The Return

[emsiecat]

Mewtwo had felt the waves of psychic energy, the small hole that appeared in the physical air, as was the norm for teleportation. His first thought was who would be teleporting to New Island. His second thought was how; he had put up barriers against such occurrences on his island from anyone but himself and his Pokémon.

He stood from his desk and began to walk through the corridors towards the entrance hall. He was met along the way by Pikachu.

"I smell humans outside, humans and Pokémon. I think we should take a look."

Mewtwo nodded in agreement, waving off enquiries from the others as he passed through the entrance hall and out the main doors. If there were humans here they would pay dearly.

He picked up the scent Pikachu had mentioned and walked around a rocky area of the island towards the small beach. There lying on the sand apparently unconscious were three humans and three Rapidash.

He should kill them. He concentrated some psychic energy around his paw to do just that when the wind picked up and he finally recognised one of the humans scents. It was obscured by the coppery tang of blood, but there was no mistaking it now. The human female that was covered in a mess of her own blood was in fact Liana.

Mewtwo stood stunned for a few moments as one of the Rapidash finally came round; a female with an uncharacteristically blue hue to her mane and tail flames. She got shakily to her feet and walked over to nudge the unconscious, bloodied girl, whinnying gently. When Mewtwo shifted the Rapidash noticed him and moved to stand protectively between him and her mistress.

~I'm not going to harm her.~

The Rapidash looked unconvinced.

Mewtwo turned to the other humans beside Liana. He should kill them. They weren't needed and they certainly weren't welcome. However as he raised his paw once again his eyes returned to Liana. They were companions of hers he supposed. An image of how she'd react if he killed them swam to the forefront of his mind. She would be upset, very upset, and for some reason that just didn't sit well with him.

He sighed heavily and approached the unconscious group. The female Rapidash flicked an ear and raised a hoof in warning; Mewtwo placed a paw gently on her neck.

~I won't harm them.~

Artemis fidgeted and then relaxed under his gaze, standing aside so he could examine Liana. He muttered to himself as he looked her over before calling telepathically to a few of the clones inside. When they arrived he explained the situation.

~Liana has returned but she appears to be injured. These humans arrived with her. As such we will be keeping them alive. Watch over them and the Rapidash.~

He grimaced at the state Liana looked to be in. Though it appeared worse than it was. He grumbled about his poor luck before bending and scooping the girl up into his arms. The injuries would have to be taken care of. He walked back to the castle leaving a small group of bewildered clones to begrudgingly watch over two of the race they disliked.

***

She wasn’t really sure if she was awake or sleeping anymore.

She was drifting between that hazy state of consciousness and unconsciousness, where her eyes were only open to mere slits, making everything around her appear hazy and bright. Sticky fluid clung to her eyelids, cementing them together and forcing them closed.

Liana felt someone touch her shoulder, trying to wake her properly, she managed to make a half-grunt, half-questioning noise in the back of her throat. To be honest, she was proud to accomplish it.

“Whuzzit?”

As her eyes opened a little more her vision was largely filled with a cream, fuzzy something. A speck of gold glinted and the face that was pressed so close to hers that the owner must never have heard the term 'personal space' swam into focus. It appeared Meowth was sat on her chest gazing at her with a worried expression.

"You okay?"

"Been better." She replied, her voice thickened by sleep and hoarse from a throat that was parched.

She certainly had been better. Her head was thumping like someone was playing a bass drum inside her skull. She could feel that the flesh around her eye was tender, there was a small gash above her eyebrow, her lower lip was split, and she had any other number of grumbling aches and complaints as various parts of her anatomy decided to register pain now that she was awake. The worst pain, however, came from her nose. It was throbbing and hurt so badly she could barely breathe, every time she tried a sharp pain would radiate through it.

"I'll go get your doctor." Meowth grinned in an overly amused way before scrambling off Liana's chest and skittering out the door.

Did he just say he was going to get my doctor? An image of the old man who had been her doctor back at the village flashed through her mind. Liana shrugged it off and began to take in her surroundings.

She was back on New Island. Weird, last thing she remembered was hurtling towards her doom from the height of several hundred meters.

She was in a room. Her tired brain started to process it. The size was palatial, French doors that lead onto a balcony let a large amount of light in. There was comfortable looking chairs, book shelves and a viewing screen. The bed she was in was massive, a four poster, and extremely comfortable! She snuggled deeper into the folds of the duvet with child like enthusiasm.

Wait. She was in a large room with a comfortable bed, viewing screen and a balcony? She was in Mewtwo's room?
She went to get up, her semi-functioning brain telling her that Mewtwo would skin her alive for being here. However her injuries made her head spin so she came to the conclusion she was stuck here and that getting up probably wasn't the best idea. She put it up there with jumping off a cliff and going out in her uncle's row-boat. How did she get herself into these situations?

She turned her head a little as she heard the door open once more. It wasn't Meowth and it certainly wasn't her old doctor. Mewtwo strolled in; he was holding a glass of water. He placed it on the table beside the bed and then glanced at her as if she was a particularly annoying form of bug that just wouldn't squish right.

Liana's brain went into overdrive: What was with the water? Was it poison? Where were Lucinda and Rhys? Had they made it back alive from the cliff free-fall too? Had the Rapidash? Had Mewtwo found them? Had Mewtwo killed them? Were their poor heads hung on a wall somewhere in New Island like hunting trophies? That means she had to avenge their deaths!
The girl made a feeble and amusing attempt to lunge foreward and hit Mewtwo, only succeeding in sort of sitting up and then flopping forwards with an arm outstretched, her hand fisted.

~Girl I would overlook your hysteria had you been hurt as badly as I had been.~ He reached out and felt her forehead in an action reminiscent to how she had done a couple of months ago.

He frowned at the temperature. She was burning up. No wonder she seemed so deluded.

"Where are my friends?" she questioned.

~They are safe. I have not, as you so idiotically thought, hung their heads on my wall.~

Liana smiled and relaxed a little. "Oh that's good then."

She looked down at herself and grimaced. Her shirt was a gory mess courtesy of her nose she assumed. It had been bloodied into laundry oblivion. Why Mewtwo was allowing her in his bed when she was in this state was anyone's guess.

Mewtwo picked up the glass and offered it to her. ~Here drink. I didn't poison it. If I had wanted you dead there are certainly more productive ways to go about it.~

Liana gulped down the cool liquid, merely glad for something to soothe her throat. She tasted herbs which resulted in a pleasant tingling in her stomach which radiated outwards. She felt some of the edge taken off her aches.

Mewtwo looked at her evenly. ~You need those injuries healed. I can do that for you.~

Liana looked startled. He was offering to heal her wounds? She hadn't realized that he knew how to heal. "Okay."

Mewtwo helped her into a straighter sitting position and placed his paws on her shoulders. His paws started to glow a soft blue, she could feel the healing running through her like a cool tide, adding to the relief that the herbs had bought her.

"Thanks for this." She turned a little and grinned up at him, and then winced as her split lip opened.

Mewtwo tsked and touched one finger to Liana's lip, it felt like ice, the pain vanished and she felt the wound close. He gave the same ministration to the swollen flesh around her eye. She could see out from it again.

Liana was surprised. He was adept at this. She'd watched him as he'd healed her lip. He'd been careful and concentrating. She was damned sure he'd done this before, though she was unsure who he had healed, possibly one of his clones.

Next he dealt with her hands; they had scraped along the cliff wall. The knuckles were broken and bleeding as were the palms. Where he touched the cuts cooled and scabbed as if he'd sped up time.

Mewtwo placed his paws either side of her head next, on her temples. ~This will probably sting a bit.~ he warned her.

'Sting' didn't even begin to describe the healing of her broken nose. The flesh around her nose moved; the cartilage grated horribly causing shooting pains. Her sinuses ached sharply and then throbbed as if she had an infection. Abruptly as it had begun the pain stopped. Liana took a steadying breath.

~You didn't fight the healing.~ he sounded slightly appraising.

Liana merely chuckled and leant back against the pillow again. She may be healed but she was still tired.

~You may stay here until you've healed mentally as well. I will tell your friends how you are.~

Liana smiled and nodded though her eyes were already closing. As Mewtwo left she felt a slight depression in the bed. Meowth was back. He crawled up to her side and curled up, purring.

[emsiecat]

A fleeting thought entered her mind before she could succumb to unconsciousness. My shirt is still a mess and I bet my face isn't in a much better state. I should clean up before I sleep.

Sighing, Liana shifted Meowth a little and sat up. She crawled out of the bed and found her bag over in one corner of the room. The Fearow was guarding it and gave her a condescending look as she approached.

"You should be resting."

"I know but I need to change."

The Fearow simply shrugged and went back to preening a wing.

Liana picked up her bag and entered a small washroom next to the bedroom. Glancing in the mirror she laughed at what she saw. She did look a fright!

"Well at least I'd look good for Halloween."

Liana ran some warm water into the basin and scrubbed at her face and hair until the blood stains had gone. She changed out of her shirt and swapped it for an old, much too large t-shirt that had once belonged to her aunt. She went back to the room yawning, moved the snoring Meowth aside, and curled back up into the bed. The mattress was warm and eased the aching she felt in her muscles. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

***

Mewtwo was sitting with Liana's companions. As much as he disliked their company he was curious as to how and why they were here. The male was tolerable enough he supposed. He was tall, almost as tall as himself, and had a witty way of looking at things; Mewtwo could even feel some comforting likeness in the psychic powers he possessed. It was the girl that was annoying Mewtwo however. She had an attitude but she was currently nervous for her life, and that nervousness seemed to be making her talk non-stop. He was used to Liana's quiet nature, not this wench with the motor-mouth!

He saw the male kick the girl in the shin as she started a new train of one sided conversation and smirked. At least he knew to keep quiet.

"How's Liana?" The male finally asked in a quiet voice. It was obvious he'd wanted to ask this for a while, but Lucinda's nervous chatter had left no room for interruption.

~She will be fine. I have healed most of the wounds. She's simply exhausted herself.~

Rhys nodded, satisfied at the answer, and went back to mindlessly picking at the threads in his jeans. Lucinda clenched her jaw as if she wanted to question Mewtwo some more but she forced herself not to. Instead she idly reached beside her and petted Wigglytuff on the head. As with Liana, the clone had warmed to her companion quite well. Though the other clones, Mewtwo noted, seemed to be shooting the newcomers sufficient death glares at random intervals.

Mewtwo sighed and finally asked them what they were doing here. The answer intrigued him. The trio plus Rapidash had been chased by one of the creatures from the Gods Realm straight off a cliff. When they had come to, they were on New Island surrounded by clones. The thing that disturbed Mewtwo was that there was another creature lurking around. How many more had been bought through to this realm?

~Who has been doing this, do you know?~

The two humans glanced at one another in nervous contemplation. As if they weren't sure whether or not to say something. Finally the male spoke haltingly.

"It was Liana's uncle. He's a Seer, but we didn't know how powerful he was. He's been acting odd for ages, but we thought he was just mourning for his wife, y'know?"

Lucinda piped up when she saw the angered expression on Mewtwo's face. He could smell the fear rolling off her in waves, but she spoke up anyway.

"Don't you dare tar Liana with the same brush; she's not like him at all!"

Mewtwo smirked at her attempt, ~I don't believe I said anything to indicate that I thought that.~

Lucinda blinked and fell silent. Rhys looked somewhat amused at his companion's sudden quietness and turned to stare out of the window.

Mewtwo shifted a little uncomfortably. He wasn't used to such company. The sudden oppressive silence that followed his enquiries was almost as bad as the female's constant talking earlier. Standing he went to check on Liana, it had been a while since he'd healed her after all.

[emsiecat]

Liana had woken up at some point and was sat in bed talking animatedly to the ever loyal Meowth who was perched on her knees. At least she'd had the sense to clean herself up.

~Better?~

"Lots thanks, my temperature seems to be back to normal and I don't feel like I'm being trampled by a herd of Milktank anymore."

~You were not in nearly as much pain as that, girl. Don't exaggerate.~

Liana chuckled, "It's just an expression. I was wondering though. How on Earth did I get back here?"

~I would have thought it would be obvious to even the dullest witted individual. Apparently I gave you too much credit.~ He smirked as the woman folded her arms and frowned, pouting. ~Obviously you teleported yourself and your friends here.~

Liana's eyes widened considerably. "No. it couldn't have been me."

~Why not?~

She looked at her fingernails, embarrassed. "I can't teleport. Never could. You see although I'm both a Druid and a Psychic, my psychic powers for want of a better word suck. It must have been Rhys. He's psychic too."

~No. Each person and Pokémon with psychic powers has a different wavelength or pattern to their psychic aura. Almost like a fingerprint if you will, that identifies their power as their own. The teleportation was most definitely from you.~

"But that's impossible! I've tried and tried to teleport since I was a child. I could never even teleport myself! Now you're saying that I teleported myself plus five others? I don't think so."

~It's not impossible. I believe your need to get your friends and yourself out of danger was so strong that the power was simply dragged out of you. It would explain why you felt so exhausted upon waking.~

Liana blinked and then grinned. "Wow I actually teleported! Cool!"

Mewtwo rolled his eyes at the statement.

~If you're feeling better perhaps you could leave my room? I don't wish to have it smelling like human.~

Liana frowned and looked as if she was holding back the urge to sniff at the t-shirt she was wearing, to see if it smelt bad.
It was… difficult, but Mewtwo managed to simply fold his arms and glare at her. Sometimes the girl was just entirely too entertaining.

~Are you going to leave, or will I have to make you leave?~

"Alright, alright keep your fur on." Liana reluctantly got up and started to gather her belongings.

~Your companions. Are they staying?~ He questioned as she picked up her bag.

Liana bit her lip. "Well they can't really go back. My uncle's probably after them."

As much as it pained her to admit it, she knew in her heart that Thanatos was the one responsible for all of this. She'd just have to come to terms with it.

~Very well. I will allow this and not harm them.~ He sounded slightly peeved at the prospect.

"Thank you."

In spite of himself Mewtwo found that he was curious about her friends. He wondered briefly what they were like.

~They are loyal, yes?~

Liana looked surprised at the question.

"They're the best." She stated emphatically. "Lucinda's a real chatterbox. Never shuts up really (the pained look on Mewtwo's face showed that he had already established this). She has a real attitude too, but she'd do anything for a friend. Rhys is well Rhys! He's overdramatic and an incorrigible flirt, but we love him anyway and he's very loyal."

Mewtwo tilted his head at the fondness in her voice. ~Rhys. He is your mate?~

"Whazzat!?"

Liana looked shocked and then laughed at Mewtwo's mistaken assumption.

"No, no, no. If you want to know who Rhys's mate is look to Lucinda. She's had a crush on him since we were kids. She's never done anything about it though of course." She shook her head at her friend's lack of action.

Mewtwo quirked his brow in a confused gesture before he spoke again. ~You said you loved him did you not?~

"Yeah, but like a brother or something." Liana was laughing. "This is a really weird conversation."

~That is because humans are really weird creatures. You don't explain what you mean.~

The pair were now walking down the spiral staircase into the hall. Liana lowered her voice like a conspirator and murmured to Mewtwo.

"Don't mention the whole 'mate' thing to them. They're not together yet. Besides Stefan and I have a bet on about when they'll get together, I don't want to lose fifty bucks!"

This statement only served to confuse Mewtwo further. He frowned at the odd woman walking beside him but decided to take her advice and not mention their conversation to the other two humans.

Liana mulled over Mewtwo's line of questioning later that evening. She was currently trying to keep her friends from getting the same treatment she'd received when she'd arrived there. Even Pikachu seemed annoyed that they were around!

Wonder what all the mate questioning was about, he seemed curious. She shooed away a few of Nidoqueens babies who were trying to nibble at Lucinda's toes. An answer came to her as she did so. Maybe he's lonely?

Liana repeated her theory to Pikachu once they got some peace and quiet.

"Seems possible, I mean we're all clones here but we know there are others of our species out there clone or not. Mewtwo he's one of a kind isn't he. He doesn't even look like the Pokémon he was cloned from for some reason. Guess it must really make you feel isolated."

Liana felt a small surge of pity for the creature before she reminded herself that one Mewtwo was plenty and that he was responsible for a lot of human suffering.

Her mind went off on a different tangent.

"What you said about not looking like the Pokémon he was cloned from. Why is that I wonder?"

"We don't know. I don't think even Mewtwo knows. I'd assume he's not a pure clone but a hybrid. However it beats me what they could have spliced with Mew DNA."

Liana's curiosity had been piqued. She liked research and this could prove to be interesting.

"Do you have any files on Mewtwo's creation here?"

Pikachu gave her a suspicious look as he chewed thoughtfully on an apple. "Maybe, but don't go prying Liana. Mewtwo tolerates you but if you piss him off by dredging up his past things could get nasty. Human or not I don't wish to see you ending up like the other humans here did."

Liana smiled at the thunder mouse's concern. It was somewhat heartwarming.

"I'll try not to Pikachu. I was just curious."

Pikachu looked relieved and offered her half of his apple. Liana took it and grinned as Pikachu chased the Vaporeon clone around the hall after it snuck up behind him and pounced. She looked over at Lucinda and Rhys who were petting Meowth and Wigglytuff whilst trying without much success to coax some of the other clones over. All the while Liana's mind kept returning to the interesting puzzle Pikachu's innocent words had presented to her.