The final Guardian fight! We're on the Final Act everyone. This is the beginning of the end!

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And with that the lights went out, and every single brazier died, leaving the temple in pitch black darkness.

It might be the temple of light, but Solas was light, and this darkness didn’t effect him at all.

The sand began to shift like a living thing.

-----

Searcher gasped as the lights went out, leaving him in the dark.

He reached out with his Magic for his Dad's scythe, only to stop...

This was his final Guardian fight, and it didn't feel right for him to use his Dad's scythe.

He used his Magic to return his Dad's scythe to him, and once Reaper's scythe was back in his hands, Searcher felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders....

He summoned his original scythe, he started this journey, using his scythe as his weapon, and it only felt right to end this journey with his scythe....

The scythe started to glitch and evolve, the blade became longer, emerging from the open jaws of a Gaster Blaster that had tear markings in his Magic colour on it's cheeks. The tail of the Gaster Blaster was wrapped around the staff of the scythe and tied around the area where Searcher would hold his scythe, was a red ribbon.

He could hear something shifting in the darkness.

------

Solas smiled, keeping himself invisible, after all, his normal form was rather.. noticeable in the dark.

“Can you face it again?” Solas asked, as a worm-snake formed out of the sand.

The False Guardian leapt forward.

----------

Searcher couldn't see the small Guardian anywhere, but he could hear his voice.

"Can you face it again?"

"Face what again?" He whispered, as he closed his eyes, choosing to trust the skills in fighting blind that he had learned from being Error.

He could hear something moving towards him.

He jumped up, summoning a bone to use as a springboard, going higher.

"You must defeat it, you have done so already."

"Defeat..." Searcher whispered, as his mind went into overtime, having used his long sealed away ability to hover, to slow his descent. "A past Guardian... But which one...

This place is covered in sand, like my first Temple... The Worm Guardian..." Searcher frowned. "I need to find the nearest wall...." He summoned several bone attacks, sending them flying everywhere, waiting to hear the sound of a bone attack hitting a wall.

“There was Earth, there was forest, there was ice and fire, then light...”

He heard the sound of a bone attack hitting a wall and he smirked.

Searcher let himself float down to the ground, before he took off running, dragging his scythe behind him to leave a trail behind him, as he headed for the wall.

The sand rumbled under his feet as the Worm came from below.

"That's it Wormy! Follow the Skeleton!" Searcher yelled as he took a Shortcut to stay ahead of the Worm, heading towards the wall.

The Worm followed, it's mind was much simpler then the True Guardian of the Earth Temple.

Searcher laughed as he reached the wall, turning around and banging the end of his scythe against the ground.

He could hear the Worm jumping towards him and he moved out of the way of it's path.

There was a thump as the Worm met the wall, it crumbled and it turned back into white sand, and to the farthest north of the room, a brazier erupted with flames that was the color of the Earth Temple's sand.

Searcher looked north when he saw the flame with the color of the sand from the Earth Temple, it actually made it a little bit easier for him to see, but it wouldn't be of any use to him.

Everything was still covered in darkness. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Ahhh!"

Reaper laughed before he hugged his son. "Did you fight that creature in Underdesert Gothy?"

"Yeah, you found it's remains, didn't you, Dad? And the Temple, and that was when you was taken, right?"

"Yeah... Just be careful Baby Bones. I did find a lot of your marrow and your Magic there."

"I'll be fine Dad, just go and find somewhere safe, and don't interfere with this. This is something that I have to do."

Reaper nodded his head, before he floated over to the lit brazier. It seemed to be the safest place in the room.

“The edge of the light has returned, but is it enough?”

Reaper yelped and he had to move as the second False Guardian used him as a launchpad, with the light briefly outlining the humanoid lizard from the Forest Temple.

"Oh come on, I have to fight the Guardians from Shades's Temples too?!" Searcher yelled, even as he made sure that there was a bit of a distance between him and this Guardian.

"All is a cycle."

The False Forest Guardian slashed acid towards Searcher.

"All of the Temples must be cleared before the light can be opened."

Searcher summoned skulls to act as shields from the acid, hiding behind them, even as he mentally went over what he remembered of this Guardian.

The False Guardian laughed, with it's claws clicking as it jumped and it used the walls as a jump point to come at him from another angle.

Searcher used the sounds that he heard as a way of locating the Guardian, he swiftly turned around and he summoned a Gaster Blaster, firing it.

He watched as the first Guardian that Shades faced turned into the white sand that lined the floors of this Temple.

In the far south of the room, a single brazier came to life, with flames that were the bright emerald and the forest green of the trees above the Forest Temple from Shades's half of their Split Multiverse.

He could see those flames coming from the south of the room, and if he was right, then he would have to face copies of the ice and the fire Guardians as well.

He wasn't tired, not yet, he couldn't give up, but he was worried about the Guardian of the Light Temple, he would have to face him too, right?

And if Shades had a third Temple, he would have to face a copy of that Guardian too....

He took a deep breath, before he adjusted his grip on his scythe, he wasn't going down without a fight.

“You saw the tree through the forest... Try not to get burnt...”

A roar filled the air as the ground shook, as something much larger shaped itself from the sand.

Searcher knew which Guardian that he was about to face from the sound of it's roar. He was about to face his second Guardian, the one that temporary stole his sight.

The temperature rose with every step that the False Fire Guardian took, it's form was outlined a bit, from the light of the two lit braziers.

Searcher summoned several bone attacks, turning most of them blue as he rushed towards, summoning a Gaster Blaster as well. He left the Blaster behind to charge up it's attacks.

He was going to use the Blue Magic to hold the Guardian down long enough for the Blaster to charge up it's attack.

The Fire Guardian roared and it breathed fire at him.

Searcher used what he had left of the normal bone attacks to create a shield for himself, even as two of the blue bones went through the second Guardian's legs.

The False Guardian shrieked, struggling to free it's legs from their bony pins.

This was his chance!

He used more of the blue bones to pin down the Guardian's other legs and another two to close it's mouth. His shield would not be able to take another blow.

The Guardian growled through it's closed mouth, with lava dripping out of the edges, as it was truly pinned now.

Searcher backed off and he fired his Blaster at the Guardian.

The Guardian fought, it's sides veined with lava.

Then it crumbled into white sand.

The far east Brazier lit up with the red of the molten lava from the Fire Temple.

Searcher dismissed his Blaster, he could feel one of his knees shaking. He had put too much Magic into that Blaster.

“Try not to freeze Challenger.” The Guardian's voice echoed across the partially lit temple room.

A sound rasped, as a cold brush of air went across the room from it's darkest area, by the final brazier, in the west.

"You're almost there."

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Searcher yelled. "The exploding ice bear?!" He wrapped his cloak tighter around himself as he shivered from the cold.

The False Ice Guardian shuffled in the dark, lumbering forwards, until one could make out it's large form and jutting horns.

Searcher held onto his scythe, waiting for the Guardian to make his move.

The bear yawned before it laid down, and it started to snore.

The Light Guardian seemed to be grumbling about something.

Searcher gulped and he started to slowly make his way towards the bear, channelling his Magic into his scythe, making it glow.

The temperature of the room dropped, causing Searcher to shiver again, before the bear sat up, awake, with a comical grumpy look on its face.

"Oh..." Searcher began to say, before he quickly swung his glowing scythe at the Guardian.

Which bounced off of it.

"..." The bear growled.

"Meep..."

A roar filled the air as the False Guardian stood up.

"I hate using these things in my birth form, but I don't have a choice..." Searcher muttered, even as the blue tearmarkings of Error appeared on his cheeks, and the strings started to form on his fingers.

The False Ice Guardian roared again and it rushed forward, with it's teeth gleaming with frost.

Searcher lashed out with his strings, using them to get out of the way, before he swung his scythe again, but this time, he was aiming for the wings.

The Guardian shrieked in pain as a wing was sliced off, with the broken piece returning to being white sand.

It spun around and it lashed out with it's claws that left specks of ice in the air.

Searcher yelped when the ice connected with his leg, freezing it slightly. His frozen leg was heavy and it made moving difficult, but he couldn't stop now...

He took a shortcut onto the Guardian's back, before he summoned a jagged bone, and he stabbed the back of the bear's head.

The Guardian's body shuddered, and then, it collapsed, back into being white sand.

Searcher should be glad these false Guardians were much weaker then the true Temple Guardians.

In the far west area of the room, the last brazier burst into life, with white, ice like, flames.

The room was silent.

-----

Searcher had fallen into the white sand, he was exhausted, magically and physically. His scythe was embedded in the white sand besides his body.

He groaned as he slowly got up, using his scythe as a cane as he slowly got to his feet, testing his thawed out leg to make sure that it wasn't frozen anymore.

His tearmarkings, and his strings, had disappeared, and you could see the sweat running down his face.

"You have faced part of the cycle, but can you handle Light? You can always give up the challenge, there is no shame in walking away..." The Guardian asked from his throne, which was now visible enough to be seen, without the final two braziers being lit.

"I.... I can't give up!" Searcher yelled. "I have given up so much to get this far, and I have promises that I need to keep! I have others that are depending on me, waiting for me to come home! And if I give up now, everything will be for nothing.

Everyone's tears...

Everyone's pain...

Everyone's hopes, and their dreams...

And even now, even through we are so far apart...."

He could see Shades, hanging out with Truth, as if they were on a date or something.... And he could see himself and Palette, running over to them, waving, laughing without a care in the world....

"I want Palette to smile like he used to again, I want to hear the noises and feel the love of my family as we go about our day, I want that so much, and if I give up here, then I don't deserve any of that..."

He looked the Light Guardian in the eye.

"And for the first time, in a long time..." His eyelight lit up, becoming a swirling white and purple mix. "I have Hope and I am Determined."

The last two braziers were lit, but the fire was black.

“Then, are you ready Goth?” He asked, using his real name, instead of using
Challenger. “Prepare yourself.”

And so, the Light Guardian released his hold on his body, and taking on the form of a humanoid light, with wings made out of light. He seemed to appear and disappear randomly.

Searcher held onto his scythe tightly, ready to make his move. He had to be smart during this fight, he was low on Magic and he was physically exhausted as well.

Solas was floating in the air, his expression was masked by his light.

He reached out a hand, summoning his scythe, and he waited.

Searcher slowly shifted one of his feet, sliding it behind the other one, as his eyelight flared up.

Solas didn’t move, he was waiting....

Searcher leapt forwards, swinging his scythe at the Light Guardian.

Solas leapt forwards, swinging his own scythe, and the two arcane weapons met in a clash of sparks.

Solas didn’t budge, at all.

(So impatient...) Solas sighed.

"Damn it!" Searcher hissed, before he backed off, summoning a Gaster Blaster that he fired at Solas.

Solas was glad that Searcher could not tell that he was rolling his eyes, he slipped backwards and he fired a Blaster at the same time as Searcher, but his Blaster's form seemed to be made of light. Yet, it was just as powerful.

The Blasts hit each other, easily cancelling the other out.

"What's going on here?!" Searcher asked, as he watched their Blasters channelling each other out.

Solas floated slightly in the air, watching, waiting.

Searcher yelped as the temple began to shake heavily, with the white sand bouning as the walls seemed to transmute into endless mirrors.

These mirrors would not break if they were attacked, and then, all the flames in braziers that were lit, flared up.. and suddenly, the mirrors began to painfully reflect the light into the room.

Searcher closed his eyes again, but that wasn't enough to block out the painful light, it was like the mirrors were reflecting the light right into his eyes....

He could hardly see anything because of the reflected light...

Wait...

"Why do you have so many mirrors Guardian?" He asked. "Are you trying to teach me something by using reflections?"

Solas facepalmed, it was one of those days.

Searcher hissed, even as his eyes adjusted to the light, it still hurt, but he could see now.

He started to run forwards, summoning a Blue Magic attack.

He could see the Guardian beginning to use a Blue Magic Attack, but his mind was working in overtime. 'Why would a Guardian need all of these mirrors? Are they a symbol for something... It can't have anything to do with the light being reflected, so it has to be something else. What do mirrors mean? Reflection, looking at yourself, there are a lot of meanings for mirrors in a story... But if the light is not the object that they are supposed to reflect, then what does that leave? The Guardian...' He spoke the last part of his thought trail out loud. "...And me..."

He stopped running, before he looked at himself in the mirrors.

He didn't even see that the Light Guardian had stopped.

He just walked over to one of the mirrors, looking at himself.

Solas allowed himself to land, he was no longer floating, and he pulled himself back into his more solid form.

And slowly, he walked across the temple core room, stopping beside Searcher and he waited.

Searcher reached out and he placed his hand on the mirror. "Who do you see Guardian?" He asked. "It feels silly to tell you this, but I feel like I can't trust my own reflection anymore..."

Solas reached out and he tapped the mirror, a soft gentle tone came from it.

“You cannot trust it, because you have forgotten yourself... your inner self.” Solas whispered.

"My inner self?"

“Light reflects, Shadows hides, Darkness breaks them all. Shadows hid my temple until certain conditions were met, but you have not shed your Shadows. And the other Fear remains, waiting to break the split Multiverses.” Solas said, backing away, he walked back to his throne and he sat down.

"My shadows?" Searcher asked, frowning. "Error..."

“We all have selfish desires, hurts and pains, we all cry, cheer and live. Every being has a counterpart. Some become even more lost then others, falling from Light, into Shadows in their pains... but if they fall too far, there is no Shadows or Light.” Solas continued.

"But what if you don't have a choice?!" Searcher yelled, he was slowly getting angry, at Fate, at himself and at everyone else. "What if you are forced to become lost and fall down that path?! To do horrible things that you keep blaming yourself for until it reaches the point that you think that it is your fault!!!

That when you close your eyes, you can't block out the screams, their pleas for mercy, your own screams for it to stop, and the screams that force you to keep going!!

And you wake up to see the Dust on your hands that you can't get rid of, no matter how hard you try to wash it off! That you have to keep going or others will die! You feel like a Puppet and you hate yourself and you just want to die! That you forget to eat and to sleep, in the hopes that you can die and finally rest in peace!!!

And yet, people forgive you for what you have done, they still love you and they care for you. They are even willing to help you and protect you from those who would hurt you for what you have done!

And use a name that you feel that you don't deserve anymore because of what you have done! Instead of using the name that you choose to hide behind, unless it's to tell you apart from someone else!

That you can't accept that the actions and that the path that you was forced to walk down was not your fault!!! That you was a victim like the rest of them, being used as a Puppet by someone else....."

Searcher stopped screaming.

It sunk in...

"It wasn't my fault?" Goth asked. "I'm not guilty of the sins running down my spine...."

“It was never the Dust on your hands, the nightmares never should have been yours... love is freely giving and you have nothing to ask forgiveness for.” Solas replied softly.

“Goth... do you understand now?”

Goth looked at the Guardian, he was crying, but he nodded his head. "I shouldn't have been running from my problems, everything that I did, I did because I was rejecting myself, I was scared of myself, scared of what I had become.... I should have gone straight home, instead of running as far as I could from it..."

“Now Goth, how does one defeat the Guardian they cannot fight?” Solas asked softly, gently pulling his hood off to reveal his face.

"You don't." Goth smiled. "Because you can't fight yourself, you will only lose if you chose to fight yourself, because no one wins."

Solas held out his hands, waiting for Searcher to grab them.

Goth smiled, before he walked over to the Guardian, and he hugged him. "Thank you."

“No. Thank you, because without you, Solas wouldn’t exist, Solas is tired now, as I’ve been waiting a very long time... I’m... just... sorry....” Solas whispered, falling forwards, his body vanishing into specks of light.

“That Big Brother will be alone now...” His voice echoed in the air, Solas was now gone.

The final braziers around the throne were lit, the flames were shadowy in color, with specks of beautiful white veins in the flames.

For the first time in Eons, a Soul shard returned home.

Goth started to cry again, even as he hugged himself. Reaper floated over to him, hugging his son.

"It's not fair Dad, Solas was just a kid." Goth sobbed into his Dad's shoulder. "He was just a kid.... Mine... Fate took a shard of my Soul when she took me, and it was used to make him. He may have been a clone, but he was my kid at the same time...."

Reaper just hugged his son tighter.

Goth sniffed and he wiped away his tears after he had cried for several minutes. He had to keep going. "Dad... I know how to end this... I know where to find what that Skeleton wanted."

A whisper of sound was heard, the soft sound of footwear on sand.

Goth turned around, not even seeing the golden speckles that appeared in his white eyelight.

"Who's there?"

“Little Solas was a very happy being, he lived a very long time being loved. There are no regrets, no sorrows. Do not cry, just promise me that you will remember Solas for me.” Umbra said quietly, he hated the fact that only now, he could leave his post.

Goth just smiled, before he pulled out his Soul, the little golden piece was happily bouncing around. "I won't have a problem with that."

“Then finish the temple Goth, make sure that my little brother task is not left unfinished.” Umbra said, his golden eyelights going red with determination.

Then he was gone, and the only proof that he was there, was the marks on the sand.

Goth smiled, before he turned around again, walking towards the throne. He knelt down, before he gently pressed on the white dot in the black part of the yin-yang symbol.

The symbol opened, to reveal a Key Piece.

-------

In Outertale, it began to rain, for some unknown reason, and people wondered why it felt like tears.

Palette looked at the sky. "Gothy?" He asked, even as a tear of his own ran down his face...

---------

Goth carefully picked up the Key Piece, he was crying too. "Dad, do you remember that Door in Reapertale? The one door that no one could open?"

"Yes... it annoys Asgore greatly." Reaper said, and anything that annoyed Asgore was fine in his book.

"Guess where Fate put Ink's Soul after she took it from him?" Goth asked.

"Or rather, where Solas hid Ink's Soul after Umbra gave it to him, once he got it from our Fate..."

------

The Temple shook suddenly in a horrid wind, and it wailed like a lost Soul.

Or a Soul lost in grief....

Umbra wailed in grief, in his void core, he was alone.

And Fate had still not freed him.