Chapter 73- A Random Finale?
As the dust scatters, the young boy kneels on the floor, nothing left to fight with. His body begins to shift apart in places, jumping and changing colors.
Missingno lets out a breath as his hair reverts to its speckled color. "Looks like it is over. Time for you to return to normal."
Across the room, the pile of Pokemon begins to glitch out as well.
The boy looks at him, and grits his teeth. "No."
"What?"
"NO! I refuse to go back! I finally changed. I finally was able to shed that horrible existence! I hated it! I despised it! I will become different! I will become a force so strong that I will win in the end! I will become-!"
His voice is carried away as the Pokemon piles turn into black orbs of light and converge into his chest. For a second, not a single sound is heard. Then everything is sucked into him as a black orb appears in his chest. He laughs as he too gets absorbed into the void. The scattered rubble, shattered statues, and assorted debris of the various fights flings across the room, spiraling and condensing into the black hole. Cassandra and Koja grab onto a buried pole, muscles bulging and aching.
Cassandra tries to pull herself farther away. "DO SOMETHING, MISSINGNO!"
He rakes a hand through his Missingno colored hair. "What do you want me to do? I was not expecting him to stop disappearing after I defeated him. And Pokemon can't even use any sort of black hole move until Alola."
They both glare at hm and yell "What are you talking about?!"
"Wow, you guys are really synced up right now. And I already placed that pole, didn't I?"
The pole bends, reaching the duo closer to their doom. They turn to glare at him.
The Glitch shambles toward them. "Fi~~~ne." He bends the pole to face away from the vortex. As he lets go, it bends back and snaps free.
"MIIIIIIISSSSIIIIINNNGGGNNNOOOO!"
"HEEEEEELLLLLPPPPP!"
"Ugh. Let's just do this." He tilts over, letting the suction drag him speeding past the glitches and flying into the black hole. "I'll be back. Probs."
As he enters the black hole stalls, letting the two drop and roll to a stop. They scramble to their feet and check out the black orb floating in the air.
Koja fixes his disheveled scarf. "I can't believe he let it go on that long."
Cassandra pulls out a Pokeball and lets Driller out, whose wings struggle as he floats around.
"I don't know. We didn't lose anything in the chaos, so he was probably already working on it?"
"I guess… So, do you think he will survive? He was pretty tired afterwards. His hair changed back and all."
"True. I guess 50/50?"
"... I like those odds… Wait, did he see this coming the whole time?"
"Did he see wha-." Driller plows into Cassandra as a blade slices the air where she was.
"Darn." Koja fixes his stance, grabs another rock and goes for another strike.
Driller used Reflect!
The blade clashes with the barrier, and Driller is sent spiraling head over heels.
"What are you doing?"
"What I've been trying to do this whole time. Get rid of all the glitches."
He swings another blade, but the edge catches on the hammer that Cassandra whips out.
"What do you mean? We just finished fighting Purple, or, Blue, or whoever! We won!"
Koja backs away and turns some rocks into throwing stars. "No. There are still 3 glitches left. We finished our mission. Now it is time for us to disappear as well."
As the stars run out, Koja looks around for any rubble that is left. "He even guessed the number of battles right."
Cassandra runs to Driller, helping him up as he staggers into the air. "We are not problematic glitches! We're the good guys!"
"Are you sure about that? Most of the danger is the extra effects that happen when a glitch exists. Can you really say that will never happen to you? To me? To Missingno?"
A hard lump catches in her throat. "N-no. There is no way."
"You can't know that! And what are you going to do with the lives you affected?!"
"B-but."
Koja shakes his head and wields a rock. "I have lived through it, I won't let anyone else suffer because of us."
Cassandra swings her hammer, creating a crater in a nearby piller. She takes a deep breath and looks at the black orb. "I'm still confused, but let's wait and talk with Missingno."
"No. This will be my one shot to take him out. Even if he survives, he will be extremely weak. It has to be now."
"So why are you not fighting… me…" She looks at her hammer, and then to the rock in his hand. "I see. Then I have some time." She looks at the black hole and her eyes bulge. She buries her hand in her bag to route around.
"Looking for something?" Koja holds up a coin. "I grabbed this PokeDollar after the struggle with Koga. I figured the power would be a problem in the future."
He flips the coin, catching it in a hand made of purple gloop. "I guess Missingno helping me get this form didn't work out in his favor." He lets the remains of the coin scatter away.
Cassandra looks around. "Right. Random and funny. Random and funny." Her eyes lock on the large bee creature. She looks straight at Koja and smiles.
"No!"
Cassandra throws the hammer at him. Koja is able to block and change its path with ease. But before he can reach her, Cassandra thrusts her arm sideways and grabs Driller. With a flick of the wrist, he is sent careening out of control.
"Heads, and he gets rocket arms-"
Before Driller can regain balance, he lands headfirst on the ground, tail in the air.
The orb bursts open, sending two people sprawling out of the black hole. It quickly folds in on itself, disappearing.
"Man, I wanted rocket arms."
Cassandra smiles. "You're back."
"Yo, what did I miss?" Missingno ducks as a blade passes. "Apparently that knife!"
Koja grits his teeth. "You already know everything don't you?"
"Yup!"
"Since when?"
He holds up a character profile. "Since the beginning."
Cassandra stares daggers at him. "You knew that he would attack me like this?"
"No. I can't see the plot like that. But he has been outraged at all glitches from the beginning. At me, you," He looks at the ninja. "and even his own existence."
"Um, who is that beside you?" Koja points to the other person to exit the orb.
"Oh, that's our new comrade in the fight."
A teenager clutches his shoulder as he tries to get up, wincing. "Ow. Can't you have placed a cushion under us?" As he opens his eyes, his irises shimmer with a green glint. "Hey, call me Green, I guess."
Cassandra takes a step back. "Wait, is that-?"
Koja takes a step forward. "One more opponent in this fight, that is fine. I'll still take you all down."
Missingno laughs. "Not this fight, the next one."
"But I thought that he-" He jabs a finger at the newcomer. "-was the whole problem?"
"Nah, he was the one creating the glitches around Kanto,"
"See?!"
"But who created his glitch?"
"... What?"
"You thought this was the end? Ha! We still have 7 more regions! And that's if we ignore all the spinoffs!"
"What?!" Koja looks at his hand as the purple goop dissipates into thin air. "Are you telling me again that there are even more glitches to fight?" He glares at the boy.
Cassandra slowly pulls out another hammer. "But why would he join us?"
Green gives a few small coughs. "Um, I'm just here to protect these guys."
From behind Green, a group of youth shuffle forward. One looks like a small version of the girl they fought earlier.
Green pats one on the head. "I will work with you, and I will work to make up for what I've done. But they are my priority."
Koja clenches his fists. "You'll just have to take me out, then. There is no way that you can change my mind. Not a single glitch must remain! Not even you!" He points his blade at Missingno.
Missingno shrugs. "Sounds good."
"It does?!" Everyone in the room stares at the glitch.
Missingno shrugs again. "He does have a point. Just because I am holding back my glitch power doesn't mean it can't accumulate and disrupt the area around me. Once our journey ends, who knows what we can do, where we can go? If it comes down to it, maybe he is right."
He grins at Koja. "When that time comes, we'll find out what the plot has in store for us. Maybe I'll have to be sealed for all eternity, or maybe someone will steal my powers and it will all work out. Until then, get strong so you can fight for and protect your values, but I will do the same.
Koja grunts. "Whatever. I'm done holding it in, though."
"I'm surprised you are all going along with this."
Cassandra rolls her eyes. "You may be a moron,"
Koja scoffs. "And you do the most random things,"
"And you never tell us anything,"
"You work us to the bone,"
"I'm pretty sure you don't shower," One of the small boys chips in.
"And-"
Green interrupts them. "I think they mean that they trust you in the end."
"Aw... You guys are the best. Guys?" He turns around to see all of them leaving, apart and glaring at each other. "Wait! Guys!"
