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Cosmic Mewtwo
Author of 3 Stories |
Wow…. Here it is. The end. And yes, it’s much longer than I expected—I originally intended this to be a little epilogue, just a few pages, but I guess there were a lot of loose ends that needed to be tied.
Last Chapter: There was a huge battle. Chaos lost. Honestly, I don’t think it needs much more summation than that.
Chapter XX: A White Tomorrow
By: Cosmic Mewtwo
And suddenly, after what felt like an endless stretch of darkness, sleep left her again, and her eyelids cracked open to the world around her. She was still greeted by darkness and silence, but it was different than the sleepless dark and quiet of her sleep; she could feel here, too, and smell. There was air, and it felt cool against her skin, and she could smell an earthy scent so soft that she barely smelled it at all.
Nova blinked, and her eyes opened just a little bit further; she could her pupils adjusting to the dark. Suddenly, she became aware of faint shafts of silver light—moonlight, perhaps—slanting in through what she could see now was stone. Stone walls. Was she in a cave?
She blinked again, and this time, she saw movement. A dark figure suddenly loomed before her, leaning closer until it hit the moonlight, and Nova was greeted by a familiar, pale face, and the deepest, purple eyes.
“Mewtwo?” she whispered, so quietly that she wasn’t sure if she had spoken at all or had merely thought the name.
“Go to sleep, Nova,” came a familiar voice quietly. Nova had forgotten how soothing Mewtwo’s voice was, so deep and smooth and clear. For a moment, she thought about following his voice, going to sleep just as it had told her to, allowing his fluid tones to lull her back into the stream of unconsciousness that she had just left behind.
But no. Her mind was beginning to buzz to life again, whether she wanted it to or not. Detached thoughts and incomplete questions floated to the surface of her mind, forcing her to keep her eyes open.
“Mewtwo?” she said again, louder this time despite the hoarseness of her voice.
“You need to rest Nova,” said Mewtwo, caressing her cheek. “Go back to sleep.”
Nova shook her head, and attempted to sit up. Doing so made a sudden pain throb in her head and she was forced to remain lying down, disoriented further. “But I… where’s Chaos?” she asked suddenly. “What happened?”
“You defeated Chaos. It’s all right, Nova; you’re safe now. You can rest.”
“Did she… did she die? Mewtwo? What happened?”
Mewtwo hesitated, and Nova could see a look of displeasure pass over Mewtwo’s face. “No… Chaos… Chaos survived. But it’s all right. Orion is tending to her at the moment—he’s taking care of all that. I assure you that everything’s fine Nova. You have nothing to worry about.”
Nova could feel herself becoming drowsy again; as fiercely as her mind buzzed, it wasn’t enough to dispel the exhaustion that had taken hold of her. And Mewtwo’s voice was so soft, so soothing… She was almost willing to let it cradle her back to sleep…
“It’s… it’s all right now?” she said weakly, her eyelids slowly falling.
“Yes, Nova. Everything’s fine. Everything’s all right.”
“…You’re safe…? And… the baby…?”
“Yes, love. Everything’s fine now, and all because of you. You’ve fought harder than anyone I know—you don’t have to fight anymore. Just rest now—you need it. We have all tomorrow to talk, and everyday after that. It’s going to be all right.”
Nova sighed, and allowed her eyes to slide completely shut. Perhaps Mewtwo was right. She had done enough fighting and struggling for a lifetime—perhaps it was finally over now. Perhaps it was finally safe to rest her tired mind.
And so she let go, allowing her mind to fall back into sleep’s waiting arms. Darkness and silence enveloped her once more, and just as the soft tendrils of sleep were about to bind her completely, she reached blindly for Mewtwo’s hand.
“I love you, Mewtwo.”
“I love you, too, Nova.”
Mewtwo’s hand closed tightly around Nova’s, and finally, Nova rested.
Orion stared toward the cave’s mouth, and watched as the sun slowly inched further below the horizon. The sunset was almost over—what remained was little more than a flame of sun just at the landscape’s edge, and above it, the sky was beginning to bruise purple and blue. Soon, the stars would be coming out. Orion felt drowsy just watching the landscape slowly darken under the hushed sweep of nightfall. And he would have gone to sleep, too, if there weren’t Chaos to tend to.
The other Mewtwo was further back in the cave, curled up near the wall, her skin so dark that she was almost camouflaged. She slept quietly and deeply, so still that sometimes it seemed as though she wasn’t even breathing. Orion thought it odd to see her so still and at peace—after seeing the viciousness she was capable of, what kind of monster truly lurked beneath the surface, it was amazing to see her do something as simple and innocent as sleep.
Orion turned away from the cave’s mouth and moved toward Chaos. He wondered when she would wake up—she had been sleeping for hours now. He hadn’t been able to take her to the healing spring—Mewtwo would have forbidden it, Orion was sure—but he had tended to her all the same. The healing water that came from within the very core of Mount Queyna could actually be found all throughout the mountain’s caves, in pools and waterfalls and hot springs, and Orion had found such a cave with a small pool of just the water he needed. It wasn’t as potent as the spring’s water, of course, but it worked well enough.
He had spent all day gathering water from the pool in a small, stone bowl, and running it gently over Chaos’s unconscious body. He didn’t want to submerge her completely in the pool—too much water at once would revive and energize her completely, perhaps too much, and there was a very real threat that she would attack. And so Orion only doused her in it in small amounts, treating her cuts and bruises and the certain soreness of her body.
He hoped, too, that the water would cure her of any damage to her mind; psychic pokémon were known to be sensitive against particularly strong psychic attacks, like Nova’s, which could do considerable damage to the sensitive brain of a psychic pokémon. Orion was sure, however, that the water would prevent this.
Orion looked Chaos up and down, wondering if perhaps more water was needed. She seemed peaceful—perhaps sleep was all she needed now. And Orion wasn’t even sure he wanted her to wake up; he didn’t know what state of mind she would be in when she awoke. And even if she had regained her sanity, did he really want to talk to her now, after what she had done? After the things she had done to Nova? After the pain she had caused him?
And then there had been the incident during the battle—something Orion would have liked to forget—when their minds had merged by accident. When he had seen every one of Chaos’s thoughts and feelings, all the way down to her very core. He couldn’t shake what he had seen; he hadn’t seen the sheer evil in her that he had expected, but instead had seen a twisted, miserable soul tortured by loss and shame. He had been both repulsed by what he saw, and terribly heartbroken at the same time.
“Oh, Chaos,” he muttered to himself. He reached for the bowl lying at Chaos’s side, seeing that it was still half full of water, and slowly tilted it over her. The water gently trickled down Chaos’s face, down her neck and onto her chest and arms, the liquid forming tiny rivulets as it coursed down her dark skin. Orion watched as the water webbed out across her body, over her closed eyes, over the blood-red R tattooed to her shoulder. He felt almost guilty staring at her; he couldn’t shake the thought that she was beautiful.
Too bad it’s only on the outside, he thought bitterly.
He watched her for several more moments, but nothing happened. The water dried, the cave became darker as the sun’s rays were replaced by moonlight, but still, Chaos did not stir. Orion sighed and began to turn away, but then he saw something.
There was yellow. Just a flicker of yellow—slowly, Chaos’s eyes suddenly began to open, and Orion could see the brilliant gold of her irises fluttering behind her lids. It was several moments before she roused completely, her eyes roving across the chamber, her pupils swelling to see in the darkness, before finally, her gaze fell upon Orion.
“Orion?” she said, sitting up weakly. Her voice was hoarse, and uncertain. Her eyes squinted in the moonlight.
Orion looked at her blankly. “Hello,” he muttered.
Chaos pulled herself a bit from the floor and leaned against the wall. “What—what’s going on?” she asked. She looked around, bewildered, and Orion thought that confusion looked out of place on her. “Where am I?”
“You’re in Mount Queyna,” Orion said flatly. “Nova defeated you in battle hours ago—You’ve been resting since then, and I’ve been tending to you in this cave.”
Chaos fell silent, and looked away from Orion. He expected her to burst into a sudden rage, to ask where Nova was, to decry her existence and wish death upon her, but she remained unnervingly calm. Slowly, she reached toward her neck, and her hand touched the heavy metal band that had been snapped around her neck like a collar. Her eyes widened. It was an inhibitor collar.
“Where did you get this?” she snapped, turning her gaze on Orion. The familiar fire returned to her eyes, burning furiously.
Orion, however, didn’t care that she was angry; she was harmless, after all, with the collar on.
“Mew found it,” he answered simply. “She was roaming the mountain earlier, cleaning up wreckage and seeing what could be salvaged. And then she found a backpack with two of those collars in it. Your backpack, no doubt.”
Chaos didn’t answer. Her glare said all that was needed.
“I imagine those collars were intended for me and Mew?” asked Orion, though he didn’t sound particularly interested.
“Yes,” muttered Chaos, and her teeth were gritted.
“Ah. Of course. I suppose you wish that you had actually managed to get a hold of me now, don’t you?” said Orion, and he was surprised by the taunting edge in his voice. “That collar would have come in handy. But I imagine you didn’t expect me of all people to throw such a wrench into your plans, did you? Did it catch you by surprise when Orion, ‘the useless Mewtwo,’ showed up in your headquarters and ruined everything?”
Chaos pulled her face back, clearly surprised by Orion’s sudden harshness. She had never seen him like this before. “Orion, what are you—”
“You don’t remember, do you?” he hissed. “The things you said to me when I left Team Rocket? You said I was worthless. You said I was the most useless of all the Mewtwos. I certainly proved you wrong, though, didn’t I?”
Chaos was silent for a long time. She pulled herself away from Orion, looking away from him entirely. Orion could see how uncomfortable she was, powerless for the first time in her life and in the hands of someone who she had slighted quite badly in the past. It was obvious to both of them who had the losing end of this situation.
She sat still for several moments, the silence between them like a cord, stretching tighter and tighter until it was about to snap from the tension. Finally, she looked at him again, and the cord snapped in two.
“Why?” she said suddenly, and her eyebrows narrowed into an almost hurt expression; Orion couldn’t be sure—he had never seen her hurt before.
He looked at her coldly. “Why what?”
“Why did you put the collar on me?” she demanded. “Did you want to see me defenceless? Why?”
“Why do you think we put the collar on you?” Orion exclaimed, his voice sharpening with anger and disbelief. “Chaos, you tried to kill Nova! You were completely psychopathic! For all I knew, you were going to slaughter me as soon as you woke up, and I wasn’t going to take that chance!”
“Then why am I even alive?” bristled Chaos. “You had your chance to kill me when I was knocked out—so why aren’t I dead? Why didn’t you kill me?”
“If Mewtwo had had his way, you would be dead,” Orion snapped. “And I was almost ready to let you plummet to your death, too, after Nova knocked you out. But I think enough damage has been done already, Chaos. Too many people have been hurt and killed because of a conflict you started, and I wasn’t going to let one more person die, even if it was you.”
Chaos stared at him cuttingly. “Oh really, that’s the only reason?” she taunted.
Orion’s eyes narrowed into a cold, dangerous glare. “Yes, Chaos. That’s the only reason.”
“You aren’t still in love with me, are you, Orion?” said Chaos, her voice so acidic that Orion could almost feel it burn.
But Orion had stood up by this point, so angry that he didn’t think he would be able to contain his rage if he remained still for another moment. “How could I possibly be in love with you?” he shouted, so harshly that even Chaos had to flinch at his voice. “After how you treated me? After the things you said to me? After what you tried to do to Nova? Chaos, you’re insane. You’re insane, and you treated me worse than dirt—how could I love you after all you’ve done? Who could ever love you?”
The last words seemed to strike Chaos particularly hard, and she recoiled from Orion as if stricken by a physical blow. Orion hadn’t meant to say something so harsh, even if it was true, even if he meant it—it wasn’t in his nature to hurt someone just to see their pain, and immediately he felt himself grow heavy with guilt.
And then, to Orion’s amazement, he saw Chaos’s eyes shining, welling suddenly with tears that he had never seen there before.
“Orion…” she began to say, but her sentence led nowhere, and she fell silent, biting down on her trembling lip.
A slow, painful realization then began to dawn on Orion, and the guilt that had stirred within him before suddenly solidified into something worse, something heavier and more painful that made him nearly feel ill. Suddenly, the things he had seen in Chaos’s mind, the images of himself, and the stabbing pain that had gone with them, all made sense.
He looked closely at Chaos, and as he did, his eyes widened. “I don’t love you,” he said, his voice quiet and suddenly hoarse. “But you’re in love with me, aren’t you?”
Chaos snapped her gaze at him, and two streams of tears spilled from her eyes when she narrowed them. “What? What are you—”
“No, Chaos, I saw into your mind,” said Orion. “You remember. I didn’t mean to and I didn’t want to, but I… I saw everything. I didn’t even understand half of it at first—there was just too much, too fast, and—well, I see it now. It makes sense—”
“No!” cried Chaos, grabbing her head as if Orion was threatening to see into it again. “No! I don’t care what you saw! You’re wrong! You weren’t supposed to see—those were my thoughts, Orion—and you—you weren’t supposed to—you’re wrong!”
“No, Chaos, I’m not!” Orion said impatiently. “You can’t deny your own thoughts! You—”
“—No, Orion, you don’t know what you’re talking about—”
“What are you trying to hide?” Orion shouted finally. “I read your mind, Chaos, you can’t hide anything! Why are you trying to deny it? Are you ashamed about it? Humiliated? Is that it? Because if that’s the case, then good, because it’s about time you know what it feels like.”
Uncomfortable silence fell over the two Mewtwos again, and Orion looked away, allowing his anger to dissipate. Chaos self-consciously tried to wipe the wetness from her eyes, but they only glistened anew with fresh tears.
“I—I love Giovanni,” she said coldly, but her voice choked in a sob halfway through the sentence. “Not you.”
“Yeah, I know you love him, too,” Orion muttered bitterly. “Or at least you think you do. Frankly, I don’t think you really love anyone, Chaos—I don’t think you’ve ever really known anything beyond infatuation. You’re not in love, Chaos—you’re just miserable and confused.”
“You don’t think I loved him?” yelled Chaos, anger glimmering hotly behind her tears. “If I didn’t love him, Orion, then why the hell does it hurt so much?”
“Because he blinded you, Chaos,” said Orion briskly. “Just like you blinded me. But at least I finally saw through it. You, on the other hand…” Orion trailed off, and shook his head with a sigh.
“You don’t know anything, Orion,” Chaos hissed, and the tears were flowing freely now. “I knew Giovanni better than you did, so don’t you even dare tell me what our relationship was and what it wasn’t—you don’t know. You don’t know a goddamn thing.”
Orion fell silent. Perhaps Chaos had a point; whether or not she was right didn’t matter, though, because he felt that it was time to let the subject drop. More important matters needed to be discussed, anyway.
Turning away, Orion moved toward the entrance of the cave. There, he leaned against the cavern’s wall, his back to Chaos, looking out at the stars that had since risen to the sky.
“You’re going to have to leave, Chaos,” he said quietly.
Chaos’s voice answered quietly, weakly from the darkness behind him. “What?”
Orion turned his head slightly. From the corner of his eye, he could see Chaos’s form sitting further down in the cave. Her back was to the wall, her arms around her knees, and her tail was coiled protectively around herself.
“Mewtwo and Nova don’t want you here,” he explained. “They want you gone as soon as possible. And you’ve recovered now—there’s no point in you staying. You’ll have to leave.”
“I know that,” she replied quietly. Her voice sounded so hollow and so emotionless that Orion suspected she was hiding something—likely she felt hurt.
“Where are you going to go?” he asked.
“…I don’t know.”
“Why not go back to Team Rocket?”
“I can’t go back there,” she said hoarsely, and Orion could hear her swallow heavily—she was fighting back a sob. “My career as a Rocket is ruined, Orion. After this whole fiasco, they’ll never let me lead Team Rocket again. I’ve failed completely as a leader. It’s over.”
“But you’re Boss—and a Mewtwo, at that. Can’t you just force them into submission?”
“You know very well that it’s not that simple.”
Orion shrugged. “Yes, I suppose, yes… But if not Team Rocket, then what will you do?”
Orion then turned around to look at Chaos directly, and to his bafflement, Chaos crumbled beneath his stare into a sudden fit of weeping. Her face in her hands, Chaos wept openly, her entire body suddenly quaking with the force of deep, powerful sobs. The tears poured freely from her quickly reddening eyes, down her cheeks, and through her fingers.
“I don’t know!” she cried. “I don’t know! I don’t know what I’m going to do!”
“W-well, it’s nothing to cry about,” Orion stammered, surprised by this sudden breakdown.
“I have no where to go, Orion!” sobbed Chaos angrily. “I can’t stay here, I cant go back to Viridian City—I—I have nothing, Orion, I’m completely alone, and I can’t go anywhere, and I—I—”
But Chaos couldn’t go on; her throat seized violently with a fresh wave of sobbing, and her head fell into her hands again.
Orion watched the scene before him with wide, disbelieving eyes; he had never seen Chaos this distraught. “Well—well Chaos, you brought this on yourself, you know.”
“Of course I know that!” she cried, her eyes flashing angrily and causing more tears to spill down. “Oh, God, Orion, I’m sorry—I’m so sorry, I’m sorry for everything I’ve done—I never… I never meant for this to happen, but it just hurt so much, Orion, and I—I—I never should have tried to kill Nova, I know that now, but I—I only wanted—Oh Orion, I’m so sorry, I didn‘t want this to happen—”
She lapsed back into weeping again, and Orion could only watch, perplexed. What was he supposed to do, console her? Console the person who had torn his heart open and had attempted to kill one of his friends?
But then suddenly, Chaos looked up, her eyes glittering with a sudden desperation, and her sobbing seemed to weaken for a moment.
“Orion… Orion, you can forgive me, can’t you?” she asked suddenly.
“Wh-what? Chaos, I don’t think—”
“Orion, you have to forgive me!” she cried, and suddenly she was on her feet, moving towards him, grabbing his shoulders so tightly that he gasped.
“Orion, please!” she begged. “You can forgive me, I know you can, and—and—we can leave here together, just you and me—we can leave this place forever and start over. We could do that! I do love you, Orion, I love you, I don’t want to leave you—just, please, Orion, please forgive me!”
“No, Chaos,” said Orion. His voice was quiet, little more than a whisper, but it came down upon Chaos with such a force that her desperate pleading came to an abrupt stop, her lip left trembling and her eyes still streaming.
It pained Orion to see her like this, to see her so pathetic, so utterly broken and desperate and completely unlike herself, but he couldn’t agree to her wishes. He knew her regret was genuine—he didn’t have to read her mind to know that she was being sincere, for the first time in her life—but what she was asking… He couldn’t.
“I don’t love you, Chaos, not anymore,” he said quietly. “I used to. I used to love you more than anything, and if you had asked me a few months ago to come away with you and run away together, I would have said yes. In a heartbeat. But I’ve changed, Chaos, and so have you. I can’t possibly be with you ever again. I’ll forgive you, I can do that much—I know why you did what you did, I understand your pain, I really do—but that’s all. I never want to see you again.”
“O-Orion, please—”
“No, Chaos. That’s it. I forgive you, but that’s all. I can forgive you, but I can’t ever forget the pain you’ve caused all of us. Chaos, I… I just want you to leave. Please. I just want to leave all this behind me. For good. Please just give me that.”
Chaos looked at Orion for a long time. For several moments, Orion felt as if he were being penetrated by those golden eyes, as if his entire soul was suddenly laid bare before her to be sized and judged by her brilliant, yellow gaze. But then her eyes suddenly softened, the fire, the ice, all of the anger and coldness, all gone in an instant. She looked away, and with her fingers, she wiped away the last of her tears.
“Fine,” she said finally, her voice barely even trembling anymore. “Fine, Orion. If that’s how you feel.”
“It is.”
“All right then. If I have no choice in the matter… I’ll leave.”
“Very well,” he murmured. “But if you want to leave, I’ll have to take off the collar. And I can only do that if you promise to leave here immediately.”
“I will.”
“Can you promise?”
“I promise.”
“I mean it—you have to be gone. No lingering, nothing. And if you so much as try to hurt Nova again—”
“I won’t.”
“And you can’t ever come back here again.”
There was a pause; Chaos seemed to hesitate, and Orion saw some sort of pain flicker in her eyes. “I won’t, Orion. I promise.”
Orion looked at her with a wary gaze, wondering if he could trust her. But knowing that she was powerless and couldn’t protect against any sort of telepathy, he allowed his mind to graze hers, just slightly; he didn’t want to read her mind completely—he never wanted to do that again—he only wanted the truth.
And to his relief, that’s what he found. She had answered truthfully, and as far as Orion could tell, she had made her promises with complete sincerity.
“Get out of there, Orion,” Chaos growled, pulling her head away from him.
“I’m sorry. But you know I couldn’t trust you,” he muttered.
“Yes, whatever. Just get the collar off, would you?”
Orion frowned, displeased to see that Chaos’s usual coldness had returned. Silently, Orion concentrated for the briefest moment, and with a wave of his hand, the collar pulled apart and fell twisted and broken to the ground.
Chaos rubbed her neck where the collar had been, and muttered her thanks without sounding particularly thankful. She then walked past him, and stood beside him at the mouth of the cave.
“Well then, Orion… Goodbye.”
“Goodbye, Chaos,” he said quietly. “I wish you the best.”
“Thank you,” she replied, and kissed him gently on the cheek.
And that was it. Goodbye. Chaos didn’t say another word to Orion, but simply left; she leapt from the edge of the cave and swept off into the night, without a single look back, and Orion watched her as she flew away. She sped off quickly, and Orion watched as she became a glowing blue streak against the blackened sky, watched as she shrank into the distance until she became indistinguishable from every other star glittering on the horizon.
Chaos was gone, and with nothing else to see, Orion turned away from the cave’s edge. With his back to the night, Orion felt some part inside of him die, but decided that it was a part of him that he could do without.
This was apparent even from the city’s outskirts, where Chaos stood just at the edge of Viridian Forest. She had come back to the Team Rocket headquarters, not because she wanted to, but because she had to. She didn’t know where she was going or what she was going to do, but the HQ was her first stop—things had to be put in order.
Leaning against a tree, Chaos dragged her gaze away from the city in the distance and looked at the dark figure of the headquarters that loomed near her. She didn’t want to go in. She didn’t want to face the organization that she had so sorely failed, but she knew that she had to. Too much damage had been done, and she was still leader—it was her job to set things right again, or at least as right as possible.
Chaos sighed wearily, and hesitated to do anything. She could only imagine the chaos that she had caused; the organization would surely be in turmoil after what had happened at Mount Queyna, and Chaos had to act quickly. In her absence, she knew that there would be a vicious struggle among the ranks about who would become leader, and Domino had warned Chaos before that such a struggle could tear the organization apart from the inside. Team Rocket had always rested on a delicate balance of power, and Chaos knew that she had to do everything she could to maintain that balance while she still could.
But standing around and worrying about it wasn’t going to do any good. She had to go in. If she was ever going to get on with her life, this had to be taken care of first. So Chaos held her breath and closed her eyes, as if about to plunge into ice-cold water, and disappeared in the flash of a Teleport.
When she reappeared, she found herself no longer outside, but in the dark, quiet familiarity of her office, and she found herself cringing strangely at that thought—her office. Could she really consider it hers anymore? No lights were on, and no one was there, and the entire room was suffocated in a silence heavier than death. Moonlight poured in through the windows on the opposite wall, behind the desk, and she could see all of Viridian City sprawled below. For a moment, it almost felt like just another night at the office, just another evening spent alone with her work. But she knew this wasn’t the case. This wasn’t just another night—this was the last. After tonight, she never wanted to come here again.
For a moment, she wondered why the office was empty. She had expected the executives, at least, to be there, taking helm of the Team while they plotted how the organization could fix this latest disaster, or at least someone there who could have claimed some sort of temporary leadership. But there was no one. Just the shadows, and slanting moonlight, and the cold silence that settled over everything like old dust.
Chaos took a step toward the desk, eager to sit down in the waiting comfort of the leather chair, but it was then that she realized that she wasn’t alone. Not entirely. Suddenly, she felt something soft and sinuous wind around her legs, and a soft mewling broke the silence. Chaos looked down, and saw that it was Giovanni’s Persian.
“Persian!” she gasped. She had completely forgot about the pokémon—in her haste to chase after Nova and Mewtwo upon their unexpected escape to Mount Queyna, Chaos had left the poor creature behind in her office, locked up and alone. If only Giovanni were alive to see how badly I’ve failed, thought Chaos bitterly. First I damage his organization, and then I neglect his beloved pet.
Persian meowed again, still rubbing against Chaos’s legs.
“Oh, Persian, I’m sorry,” Chaos murmured, bending to stroke back the feline’s ears. “I didn’t mean to abandon you like that… You must have been so lonely… Oh, I’m sorry—I haven’t done anything right today.”
Chaos then walked around the desk and sat down at her chair, opening one of the desk drawers as she did. From the drawer, she pulled out a bag of Pokeblocks and poured some into her hand. She then offered her palm to Persian, who greedily ate up the treats; it wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing after a day without food.
With Persian tended to and seemingly content as he curled up around Chaos’s feet, Chaos turned away. There were other matters to take care of, obviously, but she wasn’t sure where to begin. For a moment, she considered contacting the executives, but thought better of it—reconsidering, she decided that Domino was the one person who she needed at the moment.
But how to find her was another matter. She had no idea where the Rocket would be at the moment or how to reach her. But then, just as Chaos began to theorize about Domino’s current whereabouts, the very subject of her thoughts burst in through the office door quite conveniently.
Domino began to move toward the desk, but halted in her tracks when she realized that there was a Mewtwo sitting at it. She began to take a step backwards, shaking her head in disbelief.
“Chaos!” she gasped, covering her mouth. “My God, Chaos! You survived!”
“You sound surprised,” said Chaos sardonically.
“Well, Chaos—there were three Mewtwos and—and a Mew—you were completely outmatched, I just thought—”
“Well, it doesn’t matter now,” Chaos snapped. “That battle’s over and I’d rather not talk about it. Although I must say I found it interesting that you and the rest of the Rockets seemed all too eager to abandon me. Very interesting indeed.”
“Well—well what did you expect me to do?” said Domino defensively. “I only did what I knew was best for the Team! We would have all been killed if we had fought any longer—you must realize that.”
Chaos shrugged. “Fine, fine, it doesn’t matter—obviously I managed to survive without your help, anyway.”
“Chaos, it’s not like I wanted to abandon the mission—it had to be done! It’s good that you’re safe now but—”
“Drop it,” said Chaos, and her tone made it final. “There are more important matters I wish to discuss with you. Which reminds me… why are you here in my office anyway? It’s a little odd that you would be bursting in here uninvited, and at such a strange hour.”
“Well, I was in one of the meeting rooms with the executives,” explained Domino, “and we were discussing the matter of all the damage that was caused today—to equipment, pokémon, personnel, and, well, you saw everything that happened—and obviously this needs to be paid for. Since the rest of this mission was funded by your personal funds, Chaos, we thought it best that the damages be paid by you, as well. And because you’ve been missing all day and no one has any access to your money, I came here to see if I could find any useful information lying around in your desk.”
“I see,” said Chaos flatly. “Well, don’t worry, I’ll give them everything they need. I don’t expect Team Rocket to pay for this fiasco.”
Domino frowned. “I certainly hope not,” she muttered, and Chaos bristled at the accusatory edge in her voice. “Do you have any idea of the sort of crisis we’ve been dealing with since we left Mount Queyna? The medical quarters are full to capacity right now with injured Rockets and pokémon, and on top of all the damage done to the Rockets and our equipment, parts of the HQ itself have been torn to pieces by Orion and Mew. An entire cell-block was destroyed—”
Chaos held up her hand for Domino to stop. “I know, I know,” she said quickly. “This whole thing… was a disaster. I know. Don’t worry. Money isn’t a concern, I’ll deal with it—”
“It’s more than money, Chaos,” said Domino grimly. “Don’t you realize that your position as boss is in jeopardy right now? The executives are furious at you. And not just the executives—the scientists, too—I’ve never seen Sebastian angrier in my life. They’re questioning your authority, Chaos, and I’m afraid of what they might do to undermine it.”
“It doesn’t matter,” muttered Chaos. “I’m quitting.”
Domino raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“I’m quitting. I don’t want to have anything to do with Team Rocket anymore. Do you think I want to show my face here again after what’s happened today? I’m leaving, and I’m not coming back.”
“You can’t do that!” shouted Domino. “Not now! You can’t just leave Team Rocket with no one in charge—you don’t understand what sort of—”
“Then I’ll have you be boss,” interrupted Chaos. “You know a lot more about Team Rocket than I do. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if you understood the organization better than the executives.”
Domino shook her head, her eyes wide with a strange fear. “No, Chaos. No. I can’t be leader, I can’t—”
“Yes, you can! Domino, you’ve been my advisor this whole time, and everything I’ve done right has been because of you. Other Rockets listen to you and respect you—and you knew Giovanni longer than I did—you can be boss. You know more about it than I do.
“But why not one of the executives?” said Domino, almost pleading. “Please, Chaos, you have to re-think this—”
“No. Not the executives,” Chaos growled. “They’re good at what they do, but they’re greedy. Too dangerous. You though, you I can trust to do what’s best for the organization.”
“But—”
“Can you think of someone else better for the job, Domino? Can you? Because if you’d like to nominate someone else for the position, then I’d be glad to hear it.”
Domino was silent. Of course she couldn’t think of anyone. She was one of the best Rockets, was she not? Sure, there were others who were just as exceptional as she was, but to trust them with the entire organization? No. Either they would manipulate it for their own self-interest—much like Chaos had—or they simply weren’t leaders. But Domino had been in Team Rocket since she was young, she knew its ins and outs, and she had been close enough to Giovanni to see precisely what being the Boss entailed. Maybe she was the best candidate.
Domino remained silent for several more moments, turning the proposition over in her mind. She knew that accepting the job would be dangerous—others would want it, too, and she was certain that she would become the target of at least one plot against her. But, like Chaos had said, she was well-respected, and knew already that she would have a loyal following. She would just have to stay alert until the dust settled.
“…Fine. Fine,” said Domino finally, releasing her breath in a defeated sigh. “I’ll… I’ll take your place. But it’s not going to be as simple as that, you know.”
“Don’t worry about it, Domino,” said Chaos with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I’ll break the news to the executives and everyone else. I’m the boss, and if I name a successor, well, then there’s nothing they can do about it.”
“Except kill me.”
“But you’re cleverer than most. You’ll do fine.”
Domino realized that she had been complimented, but didn’t respond. She felt nervous, and didn’t like it.
“When are you leaving?” she asked bluntly.
“As soon as possible. Tomorrow, maybe the day after… I don’t know. Whenever I clean this mess up.”
“And where will you go?”
“Away.”
“But—where? To live in the wild? That doesn’t seem like you, Chaos—I can hardly imagine you outside the human world. I mean, outside Team Rocket, you can’t simply run off and go live in Viridian City, happily ever after. Not in your… form. As a Mewtwo.”
Chaos smiled. “I’ll find something, Domino.”
Chaos then stood up to leave. There were Team Rocket matters to be dealt with, after all, and she wanted them dealt with as soon as possible. But before she left, she turned to Domino once more.
“Domino?” she asked. As she stood, Persian stood up to join her, and nudged her leg with his snout. “Will you promise me something?”
“It depends. What’s the promise?”
“Will you look after Persian when I’m gone? I mean, first Giovanni, then me… the poor creature will need someone familiar to take care of him.”
Domino caught Chaos’s smile, and decided, for once, to return it. “Very well, Boss. I’ll take care of it.”
Chaos nodded. “Thank you, 009.”
With that, Chaos turned and left the office, Persian close at her heels.
Orion reached up into a small tree, plucking an apple from one of its boughs, and brought it to eye level. He inspected it closely, checking its ripeness, turning it over in his hands to feel the smoothness of its red-green skin. It was a typical morning routine of his, ever since coming to Mount Queyna, to gather fruit for breakfast. Sometimes Mew joined him, sometimes she didn’t—but he never could tell where Mew was half the time. Mew had her ways, however mysterious, and Orion didn’t try too hard to understand them.
But, routine or not, Orion felt strangely uneasy that morning, plucking apples from one of the spring’s trees, and he couldn’t quite figure out why. Perhaps it was the events from the day before; the day’s battle had left him feeling quite rattled, and Chaos’s leaving had shaken him even more so. Just looking around the healing spring made him feel strange; the wreckage and the carnage of the day before had been removed, of course, but he remembered it all so well that it still felt like it was still there. What had happened the day before had changed Mount Queyna. And Orion couldn’t help but think that it had changed him, too.
Cleaning the spring had been a long, difficult job. He, Mew and Mewtwo had spent the better part of their evening cleaning up the mountain, destroying the wreckage and salvaging what was useful and storing it away into some of the deeper caves. That hadn’t been too much trouble, but what had really bothered Orion were the bodies. Not many Rockets had been killed in the assault, but there had been enough of them, a few of which Orion even recognized from his own training days in Team Rocket. Mewtwo had decided that it would be best to lay to them to rest deep beneath the mountain, in dark, quiet caves where no one ever ventured. And so that’s what they had done, but Orion had felt uneasy doing it all the same. Gathering the bodies, all of them clad in the familiar black uniform with the blazing, red R, had finally made Orion realize that he himself was no longer a Rocket. Team Rocket was long behind him now, and never again would he follow the life of a common criminal.
But what would he do now?
Orion grabbed a few more apples from the tree, frowning as he did. It didn’t feel right. It felt as if he were taking something that wasn’t his. As lovely as Mount Queyna was, he didn’t think that it would ever feel like his home, and as long as he stayed there, he was living in someone else’s territory and eating someone else’s food. He didn’t like it, and he couldn’t quite explain why he felt that way.
But just as Orion was about to dwell further on his current train of thought, something small and pink flitted by in the corner of his vision. He stepped away from the apple tree and turned around, and found himself face to face with a bright and smiling Mew.
Despite his uneasiness, Orion returned her smile warmly and freely. There was no denying how easily Mew could brighten any moment.
“Good morning, Orion!” she said, somersaulting and winding through the air for no other reason than that she could.
“Hey,” said Orion, still grinning. “I was hoping you’d show up for breakfast.”
He tossed her an apple, which she deftly caught in her small, rosy hands. “Well, it’s a lovely morning, isn’t it?” she replied. “Simply couldn’t miss it.”
Mew took a small bite out of the fruit and chewed it thoughtfully. “Where’s Chaos?”
“She left,” said Orion, and he tried to sound emotionless. “Last night.”
“So soon?”
“Well, she had recovered, and I didn’t want her staying any longer than necessary.”
Mew simply nodded and gave Orion an understanding look. “Ah. I see.”
“Mew, don’t look at me like that,” sighed Orion. “I’m through with her, okay? It’s over. I never want to see her again.”
“Fine, fine, I believe you,” said Mew, taking another bite of apple. “Although the two of you must have parted on relatively friendly terms, I assume, seeing as Chaos made no attempt to blow up the mountain, or anything like that.”
Orion shrugged. “Friendly enough.”
Mew nodded, and silently finished the rest of her apple. Orion looked away, and finally decided to take a taste of his; biting into the soft flesh, he savoured its tart flavour, even if it did feel stolen.
He chewed for a moment before speaking again. “Where are Mewtwo and Nova?”
“Resting, I imagine,” said Mew. “Or celebrating.”
Orion chuckled. “Celebrating?”
Mew smiled, almost deviously. “Well, I think you can use your imagination,” she giggled. “But they have every reason to celebrate, I think. Chaos is gone, Nova’s with child—they must be happy.”
Mewtwo had informed them yesterday, after the battle, of Nova’s news, and Orion had no doubt that Mewtwo and Nova were overjoyed with it. Orion felt happy for them, of course—his heart had swelled with nothing but joy for the happy couple when he had heard the news—but he couldn’t help but feel a little bit envious. Everything had worked out perfectly for them, as perfect as anyone could have hoped for. They had each other, a baby on the way, and the promise that Team Rocket would never interfere with them again; Orion, however, couldn’t help but feel that all he had gained from the whole ordeal were a few scars that had taken far too long to heal.
“I have no doubt they’re happy,” said Orion, and hoped he didn’t sound bitter. “They’ve fought long and hard. They deserve it.”
“And how do you feel, Orion?” asked Mew. Her voice, though still soft and warm, had suddenly become serious rather than bubbly. Orion looked at her, caught off guard, and she went on. “I mean, you’ve went through a lot in the past few days. Fighting against Team Rocket and seeing Chaos again must had taken quite a bit out of you.”
“I… I guess it did, yeah,” Orion muttered.
“What are you going to do now?”
Only the night before, Orion had asked Chaos the same question, and had been surprised when she had burst into tears. But now he understood why. He had no idea what he was going to do or where he should go. He could barely see five minutes into his future, and that realization filled him with such a heavy, hollow feeling of dread that his very lungs seemed to constrict until he couldn’t breathe. All he knew was that he couldn’t stay at Mount Queyna, not anymore. But wherecould he go?
“I—I don’t know,” he said finally, swallowing the urge to cry.
Mew could see the panic flickering behind his eyes, and she placed a hand on his shoulder. “Well, don’t worry about it, Orion You have all the time in the world to think about it.”
Orion swallowed heavily and closed his eyes, but then something inside him clicked. Maybe there wasn’t anywhere in the world for him to go. Maybe there wasn’t any destination for him to reach, any place that he could find for himself and call home.
So why not simply go everywhere?
Orion opened his eyes and looked up at Mew. His eyes were suddenly wide and bright with something shining and hopeful, a dawning realization that hadn’t been there before.
“Mew, I don’t want to stay here,” he said, his voice hushed with excitement. “I mean, I love Mewtwo and Nova dearly, I really do—but I can’t stay at Mount Queyna. I’ve seen so little of the world, Mew—I just want to get out of here, leave this perfect, idyllic little paradise and leave everything behind. Travel. See the world. See everything. You know?”
Mew smiled at him. “That sounds like a good idea.”
Orion’s mind was suddenly racing faster than he could keep up with, and suddenly, a newer, wilder idea surfaced in his mind.
“And, Mew—I want you to come with me.”
Mew, who had been doing a casual flip in the air, halted halfway and looked at Orion, head tilted to the side. “Oh?” she said simply.
“Yes!” said Orion excitedly. “You’ve travelled! You’ve seen more than anyone! We could leave here together—you could show me everything!”
Mew floated still for a few moments, her tail twitching behind her as she considered the proposition. “Well,” she said slowly. “I have been at Mount Queyna for an awfully long time, and I do grow tired of staying in one place for so long… It’s been a while since I’ve done any extensive travelling. You may just have stumbled upon a very good plan, Orion.”
Orion smiled hopefully. “Well, then? Is that a yes?”
Mew giggled. “Yes, I think it is.”
“Oh, Mew, this is fantastic!” Orion laughed, and he pulled Mew into a sudden hug. Mew laughed with him and playfully squeezed from his embrace, flitting above him and just beyond his reach.
“Well then, we’re going to have inform the others of our travel plans!” she said.
“Yes, I suppose we will.”
“Well, I’m going to find them first!” Mew teased, and she raced off into the air.
“Hey!” shouted Orion in surprise. “Wait up, you!”
And he leapt into the air after Mew, laughing with a mix of glee, relief, excitement, and sheer fondness for Mew. Finally, Orion had a journey before him, a companion to share it with, and a renewed sense of purpose.
Everything, for once, was going to be all right.
A chapter in Team Rocket history had come to a close: Chaos’s business with Team Rocket was finished.
It had only taken a day, maybe less, to put her final affairs in order. Not that there had been much to do—what could be fixed, the Rockets had already attended to, and Chaos had quickly siphoned all her funds directly to Team Rocket to make up for the rest of the damage she had caused. With that done, the Rockets and the executives had needed little other direction. They were efficient employees, after all, for the most part.
All that had remained was to relinquish her title and bestow it upon the next in line—Domino. Chaos had announced her decision to the organization earlier that day, and couldn’t be happier with the reaction she had received; there were no complaints, no protests, no conflict at all like there had been when Chaos had taken the reigns. But Domino was a highly experienced Rocket, and well-known, even if she was still young. Giovanni himself had always held her in high esteem, and the rest of the organization realized that.
It was what was best for Team Rocket—few could argue with that. And no matter what difficulties lay ahead, Chaos had complete confidence that Domino would overcome them with ease.
And so it was over. Done. Chaos had just left her office for the last time—said her goodbyes to Domino, and her thanks, and had scratched Persian behind the ears just one more time. Chaos had always considered Persian to be the last remaining part of Giovanni that still walked the Earth—it had always followed him like some sort of familiar, after all—and to say goodbye to the creature had been strangely difficult. Like saying goodbye to Giovanni all over again, somehow.
But that was done now. Chaos walked down the abandoned hallways of the headquarters, each step taking her further from the office that was no longer hers, and putting her past behind her just a little bit more. Team Rocket was behind her, and it was time for her to venture out on her own now, though what, precisely, she was going to do eluded her. But that didn’t matter—she would make it up as she went along.
What she did know, however, was that she had no intention of leaving the human world. Not entirely.
When Domino had brought it up the day before, Chaos had come to the realization that, no, she wouldn’t be able to live in the wild. The mere thought of it repulsed her—to live like a common pokémon, lost to the savagery of the wild, was not at all her idea of a liveable lifestyle. She liked humans, and more than that, she liked the luxuries that living in their world provided. It wasn’t something she was willing to leave behind.
But being a pokémon, and a Mewtwo, at that, would obviously complicate things. While Team Rocket had treated her as an equal, the rest of the human world would no doubt see her as simply an anomaly, or worse, just another pokémon to be captured and tamed. Oh, she could dominate them if she wanted to of course, and take them over simply by force, but Chaos was tired of fighting. And she had already been at the top before, and was all too aware of how precarious and fleeting power could be. It wasn’t something she thought she would ever seek again.
So she had thought about it. She didn’t want to abandon the human world, but what could she do, as a pokémon? She had thought long and hard about it, but an idea had only come to her earlier that day, when she had asked Domino, out of simple curiosity, how Mew and Orion had breached the HQ’s security. The details of the battle and the damage that had resulted had been of little interest to Chaos, but the security footage that Domino had showed had fascinated Chaos considerably—though Orion and Mew’s fight against the Tyranitar had been mostly typical, it didn’t escape Chaos’s attention that Mew had used Transform.
And that had given Chaos an idea.
Chaos grinned to herself as she padded along the darkened corridor. The idea was simple, but genius. It would require a small theft, which honestly didn’t bother Chaos very much, and what she intended to steal wasn’t something that the scientists couldn’t easily replace, anyway. It wouldn’t even be noticed.
All that she had to do was find the appropriate storage room it was in, and that much would be easy. All that had been necessary on Chaos’s part was a quick search through Team Rocket’s inventory files for the item in question, and the organization’s database had provided all the information she had needed on the item’s use, location, and quantity. There was only one available outside the labs, apparently—a prototype, most likely—but that was all Chaos needed.
Chaos moved quickly through the hallways, taking a few quick turns and descending a staircase or two, before she arrived at the room she was looking for. After quickly entering a code into a keypad beside the door, Chaos opened the door and stepped into the room.
The storeroom was dark, and Chaos flicked a nearby switch on the wall, bathing the room suddenly in fluorescent light. The room was cold and empty, long, and filled with rows of dusty shelves and metal cabinets. Every shelf in sight was crammed full of useful pokémon products; Chaos could see poke balls, nearly every type imaginable, cabinets labelled ‘Hyper Potion’ and ‘Max Potion,’ antidotes and elixirs, pokémon food and vitamin supplements, and bottles and jars of countless other medicines.
But none of that was what Chaos was looking for. She weaved in and out amongst the shelves, searching intently for what she had come to find, and finally, she found the shelf she wanted. It was one of the bigger shelves in the room, and was filled from top to bottom with an impressive collection of TM’s. TM’s were useful to Team Rocket just as they were to any regular trainer; one of Team Rocket’s goals was to build an impressive pokémon army, and what better way to do so than to teach pokémon impressive attacks they might not otherwise learn naturally?
Chaos stood back and scanned the shelves from left to right, reading the labels of the TM’s carefully. Names of various attacks jumped out at her in big, capital letters, like FLAMETHROWER, or SURF.Some of them were common TM’s that could be purchased at just about any decent Poke-Mart, while some were considerably rarer, and some didn’t even exist anywhere else at all—these were the ones designed by Team Rocket scientists, and it was one of these that held Chaos’s ticket to the human world.
And then she found it. There it was, labelled clear as day in front of her, the exact TM she wanted. A satisfied smile spread across her lips, and Chaos plucked the TM from its dusty spot on the shelf. It was a small, metallic disk, like the others, contained within a small plastic box. From the disk dangled a few wires that were meant to be plugged into a TM reading machine, which in turn would attach to a pokémon via electrodes. A simple technology, in design, but tremendously valuable.
And this one in particular will be very useful, thought Chaos with a grin. She rubbed a hand over the label, wiping away the dust, and the attack written on it stood out clearer than before:
TRANSFORM.
Still grinning, Chaos tucked the TM beneath her arm and turned to leave the room—and the entire headquarters—behind. She could do whatever she wanted now, go wherever she pleased, with that kind of ability.
And, with everything that she needed, Chaos left
Nova could feel it, too. She could feel the mountain’s calmness, and it was so powerful that it was almost unsettling. Ever since Orion and Mew had departed the mountain that very afternoon, it was if some tremendous change had swept across the mountain like a silent, invisible shockwave. Things were different now—for better or worse, Nova didn’t know—but she could feel it. It seeped into her, her bones rang with it, and the mountain was so still and silent that the air was electric with it.
It made Nova restless. She couldn’t sleep, and the sun had set long ago—it was late now. But she hadn’t been able to find sleep, even with Mewtwo slumbering protectively at her side, even with her head clear now of worry and pain, and even with the nausea that had plagued her stomach finally gone. But everything felt different now.She felt different now, and it left her restless and uneasy. She couldn’t sleep.
She had left Mewtwo quickly and silently. She had left his chamber, hoping not to wake him, and had wandered across the island in search of peace. She had found it, or something like it, on a far corner of the island that jutted out as a cliff into the mountain’s lake. She sat there, close to the very edge, staring out at the rim of the mountain’s caldera, where the inky, black smoothness of the water was divided from the inky, black smoothness of the sky. She didn’t know it, but Mewtwo had often used to come to that very spot at night, when he had needed peace, long before he had met Nova. Perhaps on some level she could feel that. The spot felt good and familiar to her, even if she had never spent any time there. And a sense of familiarity was all she wanted at the moment.
Nova sighed and pulled her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her. She looked to the sky, and felt soothed by the ocean of blackness there, and the distant stars thrown amongst it. Nova didn’t think she had ever seen the sky so clear; there wasn’t a single cloud, just stars, their shining, pinpoint masses so widespread across the heavens that it looked like the sky might simply ripple and buckle underneath the weight of them all. It was almost breathtaking enough to make her forget her restlessness and her unease.
But then a voice broke suddenly into her thoughts. “Nova?”
Nova’s reverie was halted abruptly, and she spun around in surprise. Mewtwo was behind her, moving quickly to the edge of the cliff.
“M-Mewtwo!” she stammered. “I—I didn’t realize you were awake.”
“I…I woke up and you were gone,” said Mewtwo quietly, and his expression, which had been tight and grim, softened with relief. “I—I didn’t know where you had gone. And after everything that’s happened to us, I… I had to come looking for you.”
“Oh, Mewtwo, I’m sorry,” said Nova. Her heart ached at the sight of Mewtwo, his eyes shining with genuine concern for her. “I never meant to worry you… I just couldn’t sleep, that’s all.”
Mewtwo frowned, still concerned. “Is something bothering you?”
Nova sighed, and Mewtwo came to sit down beside her.
“I… I don’t know,” she murmured. “I just feel a little off. I was a little surprised when Orion and Mew left, I guess… I didn’t really want them to leave.”
“I know. I was disappointed, too,” agreed Mewtwo. “Mew’s been with me for so long that I can hardly imagine not having her here. But… it’ll be good for them. I’m happy that they’re off having their own adventure. And they’ll come back soon enough.”
Nova smiled. “Yes… you’re right, of course. It’s just…everything’s changing so quickly.”
Mewtwo nodded, and he looked distantly toward the water. “Yes, time tends to have that effect on things… But everything’s changing for the better, right? I mean, I, for one, am happy that we can finally look forward to some peace for a little while.”
“…a little while?”
“Well, nothing lasts forever,” said Mewtwo, smiling at Nova almost mischievously.
“Fair enough,” she replied with a light chuckle. “But since change is inevitable, you know what that means, right?”
Mewtwo gave her a quizzical stare. “No, what?”
Nova leaned closer to Mewtwo and kissed him on the forehead. “We’re going to have to start thinking of names, of course. I’m not going to be pregnant forever, you know!”
Mewtwo laughed. It was a rich, comforting sound that instantly made Nova feel cheerier than she had felt all night.
“Yes, Nova,” he said, still chuckling. “You’re absolutely right.”
“Any suggestions?”
“Hmm,” said Mewtwo, and rubbed his chin in mock concentration. “Mewtwo Junior?”
“Absolutely not,” said Nova, hitting Mewtwo playfully on the shoulder. “Besides, what makes you think it will be a boy? Or that there will only be one?”
Mewtwo laughed again. “You have a point. We don’t really know what to expect, do we?”
“No,” said Nova quietly. “We really don’t.”
Nova fell silent for a few moments. Perhaps for too long, as Mewtwo turned to look at her, his expression one of mild concern.
“Are you all right, Nova?”
“I—I’m just worried,” she said quietly, rubbing her upper arm absentmindedly. “I mean—we don’t know what to expect from this pregnancy, do we? Even the scientists had no idea. What if something goes wrong, Mewtwo? What if the baby and I end up in danger somehow?”
Mewtwo looked ahead again, and seemed to consider something for a few moments. After a few minutes of silent deliberation, he turned to look at Nova again.
“Well, I have an idea,” he said. “I’ve actually been planning to make some adjustments to Mount Queyna for awhile—renovations, I guess you could say. I was planning on building a new laboratory inside the mountain; it wouldn’t be too hard—I’ve done it before—and I can go back to New Island and collect everything I left there, and use some of the materials that Team Rocket left behind here. And a lab can easily double as a medical facility, or a pokémon centre, if you will. You and the baby could be cared for there.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I don’t think it would be much of a problem. I have an extensive knowledge of pokémon physiology from the studying and genetic engineering I did on New Island.”
“Well that… that would be perfect, Mewtwo.”
Mewtwo then looked at Nova closely, and his expression was very serious. “But you have to realize that I would have to run a few tests on you,” he went on. “Nothing invasive, but just measures to check up on the health of you and the baby. I know you might be uncomfortable with that, after being subjected to the Team Rocket labs, and I can understand—”
“No, Mewtwo, that’s fine. It was different in the labs. They didn’t care about me there—they treated me like I was just a toy for them to play with. I know you would never treat me like that.”
Mewtwo smiled, and wrapped his arm around Nova reassuringly. “Well, then, I don’t think we have anything to worry about.”
Nova returned the smile, and kissed her mate on the cheek. “One question, though.”
“Yes?”
“Why do you want to build a lab, anyway? Are you planning to take over the world or something?” she teased.
“Ah, not quite,” he replied with a grin. “I’ve just felt the urge lately to do some research. There are a lot of things I’d like to learn, particularly about our own species, that I can only learn in the lab. I did a lot of genetic research back on New Island, and I think I’d like to pick up where I left off. For something to do, if nothing else. You could help me, if you’d like.”
“Yes, that would be nice, I think,” said Nova thoughtfully.
Nova then nuzzled in closer to Mewtwo, wrapping her arms around him to hold him tightly. Behind them, her tail curled around his in a light embrace.
“You know what? I think things might finally work out for us,” she murmured, laying her head on Mewtwo’s shoulder.
“I think you may be right, Nova.”
Nova sighed to herself, lost in Mewtwo’s warmth and presence, relishing the feeling of his soft skin against hers. She hadn’t realized until then that it was possible to be dizzy with happiness.
“I love you, Mewtwo.”
“I love you, too, Nova,” said Mewtwo softly, and he kissed her on the forehead.
The pair remained like that for several moments, gently embraced in a warm silence and each other’s arms. Mewtwo looked up at the sky, and the stars glimmered in his eyes.
“You know, since we’re awake, we should go for a fly,” he suggested. “The night is lovely, and it would be a shame to waste it, don’t you think?”
“That sounds like a perfect idea.”
Mewtwo nodded and stood up, offering his hand to Nova. She took his hand with her own, and he pulled her to her feet. Still clasping hands, they walked toward the edge of the cliff, looking down at the smooth, dark water below them.
And then Mewtwo leapt off, Nova following close behind, and they plummeted downwards before skimming over the water and sweeping upwards into the sky. There, they raced toward the heavens, weaving and spinning and diving past one another, like two playful Mew. They streamed upward in bright streaks of blue, twirling around one another, coming together, and laughing. It was blissful to feel the wind on their skin, the moonlight in their eyes, and to be using their powers for sheer fun rather than fighting.
The night went on, quiet and dark save for the stars spangled across the sky and the sounds of the two Mewtwos tumbling through the heavens. As the full, round moon maintained its silver gaze on the Earth below, the two creatures burned their way across the celestial sphere, a blue aura streaming in their wake. Had anyone been able to see them from the ground, they would have seen little more than two glowing shadows in the sky—but shadows or not, they were together, unmistakably united and inseparable.
And so the moon shone and the stars glimmered, but nothing blazed quite as brightly as the two Mewtwos in the sky.
The four genetic marvels that Giovanni had so painstakingly plotted and created in his lifetime were gone, drifted away from Team Rocket and away, ultimately, from each other.
Orion, with Mew, had drifted the farthest, to untold corners of the world to see what Viridian City and Mount Queyna had never been able to show him. The world. The world was big and bright and new to his eyes, and he wanted to see it all, and hear it, and feel it to his very core. He didn’t care how long his travels would last him; he had a world and a whole lifetime ahead of him, and Mew there as his guide.
Chaos had drifted to the shadows she knew best, living in Viridian City and beyond, shape-shifting her way through a world the humans called their own. Reports were often made of a peculiar black pokémon with a red R on the shoulder, but nothing could be made of the mystery, and it quickly fell to obscurity. As for the beautiful human who suddenly wandered among them, black-haired and golden-eyed, no notice was ever taken. Not even the eyes, yellow and alight with a fiery, inhuman intelligence, ever seemed to attract attention. And so Chaos remained in shadows.
And Nova remained atop a mountain with the original, her Mewtwo. They stayed in their quiet paradise together, out of reach of the humans and their world, contented with simply each other. They had everything they needed: their home, their peace, and the stirring life in Nova’s belly that could only promise to turn their lives upside-down, for the better. They knew Mew and Orion would return to them eventually, that their paths would all cross again in due time, and perhaps then they, too, could leave with them to see the world. Someday. They still had a lifetime, after all, and there would always be a tomorrow.
And tomorrow looked bright.
And that’s all, folks. I just wanted to give a huge thanks to everyone who’s taken the time to read and review this, especially those of you who have put up with me from the very beginning. It’s been a long few years, and your support has made it all worthwhile.
I don’t want to say anymore… I could go on at length about my own feelings about the story now that it’s over, but I’d rather hear yours.
Thank you again, everyone!
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