Chapter XII: What Dies
There is no satisfying conclusion to all this. I hope you weren't waiting for one because you won't be happy. Truth be told, I try not to think about what happened in the end. I realize that people who read this might think that's strange. Objectively, what happened was incredible; in fact, some might call it a miracle. But it's hard not to have regrets with the way it all turned out.
Sure, we "won." But nothing was ever gained in us winning. People we love are still dead. Unova was still destroyed. There are still scars. We lost far more than any of it was ever worth.
Cilan held fast to Iris's wrist as they tore through the brush, sprinting back to the Village of Dragons. It was only at the forest's edge overlooking the village that they stopped to catch their breath. With their chests heaving, their eyes darted from rooftop to rooftop for any sign of trouble.
All seemed well. Yet, there remained an inexplicable sense of dread hanging in the air. It was eerily quiet, and it didn't sit well with either of them.
Iris tugged on Cilan's sleeve. "We need to find the others," she said in a low voice. He nodded, and they ventured forward again, with greater caution. At the first home they reached, she pulled on his sleeve once more so that they clung to the wall together. She peered around the corner to catch a glimpse of the main road.
Cilan let out a long breath. "I think we're just being paranoid," he said after a moment. "Maybe those Pidove—"
"Shh—!"
There were voices. Cilan then peered around the corner, too, and inhaled sharply: In the distance was the unmistakable shape and color of Elesa. She stood among a small handful of others gathered near the Elder's home, but she was the most distinguishable of the bunch in her bright yellow frock.
"The Truth Seekers are here," Cilan breathed. "They must have followed us."
"Or Benga just knew I'd come here," Iris added through gritted teeth. "Stupid, I should've—" She stopped short, groaning as she pressed her palms against her face. Cilan laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"It's fine," he said. "You know we had to come here anyway—for Zekrom." Iris lowered her hands again with a hissing sigh and a nod.
"What should we do?" she asked. Cilan furrowed his eyebrows and briefly glanced aside from the scene, wetting his lips.
"We… We should…" He struggled to speak as he attempted to formulate a plan. Still try to find the others? Run now? Or maybe they ought to be bold and confront Benga—it might not be so hard, with Zekrom and Reshiram on their side. He inwardly kicked himself at the idea, though. Iris would reject it immedaitely. Using Zekrom and Reshiram to solve their personal conflicts, it would make them no better than the Truth Seekers or Team Plasma. He could imagine her saying it now, and he would have to agree. "We should—"
He gasped when he felt a mysterious hand on his shoulder. He spun around and saw Burgundy, along with Georgia and Trip. Burgundy recoiled back, caught off guard by his sudden reaction, and Iris also turned in alarm.
"Ah! Burgundy," Cilan sucked in his breath. "You scared me!"
"Scared you?" Georgia cut in. "You scared us! You disappeared all night, we couldn't find either you or Iris this morning, and then these guys showed up! Where were you?"
"I—" Cilan pinked, but before he could say anything further, Trip hushed them all.
"Keep it down," he said in a harsh whisper. "We'll draw attention to ourselves."
"Doesn't matter where anyway," Iris said. "We found each other, that's what's important. We need to go, now."
"What about them?" Burgundy asked with a quick gesture toward what lay around the corner.
"They're distracted, so now's our chance," Iris urged.
"That isn't all of them," Trip said. "It's just a few over there. They've spread out all over the village looking for you."
"What?!" Iris's voice rose a mite in volume, and Trip hushed her again before continuing.
"Skyla was at Shannon's door this morning," he said. "We had to sneak out through the back. I'm amazed the Truth Seekers didn't find you before we did." Iris's fingers curled into fists.
"How could he," she growled aloud, though to no one in particular. "He should know how we feel about strangers, about the Truth Seekers, and he sends them to raid our village anyway—and for what?!"
"So we're doomed, I guess," Georgia huffed. "Unless we're all up for 5-on-20 battle."
"You're being dramatic," Burgundy said. "Both of you."
"You don't get it," Iris snapped.
"No, I do," Burgundy asserted. "Shannon explained the bad history between the Truth Seekers and the Draconid, and I understand that. But a lot of those people—those other Truth Seekers—they're our friends, your friends. They're people who respected Drayden, and they respect you. Why do you think Benga was so easily able to assemble your rescue team once he made that call?"
Iris's mouth suddenly clamped shut.
"... So what are you suggesting?" Cilan asked. Burgundy sucked in her breath.
"If it's Benga we don't trust, then it's Benga we need to take care of," she said carefully. "We'll Iay a false trail—I'll say you already escaped and that you're on your way back to Dragonspiral Tower to release Reshiram and Zekrom. The commotion from finding me might be enough to give you guys a chance to escape."
"Finding you?" Iris repeated. Then, her eyes went wide. "You…You intend to get yourself captured."
A stunned silence followed as suddenly all eyes, filled with either alarm or revelation, were on Burgundy. Burgundy stiffened under the pressure of their collective gazes, but she quickly regathered herself to elaborate.
"I'll find Stephan or Bianca and turn myself in," she said. "I'll tell them the truth, and they'll understand. They'll help us."
"We can't leave without you." Georgia crossed her arms.
"Yes, you can," Burgundy pressed. "You have to."
"You don't know what they'll do to you," Cilan said worriedly. "Benga might not treat someone who defected too kindly."
"I can talk my way out of it." Burgundy smiled weakly, halfheartedly smoothing a wrinkle out of her shirt before adding, "I am, after all, a skilled Connoisseuse. I have a way with words."
"But, Burgundy—" Iris started.
"—just!" Burgundy's voice rose in frustration then, but she tempered herself before continuing. "Just let me do this for you. I've been useless these past few months, but you brought my Pokémon back to me! Let me do something for you, too."
A beat of silence followed. Iris's chest swelled with emotion, as did her eyes, and she leapt forward to embrace Burgundy. Burgundy was clearly caught of guard; she stumbled a little, her eyes blinking a few times in quick succession.
"You haven't been useless," Iris muttered into Burgundy's hair. "... But I appreciate it." Burgundy let on another crooked smile and briefly returned Iris's gesture before pulling back.
"I'll be fine," Burgundy assured her. "Don't worry about me. Just worry about Reshiram and Zekrom."
Georgia reached out and grasped Burgundy's free hand.
"Take care of yourself, too, okay?" she said. Burgundy gripped her hand in return.
"I will." She then glanced toward the remaining two members of their group. "Trip, rester vigilant. Cilan, please do something right for once and make sure Iris doesn't get herself killed." Trip nodded and Cilan managed a weak laugh. Burgundy began to slide her hand away from Georgia's. "I'm going now. Stay sharp to any chance you can get to escape."
"We will," Iris agreed. "We'll see you again soon."
Burgundy pulled away completely and, with a smirk, said, "Right. Je compte sur toi."
Hilda brushed her thumb anxiously over the skin of her forearm, though her clear blue eyes remained sharp as she watched the scene unfold before her. She did not want to be there, but then again, she did not want to be outside either, scouting the homes of village residents—even for their cause.
Benga was equally stiff as he watched the Elder pour him and herself a cup of tea, which she pressed slowly across the table toward him. He grasped it and took a sip, only to be polite.
"You shouldn't have come here like this," were the Elder's first words in a while. "You ought to understand how the people here feel about the Truth Seekers. Your presence is not welcome."
"I know. I understand the Draconid's history—our history," Benga said. "But we mean no harm to the village." The Elder said nothing, raising her own drink to her lips. Benga leaned forward, toward her. "Elder, you haven't answered my question yet. You promised you would tell me where Iris is going if I came in and sat with you. I know she's been here. She wouldn't have gone anywhere else without coming here first."
The Elder lowered her cup again.
"If you know Iris and if you know the Draconid so well, then you have no need to ask me where she is headed," she said. Benga closed his eyes and breathed out slowly. There was an edge of frustration visibly in him.
"Elder," he began. "I'm sorry to be so blunt, but I can't afford the time to play this game. You don't want to tell me, but you won't lie to me—fine. But Iris could be in serious danger."
The Elder, still, said nothing. In a flickering moment of desperation, Benga spun back toward Hilda. "Tell her, Hilda," he implored. "Tell her what you told me."
Hilda straightened up in alarm.
"I-I…" she stammered, caught off guard. She never finished—or rather, was never able to start—explaining. The curtain to the outside was slid aside, and there stood Elesa, backlit by the morning sunlight.
"Pardon the intrusion," she said apologetically. "Benga, some of the other Seekers found one of Iris's friends in the village."
Benga's eyes went wide, and he immediately stood up.
"Which one?" he asked.
"Burgundy," Elesa answered. "She said the others have already gone—and that they're on their way to Dragonspiral Tower."
Lying about the others' whereabouts was easy. The truth, however, and in particular, telling it—that was difficult.
"I just don't understand," Cress bemoaned with a hand pressed to his face. "How could you just leave in the middle of the night? How could Cilan do that to us? He had to have known we were trustworthy, wouldn't he? He told us that he was the one to capture Reshiram, not Iris…"
They were alone in an unoccupied cabin. Alone, in the sense that there was no one outside their circle of friends there. Cameron was keeping watch for the door for when Bianca would inevitably return from informing Benga of their "capture," whilst Burgundy sat squirming in an old wooden chair, fielding confused and upset questions from Stephan, Luke, Chili, and Cress.
"I-It's not that we didn't trust you," Burgundy stammered. "It's not that Cilan didn't trust you either. He wanted to go back for you, but Trip said we couldn't risk the time, so we just had to go. He wasn't wrong either. I mean, you ended up closing in on us pretty quickly…"
Luke folded his arms.
"I suppose I'm just a little confused as to why you felt like you needed to run anyway, and why Iris felt like she needed to keep Zekrom a secret," he said.
"It's nothing against any of you," Burgundy again emphasized. "If it was, I would have never just handed myself over like this. I knew I could because I knew that we could trust you, that you would help us!"
No one spoke. Burgundy winced and averted her eyes, wondering, briefly, if she had made a mistake—but only briefly, because soon, Stephan grinned, exchanging a look and a chuckle with the others.
"Well, you're right about that," he said. "So what can we do to help?"
Burgundy perked up, drawing a quick, silent breath as she did. She, too, smiled.
"Iris and the others aren't really on their way to Dragonspiral," she said. "They're going to Mount Taima. She and Cilan plan to reunite Reshiram and Zekrom with Kyurem to form the Aboriginal Dragon."
"The Abo—whoa, hey, that's just a legend!" Chili suddenly interjected. "You can't be serious. Cilan isn't even the type of guy to believe in that kind of thing."
"Well, you wouldn't think Cilan would be the type of guy to capture Reshiram, and yet—" Burgundy said with a click of her tongue.
"Putting that aside," Cress said before they could stray too far from the matter at hand. "Why, then, say you're going to Dragonspiral?"
"We're trying to keep Benga from following us," Burgundy explained. Seeing their bewildered expressions, she quickly added, "There are some things we've found out about Benga that's put his credibility in doubt. He and Hilda, they'd been tracking us—tracking Iris—for months before we even made it to Castelia City. And…"
She paused and breathed in deep, calming breath. She thought of the tape that showed Benga destroying the communication tower, and the following, haunting questions of how far he was willing to go. The Striaton Gym was gone, and the perpetrators' identity, of which they were once so certain, was now in deep question.
"I… I actually worry Benga might be so upset over what happened to his grandfather that he's more concerned about exacting revenge on Team Plasma than actually ending the war. I know the others feel the same," Burgundy said. "But Iris thinks if she can reform the Aboriginal Dragon, she can, at least, prevent Team Plasma and the Truth Seekers from using Reshiram and Zekrom against each other."
Her audience would have liked a moment for this assessment to sink in, but it was then that Cameron poked his head inside and hissed, "Hey! Ix-nay the Enga-Bay talk! Bianca's comin' back with him and Hilda!"
A wild panic seized Burgundy, and she jerked her head back toward the others to make a final plea: "Please! Just help me sell this. I trust Iris, but I don't trust—."
"—don't trust who?"
Benga had entered the room with Hilda at his shoulder and Bianca shuffling behind them. Cameron was a step further behind, still making a desperate, repeated gesture across his jaw to cut the conversation. Burgundy snapped her mouth shut and tensed up. She was about to say Benga. How much had he heard? She quickly racked her mind for a better end to her sentence.
"I—I trust Iris, but I don't trust N." That was the name of the new Plasma Champion, right? Burgundy was mentally crossing her fingers that it was.
"Wait—What do you mean?" Hilda suddenly stepped forward at the mention of N. Her intrusion threw off Burgundy, and she floundered for a moment. Hilda, Burgundy worriedly remembered, was the Truth Seekers' informant on Team Plasma would sniff out any inconsistencies in N's character if Burgundy didn't string together a believable story.
"I mean…" Burgundy began slowly to buy herself time to think.
"She explained it to us," Cress interjected. Burgundy felt an immediate and immense relief at his words, and she had to fight not to let it show: Cress had devised something. "Iris's plan to release Reshiram and Zekrom at Dragonspiral Tower might have been influenced by N. They're somewhat ideologically similar, and they may have met while she was a prisoner of Team Plasma."
Benga seemed to consider this. Hilda, less so. Her eyes, Burgundy noticed, were more focused on him; her lips were tight, and her arms were crossed.
"That makes sense," Benga finally said. Burgundy snapped her head back toward him, feeling another immense sense of relief wash over her. Benga then turned to Hilda, saying, "N's a true believer in Team Plasma's Pokémon Liberation mantra, right? And Iris formed some kind of relationship with him while she was there, so…"
"They were together when I found them," Hilda confirmed. "Iris wanted him to leave with her."
This was news to Burgundy. It did make sense for Iris and N to have met at some point during their imprisonment, which was why her and Cress's joint fabrication was made at least somewhat convincing. But that was supposed to be a lie, not an actual possibility. Benga must have noticed a change in her expression, because he flicked his gaze back over to her, giving her a once-over, before looking at Bianca again.
"So where'd you find her?" he asked Bianca. Her small, hunched shoulders quickly straightened out.
"Oh! We, um…" Bianca started, unsure.
"I turned myself in," Burgundy answered for her. It was true: When she saw Bianca and Stephan together, she called out to them, much to their surprise. "It's like I said: I don't trust N."
Hilda folded her arms. "If that was the case, why leave with Iris in the first place?" she asked doubtfully. "Just so you could turn on her later?" Burgundy winced. The reflection on her character was evident.
"I… I didn't realize…" She nervously searched for a response. Hilda's eyes remained hard, but Benga seemed to be already satisfied.
"Well, you're right not to trust N," Benga said. "We also believe Iris and N probably conspired together. Whatever good intentions Iris might have, N and Team Plasma don't. There's good reason to think they'll be waiting for Iris to get to Dragonspiral Tower with Reshiram and Zekrom."
Burgundy's chest and throat tightened.
"And… and do what?" she asked weakly.
"They want Reshiram and Zekrom," Benga said bluntly. "Considering what they did to my grandfather, it's not hard to guess what they'd be willing to do."
Burgundy was mortified. If it was true N and Iris had met and hatched a plan together—and it seemed increasingly possible—then there was a very real chance Iris, Cilan, Georgia, and Trip were walking straight into a death trap. And there would be no reinforcements from the Truth Seekers to save them, because Benga now believed they were going to Dragonspiral Tower, not Mount Taima.
Burgundy's companions seemed to be having the same revelation, and they were exchanging nervous glances with each other and looking at her for a cue. Should they keep up this facade? Should they break down and reveal the truth?
"N doesn't have bad intentions, either," Hilda tersely corrected. "He's a pawn to Ghetsis. He doesn't know what he's doing."
Benga looked annoyed then.
"It doesn't matter if he doesn't know what he's doing," he said firmly. "Iris and the others' lives are in danger, as are our chances of taking down Team Plasma and ending this war."
Hilda narrowed her gaze and crossed her arms. Burgundy held her breath. The atmosphere had suddenly and perceptibly grown tense, and she sensed a fight.
"I don't like what you're implying," she growled.
"I'm not implying anything," Benga said.
"You just remember what you promised me," Hilda warned.
"Hilda—"
"Don't 'Hilda' me."
Benga snapped then.
"You're out of line," he snarled.
"I'm out of line?" Hilda incredulously repeated. "Take a good look in the mirror at yourself, at what you're doing. You're on a dangerous road right now—"
"—You're not my grandfather, don't lecture me." He turned away but kept an eye on her. "This ends now. We depart for Dragonspiral, immediately."
He stormed out the door. Hilda stood seething, while everyone remained struck by what they had just witnessed, unsure of what to make of the whole incident.
"What was that about?" Burgundy asked in a breathy whisper to those closeby.
"I haven't a clue," Cress said, also under his breath.
"Burgundy," Hilda said. She was still facing the door, away from the connoisseuse.
Burgundy went rigid. "Yes?" she said in an embarrassing almost-squeak.
Hilda turned to her. "Where is Iris, really?" she asked. The question briefly sucked the air out of the room. Burgundy stared at her wide-eyed. "Don't lie to me," Hilda went on before Burgundy even had a proper chance to respond. "I know you're covering for her. I can tell by how you reacted when Benga said Team Plasma would be waiting for her."
Burgundy swallowed.
"Were Iris and N really together when you found them?" she asked.
"Yes," Hilda answered plainly.
"And you actually believe Ghetsis is using N to meet Iris?"
"Yes."
Burgundy bit her bottom lip, closed her eyes, and sucked in her breath. On the exhale, she opened them again and said, calmly, with some resignation, "She and the others are going to Mount Taima. I… I said she was going to Dragonspiral as diversion because Iris doesn't trust Benga."
It was a risk, Burgundy knew, revealing this. Hilda was impossibly difficult to read, and that had its own set of complications, but at the very least, Burgundy sensed her and Benga's fight wasn't staged. Hilda would act of her own accord, and that was what Burgundy considered dangerous.
Yet, she knew she had been right to trust her instinct when Hilda turned away and said, "Well, I don't trust Benga anymore either."
Marlon poked his head through the door.
"Hey!" he called. "Benga just said we're all leaving for Dragonspiral."
"Tell him I'm not going," Hilda said. Marlon blinked confusedly.
"Wha—?"
"I'm staying here to clean our mess in the village up," Hilda explained. "If he has a problem with that, he can wait."
"Ah… got it," Marlon said. He, too, sensed some tension and apparently didn't want to get too involved. Once he left, Hilda turned to Burgundy and pulled her up by the arm.
"You and I, we're going to Mount Taima," Hilda told her. Her eyes then turned to the remainder of the group. "The rest of you, go to Dragonspiral. It'll be too suspicious if all of you stay behind."
"W-Will you two be okay on your own?" Bianca asked. "And Iris and the others—!"
"It's going to be fine," Hilda reassured her, firmly. "I can handle N; Iris, I think, can handle the rest."
"But—" Chili started.
"Don't argue with me on this," Hilda snapped. "You're wasting time and putting us at risk for being able to go at all. Leave."
Chili reddened angrily, but Cress pulled him from the brink of a tempermental breakdown with a hand and a few whispered words. "She's right. Her intentions would be more questionable if we followed her. For Cilan and everyone else's sake, we need to play along."
Chili sucked in his breath and nodded.
"Fine. Let's go."
They quickly shuffled out of the room, but not without Bianca quietly embracing Burgundy. Once they were all gone, Burgundy let out a shuddery breath and pinched the bridge of her nose, dipping her head low in thought. Then she turned abruptly and grabbed her bag off the back of her chair, anxious to follow where Iris had gone.
"We need to wait here a little longer," Hilda said, stopping Burgundy cold.
"But you said—"
"We have to make sure Benga is out of the village before we make a move," Hilda explained. "When they're gone, my Braviary will help us catch up to Iris and the others before it's too late."
Burgundy shut her mouth, but slowly nodded. She then looked away, thinking again.
"... Why are you helping me?" she asked. "Helping us? I thought you sided with the Truth Seekers."
"So did you, but you clearly changed your mind," Hilda said.
Burgundy pressed her lips together.
"Touché," she said.
Hilda did not respond. She moved to the door and peered outside. Burgundy moved behind her, peeking around her shoulder. The Truth Seekers, her friends included, were regrouping a short distance away. Marlon was speaking with Benga, who stared at him vacantly.
He seemed to sense their eyes, as Benga suddenly looked their way. Hilda retreated, pushing Burgundy back as she did.
"We need to see the Elder," Hilda decided.
Iris and her cohort had slipped away at the earliest opportunity. Burgundy had been right: Her "capture" had caused enough of a commotion, however little, to grant them a way out. A small distance beyond the village's edge, Shannon met them, with several winter coats and accessories hanging over her arm.
"I'm glad I could catch you again before you left," she said, wrapping a scarf around Iris's shoulders.
"How did you know to find us?" Cilan asked.
"I told her we'd be here," Trip briefly explained, taking one of her coats. It was a tad too large for him, but sizes hadn't been a concern in the rush. "Right after Skyla came."
"Is this really necessary?" Georgia asked, holding up a heavy purple coat. "It's the middle of summer."
"Mount Taima is cold year-round because of Kyurem," Iris said. She then turned to face Shannon. "Thank you, for everything."
Shannon nodded and embraced her. "Be safe, okay?" she said in a low voice, only to Iris. Iris had to swallow.
"I will," she promised.
They departed shortly thereafter, hurriedly, and without pause—for a little while, at least. Despite the lump in her throat, Iris walled herself off to any doubts that could come with the constant reassurance that she could do this, that she and Cilan could do this, that she and Cilan could do this, together, with Reshiram and Zekrom. If she repeated it in her mind over and over again, she would think of nothing else.
Still, another thought did manage to wriggle its way in. She pushed it out at first, but the damage in her fortress had been made, and more of it crumbled away each time the thought returned. Eventually, it showed in her pace. A mile or so off from the village, she started lingering behind the others and, later, stopped entirely, just to glance in the direction of her home. It was no longer in view.
Cilan noticed and stopped, too.
"We have to trust that Burgundy will be fine," he said, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"It's not just that." Iris shook her head. "... The Elder had something she wanted to tell me this morning. I never got the chance to see her."
Cilan pursed his lips.
"We'll see her again," he said.
Iris nodded though she wasn't assured; Cilan knew it, too, and he understood why. The words, no matter how much he genuinely believed in them, were empty because they would mean nothing after Kyurem. They only held significance now, while they were on the precipice of danger.
But they had to push forward anyway. With a slight tug of her hand, Cilan got her moving again. He didn't let go for a while; in fact, he may not have ever let go were it not for Iris, who eventually pulled back and wrapped her arms around herself. They were higher, and the air had a bite.
"Chilly?" Trip asked, holding a coat out to her. It was jet black, the smallest of the collection, small enough for a child.
"Yeah," Iris murmured, accepting it. "Thanks."
"So what'll be the plan once we reach Kyurem?" Georgia asked as Iris pulled the coat over her head. Iris struggled with it for a moment—the coat, not the question; it was a size too small—before responding.
"I don't know," she said.
"Wrong answer," Georgia said dryly, glowering at her. Iris shrugged.
"I don't know what you want me to say," she said. "It's the same with Reshiram. I can't plan for anything. I just have to get a feel for the situation and try to speak with him."
"Yeah…" Georgia drawled doubtfully. "Well, that Reshiram thing didn't go too well for you, now did it?"
Under different circumstances—under any kind of normal circumstance—Iris would have become annoyed and come up with a snappy reply of her own. Here, though, she let out a sigh and rubbed her temple with a single index finger. The reaction was enough of an indication, to Georgia at least, that she was hitting a sensitive spot.
"Look, I'm not trying to be negative," Georgia said in a softer tone. "But you almost died last time. I'd like you to live through this. I'd like all of us to."
Iris dropped her hand and inhaled deeply, though she still said nothing. Cilan watched her carefully for a moment before looking back at Georgia.
"It is different this time," he offered. "We have Reshiram and Zekrom on our side. And—" He took Iris's hand. "—We'll be together in this. All four of us."
Iris managed a crooked smile at that.
"Arceus, you're a sap," Georgia scoffed. She flicked a piece of hair off her cheek and turned forward again, toward the face of the mountain. "Well, I guess today's as good a day to die as any…"
"Nobody's going to die," Trip said. "It is different. We have time. Even if you can't plan ahead—" He looked at Iris. "—there is no need to rush. Assuming everything went well on Burgundy's end, Benga's headed in the opposite direction."
Georgia cocked an eyebrow at him.
"I was being facetious," she objected. She turned and started her hike again. As she did, she added, "We shouldn't assume anything anyway."
Trip shrugged the critique off and followed. Iris lingered behind with Cilan a moment longer, her mouthing twisting into an unimpressed expression.
"For someone who's not trying to be negative…" she started. She need not finish; Cilan understood the sentiment, and he let out a long breath. Iris blinked when she saw the hazy edges of white steam emerging from the corners of his mouth. Already, it was that cold.
"Burgundy's not here," was all he said. It was a simple statement, but it sobered Iris regardless. They caught up with Georgia and Trip.
The temperature only grew worse. The ground beneath them turned icy, and patches of snow started to appear in scattered, thin sheets on the wispy, dead foliage they encountered on the path they forged. Iris pulled Shannon's scarf over her nose. She hated the cold, not just for the string it left in her fingers and toes, but for the vivid memories it brought to the forefront of her mind.
Her parents had died on this trek. She would have, too, were it not for Drayden. Now he was dead as well.
It grew colder still. The light, occasional breeze turned harsh. Dark clouds moved in over them, obscuring the glare of the white summer sun. Iris drew her arms tightly around herself and cast a deeply ponderous gaze at the sky. When the snowfall started, so did the comments.
"I know you said Mount Taima was cold year-round," Cilan said with a shiver in his voice. "But I didn't anticipate it would be this severe."
"Yeah," Georgia agreed. "We're in the middle of the July. This is crazy."
Iris pursed her lips. She managed to wrench a hand from within the warmth of her coat and held it out, letting a few thick, blue flakes fall upon her fingertips.
"This…" she started slowly, "isn't normal."
Georgia, Trip, and Cilan stopped cold in their tracks. The tone of Iris's voice was alarming.
"Not normal?" Trip repeated cautiously. Iris hastily returned her hand to the safety of her coat's pockets and looked directly at him.
"There's not weather like this during the summer," she said. "The last time it was like this…" Her voice trailed off, and Cilan inhaled sharply, though silently.
He remembered what she had told him in the minutes before Team Plasma's initial strike in Castelia, when Iris had finally opened herself to him. It had been at the back of his mind when they first started their hike that this was where Iris had lost her parents, and he worried how she would react on their journey, but it was only know that the more dramatic issue dawned on him.
The reason Iris and her parents had made that trek years ago was because Kyurem was upset. Because of Team Plasma.
"What do you mean?" Georgia asked. "The last time it was like this, what happened?"
"The last time this happened was during the weather crisis ten summers ago," Cilan said in Iris's place. "We were only kids then. But Kyurem caused it."
"So what's making Kyurem mad now?" Georgia pressed. "Is it because we're coming?"
"No," Iris said, shaking her head. "It's not us. But I think I know who it is. We need to hurry." She turned quickly to go, and that was when Trip stepped in.
"Wait one moment," he said firmly. "It was only an hour ago I said we'd be okay if we didn't rush into it like last time. I'm with Georgia on not wanting to repeat what happened with Reshiram."
"Well, what do you suggest we do?" Iris said, a little snappishly.
"Not rush," Trip emphasized.
"Team Plasma might be trying to capture Kyurem right now," Iris argued back. "We have to get there before they can do it. The condition Zekrom was in when I found him, the same could happen to Kyurem if we don't hurry."
Cilan was next to interject. Aware of her rising tension, he placed his hand gently on the small of her back before saying, "Trip and Georgia are both right."
"What?" Iris stepped out of his reach.
"Let me finish," Cilan calmly said. "Hurrying and recklessness can go hand in hand. It's how we almost lost you last time. Let's make haste, but let's not be careless. We need to be strong, unified." His hand managed to find rest on her again, this time just off her shoulder. "Your parents died so you could live. Drayden too. That should be reason enough to take caution with what they've given you."
Iris stared directly at him as he spoke, then sighed, briefly shut her eyes, and placed her hand atop his.
"You're right," she said. Cilan smiled, then stepped away and withdrew a Pokéball from within his pocket. At its appearance, all three of his companions perked up with surprise.
"Is that… ?" Georgia said.
"Reshiram," Cilan confirmed, nodding. His hand tightened around the warm sphere whilst his thumb hovered over the release button. "If Kyurem's in trouble, we will save him. But we're taking reinforcements."
Iris raised her chin and her eyes toward his. His gaze was unwavering. Then, she smiled too and reached into her pocket, pulling out Zekrom's Pokéball.
"'Let's make haste, but let's not be careless,'" Iris repeated, now fully understanding what he meant. She pressed the button for release.
N watched the scene unfold before him with hollow eyes, as if none of it were real, as if it were all a meaningless illusion. He was neither a witness nor a participant. He was not there nor was he anywhere else. He just was. And so, the yellow, iridescent gaze of Kyurem stared right through him to no effect, and the low, guttural growls were mere static thrumming unobtrusively in his ears.
He did not move when Kyurem raised a jagged claw to strike him down. He did not move when the throngs of nameless Team Plasma grunts rushed forward and from behind. He did not move when the chains choked Kyurem's neck and anchored him to ground. They had done this once before, and they now performed it with stunning efficiency. Still, N did not move.
Then when Ghetsis laid a hand on N's shoulder, a spark of life flickered in his eyes, bringing him back into the world again.
"Well done, N," Ghetsis commended. N blinked and shifted his cautiously gaze toward his father.
"I did nothing," N remarked with confusion.
"Precisely." Ghetsis's hand slid off his shoulder.
N's expression fell listless, and he said nothing as Ghetsis turned to leave and admire his new capture. A few more steps forward, however, and then N found his words again.
"Are you certain Iris will come?" he asked.
Ghetsis stopped. "I'm certain," he said. He turned an eye back toward N. "And do you know what you will say when she does?"
"Yes," N answered flatly, looking away. He slipped out of reality again. The chaotic sounds of the scene were now behind him, and they were dragged further and further away until they were mere distant echoes, and the silence around him rang louder.
He stood there, motionless, for a long while. Then—
"N?!"
N's head snapped up and he looked to his left.
His father had been right. Iris had come, cast in a faint blue light, an effect of the shimmering, ethereal ice crystals that lined the walls and ceilings of cave. And she was not alone: She was in the foreground to the legendary Reshiram and Zekrom, together, side by side. It perhaps would have been a more awe-inspiring sight had N not immediately zeroed in on another fact: There were other trainers with her as well.
"Iris," was all N said as she hurried to him.
"You're here!" Her voice was a strange mix of surprise and confusion and perhaps even a tinge of relief. "You're… alone?"
"Yes, of course," N said. "I did not forget what we promised each other."
"But the storm…" Iris trailed off. She was unable to complete her thought as another female trainer stepped forward to cut into the conversation.
"Sorry, one moment," she said. N didn't think she sounded sorry at all. "You know each other? You had 'promises' to each other?"
Iris turned to her, nodding. "N saved me," she explained. "And he led me to Zekrom. We had plans to come to Mount Taima ourselves, but…" She turned a cautious eye toward N.
"But what?" asked another young male impatiently, a blond.
"Ghetsis," was the only word Iris utterered, half as an explanation to him, half as a question for N.
"I have left my father," N said. "I managed to escape not long after you." No longer able to resist, N shifted his gaze toward the other trainers once more and asked, "Iris, who are these people?"
"Oh!" Iris stepped to the side to make a proper introduction. She gestured to the other female trainer first. "This is Georgia." She then shifted her attention to the blonde. "This is Trip." Finally, she turned a little toward the man standing behind her. "And this… is Cilan." Iris glanced at N again. "I've told you about him before. He's the one who captured Reshiram, not me."
Cilan managed a smile and moved forward.
"It's nice to meet you," Cilan politely offered. "Iris told me a little about you last night. Thank you—for saving her life."
"You're the Pokémon Connoisseur," N remarked.
"I… am," Cilan said, a little mystified as to why he brought it up.
"And a Truth Seeker?" N asked. Cilan let out short, breathy laugh.
"No, not anymore," Cilan said. "I suppose you could say we've all renounced our membership."
N blinked.
"I see…" he said. He glanced toward Georgia then. "So are you the friend for whom Iris took those Pokémon?"
The inquiry struck Iris. She jerked her head a little to look at N with her eyebrows furrowed. Georgia, meanwhile scrunched up her face in confusion.
"Uh… What do you mean?" she asked warily.
"Burgundy," Iris answered shortly. "He means Burgundy." She shifted her frame to face N more fully. "I returned her Pokémon to her. They were very happy to see her."
N hummed, indicating he heard her, but he offered no further reply. Iris pressed her lips into a hard line. Cilan traded baffled looks with both Trip and Georgia.
N's eyes, on the other hand, drifted higher until they reached the silent entities looming over them. He smiled.
"Zekrom seems to be doing well," he remarked.
"Yes," Iris agreed, finally tearing her gaze away from N to look at Zekrom, too. "My village's doctors did a wonderful job." Iris extended a hand upward, and Zekrom dipped his head lower so the tip of his snout could meet the palm of her hand. Reshiram snorted jealously and looked at Cilan. Cilan, in response, let out a nervous laugh and looked to Iris for help. She merely raised an eyebrow and gestured for him to follow her lead.
So he did. He, too, offered up his hand, and Reshiram, too, lowered his head. What resulted was a scene worthy of the brush, a stunning tableau that, briefly, even deprived N of his breath. He unconsciously stepped back alongside Trip and Georgia to take in the fullness of the image: The legendary Reshiram and Zekrom, long-written natural enemies, in peaceful company with each other, with the Hero of Truth and the Hero of Ideals at their side. Their figures were washed in a deep blue, and the outline was hazy in the dim light, but the mysterious coloring made the picture all the more gorgeous.
Iris's hand slid further down Zekrom's snout, and she turned her head, just barely, to cast N a wary glanced over her shoulder. After only a moment, she abruptly faced forward again and pulled out a Pokéball.
"Zekrom, return," she said.
Her sudden action prompted confusion from her companions, and horror from N.
"Iris, why—" Cilan started.
"—You should return Reshiram, too," Iris said. It was less of a friendly suggestion than it was direct instruction.
"But…" Trip started, but then Iris flicked her gaze toward him, and something in her eyes shut him up. Iris then managed a smile and looked toward N again.
"N's alone, right?" she said. "So we have nothing to worry about."
"Y-You don't have to put them in those things," N said with some acidity. Iris nonchalantly ignored the sentiment of his remark as she slipped Zekrom's Pokéball into her pocket.
"They're safer in there," was all she said. She then shot Cilan a pointed glance. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. Turning to Reshiram, he also pulled out a Pokéball and returned the legendary dragon.
Iris appeared satisfied, but she drew in a sharp breath when she heard a distant roar from deeper within the cavern. She whipped herself in the direction of the sound.
"That was Kyurem," she said.
"Why is he so upset?" Georgia asked. "You led us to believe that—"
"—Sh!" Iris harshly cut her off. The expression that followed on Georgia's face was a mix of confusion and offense. Yet, when she did a double-take between Iris and N, she pressed her lips together and fell back.
"Well, I'll talk to him," Iris said. She was clenching and unclenching her hands. "I… I can find out why he's upset." She sounded utterly unconvincing, not for lack of confidence, but for lack of conviction. No one spoke against this plan, as they might have done so before. No one, except N.
"You should have Reshiram and Zekrom with you for this," N suggested.
"No," Iris said plainly, firmly.
"It would—"
"—No," Iris repeated, more forcefully. After realizing that further alienating N would yield nothing but trouble, she added, "... Reshiram and Zekrom's wellbeing come first. You understand that, don't you?"
N was swayed.
"Yes," he mumbled deferentially. "I do."
The echo of Kyurem's roar rang out again. Iris swallowed and took in a slow, deep breath. Her fingers were still twitching anxiously; it was taking every ounce of her self-restraint not to sprint away in a wild attempt to find him. The amount of thought she put into every action was unsettling not only to N, but to her other companions.
"We should go," she said with a strained voice. She brushed past N, taking the lead. Cilan followed closely behind her, with Georgia and Trip further in tow. N lingered behind until he compelled himself to move forward.
They continued in tense silence with only the roars of Kyurem puncturing it. The thunderous reverberations heightened the tension, but still, no one spoke. Iris's restlessness only seemed to worsen the further they went on. N was watching her closely; his gaze burrowed into the back of her, watching her every movement.
And so, that was how he caught the roll of a Pokéball in her hand. She held it behind the small of her back, as if she were showing it off. N gritted his teeth. Was she intending to make him angry? What was her endgame? He knew he could not read humans well at all, and Iris was an especially enigmatic specimen. He learned that well from the weeks he spent with her.
But then N saw the reactions of her companions: A perk in alarm that shifted into understanding. The whole atmosphere of the group changed, and N could see that Cilan, Georgia, and Trip were also retrieving a Pokéball for themselves.
That was when N realized Iris's Pokéball was not a mocking exhibition for him. It was a signal to her friends. Iris knew he was lying about being alone. They all did.
And yet, he did nothing. He could not bring himself to do anything to her. He could not bring himself to do anything to stop what followed.
The plan, N vaguely remembered, had been to incapacitate Iris and recapture Zekrom and Reshiram under the stealth of Kyurem's cries for help. Yet Iris, attentive to his failed deception, spun on her heel the moment Kyurem's voice cracked the silence of the cave. A Liepard who had been lying in wait plunged toward her with claws outstretched.
But they had been ready. Cilan's Pansage, called out at the same moment, intercepted the deadly ambush, biting into Liepard's shoulder and tackling it out of the way. Georgia's Bisharp knocked out a Swoobat gunning for Trip's head with Metal Claw. Trip's Conkeldurr flung one of its concrete pillars into the gut of a charging Krookodile and smashed it against a wall. Iris's Noivern was immediately on the offense against a Druddigon, unleashing a Dragonbreath attack that forced it to retreat.
Once the dust subsided, N stood on the precipice of the violent scene, shaking. A few crisp, applauding claps cut through the air before silence could fully settle in again. Ghetsis had emerged from his elected corner of darkness.
"Impressive," he commended. "Although, I truly should have known better than to believe N somehow wouldn't have given us away."
"Why N continues to put up with you, I'll never understand," Iris hissed. It was less of an insult toward Ghetsis than a pointed remark at N. "Where's Kyurem?"
"You're not exactly in a position to be asking questions," Ghetsis said lightly. "You may have anticipated our surprise for you—" His pleasant tone and word choice only made him seem more malicious. "—but you're outnumbered."
The shadows of other figures—dozens upon dozens of Ghetsis's underlings from Team Plasma—loomed above and around them, but they remained unseen in the darkest corners of the blue cavern. Still, the sense of their presence was suffocating; Iris, Cilan, Georgia, and Trip instinctively pulled closer together. Noivern landed beside Iris protectively, and Pansage, Bisharp, and Conkeldurr similarly positioned themselves to defend their trainers.
"That's awfully big talk," Iris panted. "You need me. That's why you couldn't kill me the first time you captured me."
"True," Ghetsis conceded. "But your own arrogance obscures one important fact: You're valuable, but none of your friends are."
Every muscle in Iris's body went visibly rigid. N noticed, Ghetsis noticed, and her companions noticed, prompting a rush of panic to run through their veins. Iris's self-assurance had been shattered; she was scared, and their lives were in danger. Cilan swallowed and backed closer to Iris, touching her hand in a feeble attempt to ease her. It failed. He was just as scared as her.
"Hand over Reshiram and Zekrom, and we'll let you all go with no harm done," Ghetsis propositioned. Iris glared at him with hard eyes, but she soon turned her gaze away, softening now, toward Cilan. He said nothing, but the answer to what she should do was clear in his eyes. Iris looked next to Trip; his gaze, too, was unwavering. Finally, Georgia gave her a small nod, and Iris turned toward Ghetsis again, sucking in her breath.
She couldn't speak, though. At last, she looked at N again, and quietly pleaded his name.
He did nothing.
Iris narrowed her gaze, straightened her back, and looked at Ghetsis, ready, with the affirmation of her friends, to seal their fate.
"No," she said.
Ghetsis raised an eyebrow.
"No… ?" he repeated. "Fine, then. The easy way never is the more interesting way."
The shadows surrounding the small band of four grew menacing in size. Noivern growled and took flight again, hissing a fiery warning to those who approached. It went unheeded. A Zoroark was the first to leap from the darkness, teeth bared in a wicked grin as it dove directly for Georgia. Bisharp raised its blades to protect her, but it was too late.
Another Pokémon, a Dragonite, had beaten Bisharp to it. The Dragonite tackled the Zoroark and pinned it to the ground before rising up and unleashing a Flamethrower that revealed their enemies' faces and locations.
Iris heart rose into her throat. She knew this Dragonite. It was—
A familiar voice cut through the air.
"Sorry I'm late," Burgundy said with a flip of one of her purple curls. She then addressed Iris directly, "And thank you, for letting me borrow your Dragonite. I suppose we can say we're now even, since you used my Pokémon before returning to me."
Iris's face broke into a disbelieving grin, and she beamed at the Dragonite hovering above her, who smirked back.
"But how—" Iris started.
"The Elder told me Dragonite came to the village after you'd been gone from Opelucid for so long," Burgundy explained. "She meant to tell you this morning, but then you had to leave… It's good we decided to see her before we followed you."
Iris blinked and drew her head away from Dragonite to look at Burgundy in confusion.
"We?" she repeated. Iris then breathed in sharply, realizing Burgundy was not alone.
"We thought we ought to even the odds a little bit," Hilda said in reference to the Team Plasma members that still surrounded them. She stood further back from Burgundy, accompanied by her Braviary.
N turned white at her appearance. His mouth hung agape, though he made no indication he would speak. Hilda flicked her gaze toward him; her chin was held high, though somehow, the edges around her eyes softened.
Iris opened her mouth to respond—but the voice that followed was not her own.
"You," Ghetsis spat the word with venomous familiarity. Hilda turned away from N to look at Ghetsis with equally hard eyes. "It's always you." Ghetsis jerked his head toward the followers lying in wait. "Take care of her first, take care of her now!"
Braviary screeched, as if he had expected this, and flared out his enormous wings prior to lifting off the ground. The gust alone blew back an incoming Golbat. Without need for his trainer's order, Braviary lunged through the rest of the charging enemy Pokémon with Brave Bird, knocking multiple foes out in the process. Hilda, meanwhile, pulled out the Pokéball for her Samurott and whipped her head toward Iris.
"Go! Now!" she ordered. "We'll handle this."
We. Iris realized Hilda meant herself, Burgundy, Trip, and Georgia. Already, Burgundy and Georgia had called upon two additional Pokémon—Darmanitan and Beartic respectively—to join the fray, and Trip had just ordered his Conkeldurr to smash aside a Tyranitar. Iris and Cilan looked wildly at each other, but as soon as their gazes connected, the color of determination filled their eyes.
"Right," Iris agreed, reaching into her back pocket to pull out an empty Pokéball. "Noivern, return!" As Noivern immaterialized and disappeared into the safety of his Pokéball, Iris turned to her Dragonite.
"You with us Dragonite?" she asked.
Dragonite grunted affirmatively and lowered himself for her.
"Great!" Iris jumped onto his back. "Come on, Cilan." Cilan did a double-take between her and the battle unfolding behind them. He quickly found his resolve again and pulled out a Pokéball to call back Pansage before letting Iris help hoist him onto Dragonite's back. As soon as he was situated, Dragonite launched himself into the air and shot away from the chaotic scene.
"Where are we going?" Cilan shouted. His question was nearly lost to the speed at which Dragonite flew, but Iris still managed to distinguish his voice.
"To find Kyurem," she answered, looking back at him.
"Do you know where he is?"
"No," Iris admitted. She looked down at Dragonite next. "Do you? Can you sense him?" Dragonite grunted a denial. Iris chewed on her bottom lip and closed her eyes, trying to focus.
A vision crossed her mind; it was hazy and dark, but a vision nevertheless. In it, she could see dozens more Team Plasma agents—what Ghetsis had waiting for them was just a small greeting party in comparison—holding back Kyurem in chains. He was crying out for help, still.
There was something else: Something was going wrong. Iris couldn't tell what, but something was happening—something was throwing the Team Plasma grunts into disarray, and the chains were loosening. Was she imagining this for herself? Iris opened her eyes again.
"Okay… Okay!" She said it more to herself than anything. "We need to stop—right—"
Her "now" was interrupted by an Ice Beam attack shot out of seemingly nowhere and barely missed Dragonite's wing. Before either Iris or Cilan could react, another Ice Beam fired at them. This time, Dragonite couldn't dodge it. It hit him square on the chest, and they went down.
A mere second from impact, Iris fell off Dragonite and skidded a few feet. The hard, rocky landing would have torn into the skin of her arm were it not for the protective layer of her jacket. She hissed in pain nevertheless, having hit her hip.
"Iris!" Cilan called out. He ran to her side and helped her sit up. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah…" Iris breathed. "Nothing's broken, I think. Are you okay?"
Cilan appeared at ease.
"I'm fine. A little banged up, like you, but fine" he answered. He turned his head over his shoulder. "Looks like Dragonite is okay, too." He was in the process of staggering to his feet again.
Iris sighed in relief, then looked up. Her eyes widened then, and she lunged for Cilan with a screeching "Look out!" She tackled him to the ground and to safety as a third Ice Beam just barely missed them.
"You didn't think we'd let you go that easy, did you?" Aldith asked haughtily, a Cryogonal hovering over her shoulder. Iris lifted herself off Cilan and sat up.
"It would've been nice," Iris said with a cough. Cilan sat up, too, rubbing his lower back before directing a narrow glare at Aldith.
"Who are you?" he demanded. He glanced at Iris next, repeating, "Who is she?"
"One of Ghetsis's more elite grunts, I guess you could say," Iris scoffed.
"And the last thing you'll ever see," Aldith answered menacingly. She started to raise a finger, planning to direct a final attack at the pair. They braced themselves, but just as Aldith's lips parted to issue the command, Dragonite vaulted himself between his trainer and the Cryogonal, unleashing a Fire Blast. Now it was Aldith and her Pokémon which had to flee to safety—but at a turn, Cryogonal finished its execution of Ice Beam and made a direct blow to Dragonite. And when he fell again, it was evident that, this time, he wouldn't be getting up again soon.
"Dragonite!" Iris cried out. She staggered to her feet and rushed to him. Cilan, meanwhile, motioned to pull out his Crustle to continue the battle.
"Dragonite?" Iris cradled his head in her lap. He opened his eyes and made a reassuring grunt. Iris smiled weakly and embraced him before pulling out his Pokéball; she had held onto it, despite everything. "Here, rest up. I'll keep you safe, I promise."
"Crustle, use Rocker Wrecker!"
Iris snapped back into the present reality. The giant boulder Crustle had aimed at Cryogonal had missed, and Iris made a grab for one of her own Pokéballs to help. But who to call out? Dragonite was hurt; Gabite, Fraxure, Noivern, and Emolga were all at a type disadvantage; Excadrill's Ground-type attacks would be useless against Cryogonal. Her breath shuddered, and a chill ran up her spine as her mind raced for a decision. In every way, she was vulnerable to the ice.
"Ugh, I've had enough of this," Aldith complained. "I need to get back to Kyurem before those fools lose control. Cryogonal, use Sheer Co—"
Before she could issue the deadly command, a Volcarona cut through the darkness and took her down, knocking her out-cold before unleashing a powerful Fire Blast that laid Cryogonal beside his trainer.
"You're not going anywhere," Benga said with a smirk and arms folded. "Well, at least you're not going to Kyurem." He returned Volcarona into his Pokéball, then lifted up one hand, revealing that he was holding an additional Pokéball, and he tossed it once, twice, three times, catching it on every fall.
Iris's breath caught in her throat—for more reasons than one. On the downbeat of Benga's third, casual toss, however, she started to sputter, "Y-You? What are you doing here?"
"Saving your life," Benga answered coolly. "Sheer Cold—that's the killer. My grandpa told me that's probably what did in your parents, and almost you, too."
His answer provided another staggering revelation: He knew about her parents. He had probably known all along, from before the moment they even met at Drayden's memorial. And, as a consequence, no matter what Burgundy could have said to him, he would have known she would end up there, seeking Kyurem.
She couldn't speak, so Cilan stepped in.
"How did you know we'd be here?" he asked. Benga smiled tiredly.
"I gotta admit," he started, "your friend Burgundy's story was pretty convincing, and I almost bought into it. We were just getting ready to set off for Dragonspiral Tower when I figured out the truth." His gaze shifted around the area. "Where's Hilda?"
Iris felt a surge of anger rush through her blood. Hilda. Ghetsis was right: It was always Hilda. It was Hilda who had brought Benga here. It had to have been her. How else could Benga have found them?
"With Ghetsis," Cilan still answered. "She and the others were fighting him and his underlings when we left."
Benga's demeanor changed from one of confident nonchalance to agitated concern.
"You left them?" he repeated incredulously, almost angrily.
"They wanted to give us a chance to save Kyurem," Iris defended, finally finding her voice again.
"That doesn't matter anymore," Benga said, raising the Pokéball in his hand again. "Already done."
That gesture, that one, simple gesture, knocked the rest of the air out of Iris. She became acutely aware of how extraordinarily quiet it had become. Kyurem was no longer crying out for help—because he was no longer out. He was in Benga's hand, and the implications of that were bewildering.
"H-How?" Iris stammered out. Then, more importantly, she added, "Why?" The "why" was the key. Why had Benga captured him? Iris knew why she and Cilan captured Reshiram and Zekrom: to protect them, and to unite them. Both goals required Kyurem. To accomplish that meant they needed Benga to cooperate in a plan they had designed for just the two of them, a plan only made possible by months—no, years—of working toward an alignment in their convictions.
Benga ignored that instrumental "why," however, and only answered the "how."
"Those Team Plasma guys scare pretty easily," he said with a little smirk. "A sweep of my Hydreigon, and the chains were loose and Kyurem was mine." Benga then stored Kyurem's new Pokémon in his pocket, his expression growing more serious. "We need to go. We need to find Ghetsis and N, and I imagine the Team Plasma grunts left over aren't too happy with me either."
"Ghetsis and N?" Iris repeated.
"You said Hilda was with them, right?" Benga asked. Iris nodded slowly. "Then that's who we need to find."
He slipped Kyurem's Pokéball into his pocket and cast one last dismissive glance at Aldith, who still lay out-cold, before jumping from his perch and landing before the couple. From the sash around his shoulder, he plucked out a different Pokéball, let out a Mudsdale, and immediately hopped onto his back. He looked as though he was about to send himself and Mudsdale into a gallop, but paused at the last moment to turn toward Iris and Cilan.
"Well, aren't you coming?" he said, a little impatiently.
Iris's chest swelled with some mix of anger and fear and indignation. Cilan appeared tensely nervous and flicked his eyes toward her, waiting for a cue.
Eventually, Iris managed to swallow the fire in her throat and ask, "What do you plan to do?" Benga looked at her incredulously, as if the answer were totally obvious.
"Save them," he said. "Just like how I saved you."
Picking up on Iris's unease, Cilan said, "They can handle themselves. We have Kyurem, Reshiram, and Zekrom between the three of us, and that effectively locks Team Plasma out of winning the war."
"Your point?" Benga raised an eyebrow.
"Let's not risk anything," Cilan said. "Ghetsis threatened murder to obtain Reshiram and Zekrom."
"And our first priority should be to keep them safe," Iris added.
"If he threatened murder, then that's all the more reason to go back," Benga said, his voice rising. "He's murdered before, and he'll do it again."
Iris felt a pang of fear, and Benga's gaze narrowed slightly before he added, "Or are your loyalties only to your ideals, in spite of your friends sacrificing so much for you?"
Iris let out a shaky breath and cast a sideways glance at Cilan, who seemed swayed. Iris sucked in the cold air and pursed her lips. She had no choice.
"Fine," she agreed. "But we keep Kyurem, Reshiram, and Zekrom out of it."
Benga looked ahead, away from her.
"No promises," was his only reply. With Benga's call, Mudsdale then launched into a gallop, leaving them in the dust. Iris appeared struck, but she hurriedly jerked herself out of her stupor and whipped a Pokéball out.
"He's going to—" Cilan breathed, just now realizing the full implications.
"—Kill Ghetsis, I know," Iris cut him off. "Noivern, come out again!" Once he emerged, Iris pleaded, "Noivern, can you carry both Cilan and me?"
Compared to Dragonite, Noivern was not as great a heavy-lifter, and it was questionable he could support two people, let alone one. Dragonite was hurt, though, and Iris was desperate.
Noivern initially made a hesitating noise but looked at Cilan and agreed.
"Okay." Iris patted for Noivern to lower himself. He did, and Iris and Cilan carefully mounted him.
"You all right?" Iris asked him. Noivern hummed affirmatively. "Then let's go!" With an effort, Noivern managed to lift himself and his riders off the ground and into the air, off in pursuit of Benga.
"Get ready," Iris instructed to Cilan as she pulled out an additional Pokéball.
"Reshiram and Zekrom?" Cilan asked.
"No." Iris vigorously shook her head. "I want to avoid that if we can."
"And if Benga—" Cilan worriedly began.
"—Then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Iris said. "But even if the three of us have the Tao Trio split among us and out of Team Plasma's reach, someone could get killed—someone will get killed—if it comes to that point."
Benga—and Ghetsis, and N, and Team Plasma, and the friends who had sworn to protect them—came into view again. In that same view, Iris saw a Plasma's Scolipede rear its head behind Benga, and in a split-second decision, she called out her Fraxure.
"Dragon Tail!"
Fraxure fell several yards from the release point atop Noivern, crushing the Scolipede beneath its glowing, heavy tail. Noivern flew near the surface, and Iris leapt off, skidding to Fraxure's side. Benga jerked his head back at her with wide eyes.
"Now we're even," Iris told him bluntly as Cilan dismounted Noivern and hurried to her side.
"Back again already?" Ghetsis asked lightly. Iris rose her gaze toward him, glaring. "Very well, we were almost finished here anyway." The scene beyond him then came into focus: Outmanned, their friends and their Pokémon were ragged and exhausted from the ongoing battle. Gone from the field were Bisharp and Conkeldurr; only Beartic and Darmanitan remained, though both were clearly on their last legs. Trip had acquired a substantial gash on his upper right arm and was being supported by Georgia; Burgundy still stood firm.
Hilda was off to the side with her Braviary and Samurott. Her tightly wound ponytail had broken into messy brown curls at her shoulders. N stood on the opposite end, still unmoved.
"Don't listen to him," Hilda said, wiping her mouth. "We're just fine. Benga, you should leave."
"Ah, so this is Benga?" Ghetsis inquired. "The leader of the Truth Seekers—we finally meet. I'm surprised I didn't recognize you at first: You look just like your grandfather."
Every muscle in Benga visibly tensed. "Unfortunately, I think this will be our first and our last meeting," he growled though he still managed a smirk. Iris saw a Pokéball raise in his hands, and her blood ran cold.
"I'll have to agree there," Ghetsis said, his expression darkening as he, too, raised a Pokéball.
"Cilan—" Iris desperately grabbed onto his wrist. From the corner of her eye, Iris saw Hilda also whip her head toward N, crying his name out with the same cadence of desperation as Iris had Cilan.
Ghetsis called out his Hydreigon first, but his arrival was immediately eclipsed by the sudden, enormous emergence of Kyurem with a terrifying roar. Iris wasn't sure what she expected to see in Ghetsis's reaction—fear in facing a legend? shock that he was no longer in control?—but when she saw the glimmer of thrill in his eyes, Iris knew something was very, very wrong.
"N!" Hilda's pitch rose in intensity.
Iris pulled Cilan forward; she brandished a Pokéball, and he followed suit.
Everything seemed to happen at once: Benga ordered that Kyurem use Sheer Cold. Iris and Cilan desperately called forth Zekrom and Reshiram with cries that they intervene with Bolt Strike and Blue Flare. The remaining members of Team Plasma convened with stunning efficiency to capture all three dragons while Hydreigon stood as Ghetsis's libation.
And N—N finally acted. Iris would never know why. Perhaps the chokehold Ghetsis had on him compelled N to defend his father from certain death out of a sad obligation despite the years of abuse he had endured. Perhaps it was that he saw a Pokémon—Hydreigon—in danger as his Ghetsis's sacrificial pawn in an effort to recapture Kyurem, and N, hopelessly devoted to his cause, made a final stand. Or perhaps Hilda finally got through to him.
Regardless of his motivations, it was he who stepped in the middle of it all and proved that, despite everything, he could speak to Pokémon. He slid into the tongue of dragons, a language he—and everyone else—were once convinced he did not know and could not learn. He spoke to all three legendary Pokémon at once, uttering words that no one, not even Iris, would ever understand, for it was a language that could only be understood between dragons and humans.
The attacks collided in blinding force. And when the field cleared, what had been between the three dragons—or rather, who had been between the three dragons—no longer existed. The three dragons no longer existed either, for in their place at the center was the prodigious shimmering gray dragon that had no name, the Aboriginal Dragon.
Before Iris had a chance to survey her—their—new reality, a gut-wrenching scream, the worst she had ever heard and probably ever would hear, shattered the silence. Despite her injuries as a consequence of being so close to the collision of power, Iris sat up and saw Hilda collapsed on her knees, absolutely sobbing.
Iris panted, feeling dread fill her chest. She groaned in pain and turned on her side, reaching for Cilan, helping him to sit up as well. She said nothing to him; their eyes told enough, reassured each other that they were okay, before they looked out at the middleground together.
Team Plasma's efforts had failed. Ghetsis, they could see, was alive, barely, as was his Hydreigon. Benga was looking at the wailing Hilda in horror. Trip, Burgundy, and Georgia, mostly unaffected by the blast, had their gazes directed elsewhere in awe: the new dragon. And that was where Iris and Cilan looked next, too, for it was them that the Aboriginal Dragon ultimately turned to with deeply allaying red eyes.
It was over. The war was over.
End of Part II: Saving Ideals
A/N: Thank you for your support and patience. You can expect to see the epilogue in a couple days.