Do I really have to introduce this chapter? Well, I guess I will as I already technically am. Anyways, welcome to Chapter 18: Fade Away. As you all know, this will be the final chapter, but fear not, for there might be a sequel to this story. Anyways, I hope you have enjoyed this story, and please remember to keep an eye out for typos. It's greatly appreciated if you point them out. Thank you, and goodbye.
The light pitter patter of rain was what woke Kira up the next morning. She looked up at the roof, noticing in some places that it was a darker shade than in other places. Apart from that, the surrounding area just felt overall chilly. Sitting up slowly, she took the time to look around and find the others, who were all still passed out in one place or another. The camp was rather large, so they still had more than enough room to spread out, but, well, no one did. Everyone kept to themselves, even in the cold.
With a shake of her head, she quickly pushed away the feeling of worry and the cold. She silently headed to the next staircase, looking up towards the dark pit that was the next floor. They were so close, and yet they were also so far from the end of this all. It felt all to surreal, but here it was. The final push to the end was finally here, and it was going to end with both Kyofu and Arceus getting knocked down to size.
Kira wasn't sure when she had clenched her fist, but upon realizing it, she let her body and calm down, knowing the stress would weaken her as they ran to the final objective. Her breathing slowed lightly as warmth slowly washed over her; she turned and noticed a window on the opposite wall, allowing sunlight to wash into the room and fill it with even the smallest amounts of warmth.
"A new dawn brings a new hope, doesn't it?" Sage groaned loudly as he sat up, rubbing his eyes as the sun hit them. "But for once could it not be symbolized by the sun but by the moon or something. I already hate waking up to the sun, but it being in my eyes is just a fucking annoyance."
Kira nodded in response, smiling faintly as she watched him rouse the others. They had similar reactions, although they really only complained about him, except Wigglytuff as that pink rabbit was nothing but a ball of joy and excitement. Having already been up, Kira continued to watch as they packed up what had been left out. Soon enough, they would have to continue heading up the floors of the tower.
Once everyone was properly up and everyone had eaten breakfast, it was back into the tower once more. Like last time, Kira and Duke headed in first, splitting away from the others and climbing the tower as quick as they could. It wasn't immediately obvious, but the Pokémon were still getting harder and harder every floor. However, it seemed they wouldn't be able to get much stronger in terms of strategy.
As they progressed floors, Kira made sure to keep an eye out for any unusual Pokémon. In her hands, she was fidgeting with the same cube Sage had told her would capture another beast like Buried Alive. She didn't know if it worked on normal Pokémon, but she really didn't want to test it. After all, it had only one use as she had been told, and it would self-destruct if used improperly. Kira, however, didn't worry about that, as she was pretty sure she knew how to press a button and throw a ball.
With a shake of her head, Kira focused once more on the dungeon around her. Pokémon surrounded her and Duke on every side, which had been happening more and more as they climbed the floors. It wasn't that it had been rare at first, but that they had usually had enough room to run, but the size of their current enemies kept them from retreating out of the room, or even the floor for that matter. However, Kira and Duke were getting used to it, and their combos had begun to grow even more powerful as they got used to timing their attacks to combine and take out a lot of them at once. Heck, Kira wasn't sure if it was her or him taking them out, but they were doing it very, very well.
By the time they had reached somewhere around the ninetieth floor, Kira wasn't sure if their opponents could get any harder than they actually were. She was sure that even if they could, she and Duke wouldn't have many problems with them. The Pokémon were getting repetitive, as were their strategies. If this continued on, then neither of them would really be hit during battle.
It wasn't long before they were on the ninety-ninth floor, but there was an odd feeling in the air as they finally arrived on the floor. The air felt heavy, almost as though it was being dragged down by some sort of energy wave. But it also felt thin, as though something was tearing away the air around them and forcing it elsewhere.
"Th-they made me who I am," a voice whispered, fear gripping Kira's heart as she heard the child-like voice. "I made them red, but then my trainer did the same. Every time they came after me, I would make them red. I starved... I'm so hungry, but I'm so scared. I just wanted her back, and instead... she's fucking dead. I'm so scared. Won't you be my friends?"
Duke screeched loudly as a powerful beam of energy slammed him into a nearby wall. He collapsed, but not before another attack slammed him deeper into the concrete wall. As soon as he hit the ground, the only sign of life was the small lift of his chest as he breathed. He was still, otherwise.
Kira growled and looked at the Pokémon who had attacked them. It looked like some sort of Umbreon, but its "rings" had been replaced by an odd, red X. She could see tears within its eyes, its body thin and weak from what it had said. Something about it reminded her of Buried Alive, and she knew this had to be another beast. It was scary, and yet it was sad - it seemed torn between so many emotions at once.
"Whatever you are, I do not care to know," Kira mumbled, setting the bag to the side and grabbing the ball she had been given. "But what I do know is that I will take you out and that you will never harm anyone again."
Kira prepared to throw the ball, but the Umbreon suddenly disappeared. A moment of silence followed before something slammed into her from behind, forcing the sphere from her grip and slamming her into the wall face-first. Just like Duke, she fell to the ground, but her vision had grown dark and harsh around her. The sound of blood pounding in her ears echoed for what felt like years to her, only to come back to reality at the sound of shattering glass.
She raised her head and turned to look at Umbreon, noticing the last bits of the sphere lying under its paws. Its dark and terrifying smirk only grew as it felt the same red liquid it had seen seeped from its paws and to the ground beneath it.
"You made my paws dirty," it whispered, growling lightly and shaking its paw, blood flinging to the walls. "I feel so sick to my stomach watching my own red come from me. I'll kill you for this, freak. It was ordered of me anyways, so there's another reason to enjoy this fun."
Kira growled and stood, flinching lightly as she felt her own bones beginning to crack after the stress of surviving the attack and moving the way she was now. Once on her feet, she shot forward, throwing her tail forward, but it only hit air as the Umbreon disappeared and appeared on the opposite side of the room from her. She landed quickly, turning and rocketing forward once more. Like last time, the Pokémon just dodged her, almost as though predicting her attacks.
Kira, not wanting to allow it any time to recover from the attacks or charge up its own, she continued to charge the Pokémon, lashing out whenever she could. Even with how fast she was, the Pokémon wasn't just matching her, but outpacing her as well. It moved like lightning, jagged and blindingly so, but it couldn't continue this retreat forever. Eventually, it would mess up or try and attack, hopefully. It was all she could hope without a way to capture or defeat it.
"I'm not done with you just yet!" Kira snarled, slamming her tail into the ground and forming a crater. "Minor Meteor Strike." She quickly pushed off the ground, hitting the roof and kicking off once more. "Now you can't keep on the ground, you little fool. I'm going to win this fight, and you can't stop me!"
Kira snarled and kicked off the ceiling, slamming her tail into where Umbreon was. However, her tail only met solid ground as it disappeared once more, appearing on the edge of the crater with a light smirk. It said nothing as a powerful beam shot from it, slamming Kira deep into the crater.
"What was it you were saying about you not being done with me?" Umbreon asked, a light hint of joy hidden under his voice. "It appears to me you just gave up and allowed yourself to be hit by one of my attacks. Are you really that bad at keeping your promises?"
Kira smiled to herself as she felt energy running through her. "I'm not done with you," she responded, her body splitting into white and black once more. She stood, moving away from the other as she watched Umbreon. "You've only seen a fraction of my power up until now, dude. I'm gonna kick you so hard you'll wish it had killed you instead."
Umbreon chuckled lightly as the shattered rocks on the floor slowly rose to the ceiling, making some sort of trap from above them. Kira didn't mind as she knew she wasn't going to need the roof now anyways. With only a moment of silence between them, Kira's two forms shot at Umbreon. As she predicted, the Pokémon disappeared when she went in for the attack, which was when the black one suddenly changed direction, returning back to Kira and slamming a powerful Leaf Blade into Umbreon.
Blood hit the ground as the Umbreon was shot upwards and into the ceiling, rocks piercing it from behind and keeping it there. As soon as its focus ran out, though, the rocks fell, slamming into the ground, as well as Umbreon. Kira had destroyed the several above her, but the rest were now rubble, shards of the rocks Umbreon had used to attack.
Kira slowly walked over to the barely breathing Umbreon, leaning down and poking the side of its fluffy head. It turned and glared at her, but it knew that it shouldn't as her foot met its face, tearing it from the rock and slamming it into the wall. Kira then walked over and looked at its chest. Not once did it move, and even if it had, Kira still had enough energy to take out the beast.
Kira stayed there for several minutes before collapsing to her knees. Her breathing became heavy as she tried to catch her breath once more, although it was kind of hard for her. Eventually, though, she managed to do such a thing. By then, Duke was already up and digging through their bag. She didn't bother looking over, though, as she wanted to think about what had happened.
This Umbreon seemed to have been so hurt by those who she knew nothing about. But even then, it seemed so determined to hurt her, as though she had hurt it as well. The blood it had spilt seemed to have set off a chain reaction as well, but why? There were so many questions that she wanted answered, and yet there were none. Silently, she shook her head and let the thoughts drift away. A battle was a battle, and that was all there was to it. Besides, this was the final floor before the pinnacle.
"You look exhausted," Duke told her as he set a Max Elixir next to her. "You should drink this and get your energy back. Your final opponents should be on the next floor, my friend. Now stop looking at that beast and let us hurry onwards."
Kira sighed lightly and lowered her head. "But there was so much bloodshed in this life I have lived," Kira whispered, looking at her hands. Her vision flashed and blood appeared all around her, almost like a memory. "I spilt it all. I don't deserve to live! I've taken too many lives!"
Kira was snapped to reality as pain suddenly coursed through her face, her head snapping to the side as something made contact with her. She raised a hand to her cheek and looked over to Duke, who had his wing extended in the position he had used to hit her.
"We've all spilt some blood in our lives," he told her, his voice dark and filled with anger. "If you give up now, then all the blood on your hands will have been for nothing. Even if you hadn't, someone would have done this. Just know that you spilling their blood means nothing. They were never meant to exist here in the first place. And those that did... They got what they had coming either way. We all die, whether it be naturally or because we were idiots."
Kira nodded lightly, wiping tears from her eyes and forcing herself to down the drink. With it done, she stood and turned, heading into the maze-like floor to find the stairs. "I didn't want to kill them. I didn't have the choice to... I want to go home... I want to see what I have left after all this."
Kira eventually found the next flight of stairs. She looked at them with hatred before she began up them, light filling her vision as they finally left the tower. Kira could hear Duke following after, as well as the cold breeze of the sky reaching for them as they came to the surface after a day of running through the same tower.
Once at the pinnacle, Kira became away of two things. The first was that Arceus and Kyofu were both standing side-by-side at the other side of the tower. The second was that Sage, as well as Wigglytuff and Chatot, were both lying on the ground several feet away. Kira clenched her fist and stepped into the views of the Pokémon who stood in her way.
"Surrender," she simply ordered, hate coursing through her. "Surrender or I'll kill you both." Her body became encased in Flame while Fear consumed the other two. "I'm so sick and tired of your bullshit, Arceus. Let Kyofu go and I'll show a little bit of mercy. Kyofu, let me go home, and I might not kill you."
"So you really think you can still stand a chance against us?" Arceus chuckled, his dark eyes darkening even more upon the sight of her. "You must be sadly mistaken, kid. Kyofu already knocked out two of the world's strongest Pokémon without so much as lifting a paw. What do you think you have against him in the form you're in, kid?"
"She has me," Duke mumbled as he walked over, yawning lightly as he shoved a book into the bag before throwing it away. "Arceus, God of the Pokémon World. You're a wanted criminal in seventy thousand universes around entire multiverse. With that, I have everything I need against you, from stats to attacks to strategies. As for Kyofu, Kira can stand on par with people like us nearby."
Kira flinched as pain rushed through her, her vision becoming bright before returning to normal. She quickly raised her head, but instead of Pokémon, she saw humans instead. Each of them looked familiar, and yet she couldn't tell exactly why.
Where Arceus had been standing, a man in golden and white robes stood, a cross over his chest. Kyofu had been replaced by an old and fragile looking man wearing a great amount of robes and jewelry. In Duke's place, he had been replaced by a young guy wearing the armor of a medieval knight. And Kira was just... Kira; she knew this, even if she couldn't see herself.
As her vision returned to normal, her mind and body were filled with an unreal amount of rage. She could feel her blood boil within her, tearing at her and screaming to let loose and tear apart the two Pokémon who had led her to this point. But then again, were they all that bad? Well, yes, but they had brought her to something she would have never expected; she lived the life of a Pokémon, which could have never happened without them. But even that didn't forgive them for the bloodshed they had caused.
Kira sighed lightly and moved into a battle-ready position, facing Arceus initially before changing her target to a struggling Kyofu. She could see the pain within his eyes, so maybe it would be best to take him out before anything bad happened between the Pokémon. Then again, it was Arceus controlling the whole show. Maybe Kyofu would turn his back on Arceus if they could break his concentration.
"Do you have a plan yet?" Duke asked, his voice a whisper as he tried to think up his own plan. "They're too calm for this to not be a trap, Kira. We have to think this thoroughly before we even make a single step towards them."
"We take out Arceus first," Kira finally decided, clenching her hand in a fist as energy began to course through her once more, and likely for the last time. "If we can break his control of Kyofu, we might actually stand a chance against him. Arceus isn't too strong on his own, and breaking his control means we'll only have to worry about Arceus himself."
Duke nodded, sighing lightly before white light enveloped him. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this until coronation, but I guess there's always time to improve." As the white light began to dim, Duke grew much larger than before, but still only stood a foot above Kira. "Evolution complete!" he cried out, the light fading as he spread his wings. "It's time to fight like it's our last day!"
Kira smiled lightly before she quickly rocketed forward. The earth beneath her caved in, but she had already cleared the gap by the time it could have even remotely tripped her up. She quickly turned, slamming her tail into Arceus and sending him into the air before lashing out with her vines and slamming them into his chest. The attacks, however, seemed to have no effect whatsoever. He just began to stand on the air, his dark eyes watching her as though deciding on how to get rid of her. Duke, however, was too fast, flying above the God before slamming several sharpened feathers into its back.
Arceus snarled and landed on the ground with a light thud, his eyes flickering before he regained his balance and focus. He shook off the attacks as though they had caused nothing against him, raising his head and roaring loudly. The air around him began to swirl, cutting into Kira and Duke as the barely visible rocks were thrown from it and directly at them.
Kira eventually started to get annoyed, lashing out with her vines against the rocks. She would have just raised the earth, but she could tell that it wouldn't work very well against the legendary beast. Duke, on the other hand, began to flap his wings and send waves made of the wind back at Arceus. It may not have been the best strategy when there were two of them each, but focusing and pinning Arceus was the primary goal.
The pillar of air around Arceus began to thin, but the Pokémon wasn't done just yet. It was only for a split moment, but Arceus formed light within its mouth before launching it up to the sky. Kira and Duke focused on the light before it shattered into hundreds of pieces, rocketing back at the ground like a meteor.
"It's Judgement!" Duke yipped, quickly flying around and trying avoid the meteor-like attack. "Don't let yourself get hit by any of them, Kira! They're a lot stronger than you can possibly think they are!"
Kira didn't even speak as she dodged the attacks that slammed into the ground. Eventually, though, there was no ground for her to properly stand upon. She dashed towards Arceus, only realizing her mistake as something sharp sliced across her chest. She looked down, blood seeping from her chest as she collapsed to the ground. Several of the attacks followed after, hitting her with their full forced and knocking her deeper into the ground. It took a full minute for the rest of the attack to stop, and by then, Kira was once again on the verge of death.
"Such a weak and petty being," Arceus growled, a light thud following as Duke slammed into the ground. "Both of them, thinking they could defeat us, even with their own powers. How much weaker can you even get in this state, Kira? Kill her, Kyofu. Kill her and watch the blood run on your claws."
Kira slowly opened her eyes as pawsteps moved closer to her. Her head pounded as she turned and looked at Kyofu. His eyes shined with fear as his claws were extended, cutting into her back as he pushed it down onto her. A scream escaped her, even though it was weak. She could feel her blood seeping out and onto the forced claws, but she couldn't give up now; she couldn't give up ever.
Pain tore through her body as she forced her way to her hands and knees. Even then, she managed to turn and slam her tail into Kyofu's underside, knocking him only a few feet away. This, however, allowed her to catch her breath and force away the pain. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest and her nerves burning with pain, and yet neither of them matched her hatred for the duo that had caused them all this pain. Every second of it made her anger grow, but every second made her stronger, if only slightly.
Kira sighed lightly as her body began to rapidly heal, feeding upon her energy to push away the pain and restore the balance within her. Before it had healed fully, she was once again standing at full pride, her fists clenched and energy swirling around her. She didn't speak a single word as she jumped up, the energy swirling for only a moment before launching at both Kyofu and Arceus in a storm of leaves. Both Pokémon were hit by the storm-like attack, which lasted a full minute before finally dying out.
Breathing heavily, Kira used her vines to soften her landing to the ground. Upon touching down, she once again collapsed to her knees, finding it hard to control her energy after the single attack. She knew it had done quite a lot to them, but had it really been worth it in the end? Had all that energy even scratched them? She lifted her head right before a hoof met her face, knocking her back and to the edge of the tower. She could taste blood on her lips as she forced herself to stand, the light clink of footsteps echoing in her ears.
"You thought... you could... defeat us... with that pathetic attack?" Arceus coughed, his voice dull and weaker than before. "You put everything into that attack of yours, didn't you, Kira?" Arceus chuckled and lifted a hoof to her chest. "Too bad it did nothing to save you, fool. Too bad... it was the reason you died."
Kira growled, raising a hand to his hoof and gripping it as energy began to enter her once more. "As if I'd let myself die this stupid way," she snarled, her eyes focusing on the beast in front of her. "It's your fault this all began, and it'll be your fault for the way I end your life." She growled as her eyes became a bright green, flame erupting from her in every direction. "And it's your fault that I won't show mercy!"
Arceus' eyes widened as she somehow pushed him off her and to the opposite side of the tower. As he caught his balance, Kira appeared under him, lashing upwards and launching him skyward with Leaf Blade. Even then, she didn't stop her assault, dragging him down with Vine Whip and launching him towards the other side of the tower with another Leaf Blade. Her attacks were relentless and sharp, almost as though she were trying to kill him.
Kira let out a scream as she slammed her tail into his side, knocking him well away from her and to the edge. Her vines grabbed his legs, pulling him close for a direct punch to his face. Every hit and attack would have been lethal had he been a normal Pokémon, but he wasn't, and so he was suffering through the pain more than anyone else would have. Every blow was direct, a critical strike that would keep him unsteady and off his feet. But Kira wasn't done. No, even when he stopped, she didn't show the mercy she had once shown for everyone.
Arceus realized this only as the ground beneath his feet suddenly shot up, slamming into his underside. Unlike what he had expected, the sharpened edges tore through him, reappearing on the opposite side of his body almost instantly. Arceus found himself unable to breath, or even gasp for air, as Kira walked closer, a look of murderous intent hidden deep within the pain and hate in her eyes.
Kira felt tears fall down her cheeks and to the ground, but she didn't care as the Terra Crystal began to glow and crack under the amount of power being used. She reached up and gripped it, almost shattering it with the strength surging through her body. Her eyes looked at the ground before her hand fell and tore the rocks out from under the God in front of her. She could hear as he fell to the ground, a simple thud followed by a final gasp for unreachable oxygen.
"I'm sorry about this, but you left me no choice," Kira whispered, wiping away the tears streaming down her cheeks. She forced herself to smile as she raised her head and looked at Arceus. "But now you can't hurt anyone anymore. Now... the people of my world and this own are free from your tyrannical rule, Arceus. We don't have any more to fear."
She knew Arceus wouldn't respond, and yet she had said those words anyways. The adrenaline within her system began to wear off as she collapsed to her hands and knees. Her body screamed to release the tension in it, and yet she forced herself to stay there as the floor became wet with tears. What had she done? She shouldn't have killed him. Even if he was a murderer, no one deserved to die like that.
The only comfort Kira received was as Duke landed next to her, wrapping a wing around her. "It's okay," he whispered, his voice soothing and somehow calming. "You don't have to cry, Kira. Everything's done. You can go home now! You finished your mission... You can go back to a world where none of this can ever happen again."
"I... I'm not going back," Kira whispered, forcing herself to push him away and wipe away her tears once more. "I thought I wanted to go home, but now I can see that there's nothing left for me apart from you. Ragnarök and Leaf... Audino... Swanna... Everyone... You're all I know, even when the memories are bad. No human could ever match the feelings I feel for you all. I'm not going back, Duke. I'm staying... here in the Pokémon World."
Duke's shock was evident as he backed away, unsure of if what she said was the truth. He figured it out quickly as the orbs she had gathered appeared around her, only to shatter and fade away like dust. Without them, she wouldn't be able to ever return home. He sighed and nodded lightly, acknowledging the final decision she had made. He'd be lying if he said he had expected it, but now... Now they could see each other every day of the year, and every year of their lives.
Their attention was dragged from each other as footsteps sounded behind them. They turned and noticed Sage, who was holding a now unconscious Kyofu over his shoulder. Wigglytuff and Chatot were both up as well, although they still looked a bit shaken up from their tussle with Arceus before their arrival.
"Anything we missed?" Sage mumbled, exhaustion evident in his voice. "Apart from your choice to stay, that is. Is there anything else we should know about that might have happened during the battle?"
"Just that Arceus is dead now," Duke responded, looking at his wings before sighing. "And now that I forced myself to evolve, looks like it's straight back to the throne room for me. Screw my parents for their genetics and forced evolution styles. Too bad I can't go back."
Kira nodded lightly before looking down and rubbing her arm. This was the start of a new adventure, but it was only just beginning once more. The Pokémon World, her new home, had so much to offer in the wake of this moment. Even if Sage had said everything would get repetitive, Kira felt that maybe a fresh start here would be the best part.
She smiled and looked towards where Treasure Town was, then noticing the pillars of smoke coming from the town. There was a lot of stuff to do around the world, and this was the simple beginning.
And... CUT! Wow... So Kira's final decision wasn't what she was originally wanting, but who really cares? She's finally found her home with those she met in a world she had never been to. And, well, I think that's a fine ending to a story. If you have been here since chapter one, I thank you for being so patient with this story. If you still have questions or notice any mistakes, please don't be afraid to ask/point them out. Thank you, and goodbye .