Chapter 48

Dawn

It feels as if the battle has been raging on for hours like an uncontrollable wildfire. I can hardly breath in between Dragon Pulses and Dragonbreaths. There is no time to stop when I'm charging into an Aqua Tail every chance I get. I'm bouncing back and forth between physical attacks and projectile beams. I transition between the two as fast as I possibly can, but I'm alway exhausted and I'm afraid my efforts might not even be enough. So, I push myself harder and become even more winded all over again.

April fires Shadow Balls like mad, coupling it with Extremespeed to go infinitely times faster I've ever seen her go. Her sparkling new wings seem to be able to slice through anything so daring to enter its path. She has turned into a hardcore warrior. An extremely strong one at that. Evolution has clearly done it's magic.

Blake, in his new evolution, uses every part of his body to attack. He pecks at whatever space he can find unguarded by Giratina and smashes him again and again with wings glowing with power. He scratches Giratina with his sharp talons. He has become a vicious, deadly raptor. It's almost scary to see them like this, in a lust so strong it will relentlessly attack pokemon like that. However, I tell myself it is not because they have changed. It's because of what our target is and what he's done. Amidst the rapid attacks, Giratina regains control. His wings extend slowly, making clicking noises that make me cringe. They grow to be twice in size and start to move as if they are individual limbs. It almost looks like an Octillery. A very dangerous Octillery that's out to destroy the world, of course.

Before I can react to the sudden change, the "tentacles" wrap around Blake who is the closest one of the three of us to Giratina. Blake redirects his attacks to the black snake-like thing wrapping around his midsection. I watch in horror as, in order to silence Blake, Giratina slams my friend to the ground,. His cry of extreme pain snaps me out of my stupor. I wake myself up and charge straight ahead to the blasted tentacle that with fury as my fuel. But, Giratina is ready for me.

Another tentacle slams down on my back and, before I can blink, I'm smacked face-down on the ground. The impact kicks up a cloud of dust that I breathe in. It makes my eyes water and I half-heartedly hack up the dust stuck in my throat. I stagger upwards just in time to see another tentacle reaching to snatch me up. I jump up from the earth and get away just in time. My head whirls from the escape maneuver, but I turn around and fire a Dragon Pulse aimed right below where Blake is being held. However, Giratina's tentacles move quickly and guard that area.

There is a brief explosion as the move makes contact. Even more particles of dust scatter everywhere, consuming Blake, Giratina, and myself. I'm blind and hacking once again as I squint in an effort to make out Giratina. I need a sign of weakening, a glimmer of hope, but I find none, for when the cloud settles, Giratina is the first thing that appears and he looks like my attack was nothing. What's worse? The second thing I see is the cage behind Giratina with Blake in it. Giratina must have used the cloud of dust as cover while he lower his defense to throw Blake into the cage.

"Blake!" I scream out. April takes notice as well. The both of us fly far above Giratina, arching over him to get to Blake. Blake is hammering on the walls of the cage, but it's no use. It's unbreakable. He looks up and spots us.

"Dawn! April!" We spread out our wings to cushion our fall and stop right in front of the hard iron bars. "How do you open this cage?" Blake demands. I lean down and study the lock. It was the same lock Grayos had on his cage. It's a complex latch lock that I wasn't able to open.

"I can't open it" I tell Blake. "Only April can open it with her... hands..." We all stare at April's huge wings with not a single hand in sight.

"I-I'm so sorry." April whimpers. Her eyes become glossy and reflect light like a mirror.

"Dawn? April?" We both turn back to Blake. "Get away from here. Now!" I blink. He wants us to leave? How can he expect us to just forget about him?

"No! We're not leaving! We're not going to do that to you!" I realize that my voice has escalated significantly.

"Listen. He can't perform the sacrifice if he doesn't have all three of us. I'll be alright. Just GO!" I stare at him in disbelief. He has a new demeanor about him that says he is not afraid. He is not afraid of Giratina. He is not afraid to die.

"Dawn! Look out!" April barks. I whip around just in time to see Giratina's tentacle flying right towards us. I hurl my body out of the way, clenching my eyes shut. The force of his tentacle smashing onto the floor sends me flying upwards uncontrollably. One thought pounds in my head. We should never have come. We should have stayed in Skyborne like Leyorra said. We were not afraid to put ourselves in danger, but we didn't think about the world being in danger because of our own actions.

I right myself and meet up with April. We fly out of Giratina's reach and up to a cluster of Warriors that are currently not fighting Giratina but helping with those that are already down because of the battle. Rashi is among the healthy ones and is quick to meet up with us. The warriors behind him stare at the Dragonair and Togekiss that Giratina just attempted to capture. If they didn't think we were the sacrifices before, they do now. Rashi clears his raspy throat. "You two, fall back immediately. Go through the portal and back to Spear Pillar. You'll be safe there."

"No!" April shouts at him. "There's no way I'm leaving him for dead!"

"We'll free him, April. He will be safe."

"That's my friend down there!" April points behind her to the battle below and angrily barks at Rashi.

"You have been given an order, soldier. Retreat to Spear Pillar, now!" April seeths at him. I sigh and place the edge of my tail on her shoulder.

"April..." I whisper. She's silent for the longest time.

"No... I... "

"He'll be alright, April. They'll save him. We have to trust that they will."

"No... I can't just..." She whimpers.

"Please. It's best for everyone." She solemnly nods and we depart towards the portal with many pairs of eyes hammering down on our retreating backs. I don't look behind me. I hear roars. I hear cries of battle. I can smell the carnage from up here. The air is frigid and cold. The clash of attacks and explosions rise from behind me, but I don't dare turn around to see it. I tell myself that this is for the best. Giratina cannot do anything once we are out of the distortion world. I feel bad about everything that I did in order to be here. It was a mistake that almost cost the entire world.

"Dawn?" April whispers.

"No." I firmly reply.

"But-"

"No, April." My voice tenses. She looks from me to Giratina and back to me.

"I'm sorry!" With that last outburst, she makes a sharp turn and dives into the heat of the battle.

"April, NO!" I scream. She doesn't stop and come back. She swoops down on Giratina with a steady stream of Shadow Balls. All of them hit, none of then bring Giratina down. April begins glowing a radiant violet, preparing for a Sky Attack. Giratina takes notice and lunges for April as she is charging up her power.

I try to scream her name, but my words don't come out. They are locked inside my throat as I watch

Giratina slam her into the cage. Her shriek of pain echoes throughout the cavern as her back is slammed into the wall of the cage with a huge amount of force. The cry stops abruptly and April slumps helplessly to the ground in the cage like a wet rag. It's fast and painful like a dagger slicing through my heart. My breath now becomes stuck in my throat. My body trembles as I watch her, waiting for her to move, praying for a sign that she's okay. None come. I feel my heart drop far below me like a rock as I stare at her motionless body. A sound rises within me. At first it is like a pained wail. Then, it erupts into a shrill shriek filled with sadness, distress, and hatred mixed into one bloodcurdling scream.

I don't remember when I started diving straight towards Giratina, but I am now. I'm still screaming, still sobbing hysterically, and still hopeless. The floating boulders around me start glowing a bright blue. They start to follow me, as if being pulled toward me, but I only spot them out of the corner of my eye. My main focus is Giratina. My scream stops and I focus primarily on charging right on the head of Giratina. Adrenaline surges through me and blind rage, once again, pushes me forward. My target comes up fast, but not fast enough. So I fly faster and faster until I'm milliseconds away from him. His red eyes widen and I use my arms to swing my body around, colliding my tail to his forehead.

Arms?

In mid-collision. I look to my sides and my skin color has changed from its cool blue to a soft tannish color. I have claws that I can wiggle, arms that I can move and, when I look behind me, I have a horde of floating boulders waiting for my command. Draco Meteor. I take a breath and swing my arms together. I don't see them coming, but I know they've hit when Giratina screeches out in agony. There is a huge cloud of smoke.

And we both fall at the same time.