Pokémon PrismGold

Chapter Forty-Nine: "Lugia's Shrine"

Nate coughed as his body forced itself awake. His vision was fuzzy, and his throat felt dry. He couldn't remember what had happened. One minute he was fighting back, and the next he was here. He felt like he was laying down on a hard seat, but he couldn't sit up. His body was not responding. As his vision cleared, he stared across from himself to see Giovanni sitting lavishly. Giovanni's arms were draped along the back of his seat and his legs were crossed. Noticing he was awake, Giovanni smirked at him, casually telling him. "Like it? It's a mix of sleeping powder and paralyzing powder. I invented it. Among other things." Giovanni turned his head to look at something. Nate's eyes followed Giovanni's, causing his eyes to widen. At first, he thought that Giovanni had captured Mew. However, the pokemon walking just behind the cart was only similar to Mew. This pokemon stood on two legs with a thicker and longer tail. It didn't have Mew's innocent features, but it was hard to see with it wearing a strange sleek armor that covered its head and chest.

It was the size of a young adult human and had shades of purple instead of Mew's pink skin. Nate had never seen a pokemon like that. Giovanni's eyes returned to Nate, telling him softly. "I call him. Mewtwo. Another ungrateful trophy that turned on me... but look how obedient he is now." Nate started to move his fingers, but Giovanni was unfazed by it as he told him in a nicer voice. "Traveling through time and dimensions has really opened my eyes. It's helped me realize the things that are truly important to me. Things I'm not happy without." Nate shifted a little, starting to get control back as he asked bluntly. "Where are my friends?" Giovanni pointed off toward the back, telling him nonchalantly before asking sternly. "In the back. Are you listening?" Nate huffed, growling out. "No. And I don't care." Giovanni leaned forward with ease, bringing his face closer to Nate's, upon saying calmly. "Oh, Nate... I know now that this world can't be saved. But I can save you." Nate looked up, asking uneasily. "What?"

Giovanni straightened back up, informing him in a lifeless voice. "Do you recall... a few hours ago for you... that my younger self sprayed a chemical on Articuno? I said probably something about it making him stronger? More aggressive?" Nate nodded, vaguely remembering it. Giovanni licked his lips, continuing him a little grimly. "I called it a type of forced evolution. Helped my men a lot to win the fights that counted. The sample you saw me use came from things that I took from the lab on Mystic... before blowing it up to cover my own research." Nate managed to sit up, asking gruffly. "So? What does it have to do with me?" Giovanni blinked, staring at him as he told him bluntly. "Because I'm your only hope for a cure. Now let me finish so you understand." Nate tensed. He was infected? Giovanni took a breath and told him as clearly as he could. "You know I was trying to one up my mother? Well, in this present. I combined the power of a prism scale with the fossilized DNA of Mew and the isolated virus that Mystic was researching that made 'shiny' pokemon. Creating what will be known later in time as the Pokevirus. It accelerates the genes in pokemon to force evolution and increase their power to their limits without ANY training."

Nate shook his head, mumbling out. "So, you used me to learn about Shinies too... I thought you couldn't sink any lower..." Giovanni glared at him for a second but composed himself to continue coolly. "Yes. Well, I paid for it. Exposure to the Pokevirus is temporary for pokemon. Triggers them into aggressive behavior. In humans though... It accelerates the body bringing it closer to death. I learned that I had it when it was almost too late... But my friend Pryce helped me catch a Celebi to fix it." Nate's breathing slowed as he said softly. "Are you saying that I'm infected because of you?" Locking fragile eyes with Nate, Giovanni told him seriously. "No... I don't know when you'll get infected exactly... But I'm not letting it happen. I can't watch it... I'm saving you. Together we will finish what we started. We'll be together like we always should have been. Nothing will come between us again." Nate's jaw dropped, upon asking shakily. "What...? You think...? What came between us was your greed. You used me..."