"My life is for the taking, break down is awaking me; I'm ending all this pain and when you fought me in the morning, hanging on a warning, oh, the joke is on you! You said you were pretending, here's to unhappy endings, oh, the joke is on you!" - Lifehouse "The Joke"
35 The Fight of the Century
Arceus leapt delicately from his perch on the rocks and landed with a light tap on the floor of the cave. He regarded the scene before him with an air of distaste. We stood in silence as he inspected us, his red eyes gleaming with disgust. "What is going on here?" he said in a deep, booming voice.
"We're fighting," snapped my reflection. He smirked at Arceus with more defiance than I could ever muster to a creature like him. "Or are your eyes really that tiny?"
The Pokemon glared at him, but said nothing. He turned his attention to the frozen melee before him, in which a bird was yanking on Mew's tail, Shaymin had its teeth buried deep in Yacaeli's paw, and the second bird had its talons in her head while the third was occupied with Suicune. Pikachu was about to electrocute the three Legendaries to alert them that the birds were on their side, and the Absol's lone horn was glowing with an unused Psycho Cut.
"Suicune," he said, and his voice reverberated around us, "have you found your place?"
Suicune dropped the bird he had been holding in his mouth and swallowed nervously. "Y-yes Father," it stammered.
Arceus nodded. "Absol," he said before facing it. "You rang?"
The Absol behaved similarly to Suicune. "W-well, you see, Father Arceus, T-Tenebri was attacking us and she—."
Yacaeli cut him off. "Nice of you to show up," she snarled.
Arceus scowled. "Been a while, hasn't it, Yacaeli?"
"Aw crap," Brock mumbled. "Lover's quarrel, here we go."
Drew dragged himself over to the cave wall, resting against it. He caught my eye and grinned. "You know," he said, "despite how terrible this situation is, I'm really excited to see these two go at it."
"This has been a long time coming," Yacaeli growled, her tail swishing. I could already see water forming at the tip. The water made me think of Misty, and, of course, that just infuriated me.
Was it me, or did Arceus smirk? "So it has," he replied. The yellow rings around his midsection began to shimmer with an oncoming attack.
Yacaeli grinned as well, crouching down with her claws digging into the soil and her rear end wriggling in the air. To her, Arceus was just an overly large Rattata that she could pick off with one swipe of her paw.
I'm sure she looked the same to him.
I guess the hero in me decided to act up right then, realizing that if I let the two Legendaries fight, no one would benefit from it. I could control the bracelet now that my anger was at its peak. With a determined expression, I swung my arm through the air. A blaze of flames appeared, and I moved just right so that they snaked to the ground and ran up a barrier between Arceus and Yacaeli.
Yacaeli had already sprung, but the fire grew faster than her fall, and in an instant Yacaeli was flapping her wings in an attempt to backpedal in the air. "Arceus!" she screamed in rage. "What have you done?"
Arceus, however, was looking just as scared as she was. Evidently he had never seen this sort of fire before. I actually thought it looked different than it usually did. It had sort of an odd, pinkish tinge to it.
"You," he growled. Arceus set his demon red eyes on me. "What have you done?"
I took a step back, not fearfully, just… out of concern for my wellbeing. What I stepped on wasn't stone. Thankfully it wasn't air, either.
Nope, what I stepped on was Dawn's knife.
I had lost track of the weapon through all the mayhem, and suddenly, it was underneath my feet. He hunts in the Morning, I thought, reciting the legend from the book. Was the sky above me growing lighter?
For some reason, I got the idea that the knife would protect me just as well as the bracelet, so I scooped it up and held it defensively. "She killed Misty," I gasped, feeling my heart pound with fear and the resurfacing anger. Thinking of her death caused the bracelet to spark. "You can't touch her until she brings her back."
To my surprise, Arceus laughed. "Bring her back? From the dead? My boy, that is impossible!"
I blinked. What? Weren't these two Pokemon the most powerful in the universe? My eyes narrowed to slits. "What do you mean?" I said testily.
"Yacaeli was created to be an immortal, all powerful force," said Arceus, and at his words, she attempted to lunge at him. The fire blocked her path, however, and she was forced to sit quietly and listen. "I made her so she would win, always."
I felt myself lower the weapons I had in confusion. On Arceus's side of the fire, Leaf and the guy who looked like Gary were holding on to each other, yet watching me as if they were scared. Drew, May, and Max's unconscious form were also on his side, hovering around the young boy protectively. I saw him stir.
My eyes flicked to Yacaeli's side. Brock had managed to sit himself up and was shallowly breathing against the wall. Dawn had sunken to the ground, obviously in too much pain to stand, while Paul stood over her protectively. And, behind him, was someone who made me think I was looking into a mirror.
"I don't understand," I said slowly. "You're not making any sense."
"It means that when I kill something, it's dead," Yacaeli spat.
A bolt of fear shot through me. "What? No! You're… you're Arceus! You can do anything! You made this whole universe, made all these people. You can bring one back from the dead, can't you?"
Arceus shook his head. "You have been misled."
This wasn't right. Misty wasn't supposed to die. She was supposed to live, with me, and be my best friend and even more. There were tears leaking from my eyes now. "You're lying!" I screamed, and I lunged.
The bracelet exploded in a flurry of flames, and Arceus was so unprepared that I actually managed to hit him. My hands moved without my mind controlling them, the knife cutting through his fur and the flames singeing his skin. I hardly realized what I was doing through my red tinged vision, until the great creature retaliated.
The Hyper Beam threw me into the crumbling cave wall, and the wind rushed out of my lungs. "Foolish human," he hissed. "Be careful of whom you meddle with."
I couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Arceus' white fur was blackened in some areas, and he was oozing a silvery liquid that I assumed was his blood. I, too, was bleeding in some places, but I hardly felt them. They were nothing compared to pain I was feeling inside.
"Pika!" cried Pikachu. In a heartbeat he was standing in front of me, glaring at Arceus. "Pika pi!"
"Exactly, Daddy," Mew said, and she floated over me defensively as well. "I won't let you hurt him like that."
Shaymin scuttled on over. "Me neither," he proclaimed.
Arceus glared. "My own children, turned against me?"
"Family doesn't mean much, does it?" Yacaeli jeered.
My vision was blurring with tears and fatigue. I felt like I had in my nightmare. There was nothing I could do except watch others lay their lives before mine. "Don't…" I breathed, but if anyone heard me, they ignored me.
The great Pokemon snarled in fury. "Then you all will perish together," he hissed. "My Judgment will be swift and harsh."
Arceus pawed the ground, and he charged at us. The Pokemon around me remained where they were, determined to stand their ground.
"MAX!" was the last thing I ever heard.
Or thought I would ever hear. Because Arceus had stopped.
I blinked away the tears in my eyes, wondering why my death was being delayed. Someone was standing between Arceus and the other Pokemon protecting me. Someone short…
"Max?" I said, shocked. "Are you out of your mind?"
He winced when I said it. "No," he grunted. "I'm protecting you."
Mew twirled happily. "I'll help!" she said. She closed her enormous eyes, and Arceus was actually pushed back.
The great Pokemon reared against the psychic force, and his overcharged Hyper Beam broke the shield. However, it was not without consequence. This time, he had to rest.
Max had flown into me with the force of the attack, and I managed to slow down his fall enough that I was not injured. "I knew you were crazy," I whispered.
"Don't say that," he snapped.
"Max, what were you thinking?" May screamed. "Get out of there!"
In all the distraction, the fire had died away. "Finally," Yacaeli growled. She jumped.
Paul had seen her intentions before the rest of us, as had the three birds. "Polevous!" Paul shouted, stepping forward to attack Yacaeli.
The three birds took off, diving onto her like the blitzkrieg. The instant her claws sunk into Arceus, their beaks tore into her fur.
I gathered up the injured Max. "C'mon," I urged. "Let's get you to safety." For good measure, I shot a jet of flames in that direction.
I didn't realize that the fire, while achieving the task of encircling the two quarrelling lovers, cut off Paul. He couldn't slow down fast enough, and he stumbled into the flames.
He burned for only a few moments, but it was enough for him to realize the pain. His shrieks were inhuman, and they blended well with the ones coming from the battle on the other side of the flames.
I dragged Max to May, who looked more terrified than I had ever seen her, and went back to retrieve Dawn's knife. Something was going to feel the end of it, and I could only hope it was Yacaeli or Arceus.
"You betrayed me!" Arceus screamed, and he bucked Yacaeli off him. The three birds scattered, squawking indignantly. They retreated back to guard the burnt Paul and Dawn. This left only Arceus and Yacaeli, and the rest of us resorted to being spectators.
"And you're a dirty hypocrite," she growled back. Yacaeli whipped her tail around, and a slash of psychic energy sliced at her former lover. He took the hit, and sucked in air to relieve the pain. "I swore I would kill you for what you did to me."
Arceus knelt down, and his entire body began to glow a soft yellow. He was Recovering from her blow. "Because of you, Giratina has been banished to the Distortion World, and his brothers have retreated to dimensions of their own creation!" Fully healed, Arceus jumped up and slammed back into the ground. The earth cracked at the force of his return, causing Yacaeli to lose her footing for a moment. But her wings helped her regain balance, and in no time she had retaliated.
"I did nothing!" Yacaeli snapped. She swiped her paw through the air, and ice gripped Arceus' feet. He struggled against it, and found himself immobile. "You were the one who sent them there!" The Sky Cat waved her tail and lashed out with a whip of water.
Ducking, Arceus dodged her watery weapon. He whipped his head around, creating a deep fog to shield himself. "Because you made it so I could not trust them!" he retorted. With a mighty yank he freed his legs from the ice and ran at her.
Yacaeli saw him coming and slid out of the way, allowing Arceus to pass her. As he did, she leapt from behind, claws out. "You never give me a chance to explain myself!" she screeched. He was just as evasive as she was, and was out of range by the time she landed. "I can bring the human back, you know! But you never let me talk! Now, I'm going to talk as long as I want!"
I froze. "She can bring her back?" On impulse, I threw the knife without any hope that it would actually hit something. I hadn't been aiming for injury, but for a distraction.
Miraculously, I hit Arceus in the leg. The creature howled in pain and bent down in an attempt to yank it out with his teeth. I raced to get between him and Yacaeli before she could take advantage of his inattention.
"You can bring Misty back?" I repeated, standing defensively in front of Arceus. My legs were shaking with fear and anxiety. If it was true, if the Sky Cat could resurrect Misty, then...
Yacaeli's bright yellow eyes gleamed at the obstacle between herself and her prey (i.e. me). Her claws curled in the soil, wings fluttering softly as she sat herself down. The great cat seemed to take an eternity to respond, but when she did, it was short, calm, and simply. She said, "Yes."
*AN: Oh, it was SO SHORT! I hate it! But I had major writer's block on this. The story is actually starting to go where I didn't want it to. But I think I can make it work. The poll right now has Happy Ending in the lead, sooo that's probably how it's going to go, eh? But remember, I'm spontaneous, so you never know.
Just this month, I have gotten almost 1,000 visitors and 3,000 hits to this story, which I find fantastical. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! You guys are the bomb and I love you all. Thank you for all the kind reviews and everything! And thank you all for helping to save Ophelia! I'm going to keep her pic up for one more update, so if you haven't seen her yet, GO LOOK! K? Byes!*