Chapter 15

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=100 BGCOLOR="#CCCCFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="14800640egdysm.jpg"> <div> <B>Dark Reflection (Beginning):  </B><A HREF="dr_pro.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Prologue"><U>Prologue</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr1.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 1"><U>Chapter 1</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 2"><U>Chapter 2</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 3"><U>Chapter 3</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 4"><U>Chapter 4</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 5"><U>Chapter 5</U></A></div> <div> <B>A Master in the Making:  </B><A HREF="mim18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 18"><U>Chapter 18</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 19"><U>Chapter 19</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 20"><U>Chapter 20</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 21"><U>Chapter 21</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 22"><U>Chapter 22</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 23"><U>Chapter 23</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 24"><U>Chapter 24</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id734.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 25"><U>Chapter 25</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 26"><U>Chapter 26</U></A></div> <div> <B>Dark Reflection:</B>  <A HREF="dr6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 6"><U>Chapter 6</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr7.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 7"><U>Chapter 7</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr8.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 8"><U>Chapter 8</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr9.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 9"><U>Chapter 9</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr10.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 10"><U>Chapter 10</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr11.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 11"><U>Chapter 11</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr12.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 12"><U>Chapter 12</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr13.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 13"><U>Chapter 13</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr14.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 14"><U>Chapter 14</U></A></div> <div> <B>Dark Reflection (Finale):  </B><B>Chapter 15</B>   |   <A HREF="dr16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 16"><U>Chapter 16</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr_epi.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Epilogue"><U>Epilogue</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#000066" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/oldnews.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Old News</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/zrfic/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>My Fanfics</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/zrart/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>My Fanart</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/a-j/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Authors A-J</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/k-z/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Authors K-Z</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/art/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Fanart List</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/ffsubmit.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Submit a Fanfic</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/fanart_submit.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Submit Fanart</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://pub46.ezboard.com/beeveesmb" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://pub46.ezboard.com/beeveesmb"><U><B>Message Board</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/links.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=380 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Chapter 15</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Dark Reflection: Chapter 15: Shattered Mirror</B></div> <bR> <div>     "Two against one?  Isn't that a little unfair?"  The Rockets menacing Destiny spun around as someone else walked out of the cave leading to the secret temple.</div> <bR> <div>     "So the girl has backup, huh?" The Rocket that had spoken grabbed a pokéball from his belt, then nodded to his companion.  "I'll take care of this guy, you make sure the girl doesn't get away."  The Rocket threw down his pokéball, "Go Tauros!"</div> <bR> <div>     The newcomer, Zeth Raltier, grinned, "Get ready to lose!  Blaze, Florio, I choose you!"  As Zeth's Ivysaur and Growlithe appeared, he gave them orders.  "Blaze, get the Tauros.  Florio, the Kingler's yours.  Hit them fast and hard!"</div> <bR> <div>     Blaze darted toward the Tauros, spewing fire at the bull pokémon, which recoiled from the flames.  The Rocket glared at Zeth, "Come on, Tauros, use your Take Down!"  The Tauros complied, lowering its head and charging at Zeth's Growlithe.  Blaze managed to dodge, but the Tauros just spun around and dashed at him again.</div> <bR> <div>     Florio was having an easier time with the Kingler.  The Ivysaur pummeled the crab with a Razor Leaf attack, taking care not to get too close the Kingler's pincers.  The plant pokémon dodged a flurry of bubbles from his opponent, then countered with his Poisonpowder.  The Kingler started to slow down as the poison took effect.</div> <bR> <div>     While Florio distracted the Kingler, Destiny ran to Zeth's side, "Nice timing.  I'm glad you could make it!"</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth nodded, calling out to Blaze before he replied.  "Use Flame Wheel, Blaze!"  He glanced at Destiny, "Hey, no problem.  Where's Sani, anyway?  She'd cream these pests even faster than me."</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny winced, "She's captured.  Our only hope to save her is to finish this quest.  I hope you've brought all your Orbs."</div> <bR> <div>     Blaze was getting pummeled by the Tauros, so Zeth didn't reply.  "Florio, finish off that crab and help Blaze out!"  Florio shouted something back, then smacked the Kingler with both his vines, spinning it around with the force of the blow.  Before it could recover, the Ivysaur used a Giga Drain attack and drained it of its remaining energy.</div> <bR> <div>     A short distance away, the Rocket's Tauros knocked Blaze to the ground with a well-aimed kick.  The Growlithe scrambled to avoid another blow from the bull, but he was caught by a Headbutt attack.  As the Tauros charged toward him to finish him off, he was stopped in his tracks by a shining Solarbeam from Florio.</div> <bR> <div>     "Don't give up yet, Tauros!" the Rocket called.  "Use your Fissure attack and finish them off!"</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth's eyes widened, "No, wait!"  Before he could say anything more, the Tauros had pounded the ground, causing a huge crack to appear in the ground.  The crack quickly grew larger, stretching out toward Zeth's pokémon.  Without waiting for the attack's full force to reach them, Zeth quickly recalled them to their pokéballs and pulled Destiny back into the cave behind them.</div> <bR> <div>     As he did, the whole ledge broke away from the mountain under the force of the attack.  The Rockets and their pokémon plummeted down the steep incline along with the falling rocks, smashing into a lower ledge, which also gave way.  Before the debris even came to a halt, Zeth was pulling Destiny into the temple.  "Come on, before more Rockets come."</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny glanced back through the tunnel at the dust clouds rising from the avalanche.  "I wonder if those guys lived through that."</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth shook his head, "I don't know.  There's no time to find out right now, anyway."</div> <bR> <div>     "You're right."  Destiny pulled free of Zeth's grip and dashed ahead of him, taking her flashlight from her backpack and turning it on so she could see in the dark temple.  She ran to the pedestal, set Snow down, and took out the three Orbs she had.  Placing them in three of the indentations on the pedestal, she took off her pendant and waved Zeth over.  "Come on, put your Orbs here and give me the other half of the pendant."  Zeth did as Destiny told him.  Snapping the two halves of the pendant together, Destiny placed the completed piece in the center of the pedestal.  The seven Orbs and the pendant glowed faintly, creating enough light that Destiny could turn off her flashlight.</div> <bR> <div>     "We're missing an Orb," Zeth noted as she finished.</div> <bR> <div>     "Yeah, I know.  The Rockets have it, but Mewtwo's going to try to find a way to get it to us."  Picking up Snow again, Destiny glanced back at the light shining in from the tunnel they had just entered through.  "I guess that all we can do now is hope that he comes soon."</div> <bR> <bR> <div>     Greg woke up, feeling like he had been tossed into a giant blender.  He tried to sit up, but a gently restraining hand held him down.  "Just stay there, Greg," he heard Nurse Joy's voice telling him.  "You've taken quite a beating."</div> <bR> <div>     Blinking until his eyes focused, he looked up at Joy, "What happened?"</div> <bR> <div>     "Someone rigged up explosives in all our buildings."  Nurse Joy nodded over at something to the side.  "We've lost half our forces, Greg.  Major Marlow's dead, and we have a lot of wounded."</div> <bR> <div>     "And Jenny?"  Greg said, remembering that he had pulled her out of the burning pokémon center.  "Is she okay?"</div> <bR> <div>     Nurse Joy shook her head, "She's in critical condition.  I don't know whether she'll live or not."</div> <bR> <div>     "If I ever find out who did this, he's going to pay, big time!"  Greg started to sit up again, winced, then decided to abandon that idea.</div> <bR> <div>     "It was Connolly, Greg.  One of our scouts saw him getting into a Rocket 'copter after the explosions."</div> <bR> <div>     Greg felt a chill come over him.  "Connolly?  Then that means..."</div> <bR> <div>     Nurse Joy nodded sadly, "Yes.  The Rockets know everything about Destiny and her mission.  And if they manage to stop her, we're all done for."</div> <bR> <bR> <div>     Mewtwo was starting to feel frantic.  Giovanni and the rest of the Rocket forces were closing in on the secret temple and he still had no idea where the Orb of the Forest was being held.  Finally, he decided to take a risk and see if he could find out from the one person who would definitely know.  "I trust that the Orb we captured is in a safe place," he said to Giovanni, trying to sound fairly disinterested.  "It wouldn't do to lose something so dangerous."</div> <bR> <div>     The Rocket leader turned from the tactical screen he had been observing and stared at Mewtwo for a moment.  "Of course it's safe.  Why do you care?"</div> <bR> <div>     Mewtwo quickly made up an answer, "It is part of the key to unlock the way to a prize of ultimate power.  I find that sort of thing to be somewhat fascinating.  Mystery intrigues me, and that Orb is part of an especially intriguing enigma.  It would be interesting to see what the Orbs really do."</div> <bR> <div>     Giovanni nodded slowly, "Yes, I suspect that it would be.  Perhaps we will find out."  He turned back to the screen, "But until then, our Orb will remain where I can keep a watchful eye on it."</div> <bR> <div>     Knowing that he would get no more information out of the Rocket Boss, Mewtwo walked back to the back room of the helicopter, nothing more than a small compartment where Sani was being held inside a hovering spherical device.  The machine held her in place with a forcefield and antigravity system, augmented by a psychic dampener.  Giovanni was the only one with the codes required to shut down the device, and Mewtwo had found that because of the dampening field, he could not damage the machine with his psychic powers.</div> <bR> <div>     Resisting the urge to pound on the machine, which would prove to be a futile waste of energy, Mewtwo sat down and watched Sani floating in the wretched device.  It was unnerving to be so close to the Mew, and yet not be able to talk to her.  She was conscious now, watching his every move, but since he could only speak through telepathy, and the dampener blocked that method of communication, he could say nothing to her.</div> <bR> <div>     "I will find some way to help you out," he said, even though he knew she could not hear him.  "Somehow, we will defeat the Rockets."</div> <bR> <bR> <div>     "We've got company." Zeth warned from the end of the tunnel leading back to the mirror world.</div> <bR> <div>     In the temple, Destiny had been absentmindedly spinning the Orbs in their depressions, waiting for news.  Now she looked away from the spheres and walked towards Zeth, "Who is it?"</div> <bR> <div>     "Big trouble, I think."</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny frowned as she saw the blimps floating towards them.  "Yeah, you can say that again.  Let's get ready for them, shall we?"</div> <bR> <div>     The two of them hurried back into the temple to prepare for the Rocket's arrival.  Zeth released all his pokémon and had them waiting by the two sides of the stone doorway to ambush the Rockets when they came.  "Now remember, guys, don't go easy on the Rockets.  They certainly won't be gentle with us if we lose.  If you see Sani, try your best to rescue her.  And remember that Mewtwo's on our side, so don't blast him."</div> <bR> <div>     Florio raised a vine and Zeth activated his pokédex's translator, {Exactly what does Mewtwo look like, anyway?  We've never seen him before!}</div> <bR> <div>     "He's the strangest pokémon you've ever seen."  Destiny supplied.  "He's a little taller than a human, and kind of a gray color.  Trust me, when you see him, you'll know him right away."</div> <bR> <div>     {Okay, I'll remember that.  Everyone else should just remember not to breathe too deeply when I start blasting the Rockets with Sleep Powder!}</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth's Beedrill poked the Ivysaur with one of her stinger arms.  {You know, I'll kill you if you knock me out.}  Florio made a face at Sting in response to that.</div> <bR> <div>     "Come on, now's not the time for bickering," Zeth reminded them.</div> <bR> <div>     {Sure it is,} Florio murmured to Sting as Zeth went back to the end of the tunnel to watch the Rocket's progress.  {It makes me less nervous about this whole situation.}</div> <bR> <div>     "Get ready, all of you," Zeth ordered, dashing back to them.  "Here they come!"</div> <bR> <bR> <div>     The first four Rocket troops fell to the ground as a glistening cloud surrounded them.  Another four troops rushed in to take their place, then shouted in surprise as something grabbed them and pulled them into the temple.  A few more shouts were heard, then silence again.  Watching from his helicopter, Giovanni looked disgusted.  "Tell those fools to rush the temple!  We'll never get anywhere sending in four at a time!"</div> <bR> <div>     At his side, Domino shrugged, "They're wasting their energy now.  It doesn't matter how many they defeat, as long as we still have more.  Still, it does seem like an unfair trade.  I'm going down to stop this before we lose any more troops!"  Igniting her jetpack, Domino soared off the observation platform and flew towards the cave in the side of the mountain.</div> <bR> <div>     "Yeah right, what good can she do?"  Giovanni turned and glared at Connolly, the operative that had betrayed the Dragons.</div> <bR> <div>     "Domino is one of the Rocket's best agents, you fool.  She could outfight these pathetic weaklings any day."  Giovanni started to turn back to the fight, then stopped and glanced at the observation platform's other occupant.  "Why aren't you down there helping them fight, Mewtwo?  This could have been over with by now."</div> <bR> <div>     "I wanted to see how many Rockets it took to defeat one little girl and her few pokémon."</div> <bR> <div>     The Rocket leader glared at Mewtwo, then pressed a button on a device he wore on his wrist.  Mewtwo immediately winced as he began to feel a mental pressure in his head.  "Don't mock me, Mewtwo, or you know what the consequences will be!"  Turning off the device that controlled Mewtwo's neural implant, Giovanni pointed at the cave.  "Now get over there!"</div> <bR> <bR> <div>     Destiny wasn't surprised to see Domino, the Black Tulip, show up again.  That particular Rocket seemed determined to spoil her plans.  So when she showed up, a black flower in each hand, Destiny was already ready for her.  "Aqua, there she is!  Do it now!"  Domino didn't have time to react.  One moment she was at the mouth of the tunnel leading to the temple, the next she was directly in front of Destiny, who cheerfully socked her in the jaw.  "Nice to see you again, Agent 009!" Destiny told her, snatching away her tulips.  "Sorry that you won't enjoy this as much as I will!"  Turning the tulips back toward their former owner, Destiny fired both of them into Domino, knocking her out with twin blasts of energy.</div> <bR> <div>     The battle suddenly died down, and Destiny looked up and found that Mewtwo had just entered the temple.  "I have been ordered to defeat you," he told them.  "Giovanni his the Orb hidden somewhere, and I was unable to recover it."  Another group of Rockets entered the chamber, and Zeth's pokémon once again started to battle, but Mewtwo stopped them in their tracks with his psychic powers.  "I am sorry, but if Giovanni suspects that I am not following his commands, I will be terminated."  Raising a hand, Mewtwo used his psychic skills to pick all of Zeth's pokémon up in the air and hold them there.</div> <bR> <div>     Leaving the pokémon floating helplessly, Mewtwo pressed a button on his wrist vidphone.  "The temple is secure.  You can come down at any time."</div> <bR> <div>     "Don't bother with the wrist-com, Mewtwo.  I'm already here."  Mewtwo turned to find Giovanni entering the temple, along with Connolly.  "We came as soon as we saw that the other troops weren't being attacked."  Giovanni looked around the huge chamber.  "Interesting place this is.  I see you even collected the rest of the Orbs for me.  How nice of you."</div> <bR> <div>     "So you're the slime responsible for Team Rocket, huh?" Zeth asked.  "I can't say it's either an honor or a privilege to meet you."</div> <bR> <div>     Giovanni looked at him, "You...  you look familiar to me.  Who are you?"</div> <bR> <div>     The teen smiled challengingly, "I'm Zeth Raltier, a pokémon trainer from Valencia Island and a big-time enemy of the Rockets!  You may have the advantage this time, but I could still beat you in a fair battle!"</div> <bR> <div>     The Rocket nodded slowly.  "Now I remember.  You must be the other dimension's counterpart to a young trainer I met a few months ago.  Do you remember that trainer, Mewtwo?"  The clone stared at Zeth for a moment, then a look of recognition crossed his face, and he stared down at the floor.  "Ah, I see that you do!  You see, boy, in my world, your pokémon were stolen by a pair of my operatives.  You followed them back to our Viridian City base and were captured trying to rescue them.  You challenged me to a battle then, too.  I even agreed to release you and your pokémon if you beat me.  But of course, with Mewtwo as my pokémon, I utterly defeated you!  Then I gave all your pokémon to the operatives that stole them, and locked you away in the darkest, gloomiest part of the base, along with the rest of the people that resisted me in my rise to power!  In short, you have already been defeated by me once, and even now you are suffering for opposing me!"</div> <bR> <div>     In blind anger, Zeth rushed at Giovanni.  The other Rockets grabbed him, and managed to drive him back, although they received some nasty blows for their trouble.  Giovanni just grinned at his reaction.  "How does it feel, knowing that in a way, I have already destroyed your dreams?"</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny put a hand on Zeth's shoulder to stop him from trying to attack Giovanni again.  "Don't listen to him, Zeth.  He's just trying to cloud your judgment by making you angry."</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth nodded, unable to tear his eyes off of the Rocket leader.  "Well he succeeded.  Keep a good grip on me so I don't kill him now, will you?"</div> <bR> <div>     "That would definitely be a bad idea.  You see, I have a way of ensuring your cooperation."  Giovanni turned to the tunnel behind him.  "Come on, bring her in!"  Another Rocket entered, pushing Sani's floating prison before him.  "You see the device that your Mew friend is being held in?" Giovanni asked.  "Well, it's been rigged with a special feature that will allow me to electrocute anything inside of it.  I don't need a living Mew to make clones, just the DNA, so I suggest that you not resist.  The results would be shocking, if you know what I mean."</div> <bR> <div>     Reaching into his pocket, Giovanni pulled out the last Orb.  As he did, Destiny heard Mewtwo's voice in her head, "I am a fool!  I should have realized that he would never trust the Orb to anyone else!  He had it the entire time!"</div> <bR> <div>     "Go on," Connolly suggested, "Put that ball with the rest and see what happens!"</div> <bR> <div>     "Shut up, you traitor!" Destiny shouted at him.  "Greg's going to murder you when he finds out that you've betrayed us!"</div> <bR> <div>     "He won't ever get the chance.  You know me, I have that <I>explosive</I> personality.  I shared my feelings with the rest of the Dragons before I left."</div> <bR> <div>     "For once I agree with the girl." Giovanni interrupted.  "Shut up and stop bragging."  Motioning for the Rockets to move Zeth and Destiny back, Giovanni strode over to the pedestal and placed his Orb in its depression.  "I do want to see what this power is, though.  Perhaps I can find a good way to put it to use!"</div> <bR> <div>     Giovanni stepped back as the Orbs and the pendant started to glow brighter.  Each Orb glowed a different color, creating a rainbow of light that fully lit up the temple.  With a loud rumble, the large door at the back of the temple began to open, revealing a brightly lit hallway with a bright shining light at the end.  As the stone doors ground to a stop, Giovanni slowly started to walk down the hall, followed by Mewtwo.  Destiny grabbed Zeth's hand and followed them.  </div> <bR> <div>     The Rockets blocked their way.  Destiny shoved them aside.  "Let us through.  We want to see what happens."</div> <bR> <div>     One of the Rockets nodded, "So do I."  He waved toward the door.  "Let them through.  I'll go with them to make sure they don't cause trouble.  Besides, they can't do anything while Mewtwo's around."  With their curious Rocket guard following close behind, Destiny and Zeth jogged down the hall.</div> <bR> <div>     They found that the light they had seen at the end of the hall was the reflection of some unknown light source off of the golden walls of a round room.  Looking around the golden room, the first thing they noticed was what appeared to be a large shrine with a golden pokéball sitting atop it.  Giovanni was already picking up the ball when they reached them.  "So this ultimate power is a pokémon?" Giovanni said.  "What do you know...  Perhaps I'll give you some time off, Mewtwo.  I'm sure that whatever is in this ball is much more interesting and powerful than you are."</div> <bR> <div>     "It's nice to know I'm wanted," Mewtwo replied sarcastically.</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny noticed a small niche in the wall, and walked over to examine it.  It contained an old rusty ball that looked like it was about to fall to pieces.  Scratching at the rust, Destiny realized that this too was a pokéball, although in horrible condition.  "I wonder what happened to this one?"</div> <bR> <div>     Giovanni walked over and plucked it from her hands.  Giving it a quick glance, he tossed it back to her.  "That thing can't possibly work anymore.  It's damaged beyond usefulness.  A worthless pokéball for your worthless quest.  I'm the one with the true treasure!  Now, let's see what's inside this ball, shall we?"</div> <bR> <div>     Dropping the rusty ball, Destiny tried to grab the golden sphere, "No, don't!"</div> <bR> <div>     Giovanni shoved her away, "Get off of me.  This is my prize, and you're not going to stop me from using it!"  The Rocket leader pulled his arm back to throw the ball, but it disappeared from his fingers and reappeared in Destiny's hands.  Without waiting to find out how it happened, Destiny dashed for the hallway.</div> <bR> <div>     The Rocket Boss caught on quickly, though.  There was, after all, only one way that something like that could happen.  "Mewtwo, you traitor!"  Hitting the controls for Mewtwo's neural implant, Giovanni dashed after Destiny.  Mewtwo fell to the ground howling in pain.  Shoving aside the Rocket that had followed them into the golden room, Zeth ran after Destiny and Giovanni.  Ahead of him, Zeth's pokémon had been freed from Mewtwo's psychic grip and had immediately attacked the machine Sani was imprisoned in, demolishing it with a flurry of Swift stars, Razor Leaves, Ice Beams, Pin Missiles, and Flamethrowers.  Sani blasted out of the wreckage of the machine with her powers once again restored to her, and lashed out at the Rockets, scattering them around her.</div> <bR> <div>     In the meantime, Giovanni managed to catch up to Destiny.  He pried the golden pokéball out of her hands as she shouted to Sani for help.  Giovanni managed to yank the ball free, just as Zeth caught up to him.  The Rocket leader fended him off with his free arm.  Spotting the device that the Rocket had used to control Mewtwo's neural implant, Zeth tore it from Giovanni's wrist and flicked it off.  Tossing it on the ground, he stepped on it and crushed it.  A moment later, Mewtwo staggered out of the golden room, holding his head.  "It's over, Giovanni!" Zeth yelled.  "Mewtwo and Sani are both free of you now!  You can't possibly win!"</div> <bR> <div>     "I haven't lost yet!"  Throwing the pokéball to the ground, Giovanni shouted, "Pokémon, I choose you!"  The ball hit the floor and bounced a few times.</div> <bR> <div>     "Looks like it's broken too," Zeth said.  "That little trick didn't work for you, either."</div> <bR> <div>     "Zeth, look!"  Zeth glanced at Destiny, then at the ball Giovanni had just thrown.  The golden ball was changing color, darkening into black.  "What's happening with that?"</div> <bR> <div>     "I don't know..."  Zeth stepped toward the pokéball, then recoiled as it snapped open, discharging a swirling black cloud into the room.  "I've never seen a pokéball do that before!"  The black cloud spun faster and faster, forming into a black ball.  Suddenly, it exploded, leaving behind the occupant of the pokéball.</div> <bR> <div>     It was a Mew, but not just any Mew.  This one was totally black, except for his eyes, which were an eerie red.  At the sight of the new pokémon, Sani shrieked and hid behind Destiny, "No, it can't be!  Anyone but him!"</div> <bR> <div>     "Who is he?"  Destiny asked her friend.</div> <bR> <div>     It was the black Mew that responded.  "I am Belkor!  Who released me from my imprisonment?"</div> <bR> <div>     Giovanni stepped forward.  "I did, Belkor.  I am Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket.  I released you so that you could bring the world under my control!"</div> <bR> <div>     The Mew floated around the Rocket leader, "You have no idea who I am, do you?  I am no slave of yours.  Your world will belong to me and I will control all that is in it!"</div> <bR> <div>     "But I'm the one that released you!" Giovanni protested.  "You're supposed to obey me!"</div> <bR> <div>     "What are you, an idiot?" Belkor snapped.  "I am no one's servant, so don't presume to think that you are my master.  Your reward for releasing me will be the gift of your life!  You will live to serve me, instead of the other way around.  I will be the master, and you will make sure that all my desires are fulfilled until such time as I become displeased with you and decide to terminate your sorry existence!"</div> <bR> <div>     "I'll never serve you!"  The Rocket leader took some kind of gun out of his pocket.  Aiming it at the Mew, he fired it off, but instead of a bullet, the weapon emitted a ray of white light.  Belkor simply ignored the beam, which did absolutely nothing when it hit him.  Giovanni stumbled backwards with a horrified look on his face.  "That's impossible!"  He fired his weapon again, and then again, but it had no more effect than it did on the first use.  "There's no way that any psychic pokémon could resist this!"</div> <bR> <div>     Belkor reached out towards Giovanni, and the gun that Giovanni held was ripped out of his hands by an invisible force.  The weapon sailed towards the black Mew, who crushed it with a blast of dark energy.  "There is nothing you can do to defeat me," Belkor told the Rocket, "I am invincible."</div> <bR> <div>     "No one's totally invincible!" Zeth called.  Destiny turned to find that her friend had quietly slipped over to his Ivysaur, whose bud was glowing brightly.  "Do it, Florio!"  The Ivysaur unleashed the Solarbeam, which washed over Belkor, barely missing Giovanni.</div> <bR> <div>     The black Mew could not be defeated so easily, however.  Without any trace of injury, he spun around.  "You defy me?" he raged.  "Then face the consequences of your action!"  Belkor raised a hand, picking up Zeth and his Ivysaur in an invisible grip.  Then the Mew threw his arm to the side, and Zeth and Florio were both thrown into the nearest wall.  Waving his arm back and forth, Belkor bashed them against the far wall, then back again.  The Mew released them, and both human and pokémon fell to the ground.</div> <bR> <div>     "You vile creature!"  Turning around, Belkor found himself with a new opponent.  Recovered from the effects of Giovanni's device, Mewtwo physically smacked the Mew, then grabbed Belkor in a psychic grip and dashed him against the wall, as he had just done with Zeth.  Before he could do any more, however, Belkor broke free of his grip.  Mewtwo threw a Shadow Ball at him, but Belkor reflected it back.  Mewtwo was not impressed.  "You may be powerful enough to defeat one pokémon and his master, but I doubt that you can defeat me!"</div> <bR> <div>     Belkor's eyes flashed, "Your power is formidable, but it is nothing compared to my own!"  A black haze surrounded Belkor, then a stream of black energy shot out and surrounded Mewtwo as well.  The clone fell, curling up in an unsuccessful attempt to fend off whatever the black Mew was doing to him.  He screamed in agony as the attack continued.  Finally, Belkor stopped.  "Now your power is truly nothing.  I have taken away your psychic abilities to increase my own strength!"</div> <bR> <div>     Turning to Giovanni, who was now pale-faced with fear, the Mew stared at him for a moment.  "Now, slave, it is time for you to show me my new kingdom."  The evil pokémon herded Giovanni back toward the tunnel to the mirror world, where the rest of the Rockets had fled when they saw what Belkor did to Mewtwo. </div> <bR> <div>     As the Mew left with his unwilling servant, Destiny dashed to Zeth's side.  "Are you okay?" she asked him.</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth shook his head, "I don't know."  He tried to get up, but a wave of pain washed over him and he fell back against the wall.  Through clenched teeth, he continued, "I don't think so.  I think I broke something...  or everything."  Zeth's found that he was having a hard time focusing his vision and that trickles of blood were coming from his mouth and right ear.  "Ah, that can't be good."  Another wave of pain hit him and he doubled up.  "How's Florio?" he managed to say, fighting to stay conscious.</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny took a quick glance.  "He looks like he's in about the same shape you're in.  We need to get you both to a doctor."</div> <bR> <div>     "We don't have the time.  Belkor's going to take over our world too if we don't find some way to stop him.  You and Sani should go on without me."</div> <bR> <div>     "Don't be silly.  We need to get you medical help right now!"</div> <bR> <div>     Sani tapped her friend's shoulder.  "Dest, as much as I hate to say this, Zeth might be right.  Belkor's not just any Mew, as you might have noticed.  He's known in Mew legend as the Evil One.  Supposedly, he was cast out of the Mew community after he started learning forbidden powers.  He's no longer a psychic pokémon, which is why Giovanni's little ray gun didn't work on him.  He's pure dark-type now, and not just that, but pure evil too.  It's said that there was a mysterious pokémon that managed to defeat him and imprison him forever.  I guess forever wasn't long enough."</div> <bR> <div>     "No, apparently not."</div> <bR> <div>     The Mew nodded, "Well, anyway, now that he's loose again, he's going to enslave all humans and pokémon.  The world will forever be thrown into chaos.  Unless we find a way to stop Belkor right now, we're all dead anyway."</div> <bR> <div>     "Don't worry too much about me," Zeth added,  trying to stand.  He almost fell, grabbing the wall for support.  "I'll be fine for the moment."  Destiny gave him a look that told him that she didn't believe him.  To be honest, he didn't believe himself either.</div> <bR> <div>     "Wait..."  The battered Mewtwo rose to his feet, holding his head.  "Did you say that another pokémon was able to stop Belkor?"</div> <bR> <div>     Sani nodded, "That's the legend."</div> <bR> <div>     "Then you and Destiny should go find that pokémon and get its help," Zeth said.  "Don't wait around here for me.  I'll just slow you down."</div> <bR> <div>     Mewtwo pointed down the hallway to the golden room.  "You forget, there was another pokéball in the room down there."</div> <bR> <div>     "Of course..."  Destiny darted down the hall and soon returned with the battered ball, which she had dropped in the confusion.  "Ho-oh said that we should ignore appearances and look for the inner truth.  Giovanni was looking at external beauty when he released Belkor, but maybe this rusty old pokéball has some value after all!"</div> <bR> <div>     "What--" Zeth coughed violently, sinking down to the ground again.  Destiny rushed to his side in alarm, but he waved her away.  "What are you waiting for.  Use it, Destiny!"</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny flung the ball down, shouting for the pokémon inside to come out.  The sphere bounced once, then floated in the air.  The rust and grime covering it crumbled and flaked off of it, revealing a shining crystalline pokéball that caught the light in the room and refracted it into rainbows that sparkled across every surface in sight.  A white light shot from the ball, forming into a small green fairy pokémon that seemed quite harmless when compared to the menacing Belkor.</div> <bR> <div>     The green pokémon's eyes fluttered open, and it took a moment to gaze around the room at those who remained in it.  "I am Celebi, the Great Protector.  Why have you summoned me?"</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny stepped forward.  "The evil Mew, Belkor, was released.  Now he is planning to conquer both the worlds connected to this temple!"</div> <bR> <div>     "That is grave news...  Belkor is far more powerful and wicked than any other Mew has ever been.  It is nearly impossible to defeat him."</div> <bR> <div>     "Then you can't do anything?"  Destiny felt her last hopes being dashed to pieces.</div> <bR> <div>     "I did not say that," Celebi told her.  "I said that he was nearly impossible to defeat.  With enough help, I can triumph over Belkor."</div> <bR> <div>     "We'll do all we can to help," Destiny assured the fairy pokémon.  "Just tell us what you need us to do."</div> <bR> <div>     "Destiny!"  At Sani's panicked cry, Destiny spun around.  Zeth's pokémon had all gathered around their friend and master, trying to see if there was any way that they could help.  Sani was shaking Zeth by the shoulder, but the teen had fallen unconscious from his injuries and wasn't responding.  "He's barely breathing, and I can sense that he's getting worse!  He's dying, Dest!"</div> <bR> <div>     "No!"  Destiny ran to her friend and felt for a pulse.  She found one, but it was weak.  "No," she repeated.  "This can't happen!  You've got to live, Zeth!"</div> <bR> <div>     "Stand aside," Celebi told her.  "Let me help."  Feeling hardly able to breathe from the worry she felt, Destiny did as she was told.  Fluttering up to Zeth, Celebi placed both of his small hands on Zeth's chest.  A bright light surrounded both boy and pokémon for a long moment.  Everyone was quiet as Celebi continued whatever it was that he was doing.  Finally, the light faded and Celebi backed away.  "He will live now."</div> <bR> <div>     "You healed him?" Sani asked in amazement.  "How did you do that?"</div> <bR> <div>     "I have a great gift for healing," the fairy told her.  "That is why I am the Great Protector.  Anyone can destroy, but healing is a much more rare and valuable talent."</div> <bR> <div>     "Well, please, feel free to heal Zeth's Ivysaur, too," Sani said, grinning happily.  "He needs it just as much as Zeth did."  Smiling, Celebi repeated the procedure on Florio.</div> <bR> <div>     When he was finished, he glanced at Sani.  "Do any more here need healing?  Everyone should be fully ready for the upcoming battle, lest we fail because someone's wounds were not treated."</div> <bR> <div>     "Yes, there is another."  Mewtwo, who had remained quiet for the whole time, stepped toward Celebi.  "When Belkor was released, he did something to me.  I no longer have the power I once had.  Can you possibly restore it to me?"</div> <bR> <div>     Celebi touched Mewtwo on the head.  For a long moment, the fairy was silent.  Then he fluttered backwards, "I am sorry, but it seems that Belkor has stripped you of much of your power.  I cannot restore it.  I was only able to remove an unusual device implanted in your brain."</div> <bR> <div>     "You...  you destroyed the bug in my head?"  Mewtwo looked shocked.  "That means that I'm finally free of Giovanni's control!"  Tears sprang to the clone's eyes, "This means more to me than all the power I could ever have!  I cannot thank you enough!"</div> <bR> <div>     "Then I have done well."  Celebi looked around at everyone in the chamber, "Now I will refresh you all, so that you will be ready for our final conflict."  Celebi started to glow with a dazzling green light, and soon the whole room was filled with dancing rays of energy.  All who were in the room felt their aches and pains vanish as the fairy's amazing healing waves washed over them.</div> <bR> <div>     Celebi looked around and observed that everyone was now at peak condition.  "Now we are ready to begin!"</div> <bR> <div>     <B>To be continued...</B></div> </td> </tr></table></body>