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CHAPTER 14: LOOKING INTO AN INVISIBLE MIRROR_____

I don't know how, but I ended up floating on the ocean. Instead of stepping into nothing as I expected, I ended up on my back gently floating on endless water. I was so dumbfounded that all I have been doing so far is staring at the bright summer sky. It was faintly cloudy and a glaring sun shining proudly on me and the water. I shouldn't be surprised by anything by now. I forgot about the how and decided that what i'm looking for would be in the water. I tilted my head back and let my body sink head-first into the water and shoot straight down. I had a realization just then. Despite being a water pokemon and being here for a good few months at least (I stopped counting since we began walking to Temporal Tower to face Dialga) I never once went for a swim. The comparison between me as a human swimming and me as an Empoleon swimming were very obvious. Instead of the water trying to push me up it allowed me to go wherever I pleased, as if I was flying. I also seemed to sink at least twice as fast than when I was human. I turned around to face the bottom of the water and kicked my webbed feet. I started slowly and quickly sped up my kicking speed. Soon, I was going as fast as a torpedo. I almost felt like slowing down but there was oddly nothing in my way to stop me from going as fast or as far as I want. I rushed through the water with nothing but free will to guide me. My armored beak was specially made to allow my swimming speed to increase by letting the water smoothly wiz by my beak. I began turning up and down, left and right, getting the full experience while I could. I swam a little lower and immediately shot upward to the surface. I swam faster and faster, picking up as much speed as I can. When I came to the surface I flew high into the air. I began to fall and forced my body to turn all the way down with my face to the water in mid-air. I hit the water and kicked my feet to gain speed, swam just underneath the surface and shot up, soaring through the air for a short time before going back into the water. Doing this, I was going much faster than just swimming underwater.
Jumping in and out of the water, I swam forward, not knowing where exactly I was going. I noticed that I was no longer swimming for the joy, my body was swimming on its own. I started to feel a pull on my body. Some force was telling me to go below the water. I sank down and saw deep nothing. The force kept pulling me further, so I let my body quickly swim deep under the water. I soon couldn't see anything and let my body follow the pull. I saw a glow deeper into the black. It was a glaring bright light in one spot. I followed the light and came upon a sunken city that looked like something from the old cowboy movies. The glow was coming from the center fountain in town. As I got closer I saw a figure in front of the fountain. I got closer and the figure looked very familiar. Like I haven't seen this person in a long time, but I still know her very well. The figure was female, with long hair and the appropriate size for a typical female. I recognized the figure when I saw that the long hair that reached all the way down her back and to her butt.
I stopped when I could see her face. The light was coming from her midsection, where her heart should be. I starred at the light and she starred down at it. We looked at each other and she spoke.
“You need this to communicate with Ken and Kinichi.” she said.
“What about Chimchar?” I asked myself.
“Who is that?”
“My friend who I met here in this world. He invited me Ken and Kinichi into his exploration team and we have gone through countless adventures together, never leaving each other no matter what.”
“He seems important. Where did you go, though? I haven't seen myself in a while. I was getting worried. You've been gone a few days. Your just lucky Mom and Onii-san aren't back yet. They would be all over the news with a missing person case.”
“It's only been a few days since I left? It was months here.”
“That's weird. When are you coming back?”
“I don't know. Hopefully soon. Me, Ken, and Kinichi should all be back soon. Give us a few days more and we'll be back by the time Mom and Onii-san get home.”
“You better. Your missing school and getting left behind.”
“I know.” I stuck my fin out to offer a hand-shake, to promise myself that I would return home before Mom and brother get home, that I would get caught up on school work and return as a human. My human self took my fin and we shook, confirming the promise. “Now please, lend me the rest of my human spirit.”
“Of course, how can I say 'no' to myself?” She walked to me and I felt a comforting warmth in my heart, where the light was on my human self. The water disappeared and I was in a chamber with four containers, me being in one of them. The warmth disappeared and a light opened the container and allowed me to walk freely within the chamber to wait for my friends to arrive.

Ken:

A brightly moonlit meadow, that's where I am. Nothing but the calm, rolling grass in the gentle night breezes under the bright full moon. There were many stars in the sky. The rings on my body were glowing brighter than ever. This place brought out my true self. My keep-to-myself style with a calm personality and the protection of the moon and stars to help me protect my friends. The night is the courage I have to face all my fears and all of the odds to do what I think is right. I knew when I got here that this is why this, of all things, is deep inside my subconscious. Without thinking I started to slowly walk forward, not knowing where I'm going. I was confident that somewhere in this meadow is the ability to communicate telepathically. My confidence filled me with energy and I ran as fast as I could, letting my body go where it will. It is being attracted to something, something that only my mind and body can connect to right now. I might never be able to understand how our body works.
About half an hour later, I came across a field full of white flowers. I have no idea why this is here. What part of me does this represent? The gentle nature? Or is it my love for Saori, which has grown so much? A bright light was what looked like the middle of the field. I ran to it, knowing that what I was looking for was at the source of the light. I was not surprised at all to find out that what I was looking for was myself, my human self to be precise.
“So, you showed up finally?” human Ken said.
“I got here as fast as I could, what more do you want?” It felt kind of weird talking to myself.
“There isn't time to waste! You need to learn how to do this so you can protect everyone. You know it is your job in the group to provide the defense when needed and it will be very difficult to do that if you don't have an easy way to communicate without the enemy hearing you!”
“I know! Why are you being so pushy about this? I would never let my friends get hurt. You of all people should know that!” Why was my human self acting like this? And why aren't I feeling the same way right now?
“I'm sorry, I'm kind of on edge.” he apologized. “I can't stand not being able to help everyone. I'm stuck here, in the human world, and no one even sees me! It's like I'm not there! I can only sit and wait as I see you and Saori try to save a world you weren't born in!”
“You are on edge.” I said, very surprised at my odd personality. “This is very unlike me.”
“I only ask that you protect Saori most of all.”
“I would NEVER let ANYONE harm her.” I started to think, however. I can't protect her from all danger. She WILL get hurt at some point and it might be because I can't be there to protect her, even when we are battling together. I might not actually be able to protect her when she needs it most. If I screw up, not only might Saori get hurt, but Kinichi and Monferno, too.
I started to doubt myself so much that this black matter started to slide off of me. It spilled on the beautiful white flowers, ruining them. That matter started to silently slide across the flowers, killing more of them as it goes, and appear under human Ken. The matter started to rise and take form as a monster with a cage for a belly, trapping the human part of me. I starred in fright at what I created and what I have done to myself.
“Ken!” he shouted to me, “This is your test! Your doubt has caused someone close to you to suffer. You must save me!” He fell a little bit, holding his side and I all of a sudden felt a small jolt of pain in my side as well. This made sense. This was all symbolism. My doubt and depression caused people around me to suffer and them suffering is causing me to suffer. This was my greatest fear exactly. I held my ground and made a deep growling noise at my doubt, getting ready to face my fear. I let the fox inside me to take control and I let out a warning bark, to let my fear and doubt know that I no longer fear it.
I dove into the ground with shadow sneak and quickly made my way under him and a little more behind him than front. I lied down as I rose up from the shadows and launched a protect, making him lose his balance and fall forward. The human me got a few bruises and the pain immediately went to me. I shook it off and sank back into the shadow and appeared through the bars to my human me. He grabbed me and I took him under and we both rose a good distance away from the monster. I wasn't feeling anymore pain, so I knew that I protected the people close to me swiftly and effectively. The monster started to get up and I was not going to let that happen. I used confuse ray and made a clean hit at the face, causing him to be confused. As he continued to try standing up, he kept wabbling and falling down over and over again. I went under and gave him a strong headbutt when his face was on the ground. I then jumped up using his large belly as a stepping stool and crunched the tip of his head and swung him around, then slammed him into the ground below. I then raised the biggest protect I had ever used and crushed him under the force of the green barrier.
He reduced to nothing but the slimy matter and quickly evaporated into the air. Just as the dark night says, I would go against any odds and all of my fears to protect my friends and I proved that. I starred at the moon for a while and human Ken walked to me and started to pet me like I was his pet. I kind of liked it. Now I know him my dog feels back home.
“It's time to let me give the ability now.” he said.
“Thank you for helping me deal with my fears. You probably planned this. You knew I would doubt myself, so you got caught by the monster on purpose. Even that proved that I would do anything to protect everyone close to me. OK, I'm ready to accept the ability now. Give me the rest of my human spirit!” I started to feel really warm and my rings started to glow brighter than they will ever get to be. They were like my own personal suns. The light calmed and I was in a chamber with four containers. Inside one of the containers myself, that left three to be taken up by Saori and the others. I seemed to be taller than I normally am, and I wasn't standing on all fours anymore. I was on two human feet, wearing the same clothes I was wearing when I entered the forest months ago, my school uniform. The warmth disappeared and the container opened. I stepped out and took a look around. There was another container opened but no one else here. I noticed that there was a noticeable trail leading from my container to a pedestal on the ground. Across from me I heard a container open, but no one was inside. I figured it out. I'm still in my own subconscious and this is where we all connect our minds. If I step on this pedestal then eventually I would connect to my friends.
I had a thought. Can I connect with them now? Maybe the pedestal served a different purpose? I concentrated hard and not long did I find myself in black with two light trails going ahead of me and to my left. I ran forward and found Saori in her human form straight ahead. She seemed to not be paying attention to me. I waved my hand in front of her and she didn't bat and eye. I grabbed her hand and she noticed something there. She put her hand over mine and felt her way up my arm to my face and my hair. She quickly realized who it was that was next to her and tackled me, kissing me for a short while, like I haven't seen her in forever. She was in her school uniform, too. I guess I was conjuring up the last human memory I have of her, at least the looks.
“I can feel you, Ken!” She shouted when she let go of me. She wasn't starring at my eyes like she usually does. She was trying to find where my eyes where. “But where are you?”
“I'm right in front of you!” I said confused.
“I know that, did you get the ability?”
“Yeah, I think that's how I'm communicating to you right now.”
“Are you in the chamber with the four containers?”
“Yeah. I think I know what's going on. We are still in our separate minds which is why you can't see me. I can see you because I focused hard enough to learn how to activate this ability. I followed the light trail to you and was able to get your attention. If you focus hard enough then you should be able to see me, too.”
“I'll try.” She closed her eyes for just a minute and she opened them again. “I can see you.” she said in an I-did-it tone.
“Great. Then you know how to do this as well.” I heard footsteps and we both turned left, where the other trail of light was leading. I loosened and she looked at me, knowing that I knew who this was. “I guess it's finally time to see him in his human form.”