Well, here we are again on the day before Labor Day, and a week away from Silvermoon's first birthday!
Pikachu, Ness, and Pit: A WEEK!?
…Yeah, a week. Just look at the calendar.
Pikachu: Holy crap. I thought it was two weeks away.
…What?
Pikachu: Well, I guess I was so used to this "Every other weekend" routine, that I thought it would still apply.
Pit: But what will you do with Omega Legacy next week?
I'll post it on Saturday. No problem.
Ness: Will you have enough time?
Hey, tomorrow's Labor Day. That, and I have plenty of spare time to type at school, given that I don't get distracted with reading my old work, typing my writers' essay, or trying to write a Warriors fic.
Pikachu: …You're writing a fic for Warriors? That book series about the cats?
Yeah.
Pikachu: I thought you weren't going to do it until – well, you wrote that one part of that one other fic.
I know, but I've been wanting to do something different on the side, so I figured, 'Why not introduce those two now? I mean, they'll all wind up in the same place, so…'
Ness: Who's disclaiming?
Uh… Wait, lemme see… (checks previous commentaries) I believe it beith Pika's turn.
Pikachu: Alright. Nintendo4ever does NOT own Nintendo, SSBM, its characters and stages, the three Spirits, Silvia Mercury (who belongs to HealingPasts) and the name 'Gamecube.' She DOES own Gamecube herself, the Realms and Spirits concepts, the layout of the Realms, Gamecube's conscience, and the portal system.
And, before we begin, let me disclaim right now that I have no real knowledge of the concept known as déjà vu, except for the fact that it means you think you've seen something before, but you can't remember where. Onward!
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Gamecube faced Mewtwo in the sandy-floored hollow, the orange-pink rays of dawn breaking through the braches above. Mewtwo's arms were crossed, his eyes staring at her in some form of concentration.
"Tell me, Gamecube…" he began. "Do you have odd dreams?"
"I wouldn't call them odd, Mewtwo," Gamecube responded. "All dreams can seem odd. But everything you see in a dream is symbolic."
"Excellent. Now, answer this: Did you dream last night?"
Gamecube quickly searched her mind. She recalled no dream. She remembered no warning. "No."
"Are you sure?" Mewtwo asked again, his eyes glowing golden. Gamecube could almost feel his hand, his telepathic invisible hand, enter her thoughts.
The hand groped around, into recesses of her mind that she never knew of – her subconscious thought. Indeed, it found what it was looking for, and it pulled it into the conscious parts of Gamecube's thought, where her mind's eye could examine it.
Gamecube remembered seeing herself running alongside valiant warriors, trusting and trusted comrades, through a snowy battlefield. She noted that these were not the same heroes she traveled with, but they seemed to be knights and nobles of more medieval realms.
And most surprising of all, her claws remained sheathed, but she held a small iron sword at her side.
She had dreamed the night before.
"Everyone dreams every night," Mewtwo explained. "Most of the time, you don't remember what you dreamed about, and this is often because you don't seem to see it while you sleep. As you said, everything in a dream is symbolic – either of something else in life or of something in the future."
"…Do we dream of the future often?"
"Surprisingly, relatively often," Mewtwo responded. "But most of these dreams are forgotten. However, if what we dream of happens, we feel as if we'd already seen it somewhere before. The subconscious mind brings up the dream to spark you to remember it, and what to do next."
"That's why we have déjà vu, right?" Gamecube concluded.
"Very good!" Mewtwo praised. "Déjà vu comes from the dreams that we don't remember, but our subconscious mind does!"
"So… how can we tell whether our dreams are simply symbolic or prophetic?" Gamecube asked. She wanted to understand the snowy dream. Was she really to battle alongside strangers, or was it representing something about her current adventure? The question burned slightly.
"…I am personally unsure," Mewtwo admitted.
Gamecube's ears pricked in surprise. There Mewtwo was, a sage who could explain the complicated phenomenon of déjà vu so simply, yet he could not distinguish symbols from prophecies in dreams unless they were explicitly pointed out?
"I may be psychic, but it does not mean I am a Spiritually Aware," he explained. "The basis of it is the same, but nothing more. I can't experience direct, face-to-face interactions with Spirits unless they showed themselves to me, which is rare, but at the same time, there's no guarantee you can figure out the inner workings of an enigmatic mind within seconds."
"…I see," Gamecube stated. "But is there any theory that you know of? A possibility is always reassuring."
"I have heard that it may have something to do with the frequency of the dream – its Spirit Signature."
"Spirit… Signature?"
Mewtwo nodded. "Like scents, fingerprints and DNA, no two beings have the same Spirit Signature. Again, only you can experience them, and only if you hone your skills."
"Tell me more," Gamecube prompted, curious.
"Spirit Signatures… from what I understand, these are the unique combinations of forces that compose the soul. It's slightly different for dreams, but all the same, the combinations of forces sent to you when you sleep make up your dream and can determine many factors – where you are, who you see, whether it's symbolic or prophetic, or even if you see it consciously.
"Spirit Signatures start with bases. These are general forces that combine themselves to begin making the Signature. The very first base is Divinity – whether you're a Spirit or a living being. The next is Particular Divinity – what kind of Spirit or life you are, and where you can determine whether or not someone is a Spiritually Aware. Then it goes on to Heritage, Abilities – the specifics of a Spiritually Aware's power are found here – Health, Allegiance – the Realm you serve most, and whether you're good or evil can be determined here – and Mood."
"People's Signatures change depending on mood?" Gamecube asked, awed.
"Yes. Haven't you heard of a fear-scent? Or an anger-scent?"
Gamecube nodded.
"It's the same concept."
"This is a lot to take in," she mumbled to herself.
"Do you understand it, at least?"
Gamecube nodded.
"Then you'll be fine. You'll use the concept when you need it most. Now, you also wanted to learn to control your newfound powers, right?"
"Yes, I do. I want to understand it more."
"Would you like me to explain exactly where the Spirit Ball comes from?"
"Yes, please. I know it comes from my own Spirit Force, but…" Gamecube trailed.
Mewtwo blinked. "Spiritually Aware have extra Spirit Force locked inside them, and at certain points, it can be released spontaneously."
"Which is why my first Spirit Balls came suddenly," Gamecube finished.
Mewtwo nodded. "Unless they can unlock their potential and channel that untamed energy, the results could be anywhere from disruptive to disastrous."
"This almost sounds like when Giovanni offered to teach you to control your powers. He said, 'A wildfire destroys everything in its path. This will be the same with your powers unless you learn to control them.'" Gamecube thought aloud. Mewtwo's eyes widened in shock and his mouth opened the slightest bit.
Gamecube recoiled. By the look in his eyes, she could almost see the flashback, the things he did under Giovanni's mastership that he didn't seem too proud of now. And for God's sake, she had meant to stop! She didn't mean to recite Giovanni's words, but the quote flowed out almost unknowingly… His expression calmed, but there was a small flame of surprise in his violet orbs.
"So you know," he concluded. "You know the entire story, perhaps by heart. Yes, wild Spirit Force will not harm anything it can compose, but other than that, our powers started with those same roots."
Gamecube didn't respond, but she thought about his words. They really weren't so different… perhaps, years ago, Nintendians had failed to see that for so long, yet they were truly one. When they realized just how similar they were, they cast all their differences aside and worked to build stronger, wiser, happier and more peaceful Realms.
So that's how the sacred virtue of unity was born… through such simple words like those, Gamecube realized.
Gamecube blinked, clearing her thoughts for the moment.
"Shall we begin the training session?" Mewtwo asked.
"…Yes. I'm ready."
"Then begin by bringing yourself to a state of complete calmness," Mewtwo instructed. "In the future, when you do this in battle, this will not be necessary. But for now, it'll help you concentrate, and channel the Spirit Force within. Breathe… feel the forces within."
Gamecube closed her eyes, taking deep, slow breaths. She concentrated on the life force within her, feeling her heart beating steadily under her chest, the blood flowing in her veins, and the air moving in and out her lungs.
Soon, she felt a new sensation. She felt what almost seemed like a new soul creep into her, spreading throughout her evenly and calmly. The unchanneled Spirit Force within her was settling down for the first time.
When she opened her eyes again, she felt slightly more powerful and more invigorated. Hell, it probably wouldn't bother her if Wire Frames came crashing into the hollow; she felt like she could take them all down without a single worry.
"Mewtwo… Is this good?" she spoke hesitantly, worried that the smallest disruption of her concentration would either shatter the delicate forces or send them running off into their wild state once more.
Mewtwo gave a ghost of a smile. "Excellent. I-I've never felt such power in such a smooth pattern. You really do have a lot of potential – I can't recall this much Spirit Force at such an early stage."
"Does the amount of Spirit Force increase with training?"
"I wouldn't know firsthand, but I do have reason to believe so, for the more a Spiritually Aware trains and learns to use their powers, the more powers they can use. Some of them – but relatively very few throughout the Realms' entire history – have created massive shields or continually shot Spirit Balls for hours upon hours, defending what they love most."
"Mewtwo, I'm curious. …Have you ever interacted with a Spiritually Aware?"
Gamecube was sure that Mewtwo smirked lightly. "Never."
"Then – then how do you know so much about them that you can train me!?"
His smirk grew. "I learn from my dreams."
Gamecube smiled.
"Now, moving on," Mewtwo declared. "To release a Spirit Ball, concentrate the energy on your arms. Let it out, but keep it within your grasp. Hold the ball."
As he spoke, Gamecube held her hands to her side, one over the other as if she were holding a ball. She mentally commanded the energy within to move to her arms, encouraging it to push itself out. She felt it moving, like a stampede of knights' horses, carrying their masters into battle. A spark of Spirit Force appeared and vanished between her hands. Two more sparks, and the marble of energy she visualized materialized in the center of the small storm that emerged.
It's working! I'm doing it! Gamecube cheered in her mind.
Gamecube's gaze wandered from her growing projectile to Mewtwo. He blinked away and appeared to her right. He began to form a Shadow Ball.
"My Shadow Ball has its limits, but as long as you have extra Spirit Force, yours will continue to grow. To stop it, simply concentrate on keeping the Spirit Force inside you."
Gamecube glanced at her ball. It had grown slightly larger than Mewtwo's full size Shadow Ball. She internally willed the Spirit Force to halt its emergence, and the ball stopped growing, hovering between her hands.
"To fire the ball, simply choose your target and push it in that general direction," Mewtwo commanded. His Shadow Ball flew towards the ground, spewing up sand and dust upon impact. Gamecube watched as it settled.
She picked a place in the center of the hollow. She drew her hands back and thrust them forward, releasing the ball. It struck the ground perfectly; another layer of dust and sand were scattered across the hollow.
"Excellent," Mewtwo praised. "You learn very quickly."
"Well," Gamecube admitted, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "It was much easier than I thought it would be. I thought for sure it would take massive amounts of concentration and constant centering, but I simply thought about what I wanted the Spirit Force to do, and it did it immediately."
"The Spirit Force doesn't control you," Mewtwo stated. "You control the Spirit Force. It's part of you. Once you have it settle down within you, it is yours to command. It's a warrior you can always count on, no matter what."
"Wow…" Gamecube breathed, looking at her hands. "To imagine, such power… is placed in the hands of people like me… I never would have guessed I'd be this way."
"And you can only grow stronger from here," Mewtwo pointed out. "If you could create a Spirit Ball that size on your first try, and feel the flow of energy so easily, then the Spirits know what else you can do!"
"I feel closer to the heavens already," Gamecube stated.
"And…" Gamecube's ears pricked at a new sound. Mewtwo… was laughing a bit. "I have to admit… this session's been… enlightening."
"How so?"
Mewtwo smiled at her. "I feel a bit closer to you already."
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Pikachu: 0.0
Ness: Pikachu, you okay?
Pikachu: 0.0 … -.- …0.o …Yeah. …That last line sorta creeped me out.
Ness: How?
Pikachu: (shudders) Ugh… I dunno, man. I guess I'm just not used to Mewtwo… being like that.
Holy frick!
Pit: What!?
I just looked over the pre-chapter commentary… It measures up to exactly a full page on Word. A FULL PAGE!
Pikachu: I can't imagine what it'll be like on the anniversary.
Hmm… come to think of it, I haven't really planned anything special out.
Ness: Maybe you should. I mean, this is a momentous occasion – your fic is going to be a year old and it'll be thirty chapters long.
Pit: Maybe… Maybe the reviewers could help us out.
Ness: You mean… you think they should suggest what Gamecube could do to celebrate not only the thirtieth chapter, but the one-year anniversary of the fic?
Pit: Basically.
Hey, yeah! So, okay, guys, you heard the man! What should I do to celebrate these joyous occasions!?
Pikachu: Are you seriously going to do the voting thing again!?
Whatever I gotta do, Pika.
Pikachu: Are you sure your parents'll be okay with this?
Hey, they already know I'm talking to other authors via the review system. I'm sure a vote couldn't hurt.
Pikachu: Wait until they express discomfort…
Aw, c'mon! I'm sure they won't mind.
Pikachu: …Well, alright.
Until next chapter, everybody!
