Seeing Mewtwo in pain, Elias frowned.
"Are you hurting?"
He stepped forward and gently supported her, asking the question even though he already knew the answer.
With an incomplete genetic profile and scrambled sequencing, it would've been a miracle if she wasn't in agony.
That she was even still alive was testament to her immense natural power—any other Pokémon would've been dead from this level of torment long ago.
On the other side, Mewtwo, who had been quietly enduring her pain, jolted at his touch. Her fur bristled like a startled cat.
"Human, don't push your luck!"
"I'm only sparing you because I'm in a good mood. Stay any longer and I won't be so kind."
She bared her teeth, voice sharp and threatening.
After being trapped in a containment tank and forced to endure the pain caused by her defective body, she held nothing but contempt for humans.
If she ever got out, she would destroy this entire lab without a second thought.
And while Elias felt different from the others in lab coats, that hostility still remained.
As she spoke, a faint blue psychic glow flared around her—ready to lash out at a moment's notice.
But that flare lasted only a second before vanishing into nothing.
Mewtwo blinked in confusion, staring at the aura Elias had just released.
She didn't understand how this human could use psychic power.
But one thing was immediately clear—his psychic signature was almost identical to her own. In fact... it felt like they came from the same source.
"You... you stole my powers?!"
She took a half-step back, her eyes wary.
Hearing that, Elias couldn't help the sigh in his heart.
Great. She might be strong, but apparently she inherited Mew's low IQ and lack of subtlety, too.
Still, to calm her down, he actively reached out with his own psychic power and let it touch hers.
When she sensed the subtle differences between the two, he explained:
"See? Our abilities aren't exactly the same. I didn't steal anything."
"Actually... you were created using my psychic power as a blueprint."
He kept his tone simple, carefully choosing his words so she could understand.
Mewtwo didn't catch all the details, but one thing clicked:
—This human must be closely connected to her.
But... how could a human be connected to her, of all beings?
While she puzzled over it, Elias enveloped her in a soft psychic field.
Just as Giovanni had suggested, he was going to try easing her pain first—see if that would stabilize her condition.
He'd swapped powers with Gardevoir so often that something like this was second nature to him now.
His psychic field slipped into Mewtwo's body without resistance. Almost immediately, he found the source of the disturbance.
There it is.
Her heart region was a tangled mess of chaotic energy.
Elias narrowed his eyes and began gently unraveling the turbulence, peeling back the layers of discord with the precision of threading a needle.
Mewtwo, on the other hand, instinctively tensed the moment she felt his psychic power entering her.
She was ready to fight back—
—but then, to her alarm, she realized his energy had flowed directly into her, completely unobstructed.
The sensation of a foreign power entering her body made her face flush involuntarily.
She didn't know what this meant, but her body did—and it reacted all on its own.
"Let go of me!"
She glared at Elias, power surging around her as she prepared to strike back without mercy.
But just before the attack could be released, her body trembled.
The psychic energy she'd gathered scattered, dissolving into the air.
Only this time, it wasn't because of some strange sensation.
It was because... for the first time, the pain she'd lived with for months—ever since she'd gained consciousness—was easing.
The thing that had tortured her day and night... was fading.
For Mewtwo, it felt almost impossible.
Desperate, she shut her eyes and focused inward.
And there it was—the unmistakable truth.
The person easing her pain... was this human's psychic energy.
"How did you do that?"
She took two steps forward, voice urgent.
Elias stared at her oversized feline face moving closer and couldn't help rubbing his hands together.
He really wanted to pat her.
But considering how tense she still was, he held back. Instead, he smiled and said:
"Your powers came from me."
"So as long as I'm close by, I can help relieve your pain—at least the physical side of it."
As he spoke, he flicked a strand of his psychic energy in front of her, letting her see it clearly.
Mewtwo's eyes sparkled faintly.
If this human can take the pain away… maybe keeping him nearby wouldn't be so bad after all.
She made a decision, right then and there: once she broke out of this tank, she'd spare Elias—and keep him close.
Just as she was planning how to make him stay, a warm hand suddenly pressed down on her head.
Elias wore a deeply content smile.
He couldn't help it.
Mewtwo looked up in confusion but didn't seem to find anything strange about it.
Holding her gaze, Elias took a moment to choose his words.
"I can help relieve your pain—for now. But it's only temporary."
"So, what do you say? Will you trust me?"
"I can eliminate the problem at its root."
There was no hesitation in his voice. Before coming here, he'd been 90% confident that Mewtwo could be cured using Mew's gene sequence.
Now that he'd made direct contact, that number had jumped to 100.
Mewtwo's pupils contracted slightly.
Her breath quickened.
Almost in a whisper, she asked:
"Really… you're not lying?"
"I'm not lying," Elias replied.
Her psychic senses picked up nothing false in his voice—and her heart began to race.
She reached out with her paw and gently took his hand in hers.
"I swear… if you can really fix me… you'll be the only human Mewtwo ever acknowledges."
"Mewtwo will repay you."
Her paw pads were soft and warm against his palm, and Elias found himself enjoying the moment.
He'd always thought Mew's hands were too small. Mewtwo's were just right.
But he didn't forget the promise he'd just made.
Meeting Mewtwo's eyes, he nodded solemnly.
"Don't worry. I'll start your treatment the moment I step out."
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T/N: NO NOOO NOOOOOOOOOOOOO I SEE WHERE THIS IS GOING NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO