Lights. They sparkled and shone both from the stars and full moon above and from the lights and lamps below. Mewtwo stood on a thick antenna looking out over the scene, the wind gently blowing his cloak back. He looked up at the sky, then at the city, and sighed, looking wistful. Then, things moved in slow motion as he crouched.

As he did, lights from both below and above started blinking out, one by one, quite quickly. The speed of the blackouts accelerated as he went through his movements, until finally, he shot out into the darkness, the moon blackening last in a rapid backward phase run. (The dark part coming from the left.)

Mewtwo began to fly through the blackness, cloak trailing slowly behind him despite his position being that of a dashing flight, entirely outstretched; the slo-mo was still in effect. Suddenly, from the darkness around him, images appeared of different memories of his: Building his palace. Seeing Ren's smiling, calm face in the moonlight. The sight of flying through the air into the spring. Standing amidst flaming ruins. Finding Nightsky City. The darkness surrounded each one as if they were screens, windows. He flew through one, passing through it slowly. He could not hear the words, but knew what they were. As he went through it, the memory reconstructed itself around him.

He was sitting on the remains of his tank, orange fluid in drips on him like a Gatorade commercial. Scientists were buzzing and panicking, but one with awesome hair for an older man stepped forwards. "Quiet! ...Let us hear its psychic powers...!" Mewtwo looked up at him in surprise, then did the oddest thing. He got up, turning, and jumped at the nearest tank full of liquid.

He then went right into a tank with amber liquid, passing through the glass as if it were an illusion, and continued to fly forth through endless, bubbling water, cloak reappearing. More memories swam about him like fish: Him setting up his computer at Purity Canyon and untangling some wiring via telekinesis. The first time he entered Goodwill as Maru. A collision with Mew's Barrier. He passed through another memory, cloak vanishing once more.

He was standing again, this time with the armor on him as he looked at a smirking man in a Day-Glo orange suit. Again, no speech, but he saw his lips move through his visor. "...This armor will not disable your powers, but focus them..." Mewtwo scowled at him and lunged at him, passing through him and turning him into dust before he passed through the floor.

This time, he flew in a space where grassy terrain stretched endlessly around him, massive mountains blocking any sky around him. Strangely, his body was in slo-mo but he still flew at a fast pace judging by the speed he passed the grass at. More memories sprung up like flowers around him: Teleporting a kidnapped Nurse Joy into his palace. Seeing his cloned Nidoqueen with her (somehow-born) children graze in the canyon. The hundreds of mechanical arms coming at him. Finding the tarp his cloak originally was being thrown away on the curb. Another memory.

He was standing in the middle of his spiral staircase, on the floor, looking at the trainers across from him. He couldn't see him entirely, but he saw what looked like a boy with jeans and a vest of sorts holding a pokéball. "He may not have a nickname, but I've still got...Charizard," Mewtwo knew he said. He threw the ball. "I choose you!" Charizard appeared, looked at Mewtwo, then flamed him. Mewtwo shot up to avoid it, watching the staircase spiral around him as he went towards the disc of light above him.

After he flew through it, he was flying through clouds on a sunless sunny day. More memories flitted about him like leaves on the wind: Racing against Mew through the city. Looking at the moon with Pikachutwo and Meowthtwo. Battling Gary's pokémon. A memory flitted right in front of him and he passed into it.

He stood in a cave with water around him. He looked down again at a child—the same as before. A boy in an official Pokémon League hat smiling up at him. Soundlessly, the youth said, "...And this time, we'll both remember..." Mewtwo couldn't help himself—he gave the youth a little smile. One of gratitude. One of respect. One of friendship. He then started, to his surprise, float up and away as the scene below him was sucked away, piece by piece, leaving nothing but black. The boy was the last thing there, still smiling that same smile at him, before being sucked down.

An explosion of stars and planets came from the spot the scene had gone into. As he flew through the endless cosmos sprawling out before him, more memories came to him, forming from constellations of rectangles: His sinking of his beautiful palace and burying it (carefully) in rocks to foil any ruin seekers. His installation of prison bars in Purity Canyon. Ash trying to punch him. The breakout from Viridian Gym. Seeing that circus performer that inspired him to swordfight. Watching the chaos as his Monster Balls captured the trainers' pokémon. Being strung up by those robots. The sight of that heart-like thing coming from his chest.

Suddenly, a sun appeared above him. As he looked up at it, a memory, small and staticky, passed through his head. He couldn't hear it, but somehow, he mentally caught bits and pieces of words. "...a...s th...n..." Mewtwo widened his eyes before the the sun faded, and he looked forwards again. He was hurtling right towards Earth. Slowly, struggling against it but ultimately failing, his eyelids fluttered closed. When he did, his body and cloak snapped out of slow motion and matched the speed of his soaring. He broke through the atmosphere, through the clouds, rotating so gently. Memories spiraled around him in a tornado as he streaked down to the sea, headfirst.

And when he hit it, he was Maru again, sinking down through black, unseen waters. He fell down in peaceful slumber, water rippling his cloak, clothes, and hair. A few moments later, he gently opened his eyes, flipping slowly forwards to land softly on a platform of sorts. The invisible water faded away, leaving no excess moisture on him. He looked around in wary confusion for a moment before stepping forward. Instantly, thousands of doves flew up and away, revealing a bright white light. Maru shielded his face for a moment before standing back and watching them fly away, revealing the circular platform he stood upon. He looked up and watched them flap off into the distance, fading out of sight.

Maru looked down. At his feet was an enormous circular pane of stained glass. It depicted an asleep Mew over a background of a jungle with familiar mountains. Around it were three green borders. The outermost was plain and thin, the second was a bit wider with a zigzag pattern of lighter-colored lens shapes, and the third was covered with lines and circles that made Maru think of machines—lab machines. The Mew covered some parts of this tertiary border. The entire piece had an air of ethereal elegance to it all.

'Where am I?' Maru wondered, looking around.

So much to do, so little time.

Maru raised his eyebrows as he felt the words, not heard them. They were different from before, this time; he could not tell whose voice should have been speaking them.

Take your time.

Maru looked forwards again as a light appeared in the air at the center of the disc.

The true crisis has yet begun.

Now, come to the light. Don't be afraid.

'Why would I—oh.' Maru casually strolled forth and reached the light. When he did, it floated up and split into three parts. These parts went to three places at equal spots around the perimeter of the platform. In a flash, three pedestals appeared, each with a different weapon floating over them. One had a sword, another a shield, and the third a rod, each bearing a symbol reminiscent of a mouse's head.

What power is it that you truly value most?

Maru frowned. 'Balance, that is what,' he answered in his mind. He went to each one and tried them, jumping up onto each pedestal to get them. He went first for the sword. At the edge, he saw that he was on a green stained glass pillar, not just a floating platform. The sides were beautifully designed in a church-like fashion. Maru held the blade, hopping down onto the floor again.

The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction. Is this the power you value most?

Maru thought a moment, then shook his head and placed it back, where it floated once more. 'I think, human form or not, I am strong enough as I am.'

Take your time.

The voice was comforting, somehow. He didn't know why. Next, Maru tried the shield.

The power of the defender. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. Is this the power you value most?

Maru went through the same process. 'I was made to take a lot of hits, even super-effective ones.' He sweatdropped. 'When do I relearn Miracle Eye, by the way...' He went to the rod this time.

The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin. Is this the power you value most?

Maru thought for another moment before again replacing it. 'While I suppose I do value inner strength above the others, I truly do prefer a balance...' He stepped to the middle of the room. "Voice, whoever you are," he called calmly, looking around him. "Must I really choose one and unbalance myself?"

Yes. But do not worry—if you follow your heart in your choice, then you will notice nothing.

Maru growled, but sighed and shook his head. 'Well, it is a dream,' he thought. (Mewtwo was good at catching on to things in a dream—and suddenly appearing on a stained glass pillar was one of those things.) He thought for a long moment before sighing and admitting to himself what he did value above the other two. He returned to the rod. When asked the same question after being reminded of its symbolism, he nodded. The rod disappeared in a sparkling flash.

Alright. Now...what power do you give up in return?

Maru widened his eyes before sighing in aggravation, glaring to the side. "This is stupid."

Oh well.

Maru could sense the toneless words' tone and rolled his eyes before stepping into the center once more. 'Why am I even doing this? Ugh...' He looked into himself once more. With a bit of a grudging acceptance, he walked to the shield. The voice gave the description again.

Is this the power you give up?

Maru couldn't help but feel a bit scared. 'Giving up the power of defense...that makes me a bit of a...what does Mew call it? A Squishy Wizard? Well, I do not use magic, but I suppose this works. After all, tough as I am, my defenses are my worst qualities, statistically speaking.' (He had a doohickey on his computer that was capable of giving the stat analyses that pokédexes could, and had discovered his stats and un-EV'ed growth pattern while building his palace. Sheer common sense isn't the only reason he has Barrier up a lot of the time...) He almost shook his head and instead shook it mentally. 'It is only a dream,' he told himself. 'Besides...how much of a difference would it be if it were real? Not like it would affect me in any extreme fashion...right?' He nodded. The shield disappeared.

You value the power of the mystic. You give up the power of the defender. Is this the path you choose?

Maru nodded. The sword disappeared and the platform began to rumble as the pedestals started to sink into small pools of darkness. Maru grunted in surprise and tried to keep his balance.

So be it.

The platform shattered, and Maru fell down into darkness. He closed his eyes and protected his head from any falling glass. When he opened his eyes, he was falling upside-down towards another pillar. This time it was blue. The borders followed the same layout as before save for the tertiary one. The background was divided unevenly in two with the right half forming a crescent shape. The foreground depicted a sleeping version of him in his tube, in three stages that grew behind the first form. (Said first form surprised him a little. 'That is how I looked like as a baby?...I...I actually kind of looked...dare I say it...cute...') The other part of the background was bubbling, dark amber fluid. In the white crescent, very faintly, was the silhouette of a long-haired little girl. Less faint were a few familiar, line-like markings in differently-arranged groups of pale colors—red, blue and green. The border's main motif this time was bubbles.

He flipped over and landed lightly. Suddenly, the rod appeared in his hand in a flash. Maru looked at it in surprise before the back of his neck tingled oddly. He shuddered slightly at the feeling, placing a hand on the spot. 'The hairs on the back of my neck are standing on-end...!'

You shall face many perils ahead.

From out of nowhere rose numerous small, black figures. Each was a very simple humanoid with black skin, less than five digits, pointed shoe-like feet, jagged antennae, and beady, circular, yellow eyes. They moved a lot as they crowded around Maru, who stepped back a bit at the sight of these beasts and got into stance.

Keep your light burning strong.

Maru defeated the black creatures easily. It didn't take many hits to beat them, and their strikes were weak. However, they were sprightly, and they had this annoying tendency to flatten to the floor and crawl around, evading all damage briefly before rising again, often to attack. After beating each one, they disappeared in a puff of blackness. They each took about one good combo each before biting the glass.

Maru's ground combo usually went vertical-stab-finish, and had a horizontal if needed, and he had two finishers, each depending on how many enemies were nearby at the time. His vertical had him stepping forwards with his left leg and slashing a wide arc downwards before bringing his left foot back. (He found this more comfortable for his legs than the more natural and quicker fencer's lunge for the footwork.) His horizontal followed the same footwork but had him giving a rightward slash. Not doing a real fencer's lunge with his chosen stance would have been blasphemy.

His wide finisher had him advance forwards as he reached back his right hand, left coming up and grabbing the hilt, then swung wide and strong with his left. He spun with his swing, letting his arm fly behind his back, where he passed it smoothly to his waiting right hand. He came out of his spin with a strong back-edged diagonal upper, scoring another hit on his enemy if he didn't push them back with his first swing. His focused finisher began with a simple left twirl, raising his weapon overhead and changing hands to give a spin-assisted left-handed downward swing, letting it come bearing down with added momentum since it could swing down on his left side. He grabbed it up again with his right hand as he got back to stance.

Upon banishing the final one with his Rising Strike, the hairs on the back of his neck settled and his weapon disappeared. A green flash, then a pair of teardrop-shaped geas had appeared in the center of the platform.

This shall restore your health and most of your energy, among other things. Enter it when you find it.

Maru nodded and stepped into it. He felt his wounds heal and his (barely flagged) stamina return. '...Hmmm...If this is a dream...why did my actions not feel leaden?' he pondered while standing there. 'Whenever I consciously fight or do heavy actions in a dream, because my body is not exactly fully functional, I can hardly move in the dream. But now...I did whatever I wanted and felt the pain...This is a dream, right?...'

Behind him, near the edge, an ornate, yet simple, wooden door appeared in a flash of light.

When you are ready, enter the door.

'To where? Off the edge?' Maru walked over and opened it. A flash of light blinded him. When it faded, he was on yet another stained glass pillar. This one was red in border and side color. He saw an image of himself, Mewtwo, standing and giving a death glare, head bowed so his mouth was unseen to increase its effect. He had his left arm out to the viewer, standing somewhat sideways, and his right arm was relaxed at his side. His tail swooshed around, following the curve of the background circle behind him. The background itself was split evenly; the left half had a dawn scene of New Island with his palace, and the right had a sunset scene of Purity Canyon's surface (before he made it into "Purity Hole-in-the-Ground", as he and Mew had termed it). The tertiary border's pattern was of his Monster Balls in outlines; within each was a black silhouette of one of the cloned pokémon he'd gotten on New Island.

You have lost your wings.

From nowhere, black, strange, half-teardrop-shaped bat-like creatures about the size of Maru's chest (well, head, excluding wing-like arms) appeared and began circling him. One of them pointed its flat head at him and a light appeared before it launched a fast-moving blast of energy. Maru dashed out of the way, his rod reappearing as he did so.

Will you lose your cool?

"Nope," Maru answered simply before he looked at the group of the odd creatures. (He could not help feeling, while he looked at them, that they looked incomplete, somehow, as if they still had yet to grow.) The battle began as he jumped up to fight the flying foes with his aerial combo, thankful he still had strong legs despite the Transformation. He had to contend with their ability to fire nearly laser-fast energy shots and their annoying tendency to ascend just out of reach (in addition to flying over the abyss that he was avoiding falling into). He found that he could use his Barrier Guard to deflect them, though it was tricky to time given the speed of the attacks. The enemies did not try and attack him physically. Still, he made relatively quick work of them.

As he battled these new foes, he felt himself gain experience as if fighting in real life—despite this being a dream. 'How odd...' Once the final bat-thing was turned to black smoke, his neck settled and rod vanished once more. A small flash of light at the edge alerted him to see a set of multicolored stained glass panes appear one by one in a curving shallow staircase downwards and off. He then noticed still another pillar appear, this one yellow, at the end. He shrugged and jogged to the path before walking it.

This fourth pillar was yellow, and depicted himself again. This time, he (Mewtwo again) was standing atop a building, presumably in Nightsky City given the shapes in the background. His cloak was on and flying out behind him gracefully, and he stood to the right, face looking up at something with a wistful non-smile on his sleeping face. At top-center of this one was a smaller circle, interfering with the tertiary border (themed with points and connected dots—stars and constellations), full of what was probably seven other circles in a hexagon formation. (His depiction's cloak was covering up the two right, one bottom, and one lower-left circles, leaving only three in the upper left corner.)

The center circle held the silhouette of a girl's head, judging by the hairstyle. If Maru looked hard, he could see two curves like closed eyes made from the stained glass metal on her face. The upper circle showed a portrait of Mew, smiling and winking in her usual playful way. The upper-left circle held a familiar, determined-smiled visage and hat. 'Ash...'

The left part of the background contained a darkened crescent. In the shadow was a depiction of him as he was now, Maru, curving his body as if falling back to fit in the crescent. He was asleep, too. Maru walked over to the center of the pillar, warily looking around. He noticed a light coming from above and walked close to it, trying to see where it came from. As he walked closer, his shadow grew longer...

The closer you are to the light, the longer your shadow grows.

"What?" Maru turned to look and raised his eyebrows. "Uh...yeah," he agreed, looking at it stretch, "but this is more a direction thing..." 'Then again, dreams are—'

An unearthly roar suddenly came from behind him. He turned to look, but only glimpsed a giant black fist before flying off in pain.

And shadows do so enjoy playing tricks on you.

'Dammit, it was a distraction...!' He saw only blackness...

Stay strong.

'...F...Fading...' Felt only air...

Keep trying.

'…' Heard only silence...

And don't forget...

Maru gasped and sat up quickly in a cold sweat, the sudden motion causing him to shake the hammock and, with flailing arms and a yelp, was deposited on the mattress below him. He shook his head, getting on his hands, and looked out the window, panting. He saw a sheet of bright, Friday morning light coming from beneath the curtain. "...It...was just a dream..." he told himself. "...Just...a really weird...dream..."

Day 6

-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-

Friday night came, and with it, the traditional end-of-the-month all-night-all-city party. Nightsky City holds a festival called "The Dance of the Moon" at the end of each month. It was originally a night of traditional festivities and live performances by local musicians. This was until the invention of the job of DJ. Now, it's more a club-like party, complete with booze, although everyone can only have a set limit of alcoholic beverages before being cut off for the night—about three drinks per person. Thankfully, the city is very serious about this, and doesn't let anyone drink without proof they're of age. Officer Jenny has never let a single underage drinker get away, nor a drinker who's had more than his limit.

Apart from the DJ, there are also live local bands, traditional festivities squirreled away somewhere in the city, and an exciting testament to the city's slightly outlawish reputation (there are tons of alleyways in the city, so scads of thugs meet and there are even gang wars every so often): A free-fight arena where fighters are decked out in foam armor and given foam weapons, then allowed to go at it. It's one of the most entertaining things the city has ever had.

Oh, one more thing, tourists: If you're in the city that night, know that the crowds will probably prevent you from being able to leave, unless you have a pokémon with Fly taught to it.

So, when Maru found a few unexpected guests entering the city before the festivities kicked off, you can imagine his sense of sorriness. Sorry that these people had to be trapped in the city for an entire night without being able to sleep, what with all the noise.

Maru stood in the square, near the south entrance into it. He wore plain, old jeans, a faded violet shirt with a barely-visible white Peace Politoed design, and no wristband that would allow him to drink since he didn't. He was debating whether he should join or not. 'Might make me feel better...Maybe if Mew or someone were here...'

"Wow, wonder what's going on?"

Maru froze and stopped himself before he turned around sharply. If there was anything he hated happening to him, it's mistaking someone for someone else. He waited instead for the familiar voice to be answered by another.

"I dunno," said another, a deeper voice than the first. "I'll check in the guidebook."

This voice was familiar, too. Maru waited for a female voice.

"I know what this is!" chimed in another male. Unfamiliar, though.

"Do tell," a female, also unfamiliar, coaxed wryly.

Maru sighed. He continued staring off into space right forward of him. He was facing at a diagonal-forward away from the entrance. Anyone coming in came from behind and to his right. He had to do a double-take when he saw Ash and Brock—unmistakable since Ash had Pikachu on his shoulder and Brock, a (former, at least) Gym Leader, was still with him, although both were dressed different—walk into the city. He restrained saying hi to that young boy and his older companion. With them was a new girl with enormous purple hair and a new young man dressed like a waiter. Maru recognized the young man as Cilan of Striaton City Gym. ('Why does this kid end up traveling with so many Gym Leaders?...')

Ash looked over his shoulder. "Really, Cilan?" he asked. "What's going on here, then?"

Cilan smiled. "Well, this is Nightsky City, and it's the last Friday night of the month, right?" he asked, looking at the others.

Brock nodded. "I still can't find it yet," he said, leafing through the guide book he had. "But I think I know what you're talking about."

Ash turned, stopping a little ways from Maru. "So what's special about tonight?" he asked. "Pika?" went his best friend on his shoulder.

Cilan chuckled. "Well, you see, Nightsky City holds 'The Dance of the Moon,' a celebration dating back to the early days when this place was still a calm little village. It's got traditional festivities somewhere in the city, but the main course's here, in the city square." He motioned with his hand. "As you can plainly see, they're just about to get set for the party that'll be going on all night long, free to everyone in the city. They've got a DJ and some local bands playing, and...a huge cage...?" He put a finger to his chin and looked up, thinking. "Now, what's that for, again?"

Maru stepped forward, crossing his arms in a classic Mewtwo pose. "That is for the human-vs.-human battles fought with foam weapons and armor," he supplied. The four young ones turned and looked up at Mewtwo, but not that much. In fact, Maru was about as tall as Brock. An axew poked its head of the girl's hair and looked, as well.

Ash raised his eyebrows. "Human vs. human?" he repeated, looking up into, although he didn't know it, a familiar pair of eyes.

Maru SMILED down at Ash. He had even had a friendly smile on before. He'd learned to do so a while back, although it still felt unnatural. This time, though, it was at least slightly genuine, since he'd admired Ash's courage and resilience, therefore respecting him. He said, "Yes, humans fighting each other. It is completely safe, however, as they wear foam armor and use fake, foam-covered weapons. I recently picked up swordfighting, and I wish to enter into the ring." He chuckled. "They in fact hold a little tournament a few fights in. I wish to see if I can win." Lately, the few fights he had been doing against the thugs in alleyways had been a little bit easy, and so he wanted to see how long he would last. 'Yeah, right, you want to kick everyone's asses; quit kidding yourself.'

Brock raised an eyebrow, looking hard into Maru's eyes. "...Sorry for staring," he said after Maru began staring right back, "it just feels like I've met you before, that's all; your eyes remind me of someone."

Ash lowered his eyebrows slightly as he thought, too. Pikachu copied him. "Y'know, I'm getting that same feeling, Brock," he said.

The girl cleared her throat, drawing attention to her. "Ash, it's rude to stare at people," she admonished, "and you both should know that, especially you, Brock," she said, looking at the gym leader. She closed her eyes and held her hands up. "Not like I didn't expect you to do that, Ash. You're such a kid!" Ash frowned at this.

Brock raised his eyebrows and held up his hands. "Sorry, Iris, it's just he really does remind me of someone, that's all," he said. He turned to Maru. "I'm sorry if we've bothered you, sir," he apologized to him.

Maru held up a hand, smiling (and sweatdropping). "Not a problem." He let it down. "By the way, you all, do you know that once you enter this city on this night, you will not be likely able to leave until at least 6 A.M.?" he asked, crossing his arms and slouching a little.

All four humans sweatdropped. "Wh-wh-why?" Ash asked. "Pika?"

Maru chuckled. 'I love unnerving people like that way too much...' "Well, the partiers will be so thick, it will be hard to escape, that is why," he explained, and couldn't help laughing out loud a little at how absurd that idea sounded, and the fact that it was so true. He was certain people did that on purpose.

Brock groaned, crossing his arms. "Great, and with the music, we probably won't be able to sleep," he said.

Maru shook his head. "Afraid not," he said.

Cilan chuckled. "Oh, come on, Brock, Ash," he said, looking at both of them brightly, "I think that we need a good party to mix things up a bit! I love concerts, and this has a similar flavor, don't you think?"

Ash, Brock, and Pikachu all sweatdropped again. Ash put a hand behind his head and looked to Maru in an embarrassed eyes-closed smile. "Uh, could you tell us where the Pokémon Center is?" he asked. "I at least want to get my pokémon healed before this party starts."

Maru laughed. "Well, too late for THAT, I fear," he said, nodding to the DJ.

As if on cue, a loud voice immediately boomed over the speakers around the place. "HHEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYY-EEE-YYYYYOOOOO!" it shouted, causing more than a few to cover their ears or flinch. "EV-ER-AY-BOH-DAYYY! C'MON DOWN TO THE CENTER OF NIGHTSKY SQUARE, CUZ THE TIME HAS COME TO PAAARRRR-TAAYY!"

Instantly, droves of people cheered and began racing towards the center of the square. Ash and friends almost got swept away, and Pikachu almost got knocked off and lost forever under the trampling feet. Ash held onto Pikachu for dear life, Iris doing the same with Axew. "I SEE WHAT YOU MEAN!" he shouted to Maru over the noise. Maru laughed.

Eventually, the crowds died down, and Maru led the group to the center. They introduced each other, as per unwritten pokémon law(If you ever meet up with Ash, you must state your name and, if it is not done so directly afterward, ask for the group's names. Stating occupation is usually done with name, though is not required). Maru learned that Brock had decided to visit the Unova region to both study some new Breeder techniques and meet up with Ash again, and wasn't currently traveling with the young Trainer. They got there in one piece (and still with all their cash). Maru decided to act like a normal person and go off on his own to join the party, making his way to the battle ring.

-v-

In the center, after everyone's pokémon were healed (and Brock was ear-pulled away from his attempts at romancing Nurse Joy by Cilan), Ash and Brock sat and talked while Iris went to the bathroom and Cilan called home to check in with his brothers. "He sounds like it, doesn't he?" Ash asked his longtime friend in a slightly hushed voice.

Brock nodded. "Yeah. Those eyes look a lot like its," he added, "but softer, calmer...but I could have sworn I'd seen some sort of sorrow in them."

Ash nodded. "Me, too," he agreed. He turned to his other friend. "What about you, Pikachu? You think you know who Maru reminds us of?" he asked.

Pikachu crossed his arms and nodded a couple times, eyes closed. "Pi, ka," he said each nod.

Ash smiled. "You sure?" he asked. He knew how much Pikachu enjoyed charades, and he usually was fairly clear.

Pikachu nodded. "Ka!" He got into pose, narrowing his eyes into a glare, sucking in his stomach, and crossing his arms. His mouth even formed right and his ears bent back a bit. "Hmm!" he went, voice as low as he could.

Ash laughed. "Yep! That's it, all right!" he said, pointing.

Pikachu returned to normal and made a happy "Chu-kaa!" before leaping from his seat on another chair beside Ash in the lobby and over to Ash's lap.

Brock smiled. "Yeah," he said. His mouth went straight again, though. "But he couldn't possibly be it, because, well, you know..." He shrugged at the memories that had been restored a while back.

Ash nodded, a concentrating expression now on his face. "I know," he said. "But his voice, his style of speech, and his eyes...That and the way he walks. Very straight arms, precise strides, you know?"

"Yeah. And his posture. He only slouched when he was being facetious like that. But the pokémon we know would never have done that." Brock shrugged. "Besides, why would it even want to use Transform to become human? I thought it—well, he, I guess, given Maru's sex and gender—hated us."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "The way I remember, he seemed a little more accepting of us. I mean, he DID let Team Rocket off in their balloon, and even gave us one, when we were at Purity Canyon," he pointed out. "(Sex and gender? Aren't they the same thing?)"

Brock gave an "Oh, yeah," jerk back of the head and nod. "You're right. But...wait, maybe he needs to in order to go about and get food, if he even needs it," conjectured the breeder. "(Sex is physical, gender is perception.)"

"(Ah.) Maybe..."

The three "hmmm"ed in chorus, crossing their arms and heads bowed in thought. Cilan and Iris came over just then. "Hey, whatcha guys doing?" Iris asked.

"I heard you talking when I was on the phone," Cilan noted.

They looked up and instantly smiled and said it was nothing. "Let's go see if they've got some pokémon battling going on!" Ash said excitedly, rising. "Pika!" Pikachu agreed, hopping up onto his shoulder.

Iris held a hand after him. "Uhh, but Ash, you just got your pokémon healed, you sure it's a good idea to...?" she began to ask, but knew that Ash's mind couldn't be changed. In fact, he was already out the door. She sighed. "He's such a kid! Brock, Cilan, we'd better go with him so that he doesn't get lost," she said wryly, and they went out.

-v-

"...d luck in your new be-e-ed! Enjoy your night-mares honey...While you're restin' yo head..."

Maru stood, arms crossed, in line at the fight cage. It was almost his turn. The tournament had begun early this month, and he'd already signed up and it was his turn. Just had to wait until these guys were done. In the background, the sound of whoops and some singing along was accompanying Basement Jaxx's "Good Luck." 'As if I need luck,' he thought to himself.

"Maruuu!"

"Hn?" He looked over the side of the ramp leading up into the cage. He spotted Ash and Pikachu waving from the crowd. He smiled faintly and held up a hand to acknowledge them.

"Good luck!" Ash shouted to him.

Maru almost anime-fell. 'He did that on purpose, I know it!' He just chuckled and smiled wider. He turned back to the fight. '...Come on, you are being such an idiot! He swings left and right, then stabs when he raises his staff like that! You should know that by now!' he thought to the fighter who was losing.

His cane had been held onto by officials, and he now had a soft sword-like foam club instead. Over the loudspeakers after the fight ended and the ring was cleared, the announcer said, "Alright! On to round two in the quarter-finals! Would Young and Maru please step up!"

Maru smiled excitedly, eyes widening in anticipation. A real challenge! It HAD to be! He ran right into the ring and skidded to a halt in his spot. As his foam armor was put on, he felt a slight nostalgia, memories of Giovanni's armor returning. He had gotten over it, though, as this was his second fight.

His opponent was a tall, strong, slicked-black-haired guy who had a sword-like club, too, but preferred a big one. He was a man who obviously knew a lot about the martial arts. He was grinning. Maru smirked right back, which widened into a smirking grin. The two had seen each other fight and was excited to see if they could take the other down. Maru had won the last fight against someone big enough for him to Slashfest at, which wasn't unacceptable in the rules. The only real rules were no real weapons, no hitting while your opponent is down, no shoes if you wanted to kick, and no shots to the groin for men or stabs in the breasts to women (making the latter harder to fight). Maru, of course, went barefoot, feeling the firm, cold mat underneath him. The bars on the cage were the only really lethal things in the ring.

An arm from the announcer was raised. "This quarter-final round between Young and Maru shall now commence. Fighters readyyyyyyy...?" CHOP! "Rock!"

Maru raced forward, as did the enemy. They met in a clash in the center of the ring, making a loud THUMP sound. Maru cursed under his breath, forgetting that he wasn't half as strong as he should have been. He was at level 9 by now thanks to the various thugs he fought, as well as bouts with Ren, and those fights had been mostly straightforward, especially after he got used to Ren's patterns.

He had also paid Ren to teach him the other two moves he had done that first night—Round Blitz and Quick Blitz—and now included Round Blitz in his standard attack setup, which had that, Rising Strike, and Slashfest. He felt himself "relearn" Swift last level, but knew his body wasn't ready to handle it quite yet. Confusion was still out, too, but he had never counted that as one of his main moves, anyway, due to it merely being basic telekinesis. He could now comfortably lift about six pounds with it. Disable...He wondered if he'd ever relearn that move at the rate he was going.

But now, the time for simple fighting had passed. He had to work his tactical thinking into overdrive in the ring. This guy had bare feet, too, so he can't just dodge to the side. He'd get kicked, and those hurt a lot. The big sword and the man's strength were becoming hard to bear. His only chance was to try and swing the sword to the side and thrust at the man's face. He dared not kick, since he would surely be pushed back.

So, he tried, in vain, to swing the opponent's sword away. He got pushed back a bit, losing the little sumo wrestle match. And WHAM! He got nailed soon after, just when he'd regained his balance. He met the mat, and decided to act like the honor rule in place wasn't and rolled as soon as he could. He could take pain very well; being a pokémon, he could fight even if the next hit meant true death, as long as he was conscious. The fact he was literally made to fight helped with that.

Maru got to his feet and backed up a bit. He saw the one flaw in the guy's ploy, and knew it as soon as he saw Young charging straight at him right as he recovered: He obviously goes for power and pressure, not letting the enemy have a break. He was somewhat slow, though. So, Maru just anticipated his attack and tried, praying he'd do it, to dash around him. He leapt in time and dashed...skidding right behind him! He did it! And he dodged the kick, too, jumping sideways and slashing. He hit, and as the guy grunted, the pokémon/human landed his combo attack.

Young growled and swung his sword wildly in a circle, and faster than Maru had expected. The guy nailed him so hard, the poor poké slammed into the wall. Young waited until he was getting up, then ran over and slammed down his sword.

Maru sidestepped it and then decided to do something about it. He jumped onto his sword and ran up it, classic anime style. As he got midway through, he fell sideways as Young swung his weapon to shake him off. 'Took him long enough...' Maru grabbed the side of the sword, though, knowing he'd be hurting himself if it had a real edge to it, and hung on. He waited until he stopped, then, using his momentum as he flew over the edge he still held tightly onto, kicked at his skull. He landed it, knocking him down. He fell, too, but got up immediately. He waited patiently until, a second or two later, Young stirred and rose. The battle was on again, with a jump from Maru to avoid a rising swing.

Meanwhile, Ash and friends watched from below as Maru and Young fought an intense battle. This was the true confuser for Ash, Pikachu, and Brock: Why would Mewtwo want to let his enemy actually land a blow on him?

But the victor, nonetheless, was Maru. It was a hard-fought battle, but he won. Panting. And grinning like a little kid. Young, also grinning, got up after his ten seconds were up and shook hands with the young man. "Good fight," he said, panting.

Maru agreed, "Good fight." They both went off as the next two were called up.

With a chance to go down to the crowd, Maru went to talk to Ash. "So, what do you think?" he asked, still somewhat breathless.

Ash grinned. "That was awesome!" he answered enthusiastically. "You're good at tactics, aren't you?"

Maru chuckled. "A little, but that was more actually quick, creative thinking, really," he replied. 'Well, of course I am good at tactics! I tried conquering the world once, remember? You actually were the only reason I did not!'

Brock smiled. "Good job, Maru," he congratulated. "Do you like fighting?"

Before thinking, Maru replied, "Of course I do! I love fighting other pokémon!" a bit more enthusiastically than he wished to allow. He regained control quickly, and with a sweat drop, covered, "Er, I mean, battling other people's pokémon, with my own. I have none now, though, as I gave up a while back." 'How did that happen? Ugh...Regardless, let us hope that works...'

Ash, Pikachu, and Brock had widened their eyes, but now they went into the "Oh, I see!" motions people do. "Heh, thought you meant that you liked fighting pokémon yourself!" Ash laughed.

Pikachu laughed, too. Then, in a burst of inspiration, he quickly decided to find out if this man was Mewtwo after all. As Maru looked at Brock while the dark-haired young man spoke (mentioning his job as Gym Leader, which caught Maru's interest straight-away), Pikachu leaned and caught a quick whiff of Maru. He quickly leaned back before anyone had noticed.

"...I like breeding more," Brock was saying. "I want to become the world's best."

Maru smiled and nodded. "That is a very worthy goal, Brock, and I hope you achieve it," he said sincerely. 'Wow...that actually feels weird...I doubt I have ever said anything from my heart like that...' He looked up as the match ended. "Well, I had better get into line, seeing as I am up in the first semifinal round. Nice talking with you again!" he said, turning.

Ash and co. waved, wishing him luck.

As fate would have it, Maru won the tournament by a nose. His opponent to end was a woman with two swords, and she was out of control. Luckily, he knew how to fight her, seeing as he had watched her and seen her fighting style. She was a constant-attack person, and Maru, with his level of 10 by then, was ready for a bit of defensive maneuvering. (He was also ready to use Swift by now, to his slight surprise; the other day, he thought he would have to be a little farther along to use it...But he decided not to use Moves during the match to be safe.)

He blocked a lot, but before a block-breaking move could be launched, he had done what in Soul Calibur II would have been called a Guard Impact; he thrust forward his guarding weapon right as the woman attacked. He threw her off-balance, long enough to get in a few hits. He did so until she became so flustered that she basically gave up. Maru had a few attack patterns of his own (he couldn't help it given his limited repertoire at the time), but, being a naturally skilled fighter, knew that if he used them over and again, he'd be found out and would be beaten. Young was the only other opponent who had no predictable attacks apart from his general battle style.

Upon defeating the young woman, he didn't feel himself level up quite yet, but he felt like he learned a move or something. After investigating it in his mind, he determined it was his ability to detect how much an enemy could take before he was down for the count. 'Oh, Scan! Where have you been all my week? Seriously, you would have been so handy. I could have known when to hold back on people in groups and not waste a technique shot...'

The announcer raised his right hand up in the air. "Ladies and gents, we have a WINNER!" he declared energetically. The crowd roared. "Maru has beaten last month's champion and taken the coveted champion's belt buckle!"

Maru blinked and looked at the announcer, raising an eyebrow. "'Belt buckle?'" he repeated. Nobody ever told him the prize was a belt buckle!

The announcer nodded happily and brought Maru's hand down, pressing the buckle into it. "Yep, a belt buckle. Wear it proudly, Maru, 'cuz that'll be all the proof you need to back up bragging rights for all of next month!" He turned to the audience and told them to give another round of applause for Maru, THIS MONTH'S CHAMPION!

The champ looked at the buckle in his hand. It was a normal brass buckle, rectangular, with a master ball on it. The master ball's bottom and button were mere etchings, but the top half was set in pure, beautiful opal, with the right colors and everything. To either side of the ball, in the spaces left, were embossings of nosed crescent moons with a diamond shape in the little hole of them, the symbol of Nightsky City. It was actually somewhat appealing to him. He shrugged and pocketed it.

***RECIEVED Champion's Belt Buckle***

A brass belt buckle decorated with a Master Ball and Nightsky's emblem. Symbol of the current Festival Champion.

***LEARNED Scan — Ability***

Displays enemies' HP when targeting or locking onto them.

He stepped down from the ring and was greeted by a wild crowd. He sweatdropped and smiled nervously. "Now, please, I want to go see my companions," he insisted, wading through the crowd. He made certain that his buckle remained with him. He made it to Ash and co., to whom he said, "What say we head to some sanctuary?"

A few minutes later, they were at the Pokémon Center again. They dived in, panting from the crazy throng. After a second, Maru looked up. "See what I...mean, when I...said you could...not get out...before the party...was over?" he panted to Ash, chuckling.

Ash nodded. "Yeah..." He panted a bit harder than Maru, but still managed to laugh. "Wow, and I thought...journeying was tough!"

Maru smirked. "Escaping a tight crowd...is much harder than a journey could be," he replied wryly. They went and sat in the lobby, regaining their breath. "Sleepy yet?" he asked them, noting the time of 10:43 P.M.

They all shook their heads. "Hey, Maru, may we see that belt buckle?" asked Iris, leaning over. Maru smiled and fished it out. Everyone crowded around to look at it. "It's beautiful," she gasped, looking at the stone set within the brass. "...That's opal, I think."

Cilan leaned over and looked a moment. "Hmmmm...Yeah, looks like," he appraised.

Maru nodded. "I thought as much." He took off his belt (which was just for show, anyway), removed the old, plain buckle, and put the new one on. "I usually am not one for these kinds of things," he said, rethreading the belt through the loops, "but I believe I will make an exception this time." He pulled on the collar of his cloak and freed his neck from sweat for the moment. "So, Ash," he said, finding now to be a great time, "are you a Trainer?"

"You bet!" Ash smirked, clenching a fist classic Ash-style. "I'm going to be a Pokémon Master!"

'How like a little kid he is,' Maru mused, 'while he looks like he as seen much.' "I find that Trainers have lots of interesting tales to tell," he said casually. "If you do not mind me asking, could you relate a few? You know, interesting happenings, achievements, the like."

Ash blinked, caught off-guard. "Wow, you mean you're asking me to talk about my journey?" he asked. Maru nodded. "Wow...never been asked that before..." 'Well, except by Mom and Prof. Oak and stuff.' Ash looked away, then smiled and looked back with his trademark determined face. "Alright, then, Maru, I guess I'll give it a shot!"

Maru smiled. "Thank you, Ash. I know it is a little prying, but I really am interested in the odd tales that some Trainers have." And this was true. He sometimes would ask a few Trainers coming through about some things they have done, usually at times when they mention some things. Of course, he apologized for eavesdropping, but nobody really cared.

So, Ash began talking about his journey and some of the more interesting events along the way. Getting Pikachu, meeting Misty and Brock, his Gym battles, a few unique Trainers he had met such as Richie, legendaries he had encountered (Brock even interjected, saying that he and Misty had a bet the time when Ash and Richie saw Articuno that they actually would meet the legendary bird), and even some of the stories from the movies we know. He didn't sound at all boastful that he had saved the world once.

He made absolutely no mention whatsoever of Mewtwo, although he did mention meeting some scientists at Purity Canyon; that was it, though, and for that, Mewtwo was grateful and pleased. 'He kept our unwritten bargain that he speaks of Mewtwo to nobody.' Regardless, he felt a little sad not being mentioned.

Afterwards, when Ash explained his journey up to the point he was at at that point in Unova (shortly after Castelia), he sat back and took a drink from his water bottle. It was 11:10 by then, but Ash felt good telling his stories. It had brought back memories to Brock and Pikachu, and Iris and Cilan, knowing more about Ash, had a bit more respect for him. Of course, at least Cilan only really believed his movie stories when he talked about the saving-the-world thing; he remembered watching the tv about that time in the Orange Islands, and how a lone boy and a girl named Melody had, with Lugia, stopped the three legendary birds and that collector guy. Even so, he doubted Ash could have been that same boy.

Maru sat back and crossed his arms. "Very impressive, Ash," he said. 'Indeed. He has a pure soul, and is filled with determination enough to rival my own.' He thought about Ash telling about how he was the "chosen one". 'His purpose was to save the world...He actually had a purpose. But now, that is gone, and yet he still strives for a purpose he believes is his: To become a Pokémon Master...' He looked at the clock. 'I wish...I wish I could be the same...for I suppose my purpose in life was to fight, but that is past. What, then, is my purpose now? And is that purpose my true one?'

"Maru? What's up?" Ash asked, the silence worrying him. He leaned forwards a bit and gave a slight, concerned frown.

"Hm?" Maru looked back and sweatdropped. "Sorry, I spaced out. Stories like those make me think, that is all," he apologized. He sat forward again. "Who knows what adventures you may have next," he shrugged. "Maybe you will have another one like when you rescued your mother in the tower of the Unown. I must say, Ash, you are a very brave and determined young man, and, as your Badges show—" (Ash had shown him all of his Badges, which he kept with him someplace on him at all times, at least in the form of official certificates he got before leaving the real deals safe at home) "—a great Trainer, as well. I am not the least bit surprised your Pikachu knows such powerful moves as Volt Tackle and Electro Ball." He looked to Pikachu and smiled.

Pikachu made a happy "Chaa!" back, making a knock-you-dead-cute smile. Ash looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. "Aww, c'mon, I'm not that good," he said. "I actually got a few of my first Badges helping out the Gym Leaders, not actually beating them, and the Earth Badge barely counts, since Team Rocket is easier to beat than an egg!...Well, they were back then, at least," he gave, planing a hand. "I think they finally learned when I got here...after however many hundreds of beatings we gave 'em!" Everyone laughed, agreeing.

Maru grinned, perhaps a little evilly, at this. He hated Team Rocket, the actual team and not the trio (who were currently outside, wondering how on Earth they were going to find their contact amidst this crowd), and although he knew that was who Ash was speaking of, he enjoyed thinking that Team Rocket was that easy nonetheless.

The clock chimed. 11:15. Everyone looked at it and commented on how late it had become. Maru smiled and got up. "I think that is enough partying for tonight, eh?" he asked. "You must be tired by now."

Ash and co. shook their heads. "Not in the least," Cilan said.

"Besides, like you said before, how can we get to sleep with all that noise?" Iris motioned to the door, through which a cover of (the original version of) "Star Line" poured muffledly.

Maru shrugged. "Alright, but I think I am going to go back outside and watch the performers a bit," he stood. It took a second to remember that he should offer, "If you want, you could accompany me."

Of course, they said they would.

As soon as they stepped out, the entire group knew something was wrong. Or, at least, they could all feel it. It hit like a wave coming out of the Center. Maru especially felt it. He set his face from happy to serious. "Do you..." he began, not turning to look.

Iris nodded. "Yeah, I've got the creeps right now," she answered, frowning. "Ax, axew," Axew whined before hiding in Iris' insanely huge hair.

"Me too," Ash narrowed his eyes. "Pii-ka-piiii..." Pikachu squeaked uneasilly.

Brock crossed his arms. "I've got some feeling of dread or something," he said.

"It's just dread that we're going to get pickpocketed," Cilan dismissed it easily, holding a finger up and smiling, "and it's kinda windy right now, so that's why we've all got chills."

Maru turned to look at them, and the serious, classic Mewtwo expression on his face startled Ash, Pikachu, and Brock. He half-eyed at Cilan's attempt to hide his nerves, then told them, "I have not told you yet, and it may not look like it, but I am actually a psychic, like the Kanto Gym Leader Sabrina. I am currently picking up on something. I do not know what, but I can tell that something is coming. I feel it strongly." 'This is not like a true sense...it is like...like...' He gasped, remembering. 'Like when I fought those black pokémon with the white eyes! I felt a feeling of dark intents, but I dismissed it as something being spread all around by the enemies on all sides and the wall!'

The back of his neck started to tingle, and he put a hand on it with a grimace. "...The hairs on the back of my neck are—" he began to mutter before his eyes widened. '...standing...on-end...' His hand slowly slid off his neck. '...It cannot be...I mean...' But this was the nail in the coffin for this situation. He looked up suddenly, alarmed, and drew his cane. "Everyone, stay with me," he ordered. "I have a feeling this night will not end very well..."

Everyone followed his gaze skyward, but only saw darkness. However, Pikachu and, after peeking out curiously, Axew, gasped. They, as well as Mewtwo, saw something only pokémon eyes could see, and any pokémon in the area looking up saw it, too.

A swirling dark cloud.

'...it was just a dream...right?'

-v-

"You see it, don't you? ...That's the signal, you know. The time has finally come to see if it's you they'll choose."

Kotetsu gasped and turned to find a man in a black mantle with a tentacruel-like mask looking down at him. In his room. "Who are you?" he asked, backing away in alarm.

"I'm not anybody; not in particular, but just plain at all," he said cryptically. And he disappeared.

Kotetsu ran for his mother, scared out of his wits. But he discovered something odd: Nobody was home. He hadn't heard anyone leave. They just...

He burst outside, making his final mistake.

-v-

The lead guitarist of the little show band of one human and the rest pokémon, a machop, glanced up at the sky. The cloud caused him to stop playing, seeing as looking at it paralyzed him with a feeling of dread. The other pokémon looked over at him, followed his gaze, and stopped, too. Soon, the lead singer was singing a capella, and she turned to look at her pokémon bandmates. All of them, including her trained chattot backup singers (essential in the Genki Rockets song with its layered vocals), were looking up. She did, too, and gasped. She saw it, too, and didn't know why. But it scared her.

"Amberi?" asked an off-stage guy who helped run the event in a hoarse whisper. "What the hell are you guys doing? Play!" He looked up. "Are you all stoned or something? PLAY!"

The audience had stopped jumping and was now looking up at her band, muttering about what was going on. Amberi only said one thing into the microphone:

"It's starting to rain..."

Thing is, that night was a very clear one, indeed. The sky was shining with stars, although nobody could see that.

At least, not until all the lights went out.

-v-

"Shit...?" Before he could get anything else out, Maru had a large black thing pelting down towards him, one of the many beginning to fall. He swung, but his cane went clear through the black blob. And it almost fell onto him if Pikachu hadn't zapped it.

Ash looked down. "What's going on, Pikachu?" he asked. "Why'd you—"

"C'MON!" Maru roared, and began to run. 'I might be able to use Swift on them, but I have to get these guys to safety—and with my condition, being on the move would be a good plan, regardless...' Ash and the others followed. He thought about asking to get their pokémon out, but then, someone screamed a blood-curdling shriek. He turned and looked as a black form, just like the ones from his dream, held up a glowing pink heart, like the one he saw that same night. The person it took it from fell, and confused people all around murmured why, then lots of surprised yelps.

The person had disappeared.

Ash was about to bring out his pokémon, but Maru stopped him. "NO! Do not send your pokémon, else they run the risk of disappearing, like that woman over there," he said. Everyone had seen.

And as the looks in their eyes told, so could everyone else.

"OH MY GOD!"

"WHAT THE—?"

"AAAAHGHHHHHH!"

'What the fuck is going ON?' Maru roared in his head, but ran still, leading the group onwards and away from peril. The creatures were everywhere now, all falling from that dark cloud. They were on the streets, and he almost ran into one if Pikachu hadn't snapped his attention back forwards. "CHUUU!" the rodent grunted as another...thing bit the dust. Maru turned towards him and thanked him.

"~Why the hell aren't YOU doing anything?~" the pokémon asked back (in his own language, of course).

Maru gritted his teeth. "Not now!" he growled shortly, then wondered why he wasn't and launched a quick Swift, which, in his human form, consisted of a swing of his cane, sending out three stars of light that quickly homed in on a nearby opponent—which it struck, defeating it with the third star! "A-hah! Okay, maybe getting your—"

The sound of pokéballs opening resounded from behind. Ash, smart kid, had found that only pokémon hurt these black things, and the other Gym Leaders (in training or not) followed suit. Soon, they were all running, Maru feebly slashing and using Swift when it reloaded, Pikachu shocking with all his little might, and the others running along, their pokémon protecting them from the endless swarms of the black creatures.

"I didn't know human psychics could use Swift!" Cilan couldn't help but notice, intrigued. He was kind of smiling a bit despite all. "What an intriguing flavor!"

Maru sweatdropped, having an idea what character trope Cilan might have qualified for were Mew there...'Wait...Mew!' Maru gasped. 'Is she being affected by this, too? Did the Pokédan try to come and get hampered by all of these things like us? She can take care of herself, but the others...I am unsure of their strength, spiritual aside...'

But they couldn't last long. The people around them were running hither and thither, yelling and screaming. Tens upon hundreds upon thousands of them, it seemed, fell to the antennae-branded things. Some of the creatures were now even in little suits of whimsical armor, knocking people down with spinning kicks. Maru couldn't hit anything with his improvized weapon. Nobody could even kick them away. Only the people who knew what they were doing, the ones who had made it far into the battle finals that now seemed ages ago, actually hit. Maru saw their example and tried to kick, putting his heart into it.

'Heart...wait...these things are after hearts! Real hearts! SOULS!' he realized, after—thankfully—knocking one down. He had to kick to do damage aside from Swift, but he couldn't last long running and kicking between reloads. That's what a weapon was for: Fighting with freedom of movement. "If your pokémon get hit by one of them and knocked down, recall them!" he warned. He soon got tired from kicking after the group had battled their way to the stage. Once there, they found they were cornered. Not many people were left, and replacing the huge crowd of happy humans were these dark beasts, hungry for hearts. Maru cursed. "WHY must my powers go now? WHY?" he screamed, Swifting a group of three and following it up with a good kick.

Ash and the others tried kicking off baddies, as well, but they had no success. Well, except for Iris, who had been having the easiest time avoiding attack, but she was getting tired, too. Their pokémon, like Maru and Pikachu, were tiring, as well. Soon, all had been recalled. Ash and the others grouped together. "What's going to happen?" asked Ash, frightened. "What's going on?"

"I'm not even gonna try and explain this one away!" Cilan admitted in wry panic, sweatdropping.

Maru grunted, kicking off another one. "An invasion by aliens?" he suggested. "But we cannot let them steal our hearts! That is what they are after! I cannot let that happen to my friends!" He was more tired than he had ever felt in his life. And it showed: He got hit. And again. And was down. He got back up, but it was difficult, seeing as some sludge was forming around him. He growled and Swifted it away point-blank, grunting at the slight pain from the very weak splash damage.

"YEEEEEK!"

"HEEELLP!"

"PIKACHUUU!"

"BAD MOLASSES! BAAAAAAD!"

Maru turned, his own heart turning freezing. The humans were sinking, as if in quicksand, into the black ooze that the creatures were becoming. "NO!" He tried to run, but was stuck again, and could only fight sinking, himself.

"PIKA!" Pikachu tried to zap them free, but had a hard enough time keeping himself afloat.

"AXEWWW!" Axew cried, very scared.

Ash's pained face suddenly brightened. "That's it! Dragon Sneeze!" he exclaimed half hysterically. "Iris, make Axew use Dragon Sneeze to free us!"

"'Dragon'...?" repeated Maru and Brock, puzzled.

Iris and Axew looked at him as if he'd lost his mind, but Iris widened her eyes when she heard what he wanted. "Right! Axew, quick, do it, do it!" She grabbed Axew and held him up.

Axew opened his mouth, and a blue ball of light began to form inside. "Aaaaaaaaaaa—" the little guy began.

"C'moooon..." Ash frowned hopefully, clenching his fists up to his face. Brock and Cilan wore similar expressions.

But Axew was cut off by a glob of sludge falling on top of him, smothering him completely and causing the attack to fail—and not in the way Ash wanted. "Huh?" Ash squeaked in confusion and exasperation. The ooze was now covering the entire city. It rained it. The creatures became it. It flowed out of fountains. Poured from building windows. It was a storm of ink that took your body and soul. Everyone's hearts sank deeper than their bodies.

The only one not looking up was Iris. "Axew, NO!" She tried desperately to clear the muck off of her friend, but it was getting hard for her arms to move—she and the others were in to their waists.

Maru grimaced and shook his head. "No...!" He fired volleys of Swift at the gunk beneath them, aiming for an area where the splash would free some of all four humans. It cleared away some gunk, and they tried to get out...but it wasn't enough. "No! Dammit, NO!" Maru reached out for them, but they were too far down, now.

The two pokémon still afloat could only watch in horror as their friends sank into the black sludge.

Brock went down, reaching to Maru. "Whyyyyyyy!" He disappeared.

Iris went down, reaching to Maru. "Aaaahhhhhh!" She disappeared.

Cilan went down, reaching to Maru. "Uwwaaaaahh!" He disappeared.

And Ash went down, reaching to Pikachu. "PIKACHUUUUUUU!"

His hand disappeared beneath the ooze, and he was gone. "~NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Pikachu and Maru screamed in unison (in respective tongues).

Pikachu turned to Maru with such pain and confusion it scared him. "~Why?~" he demanded. "~Why did you let him die? You could've SAVED HIM!~" He zapped with what waning energy he had left. "~You're supposed to be the best, right?~"

Maru growled and fought to free his legs. "I lost my powers! I said that!" he yelled back, voice tightening a bit. "Otherwise, these things would never have come this far!" He was crying, and he put a hand to his face. He gave up trying to stay afloat and sank lower and lower. "I failed...I failed to save myself, I failed to protect this city, I failed my friends!" He clenched his cane tighter and tighter. "I failed...I failed! WHY?"

Hysterical and seething with rage, Mewtwo whipped his head up to the dark heavens. "IS THIS MY PURPOSE? TO FAIL AT ALL I DO? EVEN TO PROTECT MY FRIENDS? If so," he screamed, and pointed his cane out where the moon once was, barely able to do so, he had sunk so low, "THEN I OBJECT AND DARE YOU TO CHANGE MY MIND!"

His challenge reverberated across the city. He remained still, having lost almost all hope, rage and self-disgust being the only things he could comprehend. He almost came down over his head. Almost...until a bright light pierced the bleak scene, dazzling the pokémon after so much dimness. Maru, barely able to see, looked down as he was somehow pulled up and the sludge shrank back. The light, he saw, came from the direction of his still-outstretched right hand. When the light faded, the stage was free of ooze. Pikachu was still there, panting and looking up, cheeks sore from squeezing so much to shock. And when Maru looked at his right hand, he gasped.

There, shining in the dim light, in place of his cane, was the oddest thing that he could ever imagine using as a weapon: A giant, metal key.

And it had power. He could feel it. And he knew that the black things hated it, as he now was surrounded by a zone where the ooze (which had returned) couldn't get to him. Pikachu, smart little scamp, was now inside it. "~What the heck?~" he asked, looking up at the key strangely.

Maru looked at it, bewildered. Its bit was a dusty violet and shaped strangely yet elegantly, and the straight barrel made an abrupt curve in the middle of the bit. The barrel was silvery steel with a black belt wrapped tightly around it in a crisscrossing double-helix. The handle was composed of the hilt; the cross-guard was shaped like a bronze crescent moon with some intents in its thicker part. The cross-guard curved almost the entire way around the crisscross-etched grip, forming a double hand guard. The circle was completed with a wide isosceles triangle-shaped flat metal pommel, which had a hole in it towards the bottom. Through this hole went a keychain of a bronze crescent surrounding a metal Master Ball. It was lighter than it looked and gave off an air of stability. Overall, it felt...somehow suitable to him, both in appeal and compatibility. "I...I have no idea," he replied. "And I thought a giant spoon was a crazy enough idea for a weapon for use by psychics...A key? Why?..."

"~Look out!~"

Maru spun around and, through reflex, slashed at the dark thing leaping up to get him. And it went bye-bye. For a second, Maru looked at the weapon with awe. Then, he nodded, as if understanding, and turned. New vigor filled him. He could fight again. And damn, did he know how to fight. Along with ooze, thousands of the creatures swarmed about the two. "Pikachu, get on and rest," he ordered without looking down. Pikachu did so, getting up onto his shoulder and holding on for dear life. "It's time to take care of these things." He got into stance.

They charged, and he ran forth and met them.

-v-

Kotetsu knew not what was happening. Nor did he know why that ooze was forming around him. He knew only that it was scary, scarier than a teenager should be expected to handle alone. Those people before him fell to those...things, and he didn't like it. It made him shudder. He knew what was going on. Their hearts were being stolen. The screams they made before their heart was stolen...the look of utter distress upon their faces...And those four bigger kids on the stage just now, they looked so horrified...Kotetsu was afraid to sleep again, lest he have nightmares. That is, if he slept again.

"HEELLP!" he cried. "SOMEBODY! HEEEAAAALLLP!" He looked around. Nobody. No Agents or Ouendan to save the world. He was alone, and too far for the person now attacking the beasts that had appeared viciously to help him.

Kotetsu didn't care what that bright flash was, because he, a coward of a 14-year-old boy, was worried about himself first and foremost. But those bullies weren't there, either. And when he saw their hearts be stolen, he felt like, somewhat, they deserved it. He knew it to be wrong, but...he couldn't help it. He didn't know why, but he had been feeling a growing, horrific feeling in his chest lately.

He looked about, stressed to the limit and distraught. "Please! Heelllp meee!" he screamed.

"Kotetsu?"

Heart fluttering, he spun around and almost broke down in joy. "Amberi! You're alive!" His one and only friend, Amberi. She was a talented musician interested, as he was, in psychics and pokémon. She was, for some reason, apparently immune to the ooze, since she was running on top of it and not making so much as a ripple. She was only a year older than he was, and so pretty. She had amber eyes, long black hair, and a sweet smile and voice that could hit just about any note it wanted.

Amberi, clutching to her trusty bass guitar, which was somewhat busted from beating those things back, ran over. (It appeared musical instruments could deal damage to them, for some reason.) "Kotetsu!" she cried, approaching. "How the hell are you okay?" She looked down. "You...you're being protected," she answered herself softly, awestruck. "Like that guy who yelled a bit before." She looked up slowly, eyes full of wonder. "How?"

Kotetsu shrugged, ran over, and clutched to her for dear life. "I dunno," he sobbed quietly, "but I'm scared. Mom and dad aren't home, nobody's home...they disappeared before these...things came...Are your pokémon friends okay?" he asked.

Amberi held her friend close, bowing her head, sighing. "...I have them in their emergency balls, with me," she answered. "Kotetsu, let's just stay together and wait this out. I'm scared, too." She held out Kotetsu like a mother would hold her child, in front of her and by the shoulders. "I'm okay. I dunno why, but the gunk's just not sticking to me."

Kotetsu, who always was like a little kid when he got scared, whimpered. "Amberi...I just want it to stop..."

Suddenly, the ooze leapt up and splashed between the two, separating them. Amberi, caught off-guard, shrieked and reached out for Kotetsu, who remained protected. Amberi became engulfed.

"AMBERI!" Kotetsu roared, reaching, the wall of goo blocking him.

"KOTETSU!" And that's all we heard from Amberi before she, too, was gone.

Kotetsu stood for a second, still reaching, then got to his knees. He stared at the spot she was in just a second ago. He didn't know what he could hold on to anymore. He was certain he was going to go insane. This was too real to be a nightmare.

"I can make it all stop."

He looked up. The wall of ooze had turned into the mantled figure from before. "Who are you?" he whispered on a shaky breath, eyes showing tears of confusion, sadness, strife, and hatred. At who, nobody knew.

The figure held out a black-gloved, black-sleeved hand. "Your destiny. Now, take my hand, and I will make it all go away. You are the one I wanted to find. Only you."

Kotetsu gulped. He had no choice. Decline, and he loses his mind. Accept, and...wait..."What have I got to lose?" he slowly realized. He stood up sullenly, head down. He held a hand out. "Just make it stop," he said. "Make it all go away." And he took the man's hand.

-v-

The next thing Maru knew, he and Pikachu were flying straight up through the sky. He looked at where they were heading, or trying to while he spun about. He kicked and swung until he stopped spinning. There, in the sky, was a huge, glowing, black orb. Objects were flying towards it. "What the—?"

"~MEW-TWOOO!~"

Pikachu was hanging on for dear life. He was being separated from Maru. "Pikachu!" Maru grabbed just in time to stop him from flying completely. The two held onto each other, flying off. But their grip was slipping, Pikachu's fur being too soft and smooth and sweat-slick for Maru's own sweaty palms to hold on for long. "No, Pikachu!" Maru grunted through gritted teeth. "I—cannot—let you go—like I did—to your Trainer!"

Pikachu was crying, tears flying off into the strange portal, coming ever closer. "~Mewtwo...I'm sorry for what I said,~" he said. "~I didn't mean it...I believe you; you can't use anything, can you?~"

Maru growled. "I can, and I will," he replied. "I refuse to let this nightmare end it all!" They entered the portal, becoming engulfed in neverending darkness. He felt his grip slipping. Although they both knew that it was futile, Maru shut his eyes to stop the tears as he said his farewell: "I vow to you, Pikachu, friend of the one who saved my life twice over, that I shall not turn my back upon you or any other of my friends, and therefore you will see me again, with both of us alive and with our hearts!"

And Pikachu, with a hopeful smile as he heard the vehemence in the once-cruel pokémon's voice, said only a simple, "~Okay,~" before he felt himself slip away, both into the darkness and into unconsciousness.

Maru reached after him as he flew right away from him. He frowned painedly, then sighed, closing his eyes briefly, feeling fatigued from the night. When he opened them, he was falling towards a familiar platform. He settled down onto it gently before looking around.

It was the last pillar from his dream last night.

He looked up and saw the light again. He looked around to see if his shadow was—yes, it was stretching out. As soon as he saw this, he dived down and to the side as something huge whooshed through the air behind him.

He got up and turned, gripping his key tightly as he looked up at two menacing, insane, lifeless white circular eyes staring at him. The being before him was a Medusa-like-headed giant, whose upper body looked out at him from behind the edge of the pillar. A giant heart-shaped hole punctured its torso. Two tiny black bat wings came out from behind it. Maru glared harshly. "And I, Mewtwo, the Genetic Pokémon, never break my promises," he breathed darkly as he got into stance. A new battle began, with a much different weapon from last time.

Maru thanked fortune that he had remembered his Scan ability as he looked up at his opponent. He had recently taken a different approach to it that worked quite nicely for him: He got a mental image of a green bar representing the enemy's health, like a video game. Any smaller bars below it indicated another long bar's worth of health. He could see it go down whenever he dealt damage. The foe before him had an entire bars worth—Maru was still working out the points, but he had an idea this meant 300 HP! 'Hm. It has a fair lot, but this should not take too long if I am careful.'

The monster reeled back a giant fist, holding it. Maru held still, ready to dodge. When it finally came down, he dodged and jumped as a small shockwave and large pool of blackness (different from before) formed from around the fist. (He was more surprised that the glass didn't break.) Since his jump height was unable to reach the creature's face (his main target), he used this opportunity to run up its arm and mash at its face. Each hit with the giant key went through like a sword but left no blood, and instead created a small cartoonish burst of stylized purple stars. A larger burst resulted from a finisher. Maru had to keep his balance while up there, since he had little space to stand on its shoulder.

After a few combos, the stupid creature finally drew back, the movement causing Maru to fall off onto the platform. He noticed that the smaller creatures had been spawned below, but were now gone. He had noticed green orbs fly from them before, both in the city and in the dream, which restored his health when he absorbed them. 'I could farm them for energy if I need to later,' Maru thought.

The creature reached out with both hands and started to charge a round handful of dark energy, leaning over it. Maru took a chance and hopped up onto an arm, then hopped up to air combo it. He stayed on as it lifted the orb high before he slid off and the broke. It became many small orbs that slowly rained from the sky. Maru felt like an idiot, but running around trying to dodge them seemed the best course of action.

Then, the creature leaned back, a dark force manifesting within the hollow of its middle. With body-shaking bursts, it fired slow, dark, homing missiles at Maru. After Maru discovered this homing quality painfully, he turned and tried to block one. It worked, and it went right back at the beast, hitting it for great damage. He smirked and blocked a few more, thankful of that skill.

It repeated its pattern after finishing firing his missiles, and after one more round of standing on its shoulders, Maru dealt the final blow.

The beast staggered back, Maru standing and watching from the platform. It went back from the platform a few steps, it seemed...wait, the way its body bobbed...'That is not quite normal...What type of movement is that?'

It suddenly reared.

Maru yelped and tried to dive out of the way, but it was no use—the beast charged straight through the glass platform, breaking it. Maru fell down with it...down...into darkness...

...some dreams come true, whether you want them to or not.

Maru turned around in midair to see (that he could still see that) the giant was still up, now very close to him. The beast revealed itself to be a cross between man and beast, with four legs and two arms, sort of like some demented centaur. With a fierce, unnatural roar, part two of Mewtwo's biggest battle yet began. It swung a fist at him.

Reacting instantly, Mewtwo dodged it, funneling and desperately trying to push using what little telekinetic power he had. As he did so, he noticed that it now had two bars' worth of fuel—600 HP. 'It got a second wind, great...' The next blow he couldn't avoid—but he did. Somehow, in the nick of time, with a bright flash, a blur, and something that felt similar to a telekinetic push in flight, he basically swam away from the fist coming for him. He felt something in the key as he did so. There really was power in the key! He nodded and decided to try and use it.

The flurry of blows that came next were dodged, one after the other, and he made his way to the lug's head. And with one more dodge, he had made the dumbass punch itself! He grabbed a writhing dreadlock as the head reeled back. Grabbing onto its head, he began Slashfesting with fury and might. Sensing he should get off after a number of good hits, he dismounted by plunging his key into its skull and pushing off with the force of that. He withdrew it as he fell away. Below, the giant roared and galloped away. 'I am doing some damage, but not as much as before,' Maru noticed. 'It must have gotten a boost in defense somehow...perhaps from the darkness around me.'

Next, Maru had to look around as he fell constantly, fighting that horrible feeling you get when you fall. He found that he somehow had the energy in him again to guide his movements through the air. 'It probably is from the weapon,' he thought, despite it feeling like telekinesis. Regardless, he could guide himself on a lateral axis, but not longitudinally. For that, he either spread out his body to act as a parachute and go slowly up, or dive, funneling in this case, to go down. He looked around as his foe came galloping to him, hooves level with him. He grimaced as he narrowly avoided them. He couldn't rise fast enough, and he felt no chance appear with the key.

After a few runs, he knew he had to try and disable those legs. So, next run, he swung out at a leg. He didn't know if it hurt or not, but he swung at the weakest point he could each time on the same leg (on the knee). He could only swing once because of how fast it was going. After about four times, the centaur roared and fell to its side. Its rear leg barely missed Maru, who noticed it might have been in swinging range, as well. He saw the beast push itself up in a stand so that it could turn to face him, lowering its body and swinging at him.

Maru went through the same swimming motions to dodge the barrage of punches. He got to the head and tried to get him to hit himself. After the first dodge, which kept him nearby the face, he found that the thing had gotten smart. It had punched and gotten close to its face, but not close enough. It paused next, slowly drawing back its fist, and Maru waited. It punched again and he dodged, this time sensing the chance arrive and grabbing the dreadlock. The thing ended up punching its nose and held it with its hands in pain. A Slashfest on the back of the creature's head later, and it galloped off.

As it came by this time, Maru swung at first a front leg, then a rear on the same side. 'This is too easy,' he thought. Trying for both legs without getting hit WAS difficult, though. This time, he heard familiar firing sounds as the galloping monster returned. It was shooting him with missiles again! The blasts, brighter in color this time, came only a bit before the beast had come. Maru observed the beast had combined his two ranged attacks; he fired blasts directly, and they came up, then down onto his previous position (or current, were he stupid enough to stay put). So, he glided over to the legs instead of waited, and slashed again at each leg as it passed by, evading the blasts simultaneously (and perhaps making some land on it, as well).

After this process ended, he found the beast falling again. This time, as the rear leg came to him, he struck that again, too. When the black devil tried to stand, it found it could not. Before Maru could fly over, he became filled with energy. It came from the key again. It ignited his heart, and he felt a familiar power well up. He bared his teeth as he held the key back, getting into his familiar pose.

Vvvvnnn...vvvvnnnnn...Slowly, an orb of darkness began to form in his hands. It grew slowly. 'Damn! I still must not be powerful enough to do it correctly!' And sure enough, the beast got up again, so he had to disband the attack, keeping it on hold to finish charging up for later. The beast came over and tried punching him again. This time, when Maru got to the face, he expected the pause. It came, and in that time, he got three normal hits on the face in (although it did not make any movement to signify pain). Three hits, and he barely avoided the next fist. Another pause, and he swung thrice again. This time, an eye went down from its own fist. Another slashing session, and Maru was at the repeat of the battle.

The pokémon noticed it was now at about two thirds of its second and last bar, and it was getting faster. He swung at both legs again, dodging the blasts, but when he stopped his spin, he saw, too late, the huge, hairly tail coming down and swatting him like a fly. "UUWWAAHHH!" he cried, spiraling off. He regained himself, though, and tried again. Two hits, and this time, he dodged the tail like he does the fists. The third try, something else unexpected happened. As it came forward, it was the midsection. All its front was beginning to glow a sick deep grape color, and Mewtwo sensed what attack it was trying. 'If I hit that front, I will be in enormous pain,' he predicted, frantically gliding away. He barely made it, the middle grazing his cloak. The fourth run was normal, but Maru was ready for anything now. It went down after the next normal run, and immediately, Maru began to charge his attack. It was nearly complete when he had to hide it again.

Again he fooled the beast into knocking itself out after three pauses of three-hit combos.

Again he slashed at its skull.

Again he dodged, slashed, and evaded the running attacks.

And finally, he had it. It went down, and he went to finish up.

VVVVNN...!

'At last!' Maru finished it just in time, and knew just when to release it. And at the same time, he had an idea on how he should release it. He interrupted the attack again, this time a black flame flickering around the key. And this time, he dodged and landed on each fist. He leapt and jumped across the back of each one coming, getting to the face. He dodged the last one, going into the pause, and, in that time, released it, smack dab in the thing's face.

Own face contorted with rage, hatred, and finality, Maru reached back and summoned the orb again. He let go of the key, and it became one with the globe of darkness he held. "Say your prayers, demon!" Mewtwo oxymoroned. "SHADOW BALL LOCK!" And with an almighty "HIH!", he chucked it forth.

The Shadow Ball containing a wildly spinning key zigged and zagged as it flew right into the beast's face. When it collided, an explosion of light, fire, and darkness erupted with a primitively satisfying KraauuBOOOOOOOOOOM!

Maru felt the key reappear in his hand, but he didn't care. All that mattered was the behemoth swaying before him, then, with an almighty roar, collapsing and vanishing in a trillion motes of darkness. Maru felt fatigue finally overwhelm him, and he let himself tilt backwards, eyes closing. He felt his fingers released their grip on the key's.

'What...was that I faced...?' he asked. 'An...inner demon...?'

Of a sort.

***OBTAINED Wandereason***

A mysterious weapon that increases Defense in a pinch.

~Author's Note~

This is gonna be the last chapter for a good while, methinks. Sorry. College happens. As does Academic Probation. X.X;; Hope y'all can understand n-n;;

I know, Sora and Roxas didn't talk back in their Dives, but I think Maru would, especially with that kind of choice. Gameplay-wise, his choices won't affect his stat growth to a great extreme, but will affect what he "learns". For instance, Maru felt he was ready to use Swift at level 10, merely two levels after he technically relearned it, because of his choices. If he had, say, picked the shield and gave up the rod, not only would he have been reenacting one of my favorite parts of KHI—using a shield like a sword, honestly, Sora? XD—he would have learned Swift a bit later, perhaps after a different move. If he grabbed the rod and chucked the sword, he would have learned it later, too. But choosing the sword and ditching the shield would have given it to him a little earlier. He'll be relearning Disable somewhat soonish now that I think I know how it might work without being too cheap (I gotta remember that he can't use it repeatedly like in the games with my rules).

Yeah, I held onto Brock. I needed to have two people who remembered Mewtwo, especially for that one scene.

Yes. Ash is still 10. Even though canonically over a year has passed in the anime just from how many episodes (aka, at least one day every other one since most end at a sunset or something) have passed. Word of God it's a case of Not Allowed to Grow Up. I'm trying to make this as canon as possible-it's just my style. Deal with it. (Though I am so sorely tempted to magically make him older at least for a little while, because a 10-year-old handling a bunch of Heartless? Oy...C'mon, guys, let the kid at LEAST have his 11th birthday, already!)

Be sure to check out the FerreTrip Wiki (God I'm so conceited) to re-read the chapter in walkthrough form for some insight onto what parts are "game" and what's cutscene, as well as some details on how said "game" works, such as the above-mentioned weapons choices' affects!...That is, when it's ready. Check back to each chapter to see if I've finished its walkthrough.

Tell me in comments if you want me to put up a list of changes made to this chapter from the old version! And tell me if you know what Heartless I half-used in Maru's Dive!

Oh, and DO do this now: Go to my deviantART account (FerreTrip) and look for Wandereason. I couldn't really do justice in describing it in the chapter.

And, yes, I will be explaining why the Ouendan couldn't come and easily save the day with a good cheer. Just didn't think interrupting the chapter like that would work that well with the feel of it. I was thinking of putting it during the time where Ash is telling Maru about his journey, but I'm not so sure. I'll split the chapter if I think it'll work alright.

~8D OMAKE 8D~

FerreTrip: *sitting at library, listening to Passion Archive via YouTube, recording it onto his recorder gizmo*We'rrrre connnneeeeecteeed...~

FT: *sitting at library, going through French notes for coming semester, listening to recording of Passion Archive* chaaaiiiin reeeeaaaaction...~

FT: *showering, Passion Archive in head*Weeeee liiiiive iiiiin eeeee...~

FT: *sitting at home, working on this very page, listening to game rip of Passion Archive*...terrrrrnalllll uuuuuuniiiiii...~

FT: *lying in bed, Passion Archive in head* ...verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrse!~ n_n

FT: *lying in bed awake at least an hour later, close to crying by now...*WHY WON'T YOU GET OUT OF MY HEAAAAAD?~ T_T

(TOTALLY not based on something that happened last Monday. Totally. *cough*)