The Gray Adventure Part 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.
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'' Thoughts
... Time skip
Kenshin: Last time on Gray Adventure Part 2, there was an incredible developmeninchi! Keldeo gains his Resolute Form and is ready to take down Kyurem, but enough of that; ROSA IS AN AURA USER!?
Yusei: Yeah, they know. There's no way they can forget because they can read back.
Manabu: On a more important note, POKEMON X and Y are OUT! We'll decide whether or not to write a story about them when we get a 3Ds. And the game.
Julia: That Xavier kid looks delicious.
Everyone: Eh?!
Journal Entry 11: Infiltrating Neo Plasma
"Nate, I'm sorry." Nate stares in shock at his friend like never before. She's an aura user, the same as him? For how long? And why is he only finding out about this now?!
"Rosa..."
"I knew there was something up... This explains so much; you called this a curse because you attract guys!" Yancy states despite her surprise seeing this.
"What do you know?!"
"Anyway, we'll lead you to their hideout. Go to Route 21 and travel through the Seaside Cave; one of three entrances will lead you to them. The one you're looking for is blocked by a sleeping Crustle," Cobalion tells Nate, who has forced himself to put away Rosa's surprise to listen. "We bid you farewell."
The three Swords of Justice run off, leaving the trio and Keldeo behind. Nate retrieves his Pokemon before walking away silently. Rosa calls out to him. "Nate, where are you going?"
"Pokemon Center," he tells her, not at all sounding energetic or positive.
"Well, wait up. I'd hate to be left behind-"
"Really?" She flinches feeling his glare at her. She's never seen him give one like that before. "Would you really be upset, or is that another one of your lies?"
"Lies? What the hell are you talking about? I never lied-"
"YOU DID!" he shouts, taking the girls by surprise again. "When I asked if you were an aura user like myself you said no; you probably made up that whole story just so I would feel sorry for you and not dig any further!"
"I..."
"Tell me the truth, now; why didn't you want me to know? Why did you make me think you were affected by my aura too?"
"Because of THAT!" Rosa screams back. He pauses feeling her frustration release from her lips. "I've had these powers since I was born. Whenever I would let other boys near me they'd fight over me almost to the point of death, and I knew nothing about it. It's because of this cursed power that I met you, and that you got caught up into this too; you may think it's a benefit having super powers and girls paying attention to you but it's not! There's responsibilities, heartbreaks, betrayals and other stuff mixed into having this curse! That accident that led to you unlocking your powers was never supposed to happen!"
"... Accident? You mean the car crash that put me in a hospital?" Yancy gasps a bit hearing that, heart strings pulling upon realizing Nate was in such danger.
"Rosa, Nate, what was the accident? What happened?" asks Yancy.
The two look over to her, where Rosa begins with, "It was when we were 9."
"I was in an argument with Hugh over which of us could be a better leader that led to a fight. Rosa sided with me and we broke up our friendship for a while. I felt bad and wanted to apologize that night so I went to his house, but then I saw a smoking car was about to hit Rosa so I pushed her out of the way and took the hit myself," he explains, and Yancy almost loses it. "I woke up in a hospital after a coma, and that's it."
"There's more to it than that, Nate," Rosa says as she prepares to give her story. "You weren't supposed to save me; that car was on fire because of me, and it was no accident that it came after me."
"Eh?"
"They were trying to kidnap me; they found out about my powers and thought they could sell me. When I fought back using my powers I violently tore them apart, but... In an attempt to kill me they tried to run me over. I had already done enough damage to the car that forming a barrier would stop it, but you came out of nowhere and pushed me out of the way. You almost died trying to save me when you didn't need to!"
"Wait... You did that? That's what really happened?" Nate then thinks back and tries to piece it all together. "I almost died for nothing?"
"Nate, when that happened I was so crushed I was afraid you'd die... I gave you some of my aura to try and save you, and when I woke up I found out you were in a coma. That's when my aunt came and took me in, to teach me how to properly use my powers so this wouldn't happen again."
Nate grits his teeth, before finally shouting, "I can't believe you never told me the truth!"
"Like I could! Did you really want to know that you almost died for nothing?!" Yancy stays silent, watching their frustration coming out.
"Rosa, I could ignore the fact that you were okay on your own and that you had powers like myself, but I couldn't be okay knowing you lied to me and kept this from me, and that you didn't trust me enough. Instead you felt like I was a charity case and forced yourself to be with you; I don't care if you have more experience as a trainer and a user than me. I'm not a kid, and I can take care of myself, and you making me out to be less than anything is an insult to my every being!" Nate then walks off in a huff. "Yancy, let's go."
"Eh?" In a fluster she follows after him.
"Wait, Nate!" Rosa calls out, only for her words to fall on death ears. She drops to her knees and whimpers, tears falling from her eyes. "I'm sorry..."
Back with Nate he and Yancy leave the place aboard Hayato, flying towards Humilau City. Along the way Nate remains silent. Even as they land she could tell his mind is on Rosa and what she did.
"Nate, I'm sorry to leave you at this time, but I'm needed back," Yancy speaks up finally before they enter the center. He turns back to her, forcing a smile. "And, before I do I should probably tell you this too... Rosa was right; I've been hiding something too."
"You don't have super powers too right?"
"No," she replies, hoping he was joking about that. "I'm actually a star."
"... A what?"
"I am a celebrity idol, under the screen name Nancy," she reveals, holding up a flier with what appears to be a beautiful girl in pink threads and her hair done up. He takes a moment to put two and two together, and realizes she's right. He could even see the beauty mark under her left eye.
"Whoa... So that's what you were hiding?" Nate feels a little upset she kept this from him, as the blow of Rosa's secret is still a sore spot. Though because she told him now he feels better about it.
"It's just, I didn't want the public to find out about my personal life; I like to have some privacy," she explains, putting away the flier. "I was determined to keep this from you too until the time was right, but after what happened with Rosa-"
"You don't want me finding out on my own and distrusting you." She nods at his answer. "Well, thanks for telling me. But believe me; this is no where near as bad as Rosa... I just don't get why she wouldn't tell me... Was she that afraid I'd hate her, even though we've been friends since childhood?"
"To be honest Nate, I still kind of dislike her. I'd rather she not enter your heart after what she did, but she's still important to you. I can tell that," Yancy says before taking his hand. "Just take a moment to look into your heart and think; you'll come to an answer... Please be careful."
Without a second thought, she then leans in and kisses him on the lips. As quick as she came, she leaves his mouth and walks away. Nate smacks his lips lightly, taking in her kiss and watching her leave, before taking a moment to remember his task.
"I still need to stop Team Plasma," he states before heading into the center. He buys some supplies and heals his Pokemon, before resting the rest of the day.
The Next Day...
The following morning Nate awakens and gets ready for his final bout with Plasma. He eats, feeds his team, and then heads out towards the Seaside Cave. Before he could, he has some thing to grasp his attention.
"Hello, Nate Hakumei?" says Nurse Joy, right before he could leave the center fully.
"Uh, yeah?" he responds, turning back around to face her. He secretly prays she isn't affected by his aura and smitten. His fears are alleviated when she hands him a gift box, shaped like something from a jewelry store. "What's this?"
"It's a gift to you from someone who you know, a miss Bianca," she tells him. He gives a knowing nod.
Nate then opens the box, and looks inside to see a red, orange and blue swirl stone. It has a brilliant, blue glow; almost aura-like. "Nice, a gem. And a note?" He picks up the note inside and reads.
"Dear Nate, it's been a while hasn't it? While you're out training and fighting against Plasma, as I figure, the professor and I found a stone within Iccirus City. We discovered from a scientist in the Kalos region that it may help with Pokemon in battle. Try it with one of your Pokemon! Love, Bianca."
"Love?!" He turns red a bit at her comment, and the kiss mark spread all over. But his mind becomes intrigued about the power this may possess. "I'll focus on that later."
He pockets the box in his bag and rushes off. Traveling south of Humilau City, he comes to a body of water. "Alright, Keldeo! Let's swim!"
He sends out Keldeo, who lands on top of the water surface. "Alright! So who am I fighting today?"
"No one yet. We're about to hit Plasma's base, and I still can't swim," he tells him. Sighing, Keldeo lets him aboard and they take off.
Along the trip down Route 21 he checks his team of Pokemon. He has taken the liberty to choose Takeru, Ryoku, Hayato, Galvantula and Keldeo for this trip, but the more he thinks of it the more he realizes he could use more on his team. At the end of the day he only has eight Pokemon.
Soon they come to a large cave island plastered along the path. Checking his map he speaks, "That's it," and dismounts Keldeo onto dry land. After retrieving the guy he enters the cave's entrance. "This shouldn't take long." Taking the time to examine his surroundings, Nate makes a note to watch where he steps to avoid the water.
He notes a girl in a Chinese dress holding up a Pokeball. "Greetings. Shall we do this?"
"Uh, sure." Both send out Pokemon, Nate's being Takeru and hers Heracross. "What the?"
"Heracross, Megahorn!" Her beetle Pokemon charges its horn and flies in at the boar.
"Hammer Arm!" Takeru comes in and lariats the horn attack, knocking Heracross back. "Flamethrower!"
He then snorts flames upon the beetle, roasting him before the woman retrieves Heracross quickly. "Dang it!"
She then walks off with shame, while Nate retrieves his Pokemon. "Okay... Focus on the task at hand." He walks along the pathway and prepares to seek out the end. But his pathway leads him to another trainer, a Black Belt wearer, and a team of Roggenrola.
"Yo! I've been waiting for another challenger; you shall not pass without facing my Roggenrola!" he shouts proudly before his team of four appears from the rocks around them.
"Hmm... Alright, I'll take them all on at once." Nate sends out Keldeo, his Resolute form giving a starlight appearance.
"What the heck kind of Pokemon is that?" he wonder staring at Keldeo. "But if you think you can handle it, go!"
"Keldeo, Secret Sword!" As the Roggenrola come flying at Keldeo, his horn sharpens with a bright, yellow aura. It then extends into a blade, which he uses to carve through each Pokemon. They fall backwards, still remaining in one piece. "They must have sturdy."
"I don't know what that was, but you won't take down any of my sturdy Pokemon that easily!" he states.
"Surf!" Keldeo howls, calling forth water from the surroundings to splash on all of them. The water retreats showing how they've lost.
"N-No! My sturdy Pokemon! Your power really is the real thing..." he speaks before retrieving his Pokemon. He then walks away, claiming he needs to become stronger.
"Way to go Keldeo. Your training's really paid off," Nate says as he pats his buddy's head.
"All thanks to you," he replies. Nate then returns him to his Pokeball, and focuses his attention back on Plasma.
He continues along the path, having tried various routes and faced tons of Pokemon that he's been forced to run away from, and comes to a pair of jagged stairs. At the top he notes a towering block like Pokemon in his way, completely cutting off his exit. Nate checks the map, and says, "That's the only route that leads outside of here without going to one of those places... It must be it."
He tries to move the block out of the way, only for his limited strength to fail him. He then comes to an idea, and uses his Pokedex to scan. "Crustle, the Stone Home Pokemon; the evolved form of Dwebble, Crustle possesses legs of insurmountable strength to lift their heavy homes. When Crustle fight for territory, it becomes a war. Any whose boulder is broken loses."
"So it was a Pokemon... Then this should work!" He takes out the device Colress gave him and attaches it to Crustle. Pressing a button, it releases a shock that awakens the bug from within. "There you go!"
Frustrated from being awaken, Crustle snaps its claws at him. It then sends boulders towards Nate, who dodges. The device ends up getting smashed in the process. "Crap. Ryoku, Aura Sphere!"
Ryoku pops out of his Pokeball and releases his signature attack on Crustle, sending it back a few steps. "Ultra Ball, go!" He throws a ball at Crustle, capturing it for a few seconds before it stops rolling. "Yosh, that makes a new addition to my team."
He then moves forward with Ryoku, outside of the cave and right to a beach. On said beach he could see the Plasma Frigate right in front of him. A sense of accomplishment sweeps him over, and he feels happier now. "Yes! I found it!"
"Hey, good job!" says another person from behind. Looking back Nate sees Hugh standing there. "So, how we getting in?"
"Hold it!" A steel plank falls from the ship onto shore. Walking down they could see Marlon.
"Marlon?!" they say in shock, and in unison.
"Wait, I thought you weren't going to get involved with Plasma!" Hugh says.
"Hey guys. They're not really bothering me," he retorts before hitting shore. "There's no point really in believin' Plasma's back without thinkin' just cause everyone says so! But since you're havin' trouble, I've gotta help out!"
"So, how can you help?" Nate asks. Hugh remains silent, awaiting his answer.
"Findin' lost Pokemon is fine, and stoppin' a group of criminals from icin' the world is cool too, but those are goals. They're not reasons," Marlon begins. "You need energy when you're seekin' a goal; why are you doing this in the first place?"
"Why?" Hugh blinks a bit.
"Remember your purpose, your beliefs. The strength of your beliefs is what gives you and your Pokemon power." Marlon looks back. "Whoops, that noise I made drew attention. Good luck!" He then jets into the cave.
Hugh looks at him with a blank stare. "What was that?! His follow through sucks!"
"I guess he was being kind in his own way," Nate says in defense. He then rushes onto the ship.
"Hey! That's what I normally do!" Hugh shouts, chasing after his friend.
Nate boards the ship and begins to look across the place from side to side. Marlon's words of finding a reason, he knows clearly. He wants to find his cousin, save him, bring him back to his wives, and protect the world from Kyurem.
"Hey you!" Plasma grunts come out, two of them, and charge at the younger trainers.
"Aura Sphere." Nate takes in a deep breath, drawing out his aura powers. He forces Aura Spheres and fires, blowing them away. "Still works."
"What the hell did you do?" Hugh asks in shock, having seen Nate's hidden powers knock out two adults.
"Grab that guy and put on his clothes; we're going undercover," Nate says, having sprung an incredible idea. He takes one of the grunts and together he and Hugh drag them off the ship towards the cave. There they steal their clothes, and wigs as it turns out, and web them together using Galvantula.
Dressed as Plasma Grunts, Nate and Hugh walk towards the boat, acting casual even as more grunts have come out to check the scenery. One of them yells, "Where did he go?!"
"That smiley swimpants that lowered the bridge is gone!" another adds.
"The roadblock Crustle we had is gone!" a third states after coming up from behind Nate and Hugh. The latter of them scratches his head.
'Damn this thing's itchy!'
"Shouldn't you guys try to bring the plank back up so no one else can get on?" states Nate, trying to pass as one of them.
"He's right; he might bring back some help!" The grunts head off to bring in the plank, while Nate and Hugh go to work.
"Let's check the bridge," says the blue haired teen, leading his friend towards the bridge of the ship. Going inside the ship they find a pathway blocked off by an electric barrier. Nate examines the machines powering it. "Well?"
"We'll have to turn it off using some switches. Let's split up and search," Nate says before taking off.
"Huh... When did he get so dedicated?"
Down the stairs into the lower parts of the ship, where he sees another Plasma grunt doing his work. He approaches him. "Uh, excuse me..."
"Yes?" he says, turning around to face Nate. That's when he recognizes him. "Oh, are you Nate?"
"Eh? You can tell?!"
"Well, your hair's leaking through the wig," he states, pointing out the single bang hanging loose underneath the wig. Nate quickly fixes that. In a more whispered voice, he says, "We met in Driftveil. I'm an ex-member of Plasma looking for more Pokemon to free."
"Oh, thanks for that." Knowing that he's been here long enough he would know some things. "So, would you happen to know where they hold prisoners?"
"Prisoners?" He takes a moment to think. "Well, now that you mention it, there was this one room blocked off from the low level grunts; only the higher ups have clearance. It's at the front of the bridge covered by electric barriers."
'Then that's my target. Hilbert definitely has to be there!' "Would you know anything about switches that could unlock them?" To answer his question, the ex-Plasma points ahead.
"There are warp panels ahead, that will lead you throughout the ship. One of them is bound to lead to the switches," he responds, leaving Nate to sigh. "Sorry."
Nate walks ahead, hoping no one else could see him. He enters the first room, and passes through a series of panels that leads him to another room. There he finds an obvious switch, and presses it. "That's one."
He continues to perform this, until finally he presses all three of the switches and unlocks the barrier. Hugh waits at the end of the barrier patiently, until noticing them. With a sigh of relief he says, "Wow, he got it done."
Finished, Nate walks back towards the front to get to the other side. He's also relieved how smooth this is playing out; posing as a grunt has allowed for him and Hugh to pass through with ease. It would have taken longer if they were wandering around in the open, and every grunt came in using weapons instead of Pokemon.
He enters the room where he split from Hugh, and gives a nod. "Nice work."
"I'll go in. Keep looking for Purrloin," he responds, passing through the warp panel first.
He comes out to a cage-like floor, where Zinzolin and another grunt stand. There's also a machine of sorts channeling cryogenic energy. "Ah, so you've come."
"If you know who I am then there's no point in theatrics, Zin-Zin Zolo-" He stomps the ground angrily.
"That is NOT my name, you insufferable brat!" he bellows angrily. "I could destroy you, but since you took the trouble to come here I'll show you something interesting!"
He steps aside, revealing a hole in the floor that holds an image shocking Nate. Down below in a cylindrical tube is Kyurem, the ice dragon in its monstrous form. Nate closes his eyes and says, "Kyurem..."
"That's right; he is the source of power that runs this frigate; the ice missiles we fired upon Opelucid City were energized by it through Plasma's technology," he says. His eyes then narrow upon Nate. "Now, as you've become a threat to Plasma the same as your doomed relative, you will now perish!"
"Over my dead body!" Hugh responds as he makes a dramatic entry through the warp panel.
"Hugh? This is personal for me; go find Purrloin."
"Sorry, but this thing was making my head itchy." He removes the wig and hat. "Besides, if you're going to gang up on my buddy you'll have to go through me."
"Through is the wrong word; we're fighting together." Nate stands beside his friend, giving him an arrogant smirk.
"Enough of this; we'll slaughter the both of you!" Zinzolin and the grunt take out each a Pokeball and release it. Out pops Cryogonal and Liepard.
"Let's go, Gantetsu/King Godora!" Nate and Hugh send out Crustle and Aggron respectively. Their Pokemon gang up together and make their assault.
Down below, Kyurem opens his eyes and gives a faint roar. He transforms, taking on his human appearance, and expelling a snowy wind from his body. He glares down at the sleeping form of Hilbert, holding one of the DNA Splicers.
Yusei: Sorry to cut this short, but we're nearing the end game. The chapters may not be Part 1 length, but there isn't much left to do in Black and White 2 that hasn't been accomplished in the originals.
Manabu: Don't worry; we'll make sure the ending gives off a grand slam. You won't wanna miss next chapter!
Alger: Nate and Hugh battle Zinzolin, the Shadow Triad and Colress, before going straight to the hideout of Kyurem to duke it out with a much smarter Ghetsis. Will Keldeo's training be enough to stop Kyurem, or will Ghetsis take away what is most precious to our heroes?
Nate's Pokemon: Emboar, Lucario, Braviary, Galvantula, Keldeo Resolute Form, Crustle, Eevee(?), Purrloin, Zorua
Rosa's Pokemon: Serperior, Electabuzz, Mienshao, Arcanine, Mandibuzz, Boldore
Hugh's Pokemon: Samurott, Simisage, Unfeazant, Aggron