New chapter! Yay!

I have been terrible with this story. I keep getting distracted (some of it my doing), but I will make it a point to focus on this more. I realize that most of you probably lost interest in me because I don't update often. I am very sorry. Those of you that are sticking it out to the very end, I sincerely thank you, and I apologize again. I really hope you guys think the wait is worth it, because I pour a lot of thought into this to make it worth while. I won't make you wait much longer.

Most importantly, enjoy :)

Rising Darkness

By: JadeDragonKnight

Chapter 12: The Descent

The metal door groaned as it swung open. Meta Knight and Jade stepped out of the ship and onto its deck. The whole ship was tilted to the left. The black clouds above swirled silently. The two made their way to the end of the deck. The knight jumped down with the help of his wings and Jade used the side turrets to hop down. She looked back at the Halberd.

"Wow, it looks bad. I think it's totaled."

Meta Knight walked away from the ship towards the violet portal. Jade ran up to him.

"This is just like my dream," he stated.

"But, you're not dreaming now. If you were, I would be too, I think."

"It wasn't a dream at all. This place…wanted me here. It swallowed us up."

"Are you ok? You're scaring me."

"I have a bad feeling…"

Just then, the portal writhed and a dark creature emerged from it. The knight tensed and Jade took a defensive stance. It smiled down on them with its razor sharp teeth.

"Welcome back," it announced. "Did you enjoy my little errand?"

"No."

"That's too bad. Well, I suppose you had little choice."

"What is it you want exactly? Why trap us here?"

"I wanted to thank you in person, of course. You did everything splendidly and saved me a great deal of time and energy. But as to exactly what I want, that's no different from any sensible dark being. I want destruction."

"You want to destroy us."

"No. I have larger goals. Planet sized goals I should say, and you helped me with this one."

"I did nothing for you."

"On the contrary, you did immensely. It took almost every ounce of my power to force this planet's defense mechanisms to manifest themselves in material form. With my strength depleted, I needed someone to go out and gather them for me, and you were perfect for the job. Your timing was right as if you were made for it. You came to my doorstep and practically asked for the job. I couldn't say no.

"Anyway, I gave you the tools and sent you off, giving me time to rest and replenish my powers. Now the job is done and even quicker than I expected. For your performance, I sincerely thank you."

"I didn't bring any of the artifacts here before you, yet you're thanking me?"

"Why yes. All you had to do was stabilize them so that I can summon them here."

The creature lifted up its arm and a black haze formed around it. The two watched in horror as little wisps of darkness appeared above the monster. One by one, the wisps formed into each of the five artifacts. They slowly circled it as if captivated by its will.

"Now to my other piece of business. You won't be needing those pesky foresights anymore."

Meta Knight took a step back as it raised its hand to him. An invisible force clenched him in a vice grip and lifted him off the ground.

"Meta Knight!" Jade shouted.

"Don't try anything girl, or I'll crush him."

She swallowed hard and looked on in horror. The knight was brought up to eye level with the beast. He didn't struggle.

"Don't take this the wrong way. I really do appreciate your help. In fact, I've been thinking of a way to reward you. I've noticed your powers seemed undeveloped-"

"Just do what you're going to do already."

"Very well."

Its tail aimed at his forehead and shot forward, digging into Meta Knight's head. He cried out, making Jade gasp and cover her mouth with her hands. Shadows crept up the tail and into the wound. He clenched his teeth and grunted in agony.

"Well, well, trying to stay quiet for her? How disgusting."

The creature twisted its tail, forcing suppressed screams from him. Tears welled in Jade's eyes. She could feel the agony in his voice, in the way his body contorted, and the icy sting of her blood as she looked on unable to help him. The knight's clenched fists and teeth began to weaken and his body began to go limp. Then, the dark being ripped its tail from his head and dropped its hand. Meta Knight fell from the air unmoving. Jade lifted her arms to catch him, but his weight and inertia forced them both down on the ground. She had only managed to soften the impact. Jade lifted his head onto her lap. He was unconscious and a black haze was emitting from the head wound.

"You want to heal him, I'm sure, but that will only cause further harm."

She looked up at the monster with blurry, tear filled eyes.

"You are more than welcome to try though. It matters not to me. Soon, I will use the planet's own defenses to destroy all life on it and my glorious Master will finally come to claim what is rightfully His. Such is the reason I exist, and I will not foolishly deny it, unlike others. Say good-bye to your precious world, girl."

With that, the creature went into the portal along with the five elemental artifacts. Then, there was silence save for the distant rumbling of thunder. Jade's heart was beating out of her chest, her whole body shaking, and her head forming sweat. Meta Knight's head rested heavily on her lap, his breathing shallow. She swallowed the knot in her throat and just stared at the dark hole in his head. She knew the world was in danger, but she couldn't leave him like that. In fact, she couldn't physically leave. Her legs had gone numb along with the rest of her body, as though she had just woken from a nightmare. She took a deep, shaky breath and shifted his head to where she thought would be the most comfortable for him. She placed a hand on his mask. The metal felt cold, but it quickly warmed from her sweaty palms. She wiped the tears from her eyes and listened to his breathing. Every breath cut short also cut hers. After some time passed, she noticed the wound was slightly smaller than before. The mask was also closing. This gave her some courage.

Time passed. The ground trembled periodically, and each tremor occurred sooner than the last. Jade concentrated on Meta Knight's breathing. It was steadier than before, as if he was merely sleeping. There was little left of the hole. All that was visible was a thin stream of black vapor. It wasn't long before that disappeared too, not leaving any trace of the hole. He groaned, making Jade sit up in alertness. The knight struggled to open his eyes. He gazed up blankly at Jade.

"Are you feeling alright?"

Meta Knight continued to look through her.

"That monster is doing something," Jade said, mostly to herself. "The ground has been shaking for a while now. It said that it was going to use the artifacts to wipe out all life on the planet. Then, its master was going to claim it. I…I don't know what to do. You were hurt. I didn't want to leave you, but the world is in danger… I'm so useless…"

She closed her eyes and hung her head, trying to hold the tears back. At this, Meta Knight's eyes brightened and focused on her. He grunted as he sat up. Then, he stood and turned to her. His eyes blurred for a moment and he shook his head.

"Thank you for staying with me," the knight stated.

Jade lifted her head and replied, "Yeah…sure thing."

"The world is ending I take it?" he asked casually.

"How can you be so calm?"

"I'm out of it at the moment. I assumed the before mentioned to be fact. Suppose we should go save it now."

"What if it's too late?"

He paused for a moment to focus hard on one point in space. The knight inhaled deeply and seemed to return to his senses. He looked to Jade again.

"As long as there is one shred of hope, we cannot abandon it. We're the only ones that know what to do."

She looked solemnly at the ground.

"Snap out of it, Jade! Where did the woman that stood defiant against danger go? Where's the one that would never give up, no matter how hopeless the situation was? Where's my partner that was willing to dive right into certain death to help me? She's the one that does the pep talks, not me! I need her right now."

Jade's face crunched in offense, but she thought about what he said. She clenched her fists and stood tall.

"You're right. We are the only ones here to do something. Besides, powerful or not, that jerk's going to get a piece of my mind!"

Meta Knight nodded. He turned to the portal and drew his sword. The hilt erupted with golden sparks and hardened into Galaxia. Jade glowed white and light blue, changing into her light form. Then, they ran into the void.

They emerged into a large, round space as the portal closed behind them. The walls appeared to be strong currents of dark energy, all rising into a point high above the room. The ground swirled madly, emitting dark blue vapors. The dark creature was hanging in the middle of the air, fully concentrated on the five elements circling it. The shadows that encased them compressed, causing the energy from the artifacts to weaken.

Seeing as they weren't noticed yet, Jade asked, "So what's the plan?"

"We need to stop that thing from using the artifacts. If we could separate them, that should stop the assault on the planet. I don't think I have the ability to stabilize the artifacts anymore, but you do."

"Like with the orb?"

"Yes. I'll take on the dark being, you focus on the artifacts."

"Got it."

Jade went to the other side of the room, careful not to alert the monster. Meta Knight walked forward, allowing his shoes to clank loudly. The creature opened its eyes and glared down at the knight.

"So, you've come to try and stop me?" It grinned maliciously and added, "I was hoping you would."

It descended from the ring of artifacts and unfurled its tattered wings. Meta Knight sliced the air with his sword, taunting the beast. Suddenly, it charged and collided with the knight, claws against sword.

Jade watched them start to fight. She then turned her focus onto the artifacts. She noiselessly flew up to them. The air was heavy with an ominous presence. She had a short lapse of light power, but she clung onto it. Jade tried to touch one, but the shadow stung her hand. Her large bracelet glowed bright as an energy sphere formed in her hand. She pressed hard against the shadow, the light and dark pushing against each other like the same poles of magnets.

Just then, Meta Knight and the beast flew right past her. He hammered away at its arms to little effect. It threw him back and slashed its tail at him, almost clipping his wing. The knight retaliated with a fury of sword swings, causing the beast to go into the defensive again. It thrust its tail up between them and clanged against his sword. Suddenly, it unleashed a shock wave of dark energy. The wave flung Meta Knight into the wall. Instead of crashing into it, he flew through it into the mass of darkness and disappeared. The beast smirked.

It turned towards the artifacts, but stopped when it noticed Jade. She was pressing a shadow with light energy on both sides. She snapped her head towards it and gasped. It growled and held an arm in the air, charging a dark bolt. Just then, Meta Knight shot out of the wall behind the beast and smacked it away.

"Meta Knight, you're body!"

He looked down at himself and saw that he had changed into his dark form. The monster clawed at him, but he deflected the attack and darted away.

Jade finally forced the darkness into submission. The shadow dissipated and released the bottle of wind. She caught it, but nearly dropped it when the glass shattered. The ball of wind glowed bright, turned white, and vanished in a flash of light. She turned to the next artifact and squeezed the shadow between her hands encased in light.

The dark being and Meta Knight were locked in a deadly race, flying around the room with dizzying speeds. The knight's aerial mastery kept him ahead of his foe. The beast shot dark bolts at him, but he made sharp turns, barrel rolls, and loops to avoid the attacks. Even though the bolts continuously missed, they did cause Meta Knight to slow down just enough for the dark being to catch up. The knight heard the flapping of wings close behind him, whirled around, and blocked the incoming claw attack. They sliced at and deflected each other as the knight was flying backwards. The beast knocked him away, forcing him to hit the ground. He regained his footing just in time to roll away from a dark bolt.

"Dance, you worm, DANCE!" the monster shouted as it shot purple lightning at the knight.

Jade broke through the shadow prison of the earth artifact. The lily's white petals dyed magenta in her palms. Then, it glowed bright, flashed, and disappeared. She looked down at the fight. Meta Knight was dodging with the help of his dark dash. It was obvious that he was just buying time by doing this instead of attacking, but he couldn't keep it up forever. Jade turned to the ice artifact and tried a different tactic. Instead of pressing the shadow, she fired short bursts of light energy at it. This left room for the darkness to recover in between the shots, but the attacks wore it down more than it could recover. Progress was quick, and she freed the artifact. It too glowed bright before vanishing.

The dark being felt a shift in its power. It glared up at the circle of artifacts to find that only two were left. It growled and called the remaining elements to itself right as Jade was about to tackle the next one. They flew over and fixated themselves slightly above the beast on either side.

"I'm done playing with you. Time to die."

A dark haze swelled around the artifacts and the creature. It inhaled deeply, extending its chest. Then, it breathed out a fiery inferno at Jade. She yelped in surprise and dove out of the way. The monster followed her with the stream of fire. Suddenly, Meta Knight flew at it, landing a hit with his sword that stopped the fire breath. It roared in fury and gathered energy from the dark orb. Then, it extended a palm at the soaring knight. An invisible force constricted him. Meta Knight cried out as he was thrown around the room, his movement in sync with the monster's hand. Jade watched helplessly as the knight flew past her. The beast whipped its arm as fast as it could. Meta Knight's vision began fading as he clung to consciousness. The dark being dragged the knight through the wall of darkness, spinning in a circle before sending him flying over its head and down to the ground. Jade intercepted his plummet and stopped in midair before they crashed into the floor.

"You ok?" she asked.

"I might get sick…" Meta Knight moaned as he reoriented his vision.

Suddenly, the knight was ripped from her arms and sent flying through the air again. Jade charged a light blast in her palms and shot it at the beast. The ball exploded on contact, sending the target reeling with a horrid screech. Meta Knight fell, unguided by the invisible force, and spread his wings to recover. The fire artifact was caught in the blast, freeing it from the shadow's hold. Jade dove after it and scooped it out of the air. The rock shell shattered in her hands, releasing a bright ball of flame. It glowed white before disappearing in a flash. Just as she turned back to the battle, she screamed as a lightning bolt struck her, sending her falling limp to the ground.

"Jade!" Meta Knight shouted.

Before he could react, the dark being lunged at him, blind with rage, and caught him in a choke hold. Meta Knight struggled to break free of the hand around his throat as it strangled him. He could feel the dark being's arm contracting with wrath.

"You worthless insect! You ruined everything! Die in AGONY!"

A purple light emitted from the hand that held the knight. He closed his eyes and tensed. An energy blast erupted in his face, causing his mask to break into three pieces. Jade watched on hands and knees in horror as Meta Knight fell unmoving to the ground, the mask chunks bouncing off the floor around his body then coming to rest. Galaxia clanged as it hit the dark surface.

"No!" she cried.

"Silence!"

She looked up right as the dark beast threw a black energy ball at her. Jade jumped out of the way, but the ball exploded on impact, sending her flying. She landed on her back and hit her head against the ground. She cradled her head from the pain. Just then, she heard a clink next to her. When she gazed down, she saw the dark orb. The beast must have used it in the attack. Black vapors writhed around it, making it look like a ball of shadow fire. The dark being landed and walked over to Meta Knight's body. Jade gasped when she saw him weakly clench his fist and go limp. There was no way he could protect himself while unconscious. She had to help him. Quickly, she grabbed the orb. Instead of disappearing, it was absorbed into her hand. A strong pulse went through her body, followed by searing pain as though she was burning. Her scream stuck to her throat; only a choking sound came from her mouth. Her mind went blank. A haze began to engulf her, turning her suit and skin black.

The dark being stood over the knight, its tail lashing back and forth angrily.

"You… Why protect this planet? I let you live, I gave you power…yet you wish to stop me? You're a disgrace. Useless."

It poised the blade tipped tail above his head.

"You won't recover this time."

It thrust its tail. Suddenly, a shadow rushed by one instant and the tail severed in the next. The beast cried out in agony and terror, grasping the tail just below where the tip was cut cleanly off. The detached limb burst into tiny, purple crystals and faded away. The dark being searched for the culprit and noticed that Jade was missing.

"Where is she?!"

A shadow flashed by, slicing off one of its wings close to the back. Before it could retaliate, the other wing was cut off. The monster shot a dark bolt, but then its arm got cut off. It roared as it fired dark bolts in every direction. In a flash, the other arm was severed. In desperation, the dark being used the last of its strength to send out a shock wave, blanketing the area. Then, it slumped to its knees.

It was then that Meta Knight came to, stirred by the blood curdling cries. He groaned as he sat up. The dark being was facing him a few feet away. He stared wide eyed at its limbless torso. Then, out of nowhere, a black figure appeared between him and the beast, its back to him. He could no longer see the beast. The figure raised its claws above its head. Then, it brought them down in a flash, making a sickening cry from the beast and a crunching sound. The knight gasped in horror and saw the mangled body drop to the side as it dissipated into crystals.

The figure breathed heavily. It was entirely black and slender. Wing bones protruded from its back. Black vapors rolled off of its body like steam. Its hands had sharp claws.

'What the hell is that thing?' Meta Knight thought.

He scanned the room. Jade had vanished. The only other thing in the room was the figure.

'No, it can't be…'

"Jade?"

The shadow slowly turned towards him. His heart sank when he saw the white eyes. They stared angrily at him, but there was no life in them.

"Jade…what happened to you?"

She only stared at him, panting as if bloodthirsty. She pointed at Galaxia, laying not too far from the knight. He looked at it, back to her, and shook his head.

"No. I won't fight you."

She growled lowly. Suddenly, she rushed over and slammed into Meta Knight, sending him sliding across the ground. With some effort, he stood and faced her.

"Jade, open your eyes! This isn't you! You have to fight it!"

In a second, she lifted him in the air by his throat and tossed him to the other side of the room. He rolled across the floor and stopped with his face down. His arms shook as he lifted himself off the ground. Jade stormed over to him as he searched her eyes for a sign.

"I know you're in there. Follow my voice. Come back-"

She slashed his cheek with her claws, leaving four bleeding gashes. The wounds burned immensely, but the knight contained his scream and gazed sadly into her eyes.

"Come back to me Jade…"

She continued to breathe loudly. Her fingers twitched. Both pairs of white eyes were locked onto each other. Then, without looking away, she let out a long bellow, as though her very soul was weeping. She dropped to her knees and cupped her hands in front of her. Not sure what was happening, Meta Knight held her wrists in support. The vapors grew stronger and her body hissed. A haze formed in her palms and shadows crept down her arms to join with it. The boney wings faded to mist. Color was returning to her skin and clothes. Her eyes closed in fatigue just as they were returning to normal and her head slumped over. The haze solidified into the dark orb. As the last traces of darkness left her body, the orb became clear. Then, it glowed bright and disappeared in a flash of light.

"Jade? You ok? Wake up."

Meta Knight let go of her hand and gently shook her shoulder. She grunted and tiredly opened her eyes.

"Wha…what happened?" she asked.

He sighed in relief. Jade noticed the gashes on his face and gasped.

"Did…I…?"

The knight touched the spot and winced. The wound was deep and still bleeding. Tears formed in Jade's eyes.

"Jade, you weren't yourself."

"I'm so sorry… I wanted to help you…"

"You did. The monster is dead. It's all over."

"Then I killed it…"

She hung her head, letting the hot tears drop to the floor. Meta Knight felt her shiver.

"It was so dark…I was burning…"

He tilted her chin up until their eyes met.

"You came back. I was afraid I lost you."

Jade choked trying to hold back her sobs. She wiped her eyes with her thumb. The knight grinned warmly to comfort her. As he was about to say something, the ground quaked immensely, causing Jade to yelp. They scanned the room to find the darkness flickering wildly. Rifts began to form in the walls and floor, giving way to oblivion.

"We need to go," Meta Knight stated.

"We're trapped! There's no portal," Jade cried.

"Not yet."

Taking a few steps away from Jade, he raised his arm towards Galaxia. In response, the blade flew from the ground into his hand. He thought hard, drowning the visions and sounds around him. He pushed a picture into his mind of the island. At first, it was ablaze, but he put the flames out and brought the wind and water back. The image was as clear as he could muster. Galaxia glowed white instead of purple. He pulled the blade in, poised to strike, and thrusted it forward. The sword struck a wall that erupted in static in front of him. The force shoved him backward, and the wall vanished. Meta Knight refused to quit. He raised Galaxia above his head and swung it down with all his might. The lightning erupted into a wall again, but a thin hole had been cut just above the blade's tip. The knight held his ground against the pushing force. He can't fail this time. The ground beneath them was beginning to break apart, and the void was closing in. He growled as he tried to widen the gap, but he wasn't succeeding. At this rate, he'll lose his strength before he can open a portal.

Just then, hands gripped around his and helped him push. He looked at Jade whose face showed determination. He summoned his strength and combined his with hers. The blade inched downward, widening the portal. Both groaned with effort as the air in front of them ripped like fabric. Then, the opposing force broke for a moment, allowing the two to drag the sword to the ground. The portal was complete, but it was already fighting to close.

Meta Knight kept a firm grip on Galaxia as he said, "Go!"

Jade looked at him with concern.

"I'll catch up," he added.

She knew there was no time to argue. She let go of the sword and crawled into the swirling gate. The ground sank under the knight. He saw that the void was upon him. Meta Knight leaped forward, carrying his blade behind him into the portal. The tear shrank into the distance, fading into the whirlpool of bright lights. It felt as though he was falling from a great height. He withdrew his blade and turned to look for Jade. She called out to him between the long stretch of empty space. The knight dove after her and soon caught up. They locked arms.

"Where does this go?" Jade asked.

"To the island," he replied. 'Hopefully…'

"Good."

They watched the streams of light pass.

"What if we were too late?" Jade asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"That dark being had those artifacts for a while before we could stop it. I felt the world tremble. Do you think we couldn't save it in time?"

"We didn't let it finish the job, so that means there was something left to save."

She nodded. Then, she squinted behind him in confusion. He looked around and saw wisps of black in the stream.

"Meta Knight!" Jade gasped.

They saw that the portal was being engulfed in darkness, and they were going to fall right in the center of it.

As an impulse, the knight pulled Jade into his arms and said, "Hold on."

Soon, all the light faded. Even the glow from his eyes was swallowed up. He couldn't see Jade, but he felt her grip on him. A strange sensation flooded over him. The sense of falling slowed into stillness. Numbness overcame him. His mind called to Jade, but no sound came from him. He mentally commanded his body to move, but soon his thoughts drifted away.

There was nothing. Nothing…