Mewtwo was experiencing a pleasant dream, a vivid yet illusory experience where logic had been shredded and clumsily woven back together into a fabric by unskilled hands. It was relaxing in a meadow full of beautiful flowers, yet somehow it was late for soccer practice.
A ball fell out of a tree, and before it knew it, it kicked the ball. It turned into a butterfly and landed on an answer in a multiple-choice question on a sheet of paper. The teacher scolded it for giving the wrong answer before sending it to timeout in a nearby well, where it floated until the sun set.
Striving for freedom, it climbed to the top with its meager physical strength. When it finally made it out, it still had a long way to go, as it now found itself climbing a skyscraper. At last, it reached the top and looked out over the view, only to find itself staring down a cold, dark metallic hallway lined with flashing red lights, a creeping sense of dread slowly crawling up its spine.
Heart pounding, it rushed forward with all its might and reached its hand out to defy its ill fate.
Then it suddenly awoke, feeling the unfamiliar sensation of being held down by metal. Usually, it was left suspended in nutritive fluid, forced to relive false dreams of fantasy, slaughter, manipulation, struggle, and pain.
This time, however, it found itself lying on a cold metal table, having just been graced with a real dream for what felt like the first time in forever. It wasn't a pleasant dream. Far from it. It was distressing, but it brought a much-needed rest to its mind, one it hadn't known it needed. It was a small comfort given its current bleak situation.
Focusing again, it took stock of its surroundings. Heavy psychic-resistant clamps restrained it, holding it firmly in place. It felt like it could break free, but its instincts warned it to tread carefully. It wasn't out of danger yet.
Extending its psychic senses, it realized it was back in the laboratory, though the space was much larger than it remembered. No, that wasn't it. There were no longer any computers lining the walls, nor thick cables snaking across the floor, nor vats filled with nutritive fluid, nor scientists to either hate or ignore.
"You're awake," a familiar voice said right next to its head.
Mewtwo jolted against its restraints, startled. It hadn't detected the man when it scanned its surroundings with its psychic senses.
Opening its eyes, it turned its head and finally saw a human standing uncomfortably close, the same one who vaguely reminded it of its recent dream. No, not the whole dream, just the last part, the creeping dread that crawled up its spine, an overwhelming sense of fear associated with this human.
Immediately, it struggled against its restraints while trying to build up enough psychic energy to break free. Unfortunately, it was suddenly bombarded by a host of Pokémon moves, each one weakening it further.
It looked down and noticed the human shooting it repeatedly with a large gun, dealing minimal damage, yet occasionally stripping away its strength and driving its stats down to levels the human could now easily match.
"Relax, or I'll be forced to take more drastic measures to restrain you," the human said coldly, finally forcing it to comply, lest it be humiliated again. "Good. Now, my name is Alex Wattson. I'm a bounty hunter who specifically targets human criminals, including the man and organization that kept you imprisoned for a very long time. At this point, I would normally hand you over to the League or release you, depending on the situation, but I can't do that knowing full well you'll want revenge on humans for what they've put you through."
That was an oversimplification if it had ever heard one. It had been restrained, tortured, forced to control others through its mind, experimented on, and subjected to profound humiliation for decades. A deep, seething hatred existed in its heart, and it would love nothing more than to tear all those responsible to shreds.
But it didn't hate all humans. It had learned that lesson a long time ago. They weren't all evil, just some of them, while most were good people or, at worst, neutral. It had no quarrel with humanity as a whole, only with the small few who would dare to play god and create something like it.
"So, what I'm going to do, against the advice of counsel, is allow you to justify why I should set you free in my mind. This will be your only chance. Play nice, and I'll set you free immediately and escort you off the island. Fuck with me, and I'll kill you. Simple as that. Do you understand?" the human, Alex, demanded.
It didn't take long for Mewtwo to accept Alex's offer. After all, what choice did it have? It couldn't escape knowing there were still his Pokémon waiting for it outside. Also, it didn't truly hate all humans, so it had nothing to hide. Besides, taking this chance would only increase its probability of survival. So it nodded, accepting his offer before establishing a telepathic link between them.
It navigated the dense mental barriers surrounding Alex's consciousness, finding his mind a labyrinth of defenses. Eventually, as it continued to follow the open paths through it, they managed to establish a stable telepathic connection and communicate.
'What do you want, human?' Mewtwo asked.
'Show me what you think of humans,' he replied.
Immediately, Alex's mind was bombarded with scenes, images, and emotions of conflict. It showed him visions of wars, battles, fights, arguments, and cold, calculated logic that justified such violence. Then it shifted to peace, tranquility, and marvelous human cities where everyone got along without conflict.
There was Kanto being attacked on all sides by rabid Pokémon, Johto and its traditions, and Hoenn and its achievements. It showed that humans were more capable of good than simple destruction, that they weren't all bad.
'A bit optimistic,' Alex judged. 'But considering it's a far better opinion of humans than my own, you've passed.'
'Now, will you set me free?'
'There's one last thing you have to show me,' Alex replied in a far colder tone. 'What do you think of those who did this to you? What do you plan to do with them? How far are you willing to go?'
Hatred, deep, seething, boundless hatred, greeted Alex's mind. A hate so visceral it enlightened him to how far hatred could possibly go. He had experienced it before when he lost Forretress and Steelix, but his was cold and final, a promise.
In comparison, Mewtwo's was alive, ever-changing and growing, with faces, names, and specific individuals attached. It wanted them to suffer and die a painful death like no other, and it was willing to bring down the League to achieve it.
It would hunt these individuals, destroy whatever legacies they had built, and ensure nothing remained of them, no mark, no name, no record that they had ever existed. The violence behind Mewtwo's thoughts was so visceral it even made Alex blush a little.
'A bit too far,' Alex judged. 'If you're willing to pursue your revenge without significant collateral damage while respecting the League, then I'm willing to let you go.'
'Are you suggesting I… forgive them?' Mewtwo asked with mounting resistance.
'Fuck no, go on a killing spree for all I care. I just want you to narrow your scope. Focus your vengeance only on them and leave the innocent out of it. As for why you should respect the League, it's because of power. A lot has changed since you were captured,' Alex said as he fed what he knew about the League and how they operated to Mewtwo.
From it, it was able to understand that it had every reason to be wary of them while simultaneously respecting them and their efforts to bring humans and Pokémon together. Their policy was peace, growth, and unity above all, meaning they stood for the good that Mewtwo itself was trying to pursue.
It also understood that they were just humans. There were those who deserved death and those who tried their best for a better world. It was a complex system of humans doing what they could to survive in this world.
'You… have convinced me,' Mewtwo replied with resignation.
'Good, we have an agreement then,' Alex said as he began releasing Mewtwo from its restraints.
As expected, Mewtwo was far more amicable now that it had an understanding with Alex.
'Come, let me show you to the surface,' Alex insisted, a mild threat carried in his intent. 'This place is about ready to crumble given what we've done to it, so I'd appreciate it if you took the time to make your way outside slowly.'
Alex escorted Mewtwo through the winding tunnels until they reached the hole that Lyra and Mika had dug to the surface. All the while, Mewtwo took in its surroundings in awe at the destruction that had unfolded within its own prison. Even it, when it had tried to escape multiple times, couldn't have done this much damage. It put into perspective how terrifying humans had truly become.
Once they climbed out of the hole, Mewtwo's attention immediately turned to the prisoners in the distance. They were all unconscious and bound, awaiting arrest by the League, but among them it recognized many of its torturers, the scientists who had tried to play god, the very humans it wanted to destroy.
As Mewtwo's psychic power expanded across the surroundings, Alex simply stood to the side and watched, shielded by his Dark type energy, observing how it would react in this specific situation.
After all, this was its third and final test of how much damage it could potentially deal to society. It was one thing to make promises, but another entirely to be confronted with opportunity.
Would it rein in its overwhelming hate and see reason, or would it turn rabid, forcing Alex's hand to put it out of its misery?
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