A New Journey
Chapter 10- White Kyurem

Thanks to the help of a Gardevoir who had befriended N some time ago, the group arrived at the Giant Chasm. As they had expected, the entire area was bitterly cold and snowy. N, being more familiar with Unova's varying climates than his human allies, had told them to get some winter clothes to face the cold climate of Kyurem's lair. They were hidden behind some trees as they carefully watched a big ship, the Plasma Frigate, before them. Blue, using his special ability, placed his paw on the ground and closed his eyes so that he could feel the Aura of the frigate's occupants through the ground.

"Most of the humans are inside of that metal thing over there, but I can feel the presence of three humans and the titanic Aura of a Pokémon inside of that cave. One of the humans is female and injured, while the other two are male and unharmed. The titanic Aura must belong to Kyurem," Blue said as he opened his eyes.

"Hilda must be there, and the other two humans are no doubt my father and Colress," N said to the others.

"We need to come up with a plan before we try doing anything. Especially when most of the Plasma members are inside of that ship," Gary commented as he watched two Plasma Grunts stand guard over the ship.

Prof. Sycamore suggested that he could go to the ship and keep all of the members of Team Plasma on board busy, while the others went to the cave to save Hilda and stop Ghetsis's plans for Kyurem. Gary disagreed, saying it was too dangerous. The professor of Kalos smiled, reassuring Gary that he would be fine because he had powerful Pokémon with him and was also a proficient hacker.

"Since you might face Kyurem, take Pearl with you," Prof. Sycamore said as he handed Pearl's Poké Ball to Gary. "Even if Kyurem is a legendary Pokémon, he's still a Dragon-type. Pearl should be strong enough to face him, since she's a Fairy-type."

"Understood. You should take Skiddo. She might be young, but her Headbutts and her Grass-type attacks are strong," Gary said, giving his Skiddo's Poké Ball to Sycamore.

"And I want you take Black with you," N said as he looked at his young Zoroark. "The frigate's master controls are in the center of the ship. To avoid unnecessary battles, Black can disguise you as a Plasma Grunt. That should give you enough time to get in and hack their system before anyone realizes what's going on."

"(Heh, it'll be fun to fool those idiots,) " Black said, smirking.

Gary looked at May, asking her if she was ready. She nodded to him, feeling prepared. Blue turned to Black, telling him to be careful because he wanted to learn more about his little brother later. Black smiled and said he would be fine since he was his mother's child and had inherited both her strength and her personality. With that, the group split apart.

At the cave, N's group was slowly making progress as they got ever closer to meeting Ghetsis and rescuing Hilda. Blue was feeling extremely tense and nervous; he'd never felt an Aura so cold and powerful before. Not even the Kami Trio or his master had such powerful Auras.

Gary, noticing Blue's tense gait, felt concern for the Aura Pokémon and asked, "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not. I can feel Kyurem's Aura. It's very powerful, and that scares me. I don't know if I can face him, even with that evolved form I took in the park," Blue answered, forcing a small, nervous smile as he looked at Gary. "By the way, thanks for... before. Even though you're missing an arm, you risked your life and nearly drowned trying to save me."

"It was nothing," Gary said with a warm smile, waving his hand dismissively. "I would do it again in a heartbeat, if necessary."

"Wha-? Why?!" Blue asked, clearly surprised. "We barely know each other. Is this related to your friend- the one you told me you'd lost when we were in the lake? The first time we met, you mistook me for someone else; was that...him?"

Gary was silent for a moment; he hadn't expected this question. Gary was certain the Pokémon before him was his deceased friend, who'd died while holding his hand. The proof was in the moment he accidentally caused Blue to Mega Evolve. A Mega Evolution could only occur if the bond between Pokémon and Trainer was strong, and while Blue was right in saying that he and Gary barely knew each other, that said nothing for the strong bond of friendship Gary had held with Ash. In case there was still any doubt in the researcher's mind, the images he'd seen when Blue evolved were of memories that no one else could have possibly known about, except for him and Ash.

"Yes, that was him. His name was Ash. He was stubborn and could be kind of dense sometimes, but he had a good heart; he always put the safety of his Pokémon before himself. He did a lot of incredible things while he was on his journey to become a Pokémon Master, including getting to meet all of the legendary Pokémon in every region he traveled to," Gary said, remembering all of the stories Ash had told him about his adventures with the legendary Pokémon.

"That's true," May added with a nostalgic smile. "While I was traveling with him, we had the opportunity to see Jirachi, Manaphy, and Mew."

Blue's eyes widened in shock when they mentioned these names, especially Mew's. For some reason, he saw images of a dying Lucario and a boy holding his paw while he went to the spirit world. Blue mentioned that they were lucky to meet Mew- the mother of all the Pokémon.

"It's funny; you two have been in my dreams ever since I was a Riolu, especially you, Gary Oak. You were in my dreams most of the time, but I don't know why."

Gary was surprised when Blue mentioned the dreams. May didn't understand why she and Gary would be in his dreams, but Gary knew exactly what this meant. There was no doubt that Blue was Ash's reincarnation. The miko's voice was still ringing in his ears as images of Ash's last moments played out in his mind.

"Maybe Arceus made you have these dreams because he planned for us to meet one day. You know, Ash's death didn't just scar my body; it left a scar on my heart, as well, since I saw him take his last breath," Gary said as he placed his right hand on his stump, where his arm used to be. "The night before he died, Ash told me that he'd had a special bond with a Lucario he met in Kanto, and that he..." Gary hesitated for a second, "...considered your kind to be very special to him. Arceus knew this and might have sent you to heal my spiritual wounds."

Gary didn't know why he didn't tell Blue that he was Ash's reincarnation. Something had stopped him from saying it out loud, but for some reason, he didn't regret keeping Blue's true identity a secret from him. May was confused by Gary's words, having no idea what the young researcher really meant to say. Blue looked confused, as well, but he accepted Gary's explication without debate.

"You know, you may be right about this, Gary Oak," Blue said as he looked at Gary. "Master Cobalion once told me that Arceus has a way of playing with the destinies of everyone to get them to do as he wishes."

Gary nodded in agreement, but before he could say anything more, N warned the group that they were almost at Kyurem's lair, and the others grew silent with anxiety. When they arrived at the center of the cave, they found Kyurem, Ghetsis, and Colress waiting for them.

"Greetings, N," Ghetsis said, his evil smirk unmistakable. "You came sooner than expected."

"Where's Hilda, Ghetsis?" N asked with a frown, wanting to skip the fake formalities with his father.

Ghetsis's smirk widened as he moved away and revealed Hilda- unconscious, seriously injured, and chained to a chair- to the group.

"Hilda!" N shouted worriedly. He noticed new wounds covering her body that hadn't been there when he last spoke with Ghetsis.

Hilda groaned as she finally regained consciousness again. She looked up to find N surrounded by people she had never met before; although, she recognized May- a top Coordinator from the Hoenn region.

Tears rolled down the Heroine of Ideals's cheeks as she yelled, "N, why are you here? It's a trap!"

She was quickly silenced as Ghetsis drew his sword and pointed it at her neck. N and the others immediately tensed; if any of them made one false move, Hilda would be killed.

XXX

Inside of the Plasma Frigate, thanks to Black's illusions, Prof. Sycamore was able to go through the ship without any problems, avoiding unnecessary battles. Black dropped the illusions as they arrived at the frigate's central control center, while Sycamore quickly went to work hacking into the system. The professor was so absorbed in his work that he paid no mind to Skiddo when she unexpectedly emerged from her Poké Ball and began checking out her new surroundings. If she was going to be perfectly honest, the place was giving her chills. She was considering returning to the safe refuge of her Poké Ball when she noticed some Poké Balls on the nearby table and felt the sudden compulsion to open them. When she did, a Samurott, a Swanna, a Zebstrika, a Sawsbuck, and a Darmanitan came out.

Prof. Sycamore was understandably startled by the Pokémon's sudden appearance, but then he noticed that they were actually Hilda's Pokémon and were grievously wounded, as if they had been tortured. The professor of Kalos stopped what he was doing to check on the Pokémon. Most of them would be fine- though their wounds were serious, it was nothing that a good Super Potion wouldn't fix- but the damage Samurott had taken was a lot more serious and worried the professor. Bruises and burn marks covered his body, causing the poor Pokémon to moan in pain even as Sycamore administered a Burn Heal to him. Feeling that Prof. Sycamore could be trusted, Swanna helped him heal Samurott, using her Aqua Ring to take care of his other injuries. However, even with Swanna helping him, Prof. Sycamore was afraid that Samurott wouldn't be able to pull through.

"Hey! What are you doing here?!" a Team Plasma Grunt shouted at Sycamore as he entered the control room. Sycamore glared at the grunt, but said nothing as he walked back over to the frigate's main computer and pushed a button, closing up all of the entrances and exits of the ship.

The grunt jumped slightly in surprise as the door behind him slammed shut, and as he stared back at Sycamore in surprise, the professor coldly said in a serious tone, "I really hate what you people did to these Pokémon, especially this poor Samurott. I usually wouldn't do something like this, but you deserve to be crushed for what you've done."

Sycamore took four Poké Balls from his belt and threw them in the air, releasing a Charizard, a Blastoise, a Venusaur, and a Garchomp simultaneously. He then rolled up his sleeve, revealing four Mega Rings on his left arm.

XXX

Back at the cave, everyone was tense. Hilda could feel the coldness of the blade touching her skin. Ghetsis was looking at N with a smirk on his face, asking the green-haired young man about the legend surrounding Zekrom, Reshiram, and Kyurem. N was confused as to why his father was asking such a question.

"Well, since none of you understand, allow me to share a little story with all of you. A long time ago, there was a powerful dragon who acted as guardian of these lands, but one day, the dragon had to fight against an equally powerful demon. They fought for seven days and seven nights, until the dragon finally emerged victorious. However, his victory came at a great price; during their struggle, the dragon was infected by the demon's miasma. To avoiding becoming corrupted, the dragon divided himself into three pieces- one to represent mind, another to represent body, and a final piece to represent spirit."

Ghetsis paused to grab Hilda by the hair and yank her head back, causing her to yelp in pain. She immediately quieted when she felt Ghetsis press his sword closer to her neck.

"Reshiram represents the truth, which also represents spirit; Zekrom represents ideals, which also represent the mind; and Kyurem here represents the body- the body that's eagerly waiting to get its mind and spirit back."

Blue's eyes widened in shock over Ghetsis's explanation. He knew about Kyurem thanks to his master and the other Swords of Justice. This madman's plan was to fuse Kyurem with Reshiram and Zekrom to return Kyurem to his original form.

'N, whatever you do, do not call Reshiram,' Blue warned N through his Aura. 'His plan is to fuse Kyurem with the other dragons. If he does that, we're doomed.'

N was sweating. He'd known his father had been harboring terrible intentions for Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem, but he'd never realized just how terrible they truly were until that very moment. He spared a glance for Kyurem and found that he was standing completely still, almost like a statue Why wasn't he doing anything? Had Ghetsis done something to him? Gary was having the same exact thought, but from his angle, he was able to spot something unusual on the back of Kyurem's neck. Could it be the same device that had controlled May's Pokémon?

"I don't know how this girl learned about my intentions for Zekrom, but she did. When we found her, she had already released Zekrom to keep him from me. It was such a pity; I'd wanted that dragon ever since your little friend and Zekrom managed to defeat you. Luckily for me, I knew one of the dragons' few weaknesses; did you know that the chosen heroes have such a deep connection to their dragons that they always know when something happens to their human partners? I was hoping to use that bond to lure Zekrom here, but no matter how much we tortured her, her mind refused to break and she never called out to her dragon. I must admit, she has a very strong mind and will. It's no wonder Zekrom has accepted her to be his Heroine of Ideals," Ghetsis stared straight at N, his face twisting to reveal a wicked, cold-hearted smirk before he continued, "but you, my son, you've never had a strong mind."

To everyone's horror, they were completely helpless to stop Ghetsis before the evil Plasma leader slashed his sword across Hilda's throat. N let out a horrified scream and rushed towards them, only for Ghetsis to cruelly throw Hilda to him before jumping back to stand beside Colress. N managed to catch Hilda before she could collapse to the ground, and he was quickly joined by May as she took her bandana from her head and pressed it to Hilda's neck in an effort to stanch the bleeding. Gary stared upon the scene in horror; he couldn't believe what he was seeing, and as he watched his friends tend to Hilda's injury, he kept asking himself over and over again how they could have let this happen. Soon enough, however, his horror and shock turned to anger, and he glared at Ghetsis with righteous fury as the Plasma leader watched the scene before him unfold with that same evil smirk on his face.

"You son of a bitch!" Gary shouted, only for Blue to jump in front of him as he sensed an attack approaching them. He quickly formed a protective barrier over them as a Hydreigon flew overhead before coming to float in front of his master.

"You have to pull yourself together, Gary Oak; do not lose your cool," Blue said as he glared at Ghetsis and his Dragon-type Pokémon.

May gulped nervously, slowly getting nauseous as she felt Hilda's blood seep through her bandana and onto her palms; she'd never seen so much blood before. She wouldn't allow herself to lose focus or give up, though- she needed to stop Hilda's bleeding. She spared a glance for N, finding the green-haired teen looking down at his hands, which were covered with Hilda's blood. His whole body trembled as he stared at the blood congealing in his palms, but before May could even attempt to say something that might comfort him, N balled his hands into fists and released a scream of pure anguish that pierced the air around them. In that same moment, the cave began to quake as Reshiram appeared, smashing a hole in the roof of the cave as he landed behind N and the others and roared furiously. Ghetsis smirked. This was exactly what he had wanted N to do.

"Now, Colress!"

Colress nodded and pressed down one of the buttons on the device in his hand. Almost instantly, Kyurem's eyes started to glow and he began roaring, as well, while strange tentacles emerged from the Ice Dragon Pokémon's body and lashed out to wrap around Reshiram. Reshiram tried to fight, but the tentacles were too powerful. Suddenly, Reshiram was transformed into a light sphere, and the tentacles moved to put the sphere in Kyurem's mouth, who quickly swallowed it. N and the others gasped in horror as flames came to cover Kyurem's body, and they realized they were helpless to stop the Pokémon as his transformation got under way. When the flames finally died down, the transformation was complete, and before the group stood the White Kyurem.

To be continued.

That's chapter 10. I hope you enjoyed it. There will be a lot more tension in the next chapter. Will our heroes defeat the White Kyurem? You'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out.

I want to thank Flock o' Seagulls for beta-editing this. ^^