"Betray not your anger, lest ??? will come. Weep not with sorrow, or ??? will draw near. When joy and enjoyment come natural as the very air, that is happiness. Let such be blessed by the hand of Master ???."
Ten years later...
"Aura is with me!"
The man had blindfolded himself in order to escape the pink light seeping in through his eyelid skin. In complete darkness, he only had his other five senses to rely on. Out of those, it was his secondary sense of sight - the ability to see the world around him with Aura - which was the most important.
A swishing sound into his left ear. Hearing, of course, was an important sense too. He ducked to the right and felt the tiniest buffet of air on the left hand side of his face. Almost instantly he reacted again, bending backwards and to the left.
He saw the flash of bright blue past his body; the traces of Aura still remaining in the large log of wood. From behind him another log flew quickly past and he bent rapidly away from it, inhaling rapidly at the speed in which he'd had to react.
Focus, he told himself firmly. Focus on the Aura! All around him was a shifting world of dark blue, the only clues to the strung-up log's locations and directions was the view of white and light blue outlines plummeting towards him.
Until it happened. Again. No! he cried into his mind, feeling as the Aura sense shrank slowly from him and the visual world around him slowly turned black.
He didn't see or sense the log which hit him full force in the back, lifting him into the air and throwing him a few metres forward. He collapsed, his back a burning throbbing circle of pain, his lungs feeling as they had suddenly shrunk to the size of his closed fist.
He gasped for air, winded, feeling tears rush to his eyes at the pain. He lay immobile on the earth, hearing as the logs continued their pendulum-like swaying above him. Don't pass out, he warned himself, feeling the pain and lack of oxygen threatening just that. You cannot be weak any more.
From high above on a wooden platform, Blink howled his sorrow to the open skies. The lanky Manectric - only very recently evolved from an Electrike - leapt daringly from the platform to aid his Commander.
Ducking under the logs with lightning fast reflexes, he whined as he noticed his Commander's state. He knew he couldn't do anything to assist his breathing. But there was a chance somebody else could. He backed away, still watching in concern, reluctant to leave his friend struggling for breath; then turned quickly and dashed away.
~~~
Mewtwo had just been strolling down near the gardens, his mind relaxed, when a yellow blur shot up from nowhere and nearly tackled him over with two muddy paws. Struggling to regain both his dignity and his balance, Mewtwo's arms flailed wildly. <Blink!> he thundered. <You know you can't do that any longer!>
"Trouble!" Blink yelped. "Boy! Commander! Help! Hurry!" He took a few hesitant steps backwards, eye contact never leaving Mewtwo's face, and whined wordlessly.
<Has Kris been trying to train alone again?> Mewtwo asked, suddenly realising the gravity of the situation. He strode forward and when Blink whuffed an affirmative, grasped onto his mane; preparing to teleport them both quickly to the log-box.
~~~
Kris lay there for what seemed like an hour, the earth spinning nauseatingly under him as he counted the seconds of each breath. The swishes of the logs above him sounded odd, as if deeper and longer; as if time was slowing.
His back felt as if it had been branded with a large red-hot piece of metal. I feel sorry for Bullet, he thought randomly, remembering how the big Tauros had bellowed when Dirk had made his mark on skin and hair, then sighed mentally. Most likely I have broken a rib or two. Proof enough - definitive and painful proof - that he really did suck at Aura channeling.
That's not true, came a voice. Well... it doesn't have to be if you don't want it to. I can help you if you would like.
Kris felt a sensation like a tickling wind against his throbbing back, the pain receding magically. He took a big breath and sighed in contentment. "Who... are... you?" he whispered, his breath still very short. He reached round to the back of his head and deftly undid his blindfold with one hand.
Many have asked that very same question, the voice said, chuckling. I like you, so I think I will answer properly. I am the Missing Number.
"That's an... odd name." Kris said faintly, feeling a smile quirk at his mouth. "Are you... a Poké... mon?"
He waited a long time for an answer, forgetting his breathing practices for a moment and regretting it once he felt his lungs seize up again in the panicky feeling of being winded. Concentrating on holding his breath for a few counts, he waited until Missing Number spoke again before letting air in again. It felt like he was sucking air from a straw, but he soon forgot his discomfort at what he heard next.
Oh, yes, I am. Missing Number said. I am a Guardian, what humans call a Legendary Pokémon. I can help you, I can heal and restore you. I can even give you that power you covet so much.
"What's in... it for... you?" Kris asked. "Why... would a... legendary... help me?"
Oh, Kris... Missing Number said sympathetically. You don't know, do you? You have no idea? Kris, you're special, so very special. You have so much inner power, many Guardians around the world have been looking after you from birth. We all need you to survive, Kris. For there is a great battle coming, and you are the chosen human who will command us, lead us all to victory. But first you must gain control of the power, and I can help you do that.
Kris's eyes sparkled. "I will lead... command the legendaries? Even Regigigas?"
Even Regigigas. Missing Number said.
"Even... Mew?" Kris asked.
Yes, even Mew. said Missing Number with excitement. All you need to do is ask me for help, and I will give it.
Kris gritted his teeth, feeling the brittle smile refuse to leave his lips even as he sought to stifle it. The conflicting emotions warred within him - half of him wanted to burst out laughing even though he knew he wasn't up for a giggling fit with his lungs still feeling the size of Pinap Berries and just as spiked. The other half of him, he realised, was insistent on one thing and one thing only. But for now, he didn't allow himself to speak.
Missing Number's voice was urgent when it spoke next. Had Kris not been listening for the subtle impatience, though, he probably would have missed it. I cannot give you powers untold until you verbally ask, Kris. And the battle is nearing. The Guardians - all of them - need you.
Kris couldn't help it. He began to laugh. Whatever Missing Number was, Pokémon or otherwise, no matter how close to death he probably was by inciting its wrath (there was no doubt if it had the power to take pain away it also had the power to inflict it) suddenly it didn't seem to matter. He just had to call its bluff.
"You know," he said through his breathless giggles, "you almost had me convinced in the beginning that you were willing to help me to sustain my Aura power. That was a good ploy; pander to my weak side."
There was silence. Then, What do you mean? It is no ploy. I will give you more Aura power than any other human has ever had. I promise.
"You're a liar." Kris said. "All of it is one big lie. I'm not special, I'm certainly not talented, and I wouldn't even trust Brother Akiva to do what you're suggesting."
I'm not a liar. I tell the tru-
"I met Mew!" Kris shouted. "Mother Mew talked to me. Me! And do you know what she said? That she would never submit to a human! She's not like other Pokémon. There is no battle, no war that I have to lead the legendaries in to do battle with someone. Liar!"
He struggled to his knees, then to his feet, whirled quickly around - no sign of the physical presence of the mental force inside his head - and started stomping back to the Seer Repository. This whole thing reminded him far too much of... that other time, when Blink and he'd both only been pups... and they'd still both had a parent to speak of. The same sort of enigmatic forces, voices without the means to speak the language of humans. Telepathic Pokémon. Was he just unlucky having to confront so many of them in his lifetime?
Oh, I didn't lie about that, Kris. Missing Number said silkily. It's true Mew doesn't understand a lot of things, like loyalty, trust, sacrifice. That's because Mew doesn't feel emotions. But you do, and so do I. And right now I'm feeling upset that this... that you are proving so difficult.
Kris faltered at the edge of the wooden structure, feeling the hairs on his scalp and the back of his neck start to prickle. He felt his digestive system lurch unpleasantly. Before him he could see Mewtwo and Blink; unmoving, as if time had stopped completely for them. Both were greyed out - Blink seemingly more monochrome, being a vibrant blue and yellow ordinarily. It made him want to be sick.
Mewtwo's hands were clasped around Blink's neck, there seemed to be a grey haze around them both. It took Kris a moment to figure out it should have been purple: the visible evidence of Mewtwo's psychic powers.
Teleport.
"What did you do?" he whispered.
I am not a liar. Missing Number said coolly, as if it hadn't even heard Kris. There is a great battle coming. And yes, right now I do want to keep you alive. Because you are the one human who will lead your forces to victory... or should I say I will be the one human. Once your Arceus-damned brain realises you are much better off not resisting.
"Mew damn you to the pits of the abyss." Kris said. "No."
Oh, yes. You know it to be true.
"NO!" Kris screamed, whirling around to face the nothing which threatened to destroy his entire life. "NO! FUCK YOU, NO!" How to do battle with an enemy you couldn't see? How to access Aura when he was simply far to worked up to concentrate enough and too afraid to close his eyes? Still, it was his only hope.
"Aura is with me!"
His eyesight blurred, willing him to blink and ease the discomfort. He resisted, watching as two images began to overlay each other; his normal eyesight against shifting hues of blue and black. And then, something began to ripple in the black space of nothingness (the empty air) before him and turn to a chaotic rectangle-shaped image of red.
Impossible. There was no red spectrum in the second sight. Aura was blue, always blue. Occasionally it bordered on purple especially in Mewtwo's case, but never...
Don't be so surprised. Missing Number said, flickering black and red. You are red, too.
Kris gasped and looked down at his own Aura. It was true. His Aura form - normally a white outline bordered in blue - was now red; black also flickering here and there.
You're wondering why, of course. Something differs this time though, Kris, from any other time you have accessed Aura. Missing Number said. Something your tutors have guided against ever since you started training.
Kris's mind was buzzing, working even as Missing Number started metaphorically dangling the truth in front of his eyes. There was something in what the... thing was saying, that was for sure, no matter how much Kris wanted to try the next step in the Aura training - summoning power, rather than just seeing it - and blast it into complete oblivion.
Hold on a second... he thought.
He grinned suddenly, widely. "It's emotion, isn't it." Forgetting the practice of taking a minute to clear his mind, banish any emotion from his mind. Suddenly finding himself summoning Aura in a fit of anger, ignoring the warnings of Brother Akiva against trying it at all: Your mind will be distracted, unable to keep focus.
But no, Brother Akiva had been wrong just this once. Kris wasn't distracted; the Aura through his body felt alive, his veins sang with raw and undoubtedly potent power. The visual Aura around him blazed white and true. Triumphant, Kris closed his eyes and was deluged with the strongest image of the Aurascape he had ever seen.
Yes, it is your emotion. Missing Number said. It is your anger, your rage. It smiled, red teeth appearing and disappearing in the mishmash of floating red and black. We are one and the same.
"Missing Number, you have been right about a lot of things, but there you are definitely mistaken." Kris said, exultant in his sixth sense, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck vibrating. "We are not the same."
Soon, we will be. it said, and began to metamorphose rapidly into a four legged shape, obviously intended to remind Kris of Blink. The thing growled, laying back its ears and snarling with a toothy maw far too big for its head.
Cold anger burned as Kris brought his hands close, focusing on that particular area intently, sweeping all his Aura towards his palms. He watched as something sparked into life, pulsing larger and larger as he continued to struggle it into being.
Missing Number laughed. Amateur.
"What are you waiting for, huh?" Kris yelled, looking to it and then back to his red Aura sphere, which was still growing steadily. "Bring it!"
His foe paused, its back legs tensing, then it leaped for him. Kris thrust his powers towards it desperately, only to watch as his beautiful anomaly of an Aura sphere - red and black just like him - absorb completely and not even slow the creature lunging for his chest.
Its paws connected. Kris felt nothing, not even when its teeth found his throat. He clasped his hands around its front arms to try and pull it off but felt his hands grip nothing but themselves. And the being pulled him, not physically but somehow differently; sucking him in.
"You shouldn't exist," he gasped, feeling as he himself fractured into little pieces. "Why-"
Missing Number finished amalgamating the human with a chuckle of pleasure. "I shouldn't exist? True, maybe, true." He opened his eyes, and was greeted with a refreshing picture of colour and depth perception. "But I do. I think, therefore I am."
His eyes narrowed as he noticed the human and the Pokémon frozen in time. Time to finish this.
~~~
Mewtwo and Blink arrived in the training block instantaneously. Blink coughed and shook himself, casting an irritated look up at Mewtwo. The electric Pokémon might not have been able to get here that quickly but running for a minute or two was far more comfortable than having your body transferred psychically from one location to another in a split second.
<Get over it, Blink.> Mewtwo grumbled, scanning the area. <Kris? Where are you?>
Blink huffed softly, loping over to the logs where they continued on their powerful swings through space. Just as he remembered; his Commander lying prone underneath the logs, shadowed by them. Behind him, Mewtwo followed, gasping audibly when he spotted the human's bent position. <Oh, Blink, you didn't let him do this alone, did you?> he said rhetorically. <Brother Akiva will be ropable.>
"Don't tell him then." Blink said simply, nimbly making his way to the centre, sinking his teeth into Kris's shirt and pulling. That was when Kris came back into consciousness, coughing weakly. Blink released him and whined, backing away. The cough... it had smelled odd.
"Blink?" Kris said. "You there, pal?" Still lying down, Kris began to crawl until he was free of the log structure. "Oh man... Mewtwo is going to kill me..."
<That's Brother Mewtwo to you, Kris.> Mewtwo said testily from a few metres away. <But no, I'm not going to kill you. For the love of Mew, I'm trying to stop you from doing as much to yourself!>
Kris raised his head. "Blink, good boy, come here." He beckoned with a hand.
Blink whined again, looking down at his Commander with a suspicious eye. Was he just mistaken, or did that oddness smell all the stronger now Kris was conscious? What was it? Try as he might, he could not shake the feeling the odd smell was also bad. Not that Kris was acting strange, or saying anything unexpected. Had his nose finally failed him? Was it just a phantom scent?
The scent was suddenly masked with that of salt and water. The Manectric watched as Kris's eyes suddenly overflowed with tears. "I failed again..." he whispered. Overcome with the need to support his Commander, Blink padded over and curled up next to him.
He looked back to Mewtwo. "Come closer." he said, now more perturbed than ever. "How good is your sense of smell?"
Mewtwo bristled as he stepped in front of them. <Fine,> he said, sounding insulted, inhaling deeply. <I can smell everything you can, pup; dirt, wood, human, Pokémon...> Suddenly his eyes flew open and his mouth quirked in an unknown emotion. Blink watched intently as Mewtwo struggled to regain his composure.
Was his worry at this scent justified, then? Blink wondered what Mewtwo would do now he had also smelled - and apparently identified - it.
<Kris, can you walk?> Mewtwo asked softly. <How hurt are you?>
Eyes still wet with tears, Kris shook his head. "No, I don't think I can."
Mewtwo nodded. <I thought so. Well, I will go and get help from the healers then. A stretcher, I think. Perhaps bandages...>
With those distracted-sounding words, Mewtwo disappeared.
