Chapter 39: Where the story does not end yet.
Bao his held Amy by her arm and Charlotte by her leg, her still holding her log of course, when the force shield gave some sounds.
The shield dissolved and with it the Unown, presenting an exhausted Axel and Helix, still holding the stone.
Everyone stopped and looked at them.
"Human, have bested me and earned the right to posses the Origin Stone.", Helix spoke, much to Axel's own surprise. "It is now in your power to decide what should be done with it. Hoping the legend to be true, you will do the right thing with it."
Helix reached out with his tentacle and the stone to Axel. As he touched it, the stone changed colour from blue to red. Axel looked at the stone amazed.
"Live long!", Helix spoke und faded away in front of everyone.
Axel looked up. He did not know what to say and awkwardly smiled. He appeared to burst into laughter, but ...
Bao threw Charlotte to the side and took Amy into a choke.
"Give me that stone, or I'll break her neck!", he yelled at Axel, pressing his arms against her neck.
Amy struggled to no avail, Axel panicking, Mo too afraid to do something and so were Aaron, and Ziggy and Richard not able to do something.
"Don't do it Axel! Don't worry about me!", Amy told him.
"Quiet!", Bao shouted.
Charlotte seemed mad and slowly rolled at Bao. She didn't got far, because Aaron hold her close to him with his ribbons.
"Charlotte, no!", he ordered the Komala.
"Go ahead, Bao! Kill her!", Ziggy ordered her.
This shocked everyone even more. Even Bao was confused about this.
"What?!", Nya shouted at him, still laying on Mo.
"You've got the stone, right?", Ziggy explained. "You can do anything with it! Bao wants to get his sister back with it, if Amy dies, we can bring her back with it, too!"
Silence.
"Huh ...! He's right!", Mo came to the conclusion.
"There is one problem!", Axel said and was shaking the stone. "I have no idea how this thing works! I already had done something if I knew how to."
"Enough!", Bao shouted and held Amy even closer, his face almost corrupted in anger. "I'll count to three! One, ... two, ...!"
"Catch!", Axel suddenly yelled and tossed the stone at Bao, or better above him.
That moment, Bao let Amy go and reached out to catch the stone, letting his guard down at this moment. Charlotte immediately to the chance, raced to Bao, jumped up and swung her log, slapping it across the Mienshao's face. Her attack was apparently strong enough to break out multiple teeth that then scattered on the floor in a bloody puddle.
Bao in response just stood there, lowering his arms, having a shocked and surprised expression on his face and gasped.
Amy stood up again. Mo was still quiet away from them, but he could still see the fire in her eyes for a moment. She looked up to Bao, in his state bent forward with his body. Aura appeared on her paws and she began to unleash a salve of force palms on his chest, each of them shacking his body until Bao was thrown to the ground by the final punch.
Bao grunted before hitting the ground and the stone simply flew over him, Amy and Charlotte. A few feet away from Bao it also fell to the ground, and upon impact shattered into hundreds of tiny shards, turning from red like fire to black like tar.
Silence. Everyone looked in disbelieve at what was the Origin Stone a few seconds ago. Bao managed to turn on his stomach a crawled to the shards, taking some in his paws, trying to put them together. When it didn't worked, he began to cry desperately.
Mo felt sorry for him, despite what Bao did. He knew he had a good reason. As the only one, Mo walked over to him. Bao's body was covered in bruises and dirt and he was bleeding excessively from his mouth and nose, with his yellow scarf also soiled in his blood.
Bao looked at Mo.
"I just ... wanted my baby sister back. I miss her, and I failed her ... again.", he sobbed. Once a proud and intimidating fighter, now broken.
Mo came closer to him, fearing a little what he still was able to do. An urge overcame to hold Bao's paw, and so he did.
"She wants you to move on without her. Remember that she will always loves you and she will watch over you, like she watched over me.", Mo said to him.
Bao looked at Mo with big, shivering eyes.
"Thank you, Mo.", Mo heard a young female voice said. Yinping?!
Then, Bao passed out right there, peacefully closing his eyes.
"So much for the Origin Stone.", Ziggy said. He managed to get back up, stiffly followed Mo and picked up a shard. "Why didn't they just did that sooner?"
"The Origin Stone wouldn't break like that! At least not without blasting away the whole universe.", Mo wondered and picked up one of the shards as well.
Behind them, Axel comforted Amy, asking her if she was alright.
"The guardian saw through my trick.", Helix's voice announced and right where he disappeared he appeared again.
"What?", Axle asked.
"This was not the Origin Stone I gave to you. That stone was bupkis, just a pretty looking rock.", Helix explained.
"And where is the real Origin Stone?", Amy stepped forward.
Helix smiled.
"Why don't you check the pillars up there?"
Everyone looked up to the pillars on the pedestal where the empty box had been.
Helix raised above the ground, slowly floating up to the ceiling.
"My purpose is fulfilled, but I will live on! Forever!", he declared and fanished in a flash, never to be seen again.
Silence.
Amy looked a Axel.
"Let's check out these pillars.", she said and they hurried.
Mo picked up one of the cheri berries that scattered on the ground as Mo emptied their bag in a hurry and gave it to Ziggy to eat. He recovered instantly and for his act before got smacked on the back of his fake head.
"You fools!", Ferhat suddenly called out from out his rock he was residing in, stopping Axel and Amy on their way up. "The Force's of Darkness are the only way! You have lost in one way or another! If you don't surrender to us, then the end of us all will arrive sooner or later!"
Ziggy walked over to him.
"What are you talking about?!"
Ferhat's visace popped out and he was still not stable.
"One day, someone will arrive stronger than Arceus or even our Dark Lord. He will lay waste to our world, devastated by corrupted, gigantic Pokémon! With the two heroes of ancient times gone only our dark master, combined with the Origin Stone, can defeat him!", he told.
"Giant Pokémon, what?", Mo asked. He ws not sure if he heard of something like this before.
"He probably doesn't know what he's even talking about!", Ziggy suspected. "A concussion. Seen that already."
"You or your descendants will pay for not seeing the true way!", he declared and disappeared inside his stone again. "You'll seeeeeeeee...!"
No one knew what to say about it. Everyone just assumed he just tried to pull a final trick, but Mo couldn't stop thinking. There was more going on.
Axel and Amy made it to the top, pieces of the chest scattered everywhere.
"He said something about the pillars.", Amy reminded and they began inspecting them.
Soon after, Axel notices something strange on the bottom of the right one. With Amy's help he tried pushing. It moved and revealed a hole much to the joy of not only Axel and Amy, but also the rest, looking from the bottom up.
Because Axel's arms where to short to reach in Amy took that part and pulled out something wrapped in with white line cloth, something about the size of Amy's head.
Fascinated Amy unraveled the cloth, presenting ... a gray block. Plain, gray and square.
Silence. Amy was not so fascinated anymore, neither were everyone else.
"That's it?", Mo asked.
"What did you expected?", Ziggy looked over to him, reproachful.
"Not something bland. Is that even the real stone, or did that Omanite fooled us again?", Mo defended himself.
"Is this really the stone we're looking for?", Axel asked.
"I have no idea.", Amy answered and took a closer look at the stone.
That moment, the stone began to shine bright blue. Axel took a step back and Amy seemed terrified for a moment. Then, her eyes began to shine in the same light as the stone, a strong aura appeared around her and she shortly floated above the ground, making everyone else terrified as well at what was happening.
Shortly after, the light and the aura disappeared again and Amy stood there, still holding the block, looking very surprised.
"Amy? Are you okay?", Axel asked, not daring nearing her.
Amy puffed her cheeks, then let out a loud burp that echoed. She looked over to Axel, smiling.
"Wow! That was awesome!"
"Okay, that's the real Origin Stone.", Mo pointed out.
"We did it.", Nya said in disbelieve and looked over to Ziggy.
"We won!", Aaron turned around and hugged the Litleo.
Aaron walked over to Mo, laying a ribbon on his fake head. He looked down and smiled at the Mimikyu.
"Good work, Mo.", he said.
Under his disguise, Mo smiled as well.
"Not yet.", Axel interrupted the celebration. He looked over to Amy. "Amy, you need to give me that stone, then it will be over. The world will be safe and the legend will end."
He looked at her with sadness in his eyes for the upcoming end of the adventure. Amy seemed saddened as well. She said nothing.
Axel reached out, asking to be given the Origin Stone.
Thoughts went through Mo's mind. Thoughts about what he knew the Origin Stone could do. He knew the Origin Stone would be gone forever if Axel got it. A waste that would be. That stone could to so much, fulfilling Mo's wildest dreams. He began urging to step in and take that stone for himself, if necessary by force.
Amy looked at the stone, then back at Axel.
"No.", she said.
Awkward silence.
"What?", Axel asked.
Amy clutched the stone tightly, pressing it against her chest.
"What do you mean, no?", Axel further asked her.
"I know what will happen if you touch the Origin Stone.", she told. "You will return back to the human world, taking the stone with you."
Tear began rolling down her face.
"You will leave us. I'm not ready for it."
"Amy, please!", Axel tried to talk to her.
As he got closer, the stone began to glow again and a wall, similar to the ones Mr. Mime can created appeared between them.
"Amy!", Axel hammered against the wall. "I have a home, too! A family, other friends! Don't you understand?!"
Amy remained silent for a moment, looking at the stone.
"But I NEED you by my side.", she said. "You're like the brother I never head, I would never have joined the Adventurer Guild without you, and without you I don't think I can keep going."
She whipped away her tears.
"And beside, Bao's having a point. Only if we give this stone to evil Pokémon it will be dangerous. We can do so much with it! ... isn't that right, Mo.", she looked over to him. Mo thought it would be better to not say anything.
"For crying out loud, just give the boy that rock already!", Aaron suddenly snapped at her and walked up the pedestal as well. "Or I'll give it to him!"
This sudden outburst surprised Mo and he realised what he was doing may be dangerous to him.
"Aaron, I would stay back ...", he tried to warn his friend.
Amy looked at Aaron and held the stone close.
"Go away!", she ordered him.
"We came so close, and now you ruin everything for everyone!", Aaron told her.
"Aaron, get down from there right now!", Mo shouted.
"Go away!", Amy cried out, the stone began to glow bright and a strong shock wave was unleashed out of hit.
Dust was whirled up from the ground, the fire one the right was extinguished for a moment and it was almost enough to throw the adventurers at the bottom off the ground. Aaron, close to her as it happened, really was thrown off and all the way down. The fall was long and hard and an image burned into Mo's mind as the Sylveon hit the ground head first and just went limb. His moaning was the only thing that assured he was still alive.
Mo immediately went to him to check on him, the others, even Amy, shocked by her own actions did as well. Together they gathered around Aaron.
"Are you alright?!", Mo asked him, to afraid to touch him or do anything.
Aaron tried to look at Mo, but couldn't.
"I can't feel or move my legs anymore.", Aaron moaned. "Why can't I feel my legs anymore?"
Amy held her mouth with one paw while still holing the stone with the other. Her face, an expression of pure shock and sadness.
Mo looked at her, his eyes glowing and his dark aura slowly rising.
"You ...!"
"It was an accident ... I ... I ...", Amy tried to said. She looked around at the other adventurers, looking at her, wanting answers.
Mo's claws came out from under his cloth, slowly and shaky reaching out to her.
"You cursed steel type, I'm going to do the same thing to you!", Mo yelled in his demon voice. Only Charlotte, detaining him from behind, prevented Mo from getting his hands on her.
Amy was horrified over the situation.
"I ... I can fix this!", she stuttered. "Don't worry, I can fix this!"
The kneeled down in front of Aaron and held the stone over him, closing her eyes tight. The stone began to shine bright like before, but seemingly nothing else happened except for Aaron looking to be surprised.
"Did it work?", Nya asked.
"How do you feel?", Amy asked Aaron, still kneeing by his side.
Aaron raised his head and looked around. Seeing it, Mo calmed down again. Aaron fully stood up and shook himself, then looking around again, still surprised.
"To be fair, I feel great.", he answered.
Mo quickly rushed to him and hugged one of his legs, happy to see his friend well again.
Amy stood up again and showed the stone to Axel.
"See what we can do with this stone? We can help so many Pokémon with it!"
"Stupid girl!", Ziggy shouted. "It was the stone that hurt him in the first place!"
"It was an accident!", Amy defended herself. "And I fixed my mistake!"
She looked at the stone with large, shimmering eyes.
"I'm going to fix all the problems and make this world a better place."
"Amy, let's talk about this.", Axle tried to reason.
That moment, not only the Origin Stone but also Amy's body began to glow bright, glowing in a way Mo saw before not so long ago. Every stepped aside as in this light her body began to change and grow, her size almost doubling.
In Amy's place now stood a Lucario, but unlike other Lucario with red coloured paws and feet, more spikes on her body and a bushy, cream coloured tail.
She proudly held the Origin Stone and looked at her fellow adventurers who looked at her worried, even Axel.
She looked at Axel, now way smaller than her.
"Everything will be fine.", she said to him. "Soon everything will return back to normal again and we can go on more adventurers together. And I know exactly where I have to starts."
The Origin stone began to glow again and in the blink of an eye she and the stone were gone.
Silence.
"Amy ...", Axel said in disbelieve. He began hammering on the ground, tears dropping down his nose. "Darn it, Amy!"
"So, this is how the legend of the Origin Stone ends?", Mo said to himself out loud. "The chosen human comes, and with his fellow adventurers he defeats the Forces of Evil and finds the stone. But instead of taking the stone with him to the world he came from like it was told, his own partner takes the stone for herself."
Silence.
"This was something that would have been done by anyone of us.", Ziggy answered.
"Looks like we have to save her from herself now.", Nya realized.
"Yeah, but where is she now?", Aaron asked.
"I know ...", Axel said and whipped his tears off. "I have an idea where she could be right now, but we need to act fast before she's gone again. ... or worse."