The Mysterious Letter

[emsiecat]

It was a few days later before anything of significance happened. The small group of humans had made good progress in their research. They tried not to notice when Liana constantly left with weak excuses only to return later looking dishevelled.

Liana wasn't sure why but she kept her training and learning a secret. She didn't like keeping secrets from her old friends but she wanted a quiet life, and she had a feeling if they knew that Mewtwo was training her she'd just end up with earache from questioning.

The ground came up to meet the woman as she rolled away from a blow with a fine blade from a Japanese katana. Thankfully Mewtwo had decided to use a covering of sorts that guarded the curve of the blade. Liana had a horrible vision that she'd be in several hard-to-fix pieces by now if he hadn't.

Something made Liana pause in her combat and in doing so forced her to raise her own sword in a defensive gesture above her crouched position as Mewtwo's blade fell towards her head.

Liana felt out with her combination of telepathy and druid senses, her mind ringing pleasantly in congratulations as she locked onto a particular aura.

"Dragonite's back." She stated, leaning on one hand and swiping her leg out to catch Mewtwo's unprotected ankle.

For once the clone was felled. It was rare that Liana got a good hit in but she allowed herself a small internal 'whoop' of delight as Mewtwo fell onto his back. He stayed there for a few moments regaining his breath.

~You only just noticed his presence now? How disappointing.~ he teased, slightly irritated that he'd been caught off guard by the human girl.

Liana snorted and laid back herself revelling in the warmth of the floor for a few moments as the sun filtered through the windows. "Well excuse me for not being all powerful."

Mewtwo looked thoughtful. ~Dragonite wishes to speak with me.~

Liana felt out towards the aura once more from her relaxed position with her eyes closed. "He's not been back long, but you'd best not keep him waiting," she smirked cheekily at the clone, "let's just say I won this round."

~Do not delude yourself. I was simply distracted and caught off guard.~

Mewtwo rose from the floor, emphasising his previous statement with a sharp tap to Liana's head using the hilt of his katana. He then placed both their swords back on the rack before leaving the room.

Liana rubbed at the spot where the hilt had connected smiling ruefully at Mewtwo's retreating back before she too rose and followed him out to where Dragonite was waiting. The friendly creature was surrounded by a small welcoming committee of curious bystanders.

"How was the mainland?" Mew politely enquired as she perched on the dragons shoulder.

"As to be expected. The monsters are beginning to move more freely though. I heard of several attacks whilst I was there. In one case apparently a few people were hiding out in Vermillion, the place was ransacked by those Scorpyres and they were killed. One of their Pokémon made it back alive, he was in bad shape though. "

"We have to stop these things somehow." Jessie piped up as Meowth translated for the benefit of the humans.

"Have any of the villages or outposts been attacked?" Lucinda sounded frantic.

"One or two of them have, yes. Don't worry for your family though, they were both in Johto."

"Johto? The monsters have got that far?"

"It looks that way I'm afraid."

Mewtwo and Liana reached the group; Mewtwo gave Dragonite a grateful one armed hug of welcome. He had sent him to the mainland shortly after they had returned to New Island. He'd wanted a thorough update on the status of the monsters and the humans. He had been privately concerned when Dragonite had taken longer than expected to return.

~Welcome back my friend.~

"Mewtwo, I have a letter for you."

To Mewtwo's utter surprise Dragonite reached into the small satchel that he carried everywhere with him and pulled out a piece of neatly folded, thick parchment.

Liana glanced at the letter quizzically. Who would be writing to Mewtwo? Did they even know who they were writing to? It had to be human; she'd never known a Pokémon to write (except Mewtwo himself and possibly Meowth who was so enamoured by human culture).

Mewtwo looked at the letter frowning. It was written in a neat, precise script and was obviously from a human. When he concentrated on the paper to use Retrocognition he could make out a vision of a man writing the letter. A formidable and shrewd looking man dressed in dark clothes with a brown travelling cloak, he had spiky red hair and electric brown eyes, his features were sharp and reminded Mewtwo of a bird of prey.

Mewtwo's eyes refocused on the letter as he read it:

To Whom It May Concern,

I have been observing your Pokémon for some time now. He often travels over these parts. I am delighted to say that your Dragonite seems to be powerful; I had the pleasure of battling him with my Gyarados the other day. He is a decent, smart creature and you must be proud to call him your own.

I would like to continue my appraisal of your Dragonite; however I have matters of business to discuss with you.

It has come to light recently, and you may already be aware, that new and troubling events are unfolding across Kanto. Incase you are not aware there are monsters, vicious beasts that are neither animal nor Pokémon who are attacking people, animals and Pokémon alike.

It has been hard enough these past four years for us humans, but now this may just push our species over the edge.

I am thus writing to invite you and your finely trained team to join a select group of trainers in an uprising against these new monsters. We hope to rid the world of them if we can, and show people that they can still fight even in times as bad as these.

If you are interested please meet me and my fellow trainers to the west of Viridian City in the old Pokémon League Headquarters as soon as possible. We will be based there for several weeks until we have enough trainers on our side.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Yours faithfully,

Lance. (Elite Four Member, Leader of the Pokémon G-Men.)

[emsiecat]

Mewtwo's first reaction was anger. This human had battled Dragonite when he'd had no right to. Lance had a prideful nature it seemed, as he had added a list of his mundane (in Mewtwo's opinion) qualifications after his name. His letter also stated an attitude of ownership over Pokémon, this annoyed Mewtwo greatly.

His second reaction was muted surprise. To be brutally honest with himself, this letter was not unlike the invite he had sent out to 'promising trainers' four years ago. Which led him to question; was this a trap?

He passed the parchment wordlessly to Liana who scanned it quickly muttering under her breath, before she looked up at Mewtwo.

"It is really from Lance?"

Lucinda and Jessie instantaneously leaned in further to read the letter. "Lance? The Lance as in Lance the dragon master?"

Lucinda quickly swiped the letter from her friend and looked it over as if assessing it for forgery. "It's gotta be from him, it's his handwriting!"

Mewtwo looked at the two females in surprise as he heard Rhys sneer behind him.

"Lucinda would know, she's got an autograph from the spiky haired idiot."

Lucinda heard the comment; she blustered and went red in the face from embarrassment. Jessie looked at her enviously.

~Lance is somewhat of a celebrity, being in the Elite Four and all.~ Liana explained to Mewtwo telepathically. ~A lot of girls like him. Power is attractive I suppose.~

Rhys picked up on their private conversation and jokingly added. ~Careful, Mewtwo. You'll have fan girls flocking to New Island soon. Being the world's most powerful Pokémon and current world overlord must have its perks somewhere.~

Liana rolled his eyes at his comment before retorting. ~Just tune in any time Rhys. The term 'private conversation' obviously means nothing to you.~

"So do you think this is the real deal, or a fake to trap us?" James was reading through the letter now.

~What does Lance look like?~

"Quite tall, spiky red hair usually wears a cloak and has lovely brown eyes." Jessie rattled off dreamily.

~Sounds like the human I saw when I touched the parchment. Is he the type to deceive?~

"How could anyone tell for sure?" Liana answered with a question. "Publicly speaking he seems to be honourable enough."

"This is weird." James stated bluntly, for once not overtly worried about speaking to Mewtwo. "He's written to you asking for your assistance not realising that you're the one who's been causing us grief thus far."

Mewtwo snorted and looked over the letter with a sneer. James had a point. The idiot hadn't even figured out who he was asking for help. Had he been in less human company Mewtwo would not have hesitated to fly to this Pokémon League and destroy every pathetic little trainer there for the enslavement of their fellow creatures. As it was he could hardly leave now to do such without raising suspicion and consequential anger from his (mostly) unwanted companions.

"Mewtwo, if this isn't a trap, do you think they'd be willing to help us?" Liana implored hopefully.

~I believe they would be willing to help humans; however they would not help Pokémon. Especially one such as myself.~

"It would be useful to our cause if they'd join us, we could really use the help…" Liana left the rest unsaid. It was obvious that she wanted to see if Lance and his comrades would aid them in the fight against Thanatos.

Mewtwo narrowed his eyes at the female. Did she doubt his abilities? Was she so confident in her own race that she'd rather have their help than his? Not that he was offering his assistance anyway. He argued fiercely with himself. This rag-tag band that had descended upon his fortress merely had the same problem as he did: monsters and a power hungry human bent on destroying anything to get what they want. It was ironic coincidence that they were striving for the same goal, however once that goal was reached nothing will change.

I will banish these idiots from my home or simply kill them, Liana will go back to her pitiful existence of servitude and Mew will return to the Gods Realm leaving me in peace, finally. Strangely the idea didn't seem quite as appealing as when this comedy of errors had begun.

Whilst he had been lost in his own thoughts, the curious group had dispersed leaving him, Liana, Mew and Dragonite milling around in the entrance hall.

Mewtwo's thoughts were open enough for Liana to pick up on the last comments of his mental monologue. She winced at the solidarity in his minds voice and bit her lip at the thought of his plans for them. He hadn't changed at all deep down. He was still an arse.

"N-never mind about them helping us, it's probably a bad idea. They're trainers after all right? Can't be trusted. I'm sure we can defeat these things on our own." There was a slight strain in Liana's voice as if she was trying to forcefully pump cheer and indifference into it.

Mewtwo glanced at her quickly to see the girl stomp off, her face flushed from trying to keep her emotions in check. He realised that she had heard him.

She shouldn't listen indiscriminately to others thoughts if she doesn't want to hear the truth. It's about time she knew her place anyway, she's far too bold.

If that was the case then why did Mewtwo feel a damnable sense of guilt tugging at his conscience as he watched her approach the clones. Why did he feel like the biggest bastard who had ever walked the face of the Earth?