Chapter 28: The Final Night

It is now ten O'clock at night and Lucario and Servine are both out at the dock, waiting for Kirlia and Kirlio to return with the ship.

The endless assortment of clouds that are usually surrounding and hiding Mirage Island have faded away, revealing the vast ocean and night sky for the first time.

It is no longer snowing on the island and the snow on the ground has melted away, revealing the greenery and plant life that was underneath the vast snow.

It is no longer cold in Mirage Island, bringing back the normal tropical temperatures.

As they both stand there at the end of the dock, looking out at the sparkling reflection of the moon on the surface of the ocean, Lucario says with a calm expression on his face, "This is our final peaceful night until the war comes, Servine."

Servine nods her head and she replies with a calm expression on her face as well, "I know… this will be the final night that I get to be with you in peace."

As the sounds of the waves rushing up and down the beach fills in the quietness of the night, Lucario and Servine continue to look out at the ocean, remaining quiet for the next three minutes.

Lucario asks with a calm expression on his face as he turns his head towards Servine, "Do you think you're ready for the war tomorrow, Servine? Once it begins, there is no turning back…"

Servine has a look of concern in her eyes and she says as her eyes reflects the beauty of the moonlight glistening off of the ocean's surface, "It's all happening so quickly… it feels as if I've just met you not that long ago. You know what I mean?"

Lucario nods his head and he replies in a calmer tone, "Yeah… it must have been at least a year or so since we've first met. However…"

Lucario looks back out at the ocean, sensing the presence of the ship coming their way. Lucario grins as he says, seeing nineteen more ships following from behind, "It appears they've finally arrived!"

Servine looks straight ahead and her eyes widen with surprise as she sees the number of ships sailing towards the island. As the ships come closer, Lucario yells out to the ship, "It's about time you came back!"

A voice yells back, "No kidding! It's been far too long!"

Before the ship makes dock, a Gardevoir Teleports from the ship and reappears right in between Lucario and Servine.

Servine looks right at Gardevoir with a shocked expression on her face and she asks, "I-is that you, Kirlia?"

Gardevoir looks right at Servine with a smirk on her serious face and she replies, "That's right. So we'll be going to war with Hell and kill that little bastard, Zorua?"

Lucario nods his head and he replies with a serious expression on his face, "Yep. We'll definitely be ending this war. However,"

Gardevoir looks right at Lucario as he continues, "At the end of this war, both Zoroark and I will disappear from this world. The final showdown…"

Lucario looks right into Gardevoir's eyes with a serious look in his and he says, "Once the war end, I will not be here anymore. The final outcome of this war will be my own disappearance…"

Gardevoir has a serious expression on her face as she replies, "That's a pretty heavy burden on your part, huh? I guess either way you look at it, you're damned if you do, damned if you don't…"

Lucario chuckles slightly and he replies, "I suppose that's another way to put it!"

After Lucario finished his sentence, the boat that Gardevoir was on makes dock, while the other ships dock on the beaches.

As Gallade gets off of the ship by jumping off of the deck to the dock, Gardevoir asks with a serious expression on her face to Lucario, "So what the hell happened to all of the snow around here and the dense fog?"

Lucario replies after Gallade reached the group of three, "Arceus cleared it away. He figured that there's no need to keep the island hidden any longer. After the war, Mirage Island will disappear completely, along with the island that Darkrai has taken over."

Gallade has a serious expression on his face and he asks as other groups of Pokémon get off of their ships and start gathering around Lucario, Servine, Gardevoir, and Gallade, "I see… but how are the two islands going to disappear from this world?"

Servine looks around at her surroundings and sees a large group of random battle ready Pokémon from each island near Mirage Island and even near Hell's Island.

Lucario looks around at every battle ready Pokémon and he says, "I must warn you all before it happens. In this war, our main objective is to weaken Hell's battle forces. Of course my main goal is to hunt down Zoroark and fight him one on one. However,"

Lucario looks directly at Servine with a serious expression on his face and he says, "As much as I hate to say this, Zoroark won't be alone in this fight… there's no question that Mienfoo will do anything that she can to protect Zoroark, even if it means killing me as well. This means… you'll be tagging along with me for the real showdown."

Servine's eyes widen with shock as she thinks, 'I-I'm going to be a part of the actual battle?'

Lucario looks back at every Pokémon surrounding him and he continues, "I won't lie to any of you, some of you might not make it out of this war alive. Are you all sure that you want to go through with this war, knowing that you might not make it back home alive?"

One of the Pokémon in the group yells out, "We wouldn't be here if that were the case! We'll fight until the bitter end!"

Everyone else in the army cheers loudly, agreeing to go through the war until the bitter end.

Lucario has a confident grin on his face as he replies, "All right! That's what I like to hear!"

Lucario points back to the ships and he says with a serious grin on his face, "Gather any items you need from this island, for in two hours, we head to Hell's Island and start this war between Heaven and Hell!"

As the army of Pokemon cheered and headed out into the forest area of the island, Lucario, Servine, and Gardevoir stayed behind while Gallade followed the army through the forests.

After they left, Lucario says as he closes his eyes and grins softly, "Gardevoir… what have you told all of these Pokémon before you recruited them? After everything they've heard from Maractus before her decapitation, I would think they'd be hunting me down as well."

Gardevoir chuckles and she says with a serious expression in her eyes, "Let's just say I told them that you were innocent, and that bastard Zoroark is the main enemy. I told them about you being allies with Arceus, and they believed that you couldn't possibly be evil."

Lucario opens his eyes and he says with a serious expression on his face, "You threatened some of them, didn't you?"

Gardevoir replies with a smirk on her face, "At first, yes. I told you before, whoever tries to hurt my friends can kiss my ass, right?"

Lucario chuckles slightly and he says after he closes his eyes, "Gardevoir… thank you for getting them all on our side."

Gardevoir replies with her smirk turning into a calming smile, "It's no problem at all, Lucario."

Gardevoir's smile vanishes from her face and she asks with a serious expression on her face, "Lucario… mind if I ask you something?"

Lucario nods his head and he replies with a serious expression on his face, "Go for it."

Gardevoir asks as she points directly at Lucario's chest, "The Heaven Spirit Blade in your soul… it feels stronger than it usually does. I also detected the same strength coming from Hell's Island,"

Gardevoir finishes after she drops her arm to her side, "Lucario… what the devil happened to you and Zoroark?"

Lucario replies as he shuts his eyes with a serious expression on his face, "The Heaven and Hell Spirit Blades are no longer of any use. They were the keys to the gates of Heaven and Hell, but have lost their purposes when Darkrai and Arceus found a way to remove the keys from the gates. Now they are reverting back to their original forms; they're becoming Reshiram and Zekrom again."

Gardevoir has a serious expression on her face as she asks, "So what's supposed to happen during your fight with Zoroark?"

Lucario replies after he opens his eyes, "Once I bring Zoroark to a close death, the Hell Spirit Blade will be released out of his body. The Heaven Spirit Blade will form out of my soul after the Hell Spirit Blade is out. Once the two blades are near each other, they'll shatter away, leaving Reshiram's and Zekrom's souls behind in the world. However,"

Lucario looks out at the sparkling ocean with a calm expression on his face and he finishes, "Once the two spirits form together, they'll create a new spirit key, which will bring a small ice age into this world,"

Lucario closes his eyes as he recalls the time he first met Reshiram in his soul.

Reshiram tells him in his memory as Lucario tells everyone what Reshiram once told him, "This spirit blade will be sealed away in the living world, sealing both Heaven and Hell away from the living world. This time, Arceus and Darkrai won't be able to reach this blade. The guardian of the Life Spirit Blade, Kyurem, will be sure to keep them from reaching him."

Gardevoir has an impressed expression on her face after what she heard, but her impressed expression turns into a curious one and she asks, "But if that's the case, than whom are we fighting for? Whose side are we on?"

Lucario replies as he looks back in both Servine and Gardevoir's direction, "Arceus has already accepted his faith. We'll still fight on his side, but at the same time we fight for our future."

Gardevoir has a serious grin on her face and she replies, "Sounds good to me!"

She says before she turns and walks towards the forest, "I'm going on ahead and gather some supplies for the war."

Servine nods her head and she replies, "Go for it."

After Gardevoir leaves Lucario and Servine alone, Servine starts speaking to Lucario.

"Lucario… are you sure you want to leave in the next two hours?"

Lucario nods his head and he replies as he faces Servine, "I'm sure of it. After all, it'll take a while until we reach Hell's Island."

Servine has a look of concern on her face as she asks, "Yeah, but… that means we don't have that much time for the two of us to…"

Her voice trails off as tears of sadness starts rolling down her face.

Lucario asks with concern on his face as Servine's cheeks began to blush, "Servine… what's wrong?"

Servine cries out with her tears flowing down her cheeks from her eyes, "I'm just not ready for you to leave yet!"

Lucario's eyes widen with surprise after Servine cried out with her eyes shut tightly, "By the time the war is near done, you will disappear from this world and I'll never see you again!"

After Servine opens her eyes and manages to calm down slightly, she continues as she wipes the tears off of her face, "By the time the war begins, I won't be able to be with you alone. You'll be fighting against Zoroark and…"

Her voice trails off once more as her sadness begins to choke her slightly.

As she tries to clear her throat, Lucario starts saying with a serious expression in his eyes, "Servine… you seem to be forgetting something,"

Servine looks right at Lucario and he continues as she tries to wipe away the tears from her face and eyes, "You're going to be by my side during the fight. This won't be the last time we see each…"

His voice trails off as he hears Reshiram say in his head, "Lucario… do you even know what Servine truly feels within her heart?"

Lucario closes his eyes and tilts his head down towards the ground. After he grins, he starts chuckling.

Servine has a confused expression on her face and she asks after she wipes her face again, "Wh-what's so funny?"

Lucario opens his eyes, looks right at Servine and he replies with the same grin on his face, "I'm finally seeing where you're coming from with this…"

Servine listens as Lucario continues, "I understand you really do care about me, so I can see why you're feeling like this…"

After Lucario closes his eyes, he hears Reshiram's voice ask, "Are you thinking on telling her?"

After Lucario opens his eyes, he says with a confident smile on his face, "But we'll always see each other in our own heart. But during this war, I'll be sticking by your side until the time comes,"

Lucario walks up to Servine and then pats Servine's left shoulder with his right hand. Servine looks right into Lucario's eyes as he finishes by saying, "No matter what happens, I plan on protecting you. I'll fight for your future."

As Servine stares at Lucario's face, she thinks as her blush slowly fades away and a smile appears on her face, 'Thank you… Lucario…'

Her sadness disappears and she says with the same smile on her face, "I'll do the same for you, Lucario! I'll fight until the end!"

After she turns around and leaves to gather some supplies with the others, Reshiram asks in Lucario's head, "Are you sure about this? You already know what will happen to Servine during this war, correct?"

Lucario replies with a grin on his face, "I know that… but I'll keep it from happening."

After he says that, he heads out to the forest area too, gathering supplies for the war.

It is now midnight and everyone has grouped back near the docks. Lucario, Servine, Gardevoir, and Gallade are on the docks while everyone else stands in front of them in a large group like a speech.

As Lucario tells everyone their main goals, Arceus looks down at them all from the top of the mountain, thinking with a serious expression on his face, 'Lucario and Servine… you two are the only ones who can finish this war. You two are the only ones who can decide who becomes victorious in this war. You two…'

He finishes as he flies up into the air and flies down towards the docked ships, '…are the only ones who can bring peace back into this world.'

After Lucario finishes telling everyone his plan, Arceus reaches the ships and stays in the air, facing everyone in the group in midair.

As he stares down at them all, he says with a serious expression on his face, "It is time for the war… get into your ships and be prepared to brace yourselves."

After everyone gets onto their ships and sails out into the sea, Lucario's ship is the only one on the dock.

Lucario looks up at Arceus and he asks with a serious expression on his face as Servine, Gardevoir, and Gallade gets onto the ship, "What are you planning on doing during the war, Arceus?"

Arceus replies with a serious expression on his face, "I'll be fighting Darkdeath, of course. But I'll be holding my power back so I don't bring upon a second Big Bang. As for you and Zoroark, you two will be fighting in a different area."

Lucario has a curious expression on his face as he asks, "Where would that be?"

Arceus replies as he looks out into the ocean and up at the sky, "You will be fighting Zoroark on an island of legends. At least up there, the aftershocks of your fight won't endanger the others in the war."

Lucario nods his head and he replies, "Okay."

After Lucario got onto his ship and gets it out into the sea, Arceus flies out along with the ships. After he reaches the middle of the group, he yells out with a serious expression on his face, "Hold on tight, everyone! This is going to be a bumpy ride!"

After white aura explodes out of Arceus's body and expands out to the other ships, Arceus uses his Extreme Speed. Once he starts flying swiftly over the water, all of the ships follow Arceus at the same speed.

Lucario holds on tight to the steering wheel of his ship while the others are either holding onto the side rails or are in the cabins of the ship.

Lucario thinks as he looks straight ahead with his eyes squinting, 'Incredible… this speed is…'

Before he could finish his thought, he looks at both sides of the ship and realizes how fast they are truly going. They have just passed Gallade and Gardevoir's home and in the next second, the island that they were both stranded on when they were Kirlia and Kirlio.

When Lucario looked straight ahead, he has a shocked expression on his face as he sees Hell's Island coming into view.

Lucario thinks as Arceus starts to slow down, 'Zoroark… the time has finally arrived…'

As Arceus returns to normal speed and the ships slowly sail towards the island's beach, Darkdeath is looking down at the ships with a murderous grin on his face.

Zoroark and Mienshao are standing beside him, looking down at the ships as well.

After the ships make dock with the island, Darkdeath yells out to where the whole island can hear, "The time for war has come! Kill every enemy in sight!"

An uproar of demons were heard throughout the whole island and the sounds of footsteps are heard from the forest areas, all heading towards the beach.

While the demons rush towards the beach for the assault, Darkdeath looks back at Zoroark and Mienshao and he says while pointing right at the floating mountain, "I'm sending you two to that island up there. Once you get there, be prepared for the battle."

Mienshao asks with a serious expression on her face, "What are you planning to do, Lord Darkdeath?"

Darkdeath looks down at Arceus with a malevolent grin on his face and he says, "I'm going to pay my old friend a visit…"

After Darkdeath snaps his fingers, both Mienshao and Zoroark disappear into thin air.

Darkdeath continues to look down at Arceus and he yells out after chuckling hysterically and malevolently, "The time has finally come, Arceus!"

Darkdeath jumps off of the mountain and flies down straight towards Arceus with a bloodlust expression on his face.

As Darkdeath flies down towards the ships, Arceus looks up at Darkdeath with a serious expression on his face and he says, "It is time…"