you can do better than that!”

“Shut up!” Mewtwo wailed, surging forward with blasts of Aura Sphere and Shadow Ball , cast in waves and chains, spiralling against one another in the sky as Mew danced between them, giggling wildly as it did so, “Shut up! You know nothing of me!”

Mew sneezed, shattering an Aura Sphere into light, and Teleported away from a trio of Shadow Balls. It’s eyes glowed a radiant pink, and its voice lowered to something truly menacing, “Cease this tantrum, clone, or I’ll end it for you.”

Pichu crawled onto Red’s shoulder as Mewtwo erupted, sending volley after volley of attack after attack in an increasingly desperate bid to hit Mew even once , “I am no mere clone! I am your better, I am your successor!”

“You’re boring. ” Mew thundered, stopping abruptly only to tank several Shadow Balls without any visible strain, “I thought a funhouse mirror of myself would at least be interesting, but you’re no fun at all!”

Where minutes before, Red lost control of his power and raged blindly, now Mewtwo did the same.

Snarling wordlessly, Mewtwo called forth Thunder , Hurricane , Fire Blast , Solar Beam , Focus Blast , every hard-hitting move it could in a mad attempt to take down Mew.

Yet - like Mewtwo himself did with Red - Mew twirled, dodged, redirected, and blocked each and every attack, only drawing blood once upon being struck by Stone Edge.

Yet Mew was unphased.

“Where’s the fun in world domination?” Mew asked, Teleporting away from another Fire Blast , “The storm is neat - I’ll give you that - but your motivation?” Mew stuck its tongue out, deftly pirouetting a Solar Beam , “It’s bland. It’s uninteresting! You could’ve done so much better!”

The storm above seemed to wail, and droplets of rain began to spread from the coast - closing in on the eye of the storm - and a staticky shriek pierced the air. Yet, Red seemed to be the only one aware of it - wary of it - as he was the lone being to turn his head skyward.

And in the storm clouds, he saw the shadow of wings.

“This is my purpose!” Mewtwo roared , as if it would give him strength, “This must be my purpose!”

And Red clenched his fist, staring at the darkening sky as Mewtwo spoke, as his words echoed the words of another, heard over the static din of a VHS recording.

‘THERE MUST BE PURPOSE!’

“It must be!” Mewtwo wailed, ignorant of the coming storm - ignorant of the coming end - “I must show the world that I belong in it! I must carve a place for myself!”

Another wail of static, and Red could see . A shadow - wreathed in flame - began to descend upon them - wrapped in the storm - and Red deactivated his bubble shield to move.

Only, it was too late, as Mewtwo rumbled - and for the first time, Red heard nothing but sorrow in its voice - “There is no escaping my destiny…”

And The Chariot answered.

“destiny… is a funny thing,” The Chariot’s voice - clear, unlike the Ruins of Alph, and so much younger than it was during the Storm - boomed across the stadium, carried in an echo that made it seem inhuman , “by the turn of the clock, We shall all come to know it, and dread it.”

A mass of shadows and wind landed before them, and atop the might of Shadow Lugia - Zeus, alive once more - stood the Chariot, visible only by his glowing red eyes, shimmering in the darkness of the storm clouds.

A flash of lightning, and Red saw his face for but a single moment.

And it was… young.

Yet the shadows crossing his face made him seem decades older.

“no matter how we may run, our fate shall meet its end,” The Chariot’s voice was mocking , in a way that only Red could understand.

After all, the Chariot repeated the decrees of the Creator that haunted him so.

How did he know this?

Red was given no time to ponder this - and it was a miracle he could even think at the moment, that his rage had already dwindled away into chilling numbness - as Zeus shrieked , shaking Red to his bones as the shadow pokemon flapped its wings, smothering them in the storm.

The Chariot’s voice, though muffled, pierced the din of ice and lightning - and for the first time in Red’s memories, the Chariot’s wrath wasn’t targeted at him - “I have come to bring Your fate to You, Mewtwo. whether in destruction-” A pulse of pure darkness shattered the artificial calm, and Mew meeped as it was sweeped away, leaving Red and Mewtwo to fend for themselves, “-or creation.”

…

(9:26 P.M.) - The_Tower has opened the chat.

(9:27 P.M.) - The_Emperor has logged in.

(9:29 P.M.) - The_Emperor: The Empress will not be able to join us tonight. She informed me that she will be unavailable for the next few weeks.

(9:29 P.M.) - The_Magician has logged in.

(9:30 P.M.) - The_Tower: Okay

(9:30 P.M.) - The_Tower: I’ll send an encrypted file to her once we’re done

(9:31 P.M.) - The_Tower: Do you all recall the Chariot’s report on Team Rocket’s use of the Mew cells?

(9:31 P.M.) - The_Magician: Yes

(9:31 P.M.) - The_Emperor: I do. Go on.

(9:32 P.M.) - The_Tower: Based on public recordings, and the data that the Empress sent, there is a high likelihood that the Mew Cells were used in some way to create the unknown pokemon at the Silver Conference

(9:33 P.M.) - The_Magician: Its a clone of Mew?

(9:34 P.M.) - The_Tower: Most likely

(9:35 P.M.) - The_Emperor: Tower, were you able to access Team Rocket’s database to get more information?

(9:35 P.M.) - The_Tower: No

(9:35 P.M.) - The_Tower: They seem to have fortified it in some way since the Silver Conference, and the storm is interfering with my efforts to get past their firewall

(9:36 P.M.) - The_Magician: Doesnt Chariot usually give information on Team Rocket?

(9:36 P.M.) - The_Tower: The Chariot hides things, so I can’t rely on the Chariot for everything

(9:37 P.M.) - The_Tower: Not to mention hes been radio silent for three weeks

(9:37 P.M.) - The_Tower: Speaking of. @The_Emperor is Chariot the cause of the storm?

(9:37 P.M.) - The_Magician: ?

(9:38 P.M.) - The_Emperor: What do you mean?

(9:38 P.M.) - The_Tower: Please dont play ignorant with me

(9:38 P.M.) - The_Tower: We both know that Chariot could do this if he wanted

(9:40 P.M.) - The_Emperor: I cannot be sure, but I am reasonably certain that he would inform me before doing something so drastic.

(9:41 P.M.) - The_Magician: You cannot be sure?

(9:41 P.M.) - The_Magician: I thought you were confident in your ability to control the Chariot

(9:42 P.M.) - The_Emperor: And I am. I am simply unsure of the extent of his capabilities.

(9:42 P.M.) - The_Magician: You expect us to trust him?

(9:43 P.M.) - The_Emperor: I expect you to trust my word.

(9:43 P.M.) - The_Tower: @The_Magician, is Team Galactic giving you any trouble?

(9:44 P.M.) - The_Magician: Not presently

(9:44 P.M.) - The_Magician: They are rapidly growing though which might put us in conflict with them

(9:45 P.M.) - The_Tower: In that case, I’m pleased to inform you that John Kiru has successfully infiltrated their ranks under my orders

(9:46 P.M.) - The_Magician: Impressive work

(9:46 P.M.) - The_Emperor: Kiru was initiated this October by the Chariot, correct?

(9:47 P.M.) - The_Tower: Yes

(9:48 P.M.) - The_Emperor: In that case, once I get in contact with him, I will send the Chariot to Sinnoh so that he may keep tabs on Kiru, and Team Galactic as a whole.

(9:48 P.M.) - The_Emperor: He may also provide some much-needed assistance with Project: A.N.E.M.I.A.

(9:49 P.M.) - The_Emperor: This should also satisfy your need to keep tabs on the Chariot himself, am I correct, Magician?

(9:49 P.M.) - The_Magician: I will accept it

(9:50 P.M.) - The_Emperor: Excellent.

(9:51 P.M.) - The_Emperor: With regards to the storm itself, our sensors in Kanto have picked up a unique energy signature erupting off of the eastern coast of Kanto.

(9:51 P.M.) - The_Emperor: Based on meteorological data, that is the most likely location of the storm’s centre.

(9:52 P.M.) - The_Emperor: The interesting part of this is that the energy signatures exactly match those from Mount Silver four months ago.

(9:53 P.M.) - The_Magician: I suppose you believe that Satoshi is the source of this energy?

(9:53 P.M.) - The_Emperor: I do.

(9:54 P.M.) - The_Emperor: And if I am correct in this assumption, Satoshi may be the perfect host for Project: Conduit.

(9:54 P.M.) - The_Tower: I would heavily recommend against that course of action

(9:55 P.M.) - The_Tower: All simulations point to the Conduit’s host requiring a level of stability that Satoshi does not have

(9:55 P.M.) - The_Tower: Im sorry, but I really think we should reevaluate whether Project: Conduit requires a living host, because I think a non-living host would be much more stable

(9:56 P.M.) - The_Emperor: A non-living host would be unable to generate the power necessary for Project: Conduit to be of use.

(9:57 P.M.) - The_Emperor: Your objections have been noted, but I will request you to file Red Satoshi as a promising host for Project: Conduit.

(9:59 P.M.) - The_Tower: Done.

(10:00 P.M.) - The_Emperor: Excellent. I have nothing more to say.

(10:00 P.M.) - The_Magician: Neither do I

(10:01 P.M.) - The_Tower: I don’t have anything more to report

(10:01 P.M.) - The_Tower: Happy new years

(10:01 P.M.) - The_Emperor has logged off.

(10:02 P.M.) - The_Magician has logged off.

(10:47 P.M.) - The_Tower has closed the chat.