Chapter 37: The Frozen Tower

late morning, 2/27

As the Light Stone was being active, Hilbert thought it would be a good time to check on Dragonspiral Tower. He wasn't sure if he should call on Reshiram yet. After all, he had to consider how N might react. But if he was there, he might get a hint on where to go next, to further prove his worth. When the Light Stone had activated during the crowning, he had been told to take hold of Hilda to prevent her from being burned. He was also told that something had been blocking the dragons off from the waking world. Maybe he had to find out about that, or maybe it would be another issue.

When Regal brought him to Icirrus, Hilbert immediately felt that something wasn't right. The atmosphere of the town was uneasy, moving closer to fear. While normally kids would be out playing no matter what time of year it was, there were only a few people outside, nervous and talking. It was eerily like Lacunosa, except that he couldn't think of anything that would threaten Icirrus like that. He looked around and nothing stuck out to him. That is, until he looked north and saw that Dragonspiral Tower looked different. He couldn't think of what was different, so headed out of town for a closer look.

The lake looked completely different from how he'd seen it last time. Granted, that had been one summer years ago, but even accounting for the season didn't explain this. The lake was frozen solid, with crystalline clusters of ice scattered around it. The ice continued up the tower, for as high up as he could see. Around the ice, there were those strange blue threads, the ones that seemed to trigger his visions. They seemed much more numerous here than he'd ever seen before. Why? At the start of every floor, there was now a ring of ice spikes that went all the way around. Another set of ice spikes at the side facing town was formed into an empty circle. Kyurem's sign.

On the lake, N was standing in contemplation of the tower. Something had happened to him; Hilbert could see an internal pain within an emotional numbness that was trying to snuff the pain out. He wasn't sure what to do. But, showing concern now might help later on. "Keep quiet, please," he asked Regal, then walked out over the ice. "N, what's happened here?"

Not replying for a moment, he lowered his head. The Dark Stone was floating beside him, flickers of blue electricity appearing occasionally. Once Hilbert got to him, he saw that N was smiling, but that was just a cover. "It happened yesterday," he said, his voice sounding tired. "About the same time I got struck by lightning as the Dark Stone activated. And when your Light Stone activated."

"Really?" Hilbert looked back at the tower. "Kyurem was there, but I didn't notice him doing anything unusual."

N tensed. "It has to be his power. His sign appears here. Why don't they want us calling on the other dragons?" He turned to Hilbert. "Why didn't you tell me that you loved Hilda? I saw that broadcast of the crowning."

He felt a mix of anger and embarrassment, but tried to keep it from rising. "I got caught up in the moment," he said, feeling his ears get warm. "And I don't know if she loves me, or you, or anybody. I haven't been sure of how I really feel about her either. I can read the desires of other people, but not my own."

"It shouldn't be important; she's probably trying to ruin both of us." For a moment, he seemed like he was trying to convince himself of the truth of that (Hilbert wasn't sure of the truth of it himself). But it soon got swallowed up by whatever else was affecting him. "It isn't important."

"What happened?" Hilbert asked, trying to sound reassuring about it. When N looked away, he added, "That doesn't explain the amount of grief you're trying to hide."

"Pricilla died," he said, sounding like he'd faced a terrible defeat and was struggling to keep calm. "She was the first Pokemon that I captured, but she insisted on following me after I let her go. And she got killed because of me. Murdered; that wasn't an accidental death."

"That's terrible," he said, stepping closer. N flinched, so Hilbert avoided touching him. "But it couldn't have been your fault."

"It was my fault," he said sharply, his emotions briefly turning dark against himself. "I should have told her to stay at her home and avoid humans; I should have been stronger in telling her to stop following me. But I was too sentimental and didn't. I need to be stronger and not let these things affect me."

"That isn't being strong," Hilbert said. "N, it's okay to feel sad after a friend of yours has died like that." After all, Alder had been in a good mood yesterday, but from time to time the sadness over his loss still appeared. "Did you get to bury her at Celestial Tower?"

"Where? We did bury her out of respect."

He pointed towards the southwest, where that tower should be. "The one north of Mistralton. That's where people go to remember the Pokemon that have passed away."

"That can't be true; your people out here don't respect Pokemon enough for that." He turned to hurry away from there, as fast as he could across the ice. But then he nearly ran into a man who was approaching them. "Dr. Umber, what are you doing here?"

The man smiled. He seemed interested in the both of them, but his emotions were well-guarded. Hilbert couldn't even tell what he wanted here. "Ah, Lord N, good to see you out here. I heard that Dragonspiral Tower had froze solid and wanted to ascertain the truth of it, as well as why it might have done so. If we know why, we can find the way to unfreeze it."

"Fine, I'll leave you to it." He then headed off.

"My, he seems to be in a dark mood," Umber said, although without a trace of actual concern in his voice. "And you, you're his brother, right? Funny that I should meet you out here. Or maybe not; you'd both be interested in seeing what happened here." He went right up to the frozen tower and gave it an experimental prod.

"I am," Hilbert said, but something bugged him. Dr. Umber... he thought he'd heard the name before. It took a moment for it to connect. "Wait you... you signed our birth certificates, didn't you? So you'd know our mother. Or was that a relative of yours?"

"Well done," Umber said, chuckling. "You have an eye for details if you noticed that. Yes, I did, and I met with her many times over a short period. I've been curious about you, Hilbert. Some things I've wanted to check up on, but that required tracking you down and I have so many other things to attend to. But now that you're here, it'd be nice..." he frowned. "Well, maybe not here."

Something didn't seem right about this. Between N's recognizing him and Umber's careless attitude, Hilbert felt uneasy. Umber should at least be concerned for N's 'dark mood'. "What do you want?" Hilbert asked.

Umber smiled. "Can't you tell? I wouldn't think so. My mind is exquisitely trained; one might say that I was paranoid of psychics when I was younger. Now, I don't have to worry. You still interest me, actually. There are a few things I want to know, and there are things you want to know as well, right? About your mother, and perhaps even more than that. Tell you what, I'll meet with you at the Castelia Pokecenter this evening, around seven? Would that work for you? That will give me time to review this unusual occurrence as well as track down the files you would be interested in."

Because he couldn't read him well, Hilbert didn't want to trust this scientist. Umber might know something, but he might also be up to something. He shook his head. "No, I'll keep looking on my own. And there's other things that could become more important soon." Like figuring out if Kyurem was an enemy or not. He never projected intentions like that, but now Hilbert knew for certain that his senses could be blocked. Perhaps even misdirected.

"Or maybe you can read me," Umber said in a stern voice. "I can't take no for an answer here." He snapped his fingers.

Hilbert knew that he was in danger, but only for a moment before he blacked out.

When he started coming to, he wasn't sure what had happened. It was something to do with an infernal buzzing filling his mind to the point of being overwhelmed. That didn't really make sense, but that was all that Hilbert could recall. As he became more aware, he smelled salt and fish. Something rough was around his wrists... a rope? Yes, that was it. He'd been tied up and was now on a boat to somewhere. He opened his eyes and confirmed that.

"Good, you're already reviving." The scientist came into view, drinking out of a bottle. "It's what I expected to see. But not when we really want you up. Go on and sleep until we're ready." He put a cloth to Hilbert's nose; it had a strong scent that tickled his nose. While he thought he might sneeze, he ended up falling asleep instead.

…

Outside, it was raining heavily. About of third of the room was taking up by various machines. Some were recognizable as computers; others she had no idea what they could be used for. "Where is this place?" Stacy asked, looking at one of the windows. Blinds covered it and some equipment sat right in front, blocking access to it. "It wasn't raining in Opelucid."

Dr. Umber smiled as he gripped her arm. "Don't worry about that. I have a few more things we need to do today, but I want my equipment to work with instead of the hospital's. This should be the last round."

She bit her lip, putting a hand over her stomach. "What are we doing with the twins? I know he said it was for the best, but these operations you've been doing have been giving me strange dreams, of dragons and such."

"Interesting, but I doubt that it's anything to worry about," Umber said, as calm and pleasant as always. He was the kind of person who could tell you that you were going to die a painful death and still be the nicest smiling doctor while doing so. "We're simply making sure to give them the best start in life possible. I know what I'm doing; nothing unexpected will happen. Please, just relax and sit on the exam table while I get things ready."

Stacy went to sit there, but it was hard to relax. "Where's Ghetsis been?" she asked. "I haven't seen him for a few days."

"I'm sure he's just busy working to get a good amount of money to support you and your children with. He doesn't like getting caught unprepared, I know."

It caused her some heartache to think about. It had all seemed so wonderful months ago, like her fortunes had finally turned around. But in the time since, things had gotten strange. Ghetsis was out working a lot, or at least he said he was. And then this doctor of hers had some complicated idea to make things better, which Ghetsis had agreed to. At first she had too, but now Stacy wasn't so sure.

The blue threads flickered and appeared over the scene. There were many of them, many ways in which she could have chosen. But two were much stronger than the others, one of what could have been.

After the operation, Dr. Umber had sent her back home via the teleport pad and told her to get some rest. But Stacy had decided that things were just too suspicious to ignore. She wanted to speak to someone, but Ghetsis would tell her to just speak to him and no one else. She wanted to go back to the shelter in Lacunosa and talk to someone there.

Only, she wasn't feeling well after the operation and she was eight months pregnant. She took a few things from the apartment, like the Pokeball to her Wingull, money that Ghetsis had tried to hide from her, and some things to snack on. Then she went to the subway station to get a ride to Lacunosa.

Stacy was trembling with nervousness in the station. Maybe Ghetsis would find her here. Or maybe all the strangers around her would be criticizing her, like the old maternity clothes she was wearing or the way her hair was unbrushed, or that she was here alone, not even twenty and pregnant. But when the train got there, the station attendant sent a couple of other passengers to help her find a seat and watch out for her. They were actually nice to her and even offered to see her to her destination in Lacunosa. While she thought of refusing, she still wasn't feeling well so agreed to the help.

And even though she expected the people at the shelter to be angry or critical of her, they were forgiving. It even made her cry some, but it was good that they cared.

But that wasn't the path of history. This was.

Back at the apartment, Stacy wondered and worried about what she should do. She had thought about going back to the shelter in Lacunosa, but was afraid that Ghetsis would find her there and bring her back. She felt like she should trust him, because he loved her and all. But maybe not because he was gone an awful lot now.

Ghetsis came back that evening. When she asked about the operation, he reassured her that it would be fine. It should be okay, but there was still a lingering doubt.

…

Time, those blue threads were related to time somehow. They had appeared in times and events where something different could have happened, like his mother choosing to trust Ghetsis or not. Or a history when Kyurem wasn't here. While it didn't explain why he could see these alternate histories, it was a better idea of what was happening.

Hilbert stretched on waking up and realized that he wasn't tied up anymore. He'd figure out the past later; he had to figure out what was going on now. Opening his eyes and sitting up, he found himself on a simple cheap-looking bed in an empty room. The floor was paved in concrete, but the walls and ceiling were left as rough rocks. Had to be a cave. There were no door or windows; if he could find a way to the surface, he could escape. But when he reached for his Pokeball holder on his wrist, he found that it was gone. Along with the Light Stone, his Xtranciever, his bag, and everything but his clothes.

"We're ready to begin," a voice embedded in the ceiling said. It took a second for Hilbert to recognize it as Dr. Umber. "Please head on out; I'll decide on what to do when you decide on what way to go."

He got out of the bed and looked around. He could see the speaker now, but nothing more beyond a hallway. "What's going on? Why did you capture me?"

"For your first question, this is a test. If I could have seen everything with just a DNA check, I would have left you in Icirrus. But I want to test a theory before it gets put into action, so we have to test you. For your second question, the plan that depends on this theory can only work with two people, you and N. I'm not allowed to use N for the test, so that leaves you."

Hilbert left the room to see what was there. The cave hallway went for a short ways both directions before splitting off, giving him four options. Wishing he had something to mark the walls with for less confusion, he went to check each way. "That doesn't explain what's going on. What's this test for?"

Umber chuckled. "Well I can't tell you everything, now can I? The experiment would be rendered invalid if you knew exactly what was going on. Don't worry about what it's for. Just find your way. And talk to me; it'll be less boring for both of us."

Hilbert listened to his words; the hallways weren't giving him any helpful hints of which way to go. "Are you drunk?"

"Possibly? Not that it matters, as you're being recorded and that cave is fully covered with security cameras and features. I don't mean to use the latter against you but... we'll see."

"Where is this cave?" He could smell the ocean, particularly strong down one tunnel. He headed that way.

"It's underneath my old laboratory. At least, part of it is. And you'll want to watch the surfaces of where you're going. Some of those tunnels get flooded with the tides."

That worried Hilbert; he could swim, but the waters would be close to freezing. Here, it looked dry. "Are you trying to kill me?"

Umber laughed. "No, dear boy, not yet. My employer would be greatly disappointed if you died here and now."

"Ghetsis would?"

"Exactly. After all, it wouldn't do him much good to evoke the mythology of the legends if one of the twin heroes died early. By the way, excellent job during the crowning yesterday. You said exactly what you should have without having a team research public opinion beforehand. Ghetsis took it calmly on seeing it, but you should have seen him later when the ignorant ones were out of the room. I had to express my condolences, but it was a beautiful rage."

He was trying to follow the scent of the ocean, but had ended up in a large room. There were concrete stairs and platforms on three levels, leading to various other tunnels in this cave. Right now, he was on the second level. Down below, he could see seaweed, lichen, and moss on the ground level. "What kind of doctor are you? You should be medical, but you're running me through this weird experiment and wanted to study the ice on the tower."

There was a pause; either he was still drinking or he was switching the speakers as his voice came through clearly even in that room. Or both. "My studies were in biology and genetics. I did cross-study for humans and Pokemon. You may not have heard of me, but I'm one of the top researchers in my fields."

Thinking that heading down without a swimming Pokemon wouldn't help, Hilbert climbed up to the third level to explore there. "How does this apply to genetics?"

"Genes dictate everything about a living being. How they look, how they act, what they are capable of. I want to see if you're capable of what I theorize you should be doing. Should be capable of doing, I mean."

It still didn't make much sense to Hilbert. "What did you do to my mother?"

"To her? I didn't do much to Stacy. I had another doctor that did the actual health checks and delivery, but I signed the certificate because I was more important to how you turned out."

"What's that...?" he stopped, hearing a strange Pokemon cry from the cavern. Hilbert stepped back into the large room and looked down.

Alarm bells went off in his head as he saw the Pokemon there. It wasn't like any he had ever seen before, a bipedal Pokemon with sleek dark violet steel armor. On its back, there was something that looked like a cannon, with joints that allowed it to be shifted. The Pokemon was clicking and hissing, rather like a Bug Pokemon. It didn't seem to want anything right now, but he had a feeling that it was territorial.

Hilbert backed off into the upper level tunnel. "What was that?" he asked, trying not to be too loud.

"That would be another project of mine," Umber said, some pride showing in his words. "Genesect. I resurrected her from a fossil, but with the way she was, she would not have survived in the modern world. So I modified her to be more viable, and more effective. She's rather aggressive and fierce; a primal beast, you might say. You ought to fight her."

His heart started racing at that suggestion; he tried to move quicker to get away and not make much more noise. "What? That's insane. I don't have my Pokemon with me."

"You should be able to handle her on your own."

"I don't have any martial arts training." He heard a screech from behind him. Had this Genesect heard him? "I'm just a human and that thing..."

"Are you?"

Something about that question hit Hilbert with a sense of dread.

"Let's look at the facts, shall we? For years, you've had a peculiar aura effect that mimics Attract perfectly. Better than perfect, as you could influence straight males and genderless Pokemon. You have a number of abilities that could be called pseudo-psychic as a number of humans have. However, they can also be explained by such things as Detect and aura sensing. A couple months back, you were struck in the head with a baseball bat and would have been killed by the hit if you were normal. Instead, you recovered quicker than someone with a lesser concussion. There is also how I put you to sleep earlier: with Sleep Powder spores."

And he was being held captive by a crazed scientist who claimed that he was important to who he was. Umber could have been lying. But all those unusual things supported what he was saying. "I'm not... so wait, I'm a Pokemon?"

Umber laughed. "No, you're not that either. You're a gijinka, part Pokemon, part human. Technically one that was modified from a human embryo and not a natural born one, but you still qualify. That's what Ghetsis wanted out of you two; the chances of a pair of twins being born gijinkas with all the qualities he wanted were astronomical. And that's why he brought me into it, because I had already been working on artificial gijinkas."

"So there's others out there?" He and N were half-Pokemon... that could explain why his brother could understand Pokemon so naturally (although not why he couldn't). Could he use that to convince N to back off of his position?

"Certainly, I have several that I made before you two. Not as many after, as I got into other projects and studies." He paused again. "You were the only twins I worked on, although I did work on two sets of triplets. One of those sets started off as identical, all three of them, but you couldn't tell that now meeting them in person. But I think you and N are the best of the gijinkas I made. We shall have to wait for your powers to fully manifest to know for certain, but if this works as in my theory, none of the others would be able to come close."

"And all along, I've been a Psychic," Hilbert said. That didn't make his chances good if that Pokemon, either Bug, Steel, or both, were to find and attack him. Not to mention how he didn't know how to do anything like a Pokemon ability or move consciously.

"Psychic?" Umber laughed for quite a while on that one. Genesect's cry came through the middle of it; it was searching for him. Hilbert took off into a sprint. "Not a chance, Hilbert. That's only how it was explained when you thought you were human. No, you're not Psychic typed. You're a Dark type."

"Dark?" He thought this couldn't get any more shocking, but then it did. And he could hear Genesect's heavy footfalls.

"The Dark type... do anything to win. Sense what someone wants, sense what they feel, then flirt or threaten them into doing what you want them to do. That's how you've operated for most of your life, haven't you? Instead of fighting an enemy, you manipulate it into fighting someone else, or being your devoted follower. It's a fine tactic, nothing to be ashamed of. But such delicious irony, isn't it? That the seeker of Reshiram, the dragon of truth and often associated with light, is a Dark type gijinka who relies on manipulation of truth and emotion to get ahead."

A loud noise filled the cavern; a bright beam of energy flew at him. Hilbert couldn't see it, but he could sense it. Detect. He jumped out of the way without breaking his running stride, letting the attack miss him entirely. It blasted into the wall, creating a deep hole through the rock.

Dr. Umber kept talking, as if Genesect chasing after Hilbert was nothing to be concerned about. "Now N, Ghetsis wanted him to be perceived as pure and innocent, someone that people would readily accept as a selfless hero seeking to create a perfect world, someone that people would want to follow. He had to be good. After much consideration, I turned him into a Normal type. After all, could you imagine a Normal typed Pokemon being a villain? Fire types are passionate but hot-tempered, Steel types are loyal but stubborn, and so on; these are general beliefs that hold strong in society. If you want a pure and innocent Pokemon, then a Normal type is best for getting that message across."

A dead end; Hilbert had found a dead end and Genesect was still chasing him, pursuing him in belief that he was prey. For a moment, he just stood there staring at the rock, his heart pounding in his chest. What now? Then he considered trying to use Attract. Kyurem and Reshiram had restricted his unconscious continual use of it. Could he use it consciously? He turned around and saw Genesect staring back at him. The cannon on its back wasn't pointed at Hilbert, but its poise suggested it was considering tackling him. 'Use Attract to keep it from killing me,' he thought. Then he smiled, trying to project his feeling of light towards Genesect.

"You can see where this is going, right? N was created, with my help and Ghetsis' guidance, to be a beloved hero, the one who would win the affections of the people of Unova. And you were created to be a villain, someone who rose to fame quickly and made many love you, but then be revealed to be a manipulative narcissist who cared nothing for anyone but yourself and who was dependent on his powers. You were created to lose to N; I made certain of that. Your Attract power got broken much too early; a pity, because I was particularly proud of it."

Genesect was hesitating, shifting out of an aggressive posture. Good. Maybe he could get Genesect to help him get out of here. That is, if he could keep this up for long.

"It wasn't working as an ability and Cute Charm didn't cut it, so I turned to a rare genetic fault that causes some Pokemon to have a passive move such as Attract become a permanent effect on their aura. Usually it's a stat-boosting move that ends up shortening their lifespan as it continually drains energy. But you would be in no physical danger from it. Oh, and I'm pretty sure that Genesect's kind was the sort where females killed their mates, so don't go doing something stupid right now like trying to keep her under Attract."

"You're crazy," Hilbert said, although his last point might be something to keep in mind. "When I get out of here, I'll let others know the truth about you, and Ghetsis. Then your plans will be ruined."

Umber only laughed again. "Can't accept the fact that you're the loser?"

"Why are you even telling me all this? It will tarnish Plasma's image."

"Do you think that I really care about them? I get my funding from Ghetsis, yes, but I have my doubts about the feasibility of his ultimate plan. He let too much randomness into the plans, especially with you. If they succeed, then it will be because of my efforts; they will have to keep me close and happy so that I don't unravel it all. If they fail, then I could cut off all my ties to them and find someone else to fund my projects."

"No one would hire you; you experiment on people and Pokemon without caring what happens to them." Then he turned to Genesect, who was still staring at him. "Go on," he said, trying to wave her away. "Go back to your nest, or den, wherever you live. I won't trouble you if you don't trouble me."

"Cute try," Umber commented. "They'll hire me. I'm much too valuable to be imprisoned or executed. I know the differences between Pokemon and humans, and I know how to make those differences disappear. I know how to make humans who would make excellent soldiers, independent of Pokemon and even able to face one on equal terms. But most of all, I know the differences between immortals and mortals. I can turn a mortal into an immortal. If you want proof, look before your eyes. Genesect's kind were mortal Pokemon, but she is an immortal. A legendary on equal grounds with the dragons you and N seek.

"I have nothing to fear anymore because people will be begging me for my expertise. You have nothing to look forward to save for being defeated by N. Perhaps you can find some mercy by joining them, but Ghetsis will make sure that you suffer for it. That's one thing that he's good at, making others suffer. He would never hit anyone, but he can do much worse. He can turn your own mind against you, make you chain yourself into slavery and say that you love him. And he will enjoy making you do so, every single minute of it. He certainly seemed pleased when he got your mother to swear her eternal love to him, and then ordered her killed. I heard that she didn't even fight it."

"Shut up!" Hilbert snapped, feeling so furious that he was seeing red. Red flames that twisted around him, reaching out towards Genesect. She hissed sharply and got ready to attack again.

Then a yellow shield appeared between them, locking Hilbert into the dead end. Genesect crashed into the barrier, causing sparks to fly. However, it held. Then she turned her head. Something else had her attention, something that made her dash back down the tunnels howling.

"Good, that's exactly what I'd hoped to see," Umber said in approval. "But even if that proves the theory, I can't have you taking out your anger on my precious Genesect. She's only been alive like this a few days, after all. You cool off, and then we'll see what to do from there." There was a click, as if the intercom system was turned off.

Hilbert screamed and punched the barrier, only getting a painful shock for it. He stepped back and tried to calm down. While he wanted to believe Umber was lying to antagonize him, there was some of it that he knew was true. Shuddering, he looked down, trying to ignore the red flames that still surrounded him.

And there he saw something bewildering: a shifting circle of red and black underneath his feet. It almost matched the sign that had appeared under Kyurem's feet when he had sealed Hilbert's power. However, there were no stars within the circle.

Seems a little sudden that N and Hilbert are half Pokemon due to genetic tampering? It's not. I decided on that very early on, before I even started writing Chapter 1. I left signs of it in many places, but tried to make them not so obvious. The purpose behind this story was to explore various Pokemon fandom cliches and ideas, including having half-human half-Pokemon characters. Now guess who else Dr. Umber has messed with, or find evidence of which skills they have.

I knew Hilbert would be Dark-typed as I began setting up things, but figuring out N's type took more thought. Grass was an option for a while, not just because of his hair, but also because this version of N is most comfortable in a forest. Water was also an option due to his emotional state of being. But in following a line of thought similar to Umber's, I made him a Normal type. Think about the fairy Pokemon like Clefairy and Jigglypuff, and Audino, and Zigzagoon, and Skitty, and so on. Even the ones who cause trouble, like the last one, rely on a cute 'innocent' appearance to get by.

Making them both Psychic was also under consideration, but I overuse Psychic types as it is in fanfiction!