Disclaimer 'n such: Don't own pokemon, Nintendo does, Don't own the
character Ki and others native to the story "Between Two Worlds", Mystic
Mewtwo does. Rest assured I *am* using her characters *with*
permission, and have permission to mess with her universe for my own ideas.
In
this chapter, I am introducing my character, Sharie, the same one from
"Of Moonlight Shadows and Echoes Past". Mystic Mewtwo liked the idea
of my bringing her and Ki together in one story. Here, my other story
never happened, but the character is essentially the same--except for her
eye color, altered to match Ki's for an important reason to be revealed
later.
Rated PG-13 for violence and language. You've been warned.
Shadowed Reflections, Chapter 2 By ZeoViolet
****
When Nurse Joy materialized back in Pallet Town's pokemon center, the place was not quite as empty as it had been when she left.
The girl behind the counter, buisly clacking information onto a computer keyboard, almost jumped off the chair in sheer surprise. She looked at Nurse Joy, startled, complete shock reverberating in her unique green eyes.
"Nurse Joy!" she exclaimed, feeling her heart thudding loudly in her chest. "Where on earth did you come from, teleporting in like that?! Are you all right?"
"I'm all right, Sharie," the nurse reassured the visibly shaken girl, who sank back into her chair in relief. "I promised not to tell where I have been, but I can tell you I am all right."
"I am glad you are fine, but you came--teleporting in. Don't get me wrong. I know a teleportation signature when I see one--or feel one."
Since it had been kind of obvious, Nurse Joy could not deny it. "Yes, it was," she agreed simply.
Sharie looked at her a moment longer, then shrugged and went back to her work. It was obvious she had decided to ask no more questions--if it was that important as the look on Nurse Joy's face indicated, she thought, she had no right interfering.
"Did you finish those files that you offered to do for me?" the nurse asked, to change the subject.
"Some time ago. I was just transferring them into the folders you wanted when you, uh, dropped in. Here, I'm done now." She yanked out a disc and handed it to the nurse. "There you go."
The nurse's jaw dropped. "Goodness, you're fast. Thank you."
Sharie only shrugged. "Just volunteering my time here. I am happy to help you. I have to have *something* to do, you know."
Nurse Joy wondered for the umpteenth time why the girl simply did not follow in her father's footsteps. She certainly had the training already, and the mind for it--but not the heart or the drive, it seemed. Nurse Joy just kept her mouth shut when it came to this, for it was obvious the girl did not want to travel that path.
"You do more than enough. Thank you," said the nurse, smiling at her.
Sharie's full red lips did quirk upwards in response, but it often pained Nurse Joy because Sharie's smiles never reached her eyes, eyes that
were often like mirrors so they reflected the person's image back to them, and showed nothing else, no flicker of emotion. Sharie seemed to be the type to hold herself *that* tightly guarded.
"It's getting late, and I can see you've kept things in order for me here. You can go home, if you want."
"If you do not need me anymore tonight."
"I'll be fine. You've done a wonderful job. Now, maybe you should get some rest."
Sharie smiled faintly as she headed for the door. "Good night, Nurse Joy."
"Good night, Sharie."
As the girl left, Joy stared after her. *She's always so alone,* she thought. *What is she so afraid of? Not everyone has a cruel heart, and you'd never tell by just looking at her alone how different she is. That must be part of the reason she's so like Ki. I like both of them enough. Are there really more nasty, unforgiving people in the world than I have thought? Or were those she knew growing up--except her family, I know they loved her and tried to protect her--just a particularly
small-brained, rather heartless bunch? Whatever the case, they really did a number on her sense of self-worth. She has none.*
****
Sharie Triesta walked the short distance to the edge of town, by the sea, where she had decided to stay in a small home for awhile. She'd been traveling for months now. If this place still unsettled her, she could always try facing the sea in front of her, and the islands ahead.
*I've got to. I've got to find out what kind of a person I was meant to be. I don't want to be just a...a freak of nature, with the powers I have been more cursed than blessed with. Is there *any* reason, *any* purpose, however small, for why I was born this way? How much I want for there to be a reason, even a small one.....but there isn't likely to be any, is there?*
The salty sea winds blew against her, ruffling her tightly-curly light gold bangs. The rest of her waist-length hair was just as curly, but not one for caring about her looks, she simply kept it twisted up out of her way on top of her head.
Her eyes widened as they took in the rolling sea in front of her, her toes tingling as she felt the very lifeforce of the waves beckong her, flooding through her.
*I'm alive,* it said. *The whole earth is alive.*
Yes, she almost shouted back to this powerful feeling. You are alive.
If only humans knew it.
How she felt what the pokemon felt about the earth that nurtured them, when no other human could, was a mystery she could not explain. LIke that dam she'd once heard about being built. The head construction worker cancelled the project because he finally understood what the pokemon
were telling him--the disasters of his actions would be astounding if he completed it. The pokemon had known what would happen long before he did. Even the trainers that were called in, their pokemon had known and had refused to come out of their pokeballs.
It was this same type of sense, this awareness, that Sharie found herself plagued--or blessed, she wasn't sure--with. She had no idea why she had it and had even less idea of what to do with it. But she could sense the forces of nature around her, like any pokemon. When she'd told her family, they believed her, but she'd told few others.
Those others she *had* told had thought she'd gone nuts.
It was why she rarely told anybody of her other powers, either. In the labs she practiced her control away from everyone else, except occassionally the psychic lab pokemon. Like talking to pokemon, or her psychic abiltiy. From a full family of psychics and scientists, she was both herself, but never quite blending in....still always.....*always*.....different. Just different.
Although her family had loved her and tried to help her cope with it all, it was impossible. Many out there were good, but others, Sharie had learned long ago, were very cruel.
And because she was psychic, like many members of her family, she never forgot anything she saw or heard. So the more unforgivable images from her past were forever seared into her mind--and what was left of her heart.
If she still had one.
*Da, I love you, and you too, Uncle Fuji. But no matter what gains I'd make in the scientific field, or the psychic field, I'd never fit in.*
Unwanted images filled her eyes, images she tried to push away. *There'd always be the whispers, the cruel remarks, those who would think I
was just as much an experiment, a test subject, as any lab pokemon, or that labs were so appropriate since I did not belong in civilization. I cannot accept that anymore. I must find out who I am, whether I actually have some purpose in this life, or an aberrant shadow. It isn't likely I have any real purpose, but I am driven.
Sharie shivered, recalling the events that had almost taken the lives of her father and uncle. *Mewtwo must have felt that when he escaped Da's lab, and later Team Rocket's with that....woman who chose to go with him.*
Sharie shuddered, remebering at least three versions of the story she'd been told by her Da's old colleagues from Team Rocket, before they had quit. *However it happened--I cannot fault the poor guy. His heart must have felt the way mine feels. I feel so empty.*
A cold wind blew, whistling past her ears and echoing in the infinite valley of her thoughts. *Is there truly nothing more than this in my future?*
****
The quints were a week and a half old now, opening their eyes more and getting more awareness of their surroundings. When they were awake, their eyes opened wide, examining anything and everything.
*Maybe you should start taking them outside,* Mew had said a few days before. *Let them see the sun, the sea, that kind of thing.*
*I am not exposing five babies at once to the dangers of the outside world,* said Mewtwo firmly.
*Then don't. Take one at a time outside for a little while. I'll watch the other four for that amount of time.*
Mewtwo at the time still disagreed, but he had to admit Mew's suggestion had merit. He loved caring for his new family with Ki more than
anything, but the job *was* keeping them indoors 24/7. After discussing it
at length with Ki, they'd worked out a routine.
Every morning, after the first routine feeding, if the weather was nice, they'd pick one baby and take him or her outdoors, to a nearby island
or something, for a couple of hours. It would be timed right after their morning feeding so they would not get hungry while their parents were gone, and they'd rotate infants so each got a turn. Not only would it garauntee them some outside time, it was a good way to give each baby a turn at having some individual attention by both his or her loving parents.
This beautiful morning was Aaryanna's turn. It was her first time outdoors, and when Ki and Mewtwo stepped forward into the sunlight, Ki holding her daughter in her arms wrapped tightly in a blanket, the baby's eyes blinked open, revealing their unique green depths, so like her mother's.
Those twin pools of deep green immediately widened in understandable wonder as she viewed the perfectly blue sky above her, and saw tiny forms passing overhead, shadows of pidgey, spearow, and butterfree flying over the island.
*Welcome to the world, my little Aaryanna,* Ki said in a very soft tone. *It's a big place out there. Want to go see some of it with me and your daddy?*
"Mew!" the child gave a tiny squeak in response. She smiled also, happy to be going with them.
Ki smiled back at her, hugging her to her heart tightly as they lifted into the air. Vaguely, she felt Mewtwo's psychic hold on both of them; it was plain he was taking no risks, especially not with a newborn--*or* her mother, the love of his life. This way was something they'd agreed on at Ki's insistence after she got tired of being carried one too many times. It wasn't that she missed Mewtwo's strong arms around her, holding her lovingly--she simply also adored the soaring feeling of flying more or less under her own power. However, until she could fly securely, even mentally Mewtwo was not letting go.
His only love.
If he lost her, he'd die. It was that plain and simple.
None of them knew that this brief outing was about to turn into a nightmare.
****
The Fearow surrounded and attacked them before they had time to react.
Ki screamed in response to the sudden assault, pressing Aaryanna to her breast and curling herself around her baby, trying desperately to protect her.
Stiff wings were striking Ki all over. Fearow have high attack levels, and even higher speed levels, and the wing blows bombarding her felt like the crushing blows of a mallet.
Only vaguely could she sense Mewtwo's own distress. He was torn, trying to keep the birds off himself but far more concerned with her and Aaryanna. There were so many and they were moving so fast even he, a legendary pokemon, could not move fast enough.
*Ki! Aaryanna!*
And the confusion around him was so great he could not outright risk using a damaging psychic attack to drive off the birds. He could not aim accurately and could accidentally strike Ki and Aaryanna. Nor could he teleport them away, for he had lost all sense of direction. He could not even use Disable, for again the fear of hitting his mate and child in the confusion.
*Ki! My Angel! Aaryanna!....*
The pandamonium went on for several seconds, turning into a horrific nightmare that would not end.
Much to his surprise, out of the blue he heard a sudden shout, a distinct femenine voice resounding over the fray.
"Shoo! Scat! Leave them alone, I tell you!"
*That did not come from Ki...* he dimly thought over his pain.
Through the haze of his senses, he could faintly begin to see another figure....a smaller figure, but human. As shocking as it was to see one up here, there could be no doubt. It was not Ki.....but this figure was flying, nonetheless. This figure began helping them to beat off the birds.
"Fear! Fearoooowww!!!!" it made the birds mad, and some of them began to turn on the stranger instead.
Mewtwo's vision cleared just a little bit more, and even Ki noticed by now, bruised as she was. To their astonishment, the female figure began to glow an ameythst color. A ball of energy formed in one of her hands, energy she flung at the birds surrounding them all.
*How is she....*
It was all Mewtwo had time to register.
A sharp blow to the back of his head seared his senses with pain for an instant, and he felt the blackness rushing upon him.
*Mewtwo!* He barely heard Ki's mental scream of terror.
*I'm dying...my Angel...my Aaryanna....* were his last thoughts as he lost consciousness over the waves below him.
****
*This is happening so fast* Sharie thought frantically to herself as she fought off the birds. Whatever had gotten them into such a frenzy, they weren't listening to anything, even to her. They were past that, whatever had spooked them, and they were taking it out on whomever they were attacking.
Although she'd almost had a heart attack when she saw who it was they were attacking. She did not know the woman, but the pokemon was unmistakable!
*Oh, goodness!* She felt a flash of frightened fear shoot through her, though she did not stop her movements. *It is the pokemon....the pokemon my father and Uncle Fuji created!*
It was the one known as Mewtwo, whose existence had almost cost Uncle Fuji and her father their lives.
The young woman with him--Sharie could not make her out clearly--could only be the woman reputed to have gone with Mewtwo when he escaped, giving truth to the wild stories she'd heard.
The woman was curled over something, trying desperately to sheild it from harm.
It looked like she was holding a blanket, but then a crying, squeaking wail of terror reached Sharie's ears over the noise. The bundle was howling loudly in fright.
The baby! The woman was trying to protect a baby!
At that, Sharie did not pause, even to think how or why. She just renewed her effort to beat off the birds.
As she had fought, the pokemon had looked her way; she knew she'd been seen. She did not care.
She only knew she faced a decision.
Her actions, right now, placed her very life in the pokemon's hands. His anger would be great when he discoverd how she was bound, by blood, to those he'd probably loathe the most.
What would it matter about what they'd been forced to re-learn about how pokemon might feel? They'd been ravaged with grief, as had she, over her cousin Amber's death at the time. She had no doubt they'd not been thinking clearly, but as psychics, surely they'd have known better. They had not even told her of their unholy contract with Team Rocket in creating these clones until they'd been nearly killed, after which she'd demanded every bit of information they'd been keeping from her. They had not told her because they knew her feelings about such things, and indeed, she'd been horrified. Only after a long discussion, airing all their feelings and reasons--namely, Amber--had she forgiven them, but she privately felt Mewtwo was entitled to any revenge he might have burning in his breast.
But it was apparent he only wanted to be left alone.
And with the woman who went with him, if that is who this young human woman was.
Her father and uncle, as well as Team Rocket, had treated Mewtwo so badly, and had done him such a great disservice, treating him as if he were below them, or a machine, simply because he was a pokemon.
He was entitled to his anger, and his revenge, after all he had been put through. Try as she might, Sharie knew she could not fault him. Out here, they were not harming anyone.
She made her decision. She continued to struggle, charging up her powers and fighting off the birds, regardless of the consequences to herself.
****
Just seconds after Mewtwo began to drop, Ki felt his psychic handle on her body give way. She staggared in the air, not prepared for the abrupt shift.
*No!* she screamed in telepathy. *Mewtwo! No, my love!*
He was dead, he had to be! He wasn't moving, and dropping like a stone towards the waves below.
She could no longer see the stranger who had leaped into the middle of the fray earlier, also fighting off these crazed fearow. It has been shocking enough to see her power up like she had done, but Ki had, by now, all but forgotten her, in the wake of this!
A violent burst of pain in her head stunned her, though, before she could think any more. Aaryanna's cries screamed in her ears for an instant, and all went dark. She didn't care--Mewtwo was dead, and she and her daughter were all but. However, she knew she'd see them again soon--she was following them to wherever their souls went next, for damned if she'd leave them alone.....
****
Just moments before Mewtwo hit the waves below, Sharie, struggling with her psychic blasts, managed to get a telekenetic fix on him. He began to glow amethyst as he hung there, suspended and unconscious, in midair.
Almost as fast, the other one, the human, cried out and also started to drop like a stone, still curled around the child she was so vailently trying to protect.
In an instant, Sharie was mentally holding her unconscious form in midair, as well.
She had to get to them, before the woman went entirely limp and dropped the baby she held frozen in her unconsious grip. Sharie was not certain she could hold them for long while fighting off these birds.
She held up her hand again, charging up her energy one more time for her psychic expanse attack. The ball of Amethyst energy in her palm began to glow, and lifted into the air by the biggest flock of the Fearow, where it dropped in the middle of them and suddenly expanded.
Somehow, it worked. The birds finally gave up their crazed assault, at last convinced that Sharie could easily kill all of them. She had taken care not to kill a single one, but she had made it plain she was capeable of it. Those who could no longer fly were supported by their friends as they soared away, screaming their outrage.
Sharie barely allowed herself to draw in a shuddering breath of relief. She was still alive, though one of her legs was burning unmercifully from the sharp beak of one fearow that had left a long scratch down her calf. It wasn't deep or bleeding heavily, but it still hurt.
She ignored it, flying instead over to the group whom had been the Fearows' victims. Both were still unconscious, suspended in midair, and it
was plain they were hurt. The woman's frozen reflexes, having done so when she went unconscious, were beginning to relax, and Sharie hoped she would not drop the bundle before she got there.
She did, barely in time. From the young woman's limp arms Sharie pulled a loudly crying and squeaking bundle, and a very tiny one at that.
The cry did not quite sound like a human cry. Surprise, Sharie pulled back part of the blanket to investigate further.
Her surprise turned to one of absolute and total shock, for she was unable to believe her eyes.
A Mewtwo! A baby Mewtwo!
*Why?* Sharie thought, totally stunned. *Better yet.....*how*?*
The baby in her arms was very scared, and made it plain, too, crying loudly and thrashing in her blanket prison.
"Shh, little one, it's okay," Sharie crooned, looking around quickly. She spotted an island in the distance, a tiny one, but it would have to do. The baby was unharmed, thankfully, but Mewtwo and the woman were both hurt.
She decided to put all thoughts aside until later.
Quickly, Sharie re-wrapped the infant and hugged her protectively to her breast and flew off towards the island, mentally bringing the pokemon and the human behind her in tow.
****
Only later, after she had laid them down on the grass and started to treat their wounds, did the questions start again.
Was this really as it appeared, considering the stories she had heard? About Mewtwo and his 'whore'?
After she had bandaged their head wounds and the unconscious woman's leg wound with one arm--holding a crying baby Mewtwo in the other, it wasn't easy--she paused in her work.
She unwrapped the unhappy infant, for the first time getting a really good look at her. And in doing so, Sharie felt something in her heart crack achingly.
She was beautiful. Stunningly beautiful. Very small and perfectly formed. Her unhappy cries touched Sharie deeply.
Very softly, Sharie began to croon to the baby, her sweet voice attempting to soothe the tiny life in her arms.
The little Mewtwo stilled in response, listening. She stopped crying and opened her eyes, which locked, dimly surprised, with Sharie's. for several seconds she was still, then she smiled faintly, astutely listening to the sweet melody, while snuggling against Sharie and giving a soft coo.
Sharie was very surprised, but didn't stop. The innocent, trusting action of the baby had speared her deeply into her heart. The feeling was unknown to her, but she was grateful for it.
To the little Mewtwo, the woman holding her wasn't her mother, but the baby somehow suddenly sensed a similarity that was comforting. For the first time, she allowed someone other than her parents to hold her without her protesting it. Whoever she was, she was no threat.
A few minutes later, she was peacefully asleep.
Carefully, Sharie studied her. She was a gorgeous shade of azure, pale azure on her upper body, but her belly and tail were a much deeper shade of the same color. Her eyes, when open, had astonished Sharie the most--the eyes of this baby were exactly like her own, down to the very shade of unique green she had. Sharie had gotten her eye color from her mother and she had never known anybody else with this exact same shade.
Her fingers brushed the tiny cheek in wonder. The surface of the face was very soft. It was apparent she'd been well taken care of.
*Sleep peacefully, little one. I promise you'll be all right. They'll be awake soon.*
Carefully, she laid the infant down by the human woman, her mind still racing. Based upon what she had heard, was this truly how it looked? Was this woman the so-called 'pervert' who had an affair with a pokemon?
And the baby? How did she fit into this?
Images of the attack began to replay in Sharie's mind. Something she'd sensed, but had been to busy fighting to really take note of, until now.
Charging up her energy had lowered her barriers somewhat, the psychic stuff that went into her head. She'd sensed it, and now, she was aware of it all the more.
She had sensed a deep link between the two, not only psychic, but emotional. Right here and now, even, she could feel it.
She also remebered Mewtwo's loud telepathic cries towards the others, "Ki! Aaryanna!"
He had sounded like his heart was breaking.
And when he had dropped, the woman had psychically projected a powerful wave of dispair in his direction.
She also remebered her father's strange reaction to the news of this supposed affair. He had not sounded shocked at all, nor had he spoken of it as anything wrong. In fact, he said he'd been willing to bet there was much more to it than a few simple rumors.
At the tme, Sharie had looked at him strangely, but had not questioned him.
Being a person so different from others had also made Sharie very nonjudgemental. She'd learned to see things as being more than just outside appearances. It was the heart and soul that mattered. She'd learned the hard way that nobody could be happy if everyone judged others and their actions so shallowly.
Did this picture look so wrong to her?
The words echoed in her mind with finality. *No. It isn't. If their hearts and souls are so deeply connected as I sensed, then that is what is important in life. We'd all be even more unhappy if it wasn't. Something so strong cannot be wrong. Besides, I am so different from others, I have no right to pass judgement in any case. Everything tells me
that while the outside may be different, it must be their souls that call to one another, that's what counts.*
She smiled to herself. She should have known from the beginning, upon first seeing them, that she'd end up passing no judgement. Really, it was sweet. She'd seen this same type of bond in her parents, who'd loved each other with undying devotion. It was why her father had neer married again, or even looked at another woman again.
The same feeling permeated the being of this couple. It was too strong for her to miss. Nobody had to be a psychic to see it there.
And the baby?
Another slow realization was beginning to dawn on Sharie. As a scientist, she knew it wasn't impossible for human and pokemon DNA to be compatible. More compatible than most would have ever dared consider. Mewtwo was living proof.
Still, the next thought sent an icy chill down her spine.
Was this child both of theirs?
It was no doubt that she was Mewtwo's, certainly. But could the woman have possibly.....
Sharie looked at the woman again, and noticed the front of her shirt was damp in places. Sharie reached for the pack she'd had on her back and pulled out her scanner, running it over the young woman.
There were indeed signs of recent childbirth in the woman, her uterus was still healing, and the high levels of hormones both there and in her breasts told Sharie volumes, making it pretty clear that what had entered her mind was indeed true.
The woman was the little Mewtwo's mother.
The thought sent another shockwave rippling through Sharie, then she shrugged and dismissed it. So their love had produced a dazzlingly beautiful, precious little baby. It was not only proof that humans and pokemon were indeed compatible, it was proof of the love she sensed very clearly.
Sharie stopped again, noticing a spreading stain on the bandages on the woman's leg. The blood was seeping through the cloth wrapped around it. The bleeding hadn't stopped.
Quickly Sharie applied pressure to pressure points around the wound with one hand, while getting a blood sample for her scanner with the other. She hoped the woman would not need a transfusion, but if she did, she'd need to know the blood type.
Thankfully, a little added pressure was all the wound needed. Sharie could only hope she'd not lost *too* much blood.
She sighed and sat back, running the sample through the scanner.
When the results came up, she frowned. That wasn't right. Human blood, sure--but pokemon DNA mixed in?
Sharie ran it through again and got the same results. She reached for her other scanner, the knot of surprise in her stomach getting stronger.
The other scanner removed all her thoughts of a malfunction.
Goodness! The woman was a walking medical miracle! She was half human, and half mew--just like Mewtwo!
Quickly, she went to Mewtwo, and held the scanner directly to his skin to test his DNA. She didn't need a needle for a sample.
The results were exactly alike, as if they'd come from the same person.
All Sharie could do was sigh. The mystery surrounding it all was getting deeper by the minute, although the bigger picture was becoming clear. Mewtwo, and this woman, seemed to be more alike than outsiders could fathom. It wasn't so impossible, once she considered it, that they'd be so attracted to each other. Not when they were so alike. Maybe it helped. And it especially was a factor in how easily she'd obviously become pregnant.
Sharie could tell she was a beautiful woman. She'd certainly produced a dazzling daughter.
To a girl like Sharie, who'd been so different all her life, meeting, by sheer chance, two others who were so different, she found herself feeling the exact opposite of what most other's reactions to this all would be--the silent signs of their life together were causing her to admire them and their grit more and more.
These were two individuals, those considered "different", who appeared to be making it--a future.
And she'd not spoken a word to them to confirm it. Somehow, she just knew.
It made her happy for them, even if Mewtwo saw to it she would not be around for much longer.
If that was their destiny, maybe this, what she had done and accepting What Mewtwo would do to her--would be her destiny.
*****
*My baby! Where is my baby?!*
Ki struggled in the throes of her nightmare.
*She's gone! My baby's gone! Mewtwo, my love, I swear I did not mean to! She's gone! I couldn't protect her!*
Her heart wrenched with it's violent sobs. Her baby was gone, her love was gone. She was alone, she had nothing.
Not anymore.
****
Sharie held the woman's shoulders to keep her from thrashing around in her unconscious nightmares. She could not get the woman awake, but it was plain that what she was seeing--crying out for her love, Mewtwo, and her baby, and grieving because she thought she'd lost them--was ripping her heart to shreds.
Trying to keep her psychic surges under control--if she was half mew, it was no surprise she was this strong--wasn't easy, either.
Sharie had no idea how to reach her now, to tell her it was all right. Not in the mind of a total stranger.
It was a long time before the woman quieted, slipping back down in the dark void where she'd been before.
****
Sharie turned back to a wailing, unhappy baby Mewtwo.
"You sense their distress, don't you, little one?" she whispered, gently rocking the child to comfort her.
A little hiccup came from the baby's throat as her sobs began to quiet. Her green eyes opened and Sharie could see the fearful desperation in their depths.
"Ah, little one, how can I assure you that they'll be fine?" Sharie hugged the child to her breast. The little Mewtwo gradually quieted. "Their injuries aren't as bad as I thought. They won't be asleep too long, maybe in a few hours...."
She lifted her head and frowned. They'd already been unconscious for three hours now. She was certain they'd wake up before too long, but she had no way of determining exactly *when*. She felt sure the baby would start fussing again soon, from hunger.
The woman's shirt had spreading damp spots on her chest, telling Sharie clearly how they'd been feeding the infant.
*Well, little baby, I can't feed you that way, not now. You won't be used to formula, but I have no choice."
In her medicinal pack she always carried a special formula for baby and very ill pokemon, those that could not digest solid food for some reason or another. Right now, Sharie was glad she had it with her. She hoped the baby would not protest too much. With babies, when faced with a choice of hunger or simply something different to fill their bellies, they'd rather not go hungry. It was the same for humans or pokemon.
With that in mind, she rapidly poured the formula out of it's container and into a baby bottle she also had in her pack.
*It's odd,* she mused. *Da would have said I was nuts for carrying such things like baby bottles with me, but I figured you never know what will happen. I am proving my hunch right, Da.*
No sooner had she finished than she noticed the little Mewtwo's face scrunching up again, preparing to let loose with a howl.
"Sh, little one,don't cry," Sharie said quickly, scooping her up. "I've got lunch right here."
"Mew-ew?" Obviously, the baby understood the statement, somehow. The infant craned to look at her sleeping mother.
"I'm afraid she can't help you this one time, pretty one," Sharie continued in a low tone. "Would you be willing to try something different--just this once?"
She held the baby bottle to the child's mouth as she said this, unsure of how the baby would react.
The baby gave her a dubious look, her eyes clearly asking "what's that?"
Somehow Sharie was unsurprised. She reached down to the soft cheek and gently rubbed her fingertips against the side, close to the mouth, utitlizing the "rooting reflex" common to many pokemon and humans alike.
It worked. The child opened her mouth in an instinctive response, and began sucking as soon as Sharie put the bottle in her mouth.
After a few suckles, however, she stopped, looking at Sharie with eyes wide in surprise.
Sharie could not help it. She had to laugh.
"It's not that bad, is it?" she asked.
If the infant could have shrugged, she would have, but Sharie was getting an inkling of an adaptive, if a spirited, nature. The baby mewtwo started sucking again and finished the whole bottle quickly.
*Yes, she knows her stuff,* Sharie mused to herself as she put the bottle aside. *She'll have a very spirited personality, but she'll also keep her head, and not have a tendency to overreact. Those are good qualities to have. Your parents are very lucky, little one.*
She lifted her head and sighed. *So what if the outside world would condemn them? They already are luckier, and have more, than most could ever dream to have, because they are tightly bound by love. The proof--you can see it, especially in this little one. If I needed any more
convincing, all I have to do is look at this baby's forehead. It can't be pure chance that the mark on her forehead is in the shape of a heart.*
As the baby snuggled to sleep in her arms, Sharie lifted her head and looked at her unconscious parents.
Color was already returning to their bodies, and to the woman's face, and Sharie was certain that they would wake up soon. Their future was assured.
However, once they started to question her, and the fact she had no intention of lying to them about her background, it would make her future definetly uncertain. Besides, since it was impossible to hide the fact she'd recognized Mewtwo easily and had the powers she did would make telling the truth even more imperative.
A full six hours after they were knocked out, Ki opened her eyes.
****
Sunlight assaulted Ki's senses, pain flashing through her head and throbbing in her temples as she came to awareness.
Before she could even get her bearings, the awful nightmares she'd been plagued with flashed through her mind, making her instantly aware of the fact she was still alive, somehow.
*My baby!* she mentally shrieked. *Where's my baby?!*
Her eyes flew open as she sat up immediately, ignoring the surging dizziness she felt.
*Aaryanna!* she cried. *My baby, where is she?*
"You're awake." A sudden, femenine voice startled her. "Good. You've been out a long time."
*Where's my baby?* Ki demanded, breathing hard. Her unique green eyes turned towards the voice as a girl was suddenly there, kneeling beside her.
"Then I was right in my guess the child belonged to both you and Mewtwo. Do not worry, she's fine. Here she is, and she wants her Momma."
To Ki's astonishment, the strange girl was holding a blanket-wrapped bundle in her arms. A soft coo issued from within, calling to Ki's heart--she knew it was Aaryanna.
*My baby,* she said, very low, in a desperation. *She's alive? Please give me my baby.*
"I would not dream of keeping your child from you," Sharie answered, surprised at the woman's unusually desperate intensity. "You've been unconscious for six hours since the Fearow attacked you and the other pokemon. I've been caring for the child while I've been tending your wounds."
Ki started to cry as she eagerly accepted her daughter into her arms. The baby looked into her mother's eyes and gave a happy squeak of contentment. Ki looked her daughter over, utterly grateful she was uninjured.
*Thank you,* she said, low. *You were the one who helped us, weren't you? Thank you for saving her. I don't know what I'd have done if....*
Her green eyes filled with panic. *Where is he?* she demanded. *I can sense him, he can't be dead! Where is--*
"Calm down. The one called Mewtwo is fine. I guess I'm blocking your vision of him."
Sharie moved aside so Ki could see Mewtwo lying nearby, just a few feet away.
*He's hurt!* cried Ki, instantly distressed. *Oh, my love--*
"Calm *down*, Miss," Sharie said firmly. "He will be all right. He'll wake up soon, the same as you have. You both got knocked out, remember?"
The finer details of it all came flooding back to Ki's mind. *Yes. I don't know why....but then suddenly, you were there, helping us. You saved us, didn't you? How?*
"I'm psychic, Miss, just like I sensed you were," Sharie said quietly. "You've been speaking in telepathy. This isn't how I usually prefer people to find out, but--" Sharie shrugged. "I used my powers to help you."
Ki's eyes met Sharie's. She was shocked to her toes to see how identical their eyes were--and even more shocked, as she studied Sharie closer, to see how identical their *faces* were.
*Are you--* Ki began. *You are that psychic girl Nurse Joy told us about--the one with inborn powers, like mine!*
*And you,* Sharie returned in a sudden switch to telepathy, only slightly surprised to hear the reference to Nurse Joy--so that's where she'd been--*Are the one who fell in love with Mewtwo, and with him, escaped the dangerous web of Team Rocket.*
Ki's eyes widened as she looked into Sharie's. She was suddenly aware that the girl was aware of their situation, of her relationship with Mewtwo, and surely of the child.
And yet, her unique green eyes were soft, and supporting. As aware as she was, Ki felt it strange that she could sense no condemnation or disgust from this woman.
Not in the least.
But was that a good thing?
****
Ohh, get's better and better, ne? Watch out for chapter 3!
Rated PG-13 for violence and language. You've been warned.
Shadowed Reflections, Chapter 2 By ZeoViolet
****
When Nurse Joy materialized back in Pallet Town's pokemon center, the place was not quite as empty as it had been when she left.
The girl behind the counter, buisly clacking information onto a computer keyboard, almost jumped off the chair in sheer surprise. She looked at Nurse Joy, startled, complete shock reverberating in her unique green eyes.
"Nurse Joy!" she exclaimed, feeling her heart thudding loudly in her chest. "Where on earth did you come from, teleporting in like that?! Are you all right?"
"I'm all right, Sharie," the nurse reassured the visibly shaken girl, who sank back into her chair in relief. "I promised not to tell where I have been, but I can tell you I am all right."
"I am glad you are fine, but you came--teleporting in. Don't get me wrong. I know a teleportation signature when I see one--or feel one."
Since it had been kind of obvious, Nurse Joy could not deny it. "Yes, it was," she agreed simply.
Sharie looked at her a moment longer, then shrugged and went back to her work. It was obvious she had decided to ask no more questions--if it was that important as the look on Nurse Joy's face indicated, she thought, she had no right interfering.
"Did you finish those files that you offered to do for me?" the nurse asked, to change the subject.
"Some time ago. I was just transferring them into the folders you wanted when you, uh, dropped in. Here, I'm done now." She yanked out a disc and handed it to the nurse. "There you go."
The nurse's jaw dropped. "Goodness, you're fast. Thank you."
Sharie only shrugged. "Just volunteering my time here. I am happy to help you. I have to have *something* to do, you know."
Nurse Joy wondered for the umpteenth time why the girl simply did not follow in her father's footsteps. She certainly had the training already, and the mind for it--but not the heart or the drive, it seemed. Nurse Joy just kept her mouth shut when it came to this, for it was obvious the girl did not want to travel that path.
"You do more than enough. Thank you," said the nurse, smiling at her.
Sharie's full red lips did quirk upwards in response, but it often pained Nurse Joy because Sharie's smiles never reached her eyes, eyes that
were often like mirrors so they reflected the person's image back to them, and showed nothing else, no flicker of emotion. Sharie seemed to be the type to hold herself *that* tightly guarded.
"It's getting late, and I can see you've kept things in order for me here. You can go home, if you want."
"If you do not need me anymore tonight."
"I'll be fine. You've done a wonderful job. Now, maybe you should get some rest."
Sharie smiled faintly as she headed for the door. "Good night, Nurse Joy."
"Good night, Sharie."
As the girl left, Joy stared after her. *She's always so alone,* she thought. *What is she so afraid of? Not everyone has a cruel heart, and you'd never tell by just looking at her alone how different she is. That must be part of the reason she's so like Ki. I like both of them enough. Are there really more nasty, unforgiving people in the world than I have thought? Or were those she knew growing up--except her family, I know they loved her and tried to protect her--just a particularly
small-brained, rather heartless bunch? Whatever the case, they really did a number on her sense of self-worth. She has none.*
****
Sharie Triesta walked the short distance to the edge of town, by the sea, where she had decided to stay in a small home for awhile. She'd been traveling for months now. If this place still unsettled her, she could always try facing the sea in front of her, and the islands ahead.
*I've got to. I've got to find out what kind of a person I was meant to be. I don't want to be just a...a freak of nature, with the powers I have been more cursed than blessed with. Is there *any* reason, *any* purpose, however small, for why I was born this way? How much I want for there to be a reason, even a small one.....but there isn't likely to be any, is there?*
The salty sea winds blew against her, ruffling her tightly-curly light gold bangs. The rest of her waist-length hair was just as curly, but not one for caring about her looks, she simply kept it twisted up out of her way on top of her head.
Her eyes widened as they took in the rolling sea in front of her, her toes tingling as she felt the very lifeforce of the waves beckong her, flooding through her.
*I'm alive,* it said. *The whole earth is alive.*
Yes, she almost shouted back to this powerful feeling. You are alive.
If only humans knew it.
How she felt what the pokemon felt about the earth that nurtured them, when no other human could, was a mystery she could not explain. LIke that dam she'd once heard about being built. The head construction worker cancelled the project because he finally understood what the pokemon
were telling him--the disasters of his actions would be astounding if he completed it. The pokemon had known what would happen long before he did. Even the trainers that were called in, their pokemon had known and had refused to come out of their pokeballs.
It was this same type of sense, this awareness, that Sharie found herself plagued--or blessed, she wasn't sure--with. She had no idea why she had it and had even less idea of what to do with it. But she could sense the forces of nature around her, like any pokemon. When she'd told her family, they believed her, but she'd told few others.
Those others she *had* told had thought she'd gone nuts.
It was why she rarely told anybody of her other powers, either. In the labs she practiced her control away from everyone else, except occassionally the psychic lab pokemon. Like talking to pokemon, or her psychic abiltiy. From a full family of psychics and scientists, she was both herself, but never quite blending in....still always.....*always*.....different. Just different.
Although her family had loved her and tried to help her cope with it all, it was impossible. Many out there were good, but others, Sharie had learned long ago, were very cruel.
And because she was psychic, like many members of her family, she never forgot anything she saw or heard. So the more unforgivable images from her past were forever seared into her mind--and what was left of her heart.
If she still had one.
*Da, I love you, and you too, Uncle Fuji. But no matter what gains I'd make in the scientific field, or the psychic field, I'd never fit in.*
Unwanted images filled her eyes, images she tried to push away. *There'd always be the whispers, the cruel remarks, those who would think I
was just as much an experiment, a test subject, as any lab pokemon, or that labs were so appropriate since I did not belong in civilization. I cannot accept that anymore. I must find out who I am, whether I actually have some purpose in this life, or an aberrant shadow. It isn't likely I have any real purpose, but I am driven.
Sharie shivered, recalling the events that had almost taken the lives of her father and uncle. *Mewtwo must have felt that when he escaped Da's lab, and later Team Rocket's with that....woman who chose to go with him.*
Sharie shuddered, remebering at least three versions of the story she'd been told by her Da's old colleagues from Team Rocket, before they had quit. *However it happened--I cannot fault the poor guy. His heart must have felt the way mine feels. I feel so empty.*
A cold wind blew, whistling past her ears and echoing in the infinite valley of her thoughts. *Is there truly nothing more than this in my future?*
****
The quints were a week and a half old now, opening their eyes more and getting more awareness of their surroundings. When they were awake, their eyes opened wide, examining anything and everything.
*Maybe you should start taking them outside,* Mew had said a few days before. *Let them see the sun, the sea, that kind of thing.*
*I am not exposing five babies at once to the dangers of the outside world,* said Mewtwo firmly.
*Then don't. Take one at a time outside for a little while. I'll watch the other four for that amount of time.*
Mewtwo at the time still disagreed, but he had to admit Mew's suggestion had merit. He loved caring for his new family with Ki more than
anything, but the job *was* keeping them indoors 24/7. After discussing it
at length with Ki, they'd worked out a routine.
Every morning, after the first routine feeding, if the weather was nice, they'd pick one baby and take him or her outdoors, to a nearby island
or something, for a couple of hours. It would be timed right after their morning feeding so they would not get hungry while their parents were gone, and they'd rotate infants so each got a turn. Not only would it garauntee them some outside time, it was a good way to give each baby a turn at having some individual attention by both his or her loving parents.
This beautiful morning was Aaryanna's turn. It was her first time outdoors, and when Ki and Mewtwo stepped forward into the sunlight, Ki holding her daughter in her arms wrapped tightly in a blanket, the baby's eyes blinked open, revealing their unique green depths, so like her mother's.
Those twin pools of deep green immediately widened in understandable wonder as she viewed the perfectly blue sky above her, and saw tiny forms passing overhead, shadows of pidgey, spearow, and butterfree flying over the island.
*Welcome to the world, my little Aaryanna,* Ki said in a very soft tone. *It's a big place out there. Want to go see some of it with me and your daddy?*
"Mew!" the child gave a tiny squeak in response. She smiled also, happy to be going with them.
Ki smiled back at her, hugging her to her heart tightly as they lifted into the air. Vaguely, she felt Mewtwo's psychic hold on both of them; it was plain he was taking no risks, especially not with a newborn--*or* her mother, the love of his life. This way was something they'd agreed on at Ki's insistence after she got tired of being carried one too many times. It wasn't that she missed Mewtwo's strong arms around her, holding her lovingly--she simply also adored the soaring feeling of flying more or less under her own power. However, until she could fly securely, even mentally Mewtwo was not letting go.
His only love.
If he lost her, he'd die. It was that plain and simple.
None of them knew that this brief outing was about to turn into a nightmare.
****
The Fearow surrounded and attacked them before they had time to react.
Ki screamed in response to the sudden assault, pressing Aaryanna to her breast and curling herself around her baby, trying desperately to protect her.
Stiff wings were striking Ki all over. Fearow have high attack levels, and even higher speed levels, and the wing blows bombarding her felt like the crushing blows of a mallet.
Only vaguely could she sense Mewtwo's own distress. He was torn, trying to keep the birds off himself but far more concerned with her and Aaryanna. There were so many and they were moving so fast even he, a legendary pokemon, could not move fast enough.
*Ki! Aaryanna!*
And the confusion around him was so great he could not outright risk using a damaging psychic attack to drive off the birds. He could not aim accurately and could accidentally strike Ki and Aaryanna. Nor could he teleport them away, for he had lost all sense of direction. He could not even use Disable, for again the fear of hitting his mate and child in the confusion.
*Ki! My Angel! Aaryanna!....*
The pandamonium went on for several seconds, turning into a horrific nightmare that would not end.
Much to his surprise, out of the blue he heard a sudden shout, a distinct femenine voice resounding over the fray.
"Shoo! Scat! Leave them alone, I tell you!"
*That did not come from Ki...* he dimly thought over his pain.
Through the haze of his senses, he could faintly begin to see another figure....a smaller figure, but human. As shocking as it was to see one up here, there could be no doubt. It was not Ki.....but this figure was flying, nonetheless. This figure began helping them to beat off the birds.
"Fear! Fearoooowww!!!!" it made the birds mad, and some of them began to turn on the stranger instead.
Mewtwo's vision cleared just a little bit more, and even Ki noticed by now, bruised as she was. To their astonishment, the female figure began to glow an ameythst color. A ball of energy formed in one of her hands, energy she flung at the birds surrounding them all.
*How is she....*
It was all Mewtwo had time to register.
A sharp blow to the back of his head seared his senses with pain for an instant, and he felt the blackness rushing upon him.
*Mewtwo!* He barely heard Ki's mental scream of terror.
*I'm dying...my Angel...my Aaryanna....* were his last thoughts as he lost consciousness over the waves below him.
****
*This is happening so fast* Sharie thought frantically to herself as she fought off the birds. Whatever had gotten them into such a frenzy, they weren't listening to anything, even to her. They were past that, whatever had spooked them, and they were taking it out on whomever they were attacking.
Although she'd almost had a heart attack when she saw who it was they were attacking. She did not know the woman, but the pokemon was unmistakable!
*Oh, goodness!* She felt a flash of frightened fear shoot through her, though she did not stop her movements. *It is the pokemon....the pokemon my father and Uncle Fuji created!*
It was the one known as Mewtwo, whose existence had almost cost Uncle Fuji and her father their lives.
The young woman with him--Sharie could not make her out clearly--could only be the woman reputed to have gone with Mewtwo when he escaped, giving truth to the wild stories she'd heard.
The woman was curled over something, trying desperately to sheild it from harm.
It looked like she was holding a blanket, but then a crying, squeaking wail of terror reached Sharie's ears over the noise. The bundle was howling loudly in fright.
The baby! The woman was trying to protect a baby!
At that, Sharie did not pause, even to think how or why. She just renewed her effort to beat off the birds.
As she had fought, the pokemon had looked her way; she knew she'd been seen. She did not care.
She only knew she faced a decision.
Her actions, right now, placed her very life in the pokemon's hands. His anger would be great when he discoverd how she was bound, by blood, to those he'd probably loathe the most.
What would it matter about what they'd been forced to re-learn about how pokemon might feel? They'd been ravaged with grief, as had she, over her cousin Amber's death at the time. She had no doubt they'd not been thinking clearly, but as psychics, surely they'd have known better. They had not even told her of their unholy contract with Team Rocket in creating these clones until they'd been nearly killed, after which she'd demanded every bit of information they'd been keeping from her. They had not told her because they knew her feelings about such things, and indeed, she'd been horrified. Only after a long discussion, airing all their feelings and reasons--namely, Amber--had she forgiven them, but she privately felt Mewtwo was entitled to any revenge he might have burning in his breast.
But it was apparent he only wanted to be left alone.
And with the woman who went with him, if that is who this young human woman was.
Her father and uncle, as well as Team Rocket, had treated Mewtwo so badly, and had done him such a great disservice, treating him as if he were below them, or a machine, simply because he was a pokemon.
He was entitled to his anger, and his revenge, after all he had been put through. Try as she might, Sharie knew she could not fault him. Out here, they were not harming anyone.
She made her decision. She continued to struggle, charging up her powers and fighting off the birds, regardless of the consequences to herself.
****
Just seconds after Mewtwo began to drop, Ki felt his psychic handle on her body give way. She staggared in the air, not prepared for the abrupt shift.
*No!* she screamed in telepathy. *Mewtwo! No, my love!*
He was dead, he had to be! He wasn't moving, and dropping like a stone towards the waves below.
She could no longer see the stranger who had leaped into the middle of the fray earlier, also fighting off these crazed fearow. It has been shocking enough to see her power up like she had done, but Ki had, by now, all but forgotten her, in the wake of this!
A violent burst of pain in her head stunned her, though, before she could think any more. Aaryanna's cries screamed in her ears for an instant, and all went dark. She didn't care--Mewtwo was dead, and she and her daughter were all but. However, she knew she'd see them again soon--she was following them to wherever their souls went next, for damned if she'd leave them alone.....
****
Just moments before Mewtwo hit the waves below, Sharie, struggling with her psychic blasts, managed to get a telekenetic fix on him. He began to glow amethyst as he hung there, suspended and unconscious, in midair.
Almost as fast, the other one, the human, cried out and also started to drop like a stone, still curled around the child she was so vailently trying to protect.
In an instant, Sharie was mentally holding her unconscious form in midair, as well.
She had to get to them, before the woman went entirely limp and dropped the baby she held frozen in her unconsious grip. Sharie was not certain she could hold them for long while fighting off these birds.
She held up her hand again, charging up her energy one more time for her psychic expanse attack. The ball of Amethyst energy in her palm began to glow, and lifted into the air by the biggest flock of the Fearow, where it dropped in the middle of them and suddenly expanded.
Somehow, it worked. The birds finally gave up their crazed assault, at last convinced that Sharie could easily kill all of them. She had taken care not to kill a single one, but she had made it plain she was capeable of it. Those who could no longer fly were supported by their friends as they soared away, screaming their outrage.
Sharie barely allowed herself to draw in a shuddering breath of relief. She was still alive, though one of her legs was burning unmercifully from the sharp beak of one fearow that had left a long scratch down her calf. It wasn't deep or bleeding heavily, but it still hurt.
She ignored it, flying instead over to the group whom had been the Fearows' victims. Both were still unconscious, suspended in midair, and it
was plain they were hurt. The woman's frozen reflexes, having done so when she went unconscious, were beginning to relax, and Sharie hoped she would not drop the bundle before she got there.
She did, barely in time. From the young woman's limp arms Sharie pulled a loudly crying and squeaking bundle, and a very tiny one at that.
The cry did not quite sound like a human cry. Surprise, Sharie pulled back part of the blanket to investigate further.
Her surprise turned to one of absolute and total shock, for she was unable to believe her eyes.
A Mewtwo! A baby Mewtwo!
*Why?* Sharie thought, totally stunned. *Better yet.....*how*?*
The baby in her arms was very scared, and made it plain, too, crying loudly and thrashing in her blanket prison.
"Shh, little one, it's okay," Sharie crooned, looking around quickly. She spotted an island in the distance, a tiny one, but it would have to do. The baby was unharmed, thankfully, but Mewtwo and the woman were both hurt.
She decided to put all thoughts aside until later.
Quickly, Sharie re-wrapped the infant and hugged her protectively to her breast and flew off towards the island, mentally bringing the pokemon and the human behind her in tow.
****
Only later, after she had laid them down on the grass and started to treat their wounds, did the questions start again.
Was this really as it appeared, considering the stories she had heard? About Mewtwo and his 'whore'?
After she had bandaged their head wounds and the unconscious woman's leg wound with one arm--holding a crying baby Mewtwo in the other, it wasn't easy--she paused in her work.
She unwrapped the unhappy infant, for the first time getting a really good look at her. And in doing so, Sharie felt something in her heart crack achingly.
She was beautiful. Stunningly beautiful. Very small and perfectly formed. Her unhappy cries touched Sharie deeply.
Very softly, Sharie began to croon to the baby, her sweet voice attempting to soothe the tiny life in her arms.
The little Mewtwo stilled in response, listening. She stopped crying and opened her eyes, which locked, dimly surprised, with Sharie's. for several seconds she was still, then she smiled faintly, astutely listening to the sweet melody, while snuggling against Sharie and giving a soft coo.
Sharie was very surprised, but didn't stop. The innocent, trusting action of the baby had speared her deeply into her heart. The feeling was unknown to her, but she was grateful for it.
To the little Mewtwo, the woman holding her wasn't her mother, but the baby somehow suddenly sensed a similarity that was comforting. For the first time, she allowed someone other than her parents to hold her without her protesting it. Whoever she was, she was no threat.
A few minutes later, she was peacefully asleep.
Carefully, Sharie studied her. She was a gorgeous shade of azure, pale azure on her upper body, but her belly and tail were a much deeper shade of the same color. Her eyes, when open, had astonished Sharie the most--the eyes of this baby were exactly like her own, down to the very shade of unique green she had. Sharie had gotten her eye color from her mother and she had never known anybody else with this exact same shade.
Her fingers brushed the tiny cheek in wonder. The surface of the face was very soft. It was apparent she'd been well taken care of.
*Sleep peacefully, little one. I promise you'll be all right. They'll be awake soon.*
Carefully, she laid the infant down by the human woman, her mind still racing. Based upon what she had heard, was this truly how it looked? Was this woman the so-called 'pervert' who had an affair with a pokemon?
And the baby? How did she fit into this?
Images of the attack began to replay in Sharie's mind. Something she'd sensed, but had been to busy fighting to really take note of, until now.
Charging up her energy had lowered her barriers somewhat, the psychic stuff that went into her head. She'd sensed it, and now, she was aware of it all the more.
She had sensed a deep link between the two, not only psychic, but emotional. Right here and now, even, she could feel it.
She also remebered Mewtwo's loud telepathic cries towards the others, "Ki! Aaryanna!"
He had sounded like his heart was breaking.
And when he had dropped, the woman had psychically projected a powerful wave of dispair in his direction.
She also remebered her father's strange reaction to the news of this supposed affair. He had not sounded shocked at all, nor had he spoken of it as anything wrong. In fact, he said he'd been willing to bet there was much more to it than a few simple rumors.
At the tme, Sharie had looked at him strangely, but had not questioned him.
Being a person so different from others had also made Sharie very nonjudgemental. She'd learned to see things as being more than just outside appearances. It was the heart and soul that mattered. She'd learned the hard way that nobody could be happy if everyone judged others and their actions so shallowly.
Did this picture look so wrong to her?
The words echoed in her mind with finality. *No. It isn't. If their hearts and souls are so deeply connected as I sensed, then that is what is important in life. We'd all be even more unhappy if it wasn't. Something so strong cannot be wrong. Besides, I am so different from others, I have no right to pass judgement in any case. Everything tells me
that while the outside may be different, it must be their souls that call to one another, that's what counts.*
She smiled to herself. She should have known from the beginning, upon first seeing them, that she'd end up passing no judgement. Really, it was sweet. She'd seen this same type of bond in her parents, who'd loved each other with undying devotion. It was why her father had neer married again, or even looked at another woman again.
The same feeling permeated the being of this couple. It was too strong for her to miss. Nobody had to be a psychic to see it there.
And the baby?
Another slow realization was beginning to dawn on Sharie. As a scientist, she knew it wasn't impossible for human and pokemon DNA to be compatible. More compatible than most would have ever dared consider. Mewtwo was living proof.
Still, the next thought sent an icy chill down her spine.
Was this child both of theirs?
It was no doubt that she was Mewtwo's, certainly. But could the woman have possibly.....
Sharie looked at the woman again, and noticed the front of her shirt was damp in places. Sharie reached for the pack she'd had on her back and pulled out her scanner, running it over the young woman.
There were indeed signs of recent childbirth in the woman, her uterus was still healing, and the high levels of hormones both there and in her breasts told Sharie volumes, making it pretty clear that what had entered her mind was indeed true.
The woman was the little Mewtwo's mother.
The thought sent another shockwave rippling through Sharie, then she shrugged and dismissed it. So their love had produced a dazzlingly beautiful, precious little baby. It was not only proof that humans and pokemon were indeed compatible, it was proof of the love she sensed very clearly.
Sharie stopped again, noticing a spreading stain on the bandages on the woman's leg. The blood was seeping through the cloth wrapped around it. The bleeding hadn't stopped.
Quickly Sharie applied pressure to pressure points around the wound with one hand, while getting a blood sample for her scanner with the other. She hoped the woman would not need a transfusion, but if she did, she'd need to know the blood type.
Thankfully, a little added pressure was all the wound needed. Sharie could only hope she'd not lost *too* much blood.
She sighed and sat back, running the sample through the scanner.
When the results came up, she frowned. That wasn't right. Human blood, sure--but pokemon DNA mixed in?
Sharie ran it through again and got the same results. She reached for her other scanner, the knot of surprise in her stomach getting stronger.
The other scanner removed all her thoughts of a malfunction.
Goodness! The woman was a walking medical miracle! She was half human, and half mew--just like Mewtwo!
Quickly, she went to Mewtwo, and held the scanner directly to his skin to test his DNA. She didn't need a needle for a sample.
The results were exactly alike, as if they'd come from the same person.
All Sharie could do was sigh. The mystery surrounding it all was getting deeper by the minute, although the bigger picture was becoming clear. Mewtwo, and this woman, seemed to be more alike than outsiders could fathom. It wasn't so impossible, once she considered it, that they'd be so attracted to each other. Not when they were so alike. Maybe it helped. And it especially was a factor in how easily she'd obviously become pregnant.
Sharie could tell she was a beautiful woman. She'd certainly produced a dazzling daughter.
To a girl like Sharie, who'd been so different all her life, meeting, by sheer chance, two others who were so different, she found herself feeling the exact opposite of what most other's reactions to this all would be--the silent signs of their life together were causing her to admire them and their grit more and more.
These were two individuals, those considered "different", who appeared to be making it--a future.
And she'd not spoken a word to them to confirm it. Somehow, she just knew.
It made her happy for them, even if Mewtwo saw to it she would not be around for much longer.
If that was their destiny, maybe this, what she had done and accepting What Mewtwo would do to her--would be her destiny.
*****
*My baby! Where is my baby?!*
Ki struggled in the throes of her nightmare.
*She's gone! My baby's gone! Mewtwo, my love, I swear I did not mean to! She's gone! I couldn't protect her!*
Her heart wrenched with it's violent sobs. Her baby was gone, her love was gone. She was alone, she had nothing.
Not anymore.
****
Sharie held the woman's shoulders to keep her from thrashing around in her unconscious nightmares. She could not get the woman awake, but it was plain that what she was seeing--crying out for her love, Mewtwo, and her baby, and grieving because she thought she'd lost them--was ripping her heart to shreds.
Trying to keep her psychic surges under control--if she was half mew, it was no surprise she was this strong--wasn't easy, either.
Sharie had no idea how to reach her now, to tell her it was all right. Not in the mind of a total stranger.
It was a long time before the woman quieted, slipping back down in the dark void where she'd been before.
****
Sharie turned back to a wailing, unhappy baby Mewtwo.
"You sense their distress, don't you, little one?" she whispered, gently rocking the child to comfort her.
A little hiccup came from the baby's throat as her sobs began to quiet. Her green eyes opened and Sharie could see the fearful desperation in their depths.
"Ah, little one, how can I assure you that they'll be fine?" Sharie hugged the child to her breast. The little Mewtwo gradually quieted. "Their injuries aren't as bad as I thought. They won't be asleep too long, maybe in a few hours...."
She lifted her head and frowned. They'd already been unconscious for three hours now. She was certain they'd wake up before too long, but she had no way of determining exactly *when*. She felt sure the baby would start fussing again soon, from hunger.
The woman's shirt had spreading damp spots on her chest, telling Sharie clearly how they'd been feeding the infant.
*Well, little baby, I can't feed you that way, not now. You won't be used to formula, but I have no choice."
In her medicinal pack she always carried a special formula for baby and very ill pokemon, those that could not digest solid food for some reason or another. Right now, Sharie was glad she had it with her. She hoped the baby would not protest too much. With babies, when faced with a choice of hunger or simply something different to fill their bellies, they'd rather not go hungry. It was the same for humans or pokemon.
With that in mind, she rapidly poured the formula out of it's container and into a baby bottle she also had in her pack.
*It's odd,* she mused. *Da would have said I was nuts for carrying such things like baby bottles with me, but I figured you never know what will happen. I am proving my hunch right, Da.*
No sooner had she finished than she noticed the little Mewtwo's face scrunching up again, preparing to let loose with a howl.
"Sh, little one,don't cry," Sharie said quickly, scooping her up. "I've got lunch right here."
"Mew-ew?" Obviously, the baby understood the statement, somehow. The infant craned to look at her sleeping mother.
"I'm afraid she can't help you this one time, pretty one," Sharie continued in a low tone. "Would you be willing to try something different--just this once?"
She held the baby bottle to the child's mouth as she said this, unsure of how the baby would react.
The baby gave her a dubious look, her eyes clearly asking "what's that?"
Somehow Sharie was unsurprised. She reached down to the soft cheek and gently rubbed her fingertips against the side, close to the mouth, utitlizing the "rooting reflex" common to many pokemon and humans alike.
It worked. The child opened her mouth in an instinctive response, and began sucking as soon as Sharie put the bottle in her mouth.
After a few suckles, however, she stopped, looking at Sharie with eyes wide in surprise.
Sharie could not help it. She had to laugh.
"It's not that bad, is it?" she asked.
If the infant could have shrugged, she would have, but Sharie was getting an inkling of an adaptive, if a spirited, nature. The baby mewtwo started sucking again and finished the whole bottle quickly.
*Yes, she knows her stuff,* Sharie mused to herself as she put the bottle aside. *She'll have a very spirited personality, but she'll also keep her head, and not have a tendency to overreact. Those are good qualities to have. Your parents are very lucky, little one.*
She lifted her head and sighed. *So what if the outside world would condemn them? They already are luckier, and have more, than most could ever dream to have, because they are tightly bound by love. The proof--you can see it, especially in this little one. If I needed any more
convincing, all I have to do is look at this baby's forehead. It can't be pure chance that the mark on her forehead is in the shape of a heart.*
As the baby snuggled to sleep in her arms, Sharie lifted her head and looked at her unconscious parents.
Color was already returning to their bodies, and to the woman's face, and Sharie was certain that they would wake up soon. Their future was assured.
However, once they started to question her, and the fact she had no intention of lying to them about her background, it would make her future definetly uncertain. Besides, since it was impossible to hide the fact she'd recognized Mewtwo easily and had the powers she did would make telling the truth even more imperative.
A full six hours after they were knocked out, Ki opened her eyes.
****
Sunlight assaulted Ki's senses, pain flashing through her head and throbbing in her temples as she came to awareness.
Before she could even get her bearings, the awful nightmares she'd been plagued with flashed through her mind, making her instantly aware of the fact she was still alive, somehow.
*My baby!* she mentally shrieked. *Where's my baby?!*
Her eyes flew open as she sat up immediately, ignoring the surging dizziness she felt.
*Aaryanna!* she cried. *My baby, where is she?*
"You're awake." A sudden, femenine voice startled her. "Good. You've been out a long time."
*Where's my baby?* Ki demanded, breathing hard. Her unique green eyes turned towards the voice as a girl was suddenly there, kneeling beside her.
"Then I was right in my guess the child belonged to both you and Mewtwo. Do not worry, she's fine. Here she is, and she wants her Momma."
To Ki's astonishment, the strange girl was holding a blanket-wrapped bundle in her arms. A soft coo issued from within, calling to Ki's heart--she knew it was Aaryanna.
*My baby,* she said, very low, in a desperation. *She's alive? Please give me my baby.*
"I would not dream of keeping your child from you," Sharie answered, surprised at the woman's unusually desperate intensity. "You've been unconscious for six hours since the Fearow attacked you and the other pokemon. I've been caring for the child while I've been tending your wounds."
Ki started to cry as she eagerly accepted her daughter into her arms. The baby looked into her mother's eyes and gave a happy squeak of contentment. Ki looked her daughter over, utterly grateful she was uninjured.
*Thank you,* she said, low. *You were the one who helped us, weren't you? Thank you for saving her. I don't know what I'd have done if....*
Her green eyes filled with panic. *Where is he?* she demanded. *I can sense him, he can't be dead! Where is--*
"Calm down. The one called Mewtwo is fine. I guess I'm blocking your vision of him."
Sharie moved aside so Ki could see Mewtwo lying nearby, just a few feet away.
*He's hurt!* cried Ki, instantly distressed. *Oh, my love--*
"Calm *down*, Miss," Sharie said firmly. "He will be all right. He'll wake up soon, the same as you have. You both got knocked out, remember?"
The finer details of it all came flooding back to Ki's mind. *Yes. I don't know why....but then suddenly, you were there, helping us. You saved us, didn't you? How?*
"I'm psychic, Miss, just like I sensed you were," Sharie said quietly. "You've been speaking in telepathy. This isn't how I usually prefer people to find out, but--" Sharie shrugged. "I used my powers to help you."
Ki's eyes met Sharie's. She was shocked to her toes to see how identical their eyes were--and even more shocked, as she studied Sharie closer, to see how identical their *faces* were.
*Are you--* Ki began. *You are that psychic girl Nurse Joy told us about--the one with inborn powers, like mine!*
*And you,* Sharie returned in a sudden switch to telepathy, only slightly surprised to hear the reference to Nurse Joy--so that's where she'd been--*Are the one who fell in love with Mewtwo, and with him, escaped the dangerous web of Team Rocket.*
Ki's eyes widened as she looked into Sharie's. She was suddenly aware that the girl was aware of their situation, of her relationship with Mewtwo, and surely of the child.
And yet, her unique green eyes were soft, and supporting. As aware as she was, Ki felt it strange that she could sense no condemnation or disgust from this woman.
Not in the least.
But was that a good thing?
****
Ohh, get's better and better, ne? Watch out for chapter 3!