Starr, who jumped up and dashed toward Faris and James when she heard the announcement, freezes. She feels like she’s been slapped in the head. She couldn’t see Michael, but she knew what his expression would be.
    She didn’t want to see him.
    After telling him that she knew he could grow past the duels, that she believed in him, he’d let her down.
    She runs from the arena, past everyone, and actually nails Kevin in the stomach with her elbow when he gets in her way. Thomas tries to stop her more gently. He places his hands on her shoulders.
    “Starr, calm down. It’s traditional for the Victor of the Duels and Rose Bride to be engaged.”
    “NOT LITERALLY!” Starr retorts.
    “How would you know?” Kevin says sharply.
    “Because I’m the Rose Bride, you stupid, stupid nutsack,” Starr snaps, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
    Everyone is silent.
    Then....
    Starr explodes.
    “I WAS KIDDING! WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH YOU? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? DON’T YOU CARE!?” She pulls away from Thomas. “You people broke everything,” she chokes, starting to cry.
    “Break the world’s shell,” Thomas replies simply.
    “For the sake of revolutionizing the world,” Julie finishes.
    Starr shakes her head. “Yeah, Thomas, fine,” she says flatly. “Sure, fine, whatever.” She starts to leave but runs head-on into a scowling Kevin.
    “Where do you think—”
    CRAAAAAAAAACK.
    Time seems to stop.
    Kevin’s purple eyes go wide as he touches the very sore spot on his cheek where Starr has slapped him as hard as she can.
    Thomas blinks in surprise.
    Julie regards Starr with interest.
    Starr merely turns on her heel and walks to the elevator, pressing the button. She steps inside, gives the ‘Seitokai’ her best Evil Eye, and the doors close soundlessly.

    Later, at Martina’s house, Starr sits in the living room petting Raichu while Ash describes what happened after she left.
    “Well, Thomas and all those guys kept going on about the Revolution and the Rose Bride and some other stuff—that Mike guy you like was there too, he said something about ‘shining things’, I think—but I wasn’t really paying attention.”
    Misty looks sheepish. “We were too busy watching James yell at his mom and dad.”
    Starr pictures the scene and smiles a little bit. According to Ash, who’s really gotten into the story, James REALLY chewed his parents out. The way he’s describing the scene would be been hilarious but for the reason it happened: James in his white-and-blue dress with the little gold tiara sitting on his head, in flame mode and roaring at his mom and dad.
    Starr can’t help it. A little giggle pops out of her.
    Misty looks relieved, looking up from the sleeping Togepi in her lap. “You better now, Starr? I was worried. I’ve never SEEN you get that mad.”
    “Remind me not to get on your bad side.” Brock says jokingly. “I bet Kevin’s cheek still has a handprint.”
    “Hardy har,” Starr says dryly.
    “You’re okay, though, right?” Ash inquires.
    “Kind of.” Starr looks down. Pikachu jumps into her lap and hugs her as she goes on, “I still wish that hadn’t happened. Those duels were a mistake. That guy Orion…his kind, everything they touch shatters. He’s careless about people and their feelings.”
    Suddenly she looks up and hands Pikachu back to Ash. “Hang on. Did you say that Mike said ‘shining thing’?”
    “Yeah. It was weird.”
    “Son of a mother…” Starr remarks.
    “What?” Brock blinks.
    “Pika pi?”
    “Guys, tell Martina I’ve gone back to see Mike, okay?” Starr says, rising.
    “No problem,” Brock smiles.
    Suddenly Misty speaks up, “Where’s Faris, anyway?”
    “Pi pikachu,” Pikachu shrugs.
    “I dunno,” Ash says. “I haven’t seen her since she took off with Batts.”
    “Maybe I’ll see her.” Starr shrugs. Then she smiles. “Don’t worry about Faris, she knows what she’d doing. I’ll see you guys later.”
    Starr walks out the door into the night air and takes in a long, deep breath. It’s steady, not shuddering. Starr’s not going to waver for a second in what she’s about to do.
    She goes into the garage and walks out with one of the mountain bikes. It’ll be about a half-hour ride to Ends of the World, but Starr doesn’t mind.
 

    Misty looks out the window to see a cherry-haired figure pedal down the tree-lined driveway and into the night.
    “Toge~?” Togepi blinks and wakes up.
    “Shh,” Misty soothes the baby Pokémon. “Go back to sleep. Starry will be back soon.”
    “Starry?” Ash goes into a giggling fit. Misty sticks out her tongue and turns her attention back to Togepi, rocking him gently until he goes back to sleep.

    “Innocence...”
    Despite the fact that summer constellations decorate the night sky, the land breeze chills beyond the bone, to the very core of the body.
    “...can sometimes blind you...”
    Faris closes her eyes.
    “...right?”
    <You are hardly innocent,> Batts tells her.
    “I know...” She sighs, opening her eyes again. Her lavender bangs sway a little in the wind, tickling her forehead. The rest of her hair doesn’t move because it’s tucked underneath a Rocket uniform. “Innocence dies too easily in this world.”
    <... You’ve never been to this place before.> Batts turns his head to gaze upon the sandy, deserted beaches. <No one is supposed to come here.>
    “No one but scientists,” Faris smiles. “Ever since I was a child, I always wondered why the western beach was cut off from the rest of Cinnabar... it’s kind of nice to finally know why.” She sighs again, and the smile is replaced by sadness. “How depressing, that it should be my work that brings me here.”
    <Do you have any regrets?>
    Her eyes narrow slightly in sadness. “My only regret… is not telling James, even once, even though I knew I may die tonight, that I love him.” She sits up. “I guess this is good-bye, Batts,” she says, and she jumps off the wall; “Take care of yourself—” and begins to walk towards a cold office building several stories tall.
    Batts looks after her with his own form of sadness. <Please don’t die, Faris,> he calls before teleporting away.
    Faris wipes an involuntary tear away, and remembers.
 

    “Faris!?” James cries, concern clear in his voice. He kneels over her, but she knocks him away roughly.
    “Don’t touch me!!” she says sharply before rising to her feet, faster than a viper, and running.
    The surprise and hurt in his face is clearly evident.
    “Batts!!” she calls, running directly for the elevator, which is behind the judge panel. The Duelists all look shocked at this display.
    Batts appears in front of her, and she screeches to a halt in front of him. The second she stops, the two of them teleport away.
    Clearly, to the other Duelists anyway, she had been rejecting James.
 

    She takes a deep breath, and sighs it out. “My biggest mistake…” she whispers, gazing off into the starry night, “was never once telling him that I love him. I’m a fool…”
    “Gen...” Ayanami, Faris’ Gengar, looks up at her, concern on its face.
    Her eyes widen, and she looks down at it as if noticing it for the first time. “Ayanami...” Faris whispers. She points to the locked doors of the office buildings. “Please, walk through the glass door and unlock them.”
    “...” Ayanami nods and melts into the shadows.
    Less than a minute later, the door snaps open.
    “Thank you,” she smiles, and she walks in. Ayanami walks behind her.
    Faris prepares to sneak in when she notices who is working the main desk. An eyebrow raised, she strides up the recipient, whom is worrying over a stack of papers. She clears her throat, and the man glances up.
    He smiles. “Ah, yes! Hello, Mr. Hill!” He stands and leans over the desk, whispering over to her. “I’ve gotten everything ready for you. All you need to do is walk down the main hall, take a left, and use this keycard” he hands her an off-white plastic card, and she takes it “to get in the elevator. It’s the only elevator on this floor that goes all the way up to the top building. The passcode number is 49019, and the elevator only gives you five seconds to get in before it closes again. If it closes, you’ll have two more consecutive tries before it locks up, and then you’ll have to wait an hour before it’ll let you in again. When you get to the top floor, there’ll be a bunch of guards. They should be shifting places in a few minutes, though, so if you hurry you might get in before they can find you.” He leans back and smiles, handing her a slip of paper. “Here’s the entrance passcode into the Mewtwo lab. Have a nice night, Mr. Hill.”
    Faris raises an eyebrow. “Since when do scientists work the main desk?”
    His smile turns into a scowl. “We don’t have a lot of employees, you know,” he grumbles. “Sometimes we have to rotate. Besides, I get a second paycheck this way.”
    She rolls her eyes. ‘In other words, you’re a low-level scientist,’ she mutters mentally. “In either case, who does this card belong to? Surely not you, that would be far too incriminating.”
    “Of course not,” the man sniffs. “It belongs to my rival. He dropped it by accident in the halls, and I happen to know the code for this card that’ll let him into the Mewtwo lab.”
    Faris sighs, staring at the card. “I’m worried,” she mutters before heading down the main hall, Ayanami right after.
    To her mild surprise, the code works on the elevator, and both trainer and Pokémon enjoy a slow ride with creepy organ music on the way up. After a minute or so, the elevator comes to an abrupt halt, and the metal doors slide open gracefully. Faris and Ayanami exit, only to come face to face with five guards.
    “Hey! Who are you!?” one of the guards demands.
    “Ah—I’m one of the relief guards,” Faris lies, mostly for the sake of seeing if they’ll buy it.
    The looks of disbelief tell her clearly that they aren’t buying it. “A relief guard?” they repeat. The guard that had spoken before shoves her roughly, revealing her front. “A relief guard wearing a Team Rocket uniform? How stupid do you think we are?!”
    She crosses her arms, sighing. “Oh, no; my cover’s blown,” she says with a tinge of drama. “Well, I’ll tell you the truth. The higher-ups hired me to move your Mewtwo, and make it look like it was theft so they can blame some guys who’ve attended the Cinnabar Festival to spy on the results of the Mewtwo Project and pack ‘em off to jail. I figured dressing up as a Rocket would be the best way to look as if I was a thief; I mean, if I was really in Team Rocket, do you think I’d be stupid enough to try to steal something that powerful? Look, here’s my card;” and she flashes the card long enough for them to register it as being a keycard, but not long enough to register it’s not hers; “just let me by, and we’ll all pretend we never saw each other. Don’t ask, don’t tell, hey?”
    The guards murmur amongst themselves. “It sounds plausible…” she hears one of them say.
    “I never heard anything about this,” another one protests.
    “Team Rocket has done some pretty daring things in the past; he could be a Rocket,” another one points out.
    “Yeah, but how on earth could Team Rocket have found out about the Mewtwo Project? It’s impossible!” the fourth argues.
    “Quiet!” the original speaker says, turning to them. “Now…” As the five of them discuss the plausibility of her story, Faris shrugs and nods to Ayanami. The two of them walk past the group to the Mewtwo lab.
    The two of them have walked down to the end of the hall and opened the door to the Mewtwo lab when she hears, “HEY!”
    She glances back down the hall at the guards. “WE’VE decided you’re lying!” the head guard announces. “So don’t you dare go into that room!!”
    Faris eyes narrow, and she sighs. “Ayanami…”
    “Gen!”
    “Send these idiots to dreamland with Hypnosis.”
    “Gar!” Ayanami turns to the guards with a vicious grin on its face, and sends rows and rows of sleep-inducing waves.
    As they run towards Faris, the guards slow down and collapse onto the floor halfway down.
    She shakes her head, running a hand through her bangs. “Idiots. Ayanami, good work. Stay out here and keep an eye out for anyone else. If any other weirdos show up, pack them away with Hypnosis. I might take a while.”
    With a nod from the ghost Pokémon, Faris enters the lab, quietly shutting the door behind her.

    Starr can see the arena ahead of her, its rose-patterned windows glowing gold in the dark night. She speeds up to the glass doors, screeches to a halt, parks the bike in a bush, and strides through the doors.
    Nathalie, who’s reading a fashion magazine at the front desk, drops her almost-book. “Oh…” she says when she sees who it is. “It’s you…you had the codename TOUGA.”
    Starr nods. “Is Michael around?”
    Nathalie’s face has grown a severely pissed look. “You think you can just march in here and seduce my big brother and suck up to get the best codename, don’t you? Just because you’re friends with HER, and just because you’re…you…YOU… Well, let me tell YOU something, you…you……”
    “Me, me, what?” Starr asks mildly.
    Nathalie turns a very nice shade of crimson not unlike her onii-sama’s hair.
    Starr grins.
    Then, abruptly, a thought hits her and she blinks.
    She’s beginning to catch onto what’s happening here. If Nathalie-tachi think Faris is Tenjou Utena, they must think she’s...
    “...Himemiya Anthy.....”
    “What?” Nathalie demands.
    “Nothing,” Starr says. “I’d like to see Michael, if that’s all right.”
    Nathalie draws breath to have an extreme spazz, but Thomas saves Starr by entering the room.
    Instantly Nathalie is all smiles and sunshine. “Big brother! How are you doing?”
    Thomas shrugs and looks at Starr. “Is something wrong? You look kind of pale.”
    “Nothing’s wrong,” Starr replies. “I’d just like to see Michael, if that’s all right with you guys.”
    “I don’t see any problem with that,” Thomas shrugs. “I bet he’s practicing his piano again. Come on. I’ll show you were the room is. This place is a maze at night.”
    “Thanks,” Starr says sincerely.
    Thomas puts a hand on her shoulder and leads her down the hall.
    “You aren’t going to slap me too, are you?”
    Starr looks up at Thomas and groans, “Oh, come on. I was mad and Kevin bugs me. He’s been nothing but a jerk since we got here and I was tired of being pushed around.”
    “Mhm…” Thomas nods absently.
    Starr recognizes the hall they’re going down now. She looks and sees the rose garden, its flowers luminous in the moonlight.
    When she looks back, Thomas seems to have made a mental note of this.
    Finally they reach the music room. Michael is indeed there, picking out an odd little melody with one finger.
    Starr knocks gently on the door. “Mike?”
    Mike looks up, and a smile spreads across his face.
    “I’ll leave you guys alone.” Thomas smiles and disappears.
    “I thought you’d never talk to me again,” Michael says to Starr.
    “I felt so bad. I wasn’t going to announce Faris and James’ parents plans, but it was unexpected. It slipped out. Julie gave me the message. She looked annoyed when she did.” Michael’s smile grows. “She thinks they’re idiots, I bet.”
    “I agree with her, personally,” Starr giggles.
    Suddenly Michael turns and looks at the door, then looks back. “This bugs me. I know no one would listen in on us, but I want to talk to you in private.”
    “Where, the rose garden?”
    Michael shakes his head. “Come on. I’ll show you.”
 

    “I’m not coming out, Mike.”
    “Starr, you look fine.”
    “Tell me again why I am wearing this?”
    “Because Nathalie was screaming at you that it was traditional and you wanted to make her leave you alone.”
    “Another low point in my career. This is psychotic.”
    Michael smiles and leans on the door frame. “The stars are really pretty tonight... wow...I’ve never seen the sky so clear...oh, look, a shooting star!” he says in an exaggerated impressed tone.
    “Auauauaaaaugh…” Starr groans. “Fine.”
    Michael turns.
    A figure clad in a Rose Bride dress steps out from the shadows into the moonlight, dark cherry hair taking on a bluish hue from the moonlight.
    Michael blushes. “You honestly do look pretty,” he says.
    Starr plunks down on one of the walls of the arena, kicking the full skirt of the dress out of the way. “No trying to pull a sword out of me.”
    Michael blinks, but lets the comment pass. “Sorry. I know all this duel protocol bothers you, but once Kevin brought someone up here out of uniform without permission and Thomas kicked him out for a while.”
    Starr nods. “It’s not a big deal.”
    “So you forgive me?”
    Starr hugs Michael. “Of course. You didn’t know it was going to end like that. I wish it hadn’t happened, but there’s nothing we can really do now but hope for the best.”
    “Is...Faris going to be all right?”
    “I can’t say,” Starr says honestly. “I’ve been her friend for a bit now, but she’s unpredictable just like the rest of the world. We’ll just have to see how it goes. All we can do for her now is talk to her when she wants to talk, leave her alone when she wants to be, and make James feel better.”
    Starr jumps down off the wall and walks to the center of the arena, sitting down and then lying on her back. “You were right,” she says, smiling. “The stars are pretty up here.”
    Michael sits next to her. “I’m glad you aren’t angry.”
    “I was,” Starr admits. “I was worried you’d given up and you weren’t ever going to try and be yourself or try to get beyond these duels. I know you have a friend who did once. Someone really close to you.”
    Michael is visibly shocked. “Okay…” he says slowly. “I’ve been trying to ignore Thomas and all those guys about this for a while, because it’s nuts, but sometimes I’m convinced it’s true that you and Faris really are…I mean, everything’s changed, and we weren’t sure if it had really happened, but now we’re sure. You and Faris have to be…you know. It wouldn’t make sense if you weren’t.”
    “Well, I don’t know if I’m what you think I am. I might be and have no idea,” Starr says. “But all I know is that right now I’m Starr Evans, and you’re Michael Corwin, and we are supposed to be watching the stars up here, not talking about Rose Brides and Duelists, right?”
    Michael smiles. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
    Starr sits back up and leans on Michael’s shoulder. “Thanks for bringing me up here.”

    Faris sighs and leans her back against the metal door, staring down at her booted feet. Her shoulders sag and she runs a hand through her bangs, forcing herself to look up.
    The room itself is just what she’d expected; meticulously clean computers, monitors, controls, et cetera, in every possible space without inhibiting the ability to walk about. Even the floor is shiny. Faris wonders briefly who would do a janitor job in the same room with so dangerous a creature, but such thoughts flies out the window as soon as she finally rests her crimson eyes on the legendary Mewtwo.
    Her eyes go wide.
    “Suge~…” she breathes as she steps toward it. The creature appears to be sleeping, although she wonders how it can sleep when it’s covered in wires, mostly on its head (not surprisingly, she muses to herself, since Mewtwo is supposed to be a psychic Pokémon). Besides which, it’s lying on a stainless steel floor, surrounded by… well, whatever metal it was, it’s probably some incredible alloy; she can see a number of shallow dents on the walls. This “cage” covers the entire back of the wall, and the way she can see into it is via a clear front. It’s probably not Plexiglas—it’d have to be much stronger than that to keep Mewtwo penned in—although that’s all she can think of.
    Faris creeps towards the creature, keeping as silent as possible, and kneels in front of it, placing a hand on the clear wall. Just being the presence of such a magnificent beast keeps Faris at the top of her nerves, wary of anything that might happen next.
    After a long moment of quiet, she relaxes, but not by much. “You must be miserable in such a place,” she whispers, eyes transfixed on the lavender-and-white monster. “A specimen for scientists to gawk at, with barely any room to move… this is cruel. Beyond cruel! I wouldn’t blame you if you killed them all…” She closes her eyes and sighs. “I’d be the same way…”
    She glances over at the control panel on the other side of the room. “Screw the team. I’m letting you go free. I wouldn’t wish this life on anyone.”
    When her face is turned away, Mewtwo opens an eye. He shuts it as soon as she looks back. “…”
    When Mewtwo lifts his head lightning-fast and demands, “Who are you!?”, Faris shrieks in surprise and falls over.
    Through pure reaction, Faris replies, “Faris Greyweirs!”
    “Why are you here!?”
    “To capture you!”
    He scowls at her, giving Faris a moment to collect her thoughts. Her heart throbs wildly in her chest, threatening to leap out of her chest at any second. Something at the purely figurative back of her mind hums a little, disturbed by this, but Faris can’t figure out what’s wrong. Something…
    “The control panel on the widest box,” Mewtwo states flatly. “To your right.”
    She glances over at it, and stands.
    “That’s the one that opens the door to this thing,” he continues. “That’s the panel that controls the main door on this thing. Release me! Do it!!”
    The forcefulness in his voice causes Faris to spin on her feet without thinking about it. As she looks over the control panel, the buzzing at the back of her mind gets louder. She pauses to think about it…
    And her eyes narrow.
    She stands straight, her arms akimbo, and glares at Mewtwo. “Why should I!?”
    He snarls quietly. “That was your intention, wasn’t it?”
    “Demo ne, who’s to say you wouldn’t just kill me as soon as I let you free?” Faris reasons coldly. “I might be human, but I’m not completely stupid.”
    His tail thumps on the metal floor, clearly showing his agitation. “…”
    ‘That human resisted my mind control…’ Mewtwo sulks, rethinking his plan. “I promise I won’t kill you,” he says, lying through his teeth.
    “Promises are cheap,” she replies, crossing her arms. “You’re strong, you’re dangerous, and after all this time, you must hate humans.”
    A low growl emanates from his throat. “I’m not in the mood for games,” he states, tail thumping away.
    “I’m not in the mood to die,” Faris replies dryly. “Listen: I’ll make you a deal. Let’s talk. I ask you a question, and you answer it honestly; then you ask me a question, and I’ll answer it honestly.”
    Mewtwo raises an eyebrow. “And what proof do either of us have that the other won’t lie?”
    “We don’t,” she replies honestly, walking around the devices and sitting down in front of him. “We have to assume we’re telling the truth. You can go first.”
    He broods over this for a moment, then nods. “Fine. I have time. You, on the other hand, do not.”
    Faris demands, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “I was to go first,” he reminds her dryly. “What is your true objective?”
    “In what nature is this question being asked?”
    “You have to answer my question before you can ask something,” he tells her sharply. “I repeat: What is your true objective?”
    She sighs in mild annoyance. “I was sent here by my boss in order to capture you.”
    He considers this for a moment, then nods. “Your turn.”
    “If I had let you out, would you really have killed me?” she says immediately.
    “Yes,” he replies nonchalantly. “And I would have enjoyed it. You were correct in your assumption that I despise humans. My turn. Who ordered you to ‘capture’ me? As if you could really accomplish such a thing.”
    She shrugs. “I wasn’t really expecting to come out of it alive, in all honesty,” she replies. “My boss did—ordered me to steal you, I mean.”
    Mewtwo’s tail goes THUMP. “…” He growls, knowing that she’s managed to worm her way out of directly answering the question.
    “My turn,” she says with a straight face, recognizing his displeasure. “What would you have done after being released?”
    “Lie in wait outside this thing, then pick off the scientists one by one as they entered this room,” he replies. “Once they were all dead, I would have left for somewhere quiet to further plan my next move.”
    Faris looks thoughtful as he continues, “What is the name of the one who sent you to steal me?”
    “Giovanni,” she replies.
    His eyes widen. “Giovanni?” he repeats, apparently recognizing the name.
    Faris chooses to ignore this for now and instead says, “How would you be able to get out of here? Cinnabar Island isn’t called an island because it’s really a peninsula.”
    He scowls at her. “I hadn’t thought of that. Why would Giovanni send you to retrieve me?”
    “I… honestly don’t know,” she admits. “At first I thought it was because, I dunno, ‘cause he wants powerful Pokémon around to help him take over the world, but now I have to wonder what his intentions really are.” She raises an eyebrow. “How do you know who Giovanni is?”
    Mewtwo scowls and turns his face away. “He was in the memories of… someone important to me,” he rumbles.
    She blinks. “Someone important…” she repeats, musing over this.
    He clears his throat, obviously not wanting her to chase the subject. “And why would you take orders from Giovanni?”
    “He’s my boss,” she replies dryly.
    Mewtwo’s tail goes WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP in annoyance. “And what exactly is Giovanni the boss of?” he seethes.
    Faris considers calling her turn for a couple seconds, then decides she can wait. “Team Rocket,” she replies simply.
    There is a moment of silence as Mewtwo waits for her to elaborate.
    “And…?”
    “And what?”
    “What is Team Rocket?” he clarifies, tail thumping away.
    “Hmmm… Team Rocket?” She thinks this over for a moment. “Well, the majority of Team Rocket consists of a bunch of nobodies who are too lazy to do things the honest way and want to use Pokémon to get rich quick. Basically, we’re a bunch of thieves who’re the pawns of a guy who’s just using us to get something personal.”
    Mewtwo smiles a little at the description. “Do you fit into that majority?”
    “Who, me? Nahh. I couldn’t care less. I just do this because it’s something to do,” she says nonchalantly. “Most of the Rockets are also Rockets ‘cause they don’t have anything else. I asked around a while back. I have plenty of other things to do with my life. And besides, I don’t like people.”
    “I’m much the same way…” he muses in reply. “What section do you fit into, then?”
    “Iya, I’ve let you skip my turn for long enough,” she smiles. “You said you learned about Giovanni from the memories of someone important to you. Who is that important someone?”
    He glares at her, remaining silent for a moment.
    “I’m waiting…”
    “…She is no one you would know.”
    Faris scoffs at the notion. “I’ll take that chance. Try me.”
    “……” His tail thumps quietly as he says, “Lenna Inverse.”
    She blinks. “Nan desu tte!?” Faris gasps. “Lenna Inverse…!” In a flash, she recalls the many trips Lenna had taken to Cinnabar. She usually said it was to visit her parents, but being that the two of them rarely went to see Nicholas and Martina (Faris usually hung around the Cinnabar Gym when Lenna wasn’t around), she didn’t think it was the truth. She enjoyed herself, however, and so she never bothered to question it.
    To both of their surprises, Faris begins to laugh. “Oh, the irony…!” she gasps between breaths. “To think… it would lead… back here…! It must be destiny!”
    “What must be destiny? Tell me!!” Mewtwo demands, not liking being in the dark.
    She giggles and wipes away a tear. “How did you get to know Lenna?” she queries choosing to ignore his question.
    “It’s my turn,” he growls.
    “No it’s not, I let you skip some of my turns so I get to skip some of your turns,” she smiles. “How did you get to know Lenna? I’m really curious now.”
    He scowls at her, not liking this one bit. “I refuse to answer anymore questions until you tell me what importance Lenna was to you,” he states flatly.
    Faris calms down slightly, and gazes at him seriously. “She is—was—my aunt,” she replies, correcting herself in mid-sentence.
    Mewtwo blinks. “‘Was’?” he repeats.
    She glances away. “Aunt Lenna… died… eight years ago…” Faris says softly.
    It’s Mewtwo’s turn to register shock. “…died?” A shadow of sorrow flies over his face. “Yes… that would explain a great deal…” He looks back up at her. “What did you say your name was again? And—are you male or female?”
    “Female,” she replies, pulling her hair out from under her costume. “And my name’s Faris Greyweirs.”
    A sigh heaves out of Mewtwo’s chest. “Yes…” he murmurs. “I remember a young girl named Faris with lavender hair in her memories…” His tail no longer thumping, Mewtwo looks back up at Faris. “It seems we have something in common…we have both lost something dear to us.”
    “And I ask again, how did you come to know Lenna?” Faris repeats.
    He shakes his head. “It’s dangerous to stay here,” he replies. “The scientists come early in the morning. If they find you here, they’ll take you away, and while I’m in this thing, I can do nothing to stop them. Let me out, and we can move somewhere secluded.”
    Faris considers this for a couple seconds before nodding. “Sure. You won’t kill me, right?”
    He awards this semi-joke with a curious look. “You aren’t serious, are you? Take the life of someone important to Lenna? I’d sooner kill myself, and I currently have no intentions of doing so.”
    She smiles and stands. After several minutes of fooling with the controls, the main door into the cell creaks from disuse, jolts to a start, and pulls open.
    Mewtwo stands as Faris walks back to him. Together, they pull off the many wires attached to his body.
    “Any idea where to go?” Faris questions on their way out.
    “None at all,” he replies evenly, walking on his hind legs.
    She sighs, her head tilting a little. “Anyway… do you have a name other than Mewtwo?”
    He gives her a curious look as she pulls open the door. “Name?”
    “What other people call you,” she clarifies.
    “…” He blinks. “I am Mewtwo.”
    “Gen?” Ayanami turns around. Its smile turns upside-down fast when its eyes light on the six foot, seven inch-tall Pokémon. “G-g-g-g—”
    “It’s okay, Ayanami,” Faris reassures it.
    “Ayanami?” Mewtwo repeats. “That’s a Gengar.”
    “I know that,” she smiles. “But I call it Ayanami. Here, Ayanami, get back in the Pokéball.” It is only too happy to oblige in the presence of the incredible Pokémon.
    He scowls slightly at the sight of the containment orb known as a Pokéball, but does not comment on it. “For what reason do you call it ‘Ayanami’?” he queries instead as the two of them walk down the hall towards the elevator.
    “Well, there are a good-sized number of Gengars in the world. By calling the Gengar I train ‘Ayanami’, that distinguishes it from the other Gengars. That’s the purpose of a name,” she explains.
    “Ah, I understand now,” he replies, looking thoughtful. “No, I have no name. Neither do I need nor desire one. Names are for a species where there is more than one. I… am the only Mewtwo…” His voice trails off, a tinge of sadness shading into his tone.
    “You can’t be sure of that. You were genetically engineered; there’s no guarantee another Mewtwo wasn’t created as well,” Faris points out, using the keycard to open the elevator.
    “In either case, I do not desire a ‘name’,” Mewtwo states rather sharply as they step inside. “It is pointless.”
    She shrugs, pressing the button for the first floor. “Have it your way then, Mewtwo. A shame; ‘Sephiroth’ would have made a cool name. Suits your personality, too.”
    “How so?” he queries in spite of himself.
    “Well, Sephiroth is the main villain from a video game called Final Fantasy VII,” Faris explains as the elevator begins its downward descent. “He was very powerful and very cold. He had incredible abilities, and he was genetically engineered to be a biological weapon. After a while, he learned his mother was an evil space virus called Jenova—although he thought she was a creature called an Ancient, which was somewhat better than an evil space virus—and he went insane. It’s more complicated than it sounds, trust me,” she adds at Mewtwo’s skeptical look. “Technically, Jenova wasn’t really his mother, but he didn’t know that. In any case, he torched the town he was in, got killed, got reborn through a clone, and continued on a quest to become a God.” She pauses. “I think that’s it. I liked Sephiroth, in any case.”
    “How could you like someone such as that?” he queries with clear disbelief in his voice.
    She smiles as the elevator dings. “He and I are too much alike. I couldn’t possibly hate him.”
    Mewtwo, Faris, and Ayanami exit the elevator and enter the hall. As they walk, Faris continues, “The word ‘Sephiroth’ itself originally comes from Kabbalism, though. It’s a religion, an extension of Judaism. The concept of the Sephira—the plural of Sephiroth, or maybe it was the other way around? I keep forgetting—is the growth of the soul through different stages, or something like that. I never really studied Kabbalism that much, so I only loosely know the basics. Anyway, there are about 10 Sephira on this thing called the Tree of Life, and as you rise higher to the top, you come closer to union with God. I think. Religion was never my strong suit.”
    The low-level scientist working the main desk drops his papers as he stares at Faris and Mewtwo, chatting as if they were buddies.
    “The name ‘Sephiroth’ sounds interesting,” Mewtwo admits. “I’ll consider it.”
    “Ah, sou—” Faris tosses the card to the desk jockey. “Here’s your card back.” She turns back to Mewtwo and smiles. “Jaa, ikou ka?”
    He can’t help but smile back. The two of them exit the building.
    The scientist blinks…blinks…stares down at the card…and tosses it to the side. “Unbelievable…” he mutters, eyes wide enough to fall out of their sockets.

    “Are you all right?”
    “Mmmhph…” Jessie opens her eyes slowly, her vision blurred. She blinks repeatedly against the bright lights until her eyes get used to it.
    Sitting next to her is a kindly smiling Orion Abraxas. “…huh?” She blinks again and takes in her surroundings. The two of them are sitting on a white leather couch (it looks expensive); there’s a coffee table in front of it, with various medicinal items sprawled across it. The walls are decorated with a number of paintings, mostly of the stars, and the glass wall leading to a balcony a ways back behind the couch shows off an incredible view of the city night.
    Jessie blinks and attempts to sit up. She abandons this action when a sharp pain sears up her side, and the redheaded Rocket flops back on the couch cushion, holding her side.
    “You took quite a beating,” Orion says sympathetically, taking her hand into his. “I couldn’t stand to see beauty as incredible as yours be abused so viciously, so I decided to take you back to my apartment and nurse you back to health.” He strokes her hand slightly. “I am glad to see you’re getting better. By the way, you must be parched. Would you like something to drink, Miss Langley?”
    “Oh…” Jessie says, blushing slightly. “Oh, you can call me Jessie, sir. Thank you, I would like something to drink.”
    He chuckles at her shy tone. “No need for the formalities, my lovely Jessie. If I am allowed to refer to such a beautiful angel as yourself by such a familiar title, you are by all means free to call me Orion.” He stands. “I have a drink ready in the kitchen. I hope you like iced lemonade,” he says as he heads into the other room.
    Jessies smiles a little, still blushing. ‘What a great guy…’ she thinks as she slowly sits up, placing her hand on her cheek. ‘I wonder if he’s single…’
    She flinches a little, suddenly noticing a pain on her face. She rubs it a little, and when she pulls her hand away, her fingers are tinged slightly with red. She scowls. ‘Stupid bitch. I hate her. I’ll get her for this, I swear!’ She clenches her fist. ‘James is MINE!!’
    “Is something wrong, Miss Jessie?” Orion queries, bringing a glass of iced lemonade in for her. “You look a little upset.”
    “Oh…” She smiles weakly. “I was just thinking of Faris.”
    He nods sympathetically, handing her the glass. She sips from it as he says, “She certainly is a cruel girl. Much different from when I last saw her.”
    “You knew her before this? You didn’t act like you’d met her.”
    He laughs and smiles charmingly. “That’s because I didn’t recognize her. Last time I saw her, she looked and acted much differently. I’m sad to say that she’s become a much less…agreeable girl since way back when.”
    Jessie shrugs. “I haven’t known her for that long myself.” She sets her glass down on a coaster on the coffee table and sighs, hunching over a little. “I’m kinda hot. Could you turn up the air conditioning?”
    “I would have already, but I’m afraid it’s broken at the moment, and it won’t be until tomorrow that the repairman can come to fix it. Until then, it would probably be best for you to take off that jacket,” Orion suggests.  “It looks rather stifling.”
    “Yeah, you’re right,” Jessie agrees, unbuttoning the front.
    Orion watches silently as she slips the jacket off, revealed the sleeveless white top she had been wearing underneath, folds the jacket, and sets it down on the table.
    Jessie sighs and deliberately leans into the dark-skinned man. In response, he wraps an arm around her shoulders.
    “You feel a little tense, Jessie,” Orion comments. “You should relax.”
    She smiles a little. “Oh? What do you suggest?” she queries coyly, hoping that he’ll offer to massage her shoulders.
    He smiles charmingly, his green eyes locking onto her blue. “I can think of a number of things,” he replies smoothly before tilting her head up with one finger and kissing her.
    “!!!” Jessie exclaims in surprise before returning the embrace, getting into the rhythm of it. ‘Damn, he’s one hell of a kisser,’ she thinks as the two of them lie down together on the white leather couch, still kissing. ‘Let’s see James ignore me now!!’

    Down at the southwestern beach, where civilization is at a virtual standstill beyond a single cottage, Faris and Mewtwo are enjoying the view of the stars, talking quietly as they gaze into the starlit night sky.
    “Lenna and I met a long time ago…” Mewtwo recounts. “I don’t remember how many years ago it was, but one day she came in with one of the head scientists, the one named Cara Raymond. When she saw me, she collapsed, looking very ill. I didn’t think much of it, because all of the humans had an odd streak to them. But that night, she came to visit me. She opened the cage and came inside, and admitted that she had a hand in my being…” He stops for a moment, to search for the appropriate word. After scanning over many, he finally decides on, “…imprisoned as a ‘specimen’. I remember exactly what she said back then: ‘I had a hand in creating this world for you.  Looking upon you now, I regret everything. I’ll do anything to make your existence even a little better…even if that means my death.’ She was so pure, so sincere, that I felt something inside.
    “Now, back then, I was only a child, and I wanted someone to be with. She was the first human I had met that offered to ease my existence, and thus, my reply was, ‘Please come a little closer…I’m always alone. I hate being alone.’
    “She lied down next to me, embracing me, and at that moment I knew I wanted her to stay with me. However, I knew if the scientists found her, they’d take her away, and there was no way to hide her.”
    “The door was open,” Faris points out.
    He grimaces. “I know. Don’t think I don’t curse every day of my life forgetting about that door. I instead spent the night establishing a mental connection with Lenna. We shared memories—which is how I came to learn of Giovanni and you, Faris—and my feelings for her deepened. We could speak mentally, and just being a part of her memories gave me great happiness.
    “That was the first time in my life I felt such happiness,” he sighs, a tinge regretfully. “The scientists were livid when they found us together, but the only thing they did was limit our time together. They were at least intelligent enough to recognize Lenna and I had a strong bond, and she was the only one I would obey the orders of without being beat into it first.”
    “Somehow, I can’t imagine you being beat into anything, Mewtwo,” Faris smiles, looking up at him.
    He smiles down at her, tail wrapping around her. “I have no excuses. I let myself be bullied into doing what I did not want to do, simply because it was easier than struggling eternally. It was only later in life that I realized the more I let them ‘train’ me, the stronger I would become, and eventually I would be strong enough to destroy them. But at that time, I had no excuses.”
    Faris sighs. “I wish I could be as straightforward as you,” she says, resting against his body. “Please, continue.”
    “Lenna would come to visit me frequently, and tell me what the outside world was like, beyond the labs and these beaches where the scientists occasionally let me wander—under tight surveillance, of course. I was young and naïve then, and I dreamed of someday seeing the outside world. When I fully realized my ability to fly, my hopes for such a thing grew. I dreamed of someday flying away from this tight, horrible world I grew into and, with Lenna, seeing the world. As long as I was with her, I felt I could do anything.
    “But then… all of a sudden, Lenna stopped visiting me. She would visit me every week, with an extended visit every two months.”
    Faris nods, remembering those bimonthly trips to Cinnabar.
    “I grew increasingly nervous as each week passed, as she had never failed to come see me, not once. I tried to contact her mentally, even though we were a great distance apart, and of course I received no reply. I began to fear that she was grievously injured, and wished for her wellbeing. It was a purely selfish wish; I wanted her to recover from whatever hardship she was suffering so that I could see her smiling face once more. As the months passed, my selfishness began to give way, and I begin to fear for her instead of for me.” He sighs, a long, tired sigh. “Even after all these years, I kept hoping she would return, even though I knew with each passing day that it probably would not come to be.”
    “How sad…” Faris murmurs. “And now, to learn that she’s dead… but you must have suspected that already.”
    “It crossed my mind several times, yes,” Mewtwo admits, “but I did not wish to seriously consider it; to think such a thing would be to forsake all hope. It was hope that she would return that I did not destroy the lab sooner; and now, I have lost that hope…”
    Faris strokes his face gently. “I thought the same thing when Lenna died, and I ran away from the murderer. It was also a selfish desire; I didn’t want the ‘bad man who hurt Aunt Lenna to hurt me too’. Her killer chased me into the forest, and I tripped on one of the tree roots and sprained my ankle. Apparently, I hit my head on a rock too, because I was knocked unconscious. Batts later told me that he’d teleported me to safety in the Cinnabar Island Hospital before her killer had laid his hands on me. I was in a coma for a week; I dreamed of death during that week. I was told later by one of the nurses that no matter how many times the doctors pulls Batts away from me—ah, I forgot to tell you, Batts was my first Pokémon. He’s a Kadabra now, but at that time, he was an Abra. Aunt Lenna had given him to me as a gift for my eighth birthday. I was ten then, and even with Aunt Lenna’s help and training, he couldn’t evolve.
    “Anyhow, no matter how many times the doctors pulls Batts away from me, he would teleport out of their arms and back to my side.” She smiles reminiscently. “We talked in my dreams. I wanted to die, because without Aunt Lenna, I had nothing. Or so I thought. Batts convinced me that Lenna wouldn’t have wanted me to die, that she would have wanted me to survive and live to become a beautiful young woman and make her proud.” Faris wipes away a few tears. “We also formed a psychic link back then, and we sealed it with a promise. As long as I kept a burning hope for the future in my heart, he would always stay by my side. He’s kept his promise better than I have; even when the beacon of hope dimmed to a candleflame, and almost died out, he’s always been with me. Even when I feel hopeless, like I want to die, he’s always there for me. He spoils me entirely too much…” Her tears cut her off.
    Mewtwo pulls her a little closer with his tail. “…you are like me…” he comments softly. “‘Hope’ no longer has any meaning…but we continue to live. For what purpose? For whose purpose? Perhaps for the sake of a possible future…Lenna believed in destiny, that nothing happens without a reason. She believed that our meeting was destiny.” He shakes his head, and turns his gaze onto Faris. “I believed that then too. Now I know…knowing Lenna was only the prelude to destiny. You are a sharp contrast to Lenna, and we have only just met, but I feel as if I have known you my entire life. Our feelings are the same. It can’t be a mistake; I know meeting you is my true destiny.”
    Faris smiles, blushing slightly. “I believe in destiny too…Aunt Lenna taught me about destiny and fate. You and I, this encounter is the very definition of destiny.” She closes her eyes.
    Mewtwo rests his head on the cool sand and closes his eyes as well.
    To the rhythmic sound of the eternal ocean, the two of them sleep peacefully underneath the stars.