Pride of Your Soul
Chapter 23: Corruption
AN: The other half of Nate's backstory is here! Updates on my life; still job-hunting, but at least I'm getting interviews. Now if only I can just get past that part... Ah well. Less than two months from Smash Ultimate :D Eh, that's about it I suppose. Now for the reviews:
Tony Anderson: Well here's part 2 for you right now!
FantasyLover88: Yeah that was pretty sad. Now here's more!
TheDarkMaster4000: Honestly there was just a lot that happened in that last chapter. It's just one big slideshow of one thing going horribly wrong after the next. That purrloin? Eh, maybe. But thanks for the kind words at the end. And here am I to deliver.
ABoyandhisBob: I wouldn't be surprised if Nate did something horrendous in a past life. Or he just has the worst F-Rank luck in the world.
NarutoK: Thanks for the kind words! And happy belated birthday, by the way! Hope you had a good one!
RedPkmnMaster: Glad you liked it!
JesusChrist: No worries, glad you ended up enjoying the story! Although I would suggest reading up the prequel, Color of Your Soul. PoYS goes on about its story with the assumption that you know what happened in CoYS for the most parts.
User Name Retracted: That will have to be answered when I get to it. I do have some ideas however.
EDIT:
I M Poik: Oh my god I am so sorry for forgetting you. Frankly I don't even know HOW I missed you. I blame lack of sleep. I'll respond to the review you made to this chapter in proper in the next update, but for your last review: yeah Nate is aware that his background doesn't exactly justify the actions he took, but can you really blame him? He more or less has every reason to hold a grudge against society. And don't worry; Team Plasma will get what's coming to them. Just you wait.
7 years later
The man whimpered in fear as he backed away from the terrifying child in front of him. Or at least, he assumed it was a child, given how short the assailant was. The assailant's upper body was concealed by a dirty, beige cloak, revealing nothing about him. His dirty shoes stomped on the head of one of the man's companions, whom both were found unconscious on the cold ground of Castelia's alleyways. The assailant's attention was now all on him.
"You...I remember you..." the assailant muttered. The assailant sounded young, but his tone was rather cold, almost tired. "...Whatever..."
The boy revealed a sharp knife, before pointing it at the man. "Your money. Any food. Anything valuable. All of it. Now."
The man gritted his teeth, before he sent out his sawk. "CLOSE COMBAT!"
The sawk lunged for the boy without a question, raising a fist to attack the boy and defend its master. The boy merely sneered, before dodging the attack, grabbing the sawk's arm, and hurling him against the metal dumpster nearby, knocking the sawk unconscious.
"Keh! What a weak Pokémon," the boy harshly spat as he went to pick it up, while the sawk's trainer's mouth was agape. "But then again...It's the fault of the trainer in that case, is it not?"
The boy looked over to the trainer, before tossing the sawk back to him. The man fearfully recalled his sawk, before emptying his pockets for anything and everything valuable.
"Please! Here! Take it! It's all yours!" the man pleaded. "Just don't kill me!"
The boy merely stared at the cowering man, before slowly skulking towards him, knife back in hand as its blade shined brightly in the light of the moon. The man in response slowly backed away, before turning around to make a full sprint away, leaving his two friends behind.
"Typical humans..." the boy hissed, before glancing down at the two unconscious trainers the man had abandoned. "...Payback's a bitch, ain't it?"
The boy kneeled down and rummaged through their bodies, before procuring their wallets. The boy then walked over to collect the valuables the man had left behind and placed them all into a bag. The boy slung the bag over his shoulder, before sighing.
"...And what do you want?" the boy asked, glancing up.
Perched up on one of the buildings was another cloaked figure; this one even smaller than the boy himself. The only thing that the figure revealed were its sharp, murderous eyes as they glared down on the boy.
"...This feeling...is it a Pokémon?" the boy asked as the figure dropped down and landed before him. "...And can I help you?"
The figure merely kept glaring at him. The boy, unfazed, glanced down to the two unconscious bodies he had just ransacked.
"What? You're mad about this?" the boy asked incredulously. "Trust me, they had it coming. Call it a grudge settled. Besides, humans aren't exactly things that deserve mercy. Especially from a Pokémon like you."
"-Even so, you are preying on the weak,-" the figure growled in a deep voice. "-I must put a stop to this.-"
"Tch," the boy clicked his tongue as he readied his knives. "'I must put a stop to this' you say? How annoying..."
As the two were about to fight however, a loud, ear-piercing roar emanated through the skies.
"Oh. Looks like my ride's here," the boy commented as the figure looked to the sky.
Soaring down towards them was a hydreigon, who shot a blue blast of fire at the smaller figure. The hooded figure was forced to dodge, while the boy was able to collect his things. The hydreigon swooped down to them, allowing the boy to jump on it. Once the boy was safely on, the hydreigon fled the scene for the night skies at breakneck speed.
"-Wait!-" the figure yelled, to no avail. "-...Damn it!-"
The figure took off its hood, revealing itself to be an accelgor, but with a large scar going across its left eye. The accelgor looked up to the full moon, scowling at the fact that he let the boy escape after he had assaulted two random humans. However, something stood out as odd.
"-...That boy...-" Accelgor muttered to himself. "-Was he able to understand me...? How...?-"
In a cave in Route 10, the braviary coughed loudly and harshly in his nest.
"-Gah! Stupid illness...-" the braviary scowled. "-I must have caught something rather nasty..."
The braviary sighed as he sought warmth in his resting place. The bird had caught a rather nasty case of a cold, and was currently resting up to cure the damned illness. As the bird tried to get some sleep, the braviary heard someone enter his cave. The bird looked up, spotting the boy in a large cloak walk into the cave, carrying a large bag with him. Following behind him was the hydreigon.
"-Oh! Welcome back, Nate!-" Braviary greeted the boy, before coughing again. "-Was everything alright? You didn't get hurt, did you?-"
The boy removed his hood as he set the bag down, revealing messy brown hair and cold, equally brown eyes.
"You feeling any better, Old Man Brav?" Nate asked, genuinely concerned.
"-Somewhat,-" Brav told Nate. "-But no worries. I'll get better before you know it!-"
"That's good to hear, but don't push yourself," Nate sighed, before taking out a packet of green powder. "Here. The humans said that this is medicine to cure illnesses. Or at least help deal with it."
Nate opened the pack of green powder up and gave it to Brav. The bird examined the contents of the packet, before opening his beak to consume it. Nate lifted the pack to Brav, letting the powder fall into Brav's beak and down his throat. The bird began to cough in response, seemingly displeased with the powder.
"-GAH! It's so bitter!-" Brav gagged.
"I mean it is medicine after all," Nate rolled his eyes as he took out a bottle of water. "It's meant to heal you. Not to taste like a five-star meal."
The boy opened the bottle and tipped it to Brav's beak, letting the bird drink the cold water to wash down the taste the bitter powder left.
"-Thank you,-" Brav told Nate, before glancing over to Hydreigon. "-And thank you for accompanying Nate on his trip. I apologize for having to ask you to do it for me and interfering with your business. Usually it was supposed to be me, but...-"
"-Nonsense,-" Hydreigon assured Brav. "-You're sick. It's completely understandable. You just focus on making a recovery.-"
"-Is that so. Then I will take up your advice,-" Brav chuckled.
The hydreigon left her regards to the boy and bird, before taking her leave back to her own nest. Nate then rummaged through the bag and took out a wrapped hamburger.
"-What's that?-" Brav asked.
"Ah, it's something the humans make. A 'hamburger'...they called it," Nate explained as he unwrapped it. "It was cheap and I was hungry, so I got one."
"-Humans do make some peculiar and interesting foods,-" Brav commented as Nate took a bite out of the sandwich.
"...Hmm, not bad," Nate muttered as he chewed on the food. "Pretty oily though..."
"-Doesn't sound too healthy then,-" Brav muttered.
"Let me have this this one time," Nate said. "I just got back and I'm starving."
"-Very well,-" Brav eased up, letting Nate enjoy his not-so-healthy meal.
The boy continued to eat his burger next to the fire that was lit. Brav observed his ward. The bird could no longer see the light that once resided in the boy's eyes back then. Only cold, empty, brown orbs were left in Nate's gaze. The innocence that the young boy once showed off was replaced with cold cruelty and cynicism.
The boy was almost eleven now, and he wore a face no eleven-year old child should have to wear. After everything he had faced in the past, it was no wonder after all. With having witnessed the potential of cruelty from human society, having his family abandon him, and having his own ideals crushed, there was nothing left of the boy Brav had once took care of. Now Nate was nothing more than a twisted shell of his former self, only being fueled by his own malice and bitterness. After having lived the life he had lived for six years, the boy had no hope left in him. He had no purpose or goal to pursue now, and merely lived the life he was living now.
Brav could only curse himself for not having raised the boy any better; perhaps give him some hope. Instead, the end result was what Brav was seeing in front of him now. But in spite of that, Brav would take care of Nate. As the only family the boy has left, Brav would risk everything to make sure the boy was safe.
Nate finished his burger, before glancing over to Brav, noticing how he was staring at him.
"Old Man, you should go to sleep," Nate told Brav. "You're sick. You aren't exactly young, y'know. You need to rest."
"-Right...I think I shall do that,-" Brav yawned tiredly, before resting his head back into the nest.
Nate sighed in relief, before leaning against the wall, letting himself doze off. Brav made sure Nate fell asleep before falling asleep himself. If anything, the boy was not completely ice cold. There still lied concern for those he cared for within his own morality.
The boy was not completely lost.
The next morning, Brav had made a solid recovery. The illness that plagued him was completely gone without a trace, much to the bird's pleasure. His breathing was clear as day and he no longer felt tired or fatigued. Brav glanced over to the open field, where Nate was sparring with two mienshaos. On equal footing no less. Along with Brav himself, a few other fellow Fighting-types, mainly sawks and throhs, were spectating the match.
The boy was wearing a blue and black dri-fit wetsuit of sorts, which covered all up to his wrists, ankles and neck, while adorning red and black shoes. If Brav recalled correctly, those articles of clothing were gifts from that eccentric scientist they had visited by chance two years ago. What was his name again?
Ah yes, Professor Park.
The duo were exploring Route 15 at the time, before stumbling upon a facility called the 'Poké Transfer Lab'. The facility had recently been established supposedly. There, they had met Professor Andrew Park, and his team of scientists who had moved into Unova from a place called 'Sinnoh'. The group were researching the Pokémon in Unova and planning on researching the effects of introducing foreign Pokémon to the environment, without causing an intrusive species effect.
They tried to introduce some foreign Pokémon using their transportation technology, which mimicked the technology humans used for their PC storage, but ended up transporting some rather dangerous Pokémon. After Nate and Brav helped subdue the problem, Professor Park gave him the suit and shoes Nate was wearing as a show of gratitude, along with giving the boy their full support.
The shoes themselves were ordinary shoes from appearance alone, but they were specially designed, containing several sharp blades that could be produced from the shoe itself at the user's physical commands. They were solely meant for self-defense for extreme cases, however, Brav questioned whether giving such potential weapons to Nate was a good idea or not, even if Nate finally had shoes to protect his feet.
The wetsuit itself was apparently special. Supposedly it would enhance the user's physical capabilities, reflexes and health beyond that of normal humans and even Pokémon utilizing nano-machines within the suit itself. The suit was capable of healing the user from various wounds and was composed of a special, genetically engineered material that grew and repaired itself along with the user utilizing said nano-machines, making it perfect for one like Nate who had limited wardrobe options. The fact that Nate had only that to wear for two years and it still looks like it was made to be a perfect fit to the growing boy was testament enough of the intricate technology behind the suit.
Honestly all that science mumbo jumbo was too much for Brav to fully comprehend. All he knew was that it was something normal humans could not possibly replicate, and it would only serve to help Nate further his growth. At the very least it helped Nate keep up with his sparring against the two mienshaos.
With a swift strike, Nate was able to subdue one of the mienshaos. The other mienshao capitalized and struck from above, but Nate was able to avoid it at the last second, before grabbing the mienshao's arm and pinning him to the ground.
"-GAH!-" the mienshao yelled in pain.
Nate stood over the two defeated mienshaos, exhaling as he examined his body.
"Man, this suit the professor gave me really does wonders," Nate commented.
While the suit was indeed a marvel, it was not as if Nate needed the suit to begin with. The boy had went through various rigorous training with the wild Pokémon for the past seven years. As a result, the boy, while showing no signs of bulky muscles, had become an expert at combat thanks to the expertise of the Fighting-type Pokémon, easily capable of taking down a human adult, with razor sharp reflexes, while being able to display strength far above that of a human adult. The suit only served to amplify all these aspects.
"-Impressive,-" Brav commented as Nate helped the two mienshaos up.
"-Yeah, you were damn good today,-" one of the mienshao said.
"Thanks," Nate said as the audience gave the trio a round of applauds. "Oh that reminds me."
Nate walked over and picked up the bag that was lying next to a nearby stone. He opened the contents, revealing a variety of food and medicine.
"I bought some stuff with the money I collected from my trip," Nate said. "Any takers?"
The wild Pokémon gathered around Nate, examining the various foods of the bag curiously. They eventually took turns taking an item that piqued their curiosity, before opening the packaging they were in and eating the contents, seemingly enjoying it.
"Y'all like it?" Nate asked, earning several responses of approval. "That's good. Humans may be trash, but they do know how to make good food."
Brav smiled. He was glad to see that not all of Nate was mere cynic and malice. Whenever he would go on his own to collect money from the humans in the cities, he would always spend said money on supplies such as food and medicine. At first it was simply to obtain medicine that was more effective to Nate than nature's remedies, eventually it would be fore supplies in times when the wild could not offer enough. It was thanks to Nate's constant provisions that the community was able to sustain in times of temporary famine.
The only unfortunate part was that Nate would steal money from humans; whether they deserved it or not. Nate's hatred against humans knew no bounds, so he would prey on any defenseless-looking human indiscriminately. In fact, the majority of Nate's actions that did not involve helping the Pokémon that lived here were motivated purely on venting his deep hatred for humans. If they suffered in any way, shape or form, then Nate would be more than happy to oblige.
"-Y'know, there's this place to the east that's LOADED with money,-" one of the Pokémon, a bouffalant, said as he devoured a rather expensive-looking berry.
"...Go on," Nate said, his interest peaking.
"-Yeah I heard,-" another Pokémon, a foongus, said. "-I think the place is called Undella Town. There's this huge mansion with a filthy rich family! But there're rumors of them doing some really bad things.-"
"-Bad? How so?-" Brav asked.
"-Rumors are that the family is running a poaching business,-" the bouffalant explained. "-And then they sell them to people for some high prices.-"
"-That's despicable!-" Brav exclaimed in disgust.
"Damn right it is," Nate snarled, his blood boiling at the supposed rumors. "To the east, you said, right?"
"-Yeah,-" Bouffalant nodded. "-It's a town with a large beach. You can't miss it.-"
"Very well," Nate nodded as he collected himself and donned his cloak.
"-You're going already?-" Brav asked.
"Might as well," Nate nodded. "You mind dropping me off this time, Old Man? If you're still feeling under the weather then it's fine if you wanna..."
"-No worries,-" Brav replied. "-I'm feeling much better. Besides, flying you there would be much faster than you going by foot.-"
"You gotta point..." Nate mumbled. "But don't overdo it."
"-Don't worry, lad,-" Brav smirked at his ward.
Nate and Brav departed from Route 10 to the mansion at Undella Town in the afternoon. By the time they reached Undella Town, or what they assumed was the right location, night had fell. The town itself looked beautiful with its vast blue ocean sparkling from the light of the moon. While the town itself was average at best, having several similar-looking houses, the giant mansion that was placed within the town stood out like a sore thumb, dwarfing over all the other houses.
"That's definitely it," Nate muttered as Brav flew behind the mansion neighboring the mountainside that seemingly bordered the town.
The boy searched around the backside of the mansion for any potential way to sneak into the mansion inconspicuously. Considering the size of the mansion, the family that resided in the family must have a security system worth all the money they must have made from their shady business. While Nate snorted at the possibility of mere filthy humans being able to stop him, he could not afford to be careless. Although with how absolutely gargantuan the mansion was, the amount of wealth the household potentially had was rather appealing. Nate could only imagine how much supplies he could obtain with even a fraction of however much the family had in money.
Finally, Nate spotted an open window. Nate sniggered at how careless the house owners were as he pointed to the window, signaling Brav to bring him to the window. The avian descended to the window, allowing Nate to step onto the windowsill and quietly slip into the mansion. Nate told Brav to wait there in case Nate needed an escape route, before exploring the dimly lit room he found himself in. The room was rather large and adorned with countless expensive-looking décor, each one seemingly more expensive than the last.
"Well at least I know they're stupid rich," Nate muttered as he brought out a bag he was carrying.
Nate looked around the room, collecting a few of the décor he believed to be the most expensive in the room and placing them into the bag. While he would like to take everything, as he felt that the décor alone would make him a huge profit, Nate knew that taking too much would only impede him in and out of the mansion, and that was something he could not risk.
Nate slowly opened the door out of the room and checked the halls. The halls were just as grand as the room and unbelievably vast; Nate would not be surprised if he could fit the entire population of Route 10 into this very hall. The boy checked to make sure that no one was walking by, before slipping into the hall and making his expedition in the mansion. To his surprise, the security was not as severe as he thought. There were the occasional guards patrolling the areas, but it was nothing Nate could not avoid. The boy was able to take whatever he deemed worth enough to steal before making his merry way.
The family that resided in the halls were nothing short of uninteresting. There were a pompous-looking boy and girl, most likely the kids, an equally pompous-looking old woman and younger woman, probably the grandmother and mother, and a smaller boy who was sleeping peacefully. Within a room he passed by, he could hear what he thought to be a rather heated argument with a middle-aged man and a more elderly, portly man. The father and grandfather, Nate surmised, and they did not seem to be in good terms right now. Ignoring the uninteresting argument, Nate continued to explore the mansion.
From what Nate had discovered so far, nothing supported the rumors that the family were poachers. Sure they had what amounts to an unidentified amount of wealth, but nothing seemed to point to them having earned said wealth from poaching, or that said family were poachers to begin with. Perhaps Nate simply had not dwelled deep enough to find incriminating evidence, but so far nothing supported the supposed claims. But Nate knew the wild Pokémon had no reason to lie, especially with something that threatened their safety.
Eventually the boy came across a suspicious room. It did not look suspicious by all means, but it was the first room to be locked. All the other rooms were not locked up to this point, so finding a room that was actually locked for once was rather suspicious.
"...Hiding something, are we?" Nate asked to no one in particular as he took out one of his knives and shoved the blade into the keyhole. Perhaps this room was hiding the evidence he needed. Perhaps the room simply contained even more riches for Nate to claim.
Much like the rest of this trip, the lock was easy to break. With the room unlocked, Nate opened the door to find a dark, plain room. Light leaked into the room from the halls, revealing one lone cage placed in the middle of it. Inside the cage was a small, yellow canine Pokémon, with black markings, two black appendages from its head, black legs, a blue collar and bumps on the backs of its forepaws. Several bruise marks were dotted all over the small child's body. Its red eyes stared back at Nate with fear and confusion.
Nate did not recognize the Pokémon; so it must be a foreign Pokémon, most likely one of the foreign Pokémon Professor Park's research group introduced to Unova.
"Bingo, I suppose," Nate muttered.
"-W–Who are you...?-" the canine asked, fear imminent in its rather feminine voice.
"What're you doing here?" Nate asked, walking over to the Pokémon. But the canine backed away from the cage, terror overwhelming the poor thing.
"-A–Are you going to hurt me too...?-" the canine asked, quivering in dread.
"Hurt you...?" Nate asked. So the humans here hurt this small child? Or at least instilled that much fear into her? "...Where're your parents? What happened to them...?"
"-M–My parents...?-" she asked, before her voice began to break up. Tears began to form in her eyes as the memories of her last moment with her parents replayed themselves in her mind. "-...T–They're dead...T-The old man...he...he killed them...-"
Nate's eyes widened as the canine began to weep silently. He got the evidence he needed to believe the rumors. And now he felt nothing but unbridled rage for the humans here. Killing off this child's parents and keeping her captive. It was completely unforgivable. This. This was a testament to the vile things humans would do to satisfy their own greed. This was why Nate hated humans with all his passion and resentment.
"-I–I gotta stop...crying...-" the canine hiccupped. "-The old man...w-will hit me again...-"
Nate just felt disgusted. The boy wanted nothing more than to murder the people responsible for what was happening in front of him. But not now. That could definitely wait. Nate needed to tend to much more important matters.
The boy took out one of his knives, before approaching the cage. The canine, eyeing the knife, cowered back before hitting the opposite side of the cage.
"-Please no! I'll do anything! Please...!-" she pleaded in fear.
Nate seemingly ignored her begging and lifted his knife into the air. The canine covered her eyes, afraid to witness what was about to happen to her. The canine then heard a loud noise of metal, before she slowly opened her eyes to see that the lock that was on the cage had been broken. Broken by the human in front of her. Nate opened the cage, before extending a hand to her.
"C'mon..." Nate said to her in a softer tone. "I'll get you out of here."
The Pokémon stared at Nate's extended hand cautiously and with hesitation. She did not trust humans. They were the cause of all her misery and pain. And yet, this one. This one was different. He certainly looked the part, but something about him was different. She felt that, she could trust this human. If anything, she could escape her prison with this human.
Staring at Nate, the canine accepted the hand. She decided to take this chance against all odds.
Nate accepted the response, before pulling the canine out of the cage and into his arm. He examined the body; the bruises were deeper than they had initially appeared. Nate narrowed his eyes in disgust.
"You suffered enough..." Nate muttered.
"Hey! Who's there!?"
Nate shot back to see two guards with guns pointed at him. Nate clicked his tongue. Now they decide to show up. Nate grabbed the bag with the valuables he had collected, while clutching the canine to his chest in defense.
"He's got the riolu!" one of them yelled, pointing the guns at Nate's head. "Let go of the goods!"
"Oh great, they only see you as merchandise," Nate sniggered as he grabbed the bag with his loot. "Well, what's worth more? This bag of riches or you?"
The riolu looked up to Nate in concern, before Nate snorted as he hurled the bag at the two guards. The bag smacked into the two guards' heads with a loud clang. As the two guards flinched in pain from the sudden impact, Nate took out his knife and rushed towards the two, slicing at their arms and disarming them in the process. The two guards cried out in pain, before Nate slashed their chests, silencing them. The two guards fell to the ground like sacks of potatoes, unable to move as blood leaked form their wounds.
"-A–Are they...?-" the riolu asked in fear.
"No they're not dead," Nate said as he glared down at the two guards. "Well...if they don't get treatment soon, then they will be. Not my problem right now though..."
Nate glanced down at the bag filled with the loot Nate had stolen, slowly being stained by the blood of the wounded guards, before glancing to Riolu. Nate proceeded to abandon his loot in favor of Riolu, running out of the room and down the hallway.
"-Ah, y-you left your bag...-" Riolu stuttered, having noticed that Nate had abandoned his bag.
"It's fine," Nate replied curtly. "It'll only weigh me down."
"-Ah–You can understand me?-" Riolu asked.
"More or less," Nate muttered as he turned to the corner, only to stop in his tracks upon the sight of several more guards approaching him. "Shit..."
There goes his escape route. Now he had to find a new one. Nate turned around and sprinted away as the guards cried out for the intruder to stop. Nate's eyes constantly darted around his ever-changing settings, searching for an ideal way to escape the damn mansion. The more time he spent looking, the more time he allowed for the mansion's guards to seemingly multiply and hunt him down.
The boy eventually found an open room and slid into it, hiding behind the doorframe and letting the several guards run past the room. Nate let a sigh of relief as he let himself slide down against the wall he was leaning against to let himself rest.
"Sheesh...this is rough..." Nate panted slightly, glancing down at the yellow riolu. "I guess stealing you would set off some alarms, but why are you so important to them?"
The lights suddenly turned on in the room, startling Nate back onto his feet. In front of him were the middle-aged man and portly old man he had seen earlier. The middle-aged man looked startled, while the old man looked calmer, but angered.
"What do we have here?" the old man asked. "A rat who somehow snuck into my home? And even managed to take something which does not belong to them?"
Nate glared at the two humans, taking out one of his knives in defense.
"Is that one of the Pokémon you poached as well, Father?" the middle-aged man asked the old man with a notable amount of venom in his tone.
"Obviously," the old man drawled back. "This one is a shiny riolu. A rarity among the already-rare foreign species. It would make a rather substantial profit from its discoloration alone."
"So that's how it is, huh..." Nate muttered as he glanced behind him, noticing the several guards flooding into the room as they spoke.
"Master Zillion! Master Million! Are you alright!?" one of the guards yelled as they all pointed their guns at Nate.
"Tch!" Nate clicked his tongue as he realized that he was surrounded. Riolu clutched to Nate tightly, cowering for her life.
"Now then," the old man said. "Normally I would have you disposed of, but seeing as you only took the riolu...Give it to me, and I'll let you off with a warning."
"Keh! Fat chance," Nate shot back. "You bastards are hunting and selling innocent Pokémon for your own profit...You honestly think that I'll just hand her over!?"
Riolu glanced up to Nate with a hopeful look as Nate refused to let go of his resolve as he looked around.
"Foolish rat," the old man sighed, seemingly ignoring the hateful glares from his own son. "I'd rather not stain my office with the blood of a mongrel, but I suppose that's what cleaning services are for..."
Nate darted between the old man and the middle-aged man as he heard the several guns remove their safeties. If Nate wished for any hope of making it out of this dire situation alive, then he needed to act now.
Nate proceeded to toss his knife up into the air. The airborne knife caught everyone's attention momentarily, just what he wanted. While everyone was distracted, Nate proceeded to rush down the middle-aged man and ram him in the gut. As the man recoiled, Nate caught the knife that had strategically fell towards where Nate would be, before quickly getting behind the man and placing the knife at the man's neck.
"Wha–!?" the man blurted.
"Alright you bitches," Nate growled as he pointed the edge of the knife against the man's neck. "You all let me go, or else your Master here bites the dust!"
The guards hesitated with their weapons upon seeing Nate with a hostage. The boy stepped back towards the window, making sure he had his hostage at knife point. Much to Nate's confusion, however, the old man did not seem fazed at all.
"You think that's going to stop me?" the old man snorted. "Million was getting on my nerves recently anyways. This would be a good punishment for him. Guards!"
At the man's command, the guns were repointed at Nate, seemingly with no concern to Million's wellbeing.
"Father!?" Million gasped, shocked that his own father would be so callous about his own son's safety.
"Oh bloody fantastic," Nate growled. "Some father you got here, eh!?"
Nate glanced behind him, seeing that he was rather close to the windowsill. He glanced back to the guards, who were all ready to shoot him down, seemingly disregarding the hostage.
"Brace yourself," Nate whispered to Riolu and the middle-aged man.
Before the guards pulled the triggers, Nate slammed his elbow against the man's neck, smacking him down onto the floor. Nate then clutched Riolu tightly, before hurling himself through the window behind him, effortlessly breaking through the glass. The guards gasped, before rushing over to the broken window and looking down out of it. The boy quickly got smaller and smaller from sight, before a faint splashing sound emitted itself from the ocean below.
Brav was starting to get worried.
Nate was taking long. Too long. Longer than Nate should be taking for a usual break-in and robbery. While it was understandable given the size of the mansion, Nate had planned to only stay for an hour before they had reached the town. Well over an hour had passed, and still no signs of Nate. The old bird was worried. What if the people inside of the mansion found Nate? What if Nate got captured?
...What if Nate was killed?
"-No!-" Brav yelled to himself. "-No, don't think that! Nate is not the type of lad to get himself killed so easily...!-"
Brav only said that to ease his own nerves, but he could not spell out the possibility. Brav knew better than to assume that the boy was an invincible spawn of Arceus. He knew too well that Nate was still just one boy. A hate-driven, reckless boy who did not know when to quit. Brav would never forgive himself if Nate fell to an ill-fated demise when Brav could have possibly prevented it. That would be the greatest failure of his life; one that would haunt him to his grave.
...The sound of crashing glass, followed by the sound of something hitting the ocean did nothing but make Brav's stomach sink as he rushed over to the ocean.
Nate gasped for air as he emerged from the ocean of Undella Town. He quickly checked his arms, sighing in relief as Riolu was still in his arms. Nate then swam to the beach, spitting out whatever saltwater he had ingested from the steep dive. Riolu coughed up whatever water she had taken in as well.
"Damn...got off lucky that we hit the ocean and not the ground..." Nate panted as he mustered enough strength to get up. "...You alright?"
"-Uh...Uh huh...-" Riolu replied weakly.
As Nate managed to stand up, several lights flashed at Nate, briefly blinding the boy and forcing him to cover his eyes. Nate lowered his arm slightly to see the guards from the mansion having all lined up in front of him, ready to shoot down the boy and to retrieve Riolu.
"Shit...I'd hoped we get more time..." Nate muttered as he reached for his knife.
Before the guards could ready their guns, Nate glanced up to see Brav shooting down from the sky with the speed of a bullet. Brav stopped before Nate and swiped his wings towards the beach, causing a huge updraft of sand to block the guards' sight.
"-Nate!-" Brav cried out. "-Thank goodness you're alright!-"
"Old Man!" Nate exclaimed with relief. "Your timing couldn't have been any better!"
Brav then noticed Riolu, who was hiding in Nate's arms and cloak.
"-Who's this?-" Brav asked as Riolu hid further into Nate's cloak. "-Did you take her from that mansion?-"
"I'll explain later," Nate said as the sand started to clear up. "We need to get out of here. Now."
Brav nodded in understanding as he flew up and grabbed Nate. Brav took flight with Nate and Riolu, leaving the guards in his dust and out of the town. Brav flew away from the town with all the speed his body can. Unfortunately for him, the guards were quick to react, and sent out their own airborne Pokémon, hordes of blue bat-like creatures that Brav did not recognize, to pursue him.
"-Persistent buggers!-" Brav growled as he tried to lose them throughout the route that they found themselves in.
Brav swooped and soared throughout the trees and cliffs, trying his best to lose the bats, but they stayed ever-persistent, refusing to lose sights on the eagle. It seemed nothing Brav could do would leave the bats off his trail.
"-Damn it!-" Brav swore, before deciding to take more drastic measures. "-Nate, hang on!-"
Nate nodded, clutching Riolu tighter to make sure she did not fall as Brav slowly got covered in a blue fire-like aura. Brav soared up into the air, the bats flying up after him just as Brav expected. The eagle then made a sudden nosedive towards the horde. In a fiery blue strike, Brav ran through the bats, swatting them like flies with his attack. As the group of bats were disorientated from the strike, Brav took the opportunity to fly under a nearby bridge, hiding himself from the bats.
"-I bought us some time...-" Brav said as the bats began to regroup and recover from the attack rather quickly. "-What do we do now, Nate?-"
"You couldn't have just ran while they were distracted?" Nate asked Brav.
"-I couldn't get all of them,-" Brav replied, spotting the few whom were spared from Brav's assault having already recovered and searching around. "-I can tell just from how persistent they are. They have Inner Focus. Nothing short of their lives threatened will stop them from hunting us down. The ones that were able to avoid me would surely spot where I would escape and follow me. They will surely follow us to the ends of Hell. What if they find out about our home and report back to their owners?-"
No, that would be bad. If those bastard poachers manage to catch wind of Route 10 and everyone there...
"...So what now?" Nate asked.
"-We need to lose them somewhere,-" Brav declared. "-Somewhere that will force the bats to give up and return to their masters.-"
"So like...flee to the south?" Nate proposed.
"-That...or that cave...-" Brav muttered. "-...I spotted a cave not too far from here. If we manage to hide there, then maybe, just maybe...-"
Nate contemplated on the options he was given. Either route would force Brav to enter unknown territories. Securing Riolu's safety was top priorities, so bringing her to areas where they had no idea of what to expect was something Nate would rather avoid at all costs. Nate did not know what to expect going south into the region asides from what he had already seen. The cave Brav spotted was not a better option anyways. It was much smaller in terms of space, and potentially more dangerous. Things could go horrendous even faster than fleeing to the south.
Not too long, one of the bats managed to spot Brav under the bridge, letting out a cry to alert its allies. Brav was forced to emerge from the bridge and up into the skies. The bird was surrounded by the bats from all sides.
"-I need a decision now, Nate!-" Brav yelled.
Gritting his teeth, Nate glanced to all sides. The boy had no options left, and time was quickly slipping from Nate's fingers. The decision needed to be made now.
"...To the cave!" Nate yelled to Brav. "Try to lose them there!"
Nodding, Brav turned his direction to the cave. Roaring, Brav charged at the bats in his way, ramming through and making a way past them to the cave. The bats swiftly went after Brav into the cave in hot pursuit. The cave's interior was filled with formations and water, and was cold as ice. Riolu could not help but shiver, clutching to Nate for warmth. Brav was able to quickly find a light at the other side of the cave, and immediately went for it. The eagle passed through the opening, only to find himself in a vast, giant forest shrouded in a cold mist that was bordered by a giant chasm far as the eyes could see.
"-What in the world...!?-" Brav gasped, looking around. "-What is this place!? I've never even seen this place before!-"
Nate glanced behind him, seeing the bats emerge from the cave as well as flooding the skies, securing the only logical escape route.
"Damn it, we're boxed in!" Nate cursed his luck.
Brav quickly acted, diving into the forest in hopes of hiding. The bats quickly followed after Brav's trail, endlessly pursuing him throughout the forest. The eagle had no idea of the forest's layout as he dived into the thick of it, quickly avoiding the trees that were in his way and trying to make a path. Brav made a turn through some more trees, but immediately stopped as he saw some of the bats having intercepted his path.
"-Damn it!-" Brav swore as he hovered above a pond below him. The eagle found himself surrounded by the damn bats seemingly from Hell.
"-Hand over what you stole,-" one of the bats ordered. "-That is property of Master Zillion Riches.-"
"You think I'm gonna listen to some bastard who calls a living creature 'property'?" Nate snarled as he took out his knife.
The bats slowly crept closer to Brav and Nate. Brav gritted his beak as he looked around, trying to find a way through once more. Nate clutched Riolu to his chest as he readied his knife to fend off against the bats, as Riolu could do nothing but cower in Nate's chest out of fear.
As the bats moved closer, all of a sudden, cold winds began to blow.
"-Huh?-" one of them asked.
The temperature suddenly dropped staggering levels, as more cold air blew from seemingly nowhere, which was quickly followed by snow.
"Snow...?" Nate asked. How in the world was it snowing so quickly? It was the middle of summer, and the outside was still humid.
The cold winds abruptly turned into a savage blizzard that covered the entire forest, swallowing everything in there with its cold snowy wrath, including the bats and Brav.
"-What in the world!?-" Brav yelled as he shielded himself from the blizzard.
The bats were frantically trying to defend themselves from the blizzard as well as it only grew more and more violent. Nate put away his knife and hid Riolu completely in his cloak in an attempt to keep her safe, as he braced himself for the sudden blizzard.
And then, his world became pure white.
"-...up...Wa...u...Plea...Wake up...!-"
Nate finally regained consciousness and opened his eyes. He was immediately greeted by Brav, and the riolu, who instantly smiled upon seeing the boy wake up.
"Ugh...what...happened...?" Nate groggily asked as he got up.
"-You're okay...!-" Riolu exhaled in relief. "-Thank goodness...-"
"-You alright, Nate?-" Brav asked in concern.
"I'm fine," Nate replied weakly. "Sorry to give you a scare."
Nate looked around at the surroundings he was now in. He was back in a cave, but it looked different from the cave he remember getting into. For that matter, the last thing he remembered was being in that forest, and then suddenly a freak blizzard swallowed everything up.
"Where are we...?" Nate asked, before remembering that they were being followed. "Wait, those bats–!"
"-Not to worry, Nate,-" Brav assured him. "-The bats have been dealt with.-"
"Dealt with?" Nate asked, confused. The damn things surrounded them by a fair margin. Not even Brav should have been able to fend them off by himself.
"-See for yourself,-" Brav said, gesturing him to the gigantic opening of the cave.
Confused, Nate walked to the entrance and out of the cave, before his jaw dropped. The entire forest; the entire interior of the chasm was completely buried in snow. The harsh blizzards were still going, but it was much tamer than compared to that freak blizzard Nate last remembered.
"The hell...?" Nate asked in disbelief. "No way... That forest was huge...And it's completely submerged in snow?"
"-The bats are presumably buried in,-" Brav commented. "-I doubt they'll be moving for a while. Can't even tell where they are under all that snow.-"
"Wait, then how did we get out? How are we safe?" Nate asked. Something must have helped them from that damn blizzard.
As if to answer him, a low growl echoed throughout the cave, startling Nate. The boy immediately grabbed his knives, but was stopped by Brav.
"-Calm down,-" Brav said. "-We did in fact get saved. By the master of this chasm.-"
"The master...?" Nate asked, slowly putting his knives away.
Brav nodded, before glancing to the other side of the cave. Another opening just as huge as the entrance lied to the end of the side. It would be logical to assume that low growl came from there. Riolu hurriedly went to Nate's side, clutching his leg for safety. Nate nodded, before he slowly approached the entrance, trying to brace himself to whatever that was waiting for him deeper into the cave. Nate entered the opening, before he found his jaw dropping once more.
Deeper in the cave lied a giant, vast room. The walls had giant crystals of ice adorned to them. The corners of the room were frozen as well. Frozen rocks littered the floor. And waiting for him at the other side of the room was a large monstrous creature. It has a blue head and snout and has yellow eyes without pupils, has a pair of pointed light bluish horns on its head and a yellow crest on its skull. Three pointed teeth jut out the bottom of either side of its jaws, which are frozen shut by the ice covering its head. Its long, gray neck has lines running around its whole body, legs, arms and tail. Its two short arms are each jointed together to its oddly-shaped blue wings that have two spikes of ice on them.
"Ah, I see you have awoken, human," the monster said in a calm tone.
"You can talk...!?" Nate gasped, recognizing the language from the monster as human language.
"Indeed," the monster replied. "It is one of the many skills I have acquired in my time here in isolation."
"...Are you the one who saved us?" Nate asked carefully.
"Indeed I am," the monster answered. "I felt foreign beings intruding my domain, so I dealt with them with my blizzard. Your friends there managed to withstand my storm, and sought out my help."
Nate gulped. The monster in front of him was responsible for the blizzard. That much was obvious. But to create such a powerful storm... And in little time as well... Nate dreaded to find out just how powerful the creature in front of him truly was. The monster's seemingly empty yellow eyes stared at Nate.
"They claim you can understand the speech of us. The ones you humans call 'Pokémon'," the monster said. "That is a rare feat. No, it is a fantastic feat worth endless amounts of praise. It is much more impressive than my own language feat."
"...T-Thanks..." Nate stuttered. That was the first time someone other than Brav praised him for his ability to understand Pokémon. "And thanks for saving us...But...who are you? What is this place?"
"This place is what the humans call the 'Giant Chasm'," the monster explained. "This is my domain. My home. My prison.
"As for who I am...I was once the almighty and omnipotent dragon of this land. But now...? You may call me...Kyurem..."
"Kyurem...?" Nate asked. He never heard of this kind of Pokémon before.
"Indeed," Kyurem nodded. "I am the master of the Giant Chasm. And I am the one who saved you."
Nate pondered on Kyurem's description of the Giant Chasm. A prison? Was this place created to keep Kyurem here? Did the humans create it? Did they wish to keep Kyurem imprisoned here? If it was out of fear, then Nate could understand why, with the blizzard being major proof.
"Human..." Kyurem addressed Nate. "You and your companions were being attacked by those bats. For what reason were they out for your life?"
"...I found her captive at a mansion," Nate explained as he glanced down to Riolu, who was cowering behind Nate's leg. "The owners of the mansion apparently poached her. They were planning on selling her to someone. Those bats were from the mansion. They were trying to take her back."
"...I see..." Kyurem said as he glanced down to Riolu. "Tell me. Where is your family?"
"-M-My family...?-" Riolu asked, before she started to cry, remembering the last moments of her parents. "-Th-They were killed...By those people...-"
"I see..." Kyurem nodded in understanding. "You too have suffered by the hands of humanity.
"Even as far as ancient times, humans were always the same. They only care for their own arrogance and greed. Their eyes never reach their surroundings. They would destroy everything around them; even their own kind, if it were the price to pay for their desires to be fulfilled."
"-You speak as if you know from experience,-" Brav said accusingly to Kyurem.
"Indeed, old one," Kyurem confirmed. "Are you all familiar with the great dragons of Unova?"
"The great dragons?" Nate asked.
"-Reshiram...and Zekrom...-" Brav answered. "-The white dragon of truth, and the black dragon of ideals. The two dragons the two heroes of Ancient Unova used to fight each other.-"
"Precisely," Kyurem nodded. "Three thousand years ago, the region you call 'Unova' was created by uniting two states under constant war, led by a pair of twins. The twins used a single, powerful dragon to unite the two warring states as one, bringing peace to the two states. Eventually, however, the twins would argue over their own beliefs; the elder brother sought truth, the younger brother sought ideals. In response to the twin heroes' constant infighting, the dragon was split into two separate beings. The two dragons you know as 'Reshiram' and 'Zekrom'. Reshiram sided with the elder brother, while Zekrom sided with the younger brother. And thus, the two states that had achieved peace was found back into conflict. All because their supposed 'leaders' chose to spur bloodshed for their own beliefs.
"Two halves of a single whole. Both were equal in power, wisdom, and spirit. There was no way the two dragons could overcome each other. After years of pointless fighting, the twins had decided to call a tie, and declared that there was no right side. It should have ended there.
"However, humanity will always be doomed to repeat their history. The twins' sons would take up the fighting in their fathers' steads. The two dragons would be called forth once more, resuming their endless battle. The land of Unova was ravaged as a result. Fire and lightning scattered across the land, destroying everything within it, including the sons who were foolish enough to resume a fight with no victor. Eventually, the two dragons were sealed, only to be awakened again to two heroes worthy of their monikers."
Kyurem stood above the trio in a foreboding manner; his yellow eyes appearing more menacing and imposing than before.
"I am the result of that civilization's imprudence. I was once the powerful dragon that had once united Unova. Reshiram and Zekrom both once belonged to me as parts of me, until they were stripped from me due to answer the calls of those fools who wished to dispute over their beliefs. I am merely the frozen remains of that once powerful dragon, cast aside and forgotten by the very civilization whom I saved and united. I am proof of humanity's evils and arrogance."
"-So...you're the original great dragon of Unova's history?-" Brav asked.
"So I was," Kyurem answered. "...Tell me boy. What is your opinion of humanity?"
"Huh?" Nate asked.
"I can tell, that you and I, are not so different," Kyurem said. "I can sense a void in your heart; in your very soul. A void that once contained hope and prosperity. Where did that hope go? Was it taken away by the humans?"
Nate stared at Kyurem incredulously, before he recollected his past. Ever since that fateful day, humans did nothing but hurt him. They did nothing but abandon him. They did nothing but betray him. Nate merely nodded at Kyurem's question.
"As I thought..." Kyurem replied, almost sadly. "Humanity takes no prisoners. They will ravage their own kind for their own desires. You were merely a price they were willing to pay. And as a result, you are now left with nothing but a void. An empty void that only knows hatred, sorrow and despair. Your very soul...it is nothing more than a mere empty shell of its former glory.
"Such a void...I am all too familiar with. I too possess such a void. Used, destroyed, betrayed and forgotten by the very humans I once swore to protect. For millennia I was alone. Cast aside. And when I finally returned to the land, it was different. I recognized nothing of it. The humans had forgotten about their past. And chose to fear me. This is my prison because the humans feared me and refused to go near me. Ever since that damn war, I was condemned into solitude. A cold, eternal solitude.
Now all I know is hatred for humanity, and a never-ending despair. That is what I have earned for everything I had done in the past for the sake of humans. Humans are pathetic...humans are evil...no good will ever come out from humanity. That is the true law of our 'coexistence' between us and them! That is why...I can say that we are not too different. You are different from those humans. We are both brethren. Both damned by humanity. Both reduced to nothing."
Kyurem's speech hit Nate rather hard. The monster in front of him claimed to understand what Nate had gone through. Nate was betrayed by the people and family he had so much hope in. Kyurem was betrayed by the very people he swore to protect. In a way, the two were in fact birds of a same feather.
Only someone or something who had experienced the same, if not greater, kind of anguish could understand someone like Nate.
Kyurem. Kyurem could understand him.
"It is because we are birds of the same feather, it is why we can understand each other's pain," Kyurem went on. "...It is also why, I wish to share a way to escape this despair with you."
Nate and Brav perked up.
"...What do you mean?" Nate asked.
"Do you not wish for justice to be brought upon those wretched humans?" Kyurem asked. "After everything that has happened...Everything that they did to us...do you not wish for vengeance?"
"Vengeance...?" Nate asked, eyes widening.
"-Wait, what do you mean by–?-" Brav asked, a dreadful feeling coursing through him.
"Reshiram and Zekrom were once a part of me," Kyurem explained. "Both possess vast powers from being a part of me. And they have developed said powers to greater heights as their own entities.
"But what if they were to return to me? What if I was able to claim what was lost? I would not only regain the powers I have lost, but inherit the powers that they have elevated to new levels. I would not only return to my true form, but I would also gain greater power than before."
"-A–And how would you exact vengeance...once you reobtain your power?-" Brav hesitated to ask.
"Well isn't it obvious!?" Kyurem boomed all of a sudden. "I will use my true power to exact vengeance upon humanity! The vengeance that my soul yearned for so long! I will make the humans feel the same kind of pain, agony and hatred that they forced upon us! This country will be destroyed by the very power that was used to create it!"
Brav looked horrified at Kyurem. Destroy the country!? What was he even listening to right now!? And he wanted Nate to partake in this theoretical genocide!?
Brav immediately shot to Nate, where his heart sank at the sight. The boy's eyes were wide, absorbing everything about the speech that Kyurem made with morbid curiosity.
"So...you can do that...?" Nate asked in a quiet tone. "Get back at them...?"
"If I were to return to my true form, then getting vengeance would be child's play!" Kyurem insisted. "We would get revenge against the entire world that has wronged us!"
"...So what do I do?" Nate asked, a smile forming on his face. "How can I help...?"
"I can sense it," Kyurem said. "Reshiram and Zekrom...They still lie in this land somewhere...dormant...just waiting to be reclaimed.
"All you need to do is obtain them. Capture Reshiram and Zekrom. And then turn them over to me. That is the key. We can both fill the voids in our souls. We can put this agony and despair to rest! And bring justice upon humanity who had wronged us for far too long!"
"-C–Can you do it...?-"
All eyes are now onto Riolu, who had just now made her presence known. Her eyes were also wide as she stared at Kyurem.
"-I–If you get your original body back...?-" Riolu asked. "-Can you get revenge on the humans? The ones who killed Mama and Papa?-"
"Of course, little one," Kyurem assured Riolu. "Your despair and pain will be but one of many who seek justice upon wretched humanity! Your family will be avenged, along with all the countless creatures who were enslaved and slaughtered by humanity's avarice!
"So then boy...What's your name?"
"...It's Nate."
"Well then Nate. I am Kyurem. Will you join me on my path of vengeance?" Kyurem offered.
"-Nate no! Don't do this!-" Brav begged Nate. "-This path...This insanity! it will do nothing but bring yourself to further ruin! None of this justifies destroying the entire country! What Kyurem was planning would kill not only the guilty, but all the innocent humans. You would become the very same thing you loathed!-"
"Old Man..."
Brav saw Nate's eyes. They were once empty. Now they were filled with light. It was a malevolent light. One that could only spell disaster.
"There's no such thing as an innocent human at this point," Nate reasoned with Brav. "This is something I have to do..."
Brav's heart sank further than it already had. Brav did wish for Nate to find a purpose to fill his emptiness with. Brav did wish for Nate to find hope to fill the despair in his heart. He will admit to that.
But this...this was not what Brav wanted Nate to cling onto! Nate had found a purpose and hope that would not beget more hatred to the boy, but it would bring the entire world into ruin! Brav glanced to Riolu, hoping that perhaps she would not fall for the temptation of vengeance. But alas, the poor girl had already fallen to it, wishing nothing more than justice to be brought upon her family's killers.
"I understand if you try to urge the boy out of this out of concern for his safety," Kyurem said to Brav, earning his attention and scorn. "But this is something he had yearned for. You can tell it too. It is only now, has he found a means to realize it. He has found a purpose to fill the void in his soul. And if you disagree...well, then do you truly care about the boy? Obviously not if you cannot comprehend what the boy wishes."
"-How dare you–!-" Brav snarled, offended that the dragon would accuse him for not caring about Nate.
"Then will you join our cause?" Kyurem asked Brav. "Will you continue to support the boy? Will you seek out the two dragons for the sake of our vengeance? Or will you abandon the boy like the rest?"
Brav did not need to look to Nate and Riolu. He could tell that they were both hopeful that Brav would accept. And frankly, looking at their hopeful expressions would break what little resistance Brav had against Kyurem's plans of vengeance-fueled genocide. But what if he were to simply refuse? Took Nate and Riolu and flew far away from this accursed place?
...No. Brav knew that he was stuck.
Even if they somehow managed to escaped, Nate would forever despise Brav for denying him a chance to get back at the humans for what they did. Nothing would stop Nate from sneaking off and heading back to this goddamn cave to finalize the deal with Kyurem anyways. Brav did not want to break the bond he had with Nate by denying the boy his greatest desires. And Brav had little confidence in escaping from this monster in front of him. Even if he claims to be a former shell of the original dragon, the fact that he was once the original dragon is enough to scare Brav witless. That asinine blizzard that offed the army of bats that had been plaguing them all night was just a mere fraction of what Kyurem could do. Even if Brav gave it his all, he had little confidence that he could take on Kyurem by himself. And even if he somehow won, it would simply lead back to a scenario where Nate would forever despise Brav; this time for killing off the one chance he had.
...At the very least, Brav would not abandon Nate like his brother did all those years ago.
"-Fine. Have it your way,-" Brav begrudgingly accepted. "-There's no way I'm leaving Nate alone in this path. But know this! If your damn path gets Nate or the riolu killed...-"
Brav gave Kyurem quite possibly the most murderous glare Brav had ever produced in his life.
"-I will never forgive you,-" Brav snarled.
"Very well," Kyurem nodded. "Then this alliance has been finalized. I look forward to working with you all. Let us achieve our vengeance together."
Nate, Brav and Riolu stepped out of the cave to witness the huge field of snow that was once a forest. The blizzard had died down, but it was still rather vicious. Brav took the scene in as proof that there was no way he could win against Kyurem by himself. He glanced over to Nate and Riolu. They seemed to be happy about the events that had happened.
Brav mentally cursed himself. Oh how things went so wrong! There were so many things that could have happened. So many things that Brav could have done to prevent all of this from happening. But no. There was no point in beating himself over. What has happened has happened. Nate was now driven by a desire for revenge. He found a new purpose to give him life. And whether that purpose would be the end of him or not, was up to fate to decide.
And Brav hated that.
Nate, on the other hand, was ecstatic. He may have not been able to get anything worth money, but that was fine. Profit could be made any day. The riolu that tugged to his leg was enough for him. She was safe, and that was the important part.
But this. This was far beyond Nate's expectations. A chance. A chance to do what was right. A chance to see the humans feel the same pain and agony he had felt for so long. A chance to see them burn with this godforsaken country. A chance to avenge his own sanity, lost hope and happiness.
Nate smiled. He laughed in the middle of the blizzard, before it contorted into a demented cackle.
"Just you wait, Unova. Just you wait, you damn humans," Nate declared. "I will see to it...that you all feel my despair. My pain. My hatred. I'LL DRAG YOU ALL DOWN TO HELL!"
Nate laughed. He had finally found someone who understood the agony his soul was in, and accepted him for what he was. He had found a new purpose. A new hope. And he would make sure to go through with it.
Whether this can be called hope or not was debatable. At least, that was what Brav thought.
Over a year had passed since that fateful day. Nate and Brav had searched the region of Unova for the whereabouts of Reshiram and Zekrom, under the orders of their newfound ally, Kyurem. While they had not found the dragons so far, the information they were able to obtain proved to be valuable, giving the boy a better understanding of just how powerful Reshiram and Zekrom were. Which, in turn, led Nate to understand just how much stronger Kyurem could potentially become if he regained them. This only furthered Nate's motivation to track down Reshiram and Zekrom for Kyurem.
The riolu had ever since then was taken under Brav's and Nate's care, where she was called 'Rio'. Rio found much happiness living with her two saviors, quickly bonding with her human partner and braviary caretaker. The canine went through similar training that Nate underwent, quickly showing that she had latent potential as a fighter. Within months of training, Rio ended up evolving into Lucario. After consulting Professor Park about what the new Rio was, she was re-nicknamed to 'Luca'. The yellow canine served as Nate's right-hand partner. During her time under Nate's care, she had obtained strength that exceeded Nate's own, although she could not quite hold her own against Brav. Not yet at least. Her bitterness towards humans, however, was matching up to Nate's own hatred.
Much to Nate's chagrin, however, during their hunt, a terrorist group called 'Team Plasma' had seemingly awakened Reshiram and obtained him somehow. The boy was able to figure out that this terrorist group was the same one responsible for what had happened to Terra Village; and subsequently ruining Nate's life as a result. And much to Nate's further chagrin, shock, and complete anger, his brother had awakened Zekrom. Nate cursed his own inabilities to track down the two dragons sooner. Now both were within the grasps of two different factions; two which Nate wanted nothing more than to bring down to Hell.
Although the timing was more of a blessing; supposedly the 'leader' of Team Plasma, some figurehead called 'N' who was also the master of Reshiram, wished to fight Hilbert with Zekrom, by taking over the Pokémon League. This served as a clear indicator of where the two dragons were now. They were both at the same place; a perfect opportunity to strike and take them.
On the promised day, Nate, Luca and Brav, along with a rather murderous-looking keldeo, the one that would in the future become 'Deo', infiltrated the Pokémon League, and the accursed castle of Team Plasma's that emerged from underground. From there, the truth was revealed about Team Plasma; how it was merely a means to ends for Ghetsis, the one who had personally kidnapped him, his brother and foster sister all those years ago, and perhaps the one being Nate despised more than Hilbert. The damn 'priest' had manipulated N to awaken Reshiram so that he could take over the Pokémon League and become the ruler of Unova, where he would order the citizens to abandon their Pokémon so that Ghetsis would be the only one with Pokémon; and therefore the only one with power.
While he hated the fact that he had to save Hilbert from the madman's clutches, Nate relished the fact that he was able to exact some kind of revenge against Ghetsis for what he had personally did to his family by slicing off his arm.
And now, here was Nate, staring down the sleeping form of his brother, days after everything that had transpired in the castle.
Ghetsis had escaped with some damn scientist called Colress (who, according to Hilda from what little he interacted with her was an accomplice to Ghetsis' plan and had created Hilbert's artificial abilities to understand Pokémon), along with the three lapdogs Ghetsis had employed. While Team Plasma was defeated at the moment, Nate was sure that they would return, with the damn priest coming back with a vengeance.
But that was not important at the moment.
What mattered to Nate right now was that his brother was sleeping in front of him. The damn bastard who had turned his back on him all those years ago. The one who had forgotten about him and betrayed him some eight years ago. Nate's cold eyes stared at Hilbert, hatred and resentment boiling within Nate's very being. And as to add insult to injury, the bastard apparently recognized him back when they fought Ghetsis. As if now, when Nate had come down to begrudgingly save him from a fatal injury, now his own brother finally remembered him. Nate internally scowled. It was too late for that, and him deciding to remember something so important at a time where Nate was the only thing standing between him and death by Ghetsis' hands only further disgusted Nate.
"...Look at you..." Nate muttered to the unconscious Hilbert. "You couldn't even completely defeat that shitty priest, and you lost your damn arm too. You had to rely on me to even make it out of there alive with Sister and your shitty friends too."
Nate remembered when he just so happened to have stolen money from the bastard's friends a few days ago. The resulting incident did not paint them in a positive light to Nate.
"...I could kill you right now, if I wanted to," Nate said without a hint of remorse or hesitation. "No one even knows I'm here right now. No one is here to defend you. I could just take Zekrom from you right now, slit your throat and let you bleed out. And no one would know."
Nate kept staring at Hilbert. The bastard was breathing, recovering from his lost limb.
"...But no," Nate said. "No...That just won't do. That would just be anticlimactic, wouldn't it? No I'll take Zekrom from your cold, dead hands, with you knowing that younger brother who you abandoned was the one who ended your life. I want you to see. I want you to realize that you were the one who turned his back on his own little brother. And I want your dying breath to be full of regret and despair.
"I want you to die knowing that you abandoned me, and that you only have yourself to blame, Brother."
The term 'brother' was not endearing at all, and was spat out with as much venom as the boy could muster.
Eventually Hilbert did wake up, and was ecstatic about seeing Nate again, and urged him to go back home with him. Hearing Hilbert say all of this only made Nate's urge to kill him even stronger. But no, Nate wanted Hilbert to live. Just so that he could have the pleasure to be the one to end his life. So Nate did his best to hide his emotions. To act as neutral as possible. The damn idiot almost implied that he wanted to forgive Ghetsis for everything he did. It took every ounce of Nate's willpower to not break character there. But deep down, Nate wanted nothing more than to lash out against his older brother for abandoning him those years ago.
So Nate had given Hilbert the information to Professor Park, knowing the man might be capable of helping his brother out. And Nate had left. Fate would without a doubt present him with another chance. Nate would let Hilbert live, just so he can inflict his revenge by his own hands in the future and take Reshiram and Zekrom. Surely Kyurem would understand when he bothers to explain it to him.
2 years later
"To think, I never thought to check down here all this time," Nate commented.
After going around the region to find out the whereabouts of Team Plasma, the boy had realized that there was an entire area of Unova to the southwest he had yet to check. Kyurem had also insisted that there might be some more information regarding Reshiram and Zekrom down within the depths of the southwest that might be worth investigating. The boy's travels had brought him to a rather small city called Aspertia which lied in the deepest parts of this area. He had already checked the other settlements in the area, Virbank City and Flocessy Town, but the two places had nothing in regards to the two dragons outside of old folklores and recent news.
Kyurem had implied that the deepest parts of the southwest would have something worthwhile, so Nate was hoping for something to come out of this after the last two towns ended up as dead leads. Luca had went on ahead to explore the city, while Nate decided to look around for some information, and perhaps some money or food to procure for themselves. Nate and Luca had parted ways with Brav for the moment, tasking Brav with investigating the desert that was Route 4, along with the neighboring Resort Desert.
"Is there really anything about them in this place?" Nate asked doubtfully. "I wonder if I wasted my time coming to this backwater end of the region."
Nate glanced around the city he was currently in. It did not compare to the likes of Nimbasa or Castelia, but it certainly was much more urban than Flocessy or the other towns back in mainline Unova. There were a few tall buildings, a platform built upon a tall hill and a few shops here and there, but nothing special or too noteworthy.
The only thing that would have made this whole trip worthwhile
Nate looked up ahead and spotted a salaryman who was rushing to his destination, talking on his phone. Nate internally smirked. Might as well get some easy money while he was here. Making sure to look as inconspicuous as possible, Nate walked to the opposite direction of the man and proceeded to bump into him, swiftly sneaking his hand into the man's pocket and snatching his wallet.
"Oh sorry there!" the man exclaimed.
"Sorry 'bout that," the other person replied.
To be continued
AN: Bonus points for whoever can identify the three scenes that the last two scenes in this chapter reference/take place in. One big hint: they all canonically happened in the past in context of this story. And that concludes Nate's backstory, how he met Luca, and how he became Kyurem's agent to destroy the world. Hope this two-parter gives insight to Nate and why he is who he is.
Next chapter we go back to the main plot and what to do from there. And spoilers: next chapter is where the main ship is finally settled. That reminds me I never closed that one poll, did I?
Nate: Luca (Lucario)
Hopefully you all enjoyed Nate's backstory arc. I'll see you next time with the actual plot of the story.