Chapter 29:

Ticked Off Pikablu

"Ah, if it isn't my…indomitable guests…" Giratina hissed.

"Sup?" Syoran said weakly.

"Indeed…" Giratina replied with a distinct growl, "I regret to inform you that your usefulness to me has expired. And since you have been such little pests, I will have to kill you for your unmitigated temerity."

"Gesundheit?" Pikablu said, a bit confused by the big words. Seriously, it's like that dragon was just trying to show off his vocabulary or something.

The shadowy arms sprouting from Giratina's back writhed in annoyance, wrapping tighter around his two prisoners. "Whoa!" Mew yelled, a green tint appearing under his pink fur, "Hey! Roller coasters make me…" His cheeks swelled suddenly and he threw up right on Giratina's forehead. The Lord of the Dead stiffened and slowly brought Mew around to glare at him.

"Sorry…" Mew said meekly. Giratina roared right in his face, causing him to flinch back in disgust. "Ewww….what do you eat?"

"Original…" Mewtwo said warningly.

"I've had enough of your folly!" Giratina bellowed, "Be silent now!" He tightened his grip on them slightly, causing them both to squirm and cry out.

"Mew!" Pikablu screamed in horror. Giratina turned, smiling smugly at him.

"Now…" he hissed, "You die!"

"Daddy?"

"Yes son?"

"What's death?"

"Um…where did that question come from?"

"I heard Mr. Seacrest say it…you know, the Marill? He said he had…a brush with death or something like that…he seemed frightened too, so I asked him what was wrong and that's what he told me."

"Oh…I see…well son, death is like…when someone's soul leaves their body. Their body stops living and they move on to another place and each person is rewarded according to his or her actions. That is why we follow the commands of Arceus, as best we can, so that when we die, we won't have to worry about what our reward will be. We will already know."

"…what's a soul? Isn't that my name?"

"Yes, yes it is. But your soul is what makes you the person you are. Well, half the person you are. Certain elements of you are in your body as well. But your soul is the eternal part of you. The part that doesn't die."

"So…my soul doesn't die…but it leaves my body, which does die…where does it go?"

"Only Arceus knows, son…"

"Daddy?"

"Yes, Soul?"

"Will you die?"

"Yes, eventually. But by the time that happens, you'll be a daddy yourself and won't need me anymore."

"Will I die too someday?"

"…yes, yes you will. Everyone who is alive dies. It's part of the cost for living."

"Daddy…I'm scared. I don't want you to die and I don't want to die."

"Hey…there's no need to cry! Come here. Snuggle close with me. I'll keep you safe. I'll never let anything happen to you."

"Promise?"

"I promise. Now go to bed."

I stood frozen, staring at Giratina with wide eyes. We were done for now. All our plans had depended on stalling or evading him because we knew we had no chance in a straight up fight. To top things off, four members of our group were down for now. Rio was in Syoran's arms, head hanging back and several nasty cuts over his right eye where he had hit the ground. Psi was barely able to sit up, much less fight, though somehow he still held onto consciousness. Z was in serious pain due to the poisonous sludge that Wraith had spewed all over his chest. Lady Glacier had a large gash down her side. To be honest, I was in the best shape now, since it seemed that all my strength had been restored by Darkrai's power. However, there was only one way I would even have a chance against him, and there was no way I was going to do it with my teammates around. They'd just get killed and I was not going to be responsible for that. But what to do? It seemed the only natural thing to do was bow and submit. He had the air of a god about him, and we were only mortals. Should we not bow?

"Come on then!" My head jerked up in surprise. While I had been thinking this through so desperately, Pikablu had stepped out in front of us and stood, glaring at Giratina. "Smite me!"

"You dare insult me?! You should be begging for your life!" Even Giratina, it seemed, was taken aback.

"Yeah, well my life is worth zilch to me if braggarts like you can go around doing whatever the heck they please!" Pikablu's cheeks sparked angrily. "Am I afraid of you? Sure I am! I'd be an even bigger moron than I am not to be! You just defeated Mew and Mewtwo, for crying out loud! But I just simply don't care anymore! If I'm going down, I'm not doing it quietly! I'll make my end something they'll tell stories about for generation to come!"

"You welcome death with open arms? You fool! How amusing!" Giratina scoffed.

"You're the fool, Giratina!" Pikablu yelled defiantly. He was by far the bravest Pokémon I had ever seen. He was, no, we were staring Death himself in the face and Pikablu had the courage to defy it to the end. "It's not about death! It's about the way I live my life! And I'm not changing that just because I'm scared of something as pitiful as death!"

"PITIFUL!" Giratina repeated in a voice loud enough to shake the earth, "You will soon see that Death is by no means pitiful! Death has power over all things for all things shall die!"

"I'm not dead yet!" Pikablu spat, "Charging up to whatever Level I reach!" Sparks began flying into him out from the ground, the air, even from my fur! He was absorbing all the power he could in a short amount of time, probably hoping that dumping it all at once on Giratina would stun him.

"Oh, am I just supposed to stand here while you prepare your attack?" Giraina said mockingly, "I think not!" With that, he went flying upward above the little electric rodent, glaring malevolently at him. That sure woke the rest of us up, seeing a giant monster preparing to crash down on you. Pikablu only grinned though and a mad laugh escaped his lips.

"Come on!" he shouted, "I'm standing right here!"

"My, you do have a wonderful command of the obvious, Pikablu," Mewtwo drawled.

"Shut up, Mewtwo! I'm trying to save you too, you know!"

"Oh wonderful, I'm being saved by an electric mouse," Mewtwo muttered, "That does miracles for my self-esteem."

Giratina roared once more and began to come down swiftly towards our heads. "Run, everyone!" Mew shouted, "Get away! Do a barrel roll!"

"Run away? Screw that!" Pikablu shouted, crouching to leap towards Giratina, "This guy has really got me seriously ticked off! I'm going to pound his face into the earth!" Cloaking himself in a streak of lightning, he took off straight for Giratina, striking him right in the face, electrocuting him, and actually knocking him back into the wall. It was surprising to see, but I guess he was 'seriously ticked off'.

"You hit us too with that electricity, you moron!" Mewtwo shouted down at Pikablu as Giratina shook the dust off of his body.

"That tickled…" Mew moaned, slightly smoking.

"WILL YOU TWO BE SILENT?!" Giratina fumed at them.

"Nope!" Mew said cheerfully.

"Not likely," Mewtwo concurred.

"Wonderful…" Giratina grunted, "In that case, I'll silence you." His grip on them shifted until he was covering both of their mouths.

"That was pointless," Mewtwo said, despite Giratina's actions.

"We're psychic! We can speak with our minds!" Mew chimed.

"Well!" I said, with an admittedly amused smile, "You're having all sorts of trouble today, aren't you Giratina?"

It was the wrong thing to say. All of Giratina's pent-up frustration was suddenly directed back at our tiny little band. He roared loudly, louder than ever before, and rose into the air. The shadows bent towards him like courtiers eager to hear their master's command. Light seemed to dwindle. Hope faded. In that instant, Death was the only reality. Even if we held onto our lives today, he would eventually take us under. We quailed.

Syoran's voice suddenly rang out over the dramatic moment. He alone was not dismayed. "Nine! Confuse Ray!" After a moment's delay, probably because she had been too cowed, the aforementioned attack struck Giratina right between the eyes and he veered off-course, nearly striking Pikablu and slamming into the ground, cracking the cold stone even more.

"HA!" Pikablu shouted triumphantly. He hopped onto the dragon's back and started zapping him, heedless of the flailing tentacles above him. Mew and Mewtwo flew into the air, tumbling head over tail.

"I got Mew!" Syoran called, running to try and catch the tiny, pink cat.

"Whee!" the Legend in question cried in delight as he went, "I belieeeeve I can fly! Oh wait! I can! Oof!" With that, Syoran caught him. Mewtwo, however, was not so lucky. No way any of us were going to try and catch him. Fortunately, he managed to mostly catch himself with his psychic powers.

"Thank you for the help…" he grumbled with heavy amounts of sarcasm. Seriously, this guy gave me a run for my money. Sarcasm was my specialty, after all.

"Pikablu!" Syoran called to the mouse, who was trying to shock Giratina into submission while he was still in the throes of confusion, "Don't bother with a big attack! Use Thunder Wave!"

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO, KID!" Pikablu snapped, but he obeyed anyway.

"Sure…don't tell you what to do…" Syoran repeated skeptically as Giratina spasmed under the dual effects of paralysis and confusion. Pikablu shrugged.

"Hey, I was going to do it anyway…" he muttered, not-too-convincingly.

"Of course you were…" Syoran and Lady Glacier scoffed.

"Not to interrupt," I interrupted, "But what are we going to do now?"

Syoran looked around at the scene: the shattered courtyard, the pitiful condition of our team, and Giratina's glowering, hate-filled eyes. "Simple: gather everyone and make for the top of the tower where the portal is!"

"I like that plan!" Nine said in firm agreement, "Let's do it."

"We can't leave yet!" Pikablu protested, sending another current of electricity into Giratina, "This dusty old relic will try and follow us!"

"Pikablu," Nine said sternly, "Rio is unconscious, Psi is falling over, and Z is poisoned. Badly."

"Toxic…" Z grunted, pain in his voice, "But I'll live."

"The point is, we need to get to at least get to a better position," Nine continued.

"I agree," Mewtwo spoke up, "This courtyard is too open as is. Though I must admire the amount of destruction that has occurred here."

"There was a small war," I told him coolly, "Nothing too major."

"Ah, then you can spare me the details," he replied with slightly hostile dismissiveness. I bristled slightly, only to be fixed with a glare. "I presume you do not wish to be here when Lord Giratina recovers from his ailments, am I right?"

"No…" I admitted with a growl.

"Then let us gather the wounded and leave," Mewtwo ordered. We looked to Syoran though, me from stubbornness. I wasn't going to follow this guy's orders just because he was some sort of immensely powerful super-whatever. Syoran would have to give them.

"Yeah…" Syoran agreed, picking Rio up from where he had set him down. Mew floated beside him now, though he wobbled a bit, having trouble staying aloft. "Let's get out of here!"

Psi ended up riding on my back. Mewtwo, being stronger physically than both Pikablu and Z, ended up carrying Lady Glacier, conserving his energy for when it would be needed. They had both been reluctant with this arrangement, but the urgency of the situation quickly convinced them both to suck it up. Giratina glowered at us with spiteful eyes as we passed, his body twitching and spasming randomly. With a grin, Pikablu zapped him with another paralyzing attack as he passed, just for good measure.

The door to the tower swung open as we approached. "W-welcome!" As we entered, Seth's voice spoke over some sort of intercom, "W-we're not doing so hot, are we?"

"Never give up, never surrender," Pikablu replied.

"That pretty much sums it up…" Syoran muttered.

"W-well, come to the th-throne room…" Seth suggested, "we can…discuss our options there…"

I sighed heavily. We weren't going to win with that attitude, but it seemed to be the only reasonable one to adopt. I know they say that 'where there's life, there's hope', but we were fighting Death made incarnate in one very ticked ancient dragon.

"Twosie and I did make him use most of his power," Mew offered, "Unfort…unfor…"

"Unfortunately," Mewtwo muttered under his breath.

"Unfortunately," Mew said with a grin and a nod, "ours ran out first…"

"Wait," I broke in sharply, "You are both completely out of power? How is that possible?"

"We aren't infinite," Mewtwo responded chidingly, "And when fighting someone who is on our level, it is nothing to wonder at that we can be defeated."

Suddenly, Mew fell to the ground. "Owie…" he moaned, "I landed on my face…"

"That's because your head is about a third of your mass," Mewtwo told him with a slightly amused smile before setting him on Nine's back. "However, I must now inform you all that our primary objective is now escape."

That brought us all pause. To be honest, in the back of my mind, I had kind of been waiting for someone else to bring it up. As I've made clear, we didn't seem to have any hope. The only realistic option was retreat. However, from some of the other's faces, it was clear they didn't see it that way. "We can't leave!" Syoran protested, "The shades will…well, I don't know exactly what will happen to them, but Giratina will probably torment them all now!"

"And I cannot allow Mew to become a shade," Mewtwo countered coldly, "Fight on if you wish, but I am leaving and taking Mew with me. And I assume that means Pikablu will leave as well."

Syoran looked sharply at the mouse, who shifted uncomfortably. "My job is to protect Mew…" he offered apologetically, "if he leaves, I leave."

"We can tell Arceus what happened," Mew suggested, trying to assuage our feelings, "He can…make sure Giratina doesn't go too far…again."

My eyes narrowed. Arceus. You know, it's funny. Even after all that had happened I'd never even considered meeting the creator of this entire world. If I ever got the chance, I'd have a few choice words to say to him about how this place was run. Seems like he could hire better staff, for one. Replace Giratina, for instance.

The throne room was not very far from the front door, so we entered it at this point. It was dark, but not the same sort of dark as before. Emptiness. That's what I felt there. The vaulted ceiling and disturbing floor were like bare phantoms, substance-less images, and a chill air pervaded the whole room. It reminded me of the draft that had always bothered me in my den on Mt. Coronet and seemed to make the air sigh in melancholy. The throne of Giratina was the only thing that held any semblance of power, with its severe lines and brooding look, like an ancient king crouched like a beast upon his seat, daring someone to take it from him. Seth was there at the foot of the stair leading to it, waiting for us with the still wrapped-up Rotom, who was giggling and grinning in a disturbed manner. I growled at him hostilely, but his grin just widened.

"The boss is back now," his electric voice crackled in laughter, "You all should have just surrendered when you had the chance. Unfortunately, that deal has expired. Your lives are now hot-ticket items and I think the boss is aiming to make a purchase!"

"Shut up, you miserable little fre-" My ears pricked up when I heard a groan come from Rio. Rotom was instantly forgotten and I turned quickly. Syoran cradled him gently, taking a seat at the foot of the throne, and reached into his backpack for one of his 'Max-Potions'. He always had one or two for each of us, though no more than that because they apparently were expensive. He unscrewed the spray attachment and set it aside for the moment and then pulled out a few more bottles, distributing them as needed to cure our various ailments. Z downed a bottle marked 'Universal Antidote' and Lady Glacier's side was sprayed with another Max-Potion and, to her delight, she found she was able to stand again in moments.

"Don't put too much faith in it," Syoran warned her, "It's mostly painkillers, congealents, and a few steroids, so it hasn't actually healed it. That would take a miraculous power that I don't have."

Meanwhile, Mewtwo was talking privately with Seth, who did not look at all comfortable being the sole object of his attention, but I paid no mind to that as nearly everything made him uncomfortable. I sat down beside Rio's head, with Nine, actually, waiting for him to wake up. A shiver went down my spine as I looked at him. He'd been hurt because I hadn't been strong enough or fast enough to save him. In the end, I had saved him, but what the results of that deal I'd made would be…

Rio's eyes fluttered, breaking me out of my thoughts. He groaned again and stretched, waking up to find me, Nine, and Syoran, staring down at him. "Hey guys!" he said with a raspy voice and a smile, "Did we win?" His smile quickly faded as our expressions told him all he needed to know. "Oh…am I dead then?"

"No!" Syoran proclaimed vehemently, "We're safe, for the moment. Giratina is recovering from Para-fusion. And we have him locked out."

"Para-fusion?" I questioned, dubious.

"Paralysis-Confusion combo," Syoran explained, "It's a term trainers use."

"Ri-ight…" I responded skeptically, turning away from him. My eyes happened to catch Rio's and he quickly looked away. Tch. So much for the stereotypical Lucario. They were supposed to be hardened warriors. Rio was anything but. I gave him an amused smile. "Glad your head's in one piece," I teased, "You need all the brain-cells you can get."

He smiled shyly, paws curling in embarrassment. "Yeah…" he agreed with a small chuckle. Nine nudged him with her muzzle.

"Come on, get up," she ordered in mock sternness, "We know you like being pampered by Syoran, but we have other things to worry about."

"Right…" Rio sighed, rising. Syoran got to his feet as well and patted Rio's head, which pleased him to no end. Then, Syoran turned and went over to Seth to discover exactly what the plan was. We followed, naturally. After all, if someone was going to say something stupid, I had to be around to tell them that it was the worst idea in the history of ideas, right?

"B-but you can't just leave!" Seth pled, staring at Mewtwo's implacable face, "Wh-what about Latios? He's still out there somewhere!"

"Latios is a shade. Ultimately, he will be fine," Mewtwo replied evenly, "Now, my job is to get Mew out of here. Is there a portal that we can use somewhere in this tower?"

"Y-yes…" Seth said hesitantly, "B-b-but I can't let you use it!"

Mewtwo raised what passed for an eyebrow. "Is that so?" he said with a dangerous tone, "I advise you to reconsider. The consequences could be rather…drastic."

"Oh r-really?" Seth said with an ironic smile, "M-more than G-Giratina's wrath?"

"Duly noted," Mewtwo responded coolly, "In that case, I shall merely extract the information from your mind and be on my way." He extended a hand toward Seth, but the diminutive ghost shied away.

"I can't tell you!" he shouted, panicking, "E-everything depends on this! Everything! All our…our plans! Our hopes! Our d-dreams! You may think that…that we can't have any, b-being dead, but we do! If you go…i-if Giratina…" Here he broke down crying. We glared at Mewtwo, not necessarily for what he was saying, but for how heartless he was being about saying it. The large psychic looked on mutely as tears of some kind flowed out of Seth's eyes.

"I am sorry," Mewtwo said softly, "We will return sometime. With Giratina's forces in chaos like they are now, it would be little trouble to overwhelm him with our elite allies."

"I agree," Giratina's voice spoke from the shadows above our heads, "And so, I will not allow you to leave!"

That kind of threw us into a panic. Mewtwo immediately whirled, eyes straining upwards into the shadows where two red eyes glowed like hot coals in the smoky blackness. "How did you get in?" the psychic demanded harshly. Giratina's laugh shook the floor with its power.

"You didn't really think you could keep a ghost out with walls, did you?" he asked, amused, "Now you will all…ARRRGH!" His form suddenly convulsed and writhed from some unseen attack. Psi fell from his back, tumbling through the air. As he neared the ground, he disappeared in a flash of light and landed on Syoran's head. "YOU LITTLE BRAT! HOW DARE YOU STAB ME!" Giratina raged.

"Pikablu! Nine! Parafusion combo, now!" Syoran ordered. A jolt of electricity and a purple beam shot up at Giratina, but the king of the ghosts crossed his black limbs in front of him and dispelled the attacks with ease.

"Nine used Confuse Ray! Pikablu used Thunder Wave!" Mew narrated, "Wild Giratina used Protect! Wild Giratina protected itself!"

"SHUT UP!" most of us yelled at him. Seriously, his humor would be tolerable normally, but not in this high-stress situation.

"Meanies!" he responded, sticking his tongue out.

"Now, my friends," Giratina hissed, "I believe you owe me a rather large apology."

Syoran stepped forward, not exactly hiding the fact that he was rather afraid. His voice was strong, however, and did not shake as he spoke, but rang through the chamber like the first chime of a bell at midnight, abrupt and unexpected. "Giratina," he called up, "We ask only that you let us go and do not punish the shades for helping us attempt to escape your clutches. Also, it would be nice if you started to treat them, you know, properly, 'cause you're kind of being a jerk. If you don't, then we will be forced to fight and defeat you!"

"Is that so?" Giratina's voice said slowly, an unmistakable air of menace in it, "So, the arrogant human's pride extends even to the point of challenging me? I would have thought you would have learned your lesson by now. I shall have to reinforce it!" A giant ball of blue, ghostly flame shot down from above, straight for Syoran, who stood frozen for some stupid reason.

"Syoran!" Nine cried in alarm, leaping and knocking him out of the way. Unfortunately, that put her in the way. The flames struck her, enveloping her instantly in ghostly fire and obscuring her form. She fell to the ground and screamed in agony.

"Nine!" I shouted in alarm, but to no use. I couldn't go through the fire. Just getting close to them singed my fur. "Bastard!" I screamed at Giratina.

"It is her own fault for getting in the way of my Will-o-Wisp. Now, you will all be taken to the dungeon," Giratina said. When Mew raised his paw, he snarled and added, "All of you! There, I will keep you until I decide what punishment is fitting for such infamous and impious beings such as yourselves."

I wasn't paying attention to him. My attention was focused solely on Nine. The flames around her were such an evil blue, like a Litwick's flame. However, a single streak of red appeared after a moment, and then another, and another until the whole flame had become a vibrant, blazing red fire. They surged up, like a beacon signaling the stars, and Nine strode out of it, looking as fresh as if she had just woken up.

"Oh?" Giratina said, "What's this now?"

"You shouldn't play with fire, Lord Giratina," Nine said with a grim note of triumph, "You just might get burned."