The Tejina Chronicles: Final Days
By: Kioko the pirate
Chapter 6: Hollow Victory
Chaos now reigned on the empty field where the alien tournament was drawing to a close. With their first punches it seemed that Stitch and Angel had opened Pandora's box. Not a single spell had been cast as the two continued to dart around the battlefield, throwing punches and kicks at every possible opening they saw in their opponent's defenses. Lilo and Kioko could barely keep up with their movements, one reason why no spells had been cast yet. The only clues the two humans had as to where their partners were, were the shockwaves created by the experiment's monstrous blows.
But while it was not apparent to either Kioko or Lilo who had the upper hand, it was blatantly obvious to Stitch. While he held his own against Angel's fighting technique, her speed proved to be a difficult factor to overcome. He quickly found out just how Slushy felt in their battle. The world was a far different place when one travels at the blinding speeds that Stitch and Angel used. Familiar shapes vanished into a blur of color, and the air roared as it raced past the ears. As Stitch zigzagged through this extraordinary world, the form of his opponent suddenly came into focus. Angel appeared right beside him, spun around, and sent a kick flying right at him. With a gasp, Stitch managed to cross his arms over his chest just in time to block the attack. But the impact still sent him flying across the field like a bullet. With his teeth clenched from the throbbing pain in his arms, Stitch managed to right him self and land, digging his feet into the earth before coming to a stop.
But before he could do anything, Angel appeared once again, this time directly behind him. Stitch spun around and then dodged to the side as Angel's fist shot past his head, taking a few hairs from his cheek as it went. Seeing an opportunity, Stitch balled his fist and threw it toward her gut; however, the female was too quick and caught it in her paw. Using her gymnast-like agility, Angel pulled her self up into the air using Stitch's paw and flipped up and over the blue experiment. Even in the middle of battle, Stitch couldn't help but be amazed by her skills; his jaw dropped slightly as he watched her sail overhead and land a few feet away. But as soon as she did his mind snapped back into the fight. Stitch then let out a small snarl and charged toward the female.
Stitch let loose with a hard punch, however it was ineffective as Angel ducked underneath it. Then, to Stitch's surprise, Angel wrapped one of her antenna around his arm, trapping him. With a small snarl of her own, Angel turned and drove her fingers into Stitch's gut and up underneath his ribcage, with just enough force not to brake the skin. Then, as Stitch clenched his teeth in pain, Angel used the antenna wrapped around his arm to lift him into the air and throw him. But this time, Stitch was the quick one. As Angel unwrapped her antenna from Stitch's arm, the blue experiment grabbed a hold of it and pulled her toward him. Stitch finally landed a hit as his fist smashed into his opponent's cheek. Angel was knocked to the other side of the field before she managed to turn over and land on her feet.
For the first time since the start of the fight, there was a pause. Both experiments showed their resilience, for despite their intense combat, neither was out of breathe or had a scratch on them.
"It looks like I was wrong," blurted Angel as she wiped away some spit from the corner of her mouth, knocked loose by Stitch's blow, "you have gotten better at fighting. Granted, you're still very angular, but your agility and your countering have gotten a lot better."
Stitch, who was holding his gut where Angel had struck him, smirked. "Thanks, and you obviously learned new ways to hurt people while you were away."
"Oh believe me, that blow could have been far worse."
"The same goes for mine." grinned Stitch.
Angel could only grin in response. "Hey," Kioko suddenly shouted from the sidelines, "cut the small talk, it's not what we came here for. Stitch, you said this fight would be different from the last time. Well then show us just how far you've come!"
"Sounds good to me. Lilo!" shouted Stitch as he glanced over at his partner.
"Right, let's kick it up a notch! Punchito!" said Lilo as the blue book erupted with light.
Stitch's fist instantly became engulfed in blue energy, sending a blast of air in all directions. "All right, Stitch. Come on then!" goaded Angel as the blast of air fluttered her ears.
With a yell Stitch charged Angel, while she casually raised her paw in his direction. "Now things get interesting," smiled Kioko as the black book erupted with light, "Darkoten!"
In a flash, the large black orb formed and blasted toward Stitch, sending out its own blast of air as it did. Stitch clenched his teeth and cocked his fist back as the powerful spell came upon him. Even after seeing what the spell had done to Slushy, Stitch did not hesitate as he threw his punch deep into the spell's core. In the next instant a massive explosion rocked the battlefield, tearing the ground apart like tissue paper. However, it did nothing to slow Stitch's assault. Before the cloud of dust could even begin to settle, Stitch burst from the top of the cloud and aimed straight for Angel. He pulled back his fist once again as he fell through the air toward her. Suddenly, Lilo's voice rang out: "Gigano-Punchito!"
Angel's eyes widened in surprise as she watched the energy covering Stitch's paw pour out with increased ferocity. Fortunately for her, she managed to zip away just before Stitch made contact. She reappeared several yards away and to the side of the fountain of dirt kicked up by Stitch's spell and pulled her arm back behind her, extending her claws as she did.
"Karuga-Getsu!" yelled Kioko.
The dirt settled just in time for Stitch to see Angel's claws become enshrouded in dark energy and a massive, crescent shaped blade to be flung at him. With no time to dodge, Stitch crossed his arms in front of him and took the full impact of the spell head on. The powerful spell carried him across the field and smashed him into the side of a large tree, which exploded into splinters. The spell itself bent around the tree and sent a wave of dark energy through the forest, slicing trees like a scythe through wheat. Trees began to topple over as the spell dissipated, leaving a whole section of forest covered in a cloud of wooden dust.
"Stitch," yelled Lilo as she ran toward the cloud, "I think you two over did it with that one!"
Angel just grinned. "I don't think so."
Just then, a dark figure began to emerge from the cloud, stopping Lilo in her tracks. A moment later, Stitch appeared from the cloud acting as if nothing had happened. He barely had a scratch on his forearms, despite the fact that the fur was almost entirely burnt away.
"Was that the best you can do?" criticized Stitch as he brushed the singed fur from his arms.
"Not by a long shot." replied Angel.
"Good," said Stitch as he lowered himself into a horse stance and grabbed hold of his right forearm, "Lilo, let's give them something to chew on."
"Right, Dioga-Fisten!" read Lilo as she smiled in excitement.
As before, Stitch pulled back his fist as it became surrounded in blue energy. But this time, as Stitch thrust his fist forward, the blast of energy morphed into the shape of a massive fist with spiked knuckles. The ground shook as the mighty spell rushed toward Angel, but the pink experiment did not even blink. As the spell grew near she casually raised her paw out in front of her; the spell easily dwarfed the small female, but when the spell finally made contact with her paw, it stopped dead. With one paw, Angel kept the powerful spell from moving an inch, then, with one swipe, the spell was cut in two and dissipated.
"That was sad." laughed Angel.
"That was a distraction!" shouted Stitch as he suddenly appeared behind and above Angel.
The female gave a sharp gasp as she turned around. "Kenchito!" yelled Lilo as Stitch brought his foot up, ready to deliver a powerful axe kick.
Angel quickly crossed her arms and raised them above her head as Stitch's energy emblazoned foot came down upon her. A shockwave raced across the ground as the strength of Stitch's spell pushed Angel downwards into a crater that seemed to appear from out of nowhere.
"Now who's sad? You should have seen that coming a mile away!" mocked Stitch as he continued to push his kick down onto Angel's arms.
However, Angel just grinned and unfolded her arms. Stitch gasped as she quickly stepped to the side, allowing his foot's momentum to carry him toward the ground. But before his foot made contact, Angel brought her fist up and slammed it into Stitch's gut. Stitch coughed up a spray of spit as the female used his strength to increase the impact.
"And you should have seen that coming." said Angel.
"Sh… shut up." groaned Stitch.
Suddenly, the blue experiment vanished from atop Angel's fist. Angel quickly looked up to see Stitch soaring high above, his teeth clenched together in determination. As if they were of one mind, Lilo instantly knew what her partner wanted to do.
"Balren Zashi!" she hollered as she swung the book through the air. Stitch's body began to glow as he curled up into a ball and extended the spines on his back. Angel cocked her head to the side with curiosity as her opponent began to spin faster and faster in mid air. 'This isn't good,' thought Lilo as Stitch blasted downwards toward Angel catching her off guard, 'we've managed to hold our own, but we haven't been able to land a solid hit. If we don't make some headway soon… we'll be in serious trouble.'
Angel leapt away just in time to avoid being crushed and sliced by Stitch. Landing a few feet away, she thought that she was in the clear, but just then Stitch's still spinning body shot towards her. As with most his prior attacks, she smiled and casually moved to dodge. Stitch blew by her in a swirling fury of blue fur and energy, with no apparent effect. But as she turned to follow his movements a sharp pain caught her cheek. She raised a paw and ran a finger across the spot where the pain was concentrated; withdrawing her paw she found her finger covered in blood. Her eyes widened in amazement as she turned and watched Stitch's spinning form smash into a tree and bounce right back at her.
In the same instant, across the battlefield, Kioko's eyes narrowed. 'He managed to break through her tough skin, now things will get interesting.'
Angel leapt left and right as she continually dodged Stitch's high-speed attack. To her surprise, Stitch could change his course very quickly, leaving her little time to counter. Slowly, his attacks kept getting closer and closer together, effectively trapping the female experiment in place. But just as it seemed Stitch would finally get a solid hit, Angel turned to face him and then shifted to the side. As Stitch blew by her she reached up into the center of his spinning form and grabbed a hold of his arm. Stitch and Lilo gasped as she brought his spell to an abrupt halt. Then, with a yell she moved to spike him to the ground like a football player would a football after a touchdown. But just before he hit, he uncurled and landed on his feet, yanking his arm free, he then leapt backwards away from her.
However, just as his feet touched down, Angel appeared right in front of him. Coming in low, she drove her fist deep into his gut, knocking every last bit of air from his lungs. Stitch, dazed by the attack, stumbled back while Angel flipped away, catching his chin with her foot as she went. The blue experiment was knocked high into the air as Angel positioned herself for the final blow. A toothy grin stretched across her face as she aimed her paw at her helpless opponent.
'This is no good,' thought Stitch as he continued to fly higher and higher into the sky, 'at this rate I'll never win. It looks like I have no choice but to throw it into high gear. I'll show them just how far I've really come since our last battle!'
Stitch opened his eyes and looked down to see a large black orb forming in front of Angel's paw. He leaned forward and began falling back to Earth, heading straight for the female experiment.
"Gigano-Toruk!" shouted Kioko.
"You're mine, Stitch." laughed Angel.
Suddenly, with a quick twist of his body, Stitch vanished in mid air. Angel's eyes grew almost as wide as dinner plates as she tried to comprehend what had just happened. "He accelerated in mid air?" she wondered aloud. Furthering her amazement, Stitch then appeared from out of nowhere right beside her.
"Surprise!" he grinned as he grabbed onto Angel's wrist and pointed her palm at the ground.
Angel gasped as she remembered her spell, but it was too late. The two experiments were engulfed in a blast of dark energy so strong that it caused both human partners to fall. The dark energy soon gave way to a dense cloud of dust that rolled along the ground like fog. As both partners clambered back to their feet, Lilo felt the sudden urge to cast a spell. She hurriedly summoned a "Gigano-Punchito" spell and then watched as a blast of blue energy blasted away the thick dust and sent Angel flying through the air.
Yet despite taking a direct hit from Stitch's spell she managed to flip over and land on her feet. But Stitch wasn't about to let her rest; in an ironic turnaround Stitch appeared before her and threw a punch right at her gut. She managed to dodge the blow but quickly found herself weaving in and out of a fury of lightning fast punches.
'What just happened, he's faster than he was before?' Angel thought as she struggled to keep out of the way of Stitch's attacks.
Just then, as she raised an arm up to defend herself, Stitch uncurled his fist and grabbed onto her wrist. Before she could react he lifted her into the air, jumped up and then kicked her square in the chest. Angel was sent skipping across the ground before disappearing into the forest. The small experiment's body was like a wrecking ball as she smashed through tree after tree, sending splintered wood flying in all directions. Finally, she came to a stop at the base of a particularly large tree. Angel groaned, her whole body ached and she could taste a small bit of blood in her mouth. She couldn't understand where Stitch had gotten all his power all of a sudden; he couldn't possibly have been holding back that much! Could he?
Once again, she had no time to dwell on the subject, for as she sat there with her eyes closed a loud roaring sound entered her ears. She opened her eyes and found herself staring down another "Dioga-Fisten" spell. Within seconds a massive blast of blue energy engulfed the forest, incinerating trees and shaking the ground. The blast seemed too large for anyone or anything to have survived, but from out of the cloud Angel appeared. Covered in scratches and small burns, she leapt from tree limb to tree limb, trying to put as much distance between her and Stitch as possible. It was futile. As she made a leap from one tree to another, Stitch appeared beside her with a wide grin on his face. She turned to defend herself but Stitch's foot connected with her cheek before she could set up her defense.
The pink experiment rocketed out of the forest and then slammed into the ground, digging a trench back out to the middle of the field. Just as before, she groaned and then opened her eyes, once again finding Stitch bearing down on her, this time with a "Kenchito" spell. While her new injuries slowed her down, she still managed to leap away from the attack. She landed just a few feet away from Kioko, her body trembling from the strain, and her breathing heavy.
"You know, you've got to be the toughest female Jumba's ever made," chuckled Stitch as he rose up from the crater formed by his kick, "I'm amazed that you can still move that quickly when you're injured."
"I see… your power isn't… all that's… grown," said Angel between breathes, "that ego of yours… has gotten larger too."
"Hey, after all the gloating you've done you can't judge!" exclaimed Stitch, "Besides, looking at your current condition, I'd say I have the right to boast a little. I'm winning."
Angel smirked and ran her tongue around her lips, licking the blood away from the corners of her mouth and from underneath her nose. Stitch's ears fell in surprise as Angel's heavy breathing suddenly stopped and she stood up straight as if nothing had happened.
"You may have had me on the ropes, but you didn't defeat me. To be honest I'm a little upset with my self that I let it get that far, or that it took me this long to realize my mistake. The only reason why you had the upper hand is that we were fighting your fight. You were designed to be a close-quarters fighter; it shouldn't have surprised me that you were able to hold back your physical power as much as you did. I on the other hand was not meant to be a fist fighter, even if I have gotten quite good at it. I just don't have the same stamina as you." Angel elucidated while Stitch and Lilo looked on curiously.
"So what's your point?" blurted Stitch.
"My point is that if I want to win, I'll have to use more of my spells," smiled Angel as she lifted her hand up in front of her, facing her palm towards the sky, "Now let me ask you something, Stitch. Every set of spells used by an experiment is given a category, yours is hand-to-hand combat, but do you know what my spells are categorized as?"
Stitch shrugged. "I don't know… darkness?"
"Close, but not quite. Perhaps this will give you a clue."
"Kuroiaku." summoned Kioko with an unsettling tone.
A black sphere instantly materialized above Angel's paw, slowly growing larger, with sparks of purple shooting out to the ground. As with most of her spells it resembled her "Darko" spell, but a moment later the sphere exploded into bolts of dark energy and then faded away. Unsure of what was happening, Stitch took a cautious step backward. But as he did, narrow beams of purple energy suddenly erupted from the ground around him, rising up into the air before splitting apart and fusing back together, forming the outline of a box around the blue experiment. Stitch turned to run but before he could the walls of the box filled in with dark matter, sealing him inside.
Given the pact they had made at the beginning of the fight Lilo knew what ever was going on inside that box couldn't be too dangerous. But that didn't keep her from feeling a twinge of dread.
"What kind of spell is that," she exclaimed as she watched the box nervously, "Some sort of binding spell right?"
Lilo's dread grew as Angel simply looked at her, smiled, and said: "You'll see."
The young Hawaiian girl looked back toward the box, not knowing what was going on was driving her crazy. Just then, her curiosity was appeased, as the box suddenly exploded into black shards. For a moment Lilo's fears disappeared, there wasn't a single visible scratch on her partner, however her fears quickly reemerged. Stitch suddenly began to tremble violently and he soon collapsed onto all fours. Lilo couldn't restrain herself and so she ran over to her partner's side. His eyes were bulging and his breathing was heavy, he had a look of sheer terror on his face.
"What the hell did you do to him?" snapped Lilo as she glared over at Angel.
"Nothing much," said Angel casually, "that spells only effect is that it forces the victim to relive every frightening moment in their lives, while amplifying the feeling a hundred times, leaving the victim in a state of shock."
"How could you say that so carelessly? He's your friend for god sake! How could you do that to him?" yelled Lilo as she held onto Stitch's quivering shoulders.
"Believe me, that could have been a lot worse," said Kioko, "the higher leveled versions of that spell amplify those feelings of fear a thousand and even a hundred thousand times. It can be so powerful that it would kill a human like you and me. Stitch barely got a taste of that spells potential."
"I don't care, that was a cruel thing to do!"
"No…this is just… what I expected… to happen," Stitch suddenly said through heavy breaths, catching everyone off guard, "we came here… knowing this wouldn't be easy. We can't expect them… to hold back when the title… of champion is on the line."
"Stitch." Lilo said with concern as she watched her friend force himself back to his feet.
"You've already recovered from the spell, I'm very impressed." complimented Angel, though still managing to keep a condescending tone in her voice.
Stitch gave a small laugh. "It's going to take a lot more than a little… nightmare to keep me down." Stitch said knowingly.
"So you picked up on it, did you?" smiled Angel as she placed a paw on her hip.
"It was pretty obvious after that spell."
"What are you two talking about?" asked Lilo as she looked between Angel and Stitch.
"Earlier, I asked him what my spells were categorized as, and he just got it right on. You see, my spells all fall under the category of 'Nightmares.'"
"Nightmares? How can such a feminine experiment have such a morbid spell type?"
"You can blame Jumba for it. I wasn't exactly one of his best-planned experiments. He had made my body before he even knew what my spell type would be. His lab notes indicate that he was thinking of giving me song based spells, but he could never figure them out. So I sat there, in that maturation chamber, for years, a half complete being starving for life. But then, one night he had a terrible nightmare, a nightmare that would soon bring me life. He looks at each experiment like an artist would a blank canvas, always trying to draw the world into his soul and back out onto the canvas. After he woke from his nightmare, he was inspired and within days he took elements of that nightmare, worked them into spells… and gave them to me. Needless to say, I am quite proud that I was born not just from technical design, but from inspiration itself." explained Angel with a reminiscent glint in her eyes.
"So that's where you get your ego," Angel just smirked, "Well enough talking, let's see more of these powers your so proud of." goaded Stitch as he moved into a fighting stance.
"Gladly." said Angel as she aimed her paw at her opponent.
"Lilo, move back!" commanded Stitch as the black book suddenly erupted with light.
The girl nodded and ran back to where she had been before. "Let's see how you handle this spell, Onihaku!" read Kioko.
The battle officially resumed as a large golden ring, inscribed with alien writing, materialized in front of Angel's paw. The center of the ring then began to fill with a bubbling black liquid that swirled around like a small whirlpool. The air seemed to grow icy cold while the fur on the back of Stitch's neck stood on end. Suddenly, the dark liquid erupted from the ring and raced towards him. The attack seemed like a normal blast of liquid, but as Stitch readied himself to move, a transformation occurred. The front end of the liquid began to morph into the shape of a serpent-like head, letting out a hissing roar as it opened up it's gaping jaws, which were lined with spiky teeth the size of Stitch himself. Along with the terrifying teeth, dozens of glowing red eyes opened up along the creature's head, adding to its horrendous appearance. Stitch barely snapped out of his amazed state in time to dodge the creature as it sank it's teeth into the earth. He landed several feet away and watched with a sense of both intrigue and fear as the creature tore a chunk of soil from the ground and crushed it in its jaws. But once again his fascination was broken as it turned and lunged toward him. Another leap to the side spared him a direct hit from the beast, however it did not bite into the ground as it had before. Like a guided missile it curved around and continued to head straight for him.
No matter where he moved Stitch could not escape the devilish creature. Despite his lightning fast speed the serpent's eyes were always locked onto him. In stark contrast to the creature's vicious movements, Angel stood perfectly still. Watching with an amused smile as her opponent struggled to keep away from her spell. At the same time Stitch was beginning to lose distance, the spell slowly catching up to him. He needed to get some distance and so, thinking quickly, he did the last thing one would expect, he stopped. Using his momentum he spun around on his heel and faced the beast. Within seconds it was bearing down on him, it's gapping maw ready to swallow him whole. But with a simple side step Stitch forced the creature to over shoot him. Then, as the creature turned to come back around he leapt high up into the air, gaining the valuable distance he needed. Lilo instantly saw her opportunity and so, as the creature launched itself skyward, she summoned a "Gigano-Fisten" spell as quickly as possible.
Stitch cocked his fist back and took aim as he stared down into the beasts pitch-black throat. Then, as the mighty serpent let out another hissing roar, Stitch flung his fist forward, sending a blast of blue energy down into its jaws. The beast swallowed the blast in a single bite, but before it could do the same to Stitch the blast detonated and blew the serpent in two. Stitch let out a relieved sigh as he watched the head of the beast dissipate into the air; surely he had defeated the spell. But as he landed he found his assumption to be wrong. The writhing remains of the beast, still attached to the golden ring, began to regenerate and within moments the deadly jaws of the serpent once again showed off their brilliant but deadly fangs.
"You didn't really think it'd be that easy, did you?" mocked Angel.
Stitch had no time for a witty retort as the beast once again lunged toward him. Using the same plan as last time, he took off running, waiting for the right time to stop and allow the spell to over shoot. A moment later he put his plan into action, and like the time before it seemed to work, but instead of turning to attack him again, the beast arched it's back and slammed it's side into Stitch. The impact sent him skipping over the ground to the other side of the field. But he did not stay down for long, he immediately began to scramble back to his feet as the oily serpent grew ever closer. This time it was Lilo who thought quickly; Stitch had no time to dodge the creature and no time to charge an attack, which left only one option. Despite it's risks, Lilo did not hesitate to summon the spell. Fortunately, through their training they had added time to the spells duration, but the after effects were the same.
"Ryo-Diorga!" shouted Lilo, catching both Angel and Kioko off guard.
The pink experiment quickly looked over to where Stitch was and then let out a startled gasp as she watched her summoned beast slam to a halt, it's long body coiling up behind it. Her eyes grew wider as she suddenly saw the reason, Stitch, his body covered in a blue aura, was holding the creature's upper and lower jaws with his bare hands. More so, he didn't seem to be straining at all, even as the creature desperately tried to over take him. A toothy grin stretched across his face as the he grabbed a hold of the creature's jaws and began to pull them apart. Angel then let out another startled gasp as Stitch tore the beast in half length wise, the tear stretching all the way back to the golden ring. A moment later, the golden ring cracked and then shattered into pieces.
"What's wrong, Angel," asked Stitch, "you look surprised? I don't see why though, after all you said it yourself, I'm a hand-to-hand fighter; my stamina is my greatest strength."
Angel's expression remained frozen for several moments before snapping back to life with an angry growl. The pink female's fists tightened till her knuckles popped while her teeth clenched together like a bear trap.
"Damn you," snarled Angel as she glared at Stitch. For the first time in a long while, a feeling of doubt began to fester deep within her. The title of champion seemed to be getting further and further away as the fight progressed. It was like fighting 6-2-7 all over again; even after using some of her highest spells she had barely made a scratch. The walls of fate were now closing in, at any moment all of her hard work… all of Kioko's hard work would be crushed. She couldn't let that happen, "Why won't you lose?" Angel screamed as she threw her paw into the air.
"Akakumiendo!" shouts Kioko, feeling his partners growing desperation.
Before Stitch could move the black, spiked wall that Angel had used to shatter Slushy's spell came crashing down upon him. The ground shook as a cloud of dust raced across the field. A hopeful smile began to grow on Angel's face as the dust slowly began to settle, but just as it seemed that the attack had done some damage the sound of cracking began to permeate through the air. A second later the demonic wall was lifted up and split right down the middle, revealing a still glowing and still unharmed Stitch. Angel's jaw dropped as the two chunks of the wall fell to the side and evaporated into black vapor.
"It's no use, Angel," said Stitch with an arrogant smirk, "You were having a hard enough time with me before, but now that we've used the 'Ryo-Diorga' spell you don't have a chance. You see it boosts my strength, speed, and spell power ten fold." both Kioko and Angel's eyes widened in shock.
"Unfortunately, I can only use it for so long before my power becomes completely drained. So I hope you don't mind it if," Stitch suddenly vanished and reappeared ahead of Kioko and Angel, running full speed straight at them, "we finish this now!"
Angel's shocked expression faded away as she once again bared her teeth and clenched her fists. Her head sunk as her whole body tensed up and began to quiver.
"Angel…" muttered Kioko as he looked concernedly down on his friend. He could almost taste her anger, fear, and pain in the air. This was no longer a friendly match as far as she was concerned.
Just then, as Stitch bore down on their position, Angel's quivering stopped and a dense aura of purple energy erupted from her. Stitch nearly stumbled as he felt her power bare down on him like a crushing weight.
"I will not lose to you!" Angel screamed as her head shot back up, tears running from her eyes. With a ferocious yell Angel raised her paw toward Stitch, while Kioko immediately summoned a spell.
"Drago-iken!" shouted Kioko as he held the black book out in Stitch's direction.
Black liquid, similar to what had made up the demonic serpents, began to gather in front of Angel's paw. The mass of liquid then morphed into the shape of a large dragon's skull, even taking on the color and texture of bone. The skull opened its toothy maw with a sickening cracking sound and started to drool a crimson liquid that smelled of blood. Stitch cringed but did not change his course. A split second later a swarm of flat, black arrows erupted from the dragons mouth in a spray of blood. The arrows cut zigzag patterns through the darkening sky, creating a wall of black death in front of Stitch. However, Stitch still didn't change his course. The blue experiment clenched his teeth and charged headlong into the barrage of arrows. Weaving in and out at high speed Stitch did his best to dodge every arrow, but a few managed to leave deep gashes on his arms, legs, and one across his left cheek.
The density of the arrows began to increase, telling him that he was nearing the source. Knowing that if he continued he would be cut to shreds Stitch began to search for a way out. A second later he finds one and leaps upward, soaring through a gap in the arrows that no human could have seen. In an instant, Stitch appeared high above the torrent of arrows and then dove back down toward Kioko and Angel. Like a bolt of lighting he streaked down to the ground and with little difficulty, smashed straight through the dragon's skull.
'And here's the finisher,' thought Lilo as the blue book erupted with light, "Gigano-Punchito!"
A toothy grin stretched across Stitch's face as he brought his fist up toward Angel, blowing away the shards of skull that still hung in the air. With his enhanced speed the attack was sure to connect and hopefully be enough to end the fight once and for all. "Gigano-Umbrugar." said Kioko with an inappropriately casual tone.
Stitch, having not heard the spell, threw his fist toward Angel's face, but before it could connect his body ground to a halt. A confused expression washed over his face as he stared at his fist, just inches from its target. His eyes then drifted over to his arm where he felt something cold holding him tight. He let out a disturbed gasp as he saw a grey, half rotted, hand gripping his wrist. A quick look revealed three more hands rising from the ground and gripping him at the ankles and at the other wrist. The next thing Stitch saw was Angel's palm coming to a rest just beyond his nose. Carefully, he looked up and caught Angel's eyes as she stared down at him. A cold chill rushed down his spine as he looked into the midnight black orbs. Just like Kioko, he quickly realized that the fight had changed.
"We… will finish this." said Angel her voice filled with suppressed anger.
"Gigano-Toruk."
Stitch let out one last gasp before he was engulfed in a wave of dark energy that nearly engulfed the entire field. Lilo was knocked off her feet by the blast of air created by the attack and fell to the ground holding her arm over her face.
"Stitch!" screamed Lilo as she watched the massive spell rush by.
Fortunately, Lilo had little need to worry, for as the spell dissipated into a massive cloud of dirt Stitch reappeared. Amazingly, his feet remained on the ground as he slid out from the cloud, his arms crossed over his face in defense. The blue experiment came to a stop and lowered his arms. The blast had only given him a few minor cuts on the forehead and nose, a miracle, even with the protection of the "Ryo-Diorga." But Stitch had no time to count his blessings, because just as he caught his first breathe Angel appeared before him and caught him with a powerful right hook. Stitch stumbled away, but was not phased by the blow. However, he was unable to regain his balance as Angel continued to deliver blow after blow, her tears flying into the air like shimmering jewels. The pounding continued for a few moments until Angel uncurled her fists and grabbed Stitch by the wrist.
She tossed Stitch over her shoulder like a child would a doll, turned and then with one loud yell jumped and drove her foot into his gut. The impact sent a shockwave tearing through the air and sent Stitch bouncing along the ground back toward Lilo. Without considering that Angel's attack may not be done the young girl ran over to her partners side.
"Are you alright," asked Lilo as she helped Stitch sit up, "That was a pretty merciless beating."
"I'm fine, I barely felt a thing. God, I love this spell." said Stitch as he looked down at his glowing paws.
"But your cheeks are covered in blood, you must have a cut somewhere."
Stitch's expression dropped away as he looked past Lilo. "That's not my blood." he said flatly.
Lilo looked back toward Angel and saw the pink experiment half bent over as she tried to catch her breath. The fur and skin were all but gone from her knuckles, leaving blood to run down to her fingertips and fall to the ground.
"Angel, you idiot," laughed Kioko as he struggled to hold back his own tears, "you're going to hurt yourself more than you will them."
Both Lilo and Stitch stood back up and faced the seemingly frozen experiment. Neither knew what to do, were they supposed to attack or wait for her to make the next move? They didn't have to wait long for their answer.
"I'm sorry," the pink experiment suddenly blurted in a voice almost too quiet to hear, "I'm sorry it had to come to this. But you understand… you understand why I must do this."
Angel looked up to face Lilo and Stitch, her face wet with new tears and a look of painful remorse. "I will not lose! Not after making it so far, not after all we've been through! Stitch, Lilo… you've been good rivals… and good friends, but none of that matters anymore. I will crush you just like any other opponent! I can't go back a loser and I won't leave Kioko a loser! So please, disappear." said Angel as she raised her paw toward Kioko and held up two fingers, a signal.
Kioko hesitated, his mind temporarily torn between victory and the well being of his opponents. But as he looked at his partner's shredded knuckles and the tortured expression on her face the choice became obvious. His loyalty to his partner outweighed any harm that may come to Lilo or Stitch.
"Gyouren-Boura." said Kioko, his brow furrowed as if the words hurt to be spoken.
Lilo and Stitch both readied themselves for whatever may come, but both had to take a startled step back as a massive fountain of dark energy erupted from behind Angel. The dark energy spread out quickly in all directions, swallowing the world like a virus. The smell of the ocean, the feeling of the tropical breeze, and the red glow of the sun all vanished behind the veil of darkness. Before they could comprehend what was happening, the darkness closed in around them, severing every tie they had to the outside world. But they were not alone; they were welcomed to this dark world by a hellish shrieking sound that seemed to come from every direction at once. Both Lilo and Stitch's jaws dropped in terror as inhuman eyes began to open all around them. Hundreds, thousands, countless eyes stared at them with empty gazes from all directions.
"What… what is this?" stammered Stitch as he frantically looked around.
"This is my second strongest spell," came Angel's voice. Lilo and Stitch both looked ahead to see the pink experiment standing amongst the eyes with her arms folded across her chest, "It is only one step down from the spell that destroyed the 'World 1'. There is no escape, for as far as anyone is concerned we are in an entirely different dimension. Likewise, you have no hope of defending against it."
"Angel, this is crazy," yelled Lilo as sweat began to run down her face, "we promised one another that we wouldn't use dangerous spells like this! We…"
"I'm sorry." interrupted Angel, her voice once again resonating with remorse.
Before either of them could say anything else the pink experiment faded away into the darkness, another monstrous eye opening in her place. All at once, the pupils of the eyes began to dilate as rainbow colored energy began to gather in front of them. In the next instant the pupils contracted sending blasts of energy straight toward Lilo and Stitch. Before their very eyes a blinding, multi-colored light replaced the darkness. At that moment, Angel reappeared back on the battlefield, stepping out of a massive black dome that covered the spot where Lilo and Stitch had been standing. As she casually walked away, the dome began to crack, rainbow colored light spilling out into the amber skies above. Suddenly, the dome exploded in a brilliant geyser of rainbow energy, sending out a shockwave that toppled trees, threw boulders, and buried the field in a dense cloud of dust. As the mighty winds died down, Kioko stepped out from behind a "Darkoshield" spell, erected at the moment of the explosion.
'It's done.' thought Kioko as the dust began to settle.
After a moment the dust settled enough for Kioko to see Angel, standing with her back to a massive crater. The girl's head hung low, her ears draped over her shoulders; hers was not the expression of a winner but of a mourner.
"What have I done," said Angel as she looked down at her shaking paws, "how could I let myself get so carried away? Damn it, this isn't how I wanted to win! Damn it!" she yelled as she clenched her fists.
Just then, a powerful sensation swept over her, like a cold rush of water. The female experiment turned slightly and looked back over her shoulder into the crater. Dust still lingered in the air, but a speck of light soon caught her attention. Her eyes grew wide as the dust slowly revealed glowing blue dome emblazoned with a golden frame. Angel nearly stumbled backwards as Lilo and Stitch came into view. They were standing underneath a double-layered dome, breathing heavily and with blood running down their faces and bodies. The domes were almost completely destroyed, with large chunks missing and more still falling off. The domes finally shattered and faded away, leaving Lilo and Stitch to collapse to their knees, the "Ryo-Diorga" spell had worn off.
"They… survived?" exclaimed Angel, utterly stupefied.
"What?" blurted Kioko with equal amazement.
"Did you really… think we wouldn't… fight back?" said Lilo as she looked up at Angel with an angry glare. "You two aren't the only ones… who have suffered. We've been through it all as well. We've put our blood, sweat, and tears into becoming stronger, into winning this tournament. But we're not willing to endanger the lives of our opponents to do it… that's the difference between us. However," Lilo suddenly began to push her self up, her body trembling so bad that she could barely keep her balance, "if you think that means we won't do everything we can… you're wrong."
The battered girl got to her feet and grabbed the blue book off the ground. "I promised that I'd make Stitch champion," her grip tightened on the book, "and I'm going to keep that promise, no matter what!"
The blue book suddenly exploded in a maelstrom of blue energy, completely engulfing Lilo and Stitch. Angel raised her arm in front of her face as a wall of dirt was thrown from the crater. Through the debris Angel saw Stitch rise up, his wounds fading away along with Lilo's.
"It can't be…!" exclaimed Angel.
"…Their final spell!" finished Kioko as he watched the energy spiral up from the crater.
The blue book pulsed with energy as it flung open in Lilo's hand, doubling the energy swirling around them. The pages began to flip over by themselves, every line of text coming alive with a magnificent light. Finally, the last page turned and the hidden spell materialized. Lilo brought the book in front of her and locked her gaze onto Angel.
"The final spell," Angel gasped and immediately flashed back over to Kioko, "Kyon Dirooda!"
Stitch's face emptied of emotion as the raging blue energy encircled him. The energy grew denser and denser until Stitch was no longer visible. Lilo had to cover her face and look away as the orb grew brighter; it's blue color turning a pure white. The ground rumbled under foot as the orb then started to grow larger. It quickly began to take up the entire crater, forcing Lilo to scramble up the bank. She managed to pull herself out and run a few yards before the orb suddenly exploded, knocking her to the ground. The young girl rolled over and looked into the pillar of dust that once again rose from the crater, while Kioko and Angel looked on anxiously. For a few moments there was total silence, the only thing Lilo could hear was the soft pitter-patter of small rocks returning to earth. But then, the sound of footsteps reached her ears and through the dust she could see movement.
An excited smile crossed Lilo's face as the figure climbed up from the crater, but her smile vanished in an instant as the figure stepped out of the dust and into the waning twilight. Before her stood a being vastly different from her dear friend. The being had a humanoid form and was covered in a blue and silver armor that contoured to it's muscular physique. Three curved spines extended from either side of its back and a blank, metal mask covered the face. The only signs that this strange being was, in fact, Stitch was it's furry, blue hands and its long ears.
"So that's Stitch's final spell?" remarked Kioko.
"The power he's giving off… is incredible." added Angel as her brow twitched with anxiety.
Lilo could hardly believe the transformation that Stitch had undertaken. She felt like she was looking at a stranger, the familiar connection their hearts shared had all but vanished. There was nothing left but an empty report, like that between a general and a nameless soldier on the battlefield.
"Stitch…" she said as she stared up at the statuesque being.
But suddenly, before she could say another word, Stitch disappeared shattering the ground where he once stood. Both Kioko and Angel gasped as he instantly reappeared directly behind them. Without a sound he pulled back his fist and took aim… at Kioko. The boy's eyes grew wide as he looked over his shoulder at the powered up experiment.
'He's… attacking me directly?' thought Kioko as a wave of panic swept over his face.
With a loud crack Stitch drove his fist into Kioko's cheek, sending blood spurting into the air as he was lifted off the ground and sent flying. Horror filled Angel's eyes as she watched her partner soar through the air and then crash lifelessly to the ground several yards away.
"Kioko!" she screamed just before Stitch's foot caught her under the chin and sent her rocketing into the forest, smashing through trees like pieces of Styrofoam.
A nightmare, that's what it felt like to Lilo as she watched Stitch dispatch Kioko and Angel as if they were nothing. Her heart felt as though it had been ripped open as dread filled every part of her body. Her mouth opened to speak but now words could escape the weight the seemed to have fallen on her shoulders. What had she done? What horrible power had she awakened? Like an automaton whose only function was to destroy, Stitch turned silently and began to walk toward Kioko's unmoving body. The experiment's shadow fell over the boy like a dark shroud as he came to a stop next to him. However, instead of going after the black book, which lay on the ground just beyond Kioko's fingers, Stitch raised his foot above Kioko's head.
A muffled scream was all that could escape Lilo's lips as she watched Stitch's foot come down. But just before the fatal blow could be delivered, Angel appeared and blocked Stitch's foot with her arms crossed above her head. An animalistic growl rumbled up from deep within the pink experiment as she strained to keep Stitch at bay. Every muscle in her body quivered as desperately fought against his impossible strength. Finally, as her knees began to buckle, Angel let out a mighty roar and repelled Stitch's foot. As Stitch stumbled back, Angel leapt up and drove her fist straight into the center of Stitch's mask. To her dismay, the punch had little effect and in a flash Stitch drove his fist straight into her cheek. The small pink experiment plowed through the ground head first, digging a deep trench that extended almost to the tree line. At the last moment she managed to flip up and land on her feet, sliding a few more yards before finally coming to a rest. But she did not stay still for long; the moment she stopped she blasted back toward Stitch, fist raised and ready for another try.
Sadly, her punches once again proved to be useless as Stitch took the blows head on without flinching. 'What happened? Why is he acting this way,' thought Lilo as she watched Angel throw punch after punch, trying in vain to do damage, 'What did that spell do to him? He's acting like some mindless drone.'
Angel raised her leg up and dropped it down toward Stitch's head. But before it could connect, Stitch reached up and caught her foot. Angel winced as his crushing grip tightened around her ankle. Stitch cocked back his fist and threw it toward Angel's gut; fortunately she managed to cross her arms in time to block the blow. Unfortunately, the blow shattered her arms, filling the warm air with a disgusting snapping sound. Angel screamed out in pain as she was sent flying into the air.
'Why is this happening? God, why is this happening,' tears now flowed down Lilo's dirty cheeks as she tightened her grip on the blue book, 'I didn't want this; I didn't want to hurt them like this! I only wanted to show them how strong we've gotten!'
Stitch suddenly appeared behind Angel as she continued to soar upwards. He raised his fist like a hammer and pounded it down onto her as she came within arms distance. Like a bullet, Angel shot downwards and smashed into the earth, leaving a wake of shockwaves in the air. The female experiment was left lying face down in the bottom of a small crater, barely hanging onto consciousness.
'Can't he see what he's doing? Is he even still conscious behind that mask? No, he mustn't be, he wouldn't even treat his most hated enemies this way. It must just be the influence of the spell, that's the only reasonable answer… but then… how do I stop him?'
Stitch landed gracefully next to Angel and then without hesitation drove his heel into her back. Angel let out another anguished scream as her ribcage was slowed crushed. She began to cough up blood as Stitch's foot pushed deeper and deeper into her body. Just then, she was granted relief as Stitch withdrew his foot, but it was only for a moment as Stitch then bent down and grabbed her antenna. Like some gruesome trophy Stitch lifted her up and held her over his head for a moment before tossing her toward Kioko like a piece of rubbish. Angel landed on her shoulder and rolled a short distance before landing face up within arms reach of Kioko.
'I have to stop him, I can't let this continue!' Lilo clenched her teeth and moved to stand up, but her body refused to budge, as if some invisible rope were holding her down. 'Move, move damn it! Come on, body, move!' Lilo screamed in her head as she watched Stitch slowly make his way toward Angel and Kioko.
'Say something then, anything, just make him stop!'
Stitch came to a stop next to Angel and then, silhouetted by the setting sun, he brought his foot down on her right arm. This time tears accompanied her terrible screams as she felt the sharp shards of bone jab into her muscles. The air of a warrior was gone from her; she had become little more than a child… praying for an end to her suffering.
'Please, say something to make him stop! I can't stand to watch this anymore, let me say something, damn it!'
For a second it seemed Lilo's prayers were answered as Stitch removed his foot. But no sooner had he done so then he knelt down and wrapped on hand around Angel neck while his other was pulled back in a fist. No longer able to scream, Angel rolled her head over and looked onto Kioko's face. Tears and blood rolled down her cheeks as she stared at him, a coy smirk creeping across her lips.
"I'm sorry," she managed to whisper, "I let you done. I just… wasn't strong enough."
Time went into slow motion as Stitch's fist flew down toward its target. Fate now seemed unchangeable… inevitable… inescapable. Angel closed her eyes and waited for the end.
'Just make him stop,'
"Stitch!" screamed Lilo with all of her might, her voice echoing throughout the devastated battlefield.
It was like a switch had been thrown, Stitch's fist stopped just short of Angel's cheek and then withdrew. Leaving her with her eyes still closed in anticipation. Then, like a trained dog, Stitch vanished and instantly reappeared next to Lilo, standing perfectly still like nothing had happened. A huge wave of relief washed over Lilo, bringing with it a joyous smile and joyful tears. Though the connection was still not there, she felt as though she had regained some control. At the other end of the field, the realization that she was still alive finally settled upon Angel. Her eyes opened and her head rolled back over to face the sky. The clouds above seemed almost like some great artist had painted them in place. Their red and orange hues were accented by a sprinkling of pink while the sky beyond faded into a calm violet.
"Damn it," squeaked Angel as she stared up into the painted sky, "she should have let him end it."
"That's… no way to talk."
Angel's eyes snapped open and her head rolled over. The first thing she saw was Kioko smiling back at her, his eyes barely open, but open all the same.
"You look like hell." teased Kioko, his eye slowly regaining their life.
"Shut up." Angel smiled back.
Just then, Kioko started to pull his arms in close followed by his legs. His face contorted with pain and for a moment it looked as though his body would give out, but through some inexplicable strength he managed to push himself up to his knees. His movements caught Lilo's attention and so she watched in awe, along with Angel, as the boy picked up the black book and got to his feet.
"There's… only one thing in this world that I absolutely despise," said Kioko as he looked down field at Lilo and Stitch, "and that's hearing the person I care about the most screaming in agony."
"I didn't mean for Stitch to do that, Kioko," shouted Lilo, "I had no idea that the spell would make him act that way!"
"Whether you meant to or not doesn't make a difference. The fact remains that you cast the spell that caused Angel so much pain. No matter what the history between us is, that labels you an enemy. I will not let her pain go unpunished."
Kioko then threw open the black book and flipped to the very last page. The black book then exploded into a storm of purple energy that swirled around Kioko and Angel like a mad inferno. Like Lilo and Stitch, their wounds immediately began to heal. Angel let out a relieved sigh as she felt her pain vanish and her bones reform. A moment later she was back on her feet and facing down the experiment that had nearly ended her life.
"You're final spell is very powerful and easily out classes us. However, we have our own final spell to even the odds! Ion-Basha-Gigarei!"
Lilo looked on with morbid fascination as the swirling mass of purple energy condensed into a sphere above Angel raised paw and then shot high into the air. The colorful clouds were blown away by in a dazzling blast of energy. Then, the familiar sound of cracking reached their ears as the sky split open and revealed the otherworldly eye that had spelled doom for 6-2-7. Though she had seen it from afar, Lilo found it a vastly different experience as the eye fell upon her; it's evil gaze forcing the hair on her neck to stand on end.
" If you're not too afraid that you'll lose control or if you wish to survive… I suggest you prepare a spell." instructed Kioko as multi-colored energy began to spiral into the eyes dilating pupil.
A solemn expression over came Lilo as she looked over at Stitch, who remained stone still. The moment of truth had at last arrived, whether or not they would be victorious or fail now hung on one last attack. In a flash their time together passed before her eyes. The confusion of their first meeting, the thrill of their first victory in battle, and now the bitter sweet taste of their final moments, all the feelings came rushing back like some strange slideshow. In that instant she realized that their connection was still there. Despite his appearance and his actions he was still Stitch. Lilo's sorrowful expression shattered, awakening the desire to win deep within her heart.
With a confident smile Lilo opened the blue book and read aloud. "Dioga Punchito!"
Stitch's entire right arm suddenly erupted with a golden energy that flowed like heavenly silk. It's power disintegrating the ground beneath his feet until Stitch was left levitating over a large crater. Finally, there was nothing left to do… but attack!
"This ends now!" cried Lilo and Kioko in unison.
A split second later the eye's pupil contracted, sending the massive blast of rainbow colored energy screaming straight toward Lilo and Stitch. In the same instant Stitch took off, charging the grand spell headfirst, with his heavenly fist cocked and ready. In the blink of an eye the world was consumed by a brilliant white light that swallowed all of creation. All the events that had transpired until that moment were forever cemented into the pages of history. The struggle for power was, for the time being, over. Thus, the battlefield fell into total silence, a thick cloud of dust blanketing the charred remains of a once lush green forest. No life, it seemed, could exist within the rolling brown clouds of earth. But as the clouds began to sink back down a spark of life could be seen moving slowly and awkwardly through the haze. A boy with long, black hair and tattered clothes gruelingly pushed himself up to his hands and knees, his heavy breathing shaking his body. After a moment, the breath returned to his lungs and he sat up on his knees.
As he looked around, staring dazed into the settling dust, a realization hit him like a sledgehammer to the skull. The black book was not in his hand and Angel was nowhere to be seen. His aching body was the last thing on his mind as he scrambled to his feet and started looking around. He called out her name, but there was no answer, his heart began to beat a mile a minute. A cold sweat ran down his face as an overpowering feeling of dread over ran his mind. Just then, a glimmer of light caught his eye. Without a thought he turned and ran toward the light, not sure what exactly he was running toward. With each step the object ahead of him became clearer, it's light piercing the dust like a beacon. Though he didn't know why, his hope began to grow; perhaps Angel was standing unharmed with book in paw just beyond the light. Perhaps, they had won. Perhaps he had absolutely nothing to fear.
But those were just empty dreams. If he would have been run through with a sword it wouldn't have hurt as much as when he saw it; the black book laying on the ground, a quarter of it covered in purple flames. Kioko fell to his knees, every once of strength gone from his body, burnt away in the flames. His mouth hung open and his eyes remained fixed as he watched his happiness, his companionship, and his last chance turn to ash before his eyes.
The sound of soft footsteps suddenly snapped him from his stupor. Immediately, he began to look around, feverishly trying to find the source of the sound. When, from out of the dust, stepped Angel, her body dissolving away into specks of light as the crimson rays of sunset silhouetted her with a heavenly glow. Her dreams of victory had been shattered, yet she wore a serene smile on her face and her eyes held a look of solemn tranquility. Relief, joy, sorrow, and remorse mixed together in a flurry of emotions, leaving Kioko virtually speechless.
"Angel…" he managed to speak as tears began to run from his eyes.
Angel looked away coyly for a moment as she rubbed her arm. "I… I guess this… is goodbye, Kioko," she looked back up at him, "I've… had a really good time."
"No," exclaimed Kioko as he shook his in disbelief, "you can't leave. You can't!"
Tears started to well up in Angel's eyes, making them glisten like jewels. "I have to, I don't have a choice."
"Yes you do! Yes you do! All we have to do is put out the fire… then everything will be fine."
Kioko quickly reached toward the half burnt book, but before he could lay a finger on it, Angel rushed forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Don't be an idiot," she said as her voice cracked, "Now see… what you went and made me do? Now I'm crying."
In an instant Kioko pulled back his arm and wrapped his arms around her vanishing body. Their shoulders quickly became wet with tears as they held each other tighter than ever before. Each desperately trying to memorize the other's smell and the warmth of their body.
"I'm so sorry that I failed you, Angel." said Kioko with his nose buried in her neck.
Angel gave a small laugh and pulled away. "Now what makes you think you failed me?"
Kioko moved to speak but a fresh batch of tears forced his head to drop. "Is it because I didn't win? If that's the case then get over it."
"What?" blurted Kioko a deep look of confusion on his face.
"You shouldn't beat yourself up over this stupid tournament. Sure I didn't win like I had hoped, but I found someone who truly cares about me… someone who loves me… and I'd take that over some championship any day."
Unable to find any words, Kioko reached forward and pulled Angel close, one last time. "I love you, Kioko." cried Angel as she buried her nose into his strong chest.
"I love you too, Angel." cried Kioko as he rubbed his cheek on the top of her soft head.
With those final words, the last piece of the black book turned to ash and Angel vanished into the twilight. For a moment, Kioko remained frozen, still embracing the air where Angel had been. With his body rocked by sobs Kioko's arms closed in on themselves and he hunched over on his knees and wept, his tears soaking the dirt beneath him.
On the far side of the field Lilo awoke to the feeling of a warm breeze sweeping over her face. Her eyes slowly opened, their vision blurred from the shock of the blast. But after a moment the world came back into focus and she found herself looking up at Stitch's smiling face.
"Hey there, sleepy head." laughed Stitch in a poor attempt to hide his sorrow.
"Hey, you're you again," smiled Lilo. But just then she noticed something odd, Stitch was surrounded by a light blue aura and tiny specks of light were drifting up from his body, "But why are you glowing like that?"
Stitch's smile began to quiver and a single tear rolled down from the corner of his eye. "It's because we won, Lilo. We won the tournament, the whole thing. And it's all thanks to you."
A dazed look remained in Lilo's eyes for a moment as Stitch's words worked through her confusion, but just then the message hit her. Her eyes snapped open and she quickly rolled over and got up to her knees.
"We really won?" asked Lilo excitedly. Stitch just gave a nod and was immediately pounced on by the young girl, "My god, I can't believe it, we actually did it! Oh I'm so happy I could burst!" cheered Lilo as she hugged her blue friend tight.
But as she held him, a glance over his shoulder showed her the blue book lying on the ground several feet away. There were no flames and yet the book was slowly disappearing into a cloud of sparkling light. Lilo's excited grin dropped from her face as reality set in. She let go of Stitch and sat back, keeping her hands on his fading shoulders.
"But this means…" started Lilo.
"That I don't have much time left." finished Stitch as he wiped the tears from his eyes.
Lilo's arms fell from Stitch's shoulders and her head dropped to her chest. The excitement she had felt just moments before was erased by those words.
"Hey, hey, hey," blurted Stitch as he placed his paw under her chin and raised her head up, "there's no need to look so sad. You just did a great thing, something no other human could ever make the claim to."
"I don't care," Lilo snapped, "I don't care if we won or not! That's not enough to justify me losing my best friend. I thought that if we won… it wouldn't hurt as much. But I was wrong, I don't want you to go, Stitch. I'll miss you too much." said Lilo as tears began to pour down her face.
Stitch tried his best to hold back his own tears, but seeing them pour down his partners face was too much and so his cheeks quickly became wet. "I don't want to go either," he cried, "I want to stay here with you. But there's nothing we can do, my book's already more than halfway gone. So please, stop crying, I don't want to leave you like this."
Lilo swallowed hard, trying to regain her composure. After a few seconds she managed to keep her sobs at bay long enough to speak.
"Just… promise me one thing," she said, her voice cracking, "don't ever forget about me, ok?"
Through his own sobs Stitch managed to give a small laugh. "Like I could ever forget you. You just make sure never to forget me, ok?"
"I couldn't forget you even if I tried," said Lilo as she found the strength to smile, "Never in a million years."
The two once again came together in a tight embrace, Stitch's body now almost entirely gone. Like Kioko and Angel they took they're very last moments savoring how the other felt in their arms. Before long Stitch's book vanished, leaving Lilo sitting on her knees, staring up into the red and violet heavens above, with one last tear sparkling in her eye.
There it is, the end of the final battle in the "Tejina" series! I'm so so so sorry that it took me forever to finish. I really hope you like it and thank you for taking the time to read this monster of a chapter.