A New Journey
Chapter 11- Spirit of Fairies

Everybody was totally shocked as they gazed upon Kyurem in his white form. Blue was quivering in fear as he felt Kyurem's Aura grow larger following his fusion with Reshiram. That fear left him completely paralyzed. Ghetsis smirked, feeling nothing could stop him now.

"Now, Kyurem, use your power to show these fools what happens to anyone who crosses Team Plasma!"

White Kyurem's eyes glowed as he roared and fired at the heroes with Dragon Rage. The attack triggered an explosion as it struck, and Ghetsis laughed, thinking his enemies had been destroyed. However, his laughter immediately died as soon as he noticed Zekrom standing before him, protecting the heroes from the blast.

"That's…." May started as she recognized the black dragon of Unova.

"That's Zekrom!" Gary exclaimed. "But why is it here?"

Zekrom ignored the surprised reactions of the humans around him. All of his attention was directed at Hilda, who was covered head to toe in her own blood. May yelped in surprise as the black dragon took Hilda's body in his giant talons and lifted her up. He noticed the horrible cut on her throat and released a low growl of sorrow at the sight of it.

"You fought until the very end for my sake. I could feel all the pain these people were causing you. I wanted to rescue you, but you kept warning me not to come. I was honored to have you as my heroine, Hilda White. May you rest in peace," Zekrom said through telepathy with tears rolling down his scaly face as he removed the chains that had been tied around Hilda's body.

He gently laid Hilda's body on the ground beside N, who agreed to the dragon's request to protect Hilda's body for him. The black dragon roared furiously at Ghetsis as White Kyurem blocked his way. The Team Plasma leader smirked at Zekrom's failed attempt to reach him and ordered Colress to reactivate the DNA Splicer so that Kyurem could absorb Zekrom, as well. Colress frowned, explaining that that would be impossible because the splicer needed at least a day to recharge before it could be activated again. Ghetsis growled, angered, and said he doesn't need Zekrom; Reshiram's power would be enough. He ordered White Kyurem to attack Zekrom.

White Kyurem roared as he and Zekrom started to fight. To make sure the Hero of Truth and his allies would remain unharmed, Zekrom lured White Kyurem out of the cave, going through the hole that Reshiram had made before and into the high skies. Ghetsis shouted into his communicator, ordering his grunts to take the ship to aid Kyurem, but he didn't receive any response until an unfamiliar voice finally spoke.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but the ship is under new management and won't be taking off anytime soon; you'd may as well forget about getting aid to anyone." Gary smiled as he recognized the voice as Professor Sycamore's. "I will never forgive what you people did to that girl's Pokémon, especially to the poor Samurott who died, thanks to you."

N's eyes widened in horror when he heard that. He could not believe that Hilda's Samurott was now dead, and he held Hilda's body closer to him as he imagined the suffering his dear friend and her Pokémon had endured before their group's arrival. How had everything ended up like this?

After a brief moment of silence, Professor Sycamore continued, "Gary, if you can hear me, would you mind doing me a favor? Kick those bastards' asses."

The communication ended as Ghetsis brutally threw the communicator to the ground, breaking it. Ghetsis summoned his Salamence, who roared in anger, along with Hydreigon, to protect his master. Colress also summoned his strongest Pokémon, which was a Metagross. Gary looked at Blue and saw he wasn't paralyzed anymore; it seemed that, with Kyurem away, Blue didn't feel sick from his strong Aura.

"Are you okay to fight now?" asked Gary, looking at Blue.

"Y-Yeah. Now that Kyurem is far enough away, I can fight without feeling ill from his Aura," Blue replied. "Let's defeat these guys together."

Gary was now feeling a lot more confident, and he smiled as he felt their bond connect them again. Their Mega Evolution Stones glowed, and once again, Blue transformed into a Mega Lucario. May also summoned her Blaziken, and her bracelet, similar to Gary's, shone as Blaziken became Mega Blaziken, shocking Gary.

"Wait, you have a Mega Ring too?" Gary asked May, confused and shocked.

"Yeah; before coming to Unova, I met this strange miko lady. Her ghost Pokémon stole one of my Contest ribbons that was very special to me, and she ordered them to give it back. The old lady even gave me this bracelet and a stone for Blaziken and told me they would come in handy when the time was right."

Now, Gary was even more confused that before. No, that couldn't have been the same miko he and Hugh had met in Pinwheel Forest... right? Who was that miko, exactly? Gary shook his head to rid himself of the thought and summoned Pearl, Prof. Sycamore's Sylveon, to aid them in the battle, since the professor had told him before that Fairy-types had a huge advantage over Dragon-types.

The great battle at Giant Chasm has started.

XXX

Hilda opened her eyes and gasped in surprise when she noticed she was back in the strange white abyss from before. How had she ended up here again? She racked her brain trying to figure out how she'd gotten back here, and upon remembering the events that had just transpired, she instinctively placed her hand on her throat and was surprised to discover that it was alright. Now, she was confused; hadn't Ghetsis cut her neck? Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a familiar voice, and she turned around to find her Samurott standing there.

"Samurott!" Hilda exclaimed as she hugged her Pokémon. She felt relieved to see her very first Pokémon there with her; at least she wasn't alone anymore. "Samurott, do you know where we are?"

Samurott shook his head; he had no idea where they were, either. Then, he felt a powerful presence as a huge, white tree with an X mark in its trunk appeared before them. Hilda recognized the tree.

"Touch the seal…" the same voice from before said.

"W-What…?" she said in wonder.

"Touch my seal, Heroine of Ideals."

Hilda looked at Samurott as he nodded to her. He could feel that, while the Aura coming from the tree was powerful, it wasn't threatening. Hilda always trusted Samurott's judgment and, feeling encouraged, she touched the X mark.

Suddenly, the tree started to change its form, slowly transforming into a giant blue and black deer-like Pokémon with a powerful blue Aura around his body. Hilda noticed that the irises of his eyes were crossed, almost like an X.

"Finally, we meet, child of the Fairy Clan," the deer-like spirit said.

"W-Who are you?" Hilda asked, afraid. "What do you mean by 'child of the Fairy Clan?'"

"I am Xerneas, guardian of life. You, Hilda White, are one of the last descendants of the Fairy Clan, a family of humans where only women had my blessing in their veins."

Xerneas started to explain that, a long time ago, a brave knight had a very sick daughter, and he didn't want to lose her. The man took his child to Xerneas in the hopes that the legendary Pokémon could restore her health, and the deer-like Pokémon gave a portion of his energy to her, turning her into the first member of the Fairy Clan- a family of women who were devoted to protecting life and nature with the power to calm down and tame the fury of Pokémon, especially dragons. Hilda's eyes widened in surprise at Xerneas's explanation. Looking back on her journey, she realized that she'd always had a knack for calming down angry Pokémon, especially Dragon-types. Could she really be a descendant of this Fairy Clan that Xerneas spoke of?

"W-Wait, why are you here? And where is here, exactly?" Hilda asked the great deer-like spirit.

"We're in the limbo between life and death. That man, Ghetsis, has killed you. Your partner, Samurott, fought with all his might so that he might help you, but he didn't survive the wounds he received from Ghetsis's men." Hilda was shocked. She and Samurott... were dead? Xerneas continued his explanation, undeterred by Hilda's stunned expression, "I am here because, even in my sealed state, I could hear your cries for help, and I saw what that man did to Kyurem. I can't do much because my true body is sealed away in a distant land, but you, child of the Fairy Clan, can still help your friends."

"How?" she asked, apprehensive of what she might hear from the legendary Pokémon.

"Become one of my spirit guardians," Xerneas said, shocking Samurott and Hilda greatly "Since the beginning of time and space, we, the great guardians whom you people refer to as 'legendary Pokémon,' can choose humans with very special souls to become spirit guardians and protect the balance of this world. Of course, the decision to become a spirit guardian is entirely up to you; you can go to the spirit realm or be reincarnated, either as a human again or as a Pokémon. The choice is yours."

Hilda was silent for a long time, not knowing what to do. She hadn't expected to be given such an important decision. She once again looked at Samurott, before images of her last moments played out in her mind. Her hands closed into fists, and she finally made her decision.

XXX

Ghetsis growled as he watched his Hydreigon faint under the power of the final Aura Sphere Blue threw at the dual Dark/Dragon-type. His Salamence, meanwhile, was facing total humiliation from Pearl the Sylveon, while May's Mega Blaziken crushed Colress's Metagross.

"I guess even with pseudo-legendary Pokémon, you can't beat us," Gary said, glaring at the leader of Team Plasma. "You'd may as well just give up and surrender now."

Ghetsis scoffed. Him, surrender to mere commoners? He was the true king of Team Plasma! He shouted he would never surrender, and at that moment, Blue's eyes widened in shock and he ordered Blaziken to take May and get away. Mega Blaziken did what he was ordered, while Blue took Gary in his arms and jumped away, along with Pearl. To everyone's surprise, Zekrom crashed into the ground, right where they'd all been standing just seconds before, looking seriously wounded as White Kyurem floated through the air above them. Ghetsis smirked. Now that Zekrom was out of commission, no one would be able to defeat him as long as he had White Kyurem under his control. He ordered the dragon Pokémon to use his Draco Meteor attack to annihilate the fools who'd dared to oppose him.

Gary and the others were horrified as they saw the attack coming directly toward them. Blue unconsciously hugged Gary as Mega Blaziken did the same with May, while N held Hilda's body closer to him and Pearl nuzzled her face against his back. Everyone closed their eyes, expecting the end to come.

However, the attack never hit. When the group opened their eyes in collective confusion, they were startled to see a strange woman wearing even stranger armor and riding on a …winged Samurott?

The stranger's outfit consisted of blue armor covering her chest, arms, and boots, including a pair of blue gauntlets that reached up just past her elbows. Blue crystals adorned her lower neck and and the golden belt at her waist. Flowing around her legs and under the armor, there appeared to be white cloth with golden fringe billowing against the wind. Her boots were metallic and light blue, and a helmet with feathers covered her cranium.

"Are you alright?" she asked, turning to face the group she'd just saved.

Everybody gasped in shock when they realized she was Hilda. How... How was that even possible? Wasn't she...? They turned to N, who was still cradling her body protectively in his arms. How could she be standing there when N was holding her dead body? And why she was riding on a winged Samurott, of all things?

"Gary!" a familiar voice called out.

Gary turned around and saw Prof. Sycamore rushing towards them with Black, Skiddo, and a bunch of Pokémon that Gary recognized as being native to the Unova region. Sycamore's jaw dropped when he saw the same Samurott that had died in the Plasma Frigate, now standing before him and sporting wings. He was also surprised to see N holding a girl's body- whom he deduced to be Hilda- who was also riding on Samurott's back across the cave. Even her Pokémon were shocked and confused. Colress was also shocked; it was physically impossible for the same person to exist in two different places, yet there she was, both lying in N's arms and riding on her Samurott. Ghetsis only growled furiously, shouting that the ghost of a mere girl whom he'd already killed would not be enough to stop his plans.

Hilda glared at her assassin and at the transformed dragon Pokémon beside him before looking at her own dragon partner in sympathy. She offered a silent apology to Kyurem for the pain she was about to cause him, and before White Kyurem could do anything to stop her, a spear suddenly appeared in Hilda's hand with a beam of light emanating from its point. Everyone was blinded by the light for a moment before they saw Kyurem fall to the ground with golden, glowing chains wrapped around his entire body, binding him in place. Zekrom blinked in surprise as he caught sight of the wounds the chains were causing to the other legendary dragon.

"I think it's your turn now, Lucario, Blaziken."

Both Fighting-type Pokémon nodded to each other and jumped high into the air, towards White Kyurem. Mega Blaziken used Fire Punch, while Blue used Thunder Punch on White Kyurem's neck, destroying the device Team Plasma had used to control him. White Kyurem roared as flames covered his body, and when the flames died, Kyurem returned to his original form as he puked out the Light Stone, Reshiram's reverted form.

Hilda dismounted from Samurott's back and slowly walked towards Ghetsis and Colress, who were now terrified by the ghost girl's presence.

"Ghetsis, you and Colress have committed countless atrocities against both Pokémon and humans alike. You, Ghetsis, abused your own son and used him to further your own selfish goals, and you even abused Pokémon to trick N into thinking that all Trainers are abusive toward their partners, while you, Colress, used Pokémon as subjects in your cruel experiments, damaging their bodies and minds in terrible, inhumane ways," Hilda paused for a moment as she glared at the duo of villains. "I would let Kyurem, Reshiram, and Zekrom take the revenge on you that they so justly deserve, but there's someone else who wants to punish both of you herself."

With that, Hilda pointed her hand towards the two villains, causing a portal to open up behind them. With her lance, Hilda summoned a blast of light that pushed the villains into the portal, which immediately closed as soon as Ghetsis and Colress were sucked inside of it. Everyone was stunned silent by the unexpected display, until Prof. Sycamore finally recovered from his shock and found his tongue again.

"Where did you send them?" he asked.

"To a place where they will never hurt anyone else again," Hilda answered, coldly.

XXX

In an unknown location, Ghetsis and Colress found themselves in a very strange place. The trees, rocks, water, and even the land itself were all inverted at odd angles and the world's rust-colored land masses were divided into strange, floating islands drifting through a dark, spinning whirlpool of spatial clouds. They had no idea where they could possibly be. Before Colress could make even a single move in this strange, distorted world, a black tentacle pierced his chest, killing him instantly. Ghetsis looked on in horror as his subordinate's body was lifted by the tentacle and flung down into the void of clouds below. The leader of Team Plasma gasped in horror when he finally saw the owner of the tentacle leering above him- Giratina, the legendary Pokémon who represented antimatter in Sinnoh's Creation Trio. Giratina growled at Ghetsis as the villain cried out, horrified, as the jaw of the dual-type Ghost/Dragon legendary hovered over his head. His cries were forever silenced as Giratina sealed his fate.

XXX

Hilda's hands stopped glowing as the last wound on Sawsbuck healed. The deer-like Pokémon smiled at her Trainer as she nuzzled her face. Reshiram had also been returned to his original form after Hilda gave some of her spiritual power to his Light Stone. N stared at Hilda with soft eyes.

"You're really dead?"

Hilda returned his gaze as she nodded to him. She explained that a Pokémon named Xerneas told her she was one of the last decendants of the Fairy Clan, which was why he could hear her cries for help. Zekrom didn't look very happy when Hilda explained that Xerneas made her his nature spirit guardian. Hilda looked at him with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Zekrom. I know you wanted me to become your spirit guardian when I passed away, but Xerneas got to me first and made me his fairy spirit guardian instead. Maybe your next hero or heroine will be right for the job?"

"What do you mean?" May asked, curious.

"Xerneas told me that sometimes the legendary Pokémon choose special human souls to be their spirit guardians, but the choice is ultimately up to the soul whether or not she or he really wants to become a guardian. The soul can also choose to be reincarnated as a human or a Pokémon."

For some reason, those words seemed very familiar to Blue, but he couldn't remember why. Gary nodded as everything Hilda said matched up with what that miko had told him before. Then, Hilda kissed N's lips as she asked him to take her body back to her home and to take care of her Pokémon. She started to float, going toward the sky, along with her Samurott; it was time for them to go to the spirit world. N was still holding her hand. Feeling he was about to lose his grip, N looked at Hilda.

"Natural," N said. Everybody was confused. Natural? What was that supposed to mean? "My full name is Natural Harmonia Gropius," N finished, making Hilda smiling.

"My full name is Brunhild White II."

With that, Hilda and Samurott disappeared into the sky, giving their last goodbyes to their Pokémon and human friends. Everyone looked up as they saw Hilda and Samurott disappear. Gary, who understood how N was feeling most, hugged the green-haired boy as he started to cry on his shoulder. Many emotions were going through his heart, but most of them revolved around his regrets, freedom, sadness, and gratitude.

This would definitely be a day that none of them would soon forget.

To be continued.

Okay, guys, one more chapter to go before the story is over. I am very grateful for all the reviews you've sent to me. Next chapter will show the choices of the characters on how they will spend their lives after this. Will Blue become Gary's Pokémon? Will the truth be revealed? Wait to see in the next chapter!

I want to thank Flock o' Seagulls for beta-editing this. ^^