FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Celebi focused her mind. Despite having requested to handle this task alone, being the last living soul in Nomad's Land made her feel abandoned. Jirachi had departed to alert the legendaries, Zoroark had teleported away and both Lucario and Zerobi were riding a flying-Pokémon towards where she had promised they would meet up. Oh, how she wished she could keep that promise.

She breathed in and out in a steady rhythm. Her concern at the moment should not be about who had departed, but rather who was arriving. She had felt his sickening presence for a long time now and adjusted herself to it as to not appear weak. Though it mattered little in the end - She was weak, at least when next to him, and he knew it. Everything depended on what his business with her was, though considering the circumstances she was sure it was not going to be pretty. Perhaps he just wanted to offer his condolences? Perhaps he was just looking for information?

Or perhaps she would be dead in ten minutes.

She caught her breath as she realized something was off. Looking up, she saw that the ceiling of the cave was gone now. No explosion, no scattered fragments of rock, it simply wasn't there anymore. The imposing figure was now clear in view, calmly controlling his descent towards ground level and letting his feet hover just above the dirty floor.

"Mewtwo...!" Celebi uttered with a mixture of fear and disdain. While his genetic makeup was almost identical to that of hers and Mew's and the other smaller psychics, his appearance was anything but. She would liken him to a human, were she not afraid that he might read her mind and execute her for it, but there was no denying the tall legendary was an almost perfect hybrid between a man and her old friend. And whatever deceptive nature his long tail and big eyes might entail, his powerful presence immediately dispelled, reminding everyone from microbes or legendaries that this was the strongest Pokémon in existence.

"Celebi," Mewtwo spoke with a cold and methodical voice. Tensions had always been particularly high between them, as Celebi perceived Mewtwo as a heartless and cruel enigma while Mewtwo perceived Celebi as simply someone who he was bigger, smarter and stronger than. Indeed almost all Pokémon would find themselves being viewed by Mewtwo in this manner and mistakenly assume he disliked them. They were wrong, few are left with enough brainstuff to formulate comprehensive thoughts if Mewtwo disliked them.

"She's not here anymore, s-someone... S-Stole her... B-B-Body..." Celebi attempted to maintain composure but found herself stammering uncontrollably, the overwhelming power of the Pokémon in front of her enough to make anyone suffer a heart attack just by being in the vicinity.

"My deepest condolences," Mewtwo said with a concerned expression, "Are you feeling alright, my dear?"

Everything stopped. Wondering if she really had suffered that heart attack she was just thinking about, Celebi gazed with utter astonishment at the fearsome yet now surprisingly meek psychic.

"Forgive me for not having been there... You must have gone through a terrible experience," Mewtwo elaborated slowly while shaking his head, "Know that you are not at fault. Mew would be glad to have a loyal friend like you."

Celebi wanted to gasp, but it came out as a whimper. Mew was right all along, she thought. Not only was she not dead yet, but behind Mewtwo's cold stare she could detect sincerity. Remembering his evil actions in the past she had always assumed he was forever an enemy to be feared, but in the end he was still one of them, susceptible to sorrow and capable of sympathy. She felt the tears begin to well up as she remembered her old friend, always telling her that Mewtwo was not genuinely evil, that he would do what was right when it really came down to it. She had been so smart and open, while Celebi was still so vindictive and fearful and...

"Consider yourself free of all responsibility," Mewtwo continued as he magnanimously lifted a hand, "I shall find whoever did this, and destroy him utterly. You have my word."

"Oh, Mewtwo!" Celebi exclaimed with relief and sadness as she burst out crying. Mewtwo approached and put his slender arm around her in comfort.

They shared a moment together, the brisk wind filling up the cavern with fresh air through the fresh hole above them. The finality of Mew's death washed over Celebi, at long last absolving her of guilt. If even Mewtwo was not spiteful enough to blame her, how could she possibly blame herself?

"... Is that it?" Mewtwo asked. Celebi looked up at him through the tears, feigning a smile.

He was not.

"Is that all it would require for me to become accepted?" Mewtwo continued with a hint of smugness but not one trace of actual amusement, "So this is what you rubbed in my face, original. Wrong as always."

Something gripped Celebi by the throat. Instinctively she lashed out with a blast of Psychic, but it was completely absorbed by an invisible barrier around Mewtwo. Instead she conjured up several vines from her back and coiled them around Mewtwo's neck and the organic tube behind it. They were not even able to squeeze before they flickered away, ignited by some manner of blue flames which left no burn marks and did not even seem to hurt Mewtwo at all. Having disregarded her own safety in favor of immediate attack, she realized air was getting short in supply very quickly and put both hands against her throat.

"I hope you did not mind the manipulation. Rarely do I see someone as emotionally unstable as you," Mewtwo spoke as his three-fingered hand clenched, "Mew was hardly a paragon of pragmatism but where she made a façade of solid diamond, you are like impressionable clay."

Tears drying up and furious determination taking its place, Celebi had already managed to shift her body's respiration into absorbing carbon dioxide and converting it into oxygen to breathe without using her throat at all. Mewtwo seemed unimpressed but noted that he would have to act quickly while he still had the upper hand.

"No, I have come here for one piece of information only," he stated with a voice as inscrutable as the big red letters on a warning sign, "What did Mew tell you about me?"

The pressure around her throat eased up to allow for an answer. Celebi was feeling quite mad and humiliated however, and was not about to hold back.

"She told me everything!" Celebi shouted angrily while re-activating the use of her throat, "Your birth in a laboratory! Your attempt to conquer the world! Your-"

"Stop. I care not what you may know about me," Mewtwo interrupted her in an authoritarian manner and attempted to clarify himself, "I want to know what Mew told you, what she thought about me."He would not bother choking her again, clearly it was having about as much effect as putting a sunflower in a headlock. Celebi calmed down as she found her new body structure to be surprisingly comfortable, easily directing oxygen towards her lungs rather than breathing in and out like a plebian.

"... She said... You really were the most powerful Pokémon alive," Celebi answered with regained composure, thinking back to the many concerns Mew had shared with her, "That you had already surpassed her, and would continue to grow in p-"

Mewtwo raised one arm and closed his eyes. Celebi fell silent and seized her throat in protection, but realized it was not a hostile movement.

"You misunderstand," Mewtwo said in a calm and slightly bothered manner, "I wish to know how Mew... Felt... About me..."

Despite no longer breathing through it, Celebi's mouth fell open in surprise. Mewtwo kept his eyes closed, in what almost seemed like a gesture of embarrassment. This was nothing like the overly sweet and uncharacteristic pretending from earlier, but rather something awkward and genuine. Celebi smiled.

"Is it not obvious?" she said with newfound confidence, "She would spend so much time visiting you in your secluded cave, telling me she knew she could change you into one of us. Every meeting of the legendaries she always invited you, only to end up rejected and going all the way to see you instead, desperately clinging to the idea that you were something you were not."

The large psychic did not twitch, budge or open his eyes, but a subtle shift in the atmosphere suggested he was listening to every word intently.

"But three years ago... She stopped caring," Celebi explained and breathed in, slowly adjusting her body to its old ways, "She would no longer try to invite you, or convince me of your inner goodness. When I asked her why..."

Mew's blank face passed through her mind as she too shut her eyes.

"... She said that she no longer had any intentions of making you change your ways," Celebi spoke quietly and felt like her friend was still there with her somehow, "She said... She likes you, just the way you are..."

Indeed, Mew's presence was almost tangible. So near where she had died, between two people with whom she had lived. Celebi opened her eyes half expecting to see that great pink tail swishing back and forth, but was only met by Mewtwo's imposing presence. He was not trembling, but the aura that was surrounding him was wavering and seemed less stable than usual. Finally he opened his eyes and fixed a cold glare into Celebi.

"When the time comes for Mew's duties as a legendary to be fulfilled, I shall carry her burden," he said with a stern tone. The two of them exchanged a glance as Mewtwo ascended towards the now non-existent ceiling.

"Expect unparalleled efficiency," he said before vanishing from sight. Celebi stared at the hole above her for a while before packing up her things and moving to a more secluded part of the cavern. It was at times like this that she wished she had someone to confide in, and came to miss Mew the most.

"Do you fear me?" an inquiry entered her mind. It startled her as she looked around, failing to locate the source. Her reaction seemed to serve as enough of an answer.

_"No. It is I who fear you,"_a conclusion entered her mind, and then disappeared. Celebi hung in the air for a moment before looking down at the present she had been given and wondered how her sister was doing.

---

Zerobi was sitting under a tree, sleeping next to Lucario. Not an unusual sight, the two had been traveling together for rather a long time. Different this time was that their feet were neither swollen nor cracked, since not far from their position was a Flying-type Pokémon roosting to regain his strength after carrying the two all day.

This particular bird Pokémon had been less than thrilled to be reunited with Lucario, since their last trip together had ended with him almost getting tackled out of the sky by an angry spouse. But he was loyal to Zoroark and knew he had an important duty to accomplish, even if it meant also bringing along a Weavile which his compatriots had described as Death's Sickle on more than one occasion.

Lucario was sleeping surprisingly well. It felt good to get away from the dank cave, he had spent most of his life (and his last one) sleeping outside and figured he was just restless without an open sky. All his troubles and worries seemed whisked away as he held Zerobi and little tighter, suddenly realizing that he was awake after all. His body was just kept in soothing paralysis and his brain was having a little trouble thinking clearly. A nice feeling.

A few minutes passed as he watched the sun peeking through by the horizon. Empty grasslands with the odd tree sticking out here and there, and a few sizeable rocks lying there merely because nobody could be bothered to move them elsewhere. A small gust swept over his body and filled it with a mild and warm sensation, not at all like the brisk chill of Nomad's Land. It was a nice area. No seductive booze. No pestering champions. No visions of Mew.

Blinking once, then twice, Lucario realized that he had been a little too hasty on that last assumption. No matter. Whatever. The visitations from Mew had been startling and rather disturbing at first, but had grown to become a part of his nightly routine. This time there was only the initial shock before reason returned to Lucario and he defiantly closed his eyes.

Clearly this was a hallucination. Or perhaps a dream? It was difficult to tell, but many things suggested it wasn't real. Lucario opened his eyes again. Mew's pensile tail was the first obvious sign, the small legendary had never quite been able to keep it from swishing around on its own, let alone keep it immobile in the occasional gust. Then there was the fact that her presence was too ordinary, no aura, no beaming unworldliness, just a pink cat hovering above the grass. It was almost like someone had tried to create Mew from description alone, but had never actually seen her.

"Nice try," he exclaimed in a mocking tone. Mew tilted her head - She never used to do that either. Smiling confidently to himself, Lucario looked down at Zerobi who was still sound asleep in his lap. There was no need to disturb her rest, not over something as insignificant as this. Though one question remained, who was subjecting Lucario to these visions and why? In his curiosity he looked up again to survey the area.

Mew's apparition had moved closer now. 6 feet away, the imperfections became more pronounced - Wrong eye color, Mew's eyes had a different shade of blue. Unfitting expression, this "Mew" looked almost dumbfounded. In fact, upon further inspection it seemed that the only thing they had gotten right was her general shape and posture. Lucario was starting to get a little nervous though; everything else seemed real enough to not be a dream. An illusion seemed more likely, and even if Zoroark wasn't around he was sure that someone else had similar capabilities. Lucario started blinking furiously, trying to dispel the curse put upon his oculars.

The thing that looked like Mew moved closer and closer. He could reach out and touch it now, but knew that it would instantly go away if he tried to. It wouldn't approach him with Zerobi right by his side if it wasn't able to disappear in an instant. Suddenly he wasn't smiling anymore, and the urge to jab the Dark-type awake and rid himself of all uncertainty grew nearly uncontrollable, reigned in only by Lucario's determination to maintain his sanity. Mew was DEAD, he had seen her CORPSE, someone was playing on his GUILT and they would NOT succeed. Another clone, a transformed Ditto, an animated zombie, like always there was some kind of explanation which seemed completely reasonable and fully rational to everyone but himself.

But zombies didn't breathe. And Mew was so close now that he could feel her breath on his face.

The Mew he knew didn't breathe like this. It was inaccurate. It wasn't real. It couldn't be.

She wouldn't do this to him.

"Stop it," he whispered as he closed his eyes, denying the legendary that was filling up his entire vision. One last surge of confidence rose up in him as his world enveloped in darkness, and suddenly everything seemed fine. The breathing vanished in an instant, as did the rest of the vision's presence, suggesting it had all been in his head after all. He sighed out in relief as someone brushed past his big nose and something soft, cold and slightly wet touched his left cheek.

The reaction was instantaneous. Lucario's eyes flew open as he scrambled backwards against the tree, his heart skipping a beat and feeling like it was about to explode from the pressure. Zerobi rolled off from his lap and woke up, though not before landing on the ground face down.

"Ow," she uttered into the grass in a monotone, suggesting that being snarky had become a natural habit more than a conscious effort. However, Lucario paid no notice, starting to hyperventilate as he held the tree for support to keep from fainting.

That kiss. Nobody could possibly have known. But someone knew, some motherfucker knew and they were fucking with him. Who!? Fear and anger mingled as his body encouraged the act of ejecting the contents of his stomach. He refrained from doing so as Zerobi rolled over on the grass and looked up at him.

"Bad dream?" she asked with a tired voice. Lucario blinked - He could still see the image on the back of his eyelids. A clone, a fucking clone - No, wait, someone stole her body and was using it to taunt him-

"I need to be alone," Lucario rasped breathlessly as he sat down again, his butt hitting the ground with a painful-sounding thud.

"Mmm..." Zerobi yawned as she stretched out, "But where would I find another pillow out here...?"

"I'm not joking," Lucario managed to elaborate on the severity of his situation, hoping he would not come off as too rude. It appeared to fail as Zerobi immediately sobered up, sat up and looked worried. He started feeling guilty, though it was nothing compared to the other emotions running through him.

"What happened?" Zerobi asked with concern, no doubt wondering what had just taken place. As did Lucario.

"Something bad," Lucario said. I think I was just molested by a zombie, Lucario thought.

"Bad how?" Zerobi continued, wondering more and more what the hell had made Lucario this startled yet had completely escaped her notice. Half a lifetime on the run had made her an extremely light sleeper, surely nothing could have taken place without her noticing it.

"Just... Bad. I can't explain it," was all Lucario could manage as he started to get annoyed, wanting to be alone with his thoughts.

"Try it," Zerobi insisted as she shuffled closer to him, "Whatever it was, I'm absolutely 100% certain it's not nearly as bad as what I'm used to. Come on, if we're going to be together we need to be able to talk to each other for real."

He looked at her in surprise, and she nodded with confidence. The gesture which was meant to instill Lucario with a sense of relief instead filled him with even more despair.

Together, Lucario thought. That's right, he had told her something along those lines. But that was before...

"No. No, we can't," Lucario said as he shook his head. It came out wrong but seemed to have the desired effect as Zerobi's confident expression diminished in a heartbeat. Her face told him that this was not going to be easy, and the other face visible whenever he blinked was not helping.

"I-I've been meaning to tell you, but..." Lucario started, and then stopped. He had absolutely no idea what to say. Going by her reaction alone she had clearly been far more serious about this than he had, but was that the right thing to tell someone? That he had just felt guilty enough to give her a chance? But so much had happened since then. And leading her on was far worse than anything else he could possibly do.

Zerobi barely noticed the lengthy pauses as her world had been paralyzed, time only resuming whenever his mouth went into motion. She dreaded it.

"You did say we were only trying," Lucario said firmly, trying his best to remember what had actually taken place. It was difficult with the lingering sensation on his cheek demanding inspection and he suddenly wished that both of these events had just been a figment of his imagination. A clone of Zerobi to practice on, so he could be far more eloquent with the real thing.

"Y... You don't want to be with me anymore?" Zerobi finally spoke up, trying to clarify the situation. Hoping it was just a misunderstanding. Surely she hadn't done anything this bad between now and last night when they had been so happy together.

"No no no! There's no one I'd rather be with than you!" Lucario answered loudly as he waved his hands back and forth, "But... You know... Not like this. More like before... Y'know? When we were just friends?"

Relief replaced concern, but was quickly usurped by sadness in Zerobi's heart. Of course she hadn't DONE anything wrong, she never DID anything wrong anymore, it was just who she was that was wrong. Born wrong, made wrong, all wrong. Her shocked expression turned into a disappointed frown as she turned away and felt like dying.

"I get it," she said into the air as Lucario felt like grabbing her shoulder, but refrained from doing so. Giving mixed signals is exactly what put him into this situation in the first place, and while he felt like an asshole he wasn't going to go back on his word just to save face.

"A... Are you sure?" Lucario asked after a few moments had passed. In truth Zerobi just wanted the uncomfortable moment to go away, cease to be, sleep the whole thing off like a bad dream and see if it was less painful in the morning.

"No, I really get it. It's fine," Zerobi responded with the best nonchalance she could muster before lying down on an uncomfortable twig, "Let's just got to sleep already."

Suddenly the whole Mew business seemed like an extremely distant and unimportant issue to Lucario. There was no doubt that this was real, and he had just broken his best friend's heart. Much to his own surprise he started to panic, he had to comfort her but couldn't start pretending he was interested in her again. But if he just left it like this then he would never be able to forgive himself.

"STOP THINKING IT'S YOU!" Lucario shouted out the first thing that came to mind. Zerobi twitched and her insides were seized by an unseen force as she hastily sat up.

"ANYONE else in my spot would've married you ten million years ago!" Lucario continued as he knelt in front of her and started rapping the side of his head, "But I. Am screwed up. In the head! Why the hell would someone like YOU even want to be with ME!?"

"I told you, Lucario, I..." Zerobi whispered with a stunned expression, before swallowing to clear up her throat, "I love you!"

"Well, that's... Something I can't do in return!" Lucario growled as his frustration forced him to clench his fist, "I'm human, and I'm not just going to get over that! I'll never be able to give you the kind of love you deserve!"

The words cut through Zerobi like one of her own misdirected claws. The tears started coming before she could fully turn away as she put her arm up to her eyes, feeling ashamed that she was not able to maintain her composure. She had been through far worse situations than this, why was she suddenly crying now? And despite the torrent of emotions overwhelming her, she could already see it - The spark of light. A ray of hope.

"Come on, you can't... Latch on to me like this," Lucario groaned as he noticed he was biting his lips and stopped, trying not to draw blood and make the situation even more catastrophic, "You lived alone in that cave for so long, are sooo many better people out there than me."

"... And how many could ever love me after knowing who I really am..." Zerobi wheezed with a parched throat, stilling the waterworks through sheer willpower alone, "What I've done...?"

"Are you joking!? You're most awesome, funniest..." Lucario started recounted before realizing what she was referring to, "You've changed into a much better person! Your standards should match that, and not just stick to a weirdo like me forever!"

It was well that she was not facing Lucario, because he might have questioned the smile of an almost sinister nature that now grazed it. The spark of light had exploded into a supernova, a pounding beat of triumph which pushed away all sense of doubt and despair inside her.

He was right, she was a better person. She was awesome and funny, and however subjective these descriptions may be, they had come from the person she loved. At first she had assumed that Lucario had merely come to his senses during the night - What was someone like him still doing together with Zerobi the childslayer? Zerobi the pessimistic bore? Zerobi the one-drop-of-blood-away-from-murder? She always figured he had a low opinion of her and a high opinion of himself, not the other way around.

"Zerobi...?" Lucario asked solemnly, only seeing her back and wondering if she was experiencing a complete breakdown. She turned towards him and he was instantly relieved to see she looked a bit sullen. Perhaps not the optimal outcome but at least it wasn't hopeless despair or murderous rage.

"Come on, damn it. I can't forgive myself if I hurt you," Lucario muttered as he looked at her with sincerity, "Friends?"

It's not that he didn't like her. He's just scared he can't love her because he's still a bit human in the head. But Zerobi knew something that he didn't - Time changes you. Oh how it changes you. She had adapted, and eventually so would he. She'd make sure of it.

"Friends," Zerobi said. For now, Zerobi thought.