---

Half asleep, Jared looked around, as he tried to make sense of the sound.

"Rocket Grunt Jared, are you going to keep me waiting...?"

Rubbing his eyes, Jared finds a well-dressed Rilo frowning by his bedside, along with Alakazam, "Uh!"

"Did I not tell you to be ready at any time?"

Finally shaken from dreamland, Jared responds properly, "Yes, just... can you please give me a few minutes sir?"

(...I don't remember him saying that... actually, we never really talked... and how'd he even get through the locked d... oh right, probably the Alakazam...)

Rilo gestured to the front door, "Five minutes, grunt," and with that, Rilo and Alakazam suddenly vanished.

(... I know that I am at the bottom of the totem pole of the Rocket Gang, but to barge into someone's room while they are sleeping is a bit much... I nearly had a heart attack, what time is it anyway?)

Dressing, and gathering his things as fast as he could, Jared was out the door and almost bumped into Rilo, Jared almost wanted to say, (hey, the door is right there, did you really need to have the Alakazam teleport you 10 feet...?!)

The red-faced Rilo mocked, "Are you upset your precious Neil couldn't make it?"

Jared bowed, "No sir, I'm happy to be of service to one such as you."

But, inwardly, Jared contemplated, (Why is he doing this schoolyard bully act? I don't remember offending him... Is this how he treats those below him, or is there something more to this... he did seem unhappy about the mission...)

.

Suddenly, Jared found himself in an unfamiliar forest clearing.

Jared's eyes went wide, (That's a lot of people...)

Gesturing to a very large tent, Rilo scowled, "Stop dawdling grunt!"

Before entering the tent, Jared could hear Rilo grumbling, but he couldn't make out what he said.

Inside the spacious tent, a map was sprawled on a table, with Neil and the other two executives discussing something.

Rilo took a seat, while Jared waited to the side.

Jared listened along, but they seemed to be speaking in a code that only they understood.

.

Holding a picture, Neil turned his head to face Jared, "This is the specimen your haunter will be looking for. The specimen is psychic type, and exceptionally dangerous. "

Squinting his eyes, Jared confirms his earlier speculation, (...Mewtwo)

"Where should I look?"

"You won't be. The creature kills all humans it encounters, and it can detect lifeforms within half a kilometer. So, we have decided that you will remain in base camp. Your haunter will locate the creature's exact position, and then using a small camera device we will provide for him, he will snap a picture of the specimen, and then we will take care of the rest. Don't worry, the camera is simple enough for even a pokemon to use."

Nodding, Jared tapped Nyx's pokeball, and Nyx appeared in a flash of red.

In Jared's mind, Nyx spoke, "Human, what is this?"

Jared didn't respond, in fear of Nyx's telepathy being discovered, (...I wonder why they didn't just ask to borrow Nyx... Or, maybe they were concerned that Nyx won't cooperate with them without me... well, they are probably right, it's hard to make Nyx do anything he doesn't want to do...)

Pointing to a map, Neil broke Jared from his musings, "The specimen was last spotted in a tunnel of caves twenty kilometers northeast of here, can you convey that to your haunter?"

(Twenty KM is a long way in a forest... and Nyx is awful at directions... or, are they that worried that Mewtwo can detect them...?)

Jared then replied, "I'm willing, but Nyx has a bad sense of direction..."

The seductive woman chuckled, as she eyed the ball of gas. Nyx glared back.

Neil spoke after a moment of consideration, "We will have a small pokemon escort your haunter to the cave."

Rilo mumbled, "Typical grunt... all incompetent and unreliable..."

"Alright Nyx, do you think you're up for it?"

In Jared's mind, Nyx roared with sinister laughter, "It finally begins."

.

Standing in the clearing, Jared watched a troop of Mr. Mimes, Abras, Kadabra's, along with many assortments of different fanged pokemon, such as houndooms and even an arcanine.

Watching the formation, Jared pondered their goals, (Psychic types are not weak to psychic, are they planning to use the Mr. Mimes to prevent Mewtwo from escaping, by encasing him in barriers? and I suppose all these abras are... Hmm, probably for teleporting the formation directly ontop of Mewtwo? I suppose now I know why they want Mewtwos exact coordinates.)

.

Time passed, and Nyx was back.

Standing in the large tent, Jared presented the small camera, and an explanation, "Nyx informs me that the specimen is meditating on a rock."

The executive's eyes all lit up.

Neil nodded approvingly, "You've done w-"

Neil froze, he suddenly couldn't move a single muscle!

He then saw himself above the ground, but he felt it was strange. He didn't understand why there were five headless bodies below him. This was his last thought before everything went black.

Shocked by the blood and gore, Jared retched.

The assailant didn't linger long, as the base was now in chaos.

From inside the tent, Jared could hear endless screams.

Looking to Nyx, he found his partner was smiling wider than he had ever seen.

.

(Where am I? Who am I?) Opening his eyes, Jared saw a towering human before him.

Wearing a white coat, the giant stuck a needle in his arm to draw blood.

Jared tried to struggle, but he was bound by restraints.

Watching the giant converse with another giant, Jared tried to speak, but no words left his lips.

The two giants left the room, and then the room became pitch black.

Jared didn't know how long he slept, but when he awoke, the giant was back, and he watched warily as the giant man began ripping flesh from his arm.

Screaming in agony, Jared tried to plead for him to stop, but to no avail.

Soon, the giant was finished. The giant removed a tube connected to Jareds body, and then fitted in a new one. Once more the light was turned off, and it was darkness.

These days repeated endlessly.

As the days passed, the giant began to grow smaller.

One day, Jared felt as if he could feel the area around himself. He felt as if he could see, but not see.

.

The next day, the man was back.

Preparing to draw a blood sample, Jared cried out, and focusing on the sharp tool with malice, the hated object somehow flew out of the man's hand.

This was the first time Jared saw this expression on the man's face. The giant that haunted even his dreams suddenly didn't seem so scary.

.

Running out of the room, the man closed the door without shutting off the lights.

Soon he was back, and this time, Jared saw something he had never seen before, it was a strange creature holding two spoons.

With glowing eyes, the creature watched Jared. In turn, Jared curiously observed the spoon-holding creature.

The man said something Jared didn't understand and then he brought out his sharp tools.

Jared tried to fling the sharp object away from himself, but he was suddenly unable to. It was as if he were suppressed by something.

.

These days continued. The spoon-wielding creature and the man would return, but no matter how he tried, Jared was unable to stop his tormentor from harming him.

A long time passed, and finally! Finally, he was able to fling that hated object away!

The man and the spoon creature hurriedly left the room and shut the door.

Jared suddenly started feeling very sleepy.

.

He didn't know how long he slept, but when he awoke, he felt drozy, as if something was forcing him to sleep.

Jared felt as if he slept too long, and fought the urge.

He could see through the bubbling water. Some people were rushing about. ]

Jared noticed that they were showing the same expressions as his tormentor. He then felt as if he could understand their emotions.

(They want to hurt me, they want to keep me trapped here!)

Suddenly the glass shattered, and Jared limply crawled out, and he pulled the tubes and other objects attached to his body using his mind.

He didn't know how he could do these things, but it felt natural. He felt as if his long sleep had honed him somehow.

The men's creatures tried to stop Jareds escape, but he was not going back, he wanted to fulfill his long-cherished wish, and finally become free!

.

Jared blinked, and suddenly, he was back in the familiar tent.

"That's... ...right... I'm... I'm... Jared..."

He couldn't stop tears from dripping from his eyes. He felt he had lived a lifetime of hell, and felt fragile at the moment.

Ignoring the headless bodies, Jared got to his feet, and then he exited the large tent, because he could feel something calling to him.

And there, standing in the midst of gore and blood, Jared found an intensely familiar creature. Not even a single drop of filth tarnished the creature's pristine white body, as it looked back, while holding the detached head of an alakazam.