Cody had to prop himself up against the barn door to see just what was happening. He saw Terrence and Vera, fully transformed and struggling to dissipate a large swirling spiral of winter clouds that had touched down around them. The metal insect had approached the house, getting close to Quinn as he ran out with something. But Keldeo was nowhere to be seen. He slid off the door still clutching his stomach as he finally felt the wind die down. Everyone went silent as the storm clouds touching down disappeared, revealing Keldeo, still standing in the epicenter of the storm.
Keldeo opened his eyes, what were once a dull gray had become a vibrant blue. His small cream horn had grown into a large blue, jagged point. As if taunting what had happened, three feathers adorned his flowing orange mane: one blue, one brown, and one green. A dark purple and gray aura surrounded him. He looked over everyone in the vicinity in silence, even the storm fell quiet as Keldeo stood there.
"Master Kyurem has shared with me his secrets." Keldeo began, it hurt them, especially Cody, to hear Keldeo's voice mixed with Kyurem's "You lied to me...you all lied to me. Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion, they're all still alive. And he has shown me how to bring them back…" Keldeo concentrated, a yellow and orange aura erupting from his new horn, only to change color into a dank purple. Keldeo turned to Terrence, launching at him with a speed no one expected. Terrence simply stood there, realization striking him a minute later as Vera charged in front of the sword with her own Sacred Sword. It wasn't enough to parry, but it was enough to redirect the attack and make Keldeo miss; the force of the attack caused Vera to collide with Terrence and send the two skidding across the grass.
"Holy…" Terrence gasped and groaned.
"He's so fast now…" Vera groaned, managing to stand up.
"This is my Resolute Forme, my resolve to bring my loved ones home And my Secret Sword, the technique they had hoped to teach me, Master Kyurem has shared with me." Keldeo laughed, uneasy and erratic "Isn't it amazing? I will save them with the very technique they failed to teach me."
Cody groaned, still reeling from the kick, but he needed to stand and do something, help them fight, anything! He noticed Quinn was with the red metal insect, inserting something into it, and the cobalt medallion was right at Keldeo's hooves. Cody pushed himself away from the barn door he was leaning on "Keldeo!" Cody coughed, shrinking back in regret when Keldeo turned to face him with that intensely calm, evil glare "Keldeo, listen to me. Kyurem is lying to you."
"Master Kyurem doesn't lie! He promised to reunite me with the others…" Keldeo looked down at the cobalt medallion beside him "All I need to do is return them to him."
Cody couldn't let Keldeo take it, he needed to distract him somehow "Wait!" Cody stepped forward "You've allowed Kyurem to twist your sorrow until now…" he paused, stepping forward "Until you let the source of your sadness corrupt you." it sounded odd, it sounded campy, but it was a distraction.
Keldeo kept his cold eyes locked on Cody "I see through your lies, Cody. You...all of you...we're holding me back from what I was meant to be…" Keldeo aimed his sword at Cody, causing him to stop for a moment, but his attention was off the medallion "You made me stay in your world so you could all pretend to be heroes!" Keldeo grinned "Let me ask you again. Take away the medallion and what are you?" he laughed now "Just some shut in nerd who's only friends were nowhere near him." Keldeo turned to Quinn "And the one who is close enough...well look at him." Quinn glared at him, finishing putting the drive into Genesect's blaster "And everyone else is just another human who lost everything. A mindless muscle freak, and a girl who wanted something just to feel special. All of you are nothing!"
Cody paused "Maybe you have a point." everyone turned to Cody, who was still moving closer to Keldeo "But that doesn't change the fact that you brought us all together. All of us helped you. And we still want to help you." Cody's heart was pounding in his chest as he slowly knelt down beside Keldeo "Even if it means just helping you out of your sorrow…" Cody's arms swooped low from the ground into a hug around Keldeo, holding him close "Please...come back to us."
There was a pause amongst them. Terrence and Vera managed to stand as they watched Cody embrace Keldeo. A part of them hoped, prayed even, that it was enough to snap Keldeo out of it. But when his head twitched, bringing the sword dangerously close to Cody's body, they knew it wasn't going to work. Cody backed away, trying his best not to get slashed, but Keldeo was too quick. Cody screamed in agony as the Secret Sword slashed at him, barely avoiding a deep cut across his torso, tearing his shirt and leaving a still bloodied gash across his chest. Cody landed a couple of feet away, huddled in on himself as he whimpered.
"No!" Terrence roared, launching a barrage of stones at Keldeo, causing him to jump out of the way and dodge them. Terrence summoned his Sacred Sword and charged at Keldeo, clashing and attempting to overpower him. Vera summoned an onslaught of rainbow leaves that enveloped Keldeo, distracting him long enough to let both Vera and Terrence get in a good slash, sending Keldeo flying backwards. Keldeo tried to stand up and charge, but a yellow blast of light struck him, sending him skidding back another couple of feet as electricity danced across his body. Keldeo eyes turned to Genesect.
"Anomaly detected within Blue." Genesect said through the translator Quinn had kept up "Enemy detected within ally." a few errant beeps, and the blaster charged up once again "Parameters acceptable." and a few more blasts were launched at Keldeo, who dodged out of the way. An attempt to attack Genesect and Quinn was met with Terrence launching a stone at him, sending him plummeting into the ground with a thud.
"Come and get us!" Terrence yelled, following Vera as the two ran off. Keldeo growled, enveloping himself in frosty water and chasing off after them.
"Genesect...can you help them?" Quinn asked, relieved to see the quick confirmation sound from Genesect, transforming into his traveling mode and zipping off after the three. Quinn looked back to Cody, running close and grabbing him, resting his head on his lap. Cody stirred, still clutching his bleeding torso "What the hell were you thinking man? Did you really think that was going to work?"
Cody grunted, adjusting in Quinn's lap with a strained and weak smile "Well...that was plan A…" Cody let his hand fall to his side, Quinn gasped when he saw the cobalt medallion in his grasp "This was plan B." Cody was quick to stand up, groaning and clutching his chest with one hand as the other slipped the medallion over him.
"I guess desperation breeds creativity." Quinn grunted and stood back up, watching Cody transform into Cobalion.
"Oh you say that too?" Cody asked quickly, already turning to follow after the others, only to flinch and groan, noticing a particularly strong pain in his chest. Getting the wind knocked out of him from a blast of water, a kick in the gut from Keldeo, and the slash in such a small window of time were adding up, and it seemed the pain carried over between forms.
"Cody…" Quinn approached him "Don't you think you've done enough?"
"If Keldeo still feels hurt...no…" Cody was quick to run off. Quinn looked between where they had all ran off and at his house. He didn't have anything to offer in this fight, and he would probably be a liability at best. But all these people he came to know, he couldn't just abandon them. He ran back to his house to grab his laptop and the disc drives for Genesect, huffing and puffing as he ran after the others.
Vera led the chase with her speed, Terrence was short behind, and both of them could hear Keldeo's approach. The two had run into the woods right next to Quinn's house, good cover for the fight that was about to come.
"So can we talk about Cody's sappy speech real quick?" Terrence asked.
"Really, Terry?" Vera asked, looking behind her, cursing under her breath as she noticed just how close Keldeo was getting to Terrence. She jumped doing and launched more rainbow leaves at Keldeo, it slowed him down, but realized they froze on contact with the icy water Keldeo enveloped himself in and fell to the side. It was enough for Terrence to get beside Vera. Keldeo dispelled the water around him, glaring at the two of them.
"You're not yourself, Keldeo!" Vera pleaded, taking a stance to fight nevertheless, bringing out her Sacred Sword.
"Pathetic humans." Keldeo muttered, summoning his Secret Sword once again.
"Now you're just being rude." Terrence summoned his sword as well.
Keldeo was the first to attack, launching at the two of them with speed they were more prepared for. Terrence stood his ground, grunting as he blocked with his sword, the impact still causing them to skid a few feet back. Vera tried to slash at him, but he flipped out of the way, opening his mouth and launching a beam of ice at Vera. She gasped, jumping out of the way, that was supposed to be water. Small ice shards decorated where it struck the ground.
"Keldeo, please! We don't want to fight you!" Vera pleaded, trying to take a step forward but falling, realizing that her front hoof was stuck within a block of ice. She focused on trying to break herself while Keldeo continued the assault on Terrence.
"I know. I wouldn't want to fight me either!" Keldeo chuckled to himself as each hit caused Terrence to skid backwards with a groan.
Vera tried kicking at the block of ice on her hoof, not having the strength to break it open. And the angle was too awkward to hit with her sword without hitting herself. She began to panic, even summoning her rainbow leaves to see if they were strong enough, they stuck within, but did not crack it. She cursed under her breath, Terrence was only on the defensive, she had to help him soon! She summoned more rainbow leaves, fueled by anger and desperation, realizing that rather than launching themselves at the ice, they hovered around her body, spinning. When they began to spin around her faster, she smiled, and the smile grew wider when she realized she could control them like this. Like the blade of a chainsaw, they cut the block of ice in half, freeing her hoof. She then concentrated on Keldeo, launching them all at him. He was so focused on assaulting Terrence he didn't notice as he was struck in the side and sent flying backwards. She ran to Terrence, helping him stand up, he was breathing heavily, but regained his footing quickly.
"...Thanks." Terrence panted "New trick?"
"I think so." Vera smiled summoning more rainbow leaves that spun around her, ready for Keldeo.
"If you think that's all it will take to bring me down. You're wrong! Not when I'm this close!" Keldeo charged at Vera this time. She stepped back and with a thought, sent the leaves to deflect Keldeo's Secret Sword. It lasted two hits before all of the leaves were broken, giving Vera enough time to summon her Sacred Sword to block his attacks. Whatever she couldn't block she stepped out of the way, but the speed and power behind Keldeo's attacks were still overwhelming, causing her to step back. Terrence saw an opportunity to flank Keldeo and attempted to charge, but Keldeo lifted his hind legs, launching a blast of cold water at Terrakion that sent him flying back, landing on the ground with a thud. He rolled back onto legs, seeing now that Keldeo had pinned Vera to a tree, all she could do now was block his attacks with her sword. He tried to summon stone from the earth to give Keldeo the smack down, but when he saw Vera's sword break from his attacks, followed by the scream when Keldeo cut her and her reverting to a human as she collapsed, Terrence's fury summoned more than small stones; large jagged points of stone erupted from ground in a wave that Keldeo had no time to dodge, he was pinned to the tree by the stone's edge, snarling and kicking to break free. Terrence summoned his sword and jumped at Keldeo. He thought he had him, until Keldeo launched another beam of ice at Terrence, freezing him solid as he landed to the ground with a thud.
"A few new surprises won't be enough to stop me…" Keldeo panted, enveloping himself in water with enough strength to break the stones that had pinned him. He looked between the block of ice that was Terrence, and the unconscious form of Vera. He had a pretty good idea of how to get the medallion off of her, and walked towards her, summoning his Secret Sword, ready to cut her open.
Keldeo screamed, reeling from the sudden jolt of electricity that tore through him, causing him to spin around with a wicked expression. Genesect stood there, blaster still hot as he reverted to his normal mode, standing a good distance from Keldeo. He growled under his breath when he saw Quinn enter the scene, panting and gasping for air. His anger grew more when Cody arrived already transformed.
"I understand your pain, Blue." Genesect began "I have been the prisoner of another for ten years. The anger and the sadness you feel are real, but I sense your elevated heart rate and your erratic thought patterns. They have been brought to a dangerous maximum. This anomaly fuels your negative emotions, you act illogically."
"You're one to talk!" Keldeo spat "That human let you walk away after everything his father did to you...and you came crawling back to protect him!"
"Quinn is not his father. He gave me a choice to leave, and I made my choice."
"Genesect…" Quinn sighed, noticing the frozen block of ice that was Terrence. He fished into the box of drives again.
"Such a simple outlook..." Keldeo growled.
"I have no need for further sophistication." Genesect said, launching a barrage of more blasts at Keldeo, but he was more prepared, and dodged them all. Keldeo jumped back, summoning his Secret Sword and charging at Genesect and Quinn, only for Cody to stand in their way with his sword drawn already.
"Genesect, I'm changing your disc drive…" Quinn grabbed the drive with the red border "If yellow was electric...I really hope this is fire…" Quinn muttered, catching the yellow bordered drive as the red one was inserted "Break Terry out!" Quinn called out, happy to see the blaster heat up and launch a large continuous blast that melted and broke the ice around Terrence. Terry collapsed to the ground with a sigh reverting back into a human, also unconscious.
"How's that cut holding up, Cody?" Keldeo taunted, bringing his sword down on Cody's again, just noticing how much he was flinching "That answers my question." Keldeo laughed. He wanted to continue the assault on the weakened Cody, but Genesect launched more blasts at him, causing him to dart and dodge around as Cody took a couple steps back towards Quinn.
"Any ideas?" Cody asked, already panting and in pain.
"I'll be honest, I'm still surprising myself by even being out here when I am literally only a fat human with some floppy discs. So...not really." Quinn admitted "I know we don't wanna kill him but…-!"
"Don't finish that sentence." Cody spoke plainly, enough to make Quinn shut up. Cody looked to Genesect, firing off blasts quick enough to keep Keldeo at bay, but he wasn't sure how long that was going to last. He thought back to what Genesect before, and inspiration struck him. He charged forward again, meeting Keldeo for a clashing of their swords. Keldeo was beginning to overpower Cody, but when Genesect was able to land a few blasts on Keldeo, it was enough to make him lay off and try something different.
"Keldeo, listen to me! Genesect is right! We all have a choice to make. Terry, Vera and I had one too." Keldeo attempted to hit Cody from the back, but he was quick to spin around and meet him "When you were unconscious from Thundurus, Kyurem gave us an out. Give you and the medallions up and he would leave us all alone." Keldeo stopped his attack for only a moment "We had the choice to walk away and let him do...whatever he was going to do to you…" Cody looked Keldeo in the eyes with an intense gaze "But we made the choice to stay and fight...for you…like we are now." Cody noticed Keldeo began to falter, slightly. He looked to Quinn, which was enough of a cue for him to tell Genesect to not attack for a moment.
"You…" Keldeo shook his head "You're still nothing without the medallions. Just a bunch of humans pretending!"
"And earlier?" Cody asked "When I approached you without the medallion? You almost killed me, but I still took that risk." Cody pressed firmly into their clashing swords "And when we first met? When I hid you, I didn't have a medallion to protect me either." Cody could see Keldeo's eyes flicker, faltering as he looked away "You're right...none of us are much without those medallions. But we aren't just the medallions. Nothing stopped us from quitting. We all had our reasons for being a part of this, but we're still on your side." Cody's gaze softened, eyes beginning to grow watery.
"He's right." Everyone turned to the sound of Vera stirring to consciousness "Maybe I did join for selfish reasons...just wanting to have something that couldn't be taken away from me. But when I saw what Kyurem was doing...and what he did to you…" Vera shook her head "Nobody should have to go through that."
Terrence grunted as he sat back up, shuddering from the chill still hanging on to him "I only stuck around because I felt like I owed Cody for helping me. But then I got to know you and Cody and Vera and…dammit man. You're worth fighting for." Terrence groaned.
"But...I...don't understand!" Keldeo looked between everyone "You had a way out. To save yourself so much heartache and pain. Why did you stay? Why did you risk everything for...me?" Keldeo was no longer putting pressure on Cody, and so the two stopped clashing too. Good thing too, Cody was very confident the wounds from before only got worse.
"Do we need a reason?" Terry asked, half chuckling in pain.
"Maybe our reasons didn't start the most altruistic..." Vera sat up "But we made up our minds, we're helping you."
"We all made a pledge to keep fighting, Keldeo." Cody's breathing was becoming more ragged "We're not giving up on you, so...don't give up on us."
"I feel like I made everything right when I let Genesect go." Quinn chimed in "I could have just walked back inside and let you guys fight it out but…" he rubbed the back of his head "I can't just sit back and do nothing...not when people I care about are suffering like you are."
"But...Cobalion, the others are…-!" Keldeo began, he couldn't just abandon them, not when he was this close to getting them back.
"Gone." Quinn frowned, thoughts turning back to the father he couldn't even say goodbye to "And that's not easy to say. I get it. But you're not alone anymore. You have me, and Cody, and Terry, and Vera." Quinn placed his hand on Genesect's side.
Keldeo looked between all of them, all of these humans, with barely any natural skill and ability between them, risked everything, even their lives to make sure he was safe, and now, to make sure he was okay. He couldn't even begin to comprehend why, and that made him even angrier. They were just tricking him, getting him to lower his guard and forget the memory of his old friends. He didn't want these new friends, he wanted his old friends back. Kyurem promised him.
Keldeo summoned his Secret Sword again, Cody barely had enough time to bring out his, but with a newfound and enraged strength, Keldeo sent Cody skidding in one hit, transforming back into a human. Keldeo lumbered toward Quinn, slashing Genesect into a tree as he attempted to stop him. Keldeo laughed darkly, spinning around and kicking Quinn with his back hooves. Quinn leaned into the kick, a handy trick from all the time he spent around horses with his aunt. It didn't hurt as much as a swift kick, but he was sent flying into a tree, falling unconscious.
Cody tried to sit up and see what happened, but the gash on his chest returned with a newfound pain that kept him in place. He shuddered a gasp as he heard Keldeo approach him, a familiar purple dark aura surrounded him. He stood over him now, a hoof to the gut for extra effect.
"I've heard enough. Kyurem will reunite me with them. And then everything will go back to the way it was…" Cody tried to move while Keldeo spoke, but the pain was too much "I'll make sure my loved ones never die again from my failings…"
"What about us?" Cody managed to ask in a raspy voice "What does that make us?" Cody was surprised to see Keldeo pause for thought, his eyes showed that he was genuinely considering what Cody has said. But he closed his eyes, the same grim determination returning.
"You were just obstacles in my way…" Keldeo said "You didn't care… you didn't protect me...you didn't feed me...you didn't stay overnight in a cold cave to make sure I was okay…" Keldeo's gaze began to falter, his eyes growing watery "You...you didn't ask me about how I was doing. You didn't get my favorite food everyday that I was with you and…" tears were beginning to fall on Cody's chest as Keldeo stood over him, his sword beginning to lose its purple color "You...you all do care...and I was just going to…" Cody could see the orange color returning to the sword "But then the others will…" Keldeo shuddered "And...and I'll be alone again…"
"Keldeo…" Cody tempted, making Keldeo's teary eyes snap to him "You won't be alone again." Keldeo flinched, the tears streaming down onto Cody. Cody slowly slid his way out from beneath Keldeo, groaning as he sat beside Keldeo "Not when you have us."
"Kyurem...lied to me…" Keldeo sighed "He tried to…" Keldeo couldn't speak anymore, overwhelming sorrow and regret washing over him as the reality of what happened hit him. Kyurem manipulated him, tried to get him to be an instrument of his evil. Kill the only other people who cared for him, all in the vain hope of saving the other swordsmen. But Cody and the others were right, they were gone.
They were dead.
With that thought, the purple aura dissipated from Keldeo, his form stayed the same as he felt Kyurem's influence wash away from him, his blue eyes resting on Cody, who sat there, beginning to tear up as well. Terrence stood up, helping Vera up as Quinn and Genesect stood around the two of them.
"Cody...I..." Keldeo looked away, biting his lips as the tears kept coming.
"It's okay…" Cody sighed, he was admittedly surprised when Keldeo began to weep openly. Loudly crying, he lunged for Cody, burying his head in his chest, mindful of the new, large horn. Cody grunted before he wrapped his arms around Keldeo, pulling him close and letting him cry. The others couldn't say how long Keldeo had been holding this in, but it needed to be let out, and they would give Keldeo as long as he needed.
It was a silent walk back to Quinn's house that evening. In addition to the raw emotions everyone was feeling, everyone was in too much pain to say or do much otherwise. Most walked away with only a few cuts or bruises, but Cody had it worse of all, with the gash on his chest. Quinn offered to do what he could, he hoped his experience with tending to horses would translate to helping a human. Quinn and Vera were in a spare bedroom in the house, making sure Cody had everything he needed to rest for the next couple of days.
"How does it feel?" Vera asked, placing the cobalt medallion, a bottle of water and some painkillers beside Cody's bed. He was propped up in bed, groaning with every little adjustment he made to himself.
"About as well as it looked…" Cody chuckled, patting his chest, completely covered in body wrappings "It's a good thing you know suture but...damn that hurt…"
"It's that, or we go to a hospital and explain how you got that. So…" Quinn smiled back, a small chuckle came from the three of them. There was a pause.
"How's Keldeo?" Cody asked.
"Dunno...he's been quiet since the fight." Vera sighed "He's with Terry and Genesect though. He insists he can help him feel better."
Cody nodded, laying back down "And he's sure Kyurem won't be coming around again for a while?"
"According to Keldeo anyways…" Quinn shrugged "It would have taken a lot of energy to possess him and then make him undergo that transformation." Quinn and Vera were heading for the door "That gives you plenty of time to rest and recover. You gotta stay in bed, don't wanna exacerbate your cut."
"Yeah, okay...G'night guys." Cody's smile faded as he lay in bed. He lay there in the dark, his mind racing despite his body being in a dull, throbbing agony. He found solace in knowing Keldeo was close, and safe, and recovering now. It was enough for him to slowly close his eyes, and go to sleep.
Quinn and Vera walked outside to the sight of Terrence spraying Keldeo with a hose, Genesect was watching beside Terrence. Terrence looked over to the two of them and their bewildered expression "I know, but according to Keldeo this helps him heal."
"Usually ocean water works best, but this will work in a pinch." Keldeo's body glowed, confirming his statement "You can turn the water off now, Terry."
"Sure thing, man…" Terry nodded, turning off the hose and letting Keldeo shake his body dry "...Did you just call me Terry?" he cocked his head.
Keldeo finished shaking his body as he stretched his body, nodding "I mean, it is your name." Keldeo managed a weak smile.
Genesect cocked his head "Failure to identify: Terry."
"Well...Terry is reserved for friends only." he glared at Keldeo, who shrank back at the glare "Ah, probably too soon to joke like that...You're good, Keldeo." Keldeo let out a sigh of relief "And as for you, tin can. A friend of Quinn's is a friend of mine. So you can call me Terry if you want."
"Understood." Genesect beeped "Identification updated: Terry the Terrence."
"No it's…-!?" Terry tried to correct Genesect, but the collective laugh from the group was enough to silence him "Good enough. We're gonna get along great…" Terry rolled his eyes.
"How are you feeling, Keldeo?" Vera asked.
"Well the water really helped. Still a little sore but otherwise but I can move around just fine." Keldeo shook his leg for effect.
"Sure, but that's not what I meant." Vera looked to Keldeo, who realized exactly what she was referring to.
"Oh...right…" Keldeo inhaled slowly, nodding "I'm...still processing. I can't deny it anymore, and just being with these feelings...it hurts." Keldeo sighed.
"It'll always hurt, Keldeo." Vera nodded "But you don't have to face it alone."
"I know that now. And I can't thank all of you enough." Keldeo smiled with a nod "How's Cody?"
"Resting upstairs. He's gonna be out for a while."
"Yeah, you got him good." Terry smirked, trying to get Keldeo to keep smiling, but the utterly offended look on Keldeo's face was enough for him to shut up.
"Time and a place, man." Quinn looked to Terry, then to Keldeo "So what's up with…" Quinn gestured to the new large blue horn. Genesect moved close to Quinn for translation.
"This is my Resolute Form. This is what Cobalion and the others were trying to get me to do before everything happened. Kyurem induced me to change when he filled me with darkness and the negative emotions." Keldeo looked over his body again "I'm happy I finally unlocked its power. I just don't know how I feel knowing what it took to get it."
"I guess that's up to you to decide, Blue." Quinn nodded. Keldeo had half a mind to mention the nickname, but he shook his head, he could let Quinn have this "Anyways. It's getting late. I gotta work tomorrow, but you guys are welcome to stay here, just rest and recover. I only got one other spare room though so…"
"That's okay." Vera nodded "Terry can sleep on the couch."
"Y'know!" Terry growled, earning a chuckle from Vera and Quinn. Keldeo even chuckled a little. He looked back to the barn for a moment, after everything that had happened to him today, he didn't want to be alone.
"Hey" Keldeo began, Vera and Terry looking at him "Do you think...I could sleep in the house? In Cody's room maybe?" Vera turned to Quinn and translated, Quinn looked to Keldeo.
"Of course man."
After everyone's respective goodnights. Quinn guided Keldeo to Cody's room. Keldeo frowned at Cody, who was already fast asleep, he was hoping they could talk some more, but there was always another day for that. Keldeo nodded to Quinn and walked inside. The chill of the summer evening was getting to Keldeo; he was relieved to see Quinn open the door and offer Keldeo an array of warming blankets to keep him content for the evening. He set up a small bed for himself at the foot of the bed and lay down. Ready and eager to fall asleep.
Keldeo dreamed of how it all ended.
The three knights braced themselves for the harsh landing in the frozen terrain of the Glacial Palace. The first appeared to be a large green deer, hints of pink found across all its body, intense eyes locked on the storm ahead. The second was a large brown creature, two strong horns pointed downwards "What do you make of this, Virizion?" he asked. She turned to him.
"I'm not sure, Terrakion, getting here seemed too easy, perhaps the enemy wants us to face it," Virizion said, a feminine voice stern yet soft. They turned sharply to see a solemn expression on the third knight's face, this blue deer with black and white accents looked ahead as well, the gray darkness in the air made it clear, this was something he, nor his comrades had never seen before.
"Cobalion?" Virizion asked with concern clear in her light voice. Cobalion sighed before he faced Virizion and Terrakion.
"My comrades, my friends, I stand before you here on this day to say we will not fail. Many have come before and say we will fall; that we will die at the fiendish claws of our enemies. What can we do against such hateful words? We will bring the words of our doubters to the graves of our enemy today. Come, fly with me; fly with me so that we may slay this monster that has terrorized and slaughtered our friends and family. Not in the name of honor and glory, but in the name of all who wish to see the next morning sun!" a high pitched screech cut through his speech.
"Kyurem!" Virizion spoke "He is aware of our presence."
"Then we had better not keep him waiting," Terrakion added, pumped for a fight. Virizion and Cobalion nodded in agreement.
"Yes! The horn of victory shall sound throughout our hearts this day, one last time! Let this be the day that we fly out, together! Let their hatred fall! Come, now for freedom, now for justice, now for all!" Virizion, Terrakion and Cobalion prepared to jump into the air, ready to face the monster before them.
"Wait!" a fourth voice stopped them before they could attack. Another four legged creature, this one appeared to have the horn of a unicorn, with a long orange mane and a blue body.
"Keldeo!? You shouldn't be here. It is dangerous. What about Paradise!?" Cobalion said, still looking ahead, lest the monster attack while they spoke.
"Paradise is safe, I made sure of it, but…" Keldeo swallowed, fear holding him in place now "You've been training me, preparing to fight. I need to be a part of this too!"
"Keldeo…" Virizion's calm voice cut through the fear in Keldeo's heart "We trained you to be a Swordsmen of Justice, yes. But that takes many roles, this is not the role you will take in this fight."
"...Yes, Virizion…" Keldeo looked down, he could never talk back when he spoke to him like this. Soothing but firm.
"We can get right back to training once this crisis is over, Keldeo." Terrakion added "You just sit tight and take notes while you're here."
"Yes Terrakion!" Keldeo couldn't but smile when Terrakion spoke like that.
"No more deliberation. We must attack!" Cobalion said.
"Yes, let us end this!" Virizion said.
"This isn't where our story ends!" Terrakion said, the three of them jumping into the fray. Keldeo tried his best to stay put, to let them fight. But he couldn't just sit by and do nothing, he had to be a part of this, and so he leapt off after them.
But to Keldeo's horror, the fight was already over. To call it a battle would be unfair, it was a slaughter. The monster tore into them in a one sided fight. One by one the three knights fell, first Virizion, then Terrakion, then Cobalion.
"This...this is the power that should have been mine all those years ago…" Kyurem spoke, walking slowly towards the downed knights, large wings spread in a terrifying display. A spike of ice through Terrakion killed him, a swift stomp on Virzion's head spelled her doom, and Cobalion was helpless to watch, knowing he was next.
"I have learned from the mistakes of my past, and I will not let anyone stop me this time, and I know now that I will be the one to deal the finishing blow." The hybrid looked at Cobalion with a look that betrayed his words, a cold indifference and a gaze blank and pitiless.
"There will be others...to stop you…" Cobalion managed, trying to stand up, only for a firm backhand to send sprawling again.
"I'm sure there will be, and that is why I am preparing myself. Learning to use this body, this power for those who would stand against me." Kyurem said, dark energy forming in his outstretched hand that then pierced Cobalion. The life faded from his eyes, and Kyurem dropped him to the floor.
Something in Keldeo clicked, the deceased bodies of his masters, his friends, sprawled out shook him to his core. He couldn't believe how quickly it all happened. They were supposed to win, and then everything would go back to normal. Panicked instinct enveloped his body, and soon he found himself feeling different, in a body that felt similar, but new. His horn felt heavier, and he felt stronger. He wasn't sure what happened, but he decided to let this new feeling overtake him, guide him. On pure instinct, Keldeo jumped onto the platform with the others.
Kyurem gave a slow nod to himself before turning back around, seeing a fourth knight, over the deceased form Terrakion, watching his body fade into light "What are you doing!?" he launched an attack, to which the fourth knight dodged, Terrakion's body was gone. The knight moved to Virizion's body next, the same light enveloping her. This time Kyurem launched itself at the knight to attack, but he was too slow. The knight slid out of the way, Virizion's body gone too. When the knight reached Cobalion's body, he was grabbed by the neck.
"…Keldeo. The Sword's protege?" Kyurem glared, his speech interrupted by a swift kick to the gut and wriggling free. Cobalion's body was quickly enveloped in light and Keldeo dashed off the raised platform "No...No!" Kyurem yelled moving towards the edge of the platform, watching Keldeo summon, then fall straight into the portal "This will not happen again!" The portal was closing, and so he only had time to send tendrils of gray vapor into the portal after Keldo "I will not fail again...never again," Kyurem growled.
When Keldeo came back to consciousness, he was falling. The panic returning as he found himself in an unfamiliar location with mysterious medallions he most certainly didn't remember having. When he felt the gray vapor latch onto his body and begin to encase himself in ice, he panicked. The panic was enough for his body to return to normal, trapped inside a sphere as he fell into wherever his instincts had sent him. The first thing he remembered when he came back to was the sight of a human, Cody, looking back at him; equal parts curiosity and concern.
Keldeo opened his eyes again, noticing the tears on the pillow as he lay there in the room; it was the middle of the night, so he opted to just rest there. That was it, the whole story of how Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion died. Kyurem had taken their lives, why did he ever believe that Kyurem would reunite them? Simple, he got into his head, fueled his denial and misdirected his anger, nearly making him kill the only people that were helping him throughout all of this. He looked up, listening to the soft snoring of Cody from above as he fell back asleep. They weren't the swordsmen he once knew, they never could be. They were their own swordsmen, and and Keldeo couldn't help but wonder what exactly that meant.