"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 ???."
Mewtwo reappeared in the gardens and collapsed to his knees, fear coursing powerfully through his entire body. He shut his eyes in an effort to compose himself, only to open them to the view of his hands and fingers trembling involuntarily.
Missingno. It was here... here, of all places - why it had chosen the training grounds, Mewtwo had no idea. But now... it had taken Kris's body for its own. And would have Blink's, soon, too. The young Manectric would have no chance of resisting its power. Who did?
<All because I ran away...> he said, feeling an unfamiliar lump at his throat. <Deserted Blink, and Kris too, really.>
I need help, he thought. I can't attack it on my own. The others must be alerted. If Missingno is moving once again in the Game of Time...
<Celebi! Mew!> he called mentally.
First Celebi, then Mew arrived. They hovered silently before him, awaiting, attentive. He cleared his throat, then with a wry smile at the unnecessary habit he'd picked up from Brother Akiva (who needed a voice box and throat to talk), said, <The enemy has moved. The next round has begun.>
Celebi frowned. <So soon after the last time?>
At Mewtwo's confusion, Mew added, <We have not seen your hand in the last play of moves, but fear not, Celebi and the two Lords have been engaging the enemy many times in this round which - unfortunately - has already spanned the beginning of Minami's life itself. I take it the enemy has only just now come to your attention?>
Embarrassed, Mewtwo grunted a mental affirmative. <I have been focusing on my tasks here. Now, the enemy has struck nearby and corrupted someone important to me: a human.>
<Corruption of a human?> Mew asked softly. <Has it lost its old game piece then? I wonder where Sela is now; if the enemy has had need of a new piece and found it in this place.>
Mewtwo shifted uncomfortably. <Sela may have died sometime along the way,> he said.
Mew's eyes flashed in surprise. <Oh, of course. Death. I had not thought of that.>
<Should I move against the enemy again through time?> Celebi asked. <I may be able to save the human.>
Mewtwo shook his head sadly. <I only wish you could. But the times do not match up: should Blink have only taken a minute to reach me from the log box and I teleported back there that quickly we should have seen something happening to Kris. I believe it cancelled time and only started it again once it had finished corrupting Kris.>
<Damn it.> Celebi said angrily, its eyes narrowing. <So you're saying time is out of sync in yet another location? This round is proving too costly. We need to stop creeping around the enemy and attack it directly.>
<Creeping around? I would have done something, yet I felt it would only alert the enemy to the fact I knew it was there.> Mewtwo replied, his pride wounded. <The enemy scares us all, and I was defenseless on my own.>
<You are not on your own any longer,> said Mew. <subjected to the cruelty of humans. You are on the Council. You are one of us, and you will fight for the right to hold this kind of responsibility to the land and its many creatures.>
Mewtwo bobbed his head, feeling his cheeks start to flame. <Understood.>
<So now,> Mew continued. <I call for a forum of war against the enemy with a dozen names!>
And the Council came.
~~~
"Brother Akiva!" shouted a novice excitedly. "Look outside!"
The human looked up from his book and sighed. At this rate he'd never get through the chapter. Standing up and pacing to the window he felt a great need to seclude himself and meditate for the rest of the day, away from the attentions of humans and Pokémon alike.
Until he looked outside. "Oh my..." he said, watching as sparks of energy heralded the arrival of what looked to be like manifestations of gods he'd only seen as statues in temples and the thickest tomes in their valuable library archives.
The phantom; Mew. That Akiva could understand - Mewtwo had spoken to Mew in the past; he was a clone from the legendary, after all. But he could also the Voice of the Forest hovering in plain sight next to them and what seemed to be three others, shining white.
"Bearing with them the power to make vast lands, they rise again." he said in a hushed tone, watching intently as they looked to each other and occasionally nodded. Telepathy? Gods, but he wanted to know what they were talking about. Perhaps he'd have to ask Mewtwo.
He looked down at the book in his hand with a wry smile. Nature's Protectors would have to wait. Witnessing the very actions of the protectors mentioned in the book first hand trumped reading about what the author thought they were capable of.
~~~
As far as Mewtwo knew, the Council was made up of every Guardian to exist. The only reason many more had not appeared was they were not at liberty to leave their jurisdiction. He was the only large creature standing in the forum of war; dwarfing the others who preferred to levitate at his head height.
<What's our first move going to be in the War Round?> asked Uxie calmly.
<One which will accomplish a number of things.> said Mew. <First and foremost, the removal of Missingno from space and time. We must move to banish it swiftly, and also work simultaneously to do what we can to recover the human's body and mind.>
Mewtwo winced. The thought of Kris being permanently damaged by the corrupting touch of Missingno sent a chill all the way down the soft fur on his spine.
<Secondly - and yet in the same move if possible - we must firmly secure the region of Minami.> Celebi said. <In the not now I was asked to guard it. As far as I know I still am, yet... something has changed, and not for the better. I sense the enemy has been involved since the start of the Minami Round. We'll have to rid the land of its presence but I can't do so using the Game of Time until I know how much has actually been corrupted.>
Azelf nodded. <So, we should bring the battle to Minami itself.>
<Only after we find Kris.> Mewtwo said, half pleading with the Council for them to agree.
"Don't worry about me," a voice said from behind him. "I'm right here."
Mewtwo spun. <Kris!> he said. The teen stood confidently before the War Council and grinned, one hand resting gently on Blink's spiked forehead. He looked no different, but Mewtwo had seen the same thing in Sela's case so was not fooled for a second. He backed away cautiously, hoping it would not see the move as fleeing, but wary of being too close... even with the protection he had behind him.
Kris's grin widened. "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty..." he teased.
Before Mewtwo could retaliate - verbally or otherwise - another human burst out from the doors and hurriedly regained their composure before walking reverentially towards them, palms out. The psychic Pokémon swore. Having Brother Akiva here just added an extra complication - now Mewtwo felt worry for two humans who were both his good friends.
<Brother, listen to me!> he whispered, sending the psychic message through a tight thin mental strand. <Do not go near Kris!>
The awed look on Akiva's face was replaced by confusion. "Why not? What's wrong?"
<Mewtwo, how should we move now?> asked Mew politely, aware of the fact circumstances had changed, completely unaware of how tense - and at a loss himself as to what to do - Mewtwo was.
Kris turned his beaming smile onto Akiva. "Brother, I succeeded. I completed the log box training, fully unaided."
And yet again, confusion turned to anger; this time the emotions emanated from Kris's self-appointed foster human parent. Akiva's narrowing gaze flicked to Mewtwo quickly - Mewtwo knew he was being blamed for not keeping a closer eye and couldn't really fault Akiva given the circumstances Kris was in now - and then back to Kris.
To Mewtwo's horror, his advice was completely discarded. The human took a few swift steps and stood in front of the creature using Kris as a mask and said in a tight voice, "Whatever were you thinking attempting to do such a thing, never mind the fact you somehow managed to succeed?"
<Whatever you are planning, do it swiftly!> he roared to Mew, watching as Kris's arms twitched in readiness. What was it planning?
A swirl of power. Pink. Mew's, then. The ground glowing, the two humans and himself finding themselves being blown upwards from the earth. Kris's and Akiva's hair standing on end, Akiva's mouth opening in amazement as the surroundings disappeared and soon everything and everyone else blanketed in a white light.
And Mew, in all her glory, eyes shining pink, body illuminated in pink flames, hands outstretched and tail whipping. Mewtwo, closing his eyes and letting go of the memory of the previous location, took the short time he had to admire her skill. Mass teleportation, taking everyone in the area. It took more than skill to accomplish the feat; an awe inspiring blend of skill, power, and endurance.
He'd only seen her do it once before, when she had singlehandedly rescued the many humans and their Pokémon from New Island. Being the only humans who had braved the storm in the first place, Mewtwo had been inclined to leave them with no memory of how they had ended up there, making it a sort of challenge to them and their Pokémon to make their way back to the main island of Kanto; his last parting gift. As it happened however, Mew had performed a mass teleportation - completely unaided - meanwhile levitating a dozen or so clones behind her as she flew away with Mewtwo.
His eyes focused upon his new location. Was it Minami? Gods, but it was beautiful - the uncanny resemblance to his refuge at Mt. Quena made his heart swell in a confusing mishmash of emotion. Fully aware they were all showing on his face, he shook his head to clear them, then let the psychic source flow through him.
His brain throbbed. He had not drawn this much since... coincidentally enough, since he had rid Mt. Quena - his once-personal paradise - of the virus that was greedy, power hungry humans. He was aware of his blue power shining past his irises, his pupils dilating, his skin flickering with blue flame.
Kris. Where was Kris? Mewtwo spun around, his psychic power acting as a sixth sense, seeing all around him; his equivalent to the Aura sense. There, Kris stood, his eyes shut, his hair still standing on end, vibrating. Accessing Aura. Mewtwo felt the new pang of fear physically; the soft grey hairs down his spine prickling as they stood up.
<Take the enemy down!> the three pixies cried simultaneously, ignoring the second human, glowing red, connected by many glowing strands of power in a triangular shape. Both a barrier and a means of attacking.
Oh, but if it was only that simple. Mewtwo brought his hands together and focused his power towards them. A black sphere spluttered into life and began sparking with electricity. Beside Kris, Blink began to growl. <Get out of the way, Blink!> Mewtwo said. <You don't understand!> Then to Brother Akiva, <Embrace Aura!>
"None of you stand a chance against me!" Kris said. "Not alone, nor together!" As Brother Akiva finally clapped his two hands together and brought them to his chest, muttering the age-old incantation, Kris looked down at his arm, the fingers still trailing through Blink's mane. He smiled. Before Blink knew what was happening, Kris's arm began to suck him in.
<No!> Mewtwo drove the last of the remaining power into the power he now knew as Zap Cannon, and launched it from his fingers. Kris's other arm snapped up, far too quickly to be normally possible, and suddenly there was a red sphere flying towards Mewtwo's attack; ready to counter.
The two met. Mewtwo's Zap Cannon exploded on impact with the Aura Sphere and sent the latter towards Akiva who was close by, standing ready. At first Mewtwo stepped towards him in worry, charging up another Zap Cannon, before Akiva dove to the side, dodging effortlessly. Mewtwo admired his calm neutrality, especially after he had rolled a few times and got to his feet without a word. Just because Aura flowed stronger through a person when their minds were clearer did not necessarily mean it was easy to keep your mind that way after accessing.
Mewtwo looked back to Kris and Blink. Blink was nowhere to be seen, until Kris grinned at him once more, flashing a new pair of canines and shaking what was now his long golden hair. Desperate, Mewtwo tried another attack. He focused, gripping Kris/Blink in a whirlwind of psychic energy, trapping his form. Seeing their chance to finally get close, the three pixies descended over his head and engulfed it in red.
<We have trapped the enemy.> the three said. <Banish it, quickly!>
Mewtwo made to move, found himself also immobile. "Gods!" Akiva cried, his eyes still closed. "What are they?"
He looked around in fright. Nothing. <Brother, what are you seeing?> Whatever those Aura life forces were, according to Akiva they certainly didn't look friendly.
"The air is coming apart!" Akiva said, his voice wavering. "Oh, it's horrible!"
Again Mewtwo looked around, squinting hard. That was when they came into focus, a group of the same creature that had taken Kris, and Sela before him. Mewtwo swore. <There is more than one of them?> he cried, feeling the fear as a physical force, watching as the very air rippled and glitched, pixelating into rectangles and other straight shapes.
RELEASE .M
The voice was sheer pain. <Aargh!> Mewtwo cried, as the two words ripped through his head and left it throbbing from the back all the way through to his eyebrows. He squinted, the sunlight suddenly far too bright.
<We cannot trap all of them!> Azelf said, its eyes shut against the pain, the red light surrounding it and the enemy growing wan. <We must surrender!>
DO IT NOW
This one made Mewtwo's knees shudder, threatening to buckle for the second time. <Don't give in!> he insisted.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DEFY US
From the corner of Mewtwo's vision, he saw as the circling glitches suddenly rippled violently. He heard Akiva moan in horror as the ripples spread, reaching the trees and ground and making everything fragment. Suddenly the three pixies were screaming in agony, losing their glow entirely and shuddering as they slowly started descending to the earth.
.M...
The name was also a question.
I'm winning! .m insisted. We can take Minami for our own!
The others paused. .M, THERE IS A PACT.
I know. .m insisted. Minami is not part of the pact! We can escape Glitch City and live here instead!
Mewtwo looked around in desperation. Now there was nothing to see but the other members of the Council and their horribly glitched up surroundings. He tried to take a step and found himself trapped; yes, he could look around but not move out of his stance.
<Minami is part of the pact!> Celebi gasped. <We found it before you did!>
And yet the pact speaks nothing of Minami. one said. We are within our rights. We will take this good land and make it ours. You cannot banish us now. We have as much claim to it as you.
.m chuckled. And should you fight, we will crush you. I am stronger than all of you combined - and when joined with my kin I am indestructible!
<No...> Celebi whispered. <This can't be happening... We can't just run!>
There was a flash of light from the heavens. Mewtwo looked up and saw the sky begin to blacken with thick storm clouds. Odd. He tasted the air - the unmistakeable scent of ozone was permeating everywhere. How could it storm now, when the very surroundings were corrupted?
The thunder rumbled in, a reply to the flash. The rumble dispersed reluctantly. Mewtwo's ears pricked as he identified a similar sound from the forest. Someone - something - was roaring. The roar grew louder and suddenly a naked form burst from the tree line and leapt onto the pixelated patch of earth with a snarl.
What was it? It looked like a bizarre combination of male human and Pokémon DNA. Not only that - but Manectric DNA.
It was holding something. Mewtwo strained to catch a glimpse as it straightened and turned to look each member of the Council in the eye. An egg. It was a blue egg! A memory started niggling in his mind. Where had he seen a blue egg before? And what had it hatched?
"Kris. Puppy. My only son." it said, its voice haggard. "My friend tells me you're finally here to kill me."
"Son?" Kris/Blink/.m asked. "I am your son?" It looked to its hands, claws sheathing and unsheathing in experimentation, and began to chuckle. "My, what a coincidence! Related by human and Manectric blood! So you... are Dirk? And Strike, at the same time?"
Dirkstrike's nose flared, and its ears flattened. "Puppy!" it wailed. "There is a bad thing in you!"
"I am the bad thing!" .m said. "There is nothing more of the human or the Pokémon's mind!"
A silent snarl lifted Dirkstrike's top lip. Mewtwo watched as its hackles rose and it bent down to leap, placing the blue egg to the ground... not noticing as the ground it touched was restored. Like him, all the other Guardians were merely watching, frozen in shock and curiosity as to what would happen now that .m was distracted. Mewtwo hoped that the other Guardians were still holding onto the fount like he was.
"Then you must be put down." Dirkstrike said, his voice not much more than a bestial growl, and leapt for it, teeth and claws bared.
The two met and clashed instantly with a volley of slashes and snarls, rolling around on the ground. Mewtwo watched intently as father, mother and the two sons battled, still not quite understanding just what was going on and who was who.
<This is the original Guardian of Minami's fault.> Mew said. <Attempting to create a hybrid of human and Pokémon led to this human boy being orphaned; led to him being corrupted.>
Brother Akiva still had his eyes closed. "Kris's Aura is red." he said in a hushed tone. "That's impossible!"
<That is not Kris any more.> Mewtwo said. <Kris has been taken by the enemy.>
"Enemy?" Akiva asked.
Mewtwo decided not to respond. The battle was becoming more savage by the minute; lightning flashing as Dirkstrike whirled in a frenzy of claws and batted Kris down to the ground. Both were bleeding profusely.
Kris grinned up at his father. "You are strong. I shall have you too, I think."
"Bad!" Dirkstrike repeated, raising a booted foot in preparation for smashing Kris's skull in. Mewtwo's jaw clenched in response. This was something he definitely did not want to witness. And yet... he couldn't look away.
Kris moved. One moment lying prone on the ground, the next writhing away in an impossible speed and rising to his feet. His tackle took the unbalanced Dirkstrike around the waist and bore them both to the earth again.
Kris clapped his palms to his father's chest, raising his head and concentrating. The shirt Dirkstrike still wore from his past as a human began to glitch, fragment. Kris looked down, his eyes flickering. His mouth opened in a silent gasp, then he clenched his teeth; raising his hands away in horror.
"Dad?"
Mewtwo's previously tight jaw dropped open. Gods, was Kris taking back command of himself?
"Puppy!" Dirkstrike said. "The bad thing must not eat me!"
Kris nodded quickly. "I can't move." he whispered. "Not much, anyway. I don't know how long I can-"
His breath hissed inwards. "Damned dog!" .m snarled, and gripped anew.
"No!" Kris cried, his face contorting as he struggled to wrest a little control back. "Dad! Mama!"
"Puppy!" Strike yelped. "Do it! Do it now!"
Kris wailed, wordlessly, his clawed hands gripping Dirkstrike's shoulders. Mewtwo watched as Blink began to appear as the strongest form through the horrible mash of human, Pokémon and glitch. Kris's mouth became a muzzle, his hair transforming into a triangular yellow mane, his ears sticking up.
His mouth, growing sharp rows of canine teeth, set in a snarl. "Mama." Blink said. "My tears are always, only, for you." He paused, setting his stance straight, and then lunged for Dirkstrike's throat.
