Chapter 19

Eldryn

"Persistent child. Your courage shall become your death."

Sam felt the shiver travel down her spine. He was close. But she couldn't see anything. A wave of fear passed through her body. She was completely helpless here. He could do anything to them and she wouldn't be able to stop him. And she could sense the others shared a similar feeling to various degrees.

The four floated in pure emptiness, turning slowly, trying to find the one that spoke. "Why don't you come out?" Wasser shouted, putting on a face of determination. "Or are you too scared?"

The voice laughed. "Scared? What reason have I to be afraid? I am the very definition of fear itself." Somehow, the blackness in front of them began to ripple. Something slowly materialized into the space, stepping out of the ripple like someone would step through a vertical pool of water. A leg stepped through first, though calling it a leg was the greatest stretch she had ever made. It looked more like a twisting mass of red muscle ending in a large stump. And yet just this pushed Sam's sense of fear even higher.

Then a head slowly pushed through into existence. It had a large, grotesque face. One side had skin that was pulled tight across his skull, allowing bone and tissue to show through; the other side looked like it was melting.

He continued stepping out, showing more and more of some creature spawned of hell. Claws clutched at the air from its skin. Four legs that were each twisted in their own way. A ring of bone and tentacles spun around its midsection. It had a tail that seemed to fold in upon itself in an endless spiral.

When it completely stepped through, it opened its mouth and let out a roar. But it wasn't so much a roar as a high-pitched screech that pierced straight through Sam's soul. She threw her hands to her ears to try and block the sound, but they did nothing. Her whole body shook from the sound.

The shriek faded. "You are on a hopeless path." Now the voice had a much more surreal sound: throaty grunts mixed with high scratches. "I am the god of this realm." A ball of flame materialized in front of him that quickly flew towards Luca.

Braun held an arm out towards the approaching flame. "NO!" The flame suddenly shattered, scattering around them.

Eldryn seemed to contemplate that. "Your will is strong."

Then she remembered. This place was all about one's will. Eldryn could will things to happen, but so could they. She imagined an energy ball into her palm, slightly surprised that it actually appeared, and thrust it forward towards the creature. But it only made it inches from her hand before vanishing.

"But mine is stronger."

Sam's hand instinctively clutched the horn, still held tightly in her hand. She would have to use it, wouldn't she?

Eldryn eyed her, laughing lightly. "You have the Horn of Rayquaza. You are an even bigger fool than I thought."

She brought the horn up. "I'll use this."

"Hehehe. Go ahead. Your friends will be even more helpless without you."

Luca's head turned. "Without you?"

She tried to avoid turning her head. She knew what she had to do. If she looked into his eyes, she might not be able to. Instead, she closed her eyes and pushed herself up away from him with a quick thought. She brought the horn to her lips.

A flash came through her head. All of a sudden, the horn was gone from her hands. She glanced around quickly and saw…

Herself? That was her, floating twenty yards away, horn still held against her lips. But how?

"I can't let you do it, Sam."

The blood drained from her face. "Feuer… NOO!"

Too late. A loud roar erupted from the horn, tearing through her. It lasted for no more than a second. A reddish haze appeared around her other body and slowly started to get pulled into the horn.

"You're ready, Sam. You can do this. Just believe in yourself."

And then she was suddenly back, the horn falling away from her face. If she could collapse, she would have. Instead, her whole body simply went limp.

Luca floated up next to her. "What was that?"

Her fingers and lips trembled. "Feuer… He took over… It should have been me."

Luca's hand came to her face, steadying her. "Easy, Sam. Slow down. What happened?"

"The horn needs a sacrifice."

"But you were going to…" He stopped, letting the thought hang as he understood. "Feuer."

Another roar, this one different, shouted out somewhere above them. The darkness rippled open and five large birds flew into the space, circling overhead. Wasser easily recognized Articuno, Moltres, and Lugia. Several other portals opened, large shaiyas stepping through each one: Entei, Kyogre, Jirachi, Dialga, Cresselia, Regigigas. One by one, the legendaries appeared, creating a line of bodies behind them.

Wasser stared in awe. Every Guardian and Titan he had ever heard stories about was here. Braun shared his awe.

Eldryn was feeling something he hadn't felt in thousands of years. She should be dead, taken by the horn. Yet she was still alive. He was afraid.

Sam's emotions surprised her. She'd just lost Feuer again. And yet she didn't feel as sad as she thought she should. Surprised, saddened, but not terrified. Was this what he meant? That she was ready to let him go?

A spark now in her soul lit up. Why did he have to do it? Why did she have to suffer like this? Her eyes opened and rested on Eldryn. She couldn't explain why, but hatred formed in her stomach. He was the reason. She shrugged Luca's hands from her shoulders. "Enough."

Her voice caught the attention of the others. They turned as she slowly floated down to join them.

"This has gone on long enough. Too many people have suffered because of you." A white flame appeared around her body. As if in response, a black flame erupted from Eldryn's body that was enormously larger than Sam's. "You can't just destroy everything. People have a right to live." White flames from Wasser, Luca, and Braun fused with her own, forming a larger fire, but it still wasn't big enough. She forced more feeling into her words, "You have no right," and the flame grew still bigger. "This ends now!"

The flames launched at each other, clashing in a loud bang. The black flames quickly began to press in. An enormous surge of strength pushed through Sam. The Guardians had joined in. The white flames surged, pushing the black back until they were dead even. They battled, will pressed against will, neither giving more than an inch.

For a moment, it was too much for Sam to handle. It wasn't working. She pushed with her mind, feeling every muscle in her body go tight. But they couldn't get past him. She didn't know how much longer she could keep this up and it had only lasted a few seconds.

"Why do you try?" a voice asked into her mind. Eldryn. "You don't have a chance."

He was right wasn't he? There was no way they could stop him. Her focus faltered, and the black flames started to advance.

A hand reached over and clutched her own. She felt another presence gently brush her own. Luca. He was why she was doing this. For him and the world. For him, the world, and Feuer. She couldn't let Feuer's sacrifice for her go wasted.

"You can do this. Just believe in yourself."

"Feuer…" Another burst of strength, this time her own, surged forth. She pressed back, overpowering Eldryn's own will. The white flames drove straight through the heart of the black flame and engulfed Eldryn's body. He howled, his open muscles burning brightly.

Sam opened her eyes, looking through the sweltering heat that she couldn't feel. She could sense him. Through the flame, her will overtook him. She controlled him. "You will not leave this realm. You will stay here, powerless, for the rest of your miserable life. Let this realm forever be sealed, so that no one can be put at your mercy."

The flames died in midair, but Eldryn's body continued to burn. Sam suddenly felt a pang of pity for him. But then it passed. He deserved this. And suddenly she felt a wave of mild satisfaction that grew into a sense of pride. They'd actually done it. A smile played across her lips.

Wasser suddenly let out a "WOOHOO! Yeah!" Braun's face betrayed satisfaction as well. She giggled lightly at her friend.

Luca had a light smile, but didn't join in even the slightest celebration. They'd beaten Eldryn, but he didn't want to rub it in his face. "Let's go."

He still clutched Sam's hand as the darkness rippled again. This time, the hole in space came from behind them, leaving them back on the hotel balcony overlooking Vermillion City.

Wasser quickly turned for the door. "I don't know about all of you, but I think this deserves a celebration."

"I'm with you on that," Braun said.

Sam and Luca started for follow as the portal began to finish closing. They didn't see a hand, bare muscle with white burns, reach out through the closing hole.

Sam's leg was suddenly pulled back from under her. She yelped as she fell, jarring her knee, but she clasped down on Luca's hand, keeping her somewhat up. Before she could react, she was pulled back toward the portal. Luca clutched down on her fingers before she could slip, acting quickly by digging his feet into the floor. But he couldn't get traction. Sam's legs slipped into the portal. Wasser and Braun quickly jumped back out, grabbing onto Luca and the handrail. For a moment, Sam became suspended halfway between worlds.

A throaty voice shouted from the darkness, "I will not be beaten by a whelp! If I go down, you go with me!"

Sam glanced up. Luca's face was tight. But he was slowly slipping. Even Wasser and Braun wouldn't be able to hold him.

And yet she wasn't afraid.

"Hold on, Sam."

"If I do, you'll go with me." Her chest was pulled through the hole in the wall.

"I'm not letting you go, Sam."

"I know."

They shared a deep look. Luca could see her intent. "No, Sam. Don't you dare." But he could already feel her hand became smaller and furry, starting to slip.

"Thank you for everything, Luca." She forced a smile, but a betraying tear slipped from her eye. "I love you."

His grip lost traction for a fraction of a second, but it was all Eldryn needed. In one swift motion, she fell from his hand into the portal and the blackness sealed.

The men fell back into a pile, their counterbalance suddenly gone. Luca didn't stay down for an instant. He dove for the wall. "NO! OPEN UP!" He pounded a fist against the wall, cracking both it and his skin. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS, SAM! I WON'T LET YOU!" He pounded into the rock wall, leaving red spots that soon began to drip down to the floor.

Eventually, Wasser came forward and pulled him away. "Get a grip on yourself, Luca. There's nothing you can do."

Luca just stared back at the wall through his tears for several seconds before resigning himself to his tears.

A/N: Yes. Yes I did.