Chapter 32 – Final Battle Part 01
Team Annihilation Reborn HQ – Rooftops
In the elevator I sat down and leaned against the wall with my eye closed. I thought about Espeon, how she died back there like that, and the amount of blood she lost… I wished I could've saved her, I wished she was still with me for what was about to happen. I thought of the beginning, before I left my home to join the Savior's when I was fourteen years old. Me an idiot with a childish dream believing that by joining The Savior's I would become a hero in time after completing a lot of missions.
"Eleven years ago was when I left my hometown…" I said to myself, randomly thinking of my mom when she was still alive, while the elevator continued slowly towards the rooftop. I remembered she supported me for wanting to join The Savior's, after a lot of persuasion and a lot of convincing that I would be fine. I thought of those I lost in my life, friends such as Sakura Kanai, a girl a year younger than me who had wanted to become a nurse at a Pokemon Center, Isaac Anderson, who was a year or two older than me who could talk to Pokemon, understand their speech and translated for us what they said. Cleo and Rhys, two my age and became friends during my vacation away from The Savior's. Infinite, that being from another world deleted their existence from the world; only I still remember them… voices almost silent and fading away, and faces almost too blurry to remember. My mom, and Espeon both killed by Shiny Latias.
I opened my eye and looked down at my cloak covered in Espeon's blood staring at it for a moment before I opened up my bag and reached for my Savior's Device, only to find that it had destroyed. I noticed there was a hole at the side of my bag; Petrov had stabbed my bag and destroyed the device during our battle. I used the last Potion on myself restoring my strength back to full to prepare myself for the battle with Shiny Latias. My wounds had stopped bleeding and healed up slightly, leaving behind what I presumed would be another few scars to be added amongst the rest.
I stood up and face the elevator doors and looked down at the floor not wanting the first thing I see once the doors had opened up to be Shiny Latias. "Okay… remember my training, relax, and don't let the voices within me awaken for this battle, that's the last thing I want. I don't know what this will be like; fighting Shiny Latias without looking where she is. The fighting below will be heard from the rooftop, great… I need silence so I can listen out for Shiny Latias if she gets too close to me."
I felt my entire tense up when the elevator came to a stop and the doors had opened, I was finally on the rooftop of the building. Stepping out of the elevator, a huge gust of wind blew past me, immediately using Protect after mistaking it for an attack. I stopped using it and walked further in search of Shiny Latias. "Be careful. Shiny Latias could be anywhere, just don't look into her eyes." I thought to myself while looking at the floor as I walked not wanting to risk seeing Shiny Latias.
"Coming up all the way here to face me alone knowing what'll happen should you look at my eyes even for a split second, that is very risky of you or perhaps foolish." I heard Shiny Latias somewhere here on the rooftop with me, but where I asked myself. If it was someone else other than Shiny Latias I would look up and search for her, but I couldn't risk seeing her eyes as she would take control over me using her ability, and everything would be for naught. "Your friend, the loudmouthed Espeon did look me in the eyes. I controlled her to hurt you pretty badly before she would inflict a fatal move to herself thus killing her. Tell me, Zack; what hurt more? Her weak claws slashing at your pretty face, or was it the look on her bloodied face right before she died?" I tried to pinpoint her from where I was, but I was finding it to be a little difficult due to the echo on this roof. She was there somewhere, I just had to quickly locate her and take her out. I stayed silent and listened in as she talked more, hoping I would find her after listening in more.
"The battlefield below us, hundreds upon hundreds of my soldiers and your allies fighting to the death while we talk. It must have you worried with every second that passes, the more of your allies, friends fighting, one or more have been injured or have died, bleeding out and begging to see you one last time and tell them how they were happy to be by your side after they have tranquilized them first to be taken back and tortured." The voice of Shiny Latias echoed everywhere; behind me, in front of me, up top, I couldn't pinpoint it, I needed to listen in more, trying to block out the gunfire and explosions from below, trying not to think of my friends fighting on the ground. "What if after you did defeat me, that all of your little friends, all of them were all dead, including Aqua who has emerged from hiding and shown herself here? Would you kill yourself knowing you had no one to come home to? Or would you continue living your long life trying to start anew hoping to find happiness again?"
I stopped and stood still trying to listen and figure out where she might be, careful not to turn my head to look right at her and be caught by her ability. She circled around me very fast, one second in front of me and the next behind me, it made it hard for me to get a fix on her location. I tried to listen, figure out where she might be or where she was going to go so I could try and attack. Her speed was kind of fast as she circled anticlockwise around me. When she was behind me I used Scald in front of me and hoping maybe Shiny Latias would fly into it.
Then all of a sudden, Shiny Latias got up behind me and held me up with her Psychic and threw me up high. I wasn't sure how far up she threw me but I could tell Shiny Latias had followed after me and used Mist Ball right into my chest. The attack had hurt a lot, but it was the first and last time she used it in battle, and I would've preferred to be hit by them rather than her other move she used the most, Dragon Claw, at least Mist Ball didn't cut you up leaving you with scars wherever it hit. Luckily for the first set of Dragon Claw's she had used I managed to block them with my Razor Shell, but then she broke through my Razor Shell and slashed at me with Dragon Claw, three times at my legs, twice at my chest, and once across the back of my head. She then used Psychic to grab me once more before slamming me back down on the rooftop.
I lifted my arms and pushed myself up, slightly dazed from the fall, and then without warning, I felt something touch my right eye lid and pulled it open, and levitating in front of me was Shiny Latias with a sinister grin plastered on her face.
Our eyes met as she smiled and used her ability to control me. "Stop!" I froze up. My joints locked up, my eye froze still looking up into her eyes, I tried to breathe, and yet I couldn't, I was trapped.
"Gah! D-Damn it! What have I done?" I thought, feeling my heart begin to beat faster as I noticed Shiny Latias levitate down in front of me. "Damn it! How could this happen? So much for my training, I couldn't do anything! Damn it!"
"How much air did you breathe in before I commanded you to stop? Was it a little? Was it a huge gulp of air to last longer than thirty seconds? Enough to last a minute? From all of that running around I assume you must be exhausted, desperate for air. With my ability, I can make you do anything I want. So you are pretty much fucked up at this point. So what's the point on facing an opponent such as me with my ability?" She chuckled as she drew her head near, her eyes staring into mine. As much as I tried, I couldn't move my eye away or move any part of my body due to her ability still in effect. I felt myself getting weaker by the second with how much blood I had lost from her barrage of attacks up in the air. "But I will not kill you yet. First I want you to kill all of your allies down below. Then I will make you kill your friends and family, including that child abomination you and my foolish sister created together. Or torture for my amusement, eh, it'll depend on how I feel about this. I order you to breathe now." She said and then throat opened up allowing in that precious air into my lungs.
"How does the feeling of your lungs being filled with air feel after what my ability can do?" She chuckled as she began to fly around me. "How does it feel knowing with my ability I can make you do anything I want to? I can make you say whatever I want to those you care for, lie to them and how foolish they were in life before I make you kill them one after the other. What I have planned for you, every single thing I'll make you do to your friends and allies, even that female Dewott named Aqua, you'll wish I hadn't allowed you to breathe and just die right here." Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain from the back of my neck almost all the way down to my waist as Shiny Latias scratched me with her sharp claws. "As much as I would love to watch you bleed to death, agonize in pain as long as I can, and believe me when I say this; I know how, I would do it right now!"
She looked into my eye and smiled. "Look to you right. There is a very nice surprise waiting for you." Her ability forced me to look, and right near the edge of the rooftop was Latias. Latias looked unhealthily skinny, cuts all over her body, bandages wrapped around her, wings, arms, neck, and ears. She was still alive. Shiny Latias' ability prevented me from calling out to her or running up to Latias, all I could do was watch. Shiny Latias levitated over to Latias and casually tapped her sister's head with her claw. "Look sister, you Dewott is here…Zack Raines has come for you." Latias didn't move at first, but after another claw tapping from Shiny Latias, she slowly opened her eyes and turned her head to look at me.
She opened her mouth and whispered with a smile. "Z-Zack?" She gasped; trying to get up away from the edge and levitate towards me, but Shiny Latias held her down her with paw and scratched at her back.
"Latias, my dear sister, did I tell you to open your mouth and speak?" She pushed Latias' head against the floor with her paw. "Did I tell you to get up?!" Latias closed her eyes and shook her head, afraid of her sister. Shiny Latias smiled and looked at me. "But that's fine my sister, you missed your mate after… six years apart, was it? That's a long time. But you must be punished for your rebellious ways, my dear sister. And so you must either listen or watch your Dewott fight me. And should he lose this fight, I will control him as my weapon to kill all who dare oppose me." She looked down at Latias and glared at her. "Don't make a sound or move, or I will kill your daughter first." Latias remained silent as a tear trickled down her cheek.
Shiny Latias then smiled as she levitated towards me and lifted her paw up to my forehead and scratched deep into my skin, blood then trickled down my face. "So tell me, Zack Raines; why did you come all the way up here? You may speak."
"I came here to end you for what you did! You killed my mom, ordered Nathaniel to kill Sakura and Isaac, and you Espeon! Kidnapped Latias and Midnight and you hurt my friends. You're pathetic, and so is your father Juro!"
"Sakura and Isaac? Oh yes, the foolish children who believed they had a life after assisting you on your journey. Those who ally themselves with you, you only get them killed." She chuckled, but then her eyes narrowed at me. "Oh, and also, Don't you dare talk about him! Or I swear…" She shouted. I thought she had used her ability again to prevent me from talking about him, but she was getting angry, just like I wanted.
"He was a fool, and he was weak. He was evil; he was a murderer, and his group along with it. He had a pathetic life, and his death was laughable, killed by his own creations, ha ha, what a way to go! Do you still remember how he died? Do you still remember his screams?!" That was a bit too much on what I had just said, maybe too much knowing how much she loved him like a father. I didn't want to stoop to her level, I was just trying to get her angry, make her lose control.
She was angry at that, her eyes narrowed and scratched me with her claws three times across the face and pulled the fur on top of my head with her Psychic so our faces were inches apart. If Jessica was right about the information about Shiny Latias, I might have a chance at this. Getting her angry might help; it would cause her to enter a berserk like state, the same as mine whenever I would become enraged. She would fight using her moves and wouldn't use her ability as much. I suppose that would depend on if what I had just said to her worked.
"Talk about my father again… and I will end your pathetic Latias and this quest to save her will be a complete waste." She growled. "Since you have come this far, faced countless enemies over the years, defeated my somewhat best soldier's, and killed my father!" She dug her claws deeper into my flesh as she said that last part. "I shall grant you some time to try and defeat me since I am feeling generous; I did the same with Espeon because it amused me when she tried to fight me, struggling to survive a pointless life. A quick death for her wasn't acceptable for me after what she did to my face, so instead I inflicted the killing blow by stabbing her deep into her chest with my claws. Like with what that Espeon did, you angered me, and so I will give you one minute to do fight me. And if you cannot do that… game over!" She grinned, looking into my eye once more but without the use of her ability to control me.
"Damn you!" I thought as I stared back into the eyes of Shiny Latias. "It'll be tough to face her in battle. Especially since she flies all over the place and my range isn't that far. Plus there isn't even one damn thing my Psychic can get a hold of to throw at her. Latias' are incredibly fast, perhaps too fast for my attack to land a hit. I don't have that much on type advantages, but it'll have to do."
She moved back a little and threw me across the roof with her Psychic and prepared to use a Dragon Claw. "I release you. You are free to move again, as if it will help!"
Immediately after I was released from her grip, she attacked me with her Dragon Claw, slashing into my chest cutting it before using another one, but the next move she used I had blocked with my Razor Shell. I stepped back and prepared to use Protect for her next attack, but all she did was she flew up into the clouds, but I didn't look up, instead I closed my eye and waited. I had trained for this. To fight her without using my sight and instead using my hearing I needed to focus, I needed it listen out for her and strike when she is near.
Team Annihilation Reborn – Aqua's POV
Unconscious soldiers quickly occupied the cots in the medical tent I stayed at with other medics, while I helped treat Zack's Pokemon. The battle outside was rough, Devon's numbers decreased faster than Team Annihilation Reborn soldiers, but they never gave up. Totodile and Ren were defeated in battle and brought back to the tent after helping Gardevoir and the others defeat a giant mech.
I treated them as fast as I could, bringing them back and into the fight while using up healing items and ethers to keep them going. I had received a vision of Zack and Espeon finally making it to the thirty eighth floor of Team Annihilation Reborn's base, it showed me they had stopped at a corridor, on the left was a room with Petrov inside, and in his room was a door with some stairs that would help take them to fortieth floor. The right corridor lead to another set of stairs, but my vision showed me the stairwell was collapsed and would be difficult to climb and dangerous. I contacted them and quickly told them to go down the left and face Petrov, and after that I didn't receive another vision until ten minutes later, well I received two in one.
The first vision showed me Zack and Espeon separated after the fight with Petrov. Zack climbed up the stairs in Petrov's office while Espeon climbed the collapsed stairwell making it to the fortieth floor. She waited by the elevator that would take the two of them to the rooftop, but my vision showed me Shiny Latias was there and attacked Espeon, fatally stabbing her with her claws and leaving her for dead.
Another vision showed me of what would happen on the rooftop. I had to warn Zack, so using the device I had contacted Zack with I tried to call him, to warn him of what will happen, but the device wasn't working. I tried to talk to the others, but they couldn't understand me. They knew of my foresight, that I was trying to tell them about Zack and his friends.
Luckily Ren had regained consciousness and I quickly told him what my vision had shown me, and he quickly translated the message I had to the soldiers including Devon, hoping they would send the message as fast as possible. But no soldier moved, not even Devon. They had nothing to use to contact Zack with, no drone to fly up there to the rooftop, no flying type on our side to tell Zack what I had just seen. Lugia the only one who could send the message to Zack was still fighting the legendary Pokemon very to the base and was out of reach, and all we could do was… accept what would happen.
To be continued…
Trivia:
During the elevator ride up to the rooftop, Zack would've heard the voices of his friends and family who have died in the past, instead of listening to his thoughts and preparing for the final battle.