Chapter 42: Eternity Bond
Dark Gaia unleashed a torrent of dark flames from its mouth. Sonic and Ash narrowly dodged it, while Greninja protected itself and Sceptile with a veil of water. The flames bounced harmlessly off of it.
"You first," Ash said quietly, patting Charizard's side. In response, Charizard unleashed a powerful Flamethrower attack at the monster's eyes. It closed its eyes to avoid the attack, but it couldn't completely shield itself. Regardless, it still swiftly recovered and swiped at Ash and Charizard with one of its claws. This time, it struck them and knocked them off-balance, but Charizard was able to recover quickly.
"All right!" Sonic grinned. "Let's have some fun, you monster!" He shot straight through the air towards the Shadow Synergy Stone that served as the monster's largest eye in the center of its mouth. In response, the monster shut it off to him with something resembling an eyelid. Despite the Nazo power he wielded, Sonic bounced off of it and fell back a bit.
"I don't think a direct approach is going to take this overgrown Arbok down," Ash said. "But that Shadow Synergy Stone is clearly the key to his power. If we can knock that out, he'll die."
Sceptile unleashed a Leaf Storm that headed straight for one of Dark Gaia's eyes, but it shut it off again. Greninja unleashed a massive Water Shuriken, but met the same result.
"Well, we won't be able to knock out that eyeball if he keeps shutting it off like that," Sonic grumbled.
"But we can't force it open either," Ash replied.
Their communication cut short when Dark Gaia swiped at them again. This time, it hit Sonic and knocked him through the air, but the hedgehog recovered quickly. Dark Gaia lifted a molten boulder up with one of its bottom claws and hurled it at him. He easily deflected it and shot through the air towards the monster's leftmost eye. He slammed full force into it. The reaction, though predictable, was no less vicious, as Dark Gaia reeled back and clutched its eye in pain. When it eventually regained its senses, it glared at Sonic angrily and slashed at him again. This time it missed, but struck Ash in the process. Ash was able to recover quickly, but Charizard took quite the hit. Regardless, the dragon-like Pokemon was still strong, since it was Mega-Evolved, and it flew up swiftly. Ash and Sonic glared back at the monster. Then something caught Ash's eye.
"Sonic!" he said. "His eye's closed!"
"Huh?" Sonic turned and saw that the eye he slammed into was, in fact, closed. "Heh! That must've hurt him quite a bit."
"Yes, it did," Ash nodded, pumping his fist with a determined smile. "And it looks like I was wrong earlier."
"Huh?"
"We can force his eye open...if we shut all the other ones!"
Sonic listened, then nodded. "I get it!" he said. "Knock out all the other eyes and force the weak point open!"
"Bingo!" Ash said. "I'll take care of the eyes on the bright side, and you take care of the ones on the dark side."
"Consider it done!" Sonic grinned, giving him a thumbs-up. Then he shot off to accomplish his task.
"Okay," Ash said to himself. "Now we need to take out the eyes on this side of his head." He patted Charizard's side and pointed at Dark Gaia's rightmost eye. "Think you can aim a Flamethrower straight at that eye there, Charizard?"
"Char!" Charizard nodded with a smile.
"All right," he grinned. "Let's go!" With that, they shot through the air towards the monster's eye. Dark Gaia saw them coming and threw another molten boulder at them. They swerved out of the way, but Charizard's wing got nicked at the tip. It was a minor scrape, but it was hot enough to cause the fire-type to wince a little. They continued flying until they were right in front of the monster's eye.
"Now!" Ash cried. Charizard unleashed a torrent of fire that shot straight into Dark Gaia's rightmost eye. The agony had to be excruciating, as Dark Gaia reeled back more than it had before, clutching its smoldering eye as it howled in rage. This time, it took a while for it to recover and stand upright again. Ash wisely took this time to return to the small platform his Pokemon were on. He jumped off of Charizard, Pikachu in tow, and staggered a little. Sceptile put its arm out to help him, and he stood up again.
"Seems this diamond's power is starting to take a toll on me," he mused, looking at the glowing diamond in his hand. Its glow hadn't faded. "I think I need to get a little rest. Sceptile, do you think you could ride Charizard and get close enough to that eye to use Leaf Blade on it?" he asked, pointing to the next eye in the row.
"Sceptile Scep!" Sceptile nodded.
"Great," Ash grinned. Then he turned to Charizard. "Charizard, I need you to stay strong for us. The energy flowing through our bodies can only do so much for us, and if you get hurt too badly, it'll affect us, too. Plus, you're the only way any of us can get to those eyes. So from now on, don't focus on attacking that thing. Just focus on staying safe and getting Sceptile to the eye. Got it?"
"Char," Charizard nodded.
"Awesome," he smiled, patting his old, powerful Pokemon on the head. "Now go! Take him down!" The two Pokemon nodded and took off, with Sceptile mounted on Charizard's back.
"Hey, big fat and ugly!" Sonic taunted. "I'm over here!"
Dark Gaia glared at him and threw two molten boulders at him. This caught the powerful hedgehog off-guard and knocked him back a considerable distance. Regardless, being invincible, this could only hinder him so much, and he quickly began approaching his target once again. This time, he swerved erratically through the air, taking a varied approach. Dark Gaia struggled to follow him, its eyes darting about wildly in an effort to keep track of his location. Sonic's plan worked out perfectly, and before that monster knew what was happening, the hedgehog was right in front of its eye.
"Say cheese!" he shouted, delivering a powerful kick to the eye. Dark Gaia roared in pain, reeling back and clutching its eye. When it recovered, it glared angrily at Sonic. Suddenly, several dark rays of energy shot right at him. Only a few of them hit, but they caught him off guard. Dark Gaia raised a claw to take advantage of this opening.
"Sceptile!" Ash shouted, seeing what was about to happen. "Attack, now!"
Sceptile, now close enough to the eye to jump to it, nodded and leapt up, the leaves on its elbows glowing a bright green. It came down and slashed the monster's eye three times before it landed on Charizard again. Dark Gaia reeled back in pain once again, allowing Sonic to recover, then stood up to face its foes. By then, Charizard and Sceptile had returned to Ash, but they were all getting tired.
"This energy," Ash huffed. "It's getting to be too much. How can we –?"
"Nin-ja," Greninja said. The large shuriken on its back suddenly condensed and swirled around it in a veil.
"Greninja?" Ash blinked. "What are you doing? You're using the incomplete form of –?" Then his eyes lit up. "Oh, I get it! You're conserving power."
"Ja," Greninja nodded.
"Hm," Ash mused, looking over himself and his Pokemon. "Maybe that'll make us a little stronger, but by how much? Charizard should probably rest his wings before taking flight, but –"
"HAAH!" Sonic shouted, taking out the next eye. Dark Gaia reeled back in pain once again. Then the hedgehog returned to the meadow, panting as well.
"Tired?" Ash asked.
"This energy's really sapping it out of me," he muttered.
"It's because we're all sharing it," Ash said. "Greninja's using a less powerful form to conserve, so we should be able to recover."
"Well, until then, I can't really fly," Sonic shrugged apologetically. "I might pass out."
Dark Gaia clutched the meadow they stood on with its hands and glared at them with its remaining two eyes. They were filled with anger.
"Uh-oh," Sonic muttered.
Greninja stepped forward, still surrounded by a veil of water. Then it bent down, while the veil mimicked its movements. Then the top of the veil glowed brightly.
"What?" Ash exclaimed. Then the veil shot up into the air in an aquatic vortex, with Greninja at the apex, and collided with the monster's eye. Dark Gaia retreated, removing its claws from the meadow and clutching its eye. When it recovered, it was blind in six eyes. Only the Shadow Synergy Stone remained.
"This is our chance!" Sonic grinned, pumping his fist. The energy flowing through them flared in their auras.
"It's now or never," Ash nodded, mounting Charizard once again. Pikachu climbed on his shoulder. He turned to Sceptile and Greninja. "That was a good idea, Greninja," he said. "I think I'll call that one 'Hydro Vortex.'"
"Nin-ja," Greninja grinned, nodding in approval.
"Yeah, like that'll ever catch on," Sonic mumbled.
"Think you can do it again?" Greninja nodded. "All right, then. Sceptile, I know you're a Grass-type, but do you think you can use Surf?"
"Huh?" Sonic blinked, puzzled.
Sceptile looked confused for a moment as well, but then it understood what Ash was saying and nodded. "Excellent," Ash grinned. "Now, let's finish this once and for all!" With that, Charizard, Ash, Pikachu, and Sonic shot into the sky.
They flew in front of the eye, which glared at each of them in anger and hatred. Suddenly, several tentacles erupted from beneath them and wrapped around them, tangling them up. "No!" Ash cried.
"Not now!" Sonic grunted.
They struggled to escape their bonds, but to no avail. Suddenly, they heard the roar of the sun-like Pokemon and the call of the moon-like Pokemon from their left and right. The tentacles that seized them writhed erratically and let them go, allowing them to face down the Shadow Synergy Stone once again. By now, Dark Gaia had lost the ability to communicate comprehensively. All it could do now was roar and hiss at them, revealing its true primal nature.
"All right!" Ash shouted. "Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!"
"Piiiikaaaaa...CHUUUUUUU!" Pikachu shouted, unleashing its signature attack. It struck one of the corners of the eye, forcing it to stay open while Dark Gaia hissed in pain.
"Charizard! Flamethrower!"
Charizard roared and unleashed a torrent of flames that burned another corner of the eye, causing the stone to shudder as though it were having a seizure. At this point, Greninja shot through the sky again in its veil of water, with Sceptile riding the wave.
"Oh, that's what he meant!" Sonic said, grinning.
"Sceptile! Solarbeam!"
"What?!" Sonic exclaimed. "But Ash, that takes time to –"
He was interrupted by Sceptile unleashing a fully-charged Solarbeam attack that struck Dark Gaia's eye in a third corner. By now, the monster was howling in agony as its eye felt as though it were being torn out of its head.
"What?" Sonic blinked. "How did he –?"
"The sun's energy is to our left," Ash grinned cheekily at him. "Did you really think Solarbeam would be hard to pull off?"
"Oh," Sonic shrugged. "I guess the expert knows best."
"Greninja!" Ash called. "Hydro Vortex!"
Greninja slammed into the fourth corner of the eye. The stone was in such agony, it was starting to retreat into its head a bit. It was useless; it had nowhere to go, and it could see nothing. The combined power of Grass, Fire, Water, and Electric Pokemon held it still as the four attacks suffocated the Shadow Synergy Stone.
"Now, Sonic!" Ash cried. "Finish it off!"
Sonic shot through the sky, eyes locked onto his target. He shot right at it, positioning himself so that he would hit the middle of the eye. Before Dark Gaia knew what was happening, he collided with the eye. Energy crackled and exploded as he forcibly pushed the eye farther and farther into the head. Suddenly, Dark Gaia's body began to crack like glass. It started from below and slowly extended to its whole form until the entire head looked ready to shatter at a moment's notice. Then, with an ear-shattering scream, Dark Gaia's body shattered into a million pieces and fell into the abyss from which it sprung. Only the Shadow Synergy Stone, weak and nearly broken, remained behind, floating in the air. Then it, too, fell into the void and disappeared.
The battle was over. The light had won. Darkness was vanquished.
Ash nodded and steered Charizard back to the meadow. But before they could return, a dark, string-like energy suddenly shot out of the void and latched onto Ash's wrist. Another string shot out and snagged his other wrist. Then, with a fierce pull, Ash found himself yanked off of Charizard and falling into the void as Pikachu and Charizard called his name in horror.
"NO!" Sonic screamed. "HANG ON, ASH!" He shot down into the void at the speed of light. The Nazo energy streamed behind him as he pursued his captive friend. Before long, he caught up to him and saw that the dark strings that bound him were coming from the Shadow Synergy Stone!
"Sonic!" Ash screamed.
"You lousy good-for-nothing piece of dirt!" Sonic yelled at the stone. "You just don't know when to give up, do you?!" He boosted towards them and headbutted the stone. Its grip on Ash loosened, but not enough to free him. The trainer continued to plummet into the void, with Sonic in hot pursuit. More strings shot out of the stone and continued to latch onto Ash, slowly wrapping him in a cocoon of darkness. As his body was slowly swallowed by the strings, his uncovered left hand reached for Sonic. Just as the string was about to seize that, too, they grasped each other's hands.
Then, with a flash of light, Ash suddenly found himself tumbling over in the meadow. He quickly stood up and looked back down at the void. His eyes were frantic as he feared the worst.
"Sonic!" he called. "Where are you?!"
Don't worry about me, Ash.
His eyes widened at the voice in his head. "Sonic, is that you?"
Yes Sonic replied. Listen: I used up most of the power we have left to save you.
"Save me?" Ash whispered. He stiffened when he realized what Sonic was implying. "Wait, Sonic NO!"
Don't hurt yourself worrying about me Sonic replied. There may be so little power left, but there's still just enough to make everything right in the world again.
"Sonic, stop!" Ash cried. "Don't do this!"
I have to came the reply. Someone has to make things right.
"SONIC, NO!" Ash screamed hysterically.
Ash Sonic said softly, You...must...live.
And that was the last time he heard the hedgehog's voice. As he heard these words, a beam of light erupted from the void and shot into the sky. Waves of light gently flowed across the sky, purging what remained of the darkness as the sky regained its normal hue. The Pokemon who stood to the east and west turned away and disappeared: their job was done.
All across the world, the fragmented pieces of our world slowly returned to their proper places. Anything that the darkness had destroyed, corrupted, or harmed in any way was made new as the light spread across the whole world, bathing every living thing in its soft glow. As the world came together once again, the legends that rose to fight the darkness slowly returned to their slumber, and the dark portals vanished without a trace.
The last portal to vanish was the one in Ferrum. As Ash saw it disappear, he suddenly felt very weary. Exhaustion consumed his body. As it did so, he saw one more thing in his mind:
The Shadow Synergy Stone had disappeared. Nazo Sonic hovered there a moment. Then, the glow of his body slowly faded as he returned to his natural blue state. Exhaustion consumed him, too. As his eyes closed, he fell into the void, becoming smaller and smaller until he was gone.
"Ash?"
Ash didn't hear Misty's voice. Still wide-eyed, he fell to his knees, and finally collapsed in exhaustion.