Before we begin, my apologies for taking so long as of late. I have been very busy with school and whatnot. Plus, I rewrote the entire second half of this chapter because I didn't like it. It is much better now. Enjoy!

Chapter 26:

Tortured Puppet Reaper

The possessed puppet sung his scythe in a wide, sweeping arc. I swung my blade to parry it and follow up with a strike at his frail body, but the momentum behind that thing nearly snapped my neck and ended the battle right then. I backpedalled frantically, immediately on guard for another attack. The Banette did not disappoint. In fact, he never stopped swing his scythe. It spun in a circle around him, a deadly ring that prevented my approach.

"Me…kill…me…kill…" he repeated, red eyes burning.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" I snapped, "Come up with something else to say, okay?"

"Me…Spirit…kill…"

"That doesn't count!" I snarled as he advanced on me. I feinted like I was going to leap over the blade and, when he swung upwards to counter it, I instead slid under and came up under his guard to strike his body. With astonishing speed, he brought the pole of the scythe back and held it in the way of my blade, effectively blocking my strike. I growled in frustration.

"Me…kill…"

I hit the floor as the scythe came slicing by where my face had been, amazed at his speed with that thing. Immediately, I rolled aside as he swung it down over his head, keeping the momentum from his sideways slash. The blade slammed into the stone floor, cracking the marble and sending fragments of it flying. I gritted my teeth as I was pelted by the tiny, little pebbles. The worst of it was that my nice, white fur was now spotted with tiny flecks of my blood.

"You're going to pay for that…" I growled, charging my blade with darkness. Reaper did not respond to me, only repeating what he always said.

"Me…kill…"

Growling, I crouched for a leap. Reaper's head lolled sideways, like he was examining me curiously, though there was still no emotion in his eyes. His hands held his scythe loosely, letting it drag against the ground. For a moment, neither of us moved. Then, I leapt forward and he swung at the same time. Blade met scythe and we were instantly locked in a test of strength, one I should have been winning since he had to put a lot more force on this scythe to fight against me. However, I felt myself ever so slowly losing. And then, my neck popped and I was forced to hit the ground and roll.

Once again barely evading his downward strike, I leapt back to assess the situation. He was unnaturally strong, armed with a weapon he was skilled at and I had no experience fighting against. To be honest, in close combat, it looked pretty bad. His scythe was a deadly weapon with amazing reach that I could never hope to match. To be honest, I was outmatched in a straight up fight, but…

I grinned. "I must say, your skills are impressive," I said with a tint of mockery in my voice. Reaper did not react to it whatsoever, staring blankly at me instead. "In fact," I said in a confidential tone of voice, "You might have even been able to beat me, if all I had was close combat." I began summoning my darkness, channeling it into one concentrated point. "Fortunately, I have a little trick for dealing with ghosts. It's called Dark Pulse."

A wave of darkness shot out from my blade, hitting the Banette before he could do more than raise his scythe. It made a poor shield and the energy tore through his body. I grinned in triumph, but I was a bit premature. Although Reaper had taken some noticeable damage to his possessed body, he showed no sign that it bothered him. In fact, his next attack was faster, if anything.

"Me…kill…" he repeated as he nearly divorced my nose from the rest of my face.

"Oh shut up!" I growled. I quickly created another attack and unleashed it straight at his torso, but this time dodged. He slammed his scythe into the ground and yanked it backward, propelling himself across the ground very quickly. I yipped in surprise as he immediately whirled, twirling his scythe around and leaving a gash down my side. I growled and back-pedaled quickly, shielding my now wounded side from him.

I glanced back at it and was somewhat relieved. It wasn't that deep, but it was bleeding. My nice fur was even more covered in red now. I was beginning to get really annoyed with this ghost.

"Me…kill…"

"GrrrrrAH! WOULD YOU STOP SAYING THAT?!" I screamed.

"Me…kill…"

"Oh for the love of…" I snarled, crouching for a leap, "What if I kill you first?"

"Yes…" Reaper replied, which made me hesitate.

"Yes?" I repeated quizzically before Reaper attacked once again. I was once again forced on the defensive. A few Dark Pulses here and there did do some damage, but not enough to tip the scale in my favor. His dead, red eyes never left me, seemingly unaffected by the actions he was carrying out. They showed no anger, no confidence, no desire for anything at all. It was…unnerving. And that's coming from a Darkling.

"Me…kill…me…kill…me…kill…."

"Alright!" I snapped, "I'm really sick of that phrase! I know you want to kill me, but you could have the common decency to not say it over and over again! I get it! You like killing things! But for the love of Arceus, shut up!"

"No…" Reaper said.

"You damned, possessed puppet!" I snarled, "Well, you won't get me! I'm not going to die, got it? I still have to protect my friends! And I'm not letting you get in my way!"

I screamed and fired the biggest Dark Pulse yet. Fueled by the rage and anger I was currently feeling, it tore through him and casts him aside like a, forgive the saying, like a rag-doll. It pierced his body in multiple places, leaving gaping holes in his chest, head, and limbs. It even put out one of his remaining eyes. I believe Syoran would have called it a 'critical hit' or something like that. For the first time, he hit the ground and bounced, propelled backwards by the force, and bounced several more times before coming to a rest on the ground, motionless. I howled in victory and leapt on him pinning him down and knocking his scythe away out of his reach.

"I have you now!" I declared, raising a darkness-filled claw to strike and end his existence. He muttered something and for a moment, I gave it no thought. It was the same as before, but…wait…what?

My eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Say that again…" I ordered. His eyes stared up at me blankly,

"Kill…me…" he said, "You…kill…me…"

I felt a chill run down my spine, freezing my insides. I recoiled, leaping off him like I'd been burned. He made no more moves, simply stared at me, repeating the same thing he'd always been doing. "Kill…me…kill…me…"

I swallowed, looking back into his remaining eye. His gaze shifted from my face to my claws, which were still radiating dark power. I looked down at it and took a deep breath. Suddenly, it just got ten times harder to kill him. It became nearly impossible to hate someone who…

One of his arms moved slowly, reaching for me weakly. My attack had done a lot of damage. Darklings are known to be effective counters to the supernatural, but I had no idea that in one attack… His body was pretty weak to begin with and I had used an enormous amount of my power. Still…

"Kill…me…Spirit…"

I swallowed and, ever so slightly, nodded. With shaky steps, I approached him. His eye stared up blankly while he muttered, 'Kill…me…kill…me…' over and over again. I raised my claw and muttered a prayer to whatever higher power was listening at that moment, begging for some sign that I was doing the right thing, and slashed through his body. It was…fabric. Stuffing came pouring out of his torso, flying everywhere, but was quickly followed by an explosion of ghostly energy. I winced and shielded my face, but it passed me by only as a strong wind.

I looked back and saw the light in his eye fading, but as it did there was something there I had never seen before: happiness. I felt tears come to my own eyes instead. It was…strange to see someone so happy that he was dying. Then, the light faded entirely and he was gone. I waited for a few seconds, hoping that the shade within how would appear. When it did not, I turned sadly, only to find it already outside his body. A young Eevee, barely out of the kit stage, lay on the ground, eyes closed. I sniffed him. He was a shade, that's for sure…

In response, he stirred and slowly sat up. "Well, this is a relief…" he muttered, "I was getting kind of ticked being stuck inside that thing all these years…" He bowed to me, ears flopping down over his eyes. "Thank you, Spirit. You were the first to…to ever understand." His face became very sad and he sighed.

I regarded him carefully. After all, I was a naturally suspicious person and I had just been fighting him. Plus, this was a completely surreal situation. "So…" I said after a minute, "You were trapped inside that…doll?"

He nodded. "Yeah…I couldn't do anything except what she told me to." He snarled, which looked absolutely ludicrous on his very friendly face, but nonetheless communicated hatred deeper and more violent than anything even I had experienced. However, the expression quickly gave way to one of exhaustion. "Ugh…" he groaned, collapsing to the ground.

I moved over to him in alarm. "You alright?" I demanded, a bit harsher than I intended.

"Fine…" he muttered, "Just…bit worn out. It happens when a ghost loses his form." He shook his head, seemingly trying to clear it. He looked up at me. "I'll be on my feet in a minute. I want a piece of that witch who kept me enslaved for so long. Give me a minute here and I'll be ready…"

"Alright…" I agreed hesitantly. I didn't want to waste much time, but to be honest I could use a quick respite myself. I sat down and waited for a few minutes until he was strong enough to stand. He nodded to me and I turned for the causeway. However, he had a different idea.

"No!" he said, "Um…I want your help with something first…it's important."

"My friends are in danger…" I growled, "And I'm not entirely sure about you right now either."

He winced. "Understandable, I guess…considering what I was…" He sighed heavily. "But…I need your help to destroy the thing that made me into that. I can't do it on my own. I'm not strong enough."

I looked at him with renewed interest. "Destroy what, exactly?" I said, pressing him for information. He looked up hopefully.

"Well…" he said, "Down below us, there is this chamber. In it, there's a special stone called the Enchanting Stone. To…to turn into a Ghost Pokémon, a shade has to stand on top of it and say the ritual words. I want to destroy it so no more Ghosts can ever be made."

"Right…" I said, unconvinced. I wasn't sure this was such a good idea, but if it worked it would certainly hinder Giratina a lot. I decided it was worth the risk, though I did feel a bit uneasy about leaving the others to fight Hecate's forces by themselves. But they had Pikablu with them, right? They should be okay…

"We'll make it quick," I said, coming to a decision, "Then I have to get back to the battle to help my friends."

"Right!" the Eevee said, nodding, "My name is Petro, by the way."

"Well, that's nice, I guess…" I muttered, "Lead the way, Petro."

"Okay!" he said perkily, exhibiting the cheerful attitude common among his species. I shook my head and followed him. He led the way back down into the fortress's depths, though not quite as deep as Seth had. Instead, it seemed like we were headed toward the core of the mountain, not the very root of it.

Much to my unease, we quickly left what might be called the 'happy', and I use that term very loosely, part of the fortress and entered the 'creepy' part of it. The shadows seemed to whisper as we walked, glaring with malevolence at any who would dare to pass. It was as if the entire place had a semi-real will of its own, which was bent upon barring our progress. I shivered as invisible claws swept by me, as insubstantial as mist but not quite as intangible. I felt them brush my fur numerous times and it put me very much on edge.

I glanced around wildly, eyes and ears straining for some source of all this. It was no good smelling since the entire hall reeked of death. But an animating force pulsed under my feet, like the heart of some ancient beast buried in the depths. The air shivered with each beat, and so did I.

Petro was not faring much better. If anything, he was even more scared than I was. He stared at the walls like he could see things I couldn't there, faces leering at us. And every so often he would mutter something as if in reply. I felt an aching distrust worm its way into my heart. How did I know he wasn't leading me to my death? What if he was still an agent of Giratina, bent on my destruction?

I was about to leap on him and demand answers when, all of a sudden, the darkness parted before us and revealed a stone statue standing guard over a black rock which seemed to suck whatever light was around it into itself, never to escape or shine again. Petro stopped abruptly before we entered the clearing.

"Alright," he whispered, "The Guardian's weakness is the patch on his chest. Break that and he'll topple over and we can destroy the Enchanting Stone."

"What guardian?" I growled, taking a step forward. Instantly, the statue's eyes lit up. "Oh…that guardian…"

"Hurry! Destroy the seal!" Petro ordered a bit frantically. I growled and prepared to attack. The Guardian slowly stepped off its pedestal and scanned the area, eyes locking onto me. With frightening clarity of purpose, it strode toward me, raising a fist.

"Oh no you don't!" I snarled, charging my blade with as much dark energy as I could gather. It wasn't a lot, but combined with the impact from the leap I took at the moving statue's chest, it shattered the seal. Instantly, the Guardian stumbled and fell backwards, light pouring out of its chest and streaming into the stone like water down a drain. I tossed my head in satisfaction as the glowing eyes quickly faded. "Well! Knowing your enemy's weakness beforehand certainly speeds things up!"

"Yep!" Petro agreed happily, striding past me. He stopped before the enchanting stone and glared at it. "Now, destroy this thing and we can go up to the battle!"

"Right…" I said hesitantly, "How do I do that?"

Petro turned to me in surprise. "I don't know…Blast it with stuff?"

I blinked. "You brought me down here to destroy it and you don't know how to destroy it?"

"Yeah…" he said, shifting awkwardly. I sighed.

"Stand back…" I said, charging up another 'Night Slash'. Petro wordlessly retreated and I struck it with all my might. It cracked, but did not break, which was more than I expected from a rock. It actually felt more like a smooth crystal, now that I was close to it. "What is this made of anyway?"

"Well…" Petro said, chuckling nervously, "It's pretty much a…physical representation of Giratina's power over death and the Ghost Pokémon. Break it and you severely limit that…"

I balked. "WHAT? You never said I'd be destroying…" I paused. "Well, I guess we are trying to defeat him now…so this will hinder him, right?" Petro nodded. I sighed and summoned more of my rapidly waning power. "Well…here goes nothing…"

All of the sudden, I felt a large and terrifying presence glaring down at me from somewhere far away. My efforts had not gone unnoticed by Giratina. Even as my blade fell upon the stone, his dark will was desperately trying to stop me. But it was too late now. My blade struck right on the crack. There was a loud splintering sound and the entire thing blew to pieces right in front of me, but before the shards stuck my fur they evaporated into wisps of black mist.

"Yay!" Petro cheered, leaping about happily, "You did it!" He grinned spitefully at the spot where the stone had lain. "Never again, Giratina! Your power will be broken today and forever!"

I shivered. Giratina's presence had not vanished with the stone. I was not nearly so hopeful as Petro was anymore. If anything, I think we had just angered him more. "Let's get up to the surface," I said, forcing a smile to my face, "My friends are probably worried…"

He nodded and we turned back the way we had come. But as we walked on, something unexpected met my eye. The dark presence that had assaulted us was fading, its claws growing blunt. The shadows which had plagued us on the way in began to lift, like the shifting of night as the sun starts to rise…