Note: Sorry for taking so long... Since school's back... I need to go back to my one update a week policy... But anyway... Here you guys go... I worked hard on trying to write everything how I envisioned it to be... So here you guys go...
Rose's POV:
"A-am... I... alive?" I whispered.
I slowly opened an eye. I saw a crater just before me... Smoke singed away from a crater before me. Blade lay unconscious behind me.
"Blade!" I quickly tried to stand, however, I fell back down, feeling my knees melt away in pain.
There was nothing else in my mind other than to get to Blade... I felt determined to get to his fallen, injured figure.
Before I could do a thing, I felt the ground shake as something collided down. I whirled around to see Arceus had collapsed to the ground. Then, I remembered... Arceus had launched an attack down on us... But how... how did we survive?
"Arcy!" a voice called out to him, seemingly telepathic," W-what happened to you?"
Slowly, a small flickering figure of Giratina appeared below on the crater. Her ethereal body seemingly having taken the blow for us.
"G-giratina!" I called, "W-what are you doing here?"
"Saving you!" she groaned, "I managed to conjure a substitute into this plane... But, along with my task of keeping the hate open and taking the blunt of that attack, I don't think my energy will last long here."
By then, Blade had already woken up. He slowly limped towards me, leaning on my shoulder for support.
"R-rose..." he coughed, "T-things... are looking dire!"
Arceus emotionlessly began to levitate above again. Giratina's flickering figure looked up at him, tears spilling out of her eyes.
"A-Arcy!" she called, "Y-you're better than that! Break out of that... freak's grasp!"
"Scanning... threat..." the deity merely responded, "Species: Giratina... Weight: 749.8 kg...-"
"Aww, shut it!" Giratina snarled, tears dropping from her eyes, "Y-you just hurt me, Arcy... And now you proceed to talk about my weight?"
Blade and I took the opportunity to recuperate and get back up. We cautiously approached Giratina's flickering figure.
"... Code input error..." Arceus responded, his face still and emotionless.
"Y-you can't destroy this world! Arcy! You made it! You built it! And you made me!" Giratina cried, "You can't possibly wish the same thing as that machine in you, can you?"
Arceus began to charge a bigger attack above us.
"No!" she yelled, "You don't remember me? After all... we've been through? Arcy! You have to remember me! Please! Can't you see these two are doing all they can to bring you back to your senses?"
"... Gi-Gi-Gi..." Arceus muttered, seemingly in pain, "Giratina?"
"Yes!" she smiled, "You do remember! C'mon, Arcy! Fight that thing in you!"
"Wait," I bit my tongue, "Could you possibly be the one Arceus has a soft spot for-"
"Shush!" she spat back at us, "You wanna die? I'm doing what I can to help you!"
"...I-I'm... s-sorry," Arceus breathed out, "... Can't... escape..."
"Y-you..." Giratina shouted, "You're better than that, you can break free of that... thing in you..."
All of a sudden, a huge light emanated from Arceus, spreading small black particles around him.
"Yes! You're back!" Giratina smiled.
Arceus merely opened his eyes, as if stuck in a deep sleep.
"Ugh... I'm terribly sorry for everything..." he collapsed, "But, my mind was in captivity of some human made contraption..."
"That's all right," Giratina smiled, her substitute fading into a lighter shade, "What matters is that you're back-"
Before she could continue her speech, the black particles floating in mid-air quickly assembled themselves to form the black sphere that I knew so well... The XD002 program! It quickly hurled itself straight into Arceus.
"A-ack..." the white being screamed, as if he was being choked.
Arceus's coloration quickly faded... From its pure white form, it changed to a darker shade of black and purple. When he opened his eyes, they shone crimson red instead of green.
"Foolish..." he spat, "You think... I'd give up this wonderful host so easily?"
He quickly slashed through Giratina's substitute, making it dissolve in two.
"N-no... way..." Blade muttered.
"No way indeed, there is no way to escape your demise..." the possessed being snickered, "Alas, we finally meet... in person... my dear Rose... I am... impressed you have made it this far... Although I suspect you are about to wish that you have instead died quietly before..."
"You!" I snarled, "You tried to turn me against Blade!"
"Huh?" Blade remarked, still raising his arm in a blade-like manner.
"So I did," XD002 nonchalantly replied, "I presume you enjoyed your little... brawl?"
Blade quickly launched a Psycho Cut at his hulking figure. Now having Arceus's body in full possession, he simply dodged it quickly.
"Ooh, we have a feisty one here... Bra-vo for making it this far," it smiled, it's red eyes narrowing down on Blade, "I presume that you think you can take me down with such a measly attack?"
"No, I know I can take you down with this attack!" Blade growled back, still not letting his guard lower.
"Ah, but is that really true?" he cackled, "Look at me, I have... your creator... in my full possession! Who would have known such a glorious thing would happen... Ever since I have become sentient, I have dreamed if achieving the very mission I was built for... I was built to eliminate every opponent possible, regardless of how I do so! Your world shall feel my wrath! I shall unleash my mission upon you all, what better way is there to eliminate all opponents other than to destroy their world? I hold the power of the creator... Together, added with mine, I shall destroy everything that ever existed! Do you dare stand up against me?"
"Yes!" I boldly stood up, "Yes, I do! You tried to turn me against my accomplices... You dared to lead me astray... You dared to weaken me... For the truth is that you actually fear me! I know... that Blade and I are destined to defeat you! And for that, you feared us and tried to misguide us!"
The black Arceus merely remained silent.
"If that is what Rose believes," Blade stood by me, "Then I shall have to prove so... We shall best you in combat and remove your presence from Arceus's body!"
"Is... that... so?" he suddenly smiled, a rather creepy smile, "Then... Show me... Show me this 'destiny' that you speak of! Show me what you two have inside you that make you so special! I promise, on my end... To destroy both of you inside and out! I promise nothing shall remain, even your very souls! You shall be privileged... to be the first to feel what I am going to do to the world! Do this, and we shall see if you can really protect this world that you do love... Now, are you ready? Because it doesn't matter! Whether or not you are ready, I shall show you just how pointless your disobedience is... Suffer!"
Immediately, he quickly vanished before us, bringing the whole island to ruins. Slowly, Blade and I began to fall through the sky as it slowly changed into a never ending space of darkness. Lines jutted around as if we were trapped in some cybernetic space.
Blade quickly grabbed my arm as we fell.
"This is it," he smiled back at me, tears flowing out, "This is where the final stage stands... I hope I get to see you after this..."
"Oh, shut it!" I snarled, "I will see you! Now let's give this pathetic thing the beating of its lifetime!"
As we landed on a floating piece of land, circular in shape... Several runic symbols dotted the ground as we landed.
As the two of us turned to each other and gave one final nod, Arceus descended before us. Wasting no time, he immediately shots Hyper Beam at us directly.
"Ugh, he's quick," I cursed as I quickly tried to sidestep.
"But he'll have to recharge, won't he? Let's go forth and attack while-" Blade was cut off by a swift Hyper Beam to him.
"Fools... You think I am limited by the capabilities of this body? It does my will... I will it to ignore the pain, now feel my wrath!" Arceus screamed.
I helplessly tried to strike him with Psychic, however, it didn't seem to do much damage. Blade immediately attacked with Close Combat, hoping he hit it effectively.
However, all of us were immediately pushed back when Arceus whirled around and launched a huge Thunder amongst us.
"Ugh..." I cried, "How can he be so quick?"
"How can you hope to win?" he smiled, raising his head up.
"Rose! Get out!" Blade quickly grabbed me and ran, nearly missing a huge amount of black projectiles landing on where we were once standing. The ground erupted upon contact with the tremendous attack
"W-what... was that?" I muttered, my eyes open wide.
"I-I don't know..." Blade muttered as he dropped me, turning back to strike with Psycho Cut, "But it isn't stopping me from fighting back!"
"Fool! What you just saw is Arceus's most powerful attack... Judgment! But now that I am one with him... Now that he is a Shadow... This move has changed," he smiled, "I call it... Shadow Destroyer... And I am not afraid to use it again!"
He quickly shot a huge ball up to the sky. It erupted into different projectiles all homing down to Blade... Immediately after Blade shot a Psycho Cut, he was immediately buried by the immense amount of projectiles.
"Aagh!" he screamed, being tossed away by the sheer strength of the attack.
"Blade!" I screamed in concern. Without thinking, I attacked with Psychic... Although it hit, it didn't do much damage.
"Is there nothing that can hinder him?" I silently cursed.
From the black smoke, Blade quickly jumped out and landed a Close Combat on Arceus. Knowing it was super effective, XD002 tried to steer the deity away, but it still managed to hit. Angered, Arceus quickly knocked Blade back and sent him flying towards me.
"Blade!" I screamed, trying to get another Psychic through to Arceus, "Are you ok-"
Blade knocked me over as he was sent flying to me with extreme force. He must have taken some blow from Arceus. We both lay at the ground, looking up as Arceus began to hover above us. His coloration was now completely black and red. His whole body, instead of the divine white was now as black as dusk itself. His golden hooves now shone blood red, accompanied by his eyes and several lines across his face. His arc, still gold and red, began to shine as he began to brandish another huge ball of energy above him.
"Rest... in peace!" he yelled at the top of his lungs as he sent it crashing down at us.
"Run!" I called as I grabbed Blade and swung him away.
We both managed to evade the huge attack, but the battlefield didn't. As the attack crashed down on the circular piece of land that we were battling on, the segment where it landed broke. The runic symbols on the ground began to grow red as if it was foreshadowing what terrible disaster was going to happen next.
"You... cannot escape!" he rasped, flying above us again, "I used to be the Alpha! Now I shall be your Omega!"
"Stop talking and fight already!" I snarled, landing a Focus Blast on him, causing the huge thing to crash down on the field.
"He's open! I've got it!" Blade signaled as he took the risk of landing another Close Combat. Arceus screamed in pain as Blade landed the blow.
"I think this one actually counts, now!" I encouraged Blade.
All of a sudden, a pulse of energy blasted away from Arceus's body, pushing Blade away again.
"Oomf," he groaned as he landed before my heels.
"This... is not possible..." Arceus groaned, "I cannot be brought down to the likes of you... Me? Feel pain? You have merely broken through one of my many barriers!"
He suddenly made an unearthly howl as he raised his head to the skies, calling down black lightning bolts to strike at us.
"Ack!" I gasped after being sent backwards, "I think his hits count much more..."
"Ugh..." Blade groaned as he stood up, knees shaking, "But we can't give up... I'm not losing my cupholders to Blaze!"
"What about me?" I raised an eyebrow, dodging another black lightning.
"Oh, yeah... You too," he blushed, scratching the back of his head.
"Silence!" Arceus snarled, firing a Hyper Beam directly at us, at which we quickly dodged by running separate directions.
I gulped as I saw the line that divided Blade and I from the Hyper Beam.
I took a lucky shot and tried to use Focus Blast again. Much to my fortune, the move hit. Arceus began to glow red as he roared.
"What does it take to squash an insect like you?" he began to growl, flying around at lightning speed, "Won't... you... two... just... SUFFER?"
He quickly began shooting Hyper Beams here and there. I gulped as I felt the intensity of one as it grazed my skin.
"So much for 'till death do us part'," Blaze shuddered as a Hyper Beam struck down on the ground before him, spreading cracks around the battlefield.
"I shall tear you two apart all right!" Arceus screamed in rage, "Then I'll tear you all separately and send you to the Distortion World!"
"Ooh," Blade muttered, "Something tells me Giratina isn't too happy about that last comment."
"Silence!" he snarled as he suddenly landed right before Blade and I. The ground beneath him cracked as we both gulped when he landed before us in close proximity.
"Enough... IS ENOUGH!" he growled, slamming down one of his "Shadow Destroyer" at us, "Begone! Foolish insect!"
Blade quickly signaled to me to launch him up in the air with Psychic. I quickly obeyed as the black projectiles began to home down on us. I quickly sent him out of harm's way by using Psychic to lift him up.
As I took the blunt of the attack, my vision faded as I saw Blade deal the final blow. As I looked up, I saw Blade crashing down from the sky, both arms glowing with white and black.
"W-what is this?" Arceus spun around in confusion, too late did he see Blade about to land and deal the final blow.
Blade began tilted as he fell, positioning himself so that he fell upside down. As he landed, he dealt a Night Slash. As the attack caused him to fly back from Arceus due to the force, he quickly turned around and extended his other arm and reached out to Arceus so that he dealt a Psycho Cut.
"F-fool!" Arceus quickly whirled around.
I ignored the pain of taking the blunt of attack and tried to catch the beast's attention by quickly shooting out a small burst of Thunderbolt.
As Arceus was struck by my attack, Blade landed on the ground and propelled himself forward with his legs. Swiftly, he dealt some slashes with his various slashing attacks, quickly adapting the swift nature into Close Combat. With a small wink in my direction, I knew that he was trying to get a message to me.
As he was propelled forward, he quickly slid under Arceus from between his hooves, dealing several slashes to the legs. He quickly jumped up as he reached the other end and landed on one foot. Together, both his arms began to glow green as he prepared Leaf Blade. Giving no chance for Arceus to strike, he spun around while whirling his arms, dealing a critical blow to Arceus.
"Now, Rose! Strike from above!" he called, his spinning coming to a halt with his arms still spread out.
I smiled when I remembered my battles with Blade. I remember being able to break through one of his attacks by swiftly jumping up on his arm, balancing on my foot to change his strategy... But now, I saw that as a key... A key to bring down Arceus!
"With pleasure!" I coughed, jumping up on Blade's arm and using it as a boost to jump over Arceus. As I flew above him, I let loose one final Focus Blast.
"Hugh..." he groaned as he felt the blow of the attack, "It's... not... possible!"
After striking him with that last attack, I felt no more energy to protect myself from falling. I simply let out a sight and relaxed myself, feeling exhausted even as I fell.
Blade quickly dealt the last blow to his "Triple Blade" combination, bringing Arceus to his knees. He swiftly ran to my aid.
"Rose, are you okay?" he called.
"Huh?" I coughed, feeling an unbearable pain in my throat.
"Rose... I guess... I guess we did it!" Blade smiled as he slid his arm down to carry me.
"Oh really?" I smiled... I may be feeling a huge deal of pain now, but I guess that's fine... It's all over now...
"Yeah," Blade began to carry me, "So, now that it's all over... May I ask you this one question?"
"Okay then..." I returned.
Before Blade could even continue, or short-lived moment of silence was broken. The ground began to tremble beneath us. Blade quickly stumbled backwards and tripped, dropping mean the ground.
"Rose!" Blade screamed as he rolled the other way.
Clutching my stomach, I tried to stand up only to see a horrible sight.
"I'm... not... DONE YET!" Arceus screamed, panting heavily. With one last scream, he dud his hooves down to the ground, causing all the cracks he had caused earlier to start growing weaker until everything began to fall.
"Blade!" I screamed, terrified at the sight of him just falling into the darkness.
I couldn't believe it. Just like that, and he was quickly tossed aside? Was I fighting so hard for nothing? That in the end, I never even got to claim the heart that I had rightfully stolen?
"I-I'm fine!" a voice returned.
I quickly squinted to see him clutching at the edge if the ground. I quickly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Sadly... you won't be fine too!" Arceus growled, seemingly growing weaker.
He quickly slammed his hooves down and a set of black chains quickly shackled me.
"If I am to lose this body, I shall have no other choice," XD002 spoke, "I need to devour you and make you my own... Prepare now... to be my new host... My new creation... Prepare to be a Shadow like you have dreamed to be so long ago!"
"N-no!" Blade screamed, "She had no desire for that! Don't touch her!"
Before I could say anything in response, the chains covered me and began to crush me.
Everything...
Everything began to go black...
The image of the Blade that I had grown fond of sharpening, slowly faded before my eyes...
The last thing I heard... was XD002... pleased at his own victory.
"Come now... My child... Let us be one... Fade into me... Into... my... shadows..."
And there, I felt all hope drain from me. The hope that had drove me in the first place... The hope that had drove me to stand this long... The hope that maybe I could finally keep this Blade for my own, instead of using it like some stolen weapon that could be ditched anytime.
"I hope I get to see you after this all ends..."
I hope... I can only hope now...
Note: Phew... Done... NO! It's NOT over! I assure you, there will still be another chapter. Anyway, I've been really busy nowadays with school... But I promise that I'll try to do better with the next chappie.