Chapter 40 - Final Battle
Team Doom – Rooftop
On the twelfth floor I saw the wreckage of a battle that had just finished up. Who battled, I didn't know. Perhaps it was Latias and another member of Team Doom or maybe Shiny Latias, perhaps both. I was worried for her and Espeon who I had not seen since before the battle I had with Ren.
I was finally here, Team Doom HQ where the final battle would take place, the last obstacle between me and Latias' promised future, a future with no more missions from the Savior's, no more life threatening tasks, no more 'Team' related bad guys to deal with, just a life of peace and relaxation, a life we had wanted. But first we had to deal with the final members of Team Doom to deal with; Cornelius and Shiny Latias. I had reached the top of the stairs to find myself at the rooftop of Team Doom's HQ, a large one hundred by one hundred meter circular platform that could be very well a helipad of some sort, with a smooth dry surface, a perfect battle stadium if it were a normal battle, and safety rails at the edge.
Next to the large circular platform was a smaller square area where I saw Latias and Shiny Latias engaging in combat with the other. I was about to run over there to help out, but I was stopped in my tracks as I heard the voice of Cornelius talking somewhere.
"Doom, what is doom?" Cornelius spoke, his voice booming loudly on the rooftops but I could not see him anywhere, but he was close, I could feel it. I walked around the roof hoping to find Cornelius wherever he was hiding. "Doom, what is Doom? Definition: The divine destruction, death or terrible fate of something and/or someone. But no… that isn't what Doom is. There is more to the word 'Doom' than meets the eye."
"Doom was created by Team Annihilation's leader and founder; Juro, as a back-up should Annihilation be destroyed, picked up again by those that survived the fall of Annihilation. We are not a team wanting to bring about the destruction and death of many innocent lives that roam and live their lives on this corrupt world. We seek to destroy the corrupted ones, the same ones that ignite war after war killing and slaughtering by the hundreds, by the thousands and by the millions. The same corrupted ones that hate others because they are 'different' than the other. The same corrupted ones that hurt and kill others because they were the closest living thing they could destroy."
"In our world we wish to create, we desire a world without the need of war, hatred or corruption. A world those afraid can someday soon enter the warm light of a brighter world without fear of the cold darkness from the old world."
From the side of the larger platform of the roof, I looked over at the sound of Latias and Shiny Latias' moves colliding with each other as they continued with their fight. I needed to hurry up and take care of Cornelius so I can help Latias. But I needed to know where he was first; hiding above the clouds, levitating off the side of the roof, I wouldn't know where to look. Then I remembered the grenade Professor Guard gave us; the life detection grenade/ by activating it, I could locate him and the fight would begin.
After detonating the grenade and throwing it upward, the grenade exploded and all life within the area became highlighted in colors to signify their life energy; Green is healthy, yellow is cautious, red is danger, and the life without any highlighted colors means they are dead. Latias and Shiny Latias were both in the yellow, I was in green, but Cornelius, he was Yellow. Cornelius with the help from the special grenade Professor Guard gave us to detect all life within the area, he appeared from the dark clouds above crossing his arms looking down at me as I grasped my scalchop firmly with both of my paws, "You are the 8th member of Doom; Zack Raines. Juro chose you as the final member of Doom to become the true savior of the world. Because once you become our enemy, we will fuck you up in the slowest ways we know how, slow and painful."
"True your ability is to absorb your fallen foes life energy making you stronger. But with the new strength and your anger that causes you to lose all control…" Cornelius smiled and pointed to his head with his claw. "All thanks to Juro, you will finally become the member Team Doom wanted; the one that will kill all corrupted and cruel beings thus creating the perfect world Annihilation envisioned." He rolled his body upward at the dark clouded sky, scratching his head too hard causing it to bleed. "But I should've been the leader of this pathetic unorganized group; I would've done things so much better than that foolish Latias!" He slowly turned his head, still scratching as the blood had stained his claws. "The only way to prevent corruption and all of the evil in the world is to end it. But how does one end corruption of the world and all of its evil things? Why you simply kill all life so none may ever be corrupted or evil ever again! All I had to do is to kill you, Shiny Latias, and all of your little friends and all armies and powerful Pokemon of the world… and then all corruption and evil things in this world will finally be gone, all except for me to live out my days finally happy knowing the next day in this world will be spent without worry or fear of what others may think of me or say of me. No more having to hear horrid words escape the mouths of the vile. I will truly be free from it all…" he chuckled in delight as saliva began to drool from his gaping mouth. "It is possible I could be alone, truly alone in this world within a matter of weeks."
"For too long I have lived in this world already seeing the vile nature of life; evil, corruption, hatred. It all started when I was but a wee child, a child with loving parents and a beautiful home filled my toys and a massive garden with so many possibilities for the imagination to come out to play; adventure, sci-fi, playful horror, a story of the hero versus the villain, fly in space battling alien life and saving the galaxy… but those thoughts, the playtime I had turned sour when the fights began, parents struggling, fighting, yelling and throwing things. Saying vile words to one another I had no understanding what they meant at the time, but somehow knew they were cruel things, things I believed where the start of the end of what I had." Cornelius lowered himself down toward the platform, but far too high for me to reach with my Razor Shell or get in range with any other of my moves. "My mother was having an affair with another man in another city. My father found out about this and beat the man up, went to jail and came home to argue with my mother. She left the hotel room, but she never got far. She was killed in a car accident. Things turned for me in a way; bullying at school, well actually I prevented it by stabbing one fool believing he and his 'buddies' could pick on me with a pencil right in his hand as he reached out to strangle me with it."
"People have told me that I was in the wrong for hurting the poor little boy, that he and his pals wanted to be friends. All lies you see, feeling sorry for the boy because of his upbringing being a bad one. People saw me as the problem child, and so my father sent me off, cast aside… and then the most marvellous thought came to mind; how would I be happy again? I was only ever happy alone, not within someone else's company, but alone. Isolation somewhere else? Perhaps, but over time I realized I could never achieve this, I would never be satisfied knowing the cruel kind, my father casting me aside and people like those boys who tried to attack me were still out there knowing one day I might meet people like them…" Cornelius smiled as tears streamed down his face. "My answer to my question had been answered upon my transformation of this new form, my new life, my power within; I must kill all life so I can happy again! Doesn't that sound wonderful?!"
Cornelius lowered himself down to my level and had begun to attack sobbing uncontrollably nonstop. His first move he used was a Giga Impact, charging immense power forming from his chest to his two paws as he charged right at me. He had his intentions on using that move, any move he used in the battle. He didn't care if the moves he used were high in power, only that if the moves he used were strong enough to push one back. And since we were on the rooftop with no rails or walls up on here, one little slip up and it's a long fall, and the next stop; the afterlife.
Jumping to the side, I evaded him by merely inches apart before he could land a direct hit, and so I stayed close to him ready to attack knowing that after a Giga Impact Cornelius would have to rest before he can do much after. As soon as his Giga Impact immediately ended, I ran up to him and used Psychic to attack.
Surprisingly, this did little to no damage. Not only that, but he broke free from it as soon as my Psychic took a hold of him and flew upward before quickly landing in the center of the rooftop.
"Do you not understand, boy! Shiny Latias plans to use you as a puppet for her own goals, perhaps she'll make you kill everyone you care for first before she makes you kill her enemies. With all of that power you have!" Cornelius shouted, his voice echoing the rooftops high above the roaring thunder, a storm slowly approaching. "A tragic loss on your end. Friends dying, family lost! Don't you see? I am saving all of you from a tragic future you'll eventually reach if I allow life in this world to continue! Please let me kill all!" Cornelius placed both of his paws on his face, scratching his cheeks digging his claws into them, bleeding as his sobbing grew louder.
So I went for it, I ran at him and used Razor Shell, slashing and stabbing at him to inflict as much damage as I could. But this couldn't last forever. He would stop and continue to fight once more. So he flew up high above the edge of the circular platform, his maw glowing a fiery dark blue and shooting it downward towards the roof; he was using Dragon Breath. I was hit by this attack, burning my left arm just below my elbow.
Cornelius flew around the rooftop readying to charge up another move. Either Dragon Breath again or a Giga Impact, perhaps a new move this time, but I wasn't going to take any chances. I used Water Pulse as a small orb of water formed in front of my chest and threw it at Cornelius as he flew, but it missed as he was flying way too fast. I didn't stop at there, I reused Water Pulse at him as he flew, hoping that either one of my moves could land a hit.
Cornelius stopped and turned and charged right at me again, but instead of Giga Impact to attack this time, he used Dragon Claw swiping it at me across my chest, I was too late to evade it or block it. Kneeling down wincing in pain form the attack, he stopped and in between sobs laughed to himself. Quickly, I stood up and jumped at his tail and grabbed it, grabbing my scalchop with my paw and about to use Razor Shell to stab him with it, but Cornelius was quicker. He flew up high above the clouds at high speeds, performing loops and aerial maneuvre in his attempt for me to lose my grip and fall back down to either the roof, or towards my death… depending on where or how high I fall first.
His scales provided me enough grip to hang on while he performed his aerial tricks long enough for me to climb up on his back and to at least stab him a few times with my Razor Shell. There were multiple chances when Cornelius when he had finally lowered back down to the rooftop for me to let go and try something else, my feet back on solid ground than having to risk in the air grabbing onto thin scales so high up with one false move or awkward angle and I would plummeting back down to earth. But no, I decided to stay and fight him, hoping my attacks one after the other would be the final blow to end the fight. Then with one sudden quick flick of his long tail, I felt my paw loosen its grip off of his scales and I was falling down to either the roof or the bottom level, I didn't know which.
As I was falling, my mind went blank, no screaming, no thoughts or anything, it was just I was now in a state of surprise, I didn't know what to do or what to say. Then out of nowhere I hit something solid with a loud bang. Cornelius covered his wounds on his back as he levitated in place where he was, thirty meters up, and I fell from that high and survived… not sure if it had something to do with this Doom Serum flowing through my veins or something must've cushioned my blow, but I was alive, and that I could be thankful of… and as well as my ribs still holding up feeling as if I had broken at least some of my bones… yep, defiantly felt like I had fractured at least several of them. I didn't know how I could keep going; ribs sore, ears aching, eyes blurry, and my left middle finger felt like it was about to break, or it had dislocated and popped right back into my socket every time I had moved it. I felt like I had been run over by a truck, but I kept going, for Latias and everyone I fought for.
Cornelius landed on the roof, but to my surprise he didn't charge up another attack or fly back up circling me; he just stayed there for a moment, still and quiet, not sobbing like before or gasping for air, exhausted like I was. Then slowly, he fell back with a loud thud, cackling as he flailed his arms about. "Ugh… y-you got me there, boy. Well done Dewott, Well done!"
"Y-you have gained so much power within these past many months of you becoming a Dewott, training and overcoming obstacles. Congratulations, you have bested me in combat… now you know what must come next; your ability will absorb my life energy, thus killing me making you stronger… " He sighed, feeling himself lose conscious the more he continued, but chose to do so. "Shiny Latias will use you as her puppet, a monster controlled by a fool who would use said monster to rule over all, creating an even worse world than before… such a waste..."
"What do you mean?" I asked as I reactivated my Razor Shell once more, demanding answers. "Why does Shiny Latias want me? Answer me!"
"She has an ability to control you or anyone she wishes. She has a way to do so… a-and I was caught by it ever since I first met her…" He chuckled lightly, coughing in between each word. "She knew of my plan to overthrow her from the very start, but she caught me… I… I could've won, but she prevented me from killing her or causing her any harm. Her ability is to control all those she has hold of. I don't know what or how she does it, but let me tell you now… it is powerful. Be grateful you managed to get this far, boy. But perhaps it is best if you get as far away from her before she can control you…" He coughed, his eyes closing, resting his head on the roof's flat surface readying for the end. "If you truly value your loved ones… then don't let her control you…" His voice quickly fell silent and his body lay still, he was unconscious, defeated by my hands and with it my ability would kill him making me stronger by absorbing his life energy.
With Cornelius taken care of there was just one left I had to deal with; Shiny Latias, still levitating above Latias. She slowly turned her head at me and levitated away from her and over to the larger rooftop, twenty meters apart.
"You!" I growled angrily as I stood there grasping my scalchop, preparing myself to charge right at her and cut her down. Latias was… she was lying on the ground, unmoving. I feared for the worst as to why she on the ground. I felt my anger rise, the voices slowly coming back alive all telling me with so many voices to attack, but I wouldn't let them control me this time. Ever since I started to hear these voices in the past, I had always listened to them and let them control me, but not this time. Seeing Latias like that scared me, but I wasn't going to allow those voices to creep up on me again, taking control of me like I was some puppet. I was in control of my body and no one else. I wasn't going to kill her, to render her unconscious letting my ability to absorb her life energy that would be the easy way out for her. No, I would make sure she would answer for her awful things she has done to me and many others. "Team Doom is finished with, you're finished. So just give up. Don't throw away your life like this!"
She chuckled as she shook her head from side to side. "Oh Zack, Team Doom isn't finished with. There are still other surviving members left alive who I should say are all cowards who lacked the true heart to grasp and understanding on what Team Doom is about. And then there is you, the final member of Team Doom, the one member who shall help us reach our desired goal. You must help us make way for a new world for us to rebuild, even if it does mean you'll have to tread on the many corpses of your allies to do so."
"You're wrong if you believe I'll help you. You team is done for, and so are you!"
"Oh, but Zack you will. All you have to do, is look at me." She smiled, levitating slowly towards me with her paw raised as if about to use a Dragon Claw. My initial reaction on seeing Shiny Latias come at me about to use a move was to attack. The battle with her had begun. I had activated my Razor Shell and ran at her not knowing how this battle would end. I know what she had to me, taking away my mom from me, from everyone who loved her. Suddenly, she stopped and lowered her paws to the side of her, watching with a widening smile the more I closed in the distance between us. Then her eyes began to glow the closer I had got, all the time I had looked into her eyes.
"Do not attack me!" She commanded as she continued to stare at me with those glowing amber eyes. I began to slow down, stopping merely inches before I could even get in range for me to strike. I lowered my scalchop and deactivated my Razor Shell, placing the scalchop back onto my fur. I shrugged it off, trying over and over again to attack her with my moves, using whatever I could to land a hit, but no matter what moves I used or what I did, all either failed to be used or missed, as if I had intentionally directed each move to not hit her, like she had some kind of barrier around her preventing me from hurting her. "Do not attack. Stand still." So I did. Something was wrong, my body refused to move.
"Now Zack Raines, now that I have total control of you, I can make you do whatever I want." She leaned in whispering that last part into my ear. I couldn't move, I couldn't conjure up a move to attack her or grab a piece of debris to hit her, I was trapped. I tied to look for Espeon, but I couldn't see her anywhere. My friends, they were still on the eleventh floor, perhaps on their way right now; on the twelfth floor, climbing up the long stairs towards the roof? Where were they when I needed them most? And Latias… she was on the ground lying on her belly with her eyes closed. From where I was, I couldn't tell it she was still alive or just unconscious. Shiny Latias pulled away but kept her eyes on me, still glowing, still keeping me in her control. "Do you want to know how I am doing it? You and I… are eyes met, I can control whoever I want if they look me in the eye, then they are mine to do as I wish." She laughed, flicking my nose with one of her sharp claws.
"Now let's start with an easy command for you. Have you yet mastered entry into the Dark Place like most Psychics have? Accessing the mind, training with your Psychic type moves?"
"Y-y-yes!" I answered her with so much resistance in my voice that I think at some point when I was responding to her, her eyes narrowed even more. Despite my resistance over her control over me, her ability was too powerful for me to break free from it. I had no control over what I said or did. She had me at her mercy; a command to do this or that, reveal to her the secrets of the Savior's' spies hidden within Team Doom, backup soldier locations, anything she wanted I could give it to her if her ability was powerful enough, which I was sure was. She could make me do anything… Latias… I could feel my heart beating fast 'No, I don't want to hurt her… please don't make me do it…!'
"If that loudmouthed Espeon were here, I would see to it personally that I would hurt her first before I took on the likes of you. But I guess I'll have to deal with her later then after I have broken you. So I want you to do something for me…" Shiny Latias eyes glowed more as her smile turned vicious. "Enter the Dark Place for me and listen for my voice to tell you what I want you to do. You can do that, can you?" Without control of my body, I say down closing my eyes and concentrated hard to enter the Dark Place, and I did. I thought I could do something in here, retake control over my body again and defeat her. But like with on the outside I couldn't do much here and was forced into having to watch what she would do with me. Whatever it was, I knew it wouldn't be good, but I couldn't give up, I had to fight this, but how?
"Good. Now comes the fun part. The moment I Shiny Latias will finally build my father's world, and it's all thanks to you, Zack Raines. You who had left your home town in search of me after I killed your pathetic mother, your friends, your leader, and soon Latias, who I know you love dearly. You have gotten so strong ever since we last saw one another. But now is the time you use that power to help me." I heard her voice echo all around me in the dark. Her ability was still in control over me in here. "Now what I want you to do now… is for you to stand while you are in that state!"
It was something all Psychic types should never do while in the Dark Place, a state in which a Psychic type enters their own mind, to become stronger with their Psychic type moves, access their memories the one you remember the most, the blurry memories, and the memories once thought lost. You should never stand whilst in this state. The power of Shiny Latias' ability to control anyone who ever looked into her eyes, I couldn't break free of her control.
I felt my legs move; both of my feet touched the ground. 'No! D-don't!' Was all I could shout in my mind, trying with all I could to stop this from happening… My life, memories that I cherished so dearly, my friends, parents and Latias… I didn't want to forget them… but it useless. Shiny Latias had complete control over me. And with one final push upwards, I was now standing whilst in the Dark Place.
I didn't know what to expect; something like an explosion, everything disappearing around me, fading into nothing. What I felt was… it was like falling asleep. No more feeling, no more sound, nothing but the darkness around me, engulfing my entire body. Thought's, memories, friends, family, who I was… everything about her… about Latias... all became lost in darkness.
To be continued in... Pokemon Dreams 04 - Aqua
Trivia:
This chapter originally ended with Zack's friends asking the others as to where Zack was, but i didn't want the fate of his friends to be revealed in this story.
AN: And there you have it; 03 has come to a close. Thanks for everyone who requested for me to write their oc characters in the story, I had a lot of fun working on them. I have three requests sent to me for their characters to be put in, but in the next story, I believe there characters would work well for the new setting. Thanks for reading and I hoped you all enjoyed the story.
As for the side stories i have planned; a collection of one offs or stiff that kinda happened to the side of the main story, just filler stories and not relevant to the mains story, just optional reading. All with be released all on the same week as the other, they'll have to be uploaded sometime next week or the week after.
Happy xmas or whatever you chose to celebrate, so have a happy day then. Take it easy guys. Until next time.