Author's Note: And here we go... Trying to make Kyurem's dialogue different here and what exactly happens to his victims were both interesting challenges for me, but I think this came out okay nonetheless. (Also, this isn't actually the final chapter; there'll be one more after this that I think makes a better wrap-up.)

Chapter Eleven: Destiny Calls

Hannah wasn't sure how long it had been now. She'd tried to occupy herself by drawing patterns on the floor, or using icicles to (unsuccessfully) carve into the walls, or trying to make the door budge. Nothing had worked very well, and the silence was getting to her.

She was more worried than ever about Mia and Heath, and she was getting lonely. The last part felt kind of selfish—as Hannah was sure that Mia was in danger, too—but she couldn't help it. Hannah frowned as she paced around the room. Why did Munna and her friends even take them here in the first place?

Fortunately, she was snapped out of her thoughts when the door finally opened. Hannah looked up eagerly, but she deflated when she saw her "guest." It was just that Toxicroak, not Mia. Of course she wouldn't be able to find her friend that easily…

"All right, it's your turn now, croak-ka," he said smugly. "Master Kyurem's eager to get rid of the last one."

Hannah's stomach turned. The meaning there was obvious, unless he was just lying to upset her or something, which was certainly possible.

"Get rid of? Last one? What do you—"

"That's not important. All you have to do is get out of here and meet him, croak-ka-ka!"

Hannah shuddered as Toxicroak grabbed her and started shoving her down the hall. The place really was pretty, but she couldn't appreciate that right now (nor did it feel appropriate to wish that she could appreciate it). Her heart pounded more and more wildly the further they went, and Hannah was surprised she didn't pass out by the time they reached their destination.

Toxicroak dragged her into a large chamber, pushed her ahead of him, and quickly slammed the door behind her. Hannah swallowed nervously as she turned around and saw the Pokémon at the far side of the room. That had to be Kyurem; the longer she looked at him, the more her senses screamed that something was wrong with the emaciated ice dragon.

"Come to me, human," he growled. "Unless you want to make this difficult."

Really, she doubted she was going to get out of this in one piece anyway. Still, Hannah nervously scrambled towards him. Maybe if she pretended to cooperate, she'd at least get more information out of him. It could barely be called a 'comfort,' but it was the only motivating thought Hannah could summon right now.

"I do not know why that loathsome Voice of Life summoned so many of you," Kyurem continued, "but no matter. There are so few of you left that it will be trivial to finish you off."

"Voice of Life?" Hannah repeated. "It wasn't Munna? I thought she was the one who—"

"Of course not; she merely took advantage of the situation. And I have to say she handled it quite well."

So, it had been a trick from the beginning, then. Of course; now it made sense. That explained the odd cutoff in the initial request, and the way the voice had seemed to echo at first. But then, how much of the vision had been true?

"So then, Hydreigon wasn't after her?"

"Oh, the Voice of Life has been a thorn in our side for far too long," Kyurem replied coolly. "He would chase after Munna if he weren't so focused on tracking all of you down first. 'Fortunately,' he hasn't gotten his priorities together yet."

"Why do you keep calling him the Voice—"

Hannah was cut off by a sudden, swift strike that sent her flying. She tumbled to the ground and rolled around awkwardly before finally coming to a stop. For a few seconds, she was still dazed. It didn't quite register that Kyurem had kicked her until she looked up and saw him towering over her.

"Enough questions; it is time. Good bye, human."

Before she could roll out of the way, Kyurem had lifted his surprisingly-large foot and rammed it down against her. She wheezed as he struck her again, unable to roll out of the way. Then, a second stomp, and a third—

"W-why," she choked out, voice high-pitched and raspy.

"You are the only ones who can threaten the Bittercold. You are the ones who can try to fight fate. And ultimately, it will only be you who meet your own doom by failing to change the future!"

Each statement was punctuated by another stomp. Hannah's brain was spinning by this point, and she wasn't sure how much of it was from the pain or from his confusing statements. She weakly tried to roll aside, but the second she so much as twitched, Kyurem sent her flying with another kick.

Hannah crashed into the wall and crumpled back against the floor. Her vision was getting dark, and her limbs were limp. There was a dull throb in her chest—several of her ribs had probably snapped. How much more could she take?

"We are the ones protecting the future the Bittercold will bring to us," Kyurem said, his voice growing distant. "And the future cannot be changed. Trying to do so will lead to nothing but failure and despair. The Bittercold will return again and again; it is hopeless to try and stop it. I am only preventing you from failing anyway—the selfish creatures living here will only feed the Bittercold's return!"

And, after one more stomp, Hannah felt her consciousness finally slip away.

There was a faint golden glow in Hannah's bedroom, and it soon formed into the vague shape of a human girl. Her body flickered in and out of existence before finally settling in place. It was bruised and bloody, one arm dangling off to the side uselessly.

For all anyone in her family knew, she'd fallen asleep doing homework and then disappeared. Despite the fact that she'd reappeared in the same slumped position she'd been in a few days ago, it was obvious she wasn't asleep now. The cause would, to them, forever remain a mystery—they would simply come in and find her dead on her bed.

None of them would learn about her transformation or adventures, or the other human-turned Pokémon she'd met, or the separate world facing an imminent threat. And if Hannah had been able to tell them about it, her biggest regret would be the fact that she'd never get to help the two Pokémon she really wished she could've called close friends.