Originally Posted by
Emp
The Final Battle
Arc Angel: The war had reached a climatic finale, chaos was erupting below and Syrian had revealed his final gambit. The Griseous Orb was suspended over the great valley like a flashing beacon, it’s blinking so erratic it merged into a whitish blur. Your eyes home in on it greedily, relapsing into obsession with the fate of the world at stake. The mesa starts to rumble, striking silence on the splinter group of Shadow Pokémon who hadn’t succumb to Iris’s wrath. The tremor breaks before another aftershock. An Earthquake? Or something huge approaching? With the Renegade Pokémon only seconds away you cast your raw inhibition aside and whip up a plan of action. Valentine receives your mental signal loud and clear, somewhat at odds with your motives but unquestionably loyal. Blades still dripping with amphibian blood, he switches into an en garde position and winces in concentration. Your eyes travel from Valentine’s, which were glazed in Psychic energy, down the plateau toward the relic – as though an invisible lasso had been slung between the two. But nothing happens... The ghostly orb was immune to the warrior’s telekinetic prowess. If you wanted to separate Syrian and the Orb you’d have to do it the hard way.
‘If you want a job done right...’, Valentine starts – a streak of confidence in his tone as he breaks into a run. The knight’s nimble footsteps were impossible to make sound of under the cult leader’s hysteria. He was powerless to stop you both... or that’s what you thought. As Valentine drew his blades over his head Syrian’s laughter falters. The rest seems to play out in slow motion; Gallade lunges forward, Slashing his swords through the cold mist - but Syrian twists his body, dodging both blades by the skin of his teeth. Time spins back to normal and the two are stood inches apart, Syrian’s breathing noticeably accelerated with Valentine showing no sign of weakness. After a pause which seemed to last for minutes, the demon breaks the silence with a guffaw. His dilated pupils became focused again as the sinister aura that struck fear in your heart begins to rush back to him. Valentine wasn’t so fazed, a glare on his face running a lot deeper than today’s battle - he had a vendetta to settle.
“You really think you can overpower me?” Syrian goaded, “try it you filthy creature...” Valentine had grown stronger and more valiant than you could’ve possibly imagined, traits of his shrewd mother pumping through his veins. But some strain of wildness from his father’s side is enough for him to take the bait. With a clench of fist his eyes flicker a blue aura, channelling all his psychic energy into Confusing the demon and driving him to insanity. But Syrian wasn’t bluffing - a flicker of concentration in his pupils as they engaged in a mental duel. Your heart skips a beat as Gallade’s face crinkles in deep meditation, gritting his teeth as he braced his feet firmly in the ground. The invisible forces at odds with each other gave you nothing to go off, but with each low grunt courtesy of Valentine you felt all the hope he’d filled you with start to ebb away. The Blade Pokémon falls to his knees, beads of sweat dripping down his face as the mental link shatters. Your nursing instincts are begging you to rush to his aide, but he raises a hand in protest. A loud gasp pierces the cold air as he grips his chest and falls on his side, eyes wide in shock.
’Stay back’, he splutters. Rolling onto his front he tries to support himself, but the pain in his heart is too much to bear. With realisation that this was the end, he looks on you with a brave stare, ‘There is always hope. That’s what my father taught me...’ Valentine’s eyes close and his grip on his chest slackens. And as though death wasn’t punishment enough, his transformation begins. Darkness spreads like an infection corrupting his heart down the tip of his blades, washing out all colours. With your muscles locked up in grief you can only bear witness as the warrior awakens a dark knight, his eyes a bloodcurdling red without a trace of familiarity. Valentine rises, bent on one knee as he bows to his new master. And then the realisation sinks in that your greatest ally in the war had become your deadliest enemy. Syrian’s laughter is like a kick in the stomach, and with the orb in his clutches and burning brighter than ever everything else seems trivial. The earth starts to drum like a beating heart, and the realisation that the apocalypse was dawning is swept away by the ghostly basilisk ripping through the charred trees at the peak of the valley like matchsticks!
GYAGOHOOO!
It’s cry commanded power, striking an emotion closer to awe than fear. Its gold accents looked silver under the pale moonlight, its red stripes and wing tips glowing luminous scarlet in contrast to its body. Its light broke down on the vale, showing just how effortlessly the goddess had decimated the Shadow army with the dregs of her power. Whilst Iris had kept her end of the bargain, you failed to stop Syrian whose eyes were smouldering with lust, “Giratina! Ruler of the reverse world, I have summoned you! Bend to my will!” You squint toward the far-off dragon, and swear you could see a glint of loathing in its eye. This makes no difference however, the legendary conscious of the Griseous Orb in his possession which its will was bound to. Moments pass and the renegade Pokémon flickers a blinding white. Blinking away the spots you notice the silhouette’s features become more streamlined, its legs morphing into spikes and its broad wings splitting into wispy streamers. As the glow runs off its body you notice its mouth appears more insect-like, its serpentine body kicking off into the air until it was spiralling around the centre of the valley.
“One more thing before we go my pet”, Syrian interrupted with a casual air, “There’s a few individuals in the Shadows which I need you to Force out”. The legend lowered its head in servitude, diving into the vale until he was immersed in pitch black. You crawl toward the cliff edge, eyes sweeping over the drop that the magnificent beast had just phased into. You quickly spot a pair of red eyes stalking through the shadows, first heading toward the crash site for Shaymin before creeping up to the vantage point where you had last seen Iris. It was over in a flash - before it could sink in who the shadow was homing toward next. The same solid-yet-ethereal feeling of the orb overcomes you as the Giratina bounds you tight in one of its streamers, capturing the entire resistance force in one fell swoop. The renegade Pokémon had phased out of the Shadow Force, and was drifting above the vale once again. Your feet dangle weightlessly as you stare down at the thousand-foot drop. Shaymin was bound in the streamer beside you with the other four each restraining one of Iris’s limbs - despite the fact she was too drained to put up a fight. Screaming for help was futile; all you could do now was embrace your fate. The spiralling motion continued until a portal started to churn below, reaching the width of the vale, which explained the choice of location. Syrian’s wicked cackle was back in earshot as he mounted the dragon’s crown and you quickly have to avert your attention from the painful sight of Valentine clinging to his side. You catch sound of Syrian’s signal and Giratina suddenly drops, veering into the vortex at blinding speed and whisking you into oblivion...
The Distortion World
The uncharacteristic scream of Iris rouses you, and the flashes of the day’s events fill your every bone with renewed fear and despair. “Valentine, guard the dead girl. She can not interfere with my sacrifice”, you strain your ears to listen out for more, the rest of your senses quickly returning. You open your heavy eyes to a world nothing like your own... The skies were painted an ominous lavender, with the land hung eerily in space. Dark tree roots rippled through several of the orangey pathways, which seemed to spiral into different directions. A distant cascade seems to be flowing sideways - the laws of physics didn’t apply here. Focusing back on your mission, you spot four of Giratina’s streamers drifting idly... Syrian must have taken Iris! Shaymin tried to wrestle free before cleverly reverting to her smaller Land Forme. You try grabbing its attention but the hedgehog leaps off the back of the basilisk plummeting into the dark abyss to what looked like its death, but you couldn’t be sure of anything here. Your eyes sweep across where you were docked, a pathway leading to a chain of rocks laid out like skipping stones which led out toward the purple yonder. Minutes roll by as you regress further into depression, your own demons keeping the outside world at bay until-
Boink!
If you were still alive the force of that rock would’ve knocked you dead. You look above for a floating platform it could’ve broken off of, but there was nothing but purple space. A strange yet familiar cry grabs your attention ahead. The relic was suspended an inch from your face, covered in strange markings and glowing with purple energy - it was an old keystone! The stone rears back and Reaper spews free from it with a wicked smile. Reuniting with your friend causes a flame within you to ignite, but before he has a chance to cut you free a handsome voice rattles through your skull to stamp out the cinders. ’You really were a selfish bitch, Stacey. Because of you everyone I loved is dead, and now I’m going to make sure you suffer’. Valentine suddenly Teleports into view, balanced on the tip of the passive dragon’s tail with his red cloak billowing against the shifting gravity. His eyes set on you and Reaper as he poises himself to strike, what will you do?
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