Chapter 33 – Final Battle Part 02
Team Annihilation Reborn – Rooftop
Darkness, the sounds of gunfire and explosions below, my heart beating, those were the things I could hear right about now while I kept my eye closed, my paw hovering over my scalchop to prepare myself to strike Shiny Latias with Razor Shell when I knew she was close
I had to fight off the voices while trying my hardest to listen close for Shiny Latias, the voices almost silently trying their hardest to convince me to fight Shiny Latias aggressively, insult her so she would come close and then I could strike. Latias needed my help, she needed treatment, and by killing Shiny Latias the quicker she'll get all the help she needs.
"So, you decided to fight me with your eyes closed, huh?" She chuckled somewhere above me, out of range for any of my moves to hit her with. "It'll be like you're fighting in the dark, while I can see you clearly. Heh, I'll humor you and fight you like this. But the moment I get in close, I'll pin you down and open up that eye of yours and take control you. But when will I do it?" I heard her voice as it began to fade off… somewhere. Whatever she was, I couldn't open my eye no matter what.
One glimpse at her amber eyes and it'll be over.
Somewhere on the rooftop Shiny Latias was starring down at me, carefully watching me questioning my battle stance. "He has many openings for me to take advantage of, so many I can easily rush in and end this little game of ours." She thought, narrowing her eyes angrily, noticing how still I was. "But from what I have learnt the past five years he has grown to be quite strong, coming out of battles with barely a few wounds I must applaud him for his efforts, but meaningless. He is dangerous up close, and his ranged attacks such as his Psychic can grab me and pull me in if I am not careful. But are his openings fake? If I use ranged attacks I could very well kill him and I'll have to use my army instead to take control of this region instead of Zack. A quick death isn't what I want for you, Zack. After I have total control of this region as its ruler like my father wanted years ago coming so close to doing so, I want to hear you scream as I crush your head with my claws after I make you kill all of your children, and that female Dewott you love. Or should I just let him live a miserable lonely life after he has nothing left? Well, whatever I end up doing I'll make sure it's a fitting one." She smiled and disappeared above the clouds waiting for the chance to strike.
"Razor Shell takes a small amount of time to prepare. Act too early and you'll just strike your target without the move fully activated and instead hit them with your scalchop. So time your attack well." I remembered Dewott's advice on using Razor Shell.
"Remember to concentrate, Zackary. Feel the Psychic energy around you; it may even save your life." I remembered Espeon's advice; the first week she helped me train to use Psychic. And I felt the Psychic energy around me, easily finding changes in the wind.
I had to focus on something I trained for years at, I had to use my ears and listen out for her while keeping my eye shut. "Ever since I knew about her ability to control any whoever looks at her eyes as she looks back at you I had to find alternative ways to defeat her." I slowed my breathing down, standing as still as I could to reduce the noise around me, hearing the gunfire's and explosions below, the air around me calm. I grabbed my scalchop and kept it close to my side. Facing an enemy without looking was tough, especially a foe who could levitate, I would have to listen and be patient for me to make my move. "Make your move, Shiny Latias the moment I sense you are close… I will be ready. After everything you have done the countless lives you destroyed, friends you have tortured for years and then killed, Team Annihilation ends with you. Approach me, let's end this now. I will not hesitate!"
I controlled my breathing a little more, slowing it down and listened in closely; gunfire, explosions from below, the battle still continued. I could hear the wind blowing all around me.
"Listen, listen to your surroundings." I thought to myself as i listened, trying to pick up where Shiny Latias may be striking from. "Time it well, time your attack well." I gritted my teeth, finding the muscles in my paws began to ache the longer I held onto my scalchop.
I kept completely still and waited, and listened; guns firing from the battle down below with Devon's team and my Pokemon against Team Annihilation Reborn Soldiers. Lugia fighting the controlled legendary Pokemon around the middle part of the base using move after move, some making contact with another and exploding close to the building, shattering the windows. The wind blowing heavily around me, I listened to them all, I listened in to my surroundings and I noticed Latias to my right breathing heavily. I wanted to go to her and get her out of there, but I had to take care of Shiny Latias first, then we could leave and go back home. She was breathing heavier and heavier the more I listened in, then I had picked up on another noise coming from my left.
It was barely noticeable, almost hidden behind the sound of the strong gusts of wind, it sounded very similar to a fully charged up Dragon Claw. That was when I realized Shiny Latias was coming at me from my left with a fully charged move, but I didn't move yet, I had to wait for the perfect opportunity, I had to time my attack well for me to strike, too soon and I would be wide open for an attack. I doubted she would disappear again and attack like that again. This was my only chance at this.
The Dragon Claw had gotten more audible the more I had waited, muscles tensed the longer I heard this, my mind telling me to strike now, any longer and I would have failed at this battle. I gritted my teeth and waited. And just as I could almost sense Shiny Latias was inches apart, I attacked.
I used Razor Shell; I held the scalchop with both paws and swung it upwards. When my move had reached above me, I could sense Shiny Latias very close to me; I thought my move had missed, that I was either too early or off target. And I felt my Razor Shell cut into something, I had done it. The attack made contact with her, slashing deep into her lower neck and through her chest, but I kept my eye shut, no matter how much damage I inflicted upon her I kept it shut, not knowing if my attack was enough to finish the fight.
Shiny Latias fell face first into the ground and rolled very close to Latias still near the edge of the roof. Shiny Latias screamed, letting out loud long howls as the blood poured out of her. It was a fatal wound I had inflicted upon her, but she still had enough strength to try something. I wanted to finish her off or at least move Latias away from her should Shiny Latias with her final ounce of strength left tried to push her off the edge using her moves, but I couldn't risk opening my eye. Instead I tried to move slowly towards her while keeping my eye shut while keeping my guard up should she try to target me.
"Ahhhhh! It hurts! *Gack* D-damn you!" she screamed after falling into the ground. "You killed me, Damn you, Zack Raines!" Shiny Latias lying on her stomach turned her head down to look at her wound, it was a deep, one she knew she wouldn't survive; it was all over for her. Gritting her teeth and glaring, she looked up at me to see that I was moving slowly towards Latias. Shiny Latias then lifted up her paw and prepared to use Dragon Claw, not to injure, not to force my eye open, but to kill. She would charge right at me and stab me. Her plan was ruined, Team Annihilation Reborn and her reign of terror was over, but she wouldn't go quietly. Gritting her teeth, she prepared to levitate up and charge at me wit her last ounce of strength to inflict the killing blow.
Latias had seen this and jumped at her sister pinning her to the ground. "G-get off me… y-you stupid… gah! L-Latias!" Shiny Latias screamed. "I must Kill Zack!"
Latias got on top of her sister and pinned her down, she held her sister close to her. Shiny Latias had grabbed her sister by the neck with one paw to strangle Latias and used the other claw to slash her face, but Latias reamiend on top of her sister. With a quick charge she had used Dragon Claw and stabbed her into her chest, but it didn't stop Latias from getting off of her.
Shiny Latias still fought, trying to push her off, trying to slash at her with another Dragon Claw across the face, but she didn't budge. She turned her head and glared at me momentarily before she looked back at her sister and into her eyes and ordered. "K…Kill… Kill Z- *coughs* kill Za-" She would have succeeded on controlling her sister if she had been faster. She would use her next command to attack me while she lived to see it happen. But she made a mistake and it didn't stop Latias from using Dragon Claw digging her claws deeper into her sister's chest. Shiny Latias' eyes widened and took one last glance at me before she fell back now dead. With Shiny Latias finally defeated, Latias fell back and rolled off of Shiny Latias and very close to the edge of the roof.
I ran over and grabbed Latias pulling her away from the edge not wanting her to fall. I looked at the wound on her chest caused by Shiny Latias, she was bleeding a lot. I took off my bloodied cloak and tried to stop the bleeding with it.
"L-Latias, h-hey it's me. It's me Zack!" I called out to her. She opened her eyes and looked right at me and weakly smiled.
"Y-you came… I knew you would."
"Yeah. I would never abandon you." I placed her head on my lap, keeping one paw on my cloak covering her wound, and the other paw at the back of her head to comfort her. "I'm… sorry it took so long. I tried to find you, I never stopped looking…"
"Y-you're hurt…" she said after pointing her paw at my open cuts from the battle with Shiny Latias. Then she pointed at my scars and my eye patch. "S-scars… where… did you get them?"
"Battles… I got them by battling a lot; it was… it was a long search and difficult search…" I sniffed. "I never gave up. I always believed I would find you again… and i… I couldn't save you."
"Y-you did save me…" she began tearing up, nuzzling me. "The things they did… I wished the nightmare would end. I spent a long time… w-with them; wishing everyday spent with them would end…" She coughed up some blood. "And then you came for m-me…"
"I mean… I wanted to take you back home… so you could, so we together could see Midnight again."
"Is… Midnight, is she alright?" She asked, coughing up a small amount of blood from her mouth.
"She's fine…" I held her head in my lap, "She… looks a lot like you. She reminds me of you when you where younger." I used my other paw trying desperately to stop the bleeding, but I was stopped by her paw grabbing mine.
"It's no use… with a w-wound like this… you and I both know I won't make it." Her breathing was heavier, she looked pale. "She's a good… a good girl, pleases look after her… please… it was never easy growing up here. out there… please give her the life I could never give her."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing; I shook my head refusing to give in. I felt a tear dripping down my cheek. I didn't want this to happen; I didn't want her to die. But I had no medical items with me, anything to help me stop with the bleeding. But deep down somewhere inside me, I knew that this was it. a random memory, a happy memory of the two of us back in Nuvema Town appeared, before all of this happened. "I… I didn't want this. I never wanted to fight. I just wanted a quiet life, away from all of this… please help me… d-don't give up, please!"
She looked up at me and smiled. "I always knew… you would come. But I can't save… m-myself…." She sniffed. "I stayed strong for you and our daughter."
"I… I know."
"Midnight is a beautiful Latias, she isn't evil, she hasn't been controlled… controlled by my sister… she is a good girl…"
"Yeah, she sure is." I smiled while nodding, agreeing with her. "I'm happy to have her as a daughter."
"She can… she'll be a big sister as well." She looked up at me, smiled and held my paw with hers. "It's alright Zack… I'm happy for you, I really am happy. I want… you to be happy, Zack."
"Latias…"
She shook her head and nuzzled me. "I still love you Zack. Being with you, I don't regret it. I'm so happy you where there for me… i'm so happy to see you again..."
I didn't like this; I didn't want to accept this. i was so scared, I wanted to save her; I wanted to bring her back home with me, back so she be with her daughter again and live a life free from fighting, a life we had wanted before any of this had happened… I gritted my teeth and tried to hold back the tears. I was disappointed in myself; I couldn't take her back home. Then, I felt her paw lightly touch my cheek, I opened my eye and looked down at her.
"Zack… l-look." She said while lifting up her paw to point out at the sun just about to set. "Does this… does this look familiar to you? We used to… watch the sun set when we were young… in Nuvema Town… on that hill…" It was the last thing she said. She was too weak to continue. She lowered her paw and continued to watch the sun as it set just over the ocean. It was her last sight, a childhood thing she and I did when we were young, and the last thing she and I waited for after playing was when the sun had disappeared over the horizon. And then she and I would go back home together… but now, only I would be going back home, and Latias couldn't. She was dying, and soon she would be dead.
No Potion or anything to help with the wound or slow the bleeding down until help arrived, but help wouldn't come when I needed it most, i could only sit there and... wait until the end, a long and torturous wait.
With her head on my lap, she just watched the sun set silently and peacefully. I wanted to say something to her, but I didn't say anything, I couldn't think of anything to say, instead in silence we just watched the sun set until the end. we both knew we still loved each other, but the only thing we could do was watch the sun set like we did when we were young on top of that hill in our home town holding each other one last time. From this high up on top of the rooftop looking towards the south, i could've sworn i saw Nuvema Town in the distance. i thought about home, the memories Latias and i shared in the town before all of this had happened. i wanted more time, more time to tell her so much.
When the sun had almost disappeared over the hills, I looked down at her to find her eyes still open, but she had already died in my arms, the setting sun just slightly visible over the horizon. She looked… peaceful when she died. i opened my mouth to call out to her, but all of a sudden, I felt a shot of burning pain at the side of my chest where Shiny Latias had slashed at me in our battle and slowly slumped over to the side.
I had lost a large amount of blood in the battle, slowly losing consciousness, but keeping my eye on Latias. I thought this was it, this was how i died, up on that rooftop next to the body of Latias. I held her paw and lay down beside her. I couldn't hear any more guns firing, Pokemon using moves or explosions from below, all I could hear was the wind, and then nothing. and then I lost consciousness.
To be continued…
Trivia:
Zack originally would've cut his right eye rendering him completely blind instead of closing his eye to fight. This would've angered Shiny Latias completely entering a berserk like state knowing she could never control him and attacked to kill Zack.
AN: And there we go, 33 chapters done and 7 more to go until the end. Trying to write the final few chapters remaining so i can wrap this story up for mid-end July. Thanks for reading and i hope you stick around until the end. if not, well thanks for stopping by and checking this out. Until next time.