Apocalypse Knight

Notes: The reviews have gone down since Chapter 12; I hope I haven't ruined this story in some way.

Opening: Darkness Angel

Chapter 16: Destiny Part Three

The black energy around Ryo began to dissipate. Until he was back to his normal self. "I can't believe I actually beat the fucker," Ryo panted. Jessica ran up and hugged him.

"Ryo!" She cried, kissing him. "I'm so happy to see you back."

"You gave us a scare there, Chumley," Jake said, giving Ryo a thumbs up.

"It's not over yet," Celestion said. Everyone looked up to see the dark energy from Ryo begin to coalesce in the air.

"FOOLS!" rang a voice. "ALL YOU'VE DONE IS RELEASED ME FROM MY HUMAN COUNTERPART!" The dark energy formed a giant being with blood red armor and long black hair. He had a horn in the middle of his head.

"It can't be," Celestion said. "It's Grongiel, the leader and last of the Old Gods."

"But it can't be," Celarion said. "The warrior himself destroyed the Old Gods."

"IT'S FUNNY HOW TIME CAN CHANGE THINGS! I TOOK OVER THE WARRIOR AND DESTROYED THE OLD GODS MYSELF!"

"You would destroy your own kind?" Ryo asked.

"BUT OF COURSE!"

"Why would you do something like that?" Oliver yelled. "Why would you commit genocide like that? It's unnatural."

"NOT JUST GENOCIDE, MASS GENOCIDE! MY PLAN ALL ALONG WAS TO DESTROY ALL THE RACES, INCLUDING THE DEMONS, AND RECREATE THE WORLD THE WAY I WANTED!"

"You lied to us?" Namine asked, filling with hatred.

"NOT TECHNICALLY! THE WARRIOR LIED TO YOU! AND I THROUGH THE WARRIOR! SO I GUESS, IN THE END, YES I LIED TO YOU!"

"One thing bothers me," Celarion began. "How did you convince the warrior to let you take over his body? He was chosen because of his battle experience and given the power to destroy the Gods themselves. Yet, he did not destroy you."

"IT IS SO EASY TO TAKE OVER THE MINDS OF THESE HUMANS! ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY'RE ASLEEP!"

"A typical Old God," Celestion commented. "All our suffering and torment has been because of you!"

"AND NOW I WILL FINISH WHAT I BEGAN. I WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING AND REBUILD IT ANEW. I WILL RECREATE THE WORLD AND RULE OVER IT AS I SEE FIT!"

"I can't allow that," Ryo said. "A world with you as its ruler is no world at all. It's a prison. And I will fight to protect this world we have."

"I'm behind you, Chumley!" Jake exclaimed. "Just give the word."

"ENOUGH TALK! LET THE FINAL BATTLE BEGIN! THE BATTLE THAT DETERMINES THE FATE OF THE COSMOS! NOW BEGINS THE APOCALYPSE!"

The Knights transformed into their armored forms and the fight began. Onlookers said it was the fiercest battle they had ever seen. Some even said that Ryo charged in like a general leading his small army. Some compared Grongiel to Satan himself. Some said he was an alien, the first to come in a planetary invasion. The sky was full of helicopters with reporters broadcasting the fight worldwide. But at that moment, the whole world was of one mind, one soul, hoping beyond hope, that these Knights could save them all.

"Give them hell, kid," Misuzu's father yelled at his television.

Misuzu's mother came out of the bathroom. "Dear?"

He turned around. "Huh?"

"We've been given a second chance," she said, smiling.

"What do you mean?" he asked. She held up a pregnancy test. It read positive.

"You mean, we're…?" He looked at the ceiling. "Hear that Misuzu? You're going to be a big sister." He looked back at the screen. "Don't let my unborn baby die before it can live, kid."

Ryo's mother watched the television from the women's prison common room. "Oh my son," she said. "Take my love with you."

"Lillian Osinaka?" called a voice. A guard walked over to her.

"Can I help you, sir?" she asked.

"The judge has dismissed your case. The judge accepted that an abused mother, looking out for her child, should not be held responsible for the actions of protecting said child. You're free to go."

Tears filled her eyes as she was released. She walked away, to never look back.

Ryo and his group attacked Grongiel again and again to no avail.

"This is getting us nowhere," Wu said. "He's too powerful."

(A Demon's Fate-Nightcore begins playing in the background)

"I recommend turning Ryo into the Apocalypse Knight again," Celestion said. Everyone nodded. They held out their weapons. The weapons glowed and went into Ryo. His armor and bandanna turned black as his greatsword increased in size.

"Go, Chumley!" Jake exclaimed. "We're all counting on you!"

Ryo launched himself at Grongiel, swinging his blade. But the blows were not making much of an impact.

"He's able to hit him," Namine said, "but it's still not enough."

Celestion, Jessica, and Celarion looked at each other and nodded. They held out their hands and began to glow.

Ryo, beginning to glow white, relaunched himself at Grongiel, his blade now slicing into Grongiel.

"ARRRGGHH! YOUR EFFORTS ARE STILL POINTLESS! I AM INVINCIBLE!"

"We'll see about that," Ryo commented, closing his eyes and concentrating.

Celestion gasped.

"No!" Celarion screamed. "You can't use your soul for power."

"What do you mean by that?" Jessica said. "Why can't he use his soul power?"

"Because he'll die!" Celarion exclaimed, tears filling her eyes.

Jake looked at Celarion and then back to Ryo. "Chumley! No! There must be another way!"

"You know there isn't," Ryo said, his eyes opening back up, his body beginning to glow blue as well. "I do this for everyone." He looked at Jessica. "I'm sorry it had to end this way," he said to her, tears in his eyes, but fierce resolve on his face. "Farewell, my love." He launched himself at Grongiel the final time.

Jessica reached her hand out towards him. "RYO! NOOOOO!"

Ryo impacted with Grongiel, there was a flash of light. As the light cleared, everyone could see where Grongiel had been. There was nothing there. Not even Ryo's body. Around the world, people cheered and celebrated.

Jessica collapsed. "No," she said softly. "Not like this. He can't be gone." She looked down. "People will forget his sacrifice. I don't want him to be forgotten."

Jake put a hand on her shoulder. "I promise you he won't be." She looked up at him. "I will build a memorial statue right here, to honor and remember his sacrifice."

"But I'm afraid that if I ever leave this town, I may forget him."

Celarion walked over to her. "You will never forget him," she said comfortingly. "Remember last night in the park?"

Jessica blushed. "You saw that?"

"I can see what needs to be seen," she replied. She put her hand on Jessica's belly. "He left you a gift. The greatest gift of all. The gift of life."

"You mean..?" she asked, looking up.

"That's right," Celarion said. "You're going to be a mother."

"I guess you'll be wanting our weapons back?" Jake asked.

"No," she replied. "You keep them for now. They may be of use in the future."

Everyone left the battlefield, never looking back, never forgetting one boy's sacrifice to save the world, and the girl, he loved.

True to his word, Jake had a statue built and placed where the final battle was fought. The statue was a figure of Ryo, in his battle armor, looking out over the city.

Nine months later, Jessica had a beautiful baby girl with red hair. "Astra," she said. "Your name will be Astra."

But, as we all know, peace never lasts, but that is a story for another time.

Ending: Destiny-Nightcore

Notes: I hope you all enjoyed this series as much as I enjoyed writing it. I started it out so sure of what I wanted to do and the end result is nothing like what I began with. The story isn't completely over yet. I will begin work on a one-shot story soon called "Apocalypse Knight: The Movie". See you all then.