YAY! We're almost to 100 reviews:does happy review dance: I'm so happy! The mere fact that you all love this story (especially its characters) as much as I do makes me dance with joy!

Now, this chapter I'm not too proud of. I forced myself to get through it. So, if it seems a little… corny, or half-assed, or just downright horrible, please remember that I tried to make it better, but couldn't.

Price for Freedom

Chapter 19

Prophecy Fulfilled

I watched with some fascinated horror as the ball of power grew, and then was thrown down on us. I closed my eyes and waited for the impact, but none came. Slowly, I opened my eyes to see Yasille standing in front of her brother, glowing brightly. It seemed that she had dispelled his attack somehow.

Anubo, you fiend!- she roared in anger, -Let Kuvai's mind be his own! Lest you want my power to purify your disgusting black heart!-

Anubo's laugh resounded in ear and mind. "You are as stupid as your brother. You've tried to defeat me once, what makes this time any different? You may be the pure-hearted pokemon, she-wolf, but where is the trainer? Besides, I'll kill you all before you get the chance to even search for a trainer!" Then, he lunged down through the hole and collided into the ocean, creating a tidal wave that engulfed half the city.

Water came at us in a huge wall of blue, and before I could think, water had swallowed me as well. I felt myself being tossed and turned by the current, and by the time I regained my wits, I had no idea which way air was. I knew I couldn't open my eyes in sea-water, so I didn't attempt it. My brain began to panic. My lungs began to burn. My throat suddenly felt pushed on, like someone was trying to choke me. My heart pounded in my chest. I needed air!

All right, Ayako, I told myself. Calm down. Remember what Mom told you when you were little… I then saw my mother in my head looking at me. It was the very first time I had swam in the lake near our burrow, and she was telling me what to do. "…and if you don't know which way is up, then let yourself float. Once you can feel which way the water is carrying you, swim in that direction. The water will never fail you… Ayako, are you listening to me?"

I smiled inside. I let my body go limp, and then I let the water slosh me around. Then, I began to feel the pressure lighten and I swam frantically in the direction buoyancy was pulling me, and finally, I found air.

I took a huge gulp of air and looked about me. Anubo was now inside the mountain, and Kaiyou was using thunders against the great shadow. Yasille was standing on a building, shooting out bright beams of light at Anubo. I looked for the others and found them scattered, the closest of which were Tai and Saji. Some part of me sighed in relief, and I paddled over to them to their spot on a ceiling of a flooded building.

"Are you guys okay?" I asked breathlessly. Tai turned to me, his wet fur flinging water everywhere, and smiled.

"Yeah, we were the ones worried about you," he replied in what seemed like relief. "When we saw you just floating up to the top like that… We were really scared." I saw Saji in the corner of my eye shake his head and point to Tai, mouthing the words "it was him". I began to snicker, and Tai, out of confusion turned his head to the scizor, who was caught in the act of mouthing. Tai was about to say something to the scizor when Kaiyou was flung into the wall behind us.

The pain knocked the wind out of me and I crumpled to the tiled ceiling top. I looked behind me for Kaiyou's black form, but when I saw nothing, I began to worry. Then, I felt a poke in my shoulder. Saji pointed to the top of the mountain and then said, "That Kaiyou guy is acting like he's possessed…"

I looked at Anubo's face and saw Kaiyou running about it, (I supposed he used the Void to get there…) slashing and biting at whatever flesh he came in contact with. Yasille kept firing the beams of light into Anubo's head, missing Kaiyou by mere inches from my point of view. Then, it seemed Anubo had enough.

"Damn dogs!" he shouted in rage. "I WILL DESTROY YOU!" At that moment, his colossal, clawed black paw raked across the wall of the mountain, causing rocks to fall down upon us. I looked up in horror and then dove into the water to try and escape the falling boulders.

I stayed near the side of the building to try and avoid the slabs of granite stone plummeting towards me. I only hoped Tai and Saji could have gotten away from them too. Once I thought the rocks stopped falling, I resurfaced and then faced a horrible spectacle.

Tai and Saji hadn't been as lucky as I had when the rocks came down. Both were half-buried beneath stone and cement, and I knew Icould only carry one to where Shayla and Illauna were staying. Only one could be helped. It was then that Eclipse's enigmatic words made sense.

"I must tell you…" he began softly, "…that if you continue on this path, it will lead you to more pain than ever."

Since he was to my left side, I turned to face him, completely astounded and appalled of what I had just heard. "What?" I asked of him, and he turned to open a different portal.

"The path that you are on now," he repeated, as if that would clarify everything. "There are two fates of which I cannot see… It is too clouded. Too uncertain. There are too many variables that could change… but one thing I am certain. There is one line that ends abruptly. One life that will cease to exist -and it will be someone close to you." He stared at me. "I believe you already know this, don't you?"

I took in a shuddering breath. The choice was before me. The scizor or the jolteon?

My eyes darted to each frantically. I couldn't just pick one… but if I didn't act fast, they would both die from being smothered. I felt my heart quicken in panic, and my feet hopped in indecision. I had to act fast, but how could I choose? How could I choose for one of them to live and the other not?

Saji's strained voice brought me out of my frantic reverie. "Demi," he said in a harsh whisper, "Just get these rocks off of us. Use your ice beam to freeze, then cut them with slash…"

I nodded hurriedly, and then did as he had told me. They were now free, and I loaded the now unconscious and battered Tai onto mylong back. I reached with my teeth and grasped Saji's arm, but he took it back from me.

"No," he said, "I'm fine. You get Tai to Shayla. I'll be all right." He then got to his claws and knees, and staggered to his feet. I looked at him worriedly. Bright blood was slowly leaking out of puncture holes in his steel body.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

He nodded and pointed to the other side of the mountain, where Shayla was. "Now go -Tai can't last forever like this." I nodded. I didn't have to take a look at the jolteon to know how badly injured he was. I could smell the blood. With one last nod of our heads, we parted ways. As soon as I went into the Void, Anubo had completely demolished the building Saji, Tai and I had been standing on. I looked back through the veil of black to see if Saji survived, but I didn't see him. There was nothing there. Oh lord, I thought, Did he just... However, Tai's weak moans brought me out of my reverie and I ran.

I ran through the Void like my life was on the line. Through the black veil of the Void, I saw what was happening. Kaiyou looked pretty bad, but he was still tearing away at Anubo. Raikou, Articuno, Segalla, Gruzog, Moltres and Entei were out as well, fighting with all their might. Yasille was still pelting Anubo with multiple beams of bright light, which actually seemed to be doing some damage. I finally saw Shayla's outline and jumped out. She was startled to see me, but then she saw Tai's crumpled form and took his gently into her arms.

"My God…" she said in a horrified, quaking voice. "It's all right, Tai, I've got you." She pulled out a max potion to keep Tai from dying and sprayed it on him. He flinched, but then relaxed in her hold. She looked at me and asked, "Are you hurt, girl?"

I shook my head and she stood up. I looked about me and saw Amburna and Shoko nearby, not looking too hot themselves. Illauna was clutching her side, one of Shayla's jackets against a wound. I looked back up at Anubo, who had just knocked Kaiyou into the water with a wide sweep of his huge arm. I felt the dull pain and then watched in horror as the Dark Legendary struggled to crawl to the top of a flooded building. For a while, he laid there, motionless.

Yasille was enraged. Her beams became bigger, stronger, brighter. Anubo merely snarled down at her and hit her with his massive paw, effectively shutting her up for the moment. He took a look around and then began to laugh.

"How wonderful!" he proclaimed. "The two greatest threats of mine are now down and out. This shall be my greatest victory." He turned to Yasille, who was struggling to get up. Two of her legs seemed to be broken.

"Ah, Yasille," Anubo said condescendingly. "How far you have fallen. I guess ever since the original murder of your brother, you have partially gone insane. You used to have such tremendous power, that of which I actually used to fear. But now look at you. Weak, trembling, barely holding on to your life. Your powers of the Light Element do you no good in this battle." He then took a long, deep breath, as if relieved. "You know, Buganti was so set on being your mate, it was disgusting. And now, I can finally crush him with your death." He held up his gargantuan, clawed paw and then smiled. "Good bye, Child of Light!"

I watched in horror as he brought down his paw with a force that I was sure nothing could survive. However, at the last possible moment, the attack was diverted into the mountain wall. I blinked in utter confusion. Why, after that dramatic monologue, would he do such a thing? I looked to his face, which was angry and contorted. He began to roar and growl and scream in an unknown, ancient language I didn't understand. His eyes flashed red, then white, then black. All of us slowly backed away, unsure of what else to do.

Then, I saw a small thing begin to protrude from Anubo's forehead. I heard Shoko's soft voice whisper, "Eww… he's growing a pimple…"

Amburna whacked him on the back with her tail. "Even if he was, it wouldn't cause him this much pain…"

I was about to retort myself when the growing thing popped off, and then fell into the water. Anubo seemed distraught for a moment, but my attention was diverted when Kaiyou dived into the water after the thing.

A little moment later, Kaiyou resurfaced with what looked like a human adult halfway in his mouth. Shayla took the man gently, and then laid him out on the slightly wet roof. He was pale, and had a slightly gaunt face. He had matted, messy black hair that went down a little past his shoulders, and looked about as old as Kaiyou did in human form. His clothes -a T-shirt, jacket, and jeans- were all black. I had never seen him before, and yet, I knew this man. I knew him from the three, distinct horizontal black marks on both of his cheeks. Red eyes flashed in my mind. "Kuvai…?" I whispered.

I heard Kaiyou panting heavily beside me. (That's right, girl. That's him, not possessed by Anubo. Like this, he's actually agreeable... at times.)

I turned to him. "I thought Kuvai was a ghost." I reached and poked said person with my paw, feeling warm mass as I did. "This guy certainly isn't. He has a pulse. He has body heat. The only thing he's missing is a scent… And he's human."

Kaiyou shrugged with his beaten wolf shoulders. (I don't really know how he does it. Don't know, don't particularly care. He's a shadow -he can do what he wants.)

I cocked my eyebrow. "Even solidify and defy the laws of nature and physics?"

Kaiyou gave me a glare. (Who told you about those?)

"Pardon to interrupt," I heard, "But I'm not done with your pathetic little band. In fact, I'm going to kill you all right here and now! Actually, I may even possess some of you for some amusement…" I turned and saw Anubo rising from the rubble of some other demolished building. His glare turned into a smile that sent shivers down my spine. At first, I thought he was looking at me, but then I realized he was staring at Kaiyou. "Yes, you will do nicely. I remember the first time I experienced your power. You have had to have gotten stronger since then…"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Yasille struggle to her feet. -You will keep your disgusting mind away from all of us!- she shouted defiantly in our heads. She then leapt from her rooftop to ours and took a protective stance in front of Kuvai and Kaiyou, even though she was badly wounded herself. This act of dignity seemed hilarious to Anubo.

"You ARE delusional!" he cried. "Do you really think, with me as your opponent, that you have the slightest possibility of winning this fight? Have you even seen your wounds? Or your brother's, for that matter?"

She snarled, but didn't say anything. I gulped. I wanted to do something, but I knew that if I tried to interfere, then I would end up like Tai… or Saji. I looked up helplessly at Anubo, and then a sense of dread filled me. Was this how I was to die?

I then felt a cold hand on my rump and turned to see Kuvai looking at me with a piercing stare. It was rather unnerving… I didn't know what he was. He had no scent, other than a lingering stench of death. He was like a big thing of nothing, and he was staring at me with drilling, red eyes. I stared back, and then, to my relief, he looked at Yasille in front of him.

"Yasille," he said softly, "Create a shield around us. I think I know how to get us out of this mess…"

Anubo laughed and said something about our efforts being futile, but I didn't listen. It was really getting old fast, and I was more interested in what Kuvai wanted. He got up and then took a look around him. His eyes paused on Illauna, who I could tell wasn't doing so hot. Her pokemon now surrounded her in a protective circle. He then looked at Kaiyou and asked, "Who's she?"

Kaiyou shrugged. (Local trainer. Trains Legendaries, as you can see. She doesn't keep them forever, just releases them back into the wild.)

Kuvai blinked and then chuckled. "And she was here the whole time…"

I saw Kaiyou's mind turning this sentence over. (What do you mean? You're speaking in riddles again.)

Kuvai shook his damp head and chuckled softly at the Dark Legendary's expense. "Kaiyou, how can you be so blind? That's the trainer we need, right over there."

Kaiyou blinked, then looked to Illauna. (Her?) he asked in a slightly shocked tone. (Really? Huh. Well, what do you know. Makes me feel a little sheepish.)

Shayla was more than a little mad. "WHAT! You're telling me that all of this-" she made a sweep with her arm to the decimated city before us, "could have been prevented! You're kidding! You have GOT to be kidding!"

Kaiyou glared at her. (Don't get your panties in a twist. We couldn't have known. Besides, it's better now than later. Sister!)

Yasille, who had been defending us against Anubo's attacks for the past few minutes, looked over her shoulder. I could tell she was strained. -What is it?-

Kaiyou gently picked Illauna up in his jaws and then threw the trainer at his sister. (Catch!) he yelled.

Illauna landed on Yasille's cream-colored back with a thud. She, Yasille, turned to the trainer on her back, and then, began to glow. I stepped back a couple of feet from the growing light the two were emitting. I began to pant. I found my legs shaking from stress. For some reason, this light hurt me.

Kaiyou brushed against me and stood between me and the light. This helped a little. (I know, girl,) he said reassuringly. (Just plow through it. It'll be over in a minute.)

What's happening? Why does it hurt me?- I asked of him silently. I closed my eyes against the light -it was beginning to blind me.(It hurts you and I because we are Darklings. My sister is the last of the Light Element. Her power harms us, ours harms her. Light can overpower Dark, and Dark can overpower Light. They are interchangeable. Because of this, we Darklings cannot survive in the Space, the opposite of the Void. Instead of the center of shadow, it is the center of light. Do you understand?)

Which was why she couldn't handle the Void…I thought to myself. I relaxed myself and then strained to hear anything that was going on -since I couldn't see it.

Anubo was afraid -I could tell that much from his scent. Fear, anxiety, distress… he smelled like a cornered rattata. "NO! Impossible! You- you can't!"

I then heard this high-pitched shriek -from whom, I don't really know. It sounded like a harpy should sound. Then, a crack, a slice, and then an explosion echoed throughout the mountain. I felt a strong wind rush past me, nearly blowing me off my feet. When I almost toppled over, Kaiyou's foreleg braced me. (You can open your eyes now, Ayako.) he said quietly.

I opened them, and then saw this mass of shadow and darkness swirling in the ocean. It reeked of corpse. Yasille and the now healed Illauna stood triumphantly on a flooded building rooftop, overlooking their felled prey. In the background of my mind, I heard a chant, too inaudible to understand, but loud enough to where I couldn't ignore it. I looked up at the Dark Legendary to see his face void of emotion. When I cleared my throat, he shook his head, as if breaking out of a trance, and then beamed down at me. The chant disappeared.

(Well girl, how do you feel?) he asked jovially. (You just witnessed the death of the biggest pain in the ass I have ever known. More of one than myself.)

Behind Kaiyou, I saw Kuvai turn toward us and scoff. "No one's more of a pain than you, Kaiyou, no matter how much you wish for it."

He laughed, relieved and weary at the same time, and began to transform into his human form. (Now now, Kuvai, no need to get mean. Besides, I was the one who saved your ass when you fell into the water half-dead, and what thanks do I get? News that I am a pain in the ass." He shook his now human head. "Your gratitude just overwhelms me."

Yasille and Illauna had now joined in the group, and we began to laugh. I don't really know why, but we all just started laughing. Whether it was because Illauna had been the trainer we needed all along and our stupidity obliviated us, or Kaiyou and Kuvai were now hitting each other with wit and banter (to which Kuvai was horribly losing), or the fact that Shoko was cowering in a corner because he had seen something that looked like a corpse (but was actually a mangled teddy bear) I don't know. Particularly, I didn't really care. But the moment of mirth and laughter got my mind off of the red eyes, blinding light, and Saji's mangled corpse for just a little bit.

……………………….

Illauna, Kaiyou, Yasille and Kuvai had left for Mount Silver in Johto by the time we found Saji. Amburna had found him, crushed beneath the building that had collapsed after I had jumped into the Void. When she told us, she said that she didn't want to bring him up. There were too many pieces to retrieve.

Even though I hadn't known him very long, I was sad. He seemed courageous, somewhat noble… not that bad of a guy. I hated when the world was rid of one person like that -a decent creature. He didn't deserve to die. Not in the least. But he did. And that kind of injustice boils my blood.

Yet, beside the truly grieving, I couldn't be angry. I just couldn't. When I thought I could spit out a few passionate words, I would see one of my team members, staring at the blue water to where they think Saji could be, crying silently. Shayla didn't lift her head for at least an hour. Tai lay as close as he could and stared at his paws. Shoko let out little mutters in the fire lizard language, probably in some type of prayer to Entei, Moltres or Ho-Oh. Amburna got pretty flowers and the went underwater to put them beside the passed scizor.

I didn't really know what to do. I never have functioned well in the midst of the mourning, and I usually left until things cleared up a bit. But this time, it seemed I would grieve along with them.

When the sun had gone down and everything was quiet, Shayla stood up shakily, and said in a quivering voice, "We can't sit here forever. I'll miss Saji. I truly will. But we're going to have to move on one way or another. Let's get out of here. We need a place to sleep. We've had a hard day. Saji'll understand."

We all nodded. Shayla, with a quivering intake of breath, climbed on Shoko's sagging shoulders and called us back into our pokeballs.

…………………….

Aww… I almost cried…

Well, this chapter is done, but this is not the end of the story! W0ot. And those of you who want to murder me -at least it wasn't Tai!

I'll be writing a lot this week. Hopefully, I can push out another chapter soon.

Ja!