I pivoted around on my heel, and my eyes touched on two figures running straight for me. Behind me I heard the cries of the Ninetails and Quilava and the frenzied, angered shouts and yells of my father as he attempted to chase them off. The black uniformed trainers were regrouping again, but I barely even cared. My eyes were firmly on the two familiar, figures that were heading in my direction! My heart thudded against my chest, my breathing coming in short quick gasps and disbelief washing over me, making me feel weak and shaky. This wasn't happening… was it? It really wasn't them… was it? Or had the stress finally made me go mad and I was just imagining this?

"Sienna!"

"Oh my God…" There was no mistaking it now. Those voices were as clear, recognisable and strong as the cry of a Pidgeot. It really was them after all! "J…Jasmine…?" I whispered, my voice cracking. "And… and Nikki?"

They were so close now that I could make out every detail and feature on their familiar, comforting faces. I wanted to cry just seeing them. Seeing them made all the emotions I had buried regarding them come flooding back. My sadness at having to leave them behind, the guilt I felt for doing so, the shame, the worry and the fear… everything reopened, making me feel raw. What had I been doing all this time… without them? How could I have been so stupid! How had I dealt with everything without my friends?

"Sienna!"

Seconds later, Nikki had collided with me. She wrapped her warm arms around me, squeezing me so tight I found it difficult to breathe. But I didn't care. I felt warm and safe, even considering the immediate danger we were all in. It was all I could do to hold onto her, feeling tears well up in my eyes. Her body was trembling and I had a strong suspicion she had burst into tears too. When she spoke, it was shaky, choked up and wavering dangerously with emotion. "Sienna! We…we looked everywhere for you!"

"I know, I know…" I murmured, feeling the guilt stab at me once again. "I'm so sorry…"

"Hey!"

Cutting through that comforting reunion came Jasmine's brash voice. I stopped, winced and reluctantly broke apart from a teary Nikki. I looked at her through bleary eyes. But far from the emotional wreck that was Nikki, Jasmine just had an abject look of anger spreading across her face, her arms tightly folded. I swallowed nervously. I would be lying if I said hadn't anticipated this. I mean, I had taken off all those months ago after we had almost been killed without even telling them what I was doing! I hadn't been in contact for almost five months now! Of course, I didn't want Jasmine to be angry with me, but I could completely understand if she was…

"Jasmine… I…" I faltered, completely unsure of what to say. What could I say? There were no mere words that could make up for what I had done. I bowed my head in shame. "I'm so… I'm so sorry…"

"Yeah, yeah!" she said haughtily, making me jump in surprise. "Listen, right now an apology is the last thing we need!" Before I could interject, so shocked I was at this revelation, she was powering on, cutting me off. "Listen, we know about everything! Misty and Flannery filled us in! What's important now is that we stop that whack job of a father of yours from getting his hands on that Groudon! So the last thing we need is for you to stand around here snivelling!"

"Oh Jazz…" I murmured, feeling close to tears. "Th… thank you…"

"Don't thank me either! Jeez! You're too sentimental for your own good!"

"I know… I'm sorry…" I said, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. ""I just… I just can't believe you came all this way for me…"

"Course we did!" Nikki insisted. "You're our friend Sienna! That's what friends are for!"

Jasmine said nothing, but nodded her head firmly.

A warm rush of gratitude enveloped me. "Tha… thank you guys!" I said, and I truly meant every word.

Nikki smiled at me, but a determined look appeared on Jasmine's face and she balled her hands into fists. "Enough of this sentimental crap! Have you guys forgotten where we are?" she demanded, her voice loud as an Exploud. "We need to stop your dad!"

"Right!" Nikki cried. "I'm ready!"

Before I could say anything (I was still pretty bemused from the whole situation), I heard an alarming cry come from behind me! I whipped around immediately, as did Nikki and Jasmine, just in time to see my father's prized Golem send Sulphur and Dixie flying! Jasmine cursed loudly whilst Nikki squeaked in terror as the two Pokemon sailed through the air! Before Sulphur could make contact with the ground, Jasmine swiftly produced his Pokeball and recalled him, still airborne. Nikki on the other hand shouted a command to Dixie, who managed to turn her entire body in a graceful twist and land perfectly on her feet, letting out a thin stream of fire as she landed. The Golem, which had been rampaging towards us, took fright at the display of fire and stopped for a few seconds. I then saw her hand fly to her belt and she pulled out another Pokeball.

"Let's go!" She yelled, letting it fly.

What looked like a fat, rounded blue mouse Pokemon appeared from the Pokeball. It was like a Marill, but taller and wider There was no mistaking this as the evolved form of a Marill, an Azumarill! I found a wide grin spreading across my face. This was none other than Mizu! A new and improved Mizu, just like Sulphur and Dixie! Even better, she seemed stronger than ever before! I found myself gasping in awe at her power as she sent a powerful torrent of water in the Golem's direction, almost knocking the massive thing over! It seemed that I wasn't the only one who had been busy training and getting strong over the past couple of months! Jasmine and Nikki's Pokemon were so strong now too…

"Here Sienna! Take these!" Nikki's voice cut through my thoughts and suddenly I found my arms full of Potions. "Use these on your Pokemon while we keep that Golem busy!"

I blinked in surprise at the healing potions, but nodded. "Yeah! I will!"

I was vaguely aware of Jasmine and Nikki sending out their Pokemon into battle as I busied myself releasing my tired, injured and, in some cases, unconscious Pokemon. I forced myself to ignore what was going on around me, even though I itched to know who was battling, how they were getting on and most importantly, what exactly my father was doing! Instead, I made myself ignore it and focused on administering the Potions to my Pokemon. After all, I was powerless without them. Once they were all healed and happy, I heard someone else shouting my name. Looking up, I saw Elliot suddenly appear next to me! He was standing on his own, but when I looked past him, I saw all his Pokemon were keeping the black uniformed trainers back. "Sienna!" he cried, his eyes firmly fixed on Nikki and Jasmine. "These girls…who—"

"It's okay!" I babbled. "They…they're Nikki and Jasmine! M… my friends!" I explained hastily.

He looked at me in shock, his emerald eyes wide behind his smeared glasses. "These are your… friends! The ones Misty and Flannery were talking about?"

At the mention of their names, Nikki and Jasmine turned to look. Their jaws dropped when they caught sight of Elliot. As they caught eyes with him, a little smile spread across Elliot's face. "Well, I only wish we had met under better circumstances! But thank you for coming to help!"

"You're welcome!" Nikki cried, but Jasmine merely grunted in reply and tugged at Nikki in order to refocus her on the battle.

I cast a look back at my Pokemon, checking they were okay before I changed my focus completely. Looking straight past Nikki and Jasmine, locked in battle with my father's Golem, and ignoring the cascades of fighting Pokemon and trainers behind me, I shifted my attention to my father. My heart surged with panic when I could not see him straight away, but then after quickly scanning the area I spotted him! Terror engulfed me once again when I saw him with a brightly glowing orb, almost identical to the one he had used to summon Kyogre, but this one emanating a brilliant orange glow. He was slowly stroking it like one would stroke a prized Persian, and then he held it eagerly above his head. As he raised it up high, the lava began to bubble like it was responding to a signal from the orb, starting slowly and then became stronger, until it was like the bubbles in a boiling kettle. Even as I stood there, I noticed the temperature inside the cave was beginning to increase too, causing beads of sweat to quickly form on my forehead. I became aware of movement under my feet and I glanced down to see the earth shifting and cracking underneath me. The earth felt like it was pulsating, like it had a heartbeat and I knew exactly what was about to happen…

And I had to stop it.

I started to run! I didn't even care that Elliot was shouting after me! I didn't care if he was following me! The only thing I cared about was the fact my dad had already started to lower the glowing orange orb into the bubbling lava! This could only mean he was seconds away from summoning Groudon!

"No! No, stop!"

But it was too late. The second the glowing orb touched that lava, it began emanating a brilliant orange light! It was so bright it physically made me stop and throw my arms up to my face to shield my eyes. The light subsided as the glowing orb was fully absorbed beneath the bubbling lava. The lava began hissing and spitting, giant globs of it firing off in all directions. The ground beneath me was rumbling so hard I could barely stand up any longer! But I forced myself to keep running forward. But it was short-lived. Before I could get anywhere near him, the lava burst upwards like a geyser and I had to scream and duck to the ground!

Intense heat blasted across the cave and I screamed. I heard horrible, screeching roars echo across the cave as a massive, inky black shadow was cast across my vision, plunging everything into darkness. I jerked my head up and I was faced with the towering, imposing, intimidating figure of Groudon! Even though I had seen Groudon once before, it did not prepare me to see this ferocious beast so close! Last time it had been so far away that I almost hadn't believed what I was seeing. But there was no mistaking it now! I could practically count every tooth in the creature's giant jaw, every sharp pointed spike that protruded from its body and huge tail. I looked up at the creature's eyes and saw unmistakable, burning rage reflected in them. It threw its giant head back and began to roar, shaking the whole cave with a vicious earthquake. The earthquake was so strong it shook rocks straight from the roof of the cave! I staggered to my feet, screaming in fear.

As I backtracked, I collided with someone. I twisted around in fright and came face to face with a wide-eyed Elliot. He grasped me tight, whether it was from panic, fright or just trying to keep me away from the Groudon, I didn't know. "Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" he repeated, over and over again, getting louder and louder with each exclamation.

But even above Elliot's frightened shouting, even above the incessant bellowing of the Groudon, there was one voice I just seemed to be completely tuned in to. My father's voice. My eyes were fixated on him, and I could hear him shouting out. "Groudon! You will be mine!"

He was clutching another one of those strange Pokeballs, an eager, almost hungry look in his crazed eyes. He was eyeing the Groudon, a maniacal smirk etched in what now seemed a permanent fixture on his face. The Groudon was facing forward… it could not have seen my father standing behind him…

"Meloi! Get here now!"

As Meloi immediately came to my side, I broke free from Elliot and started to sprint towards my father, Meloi following me obediently! Horrible, impending déjà vu stabbed at me with every step I took. "It's going to happen again, isn't it? I'm going to fail again! Damn it! Why, damn it? Why?"

I pushed myself harder than I ever thought I could. But there was so much distance between him and me… and my body screamed with protest with every step. Everything suddenly seemed to slow down and I could see every detail of what was happening around me so clearly. Too clearly. I saw the terrifying Groudon thrust its head back and roar, giant tremors shaking through the cave as it stomped its massive feet. I saw my father turn towards the Groudon, the Pokeball in his hands… I screamed a warning to the Groudon, but of course, it did not respond. I quickly screamed a command to Meloi to shock my father in the hope of stopping him, but as soon as Meloi stopped to ready the attack she was tackled by a Graveller, sending her flying!

I screamed with frustration, focused myself to keep running, craning my head as high as I could to look at the Groudon. Rage was painted on its face as it bellowed, slamming its tail into the ground, making rocks and boulders fall from the ground, making it almost impossible to stand, let alone run!

"Groudon! Groudon, move! Please!" I screeched.

But it was too late. With an almighty throw, the Pokeball my dad was holding was suddenly flying through the air, heading straight for the unsuspecting Groudon.

"No! No, please! Stop this now!"

And just, at that moment, I felt the Groudon's eyes meet mine. I almost stopped in my tracks as the rage reflected in those eyes melted away and was replaced with intense sorrow. The intensity of it sent resounding sadness resonating through my body, making my heart plummet with grief. At that moment, I felt some kind of strange connection with that Groudon and all I wanted to do was protect it!

But my efforts were futile…

Somehow alerted to the presence of my father behind it, the Groudon whipped around, trying to use its mammoth tail to bat away the incoming Pokeball. But it was useless. Whatever technology that Pokeball was made of, it was still able to withstand the force behind the Groudon's attack. Upon impact with the Pokeball, the Groudon disappeared from sight in a flash of red light into the Pokeball which then fell and hit the ground. It began shaking and trembling, trying to contain the legendary Pokemon. I could hear Elliot, Jasmine and Nikki screaming and the cries of my own Pokemon! Panic was taking over my body, fear and horror paralysing my limbs. I wanted to run, race forward, grab that Pokeball, break it open and release that poor Groudon… but my body remained rooted to the spot as I watched, waited, my heart in my mouth as the Pokeball shook. Fear and terrible, terrible anticipation roared in my head. I prayed to every God in existence that something would go wrong with the technology, that it would somehow break free!

The Pokeball dinged.

I could do nothing but scream. I let out a scream like a wild animal. I fell to the floor, pounded my fists straight into the ground and let out a roar of frustration. I yelled and screamed and bellowed until the back of my throat was raw, red and burning. "You monster!" I raised my head to scream, hot angry tears flowing down my face. "You… you monster!"

"You should have stayed out of this, Sienna!" he yelled, a triumphant edge to his voice, before turning to his counterparts. "Victory is ours once again! Now…let's get ready for the next prize!"

Terror gripped me. "You mean there's more?" I screamed. "You're not satisfied yet?"

"I will never be satisfied until every Legendary Pokemon in this world belongs to us!" He bellowed, cackling with laughter. "Now, blast open this cave! Rayquaza awaits!"

The name Rayquaza shot icy fear through me. In a flash, Alakazam's words came back to me.

"Perhaps he hopes that gaining both Kyogre and Groudon will allow him to find the other Pokemon associated with the legend… This Pokemon is known by the name of Rayquaza. It holds powers that exceed even the capabilities of Kyogre and Groudon combined!"

"You bastard! You absolute bastard!" I yelled, getting to my feet in my anger. Rage, fear, and crushing disappointment were coursing through me, electrifying me. "Can't you see what you're—?"

I couldn't finish my sentence. An almighty blast sudden ripped through the cave, sending me crashing to the ground again. Thick smoke was billowing inside, and massive chunks of rock were crashing to the ground, sending ripples of force underneath my body. I coughed and spluttered in the thick smoke, desperately trying to see. I could hear Elliot shouting on me, but I didn't allow myself to focus on it. As the rumbling subsided and the smoke cleared, I could see daylight streaming inside the cave. Gasping, I realised that a huge explosion had ripped apart the roof of the cavern!

"What the hell is going on here?"

As the carnage unfolded around me, as rocks crashed to the ground next to me, my anger left me. Forget being angry, now I felt overwhelmed with helplessness and crushing disappointment. I felt such a failure! My father had won now! He had Kyogre… now he had Groudon… and I was powerless to stop him! I found myself incapable of moving. My whole body was shaking; tears were still hot on my face and I just wanted to crumple to the ground and sob.

"Sienna!"

Three voices were shouting on me. Familiar voices. But I couldn't focus on them. I didn't want to focus on them. I felt numb, overwhelmed with grief, disappointment, guilt and failure. As I stood there flatly, Nikki, Jasmine and Elliot's faces darted in front of my vision, but I couldn't concentrate on them. It was like I was distant from the whole situation, completely and utterly detached from what was going on. I could only stand there, shocked and totally at a loss of what to do.

"Sienna! Sienna, please!" Elliot suddenly grabbed me forcefully by the arms. The force behind his grip sent pain through my arms, taking me back to reality. "What are you standing here for?"

"Sienna, please!" Nikki begged. "D… don't give up!"

"Yeah!" Jasmine pushed past Elliot to look me straight on in the face. "Where's the Sienna we knew, huh? Where's she gone? Look at yourself, Sienna! You came all this way… now you're just gonna throw in the towel?"

"it's hopeless!" I burst out bitterly. "He's got Groudon and Kyogre! I can't… I can't do anything anymore! I failed!"

"Sienna!" Elliot grabbed me again. "You can't let yourself down like this! Or us! Or Alakazam! Do you remember what Alakazam did? What he died for? You're telling me you're just going to let him die for nothing!"

I stopped. Elliot's words had struck a chord with me. Memories of the sacrifices everyone had undertaken … all the injustices that had come about from everything my father had done… everything Lance, Wallace, Misty, Flannery and everyone else had done to help us… and everything my mother had strived for… I couldn't give up now! I couldn't let anyone down anymore!

"En… enough!" I shouted, cutting Elliot off mid-sentence. My fire was burning again. What had I been doing, standing there feeling sorry for myself? I looked back towards my Pokemon, summoning them to my side. My father stood near to me, cackling, clutching the strange Pokeballs that held Kyogre and Groudon. My rage grew at the sheer sight of him. I knew the only way to stop him now was to get those Pokeballs away from him! I pushed straight past Elliot, Jasmine and Nikki, whipping my head back towards my team of Pokemon.

"Meloi!" I called her to action and she immediately put on her game face, running across to meet me. "Hit him," I indicated my father, my face marred with resolve. "…with a Thundershock attack, now!"

Without even hesitating at my motives, Meloi fired off a powerful electric shock straight at him. He was so absorbed in the Pokeballs he was holding he barely even noticed what was happening until it was too late. The electric shock hit him hard and he screamed in agony as the electricity sizzled through him, both Pokeballs inadvertently dropping to the ground and rolling away. I dove for them immediately, grasping them both in my fists. As my hands closed around the warm spheres, I wanted to jump up and down and scream with joy, but that joy was painfully short-lived. My father, recovering almost immediately from the electric shock yelled in rage and threw a Pokeball, revealing a giant, angry Onix. I froze in fear, almost dropping the precious Pokeballs in my fright. Panic grabbed me like a vice and I hollered for my friends as the Onix rumbled across the ground heading towards me! "Guys! I… I need help!"

"Yeah, so do we!" I heard Jasmine yelling back.

I twisted around and saw hundreds of black uniformed trainers advancing on Nikki, Jasmine, Elliot and the rest of my Pokemon. Elliot's Pokemon had swarmed to their master's side, weak and exhausted; obviously able to keep them back no longer. All of a sudden, the giant Onix lunged for me! I screamed and was only just able to get out of the way, as the huge Onix burrowed straight into the ground and disappeared! I started to scream, totally losing my cool, darting my head around, and trying to catch sight of any signs of where it would emerge from.

"Give me those Pokeballs, Sienna!" my father's voice was tinged with so much anger that it frightened me. I had heard him angry before… for any number of reasons. But there was something different about this anger… it scared me right to my core. "Give me them back, or you'll regret it!"

"No! I won't!" I screamed back, clutching them even closer to me, my fear betraying me. "I… I can't!"

"Fine! Then I'll show you no mercy! Onix, use Dig!"

Without warning, the Onix burst out from behind me! I screamed as debris rained down on me. I had no choice but to dive to the ground to protect myself as the Onix sailed past. I darted my head up just in time to see Meloi deliver a powerful thunder straight at the Onix, momentarily slowing it down. While I lay there, stunned, my father's face suddenly came into view above me. His hands grabbed my arms and hauled me upwards. His grip was strong, as strong as I could remember. I struggled to hold on to the Pokeballs as he attempted to prise my fingers off them. I started to scream again, as loud as I could, hoping to get attention from someone, anyone who was nearby.

All of a sudden, a blast of water powered straight into my father, sending him flying a good few feet back. I pivoted around and saw Aurora waddling up to me as fast as she could. My heart surged with relief, gratitude and pride! She was coming to help me! She had seen I was in trouble and came to rescue me!

With another powerful jet of water, she then easily dispatched the massive Onix, allowing Meloi to run up to me, baying worriedly. I petted them both on the head briefly, murmuring "good job" and cast a look back at Elliot, Jasmine and Nikki. They weren't doing well at all… their Pokemon couldn't hold up much longer!

My father lay a few feet away from me, soaked through to the bone, struggling to get to his feet. The Pokeballs containing Groudon and Kyogre were still clenched in my hands. This was my chance! Elliot, Jasmine and Nikki were keeping back the other trainers (somewhat), the Onix was knocked out, my father was still struggling to get to his feet… if I could somehow break the Pokeballs, I would release Kyogre and Groudon!

I brought both Pokeballs as high as I could above my head. I then smashed them down in the hard ground. I altogether anticipated them to break, but both Pokeballs merely bounced, making a dull sound, before rolling away.

"Damn!" I turned straight towards Meloi. "Meloi, electric shock those now!"

But not even Meloi's electric shocks would break them. I didn't have much chance to try anything else, as my dad had eventually managed to clamber to his feet. Meloi and Aurora immediately darted in front of me as protection, growling menacingly.

"It's no matter really…" my dad said, strangely calm. "I will still have Rayquaza… no matter what you do!"

"You can't get Rayquaza if I release Groudon and Kyogre!"

"You silly girl… of course I can…" my dad said, a smug smile adorning his face. "Legend tells that Rayquaza responds only when the world's balance is out of whack. Or in other words, when Groudon and Kyogre do not exist in harmony… That can mean many things… when they are injured… when they are warring… or…" a terrible glint appeared in his eye. "When they are in severe trouble… exactly like this…"

"No…" I whispered hoarsely.

"Yes…" he nodded. "And by now… it's too late… Rayquaza… heh…" he began to laugh. "Rayquaza is already here!"

"Already here?"

Suddenly, I noticed how dark the sky was getting. I looked up and saw ominous thunderclouds sweeping across the sky, blotting out the bright afternoon sun. A dense, heavy atmosphere had suddenly rolled in, weighing down hard, feeling like someone was pressing down hard on my shoulders. I mentally kicked myself. How had I not seen this before?

I found myself staring right into the depths of the sky. The clouds seemed to be moving so fast… Like they were swirling and twisting together, like the waves of a storm at sea. I was so transfixed; I felt my arms drop limply to my sides.

"What's… what's happening? Is this… is this really Rayquaza? Please… please say it isn't…! Please! I… I can't let him get Rayquaza too! I've failed so much already… I've got to redeem myself! I have to stop this! Somehow! But please, say this isn't Rayquaza!"

And then, far off in the distance of that swelling sky, I saw two tiny glints of light.

"Everyone!" my father was yelling, his voice instantly commanding the attention of everyone in the cave. "You are now about to witness history in the making!"

Cheers erupted all around me. I clenched the Pokeballs containing Groudon and Kyogre so hard that I thought my knuckles would burst straight out of my skin. Beside me, both Meloi and Aurora stiffened and began braying uncertainly. I looked behind me, and saw that everyone had come to a halt, Elliot, Jasmine, Nikki and our Pokemon as well. They were all transfixed on the sky. I swallowed and turned my attention back to those glowing balls of light.

They were growing larger, and I could feel a wind beginning to pick up. Suddenly, a clap of thunder shook the skies and thin streaks of lightning started crashing down in the distance. The glowing orbs were getting bigger and bigger and it wasn't until this horrifying roar that I had never heard before echoed across the cave that I realised something. The orbs weren't getting bigger. They were getting closer!

A lightning strike lit up the sky and cast thin streaks of light across the swirling black sky. I saw the huge, darkened silhouette of something coming straight for us. Whatever it was, it was gigantic. I couldn't make out its features, but I could make out its shape. It was like a giant snake, impossibly big and with what looked like two sets of wings protruding from its serpentine body, two horn like structures at its head and long, spindly limbs.

I backed away. "No… Oh God, now… that's… that really is…!"

"Behold! The might of the legendary Pokemon Rayquaza!"

The sounds of Rayquaza's roars filled my ears as the giant Pokemon crashed into the cave. My eyes darted over this creature's giant green serpentine body as it drew itself up to its full height, letting out another deafening roar! I could barely believe what I was seeing here! This legendary Pokemon, right in front of me!

And my father was approaching it with another Pokeball…


Author's Note

I'm baaaaaack! Haha! :)

I've been home from uni for a week and I've been writing since then! This chapter was hell. In fact, the whole next arc (which should be a three/four parter) is gonna be hell. This is it now. This is the end of the story. The proper end. Three or four more chapters plus an epilogue and I'm done with Spirited!

I hope this chapter is okay. I don't want the end to be a disappointment! I wish I was back writing all the training days chapters! Aaaah!

Don't have much time to thank everyone with little replies, but thanks to Zoeten, JessyBabe, Sniper Mudkip, eeveelutionluvr, SonOfHades96, DarkLadyPegasus, splashstorm, WOWfan123 and something dictionary related for their lovely reviews! I hope I didn't disappoint anyone!

Updates? I'm aiming for weekly or every five or six days, hopefully! I can't afford to screw up with this ending arc!

Please read and review if you can!