Chapter 1

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=100 BGCOLOR="#CCCCFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="14800640egdysm.jpg"> <div> <B>Dark Reflection (Beginning):</B>  <A HREF="dr_pro.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Prologue"><U>Prologue</U></A>   |   <B>Chapter 1</B>   |   <A HREF="dr2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 2"><U>Chapter 2</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 3"><U>Chapter 3</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 4"><U>Chapter 4</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 5"><U>Chapter 5</U></A></div> <div> <B>A Master in the Making:  </B><A HREF="mim18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 18"><U>Chapter 18</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 19"><U>Chapter 19</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 20"><U>Chapter 20</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 21"><U>Chapter 21</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 22"><U>Chapter 22</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 23"><U>Chapter 23</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 24"><U>Chapter 24</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id734.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 25"><U>Chapter 25</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 26"><U>Chapter 26</U></A></div> <div> <B>Dark Reflection:  </B><A HREF="dr6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 6"><U>Chapter 6</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr7.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 7"><U>Chapter 7</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr8.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 8"><U>Chapter 8</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr9.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 9"><U>Chapter 9</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr10.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 10"><U>Chapter 10</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr11.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 11"><U>Chapter 11</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr12.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 12"><U>Chapter 12</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr13.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 13"><U>Chapter 13</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr14.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 14"><U>Chapter 14</U></A></div> <div> <B>Dark Reflection (Finale): </B><A HREF="dr15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 15"><U>Chapter 15</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 16"><U>Chapter 16</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr_epi.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Epilogue"><U>Epilogue</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#000066" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/oldnews.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Old News</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/zrfic/" TARGET="_top" 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pokémon.</div> <bR> <div>     She had first come out to the forest when she was five years old, disobeying her parents and ending up lost as a result.  Fortunately for her, a friendly Stantler had showed her the way out of the woods.  The average child might have stayed out of the forest after that, fearing that he might get lost again; but Destiny was anything but average.  To her, getting lost in the woods just meant that she needed to spend more time there.  Now, nine years later, she knew every tree, stream, and rock in the section of the forest nearest to Garnet.</div> <bR> <div>     Her favorite spot was a little clearing, where the sun broke through the trees onto a little field of flowers.  To one side was a large smooth boulder that was just the right height to sit on, and a brook wandered past just beyond that. She would go there every day to meet with her pokémon friends.  Today, however, none of the pokémon seemed to be around yet.  That was not too unusual -- after all, wild pokémon often have important things to do before they can have fun, just like everyone else does.</div> <bR> <div>     Sitting down on the boulder, Destiny absentmindedly fingered a tarnished bronze pendant that hung around her neck.  It was a family heirloom that had been given to her on her last birthday, and Destiny wore it constantly.  It was shaped like a sort of eight-pointed star, with an indentation in the center shaped like a second slightly-different star.  Thin lines ran from each star point to the center of the pendant, and there were two parallel lines cut all the way through the metal.  The strange piece of "jewelry" had no actual chain to wear it with, so Destiny had found a thin leather cord and threaded it through the two rectangular holes.</div> <bR> <div>     Hearing the bushes rustle behind her, Destiny turned, expecting to find one of her friends.  To her disappointment, no one was there.  Deciding that it must have been the wind, Destiny leaned back on the boulder, watching the clouds slowly go past.  A moment later, she heard the bushes rustle again, but still saw nothing as she turned to look.  Thinking for a moment, she realized that the trees were hardly moving in the light wind, and she had felt no sudden gusts.  Surely none of the pokémon that lived nearby would hide from her after all the time she had spent with them.  A shadow darted past on the ground, and Destiny looked up, expecting to see Skye the Pidgeotto perched in his favorite spot.  Still, she saw nothing.  "Who's out there?" she asked the empty air.</div> <bR> <div>     "No one's here, you're just imagining." Destiny did not so much hear the voice as feel it.  She realized that the user must be psychic, and an unskilled one at that.  A more practiced psychic might have convinced her that she really was imagining things.</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny smiled, "You really shouldn't talk to the person you're trying to hide from, you know.  It makes it rather obvious that you're really there."</div> <bR> <div>     "Darn.." came the voice again.  "You're supposed to think I'm invisible or some kind of illusion.."</div> <bR> <div>     Giggling, Destiny shook her head, "Sorry, it didn't work that time.  Maybe you just need a little more practice."</div> <bR> <div>     "Yeah, I guess so.. Well, you know I'm here now, so I guess I might as well stop hiding."  A small pokémon crawled out from behind a bush and dusted itself off.  Destiny had never seen another pokémon like this one before.  It was covered with fur that was mostly white, but it had light purple fur on the tip of its tail and feet.  "I'm Sani.  What's your name?"</div> <bR> <div>     "I'm Destiny."  Trying to connect the strange pokémon with a species name but failing, Destiny decided it would be best to ask the pokémon what she was.  "I've never seen a pokémon like you in the forest before.  What kind of pokémon are you?"</div> <bR> <div>     The little pokémon gave Destiny a look as if she had asked a crazy question.  "You've never seen a Mew before?  I thought everyone knew about us!"</div> <bR> <div>      Destiny nearly fell off her rock in shock.  "A Mew?!  Of course I've heard of Mews!  Everyone says that you're just a legend, though!"</div> <bR> <div>     Sani blinked, "Really?  And all this time, I thought my mom was telling me to stay away from humans because she thought I was too young to know which ones were bad...  I didn't know we weren't supposed to exist!"</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny shrugged and shook her head, "I guess it's too late now.   Don't worry, though; I won't tell anyone I saw you.   So, now that you're here, why were you watching me anyway?"</div> <bR> <div>     "You mean other than the fact that my mom told me not too?" Sani joked.  "Well, I saw you holding that necklace, and I was trying to get a better look."</div> <bR> <div>      Destiny took off the pendant, then tossed it to the Mew, "There, you can have a good look at it if you want.  It's just an old piece of bronze on a cord, really.  Not much to it."</div> <bR> <div>     "Yeah, that's what I figured from the glimpse I got," Sani replied, looking down at the object.  "Wait a second... This looks familiar somehow.."  The little pokémon glanced away, trying to remember something.  Her mind drawing a blank, she started to hand it back to Destiny, then suddenly pulled it back and stared at it again.  "That's it!  The indentation looks familiar, not the rest of it!  It's the same shape as the one trinket that the Elder has!"</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny was confused, "Sorry, but I lost you somewhere along there.  Who's the Elder and what is this trinket he has?"</div> <bR> <div>     Giving back the pendant, Sani explained, "The Elder is the oldest Mew in our tribe.  He's the one that everyone looks up to, cause he's so smart and all..  Anyway, he has this one star-shaped bronze piece with some kind of gem in the center.  Now that I think about it, I remember that it also had two short prongs in the back, like it was incomplete.  I bet it would fit right onto that pendant you've got!"</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny shrugged, "That's interesting, but I don't suppose we'll ever get the chance to find out.  My mom wouldn't want me to give away a family heirloom like this, and I bet your tribe wouldn't want me anywhere nearby."</div> <bR> <div>     Sani nodded, looking downcast, "Probably not.. Still, I remember the Elder saying something about a legend that surrounded the piece of amulet he had.  Maybe it's important enough to bend some rules for."  The Mew suddenly giggled, winking at Destiny, "Besides, no one ever told me I couldn't bring a human home with me!"</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>     The two flew towards the Granite Mountains, Sani having little trouble carrying Destiny with her psychic powers.  Destiny had been surprised to find that the Mew lived about 20 miles from where they had met, but as she now saw, distance was hardly a problem for a pokémon that could fly anywhere.  The flight took around fifteen minutes at the speed they flew, although Sani claimed that she could go faster when she wanted to.</div> <bR> <div>     Landing on a narrow ledge at the mouth of a cave, Sani carefully set Destiny down, then hovered into the cave, motioning for her human friend to follow.  As they entered a large cavern, Destiny was not sure who was more surprised: herself, at finding the huge cavern lit up by some unknown light source and filled with over fifty Mews - or the Mews, for having a human suddenly walk into their hidden village.  The room that had apparently been filled with conversation suddenly grew very, very quiet.</div> <bR> <div>     Beside her, Sani smacked her head and groaned.  "Aww.. I forgot that there was a High Council meeting here today.  They just <B>had</B> to hold it here this month.  Now my mom is going to kill me..."</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny glanced nervously at the stunned Mews, whispering to Sani.  "I just hope she doesn't decide to kill me too."</div> <bR> <div>      Sani nodded as one of the other Mews flew over to them.  Like Sani, this Mew had a purple tint to her fur, although Destiny noticed that most of the other Mews were various degrees of pink.  "Sani, what is the meaning of this?!  Why have you brought a human here to our home?!"</div> <bR> <div>     "Well.. Uh... Um..." Sani stammered, trying to remember the reasons she had felt it acceptable to bring Destiny back with her.  Unable to remember under pressure, she giggled nervously.  "I found her in the woods all alone.  Can I keep her?"</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>     "'Can I keep her?'  How did you come up with that?" Destiny asked Sani the next time she saw her.  After that initial explanation, Sani had been whisked away by the Mews for what Destiny surmised was an interrogation session.  As for her, she had spent the last half hour under the guard of one of the Mews and her companion, the frightening Mewtwo.  Although the mysterious pokémon had just left for Johto, she still felt as if she could feel his gaze burning into her.  On the upside, his Pikachu had been rather friendly, but that hardly made her feel better about her situation.  Fortunately, Sani and her mother, the purple Mew she had seen earlier, had finally come back and relieved the two sentinels of their duty, somehow giving Destiny a small sense of relief.</div> <bR> <div>     "Sorry, I got a little tongue-tied back there," the little Mew admitted.  She was about to say more, but her mother interrupted.</div> <bR> <div>     "My daughter says that you have come to see the Elder about a pendant that you possess."  Destiny nodded slowly, imagining the things that a strong psychic pokémon could do to punish an unwanted intruder like her.  "Very well, since you are already here, you will be allowed to meet with him.  If this matter is truly as important as Sani seems to think it is, then not allowing you a meeting would be foolhardy.  However, if it turns out to be just the overactive imaginations of youth, as I suspect, then we will return you to you to the place where you met Sani, erasing all your memories of us.</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny swallowed hard, not at all sure if the pendant was important or not.  It did not appear as though she had a choice, so she nodded again after a moment of silence.  "Ok, I agree to that, as long as you make me forget Mewtwo while you're erasing everything else." she joked nervously.</div> <bR> <div>     Sani laughed, earning a glare from her mother, which she ignored.  "He is pretty creepy, isn't he?  Actually, he's not quite as mean as he looks, although he <B>did</B> try to destroy the earth once."  Noticing the second glare her mother shot her, the Mew quickly changed the subject.  "Anyway, we have a meeting to go too.  I suppose we shouldn't keep the Elder waiting."</div> <bR> <bR> <div>     As the three of them walked through the Mew village toward the Elder's side-tunnel "house", Destiny learned from Sani that because of their surprising arrival, the Mew High Council had decided to adjourn early.  Apparently, a good number of the Mews were not comfortable with discussing important matters with a human around.</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny was left with a feeling of mild guilt at the blunder, but it was replaced by fascination when she was introduced to the Mew known as the Elder.  He was the most unusual Mew she had seen so far, with mahogany coloration where all the others were pink or purple.  Speckles of silver fur were mixed in as well, the mark of his old age.  He seemed fairly strong, though; not at all the frail old Mew that she had expected.</div> <bR> <div>     "I have brought them to you."  Sani's mother softly said to the Elder, who was rummaging through an ancient wooden chest, unaware of their entrance.  At the sound of her voice, he turned around, smiling kindly.</div> <bR> <div>     "So, this is the fearsome human that caused the Council to finish the meeting so abruptly.  She doesn't look so dangerous up close, does she?"  The Elder brushed past Destiny, nodding to Sani's mother.  "I'll take care of her for now, Hana.  You can go."  As Hana left, the Elder shook his head, turning his attention on the human beside him.  "I'm sorry about all the distrust you've been shown, young one; many of us have heard all kinds of stories about the dangers of humans, most of which are probably exaggerated.  As a result, we're not a very trusting species in general."</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny shrugged, "That's all right, sir, it's not the first time that I've had to earn a pokémon's trust.  After all, the world itself is not a very trusting place."</div> <bR> <div>     The Elder nodded, "Very true.  Anyway, enough about suspicion.  My psychic powers have never let me down, and they tell me that you are as good of a person as Sani claims you to be.  Now we should move on to the reason you have come to see me.  You have an amulet that you believe I may know about?"</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny slipped off the pendant and handed it to the Elder, "Yes, Sani claimed that you had a matching piece to it.  Personally, I hope she's right, because I like my mind the way it is."</div> <bR> <div>     The Elder chuckled, "Don't worry, a mind-wipe will not be necessary.  I do indeed have a matching piece, as well as a legend that I will tell you.  The Elder reached into his wooden chest, pulling out a bronze piece similar to Destiny's pendant, just as Sani had described earlier.  "It is said that when the pieces of this amulet come together, the ones that the pieces belong to will begin a quest to save two worlds.  I was never quite sure of what that meant, but I suspect that we will find out shortly.  Who knows, perhaps it means that the Mews and the humans will once again live and work together as they did in ancient times."  The Elder returned Destiny's piece of the pendant to her, then handed his piece to Sani.  "I want you to have this now, Sani.  You will go with Destiny on this journey, even though I was the one who originally held that piece.  Quests are for the young, and the two of you are already fast friends."</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny looked down at her pendant piece then over at Sani.  The little Mew gave her a quick smile, then reached over and snapped the two pieces together.  For a moment, Destiny thought that the amulet seemed to glow, but it stopped before she was sure of it.  The Elder nodded his approval, then continued.  "Very good, children.  You have returned the first half of the amulet to its original state, which means that you must now begin your journey."</div> <bR> <div>     Noting the look of surprise on their faces, he raised his hand to stop any questions, then reached once again into the ancient chest, this time pulling out an old scroll.  Opening it, he showed them a picture that was inscribed upon it.  "Yes, I did say that you only completed half of the amulet.  The other half looks like this."  He pointed to one side of the picture, which showed a round piece, with a raised flower pattern on the edges.  The inside of the flower pattern was cunningly shaped like the star pendant they now had, giving the impression that the two parts were both part of the same amulet, yet also separate.</div> <bR> <div>     Next, the Elder pointed to the bottom of the scroll, that was covered with some kind of ancient writing that Destiny could make no sense of.  Noticing her confusion, the Elder translated, "This writing basically says that when the first two pieces of the amulet come together, the holders must begin their journey.  Along the way, they will find the keeper of the final piece, who will aid them on their quest.  There is something here about collecting eight Orbs from their winged masters, and a warning of a final challenge after that test is completed.  The words have been blurred over time, but from what I can make out, the scroll is warning against greed, although I don't know why.  Perhaps you will understand when you reach that point."</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny studied the scroll for a few moments.  "I certainly hope so...  Is there anything else you can tell us about the legend?  Where are we supposed to look for these Orbs?  What do we do when we find them?  Anything like that would be nice to know."</div> <bR> <div>     "I cannot tell you where to look for the Orbs, although the names of each Orb are listed, and that might help you.  I will write them down for you in a moment.  I do have one last thing to tell you first, however.  There is a temple about two miles west of here, hidden in the mountains.  Sani has been there many times, so she can lead you to it.  That is where you should begin your journey."</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>