"This place has never had visitors," Amber said, peeking out from behind her four Pokémon. "How did you get in?"
She looked scared, but the question came out with real excitement too. She'd been alone for so long that even a stranger felt like a miracle.
"Darkrai brought me," Reiji said. "It can link two people's dream worlds."
Amber hesitated, then asked, "What's your name? And… who are you?"
"I'm Amber," she said, then introduced the Pokémon one by one. "This is Charmander, Squirtle, Bulbasaur… and Mewtwo. They're my best friends."
Reiji kept his smile gentle. "Call me Rai. This is Darkrai—the one who opened the way."
Amber's hands twisted in her dress for a second, like she was bracing for rejection. " ... Can we be friends..?"
"Yeah," Reiji said. "We're friends."
Her face lit up. She ran over, grabbed Reiji's hand with one small hand and Darkrai's with the other, and lifted them off the ground like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Come on!" she said, pulling them into the air. "I'll show you where I live!"
"Alright," Reiji said, letting her lead.
It made sense here. This was her mind—flying was just another rule she could rewrite. What surprised him more was how quickly she trusted him. She was too young to have the instincts for suspicion.
He'd known her in his old life too—through the movie. And that was the problem.
In that story, Amber's time was almost over. Mewtwo's rampage was coming, and her "death" was part of what lit the fuse.
He hadn't even reached Kanto yet, and he'd already stumbled into a nightmare.
Amber dragged them through the empty skyline, chattering happily. "This is my home. I love it here. There's the sun, and the wind, and my favourite summer…"
The light shifted. The sun slid toward the horizon, and the sky caught fire with evening clouds. Amber slowed and hovered above the city as day faded out.
"It's sunset," she said softly, staring at the orange line in the distance. "The sun says, 'See you tomorrow.' The stars and the moon come out… so the dark night won't be lonely."
"Amber…" Reiji said under his breath.
He didn't have the words. He'd watched this scene before, knowing how it ended.
Amber let go of their hands and simply watched the last light disappear. The moon rose, stars pricked the sky, and her presence seemed to thin with the night.
"Rai-nii," she said quietly, like she was afraid the moment would break if she spoke louder. "I'm really happy you came. No one ever comes here. I can hear them talking… I can hear Dad… but he can't hear me."
Reiji took a slow breath. He'd wanted to stay out of it. But once he thought it through, the situation wasn't hopeless—just cruel.
Amber was already a consciousness. A soul in a shell. If he could preserve that soul, he could buy time and find a way.
Ash had been brought back from dust in the movies. The world had Pokémon that bent rules. If Ho-Oh could do it, then saving a fading mind wasn't automatically impossible.
He stepped closer. "Amber. Come with me."
Mewtwo snapped forward at once, planting itself between them. "No. Amber can't go with you."
It was still young—raw power and raw fear, without the understanding to separate danger from loss. Amber was its only friend, so it only knew one truth: don't let her leave.
"It's okay, Mewtwo," Amber said, calming it with a soft hand. Then she looked up at Reiji and smiled, calm in a way no child should be. "Rai-nii… Dad told me. This is the last time. I'm going to disappear."
Mewtwo froze. "Disappear…? What does that mean?"
"It means you don't have to accept it," Reiji said.
He glanced at Darkrai. They'd already spoken without words, and Darkrai had confirmed it: it could store Amber's consciousness temporarily.
A nightmare world was still a world. Ugly, sure—blood and horror sometimes bled through—but it could hold a mind like a cradle holds a child.
Time would still be tight. A soul without a body wasn't meant to last. But "not meant to" wasn't the same as "can't."
A flicker of panic hit first—Squirtle started glowing. Its outline turned transparent, and it cried out in fear.
"Now," Reiji said.
Darkrai flashed forward and opened a door. The instant that fear peaked, it pulled Squirtle through into its own space, using its power to stabilise the fading consciousness.
One down.
Mewtwo jerked, alarm spiking. "What did you do?"
Reiji didn't answer. He didn't have time.
"Darkrai," he said, voice turning sharp. "Hold Mewtwo. Use Hypnosis—make it forget us. Then move Amber and the others. We're leaving."
Darkrai moved at once. It put Amber, Charmander, and Bulbasaur under Hypnosis and steered their dreams toward fear—enough for it to latch on and pull them in.
The moment those threads of terror surfaced, Darkrai swallowed their consciousness into its nightmare world.
It happened too fast.
Amber vanished without a goodbye. The city collapsed with her, like a stage set folding in on itself, and the entire dream world winked out.
Mewtwo's hands clenched. Veins stood out along its arms and temples. Its eyes blazed blue as it tried to lock onto Darkrai and Reiji.
"Hypnosis won't erase everything," Darkrai said as it grabbed Reiji and opened the exit. "It'll blur us for now, but it'll remember. And it's getting stronger."
They left before Mewtwo could force the issue.
Even sealed in a tank, Mewtwo was already dangerous. Once it walked free, it would outgrow Darkrai fast.
…
New Island. Inside the laboratory.
One by one, the readings flatlined. Squirtle. Charmander. Bulbasaur. Amber. Their life support signals dropped toward nothing.
Scientists and researchers stared at the monitors, then sighed, defeated.
"Again," someone muttered. "Another failure."
Dr. Fuji stood before Amber's chamber, fingertips resting against the glass. "Amber…" he whispered, like saying her name could anchor her in the world.
A researcher's voice shook as they reported, "Dr. Fuji… Amber's life signs are dropping. She's disappearing."
Then another monitor spiked—wild, violent fluctuations.
"Dr. Fuji!" a researcher shouted. "Mewtwo's brainwaves are unstable—completely abnormal!"
"Stop stimulating it," Fuji snapped. "Inject a sedative and put it back under—"
Crack.
A spiderweb fracture spread across the glass of Mewtwo's tank. The room went dead-still. Even the staff handling the sedative froze.
The cracks widened.
Fuji forced himself to move. He lunged for the control panel and slammed the sedative command.
Too late.
The tank exploded.
A wave of psychic power blew the chamber apart. Needles tore free. Cables snapped and flew like whips. The restraints didn't break—they ceased to matter.
Alarms screamed.
"Warning! Test subject out of control! Test subject out of control! Initiating Emergency Plan One! All personnel evacuate the Mewtwo lab! Evacuate immediately!"
Fuji was the first to run. As he triggered the emergency system, the lab's tanks began to sink into hidden shafts—life support chambers, incubation units, everything.
Mewtwo woke fully and simply rose into the air.
It tore the sinking passage apart and floated back into the lab, arriving just in time to see researchers scrambling to gather their notes.
A researcher looked up and saw those glowing blue eyes. The word wouldn't even form properly in their mouth. "M-Mew—"
They collapsed, papers spilling across the floor.
A squad in black uniforms stormed in—Team Rocket's combat unit.
"Move!" their leader barked. "We're taking over. Get the researchers out!"
They released Psychic-type Pokémon at once, forming a line to face Mewtwo while other operatives dragged the scientists away.
Mewtwo hovered, looking around like the world had been swapped while it slept.
"Where… is this?" Its voice wasn't spoken aloud. It arrived inside their heads. "Who are you? Who… am I? Amber? Amber?"
The leader's expression tightened. "Telepathy. Everyone stay sharp. Pin it down—use Confusion together!"
Trainers shouted orders. Psychic-type Pokémon surged forward, their combined force pressing in on Mewtwo.
Mewtwo raised an arm. Its eyes flared brighter.
"Hold it!" the leader shouted. "All of it—don't let up!"
The squad pushed harder.
Mewtwo didn't control its power cleanly. The pressure snapped back, and a violent psychic shove sent it flying. It slammed into a metal wall with a heavy, ringing impact.
For a moment, it didn't strike back. It grabbed its head instead, shaking, voice twisting into a howl.
"Who am I? Where am I? And… and… A—"
The name wouldn't come.
"I can't remember," it snarled, panic turning to rage. "I can't remember!"
The leader stepped forward carefully. "Subject is unstable. Maintain pressure."
Footsteps echoed closer.
Mewtwo stopped trying to remember. The blank space only fed the fury.
It lowered its hands. Its eyes locked on the humans advancing toward it, and the telepathic voice that filled their minds came out sharp enough to cut.
"Humans… you should die. All of you. Die."
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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