Chapter 32: The Eternal Spirit Blade

Darkdeath's eyes are filled with rage as he asks, "How the hell can this be possible? How could Zoroark be taken down like that?"

Arceus says as he looks down at Lucario and Zoroark to Darkdeath, "It seems as though our time in this world is almost over."

Darkdeath looks a crossed the dome at Arceus with an angered expression on his face and he asks, "What the hell do you mean by that?"

Arceus replies as he looks straight ahead at Darkdeath from the other side, "The fact that once Lucario kills Zoroark, the Heaven and Hell Spirit Blades will shatter away, thus creating a powerful blade called the Eternal Spirit Blade,"

Arceus continues as Darkdeath's anger rises, "In other words, a key that we'll never be able to reach. A blade that will keep the gates of Heaven and Hell sealed away; never to return to the living world."

Darkdeath looks down at Zoroark with the same angered expression on his face and he yells out, "Get up already, Zoroark! Kill Lucario while you still have the chance!"

As Darkdeath yells from outside the barrier, Zoroark slowly opens his eyes. He only sees a blurred vision at first, but once his vision recovered, he sees Lucario standing over him.

Lucario says as he reveals the chain coming out of his left palm, "It's over, Zoroark…"

Zoroark looks down at his chest and sees the God's Arrow, the tip in his heart and the shaft sticking out of the center of his chest.

He looks up at Lucario and he says to him with a serious expression in his eyes, "This is… nothing. I can still… kill you… Lucario…"

Before Zoroark could finish his sentence, Lucario punches Zoroark on his right cheek, jerking Zoroark's head to the right. Zoroark spits up blood as his head slowly moves back to where it was before.

Zoroark stares into Lucario's eyes as Lucario asks softly, "Why… Zoroark? Why did you kill Mienshao and Servine?"

Zoroark replies with a serious expression on his face, "Mienshao failed me the moment she got caught by Audino and Maractus. As for Servine… well…"

Zoroark grins malevolently as he says, "I wanted to see your heart crushed by pain!"

Lucario has an angered expression on his face as he starts punching Zoroark continuously on both sides of the face, causing his head to jerk back and forth, following the momentum of the punches.

As Lucario slows his punches, he asks with tears of sadness rolling down his cheeks, "Open your eyes, Zoroark! This isn't the real you!"

In Lucario's head, he pictures the moment Zorua saved him from the demons for the first time.

After Zoroark's head jerks to the right from Lucario's last punch, Lucario continues as Zoroark coughs up blood; his face bloodied by the punches, "The real you I used to know is still in there! The real you that was always by my side."

Lucario's voice rises as he says, "The real you before you tried to kill me on Mirage Island! The real you that I first met before Darkdeath tricked you into taking the Hell Spirit Blade!"

Lucario grabs Zoroark by the skin of his chest and lifts him slightly up from the ground, staring into Zoroark's eyes with a serious expression in his.

But Zoroark says with a serious expression on his face, "The real me that you used to know never existed. The real me that once had feelings towards his friends had never existed to begin with,"

Zoroark continues as he grins malevolently, "My friends mean nothing to me…!"

Lucario punches Zoroark in the face with a strong force behind it, causing Zoroark's head to jerk to hard, that his neck brakes. But Zoroark's regeneration ability kicks in and recovers his broken neck.

When Zoroark turned his head back at Lucario, he hears Lucario yell, "That's a damn lie and you know it! You even told me yourself back on Mirage Island that you wanted to go back in order to save Mienshao!"

Lucario looks to his right as he says, looking right at Mienshao's dead body, "And yet… you killed here in cold blood. You killed the Pokemon you wanted to protect…"

Lucario looks back down at Zoroark with a serious expression in his eyes and he says, "Zoroark… this isn't the real you! Open your eyes!"

When Zoroark looked slowly to his left, he says as he sees Mienshao's dead body lying on the ground, "M-Mienshao…!"

Before he could finish his sentence, Lucario hears Darkdeath yell out, "Don't listen to him, Zoroark! He's filling your head with lies! He's the one that killed Mienshao!"

But Zoroark ignores Darkdeath's words and he continues to mutter, his real voice returning, "M-Mienshao… Audino… Maractus…"

As he continues to stare at Mienshao, meager amounts of black aura begin to seep out of Zoroark's body and up into the air fifty feet above him.

Lucario looks up above Zoroark and he hears Reshiram say in his head, "It is time, Lucario. You must attack Zoroark's heart in order to release the Hell Spirit Blade…"

Lucario looks down at Zoroark with a serious expression on his face and he says with his eyes closed, "It's time for you to open your eyes, Zoroark…"

When Zoroark quickly turned his head towards Lucario's direction, he yells out with his voice combining with Zekrom's again; his eyes glowing blood red, "You wouldn't dare!"

Lucario fires his Force Palm through the chain to the arrow, and into Zoroark's heart.

Zoroark's eyes widen with shock as he starts coughing up blood and feeling the excruciating amount of pain in his heart.

As Lucario continues to fire his Force Palm through the chain into Zoroark's heart, Darkdeath yells out with an angered expression on his face, "What the hell are you doing, Zoroark? Why aren't you trying to kill Lucario?"

Darkdeath tries to fight his way through the gray aura barrier, but only ends up in failure as the dome repels him back.

As the Force Palms attack Zoroark's heart, large amounts of black aura begin to flow out of Zoroark's body like fire.

Lucario looks up and sees the black aura taking shape of the Hell Spirit Blade's hilt.

Lucario looks down at Zoroark with a serious expression on his face and he says, "Zoroark… you're almost free from your imprisonment!"

After the black aura takes full form of the Hell Spirit Blade above Zoroark's body, Zoroark's eyes and voice turn back to normal.

As Zoroark falls back onto his back with a weak expression on his face, the white aura chain connecting to God's Arrow shatters away, followed by the God's Arrow.

Lucario has a weak expression on his face as he hears Reshiram say in his head, "Thank you, Lucario… and farewell."

After the Heaven Spirit Blade forms out of Lucario's body completely, he falls to the ground on his hands and knees, panting heavily.

As Zoroark slowly closes his eyes, he says his final words, "I'm sorry… everyone… Mienshao… I…"

He closes his eyes and dies where he lies in a pool of his own blood.

After Zoroark dies in his blood, Darkdeath yells out in an angered tone, "How the hell can this be? Zoroark wasn't supposed to lose this war! I made him stronger, I gave him power! How could it be that he lost and died?"

As the two spirit blades formed up into the air side by side of each other, Lucario slowly crawls towards Servine's body; blood rolls down the corners of his mouth as he moves.

He thinks as he slowly gets to Servine's body, 'Servine… I'm not going to let your life end like this…'

As he continues to crawl towards Servine, the two spirit blades shatter away, revealing the souls of Reshiram and Zekrom within them.

Arceus thinks as he looks down at Lucario, 'Lucario… are you trying to do what I think you're trying to do?'

As Darkdeath tries his useless attempt to break through the barrier, the two souls of Reshiram and Zekrom start to combine.

As the two souls combine, Lucario reaches Servine's body. He looks down at Servine with a weak expression on his face and he says, "Servine… this is farewell…"

As Lucario forms his right palm over Servine's chest, the two souls slowly become one gray soul. After they gray soul takes form, Lucario closes his eyes and is using Heal Pulse over Servine's heart.

As Lucario uses his remaining aura and life energy on this Heal Pulse move, he thinks as the gray soul starts to transform into the Eternal Spirit Blade, 'Since I'm going to disappear from this world anyway, I might as well give you a second chance in this world…'

While Lucario continues to use the Heal Pulse, his body slowly begins to fade away into nothing.

Darkdeath yells out as the Eternal Spirit Blade comes into full form, "Damn it all!"

After the blade releases into its full form, a major white out begins, blocking any possible visibility into a never ending white world.

Darkdeath curses as the white out overwhelm him completely. Arceus thinks with his eyes closed and a smile on his face, "You saved us all, Lucario…"

As for the remaining Pokemon of Hell's Island, Gardevoir and Gallade are the only ones alive.

They are caught up in the massive white out as well with a look of surprise on their faces.

In the middle of the white out, Lucario still has his right palm over Servine's chest.

After he sees Servine open her eyes slowly and looking into his, he stops using his Heal Pulse and he says with a relieved smile on his face, "Welcome back, Servine…"

Servine has a confused expression on her face as she asks, "Lucario… what is happening?"

Lucario says with the same smile on his face, "The battle is over. My role as a Pokemon has been accomplished."

Servine has a concerned expression on her face as she says, "So that means you have to return home?"

Lucario nods his head and he says with tears of happiness rolling down his cheeks, "Yes… but I'll never forget about you, Servine."

Servine has tears of sadness rolling down her face as she says, "But… I don't want you to leave. This is all happening way too quickly for me."

Lucario closes his eyes and he says as he starts fading away completely, "Farewell… Servine. I was blessed to have been by your side…"

Servine cries out with tears rolling down her cheeks, "Wait, Lucario!"

But Lucario has already vanished, leaving the Pokemon World behind.

Servine says as the white out grows thicker and her tears thicken, "Lucario!"

After the white out overwhelms Servine, the barrier surrounding the floating island shatters as snow falls from the sky and a massive ice storm rips through the oceans. As the ice makes contact with Hell's Island, the mountains crumbles away like gravel and the forests are instantly wiped from the face of the island.

Darkdeath yells out as he is sent back into the Underworld and the gates of Hell shuts behind him, "Damn it all!"

As for Arceus, he finds himself standing behind the gates of Heaven, watching the gate as it slowly closes. Arceus thinks as the gate shuts completely, 'Farewell, everyone…"

As Servine slowly opens her eyes, she hears the sounds of water rushing up onto the shore of a beach. When she opened her eyes all the way and looked around at her surroundings, she notices that she is on what was left of Mirage Island.

She looks to her left and right and finds Gardevoir and Gallade knocked out right beside her.

When she looks back out into the ocean, she thinks as tears of sadness rolls down her face, 'Lucario… thank you… and farewell…'

As she stares out into the ocean, she hears Gallade and Gardevoir waking up and sitting straight up.

They both look right at Servine with confused expressions on their faces and they ask her, "How did we end up back here?"

Servine replies as she gazes out at the rising sun over the ocean, "Lucario… brought us back here…"

Gardevoir has a concerned expression on her face and she says as she looks directly at Servine, "Are you going to be all right, Servine?"

Servine replies as she continues to look out at the peaceful ocean that's sparkling the reflection of the rising sun, "I'll be all right… knowing that our future up ahead will be peaceful once again."

Gallade looks around at his surroundings and he asks with a look of concern on his face, "Where do you think we are, anyway?"

Servine replies as she closes her eyes and smiles, "We're home…"

Servine thinks as she continues to close her eyes and smile, 'You brought Gardevoir and Gallade back here with me so I wouldn't be alone. You saved our futures and protected us all until the end. You brought me back to life. Thank you, Lucario… and farewell…'