She was painting that day when I approached her, just as she had done every day for the last few weeks.
At the time, I'd merely thought it was another one of those strange hobbies she'd picked up from the humans, and didn't think too much of it. I hadn't even bothered to glance at her canvas, as I normally did when these sorts of things happened. I wasn't fond of the trait, but I'd been born- no, created with an insatiable curiosity. I'd always loathed the aspect, but there was nothing I could do about it.
However, this time was different. I had more important things on my mind. I'd always claimed it to be so, but this time there was truth to my words. I, in fact, hardly even noticed that she was already occupied with something else, for my mind was elsewhere. If I was to achieve the goal I had recently decided I would attain, I could have no other distractions.
All right, I admit, the truth was that I was afraid I might chicken out. I'd never had experience with this sort of thing, and my pride was already suffering horribly at the moment.
I frowned and checked myself. I'd spent the last few weeks debating this with myself, I wasn't about to let it all go to waste.
But even now, doubts swirled about in my mind, and I contemplated the idea a last time. Was I certain I wanted to do this?
Of course I was. It was the right thing. She knew it. I knew it. No use pretending anymore. Absolutely nothing would be gained by continuing the charade.
So why did I still have this sinking feeling? Were my instincts making me this unwilling to betray my nature?
I shook my head in vain, half attempting to rid myself of the worries that clouded my mind. If I continued to discuss with myself like this, I'd never be able to actually act.
I cast her a swift glance, and was relieved to note that she'd been completely oblivious to my presence, too intent on her work to even notice me. Smiling wearily at her tiny, delicate feline form, I took another minute to reassure myself. I watched silently as the brush moved up and down in smooth, elegant strokes across the paper, the wooden handle attached to the bristles clutched tightly in her furry pink paw.
After a few minutes, I sighed and woke up from my reverie. Inhaling, I braced myself, and announced my being there at last.
"Mew."
She raised her head from her work, startled, but her tense limbs relaxed once she realized it was only I. Lowering the brush, she smiled cheerfully and gazed at me with large, brilliant cobalt eyes, shimmering brightly in the beams of light.
"Hello Mewtwo," she chirped in her high, childish tone, as always. Not that I would ever say so, but I enjoyed hearing her speak, listening to the innocence being broadcast so apparently through her voice. I realized then that I would no longer have to feign nastiness as a response to her overwhelming charm, and attempted a weak smile I rarely practiced.
"Um, I wanted to talk..." I stammered ineffectively after a pause, unsure how to begin.
She smiled politely and nodded, urging me to continue. Perhaps it was my imagination, but she seemed pleased that I had initiated a conversation instead of her this time.
"I-I, I have something to tell you..." I mumbled nervously. Here I faltered, then fell silent, staring uncomfortably at the floor. I shifted my position slightly and shut my eyes tight, for I could hear the tiny, disapproving voice nagging at the back of my mind, reminding me of the proper behavior I had always conducted. I did my best to ignore it, but in the end it got me nowhere. It simply refused to leave me be, and the entire effort only resulted in a colossal headache.
Slowly she set the brush down onto the table and glanced at me curiously, perhaps puzzled by such unusual behavior on my part. "Are you alright?" she whispered gently, gazing at me with such genuine concern.
I swallowed and glanced at her longingly. Was I really not strong enough to perform such a small task as this? I was capable of destroying thousands, and I would not hesitate to do so if I had good reason to, yet I could not even manage to utter this one simple statement to her. Of course, I'd never really had experience in confessing one's true feelings...
But I couldn't desist now, I reminded myself fiercely, ignoring the aggravating voice screaming throughout my mind. I'd already come this far, and I was not about to let it all have been in vain.
"I want to help you regrow the Light," I announced triumphantly with such force in my tone that I even shocked myself. I must've been trying to prove to myself just as much as I did to her.
I grinned wryly at her, relieved. There. I'd said it. But now I anxiously awaited her response, and from the looks of her face, it was not going to be good.
She gazed ruefully at me for what seemed an unnecessary amount of time, hardly moving from her position for so long that I feared something was terribly wrong. Had she even heard my request? She must have, I realized, but why did she not speak? Doubts and worries coursed through my mind at rapid speed. What had I done wrong?
At last, she turned slowly to face away from me, whispering to me a reply so faint that I could scarcely hear it.
"No, Mewtwo."
I blinked dumbly, completely stunned by such a rejection. I had not expected her to decline at all. In fact, the more I thought about it, the angrier I felt at her response. Rage began to surge throughout my body, and I found myself yelling.
"No? What do you mean, no?!" I cried, aggravated, "Isn't this what you've always wanted?"
"Yes," she replied softly, almost mechanically, her tone incredibly odd.
"Well?" I demanded, still irritated, "Why did you say 'No' then?"
"Because, Mewtwo," she responded in that same, awkward voice. She turned to face me again, and I saw in her eyes a longing I had never seen before as she finished.
"We can't always get what we want."
I stared at her, perplexed. What did she mean? I had just offered her desire to her. Why did she not accept?
"Mew," I began, but she made a swift gesture with her paw, indicating for me to be silent.
"Look at this symbol," she directed, waving towards the sheet of paper she had been working on minutes earlier.
Hesitantly, I obeyed, and surveyed the parchment for the first time, examining the strange marking etched upon it. It was surprisingly uncomplicated, a perfect circle drawn on the center of the page. Inside, two equal halves were marked out, but instead of a line heading straight down the center, it curved and bent, forming shapes resembling abstract waves, pushing against and leading into one another. The entire painting consisted of only two hues of color, the deep ebony of the paint, and alabaster, which was supplied by the background of the parchment.
"What is it?" I asked, still a little annoyed at receiving no explanation, only puzzles. Of course, this was her usual way of showing me things, and I'd grown somewhat used to it. But it was still exasperating.
"The humans invented it," she began, and I immediately tensed at those words. However, she pretended not to notice my rigid form and continued.
"The outer circle represents "everything"," she explained, tracing the thick line of paint around the page, "And these black and white shapes within the circle symbolize the interaction of two energies, which cause everything to happen."
She glanced at me, and I nodded slightly to indicate that I was following so far, whether it was true or not.
"This," she continued, pointing towards the half filled in with the charcoal hue, "Is called the 'Yin', and it represents darkness, passiveness, cold, and weakness.
However," she murmured, redirecting her paw towards the other half of cream, "This is called the 'Yang', and unlike the Yin, is bright, active, hot, and strong."
She turned to stare at me again. "Together, these two forms of energy make up the world as we know it," she concluded.
She paused, obviously expecting some sort of response on my behalf. However, I gave none.
"But," she continued at last, again shifting the target at which my focus should be. She led my eyes to two points within the halves, each in exactly the same spot as the other on their domain, mirroring one another. Each was a small circle of the opposite color, contrasting the sea of obsidian or milk surrounding them. Strange I hadn't noticed them before.
"They are not completely black or white," she spoke, "just as things in life are not completely black or white, and they cannot exist without each other."
I blinked, staring dumbly at her. "What do you mean?" I inquired, still puzzled.
"See how these two shapes, when put together, make a whole? And not only that, they support one another."
I studied the symbol for another minute, attempting to make sense out of her words. When I turned back to her, there was a moment of silence, and then she drifted lower, halting a foot away from my form.
"But," she whispered softly, raising a furry pink paw to her chest, "In the Light there is always Darkness."
As she uttered that sentence, she pressed lightly upon her skin, and the spot appeared to glow faintly in a murky aura, just for a moment, before fading.
Then, extending her arm towards me, she performed the same action on my own body, and the point touched by her paw tingled and glowed similarly, except in a brighter aura.
"And in the Darkness, there is always Light," she finished, lowering her paw.
I blinked and stared at her again. It was obvious she had used her psychic ability to perform the effect, but why? I still was unable to fully comprehend her meaning.
"You must be joking," I muttered, laughing nervously, "I've never seen any sort of darkness in you."
She smiled sadly back at that sentence, but only waved slightly at the gargantuan, shadowed sphere below us. "Don't you see, Mewtwo? The world is my Darkness. And it's been growing and spreading all the time, these past years. Pretty soon it'll be at such gigantic proportions that it will consume the entire world."
"And my own Light has been growing in turn to compensate," I finished for her, realization dawning on me at last.
She nodded, and hovered closer. "Mewtwo," she whispered softly, her brilliant blue eyes shimmering with the yearning I had noticed before, "As much as I don't want it, you cannot allow the Light to overpower you. We need the Darkness, just as much as we need the Light."
I gazed back at her, a choking sensation gathering in my throat. "Why?" I asked, even though I was now well aware of the answer.
Gently grasping my hands, she smiled that sad smile at me once again.
"Because, Mewtwo. Everything thrives on an equal balance of both. But without one, the other fails. Light and Darkness need each other to survive.
But there's no need to worry, Mewtwo."
Releasing her grip, she slowly turned to face away, her voice fading into silence as she began floating away from my sight, calling back the last few words.
"After all, you cannot see the Light...
Without first being in Darkness."