/New intro time. Well, this was long needed, but I don't mind. Anyways, welcome to Chapter 14 of Ultra Light. If you have enjoyed the series thus far, consider following or favoriting. If not, then thank you for taking your time to read this. A good day to you all.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. I do own the characters and stories. If I do not, then there will be a disclaimer for them as well, as well as link the original creator and the website I know them best on. Thank you, and goodbye.
Kira growled lightly as the cold wind blew against her, pushing her back several feet before stopping. Once it had, she quickly jumped to the side, an explosion following where she had been only mere moments before. She was now at the castle, but being here was even worse than she had thought. Even if it had been abandoned, Gengar knew how to set up traps to stop her. It appeared they were nonstop as well, as she was constantly on the move, yet she was still getting nowhere near the entrance of the castle. Gengar was smart and skilled, but they couldn't last forever, right?
As she dodged yet another one, two more traps went off at once, cornering her as yet another activated. She quickly raised her hand, earth and grass moving fast and slamming it into the next trap. Her breathing became heavy as she then fell to her hands and knees. Luckily, though, nothing activated once more. She wasn't even sure if she could keep going now. That attack and all those traps had torn a lot out of her, and she hadn't even been there for ten minutes.
Shaking her head, she slowly stood and rubbed her head. As much as she would have liked to rest, she knew that she didn't have long to stay here. Sure, Kyofu might have released Gengar, but she was sure he would still put up a little bit of resistance against her. Having now caught her breath and made her decision, she made a beeline for the door, only for it to swing open widely. In shock, she missed a step and flew into the main entrance, yipping loudly as she landed face-first and slid a few feet.
"Ouch, I would guess," someone chuckled from above, the floorboards creaking as they stepped closer. "I haven't seen something like you, but I'm sure you're nothing but a waste of my time. However, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for making it past my traps and into the house without dying." A loud chuckle then echoed out as the house was filled with dim light. "Welcome, Kira. I have been expecting you for a while now."
Kira slowly raised her head, shaking it clear as the footsteps finally stopped. She then looked up to above and noticed a dark shadow leaning on some sort of rail. She quickly shook her head and stood, clenching her fists as it looked down at her. Its wide grin gave her chills, but there was something about it that seemed to only be doing so because of nature. Then again, she wasn't exactly sure. Maybe this was Gengar, or maybe not. She wasn't exactly sure, but she didn't let it hold her down for very long.
"You know, you shouldn't be here," it told her, leaning close and grinning even wider. "I know about the fact that you are here, looking for something Kyofu called... a Promise? Well, unfortunately, I can't allow you to have it." His dark eyes took on a golden hint, filling Kira with fear. "You'll have to kill me, Gengar, first, Kira. I can't allow you to have it and return home. You're a monster."
Kira growled and watched as it phased through the bars, then landing in front of her with barely a sound. They were both silent before she dashed to the side, the ground erupting from under her for what seemed to be no reason. She had only just about felt it, but it was Leaf's panicked screech that had told her to move away. Something about the attacks seemed to scare her, and yet she could tell that it was Ragnarök who was terrified the most. She didn't let it hold onto her for long, though. She used the wall as a springboard, launching back at Gengar and swinging her tail.
As though he had been expecting it, Gengar stepped to the side, phasing through her attack and sending a chill up her spine. Kira landed roughly, spinning and standing once more as he turned to face her. She was silent before she launched forward, lashing her vines out swiftly. They each made a connection, but it was her ramming into him head-on that seemed to have an effect. He was sent flying back, but his ghost typing allowed him to phase through the walls and avoid any damage from/to the wall.
Kira stood there for several moments until he came back through. He was now frowning, the golden glint darker than before and filled with rage. He seemed to be thinking something, but he didn't speak as odd flames began to surround him. He mouthed something before the flames flew at her, slamming into her with a force comparable to a large boulder. Kira slammed into the wall behind her, screeching loudly as she felt every bone within her body bend at the force of impact. Everything felt like it had been put on fire, but she knew it was just a side-effect of the attack he launched upon her.
As the pain was building up in her, she struggled to keep her eyes open and to focus enough to even make sense of what was going on now. Her thoughts became blurred as she felt something forcing its way inside of her mind. She closed her eyes, fighting back against it, but there was something about it that caught her off guard. Something about this presence reminded her of Arceus, but it was darker than before. Her body, while the fire still burned, felt itself becoming numb as she fought against the odd force.
"Go... away," she growled, forcing herself to stand. "Whoever you are, leave me alone." She fell back to her hands and knees, her body burning with pain against the flames and the intruder. She tried to get Leaf or Ragnarök's attention, but they were both silent, as if they were struggling in their own fight. "Go... Stop! Stop! It hurts!"
She tried hard to fight against the intruder, but the flames would tear away her concentration. The pain disappeared, only for a moment, but that moment allowed her to look up just as someone's foot met with her face. Her vision lit up and dark dots formed within the light. She struggled for only several moments before she finally stopped struggling, freezing in place as she finally blacked out.
As Kira came to, she found herself in a location she had never been in before. The room was bright, but the surrounding halls were each dark and dim, excluding only three of them. Symbols above the doors were similar to the typing of each Pokémon, likely representing the type it represented. The only lights lit were the grass, psychic, rock halls. This had started off confusing, but thinking about it could only make it worse.
Shaking her head to try and get rid of the thought, she focused more on the area around her. The floors were golden, as was the roof, but the walls and pillars that reached for the sky seemed to be made of some sort of stone. She went up to a pillar and put a hand against it, but at least nothing happened to her. It felt cold to the touch, but it was nothing like what Kyurem had caused her.
"Welcome to the Hall of Origin," a voice called out to her, filling her with dread. "It's weird to see that you have come here, but I should have expected you to reach here some day, Kira. You would have had to, to return home someday." Arceus stepped into her vision, his green eyes shining with power. "But you have come a bit too early, I am afraid. So disappointing, now that I see it."
Kira growled and looked into his eyes, her fists clenched. "You knew this was going to happen, didn't you?" she whispered, feeling a surprising amount of fear in his presence. She wasn't sure why, but the real version of him scared her more than the dream version of him. It was likely because he could actually kill her here, or erase her from existence if he wanted to. "But why didn't you help me? You said you would help if I was in trouble, right? Why didn't you save me from Gengar's attacks?"
"Kyofu stopped me from reaching you," Arceus responded. "He set up some sort of barrier around the house that kept me out and away from you. I tried my hardest, but the barrier wouldn't break, even against my Judgement attack." He was silent for a moment before he sighed. "I thought you wouldn't have to come here, Kira, but you're dead now. It's impossible to go back and save your world."
"Then where's your Grim Reaper?" Kira asked. She noticed Arceus' eyes fill with fear for a moment, but they then became confused, almost shocked. "Every world has a Grim Reaper, a god of death, Arceus. Your world has to have one too, doesn't it?"
"Yes, but we can't trust him to send you back without some sort of repercussion or something," Arceus responded, his voice hesitant with fear. "Giratina is a greedy Pokémon, Kira. You can't trust him or any of the deals that he may give you, He'll just get rid of you."
Kira was silent before stepping closer. She knew Arceus was confused, but her body seemed to move of its own accord. "Tell me how to get to him," she snarled, her voice rough and hoarse. "It's either you tell me, or I go through each of these halls and kill whatever's at the end. Tell me now, Arceus, before I do something we both regret."
Arceus hesitated even longer this time before a mirror formed between them. Looking into it, they both saw a distorted reality, a Reverse World. "He is here, within this world of darkness," he told her. "He lays anywhere he wishes, flying around nonstop until he can find a way here. This mirror can take you there, but there will be problems with you getting out. If this is what you want, it is what you will get, Kira."
Kira was silent as she moved towards the mirror. She subconsciously reached a hand out and touched the glass. Without warning, everything then became like it had in the mirror. The image within the mirror became what she had once been in. A chill washed over her from all sides, and yet it felt like it was meant to be. She slowly pulled a hand away, watching as the mirror then shattered and faded away. There was no going back now, was there? Well, it was meant to be, right? She had finally made her decision, and so this was the path she would have to take. It was time to go off the tracks and make her own way through the forest.
Her feet barely made contact as she jumped from broken platform to platform. Instinct and hope led her as she moved swiftly. Her heart pounded loudly against her chest, filling her with dread and hope as she jumped and ran in this weird world. Gravity was messed up, but Kira didn't really notice until she over-jumped a platform. Luckily, she had landed on another and kicked off to continue on her way. It was just a bit odd for her to walk in a world where everything felt lighter and messed up, but it wasn't all bad. At least there weren't enemies.
After some time, Kira began to slow before coming to a full stop. If she hadn't been dead, she was sure that she would be more than exhausted by now, but she wasn't. She raised her head as red eyes appeared above her, filling her with even more dread than the reminder she was dead. She quickly shook it off, moving towards the beast that was nothing more than a shadow.
"You are Giratina, are you not?" she asked, then noticing as it blinked, curiosity filling its eyes as it kept them on her. "My name is Kira. I am here to find a way back to the living world. I'd be willing to do whatever it takes to get back there, so long as I don't have to kill anyone."
"You weren't at all hesitant about that, were you?" it mumbled, its voice off and scratchy. "Well, I haven't seen one of you in years, and I desperately don't need my ass kicked because I let a species go extinct." The black dragon then revealed itself, the golden rings around it glowing in the dim world. "I am indeed Giratina, master of the Reverse World and King of the Dead. I don't really want anything from you, so long as you have a child before you die next time. Also, kick Arceus' ass for me, please? He's been acting weird for a couple hundred years now, and I don't like him when he's off. I would, but, well, I'm stuck here for all eternity until he decides to give me back my Griseous Orb. Other than that, I really don't care about anything else. Just... don't cause trouble, I guess. Well, doesn't matter since I don't really care about Pokémon like you. Anyways, you can go back to the real world through a mirror on one of the platforms here. It'll take you back to where you died, yada yada. Just leave me, please. I'm kind of... in a mood."
Kira nodded lightly and slowly backed away from the dragon. She wanted to ask what was wrong with the beast, but she didn't want to upset it and end up dead here as well. She wasn't even sure if she could die here, but she was sure that if she could, it meant the end of her soul, as well as these two worlds. She was about halfway over the platform before the dragon then raised its head, stopping her with its glare.
"Actually, I have a small idea for how you could repay me for telling you how to get back," it mumbled, moving closer and poking her nose. "You see, I don't have anyone in the real world, especially since the rise of the Infected. If you could... carry around a Shadow for me, I might just owe you a favor in the end." Giratina the pushed its face into her own, kissing her lightly. Upon pulling away, Kira's cheeks were a dark red and her eyes were glazed. "If you agree, I promise not to hunt you down if you die again. All I need is for you to hand a Shadow to someone else. It's... my own way of keeping an eye there."
Kira wasn't sure why, but she nodded lightly. She felt something crawling under her skin, and yet she couldn't find enough thought to even reach and feel what it was. For a silent moment, they continued to stare at each other before Kira regained full control. She groaned and shook her head, slowly backing away as she tried to focus once more. By the time she had focused once more, the dragon had once again faded into darkness, now leaving Kira on her own.
"That was... an odd encounter," she mumbled under her breath, then shaking her head as she kicked off, landing on another platform rather quickly. "That dragon was rather cute, though." She could feel her cheeks grow warm before shaking her head. "Stop it, Kira. You shouldn't be thinking like that when your world's in danger and you have to return home. Focus, Kira. Focus on your mission."
She shook her head and jumped to yet another platform. This one shifted under weight, making her stumble. She grit her teeth and shivered, looking around for any reason as to why it may have done such a thing. Her eyes landed on two flames - the first was green while the second was red. They reminded her of Leaf and Ragnarök for some reason, but why? They were like her, right? They weren't... They... Were they really just pieces of Flame?
Silently, Kira walked over to them, placing a hand upon each of the Flames. A shill ran down her spine as they were slowly absorbed into her skin, filling her with memories of their adventures through the Pokémon world. Every moment they had been there was repeated, right from the beginning of Xatu's training to her death. Every single bit from both of their perspectives. Were they... Were they really... dead? Did they die for real this time? But... she never got to say goodbye.
"This... this can't be real." Tears pricked the edges of Kira's eyes as she felt something deep within her begin to surface. "My friends... the people who kept me alive for so long. The people I could trust with my life... are dead." The tears began to fall, hitting the ground lightly while she felt a hurricane of emotion. "No. No, no, no! They can't have died!"
She felt fear grip her heart as the memories then came to a stop. She lowered her head, only to raise it as she let out an ear-piercing screech that echoed even in this empty world. The sky seemed to tear itself apart from around her, but she didn't notice. Her tears only fell faster as she felt the odd sadness and rage fill her. She wanted revenge against Gengar, as well as Arceus. They had killed Leaf and Ragnarök, and they would be the ones to pay.
As the sky shattered, Kira found her body standing on its own. That grinning face of Gengar's was right in front of her, and she was pissed. She slowly stepped towards him, flames encasing her body as his golden eyes grew brighter and darker, somehow. Something about this all felt off to her, but she didn't care anymore. Revenge was what she wanted, and revenge was what she was going to get against them all.
Kira lashed out quickly, closing her eyes and lowering her head as a thick liquid slammed into the walls and dripped down her fingers. She slowly raised her head, looking at Gengar's eyes with a glint of hatred. "Fuck you," she whispered before pulling her hand away, wiping it on the floor to clean it of the blood. Gengar then fell to the floor, his eyes glazed as what seemed to be something similar to what she had received at Mount Travail appeared next to him. "That's my second promise. Good. Just one more."
Duke grit his teeth as he faced Sage and Chatot. He wasn't sure why, but he was sweating now, fear taking a hold of his heart and sending terrible shivers down his spine. It had only been happening for a few minutes now, but that was what was scary. He didn't know why it was happening, and he sure didn't want to know why either. That was probably why he was just waiting for the two to say something.
"A massive energy spike was detected only moments before the abandoned castle collapsed this evening," Sage mumbled, flicking his hand over some sort of tablet. "According to a recovery team, Gengar was found barely alive under all the rubble only moments after their arrival. No other Pokémon were found, but signs of struggle have been noticed. It is believed this is an attempted murder attack by an Infected. Authorities are scanning the nearby forests just in case." He then looked up to the two. "We haven't heard from Kira since she entered the castle at least an hour ago. DO you think she was captured or something?"
"No," Chatot said, swallowing loudly before looking at Sage. "I think that Kira may have skipped several limit breakers and entered a new form. It happens like in mega evolution and Breakthrough, but there's a big flaw in all of them. She may have just accessed that power you told me about - the one she had used against Zorua and Kiminari and Xatu?"
"I would say I doubt it, but I don't," Duke mumbled aloud, then looking at Sage as his hologram thing beeped. "Umm... Sage? I think someone's trying to contact you. I would just ignore it, but with Kira missing and all..."
"Already on it," Sage mumbled, reaching over and grabbing it before he threw it, watching as it landed then expanded, showing Kira on its screen. "Kira? What's going on? We heard that the castle collapsed a bit ago. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Kira responded, her voice heavy as she turned and looked at them, tears evident in her eyes and along her cheeks. "Only mere moments ago, I found that Leaf and Ragnarök were somehow murdered in the fight against Gengar. In the end, I still got the promise, but he somehow managed to kill them, even though I'm still alive."
"You mean..." Duke was silent for a moment before he sighed. "Alright. I think it would be best if you came back to Treasure Town for a while. There's a large investigation going around, and we really don't need you to be arrested because you're trying to save your world. We can use the time to try and help you control that power you used."
"Actually, I'm on my way to find that last Guardian already," she responded. "I've already received the second promise, and I have a feeling that waiting will allow this Pokémon to prepare for my arrival. Even if I am much stronger than before, I need to do this before they can properly be prepared, kay?" Her eyes then landed on Sage. "You agree with me, right?"
"I don't," Sage growled, clenching his fist as he looked at her. "Kira, there is a manhunt for any Pokémon in that area. If you're caught, you will stand trial, and you will be sent to jail. You can't risk being caught. Get back here, or else even more laws will have to be broken." He was silent before sighing. "And stop acting like you're fully grown. You're still a kid, even without Leaf and Ragnarök."
Kira went silent before she nodded. She raised a hand and wiped away tears, quickly glancing around before sighing. "Alright, Sage," she mumbled, now knowing she had no way of winning this conversation. "I'll be back there by tomorrow afternoon. I still have to avoid all these cops and hopefully not get chased down by Kyofu or Arceus. They're both mad, guys. They're both "villains" here."
Sage nodded in response, reaching to shut the machine down. Before he did, an odd chill washed over him. "Arceus and Kyofu?" He shook his head, not believing it. "Kyofu's the villain here, Kira. Arceus would never hurt his own children. You can trust him."
"He was the one who got m-Leaf and Ragnarök killed," Kira snapped. "He promised to help me when I was in trouble, and yet he fucking abandoned me right when I needed him the most! They're both dead because of him and his stupid actions! I don't have them anymore because he lied to me! He's a liar, a villain, just like Kyofu!"
Sage was silent for a moment before he shook his head. He grabbed the hologram and shattered it, forcing it to turn off and return to his paw. He couldn't believe what she had said. After all, she was just a kid to him. As much as he wanted to, he trusted Arceus, although not with his life. With a sigh, he put the machine down and stood.
"Are you okay?" Duke asked, looking up to the canine in worry. He could tell that Sage was struggling with something, but this was a bit more than what he expected. "You know, we stand beside you, Sage. We may be Kira's friends, but you're a friend as well. If there's something going on, just tell us."
"What's going on is a war," Sage snarled in response. "I know you think that this war can simply be won by taking out the source, but trust me when I say that there will be some out there who are stuck in this state of Infection." Sage sighed and looked down. "I had to kill my brother because of an Infected, Duke. I don't want to lost anyone else. Especially folks like you and Kira. You're all I have left. And if Kira starts to believe Arceus is against her, then that means we'll lose her soon enough."
"I know you think that, but think positively as well," Chatot squawked. "Even if there are Pokémon who are returning and are Infected, if as many Pokémon come back as there are left Infected, then that means we more than stand a chance against them, even in this war." Chatot sighed lightly before lowering his head. "Anyways, let's put this past us. Duke, what have you found on the steel Guardian?"
"Actually, yes," Duke responded. "I found that Dark Crater Island is only accessible by Lapras or by a Pokémon known as Cresselia, but the first option is our best, even if it might take a day or two. Anyways, the Guardian of the island is apparently from a war of over six thousand years ago, meaning he has many tactics that even the oldest of my books barely know anything about. Apart from that, not much else. All we know is his location and that he's very, very powerful. Kira'll need to be careful, and we might also need to go to help her in this fight, for once."
Chatot nodded before looking at Sage. "I trust that you will make preparations for our assault on the island, sir." Turning to Duke, he smiled lightly. "And I need you to find out a way to get us all there."
"Already taken care of for transportation," Sage mumbled. "I have Harold on standby for when we head to Dark Crater Island. We were planning on heading there next week anyways, since it's kind of an anniversary for us and all. And I already have the packs ready, Chatot. I knew about us needing to travel anyways, so... yeah. I've been prepared for a while now."
"You're still the weird little canine I met when you and your brother were still little Rockruffs, aren't you?" Chatot sighed lightly as Sage nodded, then standing and beginning to hop away. "Well, if you're ready, go and get some rest for tomorrow. We need to be ready for Kira's arrival, and we still need to prepare for the battles ahead. I'll see you both in the morning." Chatot then left them.
Sage was silent as he stood, grabbing his stuff before heading to the ladder to leave. "I have to get some shit done before midnight, so I'll just be on my way," he mumbled as he began to scale the ladder. "See you later, you bastards."
Duke was now left alone with all the books and the rest of whatever had been left behind. He sighed lightly before he grabbed a book about steel-type Pokémon and began to search through it for whatever he could on them. This was sure to be a long couple of days.
Note: Whoo! Fourteen chapters in and we're nearing the end, probably. Anyways, look at all this messed up stuff going on in the Pokémon world. Leaf and Ragnarök are dead and Kira's acting a lot more like an adult without them. Well, let's hope nothing bad can happen from here on. Well, with that said, remember to raise your voice and review if you find any mistakes. See you all later. Bye!