Note: Sorry for the long wait... School is NOT on my favor, Third Year is generally harder for me and explosions of quizzes have prevented me from getting enough rest or sleep, much less time to write... Anyway, here you guys go...
Rose's POV:
A bright flash of light enveloped us as Arceus nodded down at us. The three of us, enveloped in golden light, began to feel the effects of being transported back. Slowly, I let out a small sigh of relief as I felt my wounds slowly starting to heal.
"Well, then, I might enjoy a little surprise visit to your other Guardians," Arceus smirked before pinning his hooves down.
As he pounded them down, we were transported back to the area where Dialga opened the gate. We descended down unto that area with a faint flash, somehow not catching anyone's attention as we landed on a hidden ledge.
"Ugh... How long are they taking?" Cresselia yawned.
"Hey, it's not like you're the one who has to keep this gate open!" Dialga snapped, biting his lower lip.
"Besides, those two are fighting against Arceus, beating him is no easy task, y'know..." Darkrai chided in.
"Hmm... Do you think they'll fail?" Cresselia continued.
Blade and I simply smiled as we eavesdropped, nodding to each other. Arceus seemed to be hearing in on the talk too, though his eyes betrayed not what he was thinking.
"That, I cannot truly answer," her counterpart returned, "We can only hope they'll pass, or the world may not exist as how we know it would right now."
"What about Arcy? Surely he has a grip on himself, right?" Cresselia teased, "Besides, I'm pretty sure he'd be in a rage if he found out about our little... thing..."
"Ah, but let us not bother ourselves with that for now," Darkrai responded, crossing his arms as if in deep contemplation.
Arceus merely rose behind Blade and I, we couldn't help but turn our head around as we saw his huge figure emerge from the hidden ledge.
"In a rage? About what, I must politely inquire," he sternly asked, breaking the silence.
"A-Arceus," Giratina scowled, "Y-you... You aren't a shadow, are you?"
"Nonsense, everything has been dealt with, I am back to assume responsibilities for my duties," Arceus responded, answering Giratina's question politely, "Now, what was it that was supposed to bring me to a 'rage' Cresselia, dear?"
"Erm, uh... Nothi-" Cresselia cut herself of as she eyes Blade and I laughing behind Arceus, "Y-you two! You must be playing some bad joke on me, are you?"
Arceus's cold stare slowly eroded away to a more mischievous one. He collapsed into a hearty laugh as Cresselia tried to interrupt us, furiously hiding her red face. All Darkrai could muster up was a small laugh, despite blushing a bit.
"It's very nice that you all have a great reunion now," Dialga scowled, "But aren't you forgetting something?"
"Yeah, aren't you?" Palkia backed him up.
I shrugged back at them, replacing my face with a sense of alarm.
"Something we forgot?" I suddenly hushed everyone, sensing urgency in my voice, "W-what might it be? Is it something important?"
Giratina merely slapped one of her feet up to her face in disappointment.
"We've been holding this gate open for you guys and you leave us be like this?" Dialga scowled, his eyes in a seemingly disappointed look.
"Oh, I am terribly sorry then," Arceus nodded, helping the three of them out.
I merely sighed, finally thinking that it's all over.
"So, how was everything?" Cresselia asked, still quite docile in Arceus's presence.
"Oh, nothing much, really," Arceus sat down, "These two heroes managed to free me of my curse. In other words, I'm back in business... Oh, and as a token of appreciation, they beg that I not investigate further into your relationship, or so... I guess I'll just leave that privacy to you two then."
"Err... Uhh... Thank you?" Cresselia replied, although turning her head to give me an "I'm gonna kill you later" look. I merely pointed at Blade, who merely tilted his head in confusion. She was interrupted, though, by Arceus.
"Anyway, a status report, if you please? Did anything occur in my absence?" he nonchalantly spoke, eyes firmly staring at the seven legendaries present.
"Well," Articuno coolly spoke up, "A challenger has defeated me and earned the right to take the Icy Flute... Apparently, he is one of our chosen guardians too right now... Aside from that, everything still went under control even in your absence."
"Albeit," Darkrai interrupted, "We've been hearing of Cipher in your 'other' world... They're not exactly done with all their plans..."
"Is that so?" Arceus raised an eyebrow, "I see... I shall investigate that then... Speaking of which, I warn that Cipher's exploitation of my dimension-splicing ability may have caused some... ah, anomalies... Should anything pop up here that seems out of place, contact me so that I may fix it."
"Hmm... Maybe I may be able to fix such, if it concerns space," Palkia spoke up.
"Ah, but I must allow you three to rest after all that has occurred... Especially you, Giratina... I must allow you all some kind of vacation, mustn't I?" Arceus winked.
"Sure thing!" Cresselia quickly spoke, not allowing anyone else to protest, giving a sly look back at Darkrai.
"Hmm... So all's well that ends well, I guess..." Arceus finally dismissed, floating back to Blade and I, "I promise, your deeds shall be known to everyone... Hopefully that'll change your kind of living..."
"Wait, what?" I quickly spoke.
"Hmm... Surely you've got some bounty on your head, am I correct?" Arceus nodded down.
"Well... Yeah?" I responded, looking back towards Blade, who solemnly nodded in agreement.
"The least I can do is to clear it all from you, should you choose so," Arceus smiled.
I looked back at Blade before answering. We both nodded to each other as our eyes met.
"No thanks," I smiled, "I'd rather be in the hands of a certain explorer now... Besides, if I did that, life would be kinda boring."
For a moment, there was a short silence, Arceus stared back at me after I said that. At first I thought I had said something wrong until a small laugh escaped the white legendary.
"Really? That is... most intriguing," he smiled, "It seems you've learned your lesson in life, have you?"
"Yes, I can assure you, she has," Blade replied, smiling as he firmly held my hand.
"I see then," Arceus smiled, "You two play nice now, I'd want to loosen up a bit and relax with the others but seems like I've got some responsibilities to take care of..."
Arceus quickly floated up to the center, but gave one last glance to Giratina.
"Giratina! Everything is in your hands now... I leave you responsible in my absence..." he called out, in a much more lighter and playful voice.
And with that, he immediately disappeared from a golden light.
Cresselia was the first to break the silence as soon as he was gone.
"Rose!" she rushed to me, pinning me down to the ground, "You did it! I told Darkrai that my student would definitely overcome all odds!"
"Hey, hey! You ain't exactly light," I coughed, "Besides, weren't you the one who was worried about our failure?"
"Umm..." she began to stammer, before quickly changing the topic, "Oh shut it about weight, will ya?"
She began to help me up as Blade began to approach us.
"What made you decide to use that request on us?" Darkrai suddenly broke the silence.
Blade merely smiled as he sat beside us.
"After knowing myself how it feels to truly care about someone, I guess I decided to owe something to you two..." he returned.
"Looks like my student has indeed grown up... Thank you very much... You have done this world a great service," Darkai returned.
"Anyway," Cresselia started to glow, "Now that we're all done here, I suggest you guys go home now... Don't you think you should be wondering about your friends and all?"
In the blink of an eye, Cresselia quickly teleported us away. When my eyes opened, I could see that we were back at Blaze's place... Everyone else seemed to be standing before us, smiling.
"Rose!" Ruse snarled, "Took you quite some time..."
"Well, sorry!" I sarcastically sneered, "It's not like I wasn't just sitting in some forest instead of fighting Arceus himself, was I?"
"Rose," Medea walked forward, smiling, "I saw the whole thing, and my... It was impressive..."
"You saw the whole thing? How?" Blade asked.
"You didn't know?" Blaze scratched his head, "All the way at the sky, everything started to fizz and crack, through a tear up there, we saw the the three of you locked into some vicious battle..."
"You still won though... Even Riles is happy you ended everything," Claure smiled, sitting beside Riles.
"Good job though... Blade was literally fighting with his life... With you on the line..." Sandra smiled, before turning her voice into a small whisper, "I'd say he's truly the right one for you..."
"I know..." I replied, with a smile... Sandra merely smiled back, knowingly.
"Things would've ended in that rip if you've never stopped it," Celsus snorted, "I'd say that was rather irresponsible... Letting your Blade do your work."
"Nonsense," Blade returned, "She was doing better than me, y'know..."
"So... Now that this is all over..." I began, "What do you all suggest we do then?"
Blade was the first to walk up.
"Rose, now that this is all over..." he smiled confidently, embracing me in front of everyone, "I'd like to be with you, forever..."
"Well, it's about time!" I smiled, "I was waiting for forever!"
Finally together, I locked myself into a small kiss with my lover. I was no longer the same, he changed me, and now I am not going back to before... Our kiss was slowly broken by the cheering behind us.
"Hey Rose," Sandra giggled, "You gonna have a party in honor of finally getting the man of your dreams?"
"Uhm..." I returned, but Blade smiled as he rummaged through his bag.
"Rose, I offer this gift to you as a symbol of-" he stopped talking as he nervously rummaged through his bag. He took out a crumpled piece of paper and read it. Horrified, he dropped to the ground.
"What's the matter, dear?" I teased, before reading the small paper. When I read it, though... I could understand what was going on.
Dear Blade,
You have put an end to Cipher's plans... Good for you! Now that this world has been saved, I can get back to having my sort of fun! You better watch out from now on, since you've been stolen away by that Rose, I guess it would be unfair if I didn't steal even a part of you... I may have not stolen your heart, but I managed to take your life savings... Good luck trying to host your wedding party now! Oh, and I also took this beautiful ring! I mean, it does suit me, does it not? Besides, I do like the ruby on it... It must've caused you a lot! One last thing though... Don't forget to have fun! I'll be seeing you and Rose real soon now...
Sincerely, Ruse
"R-ruse?" I turned around to see that she was gone already.
"Is something the matter, Rose?" Sandra raised an eyebrow, reading the letter.
"Oh, my..." she turned around, "Ruse stole Blade's money... How are we going to have Rose's wedding party now? We'll miss out on that promo for cupholders!"
Exasperated, the group dispersed into finding Ruse, leaving us alone.
Blade slowly stood up.
"Never mind the ring," I smiled, "What matters is that I love you..."
Smiling, he walked by me, and together, we slowly walked into Blade's humble abode.
I have truly learned, that there is only one thing that a thief truly cannot steal, yet I have managed to find it. That thing I desired from the start, it was all clear to me now... It was love. I now truly understood what Jirachi had meant now... I first desired equality, then riches, bet there is one thing that is more important than them both, and that is love.
Note: Ah, Ruse... Looks like things are finally back to normal... Anyways, there will be one more chapter after this and I bring good news... I have finally planned a sequel for my first fic "You're the Only Fish in the Sea"... Although I admit it was poorly written, the rewrite will be postponed as I intend to write a sequel for it. Please leave a review, then... Seeya!