Hearing Elias's promise, Mewtwo finally let out a breath of relief.
She suddenly realized—this human in front of her… didn't look so bad after all.
But once she'd calmed down, one thing continued to nag at her.
If she'd been created using this human's psychic power… then what exactly was their relationship?
Lacking any real understanding of such things, Mewtwo made a mental note to look it up once she got out.
While she was still pondering, Elias gave her head a gentle rub and said:
"Alright, I'm heading out for now."
"Hang in there a little longer. That pain you're feeling—won't last much longer."
With that reassuring line, Elias withdrew the psychic energy he'd extended from his real body. At the same time, his consciousness detached from Mewtwo's.
The empty space of their shared mental realm slowly returned to its usual silence.
Mewtwo pressed her lips together, a faint look of disappointment crossing her face.
She was alone again…
She touched her chest lightly.
Only the lingering psychic energy that continued to ease her pain confirmed that what just happened wasn't a dream conjured from months of solitude.
I hope… you weren't lying to me.
A quiet sigh escaped her lips, her voice a soft prayer.
Even as she murmured, she extended her own psychic sense outside the tank.
Though she couldn't open her eyes, her psychic perception let her observe what was happening nearby.
It was how she'd passed the time all this while.
But the moment she reached out, Mewtwo's brows furrowed.
She could see Elias—he'd just stepped out of the tank area, and the sight brought her a flicker of joy.
But...
There were others near him. Strangers.
And for some reason, each one of them gave off a pressure that sent chills down her spine.
At the same moment, the instant Elias's consciousness returned to his body, both Gardevoir and Latias rushed to his side.
"Garde?(Are you okay?)"
"Elias, did you get hurt?"
The two spoke at once, concern etched in their voices.
As Psychic-types, they could sense that Elias had just linked minds with Mewtwo.
And that was exactly why they were so tense—psychic contact could be unpredictable.
If Mewtwo had gone berserk, even they might not have been able to react in time.
From the moment Elias sent his energy into the tank, Gardevoir and Latias had remained on full alert.
While the two fussed over him, Mew—who had quietly drifted over—also wore an expression of concern.
Not because she thought Mewtwo might hurt Elias. Please. That child wouldn't dare lay a paw on her mother, let alone someone like Elias.
That was the power of bloodline suppression.
No—what Mew truly cared about was this:
What did Elias think of Mewtwo?
After all, not every Pokémon was as likable as she was.
What if Mewtwo had inherited none of her charm and brilliance? What if she came off awkward or standoffish and left a bad impression?
That thought made Mew feel personally responsible. She'd stay close—just in case her daughter needed moral support.
Just as she was thinking that, Elias spoke up:
"I'm fine. Mewtwo's still dealing with some physical discomfort, but her personality's good. She treated me kindly."
He gently reassured Gardevoir and Latias.
Only then did their anxious expressions begin to ease.
As long as Elias wasn't hurt, they could relax. And as for his opinion of Mewtwo… come on, who'd be wary of a half-grown child still floating in a tank?
Mew, on the other hand, practically lit up upon hearing that.
So she did inherit my likability after all!
Her little cat-face beamed with joy, and a broad smile nearly burst off her cheeks.
Of course, this smug grin earned her a sharp look from Gardevoir.
"Garde?(What are you smiling at?)" Gardevoir asked warily.
"Mew!(None of your business!)" Mew huffed and flew off defiantly.
She wasn't scared of Gardevoir anymore!
Meanwhile, Elias had already stepped over to the lab's control terminal.
The screen in front of him monitored Mewtwo's physical status in real time—and even displayed her preset development plan.
But that plan had been based on incomplete genetic data from Mew, which was why Mewtwo was suffering so much.
Now, it was Elias's job to use the complete Mew gene sequence to revise and rewrite the settings.
He would fix Mewtwo. Entirely.
His fingers began flying across the touchscreen.
Thanks to his training with Professor Oak, Elias wasn't some uneducated amateur—he was a competent researcher in his own right.
Which meant the complex data flashing on the screen was well within his grasp.
Not far away, Dr. Fuji caught sight of Elias's actions—and his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
Earlier, when Elias had used his psychic power to ease Mewtwo's pain, Dr. Fuji had been stunned, even impressed.
After all, Elias had accomplished something that trained professionals hadn't been able to.
But now he was tampering with the lab's data structure? Modifying a genetic sequence?
That wasn't impressive—that was reckless.
"Giovanni! Stop him!"
Dr. Fuji abandoned all pretense. If he wanted to protect the Mewtwo he had created, he had to act now.
Giovanni, hearing the panic in Fuji's voice, didn't immediately intervene.
He looked toward Elias, brow furrowing.
He didn't think Elias could reconstruct a complete Mew gene profile from scratch, especially without proper data…
But...
"Let him be. Don't stop him."
He raised a hand to halt the approaching security team.
Giovanni's eyes narrowed.
After all the miracles he's worked before…
"I hope… you can pull off another one."
He murmured the words under his breath.
On the other side, Elias—working from a complete gene template—was revising the on-screen data at lightning speed.
With a deep breath, he tapped in the final segment.
The moment he confirmed the change, the liquid in the incubation tank behind him began to bubble as if boiling.
A soft blue glow shimmered across Mewtwo's body.
From this close, Elias could clearly see—
—Mewtwo's eyes had opened just slightly.
She squinted at him, expression subtle—but unmistakably smiling.
"Thank you… You weren't lying to me."
"You're the only human I'll ever acknowledge."
Her youthful voice echoed in his mind again.
And at the same time, Elias felt a gentle pull—a psychic thread tugging at his awareness.
She wanted him to return. One more time.
Back into the space they'd shared.